XI gave Chan-Yeol a look that told him he was stepping into a territory the Protocol did not want him to ask about. XI took a step back, eyes on Chan-Yeol and shrugged.
'He doesn't know about the Fox. I guess nobody does except for Ritsuka Yamada. I will have to be careful. I can't expose anything to anyone.' XI quickly came up with a solution.
"Do not talk about this to anyone." XI raised their fingers and Chan-Yeol watched cosmic energy swirl with their fingers. "Don't tell the brother, the sister, or the Numbers. Tell no one."
"Why don't you want to talk about the Fox?" Chan-Yeol asked. He was slowly moving to grab his dagger on his side. XI was sharp. The Protocol did have Lee Seng's sharp senses, but it seemed like they weren't acting on Lee Seng's senses. They were acting upon the power they possessed. "How come Lee Seng can't use that power you're using? What is that?"
"They cannot have something they don't fully want." XI answered. "But, I've been here too long. Don't tell anyone about my whereabouts. If you want the ring, take it. Leave me to my business. I have much to figure out." XI removed their hand and opened the palm of their other hand. They showed the ring to Chan-Yeol floating it over to them with gravity.
"I must go now." XI began to turn as Chan-Yeol grabbed the ring and pulled the dagger out, sprinting at XI. Chan-Yeol closed the distance faster than XI could respond, slamming into him and lifting the dagger.
"I'm taking Lee Seng back with me." Chan-Yeol stabbed the dagger into XI's shoulder blade. XI cried in pain as they forced Chan-Yeol off of them. XI jumped up, forcing the dagger out with gravity as they turned to face Chan-Yeol.
"I was going to spare you, y'know." XI shook their head in disappointment. They raised a finger at Chan-Yeol and sighed. "Humans are so predictable. Do the unpredictable thing. Gravitum: Cosmic Ray." A bright black, silver, and gold ray flew at Chan-Yeol. Chan-Yeol raised their arms up as the shimmers grew.
"Force Block." Chan-Yeol spoke in Korean. The ray slammed against the shield unable to make a dent.
"Someone who can actually block an attack from me." XI commented. "Impressive. Gravitum: Reaper's Dance." XI flew forward swinging a punch forward. Chan-Yeol blocked the attack as a huge rush of cosmic energy slammed into him. Chan-Yeol's energy swirled around him as he flew backwards.
"Dragon's Grip." Chan-Yeol burst forward, pulling his other dagger out and slashing at XI. XI watched as the rush of shimmering energy turned into a dragon.
"Hm." XI commented as they went flying backwards into the wall. The earth crumbled around them as the sounds of Chan-Yeol moved forward.
'He's stronger than me.' XI thought. 'If this goes on, I'll be forced back. I need to get out now. Gravitum: Cosmic Portal.' The portal opened in front of them as they moved into it. A dagger flew into the portal, popping out on the other side and flying straight through the Dark Matter suit and armor. The dagger pinned XI to the wall, portal shattering as Chan-Yeol's eyes glowed a fierce flame color.
"Sorry kid, don't take this personally." Chan-Yeol swung and karate chopped XI Lee Seng. The blow made XI instantly lose consciousness.
Undefined time later…
"We've gotten confirmation that Lee Seng Chang was found today. As stated before, Lee Seng Chang was on a Field Test with Capitol City Academy. Chang was sent the the Penumbra Guild as part of his Field Test exam. He and his teammates were to assist technicians on the First Floor after Shifters and Goblins had supposedly destroyed the lights. We have no confirmation of where Chang is, but we will update you as soon as we get more information." A news anchor spoke.
Lee Seng groaned. The bed sheets covered his bare body as he felt the pain circulating through his body. He slowly got up from the bed and looked around.
'Where am I…?' Lee Seng groggily asked himself. He rubbed his eyes as his ears twitched. His eyes wandered over to the cracked door.
"This is bad." Akio's voice quietly spoke. "Basically everything got leaked to the news. This is really bad. What am I going to do when the Creator calls me?"
"Sir, remain calm. Lee Seng is back at your place and is resting." Chan-Yeol's voice spoke.
'Chan-Yeol's here? Why is he here…?' Flashes of unknown memories appeared in his head. He remembered the quest he was supposed to be on. The Zone. The trap. Him falling through the floors of the cave. An ambush. Him and Keng fighting shadowy corrupted goblins and then…
"Oh god!" Lee Seng muttered. He cupped his mouth. "What happened after that? How am I here? Did they find me?" He pushed the blankets off the bed, noticing shorts on him as he tried to stand. He instantly dropped. Footsteps rushed into the bedroom, opening the door.
"Lee?!?" Akio's voice shouted. Akio moved over to his younger brother and kneeled. "Are you okay? Why didn't you call for me?" Lee Seng looked up at his brother and then over to Chan-Yeol. Chan-Yeol seemed defensive about something. The flash of the fight spooked him and he jumped backwards.
He scrambled into the nightstand, not realizing his tails were gone. He gasped as he watched Chan-Yeol slowly step forward.
"You!" Lee Seng pointed at him. Akio turned immediately and lookeda t Chan-Yeol.
"What about him? He found you." Akio told him. Lee Seng looked at his brother and shook his head.
"W-w-w-what—" Lee Seng stuttered, gulping. Chan-Yeol took another step forward. The memories of a dagger flying through his chest shot his head straight down to where it was. He grabbed at it and shook his head. "N-no…" He looked upat Chan-Yeol. Chan-Yeol still seemed defensive. He was watching Lee Seng closely.
"Lee, what's wrong? It's just Chan-Yeol. You know him." Akio moved closer as Lee Seng threw his hand up, panicking. He released a blast of gravity that shot his brother into the wall, books falling on him.
"Sir!" Chan-Yeol ran over to Akio. Akio swatted Chan-Yeol away.
"I'm fine. I'm fine!" Akio pushed himself away from the wall and looked at Lee Seng. Lee Seng's eyes had pure fear in them. "What happened down there? Why is he acting like that? If you found him unconscious why is he acting like he's scared of you?" Akio asked.
'He… Why did Chan-Yeol attack me? What happened?' Lee Seng asked. His heavy breaths grew louder. He was starting a panic attack. He clutched his chest as he desperately tried to move away.
"Lee! Lee!" Akio scrambled towards his brother.
"Get away! Get away! Get away!" Lee Seng shouted. He tried to push his brother away, but Akio simply continued to grab him and try to hug him.
"Lee Seng, it's alright! You're fine! The Shifters are gone! You're safe!"
"No I'm not! Not safe! Not safe! Not safe! Him!" Lee Seng cried. Chan-Yeol gave a nervous look at Lee Seng before Akio turned.
"What happened?!? What aren't you telling me, Chan-Yeol?!?" Akio screamed. Chan-Yeol bit his lip and turned. He marched out of the bedroom, leaving the door open as Akio's eyes followed his secretary. Lee Seng clutched his chest as he continued to mutter "not safe." "H-hey, everything's gonna be alright. You're safe now. It's fine. Breathe. Remember, breathe." Akio began to help Lee Seng calm down.
The memories of XI flooded him. He started to piece together what had happened.
'Of course she came through!' Lee Seng's mind managed to think.
"Chan-Yeol, give me the damn medicine now!" Akio turned and shouted. Lee Seng shook his head as he heard the footsteps grow louder. Chan-Yeol rushed into the room and handed Akio the medicine.
"Take this, Lee Seng!" Akio ordered. He shoved the medicine into his mouth and forced Lee Seng to down it with water. Water spilled all over Lee Seng and Akio as Lee Seng watched Chan-Yeol slowly move backwards. Lee Seng watched him with knowing eyes as he tried his best to quell the panic attack.
"It's not safe…" Lee Seng stuttered. "I'm… not safe." Akio spent the next hour closely watching Lee Seng as his panic attack slowly died off. Chan-Yeol hovered in the background, watching him with a knowing look.
'We need to talk.' That was what those eyes told Lee Seng. Lee Seng let out a shaky breath and looked around. The things on the nightstand had fallen during his panic. The lamp had fallen and shattered. His senses distorted during his panic attack and he hadn't taken the full time to assess the situation.
He quieted down as Akio sat in front of him. Chan-Yeol was in a corner with his arms crossed as he watched the situation dying. Lee Seng checked his body. He had a scar where the dagger had pierced and held him. He turned to check for his tail. His eyes grew wide.
"Are you alright now?" Akio's voice asked.
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