Chapter 108: The case regarding the catastrophe!

"He couldn't capture your heroic essence in this painting of his, shameful. He didn't sculpt your abs or heroic and warm smile. This style couldn't capture your greatness, Gray." Said Kalilah Vigor with her hand on her chin as Hye, Derek and herself were staring at art made by a famous prodigious artist that had drawn Mistdeemer in his youth. "He put it on the wall outside of the shop, that makes it a mural." Hye replied as he shook his head with a slight egotistical grin. "Yeah, let's go, I forgot that I was speaking with the queen of the know it all society. Thanks for reminding me." Kalilah responded as she crossed her arms. "Royalty. Are you aware of the grave that you dug yourself into with that?" Hye responded with a beaming devious grin, "I'm not sure if you would understand my comeback, remind me of the definition of peasant first!" Hye finished with his face still the same. "It doesn't matter what he gets about depicting me, as long as he has the others ninety-nine percent accurate. He's worth all of the money for the commission." Derek says as he walks slightly closer to the depiction. "I've been curious, who are those guys?" Hye asked as he stepped forward with him. Kalilah's expression shifted into a downtrodden look as a tear fell from Derek's face, which left him unsure if it was from joy or sadness from the memories his question brought up. "Family and some old foes." Derek answered while others surrounded the team mesmerized by the beauty of the artist's work depicting an event from Derek's creative mind. "An epic battle?" Kalilah asked as Hye noticed she had the same face on her as she's stuck in shock and awe regarding something about Derek. "My family against our foes. When I was younger my friends and I were called legacy heroes because each of our families were involved in the business, their reputation ours as one and a duty falls on us to grow or dim it. Make our family's names into something folks remember gladly or with a burning hatred. The choice was left up to us when they'd retire and we'd assume responsibilities of helping our cities from various and curious threats that the local force couldn't handle. I'd prioritize solving a mystery for the P.D cold case division in my spare time." Derek answered as he admired it more by the second as he was speaking. One of Hye's brows flew up. "I was speaking more on names or maybe some of them have badass code names? I could deduce all of that." Hye calmly blurted out as he looked at one particularly interesting family member depicted in the mural. Derek glanced at the citizens admiring alongside them before walking inside and gesturing for his apprentices to follow. "The one with the gray lenses and black mask like mine is my father, Jacob Wiley. The woman with the creamy beige matching with me a bit more right now, my mom, Jessica Wiley. The fella with the Gray mask covering his mouth was my grandfather from an old photo he kept, Philip Wiley. The kid with the white mask and Gray lenses, my youngest brother, Nick Wiley. The one with the tracksuit and blindfold covering up his eyes, Henry Wiley. The other two are my uncle and his son from an ideal world." Derek explained to each as quick as the door closed. Kalilah had her own thoughts hearing the last sentence yet decided to keep them to herself. "That armor that your mom has on is beautiful and elegant." Kalilah commented instead of voicing her curiosity regarding any of his family depicted. "What in the heck does that last confusing part even mean?" Hye blurted out with an upset tone as it felt like a cliffhanger. "When I'm done with teaming up with that young artistic prodigy to place depictions over various businesses owned by my friends in this city, you'll be able to eventually piece them together and figure it out." Derek replied with a smug smile. Hye smelled something before taking a glance at Kalilah whose face showed her disapproval of the next sentence from the young swordsman before he spoke. It was enough to prevent him from pressing further and have him nervously chuckling before back off. "That guy with the olive fur coat that youngin you were facing off against looked like an exciting challenger." Hye commented while switching the topic. Derek's facial expression shifted into a serious and humorless one. "Proxtere, thief of the coat from the gale bear, gives its wearer command over the winds which the creature was given authority over by the undying concept of the skies until it was slain by a figure of legend and he used its fur to create a coat for his son. The coat and the son were somehow separated. Nobody knows where he is now. I've never been able to beat him." Derek responded with a scowl on his face as he was regaling the history to his apprentices. The heir of smoke and ash heard his assistant Svevvy calling out for him before he swiftly gave him his undivided attention. "Wise-woman Lisha needs your ears and as she requested, wide open and listening urgently." Svevvy informed his employer from the top of the stairs. Derek turned around with his arms crossed and a grin put on his face before the apprentices, curious as to why, began noticing creamy beige ash descending before an elegant door adopting the ashes' colors was conjured. "Dramatic posing for a door." Hye commented before walking to open it up and peeking into it which led him to stare eye to eye with an old woman. "Hey, guys, this door leads us to another witch." Hye shouted as he closed the door when he soon realized she wouldn't let up. "Be nice, little guy, and our next lesson is definitely going to be learning to knock before entering. You're way too comfy with just waltzing through." Derek responded as he moved him out of the way gently. "Well, that's just not gonna be the case." Hye mumbled under his breath. "What makes her a witch though?" Kalilah voiced her wonder of her fellow apprenctice's assumption as the two entered the door, one after another. Derek gently laid his hand on his left pectoral as he nodded his head once, Kalilah followed his lead whereas Hye refused and saw no point in initiating her preferred greeting symbolizing respect. "A pleasure and an honor as always, our great woman with the eyes for catastrophe. I'm prepared to become informed regarding what you have for my ears and have chosen my skills to resolve." Said Derek as he held the same pose. "The world's premier vanquisher and chief of the Heroics purlieu, a pleasure as well. Straight to the point for this urgent matter. It's Jillion and his deadly underlings up to their vile evil once again!" Miss Lisha informed Derek, causing the hero to ball up his other hand, "He will cause all of Edinburgh to suffer through disease and curses as he plans to awaken countless knucklaeve to stampede so he may extract what he requires for some goal of his, right now that's unclear to me. This will wipe out the population." The seer of catastrophe informed the heir of smoke and ash as the warning of disease and curses caused concern within his apprentices. Derek's heart began to burn with his hatred for the criminal they've been combating. "My sincere gratitude for your spectacular and necessary service for the world that's left ignorant, wise-woman." Derek vowed before he and the much younger ones with him left. Before walking through, Hye looked back towards Miss Lisha, they had a trade of suspicious squinting towards one another. 

The Vanquishing Trio returned to base except the apprentices were slightly surprised when they realized he had it return them to the building's rooftop. "You can control that magical door for certain, right?" Hye asked as he found himself recently feeling unsure as he looked up at Fenella soaring nearby in the skies. Derek immediately had spread his legs before throwing his arms to his lower hip and one by one repeatedly made a motion as though he were trying to catch something in front of him. The hero's smoke which was thin enough to see through, however, thick enough to see had swiftly hugged the city leaving his apprentices, especially Kalilah, in awe. "For certain. It's not magic and we have to gather the council of the city." Derek corrected his junior before he had formed another doorway for the crew which had led them. An hour of waiting after he had contacted the chief of police to gather the other powers in charge of various governing within the wrecked city that's currently in a state of repair. "You've gathered us for an emergency, gratitude from past deeds, we've gladly gathered whenever you'll need us, right guys?" Said Councilman 1 with a humorless tone. "Don't tell me that you've got horrendous news of another city leveling threat?" Councilwoman 1 added as she rubbed her temples. "Nothing like that— anymore— we're dealing with mythical monsters with a passion for spreading curses and disease but fortunately I've encased the city with enough essence to reduce the damage from this one to half the city at the worst. I'm immune to most of the world's diseases, even supernaturally enhanced as in this case, however, unfortunately I can only make everyone resistant." Derek informed the council governing the city. "It has to be exhausting being the only hero and capable defender." Councilman 2 commented with a downtrodden and worried tone. Derek looked at his apprentices with a prideful expression. "There's the natural and supernatural, as long as I have this great city's support and backing that's more than enough to fuel me— against even a Demi-god wrathful towards these citizens. I'm not actually alone either. Capable apprentices and my assistant who gathers intel for me through his connections. You're all part of this team." Derek replied with a short assuring inspirational shout towards the end. "Alright, sir, what do you have in mind for us?" Asked the chief of officers as Derek's short speech inspired and motivated him. Derek slightly grinned before looking out the window of the council building. "I have countless warehouses built across the entire city coming with bunkers that could fit thousands at a time. Rally the police and evacuate as many people as you can. The creatures that these schemers behind this emergency have released are in the bracket of the most dangerous that Vanquishers have come to know." Derek urgently answered before he made a waving motion which conjured what seemed to the council members as a floating shape with swirling creamy beige ash in the center. "Because nobody can vanquish a disease or a curse like they could a wendigo. Death is almost guaranteed." Derek finished reminding himself. Derek reached the ashen practice hand inside, pulling out a folded map of sorts of their city. He handed it to councilman 1 before the meeting was dismissed and everyone expected each other to carry out their ends. The council members left the building, chief of police, chief of medical, various politicians forming the laws that hadn't spoken, Derek afterwards conjured another wormhole, reaching in and pulling out Settembre's final gift. "The heck is that ancient hat and how can it help us?" Hye asked as he realized he had never seen one before in his life. "A gift from my ole' pal, my best friend, I'm going to need all the concentration and reminding I have to surround the entire city for as long as we'll need it. They could release them at any moment, any time that my smoke is away will cause considerable and regrettable deaths when they arrive. I've got the power to give folks essentially immunity, but I'm stuck here." Derek replied and warned his students who were stuck by his great power. Hye felt a hint of confusion settling in. The team began suddenly hearing screaming and various urgent shouts from beneath them, the two apprentices rushed to the edge of the building to check out the situation. Strange creatures resembling skinned horses and their dead riders were ravaging the area and explosions began bursting out all over the city and within the apprentices' sights. Absolute anger due to the horrific scene and suffering from below had settled into Hye as Kalilah noticed his hair turn into a creamy beige, tears dropped and flooded as Kalilah watched on. "You're able to figure out what the perps want and why right, somehow?" Kalilah asked with an urgent and worrisome tone, "We aren't blind in this catastrophe, right?!" She had finished as Derek could hear her heart rate rising from a plethora of emotions. "Quit fearing that unknown and lost again, you were making great progress, Lilah." Derek replied as he relaxed and refused to allow his powers to overwhelm him once more. The hero of smoke and ash could feel each life form that wandered within the smoke that he had conjured around and explored in each nook and cranny of the entire city that it could dwell in, which gave it an eerie look and resembled fog so thin. Derek's eyes widened from shock and as he couldn't help yet release a gasp when he used a bit of focus to utilize his ability with more precision, he felt excited life near an important item that he was chosen to guard, a unique mission that aside from his past with the city which had kept him living and having a home in it. "How did that history creep actually figure this out?!" Derek asked himself before he relayed the revelation to his apprentices. "I'm going to make sure these clowns suffer for this, whether we wing it or you've got something else up your sleeve. We're more than enough." Hye responded in a scarily calm tone, Derek and Kalilah could see the anger from his face. "A couple of idiots are heading to Jilpsile's heart, it's under an old statue of the embodiment of wisdom as a woman in Stockbridge, somebody's history is eh on the statue part but impeccable when it comes to the accuracy of his favorite area from all of the tales. Either way, this is all that I can afford you with traversal. Protect the hero's heart " Said Derek as he held out his hands and formed a doorway leading as near as he could allow them while his determination and mind were primarily busy with keeping his powers focused on keeping the area clean. "We have you, Gray, count on us to have your back and let us show you results. Show who you've trained." Kalilah replied to her teacher before opening his conjured door. "Yep with a yes. We have this for you, teach, worry not about a thing, old head." Hye responded as he bumped fists with his fellow apprentice with a determined smile. Hye and Kalilah hated the overwhelming screams, countless explosions and the noise of the gunshots being sprayed that ran through their ears and wouldn't leave their thoughts, fueling horrific images that gave the couple their determination to stop it at once. "Off to save that famous old hero Grantso Jilpsile, the child of the concept of Wisdom, came to be known as the heroine of Klese, such an ancient kingdom with relics surviving to this day. Then Grantso grew up, he trained until he achieved a heroic status throughout the continents then the poor guy was brought to the brink of death but was fortunately saved by his uncle, when one concept sees you fit to ask something of you then another pokes out, Mr. Fortune himself and his mistress Lady Luck as a favor to his sister. Chosen by fortune, I was promised a reward for my service and that's the knowledge of what happened— enough about me, my story definitely isn't the saddest one." Derek had thought to himself as a single tear had dropped from his eye before the memories of Hye's parents snuck into his thoughts. 

Kalilah and Hye saw the building their teacher, Derek, had described and ordered for them to find which held near precisely what the knave releasers were after during the attack. The two devoted apprentices wasted zero time and used all effort to race for the statue near the building, leaping over the rooftops until Kalilah grabbed the beige swordsman's attention as she halted herself after hearing the scream of a young girl. Kalilah saw a few of the deadly knaves Derek warned the pair against surrounding a local family, the parents were panicking as their frightful expressions had forced the Daughter of the embodiment of valor and vigor into action with the face she had on her being enough to move the knaves away as she summoned her father's blade that Derek's been teaching her to wield. "She has this. I'll just get that heart for us!" Hye told himself while spectating Kalilah slice and slash through the countless horrifying and skinned creatures with ease. The creamy Beige haired swordsman sprinted a few buildings closer before being able to spot a pair of empowered relic mercenaries which he had recognized from his time working under Jillion's command before accepting Derek's offer. "The pair, Staelic and O'laga, code names. World's premier relic collector, oof?" Hye reminded himself before he inched closer. The creamy Beige swordsman felt more comfortable grabbing out his master's sword hilt from his pouch. Staelic and O'laga walked forwards, towards the genderbent statue of the embodiment of wisdom. O'laga crossed his arms as he was criticizing the historical accuracy of the statue before delivering a spinning back kick and sending it airborne. Staelic pushed up his glasses before throwing out his hands with his ancient gauntlets equipped which empowered him with inhuman telepathic control. "Precision!!!" Staelic shouted while attempting to move the dirt under where the statue stood as the fastest method of digging for it. "Wait, doesn't he have something like enhanced hearing that kicks in every thirty seconds too?!" Hye remembered out of the blue as his expression went from focused to shock, "I've got to make my move!" The creamy beige swordsman decided to leap from above as ash the color of his hair swirled until it formed and became as solid as a blade must be to slash, Hye had the plan of slash and dash, yet to his surprise O'laga performed a flip and kicked his blade along with the hilt out of his hands. Hye dodged and evaded his former comrade's follow up, a ferocious stomp as he laid on the ground and a kick. Creating space, the creamy beige swordsman was worried about his hilt. The young swordsman held a murderous expression afterwards. "How??" Hye shouted as he couldn't shake his frustration. "Boy. If it weren't for that creamy and cheesy Mistdeemer that you've decided was worth betraying our boss' inner circle for then you'd have already been dead and wouldn't be a pest for us now. We're going to fight while he clears the dirt and retrieves what we've come for, don't you get a big head like that again or I will help you get put in the dirt quicker." O'laga threatened after breaking his nonchalant attitude. "You were never the brightest one in any room with unforgivingly the biggest mouth on ya, c'mon, so live up to that promise!" Hye taunted exactly as O'laga warned against, compelling the antagonist to sprint and make the first move, rather Hye decided, O'laga stepped by before throwing rights and lefts which missed Derek's third vanquishing apprentice by a mere hair each blow thrown. The creamy beige haired swordsman saw his hilt at a convenient time, pushed up against the ropes, Hye rolled for the sword instructor's sentimental hilt and slashed, missed, dashed towards O'laga to keep the space closed, continuing to slice and slash until Hye miscalculated his movement as he was unfortunately caught up in his own thoughts, he left himself wide open for both of O'laga's powerhouse of a pair of legs to send him flying away instead. "That was fun. Mistdeemer must be cheating, It's been about only three weeks since you've defected but now instead of getting KO'ed even by Staelic again, you'd probably defeat him." O'laga chuckled as he pulled out another cigarette to light up. "I don't get upset with that loss, I've just sent even you running with my strongest suit, O'laga, sent away crying by Hye Walker. I like the sound of that, I wonder what the others would think mister others' opinions is the world to him?" Hye fired back as O'laga was increasingly becoming tired of their back and forth. O'laga, the fourth artifact gatherer, laughed uncontrollably. "That I'm just having a bit of fun with ya. I've got the biggest mouth but, man, everybody agrees that you're the one who needs to shut up." O'laga nonchalantly returned before planning to end their talk. The fourth gatherer threw away his cigarette before speedily and determinately punching Hye in his gut, the creamy beige swordsman assumed he was surpassed in speed but not to the degree that he couldn't dodge. O'laga smacked the back of Hye's head the hardest he's ever had it happen in his life before the fourth ranked swiftly with all of his might had jabbed his knees into the lowest ranked gut, sending him soaring into unconscious and a building with the final in his often lethal barrage aimed for his chin. O'laga mocked Hye with a gesture resembling taking out the trash before deciding to check up on his partner's progress with the searching for the heart of Grantso. The two find a mysterious and strange gold and copper box, Staelic levitates it towards the duo. "Gotta, it just gotta be it?" O'laga asked unsure, Staelic deeply sighed, annoyed by O'laga's tendency to forget his assignments after battles. "Not the brightest, stated as fact." Staelic heard, agreed with and reminded O'laga. The fourth ranked looked irked. "Hey, man, I'm content with being bright enough." O'laga replied as he crossed his arms. As the two began to walk off, it didn't last long as Hye leapt in front of them with his deadly sword between the assailants. "Haven't won yet, round 2 is certainly mine!" Hye shouted, riled up and fired up for another go around until Staelic pushed up his glasses a moment before slamming the creamy beige swordsman into the concrete, into the ground, ten times into O'laga's fists that was tougher and stronger than steel, then he continued running him into way more of the ground as it was fun to him. "That was as easy as dribbling my favorite basketball. Hmph." Staelic commented after he looked on the brink of death. Bloodied by O'laga's pounding and he left Hye in the hole that he dug up in search of the artifact from earlier. "Yeah. Bring it up again 'cause that career worked out very well for you." O'laga replied with a tone that left his pal lost. "Is that sarcasm or do you really believe that I simply just adopted a brand new passion in life?" Staelic asked as he looked O'laga in the eye. "Nah, nah, man. Well that's up to you to answer." O'laga replied nonchalantly as he rested his hands on the back of his neck as they ambled to their extraction point. "No, I've asked you, it's up to you to answer, it was directed at you. Get it, dim O?" Staelic shouted with an irritated tone. "I kinda get— yo mama, Stael." Said O'laga before he began chuckling. The fourth ranked mind swiftly fell on him considering Hye's impressive spirit and durability after the smack down that he gave him.