User blog:ZiedGray/Brave Frontier: Another Tale - Chapter 2 - Kiriel

Several months had already passed since Kiriel's first mission blunder, yet he could still remember it like it had just happened yesterday. After that unfortunate turn of events, Kiriel had been severely reprimanded by the Summoner's Hall for disobeying a directive and putting members of his party in danger; it was a moment of his life that he would never forget. He had also been branded as "Death Flag Kiriel" by fellow summoners, for belief that anyone to work with him will meet their demise sooner or later. Since that day, his summoner life had been rather unkind. Although Chelsea and Juno made it out safely, they too refused to speak with him afterwards. It seemed as if he had let them down and that they no longer wanted to do anything with him. It couldn't be helped, they entrusted their lives in his hands and the next thing he does was put them at risk. How considerate of him...

Although somewhat hated by other summoners, Kiriel did not let his predicament get the best of him. He channeled all the negative emotions he harbored into something productive, directing all his efforts into becoming a stronger summoner, one worthy of trust and one who could actually protect something. He started by doing solo missions for Sera to get experience out on the field. He had also spent a great deal of his time strengthening his summoned spirits both new and old, (he already had quite an arsenal of them at this point) and all these while testing his own growth as a summoner in the Arena. Seraphim, his current arena rank had a nice ring to it. When he had free time, Kiriel would head over to Elise's bar, not to rest but to take on Demon Slaying missions requested by the cityfolk; that Demon Slayer that saved them that time became another one of the backs he'd been chasing, just like that other summoner chosen by the gods.

Kiriel had certainly kept himself busy, and he soon realized that flying solo was not all that bad.

He had just returned from a demon slaying request and was waiting for Elise to finish processing the paperwork when his communicator buzzed to life. By now he had been used to getting odd requests from Lin and this time, his hunch said it would be no different.

"What is it this time Lin?" he greeted her monotonously, a tad uninterested.

"Kiriel, this is urgent! Please don't be like that!" she retorted.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. What is it this time? Do you want me to acquire another specimen for one of Noel's experiments? Or do you need me to obtain some sort of new fabric for your favorite tailor?"

"W-wha—No! This is an official request from the Summoner's Hall!"

At the mention of official request, the boredom from Kiriel's eyes had vanished as they sharpened. "Tell me about it." his tone was serious now, mind set to getting more details out of Lin.

"Kiriel, you are aware of our survey efforts following the defeat of Cardes the malevolent yes? Well, one of our survey groups found some sort of artifact possibly unrelated to Grand Gaia, Palmyna, Cardes, or anything that can be found in that region.."

"You mean an anomaly right?"

"Precisely. However, as they were in the process of studying it, that group came under attack from an unidentified being. According to the data that we have, it is likely that the unknown being wanted the artifact. In an effort to keep the artifact in our hands, the survey group fought him but suffered casualties—they were forced retreat. In their last transmission, they said that being was powerful enough to take on a group of summoners with ease. Right now, the Summoner's Hall had issued a request to head over to Grandelt Ruins. The mission by priority is to rescue the remnants of the survey group and its escorts, retrieve the artifact and capture the unknown being if possible."

"This sounds like a mission fit for the veterans. Why am I being contacted for this?"

"Kiriel, these past few months you haven't exactly been idling right? Well, if nobody told you, let me be the first to say that your recent efforts have not gone unnoticed. The Summoner's Hall keeps track of all its summoners' progress and right now, you are one of the very few included in the list of available and qualified summoners for this mission. Also.. Chelsea and Juno are with that survey group as part of its escort summoners."

Lin need not say anything more. "I'm leaving right away. Send me their last known coordinates." he said as he bolted out of Elise's bar.

Grandelt Ruins, Kiriel had arrived at last. He had been secretly hoping to run into other summoners who could have possibly responded to this mission but he had yet to find even a shadow of another summoner. Looks like he was going solo again, much like the other times he had chosen to respond to requests of this nature from the Summoner's Hall. Well, it didn't matter to him if he went solo; it just meant that he only had himself and the rescuees to worry about.

Kiriel made his way into the ruined city. According to past records, Grandelt was once the most vibrant city in the Palmyna region. What brought about its downfall remained unclear but it was quite possible that it had something to do with Cardes the Malevolent when the gods attacked Grand Gaia. Kiriel looked around, eyes darting from one ruined building to another. Such a shame to see what could have been a bustling city now lying in ruins. From the looks of it, Grandelt might have been a central trading point in Palmyna given how large the city was and its abundance in structures that looked like shops or stalls. Kiriel could only imagine how Grandelt might have been had it been intact and not devoid of its residents.

As he walked further into the city, Kiriel saw nothing but destruction in his wake; it was a depressing sight. According to Lin, he was not that much farther from the last known location of the Survey Group he was tracking down. While the ruined city remained quiet as it welcomed the summoner into its ravaged beauty, Kiriel still had his guard up at all times for he could not afford to get ambushed. Apparently, he was told by Lin that he was the only summoner to respond to this mission. According to Lin, when the other summoners learned of his involvement, they chose to respond to other requests instead saying that this mission could be left in Kiriel's capable hands. Deep down Kiriel knew that they were just wary of his "Death Flag" moniker, and that they would rather be far away from him than work with him on a mission. It was insulting at first but Kiriel had gotten used to being treated as such that it did not really bother him anymore. In fact, he was grateful that they chose to stay away from him. In a way, it only made him stronger.

Having only himself to rely on had its own merit too.

Finally arriving at the point where the survey group transmitted last, Kiriel surveyed his immediate surroundings. A battle definitely took place given the recent addition to Grandelt's already devastated state. Following the trail of destruction, Kiriel made his way into what looked like a temple of some sort. It had intricate carvings in text Kiriel failed to understand but was somewhat familiar. He had seen this text before and the memory of where he'd last saw such text was not pleasant. Kiriel made haste. He entered the structure and proceeded to the only direction given to him inside, downwards. After descending the spiral staricase, Kiriel traversed the long hallway that led to a pair of large doors at the end. The moment Kiriel pushed the doors open, a plethora of emotions gripped his heart. Inside, four bodies could be seen lying on the marbled floor. Kiriel hurried to check on them only to realize that they had been long dead.

The bodies belonged to summoners of the escort group. The only relief Kiriel had at that moment was that Chelsea, Juno or any member of the survey group were not among them. It seemed like these four tried to hold off their attacker while the rest of them made their escape. But to where? The only way they could go from here was further inside.

Suddenly, a surge of disturbing aura filled the inside of the chamber where Kiriel was. The instant he sensed it, Kiriel immediately drew his weapon and looked around, trying to find the source. Never in his life had he sensed such frightening aura, it was making his skin crawl. From what he could gather, whoever owned such an aura was further inside, and that a battle was about to take place given that he sensed two more familiar presences beyond.

Kiriel wasted no time and dashed towards the doors at the back. Cheslea and Juno were about to fight someone or something that had enough power to take out four experienced summoners. They would need all the help they could get.

Kiriel could only pray that he get there in time..