14.1

Flushhh…

John watched as the water swirled before him, letting a soft sigh as the loud noise filled the lavatory that he was in.

Fuck me… I had to get caught by those two… Actually...don’t fuck me…I don’t have interest in Prishine—

“Ahhh, what the hell am I even thinking!?”

He rubbed his strained temples as he moved to the basin and washed his hands under the running water, staring into the mirror while he reevaluated what had just happened to him.

After he told the blatant lie to the twins that he wished to use the toilet—which, by some stupid miracle or sheer luck, they both believed in what he said, he was escorted here.

Foolishly thinking that slipping past Prishine was all he needed to escape, John had completely forgotten that the whole fortress was still under Prishine’s strict control.

She had underlings and allies in each nook and cranny of the building. Of course, he would be caught by them the moment he fled. It was just his dumb luck—or the lack of—that he was caught by the twins who harbored hatred towards him.

“John, are you done? Your meal is waiting~”

Prishine’s muffled voice came from the outside as he dried his hands with the tap still running.

This is hell… To be stuck with an insufferable woman and her loony underlings that obeyed her every whim.

The twins immediately handed off by him Prishine after his ensnarement. When he explained his sudden departure to her, the succubus only giggled at him for not asking her the simple question as to where the washroom was.

But now that his lies were assumed to be true—by Prishine and the twins who captured him—it meant he had indirectly accepted Prishine’s invitation to have him stay for his meal.

Of course, John can always reject her invitation, but his gut told him had he done so, his life would not be guaranteed, much less his chastity.

Fuck…

John stared at his famished face in the mirror. He could almost make out the slight hollowness that had formed on his cheeks, the circles underneath his eyes had gotten darker, his bright bronze skin yellowed, even his hair was slightly fading in its usual pitch black hues.

Admittedly, he was malnourished, tired, and stressed out, even.

Perhaps that was why he hadn’t noticed the twins that were in front of him whilst he was making his escape. Paired up with his sleep deprivation, John was not in peak condition.

His body was both sticky and warm from not resting, his mind too, was in a haze.

Then again, things that came post-Harvests’ death all seemed to be a blur to him. Even his grasp on reality faded from time to time, John himself couldn’t do much to stop the dread that lingered in his mind.

It wouldn’t be bad to finally eat...but I really don’t know what that succubus has in plan for me. Whatever it is, I just need to keep my mouth shut and get out of the academy fortress once I finish my meal.

Accepting his fate, John turned the faucet off and headed outside. “Let’s keep this quick and simple,” with the open door on his fingertips, John faced Prishine with a blank expression.

The moment he took the first step outside, the succubus swarmed in on him and pressed her body against his without consent.

“Ahhhhhh~” Prishine moaned the moment the exposed parts of her chest contacted his clothes.

John jolted, immediately wringing his arm and pushed her away, “What the fuck! Get los—”

Realizing he almost shouted enough for everyone in the fortress to hear him, John took a deep breath and spoke to the succubus with the upmost disdain.

“Refrain from touching me as you please, or I’ll leave the exact moment you do.”

Putting away her flushed cheeks and a sticky mouth, Prishine took a few steps away from him before replying in a haughty tone, “Of course~”

With John keeping an arm’s length of distance between him and the succubus, he followed Prishine as she led him down to the dining area.

This sucks…

He thought to himself as the succubus lead him at a snail’s pace. They strolled through the various common corridors and hallways of the fortress, making sure to Prishine’s underlings that John was her current guest.

I can’t even give a shit who is who… I am too tired for this bullshit. Just let me leave already.

With his identity made known to everyone in the fortress that they were currently in. Should he ever make another attempt to leave or escape from her side, John knew it would be much difficult that just being caught by the twins earlier.

I really need to leave this hellscape that she tries so desperately to keep me in… Worse comes to worse, I have to survive until the academy staff arrives—

John halted his internal monologue, then called out to the succubus, who was swaying her posterior as she walked in front of him, “Hey Prishine, how many days was it since we last met?”

“It’s been so long, John~ Was it months, or years?” with a seductive grin direct to him, Prishine winked as she wiggled her brows.

“Just give me the exact count.”

Prishine raised a finger with red polish painted on them, “We should leave this place by tomorrow morning, we can’t have the academy know that we’ve been monopolizing this place for such a long time~”

“The staff are coming tomorrow?” John blurted out, “That means it’s been almost a week!?”

Since Prishine said the academy staff will check in on the fortress after a week had passed, it automatically meant that today was the sixth day.

“Why yes~ Now you understand why this girl became so excited when she saw you~ You know, all these few days, I have been worried about…”

Prishine continued to blab as they walked. John had already tuned out from his hearing senses as he thought to himself.

Team Rectiser and I were teleported here on the first day, left for the cave on the second, fought the eternal decays and left the cave on the third… I was in the otherworldly realm for...three days?

John was certain that he spent no more than an hour in the otherworldly dimension, and that was including how long he hesitated before the warm breeze convinced him to enter the two doors.

The lady that summoned him there said that time passed differently.

But three whole days?

From Team Rectiser’s perspective, he had gone missing for three whole days. Disregarding his teammates and Aurelius’ concern for him, many things could happen to them while John was away.

His hands twitched.

John was so intent on Team Rectiser not wasting their time waiting for him. He had forgotten they might face other dangers in his absence.

It was awfully irresponsible for him to just ‘disappear’ from them.

What would they do if he weren’t around to use his magic on them? What if they faced much more horrifying monsters than the blood-cullers or the eternal decays? What would happen to Bran if he overextended himself with avatar magic without John’s [Heal]?

No, they can handle themselves just fine. All of them took down the eternal decays without breaking a sweat. I might be the most useless one out of them all…

It was a self-deprecating thought, but one that reassured him of their safety.

“We’re here~”

At Prishine’s cheerful call, John snapped back to reality and arrived at a humongous room with rows and rows of long tables that could easily accommodate all of Moxnet’s students, obviously the cafeteria where the chef would be.

On the table that was near the entrance were already a few non-human students in servant’s attire of buttoned shirt and blazers in wait for the two of the succubus and the human.

All the silverware and dishes were already arranged for him, he could even smell the mild aroma that the meaty sauce of the casserole that caught his eye.

Even then, John instinctively squinted at the sight before him, the salads, the different plates of meat, the abundance of bread and cakes…it only made him much more wary of the succubus.

He understood that Prishine’s network was vast. Her sway of people was strong, but to prepare a banquet just to make him stay… For just a moment, his appetite abated.

I don’t need this much. Why is she— You know what? Fuck it, I don’t care. I’ll make my leave after this.

With that, he followed Prishine to the table and took a seat across the succubus.

Growl…

With his face so close to the various foods laid before him, John still kept a calm expression and kept his hunger in check.

Sensing his hesitance, Prishine gestured to him, “Go on, have your fill~”

John raised a brow and pointed to the space before her. Unlike him, there was no plate before the succubus. It indeed meant that all of this food was made solely for him.

“Aren’t you going to eat? I can’t possibly eat everything here on my own.”

Placing a hand to her mouth as she giggled with crinkled eyes, “I instructed the chef to prepare it for you, enjoy it as you wish. I’ll distribute the leftovers to everyone else later on~”

“Is that so—”

Growl.

With his tummy rumbling one last time, John gave a tired sigh before reaching for the casserole that caught his eye, filled half his plate with it and the other half with veggies and bread.

When he was done, a bountiful plate sat before him. John stared at it, then back to Prishine.

“Be my guest~ Think of this as the reward for the mysterious door.”

He hesitated for a moment. All of what had happened to him for until now had been filled with nothing but unusual twists and turns.

With a proper meal laid before him, he can’t help but feel something was off about it, something far too out of the ordinary.

You’re just tired, John… feeling his own mind separating from his famished body, John referred to himself in third person. Once you’ve eaten, you’ll be fine.

John encouraged himself once more, then finally used a spoon and placed a mouthful of the juicy casserole into his mouth.

“Woah…” his eyes brightened the moment he the taste made its way to his tongue

The onion, garlic, basil, chicken, mushrooms, cheese, broccoli, mayonnaise all of it flooded his senses, causing his nose to tingle as he rampantly chewed down on the casserole.

“I’ve never been more hungry in my life…” John said as one mouthful of food entered his mouth after the other, the moment his long fast was broken, his body compelled him to move, to crave for more food in fear that he might not experience such luxury until he reunites with Team Rectiser once more.

Pretty soon, he cleaned up his plate of casserole and went to fill his plate with another different dish.

I need more…

As though he was possessed by his sheer hunger that he had put off since he woken up—understandably for someone who had been doing nothing but running ever since he woke up—he chomped down his second plateful of food in no time, no longer taking in the time to enjoy whatever taste that they had nor what type of food they were, all John knew for that moment was to consume.

And when the second plate was done, he stood to his feet and reached for a third. Because before him was abundant, he figured it was better for him to fill his stomach as humanly as he could. Even if it meant stuffing himself up like a pig.

Clink, clang...

While he hastily filled his plate for the third time, John lost his grip on the tongs that he was using.

“That’s weird. I’ve never dropped…”

Admittedly, there were times when his strength failed him when he was spent or just outright exhausted. As of now, he was just simply having a meal. There was no reason for his body to be this weak, especially not when he was propelled to eat by his unsatiated hunger.

John lowered his suspended arm to pick up the pair of tongs. But before his fingers could wrap themselves around the item, his vision spun, the strength to his legs drained.

“John? Are you... Is….unsatisfactory? The…warmth…chef…food?”

Prishine’s voice entered his ears in chunks, he had a hard time focusing on what she was trying to say to him.

This is bad, I need to…

He pushed his arms against the table to keep himself upright. With his body slight against the long table, John strained the rest of his body to move. But all he did only made his body rocked back and forth.

He tried calling his magic to dispel of whatever had sapped his strength, but his mouth could no longer produce sounds.

It was as if his mind were sending out signals, but his body was far too jeopardized to register his commands, even the sole thought of using [Heal] to cleanse himself with silent cast was too difficult in his weakened state.

“Lean on to me John~” Prishine’s voice whispered into his ear as he felt her breasts against his back.

With what little strength that was on him, John turned behind him.

And in his blurred-out vision, he saw a pair of wine-red lips smiling victoriously at him.

John threw his body away from her. And continued to lean on the long table as he tugged at the cloth.

He lost his breath before he could make a sound.

[Hea...

The familiar blue aura did not come to him. Just like the tongs he dropped, John’s body fell onto the ground like a sack of potatoes along with his consciousness.

“Now, you won’t escape from me, my Johnnnnnnnnn~”

Stopping himself by the peak of a hill, Aurelius’ body stiffened. His eyes stagnant as he glanced a great distance away from where Team Rectiser was at. His pointy ears moved about his surroundings as he became fixated on the trees that laid beyond them.

“Aurelius? What is it? Have you found John?” Bran, who caught up to him, asked. “Has the scent you’ve been following finally led us to him?”

Still frozen in where he stood, Aurelius’ nose twitched as he did all he could to figure out what his heightened senses were trying to show him.

“S-slow down…y-you two, we can’t k-keep up...” Kirk who appeared behind Bran along with Matilda and Cacti panted, just like everyone in Team Rectiser, he was sweating profusely from their persistent march towards the location for their second task of collecting yet another relic of sorts.

“Bran… I know John told Aurelius we’ll meet soon if he followed whatever scent he showed him, but how does John even know where the tuning fork is…” Matilda spoke, this was the third time she asked the same question ever since all of Team Rectiser followed Aurelius.

Tuning fork, it was the more so of an antique than a relic, unsure of what the item in store has value for the academy or meant for them as a team, Team Rectiser could only assume it was just ‘another’ common item like the chalice from their first task.

“I don’t know,” Bran answered without hesitation. He knew it was impossible for John to know what Team Rectiser’s second task entailed.

“He didn’t say we will meet,” Aurelius corrected Matilda. “He said he is safe, that’s all.”

John had disappeared out of thin air and still managed to transmit a message pinpointing them the exact location for the tuning fork when the mission sphere could only give vague locations of its whereabouts.

That was the last Team Rectiser learned of John’s disappearance.

Forget what Kirk’s suspicions about John were. The fact that the youngest member of their team had not only located their mission sphere when all the other teams of the academy had not was an impressive feat.

Though Bran would rather John be honest with him about how he got their team’s mission sphere, somewhere inside of Bran, he had a notion that John had made some sort of deal for all of their sake.

I wonder if he is doing the same for us now...

It was his job as the team leader to trust in John.

If John had told them the scent that Aurelius was currently following would lead them to the site where their second task of retrieving the tuning fork was, it was his duty to follow through John’s goodwill.

“I-I…t-think, J-John didn’t d-disappear for no r-reason, Matilda,” Cacti spoke. “H-he must h-have k-known something n-none of us knew a-about, m-maybe that’s how h-he brought us t-the mission s-sphere.”

“Come on, Cacti, do you view him with that high of a regard?” Kirk rolled his eyes as he folded his arms. “Yeah, he keeps things to himself, but—”

Shhh….

Aurelius hushed Kirk before he could raise his voice even further. His eyes were still focused on the same part of the woods from earlier, his bushy tail had stopped wagging and was furled into a fluffy coil.

A second passed, then a minute…

After a long moment, Aurelius finally lowered his hand at his teammates and returned to his usual self.

“We are close,” the beastkin declared to the other four. His eyes darted to their surroundings as he continued. “But there seems to be company of some kind…”

“Company?” Bran already had a hand to his weapon, ready to draw, but Aurelius quickly soothed their Team Leader.

“No, not exactly people… But these woods smell unusual…” Aurelius shook his head as he struggled to find the words to describe his feeling. “There are traces of people and even their scent, but I cannot see or even feel their presence. It’s like they don’t exist at all.”

…

…

…

Realizing he might had said something inappropriate to worry his team, Aurelius tried correcting himself, “I-it might be because of the tuning fork, these items the academy want us to retrieve s-should be magic tools of some kind, so that might be why.”

Kirk frowned at the beastkin’s explanation, but the other three accepted his words at face value before gesturing for Aurelius to bring them to where the pitching fork relic should be.

Descending from the hill, Team Rectiser silently moved through the woods that laid beyond them. Keeping their pace swift and elegant, all five of them managed to pass through it with no complications.

“The scent John said to follow stops here,” Aurelius declared when they reached a clearing in the center of the woods. Amidst the densely packed trees, this spot was the only part where the setting sun’s rays fully shone through.

Sure enough, protruding at the very middle of the circular clearing that laid in front of them, a knee high bronze tuning fork laid in wait for them.

“Well, what do you know? John gave accurate information!” Kirk said cheerfully. “Compared to the eternal decays, this one is a piece of cake, if you don’t count how far we have to travel for it.”

“Phew… T-thankfully w-we don’t have to do anything much for the second task.”

“Bran, you may do the honors,” with a lowered head and two arms pointing towards the tuning fork on the ground, Aurelius moved aside.

“Right.”

Moving to the center of the clearing alone, Bran basked himself in the waning sun rays. A light smile crawled on his lips as he squat to look at the tuning fork.

With its two prongs in a U-shape attached to a smaller piece of iron, this instrument was originally made to fine tune musical instruments due to its ability to resonate at a specific pitch.

With a flick of his finger at the instrument, the tuning fork made a light ding that gave off the most pleasant pitch that he ever heard ever since they were teleported from Moxnet academy.

Satisfied with the harmonics produced by the tuning fork, Bran moved his hands to the bronze instrument and plucked it from the ground.

With the second task of retrieving the tuning fork completed, Bran took out the mission sphere from his jacket to check on the status of their third task. With the tuning fork became his possession, the second indicator on the projected screen filled itself up just like the first indicating the completion of their second mission.

The projected screen flickered, a message then popped up soon after.

Error: Data corrupted. Please return to Moxnet facilities for further instructions. Device mana core malfunction…

With an abrupt and violent crackle, the mission sphere fizzled before the projected screen vanished, leaving a smoking sphere in Bran’s palms.

“What’s this?! Matilda, something must have gone…” Bran lost his voice when he saw Matilda’s familiar back in front of him. On his left and right were Kirk and Cacti, and behind him, Aurelius had assumed a low crouch with his two scimitars.

Grrrr…

It was only when he heard Aurelius' hostile growl did he finally saw it.

Atop the trees branches, in the bushes that surrounded this clearing area, figures of unknown origin had nestled themselves while he had been busy with the mission sphere.

“That’s why I can’t sense any of their presence, they were hiding inside the shadows themselves…” Aurelius said with great frustration.

“It’s not your fault. I used detection magic, these guys could bypass that,” Matilda followed up.

“W-why a-aren’t they attacking?”

“They’re waiting, Cacti…” Kirk replied grimly.

“W-waiting? F-for…u-us?” the short girl’s voice cracked as she almost whimpered at the information.

Kirk nodded his head, drawing his broadsword from his back and assumed a defensive stance.

“They’re bidding for nightfall.”

A frigid sensation crawled to Bran’s neck as those words left his lips.

Creatures of the night, the king of monsters, the immortal enemy of men since the dawn of time…

“Team Rectiser, assume defensive stance.”

At their leader’s command, Cacti’s staff glow bright red. Kirksten readied his weapon with one hand and an offensive spell in the other. Matilda had began chanting underneath her breath…

“At your orders, Bran,” Kirk said with a strained smile on his face. “This is not according to what I expected…”

Bran’s eyes darted through each nook and cranny of the woods where all the dark figures laid in wait. There he spotted faces that were masked by the dark, faces that had grins that only belonged to the creatures of nightmares.

“There’s five of them…and five of us…”

In sheer numbers alone, the dark figures and Team Rectiser were equal, but when it came down to sheer strength, Bran understood they had no chance of winning.

John was not here, so he could not use his avatar magic as extensively as he did back when they faced the eternal decays.

Team Rectiser only had two options, to fight to their death, or to escape.

Luckily for Bran, Matilda was a proficient user of space magic. What she had been chanting under her breath now was a spell by the name of [Space Wrap] that would instantaneously transfer all of Team Rectiser to the safest location within a kilometer radius.

Before the waning light of the sun left the clearing area, Matilda completed her spell.

“[Space Wrap]!!!”

The scene of the five figures in the woods blurred, their bodies became light…

“[Commandment Reversal].”

A voice from one of the dark figures sounded, instantly neutralized Matilda’s spell, solidifying Team Rectiser to stay in this compromised spot.

“!!!”

Matilda, shocked and furious at the sudden dissipation of her magic, tried to cast her magic once more but was quickly halted by Bran to preserve her mana.

Looking up at the dimly lit sky, Bran gritted his teeth.

“Looks like we have to do this the hard way everyone. Commence offensive measures!”

Bran closed his eyes, took a deep breath and attuned his senses to his surroundings as he felt his teammates moved on his command.

If Team Rectiser wanted a fraction of a chance to survive this encounter, he had to time his magic right. Because once he was done, Bran would only become a burden to the rest of his team.

“3...”

The leaves rustled, following that were the snapping of branches.

“[F-fire bolt]!” Cacti fired her spell at the first dark figure who jumped from the trees. Following that was a second dark figure that charged at them from the ground. Aurelius immediately intercepted the attack with his blades but in doing so an opening formed at Bran’s rear.

From the north facing branch, a third figure rushed at Bran.

“2”

“[Position Stasis]!” Matilda reacted without delay, casting a barrier on the dark figure that halted the being in its tracks before slamming it onto the ground.

“Sis, watch out!!!” Kirk left Bran’s side and directed the blade of his broadsword in front of Matilda in a brilliant arc.

Clang!

Kirk’s weapon bounced as two curved fangs collided against his steel weapon. The dark figure stumbled backwards as Kirk took a step back and slung a spell at the dark figure.

“Stay away from her, [Mind’s Torment]!!!”

“Gahhhhhh!!!!!” the first dark figure who attacked Matilda hissed as Kirk’s magic sent the dark figure howling in pain before collapsing to the ground.

“Useless!!! New guy, aim for this one first!!!” at the fourth dark figure’s command the fifth who had been awaiting in the woods dashed towards Team Rectiser with great speed.

Kirk moved his weapon to prepare a horizontal slice at the dark figure coming at him, just as he swung to bring the cold steel into the dark figure’s body, the fifth disappeared before him and morphed into a bat whose sharp talons aimed at Kirk’s eyes.

“1.”

Bran activated his avatar magic.