[IC] [Mizos]The Tides of The Past[SanaChan][Take Two]

[SanaChan]

Mera tried to search for Hotaru, but there were so many people and she was trying to do it quickly, so she was certain she was missing her somewhere. She sighed as she reached the town square but she realized there were people hovering, a little bit of pandemonium adding to her inability to see. She went over, making sure her hood was up as she got closer and sighed heavily seeing there as a dead man, his throat ripped open, "Damn it, Hotaru, where are you?" she looked around to see if there were any clues as to what way she would have gone. She spotted a bloody smudge on the side of a building and went down the alleyway where that it streaked towards. She walked down the alleyway and stopped. An actual sense of horror washed over her seeing the bodies that lined the alleys, "There's no way she did all this," she whispered, knowing Hotaru's aversion to blood. There was no gain for Sybil aside from amusement but even for her this game would have gotten old after awhile. Unless there was something else at work, what else would feed on humans in such a similar manner?
"Hotaru!" she finally called out. This was enough. She had to find her. They were too far North not to believe that there wouldn't be something out here to hunt her kind. She searched up and down the alley way before hurrying back to the inn. She noticed people were looking at her, wondering what her hurry was. It certainly didn't look good, considering she was running away from the dead body and people were bound to discover the massacre in the alleys soon enough.
She rushed up to the room, knocking the door open, "Larel, we have to find Hotaru now. There are bodies piling up in the main part of town and the last thing we need is someone putting the blame for all that death on her, even if somehow she was responsible."

[Mizos]

Larel sat in the room his arms crossed over his chest as he let his personal darkness hover around him, he generally kept it locked inside so he wouldn't do it in front of Hotaru and Mera, but since he had the moment alone he let a bit of it out finding he wasn't able to keep his emotions wholly in check, he was worried about Hotaru and Mera and that moment with Hiroyuki didn't help his attitude. He could hear Zenmaru reminding him about his missing sister as well which seemed to just distract him further. With all these things circling around his head he figured a little mediation would help him calm down a little, and get everything inside of him at least somewhat sturdy. Though it seemed no matter how much time passed he couldn't fully calm down, after a while he let out a small sigh and leaned against the wall shutting his eyes.
When the door flung open he jumped and grabbing his sword moved it towards the hilt until he saw it was Mera, he let out a relieved sigh and moved it to his back as he listened to her. Hearing Hotaru was missing and there were dead bodies around the town his eyes widened before he ran over to Mera nodding as he waited her to move.
"I'm right behind you Mera-sama, let's find Hotaru," Larel said. "Do you have any idea where we can look?"

Alari hummed to himself as he made his way back towards the inn, though when he noticed the gathering of people he came to a stop as he felt his chest tighten. Something in him told him what it was already but he jogged over and gently moving past the people moved down to see the dead body in the center. Pushing his glasses up onto his face he closed his eyes giving the person moment of silence, he raised his head looking how the person died before he saw Mera walking away. Arching a brow he moved through the crowd and followed after wondering if she had any idea what was happening, however when he saw her leave the alley with a few eyes on her he looked around for a moment before walking up the alley.
"No," Alari mumbled removing his glasses.
His eyes narrowed at the amount of bodies taking up the alley, turning he made his way back to the inn pushing his glasses back onto his face. He wasn't sure who took the lives of the kind people of this village but he needed to find out, especially if they brought it with them.

[SanaChan]

Mera went back out of the hotel, looking around, "I already went that way looking for her," she motioned towards the town square, "I'll check to see if she went on towards the woods, you check around the rest of the town see if she's not hiding somewhere," she said and started towards the edge of town. She didn't know where that damned girl was but if she was behind this then that probably meant that Sybil had some control over her actions, which wasn't good for anyone. Either that or she was trying to stave Sybil off and was more desperate that she had intended to be and if she was in control and saw the result of her actions, then she would have freaked out and bolted.

Now they're going to think you're a monster. Did you leave anything obvious to show that they were after you?
"Shut up, damn it," Hotaru hissed under her breath as she hurried between the buildings, putting a distance between herself and the others, heading back the way they came. Maybe Mera and Larel wouldn't find her and be able to rip her a new one for what she'd done if she avoided them all together.
They're your friends, I thought they understood this kind of thing.
"And why the hell would you care if they understood or not?"
I don't, it just doesn't make sense to me.
"Just stop talking so much."
Why don't at least explain to your friends that they were all hunters or jumped in on the fight once they realized what you were?
"Did you see how many I killed? That's unacceptable. I could have spared the onlookers- there were more of them than the actual hunters!"
Nooo, it's not likely you could have spared them, regardless of how much you struggled to. You are actually a monster, regardless of the body count.
"Why are you suddenly being so helpful?"
I'm bored.
"Figures."
Hotaru threw her hands up, pulling the cloak tighter. Regardless right now she needed to get out of the village. She would definitely be suspicious looking considering her cloak and the fact that their group shows up and then a bunch of people die. She sighed heavily, "Just a couple days. That too much to ask?" she muttered as she walked towards the woods as she passed the last house.

[Mizos]

Larel watched Mera and offered a nod when she mentioned checking the town and moving into the shadows started looking around. After the incident in the other village when she lost control he knew he had to find Hotaru as soon as possible, whether or not she was in her right mind she'd end up feeling bad either way. She got upset enough already just from stabbing him back then even though he knew it was Sybil, if those bodies came from her or Sybil he couldn't imagine how she must feel right now. Gritting his teeth he used the darkness and shadows between buildings to check the town as fast as his feet could carry him.
"Where are you Hotaru?" Larel questioned coming to a stop in an alley, however feeling something soft under his foot he raised it only to see a body under it, looking around he noticed the alleyway was filled wit them. His eyes twitched since he figured this is what Mera was talking about, though Zenmaru laughed in his skull at the bodies.
Larel glanced to his right telling her to stop laughing before he continued through the village, something didn't sit well with him about all of this, Hotaru always just took what blood was necessary no more than that. Even if she did do it that many bodies was too much.

Larel came to a skidding stop as Alari moved in his path, he opened his mouth to speak but Alari pointed near the edge of town.
"She's that way," He said looking at him. "I'll catch up later."
Larel glared at him but shot in the direction not having any other leads anyway, Alari watched him run off and pushed his glasses back on his face before turning and walking in the opposite direction, he trusted Larel to find Hotaru and he had to clean up that mess before innocent people found it, at the very least the bodies.
Larel sprinted through the town eventually catching sight of Hotaru seeing her approach the woods, he sped up knowing if she got in there he wasn't going to be able to find her without Mera's help.
"Hotaru! Wait!"

[SanaChan]

Hotaru turned towards the sound of his voice and sighed seeing he already found her, "Damn," she muttered before taking off towards the woods, trying to get to them before he caught up to her, "I'm sorry, Larel, don't take this personally, but I'd rather not get staked if that's alright with you," she called over her shoulder before she ducked behind the trees. She didn't need to go far in to the woods to lose him, she knew that and she felt bad using that knowledge to her advantage, but this also put her in Mera's playing ground.

The ground under the bodies slowly started to move as vines crept up out of it, wrapping around the bodies and pulling them in the ground, their broad leaves wiping at the blood and trying to lessen the gore if any bystanders walked in. Having heard Larel, Mera turned her attention to the woods, closing her eyes so she could "see" where Hotaru was and reached her hand in that direction, the trunk of a tree sprouting up around her and holding her tight.

"DAMN IT!" Hotaru growled, unable to break free of the petrified plant.
Well it was fun while it lasted.
Mera shot towards the woods, going across the rooftops to avoid the confusion in the streets below, landing near Larel, "Caught her, she's just inside the tree line," she said, walking that way, stopping as she came to stand in front of the snarling Hotaru. Her eyes were for the most part clear, but there tints of orange around the sides of her irises, "So this must have been Sybil's idea."
"Not really. Most of the guys trying to kill me's idea and then the people standing nearby that thought they'd boost their "good guy" status by killing the monster.""
"If it was self defense, why are you running?"
"Because then it would be self defense against the whole damn town."

[Mizos]

Larel tilted his head not sure what Hotaru was getting at but sped up still trying to keep up with her, he couldn't use his darkness out in the open so he knew Hotaru was going to gain the lead if he didn't close the distance. Seeing her nearing the forest he grit his teeth knowing he wouldn't be able to keep up on his own. He shut his eyes and his body seemed to fall forward for a moment before Zenmaru took over, however by then Mera had caught Hotaru, though when his eyes opened Zenmaru had taken over. She walked behind Mera keeping her arms crossed as she spoke to Hotaru curious to why she had sprinted away from everyone.
Hearing the reason Zenmaru put a hand over her mouth trying to hold a chuckle again.
"So your first thought is to run away from the people who support you, that's actually pretty funny," Zenmaru said laughing a little. "Let's commit murder and leave without explaining that's perfect! Ah man wait till I tell Larel this."
Larel's eyes returned to normal and he shook his head slightly before his gaze landed on Hotaru, however his eyes glanced to the right as Zenmaru spoke with him, his eyebrows drew down as she explained what Hotaru just said.

Larel walked towards Hotaru past Mera the angry expression on his face remaining before he raised his hand towards Hotaru, and in the next moment he flicked her forehead before he shut his eyes letting out a small sigh. His face returned to it's normal blank state and he crossed his arms under his chest.
"If you're in trouble don't leave us behind," Larel said. "I'm your friend, I'm not as strong as you but if something's wrong I'm gonna help you. Depend on me a little when things like this happen...worried me half to death when you vanished. If you have to take on a whole town I'll be right there next to you, sword drawn without hesitation...just don't leave like that."
Alari leaned against a nearby tree a fair distance from the group, thanks to Mera cleaning up the bodies he was able to catch up relatively quickly though hearing their conversation he moved away from them. He smiled a little keeping his presence hidden to keep Larel's rage away since he seemed focused on something.
"It's a little different when it's a friend...isn't it Larel," Alari mumbled chuckling a little.
Mera vanishing was commonplace at this point to him, he was upset when it happened but Mera was his master, his respect to that hierarchy meant he wasn't going to do anything aside from worry about her and try to locate her. Hotaru was different, that was his friend and she didn't vanish that often, when it did happen it was extremely worrisome and there was no hierarchy there they were equals in his eyes.
Larel didn't understand that difference in his own attitude openly but it was still there.

[SanaChan]

Hotaru sighed a bit, wincing slightly when he flicked her forehead, "I was just trying to avoid giving you guys more trouble... Everyone already has enough people after them or messing with them to need anything else I have to add to the mix," she looked down, sighing, "Sorry," she whispered.
"It's rather sad that no one seems to realize the difference between being selfish and selfless," Mera muttered, glancing over towards where Alari was, "But we can't go back in to town. Our departure undoubtedly got everyone's attention. We need to head on towards the north, but at least until we're clear of the village, we need to travel under the cover of the trees."
"Do we need to be worrying about any of your friends finding us out here?" Hotaru asked as Mera released her.
"I'm not really sure how that's going to go. We need to be on our guard regardless. We're as likely to run in to bandits and thieves as we are any of the people we already have issues with," Mera said, putting her hands on her hips, "But what were you doing out that caused this to happen in the first place?"
Hotaru rubbed the back of her head, clearly hoping she wouldn't get asked.
"You were trying to feed, weren't you? That's how you got caught by the hunters and that ensued the rest."
"Yea," she fidgeted, "Figured I couldn't keep relying help with those gourd things, so I was trying to do it myself," she whispered, "They jumped me and it just went down hill from there."
"Well, next time, we'll have to make sure you're more aware of your surroundings. You should know better than that," she said and Hotaru looked away, not liking that she felt she was being chastised like a child, "Let's go then," Mera turned and started walking through the woods.
Hotaru huffed before looking at Larel, "I really am sorry for worrying you. I really was just trying to keep things from getting more difficult for you two," she murmured.

[Mizos]

Larel seemed to calm down a little as he listened to Hotaru looking at her in silence as she explained why she left, he lowered his eyes not really having anything to say towards her on it. Mera's words caused him to flinch as it hit a little close to home, when he had tried to leave Mera and Hotaru himself he had the same thought in mind, but back then Alari had stopped him from going. It was strange but Larel understood what Hotaru was trying to do and he wasn't entirely sure what to do. After a moment his attention did move to Alari seeing Mera look at him,
The two watched each other in silence but Larel didn't say anything or even throw a glare in his direction. When Alari smiled at him he turned his attention back to Mera and Hotaru hearing Hotaru was caught while trying to feed, his mouth moved to the side for a bit feeling for Hotaru at Mera's words though Alari smiled actually envying Hotaru a little. Having someone around to do that was a bit of a blessing, he hoped she understood that a little.

Alari turned and walked after Mera, Larel started following after him but stopped when Hotaru spoke to him, he averted his gaze for a moment before shutting his eyes, he rubbed the back of his head before smiling and looking back at her.
"It's okay...you guys get to deal with Zenmaru on occasion so I can call it even," he said with a small nod. "I know you don't want to bother us with it Hotaru...I don't want anyone to deal with mine Zenmaru being one of the main ones. I find it's easier if we help each other though, I'm your friend after all and that's what friends do...at least I think so. It feels like it's the right thing to do anyway, let's keep going before we're left behind."

[SanaChan]

Hotaru smiled softly at Larel saying that's what thought friends did for each other and nodded when he said they should keep going. She started forwards, not surprised to see Alari right behind Mera and no longer surprised to find Mera almost seemed to relax just a small bit whenever Alari was around, but it was more of the same tenseness she'd shown whenever they were looking for Hotaru.
Mera wouldn't admit it if her life depended on it, but she worried whenever she couldn't physically see Alari. She didn't trust what she sensed through the ground to not be an illusion. A trick of some sort that he'd played to keep them of his trail or keep them from worrying about him- mostly her because she figured Hotaru didn't care and Larel hated him. Mary would have been worried, as would Koari, though his disappearance still plagued her a little bit. Where had he gotten to? Yes, he gotten on her nerves, but that didn't mean she wanted anything to happen to the kid. She sighed a bit, rubbing the back of her head, "Like plants," she muttered aloud, mentally comparing them all to the invasive species of plants that when planted somewhere foreign they took over everything near them.
"Anyone know how far away the next town is?" Hotaru asked, crossing her arms inside her sleeves of her cloak.
"Plenty of miles. Are you in a hurry?"
"Rather we not find any of the people who have attacked us here recently still lurking nearby..."
Mera went to respond before her attention was drawn in the direction Mary, Eryn, and Raina had gone, narrowing her eyes a little, sensing that something wasn't quite right. She could see a bright light in the distance, only assuming it was bright because of the fact she could see it regardless of the distance it was at, or what it seemed at. But she wasn't getting any word of distress from Mary or Alessea, so she had to assume everything was fine...though every muscle in her body longed to go in that direction, to be sure. She turned and forced herself to start walking in the direction of the next village, pulling her hood up in case her face gave more away about her worry than she wanted it to.

[Mizos]

Alari moved a hand to his chin ignoring Larel's narrowed gaze digging into the back of his skull, he seemed to be keeping his distance however more than likely out of concern for Hotaru. He couldn't help but worry about the three of them, though he was happy that Hotaru hadn't gotten too far away there was plenty to be concerned about and the farther north they went to more that list seemed to grow. He could faintly pick up Kaori's presence now, which was better then feeling nothing at all, but it was hard to pick up anything at all. Since he was trying to sense his existence finding it so weak bothered him, he hoped it was just from regaining the ability and not lack of life.
Larel meanwhile walked with Hotaru glancing over at Mera as she brought up plants, he tilted his head but at Hotaru's question he looked over at her deciding to put Mera's comment aside and shake his head to show he wasn't sure. He glanced over at Alari who started digging in the sleeve of his kimono, when Mera responded however he pulled his hand away and turned his attention forward. Larel could see where Hotaru was coming from, he'd been ambushed in forest's before, though part of that came from getting lost he couldn't deny it happened.

Larel and Alari looked over at Mera catching her pull her hood up, Larel arched a brow at the gesture but Alari watched her with a sideways glance. He wanted to speak with her about what she saw, but Larel's gaze caused him to stop, he was tolerating his presence at the moment and it was thanks to that he wasn't following the group from the shadows. If he spoke without being spoken to he expected Larel would respond, more than likely violently.
"...I think Kaori is nearby," Alari said shutting his eyes. "There's a field of flowers, if we have time the stop it would be appreciated."
He made sure to speak in a way to address everyone to avoid Larel's wrath in the process. It wasn't a guarantee but he wanted a confirmation of it, the closet thing he had gotten to one since they were in the village. He almost went off on his own after it but he didn't want to leave Mera's side, he found himself worried about her.
"...who is nearby?" Larel questioned. "We're heading to a village there's no time for random detours for some person you know."
"You know him too Larel," Alari said glancing back at him.
Larel opened his mouth to say something but put his hand on his head glancing to his right, after a moment he looked ahead crossing his arms.
"Right Kaori...I can't remember his face for some reason though."
Alari's eyes lowered a little and he turned his attention forward, he needed to act before he got to Larel's point. If there wasn't time to stop he'd pay a visit himself once he was positive everyone was safe.

[SanaChan]

Mera looked over curiously hearing that Kaori was nearby, "We should stop. It would be good to see what caused that," she motioned towards Larel, meaning the phenomena of forgetting who Kaori was, "and make sure he's alright. It really didn't seem in that boy's nature to just take off like that," she said, closing her eyes so she could figure out where the flower field was and then started walking in that direction, almost forgetting to open her eyes back up.
"I don't know why we're so worried about the perv with such a big obsession on painting you naked," Hotaru muttered lowly.
"Because as annoying as that may be, he hasn't done anyone any harm and doesn't deserve to just be tossed aside," Mera said, a disappointed tone telling Hotaru that she had expected better from her and Hotaru huffed, getting that childish scolding feeling again.
Mera also knew that Mary was fond of Kaori, considered him a friend, and this rag tag group was the first friends Mary had made on her own. She had to make sure that they were alright. That when Mary decided to come and see them than her friends would still be there. Seeing what happened when they thought they lost Alari one time, she knew what Mary was capable of doing and she didn't want to see it happen again.

Eryn and Raina were staring in shock at the charred mess of human soldiers in front of them. A divine intervention, literally. The Goddess herself had spoken through Mary, who had pleaded with her for help, and had smote the enemies that lay before them. A reformation of faith if nothing else. She had also restored Mary's mental state, but Alessea had refused the help. She had a suspicion that this thing was not the Goddess, something not all that different from what they were fighting to seal off. With any luck, it wasn't just a scam that the entity was selling, but also what it believed. It wouldn't be the first time, she supposed, that a gypsy believed that they had ascended to godhood upon death. And if it was one of their elven ancestors, it would make even more sense that they might believe it. It did not seem to stay attached to Mary, just bid them to hurry and complete their task, much to Alessea's relief.
Eryn picked Alessea up since Mary was capable of moving on her own now, and started towards the north. THey knew Mera and them would be heading for the shogun who had the artifact they needed, but they wanted to see if they could perhaps get to it first and return it to where it belonged- to save them some trouble since they had more than plenty of it.
"Hey, Mary," Raina spoke to her and Mary looked over, "Kaori gave us those dolls, but you never said what he gave you," She said and Mary turned bright red which got Eryn's attention, "What was it?"
"N-nothing!"
"Liar," Eryn quipped.
"Leave it alone!" Mary said and moved a bit quicker but then Raina was trying to catch her to try and get her to spit it out.

[Mizos]

Alari nodded and followed behind Mera, he could feel Larel's gaze on him but he was worried about Kaori, and he could feel his memories slipping away with each passing moment. It was getting hard to remember his face and he didn't like what was happening to their memory. Kaori cared about them so he questioned why he had run off like this, he hated being alone especially when there was danger involved. He was also confused why he had stopped in a field of flowers, did he expect them to stop there or did something happen that made him stop? These questions plagued Alari's mind and it made him worry more with each step.
"There it is," Alari said pointing ahead.
"If he brings up the painting of Mera-sama I'm punching him, I almost forgot that too," Larel added.

Among the white petals stretching far into the distance, Kaori stood in the middle of the field staring up at the blue sky in silence, a distant look in his eyes as he stared at nothing. Neither Larel or Alari was sure what he was doing as he had a strange aura about him, almost as if he was separated from the current reality, lingering between being real and false at the same time. He didn't look at the others though he was well aware they were nearby, but he just continued to stare at the sky.
"Today's a beautiful day," Kaori said.
"...Kaori?" Alari questioned.
"Someone I've come to like...has been close to death for a long time. He ended up dying today."
"O-oh...that's why you've been acting so strange lately," Alari said.
"I'd hope to spend some more time with him...but I ran out of it."
"I'm...sorry to hear that Kaori. May I ask who it was?"
"Kaori Hisugawa."
Alari eyes narrowed but before he could say anything further a burst of red energy came out of Kaori and in the same moment a gust of wind surrounded the group with Larel being propelled forward towards Kaori.
Alari kept his arms raised at the strong gusts but he noticed Larel get pulled away, the wind subsided as Kaori made a claw with his hand catching Larel by his face, an invisible force exploded from his hand knocking Larel out.
"Larel!" Alari yelled but he froze as his eyes landed on Kaori...or at least the man that was Kaori.
The man standing in the field was no longer the effeminate smiling Kaori, his features seemed to adjust themselves and he resembled a young man with long flowing purple hair and dark yellow eyes, he was taller then Kaori was almost matching Alari's height and had a long purple kimono on his body. The eyes once full of life and curiosity were replaced with a cold emotionless gaze, and every now and then a black butterfly would float around his body before fading away.
It took a bit of willpower but Alari rushed forward, however Kaori had waited for that.
"Davaris," he spoke his voice echoing slightly.
A bright red barrier appeared around his body, taking on a dome like appearance with black lightning breaking off it and the energy moving against itself in spirals and zig-zags making it seem like the magic was constantly in motion.
Alari came to an abrupt stop and jumped away from it clenching his hands into fist as Kaori released Larel letting his unconscious body fall to the ground.
"The Elder Language and that barrier...how?" Alari questioned.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself, my name is Murio Nishikawa. I'm the six commander, I represent Ai's deception."
"...s...sixth," Alari said before Murio nodded his head. "H-how there's only five?"
"I'm good at my job," Murio responded. "Also before you try and make a move Hotaru-san, Mera-san. This barrier tears apart anything it comes in contact with, be it organic, human or magical. I've also rooted it into the ground to make sure Mera's...ability doesn't interfere."
Alari looked at Kaori's feet and sure enough the flowers under him had either been torn to shreds or had wilted due to exposure from the dark magic, the earth was even scorched covered in the magic of the barrier.
"It's good to meet you face to face," Murio said staring at them. "Please excuse me for being rude, but I'll be taking Larel with me now."
"Kaori! you-"
"I told you that man is dead," Murio said. "Don't take it personally I hold nothing against any of you, not even Larel but I have a job to do. I had fun while it lasted and to thank you for keeping me entertained I'm not going to kill Larel right now. There's a village to the north of here, it's about half a day's travel but with your speed you'll make it there in no time. There's a flower field past it...I'll be waiting there for you and I'll give you a chance to retrieve Larel."
Murio snapped his fingers and Larel's body vanished from sight, Alari's eyes widened before Murio turned his back to them folding his hands behind his back.
"Since you're such good friends I'll let Hotaru be the one to save him. Of course if you don't play along within a few days I'll just kill him since those are my orders. Ah you shouldn't beat yourself up over something like this, I'm skilled at what I do and no matter the outcome I will be erasing Kaori from your minds as if he never existed, for now you can remember him though."
Black energy surrounded Murio before he glanced over his shoulder looking at Mera.
"Mera-san...I understand this is a bit much considering the circumstances but would you mind not telling Mary-chan about this. I'd prefer she remember the Kaori you all knew, not the traitor. Don't worry I'll erase him from her memory too and Eryn-san's, Raina san's, everyone will forget him that's just how this works. In these last moments I'd prefer her not realize she lost a friend, it's my 'thanks' for the present she gave me. I do return my favors after all. Your cooperation is appreciated. Until we meet again."
With that Murio's body vanished and the barrier fell, Alari fell to his knees staring ahead where the two had once been.
"I...didn't sense it at all...everything about him was human...but...that...that person was a Youkai, a powerful one...it was clear as day...how did he hide it?" Alari mumbled bringing a hand to his head.

[SanaChan]

Mera stared in shock, almost unable to understand what just happened. Those little roots that these people had put in her heart were being threatened to be uprooted. Kaori was... dead? How was that even possible? Mary... she couldn't hide this from her, as much as she wanted to. She couldn't stand to see how sad her sister would be, to see her lash out like she did when they thought Alari had died. But if Mary contacted her in her mind, and she so much as thought about this, Mary would know. And that bastard had taken Larel with him, threatening to kill him. She snapped out of her reverie as she heard a snarl behind her, and she looked towards Hotaru and her brows went up.
Hotaru's eyes had taken a reddish-orange hue and she had her fists clenched so tight, her nails were cutting in to her palms, "Let's go!" she snapped at them both, "We have to get Larel back and beat that bastard before he can make us forget about Kaori."
"You don't want to forget Kaori?" Saving Larel was a given, but her being so upset about the second half surprised Mera.
"Regardless of how annoying he was, he doesn't deserve to be forgotten. I'm not about to let some dumbass of a demon go around thinking he's doing some kind of favor while slapping us all in the face. I'm going to rip him a fucking new one and don't you dare hide this from Mary."
"What?" Mera balked.
"She deserves the truth. Yea, it's gonna hurt, that happens when you lose people close to you, but if that asshole thinks it's gonna do her any good, he's wrong. If you care about someone, you should know what the hell happened to them," Hotaru snapped before starting forwards.
"Where are you going?"
"We're wasting time. I'm going to kick his ass."
"With the power to put up that shield, who knows what else he can do, Hotaru."
"I don't care. I'm not going to stand here and whine about it. I'll throw everything I've got at that bastard before I let him think he's gonna just get to kill Larel."
This is gonna be fun/ Sybil almost sounded like she was smirking, If you want I can help. Just because this is so amusing to me.

Mary looked over her shoulder as they continued forwards, getting a sinking feeling in her gut. Something wasn't right. She stopped and turned back that way, reaching out towards Mera to try and figure out what was going on.

Mera gasped as she could feel Mary's reach and she quickly tried to push the thoughts back about this, but she wasn't fast enough. Hotaru's words were still lingering at the forefront of her mind and Mary caught them.
Mera, what's happened?
Mera swallowed as she tried to make her mind go blank.
You're hiding something from me? You've never done that before.
Don't worry about it. Don't you have things you should be focused on right now?
Mera, please tell what you're hiding...
I can't do it... I can't tell you, not now, not this way.
Mera clenched her fists, closing her eyes before starting after Hotaru, cutting the conversation off with Mary, "We need to hurry. Mary just tried to contact me," she said lowly, her voice caught a bit, "I would bet that she'll be coming after us now."

[Mizos]

Alari stared ahead stuck in his own thoughts trying to figure out what just happened, each conclusion he came to made no sense and he was only snapped out of his trance by Hotaru's voice. He brought a hand to his head and stood up realizing she was right they couldn't stand here and do nothing, taking a deep breath he calmed himself down a bit as he could still feel the connection with Larel which meant he was alive. He had a few choice questions to ask Kaori as well, too many things didn't make sense. If he was a commander why didn't he just kill Larel, they had no other jobs, and he had plenty of opportunities to do so while they were together why put them through something like this. Kaori...Murio whoever he was didn't seem that sadistic and on top of that he knew that language.
"I don't want to forget him either but we should be careful. If he knows the elder Youkai language he's stronger then he appears," Alari said brushing off the front of his kimono.

Alari looked over at Mera seeing the look on her face, his eyes narrowed a bit before she cut the conversation off and started running. Alari quickly sprinted after the two, stopping alongside Mera as she spoke of what just happened. Alari grit his teeth at Mary contacting them, with everything going on he didn't like the idea of Mary being involved, he didn't disagree with Hotaru about Kaori but something about all this didn't add up, there were too many holes and unknown things ahead of them.
"The village he's speaking of is a small village, one of the smallest in the area. There is a field of flowers past it though," Alari said flipping through his book. "Why would he choose a place like that is beyond me, he wouldn't have many places to hide Larel in a place like that and if he's been around us this long he probably knows how to counter most of the stuff we can do. Because of that I doubted he'd hide him in a forest where Mera could sense him."
Alari shoved his book back into his sleeve making sure to keep up the pace his eyes narrowing slightly at all of this.
"...none of this makes any sense," Alari said jumping over a bush. "Why is he doing all this, he could have killed Larel right there he had the opportunity...why give us a chance to get him back...that's nothing like the commanders. Something's wrong be careful this could be a trap."

[SanaChan]

"It's a game then, good thing I have someone who likes to play games in my head," Hotaru muttered as she moved.
"You cannot be seriously talking about working with Sybil," Mera said shortly.
"She says she had faced a few of his kind before, when she was in her real body- she says she was one of the elves," Hotaru said over her shoulder.
"And you believe her."
"She's a little too excited to spin her usual tales."
"I don't buy it."
"She wants to help fight him-"
"Enough, Hotaru. You're speaking like you haven't been the one being used by her lately," Mera pointed out shortly.
"Be that as it may, if she's useful, we should use her!"
"Not while your body is the one she's using."
"She says you can make her one."
Mera wanted to knock her over the head, "Why are you listening to her? And if you say "she says" one more time I will make a branch grow out of your mouth," she snapped and Hotaru rolled her eyes, turning back ahead and moved a little faster. Mera couldn't believe it. She was actually considering letting that psychotic woman have control. That would only end miserably and she knew it. There was no way that she was going to consider letting that monster have any control. But then again, she couldn't stop Hotaru from doing it, so hopefully she wasn't that desperate to win. She sighed sharply as she could feel Mary trying to figure out where they are, "Idiots," she growled a bit in annoyance.

[Mizos]

Alari didn't like the idea of Sybil getting out in any form, especially when they were already dealing with enough chaos as it was.
He wasn't sure what to think about her words either, if it was someone else he'd seriously consider the help but going off their previous encounters with Sybil he didn't trust her not stirring up more trouble. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to pick up Larel's traces but they were being blocked, he grit his teeth at that as he literally read the life sources of people, how Kaori was able to cut that off completely bothered him. Kaori had been around them all this time, or Murio...whoever this person was he knew so much about them, which meant he knew just how to hide Larel from them, but he also knew what they could do. He had seen so much from them, there wasn't a moment when Kaori wasn't watching.
"Let's not forget this Murio's information....we don't know how long he's been watching us. At some point he took Kaori's place...I'm thinking when he started acting really strange...which is hard to mark exactly. He might know what to expect...and that might include Sybil since Kaori was there to watch her fight not once but twice."

Alari clenched his fists which also put them in a bad spot, he knew what to expect from Mera, Hotaru and himself too he didn't like this, there was too many openings he could exploit but he wasn't acting for some reason.
"Also...I don't think anyone's fought this man before...he knew the Elder language...only two kinds of people know that language. Elder Youkai or those it was taught too...and seeing how most faded away millennial's ago and they didn't teach it to just any passing Youkai, this Murio is a big problem. Either he's an Elder himself which is the worst possibility seeing as the only one that exists today is sealed because they couldn't be killed, or he learned from one which means they recognized his power. Worst off he can use it in his magic...he's not a normal Youkai, using the cursed language put too much strain on the body and would kill any lesser demon...yet he used it to put that barrier in a manner of seconds...be prepared for anything."
Alari eyes narrowed a little and ashamed as he was to admit it, he was extremely nervous, the amount of people that knew the language he could count on one hand counting himself and Murio now.
Alari glanced back at Mera catching her say something but arched a brow not fully catching it, a bit of concern showed on his face seeing her sigh, he made a mental note to question what was wrong when this matter was resolved.

Once the village came within sight a small relieved sigh came from Alari and he pointed ahead at it, however the moment they neared it something shot into the air in the distance, a thin red line that vanished once it hit the sky. Within a few seconds the sky turned a dark red and something expanded in the sky spreading over the village and a bit past it. Looking up Alari noticed that a giant red seal was filling the area, a huge red circle with a dual Pentagrams inside, one inverted spinning in opposite directions a bright red glow from the seals including the outer circles. Black bits of energy started to fill the area and the wind stopped blowing completely as the world seemed to almost go completely silent. Alari felt a great weight on his chest as they got closer the village, he could feel a force pressing down trying to crush everything in the area, it was a good thing none of them were simple humans, there was a good chance moving wouldn't be possible if that was the case.
Seeing the village Alari noticed everyone on the ground completely still, he stopped immediately and knelt down to one of the many bodies laying the streets, putting his hand on them he checked them before letting out a sigh.
"Thank goodness they're just knocked out," Alari said. "He probably did this on purpose...we should hurry to the field. Hotaru I don't know what he wants with you, but if he's telling the truth Larel's life is in your hands. I trust you...but be careful as it might be a trick."

In the field Murio was standing near the center between the village and the forest beyond it, his hands were folded behind his back and his hair and clothing fluttered from the influx of energy filling the area. The flowers around him had a bright blue glow after being touched from the immense magic filling the area, the air itself seemed filled with his presence and the less distance between him and others the more force seemed to be pushing down. His attention was focused on the now red sky staring up at the center of the pentagram. Larel was nowhere to be seen around him, it was simply the man himself watching the sky a distant look in his eyes, his mouth a thin line as he patiently waiting for the others.

[SanaChan]

"Yes, but that was Sybil in that half elf's body, she's never gotten complete control, at least not long enough to really consider having fought as me," Hotaru pointed out, but Mera was giving her a glare to silence any further talk about Sybil being in control.
So stubborn. I don't recall personally running in to Elder Youkai, but before we were considered among their ranks because of what we do, we were elves. As spirits, we were too restless to consider passing on, angry at our fates, angry at what ended what should have been immortality for us. My family and I were slaughtered, so yea, we tend to be a little angry and vindictive with anyone and anything. But we were the "elders" of the gypsy species, I know tricks that precious Scarlet Amira Zaheer has no idea of.
She's not going to negotiate.
Sybil sighed, And here, for once, I might not have been on the wrong side of things.
Mera narrowed her eyes as the seal filled the sky and the pressure descended on them. Cheap trickery to intimidate them? What was the point of that? But perhaps it could keep Mary back and keep her from finding out the truth before Mera was truly ready to see that sort of reaction from her sister again. She glanced back over her shoulder as Alari addressed Hotaru, who narrowed her eyes.
"Of course it's a trick. This is way too fucking simple for him not to have something up his sleeve," Hotaru said shortly before starting towards the field of flowers, not planning on wasting anymore time. She didn't care if she had to crawl, she was getting over there. She would put her all in to kicking this guy's ass and save Larel. She wasn't going to abandon her friends, especially not him.
Hotaru grit her teeth as she realized that the force was increasing as they got closer to him, but she just pushed against it.
"He must be trying to make this almost impossible.... to make some sort of point about our efforts or something? I don't know whether or not he's the kind of person who would use psychological tactics to win. He's already got one notch in that area with this whole bit with Kaori."
What about Kaori?
"Here I was hoping that thing would keep her out..."
Don't ignore me, Mera! Mera winced at the force behind Mary's words, grabbing her head.
"Let's hurry up with this," Mera said through her grit teeth, using the tactics her mother had taught her for keeping people like her and Mary out of her head, but with the increasing pressure and the confusion of the situation, it was hard to focus. She knew with Mary's agitation and persistence, she would break through easily.

[Mizos]

Alari nodded at Hotaru's words though he didn't like where all this was coming from, he admitted he was a tad biased about the matter, having things that speak in one's head suddenly come out and try to take over never sounded good to him. However for the time being he put that aside wanting to just reach Murio and retrieve Larel. The force almost forced him to his knees when they reached the field and when Murio came in sight he felt his stomach churn a bit but he kept forward only stopping when Murio's gaze moved over to them.
"I don't see Larel so let's not act too rashly, let's at least figure out where he is," Alari whispered to the two.
For a moment Murio just stared at the group but after a brief second he made a slight motion with his hand and caused the seal to vanish, the pressure to subside and made all the particles to vanish in the blink of an eye. It was replaced with a large blue dome that surrounded the town.
"Good to see you again," Murio said turning to face them. "Excuse the magic, I made sure to put all the humans to sleep, no need for us to be interrupted and innocent lives lost right?"
Alari's eyes narrowed at Murio but he ignored it and moved his hands in his sleeves.
"The barrier will keep humans from interrupting us, sadly it won't keep out anything else, thus-"
"Where's Larel?" Alari asked.
"...impatient," Murio said sighing. "Klivai"
The moment Murio spoke the words a large blue orb floated above them in the sky, for a moment it was hazy but after a few seconds it cleared and Larel appeared in it, his hands were tied behind his back and two large men had two blades touching his neck as they stood on each side of him. Larel grit his teeth but raised his head a little to see everyone.
"Hotaru, Mera-sama!" He exclaimed trying to stand but was immediately put back down by the men. "Damn it, get off me!"
"Larel!" Alari exclaimed deciding to ignore that he wasn't mentioned. "Hold on!"
"I'm using the same sorcery I used to keep myself hidden from you all so you're not going to find him I'll make that clear now, and I made sure not to put him anywhere near nature, just to be safe. Those men are my creations as well so I'll make this known, I will end his life. If I am harmed, they will kill him, if I die they will kill him, if I notice any manipulation I will end his life. So let's all be calm and civilized."
Alari closed his hands into fists but held back the words that almost poured forth, he could tell he was serious.

"My life is forfeit," Murio said shutting his eyes. "I will be killed by my own for not killing Larel immediately, so in the end I will die by your hand or my former comrades and they're on their way so we should hurry up, since if they attack me Larel will die even if you don't act. Oh and I'm watching you too Hotaru, if I see or pick up the slightest hint of Sybil's presence I'll kill him before she has time to act. I will not hesitate."
Making sure his point was made he turned towards the group and opened his eyes.
"Hotaru and only Hotaru will answer one question, their is no right answer. If she answers I'll give you Larel back and you can do what you want with me, I will not resist. If you don't answer I will kill Larel and you can still do what you want, avenge him do whatever as I said I'm dead anyway. I'll even answer your questions, such as the location of the deceased Kaori."
Alari didn't like this, it'd be different if he was trying to escape or had some sort of plan, but this Murio was a dead man no matter what happened, that made him especially dangerous, though he picked up something coming from his person.
"...wait...Murio that echo coming from you," Alari said.
Alari dug in his kimono and pulled out Mary's flower, Murio upon seeing it dug into his own and pulled out the same flower.
"You have the flower..." Alari said. "Is that how long you've been around...you've been watching us for that long. Mary only gave that to Kaori and me."
"...leave it to you to figure it out," Murio said lowering his eyelids slightly. "Indeed, I took the flower from Mary-chan. I was around during that time."
He promptly put the flower away and Alari did the same, something about the way he said that bothered him though, why did Murio keep the flower anyway, also why did he say Mary-chan? He called them all by their names normally.
"Once you answer the question I intend on erasing Kaori from your minds wholly, it will be painless, all evidence he was around will be gone. Minus the dolls of course...but you won't remember who made them. Now onto the question."
"...I don't want to forget him Murio."
"I don't care," Murio responded. "I used his existence so he has to be forgotten. Now Hotaru listen very closely because I will not repeat myself."
Murio removed his hands from his sleeves and extended his hand towards Hotaru, Larel closed one eye as the blades touched against his neck a bit more, which made it clear that her answer decided Larel's fate. Alari tried to reach Larel through their connection, through the curse but it was as if he didn't exist, Murio wasn't lying he made it so Larel almost didn't exist.
"What is 'Hope' to you?"
Alari went silent arching a brow at the question but Murio lowered his hand and watched her.
"Answer honestly," Murio said shutting his eyes again.
He raised his right hand up holding up two fingers, as he did one of the men raised his blade up as the other kept it on Larel.

[SanaChan]

When the pressure was released, Mera sighed in relief, but it was in that moment that Mary got in just a crack, not pushing hard, wanting to know what was going on, what Mera was hiding from her.
Hotaru looked up as Larel appeared and grit her teeth at all the stipulations that Murio was laying on to the situation. She glared at him as he threatened his life, clenching her fists and Mera narrowed her eyes. She liked this bastard less and less. Though she felt that slight twinge in her head as she saw the flowers and Alari and Murio discussed it, "Shit," she hissed under her breath, looking behind her, "She knows, that persistent little..." she muttered to Alari, looking back towards Hotaru and Murio, her sense of alarm rising quickly.
Hotaru balked a little at the fact all he wanted was a question answered, but why her? She looked up towards the beasts holding Larel, narrowing her eyes seeing them move, "Hope? I don't know why you're asking such a fucking weird question, but whatever," she shifted a bit, trying to think of how to phrase her answer. She figured if she left anything out, he'd use it as a reason to threaten Larel further.
"Hope to me.... is like when this conversation, I'm hoping you're not full of shit and you're going to return Larel to us because I have very few friends in this world, ones that actually count and I will find someway to kill you before anything else gets the chance to if you're lying. It's the strong desire that I can fix the shit I constantly screw up. That I will get the chance to avenge my parents for not being there when they actually needed me..... and a desire not to mess up the good things I've been building with my friends because I can't go back to being alone. I /need/ everything to work out. That's what /hope/ is to me, that's what I /hope/ for. Hope is just another word for need to me," Hotaru said, shifting as she talked, looking past Murio. She was uncomfortable with bearing herself this way, being so open, but she had to do it. If this was how they saved Larel, then she could handle being embarrassed for a little bit. But she was going to pummel whoever repeated any of this later.
"Does that satisfy your curiosity? Because the one person you didn't want to know pried her meddling fingers in to my head and figured it out herself," Mera said to Murio, "And if you remember what happened with the incident with Alari, the emotions I felt from her tell me it's going to be much worse," she said, looking back the way she knew she would be coming from

[Mizos]

Alari glanced back at Mera hearing her mutter something and looked in the direction her attention had moved too, his eyes narrowed a little as he was pretty sure that was a bad sign. Mera mentioned Mary might be coming this way, getting her pulled into this was bad they need to rescue Larel and find out what happened to Kaori quickly. His eyes moved over to Hotaru as she went to respond to the question, Alari tried to sense Larel but nothing returned no matter how many times he echoed and he could see Murio's eyes moving over to him each time he tried, but he didn't comment or end Larel. He grit his teeth as he was positive he was only doing it to let him know he was aware what he was doing, but he put that aside his gaze moving to Larel who was watching the scene with a glare. There wasn't a hint of fear in his eyes, that made Alari happy strange enough since that meant he believed in Hotaru to a point where he didn't doubt he'd be set free.

Murio listened to Hotaru's answer nodding a few times before lowering his hand and bringing it to his chin, the man lowered their sword placing it back at Larel's neck but he was no longer in a position to remove it with one movement. Murio's eyes moved to Mera catching her words, his eyes let off a small yellow glow but he showed no change in emotion at the information turning his gaze back to Hotaru to address her.
"Good answer, I like it," Murio said. "That's more than satisfactory for me."
Murio nodded a few times before looking back at Mera moving his hands back into his sleeves.
"I prepared for that Mera-san, that's why I've been erasing Kaori from your minds. She will remember Kaori as her friend, not a traitor who turned his back on his friends. I will erase him from your minds in a moment."
"Are you going to return Larel now and where is Kaori?"
"I will return Larel to you," Murio said nodding. "Please indulge me for a moment though. I will die soon so I wanted to make something clear, I enjoy you four. I've lived a long time, watched civilizations fall, corruption consume honest men, hell I've caused some of it myself...but you all endure so much hardship and keep moving forward. Hotaru you had your humanity taken from you, Alari you endure countless deaths and obstacles for someone who hates you so much, Mera-san you've gone through so much, from the alchemists, to your own family...yet you just keep moving. Larel endures Zenmaru's constant manipulation. You four are the closest thing to true 'Hope' I've seen in millennia. You shine so brightly it's actually blinding. I like that, I've lived a thousand lives and never met people like you."
"...A thousand lives?" Alari questioned.
"Indeed I suppose you could say I'm the opposite of Larel, while he has two souls in one body, I have one soul and multiple bodies."
Murio's eyes glowed and he took on Kaori's shape before shutting his eyes.
"Kaori is merely one of my forms, by using this alteration I can make myself not exist whenever I please. However Kaori must die, just as all the other me's have."
Murio returned to his normal form before raising his hand causing his guards to remove their blades from Larel's neck.
"You all shine as a light within the darkness of this world, a world I hate with every fiber of my being, every living thing, everything that exists in it...except for seven people. Seven exact people, seven souls who offered me entertainment. Mera-san, Hotaru, Alari, Larel,
Eryn, Raina...Mary-chan...thank you all for such pleasant memories. I'll admit I'm sad we couldn't spend more time together."

Murio tapped the side of his head with his finger and in a swift movement, one that was almost missed one of the men cut Larel's head off in one clean stroke, there was no warning, no notice, it was quick and simple and having to watch it made Alari's stomach churn and an intense pain hit his chest as he realized what just happened.
"My job unfortunately...comes before my emotions."
"LAREL!!!!"
Alari screamed towards the heavens as the creatures vanished and Larel's now headless form laid still on the ground, Alari felt everything in his body almost shut down, he fell to his knees his mouth agape trying to form some manner of word, some mumbling but nothing came.
Murio held both his arms out and shut his eyes turning fully towards the group.
"Feel free to make it painful and slow, if you don't they will," Murio said before going silent. "I'm not human so make sure to hit me multiple times, if you wish me dead."
Alari stared wide eyed at the ground his whole body shaking, what he just saw seemed to be too much for him, what bravado, what will he had left his body and he just stared at the ground in silence unable to come back to reality.
The harsh reality that Larel was now dead.