Difference between revisions of "Dantega:Volume 2 Chapter 8"

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"Eh... Don't you think this looks a little ridiculous?" Ash asked, her face sunk with a dejected glare.
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Out of the dust cloud shoots Belphegor at immense speed, he is flying forward with his hand surrounded by a blue light pointing at Rage.
  
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She is wearing an extremely frilly pink dress with ribbons all over.
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Standing next to her in one of the dressing rooms is a tall girl with lime green hair who's name is Elise, she has stars in her eyes and her face is sparkling bright red.
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"Ahhhhnn~ you look so cute!! How can you say this doesn't look good on you!?"
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Ash smiles and with a vein on her forehead she politely answers, "Because it doesn't..."
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Elise shows a pouting expression and replies, "Boooo, fine I'll get you a different dress. But I do think that looks good on you."
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"I'm not trying to impress a ten year old girl! I'm trying to make an older guy look at me, and if he saw me the first thing he'd do is laugh and say how childish I look!"
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"I'm telling you that looking older will be much worse! Being young is the best part of life so you must show it off if you want to win him over!"
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Ash sighs when she realizes that nothing she can do will break the determination of how Elise wants her to look; if she had any idea how to dress herself in such a way she would've ditched the dawdling tall woman long ago.
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"Fine... Let's just make this next one a little more classy."
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Elise solutes her and says, "Leave it to me!"
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She dashes out of the dress room and heads back into the aisles.
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Ash takes the dress off and sits on a bench that rests in the ten by ten sized dressing room, she glares at herself in the mirror and a saddened expression surfaces on her face.
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"What am I doing? It's not like this is actually going to work..."
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Thinking about how enthusiastic this random girl Elise is, she can't help but feel grateful for her help, but at the same time feel that there is no need for Elise to put so much effort into a lost cause. After all, Zurvick is much older. And not only that, he has Queen LeLaine for a wife; the chances of her winning him over are slim to none.
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Ash leans her back against the wall for a moment until her determination comes back. "So what if he's married to the Queen, I'll be damned if I don't try to do something!"
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---------------------------
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Elise is rushing through the aisles to find the right dress for Ash; it's almost as if she is in an entranced state as she scopes out the best of the best.
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In the aisle that Elise is currently in, a girl with long black hair that parts at her shoulders and bright blue eyes is shopping as well.
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She is Rain Von Ronheim, the leading Battle Strategist for Eiyalazo.
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Of course Elise, being the type of person she is immediately picked out an outfit for Rain and hands it to her without even gathering a second look at either Rain or the dress.
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"This one." she said as if her mind is occupied with something else.
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Rain doesn't really care about her opinion but she decides to take a look anyway. It is a sky blue dress with black linings over the buttons and ribbons; there are slight and simple designs etched in dark blue throughout and it even matches the top hat and umbrella that goes along with it.
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Rain is actually not too picky when it comes to things like this, she doesn't want to get a dress too extravagant to avoid standing out more than necessary, and she doesn't want a gaudy one for the exact same reason. Her job is to blend into the crowd, this outfit is perfect for such an occasion. It's just the right color to where she can look like someone with a lot of class, and with her personality make it seem as natural as it already is.
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She takes it and begins to walk toward the dressing room, but before she gets there she turns to Elise and simply says, "Thank you."
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Rain gets to the dressing rooms, there are three of them and they are all connected to where they share the same roofs with a gap in the top wall.
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Rain begins to change when she hears the sound of thumping being heard on the wall next to her, that banging noise is accompanied by a girl's voice.
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"Ahhh who am I kidding!? There's no way this is gonna work!"
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This voice belongs to Ash, who is despairing over her current situation, she is banging her head against the wall in frustration at this very moment.
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Rain, who is in the room adjacent to Ash is becoming very annoyed, she knocks on the wall and says, "Can you please be quiet? The noise is giving me a headache."
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The banging stops and Ash jumps to her feet. "Sorry sorry! I didn't know anyone was in there!"
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Hearing her loud voice, Rain wants to end the conversation quickly so she can try her outfit on and get out.
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"Don't worry about, now you know."
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"O-Okay... Sorry again."
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"....."
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Rain doesn't respond so she can get the other person to stop talking, and after a few moments she's pleased to find that it worked.
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She readies to change until she hears the loud sound of the adjacent door opening quickly and slamming shut ringing through her ears.
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The loud voice of Elise is heard yelling, "This is the one! It's perfect it's perfect it's perfect!"
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Then, Ash's voice is heard, "Waaaaaa!? That one!? It shows way too much skin below my shoulders!"
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"No it doesn't! This has just the right amount of mature sex appeal and shows just the right amount of your cute young body! Aaaaahhn~ I'm so proud of myself!"
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Thuds and thumps are heard throughout the dressing rooms, it's as though a bear attacking something is taking place just a few feet away.
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Rain sighs and says to herself, "Forget it, I'll just buy this one and get out of here."
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Without trying it on, Rain leaves the dressing room and begins to walk to the cashier to purchase it.
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-------------------------
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Zurvick is staring down on a little girl who is holding a flask out in a motion signifying that she wants to give it to him.
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He raises his eyebrow as when he asks, "May I ask what you are doing?"
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The little girl smiles and answers, "I'm paying you back for what you have lost."
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"Uggh that came out wrong, what I was to trying to ask is why you do you have a flask full of alcohol in your possession!?"
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She glares at him and asks, "Doesn't everybody have one of these things nowadays?"
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"Not at your age they don't!!! What's your name?"
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She smiles and tilts her head and cutely says, "Ebihara Seiri."
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"Okay then miss Ebihara, where might your parents be?"
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The smile leaves her face and she starts to tear up and sniffle her nose in an adorable way. It is obvious that this is a bad attempt at acting when she says, "M-My parents died when I was little, me and Haas here escaped from the orphanage that mistreated us."
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Zurvick's face drops, he completely fell for it.
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"Ooaahh!!?"
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Seiri sobs and continues, "The only thing my dad ever taught me when he was alive was to always repay someone if you have wronged them. The only thing I have to offer is this flask, if you don't take it, I'd be letting my dead father down."
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Zurvick writhes in horror at what he feels to be the ultimate form of disrespect on his part by not accepting her payment.
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He also starts to tear up when he grabs her little shoulders and shouts, "I'm sorry! I had no idea how tragic you and your friend's life is! Please allow me to take your flask!!!"
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Zurvick takes it and once again apologizes, he leaves the two and heads to his original destination, the cashier's desk to talk to the old lady he knew from his childhood.
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Seiri watches him walk away with a big smile on her face, after waving him goodbye she turns to Haas and that smile turns cocky. "So what did you think of my superior acting skills? The Ebihara family have a long lineage of famous actors and actresses throughout time, naturally, I inherited those talents."
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To Haas, who was trained to not speak nor show emotion, is actually quite annoyed at how this situation had turned out. The whole point of their presence in this town is to be discrete until the battle starts; of course he feels like he had made a mistake possible of jeopardizing the mission by bumping into the man and causing a scene in the first place. But Seiri butting in and pulling off the whole acting thing for no reason whatsoever is far worse.
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So his answer to her question is as simple as can be.
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"...Pointless..."
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-------------------------
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Zurvick arrives at the cashiers desk and sees the familiar old lady working the counter.
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"Granny!"
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The white haired old lady stares up at him and tilts her head, with a confused glare she coldly asks, "Who the hell are you?"
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Zurvick jolts in shock.
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"Whuaa!?"
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The two stare at each other for a few seconds but the silence is broken by the old lady's laugh. "Hahaha, I'm just kidding you little twerp. How can I forget that face of yours? But now I can't call you little anymore can I now?"
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He sighs in relief and says, "That's right, I'm much bigger now."
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"Yeah much bigger, you're the damn King now. How about that? Who would've thought that you, my little servant would become such a man."
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"Uhh, is that a compliment?"
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"That's about as much of a compliment I've ever given you right? So that means it is, I'm happy for you."
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Zurvick smiles wholeheartedly and says, "Thanks Granny!"
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The old lady lifts her index finger and smiles menacingly, "I don't mean to break up the nostalgic mood, but I have a favor to ask."
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"Uh oh."
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"That's right, why don't you make yourself useful and help me move some boxes to the upper cabinet."
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"Uhhh..."
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"Come on twerp, do it for old time's sake. Besides, I'm not as young as I used to be, those boxes are too heavy for my aging bones."
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Zurvick can't help but oblige; this is the kind of guy he is, he won't ever turn his back on people in need matter how much power he acquires.
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"Fine fine."
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He walks behind the counter and the old lady shows him what boxes to grab, he does so and lifts himself up the three stepped stool to put them in the cabinet that rests above the counter.
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As soon as he does this, the old lady's voice is heard, but she is not addressing Zurvick.
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"I hope you found everything okay."
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The person on the costumer end of the counter is Dice Di'vore, he is holding a gray suite with red lining, numerous buttons run down the middle but the suit gives off the impression that it would look better if it was worn as is. He also has a silk red scarf as an accessory.
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"I think I did." Dice replies with a polite smile.
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The old lady looks at the price tag and tells him what he needs to pay before saying, "You made a smart choice on this suit."
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Dice pays her the money and says his thanks, he feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to find Rain standing there with a dress in her hand.
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"Oh, so this is what you decided to get?" he asks.
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Rain walks past him and to the counter, "I guess you can say that..."
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She pays the old lady and watches her put it into a large paper bag. Just to the side of the working old lady is a man on a stool working on something up in the top cabinet who's face cannot be seen because his head is to the roof and the cabinet is blocking their view. He lets off a groan and a few items fall to the floor.
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"Ohh sorry about that! It's just that this box is a little heavy." Zurvick said with strain in his voice.
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The old lady's gentle smile turns into a bitter one. "Get your act together you little brat."
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Dice looks a little worried when he asks, "Does he need any help?"
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The old lady turns to him and waves her hand from side to side. "No no he's fine, it would be an insult to have a precious costumer help a useless employee."
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"Oh..."
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The struggling Zurvick becomes frustrated at her words, "It would only be an insult if I was actually an employee!"
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"SHUT YOUR TRAP YOU TWERP!"
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The old lady punches his leg and he almost falls off the stool.
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Rain sighs and her agitation level continues to rise, to her, this whole shop has been bugging her since the moment she walked through the door. Her experience here was definitely a bad one.
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She starts walking toward the exit and says, "Let's go."
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Dice doesn't know what to do, he really wants to help the poor guy, but when Rain tells him to do something, he can't say no. He politely waves to the old lady and gives Zurvick's legs a pitiful look, he follows Rain out of the door and into the town.
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Zurvick gets done with putting the boxes in the cabinet and comes off the stool, he glares at the old lady with a bitter look on his face.
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The old lady shrugs her shoulders and says, "Don't give me that look, if anything I should be the one who's angry. You're lack of work ethic embarrassed me in front of the costumers."
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"Huh? How does that work!?"
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Before the old lady can answer, a flustered Ash walks up to the counter.
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"I-I'd like to purchase this please."
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The old lady's eyes light up and she says her usual statement, "You made a smart choice on this dress."
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Zurvick scopes out Ash's dress and smiles. "This is really nice! Oh wait, I still gotta get my suit!"
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Not giving Ash anytime to soak the compliment in, he rushes off back into the aisles to finish his shopping.
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"That boy... He hasn't changed at all since he was a little child." the old lady says with a proud smile.
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Ash hands her the money. "I can only imagine what that idiot was like as a kid, it's amazing that anyone could handle him."
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"Hehe that was my job. Back then he always used to sneak out of the Archbishop's estate to find an odd job to do."
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Ash tilts her head and asks, "Job?"
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"That's right, being born into a royal family he never had to worry about a hard day's work. But he would go to every shop in the city and ask for any kind of work they could offer, and one of them was this shop."
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Ash turns and stares at him rushing to find the right outfit. "Wow... He really is that kind of guy huh? That behavior of his would explain why he joined the lowest ranks of the military. I guess he just likes work."
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The old lady folds the dress and puts it into a large bag. "That's not it. He acts this way because he wants to be close to people, no matter what rank or social status they have, everyone is the same to him. I once asked him why he wanted to work when he didn't have to, and he simply replied, 'Because that's what people do.'... He is some kind of man."
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The old lady's expression turns from serious and honest to one of a fantasizing manner.
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"If only I was younger, the things I'd do to him would be----"
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"Waaaaaa! How the the conversation mold into that!? You shouldn't mess up the mood and talk about perverted things!" Ash interrupts as her imagination starts racing.
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The old lady chuckles, "Oh why not? I miss the good old days where my friends and I used to dote over such things."
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Ash takes a deep breath and puffs her chest out. "W-Well I can't, as his Captain there's no way I can speak of such things."
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The old lady wryly smiles, "Even though won't talk about it, you certainly are thinking about it right?"
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"Ehhh?"
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"A young girl's feelings are always noticeable to the eyes of a seasoned woman."
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Ash gets extremely flustered and shifts her eyes to the ground, the old lady finds her actions to be adorable and it reminds her of how she used to be years in the past. Not trying to poke fun at her or anything, the old lady begins to sympathize with Ash's situation.
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"It's a shame... You really are apart of a fairy tale like story of the average girl and a man of royalty. You know, the stories about the forbidden love of two classes of people. Unfortunately it's just a little too late, that boy, once his mind his set, he never wavers. The Queen is his woman and that is that."
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Hearing the old lady's more than true words make her heart waver for a moment, she reveals a troubled smile and says, "I know... But the chances of me even being around him are once in a lifetime, so I won't give up quite yet."
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She turns away and walks toward Zurvick, who is taking his sweet time and making her impatient. "Hey you idiot! Hurry the hell up!!"
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Having not been yelled at and ordered around by Ash in quite some time, he turns and salutes.
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"My apologies Captain!"
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This makes Ash even more angry when she shouts, "I told you not to call me that!"
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The old lady smiles and watches the scene from the cashier's booth, thinking about their situation makes her talk quietly to herself, "That girl... She doesn't even think of the consequences of her actions. If she were to actually win the King over, I can only imagine what the Queen would do. It'd most certainly be bad for Troy."
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The old lady turns and begins sorting out the rest of the boxes that sit against the wall, she chuckles and finishes, "Hehehe, she's just like me when I was younger."
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Little does the old lady, Ash, and Zurvick know, a powder keg of disaster has just narrowly been avoided.
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Two people who want them dead at all costs were mere inches away from them.
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This also applies to Rain and Dice as well, three members of the most dangerous group in all the world were shopping in the same store; if any kind of information on who they are was leaked, the high chances that they would be killed is through the roof.
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La'Juune, Eiyalazo, and Troy.
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Three different Kingdoms that have been at an on and off war since their founding, had all been represented in this one little shop called 'ROYAL WEAR'.
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------------------------------
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The sun has almost set and the orange glare of the horizon makes the city of Tronoble look almost surreal. This view is seen perfectly from the large window on the top floor suite of a luxurious hotel. Noah is staring out this window and at the large snow capped mountains that are shining elegantly in the sunlight.
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He adjusts his tie and puts on a white overcoat when he says, "Are all the preparations complete Jeffery?"
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Jeffrey is sitting on a dining chair that sits by the dining table. "Yeah, I've gotten word from everyone that their positions are set. Though a few of our objectives were changed around because the presence of the King of Troy. It looks like we have hit a large spot of unusual luck."
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Noah turns around and says, "Good... Luck always favors the victors, but we can't let this opportunity change our outlook on how difficult the mission is. This is going to be a rough night."
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Jeffery chuckles a little bit and straightens up his intricately designed black suit. "No kidding, at least we're going to look damn good doing it."
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Noah straightens up his white overcoat as well and replies, "Well that is a bright side... Seiri, Haas, and Elise did a good job at picking out some good outfits for the Ball tonight."
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"Who would've thought that those three oddballs could pull off something that doesn't involve fighting. Though Elise likes to think of herself as somewhat of a clothing connoisseur."
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Noah slightly laughs at how things have worked out in this way, he walks for the door and says, "Everyone is in everyone after all."
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Jeffrey follows and responds, "That is certainly true, if that wasn't the case there'd be no way the ten of us could work together effectively."
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Noah opens the door and enters the hallway. "That truth will give us an upstanding victory
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tonight. They will do their jobs around the city, and we will do our jobs in the Ballroom."
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--------------------------
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The Ballroom is located in a massive castle that literally sits in the middle of Tronoble, this castle was once the house of a King and Queen that ruled over what used to be a city-state. In Troy's past, the southern half of the country was separated into many city-states; each one of these had their own rulers. Though most of them were considered warlords, the largest ones were so powerful that they were more like a country, so naturally they had their own Kings and Queens.
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These city-states were soon taken over and dissembled by the north when they began joining together and threatening a revolution.
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Some of the castles owned by the old rulers of the land still remain and this one in particular is over seven hundred years old.
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This Ballroom is four sided and 200 feet wide and 150 feet across, smooth marble floors lay below the feet and more than a dozen crystal chandeliers rest above the head. Many tables covered in fine linen have many different kinds of food on them, and they are constantly being restocked by caterers and waiters.
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There is a platform on the north end of the room that has an orchestra playing smooth classical music, giving the atmosphere of the place an even more classy feel.
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As of now there are a few dozen people apart of the Ball socializing around the tables and on the dance floor, the Ball doesn't start until eight o'clock so there is still a few minutes until the the people in line outside of the front gate of the manor will be allowed in.
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Sitting on the main table of the room is Zurvick and the awkward feeling Ash, she feels dreadfully uncomfortable in her frilly dress that is covered in ribbons and shows a lot of skin from her chest up.
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Zurvick, in his basic black suit looks at her and says, "Don't be so on edge, it's not as bad as you think."
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"Maybe not for you, but for me this is beyond awful. I hate dresses and I hate these kind of parties."
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He nudges her shoulder and jokingly says, "Quite the socially awkward girl you are. You'll never get a boyfriend like that you know?"
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Ash frowns and stomps on his foot under the table. "Of course I'd be like that when I'm sitting next to the center of attention! And what makes you think that I want a useless boyfriend!?"
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Zurvick cringes at the pain in his foot, he is about to say something back when the sound of horns are heard signifying the beginning of the Ball and people begin to head in.
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"Just be yourself Ash, you'll be okay." he says as he stands up, he holds his arm out and asks, "Shall we?"
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Ash takes a deep breath and exhales out of her nose, she grabs his arm and replies, "Fine."
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--------------------------
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Rain and Dice are in line at the gate, about a dozen people stand in front of them and the meeting with four Trojan soldier/security guards is coming soon. The two show no signs of nervousness, instead the aura of confidence is felt as they walk toward the guards with their heads held high.
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They reach the guards and hand them the tickets, the guards look at them suspiciously because there have already been a few people caught for fraudulent tickets, but they are hesitant to say anything when Rain and Dice don't even bother to greet them.
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The reason for them being so cold is because it shows that they are so confident in their class that they feel that there is no need to speak to the lowly guards. The people who were caught earlier were unusually kind to them so it blew their cover.
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Wary of looking foolish and being punished, the security guards let them through and the two royals from Eiyalazo enter the manor were the King of Troy is present.
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"That was simple." Dice says.
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Rain puts her hand onto his arm to make them look like a couple and replies, "I was expecting it to be."
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The two walk up a columned stairway that leads to the two large double doors, two doormen open it and lead them in.
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Once in the castle, there are a few workers of the manor standing at a table that is covered in masks.
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One of the women workers bows and says, "For the guests only. The first couple hours of the Ball is set as a masquerade theme, please choose a mask from our selection that is to your liking."
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Rain and Dice look at each other and then to the masks. Dice picks a white mask that only covers his eyes and Rain picks one that matches her light blue dress. The workers say their thanks and the two walk down the hallway that leads to the Ballroom.
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Dice chuckles a little and says, "A masquerade party... Oh how the stars have aligned for us, this couldn't have worked out any better."
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Rain agrees, "I guess you can call it some kind of divine intervention, having masks on will make things much easier to escape when we kill the King." She adjusts the mask a little to the left to fit her face and adds, "And it's not just that, this will make it even easier to spot the King since he's not wearing a mask, it's quite convenient that only the guests have to wear them. The star of the show is the King, so it's only natural that he'd be the only one that needs to be seen."
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Dice smiles at her words and the two walk into the Ballroom, close to a 150 people are already here and more will show up in a short time.
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"The time for your revenge is coming up very shortly."
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Her lips rise slightly at the thought of fulfilling her vengeance.
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"I can't wait."
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------------------------------
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Ebihara Seiri is standing on the rooftop of the Ballroom; next to her is Haas, the two are dressed in black and standing in silence.
   
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"I just want my light show to start already." said Seiri impatiently while tapping her heel on the roof.
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Rage lifts his scythe and Belphegor's hand slams into the handle of it, Rage thinks that he has stopped the full brunt of the force but he still finds himself blown backwards past his onlooking comrades and he crashes violently into one of the houses carved into a rock.
  
   
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Haas looks at his wristwatch and says, "... One hour..."
−
"Graaaahh!"
  
   
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Seiri pouts and sits, she looks into a duffle bag that is full of flasks, she takes one out and begins to toss it up and down. "It's a shame that I had to give one of these babies to that guy, but the one I gave him wasn't much good anyhow. The one's with me are the true stars of the show."
−
He winces and as soon as he opens his eyes he sees the light of Belphegor's hand just inches in front of his face, Rage ducks to the side and narrowly avoids a strike that demolishes the solid rock house directly behind him. Swinging his blade upward it nips a few strands of Belphegor's messy hair causing him to back away. Belphegor takes a deep breath and his cheeks become quite large, once at its maximum air capacity, he lets out a blast that matches the color of his eyes.
  
   
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Haas ignores her for a few moments and then looks at his watch once more, he has a duffle bag himself and pulls out a large roll of string.
−
Rage lifts his scythe and raises his black cloud from the ground to shield himself, only to have it blown away when both forces seem to negate themselves. Once visibility was capable, Belphegor is once again inside Rage's guard. He uppercuts his blue light covered hand into Rage's gut, causing Rage to cough out blood and literally fly hundreds of yards away.
  
   
  +
He turns to her and says, "... Time... To begin... Set up..."
−
The blue light surrounding certain extremities of Belphegor's body fades and it now seems that he is relaxed when he yawns and stretches out his arms.
  
   
−
With a loud sigh he says, "Huuaaaaahh man.... This kind of thing is such a bother."
 +
Seiri jumps up and smiles, "Hooray! This is going to be so much fun!"
   
  +
Haas takes the string and starts walking along the edge of the roof, leaving a trail of string behind.
−
To the left of him is a large piece of broken building that in his eyes actually looks comfortable, so he takes a seat and glares at the onlooking humans.
  
   
  +
"...Let's go..."
−
Cyrus and Sora guard the group with their swords out, Belphegor finds this amusing and he laughs, "Do you guys actually think you'd be able to do anything to me?" He stands and takes a couple steps toward them and says, "Don't you find pointless effort to be tiresome? It would be much easier if you'd just sleep."
  
   
  +
Seiri merrily skips along the edge of the five story building and cheerfully says, "Right!"
−
Once again, he is using that same twisted logic to try to convince them into giving in, allowing him to collect their souls. Of course, just by saying this the chances are that most people wouldn't take him seriously, but it truly is just like the hypnotizing tactic that Sora had thought. His words can send a person with the slightest thought of taking the easy way out into a trance, and they end up agreeing wholeheartedly until they reach a death similar to the people in the destroyed town hall.
  
   
−
Out of all the royals, one is locked in this trance, and it is none other than one most weary of this entire ordeal, Xavier. "Yeah it would be..." he says as he walks to Belphegor.
  
   
−
"What are you doing?" asks Luke with a face full of concern.
  
   
  +
------------------------
−
His words fall on deaf ears as Xavier keeps moving forward.
  
   
−
"Grab him!" Phoenix shouts.
  
   
−
And Luke jumps to the act and attempts to do so, but Xavier seems to weigh a ton and he is doing no good in stopping him.
  
   
  +
Ash is walking alone in the middle of a few hundred people all dressed up and talking; she has a red mask on that is hiding her current frustration.
−
Belphegor laughs as he hold out his hand and gestures his index finger like one would if they were asking someone to come, this motion seems like it has an affect on the young prince like a hooked fish on a fishing pole.
  
   
  +
(Damn that idiot, as soon as he takes a few drinks out of the flask that some random girl gave him he runs off and leaves me alone! Now I can't find the bastard!)
−
"Very good, I can give you peace at mind, I can free you from all of this boorish effort, just unload that weight onto my shoulders kid."
  
   
  +
The ball has been going on for well over thirty minutes and she hasn't been with Zurvick for the majority of it. Rubbing shoulders with people and dodging bodies becomes more of a hassle with each passing person, she gets extremely frustrated and starts to power through people, and that's when runs into something very sturdy.
−
Looking closely, one can see that Xavier is starting to dry out and shrivel, if in this state much longer, he will surely die. Both Luke, Phoenix and Cyrus are holding him with all of their might but to no avail.
  
   
  +
THUNK!
−
Sora knows that she must do something immediately so she decides on a daring move. She rushes Belphegor and swings both of her blades toward his neck, he lets it get so close that he can feel the wind hit him and as soon as it does he smiles. Sora is blown back viciously and she lands in a pile of rubble that causes a large plume of dust to rise.
  
   
  +
"Ooowahh!?" Ash yelps as she falls backwards, before she falls the feeling of hands on her shoulders lift her back to her feet. She looks up and sees the man she had just carelessly ran into holding her upward.
−
Aria, who is still in shock tries her damnedest to regain her composure when she realizes that the pile of rubble she just landed on has numerous sharp objects just waiting to skewer someone. She shouts out Sora's name but there is no answer through the dust, all Aria can hope for is that Sora just doesn't want to talk like usual.
  
   
  +
He is fairly tall, he is wearing a gray suit with a lot of buttons, a silk red scarf covers his neck and a white mask is worn on his face covered by his dirty blond hair.
−
"What am I doing?" she asks herself when she assesses the dire situation they are in.
  
   
  +
"Are you okay mam?" he asks.
−
Rage is likely still flying in the air, Sora is likely seriously injured, Niera is likely down for the count because she is still passed out and Xavier is more than likely about to turn into one of those disgusting corpses. That is, unless she does something about it, she stands and thinks, 'I'm the only one who has the ability to fight!'
  
   
  +
Ash looks troubled when she says, "I-I apologize."
−
She leans to the ground, lifts a large rock and throws it at Belphegor's feet.
  
   
  +
The man smiles and happily replies, "It's not a problem, it never hurts to bump into a pretty lady."
−
He pays no mind to this, thinking that it is only yet another desperate attempt at halting the capture of Xavier, but when he looks away, a flashing light stuns him.
  
   
  +
This makes her blush, she is sure he said that to be kind, that or because she is wearing a mask.
−
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
  
   
  +
"Thank you... But I really got to get going, I was separated from the person I was with so I need to find him."
−
Under his feet comes an explosion that knocks everyone including Aria herself over and the plume of smoke and flames reach up more than a hundred feet.
  
   
  +
The man in the white mask shrugs his shoulders, "So you were separated too huh? The person I was with disappeared as well, though I can't say I expected her to hang around me all night anyways."
−
Xavier is released from his trance, he is just a little out of breath and he wonders what had just happened while everyone takes a simultaneous sigh of relief. Aria is breathing really hard, she put all of her energy into that blast and for the object's size, she made the biggest explosion she possibly could.
  
   
  +
He lets go of her shoulders and is about to send her off when the sound of the orchestra's music can be heard. They are playing a slow classical song that is perfect for dance.
−
After catching her breath, she runs to where Sora is and finds her laying on the pile of rubble seemingly unscathed; she is sitting extremely lucky in between three jagged metal poles that point outward. One is in between her legs, the other is just left of her side and the last is only a few inches to the right of her head.
  
   
  +
He looks around and sees people beginning to dance, not wanting to have to walk in between numerous dancing couples, he turns to Ash and holds out his hand.
−
Aria starts to laugh a little and says, "Wow, I guess it really isn't your time to go."
  
   
  +
"Would you care to dance mam?"
−
Sora sits their with her usual straight face, if one looked at her closely enough it would seem that she is trying to smile though she definitely isn't.
  
   
  +
Ash is pretty much feeling the same way, the awkwardness of walking through those couples would make her night much worse.
−
The aftermath of the explosion leaves a long trail of black smoke that is floating into the air, without a doubt no one could live after being exposed to the epicenter of such a shockwave.
  
   
  +
She nervously takes his hand and responds, "S-Sure."
−
Luke walks up to Aria and grabs her hand, with a face full of relief he says, "Thank you Aria, my brother would have been a goner if it wasn't for you."
  
   
−
She smiles and thinks about Strauphius, she is about to say your welcome when she is interrupted by a voice saying,
  
   
−
"If you aren't strong enough to put me to sleep then you are a useless being."
  
   
  +
-----------------------
−
This voice comes from the black smoke and it is certainly the voice of Belphegor. In the smoke can be seen a blue light shining as if lighting his way through the darkness, and to everyone's dismay, the demon steps out.
  
   
−
He looks extremely angry at the fact that he has just lost his prey. Normally, one person's life would seem insignificant to a demon of his caliber but Belphegor survives on the sins of others, so much so that each person can give him immense strength if he or she is filled with enough of this exact 'Original Sin'.
  
   
−
"Interesting ability you got there girl. It's just a crying shame that this is the exact type of thing that cant harm me." He coughs and black comes out of his mouth, he cracks his neck and looks displeased for some reason. He takes a step closer to the weary group and keeps up his laid back attitude, "You wanna know why?"
  
   
  +
Rain has spotted Zurvick, desperately trying to get near to him she ended up losing sight of Dice and the two got separated because the crowd of people was far too dense. And now that there are dancing couples there is no way that she can get to the King. If she walked through them all and damaged him in any way, she would easily be spotted and quickly caught.
−
Aria jumps in front of the rest in a protective mode, she is incredibly scared and her knees are shaking, though she is trying to hold up a brave demeanor, she knows that she is in dire straits because that explosion she sent to him was all she had.
  
   
  +
She clicks her tongue in frustration, her vision begins to become blurry at the thought that her father's murderer is only a few feet away from her and she can't do anything about it. She takes a seat by one of the tables and never lets her glare leave what looks to be an intoxicated King Zurvick.
−
Belphegor proceeds to walk dangerously close, "I'm sure you know that fire needs oxygen and nitrogen to ignite, well, I can control them."
  
   
  +
Zoning out at the crowd and looking serious, she senses a presence to her left, she ignores it at first until the presence speaks.
−
Aria's eyes widen. "What? How is that even possible?" she asks as if not wanting to believe him.
  
   
  +
"May I ask what you are looking at? This is a Ball, you shouldn't have to look so serious and uptight."
−
He stretches his arms and sighs, "The perfect form of sleep can only be contained by the dead, and in this sleep, oxygen and nitrogen isn't needed. I give people the perfect sleep by controlling the oxygen and nitrogen in and around a human's body."
  
   
  +
Rain turns toward the source of the young man's voice and finds the person standing there in a white overcoat, a light golden brown vest is worn under it, and under that a white collared shirt accompanied by a black tie.
−
'That would explain why those people were so shriveled..' Thinks Phoenix, he sighs and sits on a chunk of rock and reads his bible as if nothing is going on. He smiles and says under his breath, "This is going to be interesting."
  
   
  +
He has orange hair and a gold mask covers his black eyes.
−
Because Belphegor can virtually manipulate air to a certain extent, he is capable of taking away the two elements needed to make a fire grow and explode, thus making her attack end up more like a harmless light show. Aria understands this and is frightened to her core, this means that no matter what she does it will be pointless.
  
   
  +
Rain is disinterested in making conversation with this young man so she tries to make it short and simple. "I don't think it'd matter how I look or feel, just because I'm at a Ball, doesn't necessarily mean that I have to be merry."
−
Belphegor scratches his head and says, "Now that I've explained that much to you, don't you think it would be better if you just give up? There's no point in putting any effort into a futile cause, so how about letting me help you?"
  
   
  +
"Oh? How cold you are. I like that in a woman." the young man says as he holds his arm out. "Care for a dance?"
−
He takes another step closer and the breath from Aria begins escape her body.
  
   
  +
Rain keeps her glare on Zurvick when she replies, "No thanks."
−
She has let doubt fill her conscious and Belphegor is taking advantage of it, Aria can't breath and she falls to her knees in exhaustion, her eyesight begins to fade into darkness and her body is so weak it feels as if her only strength is coming from her bones.
  
   
  +
The young man chuckles, "You want to get close to the King right? If we dance, we can maneuver our way closer to him."
−
This feeling is exactly what the human body is like if it has been deprived of oxygen, everything but the bones in the human anatomy consists of certain things in which oxygen is absolutely vital. If it were to be taken away, the blood will clot and dry, and along with it the brain, eyes, skin and the rest of the organs, and these horrifying results are exactly being felt by Aria, who is literally having the life sucked out of her.
  
   
  +
Rain thinks about this for a second, if they dance and move in on him, once the music stops she'd be able to integrate with the crown that surrounds him.
−
Belphegor starts to smile when he says, "You are almost free little girl, just a little mor------"
  
   
  +
With this thought in mind, there is only one thing to say, "Very well then."
−
GAHGAAAAAAAAAAAASSHHHH!!!!!
  
   
  +
She stands and grabs onto his hand, the two move to the center of the dance floor and begin dancing.
−
A maddening black explosion engulfs Belphegor, once again interrupting his speech. From the sky, Rage floats down on his cloud just in the nick of time, he points his scythe down and says, "So you can control the air huh? I never did know that, but that would explain why I flew so far away when you hit me."
  
   
  +
Holding Rain's hand and waist, and already moving to the music, he finally asks, "May I ask what your name is miss?"
−
Though he wasn't in attendance when Belphegor explained himself, Rage figured it out through the brute force of his attack. When one is hit there is a shockwave of air that is created through out the body in a natural reaction to the initial blow, that is the result of air being pushed through the creases of that area. What Belphegor does is accelerate that air to the extent where there are thousands of pounds more pressure and force to it.
  
   
  +
Rain frowns behind her mask and says, "Isn't it supposed to be the job of the man to introduce himself before the woman?"
−
Out of Rage's scythe comes a black beam of energy that relentlessly plows into the plume of smoke before allowing him to recover. This results in the rest of the group being knocked back onto the floor, however, Phoenix is still sitting on the rock, and shielding his face from the wind with his bible.
  
   
  +
"Oh right, I guess I got carried away. My name is Noah."
−
The lingering sound and other effects of Rage's attack begin to dissipate as they wait for the smoke to clear and see if the enemy is still standing, and of course, once it does they find that he is. But this time is different, he is bloodied and his gray pea coat is torn, he is standing in the same position he was in when he was trying to temp Aria as if nothing had happened.
  
   
  +
"Only your first name?"
−
"Well now, that's twice..." he says softly but full of frustration. He lifts his head up to look at Rage who is floating a little more than twenty feet above and frowns. He then lifts his hand up and the familiar blue light forms around his arm.
  
   
  +
"Is the last name necessary in this situation?"
−
"Get down here."
  
   
  +
Rain blows air out of her nose and faintly smiles, "I guess you're right. My name is Rain. No need for you to know the rest."
−
He clinches his fist and the air around Rage's feet pulls down hard and it sends Rage spiraling violently to the ground.
  
   
  +
"It's a pleasure to meat your acquaintance Rain."
−
"I've grown tired of playing with all of you... This troublesome job has long since worn on my patience, all I want to do is go back to sleep..."
  
   
  +
The two begin dancing their way towards the crowd in which Zurvick is entertaining, inching closer and closer, the two actually dance quite well together considering their goal isn't to be so in sync.
−
Belphegor lowers his head and his hair covers his eyes, his shoulders tense up and he shouts, "BUT YOU PEOPLE OF EARNEST VALUES ARE GETTING IN MY WAY!!!"
  
   
  +
"Thank you for accompanying me for this dance Rain, it wouldn't have been any fun being a wall rat while everyone else is enjoying themselves."
−
He jumps up into the air and floats, he points both of his hands toward the ground bound group.
  
   
  +
"It's fine, this benefits me more then it does you anyway."
−
"IF YOU DON'T WANT TO ENJOY SLEEP! THAN YOU ARE ALL BETTER OFF DEAD!!"
  
   
  +
Noah, looks around at their surroundings, he raises his eyebrow and asks, "Why is it that you want to get close to the King?"
−
A blue wall of light forms in front of him and is pointing ominously down at them as it grows larger and larger with each passing second. Rage struggles to get out of his own crater and he shouts, "Every one, run as fast as you can! If you stay you'll die!"
  
   
  +
"That's none of your concern."
−
The able bodied members of the group run away, Cyrus grabs Niera and flees, but both Aria and Sora are downed due to the injuries they had just sustained. Aria is breathing extremely hard as she tries to replenish the oxygen levels that are needed for functionality thus making a quick movement such as running impossible. Sora isn't to badly hurt but she is dreadfully stuck in the pile of rubble, she has a straight face on but there is no doubt she's nervous as to what is coming.
  
   
  +
"Hmmm, that's true but... Would you mind if I guess why? Actually, do you mind if I guess what your last name is too?"
−
"Damn it all!" shouts Rage in frustration, he runs in between the two remaining girls and raises his scythe.
  
   
  +
Rain looks at him with a raised eyebrow, his words struck a conspicuous cord that sent flags rising in the back of her mind. Attempting to guess either of these things is pointless, and that is precisely why Rain wants to go along with it and hear what he has to say.
−
"How about I give you some of the weight that the troubled people have given me throughout the years?" Belphegor says calmly with a wide smile. By now the blue wall is so large that even the fleeing group of royals will perhaps not make it. Belphegor throws his hand down and shouts,
  
   
  +
"Knock yourself out."
−
"HELP YOURSELF!!"
  
   
  +
Noah smiles confidently and says, "Let's see. Looking at your appearance... Blue eyes, long black hair, I'd say that your last name isn't very common. And the reason why you would want to get close to the King depends on your last name as well."
−
As though his voice was a trigger, the blue wall comes falling to the ground.
  
   
  +
Rain begins to becomes suspicious of what he had just said, and those suspicions become something much more when her hand is gripped very tightly and she is pulled closer to him.
−
Once it hits it digs into the turf much like it would if an anvil is dropped into soft sand, the crater the intense weight creates is the exact size of the wall itself so around a hundred yards width and a hundred yards length. It is more than fifteen feet deep and everything that was once there is as flat as a piece of paper.
  
   
  +
Noah again smiles and says, "Assassination is your motive... Von Ronheim is your last name."
−
"Buaahahahaha! Now you know how much weight I am burdened with!" Belphegor yells as he laughs, he floats down to the now smooth surface and begins to look for the dead bodies. He walks along the boundaries of the perfectly square crater and sees that there are many different body parts scattered across the ground, he figures that they are more than likely the remains of the deceased towns people.
  
−
They are so flat that it literally looks like they are fake, much like a toy made of cardboard.
  
   
  +
Rain's heart drops and her eyes grow large in shock.
−
"Tch.. There's probably no way I'll find them like this." he says as he clicks his tongue, "Well, I guess all that's left to do is to take care of the others and then I can get to sleep."
  
   
  +
"Who are you?"
−
He sighs and begins to float upwards when he feels a sharp pain enter his back and out of his stomach.
  
   
  +
I am someone who knows a lot about you Rain... If you'd really like to know, would you care to join me on the balcony?"
−
Belphegor looks down and sees that there is a scythe protruding through his gut just above his naval, he coughs up blood and says, "What the fuck?"
  
   
  +
It's obvious that Rain doesn't have a choice in the matter, with her body held so tightly, she is at the mercy of this mysterious young man. She frowns and is quietly led past the crowd surrounding the drunken King and towards the stairs that lead to the balcony.
−
It is none other than Rage who is the one who inflicted this wound, Belphegor is utterly puzzled as to how this is happening.
  
   
−
Rage can see this look on his face and explains, "You look shocked, did you not think that it was possible that I could do the same thing as you?" Rage pulls the scythe out of his body and kicks him, causing him to jolt forward and slide onto the ground. "The weight of that attack was the exemplified weight of the souls you have collected right? Well, I simply counter balanced the souls you needed for the wall with a circle of the souls I own. So when the two collided, all it did was make another crater under yours that kept us safe from your attack."
  
   
−
Belphegor coughs, "Sneaky bastard..." He struggles to stand as blood waterfalls from his wound. "But I'm not done yet." He points at Rage and attempts to steal the oxygen from his body just like he had done with Aria. But nothing is happening, he tries even harder but it is once again failing, "Why the fuck isn't this working!?"
  
   
  +
-----------------------------
−
Rage has a stern look on his face when he asks, "Are you trying to create a perfect sleep?" Belphegor jumps back as he continues, "That's what you did to the others, and now that I know what your power consists of, I understand how you did it, and what for." Rage takes a step closer, "A perfect sleep can only be obtained in death... Are you foolish Belphegor? I AM DEATH."
  
   
−
He swings his scythe and rips a black wind into Belphegor's chest, causing him to fly back and hit the crater wall at an intense speed.
  
   
−
"Here Sora, let me help you." Aria says as she pulls Sora from her stuck position in the rubble, though she doesn't say it, she waves her hand in thanks. They crawl out of the circled crater only to find that they are in another one. They look around and see Rage walking toward Belphegor who is embedded in the crater walls, from just above where Belphegor is sticking, on the surface comes the rest of the group, excluding Niera whom Cryus had laid to rest in safety far away.
  
   
  +
Ash is dancing with the man wearing a white mask, though you can't really call this dancing because she is horribly bad at it. This is more like a student and teacher moment because the man in the mask is teaching her step by step.
−
"Everyone's okay! that's great! It looks like things are finally turning our way. Right Sora?"
  
   
  +
Ash is flustered at how things have turned out and she says, "This is way more embarrassing than it would've been if I had disturbed the couples."
−
Sora analyzes what is happening and softly responds, "...Right..."
  
   
  +
The man laughs, "Hahaha no you're doing great, just keep following my lead."
−
"There isn't anything you can do that will affect me Belphegor." Rage says with a scolding tone of voice.
  
   
  +
She follows his foot movements and more than once she steps on his toes, but since she is so light it doesn't hurt him at all.
−
Belphegor is showing his first signs of weariness at Rage's each passing step.
  
   
  +
He smiles and says, "Oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Dice Di'v---"
−
"I-Is that so?"
  
   
−
He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, with this the wound in his stomach starts to clot, he is depriving certain points of its oxygen so he doesn't bleed out.
 +
He stops the finish of his last name as to not blow his cover, he turns his head away from her and hopes she didn't notice it.
   
  +
While his head is turned, he notices something strange, he sees Rain walking up the large staircase hand and hand with a man he has never seen before. His stomach turns cold as many different thoughts go into his head as to why she is doing this and where she is going.
−
He pulls his head out of the hole and hears footsteps along with a voice from above him.
  
   
  +
He turns to Ash and is about say his apologies because he wants to chase after them, that is, until she introduces herself as well.
−
"Hey! Are you guys okay!?" this shout comes from a worried Cyrus.
  
   
  +
"My name is Ash Alworth. It's nice to meet you Dice."
−
Belphegor smiles and the pupils of his eyes shrink. "Is that so!?" he shouts, "I think I have something that will change your mind!"
  
   
  +
Dice's eyes grow wide, that name hits him like a bolt of lightning.
−
From his eyes come a horrifying black blood and it falls down his face, it's as if the blood carries the sound of people crying as it drips and connects with the wound from Rage's scythe. The blood from there turns black as well and the sounds of moans and screams of agony are heard as loud as if someone was yelling in their ears.
  
   
  +
He takes his hand off her waist and puts it to her ear and asks, "May I see your face?"
−
"What is this!?" Rage asks in surprise.
  
   
  +
Ash blushes, she is thinking all sorts of things but the main thought in her head is, (I hope this guy isn't getting the wrong idea about me.)
−
Aria and Sora, including the rest of the group on the surface all cover their ears at these piercing voices but it still causes them to prostrate on the ground.
  
   
  +
She shakes that thought off and answers him, "S-Sure."
−
Belphegor starts to laugh wildly before saying, "If you don't appreciate sleep enough to want to reach out and grab it yourselves, then how about I force it down your throats!?!?"
  
   
  +
Dice unties her mask with his hand and sees her face. Her description fits perfectly, this is the girl whom along with the King of Troy, assassinated Rain's father Ditreig Von Ronheim. This is the girl who is one of the two obstacles standing in the way of his love for Rain to be fulfilled.
−
To all of them, the surrounding areas like the sky, the ground and surrounding environment all seem to melt like an abstract painting or a multicolored oozing liquid. This in and of itself is very disorientating, but there is an added effect to this when it feels that all of their hearts are being grabbed at by thousands of little hands.
  
   
  +
Confused on whether or not he chases after Rain or acts upon this chance opportunity with Ash, he grits his teeth and comes to a decision.
−
Only a moment later, everything is black and the maddening screaming and moans completely stop, every last one of them including Rage is stuck in this atmosphere.
  
   
  +
There is only one thing for Dice to do, he frowns and instantly twists her arm, he grabs her tightly and pulls her in.
−
"What's going on?" Rages asks to himself as he tries to look around, this is the definition of an out of body experience and it is something that he is certainly not used to. This is making him nervous, he doesn't see anyone else around and fears that they could be attacked and killed if he doesn't get out of this place, little does he know that the rest of them are in the same predicament.
  
   
  +
Ash is completely caught off guard and doesn't know what in the world had just happened, all she knows is that she is pinned to him and cannot move.
−
Rage tries to walk but he holds no friction and cannot move, "Damn it! I have to get out of here quickly."
  
   
  +
Her questions are answered when Dice leans down and whispers into her ear, "If you make a sound... I'll kill you."
−
As if on cue with his words, the black that surrounds him disappears in a blink of an eye and he falls. He lands on what seems to be a thin metal floor due to the loud thud he caused once he landed, before he can open up his eyes he can hear five more similar thuds behind him. He turns to look but his attention is first grabbed by where he is, he is in a four by four metal room and each wall has a door in it.
  
   
  +
Ash is in shock, and it finally hits her that she is in immanent danger when she feels the sharp edge of a dagger pressed against her back.
−
"Oww my butt.... Where are we?" this voice comes from Aria, who is rubbing her behind as she looks around and sees the windowless blood stained and rusted walls that surround them.
  
   
−
Rage stands and tries to assess the situation but even he is beyond confused, the whole group and himself have been brought to this odd place, they were in the outside environment just seconds earlier. "Well I guess there's only one way to find out." says Rage as he reaches for the door handle on the north side of the wall.
  
   
−
He turns the handle and decides to open the large door as quickly as possible, and as soon as he does the same familiar and horrid screaming is once heard, but this time it is amplified as if coming from a loud speaker at point blank.
  
   
  +
---------------------------
−
The mere sound makes Xavier throw up in the corner, but the sight is far worse than anything imaginable. There are four main colors that can be seen all in darker tint, black, brown, red and gray. Cages, cells to be more precise, line in an endless fashion for as far as the eyes can see, there is no sky but only a flickery lighted gray roof. There are no windows, just ten stories of bloodied cells on each side of this endless room. With a closer look one can see thousands of people hanging from ropes, sharp hooks and other objects of torture and death from the railings and ceiling, they are dripping blood all the way down and splashing on the blood soaked floor and bathe the thousands of sluggish people who lay limbless and thin. This is a scene purely from Hell, and Rage honestly thinks that they have been sent there for a moment until he realizes that he'd know the feeling if it were so.
  
   
−
He slams the door shut and turns to the rest, hoping that they did not witness any of that and to his relief, he sees that they are once again prostrated on the floor. This is a good thing because that kind of environment would make even the most hardened man mad, if these somewhat innocent people saw it they would easily break down mentally.
  
   
−
The sound of the screams completely disappeared with shutting of this thin metal door, this makes Rage even more confused as to where they are.
  
   
  +
On the top of the building that holds the Ballroom, Seiri and Haas are standing there looking at their wristwatches.
−
"Are you okay Xavier?" asks Luke, while rubbing his temples trying to relieve the headache the moans had just caused.
  
   
  +
"...Preparations... Done..." Haas said in a robotic tone.
−
"What kind of freakish noise is that!?" Xavier yells with tears in his eyes as if he had just been punched in the nose.
  
   
  +
Seiri is tapping her toes on the ground impatiently, it is 8:59 and the final minute seems to be taking extra long.
−
'I hope the other doors aren't half as bad as that one...' Rage thinks to himself, he knows that they sure aren't going to get out of wherever this place is without going through one of these doors. The light flickers as he ponders which door to go through when it hits him, 'This place... It's probably where Belphegor stores the souls for himself...'
  
   
  +
"Come on come on, change already!"
−
He leans on the wall and intentionally bangs his head into it in frustration. "We're in Belphegor's world now..."
  
   
  +
The clock hits nine and Seiri jumps up and down in excitement, she is normally a calm girl but the thought of what they are waiting for makes her unusually giddy. She leans over and pulls a box of matches out of her pocket, she pulls a match out and strikes it on the sandpaper.
−
"Huh? What do you mean?" asks Cyrus.
  
   
  +
The flamed match is gently held to the rope that Haas had stretched all around the building, the fire from the tip of the rope begins to spread and crackle like a stick of dynamite would down the rest of the line.
−
Rage takes a deep breath and replies, "This is the place where Belphegor sends the tempted souls after he collects them, which means we are in a place that only he can access."
  
   
  +
"Let's go, we only have three minutes to get out of here so we don't get caught in the blast."
−
Aria's shoulders shake when she asks, "Can we get out?"
  
  +
Seiri says as she picks up her duffle bag and rushes to the edge of the building.
   
  +
Haas grabs his bag as well.
−
"I don't know, but I think we can... I'm sure that we are the first ones that he had sent here with their bodies still intact. I would guess he would do that with everyone if there wasn't any downside to it, so I think we are an anomaly in this case."
  
   
  +
"...Right..."
−
Luke sighs, "That's good to hear."
  
   
  +
He runs to the edge and jumps off the Ballroom building onto another smaller building of the manor.
−
Rage frowns and sternly says, "But there is one big problem."
  
   
  +
Seiri follows and the two hopscotch across the roofs of structures until they leave the gates of the manor.
−
The rest of them jolt as the fear level in their chests rise exponentially.
  
   
−
"This place... Is an unlimited power source to him, he will be ten times stronger here than he can ever be somewhere else."
  
   
−
Their hearts skip a beat as they think back to how strong he was before and how much more dangerous he'll be even now, they can't help but feel hopelessness in this situation, but they know that this must be done and they show faces of determination.
  
   
  +
-------------------------
−
After coming up with a temporary game plan, they are all ready to venture into this world of Belphegor's and are standing by the east door. Rage hold the handle and asks, "Are you all ready?"
  
   
−
Cyrus pushes up his dark glasses and answers with a smooth, "Yes."
  
   
−
Luke nervously smiles. "Y-Yeah."
  
   
  +
"So who are you?" asks Rain.
−
Xavier cracks his fingers and puts on the front of a tough guy to hide his own fear from himself. "Yup!"
  
   
  +
She is standing by the railing of the balcony and is cornered by this mysterious man in the mask.
−
Aria swings her large sword in front of her. "Ready."
  
   
  +
Noah takes his mask off and shows her his face, she instantly knows who he is and reveals a look of shock.
−
And Sora, "......"
  
   
  +
Noah knows it's useless to introduce himself but he does it anyway, "Noah Courlivet... I suppose you don't know why I'm here, and what exactly is going on. So I guess I'll explain it to you Rain Von Ronheim, the leading Battle Strategist for the Eiyalazonian military."
−
With this they are all prepared to leave and Rage takes his first twist of his wrist on the doorknob when he feels like he is missing something. He halts and thinks for a second, it is not something, but someone, and this someone should most certainly be here if even Rage was caught. He turns around to the group and sees that they are all looking at him in confusion as to why he hasn't opened the door, he frowns and with a tone full of seriousness asks,
  
   
  +
"Tch." Rain clicks her tongue and backs away from the approaching Noah, she clinches her fist and the pentagram on her right hand begins to glow.
−
"...Where's Phoenix?"
  
   
  +
Noah takes another step closer to her and says, "On second thought, why don't you take a look behind you. What you see will explain it for me."
   
  +
Rain quizzically turns around and sees a sight completely unexpected, the night sky is glowing with the tint of orange. At least half of the city is engulfed in flames and citizens and soldiers are running all about in confusion and getting caught in the blaze.
   
  +
Rain scopes the destruction and asks herself, "Is this the doing of my men!?"
   
  +
Noah grabs her right hand and puts his arm over her shoulder, he leans in towards her ear and says, "No, they are mine... Your thirst for revenge has cost you the opportunity to sack Tronoble. So just sit back with me and watch this city and your precious revenge be destroyed by the country of La'Juune."
   
   
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| Return to [[Dantega|Main Page]]
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| Forward to [[Dantega:Volume 2 Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
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| Forward to [[Dantega:Volume 2 Chapter 9|(Part 3)]]
 
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Revision as of 21:04, 9 June 2013


(PART 2)



"Eh... Don't you think this looks a little ridiculous?" Ash asked, her face sunk with a dejected glare.

She is wearing an extremely frilly pink dress with ribbons all over.

Standing next to her in one of the dressing rooms is a tall girl with lime green hair who's name is Elise, she has stars in her eyes and her face is sparkling bright red.

"Ahhhhnn~ you look so cute!! How can you say this doesn't look good on you!?"

Ash smiles and with a vein on her forehead she politely answers, "Because it doesn't..."

Elise shows a pouting expression and replies, "Boooo, fine I'll get you a different dress. But I do think that looks good on you."

"I'm not trying to impress a ten year old girl! I'm trying to make an older guy look at me, and if he saw me the first thing he'd do is laugh and say how childish I look!"

"I'm telling you that looking older will be much worse! Being young is the best part of life so you must show it off if you want to win him over!"

Ash sighs when she realizes that nothing she can do will break the determination of how Elise wants her to look; if she had any idea how to dress herself in such a way she would've ditched the dawdling tall woman long ago.

"Fine... Let's just make this next one a little more classy."

Elise solutes her and says, "Leave it to me!"

She dashes out of the dress room and heads back into the aisles.

Ash takes the dress off and sits on a bench that rests in the ten by ten sized dressing room, she glares at herself in the mirror and a saddened expression surfaces on her face.

"What am I doing? It's not like this is actually going to work..."

Thinking about how enthusiastic this random girl Elise is, she can't help but feel grateful for her help, but at the same time feel that there is no need for Elise to put so much effort into a lost cause. After all, Zurvick is much older. And not only that, he has Queen LeLaine for a wife; the chances of her winning him over are slim to none.

Ash leans her back against the wall for a moment until her determination comes back. "So what if he's married to the Queen, I'll be damned if I don't try to do something!"



Elise is rushing through the aisles to find the right dress for Ash; it's almost as if she is in an entranced state as she scopes out the best of the best.

In the aisle that Elise is currently in, a girl with long black hair that parts at her shoulders and bright blue eyes is shopping as well.

She is Rain Von Ronheim, the leading Battle Strategist for Eiyalazo.

Of course Elise, being the type of person she is immediately picked out an outfit for Rain and hands it to her without even gathering a second look at either Rain or the dress.

"This one." she said as if her mind is occupied with something else.

Rain doesn't really care about her opinion but she decides to take a look anyway. It is a sky blue dress with black linings over the buttons and ribbons; there are slight and simple designs etched in dark blue throughout and it even matches the top hat and umbrella that goes along with it.

Rain is actually not too picky when it comes to things like this, she doesn't want to get a dress too extravagant to avoid standing out more than necessary, and she doesn't want a gaudy one for the exact same reason. Her job is to blend into the crowd, this outfit is perfect for such an occasion. It's just the right color to where she can look like someone with a lot of class, and with her personality make it seem as natural as it already is.

She takes it and begins to walk toward the dressing room, but before she gets there she turns to Elise and simply says, "Thank you."

Rain gets to the dressing rooms, there are three of them and they are all connected to where they share the same roofs with a gap in the top wall.

Rain begins to change when she hears the sound of thumping being heard on the wall next to her, that banging noise is accompanied by a girl's voice.

"Ahhh who am I kidding!? There's no way this is gonna work!"

This voice belongs to Ash, who is despairing over her current situation, she is banging her head against the wall in frustration at this very moment.

Rain, who is in the room adjacent to Ash is becoming very annoyed, she knocks on the wall and says, "Can you please be quiet? The noise is giving me a headache."

The banging stops and Ash jumps to her feet. "Sorry sorry! I didn't know anyone was in there!"

Hearing her loud voice, Rain wants to end the conversation quickly so she can try her outfit on and get out.

"Don't worry about, now you know."

"O-Okay... Sorry again."

"....."

Rain doesn't respond so she can get the other person to stop talking, and after a few moments she's pleased to find that it worked.

She readies to change until she hears the loud sound of the adjacent door opening quickly and slamming shut ringing through her ears.

The loud voice of Elise is heard yelling, "This is the one! It's perfect it's perfect it's perfect!"

Then, Ash's voice is heard, "Waaaaaa!? That one!? It shows way too much skin below my shoulders!"

"No it doesn't! This has just the right amount of mature sex appeal and shows just the right amount of your cute young body! Aaaaahhn~ I'm so proud of myself!"

Thuds and thumps are heard throughout the dressing rooms, it's as though a bear attacking something is taking place just a few feet away.

Rain sighs and says to herself, "Forget it, I'll just buy this one and get out of here."

Without trying it on, Rain leaves the dressing room and begins to walk to the cashier to purchase it.



Zurvick is staring down on a little girl who is holding a flask out in a motion signifying that she wants to give it to him.

He raises his eyebrow as when he asks, "May I ask what you are doing?"

The little girl smiles and answers, "I'm paying you back for what you have lost."

"Uggh that came out wrong, what I was to trying to ask is why you do you have a flask full of alcohol in your possession!?"

She glares at him and asks, "Doesn't everybody have one of these things nowadays?"

"Not at your age they don't!!! What's your name?"

She smiles and tilts her head and cutely says, "Ebihara Seiri."

"Okay then miss Ebihara, where might your parents be?"

The smile leaves her face and she starts to tear up and sniffle her nose in an adorable way. It is obvious that this is a bad attempt at acting when she says, "M-My parents died when I was little, me and Haas here escaped from the orphanage that mistreated us."

Zurvick's face drops, he completely fell for it.

"Ooaahh!!?"

Seiri sobs and continues, "The only thing my dad ever taught me when he was alive was to always repay someone if you have wronged them. The only thing I have to offer is this flask, if you don't take it, I'd be letting my dead father down."

Zurvick writhes in horror at what he feels to be the ultimate form of disrespect on his part by not accepting her payment.

He also starts to tear up when he grabs her little shoulders and shouts, "I'm sorry! I had no idea how tragic you and your friend's life is! Please allow me to take your flask!!!"

Zurvick takes it and once again apologizes, he leaves the two and heads to his original destination, the cashier's desk to talk to the old lady he knew from his childhood.

Seiri watches him walk away with a big smile on her face, after waving him goodbye she turns to Haas and that smile turns cocky. "So what did you think of my superior acting skills? The Ebihara family have a long lineage of famous actors and actresses throughout time, naturally, I inherited those talents."

To Haas, who was trained to not speak nor show emotion, is actually quite annoyed at how this situation had turned out. The whole point of their presence in this town is to be discrete until the battle starts; of course he feels like he had made a mistake possible of jeopardizing the mission by bumping into the man and causing a scene in the first place. But Seiri butting in and pulling off the whole acting thing for no reason whatsoever is far worse.

So his answer to her question is as simple as can be.

"...Pointless..."



Zurvick arrives at the cashiers desk and sees the familiar old lady working the counter.

"Granny!"

The white haired old lady stares up at him and tilts her head, with a confused glare she coldly asks, "Who the hell are you?"

Zurvick jolts in shock.

"Whuaa!?"

The two stare at each other for a few seconds but the silence is broken by the old lady's laugh. "Hahaha, I'm just kidding you little twerp. How can I forget that face of yours? But now I can't call you little anymore can I now?"

He sighs in relief and says, "That's right, I'm much bigger now."

"Yeah much bigger, you're the damn King now. How about that? Who would've thought that you, my little servant would become such a man."

"Uhh, is that a compliment?"

"That's about as much of a compliment I've ever given you right? So that means it is, I'm happy for you."

Zurvick smiles wholeheartedly and says, "Thanks Granny!"

The old lady lifts her index finger and smiles menacingly, "I don't mean to break up the nostalgic mood, but I have a favor to ask."

"Uh oh."

"That's right, why don't you make yourself useful and help me move some boxes to the upper cabinet."

"Uhhh..."

"Come on twerp, do it for old time's sake. Besides, I'm not as young as I used to be, those boxes are too heavy for my aging bones."

Zurvick can't help but oblige; this is the kind of guy he is, he won't ever turn his back on people in need matter how much power he acquires.

"Fine fine."

He walks behind the counter and the old lady shows him what boxes to grab, he does so and lifts himself up the three stepped stool to put them in the cabinet that rests above the counter.

As soon as he does this, the old lady's voice is heard, but she is not addressing Zurvick.

"I hope you found everything okay."

The person on the costumer end of the counter is Dice Di'vore, he is holding a gray suite with red lining, numerous buttons run down the middle but the suit gives off the impression that it would look better if it was worn as is. He also has a silk red scarf as an accessory.

"I think I did." Dice replies with a polite smile.

The old lady looks at the price tag and tells him what he needs to pay before saying, "You made a smart choice on this suit."

Dice pays her the money and says his thanks, he feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to find Rain standing there with a dress in her hand.

"Oh, so this is what you decided to get?" he asks.

Rain walks past him and to the counter, "I guess you can say that..."

She pays the old lady and watches her put it into a large paper bag. Just to the side of the working old lady is a man on a stool working on something up in the top cabinet who's face cannot be seen because his head is to the roof and the cabinet is blocking their view. He lets off a groan and a few items fall to the floor.

"Ohh sorry about that! It's just that this box is a little heavy." Zurvick said with strain in his voice.

The old lady's gentle smile turns into a bitter one. "Get your act together you little brat."

Dice looks a little worried when he asks, "Does he need any help?"

The old lady turns to him and waves her hand from side to side. "No no he's fine, it would be an insult to have a precious costumer help a useless employee."

"Oh..."

The struggling Zurvick becomes frustrated at her words, "It would only be an insult if I was actually an employee!"

"SHUT YOUR TRAP YOU TWERP!"

The old lady punches his leg and he almost falls off the stool.

Rain sighs and her agitation level continues to rise, to her, this whole shop has been bugging her since the moment she walked through the door. Her experience here was definitely a bad one.

She starts walking toward the exit and says, "Let's go."

Dice doesn't know what to do, he really wants to help the poor guy, but when Rain tells him to do something, he can't say no. He politely waves to the old lady and gives Zurvick's legs a pitiful look, he follows Rain out of the door and into the town.

Zurvick gets done with putting the boxes in the cabinet and comes off the stool, he glares at the old lady with a bitter look on his face.

The old lady shrugs her shoulders and says, "Don't give me that look, if anything I should be the one who's angry. You're lack of work ethic embarrassed me in front of the costumers."

"Huh? How does that work!?"

Before the old lady can answer, a flustered Ash walks up to the counter.

"I-I'd like to purchase this please."

The old lady's eyes light up and she says her usual statement, "You made a smart choice on this dress."

Zurvick scopes out Ash's dress and smiles. "This is really nice! Oh wait, I still gotta get my suit!"

Not giving Ash anytime to soak the compliment in, he rushes off back into the aisles to finish his shopping.

"That boy... He hasn't changed at all since he was a little child." the old lady says with a proud smile.

Ash hands her the money. "I can only imagine what that idiot was like as a kid, it's amazing that anyone could handle him."

"Hehe that was my job. Back then he always used to sneak out of the Archbishop's estate to find an odd job to do."

Ash tilts her head and asks, "Job?"

"That's right, being born into a royal family he never had to worry about a hard day's work. But he would go to every shop in the city and ask for any kind of work they could offer, and one of them was this shop."

Ash turns and stares at him rushing to find the right outfit. "Wow... He really is that kind of guy huh? That behavior of his would explain why he joined the lowest ranks of the military. I guess he just likes work."

The old lady folds the dress and puts it into a large bag. "That's not it. He acts this way because he wants to be close to people, no matter what rank or social status they have, everyone is the same to him. I once asked him why he wanted to work when he didn't have to, and he simply replied, 'Because that's what people do.'... He is some kind of man."

The old lady's expression turns from serious and honest to one of a fantasizing manner.

"If only I was younger, the things I'd do to him would be----"

"Waaaaaa! How the the conversation mold into that!? You shouldn't mess up the mood and talk about perverted things!" Ash interrupts as her imagination starts racing.

The old lady chuckles, "Oh why not? I miss the good old days where my friends and I used to dote over such things."

Ash takes a deep breath and puffs her chest out. "W-Well I can't, as his Captain there's no way I can speak of such things."

The old lady wryly smiles, "Even though won't talk about it, you certainly are thinking about it right?"

"Ehhh?"

"A young girl's feelings are always noticeable to the eyes of a seasoned woman."

Ash gets extremely flustered and shifts her eyes to the ground, the old lady finds her actions to be adorable and it reminds her of how she used to be years in the past. Not trying to poke fun at her or anything, the old lady begins to sympathize with Ash's situation.

"It's a shame... You really are apart of a fairy tale like story of the average girl and a man of royalty. You know, the stories about the forbidden love of two classes of people. Unfortunately it's just a little too late, that boy, once his mind his set, he never wavers. The Queen is his woman and that is that."

Hearing the old lady's more than true words make her heart waver for a moment, she reveals a troubled smile and says, "I know... But the chances of me even being around him are once in a lifetime, so I won't give up quite yet."

She turns away and walks toward Zurvick, who is taking his sweet time and making her impatient. "Hey you idiot! Hurry the hell up!!"

Having not been yelled at and ordered around by Ash in quite some time, he turns and salutes.

"My apologies Captain!"

This makes Ash even more angry when she shouts, "I told you not to call me that!"

The old lady smiles and watches the scene from the cashier's booth, thinking about their situation makes her talk quietly to herself, "That girl... She doesn't even think of the consequences of her actions. If she were to actually win the King over, I can only imagine what the Queen would do. It'd most certainly be bad for Troy."

The old lady turns and begins sorting out the rest of the boxes that sit against the wall, she chuckles and finishes, "Hehehe, she's just like me when I was younger."

Little does the old lady, Ash, and Zurvick know, a powder keg of disaster has just narrowly been avoided.

Two people who want them dead at all costs were mere inches away from them.

This also applies to Rain and Dice as well, three members of the most dangerous group in all the world were shopping in the same store; if any kind of information on who they are was leaked, the high chances that they would be killed is through the roof.

La'Juune, Eiyalazo, and Troy.

Three different Kingdoms that have been at an on and off war since their founding, had all been represented in this one little shop called 'ROYAL WEAR'.



The sun has almost set and the orange glare of the horizon makes the city of Tronoble look almost surreal. This view is seen perfectly from the large window on the top floor suite of a luxurious hotel. Noah is staring out this window and at the large snow capped mountains that are shining elegantly in the sunlight.

He adjusts his tie and puts on a white overcoat when he says, "Are all the preparations complete Jeffery?"

Jeffrey is sitting on a dining chair that sits by the dining table. "Yeah, I've gotten word from everyone that their positions are set. Though a few of our objectives were changed around because the presence of the King of Troy. It looks like we have hit a large spot of unusual luck."

Noah turns around and says, "Good... Luck always favors the victors, but we can't let this opportunity change our outlook on how difficult the mission is. This is going to be a rough night."

Jeffery chuckles a little bit and straightens up his intricately designed black suit. "No kidding, at least we're going to look damn good doing it."

Noah straightens up his white overcoat as well and replies, "Well that is a bright side... Seiri, Haas, and Elise did a good job at picking out some good outfits for the Ball tonight."

"Who would've thought that those three oddballs could pull off something that doesn't involve fighting. Though Elise likes to think of herself as somewhat of a clothing connoisseur."

Noah slightly laughs at how things have worked out in this way, he walks for the door and says, "Everyone is in everyone after all."

Jeffrey follows and responds, "That is certainly true, if that wasn't the case there'd be no way the ten of us could work together effectively."

Noah opens the door and enters the hallway. "That truth will give us an upstanding victory tonight. They will do their jobs around the city, and we will do our jobs in the Ballroom."



The Ballroom is located in a massive castle that literally sits in the middle of Tronoble, this castle was once the house of a King and Queen that ruled over what used to be a city-state. In Troy's past, the southern half of the country was separated into many city-states; each one of these had their own rulers. Though most of them were considered warlords, the largest ones were so powerful that they were more like a country, so naturally they had their own Kings and Queens.

These city-states were soon taken over and dissembled by the north when they began joining together and threatening a revolution.

Some of the castles owned by the old rulers of the land still remain and this one in particular is over seven hundred years old.

This Ballroom is four sided and 200 feet wide and 150 feet across, smooth marble floors lay below the feet and more than a dozen crystal chandeliers rest above the head. Many tables covered in fine linen have many different kinds of food on them, and they are constantly being restocked by caterers and waiters.

There is a platform on the north end of the room that has an orchestra playing smooth classical music, giving the atmosphere of the place an even more classy feel.

As of now there are a few dozen people apart of the Ball socializing around the tables and on the dance floor, the Ball doesn't start until eight o'clock so there is still a few minutes until the the people in line outside of the front gate of the manor will be allowed in.

Sitting on the main table of the room is Zurvick and the awkward feeling Ash, she feels dreadfully uncomfortable in her frilly dress that is covered in ribbons and shows a lot of skin from her chest up.

Zurvick, in his basic black suit looks at her and says, "Don't be so on edge, it's not as bad as you think."

"Maybe not for you, but for me this is beyond awful. I hate dresses and I hate these kind of parties."

He nudges her shoulder and jokingly says, "Quite the socially awkward girl you are. You'll never get a boyfriend like that you know?"

Ash frowns and stomps on his foot under the table. "Of course I'd be like that when I'm sitting next to the center of attention! And what makes you think that I want a useless boyfriend!?"

Zurvick cringes at the pain in his foot, he is about to say something back when the sound of horns are heard signifying the beginning of the Ball and people begin to head in.

"Just be yourself Ash, you'll be okay." he says as he stands up, he holds his arm out and asks, "Shall we?"

Ash takes a deep breath and exhales out of her nose, she grabs his arm and replies, "Fine."



Rain and Dice are in line at the gate, about a dozen people stand in front of them and the meeting with four Trojan soldier/security guards is coming soon. The two show no signs of nervousness, instead the aura of confidence is felt as they walk toward the guards with their heads held high.

They reach the guards and hand them the tickets, the guards look at them suspiciously because there have already been a few people caught for fraudulent tickets, but they are hesitant to say anything when Rain and Dice don't even bother to greet them.

The reason for them being so cold is because it shows that they are so confident in their class that they feel that there is no need to speak to the lowly guards. The people who were caught earlier were unusually kind to them so it blew their cover.

Wary of looking foolish and being punished, the security guards let them through and the two royals from Eiyalazo enter the manor were the King of Troy is present.

"That was simple." Dice says.

Rain puts her hand onto his arm to make them look like a couple and replies, "I was expecting it to be."

The two walk up a columned stairway that leads to the two large double doors, two doormen open it and lead them in.

Once in the castle, there are a few workers of the manor standing at a table that is covered in masks.

One of the women workers bows and says, "For the guests only. The first couple hours of the Ball is set as a masquerade theme, please choose a mask from our selection that is to your liking."

Rain and Dice look at each other and then to the masks. Dice picks a white mask that only covers his eyes and Rain picks one that matches her light blue dress. The workers say their thanks and the two walk down the hallway that leads to the Ballroom.

Dice chuckles a little and says, "A masquerade party... Oh how the stars have aligned for us, this couldn't have worked out any better."

Rain agrees, "I guess you can call it some kind of divine intervention, having masks on will make things much easier to escape when we kill the King." She adjusts the mask a little to the left to fit her face and adds, "And it's not just that, this will make it even easier to spot the King since he's not wearing a mask, it's quite convenient that only the guests have to wear them. The star of the show is the King, so it's only natural that he'd be the only one that needs to be seen."

Dice smiles at her words and the two walk into the Ballroom, close to a 150 people are already here and more will show up in a short time.

"The time for your revenge is coming up very shortly."

Her lips rise slightly at the thought of fulfilling her vengeance.

"I can't wait."



Ebihara Seiri is standing on the rooftop of the Ballroom; next to her is Haas, the two are dressed in black and standing in silence.

"I just want my light show to start already." said Seiri impatiently while tapping her heel on the roof.

Haas looks at his wristwatch and says, "... One hour..."

Seiri pouts and sits, she looks into a duffle bag that is full of flasks, she takes one out and begins to toss it up and down. "It's a shame that I had to give one of these babies to that guy, but the one I gave him wasn't much good anyhow. The one's with me are the true stars of the show."

Haas ignores her for a few moments and then looks at his watch once more, he has a duffle bag himself and pulls out a large roll of string.

He turns to her and says, "... Time... To begin... Set up..."

Seiri jumps up and smiles, "Hooray! This is going to be so much fun!"

Haas takes the string and starts walking along the edge of the roof, leaving a trail of string behind.

"...Let's go..."

Seiri merrily skips along the edge of the five story building and cheerfully says, "Right!"



Ash is walking alone in the middle of a few hundred people all dressed up and talking; she has a red mask on that is hiding her current frustration.

(Damn that idiot, as soon as he takes a few drinks out of the flask that some random girl gave him he runs off and leaves me alone! Now I can't find the bastard!)

The ball has been going on for well over thirty minutes and she hasn't been with Zurvick for the majority of it. Rubbing shoulders with people and dodging bodies becomes more of a hassle with each passing person, she gets extremely frustrated and starts to power through people, and that's when runs into something very sturdy.

THUNK!

"Ooowahh!?" Ash yelps as she falls backwards, before she falls the feeling of hands on her shoulders lift her back to her feet. She looks up and sees the man she had just carelessly ran into holding her upward.

He is fairly tall, he is wearing a gray suit with a lot of buttons, a silk red scarf covers his neck and a white mask is worn on his face covered by his dirty blond hair.

"Are you okay mam?" he asks.

Ash looks troubled when she says, "I-I apologize."

The man smiles and happily replies, "It's not a problem, it never hurts to bump into a pretty lady."

This makes her blush, she is sure he said that to be kind, that or because she is wearing a mask.

"Thank you... But I really got to get going, I was separated from the person I was with so I need to find him."

The man in the white mask shrugs his shoulders, "So you were separated too huh? The person I was with disappeared as well, though I can't say I expected her to hang around me all night anyways."

He lets go of her shoulders and is about to send her off when the sound of the orchestra's music can be heard. They are playing a slow classical song that is perfect for dance.

He looks around and sees people beginning to dance, not wanting to have to walk in between numerous dancing couples, he turns to Ash and holds out his hand.

"Would you care to dance mam?"

Ash is pretty much feeling the same way, the awkwardness of walking through those couples would make her night much worse.

She nervously takes his hand and responds, "S-Sure."



Rain has spotted Zurvick, desperately trying to get near to him she ended up losing sight of Dice and the two got separated because the crowd of people was far too dense. And now that there are dancing couples there is no way that she can get to the King. If she walked through them all and damaged him in any way, she would easily be spotted and quickly caught.

She clicks her tongue in frustration, her vision begins to become blurry at the thought that her father's murderer is only a few feet away from her and she can't do anything about it. She takes a seat by one of the tables and never lets her glare leave what looks to be an intoxicated King Zurvick.

Zoning out at the crowd and looking serious, she senses a presence to her left, she ignores it at first until the presence speaks.

"May I ask what you are looking at? This is a Ball, you shouldn't have to look so serious and uptight."

Rain turns toward the source of the young man's voice and finds the person standing there in a white overcoat, a light golden brown vest is worn under it, and under that a white collared shirt accompanied by a black tie.

He has orange hair and a gold mask covers his black eyes.

Rain is disinterested in making conversation with this young man so she tries to make it short and simple. "I don't think it'd matter how I look or feel, just because I'm at a Ball, doesn't necessarily mean that I have to be merry."

"Oh? How cold you are. I like that in a woman." the young man says as he holds his arm out. "Care for a dance?"

Rain keeps her glare on Zurvick when she replies, "No thanks."

The young man chuckles, "You want to get close to the King right? If we dance, we can maneuver our way closer to him."

Rain thinks about this for a second, if they dance and move in on him, once the music stops she'd be able to integrate with the crown that surrounds him.

With this thought in mind, there is only one thing to say, "Very well then."

She stands and grabs onto his hand, the two move to the center of the dance floor and begin dancing.

Holding Rain's hand and waist, and already moving to the music, he finally asks, "May I ask what your name is miss?"

Rain frowns behind her mask and says, "Isn't it supposed to be the job of the man to introduce himself before the woman?"

"Oh right, I guess I got carried away. My name is Noah."

"Only your first name?"

"Is the last name necessary in this situation?"

Rain blows air out of her nose and faintly smiles, "I guess you're right. My name is Rain. No need for you to know the rest."

"It's a pleasure to meat your acquaintance Rain."

The two begin dancing their way towards the crowd in which Zurvick is entertaining, inching closer and closer, the two actually dance quite well together considering their goal isn't to be so in sync.

"Thank you for accompanying me for this dance Rain, it wouldn't have been any fun being a wall rat while everyone else is enjoying themselves."

"It's fine, this benefits me more then it does you anyway."

Noah, looks around at their surroundings, he raises his eyebrow and asks, "Why is it that you want to get close to the King?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Hmmm, that's true but... Would you mind if I guess why? Actually, do you mind if I guess what your last name is too?"

Rain looks at him with a raised eyebrow, his words struck a conspicuous cord that sent flags rising in the back of her mind. Attempting to guess either of these things is pointless, and that is precisely why Rain wants to go along with it and hear what he has to say.

"Knock yourself out."

Noah smiles confidently and says, "Let's see. Looking at your appearance... Blue eyes, long black hair, I'd say that your last name isn't very common. And the reason why you would want to get close to the King depends on your last name as well."

Rain begins to becomes suspicious of what he had just said, and those suspicions become something much more when her hand is gripped very tightly and she is pulled closer to him.

Noah again smiles and says, "Assassination is your motive... Von Ronheim is your last name."

Rain's heart drops and her eyes grow large in shock.

"Who are you?"

I am someone who knows a lot about you Rain... If you'd really like to know, would you care to join me on the balcony?"

It's obvious that Rain doesn't have a choice in the matter, with her body held so tightly, she is at the mercy of this mysterious young man. She frowns and is quietly led past the crowd surrounding the drunken King and towards the stairs that lead to the balcony.



Ash is dancing with the man wearing a white mask, though you can't really call this dancing because she is horribly bad at it. This is more like a student and teacher moment because the man in the mask is teaching her step by step.

Ash is flustered at how things have turned out and she says, "This is way more embarrassing than it would've been if I had disturbed the couples."

The man laughs, "Hahaha no you're doing great, just keep following my lead."

She follows his foot movements and more than once she steps on his toes, but since she is so light it doesn't hurt him at all.

He smiles and says, "Oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Dice Di'v---"

He stops the finish of his last name as to not blow his cover, he turns his head away from her and hopes she didn't notice it.

While his head is turned, he notices something strange, he sees Rain walking up the large staircase hand and hand with a man he has never seen before. His stomach turns cold as many different thoughts go into his head as to why she is doing this and where she is going.

He turns to Ash and is about say his apologies because he wants to chase after them, that is, until she introduces herself as well.

"My name is Ash Alworth. It's nice to meet you Dice."

Dice's eyes grow wide, that name hits him like a bolt of lightning.

He takes his hand off her waist and puts it to her ear and asks, "May I see your face?"

Ash blushes, she is thinking all sorts of things but the main thought in her head is, (I hope this guy isn't getting the wrong idea about me.)

She shakes that thought off and answers him, "S-Sure."

Dice unties her mask with his hand and sees her face. Her description fits perfectly, this is the girl whom along with the King of Troy, assassinated Rain's father Ditreig Von Ronheim. This is the girl who is one of the two obstacles standing in the way of his love for Rain to be fulfilled.

Confused on whether or not he chases after Rain or acts upon this chance opportunity with Ash, he grits his teeth and comes to a decision.

There is only one thing for Dice to do, he frowns and instantly twists her arm, he grabs her tightly and pulls her in.

Ash is completely caught off guard and doesn't know what in the world had just happened, all she knows is that she is pinned to him and cannot move.

Her questions are answered when Dice leans down and whispers into her ear, "If you make a sound... I'll kill you."

Ash is in shock, and it finally hits her that she is in immanent danger when she feels the sharp edge of a dagger pressed against her back.



On the top of the building that holds the Ballroom, Seiri and Haas are standing there looking at their wristwatches.

"...Preparations... Done..." Haas said in a robotic tone.

Seiri is tapping her toes on the ground impatiently, it is 8:59 and the final minute seems to be taking extra long.

"Come on come on, change already!"

The clock hits nine and Seiri jumps up and down in excitement, she is normally a calm girl but the thought of what they are waiting for makes her unusually giddy. She leans over and pulls a box of matches out of her pocket, she pulls a match out and strikes it on the sandpaper.

The flamed match is gently held to the rope that Haas had stretched all around the building, the fire from the tip of the rope begins to spread and crackle like a stick of dynamite would down the rest of the line.

"Let's go, we only have three minutes to get out of here so we don't get caught in the blast." Seiri says as she picks up her duffle bag and rushes to the edge of the building.

Haas grabs his bag as well.

"...Right..."

He runs to the edge and jumps off the Ballroom building onto another smaller building of the manor.

Seiri follows and the two hopscotch across the roofs of structures until they leave the gates of the manor.



"So who are you?" asks Rain.

She is standing by the railing of the balcony and is cornered by this mysterious man in the mask.

Noah takes his mask off and shows her his face, she instantly knows who he is and reveals a look of shock.

Noah knows it's useless to introduce himself but he does it anyway, "Noah Courlivet... I suppose you don't know why I'm here, and what exactly is going on. So I guess I'll explain it to you Rain Von Ronheim, the leading Battle Strategist for the Eiyalazonian military."

"Tch." Rain clicks her tongue and backs away from the approaching Noah, she clinches her fist and the pentagram on her right hand begins to glow.

Noah takes another step closer to her and says, "On second thought, why don't you take a look behind you. What you see will explain it for me."

Rain quizzically turns around and sees a sight completely unexpected, the night sky is glowing with the tint of orange. At least half of the city is engulfed in flames and citizens and soldiers are running all about in confusion and getting caught in the blaze.

Rain scopes the destruction and asks herself, "Is this the doing of my men!?"

Noah grabs her right hand and puts his arm over her shoulder, he leans in towards her ear and says, "No, they are mine... Your thirst for revenge has cost you the opportunity to sack Tronoble. So just sit back with me and watch this city and your precious revenge be destroyed by the country of La'Juune."





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