Two Lanterns Falling
"Whoa! Ohhh!"
Dick couldn't stop gasping in admiration as the birds took to the air in perfect formation at Wichasha's command.
"That's insane! So THAT'S the power of the Druids!"
Meilin felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
Not out of fear from being kidnapped, mind you—no, these tears were born of pure exasperation and misery at the question of why, of all people on earth, she had to be captured alongside this idiot.
Even with Meilin watching him in despair from behind, Dick kept chatting up the Hoopa tribesmen, his mouth running nonstop. It was hard to believe this was the reaction of a hostage, tied to a chair with his life hanging in the balance.
"Man, I had no idea each Druid could command different animals! That's so cool!"
Wherever he went, whatever the situation, Dick's knack for making friends always shone through.
"Oh, but you said the woman you're chasing—Byeolya, was it?—handles rats and bugs, right? If that's true, wouldn't it be super easy for her to track us down in this city?"
Meilin whipped around, her face twisted with outrage. Why would you go and say that out loud?!
"It is impossible for her power to locate us."
Wichasha declared with certainty.
"We have planted two hundred totems throughout the city. It is an art of the Druids that severs their control over animals. Unless she goes out herself and tears out every hidden totem before this day ends, they cannot pinpoint this place. I state this as fact."
"Whoa~ you guys really came prepared, boss!"
"And even if she does find us, it makes no difference. We simply fight."
Tension coiled in Wichasha's fists.
"But striking down one who has been summoned to Kizen immediately could bring trouble. We will take her life cleanly, only after she has fully abandoned her teaching post."
"Ah, I see! That makes sense!"
Dick nodded along, buttering the chief up with shameless enthusiasm, while Meilin just heaved one deep sigh after another.
"Chief!"
Just then, a Hoopa warrior rushed in and whispered into Wichasha's ear. The chief's expression hardened like frost, and he turned his head to fix Dick with a razor-sharp glare.
"Cunning little tricks…"
Dick simply kept on grinning like a fool.
"We are moving our hideout this instant!"
"Yes, sir!"
One of the Hoopa men hoisted Dick skyward—chair and all—upside down. Dick let out a yelp that halfway turned into a laugh.
"Ah! All the blood's rushing to my head, boss!"
"It's because of YOU that we're moving at all!"
Another man came toward Meilin. She hunched her shoulders and glared at him.
"Hey, let me make something crystal clear! If you so much as lay a finger on me…!"
But he seemed to have no interest in haggling. Ignoring her warning entirely, he seized her by the shoulders in a vice grip.
Ugh, that hurts!
He was just about to lift her up, chair and all—
KRA-KOOOOOOM!
With a roar that threatened to burst their eardrums, an explosion tore through the ceiling.
Shards of the ceiling came crashing down, and smoke and dust billowed up in thick clouds.
"Wh-what's going on?!"
As the Hoopa tribesmen milled about in confusion, someone descended from above.
Shhhrrrrrik!
Shhhrrrrrrrrrik!
Through the swirling haze, silver tentacle-blades whipped out in every direction and sent the Hoopa warriors flying. The man grabbing at Meilin went sailing off as well.
Her eyes went wide as saucers, and she screamed.
"Simon!"
Simon touched down on the floor, his eyes icy as he swept them over the Hoopa tribesmen—then, finding Meilin, his face broke into a smile.
"Thank goodness. Are you hurt anywhere?"
Thirty minutes earlier.
A tavern in the harbor district.
"Ugh, what a pain."
Byeolya was scratching at her head in irritation, her face like something had gone badly sideways.
"What's wrong, Professor?"
Simon asked quickly.
"My little ones aren't responding to my control. I'm guessing those Hoopa bastards have set up totems."
She rose from her seat, and a chemical stench—sharp enough to be dangerous—washed over him in a wave.
"I'll have to go take care of it myself. Leave finding your friends to me. You—go hole up with the city guard or somewhere like that. Don't go wandering around getting yourself arrested for skulking."
And with that, she vanished up through the tavern's wide-open ceiling.
Left alone, Simon let out a sigh.
Guess I'll start searching too.
He was just about to step out of the tavern when—
—Kiiiiiiiiieeee!
A shriek like tearing metal rang out from far away.
That sound!
It was the music box—Dick's latest invention. The signal that Camibarez had found something.
Simon bolted out of the tavern at once and sprinted toward the sound.
Lantern! Lantern! Where is it?
He found it right away. The Thousand Lights hadn't begun yet, so the lone lantern hanging in the night sky stood out unmistakably.
Simon tore toward it headlong.
"Cami! Where are you—!"
"Simon!"
He spotted her holding a finger to her lips, waving him over. He hurried to her side and whispered.
"Did you find them?"
"Yes, I think so."
She pointed at the ground with the fingertip that had been at her lips. Drops of dark red blood had dried onto the pavement.
"Blood drops?"
"Yes. It's Dick's blood."
True to her vampire lineage, Camibarez had a keen sensitivity to the scent of blood. Distinguishing who it belonged to was an easy feat for her.
"It looks like Dick deliberately cut the back of his fingers and squeezed blood out as they were dragging him away, letting it drip onto the ground! I followed the scent, and there were some suspicious men over there!"
"That's Dick for you."
Simon smiled. Nobody, he thought, could hold a candle to that kid's cunning.
"Lead me toward the scent."
"Yes!"
The two of them crept through the darkened streets.
"There it is."
Pressed flat against a wall in the alley, Camibarez pointed with her fingertip. Two robed men were loitering in front of a dilapidated building.
Tall, broad-shouldered, powerfully built. These two weren't standing guard because some crony had ordered them to—they were seasoned warriors, plain to see.
If they weren't taken down in a single blow, they'd bolt and raise the alarm with everyone inside.
"Let's cast our curses and move in."
"Good idea! But it's a little far. What if we miss?"
Simon raised his arm, checked his wristwatch, and flashed a grin.
"I've got just the trick for that."
The two robed men stood guard at the hideout's entrance.
Their orders were simple: respond to any disturbance, then slip inside and report the situation. Apart from occasionally clearing out drunks causing trouble in the streets, there was nothing particularly difficult about the job.
"Another night's watch begins, eh."
The man on the right said in the Hoopa tongue.
The Thousand Lights had begun, and countless lanterns were rising into the night sky.
The man on the left picked up the thread.
"Boss, why do they even bother with that stuff?"
"No idea. Maybe because the stars are hard to see in this place."
"Honestly, this whole alley's got me suffocating. I can't wait to catch that woman, finish her off, and get back to the grasslands."
As the two of them traded idle chatter, two of the lanterns that should have been rising toward the heavens wobbled, sputtering like they'd spent their last strength, and began drifting back down.
"Ha. Would you look at that."
The man smirked. The lanterns fell right near them.
"Some folks can't even fly one of these things properly."
"It's got a hole in it. Must've snagged on something and torn."
The men picked their noses, utterly indifferent, and kept talking.
At that very moment, the magic circles hidden inside the two lanterns flared to life.
Sickness — Simon's curse
Blood Pressure — Camibarez's curse
The twin curses spread out like tendrils of smoke and pierced through the bodies of both men.
"…!"
The men staggered, hit by violent dizziness all at once. Simon tore through that opening like a gale and slammed his fist into the right-hand man's stomach.
"Kghak!"
The man's body jackknifed backward, and Simon—planting a foot against his back and vaulting up as if riding him—drove his elbow down into the back of the man's skull, knocking him out cold.
"Boss!!"
One of their own had gone down in the blink of an eye. The instant the left-hand man turned to face Simon, someone latched onto him from behind like a leech, clamping a hand over his mouth and nose.
Peeeng!
Something streamed into his nostrils from the attacker's hand. His nose and mouth stung sharply, blood came pouring out in rivulets, and his consciousness began to swim.
Intruders!
Fighting desperately to stay awake, the man reached back behind him and ripped the thing clinging to him off.
A tiny girl with light-violet hair crumpled to the roadside with a faint moan.
"Why you—!"
Just as the man raised his foot to stomp on her, the world spun—crack!—and his vision wheeled away. Simon's fist had smashed into his face, crushing it on impact.
He flew several meters and slammed into the ground, and before he could even push himself up, Simon came sprinting in and kicked his jaw clean off the earth.
The man's eyes rolled white, and he sprawled flat.
"Cami! Are you okay?"
Simon rushed over in alarm. She nodded vigorously, took his outstretched hand, and pulled herself up.
"Yes, thank you, Simon."
Once she was on her feet, Simon swiftly stripped the robe off the fallen man, grabbed the shirt he wore underneath, and yanked it wide open.
Wha—!
Camibarez startled and covered her eyes. Strange patterns painted in natural dyes covered his stomach all the way up to his chest.
"Hoopa. No doubt about it."
"So Dick and Meilin are being held in there."
"Yeah. It's only a matter of time before they realize their guards were taken down. Let's move these guys out of sight and get ready to go in."
"Yes!"
Camibarez clenched both fists, nodded firmly, then grabbed the fallen man in the distance, went "Hnngh!" and pulled with all her might.
…He didn't budge an inch.
In the end, she had to bolster her strength by activating the Jet-Black in her body before she could drag him into a secluded corner.
Simon had already moved the other man aside and was calculating their route of entry.
This is…!
As he examined the building's ceiling, his eyes gleamed. A magic circle was visible on the roof.
Meilin's dark magic.
Reading the formulae, he picked out freezing and gathering. A Jet-Black Elemental spell—it had to be Meilin.
While held captive, she had secretly leaked her Jet-Black out to inscribe a magic circle remotely on the building's roof. That was the skill worthy of an Ivory Tower graduate, all right.
Then I'll take this side…
Simon traced the infiltration route for Camibarez with his finger. She nodded and began readying her own dark magic.
Next, Simon pulled two zombies out of subspace and pressed them flat against the roof. Then he fell back and prepared the Corpse Explosion.
Just then, voices came from inside the building.
"You're saying there was a trail of blood like a road leading down the hallway?"
"Yes!"
It seemed word of Dick's blood trail was finally getting out.
The men were coming outside. If this dragged on, Simon and Camibarez—with her dark magic primed—might be spotted too.
We're going in now.
Simon flashed Camibarez the entry signal, then clenched his right fist, which was extended toward the zombies.
Corpse Explosion!
KRA-KOOOOOOM!
The two zombies went up in a massive blast. The steel-framed building's ceiling collapsed with a thunderous rumble, and a haze of dust billowed through the interior.
Simon hurled himself into the chaos.
Smoke and dust made it impossible to see three feet ahead. He could hear the panicked screams of the Hoopa tribesmen.
Simon landed safely and stomped his left foot hard into the floor.
Open Gate!
Shhhrrrrrik!
Shhhrrrrrrrrrik!
Through the swirling dust, silver tentacle-blades whipped out in every direction and sent the Hoopa warriors flying.
Done! Where are Dick and Meilin?
Simon scanned his surroundings. Someone was lifting Dick, still strapped to his chair—and another man was reaching for Meilin, bound to hers the same way.
Simon sent Overlord toward Meilin to send her captor flying, and in the same motion opened subspace and pulled out his Skeletons.
Go.
Clack! Thunk! Thunk!
The bones latched onto Dick's chair like magnets and flew him across the room, pinning him safely against the wall.
"Simon!!"
Meilin's cry rang out. Simon turned to her—she looked unharmed—and smiled.
"Thank goodness. Are you hurt anywhere?"