Seika's breath was oddly visible as he stood overlooking the cove that he and Hitomi had been tasked to investigate recently. The two had taken to working together again quite well after they had left Joya due to their already preexisting relationship. They had already discussed the fact that he would ignore the fact that she had essentially left the Rune Knights for a known dark guild that was ran by a mage who had committed several atrocities and had literally escaped prison. It was necessary for them to maintain a working and cordial relationship. It also didn't hurt that they were still fucking occasionally.

Moving back to the present. The two of them had been requested to check out a potential disturbance out here in the waters of the Port. Apparently something was causing all of the fish to disappear from the waters and it was driving the fishermen crazy.

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The rolling fog over the ocean near Astera Docks and the smell of the salty sea caused Hitomit's nose to wrinkle a little. The winter cold near the ocean wasn't a pleasant experience and the only thing that made it bearable was the fact that she was standing next to what she liked to call a " human heater ". The resuming of working with Seika was something she welcomed, their time spent together came with different challenges due to their opposite affiliations but nothing would stop them in the end. I rented us a boat. The captain should be around here.

Looking around the docks she spotted a few bots but the one she was looking for stood out to her almost instantly, even though all this fog. Leading the way she snuggled into the thick leather cloak that wrapped around her body, the inside lined with fur to protect her from the cold.

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Glancing down at Hitomi, Seika would smile and nod, following along her path as she had taken the initiative to procure them a mode of transportation to the cove. Falling into step behind the woman, he could only think about of the many times that they traveled like this while in Joya while under the guise of Shrine Maiden and her dutiful bodyguard. Of course nowadays that was a more literal translation of their roles.

Shifting his left hand into the inside pocket of his Haori, Seika would tilt his head in Hitomi's direction before sparking up a conversation, "How much did it cost this time?" It was a simple enough question, and while they weren't exactly broke, Hitomi sometimes got a bit robbed when it came to prices for things due to her coming from a fairly wealthy family. That had been a point of discussion multiple times as Seika often had to accompany her to business meetings to make sure she didn't accidentally splurge on a bullshit offer.

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Looking over her shoulder and giving a cheeky little smile she would shake her head and turn her attention back to the boat. She could see the captain heading towards them, waving them over. Oh I didn't have to pay anything. He was ever so gracious in providing me with transportation and by extension you. Probably because as this is West Fiore all of the towns know of the guild I currently reside in. It's little perks like this that make it worthwhile sometimes.


Yes, it was true, Eternal Nightmare had a grip over West Fiore but it was beneficial to all parties who cooperated for the most part. Moving over to the Captain the two exchanged some words and Hitomi slipped a small pouch into his hands, something for his troubles. Although the boat was free she still liked having people in her back pocket and money was always the best at that. The boat was decently sized, with a cozy downstairs that was decked out with two rooms, a bathroom, and a bar. Slipping onto the boat first she made her way downstairs away from the cold winds.

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Visible confusion crossed his features before he was once again reminded of Hitomi's actual place here within Fiore. It had been some time since they had arrived back in Fiore and Seika himself had ignored it outside of the actual discussion of the truce. Being blatantly reminded of Eternal Nightmare's influence on any portion of Fiore actually rustled him just a tad but he held back his tongue in a retort as he had agreed not to bring that drama when they were working together.

Stepping on to the boat, he'd give the Captain a shallow nod before following the demure lady down beneath the deck. Even if there trip wasn't going to last long, he was certain that Hitomi was going to at least enjoy some of the luxuries it would provide before they would inevitably have to start working. He would take a seat on one of the couches before reclining back to look up at the ceiling, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this mission by the way. Feels eerily similar to those missions back in Orchidia, only with you know, more water."

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Upon entering the bottom deck Hitomi strode over to the bar and poured herself some grape juice. It was the closest thing to wine without any alcohol that she was going to be drinking today. Having to stay sober on missions was a good way to make sure they succeeded in completing it. Looking over at Seika as he sat down on one of the couches she would soon join him, drink in hand. Perhaps it will be. Though at least this time around you'll be doing all the heavy lifting and I'll be the support behind you. Though it could very well just be an overpopulation of predators that need culling.
It could have been any number of things but for now, she wasn't going to stress it. The loud horn of the boat rang out, alerting them that the boat was setting sail. Soon they would know what was going on.

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He hummed in agreement of her statement. It was indeed possible that all they would have to deal with is a couple of rowdy predators that were just eating up everything. Of course them being mages, it was never that easy. If it were that easy the fishermen could've solved it. But he wouldn't voice that, not with the beautiful young woman sitting next to him sipping some sort of concoction. He knew it wasn't alcohol since she made it a point of pride not to drink on missions, but mixing juices wasn't beneath her.

Stretching out his arms, he laid himself out fully, legs splayed out in full relaxation as he let the steady rock of the waves lull him into a small nap. He knew they were going to be on this boat for a short while so he might as well catch some shut eye before getting to work.

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Allowing Seika to layout on the couch she let her hand stroke his face as his head nestled in her lap. It was good he was resting and she would have joined him but she was not tired. Humming a sweet but low tune as to not disturb Seika's rest the boat floated along the waters. It would only take them about thirty minutes to arrive at their destination. Gently patting the very handsome cheek that belong to Seika, she would bend over and nudge his face with her own. Come on darling. It's time for work. Upon him waking up and getting up she would rise from her seat and move up towards the shore. The boat was parked in by a small dock that led to a sandy beach, and that beach led right into the cave of the cove they needed to check out. Perfect.

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Dreams of fire and brimstone filled his dreams as visions of smoke and murky details surrounded him. The large Knight stood firm before this apocalyptic visage as he in general knew what these visions meant. The sound of cracking ground surrounded him as a beam of light broke through the smoke and dust just before light filled the realm. Inhaling sharply, Seika gazed upon his patron deity as the light grew in intensity. Time slowed to a stop as images and sensations flowed into him, filling him with warmth and apprehension. Slowly he began to understand what was going on, and the purpose of this dream, but the final message that was passed into him made him pause. A look of worry crossing his face that was instantly soothed by yet another pulse of heavenly light. Frowning, the Knight would nod before closing his eyes again and accepting his God's will before arising to the sensation of Hitomi's face nuzzling his own.

Grunting softly at the feeling, he would gesture back in kind before rising up and stretching out the kinks in his body. With feeling returning to his extremities, the grown Knight would follow after Hitomi with a grim determination.

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Hitomi walked ahead of Seika, her feet coming off of the hardly stable docks and onto the shifty sands. It was much colder here as they were much closer to the water and they would be for the remainder of the time. Before the boat had come this far Hitomi had already made arrangements for the captain to stay at the docks. She didn't want to wait when it came time for their job to be done. The walk from the beach to the cove was a short one. When they reached the entrance she could see that inside it would only get darker, looking over her shoulder she would step aside and let Seika take the lead. I think you got this part covered starlight. She teased of course but she was also serious. At this point in their relationship, Hitomi was very much aware of who Seika was and what he could do. He had surpassed her in ways she couldn't imagine.

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Stepping onto the dock, the duo would walk down to the cove in relative silence. The silence between them have Seika a bit of a reprieve from the rather convoluted and distressing information that he has received through his visions. It was one of the few things he disliked about Sol versus the other "Gods" he had met so far. Sol was big on guiding through vague concepts and allowing one to interpret their messages. And while the freedom was nice and appreciated, it made it so frustrating to actually execute the God's will because true understanding of it's will was theoretically impossible.

Pushing these thoughts to the back burner however, he returned to reality when Hitomi actually addressed him directly in regards to the growing darkness surrounding them. Blinking in response, an orb of light popped into existence, illuminating the previously dark cavern. Taking a step forward, it was time for him to take the lead.

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The cool spacious cave let every sound around them echo off the walls. Their footsteps on the hard rocky surface, the dripping of water, even the sound of lesser creatures scurrying about. All of that put Hitomi on edge or rather made her extremely cautious of her surroundings. Quickly coming up at Seika's side rather than walking directly behind him she looked over to her left where the water from the ocean ran through the cave. It was this flow of water that was leading them towards the cove, their end destination for sure, or at least that's what she thought. Maybe unlike the rats we'll only have to deal with one problem. I'm not too excited about all this water though. It's too cold to have to jump in after whatever it is we are hunting.

A shiver went down her spine as the thought of getting wet in this weather made her body violently recoil. As the two went deeper in the dim orb of light began illuminating other things besides rocks and such, it was now showing bones and old tattered clothes the further in the went. This was not only strange but very unsettling since they didn't get any reports about people dying in here, only that fish were drying up in the area. Could whatever they were going after be doing more damage than just messing with the Astera's oceanic ecosystem? Moving over to one of the bone piles that had a bag around it she began to look through its contents with the hope that maybe whoever was unfortunate to be delivered such a fate could shed some light on the situation at hand. The bag was filled with papers whose ink had come off due to being wet, what looked like a small but bejeweled dagger, and the only real thing of interest which was a leather-bound book with a lock on it.

I have a feeling you were right about what you said earlier. How this feels like the work we did back in Orchidia. Breaking the lock she flipped through the contents of the book, a frown forming on her face as she walked more towards the glowing orb to get a better read.I can't read the language in this book but I recognize some of these symbols because they were the same ones on some of those cult members' clothing and bodies...How did far does their influence reach? Now she was annoyed. Hitomi wasn't even in the Rune Knights anymore but now she was thrown back into this bullshit. If the money wasn't so god damn good she would have left right there and then. Looking from the book to Seika and at the very moment, she did so a loud and deep growl came from the direction they were heading in. At least with that, she knew they were going in the right direction.

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The cold that followed them seemed to surround and muffle everything that they did. Their footsteps, their breathing, even the ruffling of their clothing seemed muted and distant the closer they drew to the cave. It had Seika visibly worried, the stench and feel of dark magic shouldn't be this strong this far out, yet he could feel it just as clearly as he could feel Hitomi's latent yet surpressed body heat. Reaching back, he grabbed into the handle of his staff to provide a small level of comfort, easing his worries as he reminded himself that this new mission would be better.

Hitomi's words sparked him back to the present as he nodded and responded in kind, "It's honestly one of those things that I would absolutely hate to be right about honestly. But even Amaterasu told us that our trials and journey weren't over. I just never figured it would have brought us back to Fiore..."

He glanced over the assorted corpses and other visible signs of previous habitation that had been left behind by people who had called the area just outside the cove home. It was actually surprising to see so many bodies out this far from the city. Sensing Hitomi moving away from him, Seika would turn in her direction to see her inspecting one corpse in particular. Taking this time to observe more of their surroundings he would will the orb of light to float higher and grow in prominence, illuminating more of their dimming surroundings.

The light would wash over more and more objects of notice with little fanfare, the musings of Hitomi barely reaching a whisper in his ears as he continued to scan the proverbial horizons. It was on his third glance that something in particular caught his attention. The wet slopping of flesh on hard ground met his ears as if something was messily dragging itself across the ground. It was odd that he could even perceive the sound, the cold still air was still choking out any semblance of life in the area, yet here was this grotesque sound allowed to flourish in such a somber and dank locale. A screeching, grinding crack filled the air suddenly as the movement seemed to stop. This caused Seika to reach out and grab on to Hitomi to stop her before she continued to talk. Something was here and he wasn't sure if they should catch whatever it was' attention just yet.

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As she swiped through the pages of the book her concern for what was going on grew deeper and deeper. Hitomi in all honestly didn't want to be involved in this shit but she knew the threat this thing could cause if gone unchecked. She wanted to speak up on it but before she could open her mother to continue to speak she felt Seika's strong hand grab her and pull her in close to his chest, muffling her words and stopping them. She wasn't paying attention but something must have caught him for him to react this way. For a brief moment silence and then that same noise that cause Seika to pull her in happened again this time much closer to them. We have to kill whatever that is before it finds us. She whispered the voice in his chest, hoping that Seika would hear.

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A shiver ran down Seika's spine as the grinding crunching sounds seemed to emanate even closer this time. Hitomi's murmur into his chest was actually heard loud and clear proving that the effect was localized to the cavern and even possibly to whatever that was itself. Gritting his teeth, he clenched the hand that wasn't holding on to Hitomi around his staff before pulling it from his back, igniting the brilliant flames of the staff with the users intensity. The creation of this new more powerful light source immediately illuminated the entire area around the Cove, exposing whatever it was to Seika and somewhat to Hitomi due to her subdued nature.

The 'Creature' or whatever it could be described as was a long tubular existence, made of dark fleshy bits that seemed to form a chitinous exoskeleton. Spinal bits seemed to stick out along the extreme length of the creature, black thorns that dug into the ground and left gouging trenches in their wake. The source of the infernal screaming clearly came from the gaping maw of the creature however, the foul beast seemed to be releasing some dusky green essence onto a rotting corpse that immediately began to decay and dissolve the remainders of the corpse entirely. The beasts teeth seemed to grind and crush against each other as they leaked and spewed the substance on the corpse before lurching back and pulsating in a sick rhythmic fashion. The motions dredged up a horrific and sickening memory from the grown Knight, the memory of expelling the contents of their stomach violent from vile sickness and disease. However what proceeded was no where near that.

The creature finally lurched back forward and released what it had been building up to, unleashing from the confines of the disgusting maw was an even fleshier appendage that seemed to wetly slap against the dissolving corpse, crushing it under its weight. The force of the impact was enough to shake the ground suddenly and cause Seika to momentarily lose his balance as he watched in horror as the appendage seemed to soak up the vile mixture as well as the half dissolved corpse into itself before it was slowly retracted back into the creatures maw.

The entire spectacle only took moments but it was enough for Seika to know that this creature was not only natural, but not their true target, but it had to be destroyed. "Be ready to back me up, whatever this is, it's not going to go down without a fight." With that he would release her from his grasp before pulling his staff fully in front of himself before taking his left hand and snapping it to a position in front of his body. Forming a sort of sign with his fingers by bending his ring and pinky while extending his index and middle into a pseudo V while extending his thumb away from his hand.

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Whatever was making the sound that was approaching the two had finally revealed itself, and oh what a reveal it was. Hitomi would pull away from Seika in order to see what was going on around them but she kept close to him. The light from his staff illuminated the area so much that the creature that was hiding in the dim cave was now fully seen with the light. The stench of something rotting abused her senses, causing her eyes to water. It was so foul that she nearly threw up anything she might have eaten in the last twenty-four hours. Why was something like this hiding here? How come no one caught on to its existence? Many questions flowed through her mind as she watched the thing eat a rotting corpse from the ground after dissolving it with whatever green mist came from it. Not knowing what the creature was capable of would cause them to have to fight it from a distance and be even more careful not to fall or get knocked into the water. This would be much more dangerous than fighting a bunch of rats and it had been some time since her last bout.

Releasing Kusanagi from its sheath and holding it with her left hand, Hitomi would point at Seika with her right hand's index finger. A Gray magic circle that's 4-Meters in diameter would appear above his head and a pair of solid dragon horns made from Arcane mana would form on his head that mimic the Sanguine Dragon's horns. Not even a moment after that another Gray magic circle that's 4-Meters in diameter would appear above his head and a pair of solid dragon claws made from Arcane mana would form on his hands that mimic the Sanguine Dragon's claws. This will make you faster and stronger for a bit. I know you already know this, let's not get hit with any of whatever it spewed out. Stating the obvious might seem annoying but let's hope that fact anchors us. I'll start. she whispered her words as her eyes stayed trained on the creature. It hadn't attacked them yet even with the light brightening up the area. There could have been a few reasons why they weren't already engaged by the creature in combat. One such reason was that perhaps it needed time to eat or a better explanation was that it was blind. Usually, creatures who dwelled in dark areas for a long period of time or were born in it were blind, but that also meant it probably had a really good hearing or some other means of finding them.

Pointing her sword in the direction of the monster who was thrashing about she knew that as soon as she set off a spell that the fight would begin. Letting mana flow into her blade a crackling of lightning shot out at the monster hitting the beast and causing it to scream out before lunging at them. Without missing a beat Hitomi directed mana towards the bunny ears that were hidden by her hair, causing them to pop up. Wrapping her arms tightly around Seika's waist in a flight or fight response she lunged backward twice as far as she could normally go, throwing them back thirty meters in a second. She knew by now that he could take care of himself but something in her overrode that thought as maternal instincts she didn't think she had anymore kicked in. All the times she protected Seika in his early days of being a Rune Knight, she could only remember them now and her body reacted as it should.

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From his position with his hand and fingers extended, Seika began his incantation with little to no fanfare. Left hand arcing in a circle as large as his wingspan would allow him to create, brilliant golden sigils and runes would dance across the evening sky before him and Hitomi as he drew forth a great magic sigil. The magic circle quickly filled in its interior, hieroglyphs of power and story etching themselves into the fabric of reality as the man's magical intensity began to peak. Soon the magic circle before them was matched by an incandescent burning magic circle in the sky, the pure magical brilliance of it seemingly burning the gases around it creating an ozone like stench that overpowered even the stench of the creature and the ocean around them.

Hitomi seemed to not wait on his strike as she too began her own preparations, making sure to buff his already strong body to increase his potency and speed. The buffs weren't necessary, at least yet, but he appreciated the thought as he wasn't sure how strong or fast the creature was, but he knew that he didn't want to find out. It was then that Hitomi then struck out at the creature with her ever present blade, Kusanagi. This was good since Seika's spell actually needed a bit of set up before he could unleash it. He intended to erase the foul creature in one fell swoop and not even waste time going back and forth. This entire area needed to be cleansed of it's foul presence.

Feeling the Shrine Maiden's slim hand wrap around his waist before he was yanked backwards suddenly, Seika grit his teeth as he maintained his focus. He always disliked it when the woman pulled him around, but he also knew that she focused more on keeping them alive than he did so he never voiced his irritations with the actions. He just wished he got more of a notification before it was going to happen so he could be better prepared. But as they soared backwards, the beast was finally struck by the thunderbolt of an attack that Hitomi released. It recoiled viciously, seemingly curling in on itself as it finally acknowledged that there was something else out there aside from it's current meal. A horrible clicking screech tore itself from it's... throat? Eliciting a hair curling shiver from Seika as he realized that the beast hadn't even realized they were there to begin with. The creature suddenly stopped shaking and screaming suddenly as its entire body froze up and seemed to sit perfectly still before its head, mouth, whatever it is, jerked in their direction.

Another furious scream tore itself from the creature just before it rushed in their general direction, the speed in which it traveled shocking Seika slightly as it moved far quicker than he expected it too. Thinking quickly, Seika would unleash his spell, causing the great light up above them to glow to blinding levels before unleashing four pillars of light that slammed on to the ground around the beast and caused it to slam into an invisible magic wall that immediately burned the foul creature's dirty carapace. The acidic ooze that spilled from it's lips was contained by the barrier as well, ensuring that they were both no longer in harms way.

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As the two flew back away from the creature Hitomi watched as her spell hit it head-on. It must have been effective because all that noise it was creating told a story of pain and anger. The creature's massive body shook and contorted before it reeled back and came for them. Hitomi's eyes never once looked away from the monster as she tightened her grip on Kusanagi. Its large body closing the distance was a shock to her system but she maintained her composure. She did some damage to it but it wasn't enough and she didn't know what would be enough until she saw the light. Above the creature's head, a blinding light caused her to look away from it and towards Seika. The spell that he had been weaving was finished and just in time too. It was still too bright to see so Hitomi kept looking at Seika who shined like a god. She knew the creature had been killed when the noise had settled and when the light dimmed she took her gaze off the man and towards the scene of a burned and dead monster. She was glad it was over but another fear washed over her as she remembered they had to bring it back " no matter what.

There isn't much to bring back. Do you still think they want it?Removing herself off of Seika she walked towards the beast. It was much uglier up close and she wasn't even sure she could call it a sea creature. She thought back to when they had to fight rats and the hordes of never-ending rats that seem to pop up. Hitomi wanted to go back to Joya. At least there she didn't have to keep putting things down. She knew that this incident was going to be just like Orchidia and that there were more of these things around. Turning from the foul beast she walked back over to Seika and gave him a light pat on his chest. I think we're gonna be here for awhile. I hate to say it and you might have already figured this out but, there is something deeper going on, and I'd say it doesn't bode well for anyone if it's not taken care of. Despite her words she had a sweet tone in her voice filled with warmth and peace. It didn't matter what they were going to be going up against as long as she could do it with Seika then it would be alright. Leading the way out of the cove towards the boat

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The light overhead grew in intensity as the might of Seika's magic finally poured into it, unleashing a powerful pillar of blinding light within the confines of the four brilliant pillars. The sound of a high screech from the magic itself drowned out the cries of the creature as it was literally burned with the might of the Sun, reducing it to a burned husk of its previous existence. He tried to ignore Hitomi's deep stare into his features as he focused on burning away any semblance of life from the foul beast. Upon completing the task, and letting the last dregs of magical energy fade from his finger tips, he would set the tip of his staff down on the gravel with the condemning click as the light of the pillars faded into individual sparks.

Turning away from his work, he would regard Hitomi softly as she spoke up about the perils that clearly filled the lands here. She was right, they would be here for quite awhile dealing with all kinds of foul denizens, but there was something that nagged at Seika, even as he placed his staff back on his back and picked up the remainder of the 'corpse'. He just hoped that the feeling he had didn't mean that this phenomenon was spreading faster than they could investigate.

-Exit-