《Spectrum of the Soul》 Chapter 1: The Superior Race It was a particularly windy day on the city of Cremeria, capital of the Crimson Empire and home of the three great volcanoes. Behind one of the volcanoes, near the border of the city to the ocean, is the grounds of where the brightest children of the empire learn about the art of fighting, or ¡°Arts¡± as they call it. One of them is a young, fit girl with skin color typical of those of Crimson descent with light-red skin and hair as brown as the bark of a Sakura tree that provided the leafy cushion for her leather boots. She¡¯s wearing a hard leather armor with her wheeler, a double-sided glaive - in contrast to the older man in front of her, whose attire is nothing but a robe who bears no weapon. They¡¯ve been standing for a good minute at the carpeted fields, just staring at each other. ¡°Good luck Celosia!¡± a boy shouted from the sides, watching them meditate on their first move in this decisive battle of wits and reflexes. ¡°You can do it!¡± cheered another girl of her age in this final battle against their master. Yes, this was the test on whether Celosia was prepared to leave the city. ¡°¡­Here we go.¡± The master swiftly charged and held up his two fingers and chanted, ¡°Art of Red: 1,¡± and a small fire emerged from his fingertips. The student was unfazed by the sudden attack and blocked the fire with her wheeler. Immediately jumping, the master sweeped his hands, ¡°Art of Red: 2.¡± Celosia rolled to dodge and tried to stab the master in mid-air. This battle is also a battle of control, where despite all the flammable materials surrounding them, nothing burned from their flames. ¡°Clack¡± goes the wheeler as the master stepped on it, jumped, and cast, ¡°Art of Red: 5!¡± and a radial flame spreads from his mouth but Celosia dissipated the flames with a spinning deflection and chanted ¡°Art of Red: 1!¡± towards his face but poof goes the flame with a simple flick of the master. Suddenly, a metallic object was within his face! ¡°What the-¡± and after avoiding it, he immediately knew he lost. He looked at the bottom of his robe and indeed¡­ it was on fire. His student threw her only weapon just to accomplish her goal - to get a single flame to hit her master. ¡°Well done, Celosia.¡± The master conceded and acknowledged the young girl while patting the flame off his robe. ¡°Only someone like you can think of the most outlandish things, like seriously who throws their only weapon?! You are ready for ¡®Favi¡¯.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, master. It was an honor.¡± With a customary bow, the fight has officially ended with Celosia winning. ¡°Celosia!¡± the girl who kept cheering on her approached her. ¡°Cherry¡­¡± ¡°You are bloody amazing! That was the fastest I¡¯ve seen someone win against the master!¡± ¡°Heh, of course!¡± she says as her grin conquers her face. ¡°Unfortunately, I won¡¯t be able to watch you, I have to go somewhere.¡± ¡°It¡¯s something with Chroma again, isn¡¯t it?¡± Celosia shrugged as Cherry nudged her. ¡°Cherry! Your turn!¡± the master shouted as he becomes more and more impatient. ¡°See you later and good luck!¡± Celosia waves and rushed into the heart of the city. ¡°N-nooooo! Don¡¯t leave me!!!!¡± Cherry cried in fear.
¡°He¡¯s probably there again.¡± Before she knew it, her hair fluttered with the wind, sweat flowed through her body, and her legs moved with the rhythm of her heart. Stepping on the path carved with the pink, luminescent Tugtupite crystals, carpeted by rosy-tinted petals from the flowers of the Lapacho trees beside the road, she rushed with the shadows of the creatures of the skies. She looked behind, only to see the ongoing fight of her friend against the master as roars and bursts of magnificent flames engulfed the area. ¡°Casters are always so showy.¡± She kept on running until she stumbled upon a huge 2-story villa made of the finest concrete and surrounded by a wall covered with beautiful black-colored paintings depicting the intricate history of the empire. ¡°Fitting for the master.¡± Each step made her go lower and lower as she descended on a slope until she¡¯s at the mercy of the smallest volcano, Puella. It spouts only a tiny amount of its lava from time to time into the ocean, which is why it was turned by the Royal Family into its home. The whole base of the volcano is bordered by pearly white walls, as if proudly saying that ¡°This entire area belongs to my master.¡± She continued sprinting along its contours until she was in front of its main gate. A quick peek and what she got is a sight that most commoners covet. ¡°A palace! A palace on the top of a volcano!¡± She thought.¡° His family is as wack as this place. Like what insane minds would build their home that requires 476 steps to reach?!¡± Celosia¡¯s mind wandered even though she sees these everyday, running before she bumped into someone¡­ or ¡°something¡± as they call it. "Ah, Mistress Celosia! Why are you in such a rush?" ? A female servant, in a red plain dress, approached her. It was Chroma¡¯s personal servant, an Orange girl named Apoy. Her absolute subservience is apparent in the subtleties of her countenance while she does the customary curtsy. "Finding Chroma." Despite knowing her for ages now, Celosia still sees Apoy with disgust. The reason is not because Apoy is half her size nor her servant status, but simply because she¡¯s orange. ¡°They¡¯re just simply inferior,¡± she thinks to herself as her deep red eyes vindicates her birthright in this velvet land. Why there are even orange-skinned slaves here perplexed her, ¡°Surely Crimson slaves would be infinitely better than these!¡± No need to think deeper though, as she is only inferior to those of the Royal family, and only they know why. ¡°Maybe Chroma knows.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± finally realizing that she unknowingly muttered her inner thoughts, she coughed and quickly left. She moves on and entered the center of the city. It is truly the heart of the lands, keeping the city alive with each caravan arriving from their long journey, soldiers patrolling the streets, commoners going on with their daily lives, and hopefuls setting up wooden stalls as the long awaited Favi, The Day of the Ashes comes near. Each stroke of the sun disappears as her own mansion shades her delicate body. It is only second to the Royal Palace, as Celosia is the daughter of the Great Hero Igni. Only a person of great honor can have such a home between the steaming flux of molten rocks. After a bridge that crosses the lava rivers, she¡¯s finally in the vast open field of blood grass. There are some farms and some hills here and there, but there is a subtle path here that only she and Chroma knows. Walking through the endless meadows and skipping on some lava tributaries, she finally saw her goal in sight. A lone hill with a lone prince. ¡°There you are!¡± energy beams from her even after sprinting the span of the city. She went near him and tapped the shoulder pads of his armor. ¡°Chroma.¡± ¡°Chroma.¡± ¡°Chroma.¡± No response. She went closer to him and messes with his short crimson hair, reminiscent of a proper Crimson man. Nothing. ¡°Oh well¡±, she thought and just sat beside him. ¡°He IS sometimes like this.¡± She stared at him in the eyes, only to see a dark abyss within those scarlet pupils. ¡°What is this guy even thinking?¡± she thought. Her eyes moved towards the view in front of them. It was the culmination of all the fiery rivers and tributaries. It was the Tear of the Lovers, appropriately called because of the ¡°Father¡± and ¡°Mother¡± volcano, endlessly flowing into the lava-filled, eternally burning Lake Crima, where the capital got its name. ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± This was probably the last day for a while that she¡¯ll be embraced by the warm hug of the steam and smoke and the guidance of the light it provides. It finally started to sink into Celosia. ¡°Ahh.¡± It was only then that it striked her that that was what he thought. ¡°Celosia.¡± It seems like he¡¯s back. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Do you remember falling here?¡± ¡°After all that waiting, that¡¯s the first thing you say to me¡­ of course I do, sheesh.¡± ¡°Hahaha, you were staring at those fierycanths so much that you fell! You could¡¯ve just bought one at the market!¡± Chroma can¡¯t stop laughing so much that he teared up. ¡°Hmph! As if you didn¡¯t fall at that long ass stairs at your home that time!¡± ¡°It was your fault! You tripped me!¡± Both cackled at their banter. ¡°There was also that time where you got chased by a wolf. Also that day when Cherry and Marcus first came here. And also our first day at the Oracle with the master and so, so much more memories of this city.¡± Chroma¡¯s face started to become more and more solemn as his ramble goes on, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so scared, Celosia. Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m shaking?¡± Celosia touched his hands and indeed, it is. Celosia stood up and widely opens her arms toward the city, ¡°You are Chroma Cremeria Scarlet, prince of the Crimson Empire! This city and the land beyond will be yours! And you¡¯re scared?¡± She faced him and pointed the tip of her wheeler at his face, ¡°And with ¡®Favi¡¯, we¡¯re gonna meet the people that YOU will soon rule! Oh, they will be so disappointed with a whiny king!¡± He looked absolutely dumbfounded at Celosia¡¯s heated stupidity, ¡°Uhhh¡­ I¡¯m not even the heir apparent, remember?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, you pussy! Heir apparatus or whatever prince thing you are!¡± Celosia suddenly chanted, ¡°Art of Red: 3!¡± and with a kick, a sweeping flame moved toward Chroma but he immediately dodged it with a roll. ¡°Hey! What the hell?! Are you looking for a fight?!¡± ¡°Maybe I am.¡± Only the music of the whirling wind entered the ears of the youngsters with their arms tense, posture solid, and senses sharpened to prepare for any sudden movement the enemy makes while their minds are calculating the precise move they must make at the exact mome- ¡°Grggrg.¡± Celosia¡¯s stomach growled so loudly that Chroma¡¯s got jealous and also growled back. ¡°After that training, yeah¡­¡± They falter from their intense stare down, ¡°We need to eat.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go back and buy something on the marke-¡± His lips was shut by her finger and she naughtily whispers, ¡°Follow me.¡± Reluctantly, he follows while wondering why she has that huge mischievous smile. Eventually, they arrived in one of the farms in the range and they snuck towards one of its windows. ¡°This is Mr. Farmer¡¯s home! Are we bloody stealing again?!¡± said Chroma with a whisper-y scream. It was a standard house for a large commoner family of the capital, a single-story brick house that had a entrance hall that led to an atrium with various doors that led to several rooms. Fortunately, only Mr. Farmer lives here, making him an easy target for the thieves. ¡°Celosia! We¡¯re rich! Why the hell are we doing this?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fun! Besides, it¡¯s our families that gave him this home in the first place!¡± she said as she scanned the perimeter to check if no one¡¯s around. ¡°See the barn door over there? It¡¯s open. He¡¯s likely there. Now¡¯s our chance. Think of this as collecting the tax.¡± Chroma sighed and entered the open courtyard with Celosia leading. They checked each door with quick, tiptoed steps until they hit their jackpot. It was the storage room, a cold, damp room with a large cabinet, full with various jars filled with wine. Beside that are barrels, some filled with pickled fruits, and others meat that were smoked and salted. Near the far end of the room are fish tanks with live shrimps and crabs. Lastly, in the middle of the room are leftover breads and cheese in a small round table with a single leg with smooth, intricate design. The delinquent lass grabbed a single jar and one of the leftover breads and proceeded to indulge herself. The spilled drops of wine and breadcrumbs on her armor is particularly noteworthy to the reluctant Chroma. ¡°Y¡¯r nwht gong to et?¡± she said, barely understandable because of the bread stuffed in her mouth. He sighed once again and ate the leftovers with tremendous guilt written over his face. It quickly changed as he tasted the incredible bakery made with love. ¡°I suppose this is delicious.¡± ¡°The stomach has spoken!¡± They ate to their heart¡¯s content. ¡°Ahhh! This is the life¡­¡± she said as she rubbed her full tummy. ¡°It¡¯s a bit strange though. Did you even notice how long we¡¯ve been here? Mr. Farmer would be scolding us around this time.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the barn then,¡± she immediately rushed to the direction of the barn, a rectangular two story building with an elevated middle section and a large wooden door in the front. The closer they got to the barn, the louder they heard the screams of the livestock, who were frightened for some reason. Celosia opened the barn door and then just stood there speechless. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t open it for long or he¡¯ll catch us,¡± Chroma approached Celosia and then she quickly closed the door, grabbed Chroma¡¯s arms, and ran away as fast as she could with panic obvious in her body language. ¡°Hey, what the hell?¡± ¡°SHUT UP!!!¡± she kept running, dragging him until they heard the barn door collapse, creating debris that inevitably hit their backs, tripping them. The dust from the destruction covers the barn. ¡°Chroma, get ready.¡± ¡°W-What happened? Hey! What did you even see?¡± ¡°¡­Mr. Farmer is dead.¡± A huge silhouette appeared from the dust. A loud bird-like screech echoed from the barn. The shadow slowly revealed itself. Huge, brilliant, feathery scythe-shaped red wings with a bloody pseudo-beak on its head, slime dripping off its brown scale-covered body and limbs with sharp claws in the end. It was¡­ ¡°¡­a coatl! What is it doing here in the capital?! They¡¯re not supposed to be even here in the Auster Peninsula!¡± the knowledge Chroma learned in the lectures from the Oracle doesn¡¯t seem to match reality. ¡°H-Hey! Let¡¯s run!¡± Celosia added tension to her arms, posture solid, and senses sharpened to prepare for any sudden movement the enemy makes while her mind is calculating the precise move they must make at the exact moment, something she wasn¡¯t allowed to do before because of hunger fatigue. ¡°Are we actually fighting this thing?!¡± ¡°Whatever the reason, I¡¯m glad I brought my weapon.¡± She placed her hands on her right chest, breathes deeply, and stated her conclusion. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. We can¡¯t let anybody die again.¡± The coatl charged towards them and swiped with its wing. Celosia quickly rolled, ¡°Art of Red: 8!¡±, and did a roundhouse kick that radiated flames. The monster¡¯s wings burned for only a brief time but the strong winds from its flapping smothered it. Immediately after Chroma cast an Art, they tried to escape but the coatl blocked their way again and attacked. Celosia did the same moves again and again. After a while, starting to be tired, Celosia saw no other way. ¡°Damn it! Chroma, call for the guards. I¡¯ll fight this alone!¡± ¡°Wait! Look at the ground!¡± It seems that the slime that kept dripping from the monster was caught on fire with their Arts. ¡°The smoke from the fire! If we keep up the flames, the city guards might notice! Keep using sweeping flames!¡± Just as planned, more and more flames covered the area. ¡°It¡¯s working!¡± But the coatl was also starting to be distressed by the fire and so, it raised both of its arms and an orange glow appeared in its wings, and did an extremely powerful spin, effectively extinguishing the flames to their dismay. ¡°Well, bloody Vulcan! Hopefully that was enough to catch their attention.¡± The sweat-covered exhausted Celosia offered her friend once again, ¡°Go.¡± ¡°I-I can¡¯t,¡± Her friend intensely refused, ¡°to leave you alone right now would be-¡± ¡°Nothing I can do then,¡± cuts Celosia, ¡°I knew you would saw something like that.¡± Sighing, she kept up her stance once again, fully drenched from her sweat as her heart beats the quickest in her life. With the pair side-by-side, the monster swiftly charged. This time, successfully flinging Celosia far with its kick. ¡°Celosia!¡± Chroma rushed to her side and it was then that the sky turned dark. With a single gaze to the heavens, a myriad of colors invaded their eyes as a majestic creature of plumed wings and tails descends from the sky. It was very similar to the coatl with its pseudo-beak, but it has a large crest on its head, and the luster of its scale is so great that it acts like a mirror. It was the first time both saw such a creature. The creature screeched so intensely that the coatl was taken aback, saving the two from their life¡¯s ends. ¡°Catch!¡± a voice of a woman came from above and two shadows fell towards Chroma and he caught it. It was two pouches with some liquid inside. ¡°Good job, you two. But leave this to me.¡± With vibrant strands of hair fall acting like curtains for a performance, the person landed in front of them. ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯m a huntress.¡± Chroma pulled the injured Celosia away from the battle and they ran before they could take a good look at her, only saving one more crucial information about their savior. ¡°Pluvian. It was a Pluvian.¡± In contrast to the purity of their color, a Pluvian is a mixture of the different colors of the rainbows, whether it be their skin, eyes, or even hair color. ¡°Agh!¡± Too much strain from her stomach made her paralyzed, not far enough to be out of the danger. ¡°Hey! Are you alright?!¡± ¡°Of- *cough* course not!¡± Celosia collapsed to the ground. She was only able enough to say, ¡°The- pou- *cough*¡± as bits of blood came out of her mouth. Chroma rapidly checked the pouches and removed her armor, and lifted her stitched clothes high enough to see the perfectly curved waists of Celosia, where she was hurt. Before he became embarrassed at looking at the body of his friend, he poured one of the fluids at her built abs, and the other she let her drink.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°These are potions. One is a potion for wound healing, the other for pain relief.¡± The wounds on her stomach instantly healed, as if nothing happened. ¡°Amazing. I feel better now. First time I took a potion. How did you know these are potions?¡± ¡°Although not exact, they look familiar to what was thought in Alchemy. You should to listen to the master sometimes.¡± ¡°I just find potions boring. Anyways¡­¡± They looked behind to see a fight that is only comparable to those written in legends. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue. Each of the respective Arts used by the one person. Her agility matched that of the most fearsome wyverns when she barely has any armor on. Only with a white cotton shirt, black leather pants with a pouch belt, and a tooth dagger, she was able to drive the coatl back. But not without some consequences. With a final swipe before escaping, her companion monster was brutally hurt. She screamed towards the pair in a language that the two cannot understand. "??! ?? ??? ???!" ¡°What is it saying?¡± ¡°How would I know Pluvian?¡± ¡°*cough* Sorry... I speak Crimsonian too.¡± The stranger took a quick sip at one of her pouches to heal some of her wounds. ¡°Fuck. I don¡¯t have enough for my quetzodactyl.¡± ¡°What about you? You¡¯re bleeding!¡± says the concerned Chroma. ¡°This is nothing. You still have some of those potions earlier?¡± Chroma, with Celosia behind him, gave what remained of the potions to the Pluvian. The Pluvian applied the potion to the wounded part of her quetzodactyl. The monster gave a loud, harsh, piercing cry of pain, scaring the Crimson duo to the ground. It was at that time that the guards arrived. ¡°Halt! Pluvian trespasser! You¡¯re going with us.¡± With spears pointed at her face, she had no choice. ¡°I have no choice.¡± ¡°Yeah. You have no choices here, Pluvian,¡± commented Celosia in a clear, hostile way. ¡°Ok, brat.¡± Celosia was ready to go on a rampage if not for Chroma¡¯s effort to stop her. ¡°What are you two children doing here?! It¡¯s dangerous here, somebody died!¡± ¡°Legionary, these are not just children,¡± the legionary salutes to the intimidating aura behind him. ¡°They are of the Scarlet and Velvet families.¡± The legionary, the soldiers of the military, is the lowest position in the military. It looks like someone of a higher status also came to the scene. But they didn¡¯t expect a legate, commander of a legion of ten thousand soldiers, to come. He is man far older than them, obvious from his eyes ripe with experience. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just the boozer-¡± Celosia got a smack in the head from the legate. ¡°Okay, okay! Ahem. Mr. Vermillion!¡± Chroma salutes the commander, ¡°Mr. Vermillion, I¡¯m sorry yet again for Celosia¡¯s stupidity!¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Said Mr. Vermillion with a very friendly tone as he scratched his head of pink hair. ¡°You don¡¯t need to salute me, Chroma. You¡¯re not a soldier yet.¡° He pulls out a notebook from his red toga. ¡°There are numerous sightings of a large wyvern roaming around¡­let¡¯s see¡­ Cremeria, Rosilva, Vulcanus, Luctunia, Akaryu, and basically every major city in the Empire. These soldiers reported strange smoke coming from here, so I just had to go. Fortunately it¡¯s just a coatl. We were lucky only one person died.¡± He removed the piece of laurel placed on his left ear, crouched, and bowed his head. ¡°Mr. Farmer. May his soul rest in peace.¡± Everyone else followed suit. ¡°It¡¯s your last day here,isn¡¯t it? I heard from my daughter.¡± It was almost Favi, the rare moment when the twin moons align and causes the three volcanoes to erupt. This is the day for honoring the dead, and to do so, one must collect special materials for a massive festival. ¡°Yeah! Cherry¡¯s coming with us!¡± ¡°I see¡­ be sure to protect her, okay?¡± Even though one can just buy the materials in the market in a city, it has become a tradition for the Crimson teenagers to travel all over the Empire and do quests at the guild that will reward the materials. ¡°Of course!¡± He proceeded to smack both of them, ¡°Don¡¯t fight monsters you can¡¯t clearly handle! Children, I swear¡­¡± Celosia almost forgot but it was very obvious with her torn armor. Twirling his moustache, he said farewell. ¡°Good luck. Meanwhile, I have some business to do,¡± pertaining to the trespasser. Chroma and Celosia stared at each other until Mr. Vermillion was out of their sight, and they let out a huge sigh of relief. ¡°I¡­I thought I was going to die.¡± Chroma was on the verge of tears. ¡°Same. Mr. Vermillion sure is scary, unlike Cherry.¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­ I was talking about the Coatl.¡± Celosia does a powerful pose with her wheeler and declares, ¡°Huh? As long as you¡¯re with me, no monster will ever kill you!¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± a slight blush appeared in Chroma¡¯s face. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the guild. Cherry and Marcus are waiting.¡±
¡°Where have you guys been?!¡± Four teenagers are gathered in a table, two of them rapidly gobbling up everything served. It was a massive rectangular hall of polished basalt, with tables all over the place. And it was not only them that was there, for there was also people around their age, some eating, some taking quests from the counter, but all for preparation for Favi. It was the Guild, the huge building with five crimson pillars at its main entrance with its distinct three-pointed insignia at the front. Although people of other colors are intimidated at the bizarre architecture of the Crimson, it was a place of comfort for the red people because it reminds them of the dark embrace of the night as the iconic flag of the empire with its crimson chevron piercing through its black and white bands empowers their souls. ¡°Sorry Cherry, what happened was-¡± That was Celosia¡¯s chance to steal the massive chicken leg at his plate and of course, she devoured it like bear who just went out of hibernation. ¡°Hey!¡± Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, beef, almost everything you could ask for was already in her plate, but there was no chicken. ¡°There was no chicken, see!¡± Cherry slams the table with a stern face, resulting in a red wine spilling a bit in the middle section of her long toga just around her thighs. ¡°Bloody hell, you two,¡± and then pouts, ¡°We¡¯re in a public place. You¡¯re embarrassing us.¡± ¡°Embarrassment or chicken, my choice is clear.¡± Celosia pointed to Cherry with the bitten drumstick. ¡°We can¡¯t help it. We used so much art today.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°You see¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh no¡­ Mr. Farmer.¡± They all grieve for a moment. ¡°But there was a huntress, you say?¡± Marcus, who was silent for a while, had his eyes light up with enthusiasm through his thick curly black hair. ¡°Yeah. You were always interested in hunters, aren¡¯t you?¡± comments Chroma. ¡°People who travel all over the world, protecting citizens, training for years to learn all kinds of art of fighting, having knowledge of various forms of alchemy, chasing the most fearsome monsters in existence. So¡­ so bloody cool!¡± Marcus kept talking with fervor about hunters, much like a child who tasted chocolates for the first time. ¡°Oh¡­ here he goes again with his jabber.¡± Feeling hopeless to discipline the group, Cherry just lets them go. ¡°Too bad, Marcus. The huntress that we saw was¡­ a Pluvian.¡± Everyone went silent. ¡°Yeah. An affront to everything we know. Her skin is an appalling fusion of every hue out there. Her hair is just like a rainbow. Just the thought makes me so nauseated. Bloody motleys.¡± The guild was filled with shocked gasps. Sadly for Celosia, nobody but her cared about what she¡¯s rambling about. They were just concerned for her, for that motley was behind her. ¡°Motley¡­ I haven¡¯t heard that in a long time.¡± Celosia remained unfazed, faithful to her words as she sat still in her chair, her movements turned more refined. She peered into her eyes and says, ¡°You¡¯re just a huntress, you can¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°True. Unlike your bigoted mouth, I have a moral code to follow.¡± As if she was used to it, she brushed it off like nothing. ¡°Hmph.¡± ¡°We¡¯re so sorry, Miss Huntress! Even though you saved our lives earlier¡­ You ought to be grateful, Celosia!¡± It was the first time they got a first proper look at a Pluvian, and a huntress Pluvian at that. It was obvious from her upright posture the years of experience she had, far beyond their wildest imaginations. They felt tense as if a cold wind chills their bodies just by being near her very presence. In her cotton clothes was also a bunch of stitch marks, and her belt unpolished unlike how a professional tailor might make them. Her skin covered in multiple scars, her face prominently featuring claw marks on her right cheek, and eye bags suggesting her numerous sleepless nights. She is not someone to be messed with. She was holding a tooth dagger so large that it must¡¯ve come from a monster the size of the very building they¡¯re on, catching Marcus¡¯ attention. ¡°You¡¯re wondering about this dagger? Ah! It¡¯s from that wanker from the Yellow Mountains. Huge lad, but slow enough for me to get one of its tooths.¡± Everyone except Celosia is in utter awe. The Pluvian seats at an empty chair and places the dagger on the table. ¡°Here, you can touch it.¡± Marcus was so eager to touch the dagger that he got careless and cut his finger. ¡°Ack!¡± Celosia slams her fist on the table. ¡°I knew we shouldn¡¯t trust these goddamn Pluvians!¡± Like the smoke on a fire, Celosia¡¯s anger escapes. The huntress just facepalms. ¡°Children sure are dumb¡­¡± She grabb a pouch from her belt, ¡°This drop of sap from a Ygg tree should immediately stop the bleeding.¡± She lets out a drop of the sap to Marcus¡¯ finger and sure enough, the bleeding stopped. ¡°Next time, learn how to hold a dagger.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, Miss Huntress!¡± ¡°I knew those potions came from a tree sap, though I never heard of a Ygg tree before.¡± ¡°Ygg trees are native to the deep forests of the green people. I¡¯m guessing from your salty friend here that most of you don¡¯t get out of the red lands, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We are a proud Empire and the people are proud of our heritage!¡± Chroma silently laughed embarrassingly at Celosia¡¯s words and switched his gaze to the Pluvian, ¡°Anyways¡­ Why are you here?¡± ¡°Yeah, how did you escape?? You should be in prison right now.¡± Celosia interrogated her while eating her drumstick with a knife and fork, atypical of her as she is usually barbaric when eating. ¡°That reminds me¡­ you,¡± she points at Cherry, ¡°you¡¯re the daughter of that commander, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Y-yeah. Why?¡± ¡°And I¡¯m assuming you four are together on this ¡®Favi¡¯ traveling-around-the-Crimson-Empire thing, yes?¡± Somehow, Celosia started feeling sick. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I see. Your father told me to accompany you.¡± In unison, they all went ¡°What?!¡± but each with a different reason. ¡°Dad?! Gosh, I wish he stopped treating me like a child!¡± Cherry fiddled with her hair out of frustration. Celosia grabbed Cherry by the shoulders. ¡°Cherry! What is wrong with your father?! Asking a Pluvian for help?¡± ¡°Why did he ask for a huntress to escort us? I reckon the wyvern is more dangerous than I thought.¡± Chroma wonders as he sips from his wine glass. Marcus looked at the grand ceiling of the guild and gets lost in thought, ¡°That means I can watch a huntress fight the whole journey? Awesome.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me. I¡¯m not particularly interested in you children. Your father promised me to take care of my moribund quetzodactyl. Poor lass. But more importantly¡­¡± She then stood up and forcefully took one of the quests posted on the quest board near their table at the entrance of the hall. She read it to them out loud. ¡°Urgent Request: A strange, rainbow-colored wyvern has been seen and terrorizing villages all over the Empire. Numerous Crimson hunters have fallen from the wyvern already, therefore only the finest hunters should take this quest. I, Dux Rosilva Vermillion, asks for the assistance of a hunter to slay the beast. I will personally reward anyone ******** coppers who brings its head.¡± She faces the group and declares, ¡°I¡¯ll be taking this quest. And I¡¯ll accompany you too.¡± Everyone felt shock and awe to this Pluvian who dared to take the most feared quest to be posted in the guild. Even Celosia was humbled for a bit. ¡°That much coppers will allow you to buy a small village!¡± ¡°Miss huntress, what should we call you?¡± asks Cherry, who felt defeated after hearing the two requests by her father leaving her no choice but to get babysitted. ¡°I¡¯m Prism, That should be enough.¡± Looking bored, she ordered one glass of wine. ¡°When do we start?¡± Chroma informed Prism, ¡°After noon. We¡¯ll go and get our stuff that we need except for Cherry, who has her stuff in the village near here.¡± Chroma, Celosia, and Marcus stood up and prepared to leave. ¡°I see. I¡¯m gonna stay here with her then.¡± ¡°Cherry, be careful.¡± Celosia then whispers loudly in Cherry¡¯s ear, ¡°She might be a spy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a spy. For fuck¡¯s sake.¡± Chroma said farewell, Celosia just glared, and Marcus bowed while smiling at Prism. Now, only Cherry and Prism remain on the table. ¡°Soooo¡­ have you seen an actual cherry tree before?¡± ¡°Yeah. Those white flowering trees in that weird island with apples.¡± ¡°No. Bloody. Way.¡± A new flame has been ignited in Cherry¡¯s heart as her eyes grew wider.
¡°I¡¯m home!¡± An aura of relief radiated from Celosia as she found refuge from the inevitable rocky journey that lies ahead. As always, her father, the giant, beefy, manly looking man, stopped tending the bush berries and rushed to his daughter, hugged her, and gave her a headpat. ¡°Cely!¡± ¡°Father! This is embarrassing! I¡¯m 15 already!¡± she says as her face turn more red. ¡°Aww, come on! You can call me ¡®Papa¡¯ or ¡®Daddy¡¯! It¡¯s finally time for your Favi¡­ Aahhhh! I¡¯ll miss you! It¡¯s gonna be a long adventure! Nooo! I¡¯m gonna be alone here in this mansion!¡± ¡°I¡¯m here with you though, Igni. Sheesh! Celosia, can you believe this is ¡®The Famed Hero of the Empire!¡¯ or something like that. Why did even marry this guy?¡± ¡°Lis! I¡¯ll remind you with my awesome, amazing powers!¡± The fully bearded man started flexing his manly muscles and displayed his manly-manliness with his manly fire, ¡°Art of Red: 127!¡± and magnificent white flames burst from his manly body, accidentally burning some of the bush berries in their garden. ¡°Oh noooo!!! My berries!!!¡± Both mother and daughter refused to look at as their loved one haphazardly tried to put out the fire, ¡°Oh my Vulcan¡­ anyhow, are you preparing to leave, Cely?¡± ¡°Yeah, mom.¡± Celosia, with Solis chasing her, rushed into the mansion and into her room and shuts the door before her mom couldenter. She rummaged though her closet, got some clothes and some copper coins. ¡°Oh, I heard Dux hired a huntress to help you guys.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ a Pluvian huntress.¡± Then she opened a box full of metallic stuff and grabbed a dagger and some tips and whetstones for her weapon, puts them all in a backpack made from two wooden planks wrapped with strong, thin fibers with two suspender belts. ¡°And of course,¡± she puts on a necklace of pearls with a patterned choker of some sort in her neck. She, then, looked at the mirror. ? ¡°Perfect.¡± With Solis¡¯ arts, she was able to open the door, although it broke. ¡°Wow! My daughter is so beautiful!¡± Celosia blushed again and dashed to leave. ¡°But a motley? That¡¯s crazy! I always knew Dux was soft but to be so desperate as to hire a motley¡­¡± Igni overheard the conversation and adds his cup of tea, ¡°Motleys are degenerates, I tell you. Worse race out there. Even other purebloods are more tolerable than them. Don¡¯t let It fool you, Celosia.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. Bye bye, Mom! Father!¡± ¡°Take care, Cely!!!¡± The parents teared up a bit for their chick has left the nest. ¡°You think she¡¯ll be alright with the war and the other stuff going on?¡± the mother asks out of concern. ¡°She has my blood, she¡¯ll be safe.¡± She proceeded to embrace the warmth of her husband. ________________________________________________________________ 476 steps later, Chroma entered the grand, crimson palace carved from the Puella volcano. With a strange sorrow on his eyes, he opened the massive door. ¡°Welcome home, Master Chroma.¡± A file of Orange servants lined up the vast corridor of the foyer with ornate obsidian pillars flanking the carpeted pathway towards the central stairs with marble statues of Chroma¡¯s forefathers from time to time as he passes the tapestry ever so slightly covering the vaulted dome ceiling. They were ordered from lowest ranking at the front to the highest near the end of the line, signified by their attires from tattered rags to smooth silk dresses. The head maid, an orange woman with long straight hair wearing a red floral crown approached him. Despite being the tallest, she is still only at shoulder length of Chroma, who isn¡¯t fully grown. ¡°Master Chroma, today is your leave for Favi. As such,¡± with two claps, several maids and footmen appeared each holding a sack, ¡°I personally prepared several materials ready to be carried for your utmost convenience, with each sack containing basic needs such as food, clothes, water, potio-¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to do these things, you know?¡± He tried to hide his anger by relaxing his tense muscles and wrinkled face, ¡°I already told you that you don¡¯t need to act like¡­ slaves with me. Also h-how am I supposed to carry all of these?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master, but Master Togra commanded us that we do so. She also appointed her to be with you for the duration of your travels, especially to carry your things.¡± With one arm extended, the head maid introduced another maid who¡¯s wearing a relatively normal red toga. ¡°Apoy.¡± Dark memories immediately invaded Chroma¡¯s mind, flashing back to a damp, dark place with air so thick that it''s hard to breathe inside. "Pick one my child. Is that the one you want?" ¡°Yes.¡± He saw an inferno swirling in those eyes behind the iron bars in front of him. ¡°She¡¯s the one.¡± The chosen assistant for Chroma kept tugging his tunic. ¡°Master Chroma?¡± He realized he¡¯s back to reality. Like a child concerned for his father, she exclaims, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Of¡­ course.¡± He closed his heavy eyes and then asks, ¡°Before anything else, can you even carry all of that?¡± referring to the various sacks. She flexes one of her arms and declares, ¡°No problem!¡± and went to grab every sack from the hands of the other servants, making it seem as light as feathers of a duck. ¡°With strength like that, how did they even get conquered¡­¡± Chroma pondered. ¡°If it¡¯s father¡¯s words, then I have no choice. Let¡¯s go, Apoy.¡±
¡°Wow! I never heard of anyone eating wyvern meat before!¡± ¡°It tastes good, similar to crocodiles.¡± ¡°Crocodiles? What are those?¡± Celosia was dissatisfied at the scene happening before her eyes, ¡°Cherry! Why are you getting along with this Pluvian!¡± With all the wild stories she¡¯s been told, Cherry found herself defending Prism. ¡°Celosia, she¡¯s fine. She knows so much about monsters and trees! She¡¯s not a spy.¡± ¡°There¡¯s four of you, you can easily kill me if I was a spy.¡± Celosia swiftly went towards Prism and threatened her in the neck with one of her double glaive¡¯s tips, grazing some of her skin to the point of bleeding. ¡°You¡­ bleed red.¡± ¡°Yeah. Seems that red is my dominant gene. But wow, that stings you know.¡± Cherry lightly slapped the face of Celosia and screams, ¡°Celosia! What the hell?! Now¡¯s not the time to-¡± Prism proceeded to hand chop Celosia¡¯s arm and punched her face before Celosia can process what¡¯s happening. ¡°You might not know this, but we can actually fight back for self-defense.¡± The downed Crimson gal calmed down and rethinked her opinions. ¡°That speed she had right now¡­ This sinking feeling in my heart tells me to not seriously mess with her again.¡± In a plodding fashion, she stoodup and offered a handshake to Prism. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can at least not hurt you.¡± ¡°Still no trust, eh? Whatever.¡± She accepted her half apology. Every other person on the guild went back to their own businesses after the fight has ended. Marcus was the next to return to the guild, now also wearing a white cotton shirt and black leather pants with a pouch belt. He felt a strange tension in the air as he sat in one of the two empty seats. ¡°Somehow I felt like I missed something.¡± Cherry breaks the ice by laughing at Marcus¡¯ attire, ¡°What is that?! Are you a hunter now? Pffft! Hahahahha!¡± He looked toward Prism for approval. ¡°Look kid, you need armor. I don¡¯t. You¡¯ll get hurt fighting.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I look cool! This cotton is harvested from Luctunia and the leather from the largest cows and¡­¡± Everyone just remained silent with a look of disappointment. ¡°Vulcandamnit.¡± Marcus shuts up utterly defeated. ¡°By the way, where is Chroma?¡± ¡°He should be here in a minute...¡± Said Celosia 20 minutes ago. ¡°Did anyone hear that?¡± Cherry wondered. Everyone focused on their sense of hearing. Prism says, ¡°It¡¯s sounds like a¡­¡± ¡°Help!¡± A sweat-filled Orange maid appeared before them looking frantic. ¡°¡­scream.¡± Celosia recognized the girl. ¡°You¡¯re Chroma¡¯s slave¡­ What happened to him?!¡± ¡°Cremeria is being attacked by multiple coatls! I repeat, Cremeria is being attacked by multiple coatls! We need assistance from all adventurers and hunters!¡± A voice magically-enhanced by an art covered the entire capital. Shrieks from coatls can be heard from every corner as the group rushed towards where Apoy has guided them. They got bruised from the ensuing stampede caused by the panic of the masses crossing the narrow bridges, eventually reaching the iconic city triangle with the statue of the current emperor and the hero standing proudly with burning torches in their hands pointed towards the scorching noon sun. Chroma is fighting several small coatls and the large one they fought earlier. ¡°We got to help him!¡± cries Celosia. Prism, as fast as the wind, charged towards the large one and commanded them. ¡°I¡¯ll fight this one, you go get her young!¡± And so it was agreed. The four teenagers fought intensely, each of them assigning each other different roles. Celosia and Chroma were the front liners, using her wheeler to channel her red arts and Chroma his large rectangular shield, slightly-cylindrical to block attacks from the sides and occasionally slashing with his Gladius sword. Cherry acts as the rear guard by chanting multiple arts ranging from enormous ballistic fireballs to rapid pebble-sized ember and enchanting the frontliners by engulfing their bodies with flames to hurt nearby enemies. Marcus is an archer, firing a barrage of arrows sharpened enough to pierce bedrock using a very tall Yumi bow¡­ well he¡¯s supposed to be. ¡°Marcus, what the hell are you doing with that dagger?! Even I know how to use one!¡± he zigzagged towards a coatl. "Mate... you just don''t understand my amazing skil-" ...only to be almost clawed in the face if not for Chroma. ¡°Vulcan! You need to be more care-¡± Celosia beheaded some of the monsters creeping behind the boys and rushed back towards Cherry. ¡°Why the fuck are you two talking while in battle?!¡± ¡°Aaaaack!¡± Cherry was almost overwhelmed but Celosia cameto the rescue. She pulled everyone back to form a more sensible circular formation. "Fucking hell, fight with all your heart!" Spotting its injured leg from earlier, Prism continued her fight using her tooth dagger. Every swipe and peck from the coatl, she avoided with amazing acrobatic backflips and rolling and then she countered with spells they¡¯ve never seen before. Celosia was secretly observing Prism¡¯s moveset and noticed that she doesn¡¯t say a single word despite the flurry of ice and fire coming from her. After a few minutes, all the young of the coatl in the city triangle was killed, prompting the group left Prism behind to help others as she is more than capable of handling the boss monster on her own. The guards were effective using their shields and spears by doing a wall like formation and poking whenever a coatl charges, and with the help of the group, met their ends. It seemed that the only one left is the one Prism is fighting and it is most likely the main culprit of the attack. The legionnaire guards rested on the ground and the legate removed his bronze helm and thanked the group. ¡°Thanks for your help, teens. Is that the last of them?¡± ¡°No, Mr. Vermillion. There¡¯s still a large one at the city triangle.¡± They rushed back only to see the carcass of the boss coatl and Prism carving its skin, removing its claws, and collecting its gooey secretions ... to the disgust of the Crimson people that witnessed the scene: ¡°What is she doing to that corpse?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the job of the Oranges?¡± ¡±Filthy Pluvian.¡± Those were the thoughts of the red people for only Prism knew the value of the tough skin of an adult coatl as armor and the price of its essence when appraised by an alchemist. Strangely, Celosia felt she was the only one who understood her actions. ¡°Celosia! And Friends!¡± a burly, bloody, manly man appeared before them. ¡°Hero!¡± ¡°Father. Did you also help kill lots of the coatl?¡± ¡°Nah. I only killed one that entered our house. More importantly¡­¡± He went towards the platform near the statues that bear his image and did a speech with so much power that he didn''t need it to be magically-enhanced. ¡°Friends, Crimsons, countrymen, lend me your ears; The evil that monsters do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with-¡± Celosia, in spite of knowing this side of her father, is still amazed at how different he is compared to at home. Her friends tell their veneration to the hero. ¡°So are they all, all honourable men¨C Come I to speak in for the legion and the adventurers. And they are friends, faithful and just to Cremeria!¡± The crowd went wild and cheered for the guards and the group. Various flowers like roses and silk cloths was thrown at them, a tradition for the Cremerians city-folk whenever a legion comes home from the war. The group was filled with glee, but not so much for Celosia. In her mind, the greatest hero in that moment was the huntress, slayer of that fearsome Coatl. Instead of her pride going up, it was shattered. ¡°Chroma.¡± ¡°What, Celosia?¡± With regretful anger in her tone, amidst the enamored crowd, she promised to him. ¡°Someday¡­ I¡¯ll earn my own pride.¡± After the lengthy speech by Igni, another familiar face greeted them. ¡°Master!¡± ¡°I have watched your great deeds from the shadows and come to praise you. Chroma, your caring nature towards your comrades is a sign that you are indeed worthy of being a prince of this Empire. Celosia, your vicious and cunning prowess reminds me of your father. You will also be a hero of this nation. Cherry, bravely standing against the tides of your enemies, you will be a protector of the Empire. And you, Marcus, curious enough to test every style will further your knowledge of the world. All of you, you are all worthy to be my students and for Favi.¡± They sprinted towards their master and they formed a group hug, all of them with a tad bit of tears in their eyes. The master just laughed with so much satisfaction in his face. It was their final day here in Cremeria and after an eventful afternoon, this is a moment that they will treasure forever.
¡°Here¡¯s 50,000 coppers for your assistance a while ago!¡± Because of multiple witnesses and personal praise from The Master of the Art of Red, The Legate of the Seventh Legion: Dux Rosilva Vermillion, and from The Hero of the Second Invasion of the Orange: Igni Kokai Velvet, the group has received the largest amount of copper from the guild. ¡°Wow! This is enough to last us the entire journey! I can¡¯t wait to buy new daggers!¡± excitedly says Marcus. Cherry hits back, ¡°Use a bow! You stupid.¡± Chroma, looking side-to-side, caught the attention of Celosia. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He finally stopped when he finally saw Prism at the entrance. ¡°Ah. There she is.¡± He proceeded to grab the one of the five pouches at the table. He smiled at Prism and handed her one of the pouches. ¡°Here. 10,000 coppers. We¡¯re a five-man group, it makes sense to split 50,000 equally.¡± "...sure. Whatever." She accepted the coppers and so, it was their time to leave the city. On the main road to leave Cremeria, every passerby recognized them and congratulated them for a job well done and tells them farewell for a safe journey (only towards the Crimson teens). At the edges of the city where more and more trees and blood grass dominate the vision, Chroma looked up at the falling sun and wished to the first stars of the night. ¡°Mother¡­ I¡¯ll be back.¡±
¡°You¡¯re someone who¡¯ll do great things someday.¡± A mother hugs her newborn. ¡°I swear to protect you my whole life.¡± Says the father as he holds his child¡¯s tiny palm. Chapter 2: Underneath the Flower ¡°I expected this but wow, my eyes are starting to hurt¡­ Everywhere is just red.¡± ? She found herself looking again at the twin moons of the night sky. It has been a habit of Prism for as long as she remembers. ¡°Even here, it looks kind of red.¡± This piqued the curiosity of Cherry, who was still interested in her random stories around the world. Being the most comfortable with the stranger, she moved closer to the Pluvian and decided to talk more about it. ¡°Do you know Ater and Akari?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Cherry pointed at the moon with a seemingly burnt face next to the bright, white one. ¡°The dark god and the light goddess, forever bound to the chase. Ever since Ater got his light stolen by the sun, he and his sister kept running in the sky, up to this day. I¡¯ve always found myself inspired by them, like telling us to ¡®Never give up!¡¯ or something like that¡­ Don¡¯t you think so, too?¡± ¡°Bound to the chase, huh¡­¡± With her eyes kept on the stone-paved road, she lets out a small exhale and makes the tiniest smile. ¡°I suppose so.¡± Cherry got mind blocked by Prism''s expression, causing her to not be able to think of anymore topics to talk about. She went to Marcus and asked him to go ask the huntress something. "I knew it, but I''m still scared of her! Can''t you say something to her? I thought you liked huntresses or something." "I-I''m... shy." "You? Shy? That would never happen in a million years!" "Tehee." Marcus says with his tongue sticking out, signaling some mysterious nefarious plan in his mind. Cherry gave up for now. Everyone was silent again, but because of the chirping of the bloodhoppers, the clacking of metals inside their bags and sacks, every little plop and smack of their leather boots, and the occasional howling of the creatures of the night, all while they are sandwiched between the mountain ranges of the land, it was comforting for them. Prism strangely felt like she was home and thought that maybe her blood has something to do with it. She felt like praising the Crimson people. ¡°I have to commend your Empire with your roadworks. It¡¯s paved and there¡¯s even lamp posts on the sides. Although that one¡­¡± Pertaining to one of the posts that is not lit up. Chroma opened the lamp post and chants, ¡°Art of Red: 1,¡± to light the combustible material inside up with a tiny flame. ¡°It¡¯s our duty to light up these whenever we see one unlit.¡± ¡°This kind of stuff is only possible because we Crimsons are united by our race and follows our laws,¡± Celosia adds. ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Prism says sarcastically, gaining Celosia¡¯s infamous glare. ¡°They were carved and placed by the Orange slaves though¡­¡± Chroma and was reminded of Apoy and went towards her, who is far behind the group carrying all of the things of the group. ¡°Hey, are you all right? I can help you carry some of these.¡± He grabbed one of the sacks and immediately falls to the ground due to its sheer weight. ¡°Oh, never mind...¡± Fully ashamed, he went all the way to the front of the group where he can¡¯t see their reactions. He definitely heard a giggle though, and it was definitely Cherry. ¡°Like a pack mule¡­and I almost thought this country was civilized.¡± It seems that Chroma took great pain in those words. ¡°You don¡¯t have slaves in Pluvia? They¡¯re pretty useful, we have one that washes our dishes!¡± ¡°You are just lazy, Marcus! I personally don¡¯t really enjoy having one at home. Thankfully Dad doesn¡¯t want one too.¡± ¡°I''m not saying I want one too, but look at her though. She¡¯s well-fed, provided with an excellent home, and is given the honor of serving a prince. I¡¯d say she has a better life here than wherever dump she came from,¡± defended Celosia. Not convinced, Prism directly asked straight from the mule¡¯s mouth. ¡°All I¡¯ve ever known is the life where I serve the Scarlet family. And I¡¯m happy about it!¡± With such a genuine smile, Prism accepted it as the truth. ¡°You doesn¡¯t seem to be lying¡­¡± "Yes. I will serve Master Chroma with all of my soul." Meanwhile, Marcus ignored by everyone, ¡°Hey, does anyone hear that?¡± ¡°See, Pluvian. You don¡¯t know anything. That''s what you get for being-¡± ¡°Rawr!¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking, Cherry! Rude!¡± ¡°Huh? What did I do?¡± They heard the nearby bush berries rustle and everyone was on guard. Celosia made the first move by burning the bush too see better as only a distant lamp post is illuminating the bush. Native creatures of the red lands are usually resistant to fire, so this shouldn¡¯t hurt them at all. The origin of the rustle started to come to view, with its tiny little paws, brown fluffy ears, and black round nose popping out from the leaves. ¡°Uwaaa~! A bear cub!¡± The cub doesn¡¯t seem to be intimidated by the humans and approaches them without care. Several other cubs pop out of the same bush and follow their leading brother. Cherry catches one of the cubs and lifts it to the air and hugs it. The others either do the same or pat them in the head. ¡°So cuddly~!¡± ¡°W-What the hell are these dog monsters?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re not dogs. They¡¯re cuddly bears! Don¡¯t worry, they are friendly. Some of us even keep them as pets.¡± ¡°Ohh¡­ Even that gigantic one bearing its fangs?¡± ¡°BRAAAAAAAWWWWR!!!¡± "Now is my chance!" Marcus went to the roaring grizzly bear and like a pouncing tiger, pushed its prey down with all its might. The huntress was caught surprised when she saw the red lad squeezing the monster so hard that it let out squeaks of pain. ¡°Seriously, what is going on here?¡± Marcus grabs meat from one of his pouches and fed it to the bear. With a sigh of relief, he then rode the pacified bear like how Prism rode her quetzodactyl. ¡°Finally! I don¡¯t have to walk!¡± ¡°In every land I visited, the people immediately flee or fight the monsters. I¡¯ve never seen clearly predatory monsters acting so¡­ cute.¡± Marcus tried to look cool by slowly turning around, looking directly at Prism''s eyes, and brushes his hair up. ¡°Huntress, you wanna ride with me? It seems to like you.¡± "S-sure?" The weirded-out Prism began to accept the strange events and with Marcus'' hands, gets lifted into the back of the beast. "Amazing... those palms of yours are full of calluses." "Yeah." Once again, she looked up to the sky, remembering Ater and Akari.
"BRWAAAAWR!" Prism was petting the furry head of the grizzly bear, who was more than happy to support Prism and Marcus. He found it funny though how Prism now looked like the one commanding the bear instead of him. His plan to impress Prism: failed. ¡°This bear thing is definitely more comfy to ride than my former mount.¡± ¡°M''lady, earlier when-¡± ¡°Just call me Prism.¡± ¡°Miss Huntress-" A small sigh was heard. "-earlier when you fought that coatl, how come you never said a single word yet still be able to perform arts?¡± That question caught the attention of everybody, especially Celosia. ¡°What? Oh, yeah. You Crimsons are the weirdos chanting before using magic.¡± ¡°Master told us that it¡¯s for control. Red arts produce flames which can be wild and dangerous at the hands of amateurs. Is that not how it is on Pluvia?¡± Prism held up her hands and silently casts a fireball. Then she tried it a second time. This time, chanting ¡°Art of Red: 12!¡± Even though she said the correct phrase, there¡¯s no difference between the two. "Not just Pluvia..." ¡°Strange, let me try.¡± Marcus also tried to cast a fireball without chanting but a pathetic version, as small as a fingertip, appeared. It did hit another animal in front of them though. ¡°Oink.¡± ¡°It looks like a pig but red with horns and tusks. Heh, how cute!¡± The Pluvian tried to approach the monster before it started to charge, leaving trails of fire at its every step. ¡°That¡¯s a hellboar you ignorant Pluvian!¡± "Run, Miss Huntress!" Standing solidly to her ground, she ignored the group and waited for the perfect opportunity. Just before point blank, she cast: ¡°Art of Red: 1!¡± The phrase for the fingertip flame, but she did a roundhouse kick and it produced a flame so hot that it was white. The hellboar was instantly fried to death. ¡°H-Hey! That¡¯s illegal! Not really but you get what I mean!" "Pluvian! How the hell did that work?!¡± ¡°The three principles of the arts: Intention, Projection, and Circulation. It seems that your teachers just gave you a phrase to have the first two principles easier. Smart, but someday that will bite you in the arse.¡± ¡°So¡­ what do we do about the dead hellboar?¡± ¡°Bwarrrr!¡± ¡°Rawr~!¡± They left the grizzly bear family to let them feed on the remains of the boar. With Marcus disappointed, they continued traveling in the middle of the night by foot. More and more tall trees can be seen on the horizon as they walk along the main road until they met a crossing, in which Cherry guides the team to the one going to the left with the unpaved road. It was only a matter of time before they arrived in the village. And it was empty, understandably as it was midnight. Not able to appreciate the wonders of the village, they head to Cherry¡¯s home. It had Austerian architecture, much like the Cremerian buildings with its large courtyard and rooms, lavishly appointed with mosaic floors depicting the nation''s past. There was one large room with nothing on it, usually used for parties and such. Cherry uses this room as their makeshift bedroom for the six of them by placing some flat Minamian cotton beds on the floor. ¡°Sorry, Prism and Apoy. I have to put you two on the far side of the room because a certain gal will be angry.¡± ¡°No, thank you for the hospitality. I¡¯m used to paying for inns anyways.¡± "Thank you, Mistress Cherry." "Y-yeah. Good night." The huntress and the servant looked fast asleep and so, the four teenagers chatter about random stuff with Cherry leading the conversation. "...they eat the feet of dragons! Can''t you believe it?!" *snore* "Look, even the nerd fell asleep at your boring stories!" "Isn''t it because he ran around with that stupid knife?! He''s an archer, after all." "Or maybe it''s because you''re talking about un-red things." "That''s just you, Celosia. Why do you hate other colors so much?" "Hate? It''s not like that. I just don''t care." "Really?" "It''s better to just not ask, Cherry." "You must know. Don''t you, Chroma." "Just go to sleep. It''s been a long day." "Hmph! Good night."
They had their beauty sleep. Except for Prism, who randomly woke up in the middle of the night because she had this crawling feeling that something... someone is watching them. ¡°Freaky.¡± She went outside to get fresh air. What the others don¡¯t know is the massive spell vocabulary that Prism has, and one of it is an ultra handy green spell for the current situation. The spells from the tribes of the Green tropical rainforests are the kind of arts that modify a person¡¯s body. The green art transformed the pupils of the huntress to become as large as her iris, allowing her to see in the dark better. She spotted movement on her east, two small creatures near the village well. The creatures flee just as the huntress started to chase them. It seemingly became something of a cat-and-mouse chase, with Prism running to the different parts of the village. Despite her first time in the village, there are obvious parts in every village that she recognized used by the local specialists.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Ah, so this is the local butcher. And this the bakery, that the lumberjack¡¯s.¡± It seemed that the creatures are slowing down, allowing Prism to shorten their distances until¡­ ¡°Art of Red: 12!¡± ¡°Wha!¡± Unprepared and unfortunate for Prism, the light from the fireball blinded her (because of the state of her iris, which intensified light) and it perfectly hits her face. She fainted for a while. When she got her senses back, she was already alone. She looked at the positions of the moons and the stars, deciphering the time she spent as exactly around a quarter of half a shadowvial, time measurements unique for hunters and huntresses. Anyways, she figured those are humans as that monsters don¡¯t chant arts. She returned to Cherry¡¯s house and with that hard hit on her face, she was able to sleep quickly.
¡°So this is the local butcher. And this is the bakery, that the lumberjack¡¯s.¡± ¡°???¡­¡± Cherry was giving a tour of the village because this is the first time any of them went here. Rosilva Village is so minor that only the best of the best maps available displays it. An old woman approached the group, struggling to walk while doing so. ¡°Ahh. Cherry. You brought your husband, eh?¡± ¡°Gran! This is Chroma! We¡¯re friends! I''m not that old!¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you say something like ¡®The prince from Cremeria was super handsome and-¡¯¡± ¡°Art of Red: 1! Art of Red: 2! Art of Red: 3!¡± Despite all of the attacks toward the fragile old woman, she was able to block it all only with her arms. ¡°My legs are bad, but I¡¯m not chief for nothing!¡± The chief bears great resemblance to Cherry, with pink flairs in her snow tinted hair covering the slouch of her aging body. Her woolen stola droops as she guides them to the courtyard of her large villa where long wooden tables took up most of the space, each with plates for food and a single rose placed on a pot in the middle, stylized for celebration as the name Rosilva is derived from the thorny flowering plants. ¡°Pluvian! How¡¯s the Empire so far?¡± Because of Celosia¡¯s treatment of her, Prism answered the chief with utmost suspicion. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be shy! We¡¯re not like the city people. We like having guests of any color, except for Oranges, for we are all the children of the great Vulcan.¡± It was of great interest to Prism despite being a huntress about the different cultures all over the world. ¡°Vulcan¡­ that must be their main god or something.¡± In her home nation, they worshiped only their Goddess and built massive churches all over the world just for her. It was only in this mysterious land of the Crimsons where they failed to bring their religion. Prism doesn¡¯t adhere to her home¡¯s religion though, as being a huntress also means relinquishing her own nation¡¯s identity. ¡°It¡¯s definitely one of the more unique places on The Ark.¡± ¡°Ahh! You Pluvians also call the world The Ark! I¡¯m glad Vulcan¡¯s creation is spreading all over the world!¡± Not really, as Prism¡¯s understanding of the Ark is it is just another word for ¡°the world¡±, while the Crimson people believe that Vulcan saved the world from drowning by providing the world with lava, which cooled into the various continents today. ¡°And with his descendants, they continue to bring more land to this day. That¡¯s why the volcanoes erupt every time Ater and Akari are together. They signal them that the world is once flooding again. Praise Vulcan!¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­ Another thing, why are all the houses here relatively empty?¡± Cherry¡¯s house could accommodate for around 10 people, yet it was only her that lives there. Even as they strolled around the village, the number of people there can be counted by one¡¯s fingers. ¡°It¡¯s because of those Oranges. They brought their worst people, those sick bastards with those swellings in their bodies, some as big as an apple. It was the cause of the death of millions in our old capital in the Minamian east. We told them to send back their people but they won¡¯t. We had no choice but to fight back when the brother of the former emperor died. After two generations, the war is still going on, with most of the able-bodied adults in the far fringes of the Empire, conquering lands and killing those bastards for revenge.¡± Every single Crimson in that table face started to show signs of grief and anger. Everyone there lost someone to the war. ¡°Uncle¡­¡± ¡°Disgusting scabies.¡± The chief adds, ¡°The plague did have a side effect of everyone trying to have as many children as possible. These four are a product of that.¡± ¡°I see. No wonder you are isolationists... Anyways, what Oranges? The Apelsin Kingdom? The Kahelian Confederancy? The Republic O maybe?¡± This seemed to happen a lot, but the Crimsons once again said in chorus, ¡°Oranges!¡± ¡°I- okay.¡± To the amusement of Prism, the Crimson people, united by their pure blood, had a hard time understanding that other races may not even be allied with one another of their own. Apoy who was just far enough to hear the conversation didn¡¯t seem affected at all. Chroma, being a prince, has some knowledge that pertains about the Oranges. ¡°I think it¡¯s the Kahelians. Most of our slaves, from what I know, speak Kahel.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks.¡± Prism turns around and talks to Apoy. ¡°Hoy! Tama ba yung sinabi ng pula na ¡®to?¡± No response. She just laughed at her own failed attempt, thinking that of course a slave wouldn¡¯t understand as Apoy must be brainwashed or something. ¡°How pitiful.¡±
After waiting for an hour, Cherry wondered why there are plates prepared but there are no food. ¡°It was supposed to be for your farewell party¡­¡± The chief looked at the trembling man, who just arrived at the villa, sitting in one of the tables and shouts at him. ¡°Hey! Redus! Where is the food?! You were in charge of it!¡± ¡°I-I saw i-it! A-a-a r-rainbow wyvern! It a-ate all the hellboars!¡± ¡°!¡± The huntress swiftly stood up and quickly grabbed the man by the shoulders and looked at him in the eyes with intensity the group has never seen before. For a brief moment, a rainbow glow covered her entire body, as if telling them that she is desperate for an answer. ¡°Where. Did. You. See. It?¡± ¡°I-In the Redwood Forest! It was the place with the tall trees earlier if you took the crossing¡¯s right road from Cremeria.¡± In a split second, the huntress turned around very aggressively and halts just before the hilt of her tooth dagger smashed the skulls of the two children. ¡°A-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa~!¡± They ran away from Prism as far as the eye can see. ¡°Ahhh, it¡¯s just dumb kids... Anyways, I¡¯ll go check out the Redwood Forest. Will you newbies come with me?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Sure, Prism.¡± ¡°I want to see the wyvern!¡± ¡°Tch. If they¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll will too.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, Pluvian, Cherry and friends! Bring home the bacon!¡± And so the eight of them started their quest into the Redwood forest. Yes, eight, for the two children are sneakily following them behind, hiding in each bush and tree every time they moved. Well, at least the children thought so. It was super obvious for the master-trained students and more so for the monster hunter, who had to deal with the venomous snakes of the Apelsin sand deserts and the frost-stinging scorpions of the Azul snowy mountains. Chroma started to be concerned for the kids because as the quest scroll put it, lots hunters were killed. He turned around and bashed his sword at his shield, creating a tune resembling that of childhood lullabies. ¡°Oyyy! I know you children are there!¡± ¡°A-wa~!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been caught! Run!!!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we just want to talk to you.¡± The children reluctantly went near their seniors. Both are male, with the composed one with the jet-black hair older than the pink-haired one who can¡¯t speak properly yet. With a very calming voice, Chroma explains properly to the children the dangers of following them, using the well-known story of ¡°The Cub and the Salamander¡±, which in short gives the lesson ¡°Don¡¯t follow your inner ¡®cub¡¯ or you will end up looking like an ugly, slimy¡¯ salamander¡¯.¡± The huntress was smiling, listening at the ridiculous fable, for she finds reptiles quite charming. ¡°Bwut, we wan¡¯a see da wainbow girl fight!¡± ¡°We are sick of Gran and the boomers!¡± Before Chroma gave up, Cherry approached her young village mates with a sweet, maiden¡¯s smile. ¡°I will kill you.¡± ¡°AWAWA!!!¡± Finally convinced, the frightened children ran back towards their village. ¡°Wow, Cherry! That was brash!¡± ¡°Wha- You¡¯re not telling me that, Celosia!¡± ¡°Hahahahaha! Just kidding! You showed those brats!¡± Chroma just can¡¯t with the two and distracted himself by striking a conversation with Prism. ¡°So¡­ why are you here? And by here, I mean in the Empire. Why¡­ save us?¡± They were just crossing the bridge to the forest by the time he asked that. The huntress contemplated for a while as they fell under the umbrella of the crimson leaves of the gigantic Redwood trees that could scrape the sky. The smell of the forest was unlike the grassy meadows of the Blood Range, as their noses complain from the fetid, mixed with a sprinkle of woody scent because of decaying logs with strange fungi feeding from its watery nutrients. Marcus tells them that those mushrooms might have healing properties, so Prism puts some at her pouch. The deeper they went through the woods, the more pungent the smell became. Clouds of black insects buzz arrhythmically more and more until they stumble swathes of hellboar corpses, confirming the man¡¯s testimony. All of a sudden, an explosive, deafening roar causing booming winds pushed all of the flies away and almost shattered their eardrums. Only Prism was standing, and it was then that she answered Chroma. ¡°I just had to.¡± Lights of rainbow wrapped her entire figure as she bolted where the wind blows, ignoring every pile of rotting flesh she steps on, making their blood splatter on her face. Chroma and the others followed her as fast as they can. When they started to see her flowing prismatic hair, she was in the presence of a terrifying reptilian beast with massive head and jaws attached on its long, snakelike neck, back covered in crystalline-like shards extending up to the tip of its tail, standing on all fours with its forelimbs resembling evolved coatl wings, also creating pools of grotesque slime at its wake. It had its gaze fixed on the Pluvian, and then decided to ignore it and continued feeding on a freshly slain hellboar. Prism faced the group, looking rather incredibly bored after yawning. ¡°You can deal with this.¡± ¡°Miss Prism?! Y-you¡¯re telling us to fight that¡­ that monster of death?!¡± ¡°Oh, hahahaha! That¡¯s just the juvenile form! It¡¯s impossible that that is the quest monster¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s just the baby?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s refreshing to look at, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°No, the mixture of colors hurts my eyes.¡± It was unbelievably large, around twice their height and quadruple their length. The prospect of fighting such a massive beast is unknown to them, as they¡¯ve been training to fight against fellow people. Even the baby coatls they had a hard time! But Celosia saw this as a chance to prove that she can be better than the Pluvian, and proceeded to rally her friends to go to battle. ¡°Everyone, on your formations!¡± Prism watched as they try to evade the attacks of the monster she called a Papiliorm, from the Pluvian word meaning butterfly-dragon. She saw the moment as an opportunity to train the group on how she performs her arts. ¡°Incantation: The mental. Where and when will you cast your spell?¡± They first resort purely to their own weapons with the same formation as before. But after the troubling attacks from the enemy, like back-flipping to pulverize them with its back and charging so fast that one of them almost got bitten, Marcus and Cherry resorted back to chanting the arts. ¡°Art of Red: 12!¡± ¡°O¡¯oh¡­ those two have their brains hardwired. I guess it¡¯s fine.¡± She said to Apoy, who was watching at the sidelines with her. ¡°How about you? Why don¡¯t you help them with your Orange arts?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know how to fight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate.¡± With the extreme tirelessness from the Papiliorm, they all go fighting back as if there wasn¡¯t a formation at all. It led to some of them bumping to each other while trying to dodge or reaching for an attack. ¡°What the hell, Chroma! Your bloody large shield blocked my wheeler!¡± ¡°Why are you blaming me?! Your eyes are so focused on that monster!¡± Prism continued to recite the rules of the arts. ¡°Projection: The physical aspect. How will you cast your spell?¡± Unable to hold back the claws of the rainbow beast, Chroma resorted back to using his sword enchanted with flames by casting an art as master taught him how. It seemed that only Celosia is left using only her trusty wheeler. She¡¯s also looking considerably tired compared to the rest of them. Chroma and the others tell her that it¡¯s okay to not try Prism¡¯s way but she vehemently refused. The huntress saw the hot-headed Celosia in a new light. The monster once again screamed with all of its might, then its crystals started to slowly light up, as if charging for some massive attack. With only Celosia standing because the others were temporarily incapacitated, Prism tells her the third rule. ¡°Circulation,¡± the wyvern focuses at Celosia. ¡°The spiritual aspect.¡± And in an instant, opened its jaw double its size and ran towards her, deforming the soil as it used all of its strength for its charge. ¡°What is the source of your art?!¡± Celosia closed her eyes from a brief moment and saw her pool of energy from within. ¡°My heart!¡± Prism was proud of her answer, only with her inner thoughts and feeling the energy of her body, she was able to deduce that the heart was the source of all arts. Celosia lets the energy flow, her entire body glowed red (normal for when casting an art) and used her wheeler to vault into the air. ¡°HYAAAA!¡± She landed on its back and with all of her adrenaline, stabs the wyvern with all of her might, causing it to flinch! Then, pyrotechnic firework of flames bursts from its wounds. Everyone was at awe at the new Celosia that was born from the flame with her newfound ability. But because she doesn¡¯t really know how strong the wyvern is, after a second, it flings her off its back. ¡°You did a good job, brat.¡± The wyvern sniffs for a little and just like a flash of light, it charged towards a random tree, or so they thought. ¡°A-wa-wa-wa?!¡± Cherry was the first to realize why, and used her own body to block the tree before casting an art, using an explosion art at point blank. It wasn¡¯t without cost, as the wyvern was able to strike her arms, causing it to bleed like hell. Prism rushed towards Cherry and used an orange art that blocked Cherry with raised earth. ¡°M-Miss Prism! I¡¯m bleeding! I-I¡¯m losing so much blood! I¡¯m going to die!¡± ¡°Fucking damn it! Don¡¯t panic, kid!¡± She used one of her pouches again and applied a liquid to the laceration at her right forearm. Because it was only bought at the Crimson capital, it was not as effective as what she normally carries. She told her to stay there and rest for a while. Celosia looked behind the tree only to see the two children that was following them earlier. ¡°Look what you fucking retards did! You did this to Cherry!¡± ¡°W-we¡¯re sorry!¡± The older kid looks at the Papiliorm and casts, ¡°Art of Red: 12!¡± and it hits its face. He grabbed his younger brother and ran back to the village. Before the wyvern was able to chase the children, the huntress slashed its tail with a dagger. It screamed in pain and finally flied away as it is sensed its impending death, making the group safe once again. ¡°This is also your fault, Pluvian! If you just fucking helped from the start she wouldn¡¯t be hurt!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Celosia. This is *ack* fine.¡± ¡°If not for me, you wouldn¡¯t learn how to cast silently.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± She swipes her hand and flames came out, solidifying her ability to fully able to cast like Prism. In a rare moment, Prism did apologize to Celosia. ¡°If only I noticed those kids¡­¡± Once Chroma and Marcus were back to their senses, they all rushed to the wounded Cherry. She is recovering and able to stand now, but due to the ointment being ineffective, it seems that she has to live with a scar on her forearm. ¡°When we get back to the village, I¡¯m going t-to scold those kids.¡± Just as she said that, she almost fainted but Marcus catched her. ¡°You¡¯re hurt. You protected the children. Rest, you idiot.¡± He, with the help of Chroma, assisted her walk all the way to the village.
All of the villagers were waiting for them at the village center with the well. They all did a round of applause for the returning adventures and praises them for saving the village and the forest. The lady chief, noticing Chroma and Marcus carrying Cherry, approached them and asked what happened to her. ¡°Nothing¡­ Gran. Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m just tired.¡± The chief forcefully went closer to Cherry and inspected every part of her body, revealing the wound on her arm and prompting the chief to raise her voice out of concern to the Pluvian. ¡°What happened?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Gran. This is¡­ nothing.¡± ¡°How could this happen? The monster must be so tough!¡± ¡°Y-¡± Celosia swiftly cuts the Pluvian from talking and told them what happened. ¡°The Pluvian just watched while we fought the rainbow wyvern. Cherry got hurt because I made a mistake.¡± Chroma stared at Celosia with no visible emotion and remained silent. Cherry had utter disdain written at her face. Marcus was just shocked. Everyone in the village went into a frenzy. ¡°What?! She just watched?!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she supposed to be a huntress?¡± ¡±Lazy Pluvian.¡± The chief pushes Prism away from Cherry and hugged her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cherry. We¡¯re here for you. We will protect you from the motley.¡± ¡°THAT IS ENOUGH!¡± A wall of flame surrounds the group, creating a barrier up to the pathway towards her home. Cherry broke free from Marcus and Chroma and the old woman received a powerful kick, causing her to fly far away from them and outside the wall. Cherry ran and tried to take Prism¡¯s hands but Prism insisted that she can stand herself. Cherry angrily marched to her home, returning with all of their stuff they need for the journey after some back and forth. ¡°WE ARE GOING TO LEAVE! I AM SICK BEING TREATED LIKE A CHILD!¡± "Hey! How about the chie-" "SHE''LL BE FINE!" She declared it with wrath so loudly that everyone in the village were speechless. The huntress was genuinely surprised that she was able to perform the arts her way, especially at that wounded state. Cherry led the way to leave the village without any proper farewell for anyone there.
Going far enough from the village that nobody can see them anymore, Prism offered her congratulations. ¡°I- uhhh¡­ nice job, lass. You can cast silently now.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t them insult you again! I¡¯m sorry for-¡± She fainted to the ground. Chroma and Marcus carried her again. ¡°Stupid Cherry. You pushed yourself too hard. You''re quite heavy, you know that?¡± "...S-shut up." "Oh, she''s conscious." "I''m glad. Cherry," Chroma signals Apoy to come near him and grabs some food from one of the sacks she''s carrying, "Here. You need these after casting that huge fire-wall." "Thank you." She took her time eating the pig meat Chroma gave to her. She remained smiling despite being carried by the boys, but Celosia noticed that she was avoiding her gaze, so she tried to talk to her. ¡°Cherry, I-¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± ¡°I did that for-¡± ¡°For what? The children? Well, thank you for that! *COUGH*¡± "Cherry! Why are you screaming!" Marcus covered the mouth of the pissed Cherry, which soothed her down. "Don''t worry, kid. It was noth-" ¡°...it was the best thing I could think of.¡± cuts Celosia. Cherry''s smile disappeared, ignored her words, and kept eating. Prism just scratched her head and thought that this is just some Crimsonian talk. At that moment, Celosia had this heavy feeling in heart as her mind kept on thinking: ¡°I did the right thing, didn¡¯t I?¡± Before she can look at Chroma''s reaction, it was then that they heard a rustle from the bushes, definitely the two children again. ¡°Ouch!¡± It was a rose bush, feeling like they were caught, they come out and went towards Celosia. ¡°You didn¡¯t snitch us¡­ why?¡± She hid her unexplained sorrow by closing her eyes for a while, and spoke with sincere words and a tone of forgiveness. ¡°You see¡­ I am also a troublemaker, sometimes. That''s why I understand what you did. I¡¯m sorry too for calling you retards.¡± She pats his head and returned to her usual demeanor. "You did a good job at burning that monster''s face too!" The older brother had a large grin in his mouth and tells his younger brother to come out. The younger brother was hiding a rose he picked from the bush and gave it to Celosia. "UWU~" "Thank you." He grabbed his brother and they immediately ran back to the village after a customary bow. ¡°This is¡­ a rose.¡± A rose is a flower with thorns on its stem. It usually symbolizes the beauty within fighting in a battle, the honor in war, and the challenges for a wonderful journey. But, Celosia felt differently as she touched the thorns ever so slightly that it almost made her bleed. The first thing she saw when the brothers gave her the rose is not its deep red flower, but the parts that can hurt. ¡°I wonder what are my own thorns¡­¡± ¡°Celosia¡­¡± Chroma heard her whisper and went in front of her and said: ¡°Thank you for thinking of them.¡± There was a proud smile in his face, but all that Celosia saw was a rose. And so, everyone was silent again. The chirping of the bloodhoppers, the clacking of metals inside their bags and sacks, every little plop and smack of their leather boots, and the occasional howling of the creatures of the night, all while they are sandwiched between the mountain ranges of the land, was supposed to be comforting for them, but the voices in their heads were too loud. __________________________________________________ ¡°So you disobeyed your Father and went there? Hahahaha! I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let our child learn bad stuff!¡± ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s a great thing! Fight for what you believe in, okay?" Chapter 3: Baptized by the Fire "You people sure love walking in the night, huh." Prism was ignored by everyone except for Cherry, who was looking at her like a mother bear protecting her cubs. "Hey, I''m okay. I didn''t care at all about what those villagers said." But Cherry wouldn''t stop looking at her, making Prism feel ridiculous as she was the one who was supposed to protect the group. The group''s position also changed. Chroma, Marcus, and Cherry were in the front. Celosia was slightly behind them, Prism was behind Celosia, and Apoy was in the far back of the group. They weren''t chatting with each other, unlike last night with their excitement at the start of their journey obvious. "Hmmm. I should do something to lighten these kids up." Prism thought to herself while wondering why she thought that. Walking along an uphill, she stopped for a blink of an eye. This was the time Celosia''s single fringe proved useful. She deliberately designed her own hair to be as sensitive to the wind as possible, making any small movement detectable to her. "Huh?!" She saw her hair move forwards. "From behind?!" She saw the Pluvian running at full speed towards Chroma, with her tooth dagger prepared to strike as she slices through the still wind. Celosia speedily ran to block Prism''s way. "CHROMA! WATCH OUT!" And when he turned around, what he saw was a calm Prism and an exhausted Celosia. The dull edge of the tooth knife almost within his neck''s reach if not for the clashing of Celosia''s wheeler. It was the first time they saw the folded steel of her weapon crack. It was a very call call. "Uwah! That was surprising!" Despite the absence of any resentment from Chroma, Celosia pulls Prism''s cotton shirt and confronts her head-on as her heart beats faster from her shock of the thought of possibly losing her friend. "HEY?! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF THIS, PLUVIAN?!" "Look. This isn''t the side of the dagger that I use to slash." She pushes Celosia gently away from her and brushes her index finger at the aforementioned side, demonstrating its bluntness. Celosia was blinded by her anger though. "YOU WERE TRYING TO-" "-test your reaction times. It seems that you were the fastest, and Marcus the worst." This was a quickly made-up white lie. She just wanted to bring life to her companions once again. It seemed to work, as everyone had their reactions to the said scene. "I felt something, but I just didn''t do anything, Miss Prism." "A part of a good reaction is knowing how to do so, Cherry. Feeling it is not enough." "Did something happen?" "HEY! WHAT WILL YOU DO MY WHEELER?! PAY FOR THE BROKEN STEEL!" "We have lots of coppers, Celosia. I''m sure we can afford it oursel-" "Here." Prism gave Celosia her 10,000 coppers with no hesitation. "W-wha-" "I don''t give a crap about my money. I can gather the materials I need." "Miss Huntress, 10,000 coppers can buy you 100,000 bread! That''ll last you for like forever!" "I can hunt and cook my own food." "Knock it off, Celosia!" Cherry had a face that surprisingly scared Celosia to her core, allowing her to think more about her actions especially with that guilt she has been feeling she cannot understand. "Tch. Then I''ll just get 100 coppers." Celosia returned most of Prism''s money and slowly moved backwards with shame. "Celo-" Prism taps Chroma in the shoulders as if to say, "Leave her alone for now." Although not what she has envisioned, some semblance of life did come back to the group with the three teenagers talking about what to expect for their next destination, Vulcanus. Only Celosia had her fire burnt out. And to top off the coldness in her soul, the dark skies wept with freezing white flakes of snow. It was the start of winter in the Auster Peninsula. The landscape was starting to be layered with the chilling frozen water. Everyone started to use their Arts to counter the cold, a Red art that covers the entire body with heat that is enough to insulate them from the weather. It was an art that everyone in the entire world knows because of its usefulness. Thus, winter is not something to be troubled with because of the cold, but because it is the time food becomes a precious commodity, especially because as arts drain a person''s hunger. The group only had the lamp posts and the road to guide them towards the city as the dreamlike-fog blocks anything a meter away from their sights. The shadows from the spruce trees vanish the further they got away from Cremeria, and more and more of the typical Red Grass can be barely seen thanks to the illumination of the posts. "We are near Vulcanus, Miss Prism. Look at the grasses, it''s different from Cremeria''s Blood Range." "I can''t tell the difference." "That''s fine." And sure enough, they saw the famous statue of the main god of the Crimson people, Vulcan. The god of volcanoes. The giver of the land. Carved from the basaltic rocks found near the absolute monster of a volcano the size of quadruple the Father volcano of Cremeria, it portrays an old, strangely built man holding a torch on his right hand and a small cast iron cauldron on his left, seemingly pouring something out of it. "Awwwe! I''m sorry Miss Huntress that you had to see this statue during this horrible fog! There''s special trick here that always amazes newcomers to Vulcanus!" Everyone except Prism nods in agreement to what Marcus said. "Anyways, we have to go to the local Inn. Can''t enjoy Vulcanus in the night, after all!" Everyone except Prism nods in agreement to what Cherry said. "I wonder what this place is." She looks around, but can only see a trail of light in the distance. "That''s a secret, Prism. Now, now. You know where the Inn is, right, Celosia?" It has been a while since Celosia spoke. But with Chroma''s invitation, she had no choice but to do so. "Yeah. My relatives own the place." Chroma went closer to Celosia and whispered in her ears: "It''s your time to relax. Cheer up, okay?" She blushed from his kindness and from his breath that softly brushed her ears. She led the way to the place they''ll stay for the night. "You better follow me, especially you, Pluvian!" Prism saw a little flame in her eyes.
The city was better planned than the capital. The grid-like streets gives an intuitive sense for its inhabitants on where each district each, with the Common district where travelers stay found on the west side of the city. They found themselves in an entrance of a building with a heraldic charge with an engraved symbol, three curved lines with a horizontal crescent surrounding it.

"This is it! Vers Spring Inn!" "Vers Spring Inn?" "Vulcanus! The city of hot springs! Let''s take a bath tomorrow, Miss Prism!" "Ooooh. I haven''t been to one before. Might be good to relax these tense muscles." As they enter the premises of the inn, they see a white-haired girl sleeping peacefully on the counter with lots of books, most likely some sort of ledger, beside her. It was only then that they got hit by sleepiness that they were battling for a while now. "So, who will wake her up? We need to sleep as *yawn* quick as possible." "*yawn* Maybe it should be you, Marcus." "I''d feel bad waking her up. Look at her... she has drool on her lips." Chroma whispers something at Marcus, and he suddenly went towards the counter, his ears redder than usual. "Hey, Chroma. What did you say to him?" "Nothing much." Marcus first tried talking normally, saying things like "Excuse me!" or "Miss Receptionist?". It gradually turned into "Heeey?", "Helloooo?", and "Ooooiii?". He, then, poked her cheeks several times, only prompting some grunts from her. "Wow, she''s in deep sleep." He gradually went closer and closer to her face to observe the little movements in her round glasses, finding it cute. That is until she opened her eyes widely. "...good morning." "Good morning, regina meis." "Huh, yeah, I''m Regina. Welcome to Vers Spr-*yawn*-ing." Marcus'' attempt to impress the receptionist: failed. "Uhhh. We''re going to stay here for two nights. Got any room for the six of us?" The frail gal fixes her hair and sits in a more upright position. She checks one of the books and delivers them bad news: "Unfortunately, all the big rooms are taken. There are two rooms that can handle three people each, though." Once again, Cherry and Celosia argued on what decision they will take. "That''s fine. We should split the group in half." "Huh? We should just find another Inn! I won''t sleep next to the Pluvian and the slave!" "What the hell? Vers Spring is the best place to stay and bathe in the springs! You, out of all of us, should know that, Celosia! Besides, your cousins own this place!" "Then you stay with them!" "H-Huh? I never said I would go to the same room as them! I think you would be the best, so that you may learn shit!" "Huh?!" "Huhhhh?! "It looks like capitalism has once failed our society once again. Right, Chroma? Chroma?" "Art of Red: 9!" Chroma stopped the gals from arguing in public, with a flames on his hands. "I''ll be the one who''ll stay with Prism and Apoy. Understand?" "Okay." "Sure." "Is that alright with you, Prism, Apoy?" "Yeah." "It''s my pleasure, Master Chroma."
Their rooms are basically identical, resembling more of a Minamian room made up of wooden floors and sliding doors. There is a small figurine the same as the obsidian statue on the entrance of the city with a book containing the sacred texts of the Crimson religion. Just like Cherry''s home, Minamian futons are the beds in this homely resort. "I''m always amazed when I see Minamian rooms near a volcano. Everything here is flammable! Near an active volcano! Won''t they burn?!" "Sheesh, Marcus. You already know how they do it." "Yeah, yeah. Ahhhhh~! I''m so excited for tomorrow! I can''t wait to see the beautiful receptionist once again!" "Yeah." "Sure." "And! And! We''re definitely going to hike Vulcan! It''s always cool to see the lava-filled crater, right?!" "Yeah." "Sure." Marcus sighed and gave up on trying to lift up the dead atmosphere between the two gals on the opposite sides of him. "This isn''t how being alone with two girls supposed to be."
"Hey, kid. That figure is the same as the one earlier, isn''t it?" While Apoy was arranging their stuff and fixing their beds, Chroma was staring out into the city while Prism curiously observes the figure of Vulcan. "Yeah. Together with the Sacred Book, those are the most common things you can find in the rooms of our people." "Heh...." Prism noted in herself that Cherry''s home doesn''t have one. She tried reading the Sacred Book, only to remember that she can''t read Crimsonian. "This is useless to me." "Master Chroma, Mistress Prism, the room is now clean and your beds are prepared properly for sleeping." The room turned sparkling clean compared to the dusty hole it was just some minutes ago. "Excellent work." "If I may." She bowed down to Chroma and directed her hand towards the futon on the side of the room. "Good job, Apoy." Chroma pats the head of Apoy, putting a smile on her face, "You may sleep." "Thank you." Chroma kept looking at Apoy, prompting the curiosity of Prism. "It must be a tough life being a her. If there''s another reason why I became a huntress, it''s definitely freedom." "You understand, don''t you, Prism? The struggles she must feel inside. The life she has..." He deeply sighed. "But I can''t do anything drastic yet. I don''t have any power in this country despite being a prince. Fucking dammit! I''m so weak..." "I think you''re too sleep deprived. You need some sleep, Chroma." "Y-yeah. Sorry, Prism. I''ll turn in first. Good night." "Good night." With the howling night breeze outside of the room, slightly entering the small crevices on the translucent sheets on the lattice frame, Prism stares in the cypress ceiling. "They are good lads. But, I only have one mission. Now is not the time."
"Heyyy! Chroma! we''re going to eat breakfast." Marcus'' voice was loud enough to wake up Prism. "Hmnng. So bright..." The morning ray perfectly hits the eyes of the huntress. When she got up, she saw Chroma and Apoy already awake. "Okayyyy. We''re just waiting for Prism to- nevermind, she''s awake." The door quickly slides open, revealing Marcus outside. "Where?!" He saw Prism''s bedhair in all of its glory. A jungle of hues mixed together that doesn''t make any sense and order was a sight to behold for the boy used to seeing monochrome red his entire life. "Huwaaaah. My eyees feeel weiiiiiiirdddd. This is not what I expected." "I get what you feel." After prepping themselves up, they went to the main hall of the Inn, where the receptionist can be found, there are several wooden tables, filled with plates full of red meat and fruits. "I can never get used to this!" "And here''s your dark roast coffee." The receptionist from earlier, now wearing a white dress with a floral crown, much like a maid, is now handing them the house specialty of Vers Springs. Prism never saw the dark brown before. She smells its earthly aroma first, then takes a sip of the cup of coffee. Her eyes lit up with joy. "Holy... this is..." It was the first time she tasted something so bitter, yet so sweet with a rich aftertaste that is mellow and deep. She felt immediately awake from the heat that entered her digestive tract. Because of her newfound energy, she was able to appreciate the various paintings that hang from the walls. There was also an interesting painting on the ground near them, depicting a Crimson woman on a more traditional outfit which Chroma informed Prism that it is showing a celebration of Favi. Adding the naked Crimson women, blazing volcanoes, fearsome leviathan creatures, and much more paintings, while a lady playing a lyre of six strings made of tortoise-shell, wonderful feelings were able to penetrate the imagination of the huntress. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "...perfect." "Thank you, dear guest. You''re the first Pluvian to drink our specialty." "Hey, where are these made of?" "Coffee beans." "?" Her head bobbed sideways, signaling to everyone that she doesn''t know what the plant is, to the surprise of everyone in the room. "We''ll find one someday, Miss Huntress!" "S-sure. This full course dinner is almost perfect... if not for the bland selection full of red." "My, my! Then, you appreciate this? Miss Pluvian?" The clashing of the jewelery on her golden necklace captured everyone''s attention. Her face was covered by a translucent, scarlet fabric, only faintly you can see the green tinge of her lips. With a dark shawl loosely worn over her head, her entire body is hidden by the thick, long, loose dark blue garment except for her light blue hands holding some strange blue fruit. This was the first time the teenagers saw a Blue person. ".?????? ?????" Prism smiled widely and softly shook her hands. ".??????. ? ????? ??????" "Woah?! You speak their language too?" "Yes. The Commonwealth of Azuria is the nearest country from Pluvia, after all. Do you mind if I speak in Crimsonian? I''m accompanying these brats for a quest I''m doing." "We see... It''s okay. First time see Pluvian and Crimson together. We come from opposite side of Ark. Sorry if I not speak good." The Azure woman places her hand on her chest and introduces herself. "Fayruz ibn Wali ibn Lu¡¯ay al-''Azraq." The Crimson teens felt like they were transported in another world. Prism understands their bewilderment and clarifies what she said. "Ahh... They don''t know how your names work. I think you can just call her Fayruz." "Hmph. As if this Pluvian wasn''t enough." The Azure woman was filled with delight in her tone, "My, my! As they say! Red people always angry!" "Bloody hell, Celosia! You''re feeding our stereotypes to the outside world!" Marcus said to Celosia while carefully examining the blueberry Prism is holding. "Maybe we do deserve those stereotypes..." "Cherry... Ah, excuse us. I''m Chroma Cremeria Scarlet." There were whispers from other people when they heard his surname. "Marcus Luctunia Carmine, Miss Azure." "I''m Cherry Rosilva Vermillion! Just call me Cherry! Nice to meet you, Miss Fayruz!" "...Celosia." "Nice to meet you!" Her smile was so pure that one can''t help but feel a warm feeling in their heart when you see it. Prism takes a bite out of the blueberry. "Hnnng! Sweet! Thank you." "No problem!" "Ahhhh, already talking with the locals, Fay?" "Yeah. This Pluvian not local though. Everyone, He Fahim, my husband." The long-beard Azurian man also wore an attire similar to her, covering his entire body with an ankle-length white tunic with a red square cotton scarf on his head wrapped in a strong cord. "Husband?! But you look so young, Miss Fayruz!" "I am? My, my!" "How can you even tell when you can only see her face?" "You really suck at people, Celosia." "You''re the one who kicked her elder." Chroma cuts the two before the situation escalated, "Why are you here at Vulcanus, Fayrus and Fahim?" "Well, our half-Crimson friend recommended us to go bathe in this city. She said that there''s nothing like hot springs on the red lands!" "We arrive just today. We try later after climb volcano." "H-half Crimson?" "Yeah. Father Crimson, mother Azure." The four had different reactions to what they heard. "People like that exist?! I can''t believe someone ran away from the empire... Does he also eat blue foods?" "I see... A Crimson leaving the Empire..." "Wow... Leaving the empire and starting a family with another color... That''s forbidden, isn''t it?" "A traitor to the empire, obviously. Diluting the purity of our race. I hope the scum never returns." "My, my! Celosia exactly like what half-friend said about Crimsons!" The teenagers were surprised on how lightly Fayruz took Celosia''s derogatory words towards her friend and her father. Prism proceeds to explain the prevailing attitude of the Azurians. Throughout the entire Ark, the Azurians are well-known as the most patient, hospitable, and friendliest people you could find. They heavily took inspiration from the calm seas of their east coast. "''The lull of the sea, the heart of the Azurian.'' is what I frequently heard back when I was hunting on the Azul snowy mountains." "Exactly, huntress. Fay here is such a precious piece of a woman. I''m so glad I met her." The married couple proceeded to kiss in front of everyone. The Crimson people are very reserved when it comes to stuff regarding romance and sexuality, and that''s why they looked so disturbed. "Oh, and they''re also known for their public display of affection." "Bloody Vulcan! Show some manners, bloody rabbits!" "Rabbits? Ahhhh, those critters really love to fuck, don''t they? Hahahahaha!" They took it as a compliment instead of Celosia''s intended insult. "If you like, want come together to climb Vulcan? We friend now!" "We wouldn-" Marcus cut off Celosia, particularly because Marcus was ultra fascinated by these Azurian people. "We''d love to! Hey, hey! Come sit beside me and tell me what you do!" "Nice job Marcus! I want to try blue fruits too!" "...you might get poisoned or something. We don''t even know if our stomachs would accept those foreign delicacies and-" Chroma shoves a cup of coffee in Celosia''s mouth, and calmed her down, "Celosia. Relax, okay?" She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and reluctantly nodded. "My,my! How cute!"
"So THAT is Vulcan. That is the most impressive volcano I''ve ever seen." With the night fog gone, Vulcanus was more visible to the eyes of the group. Prism and the Azurians were fascinated by the never-ending stream of lava flowing down from it. Only the Crimson people are crazy enough to build cities near these death traps. They were climbing up the stairs towards the crater of the volcano. "How can your civilization even exist? Wouldn''t these volcanoes erupt and destroy all of your buildings? There''s even rooms made entirely of wood!" "Our forefathers already taught of these. They clearly are the best architects in the world, using Art of Red to diverge the fiery liquid and fortifying our structures with the finest metals that resist even the strongest earthquakes. Not that you mutts and rodents would understand." "I not understand." "Hmmm... Maybe you should come to the Day of the Ashes at Cremeria. That''s the day when the twin moons perfectly aligns in the sky." "Yeah, yeah! Make sure to bring more of your women!" "Uhhh... Why women, Marcus? Also that''s definitely not a good idea. Cremerians... wouldn''t accept you." "My, my! Fascinating! Fah! Let''s go!" "Hahahaha. You really love seeing other cultures, don''t you, Fay." 6000 steps later, they are still barely past halfway. The environment at this altitude is clearly colder, with thinner air and the snow much more thicker than the surface. Everyone except the huntress was starting to feel the strain in their legs. The couple was especially sweaty with that heavy clothing that they''re wearing, provoking the concern of Cherry. "Wh-why are.... you still wearing those heavy clothes..." "My...my. These for.... mo..desty... *phew*" "Can we... rest for now..." "Ag...reed." The group stopped for a moment in one of the Crimsonian gates, a wooden post-like structure every 1000 steps, painted with vermillion on its two foots and a black curvature made of igneous rocks at the top. "I saw these too at Cremeria. What are these strange pillars anyways?" "These are the gates to the sacred. Whenever you pass through one of these, you are slowly moving into the realm of the gods." "Like a portal or something?" "Something like that. There''s ancient texts written at the middle of the arc there." Cherry points to the stone tablet hanging at the gate. She reads the texts carved within: "Six thousand years. This is... yeah. I don''t know what it means anymore. Sorry! Do you guys know?" The other three shrugged. "My, my!" Marcus was struggling to remember. He clearly knew what these said, but... "These are so old that barely anyone knows why it''s written anymore. Maybe if I had water, I could think more clearly." "Ahhh! We got perfect solution! Fah?" Fahim makes a cusp out of his hands and Fayrus places her two hands above it. She smiles, and as if nature was under her command, the falling spruce leaves slowly circles around her, her entire figure glows blue, and when she removes her hand, clear water was in her husband''s hands. "Here. This is pure water. Drink!" "Then..." Fahim passes the water into Marcus'' hands, and Marcus drinks it. He immediately becomes more alive after that and had a moment of clarity. "Six thousand years! That''s how long Vulcan molded the world with his own hands!" "My, my! How amusing!" Marcus'' plan to impress the Azurian tourist, Fayrus: success! "Pffft. The only time you succeeded and it''s a married woman." "S-shut up, Cherry! That makes it better!" "To think they still believe in gods... so fascinating!" Celosia was staring at them. She thought to herself that amazing power of the blue arts and what potential it has. She quickly brushed it off as using the art of another color feels wrong to her. "Then, shall we continue, Crimsons?" Finally, after thousands of steps. They finally saw the last gate that led into the crater. Everyone felt serene looking at the burning depths of hell, moving at the pace of a snail, swirling in its natural land prison. The occasional volcanic plume it emits can be extremely poisonous to whoever inhales it if not for the protection given by the four with their Art of Red that blocks such toxic gases, answering another question of survivability of the red people in their sulfur-filled, burning cities. "This is the source of everything. The first volcano, the mortal form of Vulcan. Look at it, foreigners! Bask in the glory of the power of the flame god!" Celosia removed her armor and clothes (undergarments remain, of course), suddenly ran towards the crater, jumped into the mouth of the volcano. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Prism shouted out of both genuine concern and the thought of her earning her reward is gone. "My, my?!!" Chroma, Marcus, and Cherry looked at each other, also removed their armors and clothes, and held each other''s hands. "ONE, TWO-" They all did the same as Celosia. A large ejection of lava appears from where they landed. Prism and the Azurians were ultra puzzled from the scene they just witnessed. Jumping into the crater of a volcano? Absolutely no way they would do something like that! "Look! What is that?!" They finally see the four of them rising from the gooey burning plasma, all of them laughing wholeheartedly. All of their problems, worries, and anxieties were returned to their source. Yes, it''s as if they were born once again. "THIS IS THE BEST!!!" "AAAAAH! I FEEL ALIVE!!!" "CHERRY!!! I''M SORRY, OKAY?!" "IT''S OKAY, CELOSIA! I''M STUPID TOO! I MADE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLE HILL!" "OYYYYYY!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THERE, BRATS?!" "IT''S ALRIGHT, MISS PRISM!!! WHY DON''T YOU COME HERE TOO! IT FEELS REFRESHING, ESPECIALLY IN THIS WEATHER!" "YEAH, YEAH! YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS, MISS HUNTRESS AND AZURIANS!" "FUCK NO!" "WE''LL PASS!" "Red people in crater, in winter, having fun... what a wonderful sight! I''m so happy we went here, Fah! This must be the miracle of our love!" For some reason, Prism felt more comfortable with the four Crimsons rather than the couple. She looked closely at the insides of the crater and saw some stairs made out of the earth itself, forming a spiral that led towards near the sacred gate. "It seems that Crimsonians really do frequently bathe in here... huh." The huntress thought and let them enjoy for a while. "They''re having so fun and enjoyment." "Yeah... They''re really lucky that they''re far away from the front lines." "Ahhh... They''re at war with an Orange country. Right, Miss Pluvian?" "Yeah. That''s why it''s especially surprising that you two visited this place." "Well... can''t have fun if no danger!" Prism shrugs off her comments and they wait for the children to finish their activity. After a while, they return with some scary-looking black fish-thing that they call fierycanths. Apparently, they are very healthy, full of calcium that will enrich the bones. A full afternoon has passed just for hiking Vulcan.
"Welcome back, Master Chroma, Mistress Prism." "Apoy. Are you not bored?" "Not at all. It''s my pleasure to guard your rooms. Ms. Regina the Receptionist even had idle chat with me!" Chroma was glad that a Crimson stranger dared to interact with an Orange. But then he slowly thought of what sort of conversation they might had... { Regina: Ah, hello. You''re a slave of those adventurers... right? Apoy: Yes. Regina: I see... You must deal with stuff like these, right? (She shows Apoy her ledger, full of complex mathematics) Apoy: Yes, I calculate their expenditures for the journey. Regina: I see... so, can you help me taxes? Apoy: Uhhh, sure. They proceed to do the most mind-boggling maths with confusing formulas. } "Yeah... I don''t wanna think about it." "What?" "Nothing. Oh, Apoy. Come with us, I need you to do something." After resting for a bit, they entered the Apodyterium, the part where you remove all of your clothes and wrap yourself up with a towel. "Wait... Men and Women nude in the same room?" "Yeah. That''s how spring bathing works?" "Bizarre." It is a Pluvian mindset that a woman must never reveal her entire body to a man. But alas, she was forced to follow the customs of the Crimsons, quickly grabbing the towel to hide her private parts. They placed their belongings in a hollow cube on the walls. Chroma instructed Apoy to guard these belongings as Apodyteriums are a frequent place where thieves can easily steal someone''s stuff. The other Crimson teens arrived and proceeded to do the same before Prism was able to fully cover herself with the towel, revealing her rainbow back. "M-Miss Huntress!" Marcus got a big smack on the head by Cherry, who had the instinct to feel the embarrassment of Prism. "Heyy! I think Miss Prism''s shy about her body!" "B-but! She''s amazing! Just look at the tone on her back muscles... and those... battle scars..." There were hundreds of claw and bite marks all over her body. This dampened the mood of the horny Crimson lad, and able to restrain himself by imagining the numerous enemies the huntress has faced. But he quickly regained his sexual prowess when he heard Crimson greeting Fayrus. "M-miss Azure! Only with a towel on the spring! I''ll go first, noobs!" "There goes the pervert. Celosia, I''ll stop him from harassing the tourists. Get naked already!" "Tch. Alright!" Celosia was shy simply because Chroma was still in the same room as her. She waited for him to go into the spring, only did she changed into the towel. While she was wrapping herself in the white fabric, she can''t help but stare with disgust at Prism, thinking to herself the weird blend of skin color on her back, but also frustrated with herself with the lack of experience she has compared to Prism. "Then, I''ll go. You''ll go, brat?" "I will, Pluvian. But I got my eye on you. You might pull some shenanigans again while we don''t have any armor on." Prism shrugs off Celosia. They proceeded to enter the entrance to the actual spring itself. Their feets feel ticklish as they transition from the rough Apodyterium floor to the smooth stone slabs in the rectangular spring. A thick fog dominates the entire area, making them feel warm despite their exposure to the brunt of the cold northern winds. They see the others already relaxing at the hot springs, with the Azurian couple quite near them. Celosia sat on the side of the group where it''s furthest from the other colors. Prism sat between the teens and the Azurians. "My, my! This spring is feel good! So relaxing!" "Heh! Of course! These springs are made by my blood relatives!" "Mhm. Feels like someone is massaging my muscles." "Hey, hey, Miss Azure, did you use an Art of Blue earlier?" "Art of Blue?" "When you let me drink that water." "Ahhh! The magic spell! Why?" "Magic spell?" The Crimson people heavily worships Arts, as it is still quite unexplainable as to how exactly does it work and thus, they see it as some sort of ''blessing'' by their gods. Prism immediately understood just how isolated the red land is just from this conversation. Fayrus stood up and did another one of her magic spells, all without saying a single word. A thick cloud spirals around her exposed body and spreads out into the shape of the spring. Then, just like a clock ticking every second, little droplets of water pitter and patters into the surface, creating beautiful waves and sounds that sounded like the strings of an instrument played with the utmost delicacy by a maestro. Marcus had his mouth open wide. "Woaaaaah." Cherry stood up and spread her arms wide to feel every drop in her body. "Amazing! Hey, isn''t this impressive, Celosia?" "..." She had her gaze fixed on the Azurian woman, feeling insulted by both her lack of respect to the Arts and the thought that another color can finely tune it. She stood up with complete determination. "Hey, Azurian! I challenge you to a fight! Right here, right now!" "Celosia!" "Hey, Celosia! I thought we were over this!" "What? I just want to show her the power of the Art of Red. As... " She gulps before saying, "...beautiful as your magic is, that is pretty impractical to the real world." "My, my! How interesting..." "Red kid, are you sure about that? In here?" "Why wouldn''t I be? Will you fight me, Azurian? I''ll go easy on you." "I don''t mind." The rain show stopped and both got into their respective positions. Celosia got into her usual fighting stance while Fayrus looked like a normal bystander, with her arms behind her back. Celosia could almost laugh at how unprepared-looking her enemy is. She figured she could to the first strike. She mustered up her energy inside and copying Prism''s move earlier unconsciously, she ran as fast as the wind towards the Azurian, her hands apart, glowing in red for a devastating flame strike in the head. "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! TAKE THIS!" "Cute!" Celosia was able to grasp her face and blow it off with a large ignition. But alas, her entire body dissolved like a mirage from the heat as if it was made of water. She disappeared from sight. "What the hell?" But the young adventurer didn''t let her guard down and let her mind go to hyperdrive to formulate what exactly happened. The chill of the frozen skies started to downpour into the people of the hot spring while Celosia scanned 360 degrees to find any sign of the blue woman. It was then that her trusty hair fringe reacted a little. "Behind?!" Quick reflexes didn''t disappoint her as she was able to avoid the whip of water gunning for her neck with a little Art of Red. But, this was where the extent of her battle strategy has ended, for the real Fayrus was in front of her all along. A very swift grapple from the Azurian was able to pin Celosia down into the hot spring, making the fight over. The Azurian, with a sweet smile on her face, lets go of the defeated. Celosia refused to stand up out of embarrassment and frustration to herself. She smacks the water with a burning fist and shouted at Fayrus. "What the hell are you?! You''re not an ordinary tourist, are you?!" "My, my! I''m just regular woman." She raised her arms and as if she was manipulating a puppet, the spring water swayed back and forth as she commanded. "That''s why I told you if you were sure. You are standing in water after all." "Celosia! Are you alright?" Celosia slaps back Chroma''s helping hand and stands up on her own, walking all the way into the furthest part of the spring away from them. She can clearly be seen trying to relax out her anger by trying to sleep. "She is powerful, but she still lacks knowledge." "Miss Prism..." "Miss Huntress, Mister and Miss Azure, I finally get it now! The Art of Blue uses water, isn''t it?!" "...my, my?" "Marcus, Cherry, Chroma. What exactly is the Art of Red?" This struck the Crimsons as a quite weird question. In a chorus, they all answer with the same phrase, from their great master: "Flowing in the veins¡ª Fire. Burning forever Shall melt thy spirit." "What''s that? Some sort of incantation?" "No, Prism. It''s a poem at describes the Art of Red." "Hmm... I don''t really see how it does." "Weird... when I first heard of it, it immediately connected with me. You didn''t feel the same way at all, Miss Prism? Despite being able to cast some Arts?" "Yeah. It''s alright though, you brats can do your arts fine." It was almost an hour or so that they were in the springs, so everyone except for Celosia started to leave the area as the twins moons started to be directly over their heads. "Well, it''s almost midnight. Me and my wife will leave tomorrow. Nice meeting you, young adventurers and huntress." "It''s also an honor to meet you, Miss and Mister Azure." "My, my! Good luck on Favi!" "Oooh. You know about it." Chroma looks back and shouts at the sleeping Celosia, "Hey! We''re leaving!" "I''ll follow later!" They leave Celosia alone and returned to their respective rooms.
The master and his slave are alone in the room for the huntress went out to get fresh air. The room was only lit by a small candle, yet Chroma can''t sleep for some reason. "Apoy, are you awake?" "Yes. I''m drying up your clothes." "I see... Fayrus was excellent at using Arts, wasn''t she?" "?" "Oh, yeah... you were in the Apodyterium..." "Yes. There were some suspicious people, but they left immediately when they saw me." "I see..." It was silence for a minute or so before Chroma saw Apoy with her face beaming with joy as she dutifully does her chore. With a strange sorrow written all over him, he finally confronted her. "Hey. Don''t you ever feel... jealous of us?" "Jealous?" "Ever since you''ve been with me, whenever I see that wonderful smile of yours... I-I just feel so... Don''t you want to live like a regular Crimson? To play, eat, sleep, study, and everything just like a normal person? " The Orange slave halts her job to see her master speaking to her with sincerity, so much that he started to tear up. "Master Ch-" "Don''t you ever get sick of calling me Master? I heard from the Azurians earlier that there was a Crimson who escaped all the way to the blue lands and had a half-child. Don''t you want to be free?" "I''m always happy to serve you, Master Chroma." "Why?! Don''t you want to escape the Crimson Empire? Don''t you get angry carrying all of those bloody stuff, doing everything I ask of you, and the way everyone treats you like subhuman trash?! Why do you smile?!!" Apoy suddenly rushes towards Chroma and embraced him with force enough for them to fall to the floor. She softly placed her ears just above his heart, hearing every quick little thump he has. "You''ve given me purpose the day you chose me as your personal slave." "The day I chose you... Apoy, I-" "You don''t have to say anything. It doesn''t really matter that I have to do every single chore you ask me to. It''s alright for me to hear all of those bad stuff said towards me. I mean, just look at you, with your tears. You were the only one who ever showed me pure kindness. I know this is the truth, because your heart doesn''t lie!" He saw once again that deep burning inferno in her amber eyes above her earnest smile and before he knew it, he placed his lips on hers, taking her by surprise but quickly surrendered to his will. "Master..." "Chroma is fine. Hey..." "It''s alright... you can touch me there... Chroma."
"Looks like those two are having fun..." Prism was just returning with a cup of coffee until she heard mysterious things inside their room. She decided to go bathe in the springs once again to pass the time, remembering how quickly Celosia was able to sleep in the steamy bath. She passes the receptionist, who was sleeping once again like yesterday in her counter. Prism enters the Apodyterium. While she was undressing, she hears some grunts from a girl coming from the spring area. "Damn it!" "Oho? I know that voice." The huntress enters the spring and sees Celosia doing a sort of push and pull with her arms. "...what are you doing, zombie?" With a blush, the surprised Celosia harshly responds, "Bloody Vulcan! why are you here, Pluvian?" She places her cup of coffee in one of the pedestals near the spring and goes in front of Celosia, raised her arms, and commands the flow of the water as she was glowing blue. "So, do you see what I''m doing different?" "Our skin colors?" "Sheesh." Prism stands beside her and imitates how Celosia does it. "You keep on doing it like an Art of Red." Prism did some quick fiery punches as she was saying that, "But... look at how an ''Art of Blue'' can be done." She does the punch once again, but much slower and with elegance. The water did move as she did that. "Why are you even attempting to do such a thing? Never thought that you would even try doing things other colors do." "...none of your business." "Oh well. You saw how Fayrus was, didn''t you. From her gentle personality to the very subtle movements she made, she was the embodiment of the ocean. Just one look at her and I can tell that she was extremely powerful. Total opposite of you, bloody wrath doll." "What the hell did you-" "See. Stiff and angry." Prism chuckled at Celosia, "You have to be gentle." They were practicing at the springs for a good while until Celosia was too sleepy and tired. Not even once was she able to do any sort of water movement. "It seems that blue magics is not for you." "...damn it! I just wanted more power..." "I see... You can reveal your true intentions sometimes." "S-shut up!" "Reminds me of a certain someone back then..." "What did you say, Pluvian?" "Nothing." With the disappointed Celosia, they ended the training session. As she returned to her room, she saw Marcus and Cherry with their ears placed on the paper-thin wall. "Hey, what are you two doing?" Marcus quietly shouted at her, "Celosia! Listen to this!" "S-scary!" "What ridiculous nonsense are you hearing..." She places her ears and heard the most terrifying sound they''ve heard in their lives. "YES! YES! MORE!" "W-WHA-" Flustered, Celosia dashes towards next door. "BLOODY VULCAN!!! STOP DOING THAT BLOODY SHITE, YOU BLOODY RABBITS!!!" "MY, MY?!!" "Ohhh... and there she goes, Cherry." "W-we can finally sleep peacefully..." "THE CRIMSON EMPIRE, ESPECIALLY VULCANUS, IS A SACRED PLACE THAT EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD SHOULD RESPECT. YOU BLUE FA-"
¡°Dear! Look at our child! Training so hard!¡± ¡°Later. I''m doing some paperwork here.¡± ¡°Even Papa is working hard!"