Atlantis

[Apollymi]

Kou's anger was apparent to Miki, even as she had a look at him out of the corner of her eye. Even so, she couldn't actually be mad at him and wouldn't try to talk him out of his righteous anger in this moment. After all, she'd gotten hers, Seriri had also gotten hers, what position did she have to argue with the lad over what he wanted to do in this very moment. At this very moment she'd even heard the sound he'd made and knew he was leaving her to this, even though he wanted to step in. So she did the only thing she could do at the moment, she spoke to the girl to see if she understood her current position and find out exactly how much fight this slave class had to work with.

That awkward smile seemed to only get bigger as the shark girl trembled just a little. Her mind was working overtime to come up with a deal that Miki would take, that would end with her being able to learn from the woman in exchange for what she had to offer as someone else's slave. She thought about it for several moments, and looked up at Miki and Kou as if trying to figure out what it was about them, that was inherently different from the people of Atlantis. There was power here but there was something else... sympathy, empathy, drive. Both of them seemed to be working through some level of distaste at the idea that she was a slave, but unlike other people who avoided her, this pair looked at her straight on. Miki had even claimed that people weren't merchandise and that she would never buy a slave, but she hadn't outright claimed she wouldn't help the lass out of her predicament. She told her she was to learn to negotiate a contract as if she was free. So if she was free with no money to speak of, how would she have approached the lass to become her apprentice instead of her property. "Sou ka. I know!" she said her eyes widening and showing a great deal of light in the moment. "If you won't buy a slave, will you buy my teeth? I can use the funds to try and haggle my own freedom from my Master..." she said, seeming to have considered it might not work, but it was her last hope so she'd take it. "Then I can come and learn from you directly, in the same way as any other apprentice!" she said this with firmness more than she'd shown before.

"That's a good girl..." this came from Miki with the only smile she had for the day and it was directed at the small girl before her. She hopped from the top of the stairs and walked down to approach her, laying a gentle hand upon her head which the lass looked up from and smiled into. "Here," she said offering the girl a bag of coin which had well over 200 gold coins in it. The Shark Girl's eyes widened. "This is so many, isn't it too much? It has to be like 270 coins..." she said seeming to have a decent eye. "Hai hai, that's exactly right. Shark Teeth are a specialty item, the market for them is rather low and I have a niche use for them so I added a surcharge... now we'll just find your...." she was about to mention finding the girl's master to do something about her freedom but they would soon be approached by a Mer Person obviously more well off. He had a humanoid torso and legs but fins and gills placed about his body, he looked a bit like an Angel Fish but his attitude was anything but. "Oi! Girl no one told you to run off on your own. You've got work to do, in here bothering these people..." the girl shrank away from a hand which aimed grasp her and she hid behind Miki in the way kids tended to do when scared. Miki had no problem with this mostly because she knew something was about to happen. "Hands off... she's a kid not property."

[Bloodedge]

The conclusion this girl came to for her own freedom's sake, was to simply buy her own freedom from whatever master she had. Still seething, Kou scoffed silently. That wasn't the way. Miki made the exchange anyway, but Kou knew it wouldn't turn out well if the shark lass went that route. Perhaps temporarily, sure it would be beneficial, but there was a much bigger problem in the future of such progress.

Before Kou could open his mouth to speak on the matter, there was yet another entry. This particular mer was many of the qualities Kou detested, even from a single glance. A brief exchange occurred between him and the girl, resulting in the latter cowering behind Miki. That wasn't the end though, no. When Miki spoke to the man, Kou's decision had already been made without much thought at all. Seemingly instantly, Kou was beside the slaver. His right arm was fully outstretched, holding his sword at the throat of this man as those crystalline hues glared into the depths of his being. "How many?" he asked simply, his voice minus an ounce of joy, or even mercy. This man would die; of this he had no doubts. First, though, he needed his questions answered.

[Apollymi]

Miki knew a single purchase made by a single slave wasn't going to change the whole outcome. But what she was doing wasn't for the good of every single slave in creation. No right just now she was building this one up to make sure she was ready to face the challenges to come. Of course, she hadn't intended to let the shark girl meet her master alone, and given his first words upon seeing her, she'd been right to make this assumption. She fully intended to help the lass in her actual negotiations, but it would seem that would be put on hold for a moment.

The walking Merfish, was standing and then rather suddenly there was a sword at his neck and he couldn't even be bothered to take a step forward or back. This seemed to be a common theme among these types, who were so full of their rightness in a situation until someone stronger showed up ready to put an end to them. The man seemed to stammer lightly confused by the lad's simple question, his hands up in the air in surrender. "H-ho---how many what? I don't know what you're talking about, I just came to collect my property and leave," the man said seeming to find nothing wrong with his mind set. "Check the seal on the back of her neck she's mine! I swear!" he claimed as if this was simply a missing piece of property. He even pointed at the lass who in turn tried her best to bury herself into Miki's side. There was a light whimper from the girl behind Miki and she in turn gave the girl a pat on the head as she was clasped on to her. Miki had been in too similar a situation way too recently and something about this man's statements about this girl were deeply annoying to her. "Children aren't property. I don't care what kind of seal is on her," Miki said, she had a reasonable understanding that she could probably remove anything resembling a seal, but the use of such magic when the Merfolk didn't seem to be innately magical, made her realize there was likely an entire market that would need to be erased from existence.

[Bloodedge]

There was absolute stillness in the body of Kou as he stared the slaver down. At least, that was the case until the man spoke of property and seals, making Kou tremble in an effort to resist beheading him then and there. He failed just slightly, as his arm moved in a way that would bring his blade closer to the slaver's neck, though only enough to draw just a bit of blood if the man didn't move quickly enough. What made the situation worse, was that the man didn't even understand the meaning behind Kou's question.

"How... many... people. How many living, breathing people do you have under your filthy heel?" Kou's behavior had shifted once again, almost as if he'd been possessed by something. One could possibly say he was, but only by the deep-seated fury leftover from his previous life. Even after recovering from his brief tremble, Kou intended to press his blade properly against the slaver's neck. "How many!?"

[Apollymi]

The stillness in Kou's body was noted by Miki, if only because she fully experienced something similar in the days prior to this one. Whatever the case, the lad drew blood from the Merfish who seemed to cry out at the pain of it. He hadn't expected to be injured. In fact, he was the one who constantly injured others, he didn't know what such pain was like and only used it to motivate those lesser than himself. "Ooowww!" he nearly screamed from a cut most would have considered minor. When the question was clarified the lad's blade gained more resolve and he seemed to be burning in a rather furious manner just beneath the surface. But he'd asked the man a question. "Alright, alright. Look I own..." his mind began doing math, because to be honest he wasn't exactly sure how many people he owned at present. "I don't really know, around a hundred. I guess..." he said. But his words were a lie, and the person who knew that to be a fact was the small girl who clung to Miki's side. She'd already proved she had a good eye for numbers by Miki's own standards much better than the average person so when she spoke next it was a soft word only a number. "Two hundred and fifty-three," the shark girl's words were soft, but loud enough to be heard by all in her immediate proximity. She included herself in this number as she was owned by this man.

This man had to be one of the richest in the entirety of the Kingdom after one like the Banker, given the number of people he owned. He also made all his money very obviously off the backs of others with no real cost to himself. He also hadn't tried to make a deal with Miki as such he likely thought to continue without the Banker in place and without assimilating into the new order. His eyes widened, he hadn't expected the girl to speak out, and he knew this under approximation was probably way worse for him than he meant. Still he couldn't help but lash out in anger. "You little bitch! I own you, you can't speak against me!" he exclaimed, the seal on the back of her neck, began to glow encasing her body in blood magic which froze her in place and caused her immense pain. Miki looked to the girl and turned pressing her finger against the seal. Blood Magic was easily identifiable and also strangely something she could stop, using her own mana as a catalyst. Within a single second the blood which tainted the seal disappeared, leaving the girl unharmed and caught by Miki's outstretched arm. "Are you okay?" she asked of the girl, who looked stunned but simply nodded her head her hand ran over the back of her neck, but the seal which had been placed there was gone completely. Dissolved completely by the cleansing property applied to Miki's mana by virtue of her racial bonus.

[Bloodedge]

Kou was still again. Not a single flinch occurred on his end as the slaver cried out, but he bit into his lip once more when the number of slaves was given... even given how obvious it was to him that the number was inaccurate. Just then, the true number was offered by the Mershark herself. It was so ridiculously high, beyond Kou's comprehension even. Still, he wouldn't act just yet. The rage welled up, nearly to a point of overflowing and bringing forth the likes of something... which was somehow not Akashi, yet of the same caliber.

He leaned his face away, spitting blood that pooled in his mouth from the biting of his lip. The slaver's activation of the Mershark's seal did not go unnoticed, and so, it would be added to his count. Kou's blade lowered to his side as he began walking slowly toward the slave girl, pouring his Mana out into the royal palace of Atlantis. " I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. I have created over a thousand blades. Unknown to Death, nor known to Life. I have withstood pain to create many weapons, yet, those hands will never hold anything. So as I pray... Unlimited Blade Works." His incantation came with each step he made, as his Mana warped reality itself, manifesting a proper Bounded Field, and within that an open, barren desert with monolithic black gears gyrating in the distance. It was a much more powerful form of the same incantation he'd used on a previous adventure, though this time was more focused as well. Exactly 253 swords were manifested in the air around the slaver, all with their blades focused on his location.

Kou stopped in front of the Mershark. 253 weapons were present, one for each slave the man behind him possessed. Number 254, intended to represent the slaver's recent treatment of the girl he stood before, would be Kou's personal blade... which he held out in an offer to the girl. Kou's fury remained apparent, though none of it was focused on the lass. "Freedom can't be purchased. There's no barter system for life. Either you make your own place in the world, or live in fear of men like this putting a boot to your head every day for the rest of your life." He gave her this singular option, knowing that the swords of his Unlimited Blade Works would react to the use of his own blade by all assaulting the first target it struck. All this girl had to do... was take her freedom into her own hands.

[Apollymi]

There was much righteous anger in Kou, even more than could have been expected even if he had personal qualms with the idea of slavery. But Miki had realized long ago in their adventures that the lad had issues with the way those in power treated those below them. She also had issues with this, but they seemed to handle it very differently. Miki or rather Kimi had always been the type to make or break people on the terms they brought to the table, those who believed in the ill-treatment of people, were shown by Miki what happened when people were treated as equals and not as tools. Kou or his original personality seemed to be the semi-militant type, take your freedom or die trying. She supposed if she'd ever been in such a low position, she'd likely have had similar thoughts on the matter but she wasn't that type of person and wouldn't pretend to be. As such she couldn't and wouldn't chastise or speak badly about the lad as he did what he needed to, she'd said she'd leave this aspect to him because he was the people person and she was seeing just how that would turn out.

The Mershark watched as they were trapped in a changed world by the lad's magic. She seemed to be trying to put together how she was supposed to react in the moment and Kou gave her the motivation to act while offering her his sword. She looked around at all of the ones hanging in the air and counted. "Two hundred and fifty-four..." she said looking around. And she thought about what it would mean. Should she take her own freedom in this moment. What about all of the people who wouldn't know what to do, who'd not know how to behave, who were tired as well. She thought of all the times she'd seen this man mercilessly activate the seals on other slaves for resting too much, or asking for more. Was this really a life she intended to live when she wanted to be a merchant. She looked to Miki and tried to figure out what was in her face, as if there was something strange there. "If you can make money. Make as much as possible, whenever possible, however possible... but never at the expense of anyone else. That's how I conduct business. Our contract stands regardless," this was the cardinal difference between Miki and a person like the Banker. And this was something the little shark girl seemed to understand. With all of that in mind, the girl took the sword into her hands and ran at her oppressor. Who just now seemed to be catching up to what was going on here. "Wait! You can't do that. You can't remove a slave crest, it's stealing!" this man claimed Miki shrugged. "Rogue desu..." she said looking up at the man as he tried for any method of saving himself. "After all I've done for you! You can't!" he exclaimed but the girl's sword would make contact with him. "I did this for us," she sank this blade in and backed up. Such would trigger the rest of the magic, hailing 253 blades down upon the man leaving him nothing but a blood puddle in the floor by the end of it.

[Bloodedge]

... Except for his head. Yes, the one untouched portion of the slaver was his head, which would sit upon the mangled mess of a body below once the array of blades pierced him. Kou watched this event intently, never letting his eyes waver from the moment the Mershark took his blade. When everything was said and done, when the slaver had no more words to share and literally no ground to stand on, Kou's enchanted field faded away along with the weapons spawned within it. He stepped toward the Mershark then, still absolutely seething within. Even so, his action of choice was to place a hand upon the girl's shoulder. "It doesn't take 254 lacerations to bring down even a giant. No one who owns slaves can settle for just one."

[Apollymi]

The slaver's head remained on the floor and then the little lass would return the lad's sword. Strangely he would place a single hand on her shoulder in passing giving her words which stuck out in her mind. She knew the truth of his words by virtue of her own experience. "Sou ka... arigatou," the girl said quietly. She didn't know why she thanked him but felt it was necessary. She turned back to Miki with the bag of money in hand. Without the need to purchase herself she thought the amount of money given by the lass was too high to accept. "Eh, I don't need so much anymore... shouldn't we renegotiate?" she asked of Miki who simply shook her head from left to right. "You earned that with your own power. You didn't take it at the expense of anyone who couldn't afford to give it. That deal is clean... Plus, I got my Shark Teeth all is fair. I'm sure you can find something to do with it..." Miki mused while tossing around the bag of teeth in her hand. In the next moment, Queen Seriri came rushing back in with a supremely disturbed look on her face as she had just found on some very important news.

"Guys, I found out what else is going on here and..." she gave a severe pause as she looked around the throne room and saw a blood puddle with a single man's head within the middle of it. "We already know..." were Miki's words. "Of course you already know... well knowing about that problem. There's a single woman known as the Siren who is a Mersquid who performs all of the Blood Magic which creates the slave crests. I haven't figured out how to get rid of the Slave Crests but my magic won't do it," said Seriri, getting rid of the witch would be something difficult without being able to directly counter the magic of hers which was spread across the Kingdom. "I can do it. I removed this little Shark's... do you have a name?" she said causing the small girl to turn and move her hair showing the spot that no longer contained a single trace of blood magic. Seriri approached the lass and examined her rather directly. "Eep, it tickles.... no, we don't have names. None of us do. Only humans in the Kingdom have names..." the girl mentioned but it also felt nice.

"Sugoi! Kimi you got rid of the entire hold of it, how?" she asked of the lass. "It's probably just a property of my Mana currently, being a Druid allows me to use Purge. Blood magic is neutralized by Purge, so I can remove slave crests." Miki summarized which was the truth as far as she knew it. She wondered if there was a way to pass this ability along to someone else so she wouldn't be the only one capable of getting rid of slave crests. "If you have something I can turn into a rune stone, I can probably make it something to be applied by anyone with the ability to control their mana. You'd have an easier time applying it to a large group of people anyways..." she said to Seriri. The lass would nod her head. "BETTINA!" A very humanoid Betta Fish appeared, but the look on Miki's face was completely mortified. "WHY DID YOU NAME HER THAT?!"

[Bloodedge]

Kou reclaimed his sword, slinging the slaver's blood from it before returning it to its sheath. His business was done here, but not at all as a whole. There was much to do in the very near future. He'd have to make a singular, massive move tofree the slaves both physically and mentally... and he'd do it without hesitation. First though, came the return of Seriri. She brought with her the information they had so recently discovered themselves, while Diva walked along behind her.

Diva behaved just as timidly as he'd been doing since his restoration. The lad wore his hair in a way that spiked outwards in the back, featuring two small spikes pointing upwards in a manner similar to horns, two short ponytails framing his face and two long ones in the back, all bound with golden rings. He wore a sleeveless green trench coat that featured a high collar and a black border outlined in orange, patterned with black triangles that were also outlined in orange, a lavender long-sleeved shirt that reached past his waist with the cuffs rolled back to form spikes at his elbows, a light green sash around his waist, tan pants, and simple brown boots tied at the cuff with tan laces. Diva also wore a large golden ankh-shaped adornment that was clipped onto the golden rings of his right bang, twin golden bracelets with curved designs engraved on them, and a pendant that resembled an upside-down pyramid with a strange eye upon it. Interestingly enough, the pendant he wore was originally his tongue, which had been mystically changed after the death of the Banker. He seemed to be quite well-off... physically. Mentally though, he never looked to anyone besides Seriri.

[Apollymi]

While Kou reclaimed his sword, Seriri looked at Miki as if confused. "What we named a whole beta fish that when we were kids," she said most defiantly. "I had such weird nostalgia when I got here, it felt like the most fitting name," she said which made Miki huff childishly for the first time in quite a while. "Ugh, you can't go around parading the fact that we used to choose names like that as children..." she said leaving out the word stupid for the sake of the woman now bearing a name that she and Seriri had picked out when they were 10. "Oh well... Anyways she just brought back some stones she still has them find the one you want..." she said to Miki while the woman called Bettina held out a sack filled with undersea stones before her. "Sugoi! These are really nice..." Miki said. Instead of reaching into the bag she used her 'Snatch' ability to pull from the bag the one most suited to her needs. It was a large blue stone smooth the whole way around and nearly clear though in similar colors to the ones already sported by Seriri. "This will do..." she said holding the stone between her hands she seemed to be enchanting it, filling it with her own mana applied to a few runes meant to amplify the effects of what she'd done to the other lass and spread them far and wide. "Here, that should make it so you can use my mana on large groups of people. As long as someone else provides the bulk, it will lift the Blood Magic from people allowing them to walk freely. Nice outfit on him by the way..." Miki mentioned with a bit of a nod towards the lad. She wasn't sure if Diva still had a slave crest, but if he did Seriri could use the stone she'd given her to get rid of it painlessly. She did look to Diva for just a second and though the lad still wasn't making eye contact with anyone it seemed that he was at least well enough put together now to be able to walk around with everyone else. Though he still wasn't really speaking and she couldn't really blame him, it was taking all she had to remain speaking with everyone and she'd experienced way less of these evils by far. Seriri held onto the stone and could feel the magic of it, Miki's particular signature was something very different from any she'd encountered since coming to this world. "Arigatou na, I'll make sure to put it to good use..." she said as she thought about this stone, glowing gently sage green in its core. She couldn't explain the quality of it with words, but knew the girl had placed a lot of herself into making this creation.

Whatever the case, it seemed the little Mershark didn't have a name, and that simply wouldn't do, as far as Miki was concerned taking on the girl as a protege required her to be able to brand for herself. And a name was required for such a thing. "Alright how about a name for you then? I promise I won't choose anything you'd regret having to live with. And it's very important to branding to be a recognizable figure. Your name, your morals, your trade, these are things you live by and die by, yeah?" she explained to the little Mershark. She looked up at Miki with wide eyes and looked stunned. "You are going to give me a name? And take me as an apprentice..." she said seeming to think it was a lot being offered by the blonde lass. "Hai. I think you'll make a good merchant. You have that gleam in your eye... while retaining what is important... here," she said placing a finger over the girl's heart. She thought about it and it was like her emotions all radiated out from her heart, that same nervous smile appeared on her face. "Well, if you're sure it wouldn't be a problem," she said with wide eyes. Miki continued to stare at the small girl, concentrating on what she'd seen of her in the last few minutes. She'd been the one to come here to barter for her place. She'd been the one to start the revolution by striking down the one who used her as property. Her mark in this world was like a ripple over the water, and would have far reaching effects. "Sou ka, Sazanami! That's a good name for a girl like you," Miki said offering the girl a smile. An interaction with the Nexus took place and the girl was enveloped in the blinding light of it as she was named. Her body seemed to catch up to her level as she evolved. And her body gained a sleeker look with fins attached her arms which looked like blades. Her hair grew a bit longer and she seemed to become a bit closer to a middle teen. "Sugoi! You really named me! Miki-sama, you must be really strong..." she said excited by the prospect. "I'll be back in a couple of days, there is some stuff I think I should do before I am really ready to start," the girl said she didn't want to leave her other friends behind at her former residence. She needed to let them know of all the things that were possible now. "Hai hai..." Miki said. She walked back to where she had been to reclaim her place on the arm of the throne. But something was ever so wrong with the girl. Her temperature had spiked rather suddenly and though she wasn't looking at anyone, her eyes had gained a rainbow hue.

[Bloodedge]

While Miki applied her Rune Magic to a stone acquired from Seriri's assistant, Kou kept an eye trained on Diva. This must have been the lad they were speaking of earlier, or at least Kou could assume based on his behavior at the time. Interesting. Kou felt particularly drawn to the pendant on this male's neck, but that was an oddity for another time. Presently, there was the matter of the Mershark's naming as decided by Miki. Kou used the time of this occurrence to ponder the options for the near future. There was still something he intended to do, and he'd have it done soon.

The white-haired male made his way to the fallen slaver's head, and removed it from the remains of his body via fire magic used to cauterize his neck and leave a more... presentable head for showing around. He'd start his plan by making an example of this slaver. Clearly, the number of slaves this mer once had was in direct correlation to his status. That was good; the point he had to make would be even more impactful, with that in mind. He'd make his move momentarily... but first, something in this very room felt strange. Kou could sense a Mana source spiking, and though it wasn't Miki per se, it didn't feel too much unlike her either. "Eto..." he muttered, distracted from his own actions to turn in the blonde's direction. "Did you just do something else?"

[Apollymi]

Miki's temperature was spiking, but her magic was as well. It was as if she had a fever that rather suddenly set upon her, her body managed to be hotter and more uncomfortable than at any point in her life. She even managed to feel the heat of it in her head and down to her very toes. Her whole body gained a strange golden glow over the next moments as she opened her mouth to speak. She looked towards Kou and spoke. "I'm burn...ing...." she managed, with those glowing rainbow eyes she seemed to be falling rather suddenly. She didn't know what caused this onset, but she was quite sure she wasn't supposed to feel so uncomfortable right just now. 'Ah, I...' she thought quietly as her consciousness faded rather suddenly and she fell forward from her seat her body aiming to crash towards the ground.

In the meantime, Seriri looked up from the stone and saw the flash of colors in Miki's eyes. "KIMI!" she shouted. Her switch to caregiver was instantaneous but she also wouldn't reach the lass in time, she'd walked too far away and she would definitely hit the floor without someone else's interference. Of all the people to not say anything while experiencing the sudden onset of the Devouring, Seriri expected this of Miki. Even so, the girl didn't even say anything when her temperature first spiked and instead chose to suffer in silence. Though that was her way, it was also annoying to Seriri on a deeper level, as her friend seemed to always make that choice.

[Bloodedge]

Kou's eyes widened the moment Miki looked his way. He wasn't sure what the odd glow in her eyes was, but it was clearly nothing good... and perhaps what happened to him, considering how he saw the world in his last conscious moments. "You..." Suddenly, Kou's planned revolution was wiped from his mind. She wasn't going to make it. He darted forward with the power of his Mana enhancing his speed, quite literally tackling the girl during her descent to the ground. Once he had her in his grapple, Kou spun himself around to take the landing himself. "Oi, oi!" he shouted while lifting her slightly. He could feel the spike in her temperature, even in areas where he couldn't make direct skin contact. Without a moment of hesitation, Kou aimed to channel his own Mana into the blonde in an attempt to stave off the uprising of strange energy he sensed. He didn't know if it would accomplish anything, but it was the only thing coming to mind at all.

[Apollymi]

Seriri wouldn't have reached Miki in time, but apparently that didn't matter... Kou reached her long before Seriri ever could have. 'Sou ka... that's a snap reaction. They really are very similar...' she thought as she also approached. The white haired lad had taken the brunt of the fall with his own body and was taking care of staving off her fever by virtue of the use of his own mana. Seriri saw this and looked a bit surprised, most people weren't used to taking care of others so directly. Miki's body had its fever held at the level it was currently at due to Kou's interference but it would take a bit more than that to quell it properly. "Sou ka, you understand the mana problem. That's a pretty decent idea, it's how I pushed it off in the first person I met with it. I can force switch her too..." she said removing from within her robes another of a large blue gem with mana inside of it shifting like water. "I made another one of these after what happened with you. I guess Kimi was thinking it was possible she'd end up that way too..." mentioned Seriri, still she controlled a single drop of water to scan the rest of the girl's body. "She does actually have another Avatar right? It won't work if she doesn't..." she mentioned of this particular moment. She couldn't force the lass to make another one, so if she didn't have another Avatar the method she used wouldn't work. But at this point it really didn't matter she'd save her friend regardless.