Drakengard Anomaly: The Tale of an Angel and an Intoner

-Land of the Sands-

"It looks like we've arrived." I said to the sisters, stopping the cart and observing the landscape in front of me.

We left the desert sands behind; giving way to a green plain that replaced the dry and cracked dirt road, with some lonely trees in the distance. In addition, a large gray stone castle stood at the end of this pleasant landscape, a clear contrast to the environment around us.

"So this is Bass Castle?" One asked, leaning on the edge of the cart.

"It looks like it, if not then this whole trip was a waste of time and money." I shrugged.

"I don't like this place; it gives me a bad feeling." Two spoke, frowning as she stared at the castle.

"We will enter the beast's lair. What awaits us inside? Pain, sadness, happiness, or will we discover something about ourselves?" Three muttered one of her cryptic messages.

"It is time to bring the Lord of the Land of Sands to justice!" Four exclaimed, punching her palm.

"This place needs to be redecorated. No, it is better to tear it down and build something new on top. I don't say that just because this place is ugly." Five spoke, trying to disguise the seriousness in her voice.

I narrowed my eyes and analyzed the castle, and then, I realized what Five meant. 

Thanks to my heightened senses, I saw several things hanging from the castle walls, corpses in different states of decomposition, and all adults and half-eaten by vultures.

"Girls, if you all want to go back, the time is now." I said to the sisters.

The six went silent and stared at each other. Nodding, the six girls gave me a determined look.

"We won't go back now that we've come this far. We started this journey to overthrow the lords that oppress the people of Midgard and one of them is just ahead. If we go back now, it will all be for nothing." One spoke seriously.

"Nice words, let's see if you'll keep them." I replied tiredly, pulling the cart and heading towards the castle, with an uncomfortable silence taking over us.

"Lord Alan, what are we going to do exactly?" Noir asked me.

"I don't know, entering through the front door would be stupid, maybe I can fly into the castle and open some passage from the inside." I replied, looking at the fortification thoughtfully.

"It might work; I'm just worried if the sisters will allow it. They can be quite impulsive."

"Congratulations Noir! You are learning how difficult it is to take care of children!" I smiled at the book.

"Is that what you felt while teaching?" Noir asked deflated.

"You can bet it is!" I exclaimed, staring at Noir tiredly.

The Dark book sighed as Rubrum chuckled and our walk continued for some time, until Two's shout interrupted us.

"Stop here!"

I stumbled in shock, coming to a screeching halt. I stared at Two, trying to find something wrong with her.

"Two, what happened?" Four asked worriedly.

"There's someone over there!" Two yelled, pointing at a tree in the distance. 

Moreover, she was right, a person sat under a tree up ahead next to us. Quickly, Two jumped out of the cart and ran towards the person.

"Two, wait for us!" We all screamed but Two kept running. She picked some flowers that were on the way, making a small bouquet as we ran after her.

We saw Two stopping in front of the person and offering the bouquet, we also took a good look at the person, and it was an old woman. She accepted the flowers with a mixture of joy and sadness.

"Thank you, little one." The old woman spoke gently.

"Two, don't run off like that!" One scolded Two, pinching her cheek.

"I'm sorry…" Two mumbled.

"I'm sorry about my sister's attitude." One bowed to the old woman.

"It's okay, thank you very much for the flowers. What are your names, darlings?" The old woman asked.

"My name is One; this is Two, Three, Four and Five." One introduced her sisters, each one waving at their names.

"And they are called Noir, Rubrum, and Alan." One pointed at us.

"Greetings miss." Noir spoke, bowing politely while Rubrum floated back and forth in front of the old woman.

"Hello." I waved at the woman.

The old woman got scared upon seeing us and hit her back against the tree when trying to get up.

"Please calm down, they won't harm you. They are our friends." One tried to calm the old woman down.

Clutching her heart and taking a deep breath, the woman smiled and apologized.

"I am sorry, the floating books and your friend's intimidating eyes surprised me. I am relieved that the six of you are accompanied, it is dangerous for children like you to travel alone here." The olden woman spoke relieved,

"And why do you say that?" I asked, already expecting the worst. The old woman gave me a sad look and then looked away. 

"Several children from the Land of the Sands were taken to Bass Castle; they were never seen again, and the parents who went to the castle in search of their children were made an example."

Hm... That explains the corpses on the walls. The sisters, the grimoires, and I shared a serious look.

"We have to go now." One said to the old woman and walked towards the cart, the sisters following shortly after.

"I would stay away from the castle if I were you; it might end up collapsing soon." I said to the old woman and then walked towards the cart.

"Wait, it is dangerous!" The old woman shouted at us but we just said our goodbye and moved on.

"Lord Alan, we are going to take down the castle, are we not?" Noir asked me.

"Probably yes."

"You seem strangely calm."

"Sincerely, I'm a little happy to be so close to a lord, the chance of decapitating one with my ax fills me with joy." I replied, clutching my chest while smiling.

"Lord Alan..."

"You know, I never forgot what the lords did to us, even though we found a home in Lyllenas. Now one of them is just ahead."

"Please don't do anything rash." Noir begged.

"I'm not going to do it Noir, but I can't say the same for the sisters."

Glancing back, I saw the looks the sisters gave to the castle; it was a mixture of disgust and anger. I will control myself when I meet the lord, but the sisters... I am not exactly responsible for their actions.

Eventually, we arrived at the castle gates; the sisters left the cart and stopped beside me. Together we stared at the large stone building.

It was ugly. That is the best word I could find to describe what stood in front of me, a large gray stone castle with cracked walls, showing a clear lack of maintenance.

The castle was in the shape of a square and built on top of a rocky hill surrounded by dead trees. A large tower stood at each point where the walls met and I saw the roof of the main building inside.

We approached the large wooden gate leading inside, but a commotion stopped us in our tracks. A young woman argued with two guards in front of the gate.

"Please return my daughter!" The woman screamed as she approached the gate, but the guards blocked her path with their spears.

"What an annoyance, another one of you!" One of the guards muttered nervously, trying to push the woman away.

"Listen, I think you already know what happens to those who come to plead to Lord Bass." Another guard spoke, pointing up.

Everyone looked where the guard pointed and saw the corpses hanging from the walls, all adults, parents of the children taken to the castle.

I opened and closed my fist repeatedly.

"Listen, I'm saying this for your wellbeing, so go away!" The first guard pushed the woman away.

I saw the sisters passing me and stopping in front of the gate.

"Leave it to us! We will defeat Bass and return the kidnapped children to their homes!" One shouted to everyone.

"That's right! Kidnapping them is wrong!" Two screamed.

"Bass killed the parents of these children; a real leader should not do these atrocities!" Four exclaimed.

"This is why I hate stubborn brats! Go away; I'm tired of seeing horrible things in this job!" The second guard yelled.

"Two." One said to her sister.

"Leave it with me! If you don't want to get hurt, better duck." Two said to the guards and sang right after.

The guards stared at each other in confusion; turning to surprise as a magic portal loomed above Two and a massive magic hand punched the wooden gate, smashing it to pieces. 

The guards fell to the ground, startled by the display as the magic hand disappeared and Two sighed relieved.

"Let's go!" One spoke to everyone.

"Well, through the front door then." I shrugged, taking my ax from Noir and resting it on my shoulder as I followed the sisters.

"Wait!"

We looked back and saw the young woman calling us.

"My daughter... She's younger than you girls and she's wearing a rosary around her neck!" She pleaded, hands clasped in prayer.

"I see, leave it to us, we will find her!" One replied, smiling at the woman.

The woman looked at us hopefully and we entered the castle with a final goodbye.

"Hang on, magic books? You…" One of the guards spoke surprised, pointing at me.

"Yes. Me." I responded, kicking each guard in the face, knocking them unconscious with some teeth missing.

Therefore, we walked down a long dusty stone corridor lit by old torches.

"What do you think the lord has for us?" I asked everyone.

"Generic soldiers." Four said.

"Monsters." Three spoke.

"A dragon!" Two screamed.

Suddenly, screams up ahead interrupted us. A group of guards came from a hallway to the left and stood in our way.

"What is that, an enemy attack?!?"

Well, it looks like Four was right.

"More weaklings stand in our way." Three spoke emotionlessly, advancing towards the guards and using her song. A series of magic purple threads wrapped around the guards and pinned them to the ground as we passed.

"This was too easy, don't you think?" I asked everyone.

"I admit that what we have faced so far was disappointing." Noir spoke.

"Perhaps the lord has fled?" Five asked.

"I highly doubt it. Evil leaders wouldn't let someone invade their castle without consequences." Four replied.

We reached a large hall adorned with statues and tapestries of children, with a large model showing the map of Midgard inside a wooden support in the center of the room.

"What is that?" Five asked, approaching the model.

"A map of the world, we are in the Land of the Sands, next to the Land of the Mountains, north of here is the Land of the Forests and the last one is the Land of the Seas. Each land is ruled by a lord." One replied, analyzing the map.

"What about this one?" Four asked curiously, pointing to a large boulder in a part of the map.

"The Cathedral City…" One replied as she stared intensely at that part of the map.

"Hey, where's Three?" Two asked, looking around.

We stopped our conversation and searched for the purple-haired sister; we found her standing in front of another model, this one representing a chessboard with dolls representing the pieces.

Three held a soldier representing a pawn.

"Oh, cute!" Two picked up the horse doll and played with it.

One approached the board, picked up another pawn, and watched it curiously, a distrustful look passed over her face as she sniffed the doll. Suddenly, she widened her eyes and threw the pawn away.

"This smells like a human! This was made with human skin and bones!" One screamed.

"Disgusting!" Two yelled, hurling the horse away, Three stared at her pawn while Four and Five covered their mouths, horrified at what One discovered.

"Is that made of people too?" Five pointed to the statues and tapestries on the wall. Looking closer, I realized what they were made of.

"The children were killed and stuffed. It looks like all the decorations were made with the bones, skin, and hair of the kidnapped children." Five continued.

"That's so…" Four muttered.

"This is horrible!" Two screamed.

"Noir, Rubrum, help me here." I said to the books.

Nodding, Noir created a large hand, crushing the chessboard and destroying the pieces while Rubrum floated to the center of the hall and fired a hail of magic projectiles, destroying the hall's "decoration".

"Alan?" One called me.

"Do not worry, I'm fine. I just wanted to respect the memories of the children."

One nodded and walked towards a wooden box in the hall, taking a sword and walking towards another corridor.

"Let's go to where the lord of this castle is! Then we will face the one who brought destruction to this world!" One said with determination, her sisters accompanied her. 

Together they advanced through the corridors of the castle, except for Three. I noticed that Three hesitated as she hid something behind her back.

"Three, what are you hiding?" I asked.

Three looked away and showed me what she hid with trembling hands, one of the pawns made of human flesh and a book made of skin.

"Three, why did you hide these things?"

"I was curious, curious how these dolls were made." Three said scared.

"Three, are you scared of me?"

"N-no." Three looked away, but I knew she saw the destruction I had wrought in the hall.

"Three, listen, what Bass did here is beyond wrong. He turned children into dolls and decorations; do you think that this is right?"

"N-no, but…" Three stuttered.

"But?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"But I can't help myself; there are so many things I want to know. How humans function inside and out. Why do humans live? Why do humans die? I need to know!" Three exclaimed happily, jumping in her place.

I noticed something wrong shining within her gaze as a disturbingly wide smile formed on her face. My God, what is wrong with these girls?

"Three, there is something called science. Have you heard about it?" I asked, trying to hide the fear that I felt.

"Science?" Three asked confused.

"Yes, while it has often been unethical, there is a more ethical side to science, one that does not involve stuffing people. I can teach you what I know if you wish. I can teach you a better way to discover how the world works without killing other people."

"Seriously, are you going to teach me?" Three asked, approaching me with shy steps.

"Yeah, remember when you said you wanted to learn from me? I am willing to teach you."

Three's smile widened even more and the disturbing glint in her eyes grew stronger. Three immediately threw the book and pawn aside and ran towards me, hugging my leg. 

I returned de hug, slowly patting Three's back while staring emotionlessly at the wall, lost in my thoughts.

"Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!" Three said repeatedly.

I looked at Rubrum; the red book understood my message and destroyed the skin book and pawn with a magic blast.

"I am happy for you, but we are falling behind, we need to go after your sisters." I said, pushing Three away from my leg.

"Right!" Three replied, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hall. Soon we caught up with the other sisters.

"What took you so long?" One asked.

"Three and I got lost in conversation, didn't we?" I asked, glancing at the girl in question.

"Yes." Three replied, swinging back and forth as if nothing happened.

Nodding, One led the group until she suddenly stopped.

"I hear grunts, probably monsters."

One was right, a series of monsters entered the corridor and I do not know how to describe them. 

They looked like a vaguely humanoid patchwork with a bare human torso, goat parts from the waist down, deformed arms ending in bone spikes, and a jaw that opened sideways, revealing a large tongue and horns on the head.

Quickly, Five jumped in front of us while using her song and fired a magic beam, killing two of the monsters.

"Wait, that smell... Stop, these things are human!" One screamed.

"If these things are human then we better give them some relief!" I exclaimed, swinging my ax and cutting one of the things in two. Then I walked down the hall with Noir and Rubrum following me. 

One of the monsters tried to pierce me with one of its spikes, but I stepped aside, dodging the blow, and cut its arm off and then its head right after.

Two more leaped towards me, but Noir fired a magic spear and Rubrum a magic orb, killing the two creatures.

Swinging my ax overhead, I cut other creatures in half at the waist while more creatures crawled across the ceiling and fell towards me. I pierced one in the chin with the spike of my ax, the tip protruding from the other side of the head.

Noir smashed two of these monsters into the wall, using a Dark Hand; unfortunately, more monsters appeared at the end of the corridor. Rubrum enveloped herself in a magic bubble and shot toward the monsters, smashing them against the wall at the end of the hall.

I waited a few more minutes, but no monsters appeared. Noir and Rubrum returned to my side and I saw the sisters staring at me in surprise, or in One's case, disgust.

"Why did you do that?!? They were human!" One yelled angrily.

"Humans turned into monsters; I put them out of their misery." I replied calmly.

"You could have immobilized them!"

"Yes, but then what? What would I do with them? Let them roam the desert or make them my pets?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"No but..."

"Do you know of any way to make them human again?"

"No." One looked away disappointed.

"Me neither, moreover, we don't have time to figure that out. Your sense of justice is admirable, but the world is not fair. One, you will have to make difficult decisions in the future, not everything can be solved in a way that everyone will be happy in the end."

One went silent at my words.

"Do you think it was right to kill them?"

I put a hand on One's shoulder.

"No, but it is better than letting them suffer like this. If you want to blame someone for this then blame Bass, he is the one responsible for these people's suffering."

One stared at me for a few seconds, various emotions passing through her face. Then she breathed deeply and determination returned to her gaze.

"Are you ready to continue?" I asked the girl.

"Yes." She replied.

We continued forward, passing through a door and down a set of stairs until we arrived at the castle courtyard. The place was empty, perfect for a trap. Suddenly, the ground shook and cracked.

"Stand back!" One screamed.

We stepped away from the center of the courtyard and a large form burst out of the ground. We saw a stone face with two glowing eyes staring at us, then the form rose until it stood at full height.

It was a large stone and metal golem, its arms and legs floated disconnected from the body. The golem had three fingers on each hand while Bass sat on its head.

"Tada~ Lord Bass, ruler of the Land of Sands makes his entrance!"

I got a good look at Bass. He was a fat man with a fat face and bowl-cut dark hair, and he wore noble green clothes with a big white collar around his neck. His face was pretty punchable too.

"How cute, each of you is adorable, One, Two, Three, Four and Five!" Bass exclaimed, watching us from the top of the golem with a spyglass.

"Do you know who we are?" One asked.

"Of course, I've been watching you since you entered my castle! In addition, you, you are the angel! You are the one who destroyed the Institute of Magic, the mage accompanied by two magic books!" Bass pointed at me.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" I asked.

"You don't interest me! My business is with these lovely girls, so I am willing to let you leave my castle!"

"Unfortunately I cannot do that, you disgust me and these girls have matters to settle with you."

"Then I will crush you and deliver your broken corpse to the cathedral mages!" Bass responded, making the golem march forward.

"I would like to see you try." I replied, approaching the golem, but the sisters stood in my way.

"Let us handle it!" One spoke.

"That's right; we'll show you that we can work together!" Two said.

"When we are done with this, I'll be waiting for your lessons, Teacher." Three said between laughs.

"We will not let you down, Mister Alan." Four continued.

"And when we're done, I'll be waiting for my reward~" Five flirted.

"If that's what you all want." I lowered my ax and walked away towards a corner of the courtyard while Noir and Rubrum glared at me.

"Lord Alan?"

"Let them fight Noir, let's see if the little training I did with them yielded any results." I responded to the book.

Seeing that I would not participate in the fight, the sisters turned to Bass.

"Hahaha! It is a pity, but I will have to crush you. Don't worry; I'll turn you into a beautiful decoration on my walls!" Bass yelled, trying to punch the sisters.

Two leaped to the front of the group and sang, summoning another magic hand and punching the golem's fist, creating a shock wave that shook the castle.

Simultaneously, Five sang, shooting a magic beam toward the golem, but Bass made the golem's torso float, dodging the beam that hit the wall of the courtyard right behind.

One advanced, drawing her sword, and leaped towards Bass, intending to finish him off, but Bass put the golem's remaining arm in front of himself, blocking One's strike.

"Nice try, all of you! But now it's my turn!" Bass screamed. The golem's chest opened and magic surged in the opening. 

Three summoned her threads, pulling One and Two away from the golem while Four placed herself in front of the group, summoning her magic barrier.

"BASS CANNON!" Bass yelled, launching his attack.

A powerful magic beam shot towards the girls, colliding with Four's barrier. Luckily, the barrier withstood the attack and deflected the beam upwards, hitting one of the castle's towers, the tower right above me. 

Looking up, I saw the tower falling towards me. I pulled my arm down, closed my fist, and punched upward. A large Dark Hand came out of Noir and hit the falling tower, destroying it.

"Hey! I am not participating in the fight, pay attention!"

"Sorry!" Four screamed.

Bass prepared for a second shot, but Five fired another magic beam before he did that. Bass tried to dodge again, but Three held the golem in place with her treads as the beams hit the golem, pushing it back and opening a hole in its body.

Two created a magic hand soon after and punched the golem in the chest, throwing it across the courtyard until it hit its back against the wall, leaving its body imprint on the stone.

"Looks like they've got it under control, Noir, Rubrum, let's go!" I said, walking out of the courtyard.

"Lord Alan, where are we going?" Noir asked.

"Let's explore the castle."

"But what about the sisters?"

"Don't worry, they will win. Do you want to explore the castle, Rubrum?"

The red book nodded repeatedly.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's search for the treasure room!"

Moreover, in search of the treasure room, we went, walking through the castle halls and killing guards and monsters that stood in our way, until we stopped in front of a big metal door.

I pulled my fist back and punched forward. A Dark Hand came out of Noir and knocked down the door, and what we found on the other side left us speechless.

We saw mountains of gold and treasure with chests full of gold, silver, and bronze coins, gems, and much more.

"Noir, are you hungry?"

"I am incapable of being hungry, Lord Alan."

"Too bad, as you'll have to eat a few tons of treasure."

"What?"

Wasting no time, Rubrum opened her pages and floated through the treasure room, vacuuming everything in sight and placing the treasures in her storage.

"Oh! Of course…" Noir replied emotionlessly. 

The black book opened his pages and created two Dark Hands, grabbing handfuls of treasures and putting them in his storage.

"We'll send most of that gold to Lyllenas; Elyon will have a heart attack at the sight of this." I spoke to myself, rubbing both hands together in anticipation.

Suddenly the whole castle shook and I leaned on the wall to keep from falling. I hope the girls are okay. 

Returning to stealing the treasures, I saw something that caught my attention, a simple rosary, something that did not match the treasures in this room. I put it in my pocket; I think I already knew whom it belonged to.

-XXXXXX-

"Stand still!" Bass yelled, lifting both of the golem's arms and slamming them against the ground, but the sisters jumped back, dodging the blow. 

One advanced towards the golem with her sword ready, but Bass blocked the blow with one of the golem's arms, receiving a big cut in the end.

Five targeted the golem with a series of magic blasts, ripping off chunks of stone and metal. Bass backed away, but Three used her treads to trap the golem's legs as it retreated, sending it falling onto its back.

Two ran towards the golem and jumped, summoning a magic hand and trying to punch the golem in the chest as she fell. 

Panicking, Bass fired the golem's magic cannon; Four acted faster and enveloped her sister in a magic barrier, protecting her from the shot.

Which gave Bass time to punch Two away. The golem's powerful strike hit the barrier surrounding Two, cracking it and sending the girl flying. 

Three undid the treads surrounding the golem's legs and used them to grab Two midair, placing her safely on the ground as Bass made the golem stand up and face the sisters again.

"This is wonderful! The anger on your beautiful faces fills me with joy, you will make beautiful dolls!" Bass yelled, firing the cannon again.

"Sisters, let's end this!" One shouted to her sisters. With a chorus, the sisters prepared themselves.

Bass fired the magic cannon, but Five returned the attack with her own, the two beams met mid-air, creating a large smoke cloud.

One sang, activating her Intoner mode, and advanced towards the golem. Bass saw One advancing when the smoke dissipated and tried to crush the girl with one of the golem's arms, but Two held the arm in place with a magic hand.

Bass tried to use the other arm, but Three's treads wrapped it, so Bass despaired when he saw One advancing.

One jumped towards the golem, it did not look like she would make it, but a magic barrier appeared beneath One's feet thanks to Four. Using it as a springboard, One reached the golem.

"AAAHHH!" With a scream of fury, One plunged her sword into the golem's core which also served as a cannon.

"No, don't hit it!" Bass screamed.

However, One ignored the lord and punched the magical artifact repeatedly with her other hand. With a final blow, the core shattered and the golem fell backward and stood motionless without its energy source.

"Damn it, I need to get out of here!" Bass screamed, crawling across the ground, but he came face-to-face with One giving him a deadly gaze.

"AAAHHH!" Bass yelled. Crawling away until his back hit a wall.

"Forgive me, pardon me, please!" Bass prostrated himself in front of One.

Nevertheless, the Intoner did not answer. She walked towards the lord and grabbed him by the hair, lifting his head.

"It's just that all these children... They would grow up to be worthless anyway and..." Bass said through tears, all of his courage disappearing.

"Don't waste your time with excuses." One responded, smashing Bass's head against the wall and creating a large crater. The lord's head exploded in a shower of blood as eyes and brain splattered everywhere.

Stepping away from the lord's corpse, One let out a tired sigh.

"Hooray, we did it!" The other sisters cheered.

Suddenly, One fell to one knee, holding her injured hand.

"Sister One, are you hurt? You shouldn't have tried so hard!" Four screamed.

One was about to answer her sisters but stopped when she heard someone approaching thanks to her enhanced senses.

"Who's here?!?" One screamed.

"Don't worry, it's me! And I'm not alone, I found this guy trying to escape the castle." Alan exclaimed, walking out of one of the castle's hallways while dragging someone by the leg.

He was a fair-skinned young man with white hair, wearing glasses, noble clothes, and carrying a sword. Mysteriously, his glasses were broken and one of his eyes was purple and swollen.

Alan, accompanied by Noir and Rubrum, approached the sisters. Looking around, he whistled impressed upon seeing the destroyed golem but grimaced when he saw the headless lord.

"I see that you finished your work here. Now that everything ended, let's head back to Lyllenas." Alan spoke. However, the sisters went silent.

"Is there a problem?" Alan asked.

"We will not return to Lyllenas." One spoke, approaching Alan.

"And what do you intend to do now?" Alan asked suspiciously.

"We are going to Cathedral City to open the Mercury Gate!" Two screamed happily.

"Two!" The other sisters scolded her while Alan fixed One with a serious gaze, making the girl wince.

"Is that true?" Alan asked, approaching One.

"Yes." One looked away ashamed.

"Are you going to open the gate, even though I warned you that you won't find what you're looking for?"

"Yes…" One replied, lowering her tone.

"Hm… I will be honest with you, this is a stupid idea, a bad idea, and you all are putting all of your lives in danger with this. Will you continue anyway?"

"Y-yes." One stuttered, waiting for more scolding.

Alan went silent, his gaze darting in different directions. Then letting out a long sigh, Alan spoke.

"I'm coming with you, even if it's just to say 'I told you so' when things go wrong."

One raised her head, surprised by the answer.

"I don't approve of what you intend to do, but it is better if I go along."

"Thanks!" One smiled.

"Don't thank me yet, you might regret it later."

"Did you say you are going to Cathedral City?" The man Alan dragged by the leg spoke.

"Yes, why are you interested?" Alan asked suspiciously.

"I am a mage; the secrets of Cathedral City can help me advance my studies." The man replied nervously.

"That's one reason we can't take you. Didn't you work for the lord? It would be better to finish you off here and now."

"Mister Alan is right! This is very suspicious; it's obvious that you were the lord's accomplice!" Four screamed.

"Wait, I was forced to work for that monster!" The man screamed back.

"This is too convenient!" Alan replied, lifting his ax with his other hand.

"Sister One, let's finish him off!" Two yelled, punching her palm.

"Stop, I can help you with my skills, I know healing magic!" The man screamed in fear. This made Alan stop while everyone looked at the injured One.

"Show me what you can do and I might let you live." Alan said menacingly, letting go of the man's leg.

"Thank you very much! My name is Partition, by the way." The man bowed politely as sweat ran down his face.

"Alan." Alan replied coldly.

"I heard Bass talking about you, the criminal mage who was presumed dead, but I see the rumors were untrue." Partition continued, slowly digging his own grave.

"Stop stalling and heal the girl." Alan demanded, raising his ax again.

"Of course, of course!" Partition spoke, walking towards One and kneeling in front of her.

Partition extended his hand towards One, but the Intoner hesitated, not trusting the man in front of her. 

Partition gave One a charming smile, making the girl blush despite the sore eye the man had, so One held Partition's hand while he used the other one to cast a healing spell.

A magic sigil appeared above One's hand, healing her wounds while all the girls looked in awe.

"Is this proof of my innocence?" Partition asked, getting up.

"Yes definitely!" Two screamed.

"None of us know healing magic..." Four said worriedly, biting her fingernails.

"That's very convenient..." Three spoke.

"Let's take him with us! Now we are surrounded by cute boys~" Five exclaimed.

"Well, it's settled, welcome to the team, Parti!" Two screamed again.

"Yes, I will be honored to be your companion wherever you go." Partition spoke, adjusting his broken glasses.

Suddenly, Partition jumped when he felt a hand with a bone-crushing grip on his shoulder, making him groan in pain. Partition sweated nervously, knowing who held him. Then a voice whispered in his ear.

"Welcome to the team, Partition, I hope you don't cause any trouble, it would be a shame if I had to kill my new friend." Alan spoke with sadistic glee in his voice.

"Of course, I'm happy with that!" Partition stammered in fright.

With the Lord of the Land of Sands dead, everyone left the castle except for Alan. Therefore, the sisters and Partition waited outside.

"What is Alan doing?" Four asked.

"Just wait." One replied.

Suddenly, the hill where the castle stood shook violently.

"What is happening?" Two asked.

The blue-haired girl had her answer when a gigantic Dark Hand destroyed the roof of the castle, hurling wood and stone everywhere. The hand curled into a fist and descended towards the castle right after.

Another tremor shook the hill, the sound of breaking wood and stone echoing through the place, as more hands appeared, knocking down towers and walls.

The hands punched, pushed, and smashed, leaving and returning inside the castle. The destruction continued for minutes until the foundation of the castle gave out and it collapsed.

The fall of the castle created a large dust cloud, blocking the sunlight. Then something came out of the wreckage, flying towards the people watching the destruction. That something turned out to be Alan, Noir, and Rubrum.

"Is everyone ready to continue our trip?" Alan asked the awestruck spectators.

"That was awesome!" Two yelled, running towards Alan and throwing punches in the air.

"The angel showed his divine wrath. Would anyone be able to stand in his way?" Three muttered.

"Mister Alan did the right thing; this place does not deserve to exist." Four spoke.

"I never get tired of seeing his strength; I wouldn't mind being held in his arms~" Five flirted.

"So much power..." Partition whispered in surprise, adjusting his glasses.

Everyone prepared to head towards the Cathedral City, but the young woman from earlier interrupted them.

"Wait, what about my daughter? Did you find her?"

The sisters, Alan, and the books exchanged a sad look. Alan approached the woman and removed the rosary from his pocket. Tears came to the woman's eyes as she accepted the rosary with shaking hands.

"I'm very sorry." Alan said as he walked away from the castle ruins.

The sisters gave one last saddened look to the crying woman and followed Alan shortly after while Partition shrugged and followed the group.

-XXXXXX-

Well, I did not expect that Partition was useful for something after all. We stood on a ship powered by a mix of technology and magic, sailing towards Cathedral City. 

The ship belonged to Bass. Luckily, he did not have to sweat his head with his ship suddenly disappeared.

The sisters were in different places on deck, One and Two watched the scenery, Four cut her nails, Five sunbathed on a piece of cloth while Three and Partition pestered me with endless questions.

"So you mean you got those magic books by chance?" Partition asked in surprise.

"Yes, I found Rubrum and certain people had given Noir to me." I answered.

"That's hard to believe, magic books aren't just found!"

"That's the truth, Lord Alan only found us due to strange circumstances." Noir replied.

"What are the laws of physics?" Three asked me, interrupting Noir.

Simultaneously, I taught Three about science, chemistry, and biology, which I can remember anyway. I just hope she does not do anything similar to the Cathedral City mages.

"AAAHHH!"

Someone screaming interrupted our conversation. Looking towards the source of the noise, I saw a tentacle dragging One across the deck and towards the water.

Holy Shit, I have watched things I am not proud off enough to know what will happen!

I quickly ran towards One. Suddenly, another tentacle wrapped around my leg and dragged me into the water.

"One/Alan!" The sisters and book screamed, but I lost sight of them when the ocean enveloped me.

-XXXXXX-

"AAAHHH!" One and I screamed as we stomped the giant squid.

"You bastard!"

"You son of a bitch!"

We caught our breath when the thing stopped moving and looked around; we stood on a rocky beach in the middle of nowhere.

"Where are we?" One asked.

"I have no idea." I replied.

"Can you fly us to the ship?"

"Yes, if I know which way to go."

We heard a noise behind us, the squid was still alive and it sent a tentacle towards us. However, the attack never came as a gigantic purple dragon dove from the sky and crushed the squid with one of its paws.

The dragon faced us while One retreated scared. I immediately put myself between One and the Dragon. Unfortunately, I did not have my ax with me now.

"Who are you, soggy girl and false dragon?" The dragon asked in a female voice.

"You can speak?!?" One screamed surprised.

"Yes, I understand human language and if you underestimate a dragon again; I WILL SPIT FIRE ON YOU, YOU DISGUSTING BRAT!" The dragon screamed in our faces, blowing our hair and clothes.

"But this little conversation is not why I came here, you two have strange presences. What you two are?" The dragon asked, looking at us curiously.

"I am an Intoner." One replied.

"And I'm a Gestalt, I guess." I spoke.

"I have a few questions to ask, so what are an 'Intoner' and a 'Gestalt'?"

"Intoners are human beings who use magic through song." One replied.

"And I have no idea what a Gestalt is, just that I am something called the 'Original Gestalt' and that I am important to a 'Project Gestalt'." I shrugged.

"Hm… A false dragon who does not know what he is. You are a shame to dragons with your imitation of our power. Moreover, you, soggy girl. Song, does that voice of yours have power?"

"Yes, and we must use that power to protect the world."

"But the monster that has a similar presence to you doesn't seem interested in protecting the world."

One's eyes widened and she shuddered in fear with that information.

"And where is this monster?" One asked.

"In that direction, she is violent and aggressive. Is she your friend?" The dragon pointed towards the ocean with its head.

"NO!" One screamed scared.

"What is the reason for such a reaction?" The dragon asked.

"That monster is my older sister, Zero, the traitorous Intoner." One replied, looking away in shame.

"So your big sister is nearby? Excellent, I would like to talk with her!" I said to One, trying to calm the girl.

"You can't do that! Zero is too strong, she will kill you!" One screamed.

"Well, I think it's better to run away for your safety." The dragon spoke without care.

"I WILL NOT RUN AWAY!" One screamed.

"I know how you feel, but you don't stand a chance against that monster. The false dragon, on the other hand, is on par with your sister." The dragon responded, staring at me.

"I know I can't win against my sister, but I will get even stronger and protect this world and my sisters!" One said with determination.

One and the Dragon faced each other, but a hail of arrows that hit the dragon interrupted the moment. The dragon roared in pain as the arrows pierced its body.

Looking at the source of the arrows, I saw a group of small orcs holding bows and coming towards us. However, they did not last long as the dragon took a deep breath and spat a sea of flames at the orcs, reducing them to ashes.

"Hey! Hey! You cannot trust orcs! They became bacon in seconds!" A childish voice said in a mocking tone.

A small ball of light floated through the flames, it was a fairy, and I saw a familiar man following that fairy, his most distinguishing feature being his metal arm.

Then the man faced me.

"Alan."

"Bartas."

"I hope you haven't forgotten about our deal." Bartas spoke.

"I could never forget it, after all, it was thanks to you that I got this far." I answered.

"Hump! I'm happy to hear it." Bartas said, walking towards me.

"Oh! You are approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"

"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer."

"Oh, Oh! Then get as close as you want." I walked towards Bartas.

ゴゴゴゴ

TO BE CONTINUED