The entire palace seems to tremble, the sound of cracking stone thundering down the hallway. Less than a second later, a tyrannical blast of wind pressure hits Ilina's body, pushing her back over a meter as she desperately shields her eyes. Others around her fare even worse without her gravity magic to stabilize them, sliding several meters like her mother or even getting knocked on their backs like Klaus, though nobody appears severely injured.
As soon as the pressure subsides, she scans the surroundings anxiously, looking for signs of danger. Her eyes are immediately drawn to several translucent, blue barriers – one surrounding her, Elira, and their entourage, and one surrounding the elves on the other end of the hall that were originally following Ciri.
"ACK...GUK...NGH!" (Ciri)
Pitiful choking noises cause her and others' gazes to snap to the side of the hallway, and her eyes widen in shock. Ciri is suspended in the air against a third barrier, eyes bulging, face red, feet kicking wildly in a helpless struggle. A young man stands in front of her, gripping her throat with an enraged expression, his emerald eyes glinting murderously. He speaks, his voice cold enough to send shivers down the spines of everyone present.
"Tell me, Ciri, does every Elder Dragon need an ass beating from me? Because I'm three for four so far. Although, you're the first one stupid enough to piss me off twice.
"Was I not clear when I warned you to stay away from those close to me? Or does you coming here and threatening my wife mean you want to die? If so, rest assured that I'll arrange it..." (Mizuki)
Contrary to how the others around her might be reacting, the young man's words cause Ilina immense relief...and a troubling amount of dark glee.
"Mizuki!" (Ilina)
She calls out in excitement, her lips twisting into a smile. Mizuki's gaze snaps towards her, softening noticeably. Suddenly, the scenery around her warps, and the next thing she knows, she's wrapped tightly in his arms, his green eyes scanning her worriedly.
"Ilina...are you okay?" (Mizuki)
Realizing he must have teleported her, she nods against his chest, feeling a calming warmth spread through her own as she breathes in the familiar scent on his shirt. Suddenly remembering her situation, though, she gently pushes him away, clearing her throat as a faint blush spreads across her cheeks.
"Ehem...yes, I'm fine. Thank you for coming..." (Ilina)
He gives her a puzzled look, no doubt finding her reaction strange.
"GAK...KAH!" (Ciri)
The two of them blink, slowly turning to face Ciri, who's still choking in the air, grabbing at a thin blue forcefield wrapped tightly around her neck. Ilina's eyes widen at the sight.
'Right...'
She glances at Mizuki, her voice reluctant.
"Mizuki, she did give us a scare at first, but...she didn't hurt or threaten anyone. Even when the guards attacked her, she didn't raise a hand to them. Based on what she said before you arrived, it's possible she came here in good faith to talk to me about something. I think...we should at least hear her out." (Ilina)
He raises his eyebrows, and the blue forcefield holding up Ciri disappears, dropping her onto the floor in a heap. She lies there on her back, coughing and gasping for breath. Mizuki addresses her in a clipped, unapologetic voice.
"That true?" (Mizuki)
Contrary to Ilina's expectations, though, Ciri doesn't hurry to nod or otherwise affirm Mizuki's question. In fact, now that she looks at the draconic menace more closely...
'Why does it seem like her breathing is only getting heavier? And why is she drooling? Wait...that face...why is she...'
Ciri finally lets her head fall to the side, her glassy, sapphire eyes locking onto Mizuki desperately. A strangled whisper escapes her lips, punctuated by ragged, needy panting.
"Husband...why did...you stop..." (Ciri)
Staring at the lewd smile on Ciri's flushed face, realization dawns on Ilina, and every bit of sympathy she was beginning to feel evaporates. Her expression darkens, and she gives the stunned Mizuki a deadpan glare, her voice flat.
"On second thought, you should kill her immediately. She's too dangerous to keep alive." (Ilina)
Her words have a sobering effect on Ciri, perhaps reminding her of how quickly Mizuki complied with Ilina's request the last time. Ciri sits bolt upright, clarity returning to her eyes, and she waves her hands at Mizuki frantically.
"WAIT! You were right! I just came here to talk to Sister Ilina! I was only trying to help!" (Ciri)
Mizuki's eyes widen in surprise, then he glances at Ilina. Seeing his questioning gaze, she frowns in displeasure. She shakes her head at him, her voice firm.
"Could be a ploy...no, it's definitely a ploy. Best she dies now before she tries to, uhm...harm anyone." (Ilina)
Hearing her words, Ciri's pupils constrict to pinholes. However, Mizuki just sighs, giving her an exasperated look. His voice echoes in her head.
[Seriously, Ilina? She's a freak, but...killing her over this seems excessive, even for you.] (Mizuki)
She clicks her tongue, looking away from him with a frown. Mizuki shakes his head, looking back to Ciri.
"Relax, Ciri...she's kidding. I don't kill people that haven't earned it. You had the choking coming, though." (Mizuki)
The comment causes Ciri to visibly relax, and a happy smile quickly forms on her face, as though she was never afraid in the first place. She chuckles sonorously.
"Fufufu...Husband, please put your hands on me like that anytime you'd like." (Ciri)
Mizuki blinks, Ilina's fingers twitch, and the rest of the room falls into awkward silence. Elira clears her throat uncomfortably.
"Ehem...is this a good time to interrupt, Mizuki?" (Elira)
His turns to her hurriedly, flustered.
"Yes!" (Mizuki)
Ilina rolls her eyes, while Elira's lip twitches in amusement.
Then, Mizuki's eyes widen in realization, his demeanor suddenly turning serious. He purses his lips thoughtfully, sweeping his gaze across the room with a somber expression before stopping on Ciri.
"Ciri, you said you came here to help?" (Mizuki)
Ciri's eyebrows raise in surprise, then she smiles, nodding eagerly.
"Yes, Husband! I wanted-" (Ciri)
"Good, then here's your chance to prove it. Protect Queen Elira until I return – don't let anyone or anything that's not an elf get close to her. Also, if you sense any unfamiliar immortal presences, take her and immediately flee to Nina's old nest and ask for help from the Greater Spirits. Do that, and we can talk about whatever it is that you want when I get back. Deal?" (Mizuki)
Though her expression is briefly confused, Ciri soon nods seriously, perhaps sensing the gravity of his tone.
"You have my word...nothing will touch her." (Ciri)
He nods, satisfied, and turns to a dubious Elira. He smiles apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Elira. I know I've just caused a huge mess, and you probably have lots of questions for me, but I don't have time to stay here and deal with any of that right now. I promise to explain everything when I get back, but can you just trust my judgement about Ciri for now, and take care of the fallout here? Tell whatever you want about me to whoever you need to." (Mizuki)
Her mother stares at Mizuki in conflicted silence, but only for a moment, then she sighs and nods helplessly.
"Very well...how long until you two return?" (Elira)
Ilina glances over at Mizuki. Much like Elira, she immediately realized the implication of Mizuki only asking Ciri to protect her mother – he intends to take her with him. Unease assaults her heart, earlier misgivings about what he promised Ciri temporarily forgotten.
'That request for Ciri to protect my mother...is there a threat of some kind? He mentioned an immortal presence, too...just how serious is it? What's going on?'
Unaware of her mounting concerns, Mizuki purses his lips thoughtfully at Elira.
"Less than an hour...if there are no surprises." (Mizuki)
Without elaborating further, he turns towards her, causing her to raise her eyebrows expectantly. He meets her gaze with a serious expression.
"Hang on..." (Mizuki)
With that, he suddenly pulls her back into his arms, then they disappear, leaving dozens of stupefied elves in their wake.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Earlier, somewhere on the minor continent...
Nina stares at the empty space in front of her, Mizuki's urgent voice lingering in her mind, his primal fear still gripping her own heart through their Bond, leaving her overwhelmed and in shock. However, Alto remains much more decisive, uninhibited by any similar feelings if she possesses them.
"Nina! Your dragon form, now!" (Alto)
Blinking, and not even sure herself what in Alto's voice compels her to do so, she complies immediately. In mere seconds, shrouded in a flash of light, she suddenly stands tall, proudly towering over the barren landscape around them. Just as soon, she feels a small pressure descend onto her back, Alto's voice ringing out once again.
"Fly west, as fast as you can!" (Alto)
Finally, her mind clears, focusing on the situation, and she launches them into the air, the ocean at their back. In moments, they're screeching through the air at speeds so turbulent, Alto has to cast a spell to protect herself from the wind pressure. Then, her attention promptly moves to her Bond with Mizuki.
[Mizuki? Mizuki, are you okay? What's happening?] (Nina)
After a moment...silence. One that weighs far too heavily on her heart. If not for their Bond proving otherwise, she'd worry that he's dead.
'What could possibly make him act like that...?'
She glances backwards at Alto, whose brow is furrowed, clearly in deep thought.
[Alto, do you know what's going on? What just happened? Where am I flying us, and why?] (Nina)
Alto purses her lips, her eyes full of concern. She responds in a hesitant voice, which mysteriously reaches Nina's ears with perfect clarity, despite the absurd air turbulence around them.
"You're flying west, indefinitely. As for the rest...I have a theory." (Alto)
The way Alto mentions having a theory, tone unmistakably grim, fills Nina with a sense of foreboding.
[Tell me!] (Nina)
Alto is silent for a moment, then...
"That mysterious sender of the Note, the one warning Mizuki about me and the Freden Kingdom...I believe they may be coming after us. Or at least, Mizuki has reason enough to fear that's the case, which means he must have also learned something that makes him think he couldn't guarantee our safety where we were." (Alto)
If she still had such expressive eyes in her dragon form, they'd be widening into saucers right now.
[What!? Where are you getting that from!?] (Nina)
Alto looks into the distance thoughtfully, her voice measured.
"Right before he teleported us away, he received an MMC message that likely mentioned thomellarays, which are perfect for the experiment we had just been discussing. Especially given his reaction, I can only assume the two were connected. In essence, someone else was both privy to our conversation and managed to send an MMC message hinting at it just moments later. The only person that I can see doing that is the mysteriously well-informed sender of the original Note. That, or Alara was invisible in the room the whole time and just dropped the message into the MMC manually to have a laugh at our expense.
"However, Mizuki would have immediately used magic sense to scan the room when he realized the significance of this new message. Based on the severity of his response, I can only assume it wasn't Alara, leaving the Note's sender as our only suspect. Which...brings us to the most concerning part – how powerful this suggests that they are.
"If someone was merely hiding in the mansion with us through invisibility or the like, eavesdropping and manually placing the message as I suggested for Alara, then Mizuki or I would have sensed them at some point. I didn't, and if Mizuki had, then his response wouldn't have been so exaggerated. That can only mean one of two things.
"One, the sender of the Note was in the immediate vicinity, yet able to either completely hide themselves from our senses, or use more familiar stealth abilities in tandem with something rivaling Mizuki's teleportation. Alternatively, it's possible they are able to spy on us over incredible distances, and merely sent the message from another MMC.
"Regardless of which scenario is true, they represent probably the most powerful and potentially dangerous entity we've dealt with. At the very least, they're unpredictable enough that Mizuki didn't feel he could guarantee our safety around them. After coming to these same conclusions, that's probably why he sent us here." (Alto)
Nina rolls Alto's lengthy rationale over in her mind, her thoughts swirling with the magnitude of it all. She manages to follow along just fine, but one point does confuse her.
"If all that is true, then where did Mizuki go? What is he doing? I tried to contact him through our Bond just earlier and he hasn't responded." (Mizuki)
Alto frowns, hesitant.
"I...am not sure..." (Alto)