Chapter XX: Quinholm

Welcome to Quinholm. The place is suitable as a mining town since it's settled at the foot of Mount Madre, a land mass rich in minerals. Aside from mining, the place is also famed for its Geomancery, the branch of magic that deals with rocks. It's usually quiet at night, but it's never quiet when a flock of Demonic Acolytes come and pick a fight with your town, right? It's only a matter of time before Quinholm is overwhelmed.

"Fall back! Fall back to the gates!" Archmage Deus commands his Geomancer brothers to withdraw from the fields and onto the exterior of the town. He plans to make a garrison there stationed below the towers where they'll make their stand.

Seeing that their enemies are falling back, the Acolytes take their turn and advance toward the Geomancers. There's gotta be at most a hundred of them against about a half a thousand Acolytes.

"Get ready to fire!", the old Archmage beacons. The towers that surround the town walls have machines that throw magnesium crystals in them. He's probably gonna use it to decimate the Acolytes in one fell swoop and then get his hands dirty to finish off the rest. 

As soon as he sees more of them making head-way, he gives the order: "Fire!"

On his signal, about 20 chunks of magnesium crystals were flung into the massive group of Acolytes that march from the horizon. Once it hits the target, the Geomancers cast an A.o.E.(Area of Effect) spell that detonates the crystals. However, this wasn't enough to stop them. As a countermeasure, Acolytes are programmed to use their mana as a shield to block magic, as well as conjuring swords to strike their enemies. These entities were once mages, but were also slain by Demons. Once their souls left their bodies and their mana was left inside to rot, Geno found a good way to recycle this energy. He implanted artificial souls that would control them and give them utmost loyalty to King Orion. Quite an unethical thing to do, but I don't think it matters when your mind is already twisted as hell.

"This cannot be...", he thinks to himself. Despite what seems inevitable, he still found it in himself to give courage to his men: "Stand strong, my brothers! Our cause is greater than these abominations' ferocity!"

As they brace themselves for their pending loss, a sudden commotion stirs up from the army of Acolytes. The cause of this commotion is something supposedly familiar to you, dear reader: A red serpentine creature with a pair of deadly fangs. What you don't know is her capabilities when it comes to enemies. She can spray deadly toxin from the tip of her fangs that could even corrode Vibranium. It's also possible for her to fight Demons because, you know, she's magic. 

Along with her were four Elementals paired with their Anima, two of which who aren't used to their powers. They tear through the husks of dead men, each of them causing tons of damage with their own weapons: We have a Solar Elemental lighting up Sunfire through the night sky with his golden rune blade, and a dark blue cat with two antennae crippling enemies along side him; a Darkness Elemental - at full power because it's night- armed with two detachable Hidden Blades that wrap around dark ethereal chains, with a bright yellow cat with one antenna that sparks and distorts her enemies; a Frost Elemental carrying a single-edged sword that shoots enchanted blasts of ice against his foes, while his crimson Anima with elongated cat ears blasts the Acolytes with a ring of fire; and finally a Fire Elemental that summons red hot arrows that explode to disintegrate multiple targets, as her sky colored partner shoots cold hard metal spikes that are molded from her long tail.

Damn... I can't keep up with all these messed-up descriptions. One can only go far when it comes to [1]Chuunibyou. Trust me, you're gonna want to search the meaning of that word if you wanna survive this story.

"Alis!", Credo screams as he blocks a sword that was about to smite Anna who was preoccupied with other targets. "Muntikan ka na!", he scolds her but of course she didn't understand what he said, and neither did you, dear reader.

"You know I don't speak Elemental!", she answers back as she loads another arrow. 

Credo executes the attacker then replies, "Just get behind me if you don't wanna get yourself killed."

"Are you saying it's not your concern if I get killed?" After spilling that out, she performs a melee attack, so as to take down an enemy with one of her arrows through his groin.

"I'm saying you should get behind because I want you safe, tanga!" He uses the rage in that sentence to drive his Gunblade through one of them and shoots him to rip him apart.

Because he was busy scolding her, he didn't notice the flurry of summoned swords currently targeting him from behind. But before it hits him, he gets snagged out of the way by a hook blade attached to a chain, resulting in only one of the blades to graze the bridge of his nose.

"Kansha suru, anata no baka!", Mea scoffs at him.

"Ah~ Arigatogozaimasu...", he says after being pitifully saved.

As you can read, it looks like Credo also speaks Draconian. Just another weapon to add for his "Harem Uprising", according to the writer.

"Quit playing around!", Solis screams at the top of his lungs like a kid who got his candy stolen, if you know what I mean. He's been enjoying feeding his killing intent for a while now, until that scene caught his eye.

Credo shrugs then picks himself up and continues into the fray. 

While this was going on, the Archmage sees his chance to light up his men: "Brothers! God is on our side! The Elementals have returned to aid us in our plight; therefore, we too must bare our fangs against these Demons!"

The Geomancers raise their staves and howl with glory as soon as they realized there's hope.

"FORWARD!" He gives the order, and he and his brothers charge against the enemy from their side.

Now, the Acolytes are sandwiched between the people of Quinholm and the Elementals accompanied by a large venomous snake. An easy win if you ask me.

By the way, if you're wondering where Lanette is, she's back guarding the carriage armed with a frying pan. Yes, a frying pan. Quite an unusual weapon, just like her father's. 

Oh, but what's this? She's pulling out some sort of long, white fabric from her luggage. It looks like a... like a scarf! Isn't that Credo's? Wait.... She's doing something else now. While her right hand was holding onto the frying pan, her other hand was clasping on the cloth. She holds it up to her face and... she kissed it! She just kissed it! What's with this spur of affection? I... I don't know what to say. First I thought she was just doing her job. But this! Just look at how much love she gave to that scarf! I guess she's taken a liking to him too.

"Be safe, Credo...", she prays with an innocent voice.

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"Sir!", Geno enters the throne room to find King Orion reading a book about Lolita Complex. He quickly hides it as soon as he hears Geno's voice.

"Speak...", he looks at him with distaste in his eyes.

"We've found the other half", he announces.

"Really...", he fondles his beard, "Tell our 'old friend' to get it."

"With pleasure, sir", he bows.

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"Glory be to God!"

The mining town of Quinholm was holding a feast that night.  You can probably guess who the guests of honors are. Alkalde Alfonso (Mayor Alfonso) was quite delighted with their help. He even went as far as to give them a luxury room to stay the night and a change of clothes while their normal ones are being washed. Don't worry, their clothes aren't anything ecchi. It's just some cheap white robes. But wait... it seems one of them is shuddering on his seat in the banquet.

"Are you okay, Solis?", Anna asks him.

"T-T-Too many people... celebrating in one place", Solis nervously answers while rubbing his shoulders. His skin looks pretty pale too.

"Does that bother you?", she looks at him with concern.

"It kinda wowks wike cwaustrophobia", Tenenbaum implies while under the table, talking with her mouth full of pineapple chunks. "It's usu'lly jus' the two of us, so it gives him the cweeps when thewe's a cwowd awound 'im."

"I'm gonna... go collapse outside now...", he says as he exits the table and limps away from the mob of people drinking in their honor.

"What's wrong?", Mea stands from her seat opposite to Anna's as she watches Solis hobble from afar.

"Solis says he's bad with crowds", Rylai pops out from under the table to reply.

"You gonna go check on him?", Credo questions Mea as he drinks a cup full of Akkadian Syrup. Don't worry. Even though he's a minor, Credo can't get intoxicated since that stuff isn't really alcoholic. Besides, this story's rated teen. The writer wouldn't let me demonstrate the actions of a sixteen year old Frost Elemental practicing anti-sobriety. 

She sits back down and returns to eating. "Masaka...", she says sarcastically while trying to hide the rosiness of her cheeks. 

"You want me to go check on him?", he retorts as a counter proposal to his last statement.

"Onegaishimasu", she requests and puts both palms together while changing the tone of her voice.

Credo rises up from his seat makes his way out of the table.

"Oh, going somewhere , Credo?", Nash asks him with her lips awash with pudding.

"I'm gonna check on the kid."

"You better hurry back", she cheerfully beams as he walks away.

"Sure", he coldly answers.

And so Credo walks around town. Most of the houses were on top of dusty cliffs scattered around the city, so it had to be connected by a network of small bridges. The establishments were below, consisting of potteries, smithies, and various specialty shops that sell all kinds of stuff that can be salvaged from the dunes. There weren't any people at the place right now because everyone was attending the gathering in front of the Alkalde's land, the one on top of the tallest cliff. Celebrations such as the one being conducted right now are seldom recognized by the town. A gathering is only lively when the Alkalde also agrees with it. 

As he takes his time to tread down the steps leading to the empty stalls, he suddenly felt something leap on his left shoulder.

"Ano meron?", asks the red Anima that recently hopped on his shoulder.

"Nothing. Just trying not to get any attention", he implies without the slightest bit of surprise.

"Me too."

"Of course", he continues his pace, "We think the same, you and I."

"Sure we do, except you can't be honest."

"Don't start with me, Lina."

"Oh come on, you said you'd get me some crepes", she cutely complains.

"You were stuffing your face with pudding a moment ago", he says with a cold expression.

"What's that over there?", she immediately changes the subject to point at the interior of the church. It had a large cross made of silver on the roof.

"You mean the church?", Credo buys it.

"Yeah, that thing kneeling inside", she points out.

That thing kneeling inside was Lanette. She's been there for about 12.3 minutes or so. It's only obvious that she's praying to her God. Just as she was about to hit the 13 minute mark, she bows her head a little bit and performs the sign of the cross, then stands up to find Credo and Lina walking around.

"Mast-", she pauses to correct herself. "Credo", she calls out instead.

"Hey look, it's your maid", Lina says.

"Are you done eating, Credo?", she politely inquires.

"Yeah, but you really didn't need to wait for me to finish."

"It's fine. It's my job to put my master first before me", she courteously implies.

"If you say so", Credo lets Lina hop back on his shoulder. "We're gonna go look for the kid. Why don't you join the others?"

"Gladly", she tilts her head to bow. "I'll be going now, Credo." She walks off.

"She's very passionate about her job, isn't she?", Lina remarks.

"Let's just hope it doesn't kill her."

They continue walking until they make it to the town's well. Solis was there spilling his guts on one of the buckets used to fetch water while Tenenbaum was holding it up for him. How did she get there? I guess it's one of the biggest mysteries hidden in this epic story. I didn't expect for him to be this nervous with crowds, but I guess that's what happens when you do nothing but hunt wild animals.

There he was, discharging what looked like marshmallows and snake-skin soup that took a u-turn from his throat and to his tongue. Torrents of bile and saliva lubricate the walls of his pharynx, letting out his predigested dinner to sputter and spread on the wooden container.

Sorry about that. The writer said he wanted some in-depth description when it comes to his puke. Don't worry, I'll make sure to persuade him next time.

"What the hell happened to you?", Credo walks towards him.

"I don't know...", he wipes his lips with the sleeve of his own robe, leaving behind a spoonful of puke. "It feels like my stomach is arguing with my lungs", he peculiarly describes as his right hand presses against his abdomen.

Tenenbaum tells Lina that her head aches too.

Credo chuckles like when a baseball player laughs at his younger brother who can't even hit the ball. "It looks like you two aren't conditioned for using your mana."

"Is it because I blew 'em up so much?" He heaves and spits out saliva with bits and pieces of food covered in his enzymes.

"Okay lang 'yan; masasanay ka rin", Credo smacks him in the back, still laughing at Solis' impotence.

"Yeah", he coughs, "I hope so..."

Night swallows up the dusty town of Quinholm. The moon was full and the Stone Talons were already on the prowl for easy prey. These avian creatures have dark red feathers and claws designed to snatch unsuspecting victims swiftly. They usually feed on small mammals that are asleep during the night. If Stone Talons were a little bit bigger, they could probably swoop down and take Solis as a family dinner, like the Demon who's headed to Quinholm right now....

Inside a concrete room with a double-decked bed, Solis was sleeping on the top bunk all alone, with beads of sweat covering his body. His nerves were frail and his insides were crawling, all of them trying to escape from the grip of his bones. The back of his skull felt like it was being chopped in half and his blood was trying to force its way out of his veins. He grits his teeth and clasps his palms on the sheets, attempting to reroute the pain that pulsates in every cell of his body. But it won't stop. It just keeps getting worse by the second.

"No more!"

He climbs down the bed and puts on his gear with the sheathe holding both Kirin and Grace. He walks out the room with Tenenbaum by his side.

"You sure you wanna do this?", Tenenbaum tries to retort his actions.

"Everything's been building to this...."

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1. Seriously though, you have to watch this show to understand what that word means.

Reviews

[❀Subaru_Nyaa!
..]

"What you don't now" Above Vibranium. You have a typo I think you meant "Know"

The chunk below Chuunibyou, you called Credo "She said"

Your Onegai has an extra "I" in it.

[Oran]

Fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out.