Nights in Fortuna Academy were usually lively. Students out and about enjoying whichever facilities were available to them, usually the Cafeteria and the Sports Center to the west, were a common sight. Others would be enjoying a night at town and the more diligent students would use the calm of the night to get ahead in their studies or in Alice's case, work.

As for Van and Hiruma, who currently hung in front of the Academy building, a more daunting task awaited them. 

"You think he's coming?" Van asked. "I hope he got the message. We could really use the help since Crow is out of commission..." Van sighed frustrated. "Good think he's got as much skill as he does, otherwise we'd be giving him the boot now...of all times for him to fool around..."

"Well, that's his own fault." Hiruma bluntly stated. "We'll handle that later. Right now we need to focus on the task at hand. Would be good if we could get Ryuuga's help, anyhow." The beating of wings could be heard drawing closer to them at that moment. Hiruma smirked. "Speak of the devil." Hiruma said spotting Ryuuga flying in their direction. 

"Yo! Over here!" Van shouted, catching Ryuuga's attention. As soon as he spotted the two, he landed right in front of them.  

"Good Evening." He greeted. 

"Glad you came." Hiruma said cracking a smile. 

"Thanks for coming." Van said. "Where are Yumi and Jin?" 

"I didn't call them.  They had a long day and they're tired, so I figured I should let those two rest for a while." Ryuuga replied. "So what did you guys call me here for?" He asked. 

"You brought any weapons?" Hiruma asked. Ryuuga nodded, summoning his sword without saying a word. 

"Good. We might need to be strongly armed for this." Hiruma remarked, pleased. Ryuuga arched an eyebrow at the announcement. "Why?" The silver-haired teen asked. 

"Just come with us. We'll explain once we get to our destination." 

Following Van's answer, Ryuuga found himself wary of how cryptic they were being about the situation, but he chose to trust them for the time being.

"Alright." Ryuuga answered.

Ryuuga, Hiruma and Van then marched through the woods of Fortuna Island past a gate towards the east of the academy building. Sounds of crickets chirping filled the atmosphere. As they continued walking, Ryuuga took a moment to survey his surroundings. They were walking through a straight pathway covered by large trees. Looking up, he could see the night sky through the foliage, adorned by many stars. He had the faint lightning of the pathway to thank for that. It was a pleasant, soothing sight for him.

"Some students who wandered around here came out gravely injured and sent to the Medical Center. Van and I came here to investigate what's going on." Hiruma explained. "The academy staff is having their hands full with the new academy year upon us, so they're having trouble investigating what is going on. They're also trying to keep a low profile about this to avoid trouble with concerned parents and such." 

"That's why you called me?" 

"Pretty much." Hiruma answered. 

"Care to lend us a hand?" Van asked. 

"Sure." Ryuuga said calmly. Van smiled and Hiruma smirked. 

"Thanks! We're one man short, so we appreciate the help!" Van answered.

"Yes, I did notice. How come Crow isn't here?" Ryuuga asked noticing the Black-haired prankster's absence. " He couldn't make it." Van replied. "Why is that?" Ryuuga asked back. 

"Well..." Van replied awkwardly. 

xXx 

"YOU ASSHOLE!!!!" Roared the white-haired celeste girl dressed in a fluffy black robe, chasing a terrified Crow around his room while wielding a spear. Her face was a very twisted, angry frown.

"I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO GET CAUGHT!!!" Crow replied in a frightened tone. "SORRY!!!"

 "OH YOU WILL BE SORRY AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU!!!" The girl shouted. 

Hiruma and Van where watching the whole scene from the doorway trying not to laugh. "Uh...You and Luna look pretty busy...We'll come back another time." Van said nervously as he and Hiruma walked away from Crow's room. He made a desperate dash towards the door, but the girl grabbed his hair and pulled him back in. "NO! GUYS!! DON'T LEAVE YOUR COMRADE TO DIE LIKE THIS!!!"

xXx

"Let's just say that Crow doesn't know when to quit..." Van laughed nervously.

"I see..." Ryuuga replied.

“We’re here.” Hiruma declared. They currently stood within a clearing. “This is where people have been found injured. Start searching for anything unusual.”

Following his command, Van started using his augmented senses of smell and hearing to pick up on anything out of the norm, such as infrequent sounds or the smell of blood. Ryuuga flew above the woods through the clearing’s opening to search from the top for anything that could qualify as a hint and Hiruma searched in another direction.

Ryuuga soared the skies around the general area they stood on, but found nothing that could classify as a clue. Hiruma, searching the woods behind Van, had no luck either.

With Van, however, it was a completely different story. He started to sniff continuously, picking on an out-of-place scent.

“Ok…boss?” Van called out sheepishly. “Don’t be alarmed but…I smell blood further ahead.” Hiruma perked up at the mention of blood. “And I’m also hearing some weird growling…” Van added.

“Well, looks like we have our lead…” Hiruma commented. “Good job, Van.”

“Hey, Ryuuga! Come on down! Van found a lead!” The black-haired teen shouted. On call, the soaring half-draconian swooped down from his position, landing right next to them. “Lead the way, Van.”

Van led them through the thick of the woods while following the scent of blood he picked up on.

“I woke up this morning to join the academy…I certainly didn’t expect things to go in this direction.” Ryuuga remarked.

“Natural reaction.” Hiruma replied.

The kunian half-draconian then remembered Novella's words from earlier:

"Night tends to bring strange happenings."

"So does anything strange in particular happens here at night?" Ryuuga asked. "Novella-san gave me a warning to that effect earlier."

Hiruma was about to answer the question when Van called out to them. “Uh,Guys? You may want to see this!”

Ryuuga and Hiruma pressed onwards following Van’s lead further into the woods and upon catching up with Van, they unexpectedly found themselves before a manor behind high walls with a black gate. Peering through the gate, a large, imposing tree could be seen to the left of the manor within the walls. A stone pathway connected the gate to the manor’s front door through a flower-filled garden. The darkness of the night gave the manor a grim vibe.

"Well..." Hiruma started speaking; processing what was in front of him. "...She more than likely meant this place." 

"…Deep in the woods?" Ryuuga asked. “What is a place like this doing here?”

Historians speak of a hero of old times who had this place as a second home. By the time of the academy's foundation, however, the hero was long gone.

“Does it have any connection with what Shiori told me…?” Ryuuga, recalling Shiori’s words, contemplated.

"Well, how’s that trail of blood?” Hiruma asked Van, who sniffed the air once again. “It’s stronger now. And it goes through this gate.” The hundian answered, slightly intimidated by the manor’s horrifying appearance. “I’ll level with you now: I’ve got a really bad feeling about this stuff..”

“…You want to pull back? Ryuuga and I can take it from here if you feel you can’t go on.” Hiruma told him sensibly. While he would prefer to have as many people as possible working on this, he knew better than to push them beyond what they could handle.

To his brief surprise, however, Van shook his head in denial.

“No. A hundian never abandons his pack.” He proudly declared.

Donning his usual smirk, Hiruma approached the gate. “Well said.” He complimented. Van’s loyalty and determination was not unknown to the raven-haired teen, but it still impressed him every time it was displayed, and the very trait that secured Van’s spot as Hiruma’s right-hand man.

“Well, let's get to it." Hiruma said, kicking the gates open. A sharp cranking echoed as the gates were forcefully opened, indicating the gate was quite old. Ryuuga and Van followed Hiruma in, entering the abandoned building "Stay sharp, men. We don't know what lies ahead." 

Entering the manor through the front door, the three students found themselves in a dark hall. The faint illumination given by the moonlight allowed them to see worn-out statues, but nothing else.

"Eugh....It's too dark even for my tastes." said Hiruma. "Got a light?" 

"Sure." Ryuuga answered. A small flame flickered above his poised finger, casting a light on the room. It appeared to be a large entrance hall. Several tall pillars could be seen down the length of the multi-colored tiled stone floor. The supporting pillars that held the hall were also decorated with assorted gems or ceramic tiles around them. Along the walls were works of fine art and more tile decorations. A set of steps led up to the second part of the hall, which was elaborately decorated in a similar style as the first. 

"Ok, what the hell is this place?" Hiruma questioned a bit annoyed. 

"That's what we're here to find out." Ryuuga said calmly. "Let's split and search." 

xXx

Fortuna Academy – Student Dorms – Ryuuga’s room – 12:12 A.M

Ryuuga! You there? Ryuuga?" Yumi called, knocking on Ryuuga's room door. "Ryuuga? Are you ok?”

No answer.

"..." 

Yumi returned to her room and felt her feet come into contact with a piece of paper. Looking down, she spotted it beneath her sole and bent over to pick it up. It appeared to be a neatly folded note adressed to her. Unfolding it, she saw a short message addressed to her.

"Gone out to help Van. If you have any questions, Jin knows who he his. Don't worry about me. Enjoy your night." 

"...yeah, no." She muttered, setting the note aside. She then walked towards her bed, gazing at the blond boy sleeping soundly in her bed. She couldn't help but find Jin's goofy sleepy face endearing.

“This isn’t time to admire this cute face!”

Regaining her composure, she kicked him out of the bed. With a loud thud, Jin fell on the floor and He promptly got up groaning in pain. "Ow...What was that for, Yu?" He asked rubbing the back of his head, his voice a bit groggy.

“Do you know a Van?”

“The car?” Jin answered with a grin, earning an annoyed groan from Yumi.

“It’s not even pronounced the same…”

“Relax, relax. Just messing around! Van is from the Disciplinary Committee.”

“Oh yeah, you were telling me about those guys Ryuuga and you met.” Yumi answered, thinking back to the talk they had after she left the hot springs.

“Why you asking?” Jin asked. “What’s up?” 

"Change your clothes and get your gear. We're going out." Yumi declared.

 "Aw, I don't wanna...." Jin said pouty. “I'm tired...I want to cuddle…” 

"Well, that's too bad. I was going to go after Ryuuga. Apparently he's out with this Van and some other person named Hiruma." Jin's ear twitched hearing the familiar names. "If he's with them, there's probably some fighting-" 

"On it!" Jin said, fully dressed and ready to go, rushing out of his room.

"-involved."

Yumi smirked.

"That never fails.” Yumi told herself, snickering while going after Jin. 

She caught up to him at the entrance of the dorms and they both left it together, spotting a familiar blonde outside. "Ed? You're up late!" Jin called out. The red-eyed blonde, unaware of their presence, perked up and turned to face them. "Oh, hey guys." Ed greeted with a wave of his hand.

"Did you just get back in?" Yumi asked.

"Not really. I just came out here to see the night sky." Edward answered, looking up.

Yumi and Jin followed his gaze to see an astonishingly starry night sky. The island was a bit far from the town, so light pollution wasn't really much of an issue, allowing for the stars to be admired by its inhabitants in its entire beauty. Yumi and Jin were momentarily dazed by the view. 

"I'm surprised to see you guys here, though." Edward remarked, bringing Yumi and Jin back into reality. "I thought you'd be with Ryuuga."

"Wait, you've seen him?" Yumi asked. "We're looking for him, actually."

"Damn smartass goes out to have fun without us..." Jin mumbled.

"Well...I saw him going that way." Edward answered, pointing to the woods east from their location. "I was getting a better view from the stars close to those woods and when I came back, I saw Ryuuga in front of the Student Council with a brown-skinned hundian and this guy with black hair over his eyes."

Jin took note of the description and after a quick moment of thought, remembered two individuals who matched the description. "Yup. That's Van and Hiruma, all right."

"Thanks for the tip, Ed." Yumi asked.

"No prob..." Ed answered. 

They went their separate ways after exchanging words of departure. Moments after they left, Edward returned to the dorm, curious about what his newfound friends were up to this late at night, but too tired to actually act on his curiosity.

xXx

 "Yo, guys!" Van called. "Check this out!"

Following Van’s voice, Ryuuga and Hiruma spotted the hundian hunched in one of the hall’s corners.

"What is it?" Hiruma asked. 

“It’s so weird!” Van replied. “The scent of blood led me here and I can still hear some growling but…there’s nothing here! Or so I thought. Hang on." Van said grabbing the floor tile in front of him and lifting it. “Check it out!”

Beneath the tile was a hidden set of stairs that appeared to lead to a lower floor. However, the general darkness of the manor didn’t allow them to see how long it went on for, even with Ryuuga’s fire providing proper lighting.

"Well…that went in a completely different direction than what I was expecting…” Hiruma grumbled before smiling satisfied. “Nice find, doggy.”

"Going down!" Van said going down the staircase. Ryuuga and Hiruma followed suit. Despite the serious motivation they had to be there, exploring such a place filled them with a sense of adventure that filled them with a newfound thrill. As they ventured further, they could hear the growls Van picked on earlier growing gradually louder as they progressed.

“Guys…The blood scent is getting stronger…” Van informed, keeping a low tone as to not alert whatever was lurking ahead of the trio’s presence.

“Those growls are getting closer too…” Hiruma answered, lowering his voice to the same tone as Van’s. “I think we’re in for a fight, boys…”

Hiruma then turned to Ryuuga with a firm stare. “You know your way with tactics, don’t you? Anything you can think of to help us with this?”

Ryuuga smirked confidently upon being asked to work on his especiality. “Alright. I’ll just need a quick summary of our abilities.” He whispered. “Let’s slowly pull back for now. We’re an easy target here.”

The trio retreated until they were in front of the stairs they came from. “This is a good resting spot.” Ryuuga commented. “If anything ambushes us, we have a escape route.”

“Well thought.” Hiruma remarked. “You wanted a summary of our abilities, yes? I use a pair of guns and know my way with magic involving spatial manipulation.”

Ryuuga, taking in the information relayed to him, nodded before turning to Van. “What about you?”

“Fistfighting and earth magic.” The hundian replied.

“Alright. Just give me a moment. I’ll think of something.” Ryuuga told them both before entering a state of meditation. The following moments were filled with silence as Van and Hiruma waited for Ryuuga to conclude his plan.

“Ok. I think I’ve got it.” Ryuuga announced. “I just need to confirm one thing: You're an earth mage user. Are you able to use seismic sensing?” He asked Van, who instantly perked up at the question. 

“Yes, yes I can!” He answered with enthusiasm. Ryuuga smiled pleased.

"Excellent. Feel the ground and tells us what you feel."

Van got on his knees and placed one outstretched palm on the ground, closing his eyes. Concentrating on the feeling of the ground on his palm, he could sense the vibrations passing through the ground. Soon, the vibrations allowed the layout of the hall to be pictured in his mind.

“Ok…” Van whispered. “Up ahead is a L-shaped hallway…with a door on each wall...”

Van then felt movement from the vibrations further ahead and his expression changed from focused to discomfort. “…I can feel something moving further ahead…and if those growls I’m hearing are telling me anything…is that whatever is further ahead is hungry for blood.”

“Can you pinpoint their location?” Hiruma asked.

Van continued to feel the ground’s vibrations hoping to flush out the source of the growls. “Oh no, no goddamnit no…damnit!” Van growled sharply through clenched teeth.

“What now?” Ryuuga asked.

“They moved further back and into the limit of my seismic sensing’s range and now I can’t figure out their location properly.” Van complained.

“But we at least know something IS further ahead.” Ryuuga consoled. “Did you pick out how many there are?”

 “I’d say…5.” Van answered.

“And you said they’re further ahead?”

Van confirmed Ryuuga’s question with a nod.

“Ok. I have our plan.” Ryuuga declared, to which Van and Hiruma chuckled pleased. “If those intruders think we’re an easy target for an ambush, they’re in for a fatal surprise.” He boasted.

“I’m going to throw a fireball ahead to get them to come to us.” Ryuuga instructed as Hiruma and Van listened intently. “Van, you’re in the front with me, but I want you to keep using your seismic sensing to track their movements and find out the timing of their advance. When you sense they’re close enough, we’ll go in for the kill while Hiruma shoots them from the back as they rush in. Any further questions?”

“No.” Hiruma answered.

“Nope.” Van added.

It was Ryuuga’s turn to smirk in satisfaction. “Excellent. Well, let’s begin.”

Ryuuga created a sphere of flames that floated above his palm. Once Hiruma and Van were in position, Ryuuga launched the fire ball forward. The blazing projectile soared across the hall until it came into contact with a wall and exploded, casting a bright, yet brief light on the hall further ahead.

Through the seismic sensing, Van felt a disturbance further ahead where the unidentified movement left his range and approached them fast. “They’re coming!”

No sooner than Van uttered those words, angry wolves emerged from further down the hall, charging at them. Their eyes glowed an unnatural red and their growling was laced with hostility.

"Now." Ryuuga called, getting into battle position.

Hiruma opened fire against the charging pack of hostile wolves, preventing their advance.

“Van, get behind me!” Ryuuga quickly called before quickly whispering a chant. He held his middle and index fingers together and flames gathered above them.

"Rapiente Flamma"

He chanted and swiped his fingers in front of him and to his side, firing several blasts of fire simultaneously at the wolves, creating several flame explosions that reduced two that were caught in the brunt of it into smoldering flesh. However, the spell was too weak to take out all of them and thus another wolf emerged from the flames. Its jaws were nearly closing on Ryuuga’s face when Van’s clenched fist slammed its head from the side and sent it crashing headfirst onto the wall, breaking its neck.

“Thanks!” Ryuuga quickly said to Van while cutting down another wolf as it ferociously lunge at him.

On the brief opening in Ryuuga and Van’s attacks, the last wolf of the pack charged past them and at Hiruma, lunging at his throat. Hiruma, however, was quicker to react and thrust one of his guns forward and a hidden blade emerged from it, skewering the beast’s head from the chin to the upper jaw.

“Not today.”

Following the one-liner, Hiruma blasted the wolf’s head with his other gun and shook it off his blade.

When it limply hit the ground, the party remained on their guard for any surprise attacks. Moments later, they confirmed the coast was clear and put away their weapons.

“Well, that was mildly intense.” Van remarked.

“Anyone injured?” Hiruma asked.

“I’m fine here!” Van declared.

“Same here.” Ryuuga added.”

Once everyone was confirmed safe, Hiruma gave Ryuuga a strong pat in the back with a gleeful grin. “Good job on the planning, man.”

Ryuuga chuckled. “Thanks. Compared to defending an airship, fishing out an ambush is a cakewalk.”

"Those wolves live around here." Hiruma commented, examining the wolves' bodies. "But they're usually docile. I've seen some of those, even." He added, recognizing some of them through patters in their fur or the odd scar. "...This doesn't make any sense. Why would they attack the students?" He mumbled to himself.

At that moment, a purple mist left their bodies, disappearing in thin air. It provided some clarity to the trio to what was going on. 

"...they were cursed." Ryuuga spoke aloud. "That has to be it."

"Cursed?" Van, tilting his head in puzzlement, asked.

"Hiruma said they're usually docile, right?" Ryuuga asked rethorically. "That mist leaving their bodies was probably the cause. Such an alteration in behavior can only mean something akin to a curse."

"Ah!" Van exclaimed.

"Question is, by who? And why?" Ryuuga wondered. Hiruma stepped forward, giving Ryuuga a light push forward.

"Well, the path's cleared now." Hiruma declared. "So let's press on."

The three walked through the now clear hallway, careful to not step on the leftover flames caused by Ryuuga's spell. Further in, they found the doors Van had mentioned earlier.

"You know... a thought occurs." said Ryuuga. 

"Hm? What's up?" Van asked. Ryuuga then turned to the Hundian. 

"If you can use seismic sensing, why didn't you use it since we stepped in here?"

The question left Van in an awkward state where he nervously squirmed in place. "W-well...' Van looked away rather embarrassedly. "I...Kinda forgot about it until you brought it up..."

"Oh.' Ryuuga answered tonelessly. "Well, it happens. Don't worry. It still proved helpful."

"Thanks dude." Van replied with a pleased smirk.

"Alright, let's split up and investigate what's behind those doors." Hiruma told 

Ryuuga found himself in what appeared to be a library. Several shelves lined neatly along the room, containing a veritable assortment of books. The room itself was dimly lit by fire. From a distance, they appeared to be torches from the orange glow emanated. Upon closer examining, however, Ryuuga discovered the source of the glow to be magical stones embedded into the wall. "Well, whoever designed this place accounted for fire hazard..."

Small tapestries hung off the wall in several places. Strangely, they had the academy's symbol embroidered on them. "Well, this is a breath of fresh air compared to a fight for survival..." Ryuuga monologued.

Further investigation of the library led Ryuuga to a lone desk lit by more of the magical stones seen moments ago. A lone open tome rested atop it, its contents laid out in the open for any wandering individual to read. Ryuuga then decided to be that wandering individual.

"It's been quite a while since I found this place to settle down in. Quite convenient, too. After the battle with Gandalf-"

Ryuuga's reading was brought to a halt when he saw the name. Recovering from the momentary surprise at the mention of the warlock, he resumed reading.

"-, I was actually looking for a place to settle down. I wanted to find something on my own, though. I'll be damned if I use my statues as one of the Three Kings for something so trivial. No complaints here. I practically own the island and no one is here to claim ownership of this place, so "first come, first served"."

"Someone lives here?" 

A few key points of the passage he read came to his mind. "Three Kings" and "Battle with Gandalf".

"...I know Grandfather doesn't live here." Ryuuga thought. "...That leaves Kyoraku Kirisaki or...Dragan Murdock as the author of this book."

Formulating further thoughts regarding the tome in front of him, Ryuuga flipped to another page.

"Still, it feels surreal. I never imagined Kyoraku, Jinpachi and I would be founding an academy of magic at the very cornerstone of Mundus. Guarding the World Tree. I guess after bringing down the most dreaded warlock in all of Mundus, it is a fitting task for the "after""

"Well, now I know for sure this is Dragan Murdock's work." Upon reaching that conclusion, Ryuuga carried on with his reading. "And...I'd say this is his home." Not wanting to delay the investigation any longer as to not slow down Hiruma and Van, Ryuuga skipped a few pages ahead.

“I've had a great life, and only one regret: I wish I could have someone who would carry my teachings on to the next generation. But I digress. My end is near. Behind, I will leave a lot. Someone has to pick things up from where I stopped. Whoever it is, shall be informed of the fate in store for them. Should such a person appear, shall be yours to guide, Kagutsuchi. My most trusted companion.

And if such a person appears...

...may it be one that loves this world as much as I have."

The last paragraph left the otherwise calm and composed half-draconian into a state of absolute surprise.

"Ok, hold the fuck up. There was NO public information on Dragan's disappearance. The whole thing was shrouded in mystery." Ryuuga monologued. "And yet, this stands before me. I may have stumbled upon the locus point behind Dragan's disappearance!"

"RYUUGA!"  Hiruma shouted, causing the boy to snap back to reality. 

"You okay in there? We've been calling you for the past 5 minutes with no answer." Van called out.

"Ah, sorry. I got a bit absorbed in searching this room." Ryuuga answered, stepping away from the book and out of the library. "I might have stumbled upon a large clue concerning this place."

"Wait, for real!?" Van blurted out.

With a curt nod, Ryuuga answered: "Yes. I have good reason to believe this is Dragan's home."

If they were suprised before, Van and Hiruma were now outright speechless faced with this knowledge.

"...You serious?" Hiruma asked, maintaining a leveled tone. "Dragan, of all people!?"

Ryuuga responded with a nod and a serious visage. "I found a journal of sorts in the library back there..." Ryuuga motioned with his head towards the way they came from. "...and it mentioned the battle against Gandalf as well as the two remaining kings, Jinpachi and Kyoraku, by name. I just put the pieces together." Ryuuga stopped his report there, omitting the entries mentioning Dragan's disappearance on his own accord.

"They must have kept the details behind Dragan's disappearance a secret for a reason. I better keep quiet about this for now. It's not like there's anything to do with those cursed wolves in there." He formulated in his mind. "Plus...Wrong as it may be, I can always come back here to read the rest of it."

"Well...if that's true...then this is more serious than we previously imagined." Hiruma's mood grew more serious.

"How come?" Van asked.

"If this is really Dragan's home, then I'll bet you there are a lot of powerful items in here that people would love to get their hands on..." Hiruma elaborated. "And if those wolves from before were cursed..."

"...then we're not alone in here and I'll bet you anything that it's the same individual behind those cursed wolves." Ryuuga concluded.

"Well, let's not waste time, then!" Van declared. 

Ryuuga followed Hiruma and Van as they walked through another hallway. At the end of it, they found a door. Ryuuga carefully poked his head on the other side and looked around for more wolves, sighing in relief when he saw none. Opening the door, they found themselves back outside in a balcony of sorts with a path branching off to the left. Ahead, the path led straight ahead, then hung a right and off to another location within the manor. They took a few steps in and found that the path to their right led to a large set of double doors. Van tried to open them, unsuccessfully. 

"Not budging an inch. Probably locked. An abandoned manor. Locked. What even?" Said Van. 

"Weird as that is, we should then look around for a way to open-" Ryuuga was cut short by Hiruma moving him away from the door. 

"We don't need keys." Hiruma said examining the door. He then pulled out both of his guns, taking aim at the door. Magical runes materialized in front of both guns' barrels. Purple-colored energy gathered inside the barrels of Hiruma's white and black pair of pistols.

"Stand back! This is gonna blow!" He exclaimed, releasing the gathered energy in a powerful blast fired at the gate blasting it open. Or so he hoped. The sturdy door made the blast backfire on the black-haired teen, knocking him back. "I think we do need a key." Ryuuga snarked, helping Hiruma back to his feet.

"Can fly, good with tactics and humor that actually makes me laugh." Hiruma chuckled. "Wanna replace Crow?"

"Hey, he already belongs to a team! Hands off!" Joked a familiar female voice that Ryuuga instantly recognized. He looked behind him to see Yumi and Jin walking towards them. "I'm supposed to be surprised but...A part of me saw this coming." Ryuuga told them as they approached, donning a happy smirk at the presence of his two friends.

"Hey guys!" Jin greeted.

"Well, I'm assuming you two are Hiruma and Van?" Yumi asked the two new faced.

"That's right." Hiruma confirmed. "I'm Hiruma. And I'm assuming you're this Yumi girl that tore Lloyd a new one?"

"Word of that is already traveling around?" Yumi, incredulous, asked. "Wow."

"Well, of course! Golden moments like that are sure to be remembered!" Van laughed. "Anyway, nice to finally meet ya. I'm Van!"

"Pleasure's mine." Yumi answered curtly. "So you go partying and you don't even call us? I'm hurt. Really." Yumi remarked snarkly at the silver-haired youth who chuckled in response. "I didn't want to bother you guys. I thought you needed the rest after today." He replied. "How did you guys find me anyway?"

"We asked around and followed some trails." Yumi explained. "The dead wolves and the lingering fire were the biggesdt hint, really. But that's not important now. You need a gate unlocked and I'm the girl for the job." 

Yumi made her way to the sturdy gate and set a paper tag on the door above the keyholes and formed a triangle sign with her hands.

"Kaihou!" 

Yumi's chant made a glow emanate from the paper tag and bathe the gate in its light. Soon after, a unlocking sound was heard. "And there we have it!" Yumi gently pushed the gate and it slid open. 

"After you." She told Ryuuga cordially making a reverence towards the door. Ryuuga muttered a thanks as he passed Yumi and went through the door. Hiruma,Van and Jin followed suit. Yumi entered the room and closed the gate. This room, unlike the others, was well lit by stones similar to the ones that Ryuuga came across during his exploration of the library, albeit ones that released a brighter light. "All right, now that I opened the door for you, explanations." Yumi said with a firm voice. 

"Well, I received a message from those two-" Ryuuga said pointing at Hiruma and Van. "- Asking me to meet up with them in front of the school building. We met up and came here. Apparently some students who wandered around here got hurt pretty badly. We're here to investigate what's going on. We fought some wolves who, according to Hiruma here,  weren't supposed to be acting savagely. We're trying to find out why." He finished.

"I see." Yumi replied. "Well, good thing we came, otherwise you'd be running into circles!"

"Seriously, dude. At least call us next time!" Jin admonished.

"Point taken. I apologize." Ryuuga answered. 

"Eh, it's cool. You at least were being considerate! So, are we going further, or what? I'm itching to stab something already!!" Jin said excited.  "You'll get your chance, bro. But we don't need a doggy whistle right now so keep it down, would you?" Hiruma said patting Jin's back. "See if you can find anything unusual here." Hiruma told the group. They began to look around the large hall . There were many odd looking statues resembling headless muscular figures standing by the walls, and 4 pillars that were symmetrically positioned to each other.  

"...I do NOT like the look of those statues." Ryuuga voiced. A closer look showed the statues held different weapons. The Northwest one held an Axe. The Northeast one held a lance. The Southeast one held a claymore. The Southwest one, a mace. 

"You're right...something about this room seems REALLY off..." Yumi agreed.

"Watch your step, everyone." Hiruma warned.

"Well, I don't feel anything off." Van said, carefreely waltzing across the room. "I don't see what could go wron-"

"DO NOT!" Ryuuga warned, knowing better than tempting fate. Alas, the warning came one second too late. Van stepped on a tile that sank on the floor. A fake tile designed to trigger a trap. Both doors in the hall were shut tightly by iron bars, trapping them all in that hall. 

"What the hell!?" Jin exclaimed. "The fuck is this!?"

As if they wished to provide Jin an answer, the formerly motionless statues rumbled, gripping their weapons to dispatch the intruders.

"INTRUDERS... BEGONE"

"Trap. Of course." Ryuuga muttered with a sigh. "Hiruma, I'd like to propose a ban on phrases that tempt fate."