The Last Conjura

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

RYUU

“Take it easy n—”

“Get back” I said without thinking. “How did you do that? How… How are you alive?” I turned from Jared to Jennifer. Nothing made sense.

“Oh?” 

“This is new” Jennifer said with a smile.

“Something funny?” I turned my attention to her.

“You might want to calm down Ryuu. We don’t have the time for all this. We’ve got to go—”

“And what about the people who just died? Huh? Jennifer? They’re your ‘weirdo’s’ right?”

“Wow. He’s all sentimental too” she annoyingly beamed an even harder smile. “Thought you said this one was gonna be different. He’s even worse than the rest of them. Remind me never to pair up with you on a mission again.”

Mission?

“Well the feeling is very much mut—”

*CLATT*

I picked a piece of ‘fusiform’ wood from the broken counter, and stood poised at both characters. “Someone better explain to me how your deep cut just healed up, and how a goddamn—”

“Put that down before you hurt yourself.”

“What’s going on Jared?”

“Put the wood down.” 

“Listen to—”

*ZOOOMMMMMM*

With a burst of pace, I charged… Not towards them, but out of the café. Who the hell were these people? I need to get out h—

“Foundation Card…”

“Shit!”

“…Black Hole.”

*BZZZZZZZ*

I… I couldn’t move.

“I told you to the put the plank down. I just saved your life. Why would I go through all that just to kill you?” Jared said while he walked over.

“whhhattttt theeee—”

“Don’t worry, it’s a foundation card. It’s not strong enough to kill you. But it packs enough power to pause your vitals.”

“And… make you less annoying.”

Jennifer picked me up like I was a placard. 

“Can we get a move on before the cops show up? I wonder what we’ll blame this one on this time” she glanced at the bloodied bodies.

Jared just walked passed without a word, and Jennifer took the hint. Where were they taking me?”

Jennifer, watch my head. Watch my head! Watch my—

*BOPP*

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

“Foundation card… Comet”

*BZZZZZZ*

“Shit!” I jolted straight into consciousness. Finally…

I tried to still myself with deep breaths, but the second I rose my head, Jared was on the opposite side of the table. His relaxed green iris had never looked so emotionless.

“What did you—”

*CLACKK*

My hands were forced back by the chains atop the table. 

“Why am I in cuffs?”

“Our superiors are out on some side quests. The cuffs are so you don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.”

“What are you?” I muttered after I’d fully regained myself. “What is this place? What on earth—”

“You’re a Dragon Conjura right?”

What?

“Huh? I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Is this because of what happened at the dumb meeting? I said I just knew those details because i—”

“I’m not as dense as you think I am… Ryuu Kurja”

He… He called me by my full name? No one knew my—

“You know Luvius, don’t you? The Katana guy back at the café?” 

“I don’t know what you’re—"

“Didn’t he kill your brother?” 

“Tch. How… How did—”

“You do know you gain absolutely nothing by lying to me, right? Everything I need to know about you, I already know. That includes the things you’re aware of, and the ones to which you have no clue” he sighed, crossing his legs on the desk. “So, we can speed this entire process up if you just come clean about—”

“I have nothing to come clean about, and I don’t know what you’re talking about” I said.

He was quiet for a while. 

Then he looked up to the roof, walked away from the desk, and pinned the door.

“What are you doing?”

He scratched the itch on his buzz before turning back to me.

“Luvius decimated your entire family, Ryuu. Your mom, dad, brother, relatives, army, servants and city are gone. Did you know that?”

Hehh?

“You’re the last Dragon Conjura. Did you know that?”

HEHH?

“He… He didn’t—”

“Your brother Adachi tapped into his core to send you here moments before he was decapitated.”

“Stop.”

“Adachi was the strongest. So after he was killed, not a single Conjura stood a chance. Luvius went on to annihilate the every last one of them. Every last one… except you.”

“I said stop!”

“The only reason Adachi saved you was because, for some odd reason that I’m yet to see, he believed in you. So what do you think my response should’ve been when I found out that the person he chose to save instead of himself, hasn’t even conjured his dragon—”

*CLASKKK*

I shredded the chains off my wrists, and dashed in his direction. 

“You—”

*GRAB*

He held my fists… unmoved.

“I don’t know what your brother saw in you. I don’t see it” 

He began squeezing my fists. But the pain was no match for—

*CRACK*

“Ah!”

“We’re a society of paranormals. Our job is to protect the human world from the nine realms that could spell its end. For a hundred and seventy-two years, it’s been easier than taking candy from a baby.”

*CRACK*

“Ahh!!!”

“But the day you dropped here, you brought along some unwelcome guests. One of them… was Luvius.”

“What?”

“You made every life on earth a whole new brand of fucked up.”

“Jared, open the goddamn door!” I heard Jennifer from the opposite end of the room.

“But for some odd reason, my superior sees potential in you. That’s why he made me watch you for four hellish months, and up till now, you’ve not grown one bit.”

*CRACK*

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Your brother was one of us. With his death, a space opened up, and the lower ranks filled the gap almost immediately. Unfortunately, it left one rank at the bottom empty. My superior’s gonna offer you that position, much to my annoyance”

Finally, he let go of my hand. 

“What the hell is wrong with—”

*TWATTT*

He let loose a roundhouse kick in my direction, and I flew over the table, clattering back-first to the wall.

“If you want to die, accept the offer. But if any of mine die because of the curses you brought here with you, I will kill you myself.”

I’d never seen him wreak of so much ferocity.  

*CLACKK*

He keyed open the door, and the characters on the other side rushed towards me. Jennifer was the last to walk in. She just stared at Jared, and he made no effort to acknowledge her before he walked out. 

“You okay?” she said, turning to me.

“It was just my fist, it’s nothing serious.”

“You heard the man. You can all leave.”

Without a word, they rushed out faster than they’d rushed in. 

Now, it was just Jennifer and I.

“You mind explaining what he—”

“Doesn’t like you. In fact, hates you more than I do, and it’s not gonna fizzle off until you’re dead.”

“I… I didn’t even do anything” I picked myself off the floor.

“That’s… not exactly true” she folded her hands in front of her. “You did bring along some unwelcome guests when you came here.”

“Luvius? Katana?”

“It’s the same person.”

“I… I thought you guys killed him already.”

“Yeah. Kinda.”

“Kinda?”

“You see Ryuu, Luvius landed here three hours after you did. 12:02PM, on the 7th of March. He’s been tracking your movements ever since. We noticed, and decided to keep an eye on both of you. You think he just magically waltzed into that café?”

“You… you’ve been planning this the entire time?”

She tilted her head to the side a little when she noticed the confusion on my face.

“Let’s just say that after a lot of work, we finally managed to kill him. One of him, that is”

“What?”

She took a deep breath before resting on the wall. 

“Luvius is an inter and intra-realm threat. He’s single-handedly caused major ripples on earth and the nice realms surrounding. We protectors have never been able to keep up. We usually end up playing it off as some robbery, terrorist attack or mass genocide among the likes. In reality, it’s Luvius.”

“He killed my—”

“You’re gonna keep whining about that?” she said, unimpressed. “Adachi was #6 on our ranks. Even Jared would sometimes struggle to keep up with him. And he chose to save your life, instead of killing the Luvius that you brought here” she changed posture and gave me a more intense gaze. “I don’t think you understand how serious this is. He’s the devil incarnate. People are dying. Paranormals are beginning to disappear, and some are even on the verge of going extinct. Now, he’s got his eyes on the Conjuras. That’s why he’s after you. And since you decided to grace earth with your presence, he’s not gonna stop until he finds you. Until he kills you.”

What was this feeling coursing through my veins? Why was my heart beating so fast? Was… was this fear?

“Y… You said Jared just killed one of them. How many are there?” I asked, just before she could leave.

“What does it matter if i—”

“I’m gonna kill them all” I said, forcing myself to breathe normally. Forcing myself to heart to stop beating so quickly. 

“I’M GONNA KILL THEM ALL!” 

“Tsk” 

I could see her cold smirk even though she was backing me.

“Really?” she turned back to me with a smile. “You plan on killing all three?”

“Three?”

“Katana, was the one Jared just killed. During his six months spree on earth, he murdered Twelve thousand, three hundred and ninety-five humans, and excluding the ones from your realm, he sent thirty-seven paranormals to the afterlife, and was single-handedly responsible for the extinction of the Attenuators.”

“Attenuators?”

“They possessed the ability to amplify and abate any force you can imagine. When he murdered the last one, he absorbed their core… and their powers. That’s why he was able to ‘slow down time’ via diattenuation, and increase his Katana effect via attenuation, back at the Café.  

My ‘deep breaths’ become a lot more audible.

“Oh, and um, you should probably know this, but he’s the weakest Luvius, so if you want to stand a chance against the four variants that remain, you might want to try solving your conjuring problem pretty soon” she added, just before walking out. “Not that I care but umm, that’s the only reason you’re still alive… and the only reason Adachi isn’t.”