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Yuno's POV
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My eyelids fly open ever-so-abruptly, as I instantaneously sit up on the overly-soft mattress below my aching body, and extend my arm away from myself, as if I am trying to latch on to a certain something before it before becomes out of arm's-length.
I pause.
As I eventually come to my senses, I turn my head in all sorts of directions, and observe my surroundings. I notice and feel all sorts of wires and medical equipment attached to, and tugging at my physique, refraining it from moving too frequently.
Nonetheless, as I raise a stiff, aching arm to shield my eyes from the blinding, artificial white light above, I glance around the room. My eyes wander towards a certain sleeping Sylph laying on the brilliant-white bedside table beside me, and then to Captain Vangeance leaning against the opposite wall to myself, of the many clean, white tiled walls of the desolate medical ward that surround me. He addresses me, by saying, "Ah Yuno, I see that you have awaken.", while raising his shaded eyes to meet mine, as if this was just one of the many duties that had yet to arise in this particular day, of his ever-so-busy lifestyle.
"Captain..." I begin to murmur, not being able to raise my hoarse voice. "What... became of everyone else...?"
"Do not fret, they are all fine and recovering." Captain Vangeance says bluntly, reassuring the concern that I had hidden deep down for my allies.
"Also... What became of the girl? Where... is she?" I continue to murmur, genuinely curious in seeking the answer to the girl's current whereabouts, and her condition, even if the reason why is unknown to me.
"Ah, I presume that you are talking about that silver-haired being. Well, to make this as frank as possible, that 'thing' that Klaus, Mimosa Langris and yourself happened to stumble upon while in that dungeon, just so happened to be the 'legendary treasure' that we were initially seeking for." The captain declares, as if he was the one to have found her himself.
I grit my teeth.
"Captain. If I may, I find it quite unamusing and insulting for yourself to refer to a human being such as ourselves, as a treasure and a 'thing'." I say, struggling to retain my nonchalant facade, as dull shadows cloud my forehead and eyes. I bite my tongue all the while to refrain myself from lashing out and saying something spontaneous in the spur-of-the-moment, as much as I desired to.
However, despite myself having voiced my firm opinion, the Captain continues to calmly object,"Yuno, you don't quite understand the full extent of what you've discovered, have you? This 'thing' has been run on numerous amounts of tests, trials and experiments. However, despite all of the numerous, accurate attempts and examinations, all of them reveal her to have tremendous, boundless, limitless, and even infinite amounts of mana.
None that we've
ever,
observed before.
The reason behind a mysterious conundrum such as this is unknown to us, and the fact that a being such as this even exists, still belittles the special unit that specialises in the experimenting of mana, myself included."
He sighs, and begins to recount events prior to myself, Klaus, Mimosa and Langris arriving at the Golden Dawn Headquarters, as he says,"Infact, a few hours before your teammates and yourself brought this 'being' in to headquarters, I had sensed a colossal surge of ominous, menacing mana being released from some sort of major mana source. However, I have uncovered not a single speck of evidence to prove that the mysterious occurrence I sensed relates to the dungeon mission that your teammates and yourself ventured on. Furthermore, a much short while after that occurrence, just about all of the Clover Kingdom's greatest Clairvoyance mages had quite nearly barged down the very doors of our headquarters, reporting that they had a most urgent, and sinister vision of the future that must be discussed and shared immediately."
As the Captain recounts, and shares the stories of these visions with myself, my eyes open wide in disbelief, and in horror.
Nonetheless, he continues to tell me,"Though, keep in mind that all of these facts being able to be tied together like this is only a mere speculation. However, if the aforementioned events that the Clairvoyance mages mentioned actually do come to pass, I can assure you, it would be far in the distant future."
I glance down at my ever-so-slightly trembling hand, not knowing how to respond to such a speculation. Furthermore, a speculation of a drastically altered sinister future, caused by my squadmates and myself uncovering this certain being.
"Say, Yuno." The Captain begins to assert, not giving myself any pleasure of time to recover from the alarming statements that he had just revealed to me moments ago.
"Hm?" I respond, being the nonchalant person I am.
"What is the very last thing that you are able to recall, prior to yourself awakening in this medical ward?" Captain Vangeance inquires, as a faint glimmer of curiosity is able to be seen in his violet, lilac eyes, behind the golden mask that always seems to shield his face from being laid eyes upon.
It is at that exact moment, that I remember.
I remember,
her.
~Chapter 9 Finish~