Jayden groaned lightly as he walked down the streets of Bulan City with Anaise, crossing his arms as he looked around at the neon signs with the prices of apartments upon them. Anaise scrolled on her phone, seeking a new bowling alley she can take over as she sucked on a lollipop.
"Yo, these prices are out of this world man. 3,500Z a month? All our money was burned in that fire in Dongchon, we had a killing bro," Jayden groaned, scratching the back of his head with frustration.
"I mean, fortunately for us I banked with Randall United so our money is safe. Like I would really trust Manaport to follow through with their 15% Interest Return deal. We have 11,527.89Z in the bank, so that's good for three months," Anaise said, looking up at Jayden with a smile then noticed his gaze elsewhere.
Their gazes fell on the road where a bit of traffic was building due to a man blocking the road due to a light fender bender, the well suited man fussing at the defenseless woman who could only apologize continuously. In the third car sat Do Song Boon and her boss, Lee Ahn, the two equally growing impatient due to the altercation.
"Are we serious? Aiishh! We have places to be, pal!" Song Boon said with frustration, honking her horn at the man.
"Just let it go, Do Song Boon... he'll go on his own when he's done. Just remember to stay put in the car. We don't need another karaoke bar situation...that or you turning into the Incredible She-Man," Ahn said with a snicker then grunted hard as Song Boon slammed her fist against his hand. "NNGHH!! Song Boon—!"
"She-Man? She-Man?" Do Song Boon started, getting herself ready to go on a rant before calming herself with a huff, turning her gaze back ahead to the altercation. "I'll deal with you later.."
The suited man continued to try to manhandle the woman's door open, frustrated about the small dent on the back of his car. "Get out! I said get out already! Hurry up!"
"I'm sorry..! I'll get out! I will..!" The woman apologized continuously, stumbling out of her car and glanced over at the man's car, unable to see what she had done. "Wh— What did I do..?"
"You hit the back of my car, are you blind? Do you have a business card? Or are you one of those people who kill others on the road because you have insurance?" The man pestered, stomping his foot on the ground with frustration.
"This clown is holding us up...what kind of jerk is he..?" Ahn said, sucking his teeth then looked over to see Song Boon missing from the driver's seat. Quickly, he glanced forward to see Do Song Boon approaching the man and grunted, trying to unbuckle his seat belt. "No, Song Boon— wait—!"
"I said, give me your business card. Do you think my face is your business card?" The man pressed, pressing his finger against the woman's shoulder and pushing her back.
"No..I don't think that..." The woman said bashfully, shying away from the man.
"Oiish! How are you gonna fix this issue? Your ugly face ain't gonna be enough to cover it—" The man began, grunting softly as Song Boon pushed the man away from her.
"Stop it! That's enough, it already sounds like her insurance will cover it, so what's the problem?" Song Boon said, trying to de-escalate the situation from goin any further.
The man let out a scoffing laugh, pointing at the two women and looked between them. "What is this? Are you two friends or something? Two short twins coming here to gang up on me? What should I do?"
"Hey," Ahn began, pushing the man away from Do Song Boon and the woman then shot him a glare. "What are you doing? Your car looks fine, it's her car that's damaged. Should we get the police involved in this?"
The man sucked his teeth as he looked at all three, scoffing at them and fixing his suit and hair. "I was just turning off my engine...what is this clownery..? What an unlucky day to be talked down by some punks.."
Do Song Boon puffed one cheek out and stormed off without the others noticing, plotting something in her mind. Jayden and Anaise watched as Do Song Boon got into the back of the man's car secretly and laid in the seat.
"What the hell is she doing..? She looks like a secretary..." Jayden said, watching as the man got back into his car and sped off while giving the middle finger to Ahn and the woman.
"Don't know, but she's kinda hardcore..." Anaise said with a soft giggle, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
Ahn walked back to his car, opening the door and noticed Song Boon was missing then grunted softly with confusion. "Where is she..? Wait..."
Ahn looked back up at the man's car, cursing under his breath and hurried to the driver's side then got inside. Starting his car, he sped off after the man's car to stop Song Boon from delivering powerful justice the Do Song Boon way.
Seeing the man disappearing from his sight, he stopped his car for a moment then rolled down his window. "Hey, you two! Did you see where that man's car went?"
Jayden pointed at himself and Anaise and noticed Lee Ahn nod then he nodded himself. "Yeah, we saw the whole thing."
"Alright, get in! I'm gonna need your help stopping my assistant," Ahn said with an exasperated sigh, unlocking his doors for Jayden and Anaise.
Without missing a beat, and this being their most exciting part of their new lives, Jayden and Anaise hopped into Ahn's car and began giving him directions. Ahn raced down the streets of Bulan City, following their directions and soon catching up to the man's car.
He glanced down at his phone, checking the location of Do Song Boon's phone to see if it was the correct car. "Alright.."
The suited man chuckled as he rode down the street, tooting his own horn about how he got away from Do Song Boon and the others. "Those idiots. Oiish, they're lucky I was showing them mercy! I'm a pro martial artist, so they wouldn't have lasted a second!"
As the man revelled in his own pride, Do Song Boon slowly rose up from the back seat, flipping her hair to get strands of it from her eyes. "Oh, Mister~"
"Mister?" The man asked, glancing back at the backseat then yelped, his startled reaction causing the car to jerk from side to side. "What the hell?! How did you get in here?!"
"Oh that doesn't matter right now. Let's pull somewhere private, somewhere quiet," Do Song Boon said in a fawnish tone, batting her eyelashes at the man with a cute smile.
The man's intimidated expression shifted into a smirk as he heard Do Song Boon's offer, adjusting in his seat and chuckled with his eyes on the road. "Somewhere quiet and private huh? I like the sound of this. The ride could get a little bumpy, so hold my hand."
Do Song Boon glanced down at the man's hand then back at the man's face, letting out a mock giggle while patting his shoulder. "No thanks."
The man chuckled at her response then began taking a detour into an offroad path, the path secluded from the highway and any other witnessing eyes. Once the man parked his car, Do Song Boon got out of the car and walked over to the driver side window, knocking on it.
Lowering his window, he looked up at Do Song Boon with a confused expression. "What are you doing? Why are you outside?"
"I just need to take care of something really quickly," Song Boon said with a pretty smile, placing her hand on the roof of his car.
"Ahh, okay great, I'll wait here. For now, here," The man said, closing his eyes and puckering his lips toward Song Boon.
Ahn pulled into the off-road shortly after with Jayden and Anaise in the car with him, watching as Do Song Boon spoke with the suited man. "Ahh, I see. She's amazing. Just great."
Song Boon pulled away from the man, giving him a light frown and puffed her cheek. "No, that's not why I'm here. Why did you talk to that woman like that?"
"What? I was just...it's because..." The man stammered, unable to find logical reasons for his rash behavior toward the woman earlier.
"I was trying to let it go...but I just can't!" Song Boon said, marching to the front of the man's car, placing both hands on the hood. "I can't just let this slide!"
"Wh-whoa! What are you doing?" The man asked, leaning out his window to look at Song Boon.
"Oiish...she's driving me crazy. You can't be serious right now," Ahn said with an exasperated sigh, crossing his arms as he watched Song Boon.
"You're...not gonna stop her? What is she doing?" Jayden asked, standing beside Ahn and glanced at him with confusion.
"Alright, here we go! Merry-go-car! Hold tight!" Song Boon said, using her immense strength to spin the car around in a circle.
"YOOO!! Ain't NOOOO way!" Jayden yelled out, laughing and stomping his foot on the ground, covering his mouth with his fist.
"Man, hell nah!! No one would believe us if I don't get this on camera now!" Anaise laughed hard, coughing heavily as she tried to catch her breath, holding the phone up to record the moment.
Ahn watched in genuine disbelief, looking around to see if anyone else would catch this as other cars drove down the street on the main roads. "Oh...oh my God..."
"Mister, you should really know how to treat women and people in general! She was showing great generosity and humility by taking blame and you kept harassing her! Then when a man came up to speak to you, you ran off! You're just a scardy cat not a real man! Shame! Shame!" Do Song Boon ranted, crossing her arms and watched the car spin in circles.
"Please stop this! I'm sorry! Mianhae! Mianhae!" The man cried out, gripping his steering wheel for dear life.
"Yo, you think we should like...stop her?" Jayden asked, looking over at Ahn with slight concern.
"What can we do against the Incredible She-Man-Hulk-Woman? She'll genuinely beat us to a pulp.." Ahn said with genuine fear in his voice, glancing around to make sure no one else witnessed the scene.
Do Song Boon finally stopped the man's car, watching as he walked out in a dizzy state and fell next to his car puking. "Hmph! Serves you right! Now when you get up, change your life or I will make you have a chicken fight with me!"
"No!" The man yelled, holding his hand over his mouth to stop himself from throwing up again. "No...I get it...I'm sorry..."
Song Boon smiled with victory then looked ahead, gasping as she noticed Ahn with Jayden and Anaise, glancing over at the man then pointed at him. However, there was no need to explain anything as they witnessed the entire ordeal in comedic fashion.
----------------------------
Making it to Soksu, Bulan, Ahn parked his car in the parking garage of one of his many Randall United HQs within St. Goken, the four getting out of his car and making their way inside the building. Inside, the lobby was massive filled with new and veteran heroes waiting to get checked in or register to join the RU Corps.
The floors were beautiful white marble with silver pillars that held up the entire structure of the building, many banners of various factions waving upon a few pillars. As they scaled up the floors by elevator, various offices, training rooms, and other areas came into view through the see-through glass.
"And we're here," Ahn said as the elevator door opened to the top floor of the building, the entire floor belonging to him, Do Song Boon, and Ahn's actual assistant. "To your left is Mr. Gong's office, right ahead is the lounge and loft area, over here is my office."
Walking into Ahn's office, Jayden and Anaise let out impressed sounds as they looked around. His office was quite modest, containing a center desk with couches on either side, and his work station which contained a gaming chair and a large PC.
On the other side of the room, a air hockey table rested next to the window leading to the loft area, a stone flicking table, and a smaller workstation that was only for Do Song Boon. Her work station looked more like a study area, but Song Boon enjoyed the cute, small area.
"Ahh~ Mr. Ahn takes very good care of all his employees, plus he likes to make little games on the side when he's not being a Hero," Do Song Boon said with a pleased hum, walking over to the couch and plopped down on it.
"'Little games,' she says. I'll have you know, Randall makes some of the best games in Exzodia, and we're extending out to New Asia," Ahn said with a light scoff, sitting on the other couch and crossed one leg over the other.
Anaise hummed as she wandered around the office, checking out the different trophies that rested upon the shelves. "I hear Randall United is rivals with Manaport. You run all of this by yourself?"
"I am the Overseer of Randall United. I am known as Overseer Randall outside of being a normal businessman, I'm sure you've seen the articles?" Ahn said, watching as Jayden and Anaise inspected his office.
"I'm aware of your status, but I'm curious. We know that Noxius naturally dislikes Manaport, so what's his stance with you all?" Jayden asked, looking at Ahn and Do Song Boon with a curious expression.
"We are allies of Nox and his movement. I work very closely with his Spiritual Wife, and she's a joy to be around! Wait, you know Nox? Where is he now? We haven't heard from him in a while," Do Song Boon answered, looking back at Jayden and Anaise with a curious gaze.
Anaise shrugged her shoulders and walked toward the couch and sat next to Song Boon, letting out a soft exhale. "We don't know. We haven't seen him since yesterday. Even the others who followed his voice are saying they don't know where he is."
"I heard he's in Burnout State, meaning he's currently in a coma. I watched the broadcast yesterday, and there's no other reason to believe he isn't out for the moment," Ahn said, standing up and walking over to his desk then sat down in his chair.
"Those two demons Nox fought named Ingris and Pamon, they are Special Grade Demons. I've been doing some digging on Manaport, and I read they've been setting up seminars for energy to feed their demons," Ahn said, typing on his computer as he pulled up information and files.
"Seminars..? Like those meetings?" Do Song Boon asked curiously, turning her attention to Ahn with light eyes.
"Yeah, exactly those kinds...but these are Seminar Rituals they are holding. These rituals get at least 3 to 7 people killed per meeting, which is a lot of energy and curses being stored in one area for them to feed on. Ingris and Pamon, they were just prototypes..." Ahn said with a light shiver in his tone.
"What? They weren't even the real thing?" Jayden asked in disbelief, playing back the events in his mind.
Ahn shook his head, pulling up a map on his screen showing multiple points on the map displaying various areas the seminars were being held. "The Seminars around Bulan are powering Overseer Sun's main demon while the ones in Grushia are powering Overseer Cho Jin-Hyan's main demon."
"If we want to prevent them from getting too strong for us to handle, we will have to stop the rituals from completing or exorcize the demon or curse in the area. But, that alone is a hefty task for my organization alone..." Ahn continued, turning in his seat to look at the three.
"You don't have any allies outside of Nox? That seems kinda... impractical don't you think? Nox may be an Echo of The Word, but he doesn't possess His true Will," Jayden questioned, sitting upon the arm of the couch with a light exhale.
"We do have his Spiritual Wife, Luciel Winters! She's literally Genesis's Echo! They call Luciel the Echo of Sophia, so she's better than nothing I suppose," Song Boon said with a determined smile, happy to bring up her other co-worker from Grushia High School.
"Luciel, huh? You think we can drag Luciel, Sa Nu Rim, and Headmistress Kaguya into this mission? We still don't know the plans of these rituals or who their next target will be after the Dongchon stunt they pulled," Ahn questioned, leaning back in his chair with an intrigued expression.
Song Boon nodded enthusiastically, her eyes gleaming with hope that Ahn recruits her friends into Randall United. "Mhm! I'm sure for the right cause, they'll be down to join! I think my other friend, Gook Do, he'll join too—"
"No," Ahn said sternly, shooting a sharp glare at Do Song Boon then noticed how defensive he had gotten. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie, closing his eyes and fixing his hair. "I mean, he won't be needed since you have me. Besides, he already placed you in my care."
"That's because he sees me as defenseless! I am a strong capable woman who can handle her own!" Do Song Boon said with a cute, determined smile then looked over at Anaise. "He's supposed to be my bodyguard, but I'm more of his."
"I mean, we can see why," Anaise said with a light chuckle, glancing over at Ahn and noticed his unamused expression.
Ahn stood up from his seat and clapped his hands, making his way from around his desk. "Alright, everyone up. We're going to Dotari, Grushia. We had enough downtime."
"Oh, I think he's big mad," Anaise gossipped, giggling softly with Song Boon then pointed at Jayden with her thumb. "He gets the same way when I tease him."
"Bro...this isn't even about me. Know what, I'm with my man Lee Ahn. We had enough downtime. Besides, we gotta look for a new base as well," Jayden said with light annoyance, standing up and adjusting his necklace around his neck.
Song Boon and Anaise lightly laughed at his reaction, the two joining Ahn and Jayden out of the office and into the elevator. Along the way to Ahn's car, the four made good friends with one another, Ahn taking a quick liking to Jayden and Anaise's personalities.
Driving to Dotari, Do Song Boon took the time to call Luciel to inform her of her soon arrival at Kaguya's home with two new recruits for Randall United, the first recruits since Do Song Boon. The car was filled with lively energy with Song Boon's lively personality taking charge, the world's problems seemingly nonexistent in the moment.
--------------------------------
Luciel stood in the middle of the cornfields with her eyes closed, her Warden Butterflies fluttering around her calmly to sense the energy around her. Suddenly, from the tall grass from her left, Jiahn emerged from the grass with a spinning kick.
Luciel phased through the attack then blocked Jiahn's wheel kick, following by catching Jiahn's punch with a 12 to 6 hold then warped into an enzuigiri go the back of Jiahn's head. As Luciel focused on Jiahn, an energy blast flew through the cornfields at high speeds.
"I see you right there!" Luciel called out, pivoting around to catch the energy blast and fired it back to where it came, an explosion following behind shortly.
Rushing out of the smoke, So-Yi charged toward Luciel and warped forward with a roundhouse kick but missed as Luciel used the wind to glide out of the way. Sensing Kim Eun behind her, she phased through Kim Eun's tackle then walked forward with fire growing around her feet.
Before Kim Eun could recover, Luciel struck her with a Superkick to her cheek, causing her to fall onto one knee. As she went for the follow up, Oriel launched her shield between Kim Eun and Luciel, perfectly blocking Luciel's next strike and repelling her backwards.
"Stigmata Arts: Spirit Interference!" Hyeon Bae called out from above, launching a powerful pulse of energy down toward Luciel and trapping her under intense spiritual pressure.
Luciel grunted softly as Hyeon Bae's technique began disrupting her energy points, causing her body to slowly submit onto one knee. "Nngh...how does Nox do this..? He trains with all his students like this?"
"Should we step in? She is going against B and A Rank Students now, and she's doing the Lord Nox method where she intentionally holds back nearly all of her power," Su-Yun asked, watching the sparring session on Kaguya's phone as the drone broadcasted everything.
"I think she can handle it. Besides, with Lord Nox in stasis again, there's no one really to check Overseer Sun or Overseer Cho Jin-Hyan. Luciel's been taking things seriously since what happened yesterday," Kaguya said with a light exhale, watching as Hyeon Bae began to gain the upper hand.
Luciel grunted softly as she nearly fell to one knee, but stopped herself and used her Warden Butterfly to bounce the pulses of energy back to Hyeon Bae, the spirit pulses disrupting Hyeon Bae's energy. Hyeon Bae grunted as her powers suddenly stopped working, her Stigmatas ceasing to glow.
Hyeon Bae safely landed on the ground as Oriel gently carried her down, looking at her arms and legs in confusion. "My Stigmata...how did you do that?"
Luciel panted softly and stood up straight on her two feet, fixing her Vinesever cloak then smiled at Hyeon Bae. "I just reflected your technique back to you using my butterflies and amplified the effects. With an amped up Spirit Interference, you can cancel out Stigmata and render them useless."
"It just so happens that Oriel is a special case since she was given to you by Yesha Himself," Luciel said, looking at Oriel with a gentle smile.
"What's this serious training for anyway, Ms. Winters? Is some big event going on? I mean, we did kinda suck at the Dongchon Meet but that literally wasn't our fault," Jiahn said, placing a hand upon her hip and sighed softly.
"Yeah, we were literally placed against brainwashed students and Annointed Level beings. It literally wasn't fair, plus Manaport having their direction hands in on the matter? Cho Jin-Hyan was there and so I know Ha-Rin was there too!" Kim Eun spoke passionately, stomping her foot on the ground.
Luciel listened to the complaints of her students then smiled at each of them, closing her eyes and nodded her head. "I am aware that it wasn't a fair shot at a victory, but I am training you all so hard for this very reason. You four are setting a prime example for Class 12-A, and I want to help grow that example."
"While Nox is out for however long this time, I am automatically placed in his authority as Queen of Qutsade...but that's the problem..." Luciel said with an awkward chuckle, crossing her arms and tilting her head. "I've never taken charge like this before, so using his methods of teaching is... different."
"How does Mr. Nox teach anyway? I mean, we see he loves parables and history lessons, but...how does he teach Woo-Chi?" Jiahn asked with genuine curiosity, her expression shifting as she saw Luciel shrug her shoulders.
"I have no clue. He isn't very public with his teachings right now unless it's something a crowd must know or see. However...seeing Woo-Chi now makes me things he's teaching her actual Qutsade traditions," Luciel said thoughtfully, letting out a soft hum as she began theorizing in her head.
"Qutsade traditions? Ms. Winters, you have to know something too! Woo-Chi can't just leave us in the dust here! She's probably teaching Class A-12 some of that stuff too!" Jiahn said with determination in her tone, stepping forward with the will to learn.
"Yeah, it's kinda not fair we're getting stuck with crumbs while Nox is feeding Woo-Chi full loaves of bread. I know you have some bread in that cloak of yours," So-Yi said, playfully patting Luciel down as she inspected her.
"Right? When is it our turn to learn something more? We are the future generation, and we should know something that'll help us defend ourselves and others," Kim Eun said, hurrying to Luciel to join So-Yi in the pat down.
Luciel squealed lightly and laughed as she ran off from the girls, turning around with playful pants and placed her hand upon her chest. "Come on! I promise I don't know as much as Nox does! I was literally born a Foster Girl!"
"Your real last name is Genessi, which is literally an anagram of Genesis! You share a name with the First Book of the most important book in existence! You know something!" So-Yi said, pointing her finger at Luciel and prepared herself to get the answers.
Luciel hummed at the girls and crossed her arms, closing her eyes then shifted her Battlesuit into a white and lavender battledress, tiny angelic wings manifesting upon her back. "Alright, I'll share with you...but you shall learn through action! This is my specially crafted Valkyrian Battlesuit, Divine Ethos!"
"We've seen Super Logos with Eun-Song, now we're seeing Divine Ethos? Aiishh, I'm just not understanding...are these Battlesuits also Qutsade tradition like Woo-Chi's Special Air and Tae's High Wolf?" Jiahn asked, crossing her arms and tilting her head with a sharp inhale.
Hyeon Bae tried to call upon The Echo, but the Stigmata only glowed without him actually appearing. She let out a dejected hum then looked ahead at Luciel, growing more curious as she couldn't get direct answers. "Why do I feel like I should know these traditions..?"
Kim Eun became more eager to train against Luciel with her new battlesuit, her arms growing goosebumps as her battlesuit didn't feel Aetherian or Valkyrian. "What is this energy I'm feeling..? It's not like any battlesuit I've felt before. This pressure is different.."
"What you are feeling is the Essence of the Butterfly. Nox shares this same essence, the peaceful essence you feel is that very essence. The Butterfly is Qutsade's main symbol which represents guidance and life after death," Luciel began, watching one of her Warden Butterflies flutter around her.
"However, Qutsade is not only home to Butterflies, but many Moths as well...which also represents life after death but in a more dull, sickening way. The Butterfly and the Moth are extensions of yourself and who you are inside. Your character," Luciel added, her gaze shifting toward So-Yi who had her signature militant gaze.
"Basically, the Butterfly and the Moth represents the Ethos of yourself...you will know them by their fruits. The butterflies and moths physically represent the fruits of ones character..." So-Yi said, adding everything together in her head and met Luciel's gaze.
"Correct, but the butterflies represent one main fruit. Peace. While not everyone will obtain a butterfly, the Essence of the Butterfly still shows in your energy. Walking in Truth and Qutsade's Butterfly Essence are Echoes, both allowing you to Warp and Phase," Luciel explained, warping to the left then back to her original position.
"That is the basics of the Qutsade Tradition, Walking in Truth, evading deception, maintaining peace even during trial and tribulation,"
"So, how does this translate on the battlefield?" Kim Eun asked, ready to test the waters with Luciel with an excited grin.
Luciel smiled at Kim Eun and gave her a playful taunt, inviting her to make the first move. Excitedly, Kim Eun charged into combat with a windy punch, but Luciel calmly redirected her arm to the side which caused Kim Eun to twirl around.
Luciel caught her with a shoulder bump then stepped forward, switching stances to land a stomp on her foot then palmed her stomach. Kim Eun grunted as she stumbled backwards, her hand placed where Luciel had struck her then looked up to see Luciel shifting stances again.
"Stance Shifting? This is nothing like what I saw Tae and Woo-Chi doing in Dongchon. This isn't Capoeira," Jiahn said, looking over at Kim Eun to make sure she was alright.
"This isn't. This is Quph Dalet, a martial arts originating here in Exzodia itself. It means Circular Movement, similar to the Dancing Combat of Ezusha Ballet yet more combative but equally as gracefully. This is another form of Worship Combat," Luciel said, shifting to her Tiger Stance and smirked at the girls.
"Catiger: Tiger Mode!" Luciel said, mimicking Su-Yun's voice nearly perfectly, her Warden Butterflies glowing brightly and shifting her Divine Ethos into Offensive Speedster Mode.
"Nyaa?! M-M-Mwoyo?! She can do that? She can copy abilities?!" Su-Yun squeaked with surprise, her cat ears perking up in shock.
Kaguya hummed with amusement, chuckling as she continued to watch the feet with high interest. "Well, color me surprised...it seems she's been studying all of us enough to copy our abilities to a fundamental level...that Discernment and Wisdom can truly only come from one place."
"Wow...Luciel is really amazing," Su-Yun said, watching the broadcast even closer with awe.
Luciel shifted forward like rushing water, landing a circular sweep kick that knocked Jiahn off balance then lifted herself into a double kick which Jiahn barely blocked. Jiahn landed on the grass then used Ji-MAN to materialize a mock version of Aero Wind then swung the axe down to launch razor winds toward Luciel.
Shifting into her Gorilla Stance, she went into a defensive posture, awakening her Earth Cells and forming sand around her body instead of stone. The cutting waves struck the sand, leaving behind impacts that spread across Luciel's body evenly and hardened the sand.
"Wait, stop attacking!" So-Yi called out, holding her hand out toward Jiahn.
Jiahn stopped swinging her axe and looked over at So-Yi with light pants, her gaze shifting back over to Luciel only to see the sand returning to a liquidized state. "What the heck..?"
"Isn't that just sand? How are slashing attacks not working against it?" Kim Eun asked with confusion, scratching the side of her head.
"It's not just sand...it's a mixture of Sand and Water, but that sand is not normal sand either. She's using an amplied version of the oobleck formula. She's using ENA," So-Yi said with a light shiver, her ears beginning to ring as she began to understand how she was a counterpart to me.
"What? That shouldn't make sense! I've sliced through oobleck before during one of our training sessions! It's just cornstarch and water right? If the sand is hardening, what is it hardening into?" Jiahn asked, not understanding this specific concept of Luciel's formula.
"Proteus," So-Yi answered as calmly as she could, but her Beshin-Keh showed her truths that sent chills down her spine.
"The...the uncuttable metal?" Hyeon Bae asked in complete awe, looking at So-Yi quickly with wide eyes.
Luciel reverted to her neutral stance, smiling at the girls before dropping her guard. "What you just witnessed was a level of ENA that only advanced wielders of ENA can obtain, but Spirit Energy can replicate this exact thing."
"Haven't you noticed it yet? You don't possess ENA yet you sync with the natural elements of nature well. The Qutsade Tradition allows for natural shifts in elements, but you need to learn and steward the Essence of the Butterfly first," Luciel said, gesturing over to So-Yi and Jiahn.
"Sang So-Yi and Jiahn Wa are two students who have the essence, both given to them by Nox through Yesha. For He has made all things for His own good pleasure, even the Essence of Qutsade," Luciel continued, placing her hands upon her hips.
So-Yi listened well to Luciel's words then summoned her Silver Swallowtail, watching as her butterfly fluttered around her. Jiahn looked at Ji-MAN, who sat on her shoulder with a peaceful smile, her butterfly wings fluttering with excitement.
"So that's what Woo-Chi has..? The Essence of the Butterfly? That's why she can warp and phase without one... And all of our abilities derive from that essence?" Kim Eun asked curiously, crossing her arms with slight confusion as she processed the information.
Luciel nodded with a light hum, her eyes tracking her Warden Butterfly that soared toward a tall strand of grass and sat upon it. "Correct, but the essence you receive depends on the type of leaf you consume. Let me put it like this, and I'll teach something straight from Nox's book."
The girls listened closely as they knew Luciel was preparing her first ever parable, the four gathering around her as they opened their ears to hear. Kaguya's drone hovered closely, capturing every moment for Su-Yun and Kaguya to also listen in to the parable.
"This is the story of the Two Caterpillars. There were two caterpillars within the groves of Therris, both of them sharing similarities as they were both hungry and needed energy. One caterpillar ate from a vibrant leaf, a soft delicious leaf that granted him life and sustained him," Luciel began, her gaze shifting between the girls to make sure they were still listening.
"The second caterpillar ate from a crunchy, dull leaf which left him hungry for more, never sustaining him and only consuming. After they had their full, the first caterpillar, full of life and peaceful began shedding his final skin, forming a beautiful chrysalis and gave birth to a beautiful butterfly..."
"While the other spun silk into a cacoon to hide his greed and gluttonous behavior, even his own cacoon consuming and rusting his color even more. Once he was ready to break out, he had become a moth who only became more obsessed with unsatisfiable desire and hunger," Luciel finished, noticing all four girls gulping and shuddering.
Kim Eun grunted softly with how heavy Luciel's first parable was, scratching the back of her head as she felt her gut turning within. "Geez...that sounds exactly like our class right now.."
"Mmm...it does sound kinda predetermined. I mean, I don't want to sound condescending but is there really a way to prevent yourself from becoming a moth?" So-Yi asked, looking up at Luciel as she stood up and tilted her head.
"You have free will, so you can stop eating the bad leaves, but as long as you are in your fleshly bodies, you'll have have a desire for the bad leaf. The sin that dwells in you is what brings that mothly essence, but with our Lord and Savior, He can and will provide the leaves you need for life," Luciel answered, watching her butterflies return to her.
"Even myself and Nox are prone to bad leaves as we are also still caterpillars in God's eyes. We're still growing, which is why you'll never hear Nox say he's sinless. He's righteous and blameless, but I've seen him with my own eyes... myself included. If we dare to say we have no sin, we are liars to ourselves," Luciel said with a soft exhale, glancing up at the sky.
As Luciel continued her lessons, the sound of a car began approaching the cornfields which alerted Kaguya and Su-Yun, the two of them glancing back at the seemingly familiar vehicle. They watched as Do Song Boon, Ahn, Jayden, and Anaise got out, the two of them smiling at the four and going over to greet them.
Moments went by, and Luciel and the girls finally wrapped up their training session for the afternoon and went back to Kaguya's house to rest. Entering in the house, each of them greeted with the sight of Song Boon and the others in the living room.
"Song Boon!" Luciel gasped happily, hurrying over to Do Song Boon and gave her a friendly hug.
"Luci!~" Song Boon greeted with equal excitement, hugging Luciel as well and giggling as they embraced one another.
"Yep, just ignore the head honcho here. It's all cool," Ahn said, waving his hand at the two women sarcastically.
Luciel looked over at Ahn as she hugged Song Boon, giving him a warm smile before approaching him with a bow. "Annyeong, Mr. CEO."
"Ahh, I call him that also! He doesn't seem to like it though because he says it sounds insulting," Song Boon said with a light tease, poking Ahn on his shoulder and accidentally shoved him to the side.
"Mmm!" Jayden exclaimed as he was drinking his water, lifting his arms as Ahn fell on his lap. "Damn girl, you'se GOTS to get that power under control."
Ahn grunted softly as he held his arm, hissing lightly and rubbing his arm as he sat up. "Oiish! Do you want me to just die?"
Kaguya chuckled at the interaction then looked over at Hyeon Bae and her friends, gesturing for them to head upstairs while they discussed important matters downstairs. Jayden and Anaise decided to join the crew, Hyeon Bae taking the lead to give them a tour of the upstairs area.
"Alright...now that it's just us, about what you discovered. Cho Jin-Hyan is acting under my nose, I know now...so what is he doing?" Kaguya asked, crossing one leg over the other as her gaze fell upon Ahn.
"He seems to be planning something within Grushia High School as one of his seminars is held within one of the Battle Zones. One of his demons, Covet, he lies there correct?" Ahn began, his question more directed toward Luciel and Su-Yun.
Luciel took a moment to answer, remembering Grushia's Battle Zone 4 incident and closed her eyes. "Yeah, and he's binded to Woo-Chi and Ha-Rin. He said only he can be defeated by Woo-Chi because her jealousy was a curse in that forest."
"That guy also has a Sea Drake, and he said it's a lesser version of Leviathan. Do you know how powerful even a fragment of Leviathan's power is? Do you know what it took to even survive Covet?" Su-Yun asked, spiralling with her hands on her head as the events of that day surged in her head.
"I remember that day well also," Song Boon spoke up, puckering her lips with a thoughtful expression. "I helped Sang So-Yi fight off a gang of Lizardman Girls and she tamed all of them. But seeing Covet...he made himself look like...Mr. Nox.."
Kaguya grunted softly and wiped her face with her hands, looking up at the ceiling in slight distress. "He's cultivating...a False Messiah within my school grounds? And holding a seminar there? 3 to 7 people die in those, so he's also..."
Ahn's expression grew seriously as he prepared to bring up the next topic on the subject, clearing his throat lightly. "I've been doing some research while coming here and trying to find your house, he's holding a meeting tonight. He's using the old theater in Battle Zone 14 and using Ha-Rin to bind Covet to her."
"What?! He's using Covet to make a false Nox and Woo-Chi bond? Why is he going so far to use his own niece for this?!" Luciel asked in disbelief, standing up on her feet with pure anger.
"I don't know all the details myself, but all I know is that he's been studying Nox. I believe he's using a monitoring spirit to gather information on Nox, but it's only a hunch..." Ahn replied, glancing at the table with his arms crossed in a thoughtful manner.
Hyeon Bae looked back at the others with a surprised expression, covering her mouth and let out a shaky exhale. She began to try to summon The Echo continuously, but the Rauch Hakodesh stigmata only glowed calmly with a silver pulse.
"This is bad...the Overseer of St. Goken Institution is hosting a ritual at our school? We can't just let this slide, especially when Ha-Rin's life is at stake," So-Yi said, balling her hands into fists.
"As much as I don't like that trifling chick, I don't want to just sit back and watch her become a sacrifice for some deranged lunatic," Kim Eun said then turned toward Hyeon Bae. "Hyeon, take us to Aetherpoint."
"W-What..? You can't just go there...there's a reason why I only go alone when I take you with me..." Hyeon Bae said bashfully, glancing down at the ground and fidgeted with her hoodie sleeve.
"Aetherpoint? Like that Stigmata Shop? I thought that shit was a myth..." Anaise said with quiet introspection, looking at Hyeon Bae with intrigue and hummed lightly.
"I do always find it strange that you always go down that dark alleyway alone. Is there something we have to be aware of getting to the shop?" Jiahn asked, crossing her arms with curiosity and rose an eyebrow.
Hyeon Bae took a moment to answer, noticing everyone staying silent to wait for her answer. She glanced up at them then curled her lips lightly. "Uhm...well, firstly...that road is dangerous as there are strangers everywhere. They all look like normal people, even live there...but they are not normal and you mustn't call it out to them."
"Secondly...that road is called the Road of the Border. Only certain people can cross that border whether day or night... people like me and Reene. We live on that border daily with Delirium. But for people like you, you can only cross it at night," Hyeon Bae continued, pressing the tips of her fingers together introvertedly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...Road of the Border and Delirium go hand in hand? And you're saying Reene also has Delirium? So what are you? Because we're not skipping over that part," Kim Eun said, having only more questions than answers in her mind.
"I'm... actively between Life and Death. Walking literally on the Borderlands. It's the reason why I'm able to carry so many Stigmata...and why I have so many guardian angels. And maybe...that's why I still truly love Ha-Rin because I know she's also dying inside," Hyeon Bae answered softly, glancing down at the ground with a shy expression.
"So...you're literally on the edge of your silver cord? What the heck man..? I thought Bulan had it bad, but Grushia is suffering spiritually while we take the physical pain...maybe that's why that Overseer is targeting y'all," Jayden said, scratching the back of his head.
Hyeon Bae looked up at the group and exhaled softly, holding her hands together in front of herself. "I'll take you to Aetherpoint...but you have to follow me exactly. During the night, anyone can travel to Aetherpoint and that's when Manaport is most active. We have to avoid The Strangers and Manaport..."
The group nodded as they understood Hyeon Bae's rules, each of them secretly planning to prepare for the seminar tonight with what little time they had left. With Jiahn leading the team, they all headed into her van then drove off to Tanchon, where Aetherpoint rested.