Stepping outside, observing the garden as the sky set to dusk. Gray couldn't help but admire the flowers. Approaching the flowers, he crouches down looking at a bundle of yellow-orange flowers on one stem.
"Snapdragon, right?" Gray said to himself. "These are her favorites." He reached his hand, nearly touching the flowers, but quickly stopping himself, seeing the more flowers behind the snapdragon. The flower head was round, and the colors ranged from red, orange, yellow, purple, and pink.
"Ad- no, Dahlia." Gary stood up and let off a soft smile.
"It seems like someone having a good time." Megan said with her arms crossed dressed in formal dress, with Anna standing by her. "Can you explain to me, why are you out in the garden?" she asked, irritated.
"It doesn't matter how well a fence is placed, pests are bound to appear."
"Really, should I cancel the event?" Megan said but doesn't seem bothered by Gray's statement almost like she was mocking.
"No, if they do make it inside I'll deal with them."
Really, then what if they get past you."
"Then it's up for those two."
Megan smiled and walked to the entrance, "Tell me this Ortiz?" she said, turning back and asked, "What do those flowers mean to you?"
Gray paused, taking a second to think. "Nothing."
Gray's answer took Megan by surprise, "What do you nothing, weren't you admiring those flowers?"
"Don't get me wrong, these are beautiful but the thing I want to see is the field, which my teacher admires."
"Teacher, hum. Then have fun with them." she said wave him off before entering the Halls.
Gray sighs, quickly catching the DCM9 that launches and aims at his head. "Thank you for the warning, Megan," he said to himself.
As the DCM9 squirmed around, struggling to break free. Gray instantly crushed its head and dropped it to the floor. BANG! A bullet was fired, Gray quickly jumped out of the way, dodging it. Attempting to draw his sword on his left, Gray caught a glance of something moving quickly. Seeing a marionette wielding a helberg and trying to aim at his neck, Gray reacted quickly, and caught the helberg by using his left hand, grabbing it by the blade.
BANG! A second shot was fired. With Gray's right hand free, he partially drew the sword on his right and water began to pour out of the scaber. It began to surround him, creating a barrier to protect himself.
The bullet crashed into the barrier, creating shrapnels. Gray pulled the marionette trading place with it, taking the shrapnel instead. Kicking the marionette out of the barrier, and sending it flying.
The barrier subsided leaving nothing but a puddle on the ground, and seeing the marionette broken and mangled, as reddish fluid poured out of it. Withdrawing his blade while also thanking Luke for lending the cinquedea with a water base ether.
Looking up at the building nearby, and looking back at the hole in the ground when the first shot landed.
Exam the hole it was fired at, the damage left was minimal, could've been a lighter rifle and/or a lighter round. Looking back at the building they were quite tall, just as big as the entertainment district building. The angle it was fired at would've made it impossible to come to the roof, but most likely came through a window. Gray closed his eyes, taking a slow and steady breath.
Opening his eyes, the buildings were illuminated. Seeing their Disfrutar it was like floating lanterns scattered in the air. Each soul emits their own color, their own stance. Some filled with malice towards one another and those with hope, everyone living in their own world.
But with the building heavily populated, discerning the shooter from is impossible, and the people inside are not reacting to gun fire. Which means some form of silence devices are being used to prevent panic inside the building.
Spotting a large crack in the glass on the sixth floor and on the eighth floor, Gray bit down on his thumb nail, "Two shooter, no." Gray said to himself. "If it was those two, then the one with the helmet should be infiltrating and the shooter is a diversion to draw out security, or me." Looking back at the garden, searching around he realizes there are no other guards in this area.
Gray's eyes became wide, he looked back at the marionette landed. It was gone leaving nothing but a streak leaving a trail behind.
Following the trail, it leads back to the entrance. The marionette was struggling to stand, only managed to
leaning against the glass door. Its face began to crack open, making a jagged mouth, biting down the door key hole.
Taking a step on the reddish puddle, it began to boil underneath Gray. It ruptured like a geyser, swallowing him whole. The geyser slammed Gray against the ground, and dragged him along the side, eventually spitting him out. Gray noticed he was about to land into the bed of flowers. Creating his own barrier, pushing himself off of it, avoiding the flowers and land on the stone floor
Watching Gray through a scope, the sniper noted how pitiful Gray looked, for merrier flowers . "You're clear Valkyrie." The sniper said, as the door opened and closed behind him. Keeping his eye on Gray, as he stood up on his feet. Dusting himself off, he drew out the cinquedea and stuck it into the ground.
The geyser charged at Gray, but he allowed himself to be engulfed by it. The geyser began to swell up, as water infused with it, diluting it, making its color lighter and finally bursting.
The sniper was amazed with Gray responses. Instead of dodging and striking back, Gray chose to infect the geyser ether with the artifact's ether, making it incomparable.
The sniper stood up, he took a bullet out of his pocket, it had an engraving on the tip and aside of it with a glass case in the middle filled with the same fluid inside of it. Inserting a bullet into the rifle, and aimed in between Gray's feet.
Gray spun around, with one arm holding the cinquedea pulled back and the other one forward almost like he was aiming. Gray looked at each floor, some of the figures were isolated. But looking at the sixth floor, there were eighteen figures on the floor and the lights were dim, a sign of being unconscious, and finally at the seventh floor it was heavily populated.
Despite Gray not knowing which one the sniper was, they were both practically staring at each other. The sniper could only place his finger on the trigger, not sure if he should fire or not. The situation the sniper found himself in was like challenging another marksmith. Letting out a slight smile underneath his mask, he pulled the trigger.
Water once again began to pour out of the cinquedea and gather to the tip of the blade. "Found you." Gray thrust the blade, releasing a jet stream, cutting through the bullet and entering the barrel of the rifle, piercing the sniper shoulder and pinning him against the wall. "Now Release." The sniper felt the water temperature rapidly decreasing, it began to turn into ice and spread throughout his body.
Withdrawing the cinquedea, Gray walked back to the door entrance with the marionette still struggling to hold itself up. Grabbing the marionette by the head, Gray ripped it off from the key hole that was desperately clinging to and crushed its head. Dusting his hands off he entered the building while rubbing the back of his neck and wondering who to report to for the mess outside. Instead of being greeted by the empty desk Gray found himself inside a dark deserted office.
The door slammed shut behind Gray, startling him, opening the door; it was a hallway instead of bringing him back outside. Observing his surroundings, he spotted the eighteen unconscious figures in the distance, most likely on the other side of the building, and looking up he saw the floor above was heavily populated and music was playing loudly.
Roaming the halls while listening to metal that was playing above, while nodding to the beats as its tempo began to increase. Gray was heading closer and closer to the unconscious crowd until he reached another door. Opening the door he spotted some in civilian clothes, running through the door he entered the restroom. The door slammed closed, Gray was confused; he was sure that he entered an office not the bathroom. Exiting the restroom he found himself back in the hallway, continuing to use disfrutar he spotted to coward directly across. Gray stops himself from opening the door again but instead kicks the door down. Walking into the opening, the door shunt behind him.