Inverse System

At the front gates of the small city of Alwaaq, 2 ordinary Orthlys soldiers stood guard, yawning at the boredom they felt, having to stand sentry, checking everyone's ID before letting them into the town.

"Man, do we really have to do this… I'm pretty sure we'd notice if a kid with white hair walked through…" One of the guards complained.

"Chin up and stop complaining man! We have to do this, or those 3 devils will kill us," the other guard scolded.

"I know…" The other guard dejectedly said, putting his head down in sadness. "I was just letting some of my pent-up boredom out…" The guard groaned as he suddenly saw 4 individuals approaching the front gate on the main path.

"Halt! State your business and hand over your identification!" The guards straightened their stances, tapping the ends of their spears on the ground under them as a show of power.

"Ugh, no white-haired kid again…" One of the guards murmured under their breath as he looked at the 4 who approached.

A brown-haired boy with brown eyes led the group, followed by 2 black-haired girls, both of them with green eyes. At the back of the group stood a blue-haired man with spiky ends on his hair.

"Hello, good guards! My friends and I are traveling gourmets, and we heard about the positively spectacular cooking in this city," the brown-haired man introduced himself. "If you would like our IDs, here you are," he took out an ID from his pocket, along with everyone else in the group, giving the guards 4 IDs in total.

"Hmm… Your names are… Kyle Paul, Becky Easton, Kristen George, and Colton Ried..? Those are certainly… Unusual…" The guard remarked as he read the names out loud, inspecting the IDs closer.

"Haha, we get that a lot. Eccentric names for an eccentric bunch!" The brown-haired man laughed as the guards sighed, cringing slightly, then giving them the IDs back.

"Well, everything seems fine. Welcome to Alwaaq city," the guards let them pass, going back into their usual stance as the 4 entered the city.

"Seriously though, who names their kid Kyle?"

The group of 'gourmets' walked to the center of the city and found an inn they chose to stay at, making that their base for the time being. The brown-haired boy let go of their disguise, removing the illusion he placed upon them. He heaved a sigh of relief as he sat down on one of the beds in the inn.

"Well, that went as well as I could've hoped," Rein remarked.

"My heart was beating really hard! I'm glad they couldn't hear it," Emria added.

"What now? Do you feel Zane's presence?" Sho posed, Rein entering a stern expression, nodding to answer Sho's question.

Chloe left out a breath of ease, letting out the stress that she was carrying about her brother's whereabouts.

"Do you know his exact location?" Chloe questioned, Rein shaking his head in negation.

"I know his general location in this 1-kilometer radius. He's to the east end of the city, that's all I know," Rein informed.

"Hmm, so he's on the opposite side of the city then… And that's also where you sensed those powerful people correct?" Sho theorized, Rein nodding his head. "Do you know how many of them there are?"

"I believe there are 3, but their power rivals an entire army," Rein revealed. "They're patrolling the outer walls of the city, so we should try and avoid those areas if we can."

"So then? What's our next move?" Chloe put forward to Rein.

"Our main goal here is obvious. Rescue the prince at all costs," Rein restated, standing up from the bed. "We know nothing about our area right now. Let's go and explore the eastern ends of the town and try and gather some intel," Rein suggested, everyone following in his lead.

"Ummm, what should I do, Rien?" Emria asked as the other 3 walked to the door.

"Huh? You come too obviously," Rein laughed.

"Wow, really? I thought you would say it's too dangerous or something," Emria remarked with a surprised expression.

"Well, the safest place is with me. If you're in my sight, then your safety is guaranteed," he remarked as Emria skipped to their side, walking alongside them as they exited the inn.

Rein turned his hair black and put a hood up, while Chloe and Sho also put their hoods up as to not get recognized as the princess and prince.

They made their way to the eastern end of the city, the least populated end. The shopping and entertainment districts were at the western end of the city, all that was at the eastern end was a barren-looking church and a graveyard.

They made sure to stay a good distance away from the outer wall of the city, avoiding the powerful patrolling mercenaries around the walls.

"It's just a church and a graveyard here… Are you sure this is where he was taken?" Sho asked.

"I'm positive. He's definitely here," Rein assured.

"If Rein says he's here, then he is!" Emria exclaimed, Sho laughing nervously, but understanding her blind trust in him.

"But the church is right beside that wall. If we get close to it, we'll be seen, right?" Chloe thought out loud.

"Yeah, since he's most likely around in that area, it's probably under heavy surveillance. Though, it seems like we're safe to get this close at least," Rein claimed, pointing down on the point of land the group stood on.

"Rein, I may have an idea…" Sho professed, catching Rein's attention. 

"Oh? Let me hear it…"

A little later, on the outskirts of the city walls…

"Tch, those 2 gave me the shittiest job…" The man on top of the wall complained. "They get to just hang out inside the fuckin church, while I have to do all of the heavy lifting," he paced back and forth with an annoyed expression on his face, circling the top of the walls.

The man appeared to be in his mid-20s, wearing a sleeveless black shirt, with light pink hair and a rough face.

He suddenly noticed someone walking on the green grass under him, on the outside of the city walls.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?!" He jumped down from the enormous wall, landing effortlessly for a fall of that height.

He touched down in front of the man he saw under him, seeing his spiky-blonde hair and red eyes.

"Ah, my mistake. I'm actually an artist and I was just circling this town for inspiration for my next piece. Sorry to trouble you, sir," Sho bowed, the pink-haired man scratching his head in confusion.

"The hell..? Well, make it quick bud. I have no time for this shit," the man remarked as he turned back around, walking towards the wall.

"Hold on sir! I would like to ask you a question about this city's architecture," Sho stalled.

"Huh? The hell would I know about architecture," the man interposed, turning back around to face Sho.

"Well, you were walking on top of those walls were you not? Could you please describe the view for me?"

The pink-haired man raised an eyebrow, a confused look growing on his face.

"Well, I guess the view is pretty nice from up there…" He claimed. "It's really the only thing that makes this job semi-enjoyable," he chatted.

"Oh, yes! Have there been any moments of note since you began guarding the walls? Something that stands out to you perhaps?" Sho continued stalling, the man falling deeper into his trap.

"Now that you mention it, I started guarding before sunrise. The view over the ocean as the sun came up was pretty damn cool," he proclaimed, Sho feigning interest at his words.

"Yes, yes. Tell me more," Sho continued.

"Well, it was a deep, fiery ora—" suddenly, the man's face twitched as he stopped talking, then suddenly snapping his head back towards the wall.

"The hell?! I feel somebody in the church!" He exclaimed, getting ready to jump through the wall.

As he motioned himself towards the wall, Sho let out a scoff of annoyance, activating his Spring and propelling himself at the man, excreting fire from the back of his hand as he palmed the back of the man's head, slamming it into the ground. However, Sho suddenly heard the man growling, resisting his fire-boosted hand as he turned his angered face around.

"You set me up you son of a bitch!" He yelled, suddenly turning his body into a spinning drill that carved through the ground, all the way to the wall, causing Sho to let go of the man.

He drilled through the wall of the city, then drilled through the back wall of the church, turning back into a human as he entered the small church's main area. He saw a Rein, who still had STO active, along with Emria and Chloe entering the wooden trapdoor hatch in the corner of the church.

"Oh no, you don't!" The man rushed towards the 3, turning his hand into a drill at full speed.

However, the forward drill was stopped by a streak of fire that protected the 3, Sho covering his arms with flames as he held the drill down.

"You 3 continue! I'll take care of this guy!" He yelled, Chloe, wearing a worried expression, not wanting to leave.

"Understood. We'll leave this guy to you," Rein agreed, grabbing the reluctant Chloe by the arm and pulling her down the trapdoor with him, Emria already having gone through earlier.