User blog:ZiedGray/Brave Frontier: Another Tale - Chapter 1.4 - The Mission

"Thanks Lin. Understood. We'll keep an eye out." Kiriel terminated their connection and turned to his companions, they had troubled expressions, him included.

The journey out of Breeze Beach was uneventful.. well, almost. A few Rantouls here and there and the occasional Ramias, plus a touch of the annoying tantrums by Chelsea when her King Burny got defeated (brutally) by several of the said Rantouls just about sums it up. They did get a few scratches here and there—nothing too grave that a good vial of cure couldn't heal—and their small group made it out safely. Perhaps luck was on their side, peraps their training was actually paying off, either those or perhaps it was because they were passing through what was considered the safest area in Morgan that they made it out in one piece. Kiriel wondered, maybe it was luck.

Maybe.

"Anomalies huh..." Chelsea hummed, recalling their previous conversation with Lin Merylham. "That doesn't sound too exciting now, does it?" she commented, hands twidling as she thought about it.

Kiriel and his group had just received new information. According to the Survey Office, after creator Maxwell's defeat, several unexplained events have started happening in the areas over which the Fallen God used to rule over. Lin said that these 'anomalies' could be anything from powerful monsters, unknown markings on the ground, unidentified relics, or strange individuals being encountered by summoners on rarest of occasions, often ending in the death of said summoner. Those were the documented events so far, and it is believed that there could be more of them other than what was mentioned.

Kiriel felt a chill run down his spine. Chelsea was right, having to deal with an anomaly on their first actual mission was nothing short of terrifying. In their case, especially for these two.

Apart from conducting their standard survey which included finding artifacts, lost or forgotten records, uncovering historical evidence about major events, they were now tasked with investigating a recent anomaly detected in Morgan. Of course, being the closest summoner group, it was only logical that they were the first choice. Though being told to keep an eye out but stand down should they find it, and to report its location for backup to be sent their way said a lot about how much the Summoner's Hall trusted them to handle an anomaly. Kiriel was slightly offended but knew that he had not proven anything yet about him and his capacity as a summoner. Should he pull this mission off without having to rely on this backup, perhaps they would be acknowledged. He might be pushing his luck—which felt like it was about to run out—but Kiriel wanted to at least try to see how much he had actually grown as a summoner, and how much he could accomplish.

"And they said it was somewhere around here in the Nocturnal Forest right?" Chelsea shivered, moving closer behind Juno while looking around warily.

"Relax." Juno's deep voice rumbled as he finally said a word for the first time. It made Kiriel stop in his tracks and look behind.

"Good to finally hear your voice, Juno." he just had to say it. "Tell me... " Kiriel paused and took a deep breath, turning around to face his companions. "Do you guys think we can handle it?"

The chary expression Chelsea had now changed to distress. She seemed to have picked up on Kiriel's train of thought rather too quickly. "The anomaly?!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "No way!" she continued, hands coming up shaking in front of her for added emphasis. "There's just no way we can handle that whatever it may be!"

"Come on Chelsea.. we don't know that until we see for ourselves! Besides, we have our spirits with us. Should things get a little rough, we can always call them out to help." Kiriel tried his hand at convincing the petite woman, his adventurous spirit stirring restlessly within him.

Juno shook his head sideways. "Direct order." he stated, the shaking of his head continuing. "Cannot disobey."

"Aww come on! What if the situation calls for us to take action? What if—" Kiriel's words were interrupted by a loud, near-earthsplitting roar from a distance possibly not too far from them. It would seem their luck had finally run out.

Chelsea was the first one to hide, finding herself some cover behind a large tree. "W-What is that!? I don't like the sound of that!"

"Neither do I." Kiriel responded, already facing the direction of the roar with his sword drawn.

Moments later, the forest that was supposedly still by day began to stir, earth rumbling in set intervals that foretold of something big walking and was headed their way. Juno backed away slowly, Chelsea following his lead. Kiriel however, stood his ground wanting to catch a glimpse of the cause of disturbance.

"Kiriel come on! I don't think that thing is going to be friendly if it sees us!" Chelsea begged him to stand down.

Too late.

A huge arm emerged behind the curtain of trees and parted them with ease, clearing a path for whatever the owner of the arm was. Kiriel tightened his stance and gripped his sword even tighter. His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest, but he knew he couldn't back down. He needed to identify the creature so he could send an accurate report to the Survey Office. They needed to know what they were going to be up against and right now, he was the only one with enough guts to wait and see.

He didn't have to wait too long.

Another deafening howl pierced the air, the culprit now fully visible as it trampled over the trees that offered poor resistance. It was larger than Kiriel imagined, more hideous than what he had in mind. At first glance, it appeared to be a Minotaur, only it was barely recognizable since it looked vastly different from a standard Minotaur thanks to the modifications? it had on it. For starters, the war axe Minotaurs have been known to carry was replaced with a more menacing one. It was now longer, safe to say it now belonged to the pole-axe class. Most notable about its weapon was the design, Kiriel had never seen anything like it before. For an axe, the head was shaped like a diamond, the sides of the head were lined with intricate markings that resembled writing, only Kiriel could not understand it. They glowed a blood-red glow, much like the way the beast's eyes reflected its blood-lust.

The beast's strongarm was covered in thick metal plates of dark purple hue, cackling with lightning every so often. The same could be said of its left leg. Its horns have grown visibly longer, coursing with energy that belonged to a Minotaur's known affinity. Its bared teeth were sharper, more horrifyingly uninviting as it gnarled and howled another time. This beast seemed to have found power through means other than evolution, and that power seemed to have driven it mad with rage. For beasts that normally inhabit the Asekutt Wastelands, this one was far from home, and waltzing through an element it was normally adverse of no less!

Kiriel didn't have time to further analyze.

The creature bellowed in anger for the third time. It seemed to be looking for something to fight, very much like how its normal behavior would suggest it normally does—at least that part of the Minotaur was still there. Now, if only Kiriel was not its target...