Adventure of ducky Shinazugawa 1

The abandoned watchtower leans over the road, its stones silvered by rain. Beneath it, an elderly man in a weather-stained red stole, with a gaunt build, a narrow weathered face, and a bald crown ringed with white hair draws a rope tight while a bound young woman, with a slim build, warm brown skin, and a small brass nose ring struggles before a sealed iron case.

Black symbols cover the case, angular and unmistakable: laboratory marks. Wax seals bind its lid, though something inside gives one faint, deliberate knock.

The priest's gauntlet closes around the rope. The captive is a young adult woman with cropped dark hair, a torn blue cloak, and a silver scar beneath one eye.

The rope creaks higher. Behind the priest, the sealed case bears a second mark, freshly scratched from within, while the watchtower bell rings without a hand touching it.

Ducky's roundhouse kick crashes into the roadside priest's ribs. The elderly man tears free of the rope's tension and slams across the wet stones, his red stole spreading beneath him.

The bound young woman jerks against her restraints as the rope falls loose. Rain beads on her cropped dark hair, and the silver scar beneath her eye catches the bell's cold vibration.

The priest groans and rolls onto one elbow, one gauntleted hand clamped to his side. His other hand reaches toward the fallen rope, but it lies beyond his fingers.

Inside the sealed iron case, something knocks twice in quick succession. One wax seal splits, and a thin thread of violet light leaks through the lid.

The command reaches the priest, but his hand still claws toward the rope. His fingers catch it, and the loosened cord snaps taut around Elira's wrists again.

The failed command makes the priest wrench the rope instead of completing his gesture. Elira stumbles against the case, and her shoulder knocks its loosened seal apart.

Violet light spills through the cracked seal in a narrow fan. The priest braces himself against the stones, forced to guard the case rather than tighten the binding again.

Ducky lunges across the case and hooks his fingers beneath the opposite seal. The iron edge scrapes his palm, but he tears the wax free and wrenches that side open.

The lid splits with a ringing crack. Violet light floods the watchtower floor, and the rope around Elira's wrists instantly slackens.

Ducky's palm stings where the iron cut it, and his footing slips on the rain-slick stones. He catches himself against the case instead of falling.

The violet radiance pours through the opened side, revealing a dark, featherlike shape curled inside the case. The roadside priest reaches toward it, while Elira twists free of the loosened rope.