A month had passed since he initially arrived at Atlan to join the other reincarnators in their resistance against the elusive "Children of Chaos", coming with its own pluses and minuses.
Life in the Cerulean Keep felt normal now that it had become so lively; Sirius was much more affable than he initially seemed, almost to an annoying degree at times for Emilio.
"Like I was saying, the Guild Foundation is all a bunch of old farts who don't do anything themselves. I never had or will have respect for any of them–the only reason I'm even an adventurer is to fight strong monsters," Sirius said.
While speaking, the lightning-wielding reincarnator was lounging on Emilio's own bed, who himself was sitting at the desk in his room, trying to study a grimoire.
"...What does that have to do with why you don't want to go to Vasmoria? Bastian said he received intel of one of the Children of Chaos' high ranking members occupying a town there," Emilio asked.
Sirius sighed, sitting up, "Do I have to explain it, brother? I'm famous–like really, really famous with the girls around there. They'll hound me and try to get me to marry them–it's all a real hassle, you know!"
"...Sure. Really sounds like trouble," Emilio groaned, trying to get back to studying.
"That's why I'm saying you should come with me," Sirius offered with a smile, "I mean, with the two of us, it should be done in a jiffy."
"Who says 'jiffy' anymore?" Emilio muttered.
The Stormheart ignored his off-handed remark before jumping up, sitting on the bedside as he leaned towards Emili's dark-wood desk before snatching away the grimoire he was studying.
"Hey–" Emilio reacted.
"You won't learn anything useful in these anymore," Sirius told him, dangling the book up, "At your level, the only real way to grow is through battle–I'm not talking about turning a goblin here-and-there to ash, either. I mean a REAL battle, where your blood is pumping and your heart is thrashing against your chest."
"--" Emilio looked at him, annoyed before caving in with a sigh, "If you want me to go that badly, fine. I don't get it though–you're more than strong enough to get this mission done yourself."
Sirius smiled, feeling triumphant at convincing the annoyed Dragonheart as he tossed the grimoire book onto the desk before standing up with his black cape flowing behind him.
"Like I said, missions are a lot more fun with company–besides, I can show you around! You said this guy was in Desim, right? I'm kind of a local legend there, ya know," Sirius bashfully rubbed his upper lip.
"Really? What'd you do, zap a few goblins there?" Emilio sarcastically asked.
"Hah! No, I slayed a great dragon plaguing the town. It burned their crops, but I, Sirius Stormheart, defeated it with a single strike of lightning," Sirius proudly reminisced, "Also, they said that I'll have free drinks at the tavern there for life, so, bonus."
"...Wow," Emilio breathed out, throwing his cloak on, unimpressed.
It was an unplanned task, though it wasn't one he was entirely against, as he did value venturing out of the Cerulean Keep and back into the outside world when he could. Preparing for the mission to locate the member of the dangerous group stowing away in the Vasmorian town, he grabbed his sword and attached it to his belt while Sirius left his room to get ready as well.
"Are you heading out?"
As he glanced over, he found the silver-haired half-elf standing in the doorway to his room, who was carrying a few, heavy-looking grimoires herself.
'She's still studying hard. I told Celly a dozen times she didn't need to stay here, but she seems pretty dedicated to helping out with combating the Children of Chaos. It seems there's something of value here anyway–the old grimoires in the library. She's been reading them a lot,' Emilio thought.
"Yeah, Sirius wants me to help him on his assigned mission," Emilio told her, "It's not a dangerous one, though. Bastian said it's a merchant that's highly-authoritative within the ranks of the Children of Chaos; one of their main suppliers of materials."
"I see. Well, make sure to be careful, still," Celly told him.
"I will," he assured her with a smile.
As he moved on through the halls of the undersea keep, of which he had become familiar with and able to navigate through on his own, he could hear the sound of steel clashing against steel just outside of the front gates.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
"--"
'Are they already at it?' He questioned.
Leaving the Cerulean Keep, he found his suspicions confirmed at the sight occupying the courtyard: a man wielding a sword continuously attacked while another, fully-armored figure defended with a shield.
"Hyaaah!" Julius shouted, slashing his black-and-silver sword, though it bounced straight off of the sturdy shield wielded by his training partner.
"--Nope!" Everett shouted, keeping his defenses strong as he remained planted against the cobblestone flooring of the courtyard.
'Father and Everett–they've been training together a lot. I think recent events have really fired them up–I'm happy to see Father motivated, but…I just hope he's cool headed about it,' Emilio thought.
Deciding to sit by and watch while he waited for Sirius to meet him outside, he spectated the sparring between his father and his own friend. Though "friend" felt like an insult almost; by now, he considered Everett a brother, and it went both ways.
"Hrrh!"
Though Everett was diligent in his defending, it took more than simply being as tough as steel to hold up against a swordsman as skilled as Julius Dragonheart; the veteran adventurer moved with footwork that left no traces of sound, keeping Everett on his toes the entire time.
"Ngh…!" Everett struggled, constantly backpedaling and turning every direction as Julius sorely outpaced him.
"C'mon! Keep up! The enemy won't take it easy on you!" Julius shouted, continuing to unleash rapid strikes against the shield.
"--I know that!" Everett shouted, keeping his shield up.
–
Emilio rested his chin on the palm of his hand while watching the two men train, though found himself not having to wait long as the door opened behind him with the sound of boots walking out.
"Sorry for the wait–I'm ready now."
As Emilio looked up at the man who spoke to him, he found Sirius smiling at him with a cheeky expression–though it was par for the course with the eccentric stormheart.
"Yeah, alright, let's go," Emilio boredly said, standing up as he lightly yawned while stretching his arms over his head.
Leaving the courtyard of the Cerulean Keep alongside Sirius, he passed by his father and his brotherly friend, who stopped their training for a moment.
"Where're you heading off to?" Julius asked, not much out of breath despite his continuous training as he rested his sword against his shoulder.
On the other hand, Everett was gasping for air, lathered in sweat as his stamina surely was challenged by the rapid, unforgiving training with the seasoned swordsman.
"Vasmoria," Emilio said, "Bastian found intel on a supplier for the Children of Chaos currently residing in a town there."
"We're going to go kick his ass and beat some info out of him!" Sirius explained with a smirk and a thumbs-up.
Julius looked at Emilio for a second before holding a small smile and nodding, "Well, good luck. Stay safe and vigilant, but…I don't need to tell you that. You've surpassed me, Emilio."
"Hey, you've still got me beat in swordplay," Emilio playfully said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Only on a good day," Julius laughed.
Everett caught his breath before yelling as the two began to leave, "Get those bastards good, ya hear?!"
"Definitely," Emilio said.
"Easy as pie," Sirius smirked.
There was no need to wait for Bastian to set up the gateway for them as the man had already given one of the golden system-linked rings to Emilio to open the portal himself.
"Seraphheart," Emilio invoked, holding his hand up with the radiant ring around his index finger.
Golden sparks manifested before burning into the empty space in front of the Dragonheart, moving into a circular motion before the gateway was formed.
"Portals are pretty convenient, yeah?" Sirius said.
"Pretty much," Emilio agreed before stepping forward, "Let's go."
"Lead the way!" Sirius playfully said, following behind him.
Entering through the portal, he found himself standing on a field of verdant grass on some sort of small cliff, surrounded by lively trees.
Sirius entered behind him, ruffling his own hair after arriving through the portal, "Aaaa~and we're here: Desim!"
Past the cliff, in the near distance, the Vasmorian town was visible: a sizable and lively spot of civilization with tall, wood-built walls surrounding the community of small farms, houses, and shops.
"It looks like a pretty nice place," Emilio remarked, standing on the edge of the cliff as he scoped out the peaceful-seeming town.
"It is. May look like a quiet place right now, but trust me–at night, it gets pretty wild," Sirius told him with a small laugh, sliding down the cliff.
Emilio followed him, using his boots to slide down the side of the steep, but not tall cliff as his cloak fluttered behind him, "What do you mean?"
Reaching the end of the cliff, Sirius rolled his shoulders, looking towards the walls of Desim, "Well, there's a city nickname that the town has earned over the years."
"Yeah?" Emilio said, arriving beside him on the grassy plains that sat on the outskirts of the large, walled town.
Sirius smirked as he looked back at him, "They call it 'Party City'--or some like to call it the 'Haven of Booze and Dreams'--you know what that means, my brother?"
"...What?" Emilio hesitantly questioned with a raised eyebrow.
The eccentric Stormheart slung his arm around Emilio's shoulder, waving his hand towards the town before them as if painting a scene, "Tonight, we party! And tonight–you become a man!"
Emilio pushed away from Sirius with a confused look, "What the hell are you talking about–becoming a 'man'--I'm eighteen, you know."
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