Chapter 36: Xenia Retrieval

Core rushed into the room after them, followed by Quint and the rest.

"What the fuck!?! Where the hell is Xenia!" Yelled Quint in anger.

"No way… I had this place locked down... " Core spoke as he inspected the bed with the symbol on it.

"Locked down? The fuck does that mean, you knew something was gonna happen?!" Quint grabbed Core by the collar and lifted him up, angrily glaring at him directly in the eyes.

"That is not the issue at hand now Quint. Release him. He has some explaining to do," expressed Clyde while still trembling with anger, which made Quint scoff at himself, then throw Core on the floor.

"Now, explain yourself, Chess master. Why is Crypt's symbol here?" Clyde asked him intimidatingly.

"I… Was actually gonna tell you guys about this yesterday, but I didn't see the need to. As you know, Xenia Vossen was one of the main reasons I came here. She and I share a type of Spring, a cursed one," he explained, getting up and sitting on the bed.

"You say that like they're connected in some way. I assume you're not the only two?" Deduced Rein.

"Very perceptive. You're right. There are seven cursed Springs in total around the continent. They were by-products of the war, spawned by the mass conflicts of negative energy around the continent," stated Core, making Rein raise an eyebrow.

"Spawned by the war? But you had yours before the war began."

"I'm… a bit of a special case. Can't really explain it. But Quint, you remember when it was that your sister awakened to this Spring?" Core glanced over at Quint, who was clearly in turmoil.

"Wha? Oh… about a month after the declaration of war. We were both about 10 years old," he answered.

"Right. The criteria to having one of these Springs is that you were 10 years of age at the most when the war began. As I said, I'm a special case," as he said that, Rein's face lit up with an expression of shock, as if he had just come to a revelation.

"Looks like you connected the dots Rein."

"... The ones who hired Checkmate… The ones who intentionally started a war…"

"That's right. They started the war, then began searching for these cursed Springs. We don't know how many they've captured so far, and we don't know the reason for their actions. For that reason, I had troops stationed around the hospital, and they were to report to me if anything happened. Right, D8?" A tall, black-haired woman appeared in the room, kneeling down to Core.

"Correct. I didn't see anybody who was suspicious, nor did I detect any abnormalities within the hospital," she explained.

"Miss D8?" Emria looked at her.

"Oh, hello there mistress Emria. It is very good to see you again. You as well, master Rein. I hope you have both been well. If my master allows, we may chat when time permits," D8 looked back at Core, who was poised in a thinking motion.

Clyde approached the symbol on the bed, inspecting it closely. His eyes stopped at a certain point, then spoke:

"They left directions," he pointed at the circle around the urn and read out the location. "The right angle to Mantos and Hasbin," Clyde deducted, nobody in the room knowing how.

"The right angle to Mantos and Hasbin…" Muttered Chloe as she thought to herself, imagining the map in her head. "Oh, wouldn't that be the Soot pond southwest of Hasbin? If you connect the three places, it makes a right-angle triangle, with the pond being the right-angle," she informed.

"Sounds promising. That's probably the place," Rein agreed.

Quint got up and opened the door angrily, and ran outside the hospital. Clyde ran after him, followed by everyone. As he caught up to Quint, Clyde grabbed his shoulder, making him stop and turn around.

"Let go."

"Where do you think you're going? You think you can fight Crypt alone?" Clyde had a serious expression, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes devoid of any emotion but rage.

"The hell do you know? Why are you such an expert about this shit anyway? Just who the hell are these Crypt guys?" Clyde tightened his grip on Quint's shoulder. "Ouch, what the?"

"They are a ruthless organization with no regard for any life. If they are giving us directions to their whereabouts, I can guarantee that it is a trap. I'm going with you," he declared.

"What? Hell no, this is my fight. Can't force others to fight my fight. I'm done with that life."

"I'm sorry Quint, but nothing you say will stop me. I have my own reasons as well…"

"The fuck? I just sai—"

"We're gonna need to ask the principal to let us leave campus or else we'd be instantly expelled for unsupervised exit. Emria, Saphrilla, you two stay here. We'll be back before you know it," Rein looked at the two girls as they nodded and ran back to the dorms.

"What?! You're coming too?" Exclaimed Quint.

"Don't forget about us. Rein and I have a plan, and because of my position, I more or less know how Crypt operates. I can assure you that they haven't harmed her yet, but if we don't hurry, they very well might…" Informed Core.

"I'm coming too. I said I was going to meet her today, and that's what I'll do!" Chloe declared enthusiastically.

"What? I can't endanger you, princess…"

"Did you already forget that I'm stronger than you? I beat you in the first round," she laughed and refuted, making Quint give up in his argument.

They all made their way to the principal's office.. When the group entered, Wallace tightened his figure but didn't react noticeably, as if he was holding in his actions.

"Good morning princess. I don't believe we have formally met. As you know, I am the vice principal of Ranger academy. My name is Wallace," he said as he knelt down, glancing at Rein at the corner of his eyes, who subtly nodded at him.

"It's nice to meet you as well," she answered.

They explained the situation to the principal, telling her everything that had happened so far.

"Hm, I see," she said in a thinking motion.

"Please Principal. Allow us to go after those Crypt monsters…" Clyde begged, which prompted a strange reaction from the principal.

"Oh? Do you have some kind of vendetta against these guys? I'd think that Vossen would be the one begging," she asked Clyde, making him look down in silence.

"Well, look. I am beggin'," Quint got down and put his face to the ground. "Please give us the okay to leave…"

"And what if I said no?" She provoked him.

"Then, I'm sorry, but I'm leavin' anyways. I don't give a shit if you expel me. My sis takes priority," he declared boldly.

"Hm, how about the rest of you?" She looked around at the rest in the room.

"It is the same with me. I will not hesitate to hunt those villains," Clyde followed Quint's determination.

"Well, I'm not exactly keen on losing my enrollment here, but I have my own reasons. There's no way I'm not going," expressed Rein as he stepped forward, everyone else in the room nodding after him, affirming his conviction.

"Very well then. I will allow you all to leave the premises until tomorrow night. I'll put this down as a field exercise, and even give you guys a reward if you complete it successfully," she declared, making the group's face light up with gratitude.

"Thank you," Quint smiled at her, then looked back at the group. "You guys too. Never thought I'd have a group of friends that'd be willing to help me outta the goodness of their hearts," Though he still held a slight distrust towards Rein and Core, he decided to believe in this plan that they came up with.

"Heh, I expect great things from this group. You may find the reward a tad lackluster, but that is because it's meant to be split between four, which is usually the maximum party size. I'll make an exception this time though," Julianne smiled at them as they exited her office.

"Are you sure that was wise mistress? Frankly, I'm worried," Wallace professed.

"Well don't be, Wallace. The princess is incredibly strong, coming from me, I'm sure you know how much that means. Furthermore, You've personally met the white-haired boy have you not? You do trust him to protect her, don't you? Or would you rather go with them yourself, Mr. Royal Guard?" She teased.

"Please do not call me that," he said, pushing up his glasses, slightly irritated as the principal laughed at his reaction.