UNDER A STARLIT NIGHT ♦ private

Home? It was all plastic to him. What the hell happened, why did it happen? Where did Adrelissa go after the attack, how did she survive? These were things he needed to know. It was only recently, but he was able to obtain a massive amount of power from, Shima once again. It burned within his body when he executed an attack, and it required him to sacrifice the attacks he knew already, but he was able to trade that in order to have enough power. Power for the truth, there was no more time for him to leave things unanswered.

So the bounties were ignored until now, he wanted to face them on his own. The problem was, he was going to have to leave all ties that he had one back in Fiore. They weren’t as plastic to him, but they were not real while he had doubts. Even the heaviest of feelings were unreal to him until he could take his mind off of what happened in Shadelle. It was not an addiction anymore, but now he wanted the truth. Why did things happen the way they did, why were his parents killed, why did they suddenly resort to attacking the one he deemed his lover back then? More questions, oh so many of them, none of them being answered.

Ignite? Resting back at the mansion perhaps. Maybe the guild hall. He didn’t know at this point, nor did he really care. She was full well able to hold her own in a fight, and maybe she can just put some pieces together. Hopefully she wouldn’t miss him too much if he did not come back from this alive. Adrelissa, she will definitely be able to do that. Whether or not she tries to stop him is up to her, but he was confidence that her burn paralysis abilities can only do so much to him while he had this new strength.

Iza. Hm, that was a tough one. Without a doubt impossible to just guess. Maybe she will be able to do the same thing. It was impossible for him to current cut all traces of him off, so why bother even trying. It was a waste of magic, a waste of time as well. The most he could hope for was her just assuming he was away on some hundred-year magic job again. Wouldn’t be the first time he just went off doing just that. And in a way, this was exactly that. It just wasn’t rewarded with jewels, but knowledge.

His body was covered up by a long cloak that moved down to his ankles and had a hood over his eyes, leaving his nose and lips to show. In case physical appearance was the only way for someone to tell it was him. His music had been spread far in Fiore, as well as a reputation for being able to complete a massive number of jobs within a short amount of time. Perhaps some might respect him and not call him out, but such chances could not be taken.

So he proceeded to make an exit from Lavantir, using teleportation to move around. It took him a short distance per teleport used, but it was able to swiftly move him around the house without even so much as a sound made. Eventually, he got to the door, looked back once, then proceeded to teleport from within the house to the outside. Shadelle was awaiting him…

He stopped without even flinching as she arrived, her voice clearly broken from his action. It was somewhat painful for him to hear it, so he closed his eyes to numb the pain with his wincing instead, though not easily shown through the hood he had on his face. A small, cut inhale was all he could execute before he let out one word. "Shadelle." The brunette said to her, looking to the side to the house right beside them. It was something she could not quite understand. Shima would look down in spirit onto him, her arms crossed as she looked down onto Iza. Hm... But not a trace of action would be executed. Elyx was riding solo on this one for now. "What... Happened..." The brunette would ask, somewhat to himself, somewhat to Iza as he would continue to walk forward. His objective was to just simply brush on by and make his way, now not caring if she got in the way of the attempt. Of course, he himself wouldn't lay a finger on her for such a reason. She was not the one who brought Adrelissa to her knees and began to butcher her body with a knife. Quatro held his peace as he too would float behind Elyx. Stella was sleeping, not so aware like the other two have been. Quatro was a mute, and Stella was in slumber, so neither of them could give their input on the matters. All they would do is just follow him, even in his attempt to walk past her. Despite his vague words, they made sense, but only to him.

Ignorance was bliss, Ignorance is weakness, who even knows anymore? Her embrace tightened around him, clearly not letting him go too far. "Is ignorance bliss, or is it hell? For me, it's hell... Why did they batter her? Am I supposed to ignore that for the rest of my life? Why did they hunt me down? Am I supposed to ignore that? I want to know why things are the way they are! His voice echoed through the air for a short amount of time, the silence amplifying it's power for a bit. Of course, Elyx left out some details, but his rush to get to Shadelle was making him act far more on impulse if anything, not logic or attention to detail. "Let me go, this is the mission I have wanted to carry out ever since Fiore declared me D rank. I'll confront Cain one on one, make him answer!" Half of that was meant for himself, as if to tell himself that what he was doing was the only way of going about things. Shima crossed her arms, her right leg bending over her left as she would take an air seat behind the brunette. This Tanuki, damn. If she keeps doing this, she'll just keep pissing him off... Then who looks like the bad guy, him again?" She thought to herself, keeping these silent thoughts in the back of her mind. It was not too much a concern for him. "Consider it another 100 year job... I need this though..."

"I want to make things right. Whether that be peace, or war, it's for closure." The brunette explained, stepping forward as he intended to pull her weight with him until she just gave in. Adrelissa was indeed alive, and they knew where they both are. However, they did not mean that there was a lot of unfinished business to do. The only difference was him not wanting revenge this time, he wanted answers. Now he they strength to nearly guarantee that he will not be dead when he got to Shadelle. Bounty Hunters existed for a reason, they were on him, but he shunned them all away. There was a contractor looking for him years after, and that's something he's supposed to ignore? "Let me go, I''m not changing my mind on this one." And that was a fact, he was dead set on making sure he got to his former home. Perhaps current? He didn't know, but he did know that it was going to be quite the distance away from here. It was going to take a lot more than just a couple days like the usual... Hundred... Year missions did. It was something that not even Yuni was able to make a quick transport for him. "Adrelissa is safe, you are here. Yet a mage can have all his dreams come true, and ignorance will crush those dreams to nothing but dust. I refuse to stay ignorant any longer, with or without support. I'm going." He stated, trying to convince her not to stop him. But if this just won't work, he did have some newfound abilities to allow for evasion.

"You're going to get hurt, you know that, right?" The brunette would explain as he would cross his arms, but not turning his body around to face her. His head would instead dip forward a small amount, looking at the ground below him as he could think of a few ways that could go wrong. Besides, the Lerales had the same amount of time he did to get stronger. Last Elyx checked, he was not strong enough to take on Shadelle back when he was S rank. The reason why he was going now was because he was X rank, a legendary figure in Fiore, perhaps enough to take down people easily if he needed to. Iza however, was confirmed to still be at S rank. "Not because of the strength of the people, but because of what you will have to do. There are people out there who want my head, and I might have to cut a few as well. This isn't going to have a happy ending, you know that, right?" He explained as he would proceed to step forward a few steps, looking to the side as he would spot a nearby piece of scrap. A trace of the old guild that Black Rose used to once be, it was still there in spirit it seemed. "Hm, you run a guild. I forgot about that, shouldn't you be tending to them first? Besides, they are the ones that are supposed to be closest to you. Which perhaps was a reason why I couldn't do it. No motivation to make such a commitment, especially considering how this nightmare just keeps coming back to haunt me."

"Oh Iza..." Elyx replied, closing his eyes as he would continue to take a few steps forward. She really cared, and it pained him to have to shun her from the reality of Shadelle. It was for her own good, those people can crucify those who dare not have enough power to defend themselves. People as powerful as Cain, those are the ones capable of doing such a thing. His steps stopped as he would then propose an idea."The enemies there are by far the most dangerous you will ever see for a while. If you care so much to accompany me on the task..." His body turned around as he would then open his eyes, looking at her directly now. "Prove to me your strength, in a rematch. No suicide jumps, but you need to beat me at full force. If you can't handle my strength, you can't handle the strength that Shadelle can do." The brunette explained, the wind blowing as his scarf would begin to flow to the side, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes half-closed. His lips were sealed tightly in a small smile, the one that was deemed casual. It has been a while since that one has been revealed to anyone. Perhaps maybe at A rank, that was the last time such a smile appeared. "I'm not looking to stop you for your strength, but this is truly something I believe I need to face on my own. I would rather not have them rip the blood of the girl I love again... So what do you say?"

"Well then, let's begin."
"Well then, let's begin."

Both voices would declare as he would proceed to create four spears from his sides before raising his right palm outwards towards her direction. Matter-Make, a new form of magic that allows him to make anything from his imagination. Already one of his favorite abilities. Each spear fired in a straight line, not really anything special about them. This of course was just to provoke a start to the battle, and he would leave it at just that as he then crossed his arms, though he summoned eight more spears behind his back. These spears just float behind him at the command of his mind, they were like his servants. Such control, it took such power and craft to make literally anything become a tool for his own use. The Tanuki was obviously bright enough to not just take those sudden hits. If she did... He might as well just end it all before it begins, as this would just be a massive waste of time. It was going to be a much rougher battle in this case. Shima stood behind him with her arms crossed, mimicking his own moves. It was her power that he was borrowing from in the first place. They technically shared the pool of magic, and neither of their own magics can allow for the power of creation to be done it the first place. In the legends of Endelle, Seria had the power of Creation, it was like he had a mini-version of her power.

One huge advantage that helped him was Shima, she was a lookout for him in this fight. And considering they shared magic in order to make a new one, they were able to share the same pool. Therefore, Shima herself can activate spells and abilities whenever she wanted to. Another thing was that she was able to see things from a different pair of eyes. "Hm, she's not phased. There's something blocking, but those sporks of hers..." Shima would stop as she saw them coming down right where Elyx was. Good thinking, but it was going to require far more than that to stop him. She instantly placed his body in the pocket dimension, where a year could be ten, or perhaps just one second. All time belonged to them, so they have the ability to plan things out. "Careful, do you think she's really going to let those sporks do anything? Remember her fighting style, physical attacks, which can bring nightmares to her if she sticks around too long. Stay on pursuit if she tries to run out of range." With that, she opened up the dimension, right as the sporks just tried to hit him, but missed. The next part was the teleportation to bring him a barrage, but Shima quickly triggered the Force Palm on Elyx's body, his right arm moving to the right side to force Iza's body to move away from him to the side. "She herself has some pesky defense, unleash hell. There's more than one layer to an onion."

Nodding his head, he placed his palm out, mixing her power with Shima's to summon 4 layers worth of spears, 10 in each layer. They surrounded her in the fashion of a dome, leaving no corners open. So they each launched, wave by wave in an attempt to get through as many defenses as they could. "And now it's Aiyana's turn." Elyx declared as he would flick out the black and gold key in his key inventory. Placing the magic item against his heart, he grew a pair of purple fox ears and nine tails as well. It was the Kyuubi, Frostfire now in his arsenal. To add to the barrage, one giant spear of Frostfire would from above Iza's head, in which Elyx instantly closed his palm, and the frostfire would aim to slam down furiously.

"The pressure of the auras are beginning to wear her down. Hm, durable, but not enough for Shadelle." Shima would comment as she would place the tip of her pointer right finger on her chin, tilting her head to the side before then looking down to Elyx, a small smile on her face. It seemed like he was going to be doing a lot more damage, though at what cost? It seems the wave arrived, so he would unleash the wave of Frostfire to counteract. Guardians Aura took care of the rest. But suddenly, he felt a slight chill running through his blood. "Hm, seems like that hit had something special in it. Next time, evade. But... That does give me an idea." Shima explained as Elyx continued to battle, feeling his energy draining a small amount. But it was not enough to hold him down, as he himself was going to execute some attacks of his own. A magic portal would take in the spork launched at him, sealing it in there to prevent it from doing anything else. With that, he would then dissolve in the air, leaving his replica in his place before it took the brunt of a melee attack, resulting in it shattering. Finally, Shima triggered the spell, a new energy flowing through his body. "When she attacks you, she'll have some nasty surprises coming her way. If your body can hold up for long enough, she won't know what will hit her." She explained to him, and so he did his best to conserve as much of his energy as he could.

"Hm, it looks like the spell factor has been broken into. Don't worry though, your body can still sustain the damage. That key doesn't run out either, so that makes life easier." Shima explained. It didn't take long for Iza to know of Shima and her presence. Cool, looks like they got to meet in battle. But instead of replying to Iza, he would just ask Shima a question. "She knows, think that will hinder us in any way?" The brunette asked, crossing his arms. After a small silence, she would summon the spear dome again. "No, I don't see that being the case." And off they fired down onto the Tanuki like the other times. Looks like they were aiming to take care of any more layers that were there before they could get some thick damage inflicted. Wherever she went, he prepared by making the Frostfire spear strike up from below wherever her presence was. It was more an attack that had the element of surprise. At this point, he needed to be lofty like that. His body took a pretty good amount of damage, but he prepared to bring it up as soon as the ice within him would just stop being a bother.

"Well, you did do the challenge. She's proven herself. But you haven't, looks like you aren't ready for Shadelle." Shima explained, crossing her arms as Elyx looked up. Yeah, it seemed that way. If he could not even beat Iza, there was no way in hell he could cross someone like Cain. Damn, and to think he was actually getting anywhere with this. The blizzard came. The brunette closed his eyes and breathed in as calmly as he could. So annoying, but it was the truth that he was forced to swallow. As the snowflakes came, he set up his own wind matter to push away the snowflakes away from his body, making a matter-make dome exclusively for pushing away the snowflakes from his body. The more they generate, the more wind he genterated around him to prevent the snowflakes from coming to him. In the process, he proceeded to make one of the "Promises", allowing it to form as a music note before tossing it over to her."Good job. But perhaps I'm not strong enough yet to go to Shadelle. A shame, really. But I guess that's life." He explained to her with a smile on his face before then looking back. "Hey Quatro, to Utopiasphere. I need a moment." An right at the end of his last sentence, he, Shima, and Quatro would all disappear to where Stella had been sleeping. Elyx had been so confident in his abilities, but he couldn't even beat one mage. Such a shameful ending, but at least he found this out now instead of in Shadelle itself.