Chloe/Johan.
When they entered, they quickly greeted the magi inside, with the exception of Emily, who just walked by without a care in the world. A few gave Johan a glance that lingered longer than what comfort would allow, and Chloe noticed how one of them subtly traced a protection sigil on the inside of his wrist, but he ignored them and beckoned Chloe to do the same.
Other than that, nothing else happened, except for them stating their business to the guild manager about why they were in section 13 rather than section 8 as they headed for their destination.
Chloe had never been in Section 13 before, as she was a level 19 exorcist and was not permitted to take on the job this place offered, and so as they walked, she was, unsurprisingly, a bit blown away by the wealth that was practically everywhere in the fortress, and made her opinions regarding the wealthy loud and clear to him while they were walking, grumbling about how the wealthy were holding back on helping the people and some other nonsense related to it.
He, in his part, ignored her naivety.
When they finally reached their destination, Emily grabbed a key from her bag, inserting it into the lock pick as she turned the knob and went into the room, with Chloe and Johan following behind her as Chloe took a long look at the containment wards.
"Here we are."
_______
Callum.
"Hey bud, could ya stop movin' around so much, eh? You're makin' it real hard to focus here." How in the hell was this asshole expecting him to move when literally his body, from the crown of his head to the very tips of his toes, was covered in some weird, ritualistic-looking paper? His hands were bound tightly, each one of his fingers rendered helpless beneath the seven pairs of chains, which pinned him mercilessly to the wall, making every movement he made little more than a miracle.
"Leave the poor boy alone, Benjamin." The words came from a fluffy-eared woman, her voice resonating like a musical instrument while she stared at her companion to her side with visible concern.
She stood a bit above the average height for women, possessing an otherworldly appearance that was very reminiscent of a being from a fictional story he'd read, yet, there was no mistake in his perception. She resembled a cat, despite her anthropomorphic traits and her absence of a tail. Her long fingers ended in sharp points, which only added to her striking appearance, along with her long snout, which he thought was a bit cute.
He had spent years as a recluse, sidestepping the constant disappointment of real-life interactions and immersing himself in whatever pleasure he could grasp that life would offer in a vain attempt to evade the tangles of messy socialization while life moved on without him.
And he would have been content to stay that way, had life allowed.
Heck, his entire plan up until now was to get enough money to live in one of the less dangerous sectors of VX-3 and maybe, just maybe, move to AVX-3 if the opportunity ever came to him and he won the jackpot in one of his gambling gigs.
But fate was not so kind. Not to him, at least
Instead of spending his life away in a club, playing video games, watching anime, or even going out for a stroll or running a morning errand, he was kidnapped by a cult, beaten up by an old man, and, worst of all, some douchebag probably recorded the whole thing and uploaded it.
Old or not, if he ever find that asshole again, he's going to give him a piece of his mind.
The first time really didn't count. He was in a frenzied haze and didn't have any opportunity to land a punch with a focused mind, and that was surely why he lost, never mind the inhuman strength of the old bastard.
That was the only explanation that didn't make him want to curl up into a ball and end it here, and he'd stick with it.
He tried shifting again, just a twitch of a leg this time. The chains clinked loudly against the ground, drawing Benjamin's attention immediately. "Oi!" the man barked, his heavy boots clomping closer. "I just told you—quit squirming, you damn lizard!" the f#ck? "I'm not a lizard," he croaked, the dryness in his throat not really helping the situation at all, considering he sounded like one. Benjamin snorted, scratching at the dark stubble on his square jaw. "Could've fooled me, scaled freak."
That wasn't fair. He didn't even have scales.
If anything, Benjamin was the freak here. Who in the world decided it would be a good idea to combine a hippo and a human together? Genetic engineering wasn't exactly rare around the sectors, and some people who are unfortunate enough to catch the LX virus could be turned into mutants, but he never envisioned that someone, out of all their options, would choose a hippo as their mutation.
"Benjamin!!" The cat-woman's voice boomed, sharp enough to silence the hulking brute mid-step. Her golden eyes narrowed, her lips pulling back just slightly to reveal her pointed teeth, and her permanent smile was curved downward in a dangerous glint.
Benjamin flinched.
Flinched. For a guy built like a concrete mixer with a bad attitude, that really said something. With a grunt, he rolled his eyes and took a few steps back, arms crossing over his barrel chest like a sulking toddler. "Tch. Whatever. don't blame me when he pulls a muscle."
She didn't grace him with a reply.
"Are you two in a relationship?"
"Shut the fu#k up," they both said to him in unison.
Yep, must be some built up hormonal frustration.
They'll get through it eventually.
A click from the front entrance of the room stopped his musing, and his two companions, with whom he was making good memories, decided that this was the perfect time to leave.
The door slammed behind them with a thunk that echoed like a coffin lid, and just like that, he was alone again.
"Don't piss off those sorcerers, boi." Benjamin had said on his way out. Great advice. Really. Especially when you couldn't exactly not piss people off while choking on your own breath and drooling into your shoulder.
Two girls and a single boy walked into the room, one of the girls staring at him in visible fear, the door behind them closing shut for extra dramatic effect as he sighed internally.