Chapter 40

A dark room.

Despite being indoors, the ominous sound of crackling thunder and lightning echoed through every corner of it. The entire place was shrouded in darkness, and one piece of furniture stood in the middle illuminated by an otherworldly glow. It was a large throne made of a material that looked like stone, carved with intricate designs of mythical creatures. The armrests were sculpted with the bodies of gryphons, the back side carved with different types of dragons, both western and eastern, and on the crown of the seat stood what looked like a horse that had both scales and fur, as well as a horn and antlers; a Kirin. As the thunderous cacophony echoed in the room, the eyes of the Kirin lit up in an electric blue. A woman dressed in an Apostles outfit walked up to the throne, knelt before it and lowered her shadowed hood. Her face had an X-shaped scar across it, but it didn’t look like she got it from a cut or similar. It was the scars of a recent burn. The woman did not stare up at the throne, or rather the person sitting in it. She stared at the base of the throne, her eyes meeting the basilisks that were carved into it.

“Your highness, our people believe we have found the dragon.” She said, her voice shaking slightly.

The thunder stopped and the person in the throne looked over at the woman. The person had their feet up on one of the armrests and was lying sitting sideways in the throne, looking at his fingers as if there were something more interesting in his nails than whatever the Apostle had to say.

“W-we believe he is in Shibuya, along with the ancient one.” The woman said, gulping hard as a cold sweat formed on her brow.

“And?” The person in the throne spoke out with an indifferent tone.

“I was told to notify you about anything we found out about the dragon after the incident with Kurosawa and Kyosuke.” The woman stammered out.

The person sat up on the throne, sitting properly as they looked down at the trembling Apostle. “Do I scare you, Apostle?” They spoke, a tinge of annoyance sparking his words.

“N-no-”

“Do not lie to an Elder, Apostle. You remember what happened last time you lied.”

The woman felt her scar burn, remembering that last time she was given the scar. “I do remember. I am sorry, your highness. You do scare me. I fear your strength and what you will do to me with it.”

The person smirked. “Honesty is a good virtue to have. Humility, too, is good. Fear, however, is the wrong way to go about it.” The person snapped their fingers, and lightning struck next to the Apostle, causing her to topple over and whimper. “Instead, you should be respecting, not fearing. Respect strength, and it will respect you.”

“Y-yes, your highness, you are correct. I will respect your strength.” The woman, clearly terrified, sputtered out while trying to get back up on her knees.

The person then put his foot on her head, forcing her to prostrate herself before them. They dug their heel into her head, causing a slight whimper to squeak out. “Now, why tell me about ‘where’ the dragon is? I care not for his whereabouts; all I want is him to be brought to me. Whether he’s a corpse or breathing, I do not care. Thanks to that traitorous scholar, I am in possession of many spells that can make even the dead talk.”

“B-but your highness, that magic is forbid-” The woman tried to speak out but was interrupted by the person stomping her head into the flooring.

“Are you, a lowly Apostle, trying to tell an Elder to not use magic?” The person took their foot off of the Apostle and lifted her up by her robes, forcing her to look them in the face. “I control this Secular district. I am the Elder in charge here. I am the one who decides what magic can be used and when. What did I just tell you about respect?”

“I-I’m sorry, I won’t- No, no please, not again!” the woman screamed out.

The person brought their hand up to her face, and arching between his fingers was an intense light, made of pure lightning, in the shape of an X. The Elder pressed their hand to the Apostle’s face, searing her flesh on top of her still-healing scars. The woman screamed out in agony as the Elder laughed at her pain. Finally, he stopped and threw the Apostle to the ground. She writhed on the ground as her face singed with burning flesh.

“Get this disgrace out of here. And make sure she’s in the force to capture the dragon. I want her to either redeem herself or die a righteous death.”

The Elder sat back in their throne, legs up on the armrest and sitting sideways like before. Two other Apostles came in and dragged the woman Apostle away, bowing to the Elder as they left. The sounds of thunder echoed once more in the room. The Elder let out an exhausted sigh. They ran their hand through their electric blue hair as they tilted their head back. The Elder then held out their hand, and a misty blue object started to form in it.

“So, you get a gun and can steal other manifestations. And I got this. An interesting thing, magic is.” The Elder spoke out loud in the now empty room.

What formed in their hand was a simple long sword. The only unique characteristic about it, apart from the length, was the tassel hanging off the pommel. It was coloured red, blue and orange, despite the rest of the manifestation being an ethereal electric blue. The Elder threw it behind their throne, and it dispersed in the air.

“I certainly hope I get to meet you alive, dragon.” The Elder said with a smirk. “I’d like to see what my twin can do in person.”