Episode 66 Traitor
“Alto!” Xavier cries with awe, as the man robed in white glides into the dingy, dimly-lit room of Ace. The white robes on Alto appear to shine brightly even in the poor lighting.
Ace breathes a sigh of relief on the floor. “I’m…saved!” he huffs, chuckling faintly.
Alto sails into the room, ignoring Xavier, Geronimo, and Kai each and directly confronting Ace, who remains on the floor. “Stand, Ace,” Alto orders, his voice firm and clear.
As Ace returns to his feet, Alto speaks to him again in his clear, majestic voice. “I hear that you have acquired an Anti-Paradox, is that correct?”
“Y-Yeah…” Ace mumbles, blinking slightly.
“A-Alto!” Xavier says again, stepping forward. “Um…I beg your pardon, but it was I who brought the Anti-Paradox back to the base.”
Alto glances at Xavier, not fully turning to him but placing an eye on him nonetheless. “Yes, I realize that,” he says, “as well as the fact that it was given to you by Kunai.”
Turning the attention of his narrow black eyes back to Ace, Alto holds out his pale white hand. “The Anti-Paradox, please.”
“Y-Yes!” Ace chokes. He promptly deposits the ring into Alto’s outstretched hand.
Alto smiles gently as he stares at the ring now lying in his open palm. He holds the ring up to his eyes, inspecting the tiny silvery object. “Amazing, isn’t it? That such a small thing could cause so much of a disturbance over it. It was indeed impudent of you to attempt to claim this thing for yourself, Ace.”
“I’m so sorry!” Ace grovels, sniffling and bowing low at Alto’s feet.
“Hmm,” sneers Alto, glaring down at Ace’s shame.
Xavier breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you came back with such timing, Alto. Things would have gone bad if you hadn’t arrived.”
“Yes,” Alto agrees, “the Anti-Paradox truly is not something that should be wielded alone, in the hands of one. It is not something an individual should own by himself. It is too dangerous.”
Listening to Alto’s words, Kai shifts uncomfortably, though Xavier does not notice as he continues to be enraptured by Alto’s words.
“Shall we decide what to do with the Anti-Paradox, then?” Xavier asks eagerly.
“‘We?’” Alto repeats, turning his full attention to Xavier at last.
“Y-Yeah…aren’t we going to—”
“I just told you that the Anti-Paradox is unfit to be owned,” Alto interrupts, his voice suddenly turning icy. “Indeed, your tainted hands are most unworthy to even grace its touch.”
Kai’s fingers clench more tightly around his dagger. “So that’s how it is. You intended to claim the Anti-Paradox for your own from the start.”
“Huh?” Xavier cries, turning now to Kai in surprise. “There’s no way Alto would do such a thing!”
“Indeed.” Alto slips the ring into his pocket out of view. “The Anti-Paradox belongs solely to the Emperor of our Nightless Empire.”
“ALTOOOO!” Geronimo roars, pouncing on him from the behind. His massive fist pulls back, as he prepares to land a devastating blow on Alto.
Unflinchingly, Alto merely flicks his hand. Out of nowhere, a man in a black butler suit appears, wielding a shield taller than himself. As Geronimo’s fist makes contact with the shield, a massive explosion sounds, throwing Geronimo back. He slams into the wall behind him with an earth-shaking crash.
“Geronimo!” Xavier shouts, rushing over to his friend. However, the butler stands in the way, his heavy shield forming a roadblock against Xavier.
“Let me through!” Xavier orders, waving his hand impatiently.
“My apologies, sir, but I cannot.”
Instead, Xavier now appeals directly to Alto, turning to him. “Alto! What is going on here?! I thought you were one of the few people I could trust here! And now you’re revealing that you’re a traitor?!”
“It is unfortunate if you ever thought I was trustworthy,” Alto answers loftily in his smooth voice. “I must confess I had no intentions from the beginning of becoming your ally. The ARES Project was created to serve the Emperor solely.”
“Alto!” Xavier screeches angrily through clenched teeth. His fists shake violently with rage.
Out of nowhere, Kai now leaps past Xavier, his Zamadar singing through the air. The butler moves to block Kai, but he proves too fast; he jumps straight over the butler, approaching Alto instead.
“Die!” Kai shrieks, swinging his dagger.
Calmly, Alto grabs Kai’s wrist just before he can strike, twisting it painfully. Kai holds back a scream of pain as he hears something snap. “Hm? Impressive that you do not cry out for mercy considering I just broke your bone,” Alto comments. “However…”
A flash of white light escapes from Alto’s other hand. The blast pierces Kai directly across the chest, sending him flying out of Alto’s grip and crashing into another wall as well. A trail of smoke rises from Kai’s chest where Alto has struck him.
“Damn it…” Xavier hisses, staring fearfully at Alto.
“Do not worry,” Alto says suddenly, “I do not kill needlessly. Your lives will be spared. However, do not attempt to further stand in my way. It is useless.”
With another flash of light, Alto and his butler abruptly disappear without a trace, leaving Xavier to stand still by himself, his breathing still heavy.
The grand castle rises high into a sky lit by an artificial sun. Massive walls of stone surround the castle and the sprawling metropolis around it. Several birds, their plumages white as snow, flap their wings as they sail over the castle’s many towers.
Alto bows low before a man dressed in elaborate robes of red and gold. The man gestures with his right hand, laden with jewel-encrusted rings, for Alto to rise.
“I have returned to bestow upon you the Anti-Paradox you so crave, Your Majesty,” Alto says, a crooked smirk on his pale face.
Retrieving the ring holding the Anti-Paradox from his pocket, Alto places the object on a cushion presented to him by one of the royal attendants. The attendant then walks up to the Emperor in his throne, bowing low and holding the ring out in front of him.
The Emperor recovers the ring, surveying it closely with his bearded face. “You have done well, my servant Alto,” he says. “You may leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Alto replies, bowing low again before exiting the throne room with a very self-satisfied smirk still planted on his face.
As Alto leaves, a courier suddenly enters the throne room. “Your Majesty!” he shouts, sprinting up to the throne. “The shipment from Skylark has arrived.”
“Excellent,” the Emperor booms. “I am blessed to enjoy the support of the Anti-Hybrid organizations in the Maple World. Their efforts shall not go to waste. Very soon the hybrid scum they have rounded up shall be transformed into my private army of Fatalists!”
At the doorway into the throne room, Alto stands still with his arms folded as the courier departs. “That is an excellent sound,” he murmurs to himself, “an ‘army of Fatalists,’ huh…”
“Wait! Ach! Wait, hold on! Release me from this torture chamber at once, I command you!” Mira irritably slams the wooden door shut into the prison cell behind her, muffling the protestations of the man inside.
“Yeah, yeah,” Mira sighs, shrugging off the man’s yells. “Just eat your damn food before it gets cold…stupid Fatalist.”
She sighs again, before climbing the stairs leading back into an upper floor. Making her way back to the laboratory, Mira is suddenly greeted by the sound of excited screaming.
Dashing through the door into the lab, Mira spots Ophelia jumping and clapping joyfully. “What’s wrong?” Mira asks, staring perplexedly at Ophelia.
“It’s done!” Ophelia cries. “The first full batch of soul capsules are complete!”
Mira’s eyes widen upon hearing the news. “S-Seriously?!” she says. Joining Ophelia’s side, she inspects the batch of metal canisters gathered in a box in front of her. “They’re done at last…”
“Yeah! Now we can finally deliver them to Headmaster Ryuu and the others in the other dimension!”
“Other dimension?” Mira repeats, turning to Ophelia. “That’s true…Headmaster Ryuu did say we should deliver it to them once we were done. We’ll finally be able to join up with them again…”
Outside of the decrepit base of the ARES Project, Xavier, Geronimo, and Kai gather, shivering slightly in the chilly breeze. Xavier wraps his coat tighter around himself. “Everybody ready?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Geronimo and Kai reply together.
“All right…our journey to Meridean to recover the Anti-Paradox from Alto begins now!”
“Wait,” Kai interrupts suddenly.
Xavier and Geronimo both turn, as a dark figure strides up to them from behind. Into the dim moonlight emerges a woman with straw-colored hair, and bright red eyes. The bottom half of her face is hidden behind a bandana.
“Valoria, huh? What do you want?”
“Please. Let me come with you,” the woman says in a raspy voice.
“Huh? You wanna come with us?” Xavier replies.
She nods. “I too do not wish to see the Anti-Paradox fall into the wrong hands.”
In response, Xavier nods as well. A smile flashes across his face. “All right. Welcome aboard, Valoria!”
“Are you sure it is wise to allow someone else to join our team?” Kai asks, raising his dagger threateningly. “After all, we’ve just been betrayed by someone we thought was an ally. We cannot afford to have any more setbacks.”
“No, I trust Valoria,” Xavier contests. “It’s fine. She can come with us.”
“Very well…” Kai lowers his Zamadar, looking slightly disappointed.
Without another word, Xavier, Geronimo, and Kai take off on their journey towards the capital city of the Night World, joined by their latest comrade, Valoria.
—END SIXTY-SIX—
Prepare for a string of substandard chapters.