The echoes of agony will follow
The day was finally through. Night had fallen and one by one all the girls began calling it in for the night.
Cyrus on the other hand remained awake as it was his job to keep an eye for the time being and also fix up some security cameras around the mansion before he was done as well.
That was a hefty ask considering the sheer scale of the place meant that he had a lot of work to do, he also has a job to take off once it's all over.
A few fixing hear and there wasn't a hard task for him but it still annoyed him that it took so long to get done. After a few rounds there was one last left to set up before he can officially call it done.
...
Through the quiet late night of 2 in the morning, a groggy and bird nest haired Amelia stepped out of her room. A wide mouth yawn followed her as she tried her best to navigate through the paths of their new home and down the stairs so she could reach her destination.
Passing the living room, she heard strange grinding which lightly tugged away at her sleep long enough for her to go and investigate. When she entered, her sleep was gone for good by then.
"What...the hell are you doing?" She asked while looking up.
She found Cyrus sitting atop a chandelier which he used as a seat to get to his work with ease. Putting a final lense on the security camera before he took notice to this question.
"Setting up one last security check." He answered before putting away his tools. "What are you up to?"
"I just needed some water.....wait you've been doing this since lunch, how many cameras do you have?" Amelia said when she recollected the memories of today.
Cyrus jumped from the chandelier and quietly landed on the ground without so much as a thud, given the speed at which he fell.
"These aren't mine. This is just the cams this place already had, in total there's at least a hundred and seventeen. Out of which sixty five needed fixing so....yeah." He shrugged.
Amelia quietly looked up at the small cam box then looked down as if brewing a thought.
"Don't worry, I checked; there aren't any cameras in the bedrooms or the half of the mansion that requires privacy."
"I'm not confident in that statement when you're breaching privacy by reading my mind, mister." She joked. "Still I'm going to get my water, coming with?"
"You need me to accompany you for some water? It almost sounds like a bar invite."
Despite his remark, he followed the detective who proudly struts in her PJs
"Depends, you a bottled water kinda guy?"
"I preferred room temperature tap water from a filter."
"My man."
The two find themselves in the equally grand kitchen that you'd consider finding at a five star restaurant which made the two feel like they were ruining the vibes by just stepping in to get some water.
Amelia got her drink and gave a glass to Cyrus anyway where the both now actually treat it as a drink. Leaning on the counter, Ame made it very obvious she's curious about this new addition to the myth's eventful life.
"You know, I gotta ask..." She chugged down the reminder of her water. "Boss didn't really outright say it but what I could gather about you is enough to tell me that you're a killer for hire. And not just anyone... you're the best of the best. And yet, I've never heard about you once~"
"If anyone knew who I was then I wouldn't be good at my job, now would I?"
Ame opened her mouth to retort but mid breath she began thinking about his statement and learned that it...weirdly made sense.
"But it's real impressive you found me out on your own, detective."
"You afraid the others will find out about your occupation?" Ame asked.
"Would it matter? Not like I'll be a threat to you guys."
Amelia shrugged as if to call his perspective fair but there as a different hint to what she was trying to say.
"It's only been the first day, all of us are getting used to this new place as much as you."
"Miss Mori doesn't seem like she's too fond of the change."
"She's been giving you a hard time already hasn't she?"
"Not really, she just makes it very obvious she doesn't like me being here. Honestly? I wouldn't put it past her."
The detective let out a tired giggle at his words. Had she been fully awake and in her element she would have the most fun she could with this man's circumstances but she'd much rather use this time to collect the type of person he is and so far everything is turning up blank. She can't read him at all nor is there any opening for her to dig in research.
"Eh, Calli's the more cautious one out of all of us. We may be good with people on our streams but this is the first time were publicly accessible, I guess she thinks we don't know how to act with actual people just yet." She then smirked. "And she's definitely not going to take chances with a guy who she could barely keep up with. I gotta say you have moves, my guy."
"Survival instincts, it truly felt like I'd die if she caught me. But I've been through your files and be sure to stay in line."
"We have files?"
...
After their small talk, Amelia went back to her room with a more cheery mood than before. The whole day of moving in and familiarizing themselves with this place had set her in a gloomy exhausted tone but having a fresh face to talk to was a nice way to call an end to this day.
For Cyrus, it was finally a queue to get to work because that night, once he confirmed all residents were asleep, he was gone.
Under Yagoo's coordinates, Cyrus made a quick exit from the forest on his bike and after an hour of traveling found himself just at the edge of a city. The outskirts that had a wide wearhouse in a short clearing just a few meters away.
"What do you call 'blatantly obvious' that's blatantly obvious?" He said to himself, slightly annoyed at the scene.
The site was textbook cliche criminal hideout with bikes and goons standing guard outside the gate with a small camp fire near it. You'd think this were a movie of sorts.
He stood just outside the dirt road that led into the place and watched from the sidelines. Wait for an opportunity or kick in the front door?
The two options he always enjoyed to dice roll between. Given the circumstances of the location and the people around, it seemed like he could try both if he wanted.
Through the mass of guards, he saw a chance. There were a few men grouped up near some containers where they were holding a man hostage. He decided to start from there because they were the most secluded from the main group.
"So....what do we do with him?" A man questions as he nudged his buddy.
"Kill him, probably. As far as we know, any survivor's gonna go talking about where we are and ruin everything."
The man on the floor was tied up and wailing through the rag in his mouth. Before the men could make an approach on their decision, a quiet zip sounded off and one of the men fell to the ground. No chance was left for a reaction, before they could even register what had just happened, another fell dead on the floor after his neck was snapped and then the last met a bullet to the head. Quiet and Quick.
Cyrus stepped out to the light and approached the hostage. Snatching the rag from his mouth he knelt down.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I-I'm...I just..."
As he was mumbling a panic, Cyrus took notice to his clothes, it was a poor uniform of sorts.
"I'm from Cover." He said. Those words made the man calm for a mere moment to speak coherently.
"I'm the van driver of Myth's moving goods, these guys attacked us and took everything inside...!"
Cyrus slapped his hand onto the man's mouth and pressed a finger to his own lips to silence him.
"Do you know where everything is?"
The driver nodded.
"If I ask you to come with me, can you manage?"
A bit hesitant at first but he still nodded. Cyrus took his hand off then got back up after cutting up the ropes that bound the man's hands and legs.
"Come with me."
...
A few minutes later...
The guards at the gate were all almost ready to turn in, some were offering each other a smoke, others were gossiping about while bragging about their weapons.
"Hey...!! Hey!!" A guard from the outer side of the location came running down to them. "The containers are on fire...!!"
"What?!"
"They're going to kill us if we burn down the warehouse, how'd it even catch on fire...?! Get the extinguishers!"
The masses made a run for it to the cause of the fire, they found the large red containers being burnt vastly. The source of the fire was a motorcycle that was leaking fuel.
Once the area was clear, Cyrus and the driver quickly made their way to the gates and waltzed right in. If it were that easy.
When they stepped inside, they were met with at minimum of 20 men turning their heads and stopped what they were doing.
"We're fucked." The driver mumbled with rubbing knees.
"Just gimme a second."
Cyrus suddenly shot one of the three only light sources of the room. The gate area of the warehouse went dark and the men with actual guns immediately opened fire.
Once they were done mag dumbing, they awaited a response and a response came. The rest of the lights were shot out then soon followed a barrage of panic and frantic shooting into the darkness.
All that was left was searing hot muzzles and silent of bullet shells falling.
The emergency lights finally turned on in red and the room was completely devastated with bodies all around with only two men left besides Cyrus and the driver...well, one more man left. The previous one was already being dealt with and once he fell to the floor, Cyrus approached the last man who darted for a smaller container that was completely wrecked and parked at the far end of the warehouse.
He ripped open the door and pulled out a brown latched box while fumbling with his phone.
"...Pick up pick up pick up... Fucking pick up!!...Come on! We're getting-"
"Your ass handed to you by one guy." Cyrus said as he stood behind the man.
He turned around immediately and aimed his gun at the assassin's forehead. Completely on edge and terrified. His attacker on the other hand was calm and somewhat uninterested looking.
"O-one more step and you're done asshole...!! This book is...it belongs to the disciples!"
"That's nice..." Cyrus's voice took a strange and vibrant shift.
"You're not going to pull that trigger..." He kept on walking forehead, pressing the barrel of the pistol right on his forehead and pushing the man back.
"DON'T FUCK WITH ME! YOU THINK I WON'T?!"
"You won't. You're going to listen to me. You're going to quietly stand there and only hear my voice, you'll find salvation in my voice, my presence will make you understand everything wrong you've done, through me.....just...me."
As he whispered deadly poison through his lips, the driver frantically came running up to see what even happened and all he found was Cyrus standing infront of the goon after pulling away from his ear.
He then gently took the box from his hand and stepped back. Smiling as he did.
"Come on, I know you can do it."
Without another word the goon turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the head. The blood splatter painting the blue container behind him.
Cyrus then placed the box down and snapped the lock off before opening to check it's contents. Sure enough it was an old but perfectly intact book, it fit the description and pictures that Yagoo sent him. He especially warned him not to touch it and so he didn't.
"Hey...! Is that the...yeah that's it! Come on can we get out of here before the guards outside....AAAHH-!"
The driver yelled in agony as he felt a sharp burning pain in his abdomen, causing him to fall back and squirm in pain.
"You know, it's funny..." Cyrus closed the box and stood up with it, before turning to the fallen man. He slipped his gun back into his inner pocket. "The Crop said that only the book was taken. It's weird that I found the driver of the van who supposedly returned safe and sound to his location which is a motel with the vehicle, don't you think?"
The grunting man shifted his moans of pain into a small chuckle.
"Aahh...haha...I should have known you'd see through me." He struggled to look up at Cyrus who walked up to him. "We were expecting the big man to send one of his magic girls to collect this thing...instead they sent a smartass with more brains than this entire gang combined.."
"Who are 'The Disciples?'"
"Wouldn't you like to know..."
The assassin slammed his knee down on his wound and leaned in closer. "Yeah I would. Cus as far as I'm concerned, people like you are going to be a problem for me in the long run..."
"If you're curious enough to kill...you might as well take a look in that book... it's... everything....you'll ever need, the truth...agh...the answer...the end... It's all in there...then you'll see why we want it..and then... it'll only be a matter of time before you become us....disciples..."
"You guys take cult rambling to a whole different level don't you...-"
His sights suddenly dart at the gates ahead of him.
"Hurry the hell up...those shots weren't fired for nothing!" The guards threw open the gates and ran into the warehouse.
They found nothing but the bodies of their fallen and the man pulling the act of a van driver, laying limp on the ground, there was no one else there. Not anymore.
...
Outside, Cyrus slipped away, stealing a bike from the goons for himself as an eye for an eye and disappeared into the night.
It took a long while before he finally stopped within the streets of the city. He needed to stay away for a while in hopes that none of the men follow him back to the mansion. There's a process to these things and for a short part, he had to make sure the chase was over before it begins and he has to destroy the bike when he gets the chance.
But in his silence and waiting, something was bothering him. A silent whisper and an agonizing urge.
He looked at the box.
Back At Mansion...
"AAHH!" Ina screamed and shot up from her bed. Her eyes were bloodshot and sweat trickled down from the side of her head.
"Priestess...."
Her mind communed an aggressor.
"There has been a disturbance...the ancient texts are tarnished..."
"No...It...Yagoo said it'll be fine. I'll have it by tomorrow and we'll confirm it."
"Do not take the words of the mortal plains so deeply...you remain unaware of the feats these humans take..."
"I said we'll see for it ourselves."
"Ina?" Kiara's voice broke through Ina's panic, followed by a knock on the door.
"C-come in!"
Receiving the approval, the phoenix quickly pushed past the door and came up right next to Ina's bed. She knelt down beside her and caressed the side of her head.
"What was that...?" She asked with a heartfelt worry.
"It's nothing...The Ancient Ones have been really cranky lately." She said with a smile before hitting herself gently on the head.
"Disrespectful child- Hey!"
"Is it getting too much?" Kiara questioned.
"Oh no no! It's fine, I guess it's getting harder because we haven't really streamed in a few weeks or so. I'll be stable once we're back in the flow!"
She gave a genuine smile to her friend, it was enough to ease her worries and reflect the smile once she stood up.
"You're lucky Calli was a few doors down, otherwise she would have tried getting to the bottom of this all night long." She giggled and went for the door. "Although, you could have even alerted that Cyrus guy."
"Is he awake?"
"From what Ame said when she came back up, yeah. He's likely on night duty or something."
Ina then glanced to her right.
"It's...four in the morning though..."
She sighed and shrugged off the thought before falling back onto her pillow, attempting to drown out any need for conversation from the voices.
The Next Morning...
Amelia, Gura and Kiara came to the dining room which was a connecting area to the kitchen, they slumped down at their seats with loud yawns.
"So...who's making breakfast...?" Ame asked.
"I could....*yawn*..Maybe but...you do it." Kiara sank her head down onto the table as she spoke.
"Guuuyyysss..." The shark whined.
Infront of Gura, comes a generously filled plate of eggs and bacon, resting over toasted and cheesed bread.
"Please enjoy while it is hot."
Soon two more plates came and placed infront of Kiara and Ame who sat up straight and picked up a fork each.
"Mmhhh, smells awesome..."
When they began eating, all three girls stopped and snapped their eyes wide open then looked at each other. Then their sights sank towards their left.
"Who the frick are you guys?!"
At that very moment, Cyrus walked in through the kitchen with a notepad in hand as he glanced at the girls.
"Morning ladies.These are the two maids that'll be working here; Yagoo sent them this morning."
The two girls dropped what they were doing and stepped up side by side then followed a short bow.
"Good morning." They said in unison.
"I am Mica." "And I am Runa."
They bowed again, "We will take care of your every need."
"Are you...twins?" Ame asked.
"We are! My sister and I are the best of our company, we will give it our all to be of service to you!" Mica said brightly.
"Watson...pinch me...I'm seeing double." Gura tugged Amelia's arm.
"You guys seem a bit...young. Are you sure you can handle this place?" Kiara worried.
"I mean, they made breakfast while you guys were in the room and you didn't notice." Cyrus looked around the room and began scribbling down on the notepad.
Through this discussion, Calli came yawning into the room but with an unusual aura about her.
"Guys, we talked about morning screaming..." She rubbed the back of her head.
She came in with an attire that was a far cry from the pajamas the others were wearing. She was wearing an almost entirely see through sleep wear lingerie with an eye patterned sleep mask over her head. Had she been walking with a more loose strut, the lower half of her shirt would be flapping. The strap over her left shoulder already slipped off once she came in and stood next to the table.
Cyrus did nothing but give her once glance and move back to his work.
"Uhhh Morning Calli!" Kiara said.
"Morning, Miss Calliope." Cyrus also followed.
Hearing a strange alias that she's never heard before, Calli opened one eye to glance around the room and saw the maids, glossing over them after a questioning eyebrow, her sighs land on Cyrus's back. The man was turned away and examining the items in the kitchen area.
Her eyes widen in surprise as she quickly fumbled and ran out of the room.
The noise caused the man to turn back around.
"What was that?"
"Oh, Calli just got embarrassed and ran away cus her PJs were a little too skimpy and you're here."
"GURAAAA!" The reaper yelled from the next room.
"Really? Damn."
"What do you mean, 'Damn'? You sad you didn't catch a glimpse." Amelia smirked.
"I'm just surprised it mattered. I didn't think she'd care about it, you guys are in your element too." He shrugged.
"Wow, you really can't pick up can you?" The blonde said deadpanned. "Besides the maids and us, you're practically dressed like you're ready for an interview."
She pointed to his grey and tieless suit that he was rocking. It almost felt like his presence was putting the girls to shame.
"Why're you dressed like that so early anyway?" The shark asked.
"It's almost noon."
"Early in streamer terms duuuuuude!!" She bit back at him.
"This my self proclaimed uniform. I'm supposed to look my best every hour of the day if I'm going to be working for the best." He shrugged.
"Don't you think you're thinking too highly of us?" Kiara giggled.
"I mean the pay is 15 times better than my usual so I'd say you're getting the best of me." Cyrus flashed a smile which despite the context made the girls smile back equally.
"Where's Miss Ina, by the way? I wanted to tell you guys, the trucks are almost here."
"WAIT REALLY??"
"Speak of the Devil."
The small artist's running could be heard from the hall as she drilled down the stairs and burst into the dining room.
"Uhhh yeah, I got the call, some inconveniences occured but everything should be here in a few minutes."
She didn't wait around and quickly darted back upstairs to get changed out of her PJs.
"Finally!! Our stuff!" Gura cheered and rushed out as well, snatching a few pieces of bacon as she did.
Ame and Kiara politely finished up their breakfast and prepared to leave as well.
"Wait, what about the other two?" Cyrus asked.
"Nah it's fine, besides me and Ina, the others don't exactly need food but it's a nice thing to have." Amelia explained. "So Calli's a no brainer but Ina has a pretty messed up eating habit so she'll come back later."
With that, the girls left. The maids swiftly picked up the plates and cleaned up the table while Cyrus placed down his note pad.
"Report." He said abruptly.
"The motorcycle has been disposed of." "We took the blood samples we found on your clothes and sent them off for scanning. You should get the information later today."
The two maids said back to back as she worked.
"Alright. In the meantime, I'm going to do a background check on this whole cult thing. You two keep the girls entertained and away from my room."
"Yes sir!"
"Yes sir!"
Later that day...
The trucks did infact come right on time and placements were already underway. The mansion was in for some commotion as workers and the maids helped around with setting everything up and working under the guide of the girls each.
They implored that their rooms be set up first before everything else so that they can get back to their schedule and work peacefully. Cyrus agreed to this because the girls said that the rest of the settings were up to him and the maids, since it seemed he had a better outlook on this place than them.
Ina has rushed to her room once she had gotten her book in a case, directly from Cyrus's hands.
Once inside, doors locked and blinds down. She sat on the floor, closed her eyes and gently slide her hand up and down the cover. She mumbled to herself as she did and the book glowed in response.
No signs of the touch...
Ina sighed in relief.
"See? No fingerprints! The book has been in a case the entire ride!"
Our sense are not to be taken lightly, priestess. You felt the disturbance just as us.
"Maybe you just overreacted because we've been away from the book for some time. Besides, if someone did read or touch this thing wouldn't you be connected to them as well? It should be obvious who it would be by then."
Ina is rudely cut off from her thoughts that talked back to her, by a sudden rumble in the entire building.
She wasted no time to put the book away and rush out to see the cause. She witnessed two of her friends run down the stairs and followed suit.
Once down, they bore witness to a few workers, Calli and the maids standing in the living room and staring at a large red spiraling portal in the center of the room.
"Uhhhh..."
Cyrus came into the room as well and quickly took notice to the fidgeting workers.
"Alright! Think that's enough for today, everybody out."
The maids helped escorting the men out as the room cleared. Kiara snatched Gura by the hoodie as if she were a plastic bag when she saw the shark scurrying away.
"Not you."
Cyrus then regrouped with the girls at the center of the room, examining this strange rift in their living room with fascination. Besides Calliope, however.
"What even is this?" Amelia asked.
"I know what it is, I just don't know why it's here." The reaper answered.
"Well?"
"This is...a gateway opened from the underworld." Calli flicked the portal and watched it fluctuate. "There's only a few beings there that have the power to just open a portal of this size at will....and if death sensei had anything to tell me he could always just call."
"Wait wait, so this is a direct door to hell?" Cyrus asked as he walked up closer to watch this bizarre spectacle.
"Hey, don't call it that. So insensitive." Ame rolled her eyes.
"Well what else is the underworld?" Gura shrugged.
"Guys! We're getting off topic." Calli clapped her hands. "I'll probably head in and check what's up but the rest of you need to-"
A black hand burst through the portal and grabbed Cyrus by the collar.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FU-"
He was then yanked in. No trace of him left in sight and the girls just stood there and watched it happen.
...
"You know, I could always take a rain check on visiting..."
"Calli."
"I'm joking!" The reaper stopped. She snapped her fingers and changed to her proper attire that was her go to reaper outfit.
"But only I'm heading in, stay here you guys. I'm not really in the mood to have you monkeying around there again." She walked in while mumbling curses to the man that had fallen to his supposed demise.
The portal then finally closed up. Leaving the girls standing there in silence for quite some time as they awkwardly thought of what to do now.
Their eyes slowly pan over to the two maid dressed girls smiling at them in anticipation as if expecting something.
"Do uhhh...do you girls wanna play something?" Kiara asked.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Fuck it, Wii ball." Amelia quickly went to fire up said Wii.
"Aaghhhh...I don't wanna play sports." The shark whined.
To Be Continued
[God damn it, you guys are not making this easier on me cus the votings keep one upping each other lmaooooo. I want to make a decision by now, and even though I really don't want to be that guy, I have to be honest with myself....I like Gura more if I have to pick between her and Mumei. So I might just confirm it. BUT! To make up for the enthusiasm for the Mumei fans I'll probably make that the basis of my next book!]