"No one said we would be fighting a mythical creature!" Helios shouted, his neck straining as he stared up at the massive phoenix circling above.
Riku looked at him with a flat, sympathetic expression. "What do you mean by 'we,' Leader? You mean yourself."
"I never agreed to fight a phoenix the size of several mountain ranges!" Helios cried out, his voice cracking with disbelief.
While the chaos unfolded on the peaks, the scene shifted deep into the heart of the Blackthorn Organization. Nova descended the stone stairs, the heavy fabric of his uniform rustling. His face was obscured by a cold, porcelain fox mask. He stopped in front of a heavy iron cell and looked at the man chained inside, who was battered and soaked in blood.
"Hello. Are you ready to talk now?" Nova asked, his voice echoing in the damp corridor.
"You fox-masked demon!" the prisoner spat, glaring at Nova with pure, unadulterated hatred. "May you burn in hell for eternity!"
Nova stepped forward, the hinges of the cell gate groaning as he opened it. "I would have taken your eyes already if I knew you were going to stare at me like that," he said coldly. "I don't have all day. I have more important things to do."
He dragged a chair backwards, the legs screeching against the floor, and sat down, leaning forward to stare the man down.
"Why don't you take off your mask so we can talk face to face? Then, I'll tell you everything," the man hissed through gritted teeth.
"I've never removed my summon in front of anyone who wasn't my sister," Nova replied. Slowly, he reached up and pulled the mask away.
From the back, Nova appeared still and imposing. The prisoner's eyes widened, his face twisting into a mask of horror and spite. "I will burn that face into my mind... I will never let this grudge go, even after I die!"
The man suddenly bit down hard on his own tongue. Nova watched, his own expression hidden in the deep shadows of the cell.
"Oh. One of the failures," Nova sighed, sliding the fox mask back into place. "Why do they always choose to die? It just makes my work harder."
"Nova, I'm coming down," a voice called out.
Rio floated down the stairs, lounging atop his pillow summon. Nova looked back, his gaze turning icy as he saw the white fabric covering Rio's eyes.
"Why are you wearing a blindfold, Rio?"
"I really don't like coming down here and seeing the horrible things you do," Rio said softly, his voice tinged with sadness. "I still can't believe you're the same person sometimes."
High above, the wind howled across the snow-capped mountain peaks.
"We're actually fighting that thing?" one of the Blackthorn members asked, his voice trembling so hard he could barely stand.
"It's even larger than the Morpeth that almost wiped out a whole Seeker team!" another added, backing away from the cliff edge.
"I'm sure the higher-ups are going to handle it... right? We can't fight that."
Helios turned to his team, clutching his head dramatically. "What do you guys mean by 'I'm' fighting that thing on my own? Do you think I've lived too long? Are you trying to steal my spot as Leader?"
Ray stepped forward, unfazed, pulling out eleven sheets of rune paper. "This is just to show the organization that they have a strong leader," he said calmly. "Plus, I have to manage the runes that prevent normal people from seeing the Morpeth and your fight."
The snow crunched under Ray's boots as he walked away, handing ten researchers the rune papers. "Positions!" he commanded. They activated the runes in unison, a shimmering barrier erupting to cover the entire mountain range.
The Morpeth phoenix sensed the trap. It let out a high-pitched, piercing scream that shattered the silence and sent tremors through the snow. A thick mist began to rise as the massive bird descended, landing heavily on the ground.
"Well, Leader? You're going down there," Sara said, peering over the cliff.
"Why aren't you two coming with me?" Helios pleaded, looking between Sara and Riku.
"I'm just here for support to heal the seriously injured," Sara said with a shrug.
"I'm injured," Riku said instantly. Without blinking, he stabbed himself in the shoulder with his own shadow sword.
"Fine! But if I die, I'm going to hunt all of you as a ghost!" Helios yelled before sliding down the steep cliff toward the monster.
Sara glanced at Riku. "You have something on your shoulder, genius."
"No shit," Riku grumbled. He dismissed his sword and bracelet, and blood immediately began to soak through his clothes. "Are you going to heal me, or just watch me die?"
Sara sighed and summoned her pocket watch. She pressed the crown, and the space around Riku seemed to blur and reverse. The wound closed, the blood vanished, and his clothes were made whole again.
Down on the plain, the lower-ranking members watched in awe.
"Is the Leader really going near that thing?"
"Where? I can't even see him!"
"There! He looks like an ant in front of that Morpeth!"
As Helios approached, a memory of a lesson with Ray surfaced in his mind. 'Some mystical creatures are inspired by people who have seen a Morpeth,' Ray had told him. 'They tell stories, but no one believes them. That's why we use runes—to keep the existence of the Veil World a secret.'
Helios snapped back to the present, glaring at the mountain-sized bird. Then why the hell is it this big? I thought they were supposed to be bird-sized! Which blind bastard wrote those books? Fight me! Helios roared, his voice echoing off the peaks.
The phoenix shifted its gaze to the tiny human. It opened its cavernous beak, and a glowing sphere of orange light began to form.
"Is that... a fireball?" Helios whispered, looking up in horror.
The phoenix released the attack. A massive torrent of fire engulfed the area, turning the white landscape into a hellish orange glow.
"Is the Leader okay?" a member cried out, shielding their eyes from the blinding light.
"That fire... it's melting the snow instantly! I can feel the heat even from all the way back here!" another shouted, collapsing to his knees in terror. "He's going to die... there's no way he survives that!"
The inferno raged on, showing no signs of stopping.