Tales of a Lost Sword 65

Episode 65 Trump Card
The whirl of the generator inside the metal container hums dully in the laboratory as its hatch is closed with a snap. Elsewhere in the room, a black, gaseous liquid drips slowly from one test tube into another. A bundle of empty test tubes in a cardboard box sit nearby.

Mira leans back in her chair, staring at nothing in particular with glazed eyes. A magazine rests in her lap. “That’s the third batch, huh? This is taking longer than I thought…”

Ophelia steps away from the container. She is dressed in a white lab coat and wears a pair of lab goggles over her bright green eyes. She nods. “Yes, but now that we have perfected the method, it is only a matter of replicating it until we have enough.”

Sighing, Mira allows her chair to fall back to the ground with a thud. “Well, you were always better at this sort of stuff than me, Ophelia.”

“Bored, Mira?”

“Hmm…” Mira murmurs noncommittally. “I wonder how the others are doing… Say, Ophelia, do you really think these soul capsules will change the tide of the war?”

Ophelia glances back at the container, its generator still humming softly as it works. “Hopefully so. We can only believe in Headmaster Ryuu that they will.”

“Yeah…”

Xavier sits by himself on a stone bench outside the ARES compound. He stares silently at the full moon high in the sky above him, the air around him dead and quiet in the gloom and shadows.

A chilly breeze blows by suddenly, causing him to shiver. The crunch of footsteps on the ground nearby draws his attention. A large, hulking figure stands in front of him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xavier mutters, “Oh, it’s just you, Geronimo.”

The massive, muscle-bound figure sits down next to Xavier with a plop. He sighs, staring up at the silvery moon as well. “Shall we do it, then?”

“Yeah.”

Silence follows. Xavier speaks up again, swiveling towards Geronimo. “Is no one else in the base willing to stand up to him?”

“Just one.”

A dim shadow now falls upon the two of them on the bench. Turning, Xavier spots the slim figure now standing before them. His face is covered in a pearly white skull, its hollowed eyes lightless against the silvery glow of the moon.

“Oh, Kai, is it?”

A clink of metal flashes in the night air, as a Zamadar suddenly finds its way to Xavier’s throat. Eyes bulging, Xavier gulps, his eyes fixating on the shining dagger that is reflecting the moonlight. “Wh-what the—?!”

“You are a fool for allowing the Anti-Paradox to fall into Ace’s hands,” Kai hisses from behind his mask.

“Come on now, don’t fight with each other,” Geronimo cries, standing up. With brute strength, he forces Xavier and Kai apart.

Xavier now stands up as well, holding a hand to his throat. “What’s your problem, Kai?! And you always keep your face hidden behind that skull cap…it makes you look like one of those Fatalists, you know.”

“Calm down, both of you,” Geronimo hushes, his eyes darting about in the night. “Most of the other ARES members don’t like Ace either, but they’re not going to side with us even if we fight him. We should be thankful that we are willing to help each other.”

“Is it…really the Anti-Paradox?” whispers Kai.

Both Xavier and Geronimo glance at him with slight surprise. “O-Of course,” Xavier replies, “there’s absolutely no doubt it’s a real Anti-Paradox.”

“At last…” Kai mutters.

Geronimo clears his throat. “We’ve all been looking for it for a long time. But Ace is not going to give it up easily without a fight.”

“Yeah,” Xavier sighs. “If only Alto were here… Kunai himself said I should give the Anti-Paradox to him. He would know what to do.”

“Indeed. Alto is the founder of the ARES Project after all.”

“At any rate,” Kai pipes up, “if you are going to encounter Ace, then you will need my help. I have been watching him closely and I know best how to deal with him. It will not be an easy fight.”

“Oh, so you’ve done your homework!” Xavier cries, impressed.

“Of course. One can never be too lax when confronting a dangerous enemy.”

In a darkened room deep within the ARES base, Ace lies back on a sofa, one hand resting comfortably behind his head. With his other hand, he holds up the faded ring containing the Anti-Paradox, inspecting its smooth contours in the yellowish light of the single light bulb illuminating the room.

His ears perk up as the sound of footsteps approaches. Rising into a sitting position, he frowns as Xavier, Geronimo, and Kai walk into the room. Ace’s hand tightens around the ring.

Immediately, Ace’s bodyguards form a wall at the door, blocking the visitors’ entry with their gruff stares. Ace turns, slipping on his shoes as he puts on a haughty smile.

“Well, well, look who decided to come pay me a visit.”

“Ace, give us the Anti-Paradox back! It’s not for you alone to decide what’s done with it!” Xavier shouts, attempting but failing to thrust his way past Ace’s guards.

“Oh?” Ace muses. “And you can?”

Retrieving his gun, Ace saunters up to Xavier, leering at the crossbowman from between his guards’ arms. “Why don’t ya just go away?” He raises his gun to Xavier’s face as his finger twitches near the trigger.

“Stop that!” Geronimo howls suddenly. With superhuman strength, Geronimo sends the guard wrestling with him flying. The guard flies into the wall, crashing through it with a massive uproar and leaving a hole in the wall.

“Grgh!” Ace cries with surprise, stepping back as Geronimo lunges at him. Ace points a shaking gun at the muscle-bound man. “Get the hell outta my face, you bastard!”

Another guard comes flying at Geronimo, grappling with him momentarily before getting elbowed out of the way. Geronimo now comes thundering towards Ace, his fists clenched.

In the confusion, Xavier steps back, grabbing his crossbow and firing at the guard in front of him. The guard groans with pain, clutching his stomach where he was struck. “Kai!” Xavier shouts, turning to his comrade nearby.

“I know,” Kai responds, unleashing his Zamadar from a leather sheath. He slashes at the last guard standing; as he does so, the wound immediately freezes in a casing of ice, with several large icicles sprouting into the air.

“What the hell—” the guard cries, before falling to the ground from one of Xavier’s bolts.

“S-Stay back!” Ace shouts, directing his gun at Geronimo as the latter steadily approaches. Geronimo raises his fists, his muscles rippling with strength. “Gosh darn it!” Several shots escape Ace’s gun as the bullets pierce Geronimo’s biceps. However, Geronimo barely flinches from the attack, his burly muscles simply absorbing the metal shells.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Ace howls, firing several more rounds blindly into the air, none of which strike their targets. He scurries backwards several more paces, clutching the ring closely in his hand.

“Give the Anti-Paradox back,” Geronimo orders, his voice calm and steady though clearly threatening.

Kai raises his Zamadar eagerly, but Geronimo holds him back. “Tch…damn coward…” Kai mutters.

“Like I’ll ever give it back, you bastards! Teaming up on me like this! You guys are the cowards!” booms Ace. He fires another shot. This time, the bullet strikes Xavier, scraping him on the side of his arm.

Xavier grabs his arm instinctively, as a pinch of blood escapes from the wound. “Are you okay?” Kai asks, rushing over to Xavier. The crossbowman nods, grimacing nonetheless.

“Now you’ve done it,” Geronimo roars, pulling his fist back.

Ace throws his arms above him, cowering and sniffling before the much larger Geronimo. “Damn it, I don’t wanna dieeeeee!”

“Stop it,” interrupts a clear and commanding voice. All eyes in the room turn as a new man appears, shrouded in a set of elaborately regal white robes. Their eyes collectively widen.

“Alto!”

The man robed in white silently enters the room, his radiant face lit up with a majestically noble smile.
—END SIXTY-FIVE—
Because everyone likes distracting side stories.