**A few hours later**
Greed:
The W.M.A. and a few of the Crimson Dragon Knights occupied the courts of the Wolves' Den. Ryo was there, too.
A crew of them was apprehending the Nightbanes; Drakthor was so large that they had to apprehend in numbers. They even had him in a Nullifying magic beast cage despite him being unconscious.
The others were sent away in cuffs or stretchers, depending on their condition. Because of the level of their offense, they would only be sent to the Valley prison rather than Tartarus for their crimes. However, due to the vast number of them, questions began to arise about their arrival.
As Ryo and I talked in the rampaged entrance hall, a cleanup crew was sweeping away the debris, getting the place, at least, presentably clean.
He stood at the center, looking up at our gothic chandelier—or rather, what was left of it… He clicked his tongue. "Tsk… It really is such a shame…"
"The mess? I know. Who can we get to rebuild everything here? Sirus doesn't have his magic anymore…" I asked, sitting at the bottom step of our sweeping staircase, elbow resting on one of my legs, propping my head up languidly.
"No, not that…" Ryo retorted. "The chandelier! It's completely destroyed! Do you know how rare this piece is? And now it's utterly obliterated!?" He sighed with so much disappointment. I even felt like he forgot I was there and was just talking to himself. "Who knows if a piece like this even exists anymore! It really is such a shame…"
"Ryo, are you for real? I could give two shits about interior design right now. I just need my wall fixed so that the outside and inside aren't indistinguishable."
"I know, I know… I heard you the first time," he replied disinterestedly. "Believe it or not, the Arcane King can fix this."
I raised a brow at him. I had forgotten what kind of magic the Arcane King had—given the Arc Slayer and its capabilities, it was obviously Nullifying magic—however, I knew for a fact that Sirus was the top Restructuring type magic user in all the Kingdom. So, saying that the Arcane King could fix this sounded like an underhanded statement.
"All right." I didn't care for the details. "So, when can I expect the Arcane King to help us?" Asking impatiently.
Ryo finally faced me fully and said, "Well, to be frank, it might not be for a while. He has other matters he needs to address first, and then perhaps he could set some time aside to fix your wall."
"Perhaps?" I asked, becoming pissy. "Are we not a ranked Guild in the Kingdom? You'd expect the Arcane King to cater to our requests, especially when one of his own was attacked by outsiders. This wasn't a normal attack, mind you… hundreds… and Ryo, I mean hundreds of intruders made it past the Kingdom's surveillance systems and attacked a Valley Guild. Shouldn't that shoot up to one of his top priorities here?"
"I understand, my friend. But I'm only relaying back to you what I know… Arcane King Daz is already coming back regarding the Blue Phoenix Knights incident and other matters…" he trailed off.
And that's when I added in something I'd soon regret, "What if these intruders were following that incident? Did the Black Wolves not save the Valley?"
Ryo raised his eyebrow, exaggerating the slow turn of his head so that I saw his incredulous look before countering oh so effortlessly, "Well, no one knows of such actions, now do they? I thought you didn't want to take the credit?"
I was silent after that. I even looked around as a clean up crew passed by, luckily not paying attention to our conversation.
I suppose it didn't take a genius to counter that careless comment… "All right, all right… You got me." I shrugged, rolling my eyes away in the process. "So how long's the wait? Should I just tell the crew we're gonna be camping for a while?"
He faced away and looked to the distance, past the clearing of W.M.A. and his Crimson Dragons, and toward the tall walls of the Valley that could be faintly seen over the head of trees beyond. He spoke, "Destruction across the Kingdom is still being managed as we speak. There are others who are still recovering from the damage done by the Blue Phoenix Knights. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of this."
No, he didn't. I've been trying to assist for days now. I just hated how he had to bring it up to remind me.
I was humbled then, knowing others had already been waiting for their homes to be fixed since that day. Others who, unbeknownst to me, had lost someone they cared about during the bloodbath carnage Syemore and I caused.
I remained silent and propped my elbows on the tread of stairs behind me, stretching out my legs as I oriented my head upward to look at the burnt ceiling.
Ryo sighed. "I'll see what I can do to expedite the process." His pleasant half-smile shot my way.
It was then that a third voice spoke. A voice like ASMR in my ears. "Why don't you ask him as a request from me?" Belle announced from the landing of the sweeping staircase above.
"Hey there, princess," I said, tilting my head upside down to see her for a better view.
"My Greed… Are you staring at my feet again? Or perhaps staring up my cloths?"
"What cloths, princess, you're not wearing anything," I teased.
"Picturing me naked again, I see…"
"You're literally half naked all the t—"
Ryo cleared his throat, loud and obvious.
"So, Ryo, will you tell Daz that it's a request from the Valley's 'savior', please?" Belle asked slyly.
"I might be able to work that out." He put a hand to his chin, thinking to himself. "But in the case where he asks why this should be a 'priority', what should I say?"
Belle walked down the stairs, meeting me below. Her perfect feet were now a mere tongue lick away, and the scent of flowers entered my nose pleasantly upon her arrival.
"Tell him the Black Wolves Acting Captain and I are dating then."
I blinked. Tell him what exactly?
"Tell him what exactly?" Ryo said, echoing my thoughts.
"Tell him I want to fix my boyfriend's place? I don't know, Ryo. Come up with something. You're usually good at the 'on-the-fly' sort of stuff, right?" She insinuated, and he gave off a nervous laugh. "I mean, at least I'm not asking you to lie, now, am I?"
She nudged me with her eyes. Foul play, princess.
Ryo was next with the nudging. His eyes saying something along the lines of, Fine catch. I couldn't have agreed more.
"Your wish is my command, Princess of the Valley," he said, bowing to her.
"Oh, spare me," she scoffed, knowing Ryo's genuine politeness wasn't meant to imply or tease.
Ryo changed the topic. "Is Code and Havoc still around?"
As he asked this, Code appeared from the dining area, holding a plate of well-prepared beef wellington with potato puree, glazed baby root vegetables, red wine demi-glace, served medium rare—just for Ryo.
Ryo's eyes sparkled, eagerly grabbing it, and thanking him for the meal as he ate it heartily without a moment's notice—or reserve for that matter.
"I know what you're gonna ask me. 'Why wasn't I able to sense them when they came?'" He popped out a cigarette. "Something along those lines, right?"
Ryo stopped eating, frantically gesturing to him that he shouldn't be doing that inside—though we technically were; he choked on his food.
Code merely raised a brow as Ryo gulped. Then, like his reaction never happened, Ryo began scarfing down his food unashamedly.
"I wondered that myself," Code went on, puffing smoke after he lit the bud. "Before we go on a jog every morning, I cast my pentagrams wide across this entire area. We jog about sixteen kilometers around the perimeter—just a few yards outside of my magic's range. Because of this, I leave one long blade behind and take the other with me. The blade left behind holds and stores my own mana and leaves a mana field behind in my place. In the event that we do get a guest—or in this case, an intruder, my blade should have let me know… theoretically. I could then link another pentagram adjacent to it and teleport back." He took another hit. "For some reason, there was no such alert, and we didn't know any of this was happening until Greed entered the field and rejected whatever was blocking my mana field. That was the only reason we knew to go back."
"So, you're saying something, or someone was blocking your mana field sensors?" Ryo asked with food in his mouth, food particle decorated on his cheek.
Code nodded, "Yes. Magic powerful enough to block out Havoc's heightened senses, so even he was unaware." He paused, and we began brainstorming. "Whoever hid the Nightbanes' presence either used a highly powerful magic item—which unlikely exists, or—if they were able to hide that many with their own power—their Sensory magic would have reached a god state…"
A side door flung open then, with Havoc coming through; his hands were in his pants pockets, walking in a squatted position—fresh out the lavatory.
When he met the four of us, he leaned on the bottom newel post on Belle's left, took his hands out of his pockets, and began picking on his nails. "The only one I sensed was a guy on a hill about five kilometers away…" He looked at me for a second and went on picking his nails as he said, "I thought it was the Cap at first, but when Code and I warped back to the Den, Cap was already inside defending the little squirt."
"Why'd you think it was me?" I asked curiously.
Havoc was silent for a moment. It was an awkward silence. "'Cause he had no mana, Cap."
When he said this, my heart dropped to my stomach. I liked to think I had a great poker face, but Belle sensed the change in my attitude immediately, and didn't say a word. She merely eyed me with a reserved, concerned look.
And as much as I wanted to voice the thought… I couldn't…
I had no idea why.
"Something up, Cap? You seem tense now…" Havoc said. I had forgotten for a second that aside from Belle, Havoc could effortlessly sense the change in my frequency, even without mana. He probably sensed it before Belle, too.
"Did you see who it was?" I asked him, trying to hide the shaking feeling I suddenly developed.
"No. I just knew he was there. And when I saw you in the Den, his presence was still atop that hill."
I said nothing. My mind had concluded who it might have been, but there was something that was holding me back from bringing it up.
Why the fuck can't I talk about it right now? The one on that hill… It had to be—
I began to get a small migraine.
Havoc watched me from his peripheral and didn't pry any further.
"In any case," Code interjected. I knew he had sensed it, too—Ryo as well. "Because we deduced that it wasn't Greed, it had to be someone similar. Thing is, if it really was this person who used this godlike Sensory magic, then why didn't he have mana?"
"Not sure. But it seems we have our culprit. Not only that, but the wide range Dragonscale magic cast on those Nightbanes was Drakthor's, but his ability doesn't allow him to share it with others. Was there another mage with wide range Copy magic? Or do we suspect that…" Ryo asked, lowering his empty plate, to which Code snapped his fingers, and a small bowl of warm, sticky date pudding with mascarpone ice cream and toffee sauce was placed into his hands.
Ryo's eyes sparkled as he took a bite, forgetting to finish his sentence.
"That it was the same guy?" Havoc finished for him. "Yeah, that's highkey likely."
"Highkey?" I asked.
He stared at me blandly like he didn't just speak brainrot.
I shook my head and went on, "He wasn't among the apprehended?"
"No. He wasn't on the battlefield at all. After you smashed Drakthor's face in four times, he disappeared."
I kept to myself. The topic ended abruptly.
"We're just going to have to note our findings and investigate that part of it later," Belle added. "In the meantime, we should heighten security; if someone like that is within the enemy's ranks, there's no telling when and where they will strike next… Also, they came here for Alice, so it would seem. This is the second time… no… technically the third time that some group has tried to abduct her for her magic ability. The first time was when she was with Drakthor's crew. The second time was with the fake Black Wolves—or rather, the Blue Phoenix Knights. And the third was Drakthor and the Nightbanes again." She lowered her head to think as she put her index and thumb on her chin. "I wonder what the connection is? Or if there even is one…"
When Belle had finished, I began thinking of what Drakthor said briefly to me during our fight, Greed, huh? My leader also has a sin's name. Are you his brother? The thought flooded my mind.
The one who helped Drakthor and the Nightbanes, and the one who led them… Are they the same person? Or are they two separate entities? No mana. Same presence. It had to be—
My thought couldn't complete. And the faces I thought of were blurred…
I had to figure out why I couldn't yet bring it up. Silent attention focused on me from the three of them; I sat with both my elbows propped on my knees, my hands and fingers crossed, hovering by my mouth, with a solemn expression about me.
Ryo broke the silence with a huge bite from what was left of his dessert. He gulped it down then said, "I hear JoAnne has come back from her prolonged mission?"
Code closed his eyes, snapping his fingers to free Ryo from his empty dessert bowl, replacing it with a glass of water and a napkin, to which Ryo continued his motions as if he knew that would happen. He took a sip from his glass and wiped his mouth.
Code nodded to his question.
"Where is she now?"
Havoc gave him another silent reply as he pointed with his thumb backward toward the dining area, where there was also a loft with couches; it faced an unlit fireplace with a furry rug in front of it.
There on the rug, Jo was curled with her thick green tail wrapped around her, sleeping peacefully. Alice was also there, sleeping on the couch near her. The two had gotten along fairly quickly upon Jo's arrival.
"I see. Well, we won't disturb her after her long trip back. You probably already know, but she was investigating and following a group of bandits we believed to be part of the same group that attacked today. Riot Gang, was it? Anyway, I'm sure Daz will call her into the office tomorrow. He comes back then," Ryo concluded. "By the way…" he added. "How did you two get here so fast? Last I heard, you were both at the Desert Kingdom?"
I looked at Belle, implying that she should explain that to him.
She cleared her throat and said, "Well, you can thank Alice for that."
Ryo and Code blinked in surprise. From what they knew, she couldn't use her ability to travel distances that exceeded twenty kilometers. And the Desert Kingdom was twice as far from here.
"We were definitely still in the Desert a few hours ago, but a door slammed open in my room, and on the other side was Alice's Pink Room. We waited for a bit, but no one walked through, so we let ourselves in. Once we did, we noticed a single door open that led directly back here at some random part of the Den." Belle went on, "Greed then ran off to save Alice, and I stayed in his quarters, waiting at the balcony in case they needed my assistance. It was nothing he and the other Black Wolves couldn't handle, though."
"It was her awakening," I said finally, my face expressionless.
Ryo looked back over to where Alice and Jo were sleeping, then said, "If she had an awakening, all the more reason for bandits like the Nightbanes or Riot Gang to come back for her. That's one of the farthest distances I've ever heard for any Alternate Space Creation or Domain type magic—that isn't a Communication type—to go. Don't let anyone else besides us know about this. For now, stay vigilant until we know more about this Riot Gang group."
We all nodded in agreement and adjourned our small meeting. Before Ryo left, Belle said to him, "Ryo, please remember to send in my request to Daz to fix the Black Wolves' home. Thank you in advance." She smiled cutely, and held a peace sign to him.
He smiled with his eyes closed and replied, "Of course, Captain Belle!"
He waved to us as he joined his crew, and the W.M.A. And just like that, they were off.
***
The members of the Black Wolves were as follows:
Captain: Asura – (not present)
Acting Captain: Greed – (present)
Vice Captain: Code – (present)
1st Executive: ??? – (not present)
2nd Executive: Raeyn – (present with Ophelia)
Member: Ophelia – (present with Raeyn)
Ace Member 1: JoAnne – (now present)
Ace Member 2: Nash – (present)
Member: Havoc – (present)
Member: Brand – (present)
Member: Star – (present)
Newest Member: Alice – (present)
Wolfdog: Yuna – (present)
And living with them was Arabella Housekeeping:
Maid 1: Kiki – (present, temporarily out of commission)
Maid 2: Milo – (present, temporarily out of commission)
Butler 1: Ulrich – (present, temporarily out of commission)
The time now was almost 1200. For the rest of the day, the Black Wolves finished up the chores and cleaned up the Den.
With Alice's awakening, they now had a total of three awakened members. Aside from her, the others were Code and Star. Code, who had awakened during his fight with Syemore, and Star during her fight with Henza. She just hadn't realized until after and had broken the lever in the engine room, filling it with bones.
Not even Asura had an awakening.
Though awakenings weren't impossible to achieve, they were extremely rare. The fact that the Black Wolves had three awakened members was something that could quickly gather unwanted attention.
And in Greed's eyes, less attention wasn't something they were blessed to have.
***
The day drew to a close.
In the distance, a male stood atop a grassy hill; the sky turned orange and the clouds became a vibrant purple and pink as its colors hummed over the ground.
He was wearing a tattered black cloak, black stirrup tights, and was barefoot on the grass, overlooking the Valley Kingdom.
"Little brother has grown quite strong… Thanks to Sloth's intel and the sacrifice of the Nightbanes… I've been able to gather some useful combat data… And big brother's forces were quite useful…" he said, pausing as if he were talking to someone unseen and unheard. "I know, I know… You said not to interfere until he is tested again, but I just had to see him for myself… Yes, I understand, I'll be back to—" Before he finished speaking, he sensed a man in a gray cloak standing yards behind him.
He turned to see him, revealing his long gray hair and maroon eyes to the man who suddenly appeared.
The other man had medium-length brunette hair, and his eyes glowed a hazy gray against the shadows of his hood; the evening light cast upon them one final time before exiting behind the distant mountains.
He spoke to the gray haired male, "You won't be coming back here if you know what's good for you… Envy."
Envy closed his eyes and shrugged. "Apologies, my Lord… I'm afraid I have company…" he said to no one in particular, then replied to the brunette male, "Well, if it isn't the Arcane King of the Valley Kingdom—Daz… I see you had your hands full with Wrath?"
Daz simply closed his eyes and lowered his head. The shadows over them were melancholy, and his body remained facing Envy.
The breeze blew from the West, completely calm as he responded, "I have my hands full with all you Sins, so quite frankly, I'm not in the best of moods…" Lifting his head for Envy to see, Daz held a serene smile that had the power to strike fear in even a Sin's eyes. "So how about a trade? You leave the Valley peacefully, and I won't have to obliterate you to near death… Or would you rather I take you to see your sibling in Tartarus with only your head and nothing else? That'll make for good catching up, wouldn't you say?"
Envy laughed hysterically and just as quickly shut his mouth to glower at Daz. "You're a frightening man, even for a Sin like myself. Fine… I'll leave…" He began walking, even daring to gait near Daz as he passed by.
And when he got far enough behind him, Daz said, lastly, "Before you go"—Envy stopped in place; their backs were facing each other now—"there's one last thing…"