Inbox

[notsolomon]

This is William Twining. I shall reply to your message at my earliest convenience. Thank you. ***BEEP***

Comments

[belfire]

[Kazuya coughed, admittedly embarrassed at nearly forgetting that very important titbit]

Ahah... um, yeah. [He pushed up from the sofa, circling around the coffee table to boldly perch on the arm of William's chair, peering at the COMP. So far it was showing the menu that Kazuya had up before] Huh. That's strange. It should be- oh, there we go.

[Mid-sentence, the COMP's screens went black. This was quickly followed by a stream of nonsensical code spitting itself across the bottom screen at a speed too fast to properly read, while the COMP let out a bizarre, high pitched noise reminiscent to a computer fan]

Yeah, it's making the connection now and...

[Kazuya paused, and the moment he did, the code stream stopped and a coherent sentence appeared, which drew a rather exasperated noise from him:

Peaceful days are over. Let's survive.]

That still shows up? [Geeze, Naoya, could you be any more dramatic?] Okay, so, now, it should boot up the demon summoning programme. Or, er, attempt to. Hopefully nothing'll pop up and it'll go to the menu like usual.

[Sadly, that didn't happen. Instead the COMP began making a rather peculiar noise. It was like listening to a ye olde dial-up trying to connect to the internet, quietly screeching and making eldritch noises as it - presumably - attempted to connect to the server that was more than a world and a dimension away. After half a minute of this-

ERROR. COULD NOT CONNECT TO SERVER. COULD NOT CONNECT TO SERVER. REBOOTING. REBOOTING. REBOOTING... REBOOTED. INITIATING PROGRAMME IN OFFLINE MODE. SOME FUNCTIONS WILL BE UNAVAILABLE. PLEASE CONNECT TO BABEL SERVER TO ACCESS THESE FUNCTIONS.

And with that... ding. The menu from earlier reappeared, only with a few icons greyed out and inaccessible]

Yes, it worked! Hah, looks like you can't summon demons anyway even if you wanted to. Perfect. Well, go on then, explore it a little.

[notsolomon]

[Well that was an ominious message. And a really stupid one considering their situation here.

But still it seemed to be working now and William began to explore the menu.]

...it looks simpler than the Cerevice at least. But it seems like it also might be more of a pain to use.

[But, he's already beginning to understand it a little, being a genius and all. Still, he had better make sure he knows what's what.]

So which one would allow me to use magic?

[belfire]

[Kazuya watched William familiarise himself with the COMP, genuinely impressed. He was digging into it almost as fast as Atsuro, and considering he was from ancient England or whatever...]

Go to the folder labelled "Team". Your profile should be there. If you select it, it'll come up with your skill list, and you can equip them. When you do that, you just... know the spells. It's like... it's like the incantation pops into your head, and that's enough, you don't need to chant anything or prepare a circle or whatever. You just flick your fingers and the spell's cast instantaneously. It makes battles go really fast.

[notsolomon]

[Honestly, it was part of effort when it came to William using technological devices, and part genuine interest. He usually understood the mechanism behind such things or at least felt he might come to in the future. Unlike stupid, unwieldy magic.]

Very well..

[He selected it and began to tap on some skills. Hmmm, well he felt something change.]

This is almost frightening in it's simplicity.

[Yes, he was going to have to watch this COMP very carefully to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.]

[belfire]

Yeah, that's the problem with it.

[Kazuya paused, his expression becoming unreadable. The COMPs, while a massive advantage against demons, were dangerous. Especially during the lockdown, where everyone and their dog had one and society completely broke down. So many people murdered each other, for food, from fear, for ideals...]

Back home, they were mass produced and distributed to the wide public. It... it didn't end well.

[notsolomon]

...that sounds very grim.

[And the shift in Kazuya's expression said just as much. It was tempting to ask, but William didn't wish to force him either.]

I promise I will keep it safe. And I will definitely let Kevin know, so he can do the same, should anything happen to me.

[belfire]

Good. And, hey, if need be, you've got my permission to destroy it. It's a veeeery dangerous piece of kit you've got there, so treat it accordingly.

[Kazuya forced a smile, and clapped William on the shoulder briefly before sliding off of the chair's arm. He felt rather satisfied with himself, yet at the same time, he needed to be without company for a bit. Too many old wounds were poked in this conversation. But like hell Kaz would say that outright. No, time to make a dignified exit without rousing suspicion!]

Anyway, I better shoot off. I feel like I've overstayed my welcome. [He gave William a rather dramatic bow, with a great flourish of his arm - it was obvious he was attempting to imitate the Western bows of historical films (dramas)] Thank you for hosting me, future husband! The tea was good!

[notsolomon]

[Kazuya taking his leave was a little abrupt, that William would have questioned it, but well, a lot of import had been said. Enough as it was. He rose and nodded.]

For someone who breaks and enters, the conversation was rather enjoyable. Though speaking of that...

[He sighed, because really.]

You can just knock the next time you visit and come in through the front door. Neither I nor Kevin will mind.

[belfire]

Visiting someone by going through the front door? What a novel concept...

[Joking, of course - but, seriously, he was so used to breaking in through the window, that going through the front door did seem almost strange. He even entered his own apartment via the window sometimes!

...

Okay, thinking on it, that was kind of weird]

But I'll give it a try sometime, maybe. [He waved vaguely in William's direction, and moved away - towards the window of all things] See ya around, future husband! Say "hi" to Kevvy for me!