"We interrupt this broadcast for breaking news! An Eidolon appeared in the Trombone District at approximately 4:45pm, killing 5 people and injuring another 13 according to authorities. A nearby officer engaged the creature, forcing it to retreat, though its current location remains unknown. Experts believe this incident is connected to the prior event in the Beagle District, where a CNC manufacturing facility was left in ruin."
This is likely it. It doesn't sound like a Rank 0 or 1 Eidolon that wouldn't be worth the trouble, but also not an outrageously strong one of Rank 6 or 7. It also has 'only' committed some urban terrorism and not something that might get it targeted by specific groups, so now it is a mad dash from various hunters to see who can get there first.
I immediately notified Revenant and looked up a map to find the Trombone District, as Revenant is planning to meet there. He told me to go ahead without him for now, as he is tangled up in something. Considering the incident already happened over half an hour ago, the scene of it shouldn't be very harmful even to beginner hunters like me, according to Revenant at least.
I start to jog towards the location, but after just a short moment I instead decide to stop. With it starting to snow and, just in general, the people around me walking with no haste, I can't help but also feel calm. I already had carried myself on foot to many different places today. The grocer, the Eidolon pawn shop, the restaurant, the sin equipment store, the gate, Revenant's little shack and the aimless wandering culminating at the park. I was going to continue walking to the Trombone District and then thereafter the Beagle District, at some point then having to head over to Mary's place.
Recalling all of that walking is already making my muscles ache, so to conserve the energy inside of me, I really should just walk. Besides, Revenant will be late, so there is no issue in taking my time.
I merge into the populated crowds and take decisive turns following the map. These crowds flowed like a river, and I followed its currents to arrive at my destination, the simple task of following the people ahead of me blurring together moments.
As the flow of people parted near my destination, I started to hold my breath. The Trombone District had tape loosely attached to walls as a warning to what lay beyond it: not the threat of Eidolon, but instead their hunters.
The buildings here look abandoned with the lack of electricity that powered the surrounding buildings. The contrast makes every damaged road and each torn-down wall feel that much worse.
It doesn't take much work to find the worst of this conflict; one building was cut in half, and the top half had sagged down. The cut was too perfect for it to be done through ordinary means, looking akin to one seen in cartoons. That is an Eidolons work, the one we are hunting.
In the news broadcast was the interview with the police officer who could only say that it moves fast and has two very large swords that they wielded with exceptional strength.
An Eidolon wielding steel might sound dull, but Eidolon can do much with even simple concepts. I feel that this Eidolon likely isn't a simple one like that. It doesn't just seem strong or fast; instead, it shows a higher level of intelligence among Eidolon and is able to retreat. It sounds simple, but the lack of humanity in Eidolon and their corrupted desires lead to a very common lack in those regards, which is why Eidolon became these ruthless killing machines instead of something like a wild animal that can be 'negotiated' with.
I make my way carefully across these streets out in the open with only the howling winds whistling past me. At some point I round a corner to find a dead end that feels out of place. It seemed to be a large and broad street with a road, but around this corner it just suddenly stops at a wall with a broken-down car beside it. The alleys to the side are also blocked off.
My grip was on the handle of my falchion this entire time, but I failed to draw it before a flamberge crashed into my gauntlet just shy of where it intersected with my arm. I then saw a very faint figure outlined through the snow. It was an incantation I had seen before. A very specific calling incantation that grants invisibility during snowfall.
I backed away and drew my weapon when someone emerged through the oddly placed wall. The wall was an illusion, and the guy passing through emerged with a voulge. He is a pretty average guy, but he wears a long brown robe, making him look like he belongs in the medieval era. He used some form of Sin Equipment to grapple to the walls, holding a pistol as a sidearm.
To not be taken by surprise by the invisible person, I looked down at the footprints, but the other guy forced me to look up to avoid it. I am not prepared for this situation, as I don't have a great weapon to go against someone that is invisible or the guy with a polearm. I do have my gun and incantations, though both are limited. Since my opponents are humans, I imagine they are already expecting me to use an incantation or my Eidolon Equipment.
Actually yes, I can make use of the fact that they might not know the effects of 'Judge Gauntlet' to force them to act more cautiously. It is unlikely to work, as both the pawn shop owner and Revenant could immediately tell what it was.
I started to use my incantation. There is no way around it. Until then I try to play up my gauntlet and focus on movement. I zig and zag, weaving where I expect the attacks of the invisible one to land. Finally my Ittan-Momen call springs to action. Broad strips of cloth emerge from my back like tentacles, and I guide them in the direction of the grounded footsteps. They attempted to use some sort of Sin Equipment to jump away, but my incantation still barely managed to snag their feet that were sprung up to the height of my head. The cloth dragged her down on the floor and ensnared her further. The covering cloth shielded her from the snow, so I managed to see a lady with earmuffs painfully falling to the ground.
Looking towards the walls, their ally is already rushing to their aid, planning to intercept any attempt I could make to harm her using my falchion, so instead I pull out my revolver and discharge it three times. One strikes her in her right arm, the next misses, and the last one hits her in the left clavicle.
She screams from the searing pain, but half a second later her ally is already there. His cloak flows across his body as he rolls and dashes towards me with long sweeping swings of his voulge that throw up the snow into the surroundings, then spinning it in his hands to slice through the cloth from my back.
He moves in a dance, leaving no room for me to aim another shot, so I continue to incant. I barely finish my incantation when I suddenly feel a crossbow bolt lodge itself into one of my shoulders. Whilst screaming, I jump to the side to avoid a sweep of the voulge. From below me a tree with blood-red leaves starts to emerge, forcing the man to retreat.
I don't land on the ground and instead onto something that softly catches me; the trees branches snap out, though most are deflected and avoided. A singular one manages to pierce their forearm, and within the brief moment it takes him to cut free, said arm has already lost most of its color.
I look to where my back was before to see another lady in a black dress and a plague doctor mask readying another bolt. The other lady doesn't have her incantation active anymore but has since gotten up, though she holds one hand to her broken clavicle whilst moving towards me.
As the other guy recovers, I try to also get moving again, but the thing that caught me happened to be a large spider web conjured by a different incantation. I was left mostly immobile, only able to move my arms, but I was at the mercy of their incantations, crossbows, and the voulge.
"Might not make it, got into trouble."
There wasn't a response from Revenant. I was left alone. With me ensnared, the group of three took the time to recover. The man walked up to me, pointing the voulge at my throat.
"Now, we can do this the easy way or the–"
Crack – I could hear most of his rib cage shatter as a spherical cage made up of solid and heavy steel rods landed a devastating impact onto his ribs, taking and launching him twenty feet away onto the snow. The cage had a flame entrapped inside that heated the rods, thus also adding fourth-degree burns on top.
That man screamed at the peak of his lungs out of sheer agony before passing out from the immense pain. The ball continued to swing and stopped only once it had then impacted and broken the ground. I look behind me, but at the end of the chain lies no wielder.
My head snapped back at the screams of the lady in black as she had her abdomen sliced open. She had knelt onto the ground with her guts spilling onto the pavement even through her best attempts at keeping them inside.
The other lady started to run as fast as her legs could carry her, falling over just to pick herself up again.
As the last of the black lady's voice faded along with her life, the area was left in eerie silence. I was shaking and breathing heavily, desperately trying to rip myself free from the web as my eyes frantically darted in a futile attempt to spot the culprit. I was next; I could feel it in my bones. I had to get out now.
Was this the Eidolon? No, they wouldn't have that ball and chain. Who or what then? I doubt it was Calypso, and there aren't any other people I know that could cause such a scene. The ball and chain still lies on the ground, which would also rather point to it being a Sin Equipment used by a person rather than the work of a different Eidolon.
My head is then gently cradled by someone before the web beneath me tears to shreds. I release myself from their grip and slightly jump back before looking at them.
They are a late teen to young adult girl at above 5 feet. She has porcelain white skin, vibrant ultramarine irises with no pupils and large eyelashes, as well as soft pink lipstick and rosy cheeks. Her sky blue hair is tied into two braids at the front, with the rest of the wavy hair cascading down until reaching her hip. She wears a navy blue half bonnet on top of her head with a bow clip at the back of her hair. The braids are tied together with white ribbons. Her other clothing consists of a white lace choker and set of lace fingerless gloves, a slate blue cutsew top, a baby blue jumper-skirt with petticoat and bloomers underneath, a set of white knee-high lace socks, and some cobalt blue tea party shoes. She also has a pastel blue purse in the shape of a heart. All in all, it is an overwhelmingly complex Lolita-style appearance. In addition, she wears a slightly out-of-place copper ring that is crusted over with azurite.
Beside her lies a large wooden coffin that is slightly opened. Her expression is relaxed with a calming and reassuring smile. She moves closer, though her shoes make no sound as they carry her across the ground. She twirls around and analyzes the bolt lodged inside me.
"You don't need to be scared; you are safe now."
Her voice was soft and sweet, similarly calming me. She pulls out the bolt, but there is no pain or blood from it. She wraps a simple bandage around my shoulder to cover the wound, then turns to face me, slightly tilting her head and closing her eyes as her smile widens just a fraction. She then tilts her head downward as she performs a curtsy.
"I am Elizabeth Amelia Lazuli, but please feel free to call me Lis."
"Ah, right. I am Nathan Verren. I appreciate your aid; you saved my life."
"Is it alright if I call you Nat then? You don't have to worry yourself about me saving you. I just didn't like seeing a rookie hunter being cornered by a group. It was selfish of me to intervene."
I nodded to affirm that she could call me 'Nat'. She thought of her actions as being selfish, though it likely was only her being polite.
"No, I really appreciate your aid, Lis. If there is any way I could pay you back, I would be happy to, but I fear that I don't have anything that could be useful to you."
"Don't say that, Nat. Everyone is special and is useful. I didn't want to ask you for any compensation, but since you're offering… Please stand still for a moment."
Stand still? Whilst asking myself why I'd have to do it, she guides me to a bench and gestures for me to sit down as she moves behind me. I remain still even though my conscience bites at me to look. She wraps her arms around me from behind and pushes her chest against my back before biting into my neck. I feel a warm prick before feeling a little bit cold, closer to the temperature of my surroundings, but it feels pleasant. As my body cools, her warmth envelops me more. I melt into the embrace and almost fall asleep at how sweet it is before she pulls away and whispers into my ear:
"You taste very sweet, Nat."
She then steps back in front of me as I place my hand onto the wound, though I only barely can feel where she bit. She then speaks up again:
"Yes, I am a vampire, you see." She catches a frilly parasol that had been floating above her until now. "I've since come to terms with the Eidolon, but I know that to other people a vampire can still be quite frightening."
I look at her again to try to see if something has changed about her now that she revealed her nature as a vampire, but she still seems very ordinary, maybe even too ordinary.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Lis, but I have to continue onward, so…"
Whilst talking, I take steps away from her, though she takes my hand and follows along as she talks to me.
"I'm here for the same reason, so why would we need to part ways? I will make sure to keep you safe until you have met up with your ally again."
"Wait, you heard that?" She just smiles with closed eyes in response. "Well, I really don't need assistance anymore. I'm pretty sure I'll be fine from here on out–"
She squeezes my hand as she gestures to the two corpses with her smile.
"I insist."
I move one of my hands to my face, pinching the bridge of my nose just below the glabella with closed eyes as I sigh.
After a short pause I continue moving towards the cut building with Elizabeth in tow.
"Could you at least not hold my hand like that? It feels weird."
"There is nothing wrong with this, but if you so wish." She responds, withdrawing her hand.
The streets are now filled with the quiet melodic hum of Elizabeth as we continue to tread towards the destination.
"Do you want to talk with me about ourselves, or would that also be weird to you?" She asks in a teasing manner.
"It's fine. What would you want to know?"
"Hmm, maybe your age, your hobbies, your favorite anime, and if you're a sweet tooth to begin with."
"Uh, sure? Currently I'm 27, with my birthday on the 12th of October. I like to read and cook, but I also like the esoteric and occult. I don't watch anime, though it's because I never had the opportunity to rather than not wanting to. Lastly, I tend to enjoy sweet things, but again, I don't really have the opportunity to indulge often."
"Hm? Aren't you from the Gamma Echelon Zone?"
This is the first time she held a distinctly different facial expression than just happy and smiling.
"No, I just got these clothes. I actually live in the Delta Echelon Zone. I mean, it is hard for you to tell, I'd imagine. You are probably from Beta."
"Huh, I wouldn't have guessed, and no, I actually live in the Gamma Echelon Zone. It's a bit of a story, but I was born in Beta. My parents died in a car crash, so I was orphaned, eventually being adopted by a family in Gamma. With the money I got from my inheritance, I was able to then help my current family. They're pretty high up among the Gamma Echelon, but not quite Beta yet. I think they planned on moving in there within the next decade."
"Oh… my condolences then."
"Thank you. It's rare for people nowadays to say that. Ah, I also wanted to talk about myself and I mean myself, not my dark past, right?"
"Well, it was your suggestion."
"Okay. So, I am 20 years old, and I like to bake and dress up as well as eat good food with friends. I don't have, like, a singular favorite anime, but I could name you my 10 out of 10 anime, ah but you wouldn't be able to relate. And yeah, I have a super sweet tooth. Oh yeah, I am a Link 3, by the way."
A Link 3. What? I immediately associated her with someone like Calypso. There is no way she is just a Link 3. She seemed to notice me being very doubtful of it, though.
"Ah, but I was last tested for my Link three years ago, so it might not be entirely accurate. It's mainly because of my Eidolon and Sin Equipment that I'm this strong, oh, and because of my Incantations as well, I suppose."
"That makes a bit more sense then. I mean, you are still effortlessly dragging around that coffin with everything inside."
"Oh, that? Yeah, it can be pretty heavy, but incantations."
"What do you mean 'but incantations'?"
"Um, call Gashadokuro. It is the one that gives me supernatural strength, and I have another one of it that gives me my silent steps."
"And both are active simultaneously?"
"Only the first one, but yeah, I go through a lot of spiritual energy like this. We're drifting off a bit, hehe. I think there is no harm in me introducing my Eidolon to you though."
She shows me her ring and then thinks about something.
"My main Eidolon I can't show you since it is kind of inside me. It's Gula-00-6-099, called 'Blood Leech', and it is the one responsible for me being a vampire. This ring here is Luxuria-03-4-158 or 'Lost Love'. It's effects on me I have written down. I cannot feel love anymore because of it. Both of them are pretty powerful though, so it's worth the cost and the corruption."
"You are corrupted? You don't look it."
After tilting her head, she points to her eyes and her fangs.
"It is primarily inside, but I am pretty corrupted. Not to the point of needing to be sealed yet, but still pretty corrupted."
With the small talk, time had flown by a bit. We had long since arrived and entered the building, investigating the insides. I took note of only two distinct things. The absurd number of cuts, which makes sense, but also a distinct lack of medium to small metallic objects. Does the Eidolon have the ability to absorb metal or something?
We continued the discussion until we came across two people in yellow hazmat suits dragging away body bags. The suits had the label 'Cleaner' written on them, though they ignored us at first. Elizabeth decided to ask one of them questions though.
She explained the concept of cleaners to me, which I was unaware of, before telling me of her findings.
"Cleaners are people that are there to drag away corpses from large battles involving Eidolon. Bigger fights with higher-Link hunters tend to occur in the Gamma Echelon Zone and above, but the cleaners also show up in Delta should it be necessary. You can only really ask them for autopsies, since that is all they are allowed to tell you. In this case it is what you think. Cut wounds, amputations, and decapitations, though there are some bludgeoning and stabbing wounds among them."
We then continue to search the place, and I stumble upon a collection of notes and papers atop a desk that pique my interest. Research reports on an Eidolon and its origins, though what is interesting is its supposed connection to odd disappearance cases that cannot be traced back. It is definitely connected to what happened to the boss of Apollo and Sylphara.
I start to carefully stuff these notes into my duffle bag, but Elizabeth places a hand on my shoulder.
"Would you like to take a break? It would be good for you, and you'd be able to have time to read."
With Elizabeth I would be comfortable taking a break in an area like this, though it still feels off. Before I can say anything though, she has already proceeded to move a coffee table and two chairs into position. People really like not waiting for my confirmation. I'd like to make a sarcastic joke about if this is a custom, but after thinking about it, it really is pretty customary to not care about other people and their opinions nowadays.
After searching through her coffin, Elizabeth procures a tea set as well as a box of macarons. She sets down two plates and pours a cup of tea for both of us. When she takes out the macarons, she is very deliberate and picky about which colored macarons go where. She places one red macaron on my plate, two green on each of our plates, a yellow one on her plate, and one brown one on my plate as opposed to two on hers.
"Uh, why so specific about these desserts?"
"Because they're magic! Merely a jest, sort of. They were made using special Sin Equipment, so they hold specific powers. The red one restores the body, the green removes exhaustion, the yellow makes one happy, and the brown ones, my favorite flavor, are for the restoration of spiritual energy. I would also give you a yellow one, but I felt that giving you one that does something to you mentally would not sit well."
I enjoy the macarons and tea with her in a moment of calm as I read. In the meantime, Elizabeth just looks at me with a smile, which is weird.
The notes talk about an Eidolon Equipment called Invidia-07-5-042 'Abandoned Promise'. It is actually a quite rare case of natural sin corruption. Most people that are corrupted with sin are due of Eidolon, though it can happen naturally. It is quite rare, but something had to lead to the initial emergence of Eidolon, and that is it. I've heard that cases of natural corruption are linked with our deteriorating world, so the number of cases each year is increasing.
In this case it told of a young girl who was really pampered a lot. Well, a normal amount for anyone from the Beta or Alpha Echelon Zones, but unusual for me. She was cared for perfectly and told that her life would be perfect. She had no reason to be sad or scared or whatever. A lot of promises were made to her. She was promised that Santa is real, that the future is bright, that she can stay with her parents forever, and much more. It all came crashing down when, guess what, an Eidolon attack occurred. Everyone she loved and cared for died within the blink of an eye, and she was the only one left alive in the ruins of that manor.
The child realized that every promise was false and that everything she doubted, she was right to do so. Every reassurance was false, every promise was false. Did her parents even love her, or was that too a false promise? In the end the child remained in the manor, slowly dehydrating and starving, becoming this Eidolon upon her demise.
Yes, I know, a real sob story, that one. This Eidolon Equipment is actually quite unique, as the spirit of that girl, a bona fide ghost, is bound to that Eidolon and can be spoken to. This is how her story could be recorded in the first place. The Eidolon also returns to that manor when it isn't in use anymore, so I could go there and grab it.
It is quite dangerous at a Rank 5, and among it there are a lot of people that have fallen victim to it. The manor is in the Rose District of the Gamma Echelon Zone, but the entire district has been abandoned and closed off due to the danger it now presents. Many immobile Eidolon are there, the lowest of which being Rank 4, so going there essentially means suicide if you aren't prepared. It is exactly that district from which people are never recovered, becoming trapped in eternal slumber or roaming around as ghosts or zombies or more. There are many not-so-cool things that can happen there, but among them is also just disappearance.
No Sin Equipment nor Eidolon Equipment has been able to find people that vanished inside. Even powerful Eidolon, capable of bending memory, perception, time, and space, failed. Since that entire district is abandoned and cannot be explored easily, there are many undiscovered Eidolon inside. There are some reports among the notes that talk about the possibility of a Link/Rank 8 becoming a thing.
The research of the actual person responsible for this mess of papers rather points to a hidden web of Eidolon. It has been shown many times that some Eidolon work together, some ignore each other, and some fight. Most of them ignore each other, and so far nobody has been able to find out why there are the exceptions of teamwork or hostility. It isn't linked to any metric, and there are no common themes in cases.
It doesn't really make much sense to me, but tomorrow I could deliver these papers to Sylphara or Apollo for them to have some peace of mind. Easiest 10 Phalite of my life, right?
Well, I am curious about that district now though, so I'll put a pin in it.
The tea and macarons had run out by now, and even though Elizabeth didn't look it, I'm sure it was starting to get boring for her. I stood up, and she cleaned the table. Elizabeth asked me about the contents and seemed very intrigued, but she didn't give any additional comments.
We headed outside, and just as I was about to radio him, Revenant showed up exhausted and with minor injuries. I think he too might have realized the danger of this area he underestimated.
Elizabeth had a dangerous smirk on her as she walked up, whilst still eating a macaron, and stretched out her hand towards him.
"Nice to see you again. I hope you didn't forget?"
Revenant slightly tensed up at the question and left her hanging but then sighed before explaining himself.
"A lot has happened, Elizabeth."
"I asked you to call me Lis."
He sighs. "Lis, I was caught up in my hunting, and I had other business to attend to. You know that I told you that I really didn't have much time to find what you were looking for and–"
Elizabeth chuckled as she then stuffed the rest of the red macaron into Revenant's mouth to make him shut up, leaving her finger on his lips in a motion to represent "shush". She proceeded to lean in and whisper something in his ear before starting to walk off. Revenant tries to sheepishly beckon her to stay, but she is already on her way, only waving in my direction before leaving entirely.
Revenant's wounds heal before my eyes, and he just asks me to follow him.
"I've been at the Beagle District and no dice. Well, I can show you; maybe you'll find a way."
I thought it better than to bring up what just happened. Revenant has always been mysterious in regard to his other contacts, and I feel like I shouldn't pry. It is an awkward silence that follows our walk over to the Beagle District, but Revenant does speak up before arriving.
"I made a deal with her in the past. She just teased me and told me it was fine."
Nodding in acknowledgment, I then spot the police tape and policemen that guard a large factory labeled as 'Freykard CNC manufacturing.'
As we look around the area, Revenant explains that we cannot enter here without certain paperwork. It has to do with Spiritual Corruption. I ask him what that is, which he counters by asking me if I know what a cleaner is. He tells me that cleaners are there to prevent Spiritual Corruption. Since I lived in Delta, there were only very few battles large enough to warrant cleaners to show up, and these incidents generally are cleansed.
He doesn't really feel like teaching me all about it, but it has to do with 'things' that manifest from residual spiritual energy, a result of many incantations being cast, mixing with Eidolon influence and corpses of corrupted individuals. A large group of higher Link hunters, usually corrupted to an extent, fighting using many incantations against an Eidolon, but losing in the end is already a great setup for the birth of it. The cherry on top would be the birth of one or two more Eidolon because of the death of corrupted people.
Spiritual Corruption is extremely deadly to low-Link hunters, who could just make the problem worse, as feeding corpses to it would just increase its power. Even Revenant isn't confident in beating any Spiritual Corruption.
We continue to explore and try to find something as we talk, and eventually I do spot something. A tunnel that leads into a metro system that is just barely outside of the tape. The entrance has the same perfect cut marks from the apartment.
The flickering lights beckoned us inside, into the maw of the beast.