Chapter 16: The Second Move.
Play all you want, but in the end, I'll win
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji
In an abandoned building, the Ferris meeting place.
Adrian looked at the white queen piece on the table, his face remaining emotionless behind the mask.
"Hm." He walked to the table, lifting the piece from the envelop.
He tore it and pulled a letter from it.
[My move.
My reply to your previous letter – you aren't meant to disappointment me.
I've made mine, now make yours – Dear Light that shines for the oppressed]
Adrian burned the letter, looking at the chess piece in his hand.
He'd already predicted this would happen, but not this soon.
"Hm." The corners of his lips raise slightly, he was genuinely impresses by Ino Kojou's move.
He replaced the queen with a pawn and left a letter.
_ _ _
The ink on the ledger didn't match.
Lira noticed it before she noticed anything else.
Same handwriting.
But the pressure of the strokes was inconsistent in three separate entries across Cascyn's south dock records.
That meant the records were rewritten.
She folded the files slowly.
Above her, the rented room was quiet.
Aryan sat where he always sat quietly, staring at his excel.
Adrian wasn't present.
That alone meant work had already started elsewhere.
Lira stood.
"I'm going back to the docks."
Aryan didn't react immediately.
"Do you need help with something?" He asked, raising his head to look at her.
"Not exactly." She shook her head.
"I hate to impose," Aryan paused. "but you are like family to me."
"It always seems as though you and him are hiding something from me." She said, eyes raised.
"You just never seemed ready to know it. I'd rather you reach that understanding yourself." He said.
"How was I able to walk through the door when only you were able to?" She asked.
"I thought Eloise told you already? You are immune to his magic." He rose, walking to sit by her.
"Aryan." She said, noting how evasive he was trying to be.
"We both share the same origin. Not in blood. It would be wrong to call us ordinary. We are fragments of a fragment. That is why we can't affect each other in certain ways. His magic can't you and I. My transmutations can't… and I don't think you have unlocked your unique power just yet."
Lira paused, trying to make sense of what he said.
"Nevermind." She shook her head, then with a smile turned to him. "I saw my name in different 6 records."
"Huh?" Aryan turned.
_ _ _
6 people stood outside a warehouse.
"This is the place." Lira said.
Aryan nodded, his men spreading to his side.
"We are going as silently as we can. Chi, Sakura, Min-soon take the left, Jin-Sun right." He gave commands to his subordinates as he took steady steps forward.
_Thud_
The door burst open.
All the workers turned to face Aryan.
"Hello, can you point me to the library?" He asked.
A minute later.
Aryan dusted his hands, sighing at the unconscious guards and terrified workers.
"Are with him?" Her voice came before he saw her.
Her heels descending the stair cases.
"I'm just looking for information on someone." He replied.
"So you just lured me out?" Xue stood before him.
"I knew we wouldn't get satisfactory information by doing what we did the last time. Besides, he has enough for us to just dismantle you." Aryan said.
"You must be Aryan Yujiro of Rougeria." Xue said after a short pause. "You must have been responsible for the disappearance of Raj Ajay and his team?"
"My name precedes me." A black gauntlet formed around his hands as he entered a battle stance.
Xue licked her lips, the red circles in her eyes becoming more apparent.
_Boom_
Fist and claw met,
_ _ _
He phased into the rented apartment –
To meet only emptiness.
"Where are they?" He murmured, looking out the window.
"Seems, I might have to round things up quicker than I expected." He sighed.
_Swoosh_
A world door opened before him.
"Shadow, I'll need your help." He said as he stepped out.
"What is it this time?" He asked.
"A search." Adrian said.
"On who?" Juran asked again.
"A man named Ino Kojou."
A pause.
Juran squinted his eyes.
"Have you gotten involved with the Hidden Eye?" He asked.
"You know of them."
"I was one of them, just that I served Havoc Halstrom of Westeria."
"Interesting." Adrian nodded, realizing The Hidden Eye was more powerful than he thought.
_ _ _
The building had been destroyed.
Xue stood on the other side of the battle field, bloodied.
Aryan on the other hand, so calm, hands behind his back.
"You know," Xue began. "It's weird how the supposed dead son is the one standing before me today. Where is Rex?" She asked.
"He's someone you wouldn't want to meet." He placed a foot forward, a foreign glint in his eyes as the air tensed.
"Oh so that is it." Xue smiled, realization hitting her.
_Boom_
He pressed her neck against the wall, held up by a platform of meat.
"Who is Lira to the Hidden Eye?"
Xue's eyes widened in surprise, the red circles losing their glow and her claws receding back into her skin.
"I thought that girl died?" She whispered.
"Are you telling me or not?" Aryan stressed, his grip tightening around her neck.
"I don't think so." She stared into his eyes.
"Hmm." He nodded, veins appearing on his fist as something passed through, moving from Xue's body to his.
"Argh!" She screamed from both the pain and realization of what was happening to her.
_Thud_
He threw her powerless body to the ground, staring at the red power pulsating through his veins, then –
He clenched his fists.
"Aryan." They returned.
"What did you get?" He turned to face them with a smile.
"I found more files with my name, this time they had names like Adeus and Kuiji Illius as their authorisers." Lira said.
"Ok." Aryan nodded. "Let's return before more arrive."