Heleion Archives

Not far deep, in the floor below the 21^st still belonging to the students and the academy staff, ran the vast tram system. A system which complemented the vast traversal network of the academy which consisted of the teleportation circles on the upper levels; the elevator system on the lower bowels of the peak and the labyrinthian corridor with wide pathways for the larger patrols. The tram system itself connected the lower five levels directly below the “ground floor” as Lythienne called it during the construction phase.

There were ten of said trams traversing the magnetic rails constructed in a cross section on each level, allowing a somewhat quicker way to reach the larger cellars used by the cafeterias and restaurants; armories and rest areas for the guards and lastly but not least their cabins equipped with showers and a small kitchen. Each tram itself were made up of five carts with their interiors expanded by spatial enchantments, though unlike their other vehicles lacked their distinct loftiness of rich wooden walls, carpeted floors except for the furniture which made up only a little in the lack of the other areas.

For Aki at least as she sat in the fifth cart on the uppermost level, staring at her own reflection in the window. Lacking in a conversational company to kill time as she slowly reached her destination, she stared intently at the heart shaped, fair peach toned face adorned with almond shaped eyes of a glazing crimson. Her voluminous, tousled lavender locks tumbled around her coat’s shoulders of a strong and refined gloss akin to enameled plates whilst eloquently maneuvering around the straightened upright and open cowl collar.

“Just a few hours alone. You can endure it Aki!” She murmured, watching intently the movement of her lustrous lips as her mind numbed to the pace of the tram. The reason for her solitude was simply a minor incursion on the lower levels – a small group of goblins seemed to find a way or resolve to climb the jagged walls. Though she wished to participate in the hunt, she drew the shorter straw meaning a few hours of lone rounds beneath the cafeterias.

The pleasant groaning of dragonid leather and the shushing whisper of Aetherna satin mingled with the thuds of her steps as she stepped out the tram and headed into the long and wide path of polished granite constitution, its color transmuted into a haunting raven black. Though her body lacked in perspiration thanks to the imbued cooling and warming enchantments working in tandem, her heart’s pace still increased and paranoid notions accumulated as memories of old haunting tales resurfaced in her mind.

The tale of the weeping maiden – allegedly a former student who became a victim of another’s wicked necromantic experiment resulting in her banshee wandering aimlessly in these well-lit paths which appeared dimmer, alone. Or the tale of the white worm, a peculiar creature who was brought here not long after the construction had been finished, a specimen born from the chaotic energies of the Maelstrom and the sole member of its flock that managed to escape and hunt lone guards. A slippery creature with a natural born ability to phase through stone and a weak presence – at least according to what she was told by her friends.

“You have been here for fifty years. No such things can exist here under the vigilant eyes of Most-Esteemed Sister Lythienne!” she thought to herself while making a sharp turn quite hurriedly. For a moment she stopped not far from the door leading into the cellar of a nearby cafeteria. A sigh escaped her as she closed her eyes and walked down memory lane, recalling her days in the Black Lotus’s Keisatsuath echelon. The days she spent in the small southern isle, patrolling the quaint fishing town’s streets where the worst she had to worry about were the raiding deep folk – horrid creatures, according to some distant cousins of Eoran’s merfolk living in the dark depths of the oceans.

As the echoing moan reached her ears, her eyes popped open and her grip around her Ramington Model-II stave rifle – with fully mettalic shaft – tightened and her index finger slipped nearer to the trigger situated just a few millimeters from the large angular stock. “Just the wind probably.” She said to herself whilst her heart still raced as the cavernous wind sweeping and filtered in the ducts brushed against her pretty face. With a bit of uncertainty, she approached the door and stepped through into the dim cellar.

Only the freezer boxes’ fluorescent trim lights parted the darkness with little success. Hesitant for a moment as the two tales still lingered in her mind, she conjured forth a ball of white and pinkish light which hovered above her shoulder and beamed through the gloom as it followed her inspecting gaze. At the center, she made a round around the stacked together shelves containing the various spices including cinnamon and vanilla used for the bakeries and coffees served just above her head.

In her direct line of sight and below she found nothing worrying but as her gaze moved upwards, she spotted the hatch from which the ladder sprouted open. Though for a moment she chalked it up to one of the staff or a student coming down to “borrow” some cinnamon or powdered strawberry, reality clasped its hand over her mouth, muffling the sudden yelp and whimper as her crimson eyes spotted the glint in the gloom…

**

“We should really fix up that damned hole.” Laetityrr groaned while pinching her porcelain white nose of delicate, long contour. The stench of dead goblins permeated the small room, the sheet draped over their small carcasses did little to smother out the stench of death. In a vain effort, she zipped open her issued coat and reached into her inner pocket for a cigarette she wedged between her wide, silken lips of a deep onyx tint, matching with the filter of the cigarette.

Her face of mixed ominous and striking elven lineaments lit up as the amber spark manifested above the tip of her finger, nail covered in glossy black polish as she grimaced as the malodorous scent slipped into her small nostrils, burning them from the inside. Her Thomasith Model-IV rapid mana gun hung on her shoulder, smouldering etheric matter from its round barrel while the drum piece pushed against the lustrous, smooth back of her coat bearing the sigil of the Black Rose Order. “Now where is Gudaeril?” She mumbled while fiddling with a loose, jet-black lock of her tousled, voluminous hair entwined into a modish chignon.

Not long after the two finished lining up the flock of goblin corpses after hunting down the little greenish gray critters native to the mountain, her fellow umbral elven Sister took off to retrieve a few supplies to dissect the bodies. Namely a few surgery tools to retrieve their organs, a common ingredient for poisons; their blood used in the manufacturing of common, cheap clothes for the lower echelons of society. And to retrieve the monstrum cores – the equivalent of an arcane point for monsters manifested in their small, crude bodies as small magical crystals that can be converted into mana stones empowering magicraft artifice.

Her patience reached its end at the same time as the cigarette where the ash creeped ever nearer to the filter. Just as it floundered off, a creeping sensation assailed her, shivered her slender, well-honed form as if she stood in the epicenter of a predator’s lair and vision. Though in the same breath, she triumphed over the sudden wave of terror and heaved her Thomasith Model-IV up as she turned, her left hand slipping nearer the slender, triangular wooden stock containing the magic crystals imbued with hastening and empowering arcane runes and inscriptions. Slowly she approached the door, taking small breaths as she extended her detection outside the room.

It took her a little bit, but at last the open state registered in her mind and awakened suspicion towards either an infiltrator or an evolved goblin. Though if it was one, it definitely stayed out of her detection range – or evolved by mastering the magical arts of subterfuge and presence erasure Laetityrr thought to herself. Unaware of the pair of hands reaching for her.

Her yelp echoed through the corridor as she was lifted slightly in the air, her mouth clamped over by one hand. From the pores paralyzing fumes released and entered Laetityrr’s body through her nostrils and agape mouth, her grip on her weapon loosening as her whole body went limp within a few seconds whilst pulled into the gleaming, dark ceiling by Agent 026.

**

A small rivulet flown between the two wide paths, crossing through the complex and heading straight outwards through an aperture created not by magic or crafty hands but by nature itself. Elmete, the summer born Seossurian and Dalraena a Dark Dracorith made their way on the concrete bank, following the flow of the effervescent, pure water. Whilst the bubbling echoes of the rivulet permeated the air, the two killed time on the latest topics regarding another vain attempt of the revolutionaries trying to assassinate the eldest son, the inheritor of the throne once more.

“It was the fifteenth attempt on his highness’s life, wasn’t it?” Elmete questioned as they stopped waiting at one of the intersections, just below where they received an alert on a possible incursion of goblins. Her scarlet red hair of a moderate length fell onto her uniform, the wispy ends of deep emeralds rustled against the dragonid leather as the mountainous cold air reached the two guards.

“At this point, I think they tried at least that much for each of Her Highness’s children.” Dalraena answered, her purplish black skin shrouded in soft shadows as she stood with her back to the glowstone embedded, focusing its glow onto her silken, voluminous hair parted over onto her left shoulder while the opposing side was knotted into long, eloquently slithering braids of raven black contrasting the rest of her snow white hair.

Not long before, wide metallic plates seemingly manifested out of nothingness connecting both sides, allowing passage to the two guards who began their slow march once more – oblivious to their stalker hiding in the shadows, thirsting for blood.

For a moment Dalraena stopped in her tracks on the bridge, tucking her swept bangs out of her eye as she strained her sight, focusing on the shadows as she felt the waft of mana laced wind sweeping through them. “Noticed anything?” Elmete asked calmly, though she did not stay long to hear the answer. Agent 026 leapt out from the cleansed waste water wreathing herself in a silencing spell that draped over the summer born seossurian whom she swiftly dragged into the effervescent, flowing water.

“Mmmmphm?” By the time she turned around to notice the lack of her partner behind her Agent 026 leapt up from the water without making any sound and covered her mouth. From her palms a glossy, silken web spewed out covering her lips and nostrils. As her other arm tightly pushed into Dalraena’s waist – locking her arms to her sides – soft squeals of the dragonid leather coat tenderly echoed through the crossing section.

“Relax, and enjoy these last minutes my little dragon.” Her voice, raspy and bestial filled Dalraena with despair as air found little to no way into her body. Her captor’s arms encased in a leathery sleeve tightly kissing her arms lit up as runes of draining graved themselves into the smooth, crispy surface erasing any remaining chance of her escape. No mana, and her stamina dwindled as she tired to break free from the tyrannical grip, her struggling gradually grew weaker until her eyes rolled back up into her head slowly whilst her tears flowed down her scaled covered high cheeks.

When her struggling stopped at last, Agent 026 licked the dead dark dracorith’s cheeks, wiping off the tears before letting it fall into the flowing, pristine clean water below and watched as it floated towards the exit, where it shall be swallowed by the dark depths of the mountain.

**

Mimicking someone else takes a lot of effort, a draining process on its own paired well with the actual bindings like siphoning ropes and sealing tape – that is something Valindra herself learned centuries ago, a fact which followed her back to where she started out.

Though a few times whilst making rounds the question came up whether she was tired of acting like Geirwyn – whom she envied a little for having a few days off, not counting those days spent tightly restrained – who herself was an enthusiastic guard. Or it was the place itself which made her uncomfortable. She did infiltrate quite a few bases of the Black Rose Order. Heck even the Academy itself was located further north in her days, yet she could not rid herself of this creeping sensation that made her body twitch once or twice.

Which led to some hasty decisions, including stalking a few students who bore a close enough resemblance to the appearance donor of Agent 026, to her trying to sneak into the teacher’s office to look through the student list that includes their dorm rooms and what classes they attend usually. Although she quickly discarded the idea of eliminating Agent 026 during her classes.

The only way she could have done so was through poisoning, and she was well aware that the followers and contractors of the Lord of Beasts tended to have high poison resistances like the arachnoid feyfolks. “Infernal predators don’t like to play fare.” The voice of her former partner whom she masqueraded as a member of the Coven echoed in her mind, prompting her to go with the other venue.

Eliminating Agent 026 in her dorm room, where the beast shall be cornered. Where the walls should prove enough to silence the noises in the worst case. Those were her initial thoughts leading her down – or well up – to the teacher’s office, where now she glared coldly from the shadows at the two flirting Felria and Liovara. “Get a room you two. Or I will make you!” She whispered whilst her body turned completely invisible.

As the two remained oblivious to her presence, and unabated in controlling their desires of dominating the other, Valindra sprang into action, and swiftly knocked them out by conjuring a translucent, faintly pinkish mist. A high-grade spell which instantly knocked the two out. “Sorry about that.” She whispered apologizing to Liovara whose cheek was scratched by the curving, goat-like horns of Felria.

She gently lifted off the unconscious Liovara from her stygian Sister and heaved her over her shoulder. A few drops of her iridescent, snow silver blood dropped onto the carpeted floor. Inside the small closet near where the two flirted in the late hours, Valindra placed her down then procured a large roll of silver sealing tape from the borrowed uniform’s pouch attached to her tight-fitting pants belt. With a swift and meticulous move, she peeled it wide open and attached it the double cuffed sleeves with piped trims, and wrapped it thrice around before severing it.

In a few seconds she restrained Liovara, then tore off a wide strip fitting her pretty, fair peach toned face. For a hot minute, she watched the wide strip press onto the unblemished skin before moving Felria herself into the closet. Though instead of binding her wrists behind her back like she did with Liovara, Valindra forced Felria’s arms behind the seossurian’s back then she winded the tape across her wrists hidden in the recesses of her long, glossy sleeves.

After she finished restraining the two, she turned around and ducked down quickly upon hearing the door open. Peeking from the corner she watched as sraudornian clerk of the Black Rose with a light coffee toned complexion enter wearing only her snow silvery dress shirt with the collar unbuttoned and spread over her shoulders. “I guess they already retreated to their room.” Zari murmured to herself a bit frustrated after searching for the two teachers for an hour now on the wrong floor.

Though instead of leaving, she noticed the golputer still going and went there to turn it off. As she leaned down to the mainframe to press the button, she noticed the snow silvery drop of blood on the raven black floor and looked suspicious.

“MMhnn..” Valindra swiftly sneaked up on her, one hand clamped over her bulky lips of a lighter tone thanks to the lipstick covering them and with a quick neck chop, slumped into the bosom of her skielfrith captor. She let out a sigh while dragging the clerk to a different cabinet and tucked her inside before she secured her tightly. Though in her case she skipped the binding her upper body, simply felt content of just securing her wrists and ankles, while a shorter strip covered her lips.

Before she returned to the golputer, Valindra clasped her hands together and stared up towards the ceiling. “Let this be the one and only searching for these two.”

**

After finding the file on Karina in the Memory-Base, she headed there straight, avoiding the few patrolling guards on the mostly empty corridors. Though a few times she played with the idea of taking them down to hasten her way, but in the end decided against it as it would have taken more time to find a proper hiding place on top of the necessity of binding them that would take up a considerable time. Time that she may not have had.

At last, she stood stoically before the dorm room, her pale hand reaching for the door handle. Wreathed in magical energies, her index finger pointed towards the lock while the hazy mist of light purple and blue formed a key fitting perfectly into the hole. With one twist, the door clicked and she hastily stepped inside with her dagger clutched tightly in her right hand.

Slowly, she made her way towards the bed, though stopped as she saw it completely empty except for the silken sheets left draped over. From them she felt the tantalizing odor of sex emanating, calling out to her, even leading towards the wardrobe just beside the entrance. Once more she readied herself, though her intuition honed through centuries indicated otherwise.

“Should have expected.” As she recalled, there was a rumor amongst the guards involving the disappearance of one of the top students, a soratanese of hoshigawan descent of a quite exceptional beauty, and not so shy, but more taciturn characteristic adding to her air of eastern mystique. Although the latter qualities faded, replaced by a madness induced by carnal desires as she sat bound tightly with red rope to a chair, her eyes and mouth sealed with tape.

And like she left the teachers, an umbral elven student sat on top of her, the two leaning against each other, their sealed lips locked together as they moaned with a mad, yet still tender passion completely lost in themselves. Her first instinct told her to just leave them be, but instead she walked up to them and touched the temple of Wilhelmiira hidden beneath the dense layers of her dark hair.  Deep blue energies swirled, slithered around her fingers touching it, passing through skin, tendon and bone as they reached her brain and spread around it. Etheric tendrils burrowed into her lobe and started extracting memories, memories which ignited a pleasant heat within Valindra herself, though with a sigh she calmed her body, promising it a gift after the mission is done.

A few seconds passed in the small, somewhat narrow space filled with clothes and warm, damp air seeped with the odors of bodily fluids dripping from the lap of Yasuko where the twos intermingled. “My fucking luck.” Valindra cursed as she saw Agent 026 draped in her tight bodysuit kissing goodbye to the two, promising them the agonies of being taken over by the infernal residents of the Stygian Realms.

Author's Note:

And another one. The second to last one where Agent 026 goes into full hunting mode whilst Valindra catches up to the plot slowly, doing her own investigation bit.

Now just a few minor fun facts: Similarly to the first chapter where I wanted a different locale, Wilhelmiira was also a character whose race or well subrace was slightly different. Originally she was meant to be an umbral dracorith with a backstory of growing up in the deep lands. But I was so sure in remembering the draft notes I wrote that both got left out and I only realized it halfway through, the moment she got captured to be precise. And overall I liked her segment so I didn't go back to reedit, but may add it in a future short story.

Another that was changed was Valindra's entrance. Originally I planned the first or second story to have her already disguised in the academy and do a recount, but when I wrote the draft of that, I did not factor in the students, though they were already planned to be as a way to build Agent 026.

Also originally, she would have entered through not a Flottirion but a truck where she would get a little sick in the winding road leading up, but I forgot though I remembered the intention of it, hence why her slight discomfort on the Flottirion.

Anyhow, that is all the rambling for this one. One more chapter remains for tomorrow, maybe early morning CET wise if I can get up in time. Thank you for reading and take care folks!

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