Haru was tired. He didn’t realize, but his body was not used to the over-exertion he was putting it through and it was taking a toll on him. He was hurried along to Magnolia with barely any sleep after he fought the rabid wolf at Era, and the first thing he did after reaching the quarters was find the couch and flop on it. Unlike usual, he didn’t wake up until a pillow was chucked at him, and it was obvious that he wasn’t well-rested the moment he got up. As he stretched his hands out, his entire body ached thanks to all the soreness of his muscles.

The healer dragged himself to the bathroom, got ready, thanked his partner for the coffee and followed her, almost like a zombie. He did not have his usual charm and energy that morning, and didn’t even bother to ask what the mission was. When they finally reached the rendezvous point, he noticed his other team mate there. “Oh! Asura… Wonderful to see you,” he said, his voice betraying his weakness. For a change, it was Akira who was hyper that day; a side of her that Haru had never seen before. It made him wonder if she was moody only around her.

Captain Devon seemed extremely glad he got his request honoured, but wasn’t exactly impressed when he saw the slouching Haru. “Alright… Let’s begin! We got intel that there might be a cult forming here in Magnolia. And we need you guys to confirm if that is true,” he began, taking out some papers out of his coat that had a map and some targets who might have information regarding the cult.

WC: 281/2400

The healer half-listened and half-hibernated during the briefing. It really wasn’t like him; maybe all the fighting he had to do recently had affected not just his body. Thankfully, his weapon was just a hilt until he activated it and was well hidden under his black cloak. So, he didn’t get the same lecture that poor Asura did from the Captain. Despite all the cult talk, Haru was most curious as to why the captain was wearing a helmet that covered half his face, even while talking to his comrades. As he walked past them after giving them the details, the healer tried to get a peek under his helmet to see what he was hiding, and was confronted with a nasty frown in response. Raising his eyebrows, he looked away and quickly walked towards his team mates before the angry man decided to yell at the red-headed healer.

It would seem Akira and Asura have had more interactions with each other than Haru was aware of. He was surprised his partner never talked about it to him, but then she seldom talked. He walked a couple of feet behind the two and tried to keep an eye out for anyone that they could interrogate, while the two girls caught up with each other. While his muscles were still sore, thanks to the coffee, at least he wasn’t dying to lie down on a stone bench and doze off.

As they walked towards the outskirts of the town, Haru noticed a tall thin man on a long cloak hurry across the street and walk towards the thicket. “Excuse me Sir,” Haru hollered, jogging towards the man and waving at him to get his attention. Even though the healer was wearing a black cloak himself, somehow he found another man with same garb to be suspicious.

WC: 586/2400

The healer let the ladies catch up and couldn’t find the strength to socialize that day. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to be there, but there were too many things swimming in his head and he was physically tired too. Butting into their conversation, he was only going to look like an idiot who asks people to repeat things a dozen times before piecing the sentence together in his head. So, he hanged back and scouted the area for potential suspects.

Rushing to the cloaked man, Haru had to literally body block him to get his attention. It was obvious that he was acting as if he didn’t hear them calling out and simply wanted to avoid them. For once, the healer actually understood why people would want to avoid social situations. Nevertheless, it was his job and he had to do it. Haru noticed that Asura was not following him and Akira and was heading towards another shifty looking woman. He nodded at her, understanding that it was a good call. They were three people; no point in swarming one target at a time.

The cloaked man was rather impatient with the duo, which only made things even more suspicious. He told them he was late for a meeting and was offended when asked what meeting it was. “How rude? I don’t need to tell you anything about what I’m doing,” he began, raising his voice. Haru was in no mood to handle it and was about to whip out his badge to show him they had the right to question him. But as he reached into his cloak’s inner pocket, he noticed that the cloaked man was holding a book; a religious one at that too.

Realizing someone who was following the Illumin couldn’t possibly have any knowledge of a hidden cult, he simply sighed and apologized. “I’m sorry sir! We were just inquiring around town about the rumours regarding a cult and was wondering if you knew anything,” he said politely. The man shook his head violently and simply said “No!” before storming off. Shrugging at Akira, Haru walked back towards Asura, hoping that she had better luck than them.

When Asura was done questioning the lady, Haru would tell her the guy gave them no information and ask if the lady was of any use. Just as they were having a conversation, the healer noticed an old woman walk past them. “Do you guys think she will know something?” he asked, pointing at the old lady and whispering to his two team mates.

WC: 1014/2400

The trio had found no good lead so far and it was frustrating the healer. He rolled his eyes and groaned when he heard Asura mention the lady knew nothing about the cult and was just worried that her spouse might be cheating. And unfortunately, their next target knew nothing about the cult either and she made it quite clear by whacking them several times with her handbag. “Sorry! No… You misunderstand,” he began, but quickly remembered Akira’s warning about not revealing their true intention to anyone. So, he had no other option but to run from the handbag-wielding lady.

Haru was about to say maybe they were in the wrong side of the town or maybe the Rune Knights goofed again. However, it would seem, this time, that wasn’t the case. Akira said she found a lead and asked them to wait where they were before running off towards a house. As he stood there, waiting for his raven-haired partner to come back, Haru decided to strike up a conversation with Asura. He was most curious as to where the two girls met after the night they all cooked together at Batra’s inn. “You two met after the day we flipped burgers and baked potatoes?” he asked.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Akira to finish the conversation with her target, and with the expression on her face, the healer knew this one wasn’t a bummer like the last three ones they had. “Please tell me you got something,” he said, as she came into earshot. And he was right; it would seem she had gleaned quite a bit of information from the man. Apparently, they had to meet the man back at the same location at night before they could infiltrate the actual location where the cultists are hiding.

“I suggest we go about our usual patrol duty for the day and come back here at the designated time,” Haru said.


As decided, Haru would be back where they were right after sun set and wait for his two team mates. It was Akira who talked to the man; so, he thought it would be best if she contacted him again while Asura and he hanged back. Haru kept to the shadows to ensure he was not spotted by the man until the other two came. If any one of them arrived, he would hiss at them from behind a tree he was hiding and notify them of this location.
Once all three of them were there, he would let Akira take the lead. The cultist man would let them in and close the door swiftly, before moving to the corner of the room and opening a secret trap door. “Through this way,” he whispered. Haru turned to his partners and nodded before walking forward. When the man was a little further away from him, he would whisper to them. “Run if you suspect any foul play. Our mission was to just confirm,” he said, his tone laced with caution.

As they stepped down through the trap door, Haru looked around for any other way they could take to escape. But it seemed the way they entered was the safest bet, as all the others looked like a dead end. The man walked ahead of them with a torch to light the way and soon introduced the three of them to another one. By now, it was certain that there were cultists in Magnolia and they are quite active. The new one looked up at the three, sizing them up, before beginning to ask questions. It was time for the two ladies to handle him, as Haru was a very bad liar.

WC: 1629/2400

The walk down the trap door and through the tunnels was rather long. However, at least the tunnels were quite broad enough. Haru wondered how these men managed to build something so grand underground without causing any suspicion. He assumed they must have a rather powerful earth mage to have accomplished this. When they finally reached the end of the tunnel, there were two paths that they could take. The one they were following practically handed them over to another man and walked away without a word. It would seem his name was Gavin.

Akira did her part very well. From her appearance to her attitude; it all fit supremely well with the stereotype and the cultist bought that she really was frustrated with the society. There was no question about whether she would fit in well with the cult. Asura and Haru, however, were not trusted. He took longer to assess them and only decided to accept them after Akira vouched for them. The catch was, however, that they had to go through some kind of induction. Haru was a bit scared what that entailed, but didn’t show it in his face. He turned towards Asura and looked if she was as scared as him.

In any case, it was now too late to back out. They began this and now they were in the cultists’ turf. If they give these guys any reason to doubt their reason for being here, it wasn’t going to end well. So, Haru simply nodded when the cultist asked him and Asura to follow him through the door on the left. Akira offered to stay back and wait instead of going in, which Haru thought was a good call. If she got caught in the other room and they had to make a getaway, it would become impossible.

As they entered through the door, Haru witnessed that the large room was one designed for the purposes of ritual. It was immediately apparent that the cultists were going to put the two Rune Knights through some ritual, and the healer didn’t want to play any part in it. He was pretty sure Asura felt the same way. Now, it was time to think of a way to wiggle out of this mess. However, before he could come up with a plan, the cultist walked towards Asura and reached for her robe. “What the fuck are you doing?” Haru asked, getting in between Asura and the cultist, stopping him from getting anywhere near his blonde partner.

“You need to be cleansed for this ritual. So, to purify you, we gotto first git rid of any worldly things on you,” he said, grinning a little too widely. Haru knew exactly what he meant and anger flared in his eyes. The cultist didn’t miss the expression. He immediately took a step forward and yelled. Through a door on the other side of the room came three more cultists running. “This man is a spy. Kill him. And let’s capture the blondie,” he said, laughing. The cultist raised his arm and went straight for Asura, reaching beyond Haru.

The former pacifist would have pushed the man away. But Haru was different now. Ever since he took up the blade, he had been giving in to the anger and frustration that have been building up in him. So, in an instant, he took a step aside, pulled the hilt of his blade, pressed the button. The moment the blue mana blade appeared, he slashed at the man’s hand that was going for Asura, dismembering him. The burning damage done after the cutting ensured it was not bloody, but the gore was still too sudden and too much. As the dismembered cultist fell back screaming, the rest of them froze for a moment, taking in the sudden violence that had occurred in the room, before charging at the Rune Knights.

Opening the door, Haru asked Asura to run. And to ensure the rest don’t follow, he threw his blade straight at the leading cultist’s leg, and immediately recalled the blade once it pierced him and did the damage. After that, the red-headed Rune Knight left the room too and began running. Turning towards Akira, he yelled for her to run. Adrenaline coursed through the man as they ran through the tunnel, past the trap door and out the building. Thanks to Haru’s lightsabre, the path was illuminated for them.

Once they had run a good distance away from the cultist’s hideout, Haru sat on a stone bench and finally realized what he had done. The young man was in no shape to go report to the Captain, and one of the ladies have to take that burden unfortunately.

WC: 2417/2400
-Exit-