The United Government wants Sanita dead, if that wasn't obvious already.
Hearing the news that he infiltrated the facility where 'Project Prometheus' resides, they sent 3 Officials. They are experienced Treasurers who took down plenty of Treasure Hunters that opposed the United Government long before Sanita awakened his Sorcery.
Their leader, Derek, had experience from the Golden Age of Treasure Hunting. He was the first line of defense in wars. His Treasure allowed him to control vapor, a Treasure he mastered through his years of experience.
The second-in-command, Kuon. He was older than Derek, but had less experience in frontline warfare. He was known for stopping a prison riot many Treasurers started in a treasure, all by himself. His Treasure allows him to create Soul-pinning Nails. With those nails, he could stop mana flow or even interrupt the aura link itself.
The newest member of the 3 was Jota. Jota was only 18, but he was considered a prodigy amongst them. Prideful and ignorant, Jota aims to take over Derek's position as the leader eventually. His treasure allowed him to teleport within 10 meters.
The 3 of them just entered the facility. They were cautious, professional. (Except for Jota.) Like a single footstep would awaken them.
"...Bastard probably ran away." Jota put his hands in his pockets in boredom, following the two. Kuon grunted in annoyance. "Don't let your guard down, you damn brat."
Derek signaled the two to be quiet. "Shh. Focus, you two. We need this. I suggest you don't underestimate Sanita."
Kuon rolled his eyes. "Relax. I didn't come all the way here to lose against an idealist." Jota raised his voice in annoyance. "A terrorist."
Derek signaled them again. "Keep your voice low, damn it!"
Suddenly, they heard something. They couldn't identify what it was, but it was something. Derek puts on his mask, Jota puts on his necklace and Kuon pulls out his hammer. All 3 got their Treasure ready.
A fly lands on Derek's face. He swats it away. "...Damn little shit." Jota laughs at Derek breaking character. "Afraid of a little fly?"
A fly lands on Jota's face. "See? We got nothin' to worry about. These are just flies."
The door to their left was closed shut. But flies started to come out from the gap under it, many of them. Too many to count.
Derek was the first to realise what was going on. "We are under attack!" Kuon gasped, Jota's composure broke a little.
The door is suddenly opened, a swarm of flies burst through it like beasts. Amidst the chaos, a man steps out of the swarm.
He points his daggers onto the 3, anger in his eyes. The flies surround him like an army. "They sent you guys? I thought the UG was finally taking me seriously."
The 3 Officials are too shocked to speak. Derek is the first one to act. "Attack! Move with me!"
Derek activates his Treasure and releases vapor, humidifying the air which makes it harder for the flies to fly. "Hm?" Sanita raises an eyebrow and watches him attack.
Kuon yells out. "I got you!" He dashes forward and swings his hammer towards Sanita. Sanita moves aside to dodge it. After his attack misses, Kuon pulls out a few nails and hits them with his hammer, sending them flying towards Sanita.
Sanita can't react quickly enough as the nails pierce through him, he is staggered as his mana flow is disturbed. "An ability that interacts with the soul itself…" Sanita forces himself to move, but his very existence is targeted.
Kuon yells out for Derek. "Finish him!"
Derek releases more dense vapors from his palms. The vapor enters Sanita's mouth, filling up his insides. "This is about to get dirty!"
Sanita grins despite the pain, even though his mana flow is disturbed, it's not fully blocked. "I agree."
Sanita's body slowly gets inflated like a balloon, ready to explode and fill the hallway with his remains. Just as he is about to be killed, he gets a hold of his mana.
After he does, Sanita turns into a swarm of flies. The vapor inside his body releases through the air. It's so dense that none of them can see a thing. They all cough as the thick vapor gets in their lungs. "How did he do that?! Where is he-" Before Kuon can say anything, his stomach is pierced by Sanita's daggers.
"You seem to be the only danger here." Sanita coldly states. Kuon can't react in time as the Dagger goes through his body.
Jota's necklace glows as his grin grows. "Oh no you don't!" He teleports towards Sanita and grabs his arm, blocking him from injuring Kuon further. Sanita raises an eyebrow, clearly interested in Jota's abilities.
Kuon falls on one knee, holding onto his stomach. Derek approaches Kuon to check up on him. "I can't see a damn thing! You good?"
Kuon manages to push through it and stands up. "I'm still kicking."
Jota grabs Sanita's face and teleports them both in front of a wall. He smashes Sanita's face to the wall. Then he teleports again in front of a window and smashes Sanita's face again, breaking the window. "I'll make you my bitch! How do you like that?"
Jota lets go of Sanita and delivers a punch to his face. "Now for the dessert!" He teleports behind Sanita to deliver a kick to his back.
But Sanita reacts first, and slices Jota's left leg off up to his knees before he can kick him. Jota yells out in agony "ARGH! WHAT THE F-"
Sanita watches Jota's agony in amusement. "What, afraid of a little fly?"
Jota teleports away from Sanita, struggling to stand upright as he holds onto the wall. He is in unimaginable pain, his eyes water. "...I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you! You're nothing compared to me… You're nothing, you hear me?!"
Derek and Kuon are completely clueless as the vapor blocks their vision. Kuon yells out in pain. "Derek, make the vapor go away damn it!"
Derek gives it his best to take ownership of the vapor. "I'm trying, damn it!"
Sanita hides his grin by covering his mouth. "You should check where you're teleporting to next time, make sure you don't teleport into a fly. Hypothetically speaking, of course."
Jota raises an eyebrow in confusion. "What the hell are you talki-"
He feels a movement inside his stomach.
Jota's eyes widen as realization kicks in. "No… No…"
Flies multiply inside his stomach, tearing it open from the inside. All Jota can do is scream in pain. He loses control of his treasure as he is in excruciating pain.
Eventually, Jota explodes from within and dies inevitably. As he dies, Derek manages to make the vapor disappear. But the sight he sees is… shocking, to say the least. "Dear God…"
Sanita starts to walk towards the two. He is calm, barely breaking a sweat. Though his head kinda hurts from the attacks.
Kuon starts to panic and rapidly fires his nails towards Sanita. But now that Sanita knows his tricks, he dodges easily. "Experience beats talent anytime of the week."
He moves pretty quickly and slices Kuon's neck, piercing his artery. Blood gushes from his neck as he too loses his life. Derek is left to watch it all in shock, unable to move.
Derek takes a step back, his hands are trembling. "...Please… I-I have a family! 3 kids!"
Sanita moves without hesitation, closing in the distance between them. "...So did the people you trap here."
Sanita makes sure to give him a slow death for even suggesting that. He slices his chest using his daggers, leaving him to bleed slowly.
He patiently watches Derek vomit blood as he runs out of oxygen, unable to breathe. When he gives his last breath, Sanita exhales in relief. "They will send backup if they don't hear back from them in an hour. Given they came here 10 minutes ago, this gives me 50 minutes to explore freely and look for the anomaly. And that's excluding the time it takes them to get here-"
Sanita freezes when he realises he forgot something very, very important. "...I should've asked them about the anomaly."
Sanita scratches his head and moves on. He releases a few flies to scout the area and give him intel. "I don't need the help of any Dawnthinker."
The flies move through the facility like drones, scouting every room. Sanita patiently waits for the flies to find something useful. He reckons that Pablo and Tsuyoi may still be in the facility. Out of nowhere, he hears a woman speak behind him.
"Quite a show you've put on. That was entertaining."
Sanita instinctively turns around and swings his daggers. Just as the daggers were about to slice her neck, Sanita realised it was the girl next to Tsuyoi, making him stop.
"...You."
He pressed the dagger on her neck. Kori didn't seem bothered, not one bit. "You're that dumbass's girlfriend or something? I saw you with him. Why are you here?"
Kori chuckles and waves her hand in dismissal. "No, stupid insecure men aren't really my type."
Sanita isn't amused by her casualness, and presses the dagger harder, but light enough to not cut her. "Give me a reason to not kill you."
Kori's smile doesn't drop, she doesn't feel threatened by Sanita even though he really tries to be intimidating. "Well, you can't. But other than that, I might know something that could help you."
Sanita is surprised by her confidence. Does she really think Sanita can't kill her, even when she is at his mercy right now?
He doesn't see a hint of bluffing.
"Elaborate." Sanita exclaims.
Kori taps the dagger, signaling him to drop it. "Could you?" Sanita reluctantly lowers his daggers. "You're gonna speak or not?"
Kori tied her hands behind her. "You're looking for the anomaly, right? Everybody is."
Sanita is impressed by her knowledge, but doesn't interrupt.
"I'm here to give you the sad news. You can't have it. Nobody can. It will always manage to slip from our hands, no matter what. It will evolve past your limits, it will grow and surpass you eventually. The moment you think you have it, it'll have you." Kori puts a hand on his chest, caressing it seductively.
Sanita swats her hand away without hesitation. "What is that supposed to mean?" Sanita asked, he can't believe what she is saying.
Kori pouts when her arm is swatted by him. "You're such a meanie-" before Kori can finish her sentence, Sanita slaps her in the face. "That doesn't work on me. Answer my question. What the hell are you talking about?"
As Kori is slapped, her smile drops and shock replaces it. She slowly wipes her cheek like a child making the pain go away. "...The Anomaly will keep evolving. That is in its very nature."
Her expression is dead serious, which gets Sanita kinda unsettled. It was if the slap didn't really matter but something else did. "How do I stop it then?"
Kori walked past him, walking casually. "You can't. Didn't you hear?" She stops walking. "You'll die."
Sanita wasn't bothered by her words, if anything, he was even more determined to have it now. "And you're telling me this because..?"
Kori's usual demeanor returns, she giggles and whispers in Sanita's ear from behind. "You're handsome enough that it makes me want to keep you around."
Sanita scoffs, Kori just giggles and starts skipping away from Sanita. "See you later, Mr. Infested!" Sanita wants to move. He wants to do something and fight her. He wants to get information from her because he knows she is deliberately not telling him the full truth. He hates it when people speak in riddles.
But from the way she acted…
For the first time in a while, Sanita is genuinely unsettled. He doesn't find it in him to go after Kori and attack her. "Like I'd listen to her." He says to himself and continues his scouting.
Meanwhile-
"Let me go! You… You low-life Treasure Hunters!" Doctor Blessings yelled out, he tried to break free from Tsuyoi's grasp. He was small and light enough for Tsuyoi to lift him in the air with one arm. Blessings tried to run in the air in order to escape, but it was futile.
Even Tsuyoi didn't stoop that low to make fun of him. "This is just pathetic. What are you, 4'5? I expected you to be taller."
Doctor Blessings was everything other than what the two expected. He was short, really short. The coat he wore was way bigger than him. It was as if he was wearing his older brother's clothes. He was fully bald, his moustache was so big that it almost looked like a beard. He had a posh accent which made the two barely understand him.
Pablo finished bandaging and treating his wounds, gritting his teeth through the pain. He watches Doctor Blessings in amusement. "He was hiding inside a document drawer. I guess being small has its advantages."
Doctor Blessings punched and kicked Tsuyoi, but it really didn't do anything. "If you kill me… the whole United Government Navy will be after you! You'll be dead in seconds!"
Tsuyoi shaked the doctor like a bottle in order to make him shut up. "We are not here to kill you, my guy. Right Pablo?" He turned towards Pablo.
Pablo got up with a grunt, the pain in his leg is still bothering him. "Quite the opposite actually. We are here to protect you from Sanita Infermum, Doctor." He got closer to him and stood next to Tsuyoi. When he did so, the Doctor noticed Pablo's eyes and his body condition.
Blessings exhaled in relief. "...Oh! You're the diamond in the rough, aren't you?! Oh I'm so happy you're alive!"
Pablo furrows his brows in annoyance, he really doesn't like that Blessings is happy for some reason. "Don't get the wrong idea. We are still holding you hostage, in a way. It's just that we need you alive."
Tsuyoi decides to drop Blessings, he falls on his butt and quickly gets up, wiping away the dust on his behind. "I should've evacuated when I had the chance!"
Doctor Blessings tried to reach his table to grab something from his drawer. Tsuyoi can't afford it and just stops him. "Let's get something clear. Yes, we need you alive. But we don't need you in fine condition, if you catch my drift."
Blessings looks around nervously, trying to avoid looking at Tsuyoi directly. "W-What do you mean by that?"
Pablo reaches for the table himself, he opens the drawer Blessings tried to open a moment ago. He finds an emergency phone and a knife inside it and picks both of them up. "So you tried to call for backup."
Pablo tries to break the phone with his hands without looking at it in an attempt to come off as intimidating. But it's futile when he can't find the strength in him and just ends up hurting his hand. "Damn."
"I'm not telling you two brats anything, suck my educated balls!" The Doctor yells in anger.
Tsuyoi grabs the phone himself and breaks it without putting in effort. "I got you." After doing that, he throws Blessings onto his office chair and kicks the chair onto the wall as it slams into it.
"Agh!" Blessings speaks out in pain. Tsuyoi approaches him and puts a foot on his chair. "We'll break every bone in your body if you try anything. And don't worry about work conditions, I can fix you and go back to breaking you; like a toy." he stares into the doctor's eyes.
"Okay! I get it! Just tell me, what do you want?!" Blessings start to panic and breathe heavily. Pablo steps up and points to his eyes. He doesn't elaborate, he is really trying to appear cold.
It seems he doesn't need to as Blessings gets what he is trying to imply almost instantly. "Oh, I see. You're looking for salvation."
Pablo is intrigued by this, and is glad Blessings knows what he wants. "I wouldn't call it that. I need a cure for… whatever this is. For once, I just want a simple straightforward answer that doesn't bring a million more questions."
The Doctor scratches the back of his head nervously, not knowing how to put it. "You're asking the impossible from me, my precious diamond. I can tell you what I know though. But I can't promise it's what you're looking for."
Pablo feels a glimmer of hope from the deepest holes in his soul. Now he can finally have an answer. Or at least, that's what he is hoping for.
Anything counts. "Okay, tell me what you know." Pablo sits down as the pain in his leg acts up again. Blessings start to think about what he'll say, almost if the situation is too deep even for him.
"What do you know about the difference between The Aura Link and Mana?" Blessings ask, Pablo feels like he is hearing ancient words. "Nothing, really. Other than the fact that Mana kills Dawnthinkers apparently."
The Doctor chips in. "Exactly! Magiborns are built by mana. They can use it to cultivate their own Sorcery and fuel their magic, to regenerate, to do things you can't even dream of! But Dawnthinkers don't have mana. Our body rejects it. What we have is The Aura Link. A metaphysical web that gives us the ability to connect. To care, to love. This link can be assimilated onto beloved objects and eventually be used to transform that said object into a Treasure."
Both Tsuyoi and Pablo are having a hard time following the conversation. "...'Metaphysical'… 'Assimilate'… you made those words up!" Tsuyoi interrupts.
Doctor Blessings shakes his head in rejection. "No! It is true. That's how you use magic to compensate for the lack of mana. But as you keep your connection to the Treasure, it slowly gets worn out."
Pablo puts a hand on his chin, slowly getting the general idea of what he is saying. "Like a wire." Doctor Blessings smiles. "Like a wire!" He seems to love talking about this sort of thing.
"When it's damaged, the person's ability to connect is also affected. They might grow colder, detached, emotionless even. It even causes you to forget who your allies are, and if pushed further, it rids you of control of your body. Luckily, it heals itself over-time."
Realization dawns upon Tsuyoi like he had a revelation given to him. "So that's why my arm felt numb when I fought Sanita."
Pablo looks at Tsuyoi, this whole concept is starting to feel weird. But if what Doctor Blessing says is true… "Isn't your treasure based on your emotions? You're the last person that can afford damaging their Aura Link."
Tsuyoi nods, finally grasping the nature of himself. "Yeah… but- what does this have to do with Pablo's disease?"
Doctor Blessing sighs in frustration. "For whatever reason, The Aura Link can be infected by mana. We literally can't tell why, as the link itself is not something that's observable. It is outside of science. When that happens, the body slowly rejects the mana but can't get rid of it, causing a reaction that slowly kills the person affected by it; usually in a few weeks."
Pablo's eyes widen, 'weeks'? He feels rage within him. Unobservable. The answer is literally impossible to fight. That's almost hilarious. "I was like this for almost a decade. But it only started to get worse recently. How am I not dead already?!"
Blessings tries to think of a satisfying answer, but he can't give any. "That's what I meant when I said you're asking for the impossible. I simply don't know."
Pablo loses his composure and starts yelling at The Doctor. "Don't give me that crap! It's your job to know, asshole! You can't just dismiss me!" He gets up in anger, walking towards Blessings with a limp. "Dude, get a hold off yourself!" Tsuyoi tries to grab and stop Pablo, but Pablo swats his arm away in surprising strength that pushes back Tsuyoi a little. "...What the fu.." Tsuyoi mumbles under his breath.
Blessing raises his hands to defend himself in desperation. "I'm telling you, we can't know! You want me to create an answer out of thin air?!"
Pablo feels weakness washing over his body, every step he takes gets heavier and harder to take. "YES!" The rage is honest, like built-up frustration is finally leaking. Purple blood spills from his mouth as his throat starts bleeding from his previous injuries.
His eyes glow like a lightbulb, his rage and desperation to keep living switched something within him. Eventually he is out of strength to take any more steps and falls on his knee. Tsuyoi catches him and helps him sit back down. Pablo closes his eyes and tries to breathe because it feels like he is suffocating.
Doctor Blessings watches Pablo in a mix of curiosity and fear. "I don't know how you survived almost a decade with mana inside your body. But don't confuse it with you being 'built different. You'll eventually succumb to it too. That's all I know."
Pablo puts a hand on his own throat, because it feels like it'll fall apart if he lets go. Tsuyoi is out of words, he feels like anything he might say will make Pablo worse. So he decides to just shut up.
"Why are you guys experimenting on Magiborns?" Pablo speaks out quietly, his voice comes out gargled with his own blood.
The Doctor thinks of an answer, something that doesn't sound so horrible. "We're looking for a cure. We were hoping for a breakthrough. We only experimented on Magiborns to learn more about mana up till now, but we were hoping to do the same with you since it's way more effective to just experiment on the thing we are trying to fix."
Pablo wipes the water in his eyes away, the glow in his eyes slowly disappears. "What if you do find a cure? What if you figure out the secret behind The Aura Link, what happens?"
The Doctor stutters, it's as if the thought of it is enough to excite him. "W-Where do I even begin? The obvious is that we cure you, and many others. We could find a way to prevent the human body from rejecting mana. We.. W-We could find a way to reinforce the Aura Link, we could find a way to cure hundreds of diseases! Your disease has developed immensely, yet it still hasn't killed you. Everyone else died before they even got close to your stage. You're literally a gold mine!"
Pablo finds it hard to believe what he is believing. He finds it too good to be true. His very own existence… Can do all that? If he just allows them to use him? He could save the lives of millions. "So that is why the UG was sending people after me."
"What will you do to me?" Pablo reluctantly asks, afraid of the answer. He brings up courage to ask the real question. To ask the only thing he cares about. "Will I… die?"
The Doctor shakes his head in rejection with zero hesitation. Pablo's eyes glimmer in hope. "No, not at all! Why would we kill such a precious subject? We'd examine your body, do weekly check-ins. Your life could go normal with no major change whatsoever. The only real risk is us not finding a cure before it's too late."
Tsuyoi grins, Pablo smiles. His smile is big, almost child-like. This sounds too good to be true. Almost as if it's the exact thing he wanted.
"...Millions can rely on me." Pablo smiles, his eyes tear up in happiness. Tsuyoi pats his back in relief. The two can tell the man isn't lying. "Alright. We just gotta protect you from that freak, right? Sounds easy enough." Tsuyoi asks the Doctor, he starts stretching his body to get rid of the stiffness.
Something doesn't sit right with Pablo. Even though this is exactly what he wanted, even though this is the answer to all of his prayers…
He has one more question.
"What will happen to the Magiborns you captured? Will you keep using them? Or perhaps, even capture more?" The words are barely audible, almost like he is afraid of the answer.
Tsuyoi sighs. "Give me a break." He mutters to himself.
Blessings thinks about Pablo's question. He runs down the possibilities and scenarios in his mind. Eventually, he answers in a calm and casual tone. "Yeah. We still need to learn more about them. Even if it's dirty, it's for the greater good."
Pablo gulps. This was the answer he was hoping to not hear. He avoids the Doctor's gaze and looks at the floor. He tries to keep up his smile.
Of course there was a catch.
Tsuyoi rolls his eyes in response to Pablo's reaction and heads for the door. He intends to face Sanita head on, confident that he'll win this time. "Good thing that he doesn't care anyway, isn't that right Pablo?"
Pablo flinches like he woke up from a dream. He looks at Tsuyoi in disbelief. He gets and follows him with subtle anger. "What?! Of course I care! You think I'd let those people be tortured?"
Tsuyoi furrows his brows, he doesn't look at Pablo when talking. "Would you?"
"I-" Pablo can't really spit back. He stutters, his lips trembling. "I-I won't, you know that!" Tsuyoi runs out of patience and turns towards Pablo. "I don't know that, Pablo. I don't know what you care about. You said it yourself, even you don't know."
Pablo basically stomps with each step, ignoring the pain in his leg. He gets close, almost in Tsuyoi's face. "I wouldn't let dozens of people die, just so I can live." Pablo doesn't notice the implication in what he says. He genuinely can't believe Tsuyoi is accusing him of this. Putting Pablo down for whatever reason…
Though that's not really what Tsuyoi is trying to say. "'Just so'? What happened to helping millions?"
Pablo grits his teeth, his voice comes out with rage. Like he is about to snap. "...Shut up…"
Tsuyoi doesn't back down. In fact, he pushes further. He takes a step forward. "What annoys me isn't that you don't care. It's the fact that you act like you care. You just want to live, there is nothing wrong with that! But don't act like you're this messiah!"
Pablo clenches his fists, he starts to breathe heavily. "Shut…" Just as he was about to say something, something that comes deep from his soul, Tsuyoi grabs his arm.
"Put the knife down, Pablo." Tsuyoi's anger is replaced by confusion and disbelief, Pablo gasps. His rage disappears and fear takes its place. He looks at the arm Tsuyoi grabbed. He is holding the knife tightly. Almost like he was about to swing it. He didn't even notice…
"I… when did I..?" Pablo puts the knife down slowly, he puts it in his pocket and avoids looking at Tsuyoi. He is ashamed of what just happened. He still thinks he is in the right. But what just happened isn't something he is proud of.
"Tch." Tsuyoi turns his back on him and keeps walking. Pablo's hands are shaking but he reluctantly follows him without saying anything else. He literally can't remember himself pulling out the knife and almost swinging it towards Tsuyoi.
It makes him want to vomit.
Disgusting.
Tsuyoi tries to ignore what just happened and focus on the situation. But that's not so easy as the tension remains in the sky. "Stop following me. Go back and guard the guy. I got this."
Pablo starts to walk slower. He thinks about listening to him. But eventually he returns back to his pace. Tsuyoi exhales sharply. "I said go. I'll fight Sanita, you'll guard him."
He doesn't do as Tsuyoi says, and keeps walking. Maybe even slightly faster. Their steps echo in the hallway. "He'll go past me and kill Blessings, my guy." Tsuyoi stops walking and faces Pablo.
When Tsuyoi looks at Pablo in the eye, he notices that he is at the verge of crying. He is surprised and feels slightly guilty. "...Why?" Pablo's voice comes out like he is about to burst into tears. Tsuyoi tries to think of a reply. He groans and moans as he can't find something that will prevent the situation from escalating.
More importantly, to prevent Pablo from getting the wrong message. "I'm a good matchup against him. Flies are especially weak to fire. You're a lot better at planning, you'd do a good job protecting-" Pablo interrupts him, not buying it. "Don't lie to me, please!"
Tsuyoi is taken aback by his outburst, does he really want him to say it? Even though Tsuyoi doesn't mean it. Even though that's not what he is trying to say?
"You'd be deadweight." Tsuyoi gathers the courage to admit it plainly. Pablo isn't surprised or shocked. He starts to shed tears, as if he already knew he would say that and just waited for permission to cry. He is holding back a dam, probably because he is afraid of shrieking. Nobody likes it when he does that. Tsuyoi turns his back on him and continues walking. Of course. Why would Tsuyoi need Pablo anyway? He just tried to kill him. He is so pathetic that he can't even control himself.
Tsuyoi swallows his guilt knowing that was the only way to stop him. His lips press into a thin trembling line. Pablo turned around and went back to check on Blessings. He wiped his tears away, he didn't want to be seen like this. He felt so weak, so pathetic.
He opened the door and walked in. He took a seat and sighed. Blessings was surprised by Pablo's sudden entry. But he couldn't speak because his mouth was blocked by something. He could only mumble. "Don't you dare say a word." Pablo cold claimed.
"Hiiii!" Kori welcomes Pablo enthusiastically. A bright big smile on her face. Pablo flinches because he didn't even notice her when entering. "Kori? We were wondering where you were." He tried to hide the tremble in his voice, but ended up making it more noticeable. Kori was sitting in front of him. She got up and carried her chair to get closer to Pablo. She sat back down.
"Were you crying?" She asks, noticing his puffy red eyes. Her tone carries the hint of worry and confusion mixed together. Pablo avoids her gaze and feels even more ashamed because she found out. Pablo also notices a block of ice that blocks the doctor's mouth, he is tied to his chair.
"...I wasn't. It was a Treasure… thing. It burned my eyes." Pablo leans backwards trying to appear casual. Kori rests her chin on her hands. "It's okay Pablo, there is nothing wrong with crying."
Pablo scoffed almost immediately, her words didn't register in his head. "There is. You're weak if you cry. Everyone knows that. But I didn't cry."
Kori hums in acknowledgement. She looks deep into his eyes. Pablo can't help but look back, noticing how smooth her skin is now that she is this up-close. How elegant her hair is, almost like silver reflecting light. Kori notices him staring and giggles. Pablo blushes and looks away once again. "Like I said, I didn't cry. When did you come here anyway? We just left."
Kori fixes her posture. She starts to move her legs like she is stimming. "Speaking of 'we', where is that moron?" She smoothly dodges the question.
Pablo's mood noticeably shifts at the mention of Tsuyoi. He takes a napkin from Blessing's table and spits blood into it. It's a mix of purple and red.
"I told him that I should protect Doctor Blessings while he takes Sanita head on. He'd be more effective, given how strong his Treasure is." It's a blatant lie. Both of them know it but Kori decides to ignore it.
"I can protect him for now. You should catch up with Tsuyoi." Kori smiles. Her gloves glow as if to gesture she is capable of doing this.
Pablo grows nervous and pulls back his collar in order to give himself space to breathe. "If I'm there with him he could accidentally hit me with his flames. There is no reason to give him that disadvantage."
Kori doesn't break eye-contact, she crosses her legs. "His flames are selective. He can choose who to damage and who to protect."
Pablo wipes the sweats on his forehead and pulls back his long hair getting in his eyes. "Well, he shouldn't be worried about healing me when I take a hit. He can use his energy for attacking only."
Kori's tone turns softer, like a lullaby. "You can regenerate yourself, can't you? I've seen you do it."
Pablo exhales sharply and laughs nervously. "Woah, it's getting kinda hot here…"
Kori activates her treasure to cool down the room, her gloves become even brighter. It chills down Pablo almost instantly.
Pablo looks at Kori while still smiling nervously. Kori meets him with a smile of her own. Waiting for an answer. The silence is louder than any confession.
"I figured it would increase his confidence if he defeated Sanita alone." That's the only thing Pablo can come up with under the pressure.
Kori keeps looking at him, every second she looks at Pablo gets more unsettled. Eventually, she giggles and pats his knee. "How generous of you." She returns the room temperature to normal.
Pablo exhales in relief, as if he avoided a bullet. To him, it's equivalent to that. He wipes his sweat for a final time and laughs nervously again. "Yeah. I'm cool like that." He tries to appear smug, maybe even proud.
"What if he dies, though?" She throws it into the middle of the conversation very casually. Like it's a fun hypothetical. "...He wouldn't." Pablo hesitated when he said that. Kori shrugged. "What if though? You obviously thought of that possibility before letting him go alone, right?"
Pablo started pondering. He really didn't want to think about that possibility. But to no avail, Pablo is left without an answer. "Yeah, I did. And I deduced that he wouldn't."
Kori puts a finger on her chin and decides to push further. "What if he did?"
Pablo grunts, he is too lost in thought that he cannot even hear the shrieks and muffles of Doctor Blessings. "You're not helping."
Kori raises an eyebrow. "I didn't say I would. Unless, you do need help."
Pablo crosses his arms in annoyance. "I don't." He really doesn't like how Kori is acting right now. But he can't help but feel like he needed this talk.
"Then there is no problem." Kori picks up a pen and paper and starts scribbling random things. She intentionally presses them hard against the paper in order to get a reaction from him.
Pablo watches her scribble. He feels a shiver run down his body when she makes those sounds. "Eugh."
Pablo feels like he can't take his eyes off of her. Though he feels kinda creepy for staring at her. Pablo remembers Sanita's words, Tsuyoi's words and the words the woman in his dreams said.
What if all 3 of them are right? If he isn't ready to act on the things he values while knowing why he would…
…Pablo is truly nothing.
That is why he is so afraid of being wrong.
He gulps and decides to break the silence. "What do I stand for, Kori?" The question itself is stupid. It even catches Kori off guard and she giggles at the absurdity of it. "Why are you asking me that?"
Pablo raises an eyebrow, filled with confusion. "What do you mean why?"
Kori doesn't stop scribbling, and rests her chin on the table. "I don't know what you value, Pablo. Only you can know."
Pablo lowers his eyebrow, intrigued.. "...Go on."
Kori doesn't wait for a second to respond. "No." Upon hearing this, Pablo freezes. He can't grasp what she is even saying. Why won't she? Why won't she just explain what he should care about? Why wouldn't she tell him exactly what to do and let him know what matters and what doesn't? "Why?"
Kori smiles and stops scribbling. She puts her pen down and makes eye-contact with Pablo. Pablo stares at her like a deer caught in headlights, waiting for her response. Waiting for what she'll say next. Every breath she takes makes Pablo sweat even more.
"It's your life, Pablo."
It feels like a slap in Pablo's face, waking him up from the deep sleep he was in. The final puzzle piece… the final answer to himself…
He still doesn't know.
But at least now he knows how to find the answer. Pablo slowly gets up, surprising Kori. "Where are you going?"
Pablo approaches Kori and hugs her tightly. Kori is taken aback. His grip on her tightens, as if he is afraid to let go. She pats him on his back. "Thank you, Kori."
He decides to let go of her. He heads for the door. "You finally know what to do, huh?" She asks.
Just as Pablo was about to leave, he stopped upon her question. With determination rising inside him, he gives her an honest answer. "No, I don't. I never know,"
He leaves the room, talking to himself under his breath. She doesn't need to hear it. His injured leg starts to heal slowly, the bullet stuck inside it exits the wound due to the regeneration. "But I'll do it anyway."
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Sorcery Name: Dipterakinesis.
User: Sanita Infermum
Type: Cultivated
Description: The user can manipulate and create flies made out of mana. They can also transform their body parts into flies in order to avoid mana usage.