"Grandma." Olivia spoke in a quiet tone once Lee Seng descended back to their friends. Grandma Ok turned to look at Olivia, eyebrows raised. "Has anything strange happened in the last couple of months?"
"Why are you asking? Are you here to cause trouble immediately?" Grandma Ok asked, suspiciously.
"No, nothing like that." Olivia shook her head. "I just heard a rumor that… People have been going missing from the village. I just want to know if everything is okay."
"Where'd you hear a rumor like that? Did you get in contact with your dad or mom?" Grandma was growing suspicious of her granddaughter. How could anyone outside of the small village know something like that? "Have you?" She raised an eyebrow at Olivia.
"No." Olivia shook her head. "We saw someone who said they came to the village awhile back. They're acquaintances with Lee Seng. They said people were starting to go missing in Maus, so I wanted to check, that's all."
"Mmm… When you say 'check' you don't mean you'll actually check?"
"No! Nothing like that!" Olivia awkwardly brushed it off. It was hard to successfully lie in front of her grandmother. She did know all of Olivia's tactics. "I just want to know, that's all."
"Nothing's wrong." Grandma finally answered her question. "I don't know who you were talking to but they must have heard wrong. There's nothing going on here." Grandma began to turn to leave when she stopped and turned back to face Olivia. "You didn't bring your friends here because of a rumor, did you?"
"No!" Olivia shook her head. She moved out of her room, closing the light and stood in the hallway. "I wouldn't do that! That didn't have much to do so they all offered to come see the little village of Maus. I'm telling the truth!"
'If Grandma finds out, she'll skin me alive!' Olivia thought. 'This is my last time I'll probably see her for a while, too… I want her to be happy to see me…' Olivia and Grandma descended down the stairs and rejoined the group. The group was clearing things and prepping for bed.
"I wanna sleep on the couch!" Manny threw himself onto the couch.
"Bro, this isn't your house. Be careful." Lee Seng scolded Manny. Manny smiled as he comfortably settled into the couch.
"You're just jealous because you don't get to sleep on the nicest couch." Manny patted the couch. Lee Seng rolled his eyes.
"Well, it's getting late, everyone should rest." Grandma Ok yawned. "As for this old lady, I will go to bed. Don't be too loud." Everyone said their good night's to Grandma and watched her waddle past the kitchen and into a hallway. Once the door was closed, Lee Seng looked at Olivia and then the others, giving a silent nod.
"Let's go over what we know before we start." Lee Seng suggested. Manny groaned and sat up.
"You're right…. But why do we have to do it now? It's late and I'm getting tired?" Manny yawned. Lee Seng ignored Manny and continued on.
"I tried to ask my grandmother about it, but she wouldn't say anything." Olivia told them. She leaned over the couch and sighed. "Which means there's something going on even my grandmother doesn't want me to know about."
"We should take a look around tomorrow, right?" Evan asked. "There isn't anything we can do now? We'd have to search in the morning, right?"
"Probably the best bet." Manny agreed.
"What excuse will we use if someone asks… why we're digging into this?" Liz asked. "We heard a rumor and wanted to see if it was true?"
"What if we just use… we're adventurers on a quest?" Ritsuka suggested. "We're technically a team and it wouldn't be too far from the truth… We did kinda accept a quest… of sorts."
"True." Manny nodded. "We could use that excuse."
"Where's the proof?" Liz asked. "What if we… get asked for identification?"
"Lucky for us, Chrono gave me these." Lee Seng crawled over for his backpack and pulled it over. He unzipped the backpack, pulling out the small emblems and handing it to each person. It was a gold emblem with nine tails and a fox's face. "We're working for a small guild company called the Foxes of Nine. They got a tip, the one we know, and sent us out here since we wanted a Spring Break job and Olivia wanted to visit her Grandma. A coincidence that both things aligned."
"They really thought of it all." Evan nodded. "I guess that works. So, do we start tomorrow then?"
"Yea." Manny nodded. "For now, let's get some rest, 'kay? I'm tired." A yawn escaped Manny's mouth as he settled into the couch.
"If we're done then Liz and I will be upstairs." Olivia pointed.
The Next Day
The Village of Maus was a quaint village. Greenery spread across the entire village as Lee Seng jogged around. Olivia's home was one of the biggest houses in the village. It was well-maintained. Lee Seng wandered into the downtown square, noticing a small group of people out and about.
They all looked at him and gave him a curious 'hello.' Lee Seng greets them with a wave and continues onwards. The square is filled with stores of different kinds. Some seemingly older and out of use than others while a fountain sits in the middle of it all. Water spews from the top, trickling down as Lee Seng comes to a stop near it.
'I'll take a rest here.' Lee Seng thought as he stood near it. Coins from a past era lay at the bottom of the fountain. Wishes from the past many people had hoped to come true. 'I wonder if any came true.'
Lee Seng pulled his phone out and changed the song. He scrolled the playlist for a bit and hit an upbeat song. As soon as he slipped it in, he felt eyes on him. Lee Seng looked up and scanned the area. A guard was staring at him. Lee Seng waved at the man, only to see him turn and walk off.
'Why do I get an ominous feeling from you?' Lee Seng wondered. He shrugged it off and began to slip his phone into his pocket when a strange swirl of black mist flew at him. Lee Seng jumped off to the side. The black mist pulled back, drawing Lee Seng's attention towards the guard. 'It's coming from him?'
The guard didn't glance backwards at him. The guard seemingly picked up speed like he knew Lee Seng was watching him. Lee Seng followed after, noticing the black mist forming a path behind the guard. The guard went up the hill and turned right into a dirt road. Lee Seng came to a stop and looked.
'Wait, he isn't there anymore?' Lee Seng spun around, looking for the guard. 'How can he just disappear?' Lee Seng jogged through the dirt road, reaching the other side and looking around. 'Where did he go?'
"Lookin' for me?" A low voice asked. Lee Seng turned as the guard swung his baton at Lee Seng. Lee Seng blocked the attack, feeling a numbing sensation on his arms as he jumped backwards. The black mist coalesced around the guard's body, snaking over to his baton. A smile crept on the guard's face as he leapt forward, swinign the baton.
Gravity wrapped around Lee Seng's entire body as the baton collided with his arm. A wave of energy flew outwards. Black mist spilled out of the baton, sending Lee Seng into the side of a building. Lee Seng groaned, dropping to his feet as the guard rushed him. The guard swung the baton downwards as the air around Lee Seng froze. Gravity flew outwards, holding the man in place as Lee Seng quickly tackled him onto the ground. Lee Seng planted himself onto the guard and raised a fist.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Lee Seng asked. The guard grunted as gravity pushed down onto the man. The guard grinned as he let out a chuckle.
"You think you're safe?" The guard asked. "You shouldn't feel safe, Number 11. We have eyes everywhere, ahahah!" Lee Seng gritted his teeth as he released his fist. Lee Seng's fist collided with the ground, carving a hole out of it as Lee Seng pulled it out.
"Are you here for me?" Lee Seng asked. "I should've figured from your energy." He stood up and started to brush his fist as he took a look around. "Are you the only one here? Probably not. Tell me something… Are you behind the disappearances?"
"The disappearances?" The guard laughed. The pressure of gravity pushed down on him, choking him out of his laugh. "I… I don't know what you're talking about… IF you think I would do such a thing… Think again… I'm only here for you… to warn you…" The guard's eyes looked directly at Lee Seng as the black mist began to billow out of him. "The Creator is watching… And the Deimons are coming for you… Be prepared, Lee Seng Chang. No matter how far you run, you'll always be in his sight."
The man exploded into black mist as airy chuckles grew around Lee Seng. Whispers grew all around Lee Seng as the smoke coalesced into a humanoid shape. Red glowing eyes grew as the chuckles continued.
"Watch yourself, Number 11. He will have his Eleventh warrior… One way or another."
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