The Olympians in: Grasp the Sky Ring!

Job Details:

Mashyuu sat on a small bench in the middle of Motor City, his long legs stretched out and bouncing lazily against the dirt road of the city. The man held his head in his arms as he leaned back against a brick wall and looked at a clock tower off in the distance. Today Mashyuu was to meet up Imai and Kenna, he had worked with both of them in the past and even shared a very passionate kiss with Kenna. In the weeks that passed he had thought of the two, Imai like a younger brother and Kenna like someone he would love to get to know much much better.

Softly Mashyuu sighed and looked down both ends of the road. In front of him a group of men and women hastily started to construct a concert stage, a short man with white hair, dressed in what Mashyuu would call leather armor, and two Elf like women likewise dressed in leather armor gave the workers directions. Mashyuu chuckled gently at the workers and leaned forward to watch them. Eventually both Imai and Kenna arrived.

Mashyuu stood up and introduced the two to one another. "Kenna, this is my friend and a little brother to me. Imai, Imai this is my friend Kenna. Now... I asked you both here to talk to you about teaming up. I want us to all work together full time... Or as full time as we can. I doubt that you guys will ever do as many jobs as me. But we all offer very different skills and I think we can do some amazing things together. So, what do you say?" Mashyuu asked while looking at the two with a grin on his face.

WC: 291

At the corner of a road near the entrance of Motor City came Imai, a young mage from Sabertooth, alongside the ever-so sleepy Sei on his back. His eyes were filled with sparkling stars of excitement for the mission that he had today; he was accompanied by two familiar figures that he’d met and got to know quite well in his not so brief meetings with them. However, Sei wasn’t the only company that he had; at his meeting with Kenna, she had revealed to him a secret that was hidden on Earth for centuries, in which the celestial mage had gained a new power… the power of a rather famous constellation, Pegasus.

“I’m going to show them all my amazing, new toy- *COUGH* weapon *COUGH*… whatever it is!” he declared pridefully, while picking it up from his pocket and resting it on his right grab. The reflection of the faint light from the rather greyish skies shone back at his eyes from the bey’s metal. It was truly a powerful companion that he’d earned, and he was grateful to Kenna in every atom of his body. He began speeding up across town and spotted some scene being put up in the distance, in which he remembered the place where he was supposed to meet Mashyuu and Kenna. However, just as he was stepping up, growls left his stomach like the roars of lions, in which he hurried to the nearest shop. To his expected surprise, those were quite common in the color-lacking town, and he settled inside a store where he emptied today’s coins for sodas.

As he hurried towards the meeting place again, he suddenly arrived the same time as Kenna did; while enjoying his soda, he greeted: “What’s up, Ken! *slush*” Mashyuu was found beneath their feet, sitting upon a wall and standing up right after their arrival, “And we meet again, God-sama! In your natural habitat, in fact!” He grinned a little, while Sei suddenly woke up and looked over Imai’s shoulder, while Mashyuu greeted Kenna to Imai and vice versa. However, what he didn’t know was that the both of them had already met each other before the mission, in which Imai would keep grinning. Not as many jobs as him… well… he was sort of right…

“*cough* Well, I’ll catch up to you in no time, bet on that!” Imai replied hasty. Kenna also made a comment to Imai about Mashyuu’s idea of making a team… perhaps the three of them had the potential to make up such a badass team as Imai began imagining. “Ohhh~” he mumbled in fantasy, “Yeah… we’ll be quite the trick up your sleeve! Just check it out, big bro!” And there, with one swing, Galaxy Pegasus was shown right in front of the Earth God’s eyes; the same light from earlier would quickly reflect onto his eyes, accidently. “This is going to be a blast!”

WC: 488

Mashyuu looked between Kenna and Imai, his jaw set firmly and his sky blue eyes narrowed. "You already know each other? Man that's lame. I was really looking forward to introducing my friends to one another." Mashyuu grumbled then realized something. "Imai! You haven't met Itsu yet. Itsu is a really good friend of mine and will be joining the team too. She should be around here somewhere. Kenna already met her." Mashyuu placed his hands on his hips and started to look for Itsu. "She went to get us all a hot dog. I hope she didn't get lost." Mashyuu ran his hands through his hair and looked fondly at his two friends. He was glad they had agreed to team up with him because he had already asked someone else to join the team and promised them that Kenna and Imai was going to be joining as well. "I'm glad you guys decided to join though, since I came back, you two have been my best friends... Say Imai, is that a toy? Don't hurt yourself with that thing."

In the meantime Itsu had stood in a horribly long line and at last grabbed four hot dogs and placed piping hot chili on the meat. She came around the corner of a building and spotted the three standing there talking, a wide smile spread over her face. She hoped that the three were getting along and that Mashyuu wasn't putting the moves on Kenna too hard. That was when Itsu started to blush. She suddenly realized that she was still wearing her ripped green dress and the skull and horns on her head would never come off. "Ohh what if Imai thinks I'm a demon or something?" The busty beauty groaned. But it wasn't worth the trouble of avoiding the group either. She skipped up to the trio and handed everyone a chili dog in a bun. Swiftly she pecked Kenna on the cheek and waved to the group. "Hi Kenna. And this cute guy must be Imai. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Itsu." The woman reached a hand out and hugged Imai, pulling him into her chest for a moment before letting him go.

While the group spoke about things and caught up the short man walked up on the stage that his workers had set up. He picked up a comb and ran it through his white facial hair to make sure it was all straight. His companions shortly followed and picked up a pair of crash symbols and the other sat at a drum set. The short man pulled a lute off his back and plucked some strings on it for a bit then looked out. People were starting to crowd around the stage. "Hello everyone! My name is Beanstalk and these are the Pea Pods! We are the entertainment for the day. However we see four Wizards from Sabertooth in the crowd. Come on up and say a few words about your guild!" He shouted while pointing to Mashyuu and the others.

Mashyuu shoved the last of his chili dog down his throat and shrugged. "Kenna why don't you do the talking? I'm not so good at just saying hi to strangers."

WC: 548
Total: 846

The star mage was kind of surprised by Mashyuu’s comment about Pegasus; first off, it wasn’t a mere toy, but… THE LEGENDARY TOY. If you were to call it anything, then any childish figure would give it such a name, because honestly, it did look toy-like. That wasn’t the case, though! Pegasus was way more than just a toy, and it was definitely not for kids. He and Aura had been crossing canyons, caves and spiders to find this ancient item, and he even witnessed, for the first time in more than a millennium, its rather magical prowess. It had become his love and life for about a day, before it turned into a close friend in all needs.

“Big bro, it’s more than mere toy..!” he rebuked the taller Rocky Mountain Dude while moving the bey across Mashyuu’s face, “This is something to be reckoned with! It might save your granite ass someday…” He huffed afterwards with a cute, yet mad expression on his face with the cheeks aired up and all. That was when a fired-up hotdog was spotted on his face, in which he happily grabbed it without realizing about the giver. A few seconds, about two, and he looked up at the new face; a green-cloaked, sweet… devil?!?!?!?!?

“De-de- de- de- de-” he repeated almost simultaneously; although, stars were appearing on his amazed eyes, “A demon… NEAT.” The stars began spinning as if he had just met some magical creature, an event that would always amaze him and make his day. Although, on close quarters, she did look more humanoid than anything else. Her comment did make him blush, even. “Ehh, hey there…” he struggled to greet back, but just as his words finished, Itsu reached out a hand and pulled him into her busty area. Squish, squash... he began hearing voices in his head at that moment. “Mmm, mnm, mnnnmm…” Voices of him trying to comment the situation with both curiosity and wonder of the embrace were let out, while he began blushing more. He did not expect this at all, in which his eyes slowly dazed off into the soft, lovely feeling that was engulfing him in those few seconds…

Some white-haired man with elven company made it up to the scene and presented himself, before suddenly noticing the group known from Sabertooth. Apparently, he wanted a few words from them about the guild, in which Imai was quite excited. So he was going to warm up for the crowds before the concert, huh? He felt like a celebrity. One whose words were longed at the moment, in which stars began forming in his eyes again. He was pulled up to the scene with Kenna and Mashyuu and Itsu, before arriving on top of the scene; hell, the crowds were forming one, ginormous audience. Suddenly, as Kenna made it to the microphone, Imai was asked to do the talk and blow them away; he was going to give them some neat words, that was for sure!

After the “!”, he appeared before the microphone and nodded to Kenna, before breathing in. “… Wait, this thing is working, right?” He began poking the microphone once, in which… nothing happened. What, no high-pitched sound to wake up those who had fallen asleep? He guessed that wouldn’t be, then, so he prepared to talk: “Alright, I know that most of you are eagerly waiting for the concert to begin, so I’ll try and be quick!” People suddenly began whistling loudly and prompting him to tell about his guild; apparently, they were quite the famous ones here. “Hehehehehe! Please, you make me feel like some celebrity..!” he continued while scratching the back of his head with another blush, “Well, then… I guess that I can clearly say this to start with; it’s not easy to be in a guild. Imagine it like… that boarding school that you always wanted to enroll because of its reputation for being a party bomb! Plus the responsibilities that follow in every mission and job that you take- wait, I’ve only been in a handful of jobs until now, and if you want to, then I can reveal my- wait again, nah, I can’t brag now…” Again, the audience whistled and shouted in disappointment for him not to show off his magic, something that took him by surprise again. “Look, I can show you later… now, where was I? Oh yeah, a guild… our guild, Sabertooth, is like an eagle’s nest; include a large variation and lots of sociality. Also, include that it’s like being a family - I can already tell now that these guys are my brothers and sisters…” He pointed a thumb back at Mashyuu, Kenna, Itsu and Sei, “And, uhh, there’s so much that I want to mention, but I can see that guy’s eyes are burning for the concert to begin, so I’ll respect his patience and say this to finish-“ He pulled forth Galaxy Pegasus, while the blue, cosmic aura engulfed his excited body, not to show anything off, but to mark a good end of the speech: “This was the speech from your good-old sabre cats! Enjoy the show!” As the last words ended, one second of silence was presenting itself, only to be deaf over the cries and fan screams from the front and back of the audience, as well as the right crowds and the left crowds…

Total WC: 488 + 904 = 1392

Almost violently Mashyuu and the others were pulled up onto the stage, where they stood aside. Mashyuu watched Kenna walk up to Beanstalk and suddenly lost her nerve then gave the floor to Imai. Mashyuu frowned at the exchange while Itsu giggled. "The little one is cute isn't he?" She asked while pointing to Imai. Mashyuu grinned wide and nudged his friend. "Better not talk like that, Imai is to young for you." Itsu blushed and kicked Mashyuu in the shin.

Suddenly Imai had stopped talking and what everyone thought were cheers and screams of joy were actually screams of pain, the microphone lacrima emitted a wave of energy out that washed over the crowd killing them in an instant. The crowd dropped to the ground and Mashyuu rushed towards Beanstalk until the ground started to rumble under them. Beanstalk and the Peapods yelped with joy, then jumped off the stage to land among the dead bodies on the ground. "Ohhh happy day! Look at all the dead tourists! Good job Sabertooth. I knew that a group of legal guild members wouldn't be able to resist talking. That's why I gave you that one time use Lacrima. Now with these dead bodies, the tower of Rodger, the one that the legendary Pirate used to live in and store his most prized possessions. Thanks gang! AHAHHAHHAHAA!" the top of a large tower raised up under Beanstalk and the Peapods, each of them stopping to brace themselves. The trio pulled open a wooden trap door under them and dropped down, vanishing from sight.

The tower itself was sand stone grey, smooth as waxed glass and massive, easily bigger than any other building in the city based on what little bit of the tower was exposed. Mashyuu looked back to the members of the new team and slowly walked up to the building, it only came out of the ground far enough that it was at hip level with him. Mashyuu jumped up, planted his feet on the stand stone and looked at the wooden trap door. "Guys, we gotta stop that nut and his two elf friends before he kills anyone else!" Mashyuu walked up to the trap door and sighed. It was dark below, there was a ladder going down into the darkness. The Wizard snapped his fingers and started to glow a bright golden light then dropped down the ladder into the darkness...

Mashyuu fell for what seemed like forever, then crashed through a wooden table and fell to his back. He groaned and looked up to the sky above and rolled out of the way as something eclipsed the light that was coming into the room. Itsu dropped down after him and landed gracefully next to Mashyuu. She stepped aside and motioned for the others to drop down while Mashyuu stood up. Once everyone was down Mashyuu took the chance to look around at where they were. It looked like a club house for a few men, four bunks were in the far left corner of the room, next to a wooden door that was left half open. The table Mashyuu fell through had cards on it, and the walls had paintings of various battles of legend involving the various members of Gold Rodger's crew. "Is everyone okay?" Mashyuu asked while dusting himself off and heading for the door that led to a large set of stairs that led down in a spiraling pattern.

WC: 580
Total: 1426

After Imai’s speech, the large crowds began screaming louder than before. Not only that, but their screams began to terrify him as the tones sent chills down his spike, combined with the view of fleeing audience. “W-What’s…” he stammered, while his eyes were confusingly twisting and looking around for the people. Several fell to the ground, lifeless, only to shock those before them that would suffer the same fate a few moments after. His mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on, in which he even couldn’t listen to the shriek of laughter from the white-haired midget that sponsored the concert. Just what was this? Imai could already feel his arms shake a little, watching all the people collapse in groups and lines. Just then did he spot the large tower that made its arrival in front of them, seeming as if it stuck up from the very ground below. The elven and white-haired guy had entered it to disappear once again, leaving Imai and his group on the stage, while the star mage yet had to fathom the amount of terror that was surging through his body…

Mashyuu didn’t think twice and went to the tower, most likely to go after the ones who were behind the massacre. Kenna was having trouble beforehand, but she as well entered the tower, while Imai couldn’t but clench his fists first. “All this… how…” he rebuked, tears beginning to soak his eyes, I… I won’t let them smile by this. His eyes quickly focused on the wooden trap door on top of the tower, while Sei woke up and noticed the drying drops of tears that rushed across his cheeks. “Damn all this… I guess that I can’t cry now. Perhaps later.” With those words said, he looked at Sei and nodded, before rushing to the wooden door and leapt down, worried not of the dangers that awaited him…

The telescope was of good use, because he struggled quite a little with slowing down his descent. It looked like some struggling bird or chopper that tried to soar the right way, sometimes falling slow, then flying a little bit up, then just charging downwards. “Come on, come on..!” he cheered himself, until finally connecting the floor with his sneakers. Both Mashyuu, Kenna and Itsu were present, in which Imai replied: “I’m fine- wait, as if! I can’t believe that glue-haired idiot abused my voice like that!” His clenched fist clenched even more, almost drilling his nails into his palm, “As if he’ll ever get away with this, no darn way!” He was getting red with anger, and Sei began clinging to his back with a worried look on its face. Meanwhile, Kenna mentioned about the deceased’s spirits and their connection to her at the moment, which wasn’t to be spotted by Imai himself. Although, it was quite the neat ability, so to say. Perhaps it had to do with the torches that suddenly let burst out light and soared down the tower.

That wasn’t a part of her magic, which was noticed by her next comment. Although, she did mention that souls’ help was at her disposal, and that she had previously come in contact with another ghost named Rodger. What did that have to do with anything? Imai quickly asked that inside his head, but she explained that the knowledge given by him let her realize that some of the stairs were traps. Now that pissed off Imai as well, but now that he was aware, then it would ease the trouble of getting to the murderer. Imai had an urge to just charge through the floors to find this bastard, but what Kenna mentioned was important, and he had to keep an eye on the team as well. Therefore, he began calming down more, keeping back the tears of grief for a little while longer…

It was getting darker as they walked down. Imai decided to help out by emitting his left fist in a majestic, blue fog surrounded by white dots that totally resembled the star fogs that manifested new stars in the galaxies. That would help him looking out for the 'wrong stairs' as well. Combined with the fact that they strived around a lost tower, searching for opponents with killing intents… it kind of gave the creepy mood. Luckily, as long as he felt Sei’s tugging onto his back, then he wouldn’t shake his teeth like some scaredy-cat. Besides, Mashyuu, Kenna and Itsu were with him, so he had to stand strong for their sake. “… I’ll let him pay for good, I promise you that-“ he spoke to them with a face that tried its best to look serious, but couldn’t get rid of the moe that suddenly returned. His fist began clenching even more, and just as Kenna let out a loud voice of fright, Imai’s fist got planted into the wall before her. His eyes were almost lifeless for a second there, before he noticed that she just dropped her torch. “… Pheeeeew, you scared me there,” he let out in relief, only to notice voices coming from all around them. Soon after, many objects began moving towards their position sheltered by the glooming darkness. Kenna let out her warning of these mimics, so Imai hurried and landed a wide punch on a living table, crushing it as it bent over with his celestial prowess. “Sei! Look after the three other, okay!?” he asked his alien friend, while punching further and more frequently at the living table that tried to find space to stand up. It was quite freaked out by his volley of blue fists, but Imai had every reason to go all-out…

Total WC: 949 + 1392 = 2341

Everyone was down and okay, Mashyuu was the strongest mentally in the group. He had seen mass murder like this before and knew that in order to not go through some sort of mental damage the group would need to keep moving and try to keep their mind off of what happened. Mashyuu glanced at Imai, he could already tell that things were going to be hard for the young man. If he wasn't careful then the death would indeed cause him nothing but problems for the rest of his life. That wasn't something Mashyuu was willing to let happen. The Earth Slayer walked with the team. "It wasn't a barrier. It was the lacrima. It was made to project outward. We were safe so long as we were behind the voice." Mashyuu stated. He had seen it before against a necromancer. But Mashyuu wouldn't reveal that to the others. He ignored the fact that Kenna had indeed somehow managed to trap souls, it bothered him as his ex wife had instilled on him the fact that everything was meant to move on. But he shouldn't put his beliefs on others and as such kept his mouth silent on the fact.

Wile the four Wizards walked down the curving stairs that led lower, Mashyuu watched Imai, how his hands constantly clenched tighter and tighter. He could hear the boy's muscles tighten and hear his whispered words with his dual slayer senses, Even as Kenna explained that she could use the souls of others for information and that the ground was indeed trapped. Mashyuu looked to Itsu and she drew closer to the earthen Wizard. He was about to explain that he could get them around the traps when Kenna shouted about things in the hall coming to life to attack. Mashyuu and Itsu stood their ground, the Wizard reaching his hand out and focusing. A large bow of magical power erupted from a small trinket on his wrist, giving off a dim glow of light.

Mashyuu aimed down the hall while Imai and Kenna attacked what came at them from the sides. "Don't move from the steps you're already on! Stand your ground and let these things come to us before we set off more traps in the confusion!" Mashyuu ordered the team. He aimed down the flight of steps, watching a strange assortments of paintings and dancing torches marching on the Wizards. "Hail of arrows!" Mashyuu shouted while pulling his bowstring back to his face. He released the magical energy and let lose a cluster of magical arrows that drove hard into the monsters, knocking the weaker and smaller ones dead while the others continued on their path. Itsu took a deep breath and released it, shooting off a blast of pure light energy that drove into the group of monsters. The blast pushed everything back down the steps to allow Imai and Kenna a chance to catch their breath.

"When we finish these things off stay close to me. I was about to say I can get us around the steps without setting off traps. We need to use our strengths as a team to get through this!" Mashyuu shouted... When the battle was over Mashyuu took a gentle breath of air and motioned for the team to group up. He placed his hand on Imai's shoulder and dropped down to his smaller level so the two could look each other in the eye. "I know you're feeling guilty for what happened and you want revenge. But you need to calm down. Having a clouded mind will only get you or someone you care about hurt. It wasn't your fault for what happened. None of us knew that the lacrima would do that. Live a happy life for those people who lost theirs." Mashyuu hugged his friend and stood up straight again. He looked at Kenna then to the others and sighed. "I know I'm not anyone's leader or boss... But I do know how to deal with dungeons and towers like this. My magic is stone.... Let me help you." Mashyuu let his hands reach out and the ground rumbled below them while the walls trembled for a moment. "Geokenisis, stone slide!" Mashyuu commanded. The walls grew thinner but extended at the wizards feet, creating a smooth surface that ran down the steps. "Now we can just slide down the rest of the way and avoid any traps. I'll go first incase something is at the bottom of the steps." Mashyuu suggested.

Without waiting for anyone to protest he jumped up on the slide me made and rode it down on his back. He slid for nearly five minutes, continually picking up speed when he spotted the door to the base of the tower. Mashyuu frowned when he saw the door was lined with small holes. It was a trap! as he hit the base of the steps Mashyuu pointed at the ground before him and raised his arm up at a sharp angle. "Earth Gods Stone Wall!" A large wall shot up out of the ground just in time to hear ten arrows smack into the wall Mashyuu made. "Could be worse. GUYS, IT'S ALL CLEAR DOWN HERE. COME ON DOWN!"

WC: 885
Total: 2311

The shapeshifting figure was about to grab its foothold again and counter when a volley of magical arrows knocked it away from his grasp. That wasn’t from him; the star mage quickly looked back and spotted Mashyuu’s magic, before looking back at the hit monster. It was knocked out for good, or so it seemed. “Phew… those arrows did a splendid job. Thanks a lot, Rocker..!” he thanked before approaching the group again. Sei was flying around with a careless mind, while the younger mage noticed a hand laid upon his shoulder. He slowly looked up at Mashyuu who’d descended into a common level. “…” Imai couldn’t but focus his eyes into Mashyuu’s while the Earth God Slayer explained that he had to keep himself calm, despite what he witnessed. For a guy like him, death was yet a new thing to him, but that only told him that he was merely inexperienced and naïve. He never wanted to see himself like that…

“Huh-“ the cosmic mage let out in surprise by the hug that Mashyuu gave him. That guy really felt like a big brother to Imai, and even though he questioned the time to hug, he could feel his eyes soak. Quickly, he rested a hand on Mashyuu’s back, replying: “I-I’ll be strong… I promise...” The dead picture was, yet, tough to live with, but he realized that it was for his own best. And the best for those who left their time in this world a couple minutes ago. Then the Earth Mage stood up, explaining a way to get down the staircase without activating any more traps. His magic appeared to smoothen the walls in some way, making it like a kind of slide all the way down. Imai and Kenna stood alone for a moment as Mashyuu wanted to check a thing or two down there, in which Kenna asked about Sei. Imai did chuckle a little as he didn’t expect such a question at the moment. “You think so?” he asked out while scratching his neck, “Oh well, if I can remember… I was on a mission at Hargeon where I met Sei… and we kind of went along from that point.” The small alien would rest on Imai’s back once he was finished with his sentence, finding comfort near the cosmos mage.

The stone mage gave green light to go down, in which Imai and Kenna appeared at the room filled with paintings and pictures of the elven gang. While Kenna spoke to Mashyuu, Imai put his eyes on every painting with a little disgust. “All these pictures… what do they think that they are, royals?” the boy asked his alien companion. Sei looked rather careless and, well, moe, but that counted as a yes for the red-haired, child-like male. Now, as Kenna spoke his name, he changed the attention. The staircase would be pretty neat in case if they had to flee up again; none of them had shown any flying capabilities, so… well, it would be smart. He nodded in agreement to her statement, but as he began looking around, a strange feeling enveloped him. He began feeling shivers, but also began shaking them off as soon as they made their appearance. “… What was that for,” he mumbled. It was as if he just imagined the room filled with monsters made of the very same stone that the walls consisted of. The blue aura from before was still apparent as a thin layer or contour around his body, ready to be activated in case of combat that would soon appear. "Who knows... wait, what if they already know that we're here? They did leave the door open... or kind of."

Total WC: 620 + 2341 = 2961

Only a moment or so passed before Kenna and Imai joined Mashyuu and Itsu on the next level of the tower. The group all looked around the room and Kenna asked if Mashyuu could check the room for traps and see to changing the slide back to steps. Mashyuu wasn't confident in a lot but he was very confident in his magic and the power he held with it. "The slide? That's not an issue." Mashyuu whispered while placing his closed fist behind his back and opening his palm. He used the simple gesture to make the slide shift back to the natural steps the tower had held when the team entered the area. Mashyuu glanced back to the room and the photos hanging on the wall. "Sadly though, my magic is not capable of simply finding a trap. If someone set one off I'd be able to know where it would spring from faster than the rest of you.... And these paintings." Mashyuu motioned around the room and sighed. "Elves and Halflings are old races, live longer than a human. Like you or I would naturally. It's possible that these people weren't always bad and knew Rodger in the past. How else would they so easily know a way to summon a tower such as this. Come on, its time we made our way through the rest of this place. But be warned. I can feel the walls ahead, and we are in a maze. Stick to the left, if you don't you may get lost forever." Mashyuu suggested the team do.

He was indeed glad that Imai decided to do his best to move on past the pain of seeing others die because it could really cause the boy real issues down the road if he didn't and Mashyuu didn't want to be the one who would one day have to deal with a dark mage Imai if the day ever came. Deep down Mashyuu knew that the killers were already gone but he wanted to see if they got what they wanted or if they were forced to retreat by the guardians of the place. Mashyuu led the team past the door and through the maze that was the bottom floor of the tower until the group came to a set of large iron doors. Mashyuu walked up to the door and placed his hands on each door, shoved hard and pushed the doors open...

What lied behind the doors was a massive stone room, a single golden pillar at the center, roughly twice the size of Mashyuu over all. He swallowed and grinned at the pillar as it had a small slot for the orb in his pocket and what looked like a locked door above it. "That's it, whatever they came for is in that pillar. Imai here take the key and get what they wanted." Mashyuu handed Imai the heavy stone orb that lit up when touched. Slowly Mashyuu entered and as he did so the man lifted his arms and twisted. A heavy hammer came out from around the corner of the wall and smashed into the Earth Wizard, knocking him aside like a rag doll until he managed to gracefully twist in the air and land on his feet halfway across the room.

Mashyuu landed while Itsu nearly screamed from the shock that hit her. Mashyuu lifted his head and looked around then called out to the others. "There is another waiting for the rest of you! Itsu get in here and help me with this one. Imai, Kenna, take care of the other!" Mashyuu gave orders like someone who had seen more battles than he cared to admit while he took his elder mountain stance. The beast that hit him was a hulking Minotaur, in one hand it held a massive flaming hammer and in the other it held a large shield to defend itself with. The beast let out a great roar and charged Mashyuu, its' head low as it aimed its horns to try to impale the Earth Wizard. Mashyuu let the ground rise up around him as he called out. "Earth Gods Stone Soldiers!" He became wrapped in a shell of rock along with standing next to him on either side two more soldiers of stone. The rock men charged and so did the horned monster. The beast with the hammer crashed through a stone soldier as Mashyuu exploded out from one of the shells and pushed his palm forward. "Earth Gods Combo: Part One!" He commanded, sending stone pillars slamming into the monsters shield and knocked it aside. As Mashyuu landed Itsu teleported in behind the monster and drove both her fists into the back of its legs. "Phantom Speed: Strike!" Itsu shouted, buckling the Minotaur's legs. The monster swung its arm back and batted Itsu aside like the small weight she truly was. Mashyuu's palm pressed to the ground as he activated another spell. "Earth Gods Combo: Part Two!" This time the ground under the monster split open and swallowed it up like a hungry baby eating its favorite food. The monster fell, giving Mashyuu a chance to conjure up his next spell. "Earth Gods Extension!" The ground offered Mashyuu two large chunks of stone to use as weapons. As the ground gave the monster back to the world Mashyuu drove his stones into the monsters jaw, knocking it high through the air all while Itsu called out. "Ghost Touch!" She fired a beam of light straight at Mashyuu who swallowed the beam and restored his energy. The moment the monster hit the ground Mashyuu pulled his hand back and condensed hard light in it. He aimed and called out. "Light Dragons Holy Shower!" Mashyuu jumped backwards and unleashed a torrent of light rays to smash into the monster, keeping it at bay. The moment he landed Mashyuu extended his left arm and formed a bow in his palm. Slowly he pulled the bowstring back and formed and arrow in his hand. "Sniper Elite." He ordered. Mashyuu unleashed the arrow and sent it straight through the Minotaur's head, as it dug in the arrow exploded, destroying the monster with the massive blast...

WC: 1049
Total: 3360

After deciding to move on with the tower mystery, Imai felt Sei tugging onto his back. Something was worrying the little alien, in which Imai tried his best to pat its dear head. “We have to stay calm, Sei…” he assured the creature, while suddenly taking a sip of his soda. Hey, there was never a bad time to drink soda, right? Not in his world. He, Kenna and Mashyuu were quickly on the move, too, already seeming to switch scene to before a large pair of metal gates. Sipping more of his soda, the star mage commented: “… *slurk* How many men did they need to put up those doors?” Very curious about that, he watched Mashyuu put a stoned hand on each door as it he was just about to enter some kind of town hall. Effortlessly, the Dragon God had entered the room, in which Imai continued with a joking side taking over: “… Oh, now I know. Hey, Mash-bro, next time I need to move, could you help me transport?”

The doors hid a large room completely of stone, except for the outstanding, golden pillar at the very middle of the room. It shone out in brightness and pride, easily amazing Imai’s eyes. He quickly looked up at Mashyuu as he asked him to take the key and go over there. Grabbing the stone orb, he had to bow his body down a little by the surprise of its weight; it was way lighter for Mashyuu, or so it seemed. He quickly moved out to do as planned, until Mashyuu found himself tackled by a huge hammer that flinched Imai just by passing by. “WAH-“ he let out, suddenly looking over to Kenna as she was having a struggle as well. The stone orb had to wait, in which he nodded to Sei while handing it to the small creature. “I-I’m not sure if you can lift it, though…” he mumbled, but to his upmost surprise, it suddenly flew off with the stone orb to safety. Watching it flee, Imai looked over to Kenna as he engaged. However, approaching her, he could clearly see that Kenna quite quickly gained the upper hand against the mighty beings. Again, his eyes feasted on the ethereal, wondering and admiring the unreal build of those minotaurs like a crazy. He’d read about them in ancient, Ca-Elumic folklores and about their beast-like appearances, their behaviors et cetera. However, he snapped out of the daydreaming as he could hear a sudden change in Kenna’s voice as if something had taken over now. It sort of caused a shake in Imai’s body as well, given by the intimidating aura that wasn’t hers at all. He could feel that very clearly, perhaps clearer than Mashyuu… what kind of magic was that? Was it a God Slayer Magic, just like the Mt. Mage? Her aura didn’t look like any specific element, but Imai could only guess at that point. Her changed attitude also had an effect mid-combat as she was clearly bloodthirsty and homing right at the minotaur’s limbs, sending it off like it was nothing. “W-Woah… hey, Kenna, let me join in too!” he began requesting, “You can’t just take on the minotaur yourself! Give me something to do!”

Unfortunately, the demonic appearance was sent off her feet with a harsh reply from the opponent, in which Imai quickly ran towards her… until he braked by her call. “What?! Are you being serious..?!” he complained now, Just what are you planning now? He could only watch her summon another sword to her side, a sword born out of what looked like clear blazes from a grand bonfire in Saint Hans Evening. T-T-That’s such a cool sword!!!, he fangirled inside his mind, feeling quite confident that Kenna could do this after all. She wouldn’t let herself get wrecked on purpose, in which he took out his previous soda and enjoyed the show. Metal against metal clashed, blood flying off as the minotaur was very unlucky to face her blade and lose two arms while at it. Now that he calmed down a little more, he felt the change too… a magical aura had surrounded him and Mashyuu, similar to that of Kenna’s. Wondering about that aura, he quickly looked back at Kenna as she was about to finish the battle; unfortunately, the minotaur finally got what seemed like a plan of sacrifice-and-proceed kind, forcing her to move back from its deadly horns. He spat out soda by the close quarters, sheathing his soda and watching Kenna with a shout: “K-Kenna..!!!” She had landed on the pillar which he was supposed to bring the orb to, finally saying the secret words. A second passed, until his impatient mind reacted as he covered his mouth with a hand as he burped. The minotaur looked forward at its new opponent. Having lost both its arms, it was pissed… quite pissed. Imai wasn’t to be affected by its intimidated look, though, as he clearly felt confident. It was as if an elder mage walked behind him as a silhouette in that scene, while he approached it. The beast roared, just enough time for Imai to send a bluish beam right at its mouth, closing it again as the pain overwhelmed it. While it was distracted, the cosmic mage advanced forward like a comet, grabbed the minotaur as he collided with it and charged up through the roof with it. Despite its weight, he successfully went through the scene and landed on the floor at the stone room again, his scarf having got torn apart and his clothes looking like straight from the dead. “*huff*… T-Take that,” he said with a grin, totally exhausted.

WC: 954 + 2961 = 3915

The battle was over and for the most part everyone was fairly exhausted as far as how they were feeling, be it from a strain on their magical energies or their actual well being. Mashyuu slowly walked over to Kenna and Imai, patting each of their shoulders then snuck a kiss in on Kenna, a faint glimmer in his eyes. "That was hot. I haven't seen you use magic before. I'm glad to say that it suits you well. But you still can't move me." He winked then looked over at his brother in arms Imai. "Yo man, put the orb in the socket and lets see what Gold Rodger left in his personal tower eh?" He waited for Imai to put the orb in the socket then watched as the orb sent energy to the tower itself, causing it to rumble and shake, moving under ground or up, nobody could really tell. After the tower rumbled for what seemed like an hour the pillar split in half, opening like a door for Imai and the others. Inside it, at the half way point of the pillar was a single ring, silver in color with a sapphire gem in the center and a phrase inscribed on the band. "Rule the skies." Mashyuu thought that was strange but shrugged it off. "Imai, you take the ring." Mashyuu suggested to the younger man who had gone through a lot during this job. He then reached in and pulled a book out that was resting inside the pillar and flipped through the pages. "Here Kenna, you take this, it's Gold Rodger's journal. It might help in some way later on." Mashyuu handed the tome to the beauty at his side.

The group made their way back to the surface shortly after where Kenna watched disdainfully as many had gathered around the many bodies that laid scattered around the square; the entire area around Beanstalk’s stage had been made off-limits by Rune Knights officials, who were looking into the matter at hand. There weren’t many, and it was rather awkward to see how gentle they were towards the inhabitants of Motor City. Truth be told, couldn’t blame them… the rough-looking inhabitants were something to behold. With some bountiful shatter the group of Sabertooth mages had managed to gain access tot he restricted area… all these people looked like they were asleep; no single proof of them having died a horrible death. From within the ethereal plains Rodger had joined Kenna’s side, only visible to her, and gently talked about what she should be doing right now. The Etherborn whispered whatever the spectral captain said to her teammates, as to not look crazy to the people nearby. ”Rodger says… there’s a way for me to revive them,” She started, leaving a pause inbetween her words to listen to the rest of Rodger’s explanation. ”He says their bodies aren’t damaged physically, which means that if I tear their souls from my Soul Realm, they will return to their respective bodies if they’re close enough… though I’ve never done this before. But I’m going to try anyway. For their sake. They were just innocents…” Her voice died out as she breathed in deeply and stepped forward, carefully seeing where to place her feet as she proceded to the middle of the square and stopped. Spreading her arms Kenna exhaled softly and sent her magic through her once more, feeling the ethereal proportions mixing and turning darker. An aura engulfed her again, this time burning as razing blue flames, flickering with a purple hue every now and then. Kenna inhaled and closed her eyes, seeing the planes of her Soul Realm stretching out before her and forcing the Realm to open even further; to those looking at her, it seemed like the flames flared up even more and soon after they did, blue wisps tore themselves from said flames. Each wisp that left the flames flickered around the many bodies, stopped and descended back into the chest of the fallen innocents. The bodies of those being touched by the wisps opened their eyes again, and grunts arose when they pulled themselves to sit upright, all confused and seemingly struck with the worst hangover one could possibly imagine. One after another this continued, until the flaming aura around Kenna had extinguished completely, and with that the last innocent soul having taken its rightful place again. Mutters of surprise arose from the surrounding crowds at first, till they realised what miracle had just taken place before their eyes. A single man clapped, followed by another until the people gathered burst into a loud salvo of applause and cheers. The Etherborn, drained from her remaining magic, smiled and made her way back to her teammates, linking her arm with that of Mashyuu as to not lose her balance. Kenna looked at both of them one by one, a large smile plastered upon her face. “We did it, we managed to save them from an unneeded death… but Beanstalk. He has to pay for this.”

WC: 843
Total: 4203