Elfen High (IC)

[Esternial]

Leviathan sensed the presence of both Damian and Calliel, who were getting closer to the hidden passage with each passing minute. A calm sensation filled his body as he waited, doing his best to send the two explorers along their way, attempting to guide his telepathic thoughts to them. He had problems with doing so, due to the magical prison and his weakened state. Even if he was free, he would still have to remain in that cave until he had regained his powers. The other explorer managed to pass unnoticed, although he sensed her presence too after a while.

You are making good progress, young magicians. Find the hidden passage and follow the staircase towards the answers you seek.

[New East Ireland]

You are making good progress, young magicians. Find the hidden passage and follow the staircase towards the answers you seek.

Another message. Damian wondered if who, or what, this thing was knew if he was actually nothing more than a mere human. Either way, he found the door to the basement. After looking back at Calliel, he opened the door slowly, and unsheathed his broadsword. Looking down the staircase, he saw that it was dark, and a mist hovered over it, as though it were a mysterious pathway to eternal darkness.

Whoever is down there, I'm coming to find you.

[Olthar]

Victoria finally made her way through the long tunnel to a giant, sprawling cave deep underground. A huge, glowing crystal sprouting from the ground in the middle of the cavern provided enough light to illuminate the area, allowing Victoria to quite clearly see the massively large dragon at the far end of the room. Immediately, she recoiled in surprise, wondering just how such a thing could exist. Victoria knew this world had some strange things in it, but a colossal dragon? Now that was unbelievable.

Whatever it was, it appeared like the thing wasn't moving, though it certainly wasn't asleep. Maybe it simply didn't want to move, or it could be unable to move. Whatever the reason, Victoria began approaching it, curious about the creature. Motioning to her psicrystal, she had it climb up the wall and cling above the doorway she came from in order to act as a warning system were anyone to show up.

Walking across the room, she stopped at the crystal, not wanting to get any closer to the giant beast, lest it try to suddenly attack her. She figured it had seen her, or at least realized she was there, but just in case, she called out to it.

"Uh...hello?" she questioned, the sound echoing off of the walls.

[Esternial]

Well, well, well. What's this? You seem like an interesting being. It has been a long time since I met one of you kind. So, what do you seek here, young magician?

Leviathan slowly moved his head in the direction of the young explorer, his two big eyes staring at her with interest. He felt a strange energy vibrate around her, which made it apparent that she was no ordinary magician.

[New East Ireland]

Damian , finishing his trip down the stair, poked his head out of the doorway. It was a massive cavern, illuminated with crystals. Ahead was a young girl, whom he remembered seeing in some classes, and a dragon.

A... A fucking dragon. There is something seriously wrong here, he thought, taking several silent steps forward. He kept up his broadsword, in case something was to come at him.

[Olthar]

Telepathy. This dragon has telepathy. Interesting. Let's see if it can receive messages, too. Telepathy is so much better than verbal speech.

Concentrating on the dragon for a few seconds, Victoria sent a return message.

I seek answers. I want to know what magic is, why it exists, how it exists, and why certain areas of the world are possessed of high concentrations of it, such as is the case with this school.

Suddenly, her psicrystal spoke up.

Hey, someone's here, looks like a student. He's got a sword. You might want to watch out.

Victoria didn't bother to look back, letting the boy pretend he's still gone unnoticed.

[Esternial]

You are a curious child, that is good. I will give you the answers you seek. Magic is a force which one cannot see, yet it has given birth to many creatures and exists since the dawn of time. Being a dragon, magic has always been flowing through my veins, which is also why dragon's blood can bestow a certain property. As for my blood, I cannot tell, for I have never bled once in my life. This school is built on top of a highly concentrated pocket of magic, a nexus. Coincidentally, this nexus seemed ideal for the mage who trapped me here, as it is powerful enough to imprison even me, as I am resilient against most spells.

Leviathan noticed the other presence in the room, wielding a broadsword as it edged closed towards him and the girl. Letting out a soft grunt, his eyes turned towards the boy and stared straight at him.

There is no need for weapons here, I am bound by a prison of magic, thus I pose no threat to you. The years have tempered my once wild spirit.

[New East Ireland]

Looking at the beast, Damian lowered his broadsword. 'I suppose it would take many, many years for one such as yourself to lose a wild spirit. Who are you?'

[Olthar]

That doesn't answer much, honestly. 'Magic is magical.' I understand the concept of magic; I want to know why it exists in real life. This isn't some fantasy game. Magic shouldn't exist.

Victoria was determined to get real answers out of this dragon, and if it didn't have them, then the dragon would be of no use to her.

[Esternial]

That doesn't answer much, honestly. 'Magic is magical.' I understand the concept of magic; I want to know why it exists in real life. This isn't some fantasy game. Magic shouldn't exist.

Victoria was determined to get real answers out of this dragon, and if it didn't have them, then the dragon would be of no use to her.

Your concept of magic has been based on whatever you've been fed by your kind. I doubt you will ever understand what magic truly is, but I shall try and answer your questions. Magic is not a term easily explained by science. Even I do not truly understand why it runs through my veins. All I know is the power which it grants us.

For a moment, Leviathan paused and observed the reaction of both young magicians and took a moment to think. He was not planning to sell his knowledge for free, but he had to tell them enough to sway them into freeing him.

I can teach you to harness magic which has long vanished from the face of this earth. Magic to control time itself, magic to empower a weapon of choice or the power to summon a magical being such as myself to your aid...

[New East Ireland]

Damian chuckled. 'Really? You are going to teach us "long and forgotten magic"? What's the catch?'

Already, he was getting suspicious. He gripped his broadsword, and his hand was getting sweaty.

[Esternial]

Freedom. I want you to destroy that crystal.

Leviathan moved his head towards the glowing crystal in the middle of the chamber. It was channelling magic from the nexus and keeping Leviathan's prison intact. When broken, he would be more or less free to go, if only he wasn't so weak from having to sit completely motionless after all these years. He hadn't flown in ages, so the chance that he'd survive out there were very slim. Staying inside the cavern was most likely his safest bet, and it wasn't really that bad...

[Olthar]

I don't care about learning magic. I prefer to rely on my own power, not someone else's power. Only the weak depend upon others for their strength. So, I care not about your offer. I merely wish to understand magic and what it is.

The dragon's offer had been wholly predictable. Victoria expected he'd try to offer up power. She just hoped that the boy next to her wasn't foolish enough to accept it.

[New East Ireland]

'Right.' Damian, lifting up his broadsword, looked at the dragon. 'I may be a simple human being, but I know when I'm being tricked. Now, I only wonder why you were placed in this prison to begin with.'

[Esternial]

Very well, then leave this old dragon to pass its final day in imprisonment. No doubt you will regret that decision in the near future...

If he was able to, Leviathan would grin, but seeing as it would merely appear as if he were showing off his rows of teeth, he decided to turn away his head and go back to sleep. The children had nothing to offer him, so neither did he. When the boy spoke up however, he addressed them once more, his head still faced away from them.

I was young and stupid, having been the cause of the fall of a civilisation together with my brethren. A mage trapped me here, a very long time ago.

Now, please leave.

[Olthar]

Heh, arrogant dragon. Fine. If you will not give me the answers I seek, then I have no reason to stay here. Disappointing.

Turning around, Victoria walked towards the exit, her psicrystal hopping down from its pearch above the door and following her back into the tunnel.

Well, this was certainly a waste of time.

We did learn something. We learned that dragons exist. The implications of this discovery are quite impressive, the psicrystal chimed in.

True, maybe I can learn more elsewhere. I'm sure the school administration knows something. After I head back to my room for some rest, I'll do some investigating.

[New East Ireland]

Damian ran after Victoria, not bothering to glance back at the dragon. 'Wait!', he said, as he caught up with her. 'You heard his message too?', he asked, as he sheathed his broadsword.

[Olthar]

Victoria stopped and turned around to look at the boy, just now seeing that she actually recognized him from one of her classes earlier in the day. Though, she couldn't understand why he was talking to her.

"Yes, I did. It was quite clear. I'm sure there were plenty of people who heard it. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to leave here before more people decide to pop in, and I don't need them finding out that I am anything more than a simple teacher."

Hoping to end the conversation, she continued walking through the tunnel without waiting for him to speak up again.

[New East Ireland]

Damian followed her, finding it somewhat difficult to keep up with her. 'I don't want anyone finding out my life story either, but shouldn't we do something about the Goddamn dragon in the basement?!'

[Olthar]

"It's not my problem. The dragon seems perfectly contained, especially since he's probably been there for millenia."

Reaching the end of the tunnel and entering back into the basement, Victoria waited for Damian to exit before sending out a burst of telekinetic energy, mentally lifting the chunk of wall and placing it back where it came from to seal the hole. It wasn't perfectly sealed, but it was still heavy enough to be hard to move, and whatever mechanism originally opened it lay broken.

Grabbing her psicrystal, it's ectoplasmic legs evaporated into a fine dust before she put it back in her pocket and left the basement.

[Esternial]

A black car pulled up near the school, the epicentre of great things that were about to occur in the near future...

The door opened and a man stepped out into the light, smiling as he saw the sun slowly creep below the horizon. Like a tourist he looked around and took in his environment, one step away from taking a massive camera and taking a picture to immortalize this moment. That being said, Joshua has already had his fair share of immortality, so he wasn't going to overdo it. Slowly he followed the concrete path towards the school's entrance, leisurely walking as if he had all the time in the world until he stopped at the front entrance.

He snapped his fingers.

The doors opened and allowed Joshua to proceed, walking further down the hall of the school as if he had been there many times before and wasn't intruding on someone else's property. That being said, this school was built on someone else's property, so anyone addressing him about this issues would merely be a hypocrite.

His arrival didn't go unnoticed, especially not for Leviathan. The man possessed exceptional magical knowledge, ancient magic which Leviathan thought to be dead, aside from the extensive knowledge locked within his own mind. No doubt, this man had come here for him, but what was his intention?

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Calliel followed Damian in silence. "You were correct." he stated to the demon hunter. "That was an important discovery. I have seen few creatures as powerful as that dragon." He was silent and spoke again. "Lord Michael should know about this."

[The Nuclear Fist]

Oh, dear. Mr. Black, should we investigate the thing down below?

Mr. White thought, casually removing his his suit coat and glasses, revealing his piercing, golden eyes. The pupils slitted and thin, like a snake's. His arms were covered in deep, pulsating scars and stitches, seemed to only keep still from the banded runes and odd, black, swirling markings that made up his incantation. He seemed as if he was falling apart. And that was exactly what he was doing. You see, Mr. Black, Mr. White. and Lilith were not bound to Earth. They could only exist on this plain while inhabiting a surrogate. They would take the bodies of a random person, and warp the flesh and bone to fit their true appearance. It was what Lilith had done with the fresh corpse of the last Mythology teacher, and it was what Mr. Black and Mr. White had done with a pair of criminals.

Unfortunately, the intense power that made up the trio of fallen angels was too intense to be held in the confines of human flesh. And under normal circumstances, would cause it to rot into nothingness within minutes. Luckily, they had mastered incantations to slow the rotting down, in which they only needed a new body once a week. It was unfortunate, but it was a better scenario than having to work purely on possession. But enough about that. . . .

No, I'm afraid that isn't a good idea. Not in the state these bodies are in. You know, we're going to have to find another pair. This one's kidneys have begun to fail, and the fluids under the skin are becoming stagnate and corrosive. The damn flesh is becoming intensely greasy and festering. I think it would be best if we just telepathically spoke to it, don't you, Mr. White?

Mr. Black had removed his suit coat and shirt, revealing dozens of minute, festering wounds across his back, arms, chest, and abdomen. Thin rivlets of blood cascaded down his body, coming from his ragged wounds. His skin was blotch, and he was sweating heavily. Although he was in no pain. His eyes were milky white, no pupils in the center. Although he could see perfectly. The two silently nodded, and pooled their respective energy together.

Nammu Ta-lal E. Ter. They thought, the ancient Sumerian spell shooting their thoughts into the ground like deep drills.

Hello, Mr. Dragon. We are Belial, and we wish to know how you happened to end up where you did.

[Esternial]

Joshua, or rather Desmond, continued his leisurely walk down the halls of the school, whistling a tune before he stopped at a door, leading to the basement. Discreetly twitching his finger, Joshua looked at the door before it swung open on its own accord. Slowly he made his way down until he faced two people, this being both Damian and Calliel.

"Oh, don't mind me" He said, completely ignoring the behaviour a normal human being would have if he were caught trespassing and merely walked straight past them.

Meanwhile, Leviathan was being bothered by yet another query. It seemed they would never stop.

I landed here because I destroyed and for that I have paid the price. Bother me no more, I expect an important guest...

[New East Ireland]

Calliel followed Damian in silence. "You were correct." he stated to the demon hunter. "That was an important discovery. I have seen few creatures as powerful as that dragon." He was silent and spoke again. "Lord Michael should know about this."

Damian nodded. 'So I assume you can contact him, correct?'