At the headquarters, Mr. Gren, Bela, and Oliver had returned from their mission.
"Mmmhh..." sighed Bela, sitting upside down on the sofa. In front of her was a TV with its black screen. They called it the "TV sofa." And Mr. Gren beside her was reading a comic.
"Today is so boring," Bela said, folding her arms.
"Have you done your homework yet?" Mr. Gren asked.
"Nah, I'm lazy," Bela answered.
"Tck tck tck, what a bad habit," Mr. Gren said, flipping a page of his book.
On the other side, Mr. Wise was sitting on the sofas behind them. Two sofas forming an "L" shape with a small table in front. They called it the "playground sofa." Usually, they played and gathered there.
Bela slowly turned her body and half-stood with her knees on the sofa, facing Mr. Wise.
"Mr. Wise... can I play with my junoi-"
"No!" Mr. Wise interrupted.
"Why? I'm bored..." Bela complained, resting her head on the back of the sofa.
"Hey, if your junoi were a normal junoi, it'd be fine. But last time you played with a junoi, it was way too wild. On top of that, you left the junoi outside while you went back into the mansion," said Gren.
"Eh... hehe..." Bela scratched her cheek with her index finger.
"And if I'm not mistaken, it was Mr. Gren who handled that junoi back then," said Oliver, coming out of the kitchen carrying a glass of tea. "On top of that, Mr. Gren was so unlucky-his wallet fell because he got startled by a junoi like that. After it was dealt with, Mr. Gren went back to look for his wallet. The wallet was found, but its contents were gone, ahahaha." Oliver gulped down half the glass of tea.
"I were returning from a mission, tired, and then a junoi like that showed up. Of course i were startled," said Mr. Gren.
Not long after—
CRASH!!
Mr. Kuroto kicked the door open, revealing himself carrying Aruta, Sako, and Mono, all covered in wounds.
"We're back!" shouted Mr. Kuroto.
"They're completely battered," remarked Mr. Gren.
"Wow, welcome back, everyone!!" Bela greeted loudly.
"Hey Bela, can I ask for your help to heal them?" asked Kuroto.
"Of course!" A red-colored aura hole appeared beside Bela. Bela inserted her hand, pulled out a nurse outfit, and immediately put it on. "Doctor Bela is ready to serve!"
"You sure about asking for her help?" asked Mr. Gren.
"Ahahaha, no problem. Bela's nursing skills are top class," said Kuroto.
"Well, I'll just pray for their safety then," said Mr. Wise.
"Oh right. Wise, Gren, come with me for a bit. There are some things I want to tell you," Mr. Kuroto said. "Anyway, where's Haruki?" he continued.
"Outside," Mr. Gren answered.
"Ow alright then, I think just you two are enough. Bela, take them away," Mr. Kuroto said dropping the three bodies.
"Roger that!" Bela immediately stacked all three bodies on her right shoulder and carried them.
"Uhh I'm not so sure about this. Let me supervise," Oliver said following Bela.
"Okay, good luck with that," said Mr. Kuroto giving a thumbs up.
"Absolutely!!" Bela shouted while briefly turning around before continuing down a hallway. Oliver followed behind her.
"Okay, Wise, Gren, come over to the 'playground sofa'," Kuroto said.
"Getting called by childrens so often has become a habit, huh," said Gren getting up from the TV sofa.
The three of them sat on the "playground sofa," and Kuroto took out his phone, saying he'd received news from Ryuzen. A strange LYNK energy wave had been detected in the Northern Continent. Their best Juntoshi Mage, Muyamura, had tried investigating it alongside our talented mage, Juriko, but there were still no results about where this strange LYNK energy originated.
Kuroto continued, explaining that Ryuzen had asked if we might help gather some information about this case.
"How would we do that?" asked Gren.
Kuroto said one of their scout witches had noticed something unusual in a village near Victor City. They might find the people we needed there.
"Victor City?" Gren said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, the dead city with its dark history. All its residents died without any known reason. When the police and even Juntoshi Mages arrived, corpses were already littering the streets," Kuroto said.
"And Wise," Kuroto continued. "You've been to that village before, right? I want you to lead the mission there."
"Okay," Wise answered shortly. "What's strange about that village?" he added.
Kuroto explained that in the village, there were incidents where residents suddenly "went mad," and some were even reported missing. According to reports, the highest-risk area for disappearances and madness was the village traditional marketplace. Those who went mad didn't stay permanently insane-only briefly.
"Alright. I'll bring Zaka and Raven," Wise said.
"Ah, wait," Kuroto interrupted.
"Hmm?"
"I want you to take Aruta too," Kuroto said with a smile.
Wise fell silent for a moment before finally saying, "Alright."
"Okay, that's all I wanted to say," Kuroto said as he picked up his "Hot Wings" box. "I'm so hungry, ugh," Kuroto opened the box and said, "Bon appet-"
"MR. KUROTO!" Mona suddenly appeared hugging him from behind.
"WAAHH?!!" Startled, Mr. Kuroto accidentally threw his food into the air.
"I got in trouble again, Siiiirrrr. I accidentally knocked over a trash can, then a teacher came and scolded me, making me take responsibility. The trash was scattered everywhere and I had to clean it up. I wanted to come earlier but got delayed by divine intervention. I asked Mono for help but he refused. I tried pulling him but he was adamant," Mona rapid-fired while Mr. Kuroto deftly caught the food box and then all the falling food back into it.
"No wonder you weren't here earlier," Kuroto said.
"By the way, where are the others?" Mona asked.
"They're in Bela's room," Mr. Kuroto answered, starting to eat his food.
"Okay, I'll go see them then," Mona said, walking toward Bela's room.
"Hmm hmm hmm!! Got damn! So delicious as always," Mr. Kuroto devoured his meal enthusiastically. "Oh right!"
Mr. Kuroto walked to the kitchen and returned with several puddings. He began opening and eagerly eating them.
"My god, that's so much. You eat terrifyingly for an old man. Not afraid of diabetes?" asked Mr. Gren.
"Hey, I need dessert after my grilled chicken (ayam bakar). Oh, and for the record, I'm not that old," Mr. Kuroto retorted.
***
On the other side, Mona finally arrived in front of Bela's room. Mona knocked on the door but initially got no response.
knock knock knock
"It's Mona, can I come in?" she asked.
Finally, Oliver's voice was heard, "Oh Mona. Come on in. I think I need your help right now too."
Mona opened the door. "Excu... oh god."