With no other options, Vil, Rook, Epel, Briar, Sereia, and Trinket begin to head to the boxes Ortho points out. The first box they walk to is marked PMT-27446.
"We're starting with this cage, right? Then I'll just use my magic and -" Epel says, and brings out his magepen.
But Rook says, "Non! There may be a ferocious Phantom lurking within." Then Rook steps forward, "Allow me."
"But..." Epel says.
"What's this, Epel? Have you forgotten our agreement?" Rook questions.
"...Oh, all right. It's your call," Epel replies.
"My, my. Epel acquiesced quite easily. I'm intrigued by this agreement. You must tell me about it later," Vil says.
"Oui! Now, let's see what we have here, shall we?" Rook says.
Briar says, "Be careful, Rook."
Rook nods, and brings out his magepen.
And with a wave, Rook casts his magic, "...Hnh!" and it strikes at the cage, making an opening.
Just then, the Phantom inside makes a monstrous roar, and gets out through the opening. More like two of them.
"There's two of them!" Briar says, shocked.
"Quick, we need to attack them. All at once," Vil says.
And with that, the group fire their magic with their magepens at the Phantoms and are able to defeat the two Phantoms with a few blasts. Soon, the Phantoms dissolve into a puddle.
"Epel, would you mind helping me search for the ID card?" Rook asks.
"All right," Epel says.
Epel walks to the cage and says, "Whoa... The only part of the cage that's broken is the lock. You seriously hit that tiny target dead-on Amazing... Hmm, any card...?" Epel searches inside the cage with Rook as the others remain close by.
Epel then says, "Rook, I don't think it's here."
"I've also failed to find anything," Rook says.
"I guess it must be in one of the other cages," Briar says.
"Well then, we'd best move on," Vil says.
"Right./ Yes, sir!" Epel and Rook say.
"Okay./Alright," Sereia and Briar reply.
Trinket nods her head in reply.
Sereia and Briar then walk to another cage that reads 'PTM-21689.'
"Let's try this one," Sereia says.
"Okay then, I'll open this one," Epel says.
"Take your best shot, Epel," Briar says as she and Sereia move out of the way.
With that, Epel cast his magic, "HRAH!" but when his magic hit the cage, it won't budge. "Rgh, this cage just won't open. I guess it's gotta be real sturdy to hold the Phantom. Okay, I'll get it this time!" And then casts his magic with a cry, "DEYAAAGH!"
Epel cast a stronger magic and the cage breaks open.
Vil walks to Epel and says, "Epel, if you go all out right now, you might run out of steam before we reach the end. You can't brute-force this. You need to be more efficient-"
And suddenly, the Phantom lets out a roar from within the cage.
"I believe this discussion will have to wait!" Rook says.
"Agreed. Now let's teach this Phantom not to cut in on other people's conversation!" Vil says.
The group then begins to attack the Phantom with their magic. Luckily there's only one, but this one has a shield. The group attacks the Phantom at once so that it can't defend itself. Soon, the group is able to defeat the Phantom, and it dissolves into black ink. So far, no ID card on the Phantom.
"I'm afraid that Phantom did not have the ID card either," Rook says
"All right, then we'll check the other cage," Vil says.
Then turns to Epel, "Now Epel, I appreciate your drive. But you must take care to pace yourself. You don't want to be running on empty when you need your magic most. You can never be too careful with these things.
"The same goes for Vil and myself, of course. Even Briar, Sereia, and Trinket. We'll certainly take breaks whenever we can. Getting sufficient rest is crucial on a hunt. One must be in top form when they face their quarry." Rook says.
"I don't recall this being a hunt, but I suppose the metaphor works," Vil replies. "The point is, don't overextend yourself. Is that clear?"
Epel remains silent for a second and says, "... Yes, sir."
"It's okay Epel, we just need to be more careful, especially of what awaits us, alright?" Briar says.
"Right," Epel replies.
Soon enough, the group arrivea at the last cage Ortho points out. The label reads, "PTM-11895." Everyone gathers around the cage and is ready to face the Phantom inside.
"Here we are. The moment of truth. I'll open the cage," Vil says, and brings out his mage pen.
Then Rook says, "Epel, Briar, Sereia, Trinket, get behind me."
"But I don't need you to protect me!" Epel says.
"Heg..." Rook replies and turns to Epel, "Epel, allow me to share a bit of wisdom with you. Hiding behind someone doesn't mean you need protection or that you're avoiding a fight. It enables you to conceal yourself and catch your enemy by surprise. You can also pick off the ones the front line haven't finished off yet. Such a tactic can only be done if someone takes the rear position."
Then Vil says, "True strength isn't always about rushing in first, little apple."
"Rgh..." a little frustrated, but Epel says, "All right, I get it. I'll bring up the rear, then!"
"And us girls will help him out," Briar says.
"Wonderful," Vil says, "Here goes!"
And with that, Vil casts his magic at the cage, busting it open. And right on cue, the Phantom inside lets out a loud screech and begins to attack. This time it is a rather large Phantom. The group begins to attack the Phantom. Of couse, they decide to keep their strategy in tact. They continue to fight off the phantom until it can fight no more.
The Phantom groans, "Urrrgh..." and melts into an inky puddle.
But ends up dropping something on the ground.
"Ah!" I heard something fall," Rook says.
Briar walks over, picks up the item the Phantom drops and shows it to the others.
"It's the ID card!" Vil says, "So this Phantom had it after all."
"Which means Ortho wasn't lying when he said it was in one of those cages," Epel says.
"It appears so," Briar says.
"Tres bien! Then we shall move forward with trust lighting our path!" Rook says.
Vil scoffs, "Hmph. There's no way those two would give us a hint simply out of the goodness of their hearts."
"I have to agree. It does seem weird," Briar says.
"Indeed," Vil says, "They're just killing time, moving us around like pawns on their little chessboard... Hm, actually, they're not killing time. It's more like..."
Suddenly, they hear suddenly," Urgh... Grrr!"
"I suppose we've no time to stand around speculating," Vil says.
"Indeed. Let us quit this place posthaste!" Rook says.
"You're right. Let's hurry before the other Phantoms wake up," Briar says.
YOU ARE READING
Twisted Wonderland Book 6: The Watchman of the Underworld
FanfictionAfter Grim attacked Briar after the SDC, she and her friends search for him, but captured by Ortho. A few days later, the school has been invaded by strong people is armor, and has captured, Riddle, Leona, Azul, Jamil, Vil, and Briar, and has Grim i...
