The three misfits sit in the palace’s training yard, staring into space as time dwindles by.
Ryuu lies in the grass–lost in thought–while he watches the ceiling crystals twinkle above, and Isaac sits on his usual stump with an even gloomier air around him than usual.
Sherry is the only one actively moving, though she’s simply bouncing her legs while seated on a nearby log.
She eventually breaks the silence, forcing everyone to work through some uncomfortable questions.
“So… Don’t you guys have anything to ask me? You know, about the princess stuff…”
Isaac’s eyes remain closed as he monotonously responds, “Not really.”
Ryuu turns his head toward her and thinks for a moment.
“You had your reasons for hiding things; no hard feelings. It makes sense, knowing you’re being chased for your power.”
“R-right…”
Sherry’s head droops as she navigates her emotions, weighing the good of her own life against the danger she’s putting others in.
“I don’t know what to do now… I was allowed to stay here thanks to the generosity of Lady Evelyn and Sir Lucian, but if I remain here any longer, I’m simply inviting misfortune upon them! Where can I go?! Who would want a troublesome person like me around?!”
Tears fall to the ground, but Sherry’s face remains hidden from her friends.
“Why don’t you come with me then?”
“…Huh?”
She lifts her head, revealing tear-stained cheeks and puffy eyes.
“What are you saying, Sir Ryuu? Didn’t you hear what I said? You’ll be targeted!”
“Bring it on. I’m already being targeted as it is, and now that the S-grade artifacts are being hunted, Ilene is in danger as well.”
“Ilene… Your master? And the S-grade artifacts… Is that what that powerful woman had?”
“She’s not my master!” Ryuu snaps.
“But, yeah, that spear was one of them. Apparently, Ilene has one as well, and I can pretty much guess what it is after learning that. I have to leave for Mahora as soon as possible, before something happens.”
“So I need to make my decision soon…” Sherry mutters.
“I’ll come with you.”
Isaac cuts in from the side, then pulls his hood down and meets Ryuu’s gaze.
“I can’t let them get away with making a fool of me like that… There’s nothing left for me in Titania as it is. I’d rather join in on your journey, Ryuu.”
“I’d be happy to have you along. Are your parents gonna be okay with that, though?”
“There aren’t any to stop me… I told you, there’s nothing left for me here.”
Oh… Okay.
“Well then, welcome to the team. I’ll warn you now, stuff like this will only continue with the path we’re heading down.”
“Yeah… That’s why I’m coming.”
“Just making sure.”
While the two of them sort things out, Sherry suddenly jumps up from the log and shouts.
“Fine! I get it, alright! I’m coming! I’ll be troubling you from now on, Isaac! Sir Ryuu!”
They smirk as she finally takes the bait, then welcome her into the team with wide smiles.
******
Night falls over the city of Titania, truly closing the act on this tragic day the citizens had lived through–and forgotten.
Everyone sleeps deeply throughout the night, and in the morning, the newly-formed team meets with Lucian one last time.
The elder Blade looks slightly better than yesterday, though it’s clear he’ll be affected by Lady Evelyn’s unstable condition for quite some time.
“I see you’ve all decided to move forward together. I had certainly hoped it would turn out this way, but I’m glad to see you’ve reached that decision yourselves.”
Ryuu nods and shakes Lucian’s hand.
“Thanks for everything you’ve shown me during this time. I’m going to reach for further heights, and next time, I’ll defeat a commander myself!”
“Hmph. For some reason, I don’t doubt that, Ryuu.”
Woah.
I can’t remember the last time he called me that.
Lucian sweeps his gaze over the other two, giving them their own words of encouragement.
“Sherry, live how you want to. Don’t let yourself be chained down by the expectations the world places upon you. If you follow your heart, you’re sure to reach what you’ve dreamed of.”
She vigorously nods and clenches her fists, engraving his words into her soul.
“Isaac. I know you’ve had a rough going of things, but the past holds no power over those that look toward the future. You’ve found friends, and with them, perhaps you can find what you’re truly searching for. I wish you luck on your journey.”
“…Thank you, Master.”
He then turns his attention back to Ryuu and pats him firmly on the shoulder.
“And you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I know I’m not one to talk right now, but it’s time you move past your feelings of regret and focus on what you can do in the present. It’s not easy to change, but to be able to find your conviction and refuse to waver from it is a sign of strength. You have a gift, and you have the drive. Go become strong, Ryuu.”
“Right!”
The three comrades depart from the Mystic Palace for good and catch a ride through Titania.
The Floating City is spotless on their way down, and crowds of people flood the streets just like any other day.
In the center of the normalcy, Ryuu spots the hourglass statue in the Entertainment Floor.
It stands as a mark of his time here, and the life that had been spared at the cost of others.
I’m starting to see where the line begins for the Advanced-Tier.
I haven’t quite reached it yet, but Sherry’s magic was a big clue.
The three of us will hone our skills during the journey home, then I’ll force Leon to spar with me once I get situated again.
Maybe Belynda or Ilene could give me some advice for [Overload] while I’m at it.
They’re eventually dropped off at a landing beneath the Lower Levels, where they step into a beam that lowers them to the outside world beneath Titania.
Once they materialize at the bottom, they find themselves in a bright plain of tall grass and wild animals.
A gentle breeze lightly tousles their hair as they rise over a hilltop and take in the warmth of the sun directly above them.
Isaac and Sherry glance around with innocent curiosity at the nature around them, while Ryuu stares at a certain gathering of dark clouds in the distance.
“I haven’t been in the outside world for so long!” Sherry exclaims.
“Titania was nice, but it feels so refreshing out here!”
“Yeah… I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually left the city,” Isaac adds.
Ryuu smirks and waves for them to follow him down the hill.
“I didn’t think it was possible to find two people more clueless on what’s out here than me.”
“I’m not clueless, Sir Ryuu! I know what’s out here, I’ve just never seen it before!”
“That’s basically the same thing…” Isaac cuts in.
“Not you too! I know what I’m talking about!”
They continue on a path that avoids the storm zone Ryuu remembers all too well.
Isaac reads a map to them that was included in the packs of supplies Lucian prepared, anticipating these events.
The journey to Mahora will take them a week on foot, but the team of young M’yin accept the challenge as they delve deeper into the northern wildlands.
***Ilene***
“The Succession Election will proceed as scheduled. We will not delay our plans because of some overconfident Outlaws.”
“But, Father, the people of the north will need our help for some time. How can we continue on as if nothing has happened?”
“My decision is final. One month from now, either you or your brother will take my mantle as ruler of Mahora. It’d be in your best interest to spend your time preparing for the near future. You are dismissed.”
“Yes, Father…”
Ilene steps out of the Throne Hall of the Central Tower, frustrated with the duke for not heeding her warnings.
The Eternal Order is making big moves as we speak.
Mahora was spared from their plans this time, but everywhere else with a ducal family was raided and robbed.
Titania too… I’m sure Ryuu’s alright.
Sir Lucian is with him, after all.
She makes her way to a staircase along the side of the Central Tower, which leads up to a special level more than halfway up the tower.
A heavy door sits at the top of the stairwell, with a confusing device that serves as a lock mounted in the center.
Ilene presses her palm firmly against the metal sheet and feels a subtle warmth pass over it.
Then, the door swings open without a sound, greeting her with rows of test tubes, scraps, and hanging blueprints.
Tools and clothes litter the floor of the Mad Lab (named by its division leader), where she’s been visiting every afternoon for the past week.
In a far corner, a large ball of frizzy red hair bends over a mountain of documents.
“Good afternoon, Grisha. Are you still working on that device you mentioned last week?”
The hair turns, and a short woman with bright blue eyes in an oversized lab coat grins.
“Yo, Ilene. I’ve been working nonstop trying to figure this out, but it’s harder than I thought to track this mana signature.”
Ilene had given Grisha a random scrap of cloth she found inside of the underground chamber before being interrupted.
It contained traces of someone’s mana, but without a way of finding out who or where they were, this was her best clue.
Of course, she didn’t tell Grisha what this is all about.
“That’s okay, take your time. I don’t want my favor to get in the way of your real work.”
“Don’t worry about that! You don’t ask me for favors very often!”
Ilene nods in thanks and finds a seat somewhere among the chaos.
Grisha then pulls a box-shaped device out from under some paper and sets it on the ground between them.
It’s about the size of a hand, with glowing engravings and a gem set in the center.
A shred of cloth rests in a small glass container as the gem beneath it brightly glows but nothing comes of it.
“Yeahhhh, I’ve tried just about everything I can think of, but the mana signature is too small. If you had three times this much, I could’ve gotten any kind of information you wanted, but…”
“I see. Don’t worry about it; it was nothing of importance. I have some appointments, so I’ll be leaving for now. Let’s meet again soon.”
“Alrighty. Get fired up! It’s almost time for you to become duchess!”
The light-haired noblewoman smirks and glances over her shoulder as she nears the door.
“You’re damn right it is.”
******
Her next stop is the Magic Tower, where two people are waiting for her in the training room.
As she climbs the stairs and opens the hidden door, she steps into a space filled with raging storms and twisting winds.
Artificially-made Fallen and human enemies surround two figures in the center of the space, who repel them with different combinations of skills.
Ilene closes the door behind her as she waves for their attention.
After they spot her, the two figures wrap things up in one go.
“[Magic Cannon]!”
“{Charge Burst}!”
The artificial enemies are blasted away in an instant, then the two of them jog up to Ilene. Get faster updates on g.com.
“How’s the training going, Leon? Belynda?”
“It’s great! If I’d known the Magic Tower had a place like this, I would’ve dragged Ryuu in here every day!”
“Things are progressing smoothly, Lady Ilene. I’m still waiting for you to tell us what this is all about, though.”
“You see,” she begins, “Things are becoming dangerous around this region. You two heard about the attacks the other day, right?”
Leon nods, his shoulder-length mane shaking with the movement.
“Yeah, it was terrible. I can’t imagine how many people must have died.”
Ilene crosses her arms as she meets Belynda’s gaze.
“That’s what this is about. With my father refusing to mount any kind of retaliation against this organization, we must be prepared to defend as many people as we can. The two of you were the first people I thought of when it came to forming a team, as there’s sadly not many people I can trust, even inside of this castle.”
Belynda mirrors Ilene and folds her arms.
“That sounds like an issue for someone aiming to become duchess. Are you prepared for what happens if you do take your father’s place? It’ll be up to you to figure all of this terrorist business out.”
The older woman doesn’t respond for a moment, then sighs and braces her shoulders.
“Trust me, I’ve thought long and hard about what I’ll have to deal with once I’m in charge. The problem is that everything might burn to the ground before that time even comes.”
Leon stretches his arms and asks, “Okay, what do you want us to do about it?”
“I need you two to come with me. I found something interesting in the Bronze District; it may give us a clue on the whereabouts of the mystery group.”
“Seriously?! Hell yeah! I’m in!”
“Hah! Welcome aboard, Leon!”
They give each other a quick high-five as Leon moves behind Ilene.
Belynda is left alone now, while the other two stare at her with wide smirks.
“Ugh. I’m coming, of course. I’m curious what it is you’ve found.”
The group led by Ilene soon exits the castle grounds and moves down the main street connecting all districts.
Instead of showing them her secret paths, the leader opts to take the straightforward route with strength in numbers.
The journey takes half an hour, but they eventually move through the gates of the Bronze District and walk along the inner wall until they reach a wide area of abandoned homes and spaced-out citizens.
Ilene moves to one of the abandoned sheds and guides the others to the back of it.
The same magically-sealed door sits in the ground, which Leon and Belynda gather around with curious looks.
The light-haired leader quickly unseals the door and pulls it open, then motions for them to follow her down the ladder.
The three of them descend into the darkness, with Leon entering last, then hop onto the floor of the old meeting hall.
It remains mostly how Ilene remembers it: scattered documents, gated tunnels, and scorch marks on the ground from her fight with Magic Killer.
Leon hops onto the lower section of the chamber and examines the ground.
“Woah, what happened here? Some kind of fight?”
“Yes. I actually encountered two members of the organization here around a week and a half ago. It ended in a fight, but I showed them their place, so I doubt they’ll turn up again.”
“You mean you encountered them inside the city? And you haven’t told anyone?!”
Belynda struggles not to raise her voice against the noble lady, but fails.
“Correct, and you won’t tell anyone either. Creating a panic is the last thing we want to do. I know Leon won’t snitch, so if word gets out, that only leaves you.”
Leon tilts his head and points to himself in the background, while Belynda frowns and shrugs.
“Whatever, let’s just hope we can get something out of this trip.”
They spend some time splitting up and searching the chamber, with the two M’yin using [Mana Sense] to heighten their perception.
They pull out drawers, flip through files, and even dig through swelling trash cans, but nothing seems out of the ordinary.
Leon runs his hand along the walls and closes his eyes, letting his touch guide him.
His hand passes over rough walls, pitted stone, and wooden shelves, until he eventually reaches one of the gates.
An odd chill seeps into his palm through the gaps in the gate, causing him to peek his head through for a closer look.
He can’t see much through the deep darkness, but the chill in this spot is practically begging him to investigate.
“Hey guys, I think there’s something through here!”
The two women gather behind Leon as he explains what he felt, then look around for a way to open it.
“It’s no good, there’s nothing over here.”
“Nothing here either. Give it up, Leon. It was probably just a draft.”
He shakes his head and cracks his knuckles.
“Nah, it’s nothing like that. Something is suspicious about this tunnel, and I’m gonna figure out what it is!”
He crouches down and focuses aura into his fist, causing his large arm to swell even further with the strain.
“{Charge Point}!”
He slams his fist into the center of the grate and knocks it out of the stone it’s set in.
The metal grid flies back into the tunnel and lands with a loud clang, sounding their arrival for anything ahead.
“Haha! The path has been cleared, ladies! Let’s charge ahead!”
“Quick thinking, Leon!”
Ilene and Leon dash through the opening, and Belynda follows shortly after, thinking “Are these two serious right now?”
They jog along for what feels like an hour.
Ilene leads the way with her Mana Sense art active, but has yet to spot anything ahead.
Just as she begins to feel that they should turn back, a red glow emits from her hip.
She glances down and finds the ruby in her rapier flickering on and off in a constant cycle, and it gets quicker as they move ahead.
“What does that mean, Lady Ilene?”
“I don’t know, but be on guard. There’s no telling what waits ahead of us.”
They continue on for five more minutes, until the ruby stays fully lit, then reach a wide, bowl-shaped chamber–much like the previous area.
Instead of a meeting room, this chamber is stocked full of weapons and cages, leaving a few guesses as to what its purpose could be.
Leon steps up beside Ilene and points toward a tall stack of crates in a corner.
“The chill is the strongest in that direction. I’ve never felt anything like this before. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Let’s find out.”
She unsheathes her sword and leads the way ahead, careful not to bump into anything or step too heavily on the scattered weaponry.
The group soon rounds the corner and peeks behind the crates, where a light glows from behind a curtain, and two half-asleep men stand with spears.
Ilene sheathes her sword and covers the ruby light with thick bandages, then whispers, “Close your eyes.”
Leon and Belynda comply as she chants, “Erased from sight, erased from mind, step into the veil. [Invisibility]” The noblewoman vanishes from sight and tiptoes over to the guards, touching them ever so lightly with her fingertips as she casts [Soul Scribe].
Once some time passes, she punches them both in the throat and lets them drop, then reappears to signal her partners over.
She quickly glances over the information gathered by her spell, determining that this is a chamber used for trade–such as slaves and weaponry.
Nothing else of use is found, so she turns to her team and nods her head toward the curtain.
The three of them move inside, ready to find the source of the light.
The curtain branches into multiple narrow paths, though they only need to follow the one emitting an unnatural light to reach their destination.
Leon grows more and more on edge as they move down the path, and the glow of Ilene’s sword begins to bleed through the bandages.
They’re led deeper underground as the passage continues, until they suddenly reach an enormous chamber with walls of stained glass, and intricate artwork carved into the floors.
A mural of a winged figure with golden eyes covers the entirety of the ceiling, but all of it pales before the immaculate throne in the center of the room.
It shines so brightly that there’s no doubt it’s what brought them here.
A throne of deep obsidian, with a unique gravity that draws them toward it before they’re even aware of what’s happening.
Belynda grips her curved wooden staff in her hands, glancing over her shoulder as she feels a chill down her neck.
“On second thought, maybe we should get out of here. This seems kind of like a final boss room, don’t you think?”
“Don’t wimp out now, Belynda!” Leon shouts.
“Whatever’s here, the three of us can handle it!”
The entrance they had come through suddenly seals behind them, the tunnel blocked with thick, purple ice.
“What’s this? Some rats have invaded my private room.”
A man in a black leather jacket steps out from a balcony above.
His messy hair and wild face make him handsome to most–in a violent kind of way–and his lustrous violet eyes seem to enchant those who stare into them for too long.
“Who do we have here? A couple of randoms, and the daughter of Mahora’s duke! Well isn’t this my lucky day?”
Ilene draws her rapier and addresses the man.
“Who are you? What is this place?”
“Me? I’m nobody yet, and this is where I stay when I’m not out running errands. I’ve gotta say, it’s definitely an upgrade compared to my last place.”
Why is he so calm?
Even if he’s strong, it’s one against three.
A Master would have trouble dealing with this kind of group.
“That’s enough with the rambling. Either explain yourself now, or after I bring you into custody.”
“Haha, that’s nice. I’ve been bored since I got back from my trip to Ganston, so this’ll be some good training.”
Ganston?!
That’s Emma’s city…
“You bastard, what did you do to the people of Ganston?!”
“Relax, hot stuff. I barely touched them. I just froze their entire castle and took a little toy they were hiding. The only people I killed were the ones that got in my way.”
He hops down from the balcony and retrieves something from behind the obsidian throne.
It’s a large shield with a head-sized gem in the center.
The orange gem shines brightly in response to Ilene’s sword, and the lights harmonize as the bandages around the ruby are torn apart.
“Wait!” Ilene realizes.
“Could this mean-?!”
“Yep, this is an S-grade artifact. I think the name was Mountain Pusher, but I can’t be bothered to remember. It’s worthless to me since I can’t use it.”
He tosses the shield aside and cracks his neck as the three across from him tense up.
“Alright then, enough dancing around this. Let’s get started.”
A powerful aura erupts from him as the pressure in the chamber suddenly shifts.
The man appears in front of Ilene before she can process he moved, but is intercepted by a hulking figure at the last second.
A shock wave erupts as they make contact, then Leon draws his fist back with a dense aura.
He crashes it into the turned shoulder of the wild-looking man and sends him flying toward the throne.
In the back, Belynda charges her mana with the time Leon bought, but a blast of aura suddenly flies out and bursts into the ground in front of her.
She’s sent tumbling backward as a figure races across the air toward her.
The Outlaw rapidly descends from above, with {Charge Point} focused on his knee.
Belynda raises her curved staff in one hand and chants, “[Iron Wall]”, creating a dense barrier of mana between them.
His knee smashes into it with a resounding bang, then the enemy pushes off of the barrier just as it shatters.
Ilene moves to intercept the Outlaw as he drops with [Magic Cannon] at the ready, but the mana in the room suddenly pulls away from her, then gathers around the Outlaw as his mouth moves in a chant.
“Land of death, absence of life. [Flash Zero]” New chapters come out on g.com first.
An intense cold fills Ilene’s senses as the mana in the room churns with power.
“”[Overload]!””
The two M’yin are able to protect themselves from a majority of the damage with their magic arts, but Leon is left to take the brunt of the widespread spell.
He’s frozen half-solid as the chamber itself becomes a land of ice, where nothing could ever hope to survive for long.
His teammates are covered in a light film of frost, but otherwise stand unharmed as their opponent lands.
“Not bad, but I’m just getting started. How long will you survive without your meat-shield?”
The messy-haired foe taunts them before unleashing a rapid barrage of {Charge Bursts}, forcing the M’yin to duck and dive as they avoid the pulses of aura.
Ilene pushes off the ground toward him with her magic art still active, slicing through any blasts that get too close.
The two of them enter a back and forth of lunging and sidestepping once she gets in range, but the man’s movements are too quick for her to anticipate.
“Defend my allies from harm! [Armored Skin]!”
Belynda buffs Ilene’s defenses just as a fist slips through the noblewoman’s guard.
The blow knocks her back a few feet, but she stands strong and replies with a point blank [Magic Cannon].
Her opponent tries to flee, but Ilene manipulates the beam until it crashes into him, and sends him arcing into his throne.
“It seems you’re getting slower. Perhaps it’s not as easy as you thought to handle more than one of us at a time?”
The man sits upright in his throne and smirks at Ilene, then grips his armrests.
“Alright, I’ll show you what I’ve got! Feast your eyes on this!”
The mana in the room pulls toward him once more as he spreads his arms wide.
Even though Ilene and Belynda try to draw it away, it’s as if the mana itself favors their enemy instead.
“Primordial age, touch of the void, cleanse this realm of its impurities, and cloak me in your everlasting chill! [Arctic Pulse]!”
A cataclysmic concentration of magic forms above the throne.
It spirals in a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of deep purple, but looks more like a vortex of glass from where the Mahora team stands.
Leon gradually breaks through the ice covering his body, doing his best to melt through it with his aura.
Belynda casts several layers of barriers between them and the Outlaw, while Ilene holds her sword flat in front of her as she begins her chant.
“Awaken, Heroic Will. Lend me your strength-”
“Too late.”
The vortex of magic releases in a wide wave that leaves no room to run.
Belynda’s barriers are torn through one after another as the spell closes in, then Leon’s back appears in front of them once more.
He throws his hands out like he’s going to catch the magic, then surprisingly, he does.
“RAHHHH!”
Leon twists the magic pulse around him like a curtain, then launches it back toward the caster at full force.
They summon a barrier to defend, but the spell punches through it and slams them into the far wall.
“Hah…Hahaha! Man, I haven’t used that one in forever!”
Ilene regains her focus as she forces herself out of shock.
“Leon, what was that? How were you able to grab magic?!”
“That? It’s my Talent. I haven’t used it since I was a kid, but that guy didn’t really leave me with a choice just now.”
I’ve never heard of any Talent capable of such a thing.
Does he not realize what a power like that could do in the wrong hands?
There’s something else too.
This ice, it reminds me of the magic that covered Mahora back then.
If so, that means this man is Hyouma!
“Leon! Belynda! From here on we focus on retreating! We can’t afford a drawn out fight in this location!”
They nod and begin to back toward the exit, but Hyouma flips through the air and lands in their path.
Light scrapes cover his face, but he’s otherwise unharmed.
“Where do you think you’re going? If you thought I would let Ryuu’s little girlfriend escape from right under my nose, then you’ve severely misjudged me.”
“I’m not his-!” Ilene starts, but cuts herself off once she remembers the two behind her are under that impression.
Leon moves to the front of the group and flexes his aura.
Energy pours off of him with enough pressure to stir up the wind around them.
“You mentioned Ryuu. You know him?”
“Unfortunately. Much better than any of you, for that matter.”
“Well, as his rival, I’d appreciate it if you stepped aside.”
“Rival? Haha! What a ridiculous joke. Ryuu could never get the best of me, but he was still worthy of being my sandbag. There’s no way a chump like you thinks he can keep up!”
“Sandbag, you say… I see how it is. Then allow me to show you the strength I’ve honed by exchanging blows with my rival day after day!”
Leon pushes off the ground and barrels into Hyouma with his head tucked low.
Aura explodes from both of them as they collide, with neither man budging an inch as their arms bulge and legs shake.
They grab each other’s shoulders and shove, attempting to establish dominance through sheer force.
Hyouma’s toned build manages to hold Leon’s body back, but the muscular A’yang shouts and digs his heels deeper in the ground, then launches Hyouma backward.
He flies into the chunk of ice covering the exit, smacking against it with a dull thud as it refuses to break.
“Gah! *cough* I’ve never lost a contest of strength… Who are you?!”
“I’m the man who’s gonna be the strongest A’yang in the Northern Reaches, Leon Acer! I’ve already faced a shameful defeat to you bastards once before, so I can’t allow myself to fail here!”
The black-haired Outlaw climbs to his feet and stretches his back.
A few shards of ice fall to the ground in the following silence, then he smirks at Leon.
“There may be more to you than I thought.”
Before he can continue, the door behind him smashes open through the ice, and a light-haired beauty enters the chamber.
“Damn. Looks like the fun’s over.”
“What’s this, Hyouma? You have some guests.”
“They’re intruders, Andromeda. Look, can’t you see Ilene Mahora over there?”
The woman squints her eyes and finds Ilene among the frozen chaos.
“Oh, you’re right. And over there is Belynda Serafall. We’ve got quite the prize on our hands.”
What is this situation?
We were just starting to gain some ground here, but another strong-looking person has appeared.
She’s got some kind of weapon too.
It looks dangerous…
“Hey, don’t forget about me! Leon Acer is here too!”
“…Who’re you?”
Hyouma pats Andromeda on the shoulder and laughs.
“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s actually kind of amusing. I was hoping to play with him for a bit longer, but now that you’re back it’s time to get to business, right?”
“No, there’s been a change of plans.”
Andromeda turns her attention and meets Ilene’s gaze.
“I’ll give you one chance. Retreat now, and never return here again. Or face us, and risk the lives of your friends.”
What?
“You’re letting us go?”
“I’ve got more important things to worry about right now. You’re in my way, so get out, or I’ll be forced to remove you myself.”
Ilene stares at her silently for a few moments, then nods and calls for her friends to retreat.
They shuffle past Hyouma and Andromeda–without turning their backs to them–then dash through the door.
***Hyouma***
“Are you sure it was okay to let them go so easily? They know our location now, and the pretty one had something we’re looking for.”
“There’s no point in fighting them now. Despite their appearances, you probably would’ve lost if I hadn’t shown up. The power of an S-grade artifact is simply too much, not to mention her helpers.”
“For real? Speaking of, I see something nice on your back…”
“Yeah, Heaven Piercer. With this in my possession, we just need to find someone capable of wielding Mountain Pusher and we’ll be good to go.”
“About that, I don’t see anyone with you. Did you fail to capture the targets?”
“Yes, which is why we have no time to waste. That bastard Garth leaked our plans, then died before I could kill him myself.”
“Haha! Who got him? Was it that sparkling guy?”
“No, it was your friend. Dragon Blade.”
Hyouma frowns, then walks away from the door as he scoffs at Andromeda.
“He’s not my friend. It’s nice to hear he’s gotten a little better though. Hopefully there’s nothing to interrupt us next time.”
***Ilene***
Ilene and the others run all the way back to the Gold District, and don’t stop moving until they’re within the castle grounds.
They gather in the courtyard as the sun begins to set, then drop to their knees as they catch their breath.
“That was too much action for one day. I’m going to sleep for twelve hours.”
“Me too. I think I caught a cold.”
Belynda and Leon make small talk to calm their nerves, while Ilene sits quietly nearby.
That woman had a spear with a sapphire embedded in the blade.
I only noticed it because it was glowing, but doesn’t that suggest that it was another S-grade artifact?
With my ruby, along their sapphire and topaz, I can assume the other two S-grade artifacts will have similar features.
This also suggests that they’re hunting the artifacts, but then, why would they let me go?
She wrestles her thoughts, until the others call out to her and say they’re retiring for the evening.
After seeing them off, Ilene returns to her tower and studies her notes.
She’s been compiling any information she can gather about the Eternal Order, yet hasn’t even managed to fill a page yet.
Once she finishes sketching a map of the tunnel system, she returns the journal to its drawer and stretches in her chair.
I can’t risk going back there, and knowing my father, he wouldn’t do anything with the information even if I told him.
He hasn’t been very receptive lately… Is it some kind of anxiety now that his time as a ruler is near its end?
Regardless, all I can do for now is aim to win against my brother.
I’ll take on more work, and prove myself to the people of Mahora.
After that, I can worry about the secrets of this sword my mother passed down to me.
It seems I’ll be running into danger more often from now on.