Behind The Curtain

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Jaks crimson orbs stayed fixed on Psyche's youthful visage, as if trying to peer directly into the depths of her soul, hand still wrapped around the hilt of his katana. Neither one of them moved from their positions, sizing each other up and awaiting to see what the other would do. Though, after a minute of this, the fiery redhead let out a sigh and closed his eyes, letting go of his sheathed blade.

"Very well," the young Rookie turned his back towards the Buttermoth Rift Hunter, black cape ruffling in the light breeze blowing through the hideout. "I'll tell you my story. Just be aware that it doesn't have a happy ending."

Psyche nodded. "I didn't expect it to."

Jak resumed his walk forward, shoes tapping lightly against the metallic surface beneath him, the echoes of his weighted past bouncing off the Athrafstos walls. With every step, the flames of memories long suppressed grew stronger, images and scenes previously sealed flooding to the forefront of the youths mind. Death, destruction, fresh corpses, rampaging magic, burned down forests. Though Jak fought off the majority of the negative emotions that came with the tide of past events, he was still nearly overwhelmed with it all as the memories grew ever clearer.

The glass jar obtained yet another crack.

"I guess it all started during the Year End festival," Jak stared ahead, looking without truly seeing. "When the guild had just finished a large quest into the world of Greldoa."

"You mean the volcanic planet?" Psyche questioned. "Isn't that a Forsaken world? What business did you guys have on that?"

"It wasn't an official quest," Jak explained. "Obviously, the WGC had no part in it. It was handed to us by an old friend of the Flaming Sparrows Guild Master."

"Dante's friend."

"Yeah."

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HHHHUUUUOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!!!

The unearthly bellow reverberated over the mountains as the Magma Giant lumbered its way through the area, the ground shaking with the monsters every step. Standing well over 45 meters tall, the towering behemoth paid heed to no one as it tore the surrounding environment, pummeling the monsters that happened to wander too close to it. Its crusty skin was cracked and flaked, red hot mana visible just underneath its outer shell. In place of its eyes, pools of liquid rock swirled in circles, bubbling and churning with every move the Giant made. It was a being made out of pure magic and malice, an enormous creature that would even make a seasoned adventurer think twice before engaging.

It was the Flaming Sparrows Guild main target.

"Earth mages, restrain." A youthful looking individual with pitch black hair gave clear and concise instructions, motioning other people forward. "Water mages, await go ahead for ranged attacks."

A number of similarly clad individuals ran forward at the black haired man's command, splitting up as they dashed towards the Magma Giant. Avoiding the monsters' attempted attacks, they quickly surrounded the beast in a pentagon formation, their hands planted on the uneven surface.

"Earth Manifest: Ensnaring Stone!!"

Bursting from the ground below the Magma Giant, pillars made of the planets surface traced their way up the monsters leg, circling it as the magic rapidly shot upwards. Even as the enraged golem slapped them away, they continued to grow and expand, halting more and more of the monsters movements. Eventually, the Giant found itself unable to move, its arms and legs fixed into the spot and unable to properly break free. Angered, the beast let out another roar, struggling even more than it had before.

"Water Mages. Unleash-"

"Water Manifest: Drill Harpoons!!"

Before the black haired male could finish giving the order, enormous balls of water appeared around the captured giant, momentarily causing it to go quiet in its confusion. The water spheres quickly morphed moments after they appeared, spinning rapidly as they shape-shifted into liquid drills. With a loud whirring sound, they blasted forward, driving in and through the rock monster as if it was made of butter, ending the battle in an instant. The Magma Giant gave out one last defiant shriek as its life forced ebbed away, its swirling eyes becoming dull husks, its whole body crumbled into hunks of heated rock. Within the middle of the rubble, a golden ball with intricate carvings could be seen, glowing ever so softly.

The black haired male let out a small sigh as the Magma Giant bit the dust, purple hues shifting from the monsters deteriorated corpse to the one who had casted the spell.

"Mizu. I thought we agreed on NOT interfering with the newbie training session."

A woman with blond hair and blue eyes calmly walked forward, a small redhead following close behind her. Just like everyone else, she sported a red and black outfit, a signature look for the Flaming Sparrows Guild.

"Sorry about that, Oggy. Jak said he wanted to see one of my stronger spells. I couldn't disappoint him. We got that special bond."

"Roka.....dont use me for one of your lies. I didn't say anything."

"Jak, you're ruining our bond."

"Go build a bond with someone else."

"That's not very nice of you, Jakklo."

Oginio shook his head, rubbing the palm of his hand against his face, clearly annoyed as the two individuals approached him, though at whom he was annoyed with Jak had yet to see. Unlike what the blonde woman and the rest of the Sparrows were wearing, Oginio wore an all white outfit with a sleeved shirt and pants, a black sash fastened to his waist. The color of the cuffs on the sleeves on both articles of clothing perfectly matched the thick midnight colored collar latched onto Oginio's neck. On the black haired males right arm, three bands arranged in an IX shaped pattern were tightened in place. On the left breast, a symbol of a crimson Sparrow in mid flight could be seen, its dark figure easily distinguishable from the white background.

This was the outfit worn by the Vice Captain of the Flaming Sparrows, Oginio Monto.

"The POINT I'm trying to make here," Oginio said, raising his voice ever so slightly, interrupting the back and forth bickering. "Is that you shouldn't be interfering with the training of others, Roka. Coordination is vital and we may not get another chance like this. These monsters-"

"Only come out for a few months every five years, yada, yada, yada." Mizuroka Hanlan rolled her light blue hues. "I already a quieted the same information when the Captain told us. But having us Rift Hunters sit out of the fun is boring, especially when such strong monsters are wandering Greldoa while we a watt-"

"Acquiesce and await," Jak corrected. "Not 'a quieted'.""

"Whatever," Mizuroka waved, dismissing the correction. "Same thing."

"In what universe?" Oginio queried, getting sidetracked from his original complaint. "They don't even sound similar to each other. Don't even have the same meaning."

"Don't be anus of my language skills," Mizuroka muttered.

"Envious," Jak and Oginio corrected at the same time.

"Don't you guys have something better to do?" The blonde woman said, crossing her arms over her armored chest. "I didn't ask for a history lesson."

"Do you mean lang-"

"I know what I said!!"

"Not sure you do, actually," Oginio probed, a small smirk on his face. "Maybe we need to get you a tutor."

"Vice Captain. We've obtained the Magma Core. What do you want us to do with it?"

Jak ripped his gaze away from the confused blonde and onto a Sparrow Guild member whom had just made an entrance. Clutched in between his hands, held up by a makeshift net, was the golden orb from before, its glowing surface providing some light upon the areas Greldoa's setting sun could not. From the looks on the new arrivals face, it appeared that the Core was quite heavy, the struggle to hold it off the ground being quite clear. Oginio seemed to also notice this and point a finger towards Jak.

"Just give it to Jakklo. He'll hold onto it for you."

The other members seemed a tad confused but they didn't say anything as the one holding it heaved the two meter sized orb over to the fiery youth, dropping it at his feet.

"With all due respect Sir Oginio, how is this kid supposed to lift it?" One of the orb deliverers' questioned skeptically. "It weighs around 190 tons . Even if he's an Elemental Rookie. Does he have some sort of magic-"

"Nope," Oginio answered, cutting the man off as if he had heard the same question hundreds of times before. "He's just a freak of nature is all."

"Freak is kind of harsh Oggs," Jak muttered.

"Accurate though." Mizuroka nudged the orb with her foot, easily rolling it closer to the redhead. "Kids around your age should at max be able to lift 20 tons if they train hard. Dwarves and some demihumans double that."

"This doesn't feel like a compliment," Jak said as he planted his feet. Grabbing what he could of the enormous ball, the Elemental Rookie heaved it from off the ground and over his head, positioning it until it was in a relatively comfortable position. "Kinda feels like I'm being made fun of."

"Now why would that be the case?" A familiar voice questioned, prying into the conversation.

The group present turned to acknowledge the newcomer, a man with a head of bright orange hair, one almost as bright as Jak's but nearly double it's fluffiness. His outfit was similar to that of Oginio's but it was all black, the bands on his arm and cuffs on his shirt and pants being the only white additions. Situated over his left breast was the symbol of a red raven, yellow flames standing out against the midnight colored background. On his left wrist was a thick bracelet made of a red metal, one Jak identified as Rubendal, a substance usually used in magic items.

This was the leader of the Flaming Sparrows Guild, Dante Yanda.