Garden Of The Abyss

"Huh–? What's this?!"

From inside, the surprised, but still naturally playful voice of the clown-faced man could be heard as he witnessed him walk through the door, clad in his obscuring, full-body armor of living scales.

"...Sirius…?"

As he walked in, his name was called, looking over to see Emilia left on the ground with torn clothes and a bloodied cheek.

Immediately, seeing her in that condition, his gaze moved to Caeruleus, who looked ill-prepared for such an encounter.

"Vainglory had you–! What's the meaning of this?!" Caeruleus spit out his words in a pure, confused rage, "Nevermind that, I'll handle you now–!"

As Caeruleus prepared to snap his fingers towards him to invoke what he could only imagine was his dream magic–nothing occurred.

"Huh…?" Caeruleus let out low and quietly.

Before his eyes, his entire left hand was cut from his wrist with only residual sparks of magenta lightning being proof that any action was taken.

"My hand, my hand, my hand, my hand, my hand–!" Caeruleus repeated in a maddened haze, sweating and screaming as he held his wrist.

Just as the clown-faced man brought his gaze up, the man who attacked him disappeared from his sight with speed beyond his perception.

Crack.

With an unseen, swift, but brutal strike, he reappeared behind Caeruleus, who had his neck contorted all the way around, snapped in half before his body fell limp to the ground.

"Sirius…?!" Emilia called out again.

He stood there, breathing heavily as he attempted to control his emotions that were amplified by the scales, slowly regaining control as he relinquished the ability.

As the scales vanished, his skin was laden in sweat as he wiped his cheek, extending his hand down to the amber-haired woman after undying her ropes.

"That settles that, right?" He said with a small, wry smile.

"Sirius…how did you–?"

"A bit of a lapse in judgment from the enemy. The other guy fled, though," he told her.

Looking down at the limp, broken body of the dream weaver, he remembered the state of the capital.

That's right, she doesn't know the city of Yulimium yet, does she? He thought.

Out of nowhere, the body of Caeruleus contorted, shaking and convulsing before an ominous, abstract laughter cackled from seemingly every direction.

"...That was indeed fun. It seems I've been bested…for now. Caeruleus, the magician, shall make his grand reentrance–someday!"

A sudden onslaught of butterflies came from each direction, blocking his vision before he swiped his arm, casting the insects away with lightning.

"Sirius!" Emilia called out.

As she did, he brought his gaze down, realizing he was completely absent from the room now, leaving only a trail of heckling laughter.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue.

Before he could attempt to rush out of the door to try and pursue him, Emilia grabbed onto his arm stopping him.

"Emilia…?" He looked at her.

The woman only softly shook her head, holding a look of worry on her face.

…Can I even call this a win? He thought.

Waiting until Emilia had her cheek bandaged and had time to calm down, he sat down across from her in the furnitureless living room of the floor above the basement.

"I know now isn't really the time for bad news, but…" He said, trailing his words.

"Tell me," Emilia assured adamantly.

He looked at her for a moment, noting the strength in her eyes before continuing, "While we were separated, I ran into a group of people that knew about the infiltration from Belmon. They got wiped out, but I found something out: roughly ten-percent of the population of the city has been infiltrated."

Emilia's eyes widened at that number, "Ten percent…? That many? That's thousands, at least."

He nodded, "Frankly, something like this is out of my expertise–our expertise–so I think it'll be our best bet to head back to Old Treyna, as soon as possible."

That was the hard part.

He knew Emilia was somebody that stuck to a mission like glue once accepting it, due to her code of integrity as an assassin. He couldn't blame her; more than anything, he wanted to take out the Argonauts, but Belmon's infiltration took far more priority.

"...I see," Emilia said quietly.

"You…see?" He repeated, surprised that she seemed to come to the same conclusion as him.

Emilia caressed her bandaged cheek, "You can return to Old Treyna and deliver news of Belmon's actions here, and I'll stay and finish the mission."

He immediately let out an exasperated breath, knocking his knuckles against the woman's head lightly.

"What was that for?!" Emilia said, holding her head.

"Idiot! We either both go, or we both stay!" He told her.

Emilia looked conflicted, wincing at the two potential paths to go down as he knelt in front of her, this time carrying a serious tone to himself.

"Look, you know how badly I'd like to eliminate the Argonauts coming here. I know how badly they need to be taken out, and how much Briswall needs to be stopped," he told her, looking directly at her now, "But, we can stop Briswall another day. If we don't move now and get the Foundation on this case, more lives will be lost. We can't save those lives another day. There's no second chances with that, there's no "trying again"--but with Briswall, we know exactly where he's at."

As he told her this, Emilia stayed silent for a minute before finally nodding her head.

"...Why is it now of all times you're acting responsible?"

"I guess it takes a lot for me to become serious, huh?" He laughed to try and lighten the mood.

Emilia looked at him, "Alright, let's return to Old Treyna. You're right…Briswall can be stopped another time, but the people of Yulimium don't have that kind of time."

"Alright! Let's head out then–I hope you don't mind the "Sirius Express", though!" He extended his hand.

Emilia hesitantly took his hand, "...Thank you, Sirius."

"Huh? For what?"

She stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head with a smile, "Nothing. Let's go."

He returned her smile before gripping her hand, bringing her with him as he used his spatial abilities to warp them above the city, traveling the skies with her in his grasp.

"...This is not what I expected!" Emilia yelled out as her voice was contested by the strong winds, her cheeks flapping in its pull.

"Ha-ha! Speed is of the essence, partner!" He told her with a laugh, carefree as he held her through the air.

Not only did they travel above the clouds, but the speed in which he traveled was no different from lightning itself–he didn't lie, speed was what he prioritized. Beyond the laughter he gave, he knew the severity of the situation.

Lives are at stake here. Every moment counts, he thought.

After returning to the Hollow Foundation and giving the information he gathered to Lord Ferstaus, a special team was formed by the council to aid Yulimium in repelling Belmon, consisting of ten ruby ranks, six stygians, and three celestials.

It would be an operation both issued in secret and famous to those privy to it–"The Gallvania Blood War."

But, that's a story for another time.