Breaking the Gates - Part 1

Anna opened her eyes, noticing the other girls bunched around her right away. How neither of them looked to be panicking or wary meant that the kitsune maiden had succeeded. Things wouldn’t look this pretty otherwise.

“How long was I out?” She asked right away even though she had a good idea already. Getting enough control over your own body was enough to get this kind of awareness.

“Some five minutes.” The unfazed Col answered while watching the nearby kitsune trying to nurse the redhead but being pushed away. “You shouldn’t hurry like that again. It was, like, very very stupid.”

“Stop pushing me! I have to see if you're wounded.”

“Yer ain’t even a doctor, dammit! If ya wanna check me so badly, then Shorty should be the one doin’ it…”

“Do you need it?”

“Nay. It was only the shock… And thanks fer the float spell, fox.”

“Huh? Ow… That was nothing, don’t worry.” Minako answered with a slightly blushed face. Even her freaking out stopped after receiving a sudden ‘thank you’, even if that one was half to creating this effect.

“You know you’re insane, right, Annabeth? What exactly was your plan if Minako failed to cast in time there?” Karim spoke again, now with her annoyance even more clear. “Even if you’re very resistant, falling from that high would likely break your body. You’re only human, remember?”

“Only human, am I? Yer a funny shorty, Shorty.” The redhead smirked and got up from the floor, towering over her petite partner. “I told ya already, there ain’t a way I’ll be dyin’ ‘ere, ‘kay? Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

She then turned around and went to the pedestal in the middle of the room without worrying to hear any answer. Right now she was more interested in fixing the information she got during her stupor earlier and comparing it with what she knew.

Next would be trying to find a way to verify which one of the two was more likely to be true.

The hard part was that, between a suspicious building that shouldn’t even be ancient and all the easy-to-access data in the Federation, it was very hard to know which one lied more.

Known history was that humans were once controlled by devils on the continent and then saved by angels sent from heaven. The two holy artifacts and the cathedrals were things they received during this process. And the only race that should have died out during that was the helpful one.

There wouldn't be spirits otherwise.

It covered most bases and had enough archeological proof to work well. The only real question in there was how sorcery came to be, but most only thought that it was always a thing and went on.

Meanwhile, if this temple was to be trusted, then things were a little different. By the drawings on the floor, angels and devils were fighting long before humans joined the stage. In fact, the angels were ever forced into an exodus after being beaten at first. And it would be those who would make first contact with humans, only to be betrayed by them after a huge fight against their enemies. Which was when said humans got the artifacts they had now.

An explanation that didn’t exactly explain all the other races and lacked sources, but was, in reality, somehow easier to believe. Humans were more useful as cannon fodder than as slaves when considering all the powerful skills other races had.

And lastly, there was the possibility that everyone was wrong. One side was a fanatical religious democracy with a problem with censorship and the other was a darkness-shrouded cult. Not really the trustiest of sources.

Both sides of the information could be used though, so not getting an answer was fine too. The differences between them could help deduce how the Eden's Workshop people thought, and they would consider their side as the truth, so getting their motivations was possible too.

Basically, Anna now could somehow think like her enemies, something she was having a hard time with earlier. The only piece left was understanding what this place was used for, and why it was empty now. Which shouldn't be too hard since she already knew what to look at.

“Can any of ya go up the tower and relay me what’s the magic circle on the floor?” The redhead shouted to her companions without taking her eyes away from the carved pedestal. “It’d be better if you could read the runes too, but a description’s enough.”

Her only answer was silence though. A worrying one even that was only broken by a certain simple-minded girl feeling weird about it.

“I think the answer is 'no', Anna, but it's somewhat weird... Like, I'm useless for that, but these two shouldn't be.”

“I know prayers and controlling some materials, none of which really use runes…” Karim answered in a not-so-confident way. “Singing and drawing are different things.”

“So… Kitsune?”

“I have twelve spells and that’s all!” Minako answered in a weirdly proud way. “I can protect myself from everything and also create miasma without even knowing how it works. I’m a genius, remember?”

“Meanin’ yer as useless as Shorty. Sigh…” Anna sighed, even though this answer was somewhat expected, and then went to her supplies again, her dwindling supplies she had to note. “I’ll manage then.”

“Wait! I said I’m a genius, didn’t I?! Even if I don’t know how they work, I can draw my ofudas, can I not? Why is no one picking the idea here…?”

What she seemed to be trying to say was that, even if she knew no runes and couldn't describe them, she could still draw the circle. Which was a very decent point that hardly anyone would get if she wouldn't tell. But there was something feeling wrong still... Something missing, Anna felt.

She pushed this thought away from her mind, though, and decided to move on already.

“Fine, genius, go there and draw the circle fer me, ‘kay?”

“I can very much do it...” The fox puffed her chest even more, only to deflate right after. “As long as you get me some paper and ink.”

And again, the red-haired inquisitor glared at her five-tailed ally, getting as close to losing her cool as she could. Enough for her to give up on the safe options even.

“Yer a real problem one, fox… I can’t even say if yer useful or useless half the time...” She closed her eyes and started to concentrate, putting in motion the remaining method she had in mind. “So now I’ll be usin’ ya as a battery, ay?”

The seals on her right arm couldn’t be broken without destroying it, the ones on her legs weren’t that useful, and the ones on her body were too dangerous, but she still had the left arm remaining. And she also had a huge source of energy waiting to be hers so she wouldn’t end up killing everyone else.

The only question was if it was enough or not, but she was willing to bet there. It wasn’t as if there wasn’t a second option too.

And in a moment, faster than anyone could react, the glowing tattoos on her left arm turned into broken chains and an eerie pressure filled the room. Still, without even addressing it, the golden-eyed inquisitor turned her focus to the pedestal.

It was time for a forceful extraction if she ever saw one.