Kel went with them without hesitation, he understood that he could not go back to the village, not when Ban's hut still stood, the guilt would kill him. He also could not spend his years in the forest scavenging and hunting, away from human civilization. Understanding more of what he was afflicted with was the wisest option.
As soon as he agreed to go with them, Tsuki wrote a letter telling the institute the current state of things, especially the arrival of a unique individual. She expected that many would be against this, every bit of Kutashibe should be destroyed, a logical stance,
albeit a much more boring one. Many as well would be interested in seeing this peculiar state of a witchspirit bound to a human of which neither was transfigured by another's will.
She rolled the letter and stood. Then something gut-wrenching occurred. Her belly protruded, like it was stabbed, and this protrusion only went higher, going up and up reaching her throat like a large lump and then eventually reaching her mouth. Her face went agape as a large raven crept out of her mouth, cawing.
Kel turned to the others, nobody wore the expression he had, which was a mixture of disgust and shock. They had seen it too many times to evoke reactions from them, he realized.
The raven received the letter with its talons and soared the sky faster than any raven Kel had ever seen.
"That does it, let's get out of here." Tsuki spoke. Understanding that this was their cue to leave, one of the wardens initiated a hand seal sequence. The warden's spirit energy climbed, and atop them a spiral mass of darkness formed, and a massive winged creature of pale red tore through the dark veil, tearing through the sky, and then descending back down.
The creature was massive, having the width of a dozen men placed side by side and a height of twenty one meters. Kel staggered as the bird landed right beside him, almost falling on his buttocks when the creature appeared.
"Spirit beast," he mumbled. He had heard tales of such creatures, unseen creatures that could be summoned to do one's bidding, and somehow, they differed from witchspirits.
The kutashibe piece hadn't done as little as to stir Kel, it remained in hiding, its instincts blaring at the danger about it, should it try to run, it would be exorcised.
The wardens climbed the spirit beast, leaving out just Tsuki and Kel. "Come on, jump on." She urged.
Kel merely nodded, since their arrival, he had acted like a puppet whose strings were in their control. Tsuki had no influence over him however, Kel simply was willing to accept whatever. Even if death had come knocking, he wouldn't have resisted.
He hopped, and with the help of another, he got on the Spirit Beast, soon enough, they were soaring the skies.
He caught sight of his village below, but he was too far up to make out the details. In his mind, he could see Maya worried and distressed about his absence, He could imagine the speculations that were flying. Undoubtedly, some might think him responsible for old man Ban's death, it was a logical conclusion, he dissappeared on night Ban died.
'Goodbye.'
******
Mitra-galg, Institute of Astral Magicks.
"Preposterous!" A bald, wizened face man cried, he was donned in black scholarly robes just as the rest of those who were in the meeting.
Thirteen robed individuals stood on elevated dais, bickering about the situation of things. The host of the witchspirit they had long sought to exterminate was making his way to their institute, and under whose commands? None other than that obstinate woman.
"Putting her in charge of this was a mistake."
"We needed to utilize our best resources to ensure no loose ends, besides, it's only a fragment of the witchspirit, far from the real thing. If we pull our strings right, we could have another powerful asset at our disposal."
"We should have sent Jonac instead." The bald professor mumbled.
A thick powerful voice called out, "Those in favor of keeping the host in the institute grounds for study and for subjugation, raise an arm." There was silence between the robed officials, it was almost like nobody wanted to make the first move. Eventually one broke the silence, raising their pale arm, and in a youngful clear voice they spoke, "They will be in my care, won't they?"
A sigh escaped the head of the meeting, "Yes." After all, she was the head of research on witchspirits, and other astral beings. Throats were cleared, and other arms were raised agreeing to the proposition. They were six now, a tie, until the head slowly raised his arm, casting his vote, seven to five.
"It is settled, the host will be monitored in the institute. We will forge them into a valuable asset, and on the occasion they slip, they will be executed. As voters of this, we bear a huge responsibility on ensuring this goes as smoothly as possible, our names will be called upon if things go wrong, do remember that."
The spirit beast the team took zoomed without stopping, soaring above various terrains on their way to Mitra-galg. Cekai was a relatively small nation, and in an hour, they had crossed it. Now, five hours in the skies, the great city-nation of Mitra-galg was in sight.
Kel Sieker had been gloomy throughout his flight to the city, the occurrence of last night playing repeatedly in his mind, and his wife's worried look. The thought of why he had hopped on the bird with them hovered too, he should have ran, he thought, a small part of him had wanted to, and even now, he entertained the idea of jumping off the creature, and plunging to his death.
The city however pulled him from his gloom, made him curious like a child.
'Is it always this dark?'
Kel squinted his eyes, watching as smoke rose from the large buildings in the city, dissipating into the sky. He had never experienced such before, smoke came from fire not buildings.
He had not known of the city Mitra-galg much less understood that it was an industrial city—the most industrious in the continent. Kel Getigris had spent the entirety of his life in his small village and its surrounding woods, such robust architecture, cramped buildings fascinated him, and a lick of life poured into him that moment, he wanted to know Mitra-galg, he wanted to know the institute.