There was thankfully no trouble when they reached the last point. Having done this several times already, Ciel managed to replace the broken stones and restart the array in under ten minutes. Heaving a sigh of relief, Ciel watched the crystals light up one by one before imbuing the whole column with light. It would not just be the eastern side of the barrier that would benefit as the barrier, like a cloth would be strengthened overall. At the very least, a major section of the array had been repaired. All they needed to do was to see to the other two. Ciel hoped that Kou was able to complete the repairs on his side.
Exiting the space, he nodded to George and they team left, preparing to return to the club. While he still had a few crystals in his ring, Ciel felt it would be better to get the rest of the crystals and assess if it would be better to let the twins go or if he should continue and shoulder another section. The earlier injured scout had already been treated and she had gone to join the other archers at the front. So like a warrior.
When they returned to the club, Ciel was surprised to see Kou there before him. He had a bad feeling.
“What happened?”
Kou’s face was pale and he looked to be in a daze.
“There was a breach and a pack of panic wolves attacked us. Yue got pretty beat up” Fionn answered, Ciel turned and saw that he was being bandaged by one of the staff.
“You’re not hurt?” he asked Kou, concerned.
Kou still had not found his ability to speak and could only shake his head mutely.
“How many more on the west side? And the twins?” George asked. Sentiments were important but seeing as there were no casualties, practicalities needed to be addressed.
“Yue insisted we finished the rest of it, since there were only two points left and they were close by. We’re done with the west now.” Once his wounds were dressed, Fionn stood up and approached the tables that they had pushed together in the centre of the lounge to make a makeshift meeting spot. “The twins have gone to the north. Apparently that’s the source of the breach.”
Ciel saw George nod. They two security leads were in a deep discussion now. Seeing that he couldn’t contribute, he sat next to Kou, still with a lost look on his face. There were things that he wanted to say but they felt superficial at this moment. So he sat in silence next to his brother, offering silent comfort instead.
“What an interesting second day…”
“We’re never this lively, I promise.”
“If that’s the case, I wonder if I’m a jinx.”
“There’s no such thing to my parents. Every cloud has a silver lining to them.”
“How can they be so positive?”
“Didn’t you know? My father was supposedly a stupid and stubborn man in his youth... don’t look at me like that, that’s how he always told the story… He caused trouble with a love rival, lost the fight and right to succession and was banished from his home. Then he got injured and somehow managed to meet my mother. So for him, no matter how dark the night, the sun will still rise in the end.”
Ciel had loved his parents’ love story. His father had been at the lowest point of his life and then his mother had shown up like a bright flame that lit the dark. There were twists and turns of course. His mother didn’t like Gin at first but when he looked at them now, he understood that it was trials like this that tempered their unbreakable bonds. He looked sideways at Kou, still deep in thought; Dawn loved the story too. That was why he retold it, hoping to jog some memories. But it had to be doled out, like candy, a little at a time.
“At the very least, you got the task you were assigned to done.” He changed the subject. “Good job. I’m going to finish up in the south. Then we can relax a little once the barrier is fixed.”
He got up and approached George and Fionn who seemed to be done with their discussion.
“Are we ready to go?” there was no need to ask who was going to settle the arrays in the south.
“Yes. Fionn will take care of things here while everyone else is gone. Kou will be on standby to assist Master Gin if necessary.” George replied as he picked up another clip of ammunition and reloaded his revolver. They walked over to the rest of the team, who stood up once they saw them coming.
“We’re covering the south this time. Stay alert, Fionn said they didn’t manage to kill all the wolves so there’s no telling where they are right now but those at the front said they didn’t see them.”
Everyone nodded in understanding, not bothering to speak. Even the usually chatty Dominic, who always had something to say, kept his smart mouth closed. That was a testament of how serious they took the situation. Seeing that everyone was ready, George led them through the south exit. The same bleak scenery with dead trees greeted them. They quickly moved towards the damaged array points, which Orithyia’s scouts had already pinpointed. After greeting the scout, Ciel immediately got to work.
It was thankfully clear inside the space and Ciel finished his task quickly. He returned to the tense atmosphere outside and the proceeded to the next point. With everyone’s nerves so taut, Ciel couldn’t help but feel like he was in a slasher flick, and all of them were cannon fodder waiting to be picked off by the villain; never mind that he was surrounded by an immortal, a mage, several amazons and a ronin. The scenery with dead trees and dim lighting was not helping either.
There was surprisingly less damaged array points here than in the east side. Only four and they were all concentrated in the middle, between the club and the edge of the barrier. It was a surprise but since Ciel was not sure about the situation in the north and west, he could not say if remarkable or not. After repairing all of them, there was a shimmer as the barrier repaired itself, returning to its original appearance. The twins must have been done with the array points in the north. He breathed a sigh of relief and the tension that he had felt initially melted away. He could hear cheers in the distance as the staff in the front realized that the arrays had been repaired and the barrier was running at full capacity again.
“Let’s get back to the club.”
Before they could move, there was a roar and they turned to see a terror lion standing on a nearby outcrop; it looks like panic wolves weren’t the only ones that managed to get past the barrier. Everyone was instantly alert, weapon’s drawn. Ciel and Dominic had begun their spells, Ciel with his fireballs while Dominic was preparing his ‘bolt from the blue’. While they were focusing on the lone lion, several lionesses appeared and started circling them. In terms of stamina, strength and cooperation, these lionesses were levels above dread hyenas. With grey blue hides, red black eyes and tinged with purplish miasma, these lions looked menacing and terrifying.
“Ciel, can you raise yourself, Dom and the archers?”
“Yes.” He released his magic and created an invisible platform, raising himself, Dominic and two of the amazons. The third one had always preferred the sword so she stayed on the ground with George and Musashi, the ronin. The team was somewhat balanced and Ciel cast some strength, agility and defence buffs on the three of them. Since the archers had a high vantage point, they could assist by keeping the lions at bay to prevent the rest of them from being overwhelmed. Dominic was still preparing his heavy duty spell so Ciel was in charge of healing and buffs. Ciel gave a wry smile; from slasher movie to a video game… the transition could not be any quicker.
Another roar from the lion signalled the start of the battle as the lionesses charged and attacked. There were about a dozen of them; nearly double of Ciel and his team. It didn’t matter though; both sides were aiming to kill. The archers released their arrows and Ciel also fired some fireballs. Instead of aiming at individual lions, George and his team worked together to finish off a single lioness at a time. Ciel marvelled at the cooperation of the entire team as he watched them corner and take down the lionesses separately and the archers prevent the other lions from approaching to assist. Their movements were smooth and it looked like they would be fine, after having taken down four lions like this.
The male lion who was watching however seemed enraged and let out a bloodthirsty roar. This roar invoked terror and just like their names, the terror lion caused weaker minded people to feel fear and lose strength. But while it slowed down and weakened their attacks, the momentum that all the warriors had did not diminish. These were hardened fighters, all with a large amount of experience and history to them. They wouldn’t be frightened by a mere lion’s roar. Not when some of them had faced opponents far more difficult and dangerous.
While they were still engaged with the enemy, Dominic opened his eyes, a sign that the spell was ready. However, he also released an unbearable pressure that caused everyone on the platform to be overwhelmed. Ciel looked at him was shocked to see his pupils entirely dark and sparks being emitted from his body. It felt more dangerous than the usual spell.
“Everyone get out of the way!”
Warned in time, all three of them leapt out of the way as lightning literally struck from the blue. Ciel was increasingly worried. Normally Dominic’s spell would begin with the ominous rumble that alerted team members of the impending strike, allowing them to get out of the way in time. Looking down, he was shocked to see that the lions were all burnt to char as the lightning hit every single one of them. The scorch and crater marks where the lightning missed George and the rest were also terrifying. The magnitude of the attack was far more devastating than the mage’s usual attack. He turned to look at him again.
“Dominic?” he asked cautiously.
An unknown wind whipped and Ciel could see a form behind the mage. With goggle eyes and fangs, the being had a fearsome bearing but somehow, Ciel was not afraid. He stared at the frightening being who had who knows when possessed Dominic. But he could not feel hostility from him. Instead, he felt the weight of the millennium and a feeling of extreme tiredness and helplessness. Remembering which entrance it was and which mythical being had the same description as he was seeing now, he softly called.
“Lord… Tlaloc?”
The being seemed to smile at Ciel’s correct guess. Then, using Dominic as his medium, he spoke.
“Please… save the Great Goddess.”
