Yuurei had his agenda with this island, but the people here were sick. He did feel bad for them and that was why when they asked for help, the Seraphim decided that it was best to help them out. He couldn’t let innocent people die as that was not who he was. The hunter decided to give the green light for Paradise to help the people from Talaz Lagaar. The guild master decided to go as well as he would bring his second in command.

Renji had also made his way to where the sick were being held. It would seem like this place was going through a crisis. The duo was wearing a mask over their face because they weren’t sure how it could get past them. He would shake his head as this was even more dangerous than fighting insane monsters.

“Are you sure you want to do this Yuu? We can be sick as well. If that happens who’s going to take care of us?” He asked his friend wondering what he would say.

Yuurei didn’t look at Renji, but he was right. This could go wrong, but if they didn’t help then things could become even worse. Who knows, not helping them would probably have it so the disease spreads to Fiore later on.

“Yeah this will be the scariest thing we will ever face. But we will be fine, and I can’t stay in Fiore and not help out.” He said to Renji.

They would make their way to the medical station. It was huge and he was pretty sure that it would hold thousands of people if they needed to. He would shake his head as this was sad. He wondered who had done this to the people of Talaz Lagaar.

“Brone should be here with us soon. Let’s go inside and make sure that we get them to go where they need our help.” He said to Renji.

Renji would nod when he heard those words. Yuurei had known how to treat people and take care of them. He had done this his entire life. He was the kid who did whatever he could to satisfy a race that couldn’t accept it because he was a half-breed.

They would enter the place and they would be met by a nurse who noticed them. She would bow to them as she could tell they were not from this place. Which meant that they were here to help.

“If you can follow me I will show you who needs your help.” She said to Yuurei.

The Seraphim would look back and hope that Brone would show up in time. Still, whether or not his friend made it on time or not, he would follow the woman as she was leading the way now.

468

"Why didn't ye wake me!?" Brone Heavayxe yelled as he rushed out of bed and headed into the shower.

"I'm not your mother, you getting up on time and meeting Yuurei is your responsibility" Gnicholas replied as he read through one of Talaz Lagaar's newspapers, trying to keep up to the date with the current affairs regarding the plague that plagued the island, "Besides, I tried and you wouldn't wake, because you sleep like a rock".

"Beni! Why didn't ye try to wake up me?" Brone called as he turned on the shower and nearly shouted due to the sudden hot water that pelted him; the dwarf wasn't new to plumbing since he frequented big cities, but the devices on the island were so futuristic, he couldn't get a good grasp of what did what.

"I like to watch you sleep" Benimaru said as he floated into the shower, nearly startling the dwarf. Brone, not amused by Beni creepy reply, shoved the shield by the mask out of the shower and closed the curtain.

"What's the plan for today?" Brone asked after he quickly finished his shower and rushed back into the main area of the rented room of the hotel they were staying in. He grabbed whatever cloths weren't dirty from the traveling bag and threw them on in a rush.

"Paradise Dawn decided to offer helping hands to the medical research team of Talaz Lagaar in order to find a way to stop the plague and/or help save lives" the gnome said as he continued to read the newspaper, though he believed it was a good quest to take up, he was wondering why Paradise Dawn took up the quest when they were more of a Monster Hunting guild that barely had a medical wing of their own, but he chose to keep his concern to himself.

After Brone donned his clothing, armor and weapons, he rushed out the door which Gnicholas on his shoulder and Benimaru floating after him. They were already late, though it seemed the dwarf was the only one who actually cared. The streets were odd, covered in black stone of some kind; though the dwarf was interested in figuring out what it was, he didn't have time. He wanted to wave down a carriage, but none of the metallic vehicles were stopping, so he took a risky move and hopped onto the roof of one of them, knocked on it and yelled "To the medical facility!" as he put on his face mask.

The driver was about to get out of the vehicle to confront the dwarf, but the gnome leaned into the window and handed the driver a good amount of jewels as payment and compensation which made the driver reconsider his action and drove the three of them to the medical facility.

Brone burst through one of the main doors and was directed to Yuurei after asking for directions, "Oi! Yuurei! We made it" he cried out once he saw his friend.

512

Yuurei had been taken to the group of people who needed his help. They were on their own bed as it would seem like it was bad. He would go to them and he would see that the wet towels on them were dried, and he would take them off of them and he would prepare a new cloth for them as he would put them on the patients. The nurse would see this and she would smile at him. It would seem like he was getting straight to work without hesitating. He had his face mask on though as he knew better than to take it off.

“I’m not amazing at all of this, but I used to do this for my best friend, her father, and others who needed it. I can’t say I will find a cure, but I sure as hell will make sure to let you know if anything changes with any of them.” He said to the nurse.

She would nod as she was happy that he knew what he was doing. It wouldn’t take long enough, but Brone would come in and he would shout out loud. Yuurei would look at him and he would put a finger over his lip, making sure that Brone didn’t scream any more than he had already done.

The patients groan from the shouting as it would seem like they weren’t enjoying that at all. The Seraphim would walk over to Brone and he would smile at him. He was glad that his friend was here, and now they could continue on with their work.

“We need to keep their temperatures cool, so I want you to get those bowls that are on the table filled up with some cool water and wipe them down with a rag. You don’t have to get anywhere weird, but just their arms, chest, and feet.” He said to Brone.

The nurse was going to leave, but she figured she would watch Brone. If he needed help, she would give him some pointers on what else to do as well. Renji would look around as he was cleaning up any of the mess that was on the ground. It would seem like they were working too hard here. He couldn’t believe that this was happening to people on this island. If this were so advanced, how come they couldn’t come up with a solution?

Renji was feeling like someone had done this to them on purpose. That wasn’t good, but if that was the case then who. Renji did know that Yuurei was helping them to better his relations with this country. At the same time, he wasn’t waiting for that and was pillaging their technology from the Zero relic that was just there for anybody to mess with.

“I wonder if there is someone who’s the mastermind in all of this.” He said this as he kept walking around.

Yuurei heard him and it got him thinking. That could be a problem if someone was able to do that to the people on this island. If that were the case, maybe they could be the key to reversing all of this.

531|999

Brone was immediately shushed and he instantly regretted his outburst, "Sorry" he whispered as he entered the room. The scene was saddening; two rows of beds, everyone one of them filled with patience who were no more than barely conscious.

Immediately they got to work. Brone and Gnicholas would get fresh water in a bowl and would use clean rags to wet them and tend to the patience, wiping them down gently. The dwarf felt out of place, seeing the stressed expressions the sick patience had, even those who were asleep struggled with their rest and yet the dwarf couldn't do anything to help other than these little acts of care. He heard Renji mention of a possible mastermind behind the plague but before the dwarf could voice his guess, the gnome chimed in.

"It's possible, but even if we do happen to find a mastermind, if one exists, then there's not really anything we could do, unless said mastermind had a cure kept hidden away" Gnicholas wiped down the forehead of a patient who's temperature was high, so he placed a cool damp cloth onto their forehead before moving onto the next.

Brone wanted to suggest finding the mastermind and defeating them, but such a solution was usually for warlords threatening the safety of civilians with their might; if they captured the mastermind, or stopped them, it wouldn't really stop the plague. This was entirely different from what the dwarf was use to and it bothered him. There were rarely moments he felt helpless, and this would be one of them.

"Are you here to take me away" one patient was weak and barely awake when he looked at the floating shield of Benimaru. The ominous mask and the floating purple flame made him look as if he was a spirit, waiting to whisk away the dead, an old folklore which was why people dreaded hospitals.

"It's not your time yet, kid" Benimaru's voice was actually calm and comforting when he replied which surprised the gnome and the dwarf. The two had looked at the oni's mask, but quickly looked away before he noticed. It was a rare moment for the spirit to actually say something considerate or even kind, so now their perception of him was different, though it just made him more of an enigma since they couldn't figure him out entirely, a complete mystery.

401 | 913

Renji would continue cleaning the mess that was on the floor without a problem. While he had done that, he would hear Gnicholas speak about the possible situation that nothing could be done even if they found out who was responsible. He would shake his head as he continued cleaning as he didn’t like that sound.

“Who makes a disease without making something to eliminate it? That’s insane.” He said, but he wasn’t sure who it was, so he didn’t know if they were just that.

Yuurei would hear their conversation and he would shake his head as he continued to take care of the patients as well. The Seraphim would move to a bowl that he had as well. He would take a towel and he would soak it before rinsing it. He would start wiping down the patient he was taking care of as well.

When he had done that, he would move over to wiping some saliva off of one of the patient’s mouths as he continued to work. He would take that and place it on the side for the nurse to take to the testing room. Yuurei would move the bowl and empty it as he needed to fill it up with clean water again. While he was doing this he would look at the group and he would shake his head at the ideas that had gone through his head.

“Yeah, even if they did have a cure, I’m going to be honest, if they had one, it would probably be something insane. The people in Talaz Lagaar are going to have to pray for a miracle to be honest. At least the call from other countries worked.” He said as they were living proof of that.

Yuurei would go to another patient now as he would take care of them. They looked like they were in pain while tossing and turning on the bed. He would see this, and he would try to calm them down. While he was trying, Yuurei would wipe him in the spots that he could. The patient would feel the soothing sensation and slowing down.

When Yuurei saw this, he knew that he could proceed with what he needed to do. He would wipe the patient down as he would slow his breathing for a few. It would seem like this was nothing to them, which was a good thing. The hunter would finish up with this patient and he would look around to see who else needed his help. He had placed a wet rag on the patient’s forehead before walking away.

“I don’t like the fact that these people have to suffer from this. What hurts more, is knowing that this is affecting children as well.” He said this out loud as the nurse was still there.

She nodded as she had to agree with Yuurei on this. She would look at the two of them and figured she would tell them what to do next.

“If you two could, please can you get some blood samples from the patients here? After that, you could do a bit of work, but I think that would be all.” She said to them waiting to see if they were up for the task.

545|1544

"I don't know much about antidotes, cures, or whatever solutions for ailments, but even though it does seem likely for an intelligent person to have a failsafe for their own biochemical weapon, it isn't assured" Gnicholas said as he was marking down symptoms he was witnessing from the patients.

"Well they must have prayed since an angel had arrived upon the island" Brone finally smiled as he was rinsing a rag before returning to a patient with a high fever. Benimaru sighed, finding the joke lacking taste, though he understood the dwarf was referring to Yuurei, "Oi, Beni, ye like my joke, I see that smile on yer face" the dwarf called out to the shield and sword.

"That is the permanent expression my mask is stuck with, nothing more" Benimaru's reply was cold as ice which made Brone give up on trying to get the spirit to laugh at his joke.

The room went silent again with the air of dread and saddness as Yuurei pointed out that children were involved; one of the patients, an adolescent, had coughed to break the silence, "It'll be easy if we could get our hands on the one responsible" Brone said too loud, he couldn't hide it under his breath.

"Nothing we can do but help the victims at the moment; and we're not even entirely sure if this was manmade or not" Gnicholas said as he was checking the thermometer of a patient before recording it into one of the clipboards at the bedside. Though the gnome had a point, it didn't seem likely that it was naturally made, give that ground-zero is the technologically advanced nation of Talaz Lagaar; if a nation was capable of creating such a destructive weapon, it would be on said island. But no one mentioned it, for there was no point since at the moment, Paradise Dawn couldn't do anything but help directly at a local medical facility.

When the nurse asked if they could take blood samples, Gnicholas grabbed the equipment and began the process. Though when Brone tried to take the equipment, the gnome slapped his hands away, stating that his dwarven hands were too rough and big for such precision and Brone didn't argue; he knew he shouldn't be risky when it came to the health and safety of such vulnerable patients, so he allowed the gnome to take the blood samples on the western side of the room.

"Can I help?" Benimaru asked. Gnicholas looked to him and stared into his eyes for a moment, wondering if he was joking since the spirit had no actual hands. When Benimaru moved his sashes that were attached to the hilt of his blade, to show they resembled hands, the gnome ignored him, basically informing him that such hands were worse than the dwarf's.

So while Gnicholas was taking blood samples, Brone continued tending to the patients by keeping them cool with the wet rags while Benimaru observed them as he floated about.

506 | 1,419

Yuurei would hear Gnicholas and he would nod as if he was right. They couldn’t be sure and in the end, this could have been something natural happening within the island. Maybe the island was telling the people of Talaz Lagaar something about what they were doing. He wasn’t sure what it could be, but he was indeed glad he could help out.

While keeping their temperature down, he would look over to Brone as he heard the joke. This would get him to chuckle a bit from it as he expected something like that to come from Brone. Still, with the nurse giving them something else to do, Yuurei would do just that. He wouldn’t hesitate to find the syringes and he would head to one of the patients. He would poke them with the needle, and he would start drawing out their blood into the capsule.

He would look at it as he remembered to make sure to poke their veins and make sure there was no air within it. When he was done drawing the blood of one person, he would move on to the next one. The hunter would keep moving around from one of them to another. He was good at this and he couldn’t help but be happy to help.

The nurse would watch the tall man, and the little one gets to work and she was glad that they were enjoying this. Well, it wasn’t enjoyment because of the conditions these people were in, but enjoyment to be able to do something, anything to help them. She would take the blood samples from the ones drawing blood as she was going to take them to the lab for testing.

Renji would continue working his butt off. He wasn’t able to help with all of this medical stuff, but he figured keeping this place clean was the next best thing to do. He was reaching things and cleaning areas, that he was sure that nobody would touch. It was a good thing to do and he was able to kill time doing this.

“Well, once we’re done in this room maybe she could take us to another room to help the people there. I want to make sure that we don’t miss anybody who might need our extra hands.” He looked over to Brone with a smile on his face.

He knew that the dwarf had four hands, which was two more than the rest of them. The Seraphim would continue to help out with the patients as the nurse took all the blood and left the room. Yuurei would just look at them and hope that this got better for all of them. Renji was done cleaning for the time being as he would make his way to the group. He wondered what was going to be done next.

476|2020

[exit]

Brone watched Yuurei and Gnicholas work to draw the blood of the patients. This was a small activity for them, a delicate one. The dwarf was use to making big changes by using power to overcome tyranny; seeing an enemy taken down by his weapons was proof enough that his work was having an effect, so he wasn't use to doing such small tasks. He watched the patients suffering, trying to deal with the pain inflicted by the plague, so he wasn't even sure if they were contributing in anyway. How he hate feeling useless.

"You can only do so much" Benimaru's ghostly voice trailed down the dwarf's neck as he hovered behind him. Normally the dwarf would get annoyed and walk away, but he nodded instead, understanding what the spirit meant. The dwarf turned to face Benimaru; a spirit who was entrapped into a shield and sword, limited in so many ways, and yet here he was, doing what he could with what was given to him and he didn't complain, nor did he even ask Yuurei to release him. With that being said, they separated and went back to work.

Gnicholas eventually finished drawing the blood samples and placed the vials in a container before handing it to the nurse.

"This island is so advanced, but why isn't medicine advanced too?" Brone asked as he looked out the window to watch the metal carriages move without horses, running on possibly magic, or something the dwarf couldn't comprehend.

"From what I understand, society here on Talaz Lagaar is highly focused on the advancement of technology for mostly engineering rather than medicine, so scientists seem to be leading the efforts for the island's growth" Gnicholas explained as he returned the tools to the nurse as well.

The dwarf continued to look out the window, amazed by how everything was so different to Fiore; the buildings were either made of metal, or glass entirely, and they reached high into the air, some reaching the clouds. With so much metal, blacksmiths would enjoy such a setting, but the dwarf noticed there was a lack of greenery; and it made him wonder if nothing on the island was natural anymore, if the only living things were just the citizens who were dying from the plague.

"Take great care of what you see through windows, for shadows can pull your spirit into darkness... I should know" Benimaru once again appeared behind Brone; the dwarf could see the shield hovering through the reflection of the window.

Ye know much in wisdom" Brone said as he continued to stare at the lifeless metal city, wondering if it was worth it all.

"Trust me when I say that I am far older than you, Brone, so I have years of youth, years of idiocy, and years of wisdom, the latter mostly gained while being entrapped" Benimaru said before he floated away again. The dwarf understood there was much to Benimaru that he didn't know, despite the fact that the spirit was now able to talk.

"Brone, it's time to move on to the next room" Gnicholas called as he followed behind Yuurei out of the room. Brone nodded and followed them, hoping that they had done a good enough job to make a difference. Hopefully there was some way to fight against the plague and save the island, but at this point, only time will be able to tell, nothing more.

581 | 2,000

[Exit]