~3825 words
Two days had passed ever since the 'Hunt of Lanevus' had concluded.
Klein, despite being overwhelmed at that time, took necessary precautions and threw everything that he and Kiyotaka had used that night in the Space Above the Grey Fog. Then he divined multiple times if they were in danger, however, it looked like he was safe.
In these past two days, Kiyotaka had vanished completely and Klein had not heard from him at all.
It made Klein really worried but at the same time, he realized that "Williams" was not exactly the type of person to be captured or killed so easily. His survival instinct was too strong.
After dealing with Lanevus, Klein did not wait for his Beyonder Characteristics to emerge. Right after he escaped, a team of Nighthawks arrived and found the scene where Lanevus was brutally decapitated.
A team of Red Gloves under Soest was handed the responsibility to look into the murder, while the other Nighthawks were given the responsibility to clean up the rest of the Aurora Order members and to calm down the masses.
The damage dealt to the Docks was not much. It almost felt calculated. The damage dealt was mostly to empty barrels and boxes that carried illegal weapons being stashed and traded. Not a single ordinary citizen was injured.
The Police, in collaboration with The Nighthawks deemed it as faulty explosives that went out after someone threw a cigarette near it, initiating a chain reaction. That was the story that the legal departments gave to the citizens and was published in the newspapers.
During these two days, Klein had written a letter to Mr. Azik, telling him about his progress, the incident with Lanevus and quite a lot of other things. In a sense, it was like a child who had met his parents after a long time and couldn't help but tell them all about his miserable life.
He also mentioned if Mr. Azik had some way to fully change disguises. He did it as a thanks to Kiyotaka. While he was not sure where and how he was, Klein could always rely on his divinations to have a rough idea of where he was.
Leaning back in his seat, Klein looked at the ceiling. "He did say he was going to do something that would need his attention for a long time. I wonder how long it's going to take." Pursing his lips out of boredom, Klein sighed and quickly stood up, suiting up as he left the house for Queelang Club.
*****
Meanwhile, on the other end of the East Borough, in between somewhere the East Borough and Cherwood Borough, Kiyotaka was sitting on a chair in a distinguished manner. He was wearing a tuxedo and a long, charcoal black overcoat and a half-top hat. The sword-cane rested by his leg as he curiously stared at the structure in front of him.
Leppard had finally done it.
The "car" was ready. The structure of this car was much like the steam-engine powered car, except it was made out of much thinner sheets of metal. In doing so, the total mass of this alcohol-engine powered car was much lighter.
Leppard had installed barriers around his lawn so no one could see it. Beside Kiyotaka was Framis Cage.
Framis Cage had arrived to see first hand what his investment was worth.
"So, shall we start?" Framis Cage broke the silence by slapping his knee and standing up.
Kiyotaka adjusted the hat over his head and cleared his throat. "Of course. Please stand outside. I will bring it to you."
"Very well." Once Framis Cage was out, Kiyotaka opened the hood and casted a brief look inside.
The design was not optimal and there was a lot of room for improvement. A lot of room to make things efficient, however, he had left it as such on purpose.
'If it's efficient from the get-go, how can I justify charging a premium on a better product in the future?'
Leppard, who was anxiously looking at Kiyotaka, took a step back and gulped heavily.
"Are you going to take it outside?"
"Yes. Remove the gates."
"Pardon?"
Kiyotaka pointed at the outer gate of the lawn that were two metallic doors. "Do you want me to plow right through them?"
"Oh, haha, of course not. You are really humorous these days, Mr. Williams." Leppard skittishly moved towards the gate doors and undid the screws at the seams. Once they were undid, he removed the metallic structure and placed them to the side.
Kiyotaka placed his hand on the handle of the door. It was a car with four doors and a steering wheel on the right side. The reason for doing so was because the structure of roads and presence of stores and turns were made in a way that he had to place the steering wheel to the right.
Rotating the handle, Kiyotaka placed his leg inside and jumped in. The car was a bit taller than him so when he sat on the seat, he noticed that his eye-level was above the average sedan.
'The seat is very uncomfortable.'
He looked over his shoulder and saw that the seats in the back looked soft and quite plush.
'I'll have to install some soft materials in the driver's seat too.'
Settling into the seat, Kiyotaka adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. Just like the old cars from the 1910's, it had a clutch, a brake and an accelerator with a gearbox. The steering wheel had some dust and oil on it.
Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped it and then gripped the leather steering wheel tightly.
Leppard sat up and watched with excitement as Kiyotaka placed a hand on the "switch" that was under the steering wheel and turned it around.
The engine didn't chug like the heavy steam boilers Leppard was used to.
It kicked over with a sharp, mechanical crack that was followed by a rapid-fire series of pops that sounded like a string of small firecrackers going off under the hood. The whole frame of the car began to vibrate with a high-pitch that rattled the floorboards against Kiyotaka's black boots.
A thin, barely visible wasp of exhaust drifted from the back. It smelled sharply of high-proof spirits that had a biting scent, cutting right through the stagnant, Backlund air.
Leppard's face froze and his hands flew to his hat to keep it from shaking off. After all, his entire body was trembling.
The sound that came from the car was much leaner, faster, and aggressive than any other machine Leppard had ever heard.
Kiyotaka didn't look at them. His eyes were vacant as he sighed. There wasn't even a speck of happiness or excitement in his heart, just a strange cold sensation.
Kiyotaka shifted the lever. At the same time he felt the gears bite and churn as the car lurched forward without straining or huffing.
Then and there, as Leppard saw the heap of metal move with such force and speed, the concept of a horse-drawn carriage instantly seemed prehistoric.
Slowly navigating the car, Kiyotaka kept his ears open for any sounds that may be abnormal. Straightening the car by rotating the steering wheel once, he removed his foot from the brake pedal once and let it roll through the threshold.
Outside Mr. Framis Cage was standing with a pipe in his mouth. His mouth went agape for a moment as smoke drifted in a thick cloud but he soon composed himself.
A sly smile appeared on his face and "£" began to appear in his eyes. Hearing the loud rumbles, multiple people began to stop by. Their reactions were that of awe and disbelief, however, the latter was not that much since everyone was more or less aware of the steam engine powered cars.
The reaction stemmed from the fact that most of them had never seen a car in real life before.
Stopping the car right beside Mr. Framis Cage, Kiyotaka held the window handle and rotated it until the glass was brought down.
Mr. Framis looked inside and then let out an exaggerated breath followed by a low "woah" as he turned his attention to Kiyotaka. "You really did it."
Kiyotaka scratched his scalp and ran his fingers through his hair. "Mr. Leppard did most of it, but thanks. Do you wish to take a ride?"
"Isn't that what I am here for?"
While Kiyotaka's question was merely customary, Framis Cage's excitement seemed to have taken the better of him as he giddily ran around the car and opened the door to the seat right beside Kiyotaka.
"It would be better if you take a seat behind. The padding in the front seats is not the best."
"Oh... Well of course." Not wasting a moment, Framis Cage walked behind and took a seat quickly. His butt sank comfortably in the long seat as he placed his expensive cane beside his leg.
Leppard did the same after taking permission from Kiyotaka and sat beside Framis Cage.
'This thing is so inefficient... Nice. There are levels when it comes to richness. The next generation engine can solve the fuel consumption issue to a certain extent and add more luxury to it. But to do that, I would need to hire more people... Maybe even an assistant as well. But I am not sure if most people would be suited to be my assistant.
Hmm... Well, that is a far off thing. I have the patent for the alcohol engine, so at least I do not have to worry about being left in dust. And there is no other good alternative for fuel other than steam and alcohol in this age.'
While Kiyotaka was having these thoughts in his head, he had already driven outside the busy areas, and was currently treading on the road adjacent to Tussock River and leading to Wienia Town. Wienia Town was located a few miles away from Tingen.
Once the car was on the straighter stretch of the road, Kiyotaka started shifting the gears and fully pressed down on the accelerator. One after another, gears shifted loudly. Kiyotaka took a few mental notes but kept pressing forward.
The metallic box took speed. Sitting comfortably in the backseat, Framis Cage's ecstatic face did not escape Kiyotaka's vision as he glanced at him from the front mirror. The car kept accelerating until it was so fast that Kiyotaka was sure that even a carriage pulled by multiple horses would be left in the dust.
Kiyotaka wanted to check where the limits lied for this car, but with Framis Cage and Leppard seated inside the car, he decided not to do it.
'I should probably get Sherlock and then ask him to test it out. Maybe he will invest in it as well.'
Thinking of roping in Klein as an investor, Kiyotaka wanted to push some more capital inside his pocket. One of the main reasons was that it was almost time that he advanced to Sequence 8. It had been quite a significant amount of time that he had fully digested the Lawyer potion.
With the threat of two mid-Sequence Beyonders trying to kill him, it was really necessary that he gathered cash as quickly as possible to advance to Sequence 8.
'Even as a Sequence 8, it would be hard to contend with two of them. Hmm, Barbarian... I have to advance as soon as possible.
My current list of priority is to get some more people to buy shares off of me now that the prototype is here. I can use some of this money to buy ingredients and rent a new place. After that, I have to advance to Sequence 8 while at the same time find Beyonders that can shape-shift and have good control over their emotions.
Or perhaps with purification abilities. Yes, any of the two can work. But I really need to find Beyonders with these two abilities and either have them give me something similar to their powers or just turn them into a Mystical Item.
The prior option is better... but if push comes to shove, my survival should take precedence.'
Just as his not-so-ethical monologue came to an end, Kiyotaka realized that he had arrived quite some distance away from Backlund. Reducing the speed slowly, Kiyotaka made a quick U-Turn and began to go back.
Mr. Cage rolled down the window and ignited his pipe. The air outside Backlund was much fresher and it made a smile appear on the otherwise stern face. He took small whiffs of the pipe and kept smoking.
Turning his attention towards Kiyotaka who was still driving, Mr. Cage cleared his throat and rolled the window up a little bit. "This is so much better than what I had anticipated. The rolling windows are a nice touch too." He spoke, looking between Kiyotaka and Leppard.
Leppard shifted. He had a stupid grin over his face. "It was Mr. Holmes' idea, I merely implemented it."
"Good. Very good. You see, my wife often travels with me, and she nags a lot when I try to smoke inside. Besides, even if I do smoke inside, it leaves behind a stench that is hard to get rid of even after days. I like it."
"Thanks." Keeping his eyes on the road, Kiyotaka merely added a nod.
The rest of the journey was just Leppard and Framis Cage talking. Occasionally they would talk to Kiyotaka about the production to which Kiyotaka replied that since the first prototype is done anyways, production of the first batch would not take any more than 1 week.
He planned on hiring a few workers and then have Leppard supervise them.
Once they were back at Leppard's place, Framis Cage took his leave and Kiyotaka parked the car inside. He stayed inside Leppard's house until it had gotten dark.
There were a few reasons for that. One of them was because he was worried that someone would try to steal the car. Even if it was hard to steal the full thing, damaging it would result in a loss that he could not afford to take.
Another reason was due to the fact that while some people had seen him leave, and while returning they had directly entered the house with the car, it was bound to attract a lot of attention.
And it was a little early for him to get into the limelight.
So when he was sure that Leppard and the car were safe, he wore some casual clothes consisting of a shirt, sweater and pants and left Leppard's house when no one was in the street.
He had a specific destination in his mind.
*****
The Crimson Moon hung low tonight. It was a full moon and it glowed in a way that Kiyotaka could feel miniscule fluctuations in his spirituality.
After about 20 minutes of walking and organizing his thoughts while being paranoid about suddenly being devoured by a giant black dog with red eyes, he finally arrived at the unit in Cherwood Borough.
This was the first time since his transmigration that he had come here. Yes, he did come to meet Xio early on, but he did not arrive at her doorstep. In a sense, he felt a little strange as well, be it due to Williams' influence or something else, he couldn't put his finger on.
The door opened without a creak as Kiyotaka looked down.
A pair of olive irises constricted to a dot as they fell on him. At the same time, the expressions on the person's face at the other end hardened and it looked like she was about to pummel Kiyotaka's face in.
"Wait, I can explain—" Xio held Kiyotaka from his collars by jumping up, and then pulled him so hard that he wobbled a few times before stabilizing himself.
Kiyotaka was ready to defend against punches and kicks, but instead Xio just stood there and sighed. "You really are alive."
"Thankfully."
Xio sighed once again. "Your cronies of the Zmanger Gang, I apprehended one of them due to the ongoing investigation about Billy Red. After a little interrogation he revealed that you had taken over the gang."
Kiyotaka's lips pursed. "Is MI9 looking into this matter?"
"No, they are not. I just found it strange how the Police suddenly put a lid on the matter." Xio adjusted her hair back and scratched her neck. "He also said you had ordered him two days ago to light some fires near the East Balam Docks. Two days ago... I questioned him again and again but every time he insisted it was you who did it."
"I suppose we now know who is going to lose his job." Kiyotaka joked but Xio stared at him in an incredulous manner.
"Are you serious? Are you seriously trying to joke right now?"
"That was the intention."
"Goddess... You get attacked, allegedly die and then you have the audacity to just turn up at my door like that? At least write a letter! I do not care whatever you are doing, going from being an informant to an accountant to a gang leader, but at least you needed to inform me that you are all alive and healthy..."
Kiyotaka cleared the phlegm in his throat. "I am sorry about that."
"It's fine." Xio walked back and picked up a fountain pen and a piece of paper.
"Would you not ask me for a cup of tea?"
"I know why you are here, Williams. And I have to leave for a commission, so I have no time for formalities." Xio dismissed and started scribbling.
After about 40 seconds, she handed the piece of paper to Kiyotaka.
On it was written:
Sequence 8: Barbarian
Main Ingredients: 1 Berserk Weed, the solid crystallized horn of an Earth Rhinoceros.
Supplementary Ingredients: 1 deep-patterned walnut, 1 Lemon Balm (Melissa), 10ml pure dew steeped from poplar bark, 100ml strong liquor.
"Thanks." Kiyotaka rolled the formula and placed it in his back pocket.
Xio nodded and then suddenly stopped in her tracks for a moment. She looked agitated and somewhat tired.
"I am sorry for lashing out like that, it's just... Well, there is some food on the table. Feel free to eat that. I would've given you company but do understand that I have some really important things to do, so I need to leave."
"I understand, and thanks for the invitation, but I will take my leave too."
"Well then let's walk together." Xio picked up a small satchel and wrapped it around herself.
Just as the two were about to leave, the wall right beside the door rippled and a tall woman walked out of it. Just as she walked in, she looked at Xio and then at Kiyotaka.
"Xio, I am home—WAAH! Geez, you scared me." She gasped. Her lips and fingers were greasy and so was the giant bag in her hands alongside the bottle of alcohol that was wrapped in newspapers.
Her brown hair was messy, her clothes not properly ironed and her eyes looked heavy with dark circles. Even at a distance, Kiyotaka could smell the cigarettes on her.
"Good evening."
"Good evening." The tall girl with dreamy blue eyes smiled and snapped her head at Xio. "You were not going crazy. This guy really is alive."
"Yes, he is. Anyways, you two get acquainted. I have to leave." Patting Fors' back, Xio opened the door and quickly left, leaving the two alone inside the room.
"I will take my leave."
Just as he turned around, he heard a loud thump behind him. His body moved back and saw that the Desi Pies inside the greasy packet and the bottle of alcohol had fallen on the ground, right beside Fors.
Her long, brown hair was spilt over the ground and her entire body was writhing. A muffled scream tore through her throat as her body started to mutate.
The skin over her face began to melt like candle wax and insects began to crawl underneath her skin while her muscles began to bulge.
'Loss of control? How can she lose control suddenly? Is there an enemy attack?
No, it's not an attack. But this isn't normal either.'
Kiyotaka did not want to get near her or touch her, fearing something might happen to him as well. But hearing Fors scream like this, he realized he had to do something.
Without panicking, he felt his lips move.
"The Fool that does not belong to this era..."
After chanting the Fool's honorific name, he found himself above the Grey Fog almost immediately.
"What happened?"
"Uhh, one of my friend's friend is losing control due to an unknown reason. You know her, you've been keeping tabs on her."
"Is it Miss Xio or Miss Fors?"
"Fors."
"Right, I can pull her above the Grey Fog, but she needs to recite my honorific name. Can you make her say it?"
"I can try, but that would jeopardize my identity."
"Shit... How about you wear a mask? She's losing control so she won't really remember anyways!" Saying that, Klein instantly produced the Plague Mask from the junk pile.
Kiyotaka looked at it and nodded without much concern. "Alright."
At the same time, Kiyotaka found his consciousness returning. In the meantime, Fors had already mutated to quite an extent. Her legs had started to grow porcupine-like hair and her face looked almost unrecognizable.
"What a nasty sight..." Kiyotaka sighed as he crouched beside her. Slowly sliding his hand underneath her head, he raised it.
Lowering down with the Plague Mask over his head, he began talking. "Repeat after me, The Fool that does not belong to this era."
Fors who was now groaning instead of screaming gained a moment of cognizance. She wanted to protest, seeing the horrifying presence in front of her but she did not have the physical or mental energy to do so.
"The fool that does not belong to this era." She croaked.
"The mysterious ruler above the grey fog." Kiyotaka's voice felt buried underneath a static.
"The mysterious r-ruler above the g-grey fog."
""The king of yellow and black who wields good luck."" Kiyotaka and Fors completed at the same time. In that same moment, Kiyotaka saw a small red light flash and suddenly the mutations began to subside almost instantly.
Picking her lifeless body up, Kiyotaka took her to a random room. He did not know if it belonged to Xio or Fors, but he did it regardless. Once he had placed her down, he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.
Looking down at the tall woman, Kiyotaka swallowed a dry lump of saliva.
'I wonder what's the deal with her. Hmm, anyways, I have my own things to deal with. I should leave, right? But the door... Hmm...'
He stood there silently, deliberating over his options.
*****
A/N A little progress on the mundane things. Now that the whole "Lanevus Arc" is done, we can finally move on to the "Devil Dog Arc" with a smaller arc of "The Rose School of Thought Arc"
I am trying to make Kiyotaka's involvement in things justified, so that is why chapters are taking some while to write. There are too many things going on at the same time in the main LOTM story, so inserting someone is really hard.
On a side note, I realized after the release of Rituals for Black Emperor Pathway, Kiyo is cooked. This guy is dead.