CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.77 'CRASHED AND BURNING'

In the aftermath of the battle, Kiyonoki's gate was left smoldering as the Tenryu-ji turned tail to flee, their attempts at hunting down their chimera targets unsuccessful. In the garden of the monastery both the Nowhere Generation and Great Turtle Monks had gathered at a stone table that had been recovered from inside to make the meeting place. Without so much as a provocation, Okuri slammed his paws down on the table, a serious look on his face. "I got a name for these people... so we must know something about them, right? If they're after my companions..." He bared his fangs, eyes wide with anger. "We should give chase to them, destroy them before they have a chance to come back, if they even have any more fighters left." Looking to his side, he looked at Andrei, who was flexing his wrist as his body recovered from its burns, Saionji at his side.

Hirano placed a hand on Andrei's arm, water condensing on the boy's body and healing his self-inflicted wounds. The vampire then looked up at the members of both sides, noticing as Alpha stepped up to give her piece. "Okuri, I don't mean to interrupt. I agree, we should destroy them... but I did notice amongst them, they only spoke of two Chimera. I can't help but... wonder. If our two were the targets, why not Bayashi?"

Andrei frowned and met Hirano's gaze before looking across the garden to Ao and Vivi, who stood near Bayashi. Saionji put a hand on Andrei's shoulder, and Shimoda found a seat beside his sister and friend before the conversation could continue. It was Ao, the great black turtle of the monks, who spoke, her gaze deep and dark as she recalled a memory of her past. Her eyes caught on the stitched-together chimera, and her lips turned into a frown. "Stitch, do you... remember when we were with the Tenryu, before the split?"

Stitch, in all his confidence, seemed to shrink for a moment, sighing. His eyes grew distant, and he brushed aside the long strands of black hair which draped over his shoulder. "Yes, when... when we were living beside them?" He asked.

The great turtle nodded, then refocused on the rest of the meeting, silencing Kouriki as he attempted to protest the idea of a counter-attack. With a heavy heart, Ao realized with all she had thought about what she should have done long ago... She would have had the power, right? If not alone, with the others? "I... Could have prevented it, from letting them take over. That cursed 'Hierophant.' All that they did in the name of their delusions."

Kouriki gasped as Ao seemed to recount some terrible memory, and the Nowhere Generation each turned their attention to the mighty tortoise. "I could have given Kannon the gift, but..." She trailed off, her age seemingly weakening the walls that she had built up in her mind, the very same walls which Andrei and Vivian had challenged just mere minutes prior. "... I feared what made us unique, I suppose. I see that now, and there's no changing that past."

Andrei seemed to perk up at the mention of that title... 'Hierophant.' He had heard it before, but... Asura, Andrei. Don't forget the bastard... we still haven't gotten his energy. Ra glared at Andrei from the deepest recesses of his own mind, reminding him of who it was that brought up the Hierophant before. Blinking, Andrei seemed to stagger to his feet, surprising Saionji and Shimoda a bit, but not so much that they jumped up to help. He was strong enough to stand on his own, even if they were there to catch him. Andrei was on the verge of saying something, but he held his tongue.

"If all they want is a gift, why don't we just give it to them?" Hattori spoke up, a blank expression on his face. "They want Andrei, Vivian, or Bayashi? They can have them..." When he heard shock from the crowd which had shifted to look at him, he sighed and shook his head. "The two of them blew back a full raiding party, and that can't be any easy feat, if they're chimera fanatics. Getting Andrei and Vivi in there would be pretty easy, and they could get back out, right?"

Saionji's brow furrowed, and she nearly rose to her feet before Ao silenced her with a glance before speaking. She seemed deathly serious now, even more so than she had been before. The turtle's deep gaze locked onto Hattori, freezing him in place before he could utter another word. "Kannon, the Hierophant of the Tenryu-ji, is far stronger than any mere man or woman. They are... beyond that, now, or so they said, all those years ago..." A pang of regret crept its way into Ao's voice as she spoke, and she dipped her head. "I doubt either of them would be able to take on the full might of the Tenryu, and their commanders, if Kannon was at their helm."