Descendants of Time (Role-Play Act 5: Revolutionary Moment)
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
The town of Diriyah was on the outskirts of the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Its Turaif district was declared a World Heritage Site as listed in UNESCO about fifteen years ago and it was a seat of the Diriyah Governorate. A once-seat of the Royal Family now, it was not as prominent as before, but according to information, there was a Magic Organization running, but it was apparently corrupt to an extent according to the rumors.
“Well, this is a very old town,” Witness DKD remarked as they traversed through the city.
There were many ruins in the distance from centuries past. The town itself seemed to have very old structures, while some were slightly newer, but still old. The streets seemed to be made out of stones and the air was very dry with sands here and there. The area was very dusty, just like the capital, but it was far more dustier here.
Aramus coughed repeatedly as they walked, the sand and dust wreaking havoc on his nose and lungs. “Whatever it is, they chose the right place for all their dirty work. I mean, who’d want to come here unless they loved the dust and sand?”
“The Aurum users love the sand, I hear,” DKD casually replied. “The wind helps, or something. Especially in the deserts.”
“I don’t know about that,” Aramus grumbled. “At the moment, this isn’t helping me as an Aurum user. Maybe later when we fight the vampires, I’ll toss some sand at them.”
“No, I meant the Area Element. You know, the latest theory of magic speaking about certain types of area augmenting certain aspects of magic? The last month’s gazette discussed it.”
“Ah, that’s what you meant. Still, I don’t think I could see myself staying here for too long even with all the bonuses… I’ll miss the food and candy, not to mention the heat…”
“Shall we enter a local restaurant? The smell of spices must be getting you raring to go like your Master? It will be my treat.”
Aramus nodded so fast, it felt like his head would snap off. He was getting hungry from all the walking, plus a place that didn’t have sand sounded like heaven.
The two entered a local restaurant, and the scent of frying oil and the spices invaded Aramus’ nose much more than before. The ethnic food had a very impactful impression in him as the two sat down on a bench in the corner of the shop.
“Feel free to order whatever you wish. I’ll probably just get something simple.”
Aramus enthusiastically went over the menu as it would be his second time trying out the Arabic cuisine. The whole menu was unfamiliar to him but thankfully, there were pictures. Two items in particular caught his interest, one looking like pulled meat in what seemed like sandwich and the other, fried meatballs.
Witness DKD placed an order for simply some kind of biscuits called the kleejas, and an orange juice after calling the waiter. Aramus merely pointed at the pictures on the menu, the waiter smiling at him due to Aramus’ inability to speak Arabic. Soon, the sounds of cooking could be heard and it only made Aramus more eager to try the food as the scent wafted into the dining room, the Magister taking a deep breath of the fragrance.
Unsurprisingly, the waiter returned with DKD’s order first, placing the orange juice on the table followed by the kleejas. They looked like cookies more than biscuits, very robust little things with criss cross patterns on the top. They smelled faintly of spices and looked absolutely delicious. The orange juice was also freshly squeezed, evidenced by the smell and of fresh pulp floating in the glass.
Like any other restaurants around the area, the tables and the seats were all placed fairly close to each other. With Witness DKD sitting on the far right that was just beside the other bench of the table, Witness DKD smiled. She fed Aramus one of the kleejas while he waited eagerly, while she was speaking with a local in the Arabian language beside her.
Although Aramus was a little perplexed by DKD’s action, he nonetheless accepted her offering happily with a word of gratitude. The cookie was indeed as he expected, a light flavoring of spices filled his mouth as he bit into it but apart from that, he could detect traces of honey. It was a funny combination of flavors but otherwise tasted great. The cookie itself wasn’t hard despite its looks, his teeth breaking through the crust with minimal effort.
While he savored the taste, Witness DKD was done conversing, Aramus could see her showing the man a sum of Arabian cashmoney. The man only gave a nod and stood up, walking away. DKD placed the cash back to her pocket.
“What’s that all about?” Aramus asked as he finished the cookie, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. It was a good appetizer for his meal to be.
“The fun begins soon. Watch, young one.” DKD herself ate one of the kleejas, before feeding another to Aramus.
Aramus absently bit into the next cookie as he watched the other man leave. What would happen next? And more importantly, would it affect when his order would arrive?
He soon watched the man she spoke to beginning to speak with a cloaked figure on the very corner of the restaurant. The cloaked figure seemed to panic after a moment and left the restaurant.
Pleased, Witness DKD drank from her orange juice.
“Just as planned.”
“That’s it?” Aramus said, having expected more.
The waiter came back and placed Aramus’ food. It look similar enough to the pictures except for the fact that the pictures were extremely grainy and of poor resolution. The dishes that were now laid down on the table looked nothing like the pictures. Breaded balls of meat with a saucer filled with some strange dip, and the pulled meat placed inside a hot, pressed bun. The waiter looked at Aramus and pointed at each, starting with the breaded balls. “Falafel. Shawarma.” Although it was spoken in barely accented English, Aramus could understand it but just barely.
Taking a knife, Aramus cut open the meatball first or rather what he thought was a meatball. The crust split open and inside, it showed ground meat mixed in with a variety of other things. Steam wafted out, showing how hot it was and after taking a small bite, Aramus decided it tasted very much like a croquette. He barely needed to put any strength into the knife as it sliced into the croquette, parting the breading easily as he ate.
Next, he moved onto the pulled meat bun. The meat was placed snugly inside, covered by all kinds of other greens and drenched in white and red sauces. It looked to be heartier meal and he quickly took a bite, his mouth immediately filling with flavor. The meat was lightly grilled, just enough to feel the skin cracking once bitten. The white sauce was of a yoghurt base and red tomato—combined, they made it taste very tangy. He could also feel juice beginning to trickle down his chin, bad enough that he had to reach for a napkin. Aramus decided this would probably be his favorite Arab food until he found something else.
“You seem happy,” Witness DKD stated, munching on her last kleeja now.
“Food is one of the greatest joys of life. I did mention I love eating, right?” Aramus said as he polished off the shawarma and went back to working on the falafels.
“Yes, I suppose you did.” The Witness smiled and watched him eat. It wasn’t a surprise to her that he and Christopher got along.
“Your cookies were really good too.” He piped in before setting the plate now empty of falafels aside. “Thanks for the treat.”
“You’re welcome. We should get some desserts now.”
“There was one that caught my attention earlier… It’s big enough for two so we could share it.” Aramus signalled for the waiter and this time ordered something that looked like a pancake. He smiled and left, not before giving the two a look. Barely a few lines of conversation later and the waiter returned, setting the dish before them.
“Kanafeh.”
The pastry that came glistened under the light of the restaurant, covered in sugar syrup. Aramus cut portions for DKD and himself, seeing that it was whole and found that the inside had some cream cheese inside. He set one on a plate for DKD and passed it to her.
“Here you go, eat up!”
In the end, that side of the pastry was also fed to Aramus as DKD gave a rather intoxicating smile.
“Is it good?”
“Yes it is, but why do you keep feeding me?” Aramus asked with a tilt of his head. It wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, it felt good to be pampered after all that had happened, but it still left him confused.
“Do you hate it?”
“…No.”
“Good, then savor it. It is I who is feeding after all, it has to be special.”
That answer only left Aramus more confused than before but he decided not to bother. Who would complain when one was being fed by a beautiful girl in a suit? Not him, that’s for sure.
“I already am. The food is delicious.”
She smiled and drank her juice again, finishing it. Witness DKD gave her wristwatch a peek. It was a silver expensive watch it seemed.
“It is time.”
As soon as DKD got off her bench, there was an explosion some distance away.
Aramus got up, looking back at the unfinished pastry with regret before following her.
“Do not waste food now. Just pop that one in your mouth, DAD. Doesn’t take long for a hungry man to eat, yes?” DKD said from the exit of the restaurant.
In a flash, the plate was empty and Aramus had followed his senior outside onto the streets.
“Well, this is a very old town,” Witness DKD remarked as they traversed through the city.
There were many ruins in the distance from centuries past. The town itself seemed to have very old structures, while some were slightly newer, but still old. The streets seemed to be made out of stones and the air was very dry with sands here and there. The area was very dusty, just like the capital, but it was far more dustier here.
Aramus coughed repeatedly as they walked, the sand and dust wreaking havoc on his nose and lungs. “Whatever it is, they chose the right place for all their dirty work. I mean, who’d want to come here unless they loved the dust and sand?”
“The Aurum users love the sand, I hear,” DKD casually replied. “The wind helps, or something. Especially in the deserts.”
“I don’t know about that,” Aramus grumbled. “At the moment, this isn’t helping me as an Aurum user. Maybe later when we fight the vampires, I’ll toss some sand at them.”
“No, I meant the Area Element. You know, the latest theory of magic speaking about certain types of area augmenting certain aspects of magic? The last month’s gazette discussed it.”
“Ah, that’s what you meant. Still, I don’t think I could see myself staying here for too long even with all the bonuses… I’ll miss the food and candy, not to mention the heat…”
“Shall we enter a local restaurant? The smell of spices must be getting you raring to go like your Master? It will be my treat.”
Aramus nodded so fast, it felt like his head would snap off. He was getting hungry from all the walking, plus a place that didn’t have sand sounded like heaven.
***
The two entered a local restaurant, and the scent of frying oil and the spices invaded Aramus’ nose much more than before. The ethnic food had a very impactful impression in him as the two sat down on a bench in the corner of the shop.
“Feel free to order whatever you wish. I’ll probably just get something simple.”
Aramus enthusiastically went over the menu as it would be his second time trying out the Arabic cuisine. The whole menu was unfamiliar to him but thankfully, there were pictures. Two items in particular caught his interest, one looking like pulled meat in what seemed like sandwich and the other, fried meatballs.
Witness DKD placed an order for simply some kind of biscuits called the kleejas, and an orange juice after calling the waiter. Aramus merely pointed at the pictures on the menu, the waiter smiling at him due to Aramus’ inability to speak Arabic. Soon, the sounds of cooking could be heard and it only made Aramus more eager to try the food as the scent wafted into the dining room, the Magister taking a deep breath of the fragrance.
Unsurprisingly, the waiter returned with DKD’s order first, placing the orange juice on the table followed by the kleejas. They looked like cookies more than biscuits, very robust little things with criss cross patterns on the top. They smelled faintly of spices and looked absolutely delicious. The orange juice was also freshly squeezed, evidenced by the smell and of fresh pulp floating in the glass.
Like any other restaurants around the area, the tables and the seats were all placed fairly close to each other. With Witness DKD sitting on the far right that was just beside the other bench of the table, Witness DKD smiled. She fed Aramus one of the kleejas while he waited eagerly, while she was speaking with a local in the Arabian language beside her.
Although Aramus was a little perplexed by DKD’s action, he nonetheless accepted her offering happily with a word of gratitude. The cookie was indeed as he expected, a light flavoring of spices filled his mouth as he bit into it but apart from that, he could detect traces of honey. It was a funny combination of flavors but otherwise tasted great. The cookie itself wasn’t hard despite its looks, his teeth breaking through the crust with minimal effort.
While he savored the taste, Witness DKD was done conversing, Aramus could see her showing the man a sum of Arabian cashmoney. The man only gave a nod and stood up, walking away. DKD placed the cash back to her pocket.
“What’s that all about?” Aramus asked as he finished the cookie, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. It was a good appetizer for his meal to be.
“The fun begins soon. Watch, young one.” DKD herself ate one of the kleejas, before feeding another to Aramus.
Aramus absently bit into the next cookie as he watched the other man leave. What would happen next? And more importantly, would it affect when his order would arrive?
He soon watched the man she spoke to beginning to speak with a cloaked figure on the very corner of the restaurant. The cloaked figure seemed to panic after a moment and left the restaurant.
Pleased, Witness DKD drank from her orange juice.
“Just as planned.”
“That’s it?” Aramus said, having expected more.
The waiter came back and placed Aramus’ food. It look similar enough to the pictures except for the fact that the pictures were extremely grainy and of poor resolution. The dishes that were now laid down on the table looked nothing like the pictures. Breaded balls of meat with a saucer filled with some strange dip, and the pulled meat placed inside a hot, pressed bun. The waiter looked at Aramus and pointed at each, starting with the breaded balls. “Falafel. Shawarma.” Although it was spoken in barely accented English, Aramus could understand it but just barely.
Taking a knife, Aramus cut open the meatball first or rather what he thought was a meatball. The crust split open and inside, it showed ground meat mixed in with a variety of other things. Steam wafted out, showing how hot it was and after taking a small bite, Aramus decided it tasted very much like a croquette. He barely needed to put any strength into the knife as it sliced into the croquette, parting the breading easily as he ate.
Next, he moved onto the pulled meat bun. The meat was placed snugly inside, covered by all kinds of other greens and drenched in white and red sauces. It looked to be heartier meal and he quickly took a bite, his mouth immediately filling with flavor. The meat was lightly grilled, just enough to feel the skin cracking once bitten. The white sauce was of a yoghurt base and red tomato—combined, they made it taste very tangy. He could also feel juice beginning to trickle down his chin, bad enough that he had to reach for a napkin. Aramus decided this would probably be his favorite Arab food until he found something else.
“You seem happy,” Witness DKD stated, munching on her last kleeja now.
“Food is one of the greatest joys of life. I did mention I love eating, right?” Aramus said as he polished off the shawarma and went back to working on the falafels.
“Yes, I suppose you did.” The Witness smiled and watched him eat. It wasn’t a surprise to her that he and Christopher got along.
“Your cookies were really good too.” He piped in before setting the plate now empty of falafels aside. “Thanks for the treat.”
“You’re welcome. We should get some desserts now.”
“There was one that caught my attention earlier… It’s big enough for two so we could share it.” Aramus signalled for the waiter and this time ordered something that looked like a pancake. He smiled and left, not before giving the two a look. Barely a few lines of conversation later and the waiter returned, setting the dish before them.
“Kanafeh.”
The pastry that came glistened under the light of the restaurant, covered in sugar syrup. Aramus cut portions for DKD and himself, seeing that it was whole and found that the inside had some cream cheese inside. He set one on a plate for DKD and passed it to her.
“Here you go, eat up!”
In the end, that side of the pastry was also fed to Aramus as DKD gave a rather intoxicating smile.
“Is it good?”
“Yes it is, but why do you keep feeding me?” Aramus asked with a tilt of his head. It wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, it felt good to be pampered after all that had happened, but it still left him confused.
“Do you hate it?”
“…No.”
“Good, then savor it. It is I who is feeding after all, it has to be special.”
That answer only left Aramus more confused than before but he decided not to bother. Who would complain when one was being fed by a beautiful girl in a suit? Not him, that’s for sure.
“I already am. The food is delicious.”
She smiled and drank her juice again, finishing it. Witness DKD gave her wristwatch a peek. It was a silver expensive watch it seemed.
“It is time.”
As soon as DKD got off her bench, there was an explosion some distance away.
Aramus got up, looking back at the unfinished pastry with regret before following her.
“Do not waste food now. Just pop that one in your mouth, DAD. Doesn’t take long for a hungry man to eat, yes?” DKD said from the exit of the restaurant.
In a flash, the plate was empty and Aramus had followed his senior outside onto the streets.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
They approached a burning car on the streets. Aramus’ senior hummed at the sight.
“Just as planned indeed.”
Witness DKD was indeed pleased, handing a sum of money to the man she spoke to earlier beside an alley.
“This clears the first obstacle,” she stated, calming watching the car burn. “Now, we track the rats on the alleys.”
“Now they scurry.” Aramus said, reaching into his jacket for a handkerchief or something to cover his nose. Even with all the dust and sand blowing around them, DKD’s suit somehow continued to look immaculate. It baffled him.
As they walked into the alley, there was an intersection of thin roads and DKD walked straight it, while she gestured for Aramus to take a separate route.
“Anyone wearing a mask—kill. I shall have procure an informant for us shortly.”
“Understood. I wonder if they bleed the same color as us,” Aramus absently asked as an afterthought, separating from DKD. “I’ll see you later then, DKD.”
There was no answer. Aramus walked forth after taking a turn. From the winds passing with the sands, he could hear many footsteps across the alleyways. It was like a labyrinth. Scurrying around him like rodents, Aramus was reminded of his old days back as an Enforcer. Ah, the good old days. The smell of freshly burnt bodies and ozone always made him excited. Hunting at dusk always had a certain charm to it. Just like the sun set on the day, so did it on the life of his marks.
A flurry of movement alerted him of danger and the Magic Magister dived out of the way just as a claw passed through the space his head had been not a moment earlier. Breaking his tumble, the Magister noted his opponent was also crouched down. The masked vampire dodged the first Lightning Bolt sent its way by deftly hopping to the side before another caught it in its chest just as it was about to land, frying some of the cloak and skin.
It growled at him through the mask before leaping forward and Aramus kicked himself forward with Flashstep, catching the monster in the chest with his Galeforce, a spell he was still working on. Blood and bones sprayed everywhere as the spell drilled into it, but still it refused to die, clawing at him through the pain. Pissed as a claw scratched his cheek, Aramus grabbed onto the mask and casted a Lightning Bolt straight through into its skull, the vampire spasming as its brain was fried by countless amounts of electricity.
Turning his head to look down the passageway, Aramus spotted the glint of a barrel and he instinctively raised the corpse in his hand just as bullets flew, peppering the vampire. The Galeforce still spun and he shot it along with the corpse at the gunmen, spell shredding through wall, cover and flesh alike as it burnt itself out. The vampire exploded in a shower of gore midair as well, two halves of the body flying in opposite directions.
Now that the gunfire had stopped, Aramus walked over to inspect his handiwork. There were three bodies, two which had been ruined by the spinning orb. They were missing a limb and otherwise looked dead but he had to make sure, frying them until smoke rose from their bodies. The last was still crawling away, hissing at Aramus as the Magister stepped onto its hand.
It looked up and was promptly greeted by a blow to the face, head snapping back. Aramus tossed the bloody limb that he had used away once the vampire’s pupils had focused on him, loving the sound of it squishing wetly on the ground. A thin stream of electricity crackled from his index finger akin to a blow torch and he brought it close to the vampire’s fearful eyes until it was mere centimeters away.
“Now, you’re going to tell me where the rest of you rats are hiding and I’ll let you die painlessly.”
The vampire glared at him defiantly and spat, the spittle disintegrating halfway as lightning got to it before it sullied him. Aramus sighed before lowering his finger into the eye socket, the bolt of energy searing away and melting the inside of the vampire’s eye and skull. It flailed under his magical grip, limbs flapping wildly as the shock sent it haywire and a keening sound echoed down the walkway as it died.
Aramus patted himself dry, looking dismayed that his suit was now shabbier than ever. There was nothing he could do about it now so he continued down the hallway before coming across another vampire. He didn’t notice until it had jumped onto him, hiding in the shadows of the alleyway and he batted it away with a blast of wind. It tore some of his sleeve away and the Magister’s mood plummeted further, calling upon the new relic.
It appeared just before him with a gust of ominous wind and he grasped its hilt, thorned vines latching onto his arm as he swung it in an arc at the vampire. With a malicious melodic tune, the razor sharp thorns of the winds generated by the blade sliced the vampire into myriad pieces, blood showering down where the vampire was before him.
“Going to need a long shower after this…” Aramus grumbled as some of the thick, dark blood splattered onto his pants. He lifted the sword up, feathers lightly flowing in some invisible breeze and gave an approving nod. Aramus gave one last look at the vampire cubes before moving on, wondering how vampire meat would taste if it was properly seasoned and cooked.
Aramus walked up to the next intersection and stopped, finding his senior leaning on the wall. Under her shoes were a round-like group of corpses slugged against the wall. The girl twisted one leg against the other casually and was whistling while tapping away at what seemed like a cellphone.
“Done already? Sorry I took so long, it’s been some time and I needed to unload some stress,” Aramus said as he walked up to her.
“Good work, we’re done.” There was another explosion as she spoke. “Ah, that should do it for the secret route. I think…” Witness DKD jumped down from the pile of corpses, a hand tried to catch her leg but she pressed it hard with her heel, putting it to rest without looking down. She then gestured at the vampire that was leaning against the wall and breathing heavily, still alive but barely, Aramus could only see half his torso sliced off. God knew how he even lived.
“Gotcha.” Aramus spun his hand around lazily and the vampire was picked up by streams of wind. It was too injured to resist, so he could easily carry it around.
Witness DKD chanted silently and opened a portal with her finger as she slid it into the air, the two entering it and disappearing from the province.
There were screams in the cell. Aramus was using his lightning to torture the defiant vampire that was brought into the room that was inside the dungeon of the Royal Palace in Saudi Arabia. Witness DKD brought them here and Christopher seemed to be waiting for them.
“I… don’t—know anything!” the vampire hissed. Despite all the torture, it still kept saying the same words.
“This will continue until I hear something other than that,” Aramus said, lazily sending shocks into its body.
“Hm, it had been thirty minutes now. I’m surprised this one is so persistent,” Christopher said, apparently getting hungry as usual.
“Let’s try a different approach,” Aramus said as he crouched down to be eye level with the vampire. He grasped the pinky and sent a pulse of electricity into it, intending to trigger the pain receptors beyond a certain point. Apparently, it was a bit too much and the finger turned charcoal black as it was flooded with lightning. The burnt finger proceeded to turn into fine powder whilst the vampire watched the entire proceeding with tears in his eyes. A trail of blood was now leaking from where teeth had punctured his lips from biting down. “My bad, it wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“Alright, let me have a look at him, DAD,” Witness DKD said after looking down at her watch.
“Too bad I don’t have much to make them squawk,” Aramus said, relinquishing his position to DKD.
“Pfft, DAD she says.” Christopher snickered.
“Master, please…” Aramus said with a sigh. “It’s bad enough that it’s partially true.”
“The joke of the house now,” DKD said, placing an index finger on the forehead of the vampire.
Aramus watched as all the injuries of the vampire started to heal. It looked miraculous, every part of it cutted skin broken limbs, and even the lower torso coming back to life as perfectly healthy. There was one thing that was not recovering, and that was his heart, but no one could see it.
Aramus whistled from where he crouched as the limbs started to grow back, even the one he had turned into powder. DKD really had a ton of tricks up her sleeve.
“So what’re we going to do with the perp now? Maybe disintegrate a limb centimeter by centimeter? That might work.”
“Nothing so simple like that, lad,” Christopher said, a bead of sweat going down his skin. “This will really hurt.”
“You’ve got my attention,” Aramus said, keeping his eyes peeled now.
The vampire started to scream abruptly, DKD’s finger still on his head. After three seconds, the vampire begged them to stop and that he’d speak.
“There we go.” Witness DKD took her finger off. “I am as persuasive as ever.” She nodded to herself.
“Well, that was interesting,” Aramus said, totally baffled as to how it was over in three seconds.
“That dude suffered all the damage that was healed at the same time—literally, all of it into his brain, the feeling was transmitted. You wanna imagine that crap?” Christopher said, shaking his head. He wanted no part in that spell’s application, ever.
“Now that’s nasty.”
Even Aramus made a face at the explanation, he thought it would be something along the lines of Mentem or Imaginem but not something like this. He still wanted to learn it, but without the ability to heal, it wouldn’t be as effective.
After this, the information from the near-dead—or rather, healed—vampire revealed that there was indeed one route they took for their dirty work—a path to Iraq.
“So they take the kidnapped people to Iraq and then distribute them,” DKD concluded. “This means that the scope widens yet again. From Iraq there are multiple places to go to as well, such as Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, or Syria… either that, or they also take one way out in that country as well… now that sounds a little too simple for the people of Blood Countess.”
“They’ve probably got a lot more escape routes than that, but I’ll bet this guy doesn’t know †˜em… or do you?” the Magister said, narrowing his eyes at the vampire.
The vampire murmured, but he could no longer speak, his brain numbed completely from the three seconds of pain.
“Whatever, he’s of no use to us like that. So do we head to Iraq next?”
“There is something else in this country…” DKD said.
“What are you talking about?” Chris asked. “It’s clearly done deal here right?”
“The S rank rogue that we were commissioned to take out some months ago… I can tell when I smell a stench of that monster,” DKD answered.
“Then we neutralize it and move on? Master, what do you think?” Aramus looked to Christopher for instructions.
“Which one are we talking about?” Christopher asked.
“Crimson Rafflesia.”
“Ack. This is the kinda bad news you keep outside the steamy pot. I suppose we’ll go get her then.”
“Crimson Rafflesia? Another vampire?” Aramus asked after the exchange of words.
“The Crimson Rafflesia is the Lost Form user of Undertaker. A class of banished Arts from the Church. Crimson is indeed a vampire, though. And tough as hell,” his Master answered.
“Between the three of us, you think we can take her down?”
“If DKD is with us, it more than just tips the scale to our favor,” Chris replied with a smirk.
“I guess that settles things. You can both go on ahead, I’ll finish up here.” Aramus said, sparks dancing across his palm again.
“We’ll be waiting outside the palace.”
Chris exited the torture room with Witness DKD. Noises of thunder soon rang out from the cell and a loud cry of the vampire was heard as Christopher and DKD walked side by side.
“So, we hit up Iraq after all?” Chris asked.
“I would hope not. The mission was to get them off of Saudi Arabia, and no that note we have to check some other routes. I have some other missions to tend to after this too,” DKD answered.
“Is that so? I’d really want to get my lad into some training, though.”
“I’ll look into them while you train him. Anyway, the fact that Crimson Rafflesia is here speaks volumes.”
“Yeah, and a good excuse as any to claim that we did our part and the subordinates of the King can handle the rest?”
“Perhaps. There are other strong people in their Organization than Rafflesia.”
“True, but I hope those people didn’t come over too.”
Aramus got around to the desk on the planning room with Witness DKD and his Master, Christopher Bradley. They all looked down at a computer display showing the map of the city. Aramus’ senior zoomed it and showed an area.
“So this is where Crimson Rafflesia is located?” Aramus asked.
“Seeing that it’s the King Fahd Road… it will take time?” Christopher asked.
“To reach them? Yes, I suppose so,” DKD said.
“For the Mind’s Eye, I mean,” Chris stated.
“You want me to use that for Crimson Rafflesia?”
“Well, duh. It’s an S rank Rogue, right?”
“It’s just an S rank Rogue, though…”
“Is there a higher ranking than that…?” Aramus was a little confused by the way they referred to their target.
“You really think there is?” Christopher said, showing that face as if he ate something very, very sour.
“From the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s a no.”
“Most of them makes for boring opponents.” DKD shrugged.
“I might as well be boring too now,” Christopher said with an incredulous look.
“At least feeding you makes it not so bad.”
“I… I cry at those times. By no way through sadness, but joy.”
Aramus chuckled a little at their exchange.
“Let me use the Mind’s Eye then. Excuse me for a while.” Aramus’ senior sat down on a chair and closed her eyes, not moving an inch any more after doing so.
“You wanna fetch us some coffee, lad?” Christopher requested.
“Of course. Milk, sugar?” Aramus asked just before he left.
“Just some milk for me. The lass would have both, at an alarming amount too…”
“Noted.” Aramus went off to fulfill their requests, wondering how much did Christopher mean by “an alarming amount.” Soon, he returned and handed out the coffee, his Master's containing a small amount of milk. As for DKD’s—it almost looked like milk tea.
“She almost detected it,” DKD suddenly spoke, opening her eyes. “I saw her, though. She is in a hotel.”
“Do we move out?” Aramus said, handing DKD her cup.
“We should get into position,” DKD replied, sitting the coffee with a pleasant hum. “We don’t wanna break their hotel room though. Well, maybe.”
“Alright. I’ll try my best.”
“Are you sure they will go out at all though?” Christopher asked.
“Oh, they will love my invitation.”
“Don’t go too wild now…”
“I won’t kill another hundred for it, no worries.”
“I worry about the fate of a lot of things now.”
“I’m not sure I really want to find out either but… let’s go?” Aramus said, motioning to the door.
“DAD, let Master Christopher use it. We have a better door to use.” DKD pointed at her portal with her thumb behind her.
Aramus turned to give his Master a sad look, wondering why they couldn’t all just go together.
As Aramus and DKD entered, Chris jumped into their portal with a yell, “Oh no you don’t!”
“Just as planned indeed.”
Witness DKD was indeed pleased, handing a sum of money to the man she spoke to earlier beside an alley.
“This clears the first obstacle,” she stated, calming watching the car burn. “Now, we track the rats on the alleys.”
“Now they scurry.” Aramus said, reaching into his jacket for a handkerchief or something to cover his nose. Even with all the dust and sand blowing around them, DKD’s suit somehow continued to look immaculate. It baffled him.
As they walked into the alley, there was an intersection of thin roads and DKD walked straight it, while she gestured for Aramus to take a separate route.
“Anyone wearing a mask—kill. I shall have procure an informant for us shortly.”
“Understood. I wonder if they bleed the same color as us,” Aramus absently asked as an afterthought, separating from DKD. “I’ll see you later then, DKD.”
There was no answer. Aramus walked forth after taking a turn. From the winds passing with the sands, he could hear many footsteps across the alleyways. It was like a labyrinth. Scurrying around him like rodents, Aramus was reminded of his old days back as an Enforcer. Ah, the good old days. The smell of freshly burnt bodies and ozone always made him excited. Hunting at dusk always had a certain charm to it. Just like the sun set on the day, so did it on the life of his marks.
A flurry of movement alerted him of danger and the Magic Magister dived out of the way just as a claw passed through the space his head had been not a moment earlier. Breaking his tumble, the Magister noted his opponent was also crouched down. The masked vampire dodged the first Lightning Bolt sent its way by deftly hopping to the side before another caught it in its chest just as it was about to land, frying some of the cloak and skin.
It growled at him through the mask before leaping forward and Aramus kicked himself forward with Flashstep, catching the monster in the chest with his Galeforce, a spell he was still working on. Blood and bones sprayed everywhere as the spell drilled into it, but still it refused to die, clawing at him through the pain. Pissed as a claw scratched his cheek, Aramus grabbed onto the mask and casted a Lightning Bolt straight through into its skull, the vampire spasming as its brain was fried by countless amounts of electricity.
Turning his head to look down the passageway, Aramus spotted the glint of a barrel and he instinctively raised the corpse in his hand just as bullets flew, peppering the vampire. The Galeforce still spun and he shot it along with the corpse at the gunmen, spell shredding through wall, cover and flesh alike as it burnt itself out. The vampire exploded in a shower of gore midair as well, two halves of the body flying in opposite directions.
Now that the gunfire had stopped, Aramus walked over to inspect his handiwork. There were three bodies, two which had been ruined by the spinning orb. They were missing a limb and otherwise looked dead but he had to make sure, frying them until smoke rose from their bodies. The last was still crawling away, hissing at Aramus as the Magister stepped onto its hand.
It looked up and was promptly greeted by a blow to the face, head snapping back. Aramus tossed the bloody limb that he had used away once the vampire’s pupils had focused on him, loving the sound of it squishing wetly on the ground. A thin stream of electricity crackled from his index finger akin to a blow torch and he brought it close to the vampire’s fearful eyes until it was mere centimeters away.
“Now, you’re going to tell me where the rest of you rats are hiding and I’ll let you die painlessly.”
The vampire glared at him defiantly and spat, the spittle disintegrating halfway as lightning got to it before it sullied him. Aramus sighed before lowering his finger into the eye socket, the bolt of energy searing away and melting the inside of the vampire’s eye and skull. It flailed under his magical grip, limbs flapping wildly as the shock sent it haywire and a keening sound echoed down the walkway as it died.
Aramus patted himself dry, looking dismayed that his suit was now shabbier than ever. There was nothing he could do about it now so he continued down the hallway before coming across another vampire. He didn’t notice until it had jumped onto him, hiding in the shadows of the alleyway and he batted it away with a blast of wind. It tore some of his sleeve away and the Magister’s mood plummeted further, calling upon the new relic.
It appeared just before him with a gust of ominous wind and he grasped its hilt, thorned vines latching onto his arm as he swung it in an arc at the vampire. With a malicious melodic tune, the razor sharp thorns of the winds generated by the blade sliced the vampire into myriad pieces, blood showering down where the vampire was before him.
“Going to need a long shower after this…” Aramus grumbled as some of the thick, dark blood splattered onto his pants. He lifted the sword up, feathers lightly flowing in some invisible breeze and gave an approving nod. Aramus gave one last look at the vampire cubes before moving on, wondering how vampire meat would taste if it was properly seasoned and cooked.
Aramus walked up to the next intersection and stopped, finding his senior leaning on the wall. Under her shoes were a round-like group of corpses slugged against the wall. The girl twisted one leg against the other casually and was whistling while tapping away at what seemed like a cellphone.
“Done already? Sorry I took so long, it’s been some time and I needed to unload some stress,” Aramus said as he walked up to her.
“Good work, we’re done.” There was another explosion as she spoke. “Ah, that should do it for the secret route. I think…” Witness DKD jumped down from the pile of corpses, a hand tried to catch her leg but she pressed it hard with her heel, putting it to rest without looking down. She then gestured at the vampire that was leaning against the wall and breathing heavily, still alive but barely, Aramus could only see half his torso sliced off. God knew how he even lived.
“Gotcha.” Aramus spun his hand around lazily and the vampire was picked up by streams of wind. It was too injured to resist, so he could easily carry it around.
Witness DKD chanted silently and opened a portal with her finger as she slid it into the air, the two entering it and disappearing from the province.
***
There were screams in the cell. Aramus was using his lightning to torture the defiant vampire that was brought into the room that was inside the dungeon of the Royal Palace in Saudi Arabia. Witness DKD brought them here and Christopher seemed to be waiting for them.
“I… don’t—know anything!” the vampire hissed. Despite all the torture, it still kept saying the same words.
“This will continue until I hear something other than that,” Aramus said, lazily sending shocks into its body.
“Hm, it had been thirty minutes now. I’m surprised this one is so persistent,” Christopher said, apparently getting hungry as usual.
“Let’s try a different approach,” Aramus said as he crouched down to be eye level with the vampire. He grasped the pinky and sent a pulse of electricity into it, intending to trigger the pain receptors beyond a certain point. Apparently, it was a bit too much and the finger turned charcoal black as it was flooded with lightning. The burnt finger proceeded to turn into fine powder whilst the vampire watched the entire proceeding with tears in his eyes. A trail of blood was now leaking from where teeth had punctured his lips from biting down. “My bad, it wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“Alright, let me have a look at him, DAD,” Witness DKD said after looking down at her watch.
“Too bad I don’t have much to make them squawk,” Aramus said, relinquishing his position to DKD.
“Pfft, DAD she says.” Christopher snickered.
“Master, please…” Aramus said with a sigh. “It’s bad enough that it’s partially true.”
“The joke of the house now,” DKD said, placing an index finger on the forehead of the vampire.
Aramus watched as all the injuries of the vampire started to heal. It looked miraculous, every part of it cutted skin broken limbs, and even the lower torso coming back to life as perfectly healthy. There was one thing that was not recovering, and that was his heart, but no one could see it.
Aramus whistled from where he crouched as the limbs started to grow back, even the one he had turned into powder. DKD really had a ton of tricks up her sleeve.
“So what’re we going to do with the perp now? Maybe disintegrate a limb centimeter by centimeter? That might work.”
“Nothing so simple like that, lad,” Christopher said, a bead of sweat going down his skin. “This will really hurt.”
“You’ve got my attention,” Aramus said, keeping his eyes peeled now.
The vampire started to scream abruptly, DKD’s finger still on his head. After three seconds, the vampire begged them to stop and that he’d speak.
“There we go.” Witness DKD took her finger off. “I am as persuasive as ever.” She nodded to herself.
“Well, that was interesting,” Aramus said, totally baffled as to how it was over in three seconds.
“That dude suffered all the damage that was healed at the same time—literally, all of it into his brain, the feeling was transmitted. You wanna imagine that crap?” Christopher said, shaking his head. He wanted no part in that spell’s application, ever.
“Now that’s nasty.”
Even Aramus made a face at the explanation, he thought it would be something along the lines of Mentem or Imaginem but not something like this. He still wanted to learn it, but without the ability to heal, it wouldn’t be as effective.
After this, the information from the near-dead—or rather, healed—vampire revealed that there was indeed one route they took for their dirty work—a path to Iraq.
“So they take the kidnapped people to Iraq and then distribute them,” DKD concluded. “This means that the scope widens yet again. From Iraq there are multiple places to go to as well, such as Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, or Syria… either that, or they also take one way out in that country as well… now that sounds a little too simple for the people of Blood Countess.”
“They’ve probably got a lot more escape routes than that, but I’ll bet this guy doesn’t know †˜em… or do you?” the Magister said, narrowing his eyes at the vampire.
The vampire murmured, but he could no longer speak, his brain numbed completely from the three seconds of pain.
“Whatever, he’s of no use to us like that. So do we head to Iraq next?”
“There is something else in this country…” DKD said.
“What are you talking about?” Chris asked. “It’s clearly done deal here right?”
“The S rank rogue that we were commissioned to take out some months ago… I can tell when I smell a stench of that monster,” DKD answered.
“Then we neutralize it and move on? Master, what do you think?” Aramus looked to Christopher for instructions.
“Which one are we talking about?” Christopher asked.
“Crimson Rafflesia.”
“Ack. This is the kinda bad news you keep outside the steamy pot. I suppose we’ll go get her then.”
“Crimson Rafflesia? Another vampire?” Aramus asked after the exchange of words.
“The Crimson Rafflesia is the Lost Form user of Undertaker. A class of banished Arts from the Church. Crimson is indeed a vampire, though. And tough as hell,” his Master answered.
“Between the three of us, you think we can take her down?”
“If DKD is with us, it more than just tips the scale to our favor,” Chris replied with a smirk.
“I guess that settles things. You can both go on ahead, I’ll finish up here.” Aramus said, sparks dancing across his palm again.
“We’ll be waiting outside the palace.”
Chris exited the torture room with Witness DKD. Noises of thunder soon rang out from the cell and a loud cry of the vampire was heard as Christopher and DKD walked side by side.
“So, we hit up Iraq after all?” Chris asked.
“I would hope not. The mission was to get them off of Saudi Arabia, and no that note we have to check some other routes. I have some other missions to tend to after this too,” DKD answered.
“Is that so? I’d really want to get my lad into some training, though.”
“I’ll look into them while you train him. Anyway, the fact that Crimson Rafflesia is here speaks volumes.”
“Yeah, and a good excuse as any to claim that we did our part and the subordinates of the King can handle the rest?”
“Perhaps. There are other strong people in their Organization than Rafflesia.”
“True, but I hope those people didn’t come over too.”
***
Aramus got around to the desk on the planning room with Witness DKD and his Master, Christopher Bradley. They all looked down at a computer display showing the map of the city. Aramus’ senior zoomed it and showed an area.
“So this is where Crimson Rafflesia is located?” Aramus asked.
“Seeing that it’s the King Fahd Road… it will take time?” Christopher asked.
“To reach them? Yes, I suppose so,” DKD said.
“For the Mind’s Eye, I mean,” Chris stated.
“You want me to use that for Crimson Rafflesia?”
“Well, duh. It’s an S rank Rogue, right?”
“It’s just an S rank Rogue, though…”
“Is there a higher ranking than that…?” Aramus was a little confused by the way they referred to their target.
“You really think there is?” Christopher said, showing that face as if he ate something very, very sour.
“From the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s a no.”
“Most of them makes for boring opponents.” DKD shrugged.
“I might as well be boring too now,” Christopher said with an incredulous look.
“At least feeding you makes it not so bad.”
“I… I cry at those times. By no way through sadness, but joy.”
Aramus chuckled a little at their exchange.
“Let me use the Mind’s Eye then. Excuse me for a while.” Aramus’ senior sat down on a chair and closed her eyes, not moving an inch any more after doing so.
“You wanna fetch us some coffee, lad?” Christopher requested.
“Of course. Milk, sugar?” Aramus asked just before he left.
“Just some milk for me. The lass would have both, at an alarming amount too…”
“Noted.” Aramus went off to fulfill their requests, wondering how much did Christopher mean by “an alarming amount.” Soon, he returned and handed out the coffee, his Master's containing a small amount of milk. As for DKD’s—it almost looked like milk tea.
“She almost detected it,” DKD suddenly spoke, opening her eyes. “I saw her, though. She is in a hotel.”
“Do we move out?” Aramus said, handing DKD her cup.
“We should get into position,” DKD replied, sitting the coffee with a pleasant hum. “We don’t wanna break their hotel room though. Well, maybe.”
“Alright. I’ll try my best.”
“Are you sure they will go out at all though?” Christopher asked.
“Oh, they will love my invitation.”
“Don’t go too wild now…”
“I won’t kill another hundred for it, no worries.”
“I worry about the fate of a lot of things now.”
“I’m not sure I really want to find out either but… let’s go?” Aramus said, motioning to the door.
“DAD, let Master Christopher use it. We have a better door to use.” DKD pointed at her portal with her thumb behind her.
Aramus turned to give his Master a sad look, wondering why they couldn’t all just go together.
As Aramus and DKD entered, Chris jumped into their portal with a yell, “Oh no you don’t!”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Claudia sat in her room, and after a little while deprived, she indulged in one of her books. Killing and fucking aside, this was one of her most favorite things to do in her downtime—she had said it herself at some point in time.
But why didn’t she seemed too happy about it?
As the smoke rose from her lungs and was released through the room, a dim expression was plastered about the girl as she callously flipped through pages with the interest of a moth through the dark.
The bell rang and Claudia got up. Seeing as her Master was apparently sleeping, she had no choice but to check who was at the door herself. It was likely the room service. With a sigh, she opened the door.
“What is it,” she huffed, bags lush in her eyes.
“Room service here,” an employee of the hotel said politely.
Claudia wondered if her Master had ordered for it while she was busy. Shrugging it off, the crude woman blew smoke into the employee’s face and sighed. “Make it quick, then. I’m busy.”
Suddenly, the Master of Claudia got up from the bed and looked.
“Claudia… who did you let inside?”
“Some employee of the hotel? Did you not order for them to come?”
“No, I did not.”
“Fuck—”
The Master pulled her hand up and the employee was carried up from the floor instantly, he could feel his neck being strangled by a mysterious power.
“A…Allahu Ackbar!” the man shouted, revealing bombs under his suit.
The room of the hotel exploded with the bombs detonating, and Claudia’s Master threw her at the window and she was tossed all the way down from the tenth floor.
Crimson Rafflesia soon came down herself, but unlike Claudia who suffered the long fall, she landed comfortably with the help of the spirits.
“Fucking Christ! Another reason to hate this God damned country!” Claudia complained, rolling onto her back and writhing from the fall. Despite being a Representative, it still hurt like a lot when she would survive something like, say falling from a ten floor building.
“It is too soon to complain. We have company.”
The Archmage Christopher landed on the rooftop of the building they were located in now, and threw his fist in the air. The gust burst into Claudia’s face and she was blown away—straight to the trash below in the alleyway. Aramus laughed as she tore upon a plastic bag, getting covered head to toe in stinking garbage before following after her.
“Hmph, petty Archmage… I suppose that girl is useless beside me nonetheless,” Crimson Rafflesia huffed.
Claudia emerged from the garbage with a grimace. Her eyes burned with fury as the insult and the prying eyes burned at her spine. With gritted teeth, she summoned Lachesis Fang and leapt back to her Master’s position. “I hope you are prepared to eat those words– Master,” she said with a darkened tone to her voice. Another gust of air from the exotic man that was Chris and Claudia fell right back down. She felt like making a storm of swears but now was not the time. She got up from the trash again and found Aramus before her in the narrow alleyway.
“You’re missing some of that here,” Aramus said, pointing at a rotting piece of food stuck on her face. “Might want to get rid of that.”
Taking heed to his words, Claudia begrudgingly wiped the stray garbage from her face, and with narrowed eyes, stared him in the face.
“...Brother,” she said plainly, for some reason making that a pathetic excuse for a greeting.
It was indeed a pathetic excuse for a greeting, Aramus looking at her with contempt.
“Claudia. I see you don’t have your tiara with you. I wonder where it went?” he said with sarcasm.
“And I don’t see your mother cheering you on from the side.” A cold look emitted from Claudia once she said that.
“Could say the same for your parents, am I right?” Aramus stated with a scoff.
“Fuck you,” Claudia spat.
“Someone’s got to take out the trash right?” Aramus said, brandishing his relic.
“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Claudia gave her scythe a twirl before it landed onto her palm.
“Alright to proceed with trash disposal?” Aramus said to Christopher and DKD, still glaring at Claudia.
“What the heck are you waiting for?!” Christopher shouted from above the building.
A huge gust of wind blew all the trash in the alleyway at Claudia, forcing the Representative to cover her eyes as she was caked with more garbage. Aramus took off into the air on a mini dust tornado, laughing as Claudia unsuccessfully tried to wipe it away.
“…Oh, that’s fucking mature,” Claudia said sarcastically, swearing that she hated this country with all her might. How much trash can one spot have!?
Lunging at her so-called sibling, Claudia brandished her scythe and straight off missed once she closed the difference between the two. Right then and there, she activated her Commandement, coaxing a black puddle to form under her feet, summoning her favorite ephemeral beasts to rise.
“Kill.”
The beasts dashed towards Aramus in a collective fashion, Aramus swung his blade at them and two were sliced up. The black demons disappeared as the wind cut them open but one avoided the attack, striking Aramus with a glancing blow.
“Foolish.” Aramus streaked towards her from above, using momentum and gravity to enhance his blow as sword clashed with scythe in a shower of sparks.
“Weak,” Claudia retorted. She pushed the man back and attempted a slash of her own, which, unsurprisingly, missed.
Aramus hit back with a slash of his own, Claudia’s scythe barely coming back in time to prevent her head from being sliced off. The feathers on his sword quivered, tiny lacerations appearing on her face as they worked their magic.
Claudia gave a twirl and snapped back, colliding with Aramus’ relic like before. Sparks flew as iron and platinum encountered each other.
“Tch… you look like you’re having fun.”
“Would’ve been more fun if I didn’t have to smell your stench,” Aramus said, his relic pushing hers back with a burst from its feathers. He wrinkled his nose as more of the foul smell was blown around, using his free hand to cover his nose.
Claudia retaliated with an attack of her own, getting only the broad of Aramus’ weapon. “Kind of your fault, really. Funny how you’re the same jokey little orphan I’ve met so long ago.”
“My fault? How is any of this my fault? You ruined your future by your own hand,” Aramus said with a scowl.
“Do you want me to say it? Do you really want me to?”
Aramus shrugged, lowering his sword for a brief moment. “Not that it matters now. There’s no turning back on the road you’re going down.”
Claudia made a sound of both disbelief and resignation.
“That’s fine, then. To be frank; I’m loving the road I’m taking.”
“Then there shan’t be more words.” Aramus got into a stance. “We’ll settle this once and for all.”
Claudia hung her scythe over her shoulder, her baggy eyes blinking a couple of times.
“Come then, brother. End me.”
“Do not call me that!” Aramus said, anger fuelling his sword as it swung towards her. The blade streaked towards her faster than Claudia could react and it cut into her side.
“Why? Did that strike a nerve, brother?” Claudia held the new wound in her side and smirked madly. “DID THAT PISS YOU OFF?”
“Not as much as seeing what you have fallen to,” Aramus said with disdain.
“And how I have fallen. You aren’t in the best shape yourself, murderer. You’re no better than I am.”
“SHUT UP!” Aramus yelled as his temper flared, swinging at her repeatedly with his relic.
“You claim to be just, a plaything for your Queen… I wonder how you felt when she came along and put you in cuffs? You momentarily saved the world from Virgo, but your beloved Queen didn’t care; she just threw you away,” Claudia said coldly.
“My sins are my own to bear, Her Majesty has no part in my mistakes,” Aramus growled.
“I’d love to see you say that to her face, then.” Claudia dashed towards Aramus and pushed his forehead back with her index and middle fingers. “Why fight me? Why not go your own path and let bygones be bygones? The Queen, and the rest of the world only believes that you’re just a murderer. Killing me won’t change it.”
“Running away from my mistakes makes even less of a person and I don’t want to hear about that from you of all people. The Queen still yet believes in me and I will not betray her trust,” Aramus said as he staggered back, rubbing his forehead.
“My ass, she still believes in you. A woman like that? She just callously casts off her minions like they are nothing. When they fail, she casts them away. When they die, she doesn’t even give half a fuck. That’s the way things go when you’re a higher-up. What makes you think she cares about you?”
“What would you know, ignorant wench? Do not lump me in the same category as you and your owner.”
“Owner. That’s funny. That’s fucking hilarious. No, really,” Claudia said, truly chuckling. “Aren’t we all in the same category when serving under a Descendant anyway?”
“You’re a fool to think that. Not everyone is the same as you.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t take advantage of her blabbering.”
Aramus heard his senior’s voice.
DKD pulled out her blade from Claudia’s back that thrust out from her chest. The blood from her suit literally washed down, instead of sticking to it and being soaked. For some reason, the blood even washed itself off her skin, perhaps it was a spell.
Claudia fell onto the floor, starstruck.
“W-What? When did you…?” She turned her arms behind her and swung the scythe at the new face without fully turning to face her, but she disappeared into a portal behind her.
Coming out from above a blade wounded Claudia’s shoulder and it closed. “You seem like a newbie to life itself, kid,” the newcomer’s voice echoed as the rift closed.
“Tch… fuck you,” Claudia growled.
“Try if you can.” With this, Claudia’s eyeball was taken out mercilessly after the Witness appeared fully again. “I hear it’s a challenge with heart problems and a lack of eyesight.” Her smile was as sadistic as ever, yet not truly insane; cool and collected.
“Bravo, bravo.” Aramus clapped lazily from where he stood at the side.
Writhing and rolling madly about the ground, Claudia cursed whoever the hell this was with all her might.
“YOU BITCH. I’LL KILL YOU. I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU.”
“Useless as ever.” Claudia’s Master said as Claudia’s body was picked up from the ground, but Christopher’s fist struck at Crimson Rafflesia who was at the edge of the building. When she fell, she stood up and gave her hand a wave, Aramus fell to his knees immediately while DKD somehow stood her ground. Finally taking Claudia under her arm, the vampire jumped off and escaped.
Christopher followed and the powerful force finally stopped.
“You alright there, DAD?” DKD asked.
“I’m fine. Thanks for the assistance,” Aramus said. Some of the trash had gotten on him but he blew it off with a mixture of Aurum and Aquam, leaving him clean again. Too bad for Claudia and her eye.
“Let Master Christopher pursue, it is too late for us considering this is Crimson Rafflesia.”
“Alright. What will we do now?”
DKD shrugged. “Up for some cakes?”
“We’re not going to help him!?”
“Why? One is useless and the other is fleeing.”
“So one person would be enough to finish the job now. If we’re going to go for cake then I think we’d better get one for him as well. Just in case.”
“Either he deals with it or he gets distracted by women, or Indian food? Who can blame that? Let us be off.” DKD opened the portal, not to pursue, but to eat, already somewhat breaking the law.
“I’ll snag him a slice for good measure,” Aramus said.
“Master—put me down. Put me down!” Claudia yelled at the top of her lungs. “I don’t need to be carried.”
Crimson Rafflesia did not stop at these words.
“We are being chased still.”
“All the more reason to let me off. I’ll only just slow you down with all this extra weight!” The Representative squirmed and kicked, all just to be released. “I’m sick of being carried off whenever I get hurt. I’ll haul my own ass to safety.”
As Crimson Rafflesia hopped onto another building, she dropped Claudia, who fell on a pile of trash yet again.
Fucking really? Claudia stood up and dusted herself off with the arm that worked at the moment before occupying it with her bleeding eye socket.
“Alright, I gotta keep going… ignore the pain and keep going…” As her Master continued through the buildings, Claudia looked away in shame. Just when she was showing so much promise, this had to happen. Her conviction remained strong, however. She wouldn’t dare break any more of her remaining composure. “Let’s go.”
With a dash, Claudia leapt up to a building and looked around before ascertaining her path. She jumped from building to building in a similar manner to her Master. She almost found herself straying off her escape path with her lack of depth perception, for sure. She decided to do as she announced before and find her Master later. Part of Claudia hoped that she wouldn’t run into Aramus or anyone else while in this state.
Her shoulder, felt as if someone took a two-by-four with nails glued to it. She rubbed it all over her wound, Claudia was swearing up a storm as she traveled through the town, already having lost track of Rafflesia along the way.
She couldn’t even tell with only one eye.
“That bitch… I swear, I’ll kill her.” Claudia grunted into the sky. It was too damned early for this. Her hate for this ratsack country could not be expressed any harder. “Russia and the inbreds are better than all this…”
As she jumped another building, nearly tripping herself up, the oft crazed woman finally calmed down enough to sniff into the air, gathering for the woman that was her master.
“Why is she headed for the border? Doesn’t that lead to—” Her breath hitched in her throat for a second, and she swore under her breath. “Iraq? Master, what are you doing?”
Claudia landed on one last building and knelt down, letting the pain crumble her. Even so much as blinking made her feel like someone stabbed a lit torch into her socket. She didn’t know why, but apart from every other time lost a limb or was blown up, or something, it hurt a lot more than usual.
“Graaahhh!” Trembling hands searched for the cigarettes in her pocket, hesitating to light the individual one. Claudia would bleed out before getting the cancer stick into her mouth. The pain was too great that she could not stop shaking.
“Who was she? Why can’t I stop shaking… was she the cause of it?” Claudia uneasily thought, “This is fear, isn’t it…?”
She tried to laugh it off and at the same time, ignore the pain. To be so afraid of someone other than the Countess, Virgo or Rafflesia for that matter…
“Without Master there… I would’ve died. Oh God, I would’ve been killed by her… why am I just realizing this now?” Claudia asked herself. With all her strength, she stood up and continued to walk. “I can’t think about it now… I need to keep moving.”
But why didn’t she seemed too happy about it?
As the smoke rose from her lungs and was released through the room, a dim expression was plastered about the girl as she callously flipped through pages with the interest of a moth through the dark.
The bell rang and Claudia got up. Seeing as her Master was apparently sleeping, she had no choice but to check who was at the door herself. It was likely the room service. With a sigh, she opened the door.
“What is it,” she huffed, bags lush in her eyes.
“Room service here,” an employee of the hotel said politely.
Claudia wondered if her Master had ordered for it while she was busy. Shrugging it off, the crude woman blew smoke into the employee’s face and sighed. “Make it quick, then. I’m busy.”
Suddenly, the Master of Claudia got up from the bed and looked.
“Claudia… who did you let inside?”
“Some employee of the hotel? Did you not order for them to come?”
“No, I did not.”
“Fuck—”
The Master pulled her hand up and the employee was carried up from the floor instantly, he could feel his neck being strangled by a mysterious power.
“A…Allahu Ackbar!” the man shouted, revealing bombs under his suit.
The room of the hotel exploded with the bombs detonating, and Claudia’s Master threw her at the window and she was tossed all the way down from the tenth floor.
Crimson Rafflesia soon came down herself, but unlike Claudia who suffered the long fall, she landed comfortably with the help of the spirits.
“Fucking Christ! Another reason to hate this God damned country!” Claudia complained, rolling onto her back and writhing from the fall. Despite being a Representative, it still hurt like a lot when she would survive something like, say falling from a ten floor building.
“It is too soon to complain. We have company.”
The Archmage Christopher landed on the rooftop of the building they were located in now, and threw his fist in the air. The gust burst into Claudia’s face and she was blown away—straight to the trash below in the alleyway. Aramus laughed as she tore upon a plastic bag, getting covered head to toe in stinking garbage before following after her.
“Hmph, petty Archmage… I suppose that girl is useless beside me nonetheless,” Crimson Rafflesia huffed.
Claudia emerged from the garbage with a grimace. Her eyes burned with fury as the insult and the prying eyes burned at her spine. With gritted teeth, she summoned Lachesis Fang and leapt back to her Master’s position. “I hope you are prepared to eat those words– Master,” she said with a darkened tone to her voice. Another gust of air from the exotic man that was Chris and Claudia fell right back down. She felt like making a storm of swears but now was not the time. She got up from the trash again and found Aramus before her in the narrow alleyway.
“You’re missing some of that here,” Aramus said, pointing at a rotting piece of food stuck on her face. “Might want to get rid of that.”
Taking heed to his words, Claudia begrudgingly wiped the stray garbage from her face, and with narrowed eyes, stared him in the face.
“...Brother,” she said plainly, for some reason making that a pathetic excuse for a greeting.
It was indeed a pathetic excuse for a greeting, Aramus looking at her with contempt.
“Claudia. I see you don’t have your tiara with you. I wonder where it went?” he said with sarcasm.
“And I don’t see your mother cheering you on from the side.” A cold look emitted from Claudia once she said that.
“Could say the same for your parents, am I right?” Aramus stated with a scoff.
“Fuck you,” Claudia spat.
“Someone’s got to take out the trash right?” Aramus said, brandishing his relic.
“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Claudia gave her scythe a twirl before it landed onto her palm.
“Alright to proceed with trash disposal?” Aramus said to Christopher and DKD, still glaring at Claudia.
“What the heck are you waiting for?!” Christopher shouted from above the building.
A huge gust of wind blew all the trash in the alleyway at Claudia, forcing the Representative to cover her eyes as she was caked with more garbage. Aramus took off into the air on a mini dust tornado, laughing as Claudia unsuccessfully tried to wipe it away.
“…Oh, that’s fucking mature,” Claudia said sarcastically, swearing that she hated this country with all her might. How much trash can one spot have!?
Lunging at her so-called sibling, Claudia brandished her scythe and straight off missed once she closed the difference between the two. Right then and there, she activated her Commandement, coaxing a black puddle to form under her feet, summoning her favorite ephemeral beasts to rise.
“Kill.”
The beasts dashed towards Aramus in a collective fashion, Aramus swung his blade at them and two were sliced up. The black demons disappeared as the wind cut them open but one avoided the attack, striking Aramus with a glancing blow.
“Foolish.” Aramus streaked towards her from above, using momentum and gravity to enhance his blow as sword clashed with scythe in a shower of sparks.
“Weak,” Claudia retorted. She pushed the man back and attempted a slash of her own, which, unsurprisingly, missed.
Aramus hit back with a slash of his own, Claudia’s scythe barely coming back in time to prevent her head from being sliced off. The feathers on his sword quivered, tiny lacerations appearing on her face as they worked their magic.
Claudia gave a twirl and snapped back, colliding with Aramus’ relic like before. Sparks flew as iron and platinum encountered each other.
“Tch… you look like you’re having fun.”
“Would’ve been more fun if I didn’t have to smell your stench,” Aramus said, his relic pushing hers back with a burst from its feathers. He wrinkled his nose as more of the foul smell was blown around, using his free hand to cover his nose.
Claudia retaliated with an attack of her own, getting only the broad of Aramus’ weapon. “Kind of your fault, really. Funny how you’re the same jokey little orphan I’ve met so long ago.”
“My fault? How is any of this my fault? You ruined your future by your own hand,” Aramus said with a scowl.
“Do you want me to say it? Do you really want me to?”
Aramus shrugged, lowering his sword for a brief moment. “Not that it matters now. There’s no turning back on the road you’re going down.”
Claudia made a sound of both disbelief and resignation.
“That’s fine, then. To be frank; I’m loving the road I’m taking.”
“Then there shan’t be more words.” Aramus got into a stance. “We’ll settle this once and for all.”
Claudia hung her scythe over her shoulder, her baggy eyes blinking a couple of times.
“Come then, brother. End me.”
“Do not call me that!” Aramus said, anger fuelling his sword as it swung towards her. The blade streaked towards her faster than Claudia could react and it cut into her side.
“Why? Did that strike a nerve, brother?” Claudia held the new wound in her side and smirked madly. “DID THAT PISS YOU OFF?”
“Not as much as seeing what you have fallen to,” Aramus said with disdain.
“And how I have fallen. You aren’t in the best shape yourself, murderer. You’re no better than I am.”
“SHUT UP!” Aramus yelled as his temper flared, swinging at her repeatedly with his relic.
“You claim to be just, a plaything for your Queen… I wonder how you felt when she came along and put you in cuffs? You momentarily saved the world from Virgo, but your beloved Queen didn’t care; she just threw you away,” Claudia said coldly.
“My sins are my own to bear, Her Majesty has no part in my mistakes,” Aramus growled.
“I’d love to see you say that to her face, then.” Claudia dashed towards Aramus and pushed his forehead back with her index and middle fingers. “Why fight me? Why not go your own path and let bygones be bygones? The Queen, and the rest of the world only believes that you’re just a murderer. Killing me won’t change it.”
“Running away from my mistakes makes even less of a person and I don’t want to hear about that from you of all people. The Queen still yet believes in me and I will not betray her trust,” Aramus said as he staggered back, rubbing his forehead.
“My ass, she still believes in you. A woman like that? She just callously casts off her minions like they are nothing. When they fail, she casts them away. When they die, she doesn’t even give half a fuck. That’s the way things go when you’re a higher-up. What makes you think she cares about you?”
“What would you know, ignorant wench? Do not lump me in the same category as you and your owner.”
“Owner. That’s funny. That’s fucking hilarious. No, really,” Claudia said, truly chuckling. “Aren’t we all in the same category when serving under a Descendant anyway?”
“You’re a fool to think that. Not everyone is the same as you.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t take advantage of her blabbering.”
Aramus heard his senior’s voice.
DKD pulled out her blade from Claudia’s back that thrust out from her chest. The blood from her suit literally washed down, instead of sticking to it and being soaked. For some reason, the blood even washed itself off her skin, perhaps it was a spell.
Claudia fell onto the floor, starstruck.
“W-What? When did you…?” She turned her arms behind her and swung the scythe at the new face without fully turning to face her, but she disappeared into a portal behind her.
Coming out from above a blade wounded Claudia’s shoulder and it closed. “You seem like a newbie to life itself, kid,” the newcomer’s voice echoed as the rift closed.
“Tch… fuck you,” Claudia growled.
“Try if you can.” With this, Claudia’s eyeball was taken out mercilessly after the Witness appeared fully again. “I hear it’s a challenge with heart problems and a lack of eyesight.” Her smile was as sadistic as ever, yet not truly insane; cool and collected.
“Bravo, bravo.” Aramus clapped lazily from where he stood at the side.
Writhing and rolling madly about the ground, Claudia cursed whoever the hell this was with all her might.
“YOU BITCH. I’LL KILL YOU. I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU.”
“Useless as ever.” Claudia’s Master said as Claudia’s body was picked up from the ground, but Christopher’s fist struck at Crimson Rafflesia who was at the edge of the building. When she fell, she stood up and gave her hand a wave, Aramus fell to his knees immediately while DKD somehow stood her ground. Finally taking Claudia under her arm, the vampire jumped off and escaped.
Christopher followed and the powerful force finally stopped.
“You alright there, DAD?” DKD asked.
“I’m fine. Thanks for the assistance,” Aramus said. Some of the trash had gotten on him but he blew it off with a mixture of Aurum and Aquam, leaving him clean again. Too bad for Claudia and her eye.
“Let Master Christopher pursue, it is too late for us considering this is Crimson Rafflesia.”
“Alright. What will we do now?”
DKD shrugged. “Up for some cakes?”
“We’re not going to help him!?”
“Why? One is useless and the other is fleeing.”
“So one person would be enough to finish the job now. If we’re going to go for cake then I think we’d better get one for him as well. Just in case.”
“Either he deals with it or he gets distracted by women, or Indian food? Who can blame that? Let us be off.” DKD opened the portal, not to pursue, but to eat, already somewhat breaking the law.
“I’ll snag him a slice for good measure,” Aramus said.
***
“Master—put me down. Put me down!” Claudia yelled at the top of her lungs. “I don’t need to be carried.”
Crimson Rafflesia did not stop at these words.
“We are being chased still.”
“All the more reason to let me off. I’ll only just slow you down with all this extra weight!” The Representative squirmed and kicked, all just to be released. “I’m sick of being carried off whenever I get hurt. I’ll haul my own ass to safety.”
As Crimson Rafflesia hopped onto another building, she dropped Claudia, who fell on a pile of trash yet again.
Fucking really? Claudia stood up and dusted herself off with the arm that worked at the moment before occupying it with her bleeding eye socket.
“Alright, I gotta keep going… ignore the pain and keep going…” As her Master continued through the buildings, Claudia looked away in shame. Just when she was showing so much promise, this had to happen. Her conviction remained strong, however. She wouldn’t dare break any more of her remaining composure. “Let’s go.”
With a dash, Claudia leapt up to a building and looked around before ascertaining her path. She jumped from building to building in a similar manner to her Master. She almost found herself straying off her escape path with her lack of depth perception, for sure. She decided to do as she announced before and find her Master later. Part of Claudia hoped that she wouldn’t run into Aramus or anyone else while in this state.
Her shoulder, felt as if someone took a two-by-four with nails glued to it. She rubbed it all over her wound, Claudia was swearing up a storm as she traveled through the town, already having lost track of Rafflesia along the way.
She couldn’t even tell with only one eye.
“That bitch… I swear, I’ll kill her.” Claudia grunted into the sky. It was too damned early for this. Her hate for this ratsack country could not be expressed any harder. “Russia and the inbreds are better than all this…”
As she jumped another building, nearly tripping herself up, the oft crazed woman finally calmed down enough to sniff into the air, gathering for the woman that was her master.
“Why is she headed for the border? Doesn’t that lead to—” Her breath hitched in her throat for a second, and she swore under her breath. “Iraq? Master, what are you doing?”
Claudia landed on one last building and knelt down, letting the pain crumble her. Even so much as blinking made her feel like someone stabbed a lit torch into her socket. She didn’t know why, but apart from every other time lost a limb or was blown up, or something, it hurt a lot more than usual.
“Graaahhh!” Trembling hands searched for the cigarettes in her pocket, hesitating to light the individual one. Claudia would bleed out before getting the cancer stick into her mouth. The pain was too great that she could not stop shaking.
“Who was she? Why can’t I stop shaking… was she the cause of it?” Claudia uneasily thought, “This is fear, isn’t it…?”
She tried to laugh it off and at the same time, ignore the pain. To be so afraid of someone other than the Countess, Virgo or Rafflesia for that matter…
“Without Master there… I would’ve died. Oh God, I would’ve been killed by her… why am I just realizing this now?” Claudia asked herself. With all her strength, she stood up and continued to walk. “I can’t think about it now… I need to keep moving.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Upon arriving to Saudi Arabia, Svetlana was surprised to experience the drastic changes in climate. It was another desert, but instead of one of snow, it was now one of sand and scorching heat. Svetlana’s dress was now uncomfortable to her and her body felt as though it was melting under the hot sun. As she walked, she saw people in clothing she had never seen before, but she wondering how could people stand such heat. Looking at the houses, she noticed that they were made differently as well compared to the rest of the areas she had been to before.
“Nancy, is it just me or is it really hot here? I feel all sticky under my corset already,” Svetlana said as she wiped off the sweat on her forehead.
“I believe it is indeed very hot. I can only pray that the coldness of the night is soothing enough. It is still too early to unpack, but I did brought a fan inside our bags…”
“If you can, please take it out. This heat is just going to murder me…”
“I placed a lock and all, and these streets are rather dusty. We are still in public too,” Nancy said with an apologetic smile. “Please bare with it, Mistress, I am sure that Ignem users are… slightly resistant to the heat!”
“Doesn’t help that it never got this hot in Russia, and in Japan we had air conditioners…” Svetlana complained. “But fine, I just need time to adjust…”
“Japan is quite hot I hear. I suppose the Academy was well-equipped,” Nancy replied.
They were now walking inside the halls of the Royal Palace. The weather wasn’t great inside or outside apparently, there were many guards around them, and they were approaching the big gate beyond which the throne room lied.
“I would have hoped it to be cooler inside… Just how do people stand this? Thinking about it now, how could she have access to the Royal Palace from this country? Does she know the Princess considering she told us to tell them the †˜Princess gave us permission?’”
“I would not know, but it sounds like she is privy to great amount of details at least. There is so much we do not know, frankly.”
“I suppose we’ll get answers once we meet her again.”
As the door opened before them, many servants were witnessed outside it but not inside. There were magical wards everywhere in the throne room from what the two visitors could see—small prisms keeping the place safe from possible danger of invasion. The floors were seemingly made of gold, similarly to the walls. Nancy was made to wait outside as she was but a lowly maid, while Svetlana was allowed inside.
The King’s hair was long and he was an exotic handsome man with dark skin and eyes that seemed to see more than just her outlook. He was dressed as any King of the country but something about the majesty and the solemnity made her nervous, a different kind of pressure from the time the newly appointed Duchess met her Queen.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty.” Svetlana said as she knelt down.
“Good afternoon. I was told that you were sent by the Queen… I suppose that is the pretext?” King Abdullah said. “State your business, I shall listen.”
“Yes,” Svetlana said as confusion came over her. “I came to speak with the Princess.”
“What business do you have with my daughter, if I may know?” the Archmage asked.
“We have come to get information on someone she knows.”
“Is this true?” The King looked up and the doors of the throne room finally closed, a woman wearing a white exotic dress walked in and stood beside Svetlana.
Svetlana took a glance from the corner of her eyes and found Judgement Summoner in ornaments and an ethnic attire.
“Yes, father. I have invited her to become my apprentice.”
“Apprentice?” King Abdullah questioned, the floor shook as a tremendous amount of mana flowed, his anger boiling. “You would take an outsider for an apprentice?”
“As I said.” The Summoner smiled. “Yes. The woman has potential. I will teach her the ways of the Stars.”
Svetlana was shocked at the current development, having not expected Judgement Summoner herself to be the Princess of the country.
“It has been our tradition to teach the arts of war to the select individuals, this year we certainly had none with potential, but that does not hold true for the future.”
“There will be none in the entire generation, father.”
“You speak of the message of the stars?”
“That is correct.”
“You had been saying one thing and had been doing the other… I find no reason to trust you.”
“Aw, I thought you loved me more than that.”
“I do love you, daughter, but it only reinforces my thought forevermore.”
“You will have to accept this, father. My mind is set on teaching this magus—half Faerie and Infernal—the path of the stars.”
“Your reason for this decision is?”
“Her flowing anger and sorrow… they work towards the requirements.”
“I see that you will not back down on this…”
“If I must add, she was also a pupil of the late Archmage Alicia. She may be a potential Archmage of the future.”
“I cannot ignore that statement. Very well, I shall examine her myself.” King Abdullah looked down at Svetlana yet again. “Rise, I shall personally evaluate your potential.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Svetlana complied and stood up, wondering how the Summoner knew who she was, as she did not recall telling her about her identity under a new body.
The King’s eyes shined white as he peered intently into Svetlana’s soul.
“She has a high level of Warping if that is what you meant, daughter,” the King said in jest and the daughter chuckled.
“We will find a way to not raise it higher than necessary,” the Princess replied.
“Commission a Warping Potion for her.”
“Father…?”
“I shall allow her to remain and learn the Lost Form.”
“I see, good for you,” she told Svetlana.
“Thank you.”
“Nancy, is it just me or is it really hot here? I feel all sticky under my corset already,” Svetlana said as she wiped off the sweat on her forehead.
“I believe it is indeed very hot. I can only pray that the coldness of the night is soothing enough. It is still too early to unpack, but I did brought a fan inside our bags…”
“If you can, please take it out. This heat is just going to murder me…”
“I placed a lock and all, and these streets are rather dusty. We are still in public too,” Nancy said with an apologetic smile. “Please bare with it, Mistress, I am sure that Ignem users are… slightly resistant to the heat!”
“Doesn’t help that it never got this hot in Russia, and in Japan we had air conditioners…” Svetlana complained. “But fine, I just need time to adjust…”
“Japan is quite hot I hear. I suppose the Academy was well-equipped,” Nancy replied.
They were now walking inside the halls of the Royal Palace. The weather wasn’t great inside or outside apparently, there were many guards around them, and they were approaching the big gate beyond which the throne room lied.
“I would have hoped it to be cooler inside… Just how do people stand this? Thinking about it now, how could she have access to the Royal Palace from this country? Does she know the Princess considering she told us to tell them the †˜Princess gave us permission?’”
“I would not know, but it sounds like she is privy to great amount of details at least. There is so much we do not know, frankly.”
“I suppose we’ll get answers once we meet her again.”
As the door opened before them, many servants were witnessed outside it but not inside. There were magical wards everywhere in the throne room from what the two visitors could see—small prisms keeping the place safe from possible danger of invasion. The floors were seemingly made of gold, similarly to the walls. Nancy was made to wait outside as she was but a lowly maid, while Svetlana was allowed inside.
The King’s hair was long and he was an exotic handsome man with dark skin and eyes that seemed to see more than just her outlook. He was dressed as any King of the country but something about the majesty and the solemnity made her nervous, a different kind of pressure from the time the newly appointed Duchess met her Queen.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty.” Svetlana said as she knelt down.
“Good afternoon. I was told that you were sent by the Queen… I suppose that is the pretext?” King Abdullah said. “State your business, I shall listen.”
“Yes,” Svetlana said as confusion came over her. “I came to speak with the Princess.”
“What business do you have with my daughter, if I may know?” the Archmage asked.
“We have come to get information on someone she knows.”
“Is this true?” The King looked up and the doors of the throne room finally closed, a woman wearing a white exotic dress walked in and stood beside Svetlana.
Svetlana took a glance from the corner of her eyes and found Judgement Summoner in ornaments and an ethnic attire.
“Yes, father. I have invited her to become my apprentice.”
“Apprentice?” King Abdullah questioned, the floor shook as a tremendous amount of mana flowed, his anger boiling. “You would take an outsider for an apprentice?”
“As I said.” The Summoner smiled. “Yes. The woman has potential. I will teach her the ways of the Stars.”
Svetlana was shocked at the current development, having not expected Judgement Summoner herself to be the Princess of the country.
“It has been our tradition to teach the arts of war to the select individuals, this year we certainly had none with potential, but that does not hold true for the future.”
“There will be none in the entire generation, father.”
“You speak of the message of the stars?”
“That is correct.”
“You had been saying one thing and had been doing the other… I find no reason to trust you.”
“Aw, I thought you loved me more than that.”
“I do love you, daughter, but it only reinforces my thought forevermore.”
“You will have to accept this, father. My mind is set on teaching this magus—half Faerie and Infernal—the path of the stars.”
“Your reason for this decision is?”
“Her flowing anger and sorrow… they work towards the requirements.”
“I see that you will not back down on this…”
“If I must add, she was also a pupil of the late Archmage Alicia. She may be a potential Archmage of the future.”
“I cannot ignore that statement. Very well, I shall examine her myself.” King Abdullah looked down at Svetlana yet again. “Rise, I shall personally evaluate your potential.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Svetlana complied and stood up, wondering how the Summoner knew who she was, as she did not recall telling her about her identity under a new body.
The King’s eyes shined white as he peered intently into Svetlana’s soul.
“She has a high level of Warping if that is what you meant, daughter,” the King said in jest and the daughter chuckled.
“We will find a way to not raise it higher than necessary,” the Princess replied.
“Commission a Warping Potion for her.”
“Father…?”
“I shall allow her to remain and learn the Lost Form.”
“I see, good for you,” she told Svetlana.
“Thank you.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Having been made to wait in an empty hall for some time, Svetlana was not sure what she was going to be doing to learn the Lost Form that Judgement Summoner was going to teach. It was quite literally empty save for some seats and sofas. Nancy was apparently gone to check the room they were to be staying in. The Princess generously offered to them to stay in the Royal Palace.
“She could have at least left a fan or something. It’s too hot here!” Svetlana voiced her complaint at no one in particular, considering there was no one here for her to speak with. “Wish Nancy would get back already.”
A noise of bells started to ring out from somewhere, and it seemed to faintly echo across the hall. Svetlana started to remember the scary stories that her seniors used to say about haunted houses in the foreigns lands.
Svetlana looked around, wondering if someone had come into the room without her knowing. She looked around and noticed that there was no one around. “Maybe the heat has finally gotten to me…”
The noise continued to ring, and it was getting closer and closer the more she heard it.
“If this is some kind of a joke, it’s not funny,” Svetlana said, her fear showing in her voice, as she stood and looked around, still not seeing anyone around. “It has to be the heat, right…?”
“Something the matter?” A finger poked her from behind her shoulder.
“Kyaaaa!” Svetlana shouted, quickly ran forward and turning around to see what was behind her. It turned out to be the Princess.
“Hm? Is that a new way to attract the attention of men? It is strangely cute.”
“No, but when did you get in here?! I had been looking around and there was no one in sight.”
“I just got here now. What a silly question, I walked up to you, who seemed to be doing her strange skit.”
“People don’t just appear out of nowhere with no warning playing bells, you know?” Svetlana said, pouting.
“Bells?” the Summoner looked down at herself. “Ah, must be the pearls at my feet.” She patted Svetlana’s hair. “What, you were really scared? Aw, I’m so sorry.”
“Sister always told me that ghosts enjoyed eating Faeries, so I’m not fond of them.” Svetlana remembered some of the stories that Mathilde used to tell her and shuddered.
“Ahaha, you had an amusing sister I see,” the Summoner said and walked up to Svetlana. “Here you go.” She handed Svetlana some clothes. “Change into them.”
“Are we going to the beach or something?” Svetlana asked her with a confused expression after examining the exotic clothes.
Judgement Summoner looked down at the clothes and back to Svetlana.
“Beach? Why?”
“Because this practically looks like a swimsuit to me.”
“It does? It is a dress to dance with, a bedlah. You know, belly dancing?”
“I see,” Svetlana simply said with a pause and continued, “Wait, what? Isn’t this too revealing to dance with?!”
“Silly girl.” the veteran dancer laughed and patted her back. She completely treated her like a little girl, as if she was still in her previous form. It wasn’t exactly gentle. “It has to be this way, otherwise no one likes it!”
“But there’s hardly anything covering you…”
“Well, look at me, I am wearing even less in comparison. It’ll be fine!”
“I thought that was just a fashion statement… I never thought I had to wear something similar.”
“We will dance for the stars. This is simply how it is.”
“I see… I suppose I must get used to this.”
Svetlana took another glance at the garments, her face turning bright red as she recalled the outfit Hades had first given her to wear when she first gained her new form.
“It’ll get better. We’ll dance to the public when you can dance better.”
“Okay—wait, why dance in front of the public?! That’s too embarrassing even for me! I’ve never shown so much skin before.”
“But it’s not fun if you don’t dance for the people.” The Summoner pouted. No one knew that Judgement Summoner was imitating Virgo, who was in fact imitating Weiss just to try it out.
“Just the thought of dancing in front of a crowd wearing this is embarrassing enough. I’ve performed in front of a public before, but I’ve always been fully clothed.”
“Being clothed is so boring though.” Judgement Summoner’s fingers were writhing excitedly as she approached Svetlana. “Now, now, don’t resist, this is all for the sake of the Lost Form.”
Svetlana was slowly walking backwards out of instinct, but she soon tripped and fell. The woman squealed as her clothes were sent flying soon enough.
The Princess sighed as she finally got up.
“You don’t look so bad now, do you?”
Svetlana’s face was bright red as she wanted to cover herself, feeling that she was revealing too much skin. It felt especially true now that the air was touching her skin directly like this, which was ironically pleasing since it was very hot. The bra was mostly white with yellow frills on it, with blue and yellow stripe embroidered onto it. As she was still on the ground, she could be seen wearing purple panties, wrapped with a purple skirt that was long from the sides and back, but the front was the most revealing area, and it was filled with frills as well with pearls embroidered to it as well. The skirt was mostly purple with some white spots in some areas around her waist. A white belt wrapped around, and it was decorated with yellow markings. She also noticed that the Summoner had added accessories to her, a pearl necklace, a pair of pearl bracelets on her wrist and ankles, a plain golden band on both her wrists and a yellow choker on her neck.
“Must I really show this much skin?”
“Just think that you’re on the beach. All day every day.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“Imagination is key.”
Svetlana sighed and gave up in giving any further replies as it felt useless to say anything about it.
“Fine. So, what is going to be the first step of the lesson?”
Svetlana stood up and placed her hands right in front of her belly as if to cover herself.
“You will learn to dance!”
“Well, can you show me an example? I doubt it involves the kind of dancing they’ve been trying to teach me back in England.”
“Yes, from the old Arabians to the English and French ballroom practices—they are all very different dances.”
Judgement Summoner went up to the center of the stage where Svetlana was originally sitting and waiting for her on, and she showed an elegant posture.
Now that Svetlana closely examined her again, her attire did looked far more revealing. A thinner white bra with a small red strap that held it together between her breasts, a beige skirt fitted with a golden belt of beads with a transparent material flaunted with it was the first things she noted. There were two more thin belts just above the skirt adorning her navel. Her neck was decorated with a reversible gold necklace that reminded the part Faerie and part Infernal member of old Egyptian kings. Unlike her own choker, Summoner’s one was made of what seemed like gold and steel, with a pattern of gold flame with a black background, she also wore armlets and bracelets that matched this same design and materials. From under said bracelets flowed extensions that were the transparent materials. Speaking of her arms, her fingers were adorned with gold rings, and Svetlana seemed to spot a ruby or two on them, and her nails were polished crimson. Her ankles were equipped with golden pearl beads, apparently the suspect for getting her scared in the first place. She wore red heart-shaped earrings, and finally, her forehead was adorned with a golden circlet.
“Aren’t you sporting a bit too much jewelry, and expensive at that?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not really, it just seems a bit much to me I guess.”
“How much is too much?” The Summoner tilted her head quizzically.
“I guess it’s different from person to person so you can just let it go.”
She tilted her head on the other side. “I see.” She pointed at a music player device beside Svetlana on the floor. “Turn that up.”
“Okay,” Svetlana said as pressed the play button on the music player device.
Judgement Summoner made a radiant smile, standing on her toes. Displaying her grace and poise, she began to demonstrate the dance. She started with light steps. Gyrating her hips, accentuating with the music perfectly—the staccato movements—the twists and turns, and the following fluid steps all allowed her to display muscle control capabilities that she possessed as an able dancer.
It seemed like a very short amount of time passed when Judgement Summoner stopped and the music ended. It somewhat reminded her of her short time with a certain Prince back in Britain.
“Well, this is just about the kind of thing you’re getting into,” she said, apparently not out of breath in any way, she wasn’t sweating either, which was almost impossible to believe if not for Svetlana witnessing it with her own eyes.
“That looked really complicated, especially the stomach movements…” Svetlana said as she recalled the trouble she had just learning simple waltz.
“Did it looked nice or not?”
“It looked very nice, of course. It’s just that the idea of me actually moving like that is hard to fathom…”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then you’ll have a wonderful time—provided you have the right motivation.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Oh, I can teach you that ballroom dancing if you want too,” the Princess said with a hushed tone, placing a finger against her lips. “Just in private.”
“That would be great! But why in private?”
“I do not think people will like it if we do this in public.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“Oh right, we never introduced each other. I’m surprised Nancy wasn’t on my back for that. I’m Duchess Svetlana Astakhov Alicia. How about you? Unless it’s actually Judgement Summoner.”
“Silly girl.” The Summoner laughed while waving dismissively. “Do you think any Princess would be called Judgement Summoner?”
“Well, being raised in Japan I saw many with strange names, but I don’t think so…”
“My name is Aisha bint Abdulaziz. I suppose you can call me Master Aisha.”
“Would †˜Aisha’ be fine for now? I’m not sure I can call someone Master so soon…”
Aisha pouted. “I’m not teaching you anything.”
“Fine, M-master Aisha.”
“Master Aisha. Try again!”
“Master Aisha.”
“Good.” She nodded to herself, pleased. “This is just the time of June here in the modern side of the world so… you’re going to have to start attuning with the stars soon if you don’t want the first step to take too long.”
“Attuning? What do you mean, Master Aisha?”
“Every night has a different pattern of stars. Thus, you must attune each night with the stars. Otherwise, you may come across some days when you are unable to use the Starlight spells.”
“So that means I will have no opportunities to leave till a year passes, Master Aisha?”
“No, unfortunately. You must stay here for this step… be mindful that it is still your first step, well, after you are contracted to the Goddess.”
“Contracted to the Goddess? Which one?”
“Goddess Ishtar.”
“Wait, isn’t she associated to Virgo?!”
“She is her Celestial Spirit, yes. What about it?”
“It’s just how can I associate myself with a Goddess that practically seems to be part of Virgo?”
“I wonder about that…” Aisha gave a bright smile. “Well, by just doing it perhaps?”
“It must be an easy decision to you, isn’t it, Master Aisha?” Svetlana sighed.
“Hm… I do not know, is that a big deal for saving your mother?”
“For my mother I’ll do it, but making a contract with the Goddess that is associated with Virgo doesn’t fully sit well with me.”
The Summoner shrugged.
“No one’s forcing. Contracting Ishtar is not the same as serving as my Mistress, but I guess I soooooorta see why you’d think that way. Sorta.”
“I still have to wonder though, why would you would teach someone who wants to kill your Mistress?”
“Kill? My Mistress?” She blinked a few times.
“It’s nothing. You probably just see it as a joke anyway.”
“It does sound pretty stupid to me. How would you kill a Goddess?”
“She’s no Goddess.”
“Of course she is. Why would you say that?”
“What kind of a Goddess would go and kill someone’s mother in the most cruel way right in front of them?”
The Summoner chuckled. “Who says that the Goddess has to be an ideal, kind being?”
“Just drop this. I didn’t come here for this. I’ve come here to learn how to save my mother and that’s that—anything with Virgo I’ll deal with after all this is completed, and I saved my mother, Master Aisha.”
“You’re the one who brought it up. I am only saying the truth… well, you wouldn’t believe me but each Gods and Goddesses values different things in the world. You may only think about your loved ones but… what about the mothers of the chickens? What about the countless pigs murdered? What about the trees chopped? No one seems to feel anything about them, why should my Mistress feel guilty for your mother’s death? But this is gibberish to the humans who are too full of themselves—even if you’re one, you adopted their values and seem just like them now. I would not promote any more what you don’t want to accept, but know this… it takes quite a lot of devotion to gather the lights of the star. Your love for your mother will not be enough.”
“I will fight for my own values—your Goddess did the mistake of taking my second mother’s life, for that I shall never forgive her, I could care less what others think. The only true values of others that matter to me are that of my sister’s. But you did offered to teach me to free my mother, which I’m thankful for, and I just wish to peacefully work with you, at least till I accomplish that, Master Aisha.”
“That is fine, but I am only telling that you’re all selfish. To proceed you will have to make a contract with Ishtar—as I’ve mentioned before—to do this, we’ll need you to enter the phase of Twilight forcefully.”
“In the end everyone’s selfish even your Goddess. But whatever I’ll do this.”
“I do not agree, but let us proceed.” Judgement Summoner then tossed a crystal ball at Svetlana that was materialized atop her hand a moment ago. “Apply Vim-aspected mana into it.”
Svetlana began tapping into the Dominion Realm from where she gathered Vim mana she was told to, and poured them into the crystal ball. A smoke started to form around her and it eventually made it impossible to see Aisha or the walls or even the floor she was standing on.
“You can stop applying mana, but do not come out from the smoke.”
Svetlana listened as she stopped applying mana and now waited in the in smoke. It was suffocating with the smoke but she still didn’t go out as she was not certain what would happen if she left. Soon after her body began feeling woozy, it was as if she got drunk from the smoke, and started losing senses all over her body. Soon, her vision blanked out and she was lost to the aura of magic around her.
“She could have at least left a fan or something. It’s too hot here!” Svetlana voiced her complaint at no one in particular, considering there was no one here for her to speak with. “Wish Nancy would get back already.”
A noise of bells started to ring out from somewhere, and it seemed to faintly echo across the hall. Svetlana started to remember the scary stories that her seniors used to say about haunted houses in the foreigns lands.
Svetlana looked around, wondering if someone had come into the room without her knowing. She looked around and noticed that there was no one around. “Maybe the heat has finally gotten to me…”
The noise continued to ring, and it was getting closer and closer the more she heard it.
“If this is some kind of a joke, it’s not funny,” Svetlana said, her fear showing in her voice, as she stood and looked around, still not seeing anyone around. “It has to be the heat, right…?”
“Something the matter?” A finger poked her from behind her shoulder.
“Kyaaaa!” Svetlana shouted, quickly ran forward and turning around to see what was behind her. It turned out to be the Princess.
“Hm? Is that a new way to attract the attention of men? It is strangely cute.”
“No, but when did you get in here?! I had been looking around and there was no one in sight.”
“I just got here now. What a silly question, I walked up to you, who seemed to be doing her strange skit.”
“People don’t just appear out of nowhere with no warning playing bells, you know?” Svetlana said, pouting.
“Bells?” the Summoner looked down at herself. “Ah, must be the pearls at my feet.” She patted Svetlana’s hair. “What, you were really scared? Aw, I’m so sorry.”
“Sister always told me that ghosts enjoyed eating Faeries, so I’m not fond of them.” Svetlana remembered some of the stories that Mathilde used to tell her and shuddered.
“Ahaha, you had an amusing sister I see,” the Summoner said and walked up to Svetlana. “Here you go.” She handed Svetlana some clothes. “Change into them.”
“Are we going to the beach or something?” Svetlana asked her with a confused expression after examining the exotic clothes.
Judgement Summoner looked down at the clothes and back to Svetlana.
“Beach? Why?”
“Because this practically looks like a swimsuit to me.”
“It does? It is a dress to dance with, a bedlah. You know, belly dancing?”
“I see,” Svetlana simply said with a pause and continued, “Wait, what? Isn’t this too revealing to dance with?!”
“Silly girl.” the veteran dancer laughed and patted her back. She completely treated her like a little girl, as if she was still in her previous form. It wasn’t exactly gentle. “It has to be this way, otherwise no one likes it!”
“But there’s hardly anything covering you…”
“Well, look at me, I am wearing even less in comparison. It’ll be fine!”
“I thought that was just a fashion statement… I never thought I had to wear something similar.”
“We will dance for the stars. This is simply how it is.”
“I see… I suppose I must get used to this.”
Svetlana took another glance at the garments, her face turning bright red as she recalled the outfit Hades had first given her to wear when she first gained her new form.
“It’ll get better. We’ll dance to the public when you can dance better.”
“Okay—wait, why dance in front of the public?! That’s too embarrassing even for me! I’ve never shown so much skin before.”
“But it’s not fun if you don’t dance for the people.” The Summoner pouted. No one knew that Judgement Summoner was imitating Virgo, who was in fact imitating Weiss just to try it out.
“Just the thought of dancing in front of a crowd wearing this is embarrassing enough. I’ve performed in front of a public before, but I’ve always been fully clothed.”
“Being clothed is so boring though.” Judgement Summoner’s fingers were writhing excitedly as she approached Svetlana. “Now, now, don’t resist, this is all for the sake of the Lost Form.”
Svetlana was slowly walking backwards out of instinct, but she soon tripped and fell. The woman squealed as her clothes were sent flying soon enough.
The Princess sighed as she finally got up.
“You don’t look so bad now, do you?”
Svetlana’s face was bright red as she wanted to cover herself, feeling that she was revealing too much skin. It felt especially true now that the air was touching her skin directly like this, which was ironically pleasing since it was very hot. The bra was mostly white with yellow frills on it, with blue and yellow stripe embroidered onto it. As she was still on the ground, she could be seen wearing purple panties, wrapped with a purple skirt that was long from the sides and back, but the front was the most revealing area, and it was filled with frills as well with pearls embroidered to it as well. The skirt was mostly purple with some white spots in some areas around her waist. A white belt wrapped around, and it was decorated with yellow markings. She also noticed that the Summoner had added accessories to her, a pearl necklace, a pair of pearl bracelets on her wrist and ankles, a plain golden band on both her wrists and a yellow choker on her neck.
“Must I really show this much skin?”
“Just think that you’re on the beach. All day every day.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“Imagination is key.”
Svetlana sighed and gave up in giving any further replies as it felt useless to say anything about it.
“Fine. So, what is going to be the first step of the lesson?”
Svetlana stood up and placed her hands right in front of her belly as if to cover herself.
“You will learn to dance!”
“Well, can you show me an example? I doubt it involves the kind of dancing they’ve been trying to teach me back in England.”
“Yes, from the old Arabians to the English and French ballroom practices—they are all very different dances.”
Judgement Summoner went up to the center of the stage where Svetlana was originally sitting and waiting for her on, and she showed an elegant posture.
Now that Svetlana closely examined her again, her attire did looked far more revealing. A thinner white bra with a small red strap that held it together between her breasts, a beige skirt fitted with a golden belt of beads with a transparent material flaunted with it was the first things she noted. There were two more thin belts just above the skirt adorning her navel. Her neck was decorated with a reversible gold necklace that reminded the part Faerie and part Infernal member of old Egyptian kings. Unlike her own choker, Summoner’s one was made of what seemed like gold and steel, with a pattern of gold flame with a black background, she also wore armlets and bracelets that matched this same design and materials. From under said bracelets flowed extensions that were the transparent materials. Speaking of her arms, her fingers were adorned with gold rings, and Svetlana seemed to spot a ruby or two on them, and her nails were polished crimson. Her ankles were equipped with golden pearl beads, apparently the suspect for getting her scared in the first place. She wore red heart-shaped earrings, and finally, her forehead was adorned with a golden circlet.
“Aren’t you sporting a bit too much jewelry, and expensive at that?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not really, it just seems a bit much to me I guess.”
“How much is too much?” The Summoner tilted her head quizzically.
“I guess it’s different from person to person so you can just let it go.”
She tilted her head on the other side. “I see.” She pointed at a music player device beside Svetlana on the floor. “Turn that up.”
“Okay,” Svetlana said as pressed the play button on the music player device.
Judgement Summoner made a radiant smile, standing on her toes. Displaying her grace and poise, she began to demonstrate the dance. She started with light steps. Gyrating her hips, accentuating with the music perfectly—the staccato movements—the twists and turns, and the following fluid steps all allowed her to display muscle control capabilities that she possessed as an able dancer.
It seemed like a very short amount of time passed when Judgement Summoner stopped and the music ended. It somewhat reminded her of her short time with a certain Prince back in Britain.
“Well, this is just about the kind of thing you’re getting into,” she said, apparently not out of breath in any way, she wasn’t sweating either, which was almost impossible to believe if not for Svetlana witnessing it with her own eyes.
“That looked really complicated, especially the stomach movements…” Svetlana said as she recalled the trouble she had just learning simple waltz.
“Did it looked nice or not?”
“It looked very nice, of course. It’s just that the idea of me actually moving like that is hard to fathom…”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then you’ll have a wonderful time—provided you have the right motivation.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Oh, I can teach you that ballroom dancing if you want too,” the Princess said with a hushed tone, placing a finger against her lips. “Just in private.”
“That would be great! But why in private?”
“I do not think people will like it if we do this in public.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“Oh right, we never introduced each other. I’m surprised Nancy wasn’t on my back for that. I’m Duchess Svetlana Astakhov Alicia. How about you? Unless it’s actually Judgement Summoner.”
“Silly girl.” The Summoner laughed while waving dismissively. “Do you think any Princess would be called Judgement Summoner?”
“Well, being raised in Japan I saw many with strange names, but I don’t think so…”
“My name is Aisha bint Abdulaziz. I suppose you can call me Master Aisha.”
“Would †˜Aisha’ be fine for now? I’m not sure I can call someone Master so soon…”
Aisha pouted. “I’m not teaching you anything.”
“Fine, M-master Aisha.”
“Master Aisha. Try again!”
“Master Aisha.”
“Good.” She nodded to herself, pleased. “This is just the time of June here in the modern side of the world so… you’re going to have to start attuning with the stars soon if you don’t want the first step to take too long.”
“Attuning? What do you mean, Master Aisha?”
“Every night has a different pattern of stars. Thus, you must attune each night with the stars. Otherwise, you may come across some days when you are unable to use the Starlight spells.”
“So that means I will have no opportunities to leave till a year passes, Master Aisha?”
“No, unfortunately. You must stay here for this step… be mindful that it is still your first step, well, after you are contracted to the Goddess.”
“Contracted to the Goddess? Which one?”
“Goddess Ishtar.”
“Wait, isn’t she associated to Virgo?!”
“She is her Celestial Spirit, yes. What about it?”
“It’s just how can I associate myself with a Goddess that practically seems to be part of Virgo?”
“I wonder about that…” Aisha gave a bright smile. “Well, by just doing it perhaps?”
“It must be an easy decision to you, isn’t it, Master Aisha?” Svetlana sighed.
“Hm… I do not know, is that a big deal for saving your mother?”
“For my mother I’ll do it, but making a contract with the Goddess that is associated with Virgo doesn’t fully sit well with me.”
The Summoner shrugged.
“No one’s forcing. Contracting Ishtar is not the same as serving as my Mistress, but I guess I soooooorta see why you’d think that way. Sorta.”
“I still have to wonder though, why would you would teach someone who wants to kill your Mistress?”
“Kill? My Mistress?” She blinked a few times.
“It’s nothing. You probably just see it as a joke anyway.”
“It does sound pretty stupid to me. How would you kill a Goddess?”
“She’s no Goddess.”
“Of course she is. Why would you say that?”
“What kind of a Goddess would go and kill someone’s mother in the most cruel way right in front of them?”
The Summoner chuckled. “Who says that the Goddess has to be an ideal, kind being?”
“Just drop this. I didn’t come here for this. I’ve come here to learn how to save my mother and that’s that—anything with Virgo I’ll deal with after all this is completed, and I saved my mother, Master Aisha.”
“You’re the one who brought it up. I am only saying the truth… well, you wouldn’t believe me but each Gods and Goddesses values different things in the world. You may only think about your loved ones but… what about the mothers of the chickens? What about the countless pigs murdered? What about the trees chopped? No one seems to feel anything about them, why should my Mistress feel guilty for your mother’s death? But this is gibberish to the humans who are too full of themselves—even if you’re one, you adopted their values and seem just like them now. I would not promote any more what you don’t want to accept, but know this… it takes quite a lot of devotion to gather the lights of the star. Your love for your mother will not be enough.”
“I will fight for my own values—your Goddess did the mistake of taking my second mother’s life, for that I shall never forgive her, I could care less what others think. The only true values of others that matter to me are that of my sister’s. But you did offered to teach me to free my mother, which I’m thankful for, and I just wish to peacefully work with you, at least till I accomplish that, Master Aisha.”
“That is fine, but I am only telling that you’re all selfish. To proceed you will have to make a contract with Ishtar—as I’ve mentioned before—to do this, we’ll need you to enter the phase of Twilight forcefully.”
“In the end everyone’s selfish even your Goddess. But whatever I’ll do this.”
“I do not agree, but let us proceed.” Judgement Summoner then tossed a crystal ball at Svetlana that was materialized atop her hand a moment ago. “Apply Vim-aspected mana into it.”
Svetlana began tapping into the Dominion Realm from where she gathered Vim mana she was told to, and poured them into the crystal ball. A smoke started to form around her and it eventually made it impossible to see Aisha or the walls or even the floor she was standing on.
“You can stop applying mana, but do not come out from the smoke.”
Svetlana listened as she stopped applying mana and now waited in the in smoke. It was suffocating with the smoke but she still didn’t go out as she was not certain what would happen if she left. Soon after her body began feeling woozy, it was as if she got drunk from the smoke, and started losing senses all over her body. Soon, her vision blanked out and she was lost to the aura of magic around her.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Having been made to wait in an empty hall for some time, Svetlana was not sure what she was going to be doing to learn the Lost Form that Judgement Summoner was going to teach. It was quite literally empty save for some seats and sofas. Nancy was apparently gone to check the room they were to be staying in. The Princess generously offered to them to stay in the Royal Palace.
“She could have at least left a fan or something. It’s too hot here!” Svetlana voiced her complaint at no one in particular, considering there was no one here for her to speak with. “Wish Nancy would get back already.”
A noise of bells started to ring out from somewhere, and it seemed to faintly echo across the hall. Svetlana started to remember the scary stories that her seniors used to say about haunted houses in the foreigns lands.
Svetlana looked around, wondering if someone had come into the room without her knowing. She looked around and noticed that there was no one around. “Maybe the heat has finally gotten to me…”
The noise continued to ring, and it was getting closer and closer the more she heard it.
“If this is some kind of a joke, it’s not funny,” Svetlana said, her fear showing in her voice, as she stood and looked around, still not seeing anyone around. “It has to be the heat, right…?”
“Something the matter?” A finger poked her from behind her shoulder.
“Kyaaaa!” Svetlana shouted, quickly ran forward and turning around to see what was behind her. It turned out to be the Princess.
“Hm? Is that a new way to attract the attention of men? It is strangely cute.”
“No, but when did you get in here?! I had been looking around and there was no one in sight.”
“I just got here now. What a silly question, I walked up to you, who seemed to be doing her strange skit.”
“People don’t just appear out of nowhere with no warning playing bells, you know?” Svetlana said, pouting.
“Bells?” The Summoner looked down at herself. “Ah, must be the pearls at my feet.” She patted Svetlana’s hair. “What, you were really scared? Aw, I’m so sorry.”
“Sister always told me that ghosts enjoyed eating Faeries, so I’m not fond of them.” Svetlana remembered some of the stories that Mathilde used to tell her and shuddered.
“Ahaha, you had an amusing sister I see,” the Summoner said and walked up to Svetlana. “Here you go.” She handed Svetlana some clothes. “Change into them.”
“Are we going to the beach or something?” Svetlana asked her with a confused expression after examining the exotic clothes.
Judgement Summoner looked down at the clothes and back to Svetlana.
“Beach? Why?”
“Because this practically looks like a swimsuit to me.”
“It does? It is a dress to dance with, a bedlah. You know, belly dancing?”
“I see,” Svetlana simply said with a pause and continued, “Wait, what? Isn’t this too revealing to dance with?!”
“Silly girl.” the veteran dancer laughed and patted her back. She completely treated her like a little girl, as if she was still in her previous form. It wasn’t exactly gentle. “It has to be this way, otherwise no one likes it!”
“But there’s hardly anything covering you…”
“Well, look at me, I am wearing even less in comparison. It’ll be fine!”
“I thought that was just a fashion statement… I never thought I had to wear something similar.”
“We will dance for the stars. This is simply how it is.”
“I see… I suppose I must get used to this.”
Svetlana took another glance at the garments, her face turning bright red as she recalled the outfit Hades had first given her to wear when she first gained her new form.
“It’ll get better. We’ll dance to the public when you can dance better.”
“Okay—wait, why dance in front of the public?! That’s too embarrassing even for me! I’ve never shown so much skin before.”
“But it’s not fun if you don’t dance for the people.” The Summoner pouted. No one knew that Judgement Summoner was imitating Virgo, who was in fact imitating Weiss just to try it out.
“Just the thought of dancing in front of a crowd wearing this is embarrassing enough. I’ve performed in front of a public before, but I’ve always been fully clothed.”
“Being clothed is so boring though.” Judgement Summoner’s fingers were writhing excitedly as she approached Svetlana. “Now, now, don’t resist, this is all for the sake of the Lost Form.”
Svetlana was slowly walking backwards out of instinct, but she soon tripped and fell. The woman squealed as her clothes were sent flying soon enough.
The Princess sighed as she finally got up.
“You don’t look so bad now, do you?”
Svetlana’s face was bright red as she wanted to cover herself, feeling that she was revealing too much skin. It felt especially true now that the air was touching her skin directly like this, which was ironically pleasing since it was very hot. The bra was mostly white with yellow frills on it, with blue and yellow stripe embroidered onto it. As she was still on the ground, she could be seen wearing purple panties, wrapped with a purple skirt that was long from the sides and back, but the front was the most revealing area, and it was filled with frills as well with pearls embroidered to it as well. The skirt was mostly purple with some white spots in some areas around her waist. A white belt wrapped around, and it was decorated with yellow markings. She also noticed that the Summoner had added accessories to her, a pearl necklace, a pair of pearl bracelets on her wrist and ankles, a plain golden band on both her wrists and a yellow choker on her neck.
“Must I really show this much skin?”
“Just think that you’re on the beach. All day every day.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“Imagination is key.”
Svetlana sighed and gave up in giving any further replies as it felt useless to say anything about it.
“Fine. So, what is going to be the first step of the lesson?”
Svetlana stood up and placed her hands right in front of her belly as if to cover herself.
“You will learn to dance!”
“Well, can you show me an example? I doubt it involves the kind of dancing they’ve been trying to teach me back in England.”
“Yes, from the old Arabians to the English and French ballroom practices—they are all very different dances.”
Judgement Summoner went up to the center of the stage where Svetlana was originally sitting and waiting for her on, and she showed an elegant posture.
Now that Svetlana closely examined her again, her attire did looked far more revealing. A thinner white bra with a small red strap that held it together between her breasts, a beige skirt fitted with a golden belt of beads with a transparent material flaunted with it was the first things she noted. There were two more thin belts just above the skirt adorning her navel. Her neck was decorated with a reversible gold necklace that reminded the part Faerie and part Infernal member of old Egyptian kings. Unlike her own choker, the Summoner’s one was made of what seemed like gold and steel, with a pattern of gold flame with a black background, she also wore armlets and bracelets that matched this same design and materials. From under said bracelets flowed extensions that were the transparent materials. Speaking of her arms, her fingers were adorned with gold rings, and Svetlana seemed to spot a ruby or two on them, and her nails were polished crimson. Her ankles were equipped with golden pearl beads, apparently the suspect for getting her scared in the first place. She wore red heart-shaped earrings, and finally, her forehead was adorned with a golden circlet.
“Aren’t you sporting a bit too much jewelry, and expensive at that?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not really, it just seems a bit much to me I guess.”
“How much is too much?” The Summoner tilted her head quizzically.
“I guess it’s different from person to person so you can just let it go.”
She tilted her head on the other side. “I see.” She pointed at a music player device beside Svetlana on the floor. “Turn that up.”
“Okay,” Svetlana said as pressed the play button on the music player device.
Judgement Summoner made a radiant smile, standing on her toes. Displaying her grace and poise, she began to demonstrate the dance. She started with light steps. Gyrating her hips, accentuating with the music perfectly—the staccato movements—the twists and turns, and the following fluid steps all allowed her to display muscle control capabilities that she possessed as an able dancer.
It seemed like a very short amount of time passed when Judgement Summoner stopped and the music ended. It somewhat reminded her of her short time with a certain Prince back in Britain.
“Well, this is just about the kind of thing you’re getting into,” she said, apparently not out of breath in any way, she wasn’t sweating either, which was almost impossible to believe if not for Svetlana witnessing it with her own eyes.
“That looked really complicated, especially the stomach movements…” Svetlana said as she recalled the trouble she had just learning simple waltz.
“Did it looked nice or not?”
“It looked very nice, of course. It’s just that the idea of me actually moving like that is hard to fathom…”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then you’ll have a wonderful time—provided you have the right motivation.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Oh, I can teach you that ballroom dancing if you want too,” the Princess said with a hushed tone, placing a finger against her lips. “Just in private.”
“That would be great! But why in private?”
“I do not think people will like it if we do this in public.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“Oh right, we never introduced each other. I’m surprised Nancy wasn’t on my back for that. I’m Duchess Svetlana Astakhov Alicia. How about you? Unless it’s actually Judgement Summoner.”
“Silly girl.” The Summoner laughed while waving dismissively. “Do you think any Princess would be called Judgement Summoner?”
“Well, being raised in Japan I saw many with strange names, but I don’t think so…”
“My name is Aisha bint Abdulaziz. I suppose you can call me Master Aisha.”
“Would †˜Aisha’ be fine for now? I’m not sure I can call someone Master so soon…”
Aisha pouted. “I’m not teaching you anything.”
“Fine, M-master Aisha.”
“Master Aisha. Try again!”
“Master Aisha.”
“Good.” She nodded to herself, pleased. “This is just the time of June here in the modern side of the world so… you’re going to have to start attuning with the stars soon if you don’t want the first step to take too long.”
“Attuning? What do you mean, Master Aisha?”
“Every night has a different pattern of stars. Thus, you must attune each night with the stars. Otherwise, you may come across some days when you are unable to use the Starlight spells.”
“So that means I will have no opportunities to leave till a year passes, Master Aisha?”
“No, unfortunately. You must stay here for this step… be mindful that it is still your first step, well, after you are contracted to the Goddess.”
“Contracted to the Goddess? Which one?”
“Goddess Ishtar.”
“Wait, isn’t she associated to Virgo?!”
“She is her Celestial Spirit, yes. What about it?”
“It’s just how can I associate myself with a Goddess that practically seems to be part of Virgo?”
“I wonder about that…” Aisha gave a bright smile. “Well, by just doing it perhaps?”
“It must be an easy decision to you, isn’t it, Master Aisha?” Svetlana sighed.
“Hm… I do not know, is that a big deal for saving your mother?”
“For my mother I’ll do it, but making a contract with the Goddess that is associated with Virgo doesn’t fully sit well with me.”
The Summoner shrugged.
“No one’s forcing. Contracting Ishtar is not the same as serving as my Mistress, but I guess I soooooorta see why you’d think that way. Sorta.”
“I still have to wonder though, why would you would teach someone who wants to kill your Mistress?”
“Kill? My Mistress?” She blinked a few times.
“It’s nothing. You probably just see it as a joke anyway.”
“It does sound pretty stupid to me. How would you kill a Goddess?”
“She’s no Goddess.”
“Of course she is. Why would you say that?”
“What kind of a Goddess would go and kill someone’s mother in the most cruel way right in front of them?”
The Summoner chuckled. “Who says that the Goddess has to be an ideal, kind being?”
“Just drop this. I didn’t come here for this. I’ve come here to learn how to save my mother and that’s that—anything with Virgo I’ll deal with after all this is completed, and I saved my mother, Master Aisha.”
“You’re the one who brought it up. I am only saying the truth… well, you wouldn’t believe me but each Gods and Goddesses values different things in the world. You may only think about your loved ones but… what about the mothers of the chickens? What about the countless pigs murdered? What about the trees chopped? No one seems to feel anything about them, why should my Mistress feel guilty for your mother’s death? But this is gibberish to the humans who are too full of themselves—even if you’re one, you adopted their values and seem just like them now. I would not promote any more what you don’t want to accept, but know this… it takes quite a lot of devotion to gather the lights of the star. Your love for your mother will not be enough.”
“I will fight for my own values—your Goddess did the mistake of taking my second mother’s life, for that I shall never forgive her, I could care less what others think. The only true values of others that matter to me are that of my sister’s. But you did offered to teach me to free my mother, which I’m thankful for, and I just wish to peacefully work with you, at least till I accomplish that, Master Aisha.”
“That is fine, but I am only telling that you’re all selfish. To proceed you will have to make a contract with Ishtar—as I’ve mentioned before—to do this, we’ll need you to enter the phase of Twilight forcefully.”
“In the end everyone’s selfish even your Goddess. But whatever I’ll do this.”
“I do not agree, but let us proceed.” Judgement Summoner then tossed a crystal ball at Svetlana that was materialized atop her hand a moment ago. “Apply Vim-aspected mana into it.”
Svetlana began tapping into the Dominion Realm from where she gathered Vim mana she was told to, and poured them into the crystal ball. A smoke started to form around her and it eventually made it impossible to see Aisha or the walls or even the floor she was standing on.
“You can stop applying mana, but do not come out from the smoke.”
Svetlana listened as she stopped applying mana and now waited in the in smoke. It was suffocating with the smoke but she still didn’t go out as she was not certain what would happen if she left. Soon after her body began feeling woozy, it was as if she got drunk from the smoke, and started losing senses all over her body. Soon, her vision blanked out and she was lost to the aura of magic around her.
“She could have at least left a fan or something. It’s too hot here!” Svetlana voiced her complaint at no one in particular, considering there was no one here for her to speak with. “Wish Nancy would get back already.”
A noise of bells started to ring out from somewhere, and it seemed to faintly echo across the hall. Svetlana started to remember the scary stories that her seniors used to say about haunted houses in the foreigns lands.
Svetlana looked around, wondering if someone had come into the room without her knowing. She looked around and noticed that there was no one around. “Maybe the heat has finally gotten to me…”
The noise continued to ring, and it was getting closer and closer the more she heard it.
“If this is some kind of a joke, it’s not funny,” Svetlana said, her fear showing in her voice, as she stood and looked around, still not seeing anyone around. “It has to be the heat, right…?”
“Something the matter?” A finger poked her from behind her shoulder.
“Kyaaaa!” Svetlana shouted, quickly ran forward and turning around to see what was behind her. It turned out to be the Princess.
“Hm? Is that a new way to attract the attention of men? It is strangely cute.”
“No, but when did you get in here?! I had been looking around and there was no one in sight.”
“I just got here now. What a silly question, I walked up to you, who seemed to be doing her strange skit.”
“People don’t just appear out of nowhere with no warning playing bells, you know?” Svetlana said, pouting.
“Bells?” The Summoner looked down at herself. “Ah, must be the pearls at my feet.” She patted Svetlana’s hair. “What, you were really scared? Aw, I’m so sorry.”
“Sister always told me that ghosts enjoyed eating Faeries, so I’m not fond of them.” Svetlana remembered some of the stories that Mathilde used to tell her and shuddered.
“Ahaha, you had an amusing sister I see,” the Summoner said and walked up to Svetlana. “Here you go.” She handed Svetlana some clothes. “Change into them.”
“Are we going to the beach or something?” Svetlana asked her with a confused expression after examining the exotic clothes.
Judgement Summoner looked down at the clothes and back to Svetlana.
“Beach? Why?”
“Because this practically looks like a swimsuit to me.”
“It does? It is a dress to dance with, a bedlah. You know, belly dancing?”
“I see,” Svetlana simply said with a pause and continued, “Wait, what? Isn’t this too revealing to dance with?!”
“Silly girl.” the veteran dancer laughed and patted her back. She completely treated her like a little girl, as if she was still in her previous form. It wasn’t exactly gentle. “It has to be this way, otherwise no one likes it!”
“But there’s hardly anything covering you…”
“Well, look at me, I am wearing even less in comparison. It’ll be fine!”
“I thought that was just a fashion statement… I never thought I had to wear something similar.”
“We will dance for the stars. This is simply how it is.”
“I see… I suppose I must get used to this.”
Svetlana took another glance at the garments, her face turning bright red as she recalled the outfit Hades had first given her to wear when she first gained her new form.
“It’ll get better. We’ll dance to the public when you can dance better.”
“Okay—wait, why dance in front of the public?! That’s too embarrassing even for me! I’ve never shown so much skin before.”
“But it’s not fun if you don’t dance for the people.” The Summoner pouted. No one knew that Judgement Summoner was imitating Virgo, who was in fact imitating Weiss just to try it out.
“Just the thought of dancing in front of a crowd wearing this is embarrassing enough. I’ve performed in front of a public before, but I’ve always been fully clothed.”
“Being clothed is so boring though.” Judgement Summoner’s fingers were writhing excitedly as she approached Svetlana. “Now, now, don’t resist, this is all for the sake of the Lost Form.”
Svetlana was slowly walking backwards out of instinct, but she soon tripped and fell. The woman squealed as her clothes were sent flying soon enough.
The Princess sighed as she finally got up.
“You don’t look so bad now, do you?”
Svetlana’s face was bright red as she wanted to cover herself, feeling that she was revealing too much skin. It felt especially true now that the air was touching her skin directly like this, which was ironically pleasing since it was very hot. The bra was mostly white with yellow frills on it, with blue and yellow stripe embroidered onto it. As she was still on the ground, she could be seen wearing purple panties, wrapped with a purple skirt that was long from the sides and back, but the front was the most revealing area, and it was filled with frills as well with pearls embroidered to it as well. The skirt was mostly purple with some white spots in some areas around her waist. A white belt wrapped around, and it was decorated with yellow markings. She also noticed that the Summoner had added accessories to her, a pearl necklace, a pair of pearl bracelets on her wrist and ankles, a plain golden band on both her wrists and a yellow choker on her neck.
“Must I really show this much skin?”
“Just think that you’re on the beach. All day every day.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“Imagination is key.”
Svetlana sighed and gave up in giving any further replies as it felt useless to say anything about it.
“Fine. So, what is going to be the first step of the lesson?”
Svetlana stood up and placed her hands right in front of her belly as if to cover herself.
“You will learn to dance!”
“Well, can you show me an example? I doubt it involves the kind of dancing they’ve been trying to teach me back in England.”
“Yes, from the old Arabians to the English and French ballroom practices—they are all very different dances.”
Judgement Summoner went up to the center of the stage where Svetlana was originally sitting and waiting for her on, and she showed an elegant posture.
Now that Svetlana closely examined her again, her attire did looked far more revealing. A thinner white bra with a small red strap that held it together between her breasts, a beige skirt fitted with a golden belt of beads with a transparent material flaunted with it was the first things she noted. There were two more thin belts just above the skirt adorning her navel. Her neck was decorated with a reversible gold necklace that reminded the part Faerie and part Infernal member of old Egyptian kings. Unlike her own choker, the Summoner’s one was made of what seemed like gold and steel, with a pattern of gold flame with a black background, she also wore armlets and bracelets that matched this same design and materials. From under said bracelets flowed extensions that were the transparent materials. Speaking of her arms, her fingers were adorned with gold rings, and Svetlana seemed to spot a ruby or two on them, and her nails were polished crimson. Her ankles were equipped with golden pearl beads, apparently the suspect for getting her scared in the first place. She wore red heart-shaped earrings, and finally, her forehead was adorned with a golden circlet.
“Aren’t you sporting a bit too much jewelry, and expensive at that?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not really, it just seems a bit much to me I guess.”
“How much is too much?” The Summoner tilted her head quizzically.
“I guess it’s different from person to person so you can just let it go.”
She tilted her head on the other side. “I see.” She pointed at a music player device beside Svetlana on the floor. “Turn that up.”
“Okay,” Svetlana said as pressed the play button on the music player device.
Judgement Summoner made a radiant smile, standing on her toes. Displaying her grace and poise, she began to demonstrate the dance. She started with light steps. Gyrating her hips, accentuating with the music perfectly—the staccato movements—the twists and turns, and the following fluid steps all allowed her to display muscle control capabilities that she possessed as an able dancer.
It seemed like a very short amount of time passed when Judgement Summoner stopped and the music ended. It somewhat reminded her of her short time with a certain Prince back in Britain.
“Well, this is just about the kind of thing you’re getting into,” she said, apparently not out of breath in any way, she wasn’t sweating either, which was almost impossible to believe if not for Svetlana witnessing it with her own eyes.
“That looked really complicated, especially the stomach movements…” Svetlana said as she recalled the trouble she had just learning simple waltz.
“Did it looked nice or not?”
“It looked very nice, of course. It’s just that the idea of me actually moving like that is hard to fathom…”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then you’ll have a wonderful time—provided you have the right motivation.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Oh, I can teach you that ballroom dancing if you want too,” the Princess said with a hushed tone, placing a finger against her lips. “Just in private.”
“That would be great! But why in private?”
“I do not think people will like it if we do this in public.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“Oh right, we never introduced each other. I’m surprised Nancy wasn’t on my back for that. I’m Duchess Svetlana Astakhov Alicia. How about you? Unless it’s actually Judgement Summoner.”
“Silly girl.” The Summoner laughed while waving dismissively. “Do you think any Princess would be called Judgement Summoner?”
“Well, being raised in Japan I saw many with strange names, but I don’t think so…”
“My name is Aisha bint Abdulaziz. I suppose you can call me Master Aisha.”
“Would †˜Aisha’ be fine for now? I’m not sure I can call someone Master so soon…”
Aisha pouted. “I’m not teaching you anything.”
“Fine, M-master Aisha.”
“Master Aisha. Try again!”
“Master Aisha.”
“Good.” She nodded to herself, pleased. “This is just the time of June here in the modern side of the world so… you’re going to have to start attuning with the stars soon if you don’t want the first step to take too long.”
“Attuning? What do you mean, Master Aisha?”
“Every night has a different pattern of stars. Thus, you must attune each night with the stars. Otherwise, you may come across some days when you are unable to use the Starlight spells.”
“So that means I will have no opportunities to leave till a year passes, Master Aisha?”
“No, unfortunately. You must stay here for this step… be mindful that it is still your first step, well, after you are contracted to the Goddess.”
“Contracted to the Goddess? Which one?”
“Goddess Ishtar.”
“Wait, isn’t she associated to Virgo?!”
“She is her Celestial Spirit, yes. What about it?”
“It’s just how can I associate myself with a Goddess that practically seems to be part of Virgo?”
“I wonder about that…” Aisha gave a bright smile. “Well, by just doing it perhaps?”
“It must be an easy decision to you, isn’t it, Master Aisha?” Svetlana sighed.
“Hm… I do not know, is that a big deal for saving your mother?”
“For my mother I’ll do it, but making a contract with the Goddess that is associated with Virgo doesn’t fully sit well with me.”
The Summoner shrugged.
“No one’s forcing. Contracting Ishtar is not the same as serving as my Mistress, but I guess I soooooorta see why you’d think that way. Sorta.”
“I still have to wonder though, why would you would teach someone who wants to kill your Mistress?”
“Kill? My Mistress?” She blinked a few times.
“It’s nothing. You probably just see it as a joke anyway.”
“It does sound pretty stupid to me. How would you kill a Goddess?”
“She’s no Goddess.”
“Of course she is. Why would you say that?”
“What kind of a Goddess would go and kill someone’s mother in the most cruel way right in front of them?”
The Summoner chuckled. “Who says that the Goddess has to be an ideal, kind being?”
“Just drop this. I didn’t come here for this. I’ve come here to learn how to save my mother and that’s that—anything with Virgo I’ll deal with after all this is completed, and I saved my mother, Master Aisha.”
“You’re the one who brought it up. I am only saying the truth… well, you wouldn’t believe me but each Gods and Goddesses values different things in the world. You may only think about your loved ones but… what about the mothers of the chickens? What about the countless pigs murdered? What about the trees chopped? No one seems to feel anything about them, why should my Mistress feel guilty for your mother’s death? But this is gibberish to the humans who are too full of themselves—even if you’re one, you adopted their values and seem just like them now. I would not promote any more what you don’t want to accept, but know this… it takes quite a lot of devotion to gather the lights of the star. Your love for your mother will not be enough.”
“I will fight for my own values—your Goddess did the mistake of taking my second mother’s life, for that I shall never forgive her, I could care less what others think. The only true values of others that matter to me are that of my sister’s. But you did offered to teach me to free my mother, which I’m thankful for, and I just wish to peacefully work with you, at least till I accomplish that, Master Aisha.”
“That is fine, but I am only telling that you’re all selfish. To proceed you will have to make a contract with Ishtar—as I’ve mentioned before—to do this, we’ll need you to enter the phase of Twilight forcefully.”
“In the end everyone’s selfish even your Goddess. But whatever I’ll do this.”
“I do not agree, but let us proceed.” Judgement Summoner then tossed a crystal ball at Svetlana that was materialized atop her hand a moment ago. “Apply Vim-aspected mana into it.”
Svetlana began tapping into the Dominion Realm from where she gathered Vim mana she was told to, and poured them into the crystal ball. A smoke started to form around her and it eventually made it impossible to see Aisha or the walls or even the floor she was standing on.
“You can stop applying mana, but do not come out from the smoke.”
Svetlana listened as she stopped applying mana and now waited in the in smoke. It was suffocating with the smoke but she still didn’t go out as she was not certain what would happen if she left. Soon after her body began feeling woozy, it was as if she got drunk from the smoke, and started losing senses all over her body. Soon, her vision blanked out and she was lost to the aura of magic around her.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Svetlana jolted up, opening her eyes. She forgot that she had that “conversation” with her demon and wondered why she suddenly recalled that situation, but looking around this was the space or similar to where she had conversed with her demon.
“As if I’m gonna be wanting to eat souls like you,” Svetlana said, shaking her head. I need to never let her soul cravings affect me.
“How long will you daydream?”
Looking back, there seemed to be a white table and a pair of chairs. On one of them, a woman seemed to be sitting, her leg pulled up over the other. Her hair seemed blonde for an instant, but after she took a step forward, the color seemed to change to blue from her view. It seemed like her hair had different colors based on what direction one looked at her from. Her attire only consisted of a white, revealing outfit, which somehow made her think of her Master. Despite this, there was a regal feeling from her, accentuated by her crown that seemed to have arrow-like protrusions.
“Well I’m done now. I take it you’re the one in charge of this area? You give that feeling for some reason.”
“I do have control over this plane, yes.”
“Well, I suppose this might come off rude, but would you happen to be Ishtar or would she be somewhere else? I wasn’t really given a description.”
“I suppose my name is Ishtar, at least that is what they called me in the past. What would you want from me, fair maiden?”
“I’ve come to make a contract with you so that I might be able to learn the Starlight spells.”
“You seek out the set of spells I granted to my priestesses? Why? To defeat my host?”
“My main priority right now is to save my mother. I wish to free her soul.”
“Is her soul unable to move on?”
“Yes, something horrible was done to her and Master Aisha told me that I must learn to wield the power of the stars to set her free.”
“And? What would you do after that?”
Svetlana stayed silent for a second before responding.
“I suppose I cannot hide it from you at all as you are her host. I plan to defeat Virgo.”
“You would defeat my host using the powers I bestow?”
Ishtar didn’t even seem to look at Svetlana as she conversed with her. Svetlana could tell, especially after hearing from Judgement Summoner about her being a Goddess—Ishtar saw her as something less than an ant.
“If I’m not allowed to use this power to fight Virgo so be it. I would find a different way. But I wish to use to power to free my mother, which was the sole reason I agreed to this.”
“What do I gain from imparting my knowledge to someone as insignificant as your existence? You may have agreed to a practitioner of the Starlight spells, but it does not warrant my approval.”
“I cannot say as you’re a Goddess, and I’m just a simple being. All I can say is you gain from imparting knowledge from me is a worshipper as I don’t know what a Goddess would really want to gain from me.”
“What may you offer? Salvation to the souls of the dead? Saving the world of at least some of its sufferings? Judge its people? Worshipping… is something I do not quite care for no longer. I was betrayed. Human values… they are the ultimate form of hubris.”
“Salvation to the souls of the dead.”
“Do you truly understand the meaning of this? Tell me what you understand of it.”
“I’ll be honest. It’s my own interpretation, I believe it involves saving souls that are trapped, but I take it you have a different meaning for it.”
“You have to purge the sinners. Those that commit crimes against the world, for the earth itself is full of souls… after all, you humans bury bodies, implanting souls within the earth. Then you humans cremate bodies, sending souls into the air. It is indeed the Cycle of Rebirth that brings them back in material forms, but if they are desecrated before they are brought back, they may be lost forever by the harms done in blissful—and greedy—ignorance.”
“How exactly is one desecrated?”
“Want to see it?”
“Yes.”
Ishtar turned to Svetlana and their eyes met. The Goddess’ eyes seemed to glimmer for a moment with a navy-blue light.
Svetlana’s view changed. She saw the sky, and then she saw the ground, however, her view to the ground was extremely close.
Soon, she noticed that she was a skeleton.
A human being took it up, apparently to †˜clean’ it, and burnt the skeleton. She felt every sensations of her being touched and burned. The burning part was the most painful thing she experienced as her consciousness was allowed to feel it till the very end—it was nothing compared to the heat she felt some time ago in Saudi Arabia with her dress.
Soon after, her vision was floating in the air, which was a very odd experience—she was the soul that was sent away to the air as the Goddess had earlier mentioned. It didn’t take a minute for her to enter a cloud of polluted gas. It was an extremely unpleasant experience as she was forced to breathe the air. Being caught in this pollided air that was being carried by the gust, she was forced to go with its whims and travel with it for many months.
She found herself as a tree next, a man was chopping her down. It felt as though someone was cutting her stomach with a blade. She was later made into a table after her body was torn into many pieces. A child was banging against the table that was Svetlana now, asking his mother for food.
Svetlana was turned into the ground next, or rather, the asphalt. A man drilled her with a machine, a new experience of pain was gained. Soon, she was to be dumped, and then carted away before being burned again. This time, as trash.
The experiences continued like this, and she wasn’t sure how long it lasted.
She took a guess—she spent five years seeing these things. It may have been more, or it may have been shorter. She had more than enough of these painfully traumatic experiences and desperately wanted them to stop.
When she woke up from this nightmare, she fell to the white floor and started to puke repeatedly. Having nothing in her stomach in this plane, she found that the fluids she gave away from her mouth were black substances even she could not make sense of.
Svetlana stayed silent as she had no words to say after she barely stood up and wiped her mouth clean.
“How are we supposed to know this? As far as I know, this was never mentioned to us. Memories like this never comes to us.”
“A priestess is given the ability to attune with nature. Thus, feelings of pain and suffering may be felt around you. By the time you master it—you would realize ever more what the human beings are doing to the world around you. Races joining arms with them do all the same… a good example would be Faeries or the Infernals helping them. You, would be a good example—not that I accuse you, but you hold their principles and values. I shall now ask… do you find any of what you experience wrong? Or do you feel that all this suffering was warranted?”
“I will admit that all of which I experienced was wrong, there’s no deny that. But I also believe we can fix this. It takes time, that I can tell, but killing people who know nothing of this is wrong to me. It has to be something that takes time to fix, those who do it on purpose must be punished, but I have to say, construction would be almost impossible to stop, but we should be able to stop the pollution at least. We have to find different ways besides killing if no one has knowledge. I’ve never once heard a priestess try and convey this message if they won’t say anything what could we do.”
“How would you hear them? They were mostly killed by your ancestors. If you are to claim that this tragedy would continue while you take your sweet time, then continue it shall. Give up—and it ends there. Do you really think killing is not a solution? Pray tell, what do you think is the true death? Souls dying permanently, or people entering the Cycle of Rebirth?”
“I won’t give up. There has to be a way. If one works enough and understands it they will find a way. With no knowledge one cannot stop this. I do not wish for souls to disappear, but are you telling life doesn’t hold the same value? If so why did we even gain life? For wouldn’t a more ideal world for you be one where beings with intelligence not came to be? Why were we given the knowledge to learn then?”
“Do you think the mundanes believe? Those millions of people out there? What about those souls going extinct? Ways? What ways? How many years had passed since intelligence in beings were established? Do not ask me why you gained knowledge, that was not my gift. There are souls coming back into the world, but those abused are lost in a cycle of terror. You believe an ideal world would exist? That is an optimistic farce you speak of. There is no end to this cycle and the only respite is having people who may prolong the death of souls. Why gain life? Why, you ask? We formed the world and the universe, and life was formed as a result of natural phenomena. That is the world you had lived in. It was not my idea to promote violence at first, however evil exists side-by-side with the good.”
“Mundanes don’t believe because the world of magic is hidden from them. Why it was done is something I wouldn’t know, my ancestors made that choice and there’s nothing I can do about that. All I can do is to try and fix their mistakes. The system cycle was created by you higher beings, was it not? If you cannot change it then who will? Change it to one where souls can stay along with the living beings without suffering. You call my ideal world a farce when nothing has been tried at all. It can only be called farce if I failed completely after giving it all.”
“Tried? Tried?” Svetlana felt a powerful wind pass but she wasn’t blown away, perhaps because she was allowed to stay. “We may have created it together… but there is no control over it. Do not make assumptions. I do not quite enjoy this cycle of conversation. Make your choice or leave.”
“If I may, I’d like to know about what you meant by †˜saving the world of at least some of its sufferings,’ before making my choice?”
“You would have to put an end to the tainted souls that roams the world. Those evil that inhabits certain parts of the lands and terrorizes it. A good example would be the souls that roams the world after death—the souls of great evil. Diabolical worshippers, villains, murderers, some that may have proactively hunted others… this may even include animals. In truth, the earth is full of tainted spirits, and you have to exterminate them from time to time. Based on our contract, the more you avoid fulfilling your objective—the more your soul is sold to me. After your death, you shall be welcomed to the Hall of Heroes.”
“I shall offer saving the world of some of of its suffering, then.”
“After you die, if the Commandment Siren’s Prayer is activated—you would be summoned as one of the priestesses. Do you find it acceptable?”
“Yes.”
“Come to me.”
Svetlana approached Ishtar as commanded. Ishtar got up from her chair and raised Svetlana’s head up by her chin. Their lips made contact as the Goddess pressed hers against Svetlana’s. The tongues collided and their salivas mixed before they seemed to mingle inside her mouth. For a moment, the Goddess retracted, Svetlana’s eyes already showing strong signs of lust, strands of glistening salivas bridged the two before she pressed into her mouth again.
This time, the prospective priestess that was Svetlana experienced a much more stronger, and a deeper kiss. She could feel Ishtar’s hand being placed on her crotch.
“Accept… the blessings.”
Once more she was kissed, and this time she swallowed even more saliva from Ishtar. These saliva, in reality, were the lights of the stars themselves—glistening with energy in them.
By the time they were done, Svetlana found herself on the floor, apparently having lost consciousness for some time. How could a soul lose consciousness? She had no idea, but apparently she did. She seemed to long for more of this treatment instinctively.
She later noticed that Ishtar was back to her seat by the time she could think normally again.
“What just happened…?” Svetlana could still feel feel the kiss that was given to her by Ishtar. Her body was still tingling with excitement and she couldn’t calm down. After a few minutes her body seemed to settle down just a bit, but she could still feel the lust for more. She felt another strange feeling within herself, as if the stars themselves were in her. Her body—or rather—her soul, started to shine with a faint blue light, just as she saw Judgement Starlight shine before. She could see stars on her very body. “What’s happening?”
“Your soul has taken on the lustre of mine—you have the soul that possesses a portion of the light of the stars now. With this you may connect and attune yourself with the stars. This light would also let you feel the tainted lands and souls, as per our agreement.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
“As if I’m gonna be wanting to eat souls like you,” Svetlana said, shaking her head. I need to never let her soul cravings affect me.
“How long will you daydream?”
Looking back, there seemed to be a white table and a pair of chairs. On one of them, a woman seemed to be sitting, her leg pulled up over the other. Her hair seemed blonde for an instant, but after she took a step forward, the color seemed to change to blue from her view. It seemed like her hair had different colors based on what direction one looked at her from. Her attire only consisted of a white, revealing outfit, which somehow made her think of her Master. Despite this, there was a regal feeling from her, accentuated by her crown that seemed to have arrow-like protrusions.
“Well I’m done now. I take it you’re the one in charge of this area? You give that feeling for some reason.”
“I do have control over this plane, yes.”
“Well, I suppose this might come off rude, but would you happen to be Ishtar or would she be somewhere else? I wasn’t really given a description.”
“I suppose my name is Ishtar, at least that is what they called me in the past. What would you want from me, fair maiden?”
“I’ve come to make a contract with you so that I might be able to learn the Starlight spells.”
“You seek out the set of spells I granted to my priestesses? Why? To defeat my host?”
“My main priority right now is to save my mother. I wish to free her soul.”
“Is her soul unable to move on?”
“Yes, something horrible was done to her and Master Aisha told me that I must learn to wield the power of the stars to set her free.”
“And? What would you do after that?”
Svetlana stayed silent for a second before responding.
“I suppose I cannot hide it from you at all as you are her host. I plan to defeat Virgo.”
“You would defeat my host using the powers I bestow?”
Ishtar didn’t even seem to look at Svetlana as she conversed with her. Svetlana could tell, especially after hearing from Judgement Summoner about her being a Goddess—Ishtar saw her as something less than an ant.
“If I’m not allowed to use this power to fight Virgo so be it. I would find a different way. But I wish to use to power to free my mother, which was the sole reason I agreed to this.”
“What do I gain from imparting my knowledge to someone as insignificant as your existence? You may have agreed to a practitioner of the Starlight spells, but it does not warrant my approval.”
“I cannot say as you’re a Goddess, and I’m just a simple being. All I can say is you gain from imparting knowledge from me is a worshipper as I don’t know what a Goddess would really want to gain from me.”
“What may you offer? Salvation to the souls of the dead? Saving the world of at least some of its sufferings? Judge its people? Worshipping… is something I do not quite care for no longer. I was betrayed. Human values… they are the ultimate form of hubris.”
“Salvation to the souls of the dead.”
“Do you truly understand the meaning of this? Tell me what you understand of it.”
“I’ll be honest. It’s my own interpretation, I believe it involves saving souls that are trapped, but I take it you have a different meaning for it.”
“You have to purge the sinners. Those that commit crimes against the world, for the earth itself is full of souls… after all, you humans bury bodies, implanting souls within the earth. Then you humans cremate bodies, sending souls into the air. It is indeed the Cycle of Rebirth that brings them back in material forms, but if they are desecrated before they are brought back, they may be lost forever by the harms done in blissful—and greedy—ignorance.”
“How exactly is one desecrated?”
“Want to see it?”
“Yes.”
Ishtar turned to Svetlana and their eyes met. The Goddess’ eyes seemed to glimmer for a moment with a navy-blue light.
Svetlana’s view changed. She saw the sky, and then she saw the ground, however, her view to the ground was extremely close.
Soon, she noticed that she was a skeleton.
A human being took it up, apparently to †˜clean’ it, and burnt the skeleton. She felt every sensations of her being touched and burned. The burning part was the most painful thing she experienced as her consciousness was allowed to feel it till the very end—it was nothing compared to the heat she felt some time ago in Saudi Arabia with her dress.
Soon after, her vision was floating in the air, which was a very odd experience—she was the soul that was sent away to the air as the Goddess had earlier mentioned. It didn’t take a minute for her to enter a cloud of polluted gas. It was an extremely unpleasant experience as she was forced to breathe the air. Being caught in this pollided air that was being carried by the gust, she was forced to go with its whims and travel with it for many months.
She found herself as a tree next, a man was chopping her down. It felt as though someone was cutting her stomach with a blade. She was later made into a table after her body was torn into many pieces. A child was banging against the table that was Svetlana now, asking his mother for food.
Svetlana was turned into the ground next, or rather, the asphalt. A man drilled her with a machine, a new experience of pain was gained. Soon, she was to be dumped, and then carted away before being burned again. This time, as trash.
The experiences continued like this, and she wasn’t sure how long it lasted.
She took a guess—she spent five years seeing these things. It may have been more, or it may have been shorter. She had more than enough of these painfully traumatic experiences and desperately wanted them to stop.
When she woke up from this nightmare, she fell to the white floor and started to puke repeatedly. Having nothing in her stomach in this plane, she found that the fluids she gave away from her mouth were black substances even she could not make sense of.
Svetlana stayed silent as she had no words to say after she barely stood up and wiped her mouth clean.
“How are we supposed to know this? As far as I know, this was never mentioned to us. Memories like this never comes to us.”
“A priestess is given the ability to attune with nature. Thus, feelings of pain and suffering may be felt around you. By the time you master it—you would realize ever more what the human beings are doing to the world around you. Races joining arms with them do all the same… a good example would be Faeries or the Infernals helping them. You, would be a good example—not that I accuse you, but you hold their principles and values. I shall now ask… do you find any of what you experience wrong? Or do you feel that all this suffering was warranted?”
“I will admit that all of which I experienced was wrong, there’s no deny that. But I also believe we can fix this. It takes time, that I can tell, but killing people who know nothing of this is wrong to me. It has to be something that takes time to fix, those who do it on purpose must be punished, but I have to say, construction would be almost impossible to stop, but we should be able to stop the pollution at least. We have to find different ways besides killing if no one has knowledge. I’ve never once heard a priestess try and convey this message if they won’t say anything what could we do.”
“How would you hear them? They were mostly killed by your ancestors. If you are to claim that this tragedy would continue while you take your sweet time, then continue it shall. Give up—and it ends there. Do you really think killing is not a solution? Pray tell, what do you think is the true death? Souls dying permanently, or people entering the Cycle of Rebirth?”
“I won’t give up. There has to be a way. If one works enough and understands it they will find a way. With no knowledge one cannot stop this. I do not wish for souls to disappear, but are you telling life doesn’t hold the same value? If so why did we even gain life? For wouldn’t a more ideal world for you be one where beings with intelligence not came to be? Why were we given the knowledge to learn then?”
“Do you think the mundanes believe? Those millions of people out there? What about those souls going extinct? Ways? What ways? How many years had passed since intelligence in beings were established? Do not ask me why you gained knowledge, that was not my gift. There are souls coming back into the world, but those abused are lost in a cycle of terror. You believe an ideal world would exist? That is an optimistic farce you speak of. There is no end to this cycle and the only respite is having people who may prolong the death of souls. Why gain life? Why, you ask? We formed the world and the universe, and life was formed as a result of natural phenomena. That is the world you had lived in. It was not my idea to promote violence at first, however evil exists side-by-side with the good.”
“Mundanes don’t believe because the world of magic is hidden from them. Why it was done is something I wouldn’t know, my ancestors made that choice and there’s nothing I can do about that. All I can do is to try and fix their mistakes. The system cycle was created by you higher beings, was it not? If you cannot change it then who will? Change it to one where souls can stay along with the living beings without suffering. You call my ideal world a farce when nothing has been tried at all. It can only be called farce if I failed completely after giving it all.”
“Tried? Tried?” Svetlana felt a powerful wind pass but she wasn’t blown away, perhaps because she was allowed to stay. “We may have created it together… but there is no control over it. Do not make assumptions. I do not quite enjoy this cycle of conversation. Make your choice or leave.”
“If I may, I’d like to know about what you meant by †˜saving the world of at least some of its sufferings,’ before making my choice?”
“You would have to put an end to the tainted souls that roams the world. Those evil that inhabits certain parts of the lands and terrorizes it. A good example would be the souls that roams the world after death—the souls of great evil. Diabolical worshippers, villains, murderers, some that may have proactively hunted others… this may even include animals. In truth, the earth is full of tainted spirits, and you have to exterminate them from time to time. Based on our contract, the more you avoid fulfilling your objective—the more your soul is sold to me. After your death, you shall be welcomed to the Hall of Heroes.”
“I shall offer saving the world of some of of its suffering, then.”
“After you die, if the Commandment Siren’s Prayer is activated—you would be summoned as one of the priestesses. Do you find it acceptable?”
“Yes.”
“Come to me.”
Svetlana approached Ishtar as commanded. Ishtar got up from her chair and raised Svetlana’s head up by her chin. Their lips made contact as the Goddess pressed hers against Svetlana’s. The tongues collided and their salivas mixed before they seemed to mingle inside her mouth. For a moment, the Goddess retracted, Svetlana’s eyes already showing strong signs of lust, strands of glistening salivas bridged the two before she pressed into her mouth again.
This time, the prospective priestess that was Svetlana experienced a much more stronger, and a deeper kiss. She could feel Ishtar’s hand being placed on her crotch.
“Accept… the blessings.”
Once more she was kissed, and this time she swallowed even more saliva from Ishtar. These saliva, in reality, were the lights of the stars themselves—glistening with energy in them.
By the time they were done, Svetlana found herself on the floor, apparently having lost consciousness for some time. How could a soul lose consciousness? She had no idea, but apparently she did. She seemed to long for more of this treatment instinctively.
She later noticed that Ishtar was back to her seat by the time she could think normally again.
“What just happened…?” Svetlana could still feel feel the kiss that was given to her by Ishtar. Her body was still tingling with excitement and she couldn’t calm down. After a few minutes her body seemed to settle down just a bit, but she could still feel the lust for more. She felt another strange feeling within herself, as if the stars themselves were in her. Her body—or rather—her soul, started to shine with a faint blue light, just as she saw Judgement Starlight shine before. She could see stars on her very body. “What’s happening?”
“Your soul has taken on the lustre of mine—you have the soul that possesses a portion of the light of the stars now. With this you may connect and attune yourself with the stars. This light would also let you feel the tainted lands and souls, as per our agreement.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Svetlana woke up in her room in the Royal residence of King Abdullah, where she was given a room to stay with her maid in. The room was lavish with decorations and furnitures, as would be expected of a guest room in such a house. She found Nancy pouring tea some distance away in the same room despite her foggy vision.
“Morning Nancy,” Svetlana said, wiping her eyes.
“Oh, you are awake, Mistress!” Nancy ran over to Svetlana. “You had been out for a week now!
“Really? It didn’t feel like I was out that long,” Svetlana said as she stretched. “Has it really been that long?”
“Would I lie to you, Mistress? I had been taking care of you for a while now,” Nancy answered. “It seemed like the Princess was coming to visit you everyday, shall I inform her of your awakening?”
“Yes, but can you come close for a bit.”
“Yes?” Nancy leaned closer curiously.
Svetlana kissed Nancy on her lips as seductively as she could.
Nancy stared at her Mistress after the ordeal was done.
“...Shall we get you to a psychologist?”
“Huh why? I feel totally fine.”
“I… I am a woman, Mistress! W-What has gotten into you?!”
Svetlana finally realized what she had done.
“I’m really sorry. I was still under a daze. I wasn’t thinking straight I’m sorry,” Svetlana said as her body was recalling the kiss given to her by Ishtar. “I’m really sorry. After what I went through was… well, it’s really hard to explain.”
“I… I see.” Nancy moved back, palming her lips in worry. “…I am going to go call the Princess now.”
“Yes please, and I’m sorry again.”
“How do you feel now?” Aisha asked, smiling. “Good enough for a dance?”
“Well, you sure are eager to teach instead of asking what happened,” Svetlana said with a sigh. “I suppose I feel better, but I have a strange craving now…”
“I know that you have the light of the star in your soul,” Judgement Summoner said. “I can feel it. I am going to guess that you cannot forget that feeling from making the contract with Ishtar?”
“Why didn’t you warn me I would feel pleasure like that? She even took my first time…”
“Would it be any different if I did?”she blinked at Svetlana. “Isn’t it fun that it came as a surprise?”
“I never thought I would lose it to a woman, or a Goddess at that…”
“Or a second time to me…” Nancy looked away as she spoke, making a rare pout, of sorts. Was she imitating her Mistress?
“Wasn’t it nice though?” Judgement Summoner asked.
“Yes… It’s why I kissed Nancy, because I looking for more when I woke up…” Svetlana said, embarrassed.
“Unfortunately, nothing in the world would satisfy that craving—I know because I searched for it. However, you would likely be visiting her again in the future.”
“Why? I thought after me making the contract, that would be it,” Svetlana said, even if she was curious of the feeling, she feared that she could become addicted. “I just plan to have it somewhat satisfied later. I’m not gonna be expecting the same feeling from a regular person compared to that of a Goddess.”
“You would likely not experience it again unless you request it. The Goddess would grant you more light of the in your soul so that you may accomodate your Starlight Lost form spells.”
“I think I’d rather not get addicted to it. Even if it felt that good I fear it might be the only thing I would enjoy if I ask for more…”
“Up to you. The Goddess does not care either way.”
“That’s fine. If I get addicted to her I won’t be able to have children like I hope to have one day,” Svetlana said with her face becoming bright red.
“Hahahaha!” Judgement Summoner held her stomach by the time she was done getting the giggles out, while Nancy blushed. “I do not think copulating would be so hard to get over.”
“M-Mistress… I-I feel like that could indeed cause many problems in your marital life…” Nancy said, still thinking about what she did thoughtlessly earlier.
“It probably would if I wouldn’t feel satisfied by my future husband. You still have to feel pleasure to want to do it.”
“What a greedy and lustful person,” Aisha said in jest.
“I agree.” Nancy nodded.
“It’s not my fault her kiss made me feel that way! We should have Nancy experience it as well!”
“M-Me?! I would rather take up a gentleman I like,” Nancy said, panicking and waving her hand repeatedly.
“Well, what was the objective you chose for yourself?”
“Saving the lands of taints and killing demonic worshippers.”
“Killing worshippers?” Nancy looked bewildered. “Taints?”
“It means saving the lands from the corruptions that some spirits spread,” Aisha explained.
“Some… spirits?” Nancy asked again.
“Yes, it’s not only about humans. The ideology takes on a more grand concept about the entire world,” Aisha elaborated.
“Yes, but I suppose I must first practice my dancing for this. Otherwise I won’t be able to attune to the stars, am I correct, Master Aisha?
“Yes, you must attune for an entire year, but first you must be able to dance before the rituals of attuning begins. I shall teach you other spells but I can only teach you the incantations and requirements until you are fully attuned with the stars.”
“Understood.”
“I have to say, this is a completely different form of entertainment—watching Mistress’ practice,” Nancy commented, holding a bottle of water in hand.
Svetlana was busy trying to dance, but it seemed like she lacked quite a lot of muscle controlling skills. Despite her natural developments to her acrobatic capabilities from battling and partaking in missions for two years in Russia, it was still nowhere close enough. The intricate workings of the body was indeed something she held no true mastery over, and it was showing. There was, however, also the factor that she gained a new body that was completely different, hence most of said experiences were useless to say the least, as they were no longer applicable.
“I hope you don’t mean that because I look silly doing this, Nancy.”
“I believe that is partially the reason,” Nancy held her cheek in adoration of the costume, which was ironic for a British woman.
“That’s mean. You wear this clothing and try doing this then,” Svetlana said as she pouted.
“Ah, but it is not me who needs to learn, ufufu.” Nancy smiled and laughed. “Keep working hard!”
“I should just have you do it for exercising since at least it’s good for that too.”
“Unfortunately, I had been busy making tests for you. We cannot have you ignore your English studying now, can we?”
“Please don’t remind me. You always drag me to study the instant the dance lessons are over. I can’t even have my own time anymore,” Svetlana said as she sighed.
“Own time? What is that?”
“Private time is for sleeping,” Aisha said, fixing Svetlana’s posture.
“Please don’t remind me of that either,” Svetlana said as she felt horrors she would go through for not having her own personal time anymore. “At least let me have some kind of breaks now and then, Master Aisha. Even if it’s for a hour.”
“I could, but then I suppose you stay longer!”
“If it’s like, what’s the point of the break?” Svetlana said as she sighed. “I really need to take a vacation for this one day.”
“I will let you take a break soon,” Aisha answered. “But I want to first see you be able to do the dance properly without falling on your back. Remember, if you master this you will technically raise your combat efficiency too!”
“Well, I’m trying, but it doesn't help that I’ve only had this body about a month. Still getting accustomed to it.”
“Having personal time to touch yourself wouldn’t make it any better I’d think.”
Svetlana’s face turned bright upon hearing this. “I wouldn’t do such thing! I’ve never done such a thing before!”
“Never? At this age? What are you, a child?” Aisha asked.
Nancy tilted her head and gave a confused expression. “Touching yourself? What does that mean?”
Svetlana looked at Nancy with her face beet red and was surprised that Nancy didn’t know what was being talked about. “B-Basically it means using your hand to pleasure yourself…”
“...” Nancy gave Svetlana a long stare before finally looking away. “I, uhh, ahem. I apologise for making such a private question, Mistress.” She whispered to herself, “What a shameful thing…”
“I don’t do stuff like that, so don’t get the wrong idea! This stuff was just easy to learn at Japan.”
“I can sense a lie when I hear one,” Aisha said with a playful smile.
“I had never done stuff like that, though. Really!”
“Mistress, it is alright, everyone have their own personal secrets. It really is alright. I understand,” Nancy said, nodding alongside Aisha.
“I was too busy working and taking care of mama for stuff like that, and you should know how much time studying took away from someone in the Academy, Nancy!
“By the by, we will go over your table manners for your dinner tonight,” Nancy stated.
“Fine.” Svetlana sighed.
“I’ll let you have a break now. Shall we go over to the balcony for some fresh air?” Aisha said.
“Okay.”
“Morning Nancy,” Svetlana said, wiping her eyes.
“Oh, you are awake, Mistress!” Nancy ran over to Svetlana. “You had been out for a week now!
“Really? It didn’t feel like I was out that long,” Svetlana said as she stretched. “Has it really been that long?”
“Would I lie to you, Mistress? I had been taking care of you for a while now,” Nancy answered. “It seemed like the Princess was coming to visit you everyday, shall I inform her of your awakening?”
“Yes, but can you come close for a bit.”
“Yes?” Nancy leaned closer curiously.
Svetlana kissed Nancy on her lips as seductively as she could.
Nancy stared at her Mistress after the ordeal was done.
“...Shall we get you to a psychologist?”
“Huh why? I feel totally fine.”
“I… I am a woman, Mistress! W-What has gotten into you?!”
Svetlana finally realized what she had done.
“I’m really sorry. I was still under a daze. I wasn’t thinking straight I’m sorry,” Svetlana said as her body was recalling the kiss given to her by Ishtar. “I’m really sorry. After what I went through was… well, it’s really hard to explain.”
“I… I see.” Nancy moved back, palming her lips in worry. “…I am going to go call the Princess now.”
“Yes please, and I’m sorry again.”
***
“How do you feel now?” Aisha asked, smiling. “Good enough for a dance?”
“Well, you sure are eager to teach instead of asking what happened,” Svetlana said with a sigh. “I suppose I feel better, but I have a strange craving now…”
“I know that you have the light of the star in your soul,” Judgement Summoner said. “I can feel it. I am going to guess that you cannot forget that feeling from making the contract with Ishtar?”
“Why didn’t you warn me I would feel pleasure like that? She even took my first time…”
“Would it be any different if I did?”she blinked at Svetlana. “Isn’t it fun that it came as a surprise?”
“I never thought I would lose it to a woman, or a Goddess at that…”
“Or a second time to me…” Nancy looked away as she spoke, making a rare pout, of sorts. Was she imitating her Mistress?
“Wasn’t it nice though?” Judgement Summoner asked.
“Yes… It’s why I kissed Nancy, because I looking for more when I woke up…” Svetlana said, embarrassed.
“Unfortunately, nothing in the world would satisfy that craving—I know because I searched for it. However, you would likely be visiting her again in the future.”
“Why? I thought after me making the contract, that would be it,” Svetlana said, even if she was curious of the feeling, she feared that she could become addicted. “I just plan to have it somewhat satisfied later. I’m not gonna be expecting the same feeling from a regular person compared to that of a Goddess.”
“You would likely not experience it again unless you request it. The Goddess would grant you more light of the in your soul so that you may accomodate your Starlight Lost form spells.”
“I think I’d rather not get addicted to it. Even if it felt that good I fear it might be the only thing I would enjoy if I ask for more…”
“Up to you. The Goddess does not care either way.”
“That’s fine. If I get addicted to her I won’t be able to have children like I hope to have one day,” Svetlana said with her face becoming bright red.
“Hahahaha!” Judgement Summoner held her stomach by the time she was done getting the giggles out, while Nancy blushed. “I do not think copulating would be so hard to get over.”
“M-Mistress… I-I feel like that could indeed cause many problems in your marital life…” Nancy said, still thinking about what she did thoughtlessly earlier.
“It probably would if I wouldn’t feel satisfied by my future husband. You still have to feel pleasure to want to do it.”
“What a greedy and lustful person,” Aisha said in jest.
“I agree.” Nancy nodded.
“It’s not my fault her kiss made me feel that way! We should have Nancy experience it as well!”
“M-Me?! I would rather take up a gentleman I like,” Nancy said, panicking and waving her hand repeatedly.
“Well, what was the objective you chose for yourself?”
“Saving the lands of taints and killing demonic worshippers.”
“Killing worshippers?” Nancy looked bewildered. “Taints?”
“It means saving the lands from the corruptions that some spirits spread,” Aisha explained.
“Some… spirits?” Nancy asked again.
“Yes, it’s not only about humans. The ideology takes on a more grand concept about the entire world,” Aisha elaborated.
“Yes, but I suppose I must first practice my dancing for this. Otherwise I won’t be able to attune to the stars, am I correct, Master Aisha?
“Yes, you must attune for an entire year, but first you must be able to dance before the rituals of attuning begins. I shall teach you other spells but I can only teach you the incantations and requirements until you are fully attuned with the stars.”
“Understood.”
***
“I have to say, this is a completely different form of entertainment—watching Mistress’ practice,” Nancy commented, holding a bottle of water in hand.
Svetlana was busy trying to dance, but it seemed like she lacked quite a lot of muscle controlling skills. Despite her natural developments to her acrobatic capabilities from battling and partaking in missions for two years in Russia, it was still nowhere close enough. The intricate workings of the body was indeed something she held no true mastery over, and it was showing. There was, however, also the factor that she gained a new body that was completely different, hence most of said experiences were useless to say the least, as they were no longer applicable.
“I hope you don’t mean that because I look silly doing this, Nancy.”
“I believe that is partially the reason,” Nancy held her cheek in adoration of the costume, which was ironic for a British woman.
“That’s mean. You wear this clothing and try doing this then,” Svetlana said as she pouted.
“Ah, but it is not me who needs to learn, ufufu.” Nancy smiled and laughed. “Keep working hard!”
“I should just have you do it for exercising since at least it’s good for that too.”
“Unfortunately, I had been busy making tests for you. We cannot have you ignore your English studying now, can we?”
“Please don’t remind me. You always drag me to study the instant the dance lessons are over. I can’t even have my own time anymore,” Svetlana said as she sighed.
“Own time? What is that?”
“Private time is for sleeping,” Aisha said, fixing Svetlana’s posture.
“Please don’t remind me of that either,” Svetlana said as she felt horrors she would go through for not having her own personal time anymore. “At least let me have some kind of breaks now and then, Master Aisha. Even if it’s for a hour.”
“I could, but then I suppose you stay longer!”
“If it’s like, what’s the point of the break?” Svetlana said as she sighed. “I really need to take a vacation for this one day.”
“I will let you take a break soon,” Aisha answered. “But I want to first see you be able to do the dance properly without falling on your back. Remember, if you master this you will technically raise your combat efficiency too!”
“Well, I’m trying, but it doesn't help that I’ve only had this body about a month. Still getting accustomed to it.”
“Having personal time to touch yourself wouldn’t make it any better I’d think.”
Svetlana’s face turned bright upon hearing this. “I wouldn’t do such thing! I’ve never done such a thing before!”
“Never? At this age? What are you, a child?” Aisha asked.
Nancy tilted her head and gave a confused expression. “Touching yourself? What does that mean?”
Svetlana looked at Nancy with her face beet red and was surprised that Nancy didn’t know what was being talked about. “B-Basically it means using your hand to pleasure yourself…”
“...” Nancy gave Svetlana a long stare before finally looking away. “I, uhh, ahem. I apologise for making such a private question, Mistress.” She whispered to herself, “What a shameful thing…”
“I don’t do stuff like that, so don’t get the wrong idea! This stuff was just easy to learn at Japan.”
“I can sense a lie when I hear one,” Aisha said with a playful smile.
“I had never done stuff like that, though. Really!”
“Mistress, it is alright, everyone have their own personal secrets. It really is alright. I understand,” Nancy said, nodding alongside Aisha.
“I was too busy working and taking care of mama for stuff like that, and you should know how much time studying took away from someone in the Academy, Nancy!
“By the by, we will go over your table manners for your dinner tonight,” Nancy stated.
“Fine.” Svetlana sighed.
“I’ll let you have a break now. Shall we go over to the balcony for some fresh air?” Aisha said.
“Okay.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
In the balcony now, the two walked over to a table and sat down. Princess Aisha took up a bell and rang it, and a maidservant brought up to them some bowls containing fruits and some beverages. Nancy seemed to go back to the guest room to do other things, but Svetlana wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to do.
“Tonight, I suppose we can start your astrological study,” Aisha said.
“Okay, so I take it I gotta learn the constellations?
“Yes. Having knowledge of the constellations will be invaluable for you.”
“It’d be nice to learn more of them considering I guess I only know what they taught at the Academy.”
“Now that I think about it… did I tell you about the lore of the Lost Form of Starlight?”
“In all honestly, nothing. Didn’t even tell me much about Ishtar when you send me there, Master Aisha.”
“Ahaha, I guess I didn’t.” Judgement Summoner rubbed the back of her head. “My Mistress always calls me the careless one. Anyway, the Lost Form of Starlight was granted a long time ago by the Goddess Ishtar, to fix some of the issues of the world. Now that most of the ancient priestesses of Ishtar are dead, it is nearly impossible to fix the balance of the world.”
“I see. How did the Priestesses end up dying? With how strong you are, it’s hard to believe their numbers would decline.”
“They were killed in the Ragnarok.”
“Ragnarok?” Svetlana said, confused never having heard of it before.
“You haven’t heard of it in the mythologies?”
“Well, from what I recall, not really. We might have covered it, but only a little bit.”
“Hmm, I guess in Japan by that time they stopped caring much about the mythologies. The Ragnarok was known as a catastrophe, basically. Natural disasters, great battles including the death of several heroes and villains… well, that’s what the myths say about it.”
“So I take you’re not sure either if it’s true or not since you’re saying myth?
“No, this is the general knowledge, but the truth was that the Ragnarok was quite real despite the myth, just that it wasn’t only taking place in the Universe of the Norse mythology, but it was quite the tragedy that broke apart the ancient civilizations. This is also the reason why the Magic World lacks the ancient records of the past. There is a small legend about it that I know of other than this regarding the Ragnarok, but I cannot say what exactly caused it or who caused it.”
“Well, want to share what you know?”
“A long time ago, it was said that the daughters of Odin had twelve children, each with differing symbols. They were known as the Valkyries—equipped with lances, horses that could soar across the limitless skies, and were blessed with the powers of the spirits. They were tasked with slaying the Infernal creatures coming from the Gates of Babylon. One day, however, one of his daughter did something she was not supposed to… she fell in love.”
“Falling in love is bad?”
“Apparently the Valkyries were supposed to remain chaste. I do not know the truth, though.” Aisha shrugged. “Odin was thus furious, and he chose to punish his daughter by putting her to sleep. She was aptly known as the Sleeping Beauty. The man she fell for eventually came to her rescue, awakening her with a kiss. She was freed and her father, Odin was defeated. When the Ragnarok finally came, the Sleeping Beauty was missing. The Valkyries were defeated, the humans fled instead of helping them battle, and the final Valkyrie who survived chose to leave behind her family and fled with her lover. The rest aside from her, of course, perished eventually.”
“That legend sure does leave out a lot of stuff doesn’t it? I would imagine there would be more.”
“After that, Odin cursed the world, the humans who betrayed him and his daughters, and so the spirits would choose individuals and have them become the new Valkyries. Instead of protecting the world, however, they would bring about the Ragnarok themselves this time, repeating the tragedy, and perishing for the mistakes of their forefathers.”
“Hard to blame him, I suppose, especially if the humans said they would help. But all we can do now is not let something like that happen again.”
“I don’t know how true it is to be honest, but it was a legend my Mistress told me.”
Svetlana simply stayed quiet as she took a sip from one the fresh juices as she looked away.
“Anyway, the story of the Starlight is a whole different matter altogether. Have you heard of Gilgamesh before?”
“Never heard of him.”
“That is so famous. You live under the rock, don’t you? The first ever Epic that was discovered was about the famous hero Gilgamesh. The legend spoke of the hero who rejected the love of the Goddess Ishtar. This was eventually the cause of his best friend’s fall.”
“I came from Russia, you know? Unless you were rich you might as well live under a rock there, and Japan only cared to teach about its own myths in general classes. Though, who would in their right mind reject Ishtar, especially considering how she could make you feel?” Svetlana said as her face turned red remembering the feeling.
“Who would indeed. Gilgamesh even killed the Boar of Heaven that Ishtar sent in anger… personally, the legend makes Ishtar appear as an immature woman with a lot of temper, but the one I met seemed nothing like it, except that she could get very argumentative if you do not look at the same page she is on.”
“Well, I can agree with what you said there. Though I take it this happened a long time ago. So, it could be that Ishtar changed over time.”
“Hmm… it could be. I think it was at least three millennia ago? So, in an attempt to take Gilgamesh’s friend by surprise, the priestesses plotted to attack. They were no match for him, so they prayed, and these powers were the answer.”
“The priestesses getting involved seems a little silly considering all he really did was reject her...”
“Well, he raised his blade against the Goddess, so…”
“But wasn’t she the one who sent the Boar on him?”
“Admittedly, yes. This wasn’t the first time that tragedies took place thanks to her love, either. She was always kind but at the same time even a little sense of betrayal would mean she’d punish them.”
“Though, the more you tell me the more it makes me think she was a bit immature before…”
“Well, I told you that, haha. These are just the legends from the mythologies even the mundanes know from the ancient texts. They could be false or fictional, just that someone with the same name exists.”
“Well that’s true, we could just ask her, I think, but I wouldn’t dare ask.”
“I wasn’t curious about her until I was done mastering the Starlight so… you’re our only hope!”
“I think I’d rather live than find out what she would do if asking this angers her.”
“Ahahaha! I would ask, it’s regrettable, but maybe some truths will remain a mystery. Anyway, the Starlight is a power that gathers the lights of the stars—you knew this much—but it does so by containing them directly in your own body. If you do that without the appropriate spell—you will explode and die.”
“That sounds rather terrifying…”
“Which is why for spells that gather lights in your bodies, you need what they call a †˜stance’ spell. It seems like every Lost Forms has a †˜stance’ spell one way or the other.”
“There are other Lost Forms?”
“Yes, interested? The Lost Forms were peculiar things of the past, and each of them seemed to get lost in differing situations, but apparently it is due to their problems mostly.”
“I am a mage so learning about magic is interesting.”
“Well, each Lost Forms are considered quite dangerous, so that was the main reason why they were lost, but it’s simply my assumption. The other Lost Forms include the Heavenly Sacraments, Undertaker, Ancient Dragon, Void, and whatnot. There’s the Crystal Paladin but they’re not quite close to extinct but is rather restricted to a small group, and is supposedly the only surviving Lost Form that isn’t… †˜lost,’ if that makes sense.”
“Wouldn't have imagined there be that many. You know what each are about?”
“Not much, I know my friend was using Heavenly Sacraments, the power that draws the strength of the angels. The Void seems to somehow harness the strength of the Void Realm, and the Crystal Paladins uses the mystical crystals to fight. I don’t really know about the rest.”
“It’s okay, I guess they're called Lost Form for a reason.”
“Hmm, I wonder what spells to teach you other than the Starlight Shroud…”
“Well, one normally starts with basic stuff.”
“Starlight Plasma, probably.” Aisha placed her head down on the table, expressing her laziness in the matter. “I’ll think about the rest some other month. Maybe.”
“You're the one that knows the spells, Master Aisha so you can’t have a lazy attitude about it.”
“Ehhhh? But I wanna sleep and eat, and forget my responsibilities…!”
Svetlana looked at Aisha in disbelief, wondering just how she even learned Starlight herself with that attitude. “Just how did you even learn this Master Aisha…?”
Judgement Summoner laughed and patted Svetlana’s head. “Unfortunately, responsibilities caught up to even the lazy me.”
“Well, that’s good at least. Though, don’t start getting lazy right now.”
“I want to sle—ahem. How’s the Starlight Cannon sound for starters?”
“You know you have to explain to me what these spells do since I know nothing about them.”
“Mnm… the Starlight spells tends to either gather the lights of the stars in your body, or around you. The effects differ depending on the spell. Starlight Cannon creates light in the sky that rains down on your opponent. This requires you to gather and spend mana to cast, and some time to gather too. This, in turn, allows you to gather some spiritual energies in the form of the starlights in the meantime, to use the other spells that requires you to use spiritual energies. There is a difference here in that starlights being stored in the body that are converted into spiritual energy. For some reason, it is easier to use a spell directly from your body with spiritual energy, whereas it is easier to use mana for the spells that do not gather lights in your own body, but outside it. Are you following so far or am I babbling?”
“So you can’t use all the spells with just mana? And Spiritual Energy?”
“Unless you want to explode.”
“Yeah, I rather avoid that, thank you.”
“Spiritual Energy that the Descendants use. The supernatural powers, you know?”
“Oh right, sorry it’s been a while. Can’t recall everything out of the blue all the time.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, I think it’s time to get back to work.”
“Tonight, I suppose we can start your astrological study,” Aisha said.
“Okay, so I take it I gotta learn the constellations?
“Yes. Having knowledge of the constellations will be invaluable for you.”
“It’d be nice to learn more of them considering I guess I only know what they taught at the Academy.”
“Now that I think about it… did I tell you about the lore of the Lost Form of Starlight?”
“In all honestly, nothing. Didn’t even tell me much about Ishtar when you send me there, Master Aisha.”
“Ahaha, I guess I didn’t.” Judgement Summoner rubbed the back of her head. “My Mistress always calls me the careless one. Anyway, the Lost Form of Starlight was granted a long time ago by the Goddess Ishtar, to fix some of the issues of the world. Now that most of the ancient priestesses of Ishtar are dead, it is nearly impossible to fix the balance of the world.”
“I see. How did the Priestesses end up dying? With how strong you are, it’s hard to believe their numbers would decline.”
“They were killed in the Ragnarok.”
“Ragnarok?” Svetlana said, confused never having heard of it before.
“You haven’t heard of it in the mythologies?”
“Well, from what I recall, not really. We might have covered it, but only a little bit.”
“Hmm, I guess in Japan by that time they stopped caring much about the mythologies. The Ragnarok was known as a catastrophe, basically. Natural disasters, great battles including the death of several heroes and villains… well, that’s what the myths say about it.”
“So I take you’re not sure either if it’s true or not since you’re saying myth?
“No, this is the general knowledge, but the truth was that the Ragnarok was quite real despite the myth, just that it wasn’t only taking place in the Universe of the Norse mythology, but it was quite the tragedy that broke apart the ancient civilizations. This is also the reason why the Magic World lacks the ancient records of the past. There is a small legend about it that I know of other than this regarding the Ragnarok, but I cannot say what exactly caused it or who caused it.”
“Well, want to share what you know?”
“A long time ago, it was said that the daughters of Odin had twelve children, each with differing symbols. They were known as the Valkyries—equipped with lances, horses that could soar across the limitless skies, and were blessed with the powers of the spirits. They were tasked with slaying the Infernal creatures coming from the Gates of Babylon. One day, however, one of his daughter did something she was not supposed to… she fell in love.”
“Falling in love is bad?”
“Apparently the Valkyries were supposed to remain chaste. I do not know the truth, though.” Aisha shrugged. “Odin was thus furious, and he chose to punish his daughter by putting her to sleep. She was aptly known as the Sleeping Beauty. The man she fell for eventually came to her rescue, awakening her with a kiss. She was freed and her father, Odin was defeated. When the Ragnarok finally came, the Sleeping Beauty was missing. The Valkyries were defeated, the humans fled instead of helping them battle, and the final Valkyrie who survived chose to leave behind her family and fled with her lover. The rest aside from her, of course, perished eventually.”
“That legend sure does leave out a lot of stuff doesn’t it? I would imagine there would be more.”
“After that, Odin cursed the world, the humans who betrayed him and his daughters, and so the spirits would choose individuals and have them become the new Valkyries. Instead of protecting the world, however, they would bring about the Ragnarok themselves this time, repeating the tragedy, and perishing for the mistakes of their forefathers.”
“Hard to blame him, I suppose, especially if the humans said they would help. But all we can do now is not let something like that happen again.”
“I don’t know how true it is to be honest, but it was a legend my Mistress told me.”
Svetlana simply stayed quiet as she took a sip from one the fresh juices as she looked away.
“Anyway, the story of the Starlight is a whole different matter altogether. Have you heard of Gilgamesh before?”
“Never heard of him.”
“That is so famous. You live under the rock, don’t you? The first ever Epic that was discovered was about the famous hero Gilgamesh. The legend spoke of the hero who rejected the love of the Goddess Ishtar. This was eventually the cause of his best friend’s fall.”
“I came from Russia, you know? Unless you were rich you might as well live under a rock there, and Japan only cared to teach about its own myths in general classes. Though, who would in their right mind reject Ishtar, especially considering how she could make you feel?” Svetlana said as her face turned red remembering the feeling.
“Who would indeed. Gilgamesh even killed the Boar of Heaven that Ishtar sent in anger… personally, the legend makes Ishtar appear as an immature woman with a lot of temper, but the one I met seemed nothing like it, except that she could get very argumentative if you do not look at the same page she is on.”
“Well, I can agree with what you said there. Though I take it this happened a long time ago. So, it could be that Ishtar changed over time.”
“Hmm… it could be. I think it was at least three millennia ago? So, in an attempt to take Gilgamesh’s friend by surprise, the priestesses plotted to attack. They were no match for him, so they prayed, and these powers were the answer.”
“The priestesses getting involved seems a little silly considering all he really did was reject her...”
“Well, he raised his blade against the Goddess, so…”
“But wasn’t she the one who sent the Boar on him?”
“Admittedly, yes. This wasn’t the first time that tragedies took place thanks to her love, either. She was always kind but at the same time even a little sense of betrayal would mean she’d punish them.”
“Though, the more you tell me the more it makes me think she was a bit immature before…”
“Well, I told you that, haha. These are just the legends from the mythologies even the mundanes know from the ancient texts. They could be false or fictional, just that someone with the same name exists.”
“Well that’s true, we could just ask her, I think, but I wouldn’t dare ask.”
“I wasn’t curious about her until I was done mastering the Starlight so… you’re our only hope!”
“I think I’d rather live than find out what she would do if asking this angers her.”
“Ahahaha! I would ask, it’s regrettable, but maybe some truths will remain a mystery. Anyway, the Starlight is a power that gathers the lights of the stars—you knew this much—but it does so by containing them directly in your own body. If you do that without the appropriate spell—you will explode and die.”
“That sounds rather terrifying…”
“Which is why for spells that gather lights in your bodies, you need what they call a †˜stance’ spell. It seems like every Lost Forms has a †˜stance’ spell one way or the other.”
“There are other Lost Forms?”
“Yes, interested? The Lost Forms were peculiar things of the past, and each of them seemed to get lost in differing situations, but apparently it is due to their problems mostly.”
“I am a mage so learning about magic is interesting.”
“Well, each Lost Forms are considered quite dangerous, so that was the main reason why they were lost, but it’s simply my assumption. The other Lost Forms include the Heavenly Sacraments, Undertaker, Ancient Dragon, Void, and whatnot. There’s the Crystal Paladin but they’re not quite close to extinct but is rather restricted to a small group, and is supposedly the only surviving Lost Form that isn’t… †˜lost,’ if that makes sense.”
“Wouldn't have imagined there be that many. You know what each are about?”
“Not much, I know my friend was using Heavenly Sacraments, the power that draws the strength of the angels. The Void seems to somehow harness the strength of the Void Realm, and the Crystal Paladins uses the mystical crystals to fight. I don’t really know about the rest.”
“It’s okay, I guess they're called Lost Form for a reason.”
“Hmm, I wonder what spells to teach you other than the Starlight Shroud…”
“Well, one normally starts with basic stuff.”
“Starlight Plasma, probably.” Aisha placed her head down on the table, expressing her laziness in the matter. “I’ll think about the rest some other month. Maybe.”
“You're the one that knows the spells, Master Aisha so you can’t have a lazy attitude about it.”
“Ehhhh? But I wanna sleep and eat, and forget my responsibilities…!”
Svetlana looked at Aisha in disbelief, wondering just how she even learned Starlight herself with that attitude. “Just how did you even learn this Master Aisha…?”
Judgement Summoner laughed and patted Svetlana’s head. “Unfortunately, responsibilities caught up to even the lazy me.”
“Well, that’s good at least. Though, don’t start getting lazy right now.”
“I want to sle—ahem. How’s the Starlight Cannon sound for starters?”
“You know you have to explain to me what these spells do since I know nothing about them.”
“Mnm… the Starlight spells tends to either gather the lights of the stars in your body, or around you. The effects differ depending on the spell. Starlight Cannon creates light in the sky that rains down on your opponent. This requires you to gather and spend mana to cast, and some time to gather too. This, in turn, allows you to gather some spiritual energies in the form of the starlights in the meantime, to use the other spells that requires you to use spiritual energies. There is a difference here in that starlights being stored in the body that are converted into spiritual energy. For some reason, it is easier to use a spell directly from your body with spiritual energy, whereas it is easier to use mana for the spells that do not gather lights in your own body, but outside it. Are you following so far or am I babbling?”
“So you can’t use all the spells with just mana? And Spiritual Energy?”
“Unless you want to explode.”
“Yeah, I rather avoid that, thank you.”
“Spiritual Energy that the Descendants use. The supernatural powers, you know?”
“Oh right, sorry it’s been a while. Can’t recall everything out of the blue all the time.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, I think it’s time to get back to work.”
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Aramus looked up to the burning sun and winced. Saudi Arabia’s heat was one that was truly unbearable. Considering that the country was in a desert, it felt like it could scald his skin. The table was full of fruits and some food that was brought to them by some servants. Aramus and his Master sat around it, covered in sweat. Aramus was only taking a break from his martial arts practice.
It wasn’t to say the Magister had been unfamiliar with the Eastern martial arts but they were fundamentally different from how he expected them to be. His fists repeatedly punched the air until Christopher had been satisfied and even then, it was considered the bare minimum. Still, it was doing Aramus some good, giving him some time to train his physique alongside martial skills. It also gave him time to think, something that tended to happen when repeating something without end.
“This training is… more useful than I thought it would be. I see why the Japanese conduct daily exercises as a group on rooftops even when they’re just white collar workers.”
“Well, seeing the month is almost ending, son, any word from the dragon? We sure fell behind the schedule now thanks to the witch hunts. Kung Fu and fist training doesn’t seem to be going as well as I thought they would…”
“None so far…” Aramus looked disheartened that his inner dragon hadn’t manifested. That coupled with the hectic days in and out with lackluster results from everything he engaged in pushed the Magister deeper into a hole.
“I think it’s time for more fist training, but maybe with the real friction,” Christopher said, getting off the chair, wiping some of the sweat with a tissue.
Aramus followed suit, towelling his body down of sweat before going back to the kata’s. He relaxed and allowed his body to feel the various Forms being channeled, that same furnace igniting in his chest.
“Once the Aetheric Manipulation comes and the winds and mana flows,” Christopher began, getting into a stance. “Come at me.”
Aramus waited until the heat hit its peak before lunging at Christopher, launching a flurry of blows at the Archmage.
Most of the fists were easily dodged and blocked by his Master. “If it’s one thing about you, you grow up too damn fast in a month. What the heck is done wrong?!”
“The Twilight I experienced during the visit to the Infernal Realm tweaked my head a bit. Now almost everything magic related tends to pop in instantaneously,” Aramus huffed even as he pressed his offense, not wanting to give up.
“The Magic Memory, right?” Christopher was still coping with the attacks relatively easily. “That’s one lucky thing. I hear it breaks your head in more ways than one though.”
“Yeah, now I have trouble remembering other mundane stuff instead. It just feels odd when diagrams and whatnot pop in, like the one you drew on the ground. It’s still clear as day.” At the last moment, one of his punches got through, Christopher turning it aside just in time.
“Bring more mana to the palms. They aren’t circulating enough now that I’m looking.”
More mana was forced throughout his arms but it wasn’t going as well as Aramus hoped, his balancing act with the mana circuit still far from perfect.
“Ma…na… se…nd…”
Christopher immediately moved away and something like a tornado was released Aramus’ palm. There was too much power out of the blue and he couldn’t control it until all of it was thrust out. He fell down from the recoil of such a powerful force.
Aramus looked down at his palm once it was all over, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist as he got back up.
“Master, I heard it. It’s awake.” Aramus looked at Christopher before repeating the words in excitement, “It’s awake!”
Christopher’s face was full of shock but it slowly turned into a smile. “Fuck yeah! We finally have it!”
“Woo!” Aramus cheered alongside Christopher. “Do we continue!?”
“I feel hungry now that the pressure is over, though.” His Master eagerly looked back at the table behind Aramus.
“Haha, ok, ok. Let’s take a rest, Master.” Aramus said cheerily. “Is there anything else you’d like me to train on?”
“Now that the Fist of the Dragon has confirmed the awakening… I guess it will keep speaking to you from time to time. I hope it talks about feeding soon. We’re gonna keep practicing the Dragon’s Fist to make it become more active.”
“What do you actually feed the dragon? Just raw mana and the mana from Ignem, Terram and Aurum?”
“Nothing so simple.” Chris waved his hand dismissively. “I have to feed mine the Solace Gems.”
“Solace Gems? What are those?”
“Some rare seeds found in the Faerie Realm.”
“Oh boy… Is that just your dragon’s preference or something that applies to all? †˜Cause it’s going to be mighty troublesome to keep travelling there for some food.”
“Just my dragon’s thing. It’s kinda difficult to figure out what they want, since they do not have prior knowledge of what they even want. Gotta think about the hints you get.”
“Oh, so it’s a lot of guesswork. I hope it likes cupcakes or something sweet then, something I could agree to. Just gotta watch that calorie intake.”
“My monk had it worse, having to feed it something that grows in a tree in hell.”
Aramus shivered, sincerely hoping that his dragon would not get so difficult. “How often does it need to be fed?”
“Depends. If it’s young then quite often. The thing needs to grow, †˜ya know?”
Svetlana stretched she was exhausted. It had been one month since she came to Saudi Arabia and her training started. She was still getting used to the heat, and felt relief that she did not have to train in her dresses, but instead with the traditional middle eastern dancer’s clothings, the bedlah which were much more comfortable to wear in the heat. She still found it embarrassing to wear.
Svetlana decided to sit out on the balcony, finding it to be the best spot to rest. She sat down on one of the tables that were laid out. She took a look around and still wondered how people lived here with nothing but sand outside the city. As she looked over the city, a familiar figure caught her eye close-by.
She peeked down at the balcony below the one she was in. It seemed to extend from a different section of the palace on the floor just below her. She couldn't believe Aramus was out here as well. Wasn’t he supposed to be stuck in prison somewhere in the world?
“I should say hello to him.” A sly smile crept up to Svetlana’s face as she ran down to where he was.
Aramus looked with dismay at his drenched towel, the fabric done by his latest round of towelling off. The sun here was too damn bloody hot for him to continue training and seeing that Christopher had somewhat decided to call off the lessons for a period of time, he would do a bit of self practice.
Might be a good time to try and practice channeling again, he thought to himself. He settled for sitting down and meditating in the God forsaken heat beside the tables.
When Svetlana finally came down a floor to meet Aramus, she found him meditating. Surprised, she wondered how people could do this under the scorching sun.
Did he hit his head or did the heat just finally got to him? Svetlana thought as she stared at Aramus for a bit, sitting there on the hot sun.
“Mister pervert, long time no see!” Svetlana said happily before hugging him from behind, pressing her chest against his back.
“Wha—WHA!” Aramus yelped and froze up, his eyelids bursting wide as he felt two soft pillows squish themselves against his back. Not at all a bad feeling after such a strenuous day but who did they belong to!? He wanted to turn around, but found himself unable to as the mysterious person clung to his back. So much for meditation.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen mister pervert! How’ve you been?” Svetlana pressed her chest more against his back.
Now Aramus was just hard-pressed to remain seated with this woman pressing her body onto him, not to mention vocalizing what remained of his melted brain.
“Uh, miss. I believe it’s highly inappropriate to hug someone you’ve just met on top of calling them a pervert.”
“Sheesh. How can you forget me so easily? Even after you groped my breast before, and I even gave you a kiss on the cheek,” Svetlana said as she let go and proceeded to sit on his lap and pouted.
“Wha—huh?” Aramus said in disbelief, trying to piece together the Svetlana he knew and the person before him. No matter how he tried, it didn’t add up. He must’ve been going mad. At the very least, he knew Svetlana didn’t have those before.
The Magister saw his teacher behind Svetlana, who gave him a wink after raising his thumb at him before walking out. Aramus could only give him a look that said “please don’t leave.”
Svetlana moved around a bit on Aramus’ lap trying to make herself more comfortable.
“So you remember who I am now? After you groped me back then, my body began to change, you know.”
Her moving around only made his discomfort worse and he struggled to try and find a comfortable position to no avail. Now that he could get a proper look at what Svetlana was wearing or rather, what she wasn’t wearing, he gulped. He could feel his body betraying him already. Don’t do it! “Well, more than remember, how about explaining this great change of yours? I don’t believe I know that spell otherwise I would’ve sold it.”
“Well, it was your hands that guided me to Hades you know,” Svetlana said giggling.
“I see it turned out well and that you’re already putting it to good use,” Aramus replied, struggling to keep his eyes on her face. It was a monumental effort on his part not to let his gaze wander. The two were so close, he could feel her breath on his face.
“I suppose I am, somewhat, but I still got a long way to go, you know? So, how you been, mister pervert? Last I saw you, they were taking you to prison,” Svetlana said moving a bit closer, wondering if it would be more comfortable like that.
“Change of plans. I’m currently apprenticed to Master Christopher and we’re here on assignment.” Aramus’ breath hitched in his throat as she drew nearer, noting that Svetlana smelled good despite himself.
When Svetlana looked just behind Aramus, she saw her maid Nancy staring at her with her mouth agape. A second later, the fan she held fell to the floor; she was frozen.
“Nancy, what’s wrong?!” Svetlana asked.
“T-That man must have cast some magic on you, Mistress! I shall haul him to the prison myself!” Nancy blurted out, completely flustered.
“No, you’ve got the wrong idea!” Aramus said in a rush. Tied up as he was, there was no way for him to find out who “Nancy” was but from the way she referred to Svetlana, possibly her servant?
“He’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?” Svetlana said, laughing.
“T...That is, well… not exactly bad but more like a plebeian. No, that is not the point here, Mistress! This is shameful!” Nancy shouted.
“By the way, mister pervert, how come there’s a bulge between your legs?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Aramus said with a defeated sigh, lightly tapping Svetlana on the head with the back of his hand.
“Mistress, do not look down there!” Nancy said with her panicked voice.
“Sorry sorry, I took my little joke a bit too far.” Svetlana said laughing as she got up and left Aramus.
“I shall report this to Lady Isabelle. Your fate shall be judged by a more appropriate person… I am afraid your level of jests are beyond me…”
“Eeh! Isabelle is too young for things like these. Would you really reveal adult matters to her?!”
“How does that excuse the shamefulness—this depravity?! Even a child knows those words now!”
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again just don’t tell Isabelle,” Svetlana said sulking.
“A little fun does not hurt,” Judgement Summoner said from behind them, snickering. “Right, Svetlana?”
Aramus had spent the time Nancy had been reprimanding Svetlana to make himself decent, wrapping the drenched towel around his waist. Seeing her got scolded brought a small smile to his face, though he felt she should have known better. Then the Summoner had showed up and his nerves had gone on edge as he remembered their last meeting.
“Well, I would hope not. I have been doing nothing but training and studies this month so I just thought having a little fun would be okay.”
“Good, good, having fun helps alleviate the stress. Use that man well,” Aisha casually responded with a “ohoho” laugh, while Nancy felt like crying from hearing this, even the Princess of the country was speaking such unbelievable words.
Aramus pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in exasperation at the Representative’s casual comments. “Fun, she says.”
“Well, I just wanted to thank him, but i’m not sure what happened really, a strange feeling just came over me.”
“The Infernal nature in you is strong,” Judgement Summoner replied. “Or is that because of Ishtar…?” she whispered to herself.
Christopher was on his chair beside the table before Aramus knew it. When did he leave? Rather, when did he come back for the supposed show? The Magister was completely lost.
“Did you have fun Master?” Aramus said dryly before taking a seat himself.
“Good show, son,” Chris answered, raising his thumb again. “Slowly getting up to the task as a man, eh?”
“I’m getting there though I reckon it’ll be quite some time before I get to see any action of that sort,” Aramus said with a snort. “Incidentally, that’s Svetlana. You know, from the chopper? Talk about extreme makeover.”
“I noticed. The Infernal aura around her sorta gives it away,” Chris said, laughing.
As they spoke, the Princess sat down beside them. “So, how was she?” she asked the Archmage.
“Good, you have a knack for picking apprentices. I think our apprentices will get along well, if you catch the drift.” Chris showed a toothy grin.
“I think we get along pretty well already,” Svetlana said as she came to where they were and took a seat.
“At least care to explain why you’re being trained by Judgement Summoner? This I’d like to hear,” Aramus said, frowning at Svetlana.
“Well a lot of crazy stuff happened… when I went to Russia to pick up my mother…” Svetlana said as her tone went from happy to sad.
Aramus sighed, indicating that he had heard enough and could probably guess the rest. “I’m assuming she picked you up there?”
“I guess you can say that…” Svetlana said as tears began to form in her eyes.
“It will be up to her to release her mother’s trapped soul from the earth,” the Summoner added.
Chris gave Aramus a look that seemed to translate to “look what you have done.”
Aramus felt bad, thinking of how he had felt when the talk about Mary came up some time and that causing Svetlana to remember something like this was the least of his intentions with his inquiry. “I’m sorry to hear that, Svetlana,” he said, lowering his head.
Svetlana simply stood up and walked away towards Nancy who simply hugged and she cried.
“Anyway…” Chris said, breaking the silence that was only full of sobs. “You’re gonna be going to the largest desert in the world,” he told Aramus. “You can guess its name.”
Aramus merely nodded in silence, not voicing his thoughts due to the atmosphere.
“DKD has a job for you basically, DAD.” Chris shrugged. “The distortion of the Sahara Desert. I’m just going to be there to laugh at you when I send you off.” Chris smiled.
Absolutely wilting from his Master’s smile, Aramus managed a disgruntled snort. “Job’s a job.”
“You could just skip and take a bath,” Chris said. “I might just grab the suit for myself that she is having tailored for you.”
“Hey! Wait, she’s getting one of those tailored!? Whoa!” Aramus said all in a flurry, his obsession with suits winning over his common sense.
“Will you be going, Princess?” Chris asked.
The Summoner shook her head. “I am only the Judge of Life, I have no role to play with the distortions.” The Princess got off the chair and walked up to Svetlana. “Back to practicing.”
“Y-Yes.” Svetlana simply wiped her tears.
Chris looked at the Princess as if she was strange. Judge of Life?
“Svetlana, I’m sorry. Maybe… when you’re feeling better, we could grab something?” Aramus asked, unsure of how to deal with a lady in tears.
“T-That’s fine, I suppose, whenever I get free time again…”
Even as Svetlana answered her consent, Nancy glared at Aramus furiously, but did not interrupt.
Way to go Magister. Aramus thought to himself as he slumped his shoulders, suddenly feeling more tired from this than the training prior.
It wasn’t to say the Magister had been unfamiliar with the Eastern martial arts but they were fundamentally different from how he expected them to be. His fists repeatedly punched the air until Christopher had been satisfied and even then, it was considered the bare minimum. Still, it was doing Aramus some good, giving him some time to train his physique alongside martial skills. It also gave him time to think, something that tended to happen when repeating something without end.
“This training is… more useful than I thought it would be. I see why the Japanese conduct daily exercises as a group on rooftops even when they’re just white collar workers.”
“Well, seeing the month is almost ending, son, any word from the dragon? We sure fell behind the schedule now thanks to the witch hunts. Kung Fu and fist training doesn’t seem to be going as well as I thought they would…”
“None so far…” Aramus looked disheartened that his inner dragon hadn’t manifested. That coupled with the hectic days in and out with lackluster results from everything he engaged in pushed the Magister deeper into a hole.
“I think it’s time for more fist training, but maybe with the real friction,” Christopher said, getting off the chair, wiping some of the sweat with a tissue.
Aramus followed suit, towelling his body down of sweat before going back to the kata’s. He relaxed and allowed his body to feel the various Forms being channeled, that same furnace igniting in his chest.
“Once the Aetheric Manipulation comes and the winds and mana flows,” Christopher began, getting into a stance. “Come at me.”
Aramus waited until the heat hit its peak before lunging at Christopher, launching a flurry of blows at the Archmage.
Most of the fists were easily dodged and blocked by his Master. “If it’s one thing about you, you grow up too damn fast in a month. What the heck is done wrong?!”
“The Twilight I experienced during the visit to the Infernal Realm tweaked my head a bit. Now almost everything magic related tends to pop in instantaneously,” Aramus huffed even as he pressed his offense, not wanting to give up.
“The Magic Memory, right?” Christopher was still coping with the attacks relatively easily. “That’s one lucky thing. I hear it breaks your head in more ways than one though.”
“Yeah, now I have trouble remembering other mundane stuff instead. It just feels odd when diagrams and whatnot pop in, like the one you drew on the ground. It’s still clear as day.” At the last moment, one of his punches got through, Christopher turning it aside just in time.
“Bring more mana to the palms. They aren’t circulating enough now that I’m looking.”
More mana was forced throughout his arms but it wasn’t going as well as Aramus hoped, his balancing act with the mana circuit still far from perfect.
“Ma…na… se…nd…”
Christopher immediately moved away and something like a tornado was released Aramus’ palm. There was too much power out of the blue and he couldn’t control it until all of it was thrust out. He fell down from the recoil of such a powerful force.
Aramus looked down at his palm once it was all over, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist as he got back up.
“Master, I heard it. It’s awake.” Aramus looked at Christopher before repeating the words in excitement, “It’s awake!”
Christopher’s face was full of shock but it slowly turned into a smile. “Fuck yeah! We finally have it!”
“Woo!” Aramus cheered alongside Christopher. “Do we continue!?”
“I feel hungry now that the pressure is over, though.” His Master eagerly looked back at the table behind Aramus.
“Haha, ok, ok. Let’s take a rest, Master.” Aramus said cheerily. “Is there anything else you’d like me to train on?”
“Now that the Fist of the Dragon has confirmed the awakening… I guess it will keep speaking to you from time to time. I hope it talks about feeding soon. We’re gonna keep practicing the Dragon’s Fist to make it become more active.”
“What do you actually feed the dragon? Just raw mana and the mana from Ignem, Terram and Aurum?”
“Nothing so simple.” Chris waved his hand dismissively. “I have to feed mine the Solace Gems.”
“Solace Gems? What are those?”
“Some rare seeds found in the Faerie Realm.”
“Oh boy… Is that just your dragon’s preference or something that applies to all? †˜Cause it’s going to be mighty troublesome to keep travelling there for some food.”
“Just my dragon’s thing. It’s kinda difficult to figure out what they want, since they do not have prior knowledge of what they even want. Gotta think about the hints you get.”
“Oh, so it’s a lot of guesswork. I hope it likes cupcakes or something sweet then, something I could agree to. Just gotta watch that calorie intake.”
“My monk had it worse, having to feed it something that grows in a tree in hell.”
Aramus shivered, sincerely hoping that his dragon would not get so difficult. “How often does it need to be fed?”
“Depends. If it’s young then quite often. The thing needs to grow, †˜ya know?”
***
Svetlana stretched she was exhausted. It had been one month since she came to Saudi Arabia and her training started. She was still getting used to the heat, and felt relief that she did not have to train in her dresses, but instead with the traditional middle eastern dancer’s clothings, the bedlah which were much more comfortable to wear in the heat. She still found it embarrassing to wear.
Svetlana decided to sit out on the balcony, finding it to be the best spot to rest. She sat down on one of the tables that were laid out. She took a look around and still wondered how people lived here with nothing but sand outside the city. As she looked over the city, a familiar figure caught her eye close-by.
She peeked down at the balcony below the one she was in. It seemed to extend from a different section of the palace on the floor just below her. She couldn't believe Aramus was out here as well. Wasn’t he supposed to be stuck in prison somewhere in the world?
“I should say hello to him.” A sly smile crept up to Svetlana’s face as she ran down to where he was.
Aramus looked with dismay at his drenched towel, the fabric done by his latest round of towelling off. The sun here was too damn bloody hot for him to continue training and seeing that Christopher had somewhat decided to call off the lessons for a period of time, he would do a bit of self practice.
Might be a good time to try and practice channeling again, he thought to himself. He settled for sitting down and meditating in the God forsaken heat beside the tables.
When Svetlana finally came down a floor to meet Aramus, she found him meditating. Surprised, she wondered how people could do this under the scorching sun.
Did he hit his head or did the heat just finally got to him? Svetlana thought as she stared at Aramus for a bit, sitting there on the hot sun.
“Mister pervert, long time no see!” Svetlana said happily before hugging him from behind, pressing her chest against his back.
“Wha—WHA!” Aramus yelped and froze up, his eyelids bursting wide as he felt two soft pillows squish themselves against his back. Not at all a bad feeling after such a strenuous day but who did they belong to!? He wanted to turn around, but found himself unable to as the mysterious person clung to his back. So much for meditation.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen mister pervert! How’ve you been?” Svetlana pressed her chest more against his back.
Now Aramus was just hard-pressed to remain seated with this woman pressing her body onto him, not to mention vocalizing what remained of his melted brain.
“Uh, miss. I believe it’s highly inappropriate to hug someone you’ve just met on top of calling them a pervert.”
“Sheesh. How can you forget me so easily? Even after you groped my breast before, and I even gave you a kiss on the cheek,” Svetlana said as she let go and proceeded to sit on his lap and pouted.
“Wha—huh?” Aramus said in disbelief, trying to piece together the Svetlana he knew and the person before him. No matter how he tried, it didn’t add up. He must’ve been going mad. At the very least, he knew Svetlana didn’t have those before.
The Magister saw his teacher behind Svetlana, who gave him a wink after raising his thumb at him before walking out. Aramus could only give him a look that said “please don’t leave.”
Svetlana moved around a bit on Aramus’ lap trying to make herself more comfortable.
“So you remember who I am now? After you groped me back then, my body began to change, you know.”
Her moving around only made his discomfort worse and he struggled to try and find a comfortable position to no avail. Now that he could get a proper look at what Svetlana was wearing or rather, what she wasn’t wearing, he gulped. He could feel his body betraying him already. Don’t do it! “Well, more than remember, how about explaining this great change of yours? I don’t believe I know that spell otherwise I would’ve sold it.”
“Well, it was your hands that guided me to Hades you know,” Svetlana said giggling.
“I see it turned out well and that you’re already putting it to good use,” Aramus replied, struggling to keep his eyes on her face. It was a monumental effort on his part not to let his gaze wander. The two were so close, he could feel her breath on his face.
“I suppose I am, somewhat, but I still got a long way to go, you know? So, how you been, mister pervert? Last I saw you, they were taking you to prison,” Svetlana said moving a bit closer, wondering if it would be more comfortable like that.
“Change of plans. I’m currently apprenticed to Master Christopher and we’re here on assignment.” Aramus’ breath hitched in his throat as she drew nearer, noting that Svetlana smelled good despite himself.
When Svetlana looked just behind Aramus, she saw her maid Nancy staring at her with her mouth agape. A second later, the fan she held fell to the floor; she was frozen.
“Nancy, what’s wrong?!” Svetlana asked.
“T-That man must have cast some magic on you, Mistress! I shall haul him to the prison myself!” Nancy blurted out, completely flustered.
“No, you’ve got the wrong idea!” Aramus said in a rush. Tied up as he was, there was no way for him to find out who “Nancy” was but from the way she referred to Svetlana, possibly her servant?
“He’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?” Svetlana said, laughing.
“T...That is, well… not exactly bad but more like a plebeian. No, that is not the point here, Mistress! This is shameful!” Nancy shouted.
“By the way, mister pervert, how come there’s a bulge between your legs?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Aramus said with a defeated sigh, lightly tapping Svetlana on the head with the back of his hand.
“Mistress, do not look down there!” Nancy said with her panicked voice.
“Sorry sorry, I took my little joke a bit too far.” Svetlana said laughing as she got up and left Aramus.
“I shall report this to Lady Isabelle. Your fate shall be judged by a more appropriate person… I am afraid your level of jests are beyond me…”
“Eeh! Isabelle is too young for things like these. Would you really reveal adult matters to her?!”
“How does that excuse the shamefulness—this depravity?! Even a child knows those words now!”
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again just don’t tell Isabelle,” Svetlana said sulking.
“A little fun does not hurt,” Judgement Summoner said from behind them, snickering. “Right, Svetlana?”
Aramus had spent the time Nancy had been reprimanding Svetlana to make himself decent, wrapping the drenched towel around his waist. Seeing her got scolded brought a small smile to his face, though he felt she should have known better. Then the Summoner had showed up and his nerves had gone on edge as he remembered their last meeting.
“Well, I would hope not. I have been doing nothing but training and studies this month so I just thought having a little fun would be okay.”
“Good, good, having fun helps alleviate the stress. Use that man well,” Aisha casually responded with a “ohoho” laugh, while Nancy felt like crying from hearing this, even the Princess of the country was speaking such unbelievable words.
Aramus pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in exasperation at the Representative’s casual comments. “Fun, she says.”
“Well, I just wanted to thank him, but i’m not sure what happened really, a strange feeling just came over me.”
“The Infernal nature in you is strong,” Judgement Summoner replied. “Or is that because of Ishtar…?” she whispered to herself.
Christopher was on his chair beside the table before Aramus knew it. When did he leave? Rather, when did he come back for the supposed show? The Magister was completely lost.
“Did you have fun Master?” Aramus said dryly before taking a seat himself.
“Good show, son,” Chris answered, raising his thumb again. “Slowly getting up to the task as a man, eh?”
“I’m getting there though I reckon it’ll be quite some time before I get to see any action of that sort,” Aramus said with a snort. “Incidentally, that’s Svetlana. You know, from the chopper? Talk about extreme makeover.”
“I noticed. The Infernal aura around her sorta gives it away,” Chris said, laughing.
As they spoke, the Princess sat down beside them. “So, how was she?” she asked the Archmage.
“Good, you have a knack for picking apprentices. I think our apprentices will get along well, if you catch the drift.” Chris showed a toothy grin.
“I think we get along pretty well already,” Svetlana said as she came to where they were and took a seat.
“At least care to explain why you’re being trained by Judgement Summoner? This I’d like to hear,” Aramus said, frowning at Svetlana.
“Well a lot of crazy stuff happened… when I went to Russia to pick up my mother…” Svetlana said as her tone went from happy to sad.
Aramus sighed, indicating that he had heard enough and could probably guess the rest. “I’m assuming she picked you up there?”
“I guess you can say that…” Svetlana said as tears began to form in her eyes.
“It will be up to her to release her mother’s trapped soul from the earth,” the Summoner added.
Chris gave Aramus a look that seemed to translate to “look what you have done.”
Aramus felt bad, thinking of how he had felt when the talk about Mary came up some time and that causing Svetlana to remember something like this was the least of his intentions with his inquiry. “I’m sorry to hear that, Svetlana,” he said, lowering his head.
Svetlana simply stood up and walked away towards Nancy who simply hugged and she cried.
“Anyway…” Chris said, breaking the silence that was only full of sobs. “You’re gonna be going to the largest desert in the world,” he told Aramus. “You can guess its name.”
Aramus merely nodded in silence, not voicing his thoughts due to the atmosphere.
“DKD has a job for you basically, DAD.” Chris shrugged. “The distortion of the Sahara Desert. I’m just going to be there to laugh at you when I send you off.” Chris smiled.
Absolutely wilting from his Master’s smile, Aramus managed a disgruntled snort. “Job’s a job.”
“You could just skip and take a bath,” Chris said. “I might just grab the suit for myself that she is having tailored for you.”
“Hey! Wait, she’s getting one of those tailored!? Whoa!” Aramus said all in a flurry, his obsession with suits winning over his common sense.
“Will you be going, Princess?” Chris asked.
The Summoner shook her head. “I am only the Judge of Life, I have no role to play with the distortions.” The Princess got off the chair and walked up to Svetlana. “Back to practicing.”
“Y-Yes.” Svetlana simply wiped her tears.
Chris looked at the Princess as if she was strange. Judge of Life?
“Svetlana, I’m sorry. Maybe… when you’re feeling better, we could grab something?” Aramus asked, unsure of how to deal with a lady in tears.
“T-That’s fine, I suppose, whenever I get free time again…”
Even as Svetlana answered her consent, Nancy glared at Aramus furiously, but did not interrupt.
Way to go Magister. Aramus thought to himself as he slumped his shoulders, suddenly feeling more tired from this than the training prior.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Aramus bumbled around the palace, wondering where Svetlana’s room was located. He asked around for directions earlier but due to being a guest and the sheer size of the palace, it took him some time to locate the room in question. When he finally did, the Magister found himself slightly lost at what to say to Svetlana. He planned to take her out to the Bazaar today to unwind and see a bit more of the city but truth be told, he hadn’t much experience when it came to matters like these, either.
Knocking on the door, he awaited a response. It would probably be Nancy and he swallowed, remembering her baleful gaze.
Opening the door, Nancy looked down at the Magister with an inquisitive gaze.
“Yes? Is there something I may help you with?” the maid asked.
“Good day, would your mistress be free to speak with me?” Aramus asked.
Nancy looked back to Svetlana, who was resting from all the dancing practices from dawn. In truth, it just seemed like she was bored when she finally got private time.
“No, she is busy at the moment. I shall convey if you have anything important you would want me to pass on.”
“Ah, I understand. She’s probably still resting, kindly inform her that Magister Linfield would like to extend an invitation to her. My apology to her, that is,” Aramus replied, huffing that his plans might have gone up in smoke.
Svetlana slowly woke up as she thought she heard voices and wondered what was going on.
“Nancy is someone there?” Svetlana said, stretching and having a loud yawn.
“I shall.” Nancy immediately closed the door and turned with a bright smile. “No, Mistress, just a flea dropped by. Nothing to worry about.”
“Ehh, really? But why would you close the door that fast?” Svetlana said as she got out of bed.
“No reason at all, you should rest some more, Mistress.”
Svetlana found Nancy’s behavior a bit odd. She decided to check why she closed the door that way. “Well I want to see who it was,” Svetlana said as she walked to the door.
Nancy kept vigilance before the door. “You should really be resting, Mistress.”
“You know, I’m getting more curious now, so Nancy, please let me open the door.”
Nancy’s head hung in despair as she moved aside. “As you wish, Mistress.”
“Thank you,” Svetlana said happily as she opened the door and looked at first seeing no one. She soon noticed someone up ahead. “Hey mister, did you need something?” she shouted wondering who it was.
“M-Mistress, your appearance!” Nancy hissed from the side, realizing her mistake of letting her Mistress open the door after all. What a disgrace. How would she answer Isabelle now?
Aramus turned as the voice carried down the hallway, didn’t Nancy tell Svetlana as she said she would? His face quickly turned red as she saw her state of dress after turning, indicating with his hand to go back into the room as he walked back. “Go back in, go back!” he said just loud enough to not raise a ruckus.
Svetlana completely forgot that she was still wearing her babydoll dress as she just got out of bed. Her face grew bright red, and she slammed the door shut out of embarrassment.
“Tell him to wait till I get dressed,” Svetlana told Nancy as she headed to get dressed.
Nancy just closed the door instead of speaking, scoffing at the plebeian as she did so. When Svetlana took out the dancing dress, Nancy took out the Victorian dress to completely overwhelm the hopeful lady. On her other hand was the dreadful corset. “There is only one way out of this, Mistress.”
“Svetlana?” Aramus’s muffled voice came through the door.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!” Svetlana shouted as Nancy had begun putting the corset on her. She hadn’t worn it over a month and her body became unaccustomed to it. “Why are you making me wear this?! It’s too hot here for that!” Svetlana complained.
“Wearing that shameless attire is anything but acceptable in public outside the palace!” Nancy replied, making it even tighter before tying the laces.
Outside the door, Aramus could only hear Svetlana’s shout and wondered what in tarnation was going on in the room.
“Aaaaaaah! Stop!” Svetlana let out another shout out as Nancy was tying the laces. Which was followed by Nancy grabbing a blue gothic Victorian sleeveless dress. Nancy finally opened the door for her after she was done preparing.
“Good Morning Aramus. What brings you here?” Svetlana greeted him with a curtsy, while Nancy palmed her forehead behind her. Her Mistress was completely out of the loop in the morning.
“G-Good Morning, Svetlana.” Aramus coughed into his hand. Try as he might, he couldn’t completely erase the image of what she had been wearing but just a moment ago. “I would like to make good on my offer to take you out.”
“That sounds wonderful. Where would you like us to go?” Svetlana asked as she thought this would be a good opportunity for a break.
“I was thinking of visiting the Medina Bazaar and going around. Does that appeal to you?” Aramus asked.
“That would be great I haven't had much time to explore around the town.”
“Well, neither have I. Shall we, Lady Svetlana?” Aramus said with a bow.
“Please lead the way.”
“I have this feeling that she will not remain chaste tonight with that attitude she developed recently…” Nancy thought out loud as she saw the two leave.
The pair made their way out of the palace into the streets with the sun shining harshly. Thankfully there was not much of a breeze so Aramus didn’t have to worry about dust and sand getting on the both of them. All they had to do was follow the huge crowd leading to the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, The Prophet’s Mosque and they would find it.
“It’s really big here. I wonder if I can find new clothes” Svetlana said, finding the prospect of exploration exciting. “We should totally take our time exploring around, Aramus.”
“Take as long as you’d like, I think this would be one of the few chances away from Nancy,” Aramus said with a laugh.
“Well, I don’t really want to get away from her. I really enjoy her company, but getting away from all the lessons feels nice.”
“I suppose. How does it feel to be waited on?” Aramus asked as they entered the Bazaar.
The Bazaar was huge, a cacophony of voices as peddlers shouted and displayed their wares. Shopkeepers were constantly bringing out new items, hanging them from floor to ceiling as they haggled with prospective buyers.
“It feels odd honestly, since I grew up poor I suppose I always had to take care of things on my own. Still have to get used to it,” Svetlana said as she looked at the items on the stall.
“Ah, I can relate to that. It feels odd when someone ends up serving oneself, yes?” Aramus said from beside her, the shopkeeper coming out and speaking in rapid Arabic to the pair. The Magister could only smile sheepishly at his lack of understanding of the language.
“We are just browsing,” Svetlana said as she grabbed Aramus’ hand. “Let's go check more stalls.”
The shopkeeper only stared at them and shrugged. It was a strange pair and everyone seemed to have their eyes on Svetlana, who was a beautiful blonde lady wearing a dress.
Aramus offered an apologetic smile as he was pulled away by Svetlana. “Do you have anything in particular you’d want?”
“Anything that catches my eye,” Svetlana said happily. “If you see anything yourself, let me know, okay?”
“I will need one of those to travel across the Sahara so maybe,” Aramus said, pointing to the thawbs people were wearing.
“Alright, let’s find a stand then.” Svetlana pulled Aramus again.
“No, you don’t have to worry about me!” He said, but Svetlana was having none of it and dragged him to one selling men’s clothing. The salesman eagerly started conversing with Svetlana, laughing and smiling all the while. It irked Aramus that Svetlana knew exactly what the man was saying but he was clueless. Who knew what she was telling the man to bring out for Aramus?
“I let him know what you wanted, he’ll be bringing it in a bit. Well I think I did from what you pointed at earlier.”
“Ok. This shouldn’t take too long, you could browse the other shops in the meantime.”
The salesman returned not a moment later with a white fabric in his hands, ushering Aramus into the changing room. He entered, and shortly after, the sound of fabric sliding off the body could be heard.
“This is a bit… small.” Aramus remarked as he tried to put on the outfit, unfamiliar with the method as a foreigner.
After fumbling around for it, he managed to get the thawb on and turned to leave the changing room only to find that there was a small opening. Tiny enough to be missed by a regular person but Aramus wasn’t such a plebeian. He pinched his nose and sighed as the curtain moved and the opening ceased to exist.
“So, how’s the size?” Svetlana asked as her face was slightly flushed, and her hands were placed on her face.
“Tight.” Aramus said in a drawl as he went up and whispered in her ear. “I need to change into another one.”
“I’ll go ask for a bigger one, give me a second.” After a minute, Svetlana came back with a bigger thawb, not even letting the shopkeeper bring it over due to the emergence of the situation, or something like that. “Here you go, hopefully it isn’t as tight.”
“I hope so.” Aramus exchanged the fabric with her and went back into the changing room.
Svetlana approached the changing room again and peeked inside from the corner of the curtain. Here sure does have an interesting body.
Aramus knew she was watching so he deliberately slid the clothes off and on with agonizing slowness. He noticed that the curtain was shaking after a certain point.
Why is he taking longer to undress?! Svetlana thought, waiting to see his body again.
“Why not just open the curtain a little wider, I’m sure that opening is not enough,” Aramus said with a chuckle, turning to look at the peeking Svetlana through the hole.
Svetlana’s face turned bright red and she released the curtain immediately, running away.
Aramus smiled and finished changing, leaving the changing room. The salesman gave him a strange look and he paid for the thawb. Happy with his purchase and his “prank,” he went back to Svetlana.
“It was a better fit, thanks. Did you enjoy yourself while I was busy?” he asked.
“Y-Yes, it was nice seeing all the different kinds of clothings at the store,” Svetlana said, looking away, her face bright red.
“Good, goooood. Shall we move on to what you want to buy?” Aramus offered, a little knowing smile on his face. “Shall we grab something to eat afterwards?”
“Alright.” Svetlana dragged him off before he could say anything else and they browsed through many different stores. Aramus gave his thoughts when Svetlana asked for them, carrying whatever she had bought from other stores. When they were done, Aramus was left with a ton of bags as Svetlana flaunted her new spending power.
Now they were headed to an ice cream parlor to cool off from the shipping and heat.
“It’s so much cooler in here,” Svetlana said as she took sit in one of the open tables. “I sure wish I could change clothes or loosen this up at least.”
“You can rest here then, I’ll order on your behalf. Any flavors? Sundae? Popsicles?” Aramus said as he set the bags down.
“Banana split with vanilla and strawberry please!”
“Ok, I’ll be right back.” He went off to order and returned with the ice cream, handing a spoon to Svetlana. The banana split as ordered for her and a mint chocolate chip cone for himself, Aramus began licking as soon he sat down.
“How does that taste?” Svetlana asked as she began eating her ice cream.
“Good. You want a taste?”
“Yeah, I never had that flavor before.”
“Go ahead,” Aramus said, hanging the cone over to Svetlana.
Svetlana began giving the ice cream some licks, purring as the flavor filled with her mouth.
“This is really tasty,” Svetlana said as she gave the ice cream another long lick. Aramus noted that she had a very flexible tongue as it slid smoothly over the green ice cream, rolling a small chocolate chip into her mouth and chewing on it. “Want a taste of mine?”
“Alright.” Aramus said harmlessly.
“You want me to feed to you or you want me to give you some with a kiss?” Svetlana said giggling.
“Which would you prefer?” Aramus said with a laugh.
Svetlana took a bite from her ice cream as she stood up and went up to Aramus, but he put two fingers on her lips to stop her.
The nearby Muslim mother covered her child's eyes with a hand as the girl pointed at the antics of the two of them.
Svetlana simply followed by licking Aramus] fingers before she headed to her seat. “Oh well guess that’s all you’ll get.”
“I suppose so,” Aramus replied, looking at his now wet fingers.
“I take it you’re interested in someone else?”
“No, nothing like that. Just that I think it’s something you should do with the one you love, that’s all.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if you're curious about the person?”
“I suppose some would see it that way, but not me at least. I can’t say I’ve felt that way before due to the nature of my upbringing, though.”
“Oh well, maybe I’ll be lucky another time. By the way, thanks again for telling me about Hades. I was able to find out a lot after meeting granddad.”
”No problem. It looks like it turned out for the better all things considered.”
“Yeah though so many things have happened after that, but I suppose I can only look forward to the future now. How about you? I never heard how you avoided prison.”
“I was tried at the Crystal Summit but Master Christopher pulled me out of the fire. Now I’m his apprentice and am on assignment here together with him. Who knows where I’ll end up next?”
“I see. Well, just make sure you don’t forget stuff like last time. It wasn’t good that happened.”
Aramus looked down sadly at his ice cream. “It was a lesson well learnt.”
Svetlana reached to Aramus and patted his head. “There, there, no need to be sad, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Just hope things improve.”
“I’ve somewhat given up on that. Let’s see where the tide takes me,” Aramus said after a lick of his mint, the flavor strong in his mouth.
“Don’t give up, that’s never good. You just gotta hope you can find a way.”
“I guess.” The Magister shrugged. He hoped good things would come but realized that Svetlana had eaten most of his ice cream. What a bad way to start.
Nancy sighed, taking down her shades, watching them from outside had been a very suffering experience. I suppose I will try to exclude this part of the report from Lady Isabelle, or should I?
Knocking on the door, he awaited a response. It would probably be Nancy and he swallowed, remembering her baleful gaze.
Opening the door, Nancy looked down at the Magister with an inquisitive gaze.
“Yes? Is there something I may help you with?” the maid asked.
“Good day, would your mistress be free to speak with me?” Aramus asked.
Nancy looked back to Svetlana, who was resting from all the dancing practices from dawn. In truth, it just seemed like she was bored when she finally got private time.
“No, she is busy at the moment. I shall convey if you have anything important you would want me to pass on.”
“Ah, I understand. She’s probably still resting, kindly inform her that Magister Linfield would like to extend an invitation to her. My apology to her, that is,” Aramus replied, huffing that his plans might have gone up in smoke.
Svetlana slowly woke up as she thought she heard voices and wondered what was going on.
“Nancy is someone there?” Svetlana said, stretching and having a loud yawn.
“I shall.” Nancy immediately closed the door and turned with a bright smile. “No, Mistress, just a flea dropped by. Nothing to worry about.”
“Ehh, really? But why would you close the door that fast?” Svetlana said as she got out of bed.
“No reason at all, you should rest some more, Mistress.”
Svetlana found Nancy’s behavior a bit odd. She decided to check why she closed the door that way. “Well I want to see who it was,” Svetlana said as she walked to the door.
Nancy kept vigilance before the door. “You should really be resting, Mistress.”
“You know, I’m getting more curious now, so Nancy, please let me open the door.”
Nancy’s head hung in despair as she moved aside. “As you wish, Mistress.”
“Thank you,” Svetlana said happily as she opened the door and looked at first seeing no one. She soon noticed someone up ahead. “Hey mister, did you need something?” she shouted wondering who it was.
“M-Mistress, your appearance!” Nancy hissed from the side, realizing her mistake of letting her Mistress open the door after all. What a disgrace. How would she answer Isabelle now?
Aramus turned as the voice carried down the hallway, didn’t Nancy tell Svetlana as she said she would? His face quickly turned red as she saw her state of dress after turning, indicating with his hand to go back into the room as he walked back. “Go back in, go back!” he said just loud enough to not raise a ruckus.
Svetlana completely forgot that she was still wearing her babydoll dress as she just got out of bed. Her face grew bright red, and she slammed the door shut out of embarrassment.
“Tell him to wait till I get dressed,” Svetlana told Nancy as she headed to get dressed.
Nancy just closed the door instead of speaking, scoffing at the plebeian as she did so. When Svetlana took out the dancing dress, Nancy took out the Victorian dress to completely overwhelm the hopeful lady. On her other hand was the dreadful corset. “There is only one way out of this, Mistress.”
“Svetlana?” Aramus’s muffled voice came through the door.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!” Svetlana shouted as Nancy had begun putting the corset on her. She hadn’t worn it over a month and her body became unaccustomed to it. “Why are you making me wear this?! It’s too hot here for that!” Svetlana complained.
“Wearing that shameless attire is anything but acceptable in public outside the palace!” Nancy replied, making it even tighter before tying the laces.
Outside the door, Aramus could only hear Svetlana’s shout and wondered what in tarnation was going on in the room.
“Aaaaaaah! Stop!” Svetlana let out another shout out as Nancy was tying the laces. Which was followed by Nancy grabbing a blue gothic Victorian sleeveless dress. Nancy finally opened the door for her after she was done preparing.
“Good Morning Aramus. What brings you here?” Svetlana greeted him with a curtsy, while Nancy palmed her forehead behind her. Her Mistress was completely out of the loop in the morning.
“G-Good Morning, Svetlana.” Aramus coughed into his hand. Try as he might, he couldn’t completely erase the image of what she had been wearing but just a moment ago. “I would like to make good on my offer to take you out.”
“That sounds wonderful. Where would you like us to go?” Svetlana asked as she thought this would be a good opportunity for a break.
“I was thinking of visiting the Medina Bazaar and going around. Does that appeal to you?” Aramus asked.
“That would be great I haven't had much time to explore around the town.”
“Well, neither have I. Shall we, Lady Svetlana?” Aramus said with a bow.
“Please lead the way.”
“I have this feeling that she will not remain chaste tonight with that attitude she developed recently…” Nancy thought out loud as she saw the two leave.
***
The pair made their way out of the palace into the streets with the sun shining harshly. Thankfully there was not much of a breeze so Aramus didn’t have to worry about dust and sand getting on the both of them. All they had to do was follow the huge crowd leading to the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, The Prophet’s Mosque and they would find it.
“It’s really big here. I wonder if I can find new clothes” Svetlana said, finding the prospect of exploration exciting. “We should totally take our time exploring around, Aramus.”
“Take as long as you’d like, I think this would be one of the few chances away from Nancy,” Aramus said with a laugh.
“Well, I don’t really want to get away from her. I really enjoy her company, but getting away from all the lessons feels nice.”
“I suppose. How does it feel to be waited on?” Aramus asked as they entered the Bazaar.
The Bazaar was huge, a cacophony of voices as peddlers shouted and displayed their wares. Shopkeepers were constantly bringing out new items, hanging them from floor to ceiling as they haggled with prospective buyers.
“It feels odd honestly, since I grew up poor I suppose I always had to take care of things on my own. Still have to get used to it,” Svetlana said as she looked at the items on the stall.
“Ah, I can relate to that. It feels odd when someone ends up serving oneself, yes?” Aramus said from beside her, the shopkeeper coming out and speaking in rapid Arabic to the pair. The Magister could only smile sheepishly at his lack of understanding of the language.
“We are just browsing,” Svetlana said as she grabbed Aramus’ hand. “Let's go check more stalls.”
The shopkeeper only stared at them and shrugged. It was a strange pair and everyone seemed to have their eyes on Svetlana, who was a beautiful blonde lady wearing a dress.
Aramus offered an apologetic smile as he was pulled away by Svetlana. “Do you have anything in particular you’d want?”
“Anything that catches my eye,” Svetlana said happily. “If you see anything yourself, let me know, okay?”
“I will need one of those to travel across the Sahara so maybe,” Aramus said, pointing to the thawbs people were wearing.
“Alright, let’s find a stand then.” Svetlana pulled Aramus again.
“No, you don’t have to worry about me!” He said, but Svetlana was having none of it and dragged him to one selling men’s clothing. The salesman eagerly started conversing with Svetlana, laughing and smiling all the while. It irked Aramus that Svetlana knew exactly what the man was saying but he was clueless. Who knew what she was telling the man to bring out for Aramus?
“I let him know what you wanted, he’ll be bringing it in a bit. Well I think I did from what you pointed at earlier.”
“Ok. This shouldn’t take too long, you could browse the other shops in the meantime.”
The salesman returned not a moment later with a white fabric in his hands, ushering Aramus into the changing room. He entered, and shortly after, the sound of fabric sliding off the body could be heard.
“This is a bit… small.” Aramus remarked as he tried to put on the outfit, unfamiliar with the method as a foreigner.
After fumbling around for it, he managed to get the thawb on and turned to leave the changing room only to find that there was a small opening. Tiny enough to be missed by a regular person but Aramus wasn’t such a plebeian. He pinched his nose and sighed as the curtain moved and the opening ceased to exist.
“So, how’s the size?” Svetlana asked as her face was slightly flushed, and her hands were placed on her face.
“Tight.” Aramus said in a drawl as he went up and whispered in her ear. “I need to change into another one.”
“I’ll go ask for a bigger one, give me a second.” After a minute, Svetlana came back with a bigger thawb, not even letting the shopkeeper bring it over due to the emergence of the situation, or something like that. “Here you go, hopefully it isn’t as tight.”
“I hope so.” Aramus exchanged the fabric with her and went back into the changing room.
Svetlana approached the changing room again and peeked inside from the corner of the curtain. Here sure does have an interesting body.
Aramus knew she was watching so he deliberately slid the clothes off and on with agonizing slowness. He noticed that the curtain was shaking after a certain point.
Why is he taking longer to undress?! Svetlana thought, waiting to see his body again.
“Why not just open the curtain a little wider, I’m sure that opening is not enough,” Aramus said with a chuckle, turning to look at the peeking Svetlana through the hole.
Svetlana’s face turned bright red and she released the curtain immediately, running away.
Aramus smiled and finished changing, leaving the changing room. The salesman gave him a strange look and he paid for the thawb. Happy with his purchase and his “prank,” he went back to Svetlana.
“It was a better fit, thanks. Did you enjoy yourself while I was busy?” he asked.
“Y-Yes, it was nice seeing all the different kinds of clothings at the store,” Svetlana said, looking away, her face bright red.
“Good, goooood. Shall we move on to what you want to buy?” Aramus offered, a little knowing smile on his face. “Shall we grab something to eat afterwards?”
“Alright.” Svetlana dragged him off before he could say anything else and they browsed through many different stores. Aramus gave his thoughts when Svetlana asked for them, carrying whatever she had bought from other stores. When they were done, Aramus was left with a ton of bags as Svetlana flaunted her new spending power.
Now they were headed to an ice cream parlor to cool off from the shipping and heat.
“It’s so much cooler in here,” Svetlana said as she took sit in one of the open tables. “I sure wish I could change clothes or loosen this up at least.”
“You can rest here then, I’ll order on your behalf. Any flavors? Sundae? Popsicles?” Aramus said as he set the bags down.
“Banana split with vanilla and strawberry please!”
“Ok, I’ll be right back.” He went off to order and returned with the ice cream, handing a spoon to Svetlana. The banana split as ordered for her and a mint chocolate chip cone for himself, Aramus began licking as soon he sat down.
“How does that taste?” Svetlana asked as she began eating her ice cream.
“Good. You want a taste?”
“Yeah, I never had that flavor before.”
“Go ahead,” Aramus said, hanging the cone over to Svetlana.
Svetlana began giving the ice cream some licks, purring as the flavor filled with her mouth.
“This is really tasty,” Svetlana said as she gave the ice cream another long lick. Aramus noted that she had a very flexible tongue as it slid smoothly over the green ice cream, rolling a small chocolate chip into her mouth and chewing on it. “Want a taste of mine?”
“Alright.” Aramus said harmlessly.
“You want me to feed to you or you want me to give you some with a kiss?” Svetlana said giggling.
“Which would you prefer?” Aramus said with a laugh.
Svetlana took a bite from her ice cream as she stood up and went up to Aramus, but he put two fingers on her lips to stop her.
The nearby Muslim mother covered her child's eyes with a hand as the girl pointed at the antics of the two of them.
Svetlana simply followed by licking Aramus] fingers before she headed to her seat. “Oh well guess that’s all you’ll get.”
“I suppose so,” Aramus replied, looking at his now wet fingers.
“I take it you’re interested in someone else?”
“No, nothing like that. Just that I think it’s something you should do with the one you love, that’s all.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if you're curious about the person?”
“I suppose some would see it that way, but not me at least. I can’t say I’ve felt that way before due to the nature of my upbringing, though.”
“Oh well, maybe I’ll be lucky another time. By the way, thanks again for telling me about Hades. I was able to find out a lot after meeting granddad.”
”No problem. It looks like it turned out for the better all things considered.”
“Yeah though so many things have happened after that, but I suppose I can only look forward to the future now. How about you? I never heard how you avoided prison.”
“I was tried at the Crystal Summit but Master Christopher pulled me out of the fire. Now I’m his apprentice and am on assignment here together with him. Who knows where I’ll end up next?”
“I see. Well, just make sure you don’t forget stuff like last time. It wasn’t good that happened.”
Aramus looked down sadly at his ice cream. “It was a lesson well learnt.”
Svetlana reached to Aramus and patted his head. “There, there, no need to be sad, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Just hope things improve.”
“I’ve somewhat given up on that. Let’s see where the tide takes me,” Aramus said after a lick of his mint, the flavor strong in his mouth.
“Don’t give up, that’s never good. You just gotta hope you can find a way.”
“I guess.” The Magister shrugged. He hoped good things would come but realized that Svetlana had eaten most of his ice cream. What a bad way to start.
Nancy sighed, taking down her shades, watching them from outside had been a very suffering experience. I suppose I will try to exclude this part of the report from Lady Isabelle, or should I?
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
“You feel like you’re ready?” Aisha asked, she was in her dancing outfit. “You had been practicing for a month now, but something tells me that you’re nervous.”
“I’m just hoping that I don’t screw up, otherwise wouldn’t I have to wait a year to try for this day again?”
“You would have to, yes. It is crucial to be used to dancing for that reason.”
In the rooftop of the Royal Palace stood the two. Nancy was disallowed from coming, for a reason Judgement Summoner wouldn’t reveal. There was a large magic circle drawn on the floor—a pentagram. Svetlana was at the very center of said pentagram.
“Well, I guess I’m ready. Just let me know when to start,” Svetlana said, taking a deep breath.
Judgement Summoner placed a leg on the corner of the magic circle, fueling it with mana. “You can start dancing.”
The magic circle started glowing, giving away a blue hue. The night sky was clear and starry and Svetlana could see the twinkling stars above her.
Svetlana slowly began moving her arms upwards, raising halfway and she stopped, before beginning to move her shoulders backwards in the form of small circles. As she picked up her pace, she moved her belly. She moved her hips side by side as she began to spin around.
“Start concentrating on your inner light that the Goddess granted. You should feel it closely as long as you don’t borrow any mana from a Realm.”
Svetlana listened as she continued dancing, and began to focus on the light of the Ishtar that she felt before when it was first granted to her. She felt the stars within as her body glowed blue with sparkles. The particles coming up from the shining magic circle and herself appeared like tiny twinkling stars to her. They particles gathered around her body, entering through her skin. The pattern of the stars were recorded by the magic circle, and the inner light of Svetlana was drawing them into herself like magnet so as to decipher the records. The sensitive parts of her body were nudged, and her face blushed red.
Judgement Summoner smirked. “Bear with it.”
“Why didn’t you say this was gonna happen?!” Svetlana said, her body was starting to warm up.
“That wouldn’t be very fun.”
“Idiot Master!”
“Ehehehe! It’ll be like this every night, by the way.”
“What why?! That’s just torture in it’s own way!”
“You liked it though.”
“...”
“You know it’s true.”
“Shut up! It’s only because I’m part succubus now!”
“How rude, but Isn’t that nice?”
“I don’t want to say it aloud!”
“A succubus being shy, really.”
“Just let me finish this in peace!”
In her room now, Svetlana came back with a huff, her body still warm. She found Nancy sitting on a chair, reading books she had brought with her.
“Oh Nancy, you’re still up.”
“Good evening, Mistress. Welcome back. How did the ritual go?”
“I suppose it went okay,” Svetlana said, her face red. “You think we can talk for a bit, Nancy? There’s something I want to confirm.”
“Confirm?” Nancy closed her book to listen intently. “What is it, Mistress?”
“Well, as you know, many things have happened these past two months. I would imagine many of them would be difficult to believe, and as you know I’m no longer human either. You also saw what this training has caused to me… in some of my actions. I was wondering if you’re comfortable in serving me still,” Svetlana said as she twirled her fingers.
“Such a silly thing to ask, Mistress. I would be happy to serve you all the same, regardless of who you are. If only I could fix the shamefulness,” Nancy said, sighing. “But alas, everyone has their own quirks, and I find some of yours endearing, in all honesty. If you would not mind me, I shall keep what I saw confidential and continue to work for you.”
Svetlana smiled. “Thank you, Nancy. There’s one more, though. Ever since I met Ishtar… weird things have been coming to my mind, and all this training now seems like it’s gonna make it worse. My body feels warm even though I don’t feel ill, and I’ve been feeling itchy in a specific spot,” Svetlana said with her face becoming even redder.
“Itchy in a certain spot? Due to the training? Even if you are not ill, I think we need you to see a doctor, Mistress.”
Svetlana walked to where Nancy was her face still red. “It can be taken care of without seeing a doctor. It's just really embarrassing, okay? Normally it’s taken care of by one's lover…”
“...Huh? Mistress, you cannot mean…”
Svetlana simply nodded, her face still bright red.
“I-I shall leave the room for your privacy. Please excuse me, Mistress.” Nancy got up, giving a bow before moving towards the door.
Svetlana at that moment grabbed Nancy’s hand. “The thing is—I don’t want you to leave. I don’t know why, but the thing is, my body is telling me to have you here…”
“Um… you would wish for me to w-watch?” Nancy inquired with a low voice, her cheeks taking on a shade of rosy pink.
Svetlana shook her head. “Y-You might want to leave me after this, but I want you to j-join me…”
“Join… you? B-But I am a woman, Mistress.”
“B-Before I would be saying the same thing, but currently I just don’t care, I just want to have someone with me. I don’t want it to be just anyone, and I just felt like you’re the only one I can turn to right now,” Svetlana said as she looked down shamefully.
Nancy gulped her saliva. “S-So… what would you have me do, Mistress?”
“B-Basically… have sex with me,” Svetlana said her face turning as red as tomato.
“Se—what? M-Mistress… how would women even have an intercourse?!”
Nancy’s breathing was already irregular and her heart’s racing was faster than normal, she never expected Svetlana to speak these words.
Svetlana lifted Nancy up by her chin and proceeded to kissing her passionately. She proceeded to use her tongue as she tried to imitate the way Ishtar kissed her before, but she fell short in terms of skills. Svetlana felt Nancy bite her tongue accidentally too and she winced a bit, but she tried to continue kissing her for a bit longer.
“T-That was too sudden—”
Svetlana moved Nancy away from the sofa and pushed the maid unto her bed and went on top of her on all fours.
“I hope you’re ready for a long night, my cute little Nancy,” Svetlana said, licking her lips and staring at Nancy with lustful eyes.
“I-I understand, Mistress, but would you let me undress at least?” Nancy finally gave up, her barriers of morals finally falling, evident from a rare sigh. She only hoped that her Mistress would go easy on her. The person being Infernal scared her just a little bit.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that.”
“I’m just hoping that I don’t screw up, otherwise wouldn’t I have to wait a year to try for this day again?”
“You would have to, yes. It is crucial to be used to dancing for that reason.”
In the rooftop of the Royal Palace stood the two. Nancy was disallowed from coming, for a reason Judgement Summoner wouldn’t reveal. There was a large magic circle drawn on the floor—a pentagram. Svetlana was at the very center of said pentagram.
“Well, I guess I’m ready. Just let me know when to start,” Svetlana said, taking a deep breath.
Judgement Summoner placed a leg on the corner of the magic circle, fueling it with mana. “You can start dancing.”
The magic circle started glowing, giving away a blue hue. The night sky was clear and starry and Svetlana could see the twinkling stars above her.
Svetlana slowly began moving her arms upwards, raising halfway and she stopped, before beginning to move her shoulders backwards in the form of small circles. As she picked up her pace, she moved her belly. She moved her hips side by side as she began to spin around.
“Start concentrating on your inner light that the Goddess granted. You should feel it closely as long as you don’t borrow any mana from a Realm.”
Svetlana listened as she continued dancing, and began to focus on the light of the Ishtar that she felt before when it was first granted to her. She felt the stars within as her body glowed blue with sparkles. The particles coming up from the shining magic circle and herself appeared like tiny twinkling stars to her. They particles gathered around her body, entering through her skin. The pattern of the stars were recorded by the magic circle, and the inner light of Svetlana was drawing them into herself like magnet so as to decipher the records. The sensitive parts of her body were nudged, and her face blushed red.
Judgement Summoner smirked. “Bear with it.”
“Why didn’t you say this was gonna happen?!” Svetlana said, her body was starting to warm up.
“That wouldn’t be very fun.”
“Idiot Master!”
“Ehehehe! It’ll be like this every night, by the way.”
“What why?! That’s just torture in it’s own way!”
“You liked it though.”
“...”
“You know it’s true.”
“Shut up! It’s only because I’m part succubus now!”
“How rude, but Isn’t that nice?”
“I don’t want to say it aloud!”
“A succubus being shy, really.”
“Just let me finish this in peace!”
***
In her room now, Svetlana came back with a huff, her body still warm. She found Nancy sitting on a chair, reading books she had brought with her.
“Oh Nancy, you’re still up.”
“Good evening, Mistress. Welcome back. How did the ritual go?”
“I suppose it went okay,” Svetlana said, her face red. “You think we can talk for a bit, Nancy? There’s something I want to confirm.”
“Confirm?” Nancy closed her book to listen intently. “What is it, Mistress?”
“Well, as you know, many things have happened these past two months. I would imagine many of them would be difficult to believe, and as you know I’m no longer human either. You also saw what this training has caused to me… in some of my actions. I was wondering if you’re comfortable in serving me still,” Svetlana said as she twirled her fingers.
“Such a silly thing to ask, Mistress. I would be happy to serve you all the same, regardless of who you are. If only I could fix the shamefulness,” Nancy said, sighing. “But alas, everyone has their own quirks, and I find some of yours endearing, in all honesty. If you would not mind me, I shall keep what I saw confidential and continue to work for you.”
Svetlana smiled. “Thank you, Nancy. There’s one more, though. Ever since I met Ishtar… weird things have been coming to my mind, and all this training now seems like it’s gonna make it worse. My body feels warm even though I don’t feel ill, and I’ve been feeling itchy in a specific spot,” Svetlana said with her face becoming even redder.
“Itchy in a certain spot? Due to the training? Even if you are not ill, I think we need you to see a doctor, Mistress.”
Svetlana walked to where Nancy was her face still red. “It can be taken care of without seeing a doctor. It's just really embarrassing, okay? Normally it’s taken care of by one's lover…”
“...Huh? Mistress, you cannot mean…”
Svetlana simply nodded, her face still bright red.
“I-I shall leave the room for your privacy. Please excuse me, Mistress.” Nancy got up, giving a bow before moving towards the door.
Svetlana at that moment grabbed Nancy’s hand. “The thing is—I don’t want you to leave. I don’t know why, but the thing is, my body is telling me to have you here…”
“Um… you would wish for me to w-watch?” Nancy inquired with a low voice, her cheeks taking on a shade of rosy pink.
Svetlana shook her head. “Y-You might want to leave me after this, but I want you to j-join me…”
“Join… you? B-But I am a woman, Mistress.”
“B-Before I would be saying the same thing, but currently I just don’t care, I just want to have someone with me. I don’t want it to be just anyone, and I just felt like you’re the only one I can turn to right now,” Svetlana said as she looked down shamefully.
Nancy gulped her saliva. “S-So… what would you have me do, Mistress?”
“B-Basically… have sex with me,” Svetlana said her face turning as red as tomato.
“Se—what? M-Mistress… how would women even have an intercourse?!”
Nancy’s breathing was already irregular and her heart’s racing was faster than normal, she never expected Svetlana to speak these words.
Svetlana lifted Nancy up by her chin and proceeded to kissing her passionately. She proceeded to use her tongue as she tried to imitate the way Ishtar kissed her before, but she fell short in terms of skills. Svetlana felt Nancy bite her tongue accidentally too and she winced a bit, but she tried to continue kissing her for a bit longer.
“T-That was too sudden—”
Svetlana moved Nancy away from the sofa and pushed the maid unto her bed and went on top of her on all fours.
“I hope you’re ready for a long night, my cute little Nancy,” Svetlana said, licking her lips and staring at Nancy with lustful eyes.
“I-I understand, Mistress, but would you let me undress at least?” Nancy finally gave up, her barriers of morals finally falling, evident from a rare sigh. She only hoped that her Mistress would go easy on her. The person being Infernal scared her just a little bit.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
In the border of the country, Claudia was currently being treated by her Master. They were in a small house in the outskirts where Claudia found out that the vampires had shelter to provide her. She didn’t know how she came across them, it was likely a stroke of luck. It felt much better than being found by the police or the hunters, however.
“You lose an eye of all things,” her Master stated, not quite expecting an answer. “This is proof of your ignorance of your surroundings.”
“I apologize, Master,” Claudia said with a grunt. She was sick of having to apologize for her own foul ups.
“I have told you before to forgo your overconfidence. I suppose you were not listening.”
Claudia turned away from her Master, grimace lush in her face. “I… I apologize, Master. I shall be more attentive from here on out.”
“Your eye would take some days to recover, but we cannot afford to waste time. You shall continue your studies of the language. We will teach you a new spell afterwards.”
“Great. Wonderful,” Claudia huffed, standing up. “You know what? I don’t even care about my eye anymore. I’d be happy to get this done sooner than anything.”
Crimson Rafflesia then handed to Claudia the books for the language again.
“How much have you covered so far?”
Flipping one of the books open and scanning over the pages, albeit slowly, Claudia turned back to her Master. “A good majority. I’ve hoped to have finish in an afternoon if it weren’t for that fucking raghead blowing our room up.”
“For now, we shall move over to Iraq in a few days. The country has many more of our comrades and we will likely find a safer place for your training.”
Claudia sighed to herself. “Iraq of all places? I don’t think a battlefield would qualify as a safe place for training.”
“A battlefield?”
“Is Iraq not at war, still?”
“I suppose the conflict still continues, however, we of the Magic World can still find sanctuary from our hunters by hiding here. Who would think that we would hide there?”
“If the enemy were smarter, they would, no doubt,” Claudia replied. “Speaking of, what were they doing here anyway? Aramus and that woman?”
“Aramus? I do not know, but the woman was the Witness DKD, and the one I faced was one of the Archmage.”
“DK...D?” Claudia queried. Her head tilted in question as to who on earth would want a name, or title, or whatever, like that. “Who is that?”
“I suppose you have not heard about the Space Police?”
“Space Police? With a name like that, I think they’re better suited having a children’s TV show.”
“I see that you are ignorant of the many powerful forces outside of the few countries you had traveled to.” Her Master shook her head and sighed. “The Space Police are the few people working to neutralize any and all spatial issues that takes place in the world. Each of its members are at the level of the Dukes and Duchesses of England working under Queen Victoria at least, and they are often hired to pursue criminals. In the Magic World, criminals who are hiding and missing are known as the Rogues. People like us.”
“They didn’t even give us a chance to breathe, either. I’m surprised at how quickly they found us,” Claudia said with a distant look, palming her eye socket. “To be truthful… I’m actually afraid of this DKD, knowing I could’ve died so simply back there.”
“You would do best to avoid fighting such a person until you master your talents and capabilities. The Witnesses are no people you would want to have business with. Hmmm, this makes our situation precarious, the Witnesses knows the Astral Venture Supreme Spell—they can travel to any part of the world by using the Void Realm.”
“Then that means we will have to be extra careful about this. If these Witnesses are as dangerous as you say, then I won’t be in a rush to fight them.”
“We will have to prepare you for some counter measures it seems,” the Master said, taking up her finger. “I will have you learn spells for now and use the words of the language particularly required.”
“Entendu, Master.”
“Take up your index finger, we start now.” Her Master too, did the same. A violet burn was formed at the tip of her finger. “First, listen to the voices of the soul—I have some gathered for this—then mentally ask them to lend their aid. The Undertakers usually have a natural commanding power over them. If they do not hear, ask them vocally. Apply Imaginem mana into your finger and mix a soul’s power into the fingertip, you should achieve a similar result as mine if you do it correctly.”
Nodding, Claudia recalled the first phase of her training back in Russia, where she would sit in front of an ashtray and listen out for voices of the dead. She shut her eye and focused, soon gathering their attention. The Representative mentally asked the souls for assistance as her Master ordered, telling them to perform something simple like, forming a circle around her. She applied mana into her own fingertip. With the spell’s success, the fading black aura from her Mage’s Sigil—something she almost forgot she had—revealed itself.
Claudia’s finger burned similarly to her Master’s, though she appeared not as satisfied as she wished.
Crimson Rafflesia then opened the door of the small room, and gestured one of the vampires to enter the room. The vampire that entered was wearing a black cloak and a mask that seemed to completely cover his face.
“Seeing that you succeeded in casting, Claudia, write the word †˜collect’ with your finger in the air, while aiming at this man here,” her Master commanded.
With a nod, Claudia did as she asked, writing the aforementioned word in the language of the soul through the empty space in front of the Vampire. “Collect,” she said aloud for good measure, gazing upon the violet text in front of her. “So what now–”
The vampire started screaming, his clothes shredding and then his skin and blood ripping itself apart, or rather, it was being ripped apart by the souls. The cracking noises of the bones could be heard before the they started coming out from the body of the vampire. By the time the spell was over, more or less all the bones gathered onto Claudia’s finger as if her finger was the core and the bones were the ground pulled by gravity. The empty corpse of the vampire fell and the blood coated the floor. Crimson Rafflesia didn’t seem to be pleased or displeased and only looked at the mess blankly while Claudia’s finger held the demonstration of the Undertaker’s powers.
“Holy shit…” Claudia said, surprise clear in her voice. She looked at her finger, eye widened, and back down to her own handywork. “Holy shit,” she said again. “Did I just do that?”
“On your first try, yes.”
She almost wanted to laugh, but with all her willpower, she swallowed it down. Stay humble, Claudia. She retained a composed expression, unsure of what to say after this. It felt almost taboo to even celebrate around Rafflesia. “I… well…”
“When you learn more of the language, start practicing with the spell I taught earlier, use it to write simple words so that you are more habituated in time.”
“Y-Yes, Master Crimson.” Claudia nodded. She couldn’t help but glance back to the vampire she had just killed. “So did he have a death wish or something, or was he just that dedicated?” she asked her Master.
“I do not really know, but we couldn’t afford to use a civilian now, otherwise we would blow our cover.”
Claudia shrugged. “Anything to assist me, I suppose.”
“You lose an eye of all things,” her Master stated, not quite expecting an answer. “This is proof of your ignorance of your surroundings.”
“I apologize, Master,” Claudia said with a grunt. She was sick of having to apologize for her own foul ups.
“I have told you before to forgo your overconfidence. I suppose you were not listening.”
Claudia turned away from her Master, grimace lush in her face. “I… I apologize, Master. I shall be more attentive from here on out.”
“Your eye would take some days to recover, but we cannot afford to waste time. You shall continue your studies of the language. We will teach you a new spell afterwards.”
“Great. Wonderful,” Claudia huffed, standing up. “You know what? I don’t even care about my eye anymore. I’d be happy to get this done sooner than anything.”
Crimson Rafflesia then handed to Claudia the books for the language again.
“How much have you covered so far?”
Flipping one of the books open and scanning over the pages, albeit slowly, Claudia turned back to her Master. “A good majority. I’ve hoped to have finish in an afternoon if it weren’t for that fucking raghead blowing our room up.”
“For now, we shall move over to Iraq in a few days. The country has many more of our comrades and we will likely find a safer place for your training.”
Claudia sighed to herself. “Iraq of all places? I don’t think a battlefield would qualify as a safe place for training.”
“A battlefield?”
“Is Iraq not at war, still?”
“I suppose the conflict still continues, however, we of the Magic World can still find sanctuary from our hunters by hiding here. Who would think that we would hide there?”
“If the enemy were smarter, they would, no doubt,” Claudia replied. “Speaking of, what were they doing here anyway? Aramus and that woman?”
“Aramus? I do not know, but the woman was the Witness DKD, and the one I faced was one of the Archmage.”
“DK...D?” Claudia queried. Her head tilted in question as to who on earth would want a name, or title, or whatever, like that. “Who is that?”
“I suppose you have not heard about the Space Police?”
“Space Police? With a name like that, I think they’re better suited having a children’s TV show.”
“I see that you are ignorant of the many powerful forces outside of the few countries you had traveled to.” Her Master shook her head and sighed. “The Space Police are the few people working to neutralize any and all spatial issues that takes place in the world. Each of its members are at the level of the Dukes and Duchesses of England working under Queen Victoria at least, and they are often hired to pursue criminals. In the Magic World, criminals who are hiding and missing are known as the Rogues. People like us.”
“They didn’t even give us a chance to breathe, either. I’m surprised at how quickly they found us,” Claudia said with a distant look, palming her eye socket. “To be truthful… I’m actually afraid of this DKD, knowing I could’ve died so simply back there.”
“You would do best to avoid fighting such a person until you master your talents and capabilities. The Witnesses are no people you would want to have business with. Hmmm, this makes our situation precarious, the Witnesses knows the Astral Venture Supreme Spell—they can travel to any part of the world by using the Void Realm.”
“Then that means we will have to be extra careful about this. If these Witnesses are as dangerous as you say, then I won’t be in a rush to fight them.”
“We will have to prepare you for some counter measures it seems,” the Master said, taking up her finger. “I will have you learn spells for now and use the words of the language particularly required.”
“Entendu, Master.”
“Take up your index finger, we start now.” Her Master too, did the same. A violet burn was formed at the tip of her finger. “First, listen to the voices of the soul—I have some gathered for this—then mentally ask them to lend their aid. The Undertakers usually have a natural commanding power over them. If they do not hear, ask them vocally. Apply Imaginem mana into your finger and mix a soul’s power into the fingertip, you should achieve a similar result as mine if you do it correctly.”
Nodding, Claudia recalled the first phase of her training back in Russia, where she would sit in front of an ashtray and listen out for voices of the dead. She shut her eye and focused, soon gathering their attention. The Representative mentally asked the souls for assistance as her Master ordered, telling them to perform something simple like, forming a circle around her. She applied mana into her own fingertip. With the spell’s success, the fading black aura from her Mage’s Sigil—something she almost forgot she had—revealed itself.
Claudia’s finger burned similarly to her Master’s, though she appeared not as satisfied as she wished.
Crimson Rafflesia then opened the door of the small room, and gestured one of the vampires to enter the room. The vampire that entered was wearing a black cloak and a mask that seemed to completely cover his face.
“Seeing that you succeeded in casting, Claudia, write the word †˜collect’ with your finger in the air, while aiming at this man here,” her Master commanded.
With a nod, Claudia did as she asked, writing the aforementioned word in the language of the soul through the empty space in front of the Vampire. “Collect,” she said aloud for good measure, gazing upon the violet text in front of her. “So what now–”
The vampire started screaming, his clothes shredding and then his skin and blood ripping itself apart, or rather, it was being ripped apart by the souls. The cracking noises of the bones could be heard before the they started coming out from the body of the vampire. By the time the spell was over, more or less all the bones gathered onto Claudia’s finger as if her finger was the core and the bones were the ground pulled by gravity. The empty corpse of the vampire fell and the blood coated the floor. Crimson Rafflesia didn’t seem to be pleased or displeased and only looked at the mess blankly while Claudia’s finger held the demonstration of the Undertaker’s powers.
“Holy shit…” Claudia said, surprise clear in her voice. She looked at her finger, eye widened, and back down to her own handywork. “Holy shit,” she said again. “Did I just do that?”
“On your first try, yes.”
She almost wanted to laugh, but with all her willpower, she swallowed it down. Stay humble, Claudia. She retained a composed expression, unsure of what to say after this. It felt almost taboo to even celebrate around Rafflesia. “I… well…”
“When you learn more of the language, start practicing with the spell I taught earlier, use it to write simple words so that you are more habituated in time.”
“Y-Yes, Master Crimson.” Claudia nodded. She couldn’t help but glance back to the vampire she had just killed. “So did he have a death wish or something, or was he just that dedicated?” she asked her Master.
“I do not really know, but we couldn’t afford to use a civilian now, otherwise we would blow our cover.”
Claudia shrugged. “Anything to assist me, I suppose.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Today, Aramus was dressed in a thawb. In the largest desert that the world had known, this was an attire better suited to the climate. He was seated atop a camel, which was carrying many packages it seemed. He was with a group of other camels, and their riders were all mundanes, but they had their own reasons for going through the seemingly endless expanse of sand dunes.
Witness DKD—his senior in the Space Police Organization—generally his caretaker somehow, and his partner of the mission, was the person who sat behind him, apparently appearing very bored. They would use a portal but according to her, she was reprimanded for using them carelessly, and was supposed to do this mission without using the portals to find the distortion.
Aramus decided he would never get used to how the camel moved with its gait. Being the only way to cross the desert, Aramus begrudging rode the beast of burden but his buttocks and back were beginning to blister. He could feel it. That combined with the thawb and how airy it was in certain areas made him a little grumpy.
“This is boring,” DKD murmured, still moping. “Porting with magic would’ve been so much easier. Don’t you think so too?”
“I concur,” Aramus grunted as the beast below him shifted again in its gait. “Would’ve been faster too. Less time in the blasted sand.”
“Exactly. It had been four days and we cannot eat lavishly out in here, either.”
“I’ve had enough of dates and coffee. Something more substantial would be appreciated…”
“A cake would be more fulfilling about now… last night, I almost saw that the entire desert was made of creams in a dream. That would be nice.”
Aramus wiped away figurative drool, wishing that there was at least something else to eat apart from dates and dry bread. “I wouldn’t want sand in my cake so I’ll save that for when we get back…”
“So, DAD, how much do you know of the current world?”
“The current world, DKD? Like how the countries are all separated by a distortion and the only way to travel between them is via Magic?”
“Only three countries. What we call the modern world happens to be free of this curse. However, that was not what I was talking about. How much have you learned of the situations of the other countries so far?”
“Not much I’m afraid. Even if I had tried to get any recent news, most of it is in Arabic. If we’re talking further than that, just what is handed down to mundanes or those on the lower rung of the Magic World.”
“This is kind of the problem with living in one of the three countries with the unknown distortion.” DKD shrugged. “It’s not a nice world outside, which is ironic.”
“I figured the world outside has its own fair share of problems as well, just hushed up by the various governments.”
“Mostly hushed for the mundanes. Not in the Magic World, however. Have you heard of the Magic Pollution?”
“I have heard of it in passing but not in detail.”
“Some mages trying to make their own societies. They use magic to create harmful gas to drive the mundanes out. There are also the terrorists run by Blood Countess who has been causing problems in many places. They kinda go by the bigger news though.”
“All a load of balderdash if you ask me. Using Magic like that won’t solve their problems.”
DKD turned and looked what lied before the camels. “Do you feel this… darkness? Or rather, bloodlust?”
“I feel the bloodlust but not the darkness. It’s all around us.”
“We have to find it.” DKD smiled. This was the savage smile of a warrior and a sadist.
She leaned down and arched her head down towards the camel, and spoke in a language Aramus could not comprehend. When it came to communication, Witness DKD was unmatched. The camel seemed to give a nod, and the girl placed a hand on the animal, the Magister could see some mana passing through to the creature. Somehow, this felt like bad news to him, but an exciting one at the same time.
The camel jumped. Indeed, it jumped—all the way to the clouds! Aramus found himself screaming from the top of his lungs as the camel took them up to surprising lengths, it landed much farther away than the group they were with, never mind the fact that they were innocent mundanes who traveled with them not knowing who they were. The camel leapt before he got a chance to speak, and it seemed to become a journey with the camel leading them ahead with impossible moves.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGG!” Aramus hollered in the middle of one particular high jump, feeling like a flea in a wind storm as he was forced to hold onto the reins for dear life, however much security those thin cords could afford him.
DKD seemed to be enjoying the ride, laughing. “Isn’t this fun?! So much better than a slow ride!”
Wild screaming was the only reply she got from Aramus.
Like this, they spent some hours riding the sandy winds and the dunes, just with a different pace. Eventually, DKD seemed to not be having so much fun anymore, but Aramus could never get used to this.
DKD patted the camel once more and it finally stopped.
“Alright, you can catch your breath now,” his senior finally said.
Aramus wasn’t sure if she was referring to the camel or him but he took deep breaths to calm himself down. It was one thing to fly under your own power but to have a camel leap across the desert like some kind of grasshopper was something he never wanted to experience again.
“The distortion is much closer now. We’ll set off once you’re done resting, DAD.”
“I’m good, I’m good. We can go,” Aramus said after a few more breaths. “I’d like to have a firsthand look at the distortion too.”
“Gotcha.” With a pat, the camel started to move forward instead of jump, it was still not ordinary for a camel to gallop forward like this. “Be on guard. It has to be here somewhere.”
“Alright.” Aramus said, keeping his eyes peeled.
The camel soon stopped. DKD patted it, but it growled and refused to go any further. The sands started shaking and rumbling. The tremors gave the two the confirmation that the source of the bloodlust was very close and real.
With a hiss, a large snake-like creature’s head broke out from the sands and cried again facing them, sending away its breath full of stinking air and spit.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqnHO1L52Ec)
“Well, isn’t this just wonderful,” Aramus said, waving a hand in front of his face as the stinking breath washed over him. A cyclone of wind surrounded them, blowing the stench and sand away before dying down to only encircle Aramus and he took to the air, looking down at DKD and the camel. “I’ll fight from up here.”
With another roar from the overgrown snake, the sky started to turn dark.
Witness DKD looked up, the space of the very sky and the clouds were breaking apart as if the very space was being tarnished.
The distortion, DKD noted. The place started to look like the Void Realm, slowly if anything. As the snake thrashed about, the camel leapt back and DKD jumped from it, placing a leg on Aramus, she propelled herself straight towards the snake with a sword ready in her hand. “And I’ll be fighting there.”
Aramus smiled smugly and followed straight behind her, his relic appearing in hand as he prepared to slash the serpent. Before he swung at it, the beast’s roar sent him back instead, the veil of tornado around him barely keeping him afloat above the sands. Momentarily, a different form of hissing was sent across the desert, this was the wail of pain as DKD’s blade was stabbed against the black skin of the creature. The bloody veins that seemed to be visible all over its body started pulsing with a bright hue of red as response.
When the snake opened its maw and hissed at DKD again, a bolt of lightning streaking into its mouth and sent it reeling back. But that wasn’t the Lightning Bolt spell sent by Aramus, it was the Magister himself cooking the serpent’s insides with Holy Wrath—Thor’s Might. Soon, he bashed against something foreign and he looked up, there were thousands of snakes that started putting themselves into him to stop him.
Aramus lashed out at the snakes as his speed dropped, trying to fry as many of them as possible. Bolts of lightning seared and disintegrated many but there was no end to the number of snakes as they attempted to swarm him. He filled himself with more power, a huge discharge of energy giving him a momentary reprieve and allowed him to move again.
He streaked around the snake, a seemingly endless journey and more snakes seemed to pour out of the fleshy walls, hissing as they fell towards him.
After what seemed like forever inside the fleshy tunnel full of snakes, light seemed to peek inside as DKD cut open the skin of the snake, a circular hole opened, leaking out its blood, fluids, and some of the smaller snakes along with it.
Aramus grinned sadistically up at his senior, his relic sword appearing once more in his hand and he ran off deeper into the snake. The thorns from the sword entangled themselves on his arm, blood and gore spewed everywhere as his slashes ruptured multiple vessels and arteries. The Magister was coated from head to toe in blood and guts, laughing madly as the sword split a large beating organ into cubes, the feathers quivering together with his delight. “More, bleed for me more, you piece of shit!”
Behind him, he saw the snake’s skin tear apart rapidly, opening up more and more of its walls, letting the sunlight come through inside. By the time Aramus was nearing its tail, the snake was butchered completely by the sadistic duo with its entrails bathing under the sandy winds of the Sahara. He came out only to see that the snake was laid out across the sands, its entire body broken in many parts. The broken space of the sky started to return to normal slowly.
Aramus rubbed away the blood dripping into his eyes and smiled at DKD. It was an honest smile, containing more than just simple cheer. He needed to vent out his frustrations and this had been a great opportunity. “How’d you think snake meat would taste?”
DKD gave a big smile in return. “Want to try?”
“Anything other than dates and coffee. Who knows, we might have struck upon a delicacy,” Aramus said.
“But then I fear we would just distort our stomachs. Maybe it is for the best that this dish is laid out for the sands.”
Aramus looked just about ready to cut a small slice for himself but lowered his sword with a sigh. “Guess I’ll settle for regular snake back in the city if they have it. Was this the cause of the distortion?”
“Yes, I imagine someone did some experiments to create this thing and left it here. I wonder what for…”
“Who knows. We just need to find whoever’s responsible and take his head. Time to go back for that cake you wanted?” Aramus asked with a smile.
“I am tired of this desert. Let us be off. I’d sooner bake than take on this relentless heat.” Witness DKD sliced open the rift in the air, her finger giving away a seemingly searing mana.
The two members of the Space Police left. The camel seemed to follow them too for some reason. Beyond the dunes of sand a rogue witch only stared at them as they exited, she seemed to be busy taking notes.
Witness DKD—his senior in the Space Police Organization—generally his caretaker somehow, and his partner of the mission, was the person who sat behind him, apparently appearing very bored. They would use a portal but according to her, she was reprimanded for using them carelessly, and was supposed to do this mission without using the portals to find the distortion.
Aramus decided he would never get used to how the camel moved with its gait. Being the only way to cross the desert, Aramus begrudging rode the beast of burden but his buttocks and back were beginning to blister. He could feel it. That combined with the thawb and how airy it was in certain areas made him a little grumpy.
“This is boring,” DKD murmured, still moping. “Porting with magic would’ve been so much easier. Don’t you think so too?”
“I concur,” Aramus grunted as the beast below him shifted again in its gait. “Would’ve been faster too. Less time in the blasted sand.”
“Exactly. It had been four days and we cannot eat lavishly out in here, either.”
“I’ve had enough of dates and coffee. Something more substantial would be appreciated…”
“A cake would be more fulfilling about now… last night, I almost saw that the entire desert was made of creams in a dream. That would be nice.”
Aramus wiped away figurative drool, wishing that there was at least something else to eat apart from dates and dry bread. “I wouldn’t want sand in my cake so I’ll save that for when we get back…”
“So, DAD, how much do you know of the current world?”
“The current world, DKD? Like how the countries are all separated by a distortion and the only way to travel between them is via Magic?”
“Only three countries. What we call the modern world happens to be free of this curse. However, that was not what I was talking about. How much have you learned of the situations of the other countries so far?”
“Not much I’m afraid. Even if I had tried to get any recent news, most of it is in Arabic. If we’re talking further than that, just what is handed down to mundanes or those on the lower rung of the Magic World.”
“This is kind of the problem with living in one of the three countries with the unknown distortion.” DKD shrugged. “It’s not a nice world outside, which is ironic.”
“I figured the world outside has its own fair share of problems as well, just hushed up by the various governments.”
“Mostly hushed for the mundanes. Not in the Magic World, however. Have you heard of the Magic Pollution?”
“I have heard of it in passing but not in detail.”
“Some mages trying to make their own societies. They use magic to create harmful gas to drive the mundanes out. There are also the terrorists run by Blood Countess who has been causing problems in many places. They kinda go by the bigger news though.”
“All a load of balderdash if you ask me. Using Magic like that won’t solve their problems.”
DKD turned and looked what lied before the camels. “Do you feel this… darkness? Or rather, bloodlust?”
“I feel the bloodlust but not the darkness. It’s all around us.”
“We have to find it.” DKD smiled. This was the savage smile of a warrior and a sadist.
She leaned down and arched her head down towards the camel, and spoke in a language Aramus could not comprehend. When it came to communication, Witness DKD was unmatched. The camel seemed to give a nod, and the girl placed a hand on the animal, the Magister could see some mana passing through to the creature. Somehow, this felt like bad news to him, but an exciting one at the same time.
The camel jumped. Indeed, it jumped—all the way to the clouds! Aramus found himself screaming from the top of his lungs as the camel took them up to surprising lengths, it landed much farther away than the group they were with, never mind the fact that they were innocent mundanes who traveled with them not knowing who they were. The camel leapt before he got a chance to speak, and it seemed to become a journey with the camel leading them ahead with impossible moves.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGG!” Aramus hollered in the middle of one particular high jump, feeling like a flea in a wind storm as he was forced to hold onto the reins for dear life, however much security those thin cords could afford him.
DKD seemed to be enjoying the ride, laughing. “Isn’t this fun?! So much better than a slow ride!”
Wild screaming was the only reply she got from Aramus.
***
Like this, they spent some hours riding the sandy winds and the dunes, just with a different pace. Eventually, DKD seemed to not be having so much fun anymore, but Aramus could never get used to this.
DKD patted the camel once more and it finally stopped.
“Alright, you can catch your breath now,” his senior finally said.
Aramus wasn’t sure if she was referring to the camel or him but he took deep breaths to calm himself down. It was one thing to fly under your own power but to have a camel leap across the desert like some kind of grasshopper was something he never wanted to experience again.
“The distortion is much closer now. We’ll set off once you’re done resting, DAD.”
“I’m good, I’m good. We can go,” Aramus said after a few more breaths. “I’d like to have a firsthand look at the distortion too.”
“Gotcha.” With a pat, the camel started to move forward instead of jump, it was still not ordinary for a camel to gallop forward like this. “Be on guard. It has to be here somewhere.”
“Alright.” Aramus said, keeping his eyes peeled.
The camel soon stopped. DKD patted it, but it growled and refused to go any further. The sands started shaking and rumbling. The tremors gave the two the confirmation that the source of the bloodlust was very close and real.
With a hiss, a large snake-like creature’s head broke out from the sands and cried again facing them, sending away its breath full of stinking air and spit.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqnHO1L52Ec)
“Well, isn’t this just wonderful,” Aramus said, waving a hand in front of his face as the stinking breath washed over him. A cyclone of wind surrounded them, blowing the stench and sand away before dying down to only encircle Aramus and he took to the air, looking down at DKD and the camel. “I’ll fight from up here.”
With another roar from the overgrown snake, the sky started to turn dark.
Witness DKD looked up, the space of the very sky and the clouds were breaking apart as if the very space was being tarnished.
The distortion, DKD noted. The place started to look like the Void Realm, slowly if anything. As the snake thrashed about, the camel leapt back and DKD jumped from it, placing a leg on Aramus, she propelled herself straight towards the snake with a sword ready in her hand. “And I’ll be fighting there.”
Aramus smiled smugly and followed straight behind her, his relic appearing in hand as he prepared to slash the serpent. Before he swung at it, the beast’s roar sent him back instead, the veil of tornado around him barely keeping him afloat above the sands. Momentarily, a different form of hissing was sent across the desert, this was the wail of pain as DKD’s blade was stabbed against the black skin of the creature. The bloody veins that seemed to be visible all over its body started pulsing with a bright hue of red as response.
When the snake opened its maw and hissed at DKD again, a bolt of lightning streaking into its mouth and sent it reeling back. But that wasn’t the Lightning Bolt spell sent by Aramus, it was the Magister himself cooking the serpent’s insides with Holy Wrath—Thor’s Might. Soon, he bashed against something foreign and he looked up, there were thousands of snakes that started putting themselves into him to stop him.
Aramus lashed out at the snakes as his speed dropped, trying to fry as many of them as possible. Bolts of lightning seared and disintegrated many but there was no end to the number of snakes as they attempted to swarm him. He filled himself with more power, a huge discharge of energy giving him a momentary reprieve and allowed him to move again.
He streaked around the snake, a seemingly endless journey and more snakes seemed to pour out of the fleshy walls, hissing as they fell towards him.
After what seemed like forever inside the fleshy tunnel full of snakes, light seemed to peek inside as DKD cut open the skin of the snake, a circular hole opened, leaking out its blood, fluids, and some of the smaller snakes along with it.
Aramus grinned sadistically up at his senior, his relic sword appearing once more in his hand and he ran off deeper into the snake. The thorns from the sword entangled themselves on his arm, blood and gore spewed everywhere as his slashes ruptured multiple vessels and arteries. The Magister was coated from head to toe in blood and guts, laughing madly as the sword split a large beating organ into cubes, the feathers quivering together with his delight. “More, bleed for me more, you piece of shit!”
Behind him, he saw the snake’s skin tear apart rapidly, opening up more and more of its walls, letting the sunlight come through inside. By the time Aramus was nearing its tail, the snake was butchered completely by the sadistic duo with its entrails bathing under the sandy winds of the Sahara. He came out only to see that the snake was laid out across the sands, its entire body broken in many parts. The broken space of the sky started to return to normal slowly.
Aramus rubbed away the blood dripping into his eyes and smiled at DKD. It was an honest smile, containing more than just simple cheer. He needed to vent out his frustrations and this had been a great opportunity. “How’d you think snake meat would taste?”
DKD gave a big smile in return. “Want to try?”
“Anything other than dates and coffee. Who knows, we might have struck upon a delicacy,” Aramus said.
“But then I fear we would just distort our stomachs. Maybe it is for the best that this dish is laid out for the sands.”
Aramus looked just about ready to cut a small slice for himself but lowered his sword with a sigh. “Guess I’ll settle for regular snake back in the city if they have it. Was this the cause of the distortion?”
“Yes, I imagine someone did some experiments to create this thing and left it here. I wonder what for…”
“Who knows. We just need to find whoever’s responsible and take his head. Time to go back for that cake you wanted?” Aramus asked with a smile.
“I am tired of this desert. Let us be off. I’d sooner bake than take on this relentless heat.” Witness DKD sliced open the rift in the air, her finger giving away a seemingly searing mana.
The two members of the Space Police left. The camel seemed to follow them too for some reason. Beyond the dunes of sand a rogue witch only stared at them as they exited, she seemed to be busy taking notes.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Walking in the Void Realm, the two were covered by darkness, the blue hue coming from a mysterious undiscovered source being their only guidance. She seemed to somehow sent the camel somewhere and Aramus couldn’t exactly follow what she did.
“I suppose this was your first job, any thoughts?”
“If all of them are going to end the same way, I’m going to need to prepare more sets of clothing.” Aramus joked. “Though honestly, it was easier than I thought. Probably because you were there with me, DKD.”
“Well, DAD, while I think you are right, I doubt you need to prepare more clothes.”
“How so, DKD?” Aramus said with a puzzled look.
“I did made a promise the first time you came to the office about your attire, remember?”
“Oh, is the same as the one you’re wearing?” Aramus said, the excitement showing in his eyes.
“Same thing would be a bit boring, but the quality is guaranteed, my uncle in Italy is a great tailor, you see.”
As they walked, the hue around them from the Void started to look red rather than blue, something he never saw before.
“So, why is it turning red?”
“I suppose anyone would notice that by now; I am not taking us out for the cake. Remember this one peculiarity that exists in our given names?”
“Witness? Is this what that entails?”
“What do you think one should †˜witness’ to have that word sticked in?”
“Something really awe-inspiring? Or something equally as gruesome and mind breaking?”
“Mn… maybe, but I feel as though it is something that goes beyond the reach of words. It is also the reason why fixing the distortions became important, and thus the creation of the Organization.”
“I see… Well, only one way to find out.”
Witness DKD took out a key and a large gate seemed to form before them.
“Witness DAD, I want you to promise that this is a secret you shall keep your entire life. Only the members of this Organization, and select few are aware of this existence.”
“Without a doubt, I swear that this knowledge will go with me to my grave.”
Inserting the key into the hole, the gate parted ways and the hue of red grew brighter. The cries of what lied beyond roared and was heard. Aramus shuddered at the sound of it. Walking inside, the two made way into a hallway.
The floor and the walls were full of bloodstains that seemed to eternally bathe them, there were pearls and gems scattered about and he knew not why they were present. It was without a doubt that they were in a house of some kind. It seemed like the blood dropped down from the ceiling continually too and one of them melted a small portion of his thawb.
“Try and be careful of these drops. They are the acids of the guard.”
“The guard?” The Magister gulped at the hissing sound it made as the blood burned a hole right through. He didn’t like this place, it set his senses ablaze with warning signs.
“Every secrets must needs its guardians, otherwise a rat may scurry out alive.”
DKD seemed to be completely casual as she spoke of these scary things. Scary to most, anyway. This seemed like a horror movie set to most, but perhaps to DKD it was more like her back alley.
“That is… true.”
“Be mindful that this is also secret to the Archmages, except for… the Calamity Witch, that damned old man and the Queen.”
“The Queen knows?” Aramus asked with a strange look on his face.
“Let’s just say that very important people has a clue about this. For good reasons. Albeit, we do not know what result we’d get from telling the King of Saudi Arabia, so we refrained.”
“Understood.” Now that he didn’t have to worry about keeping a secret from the Queen, Aramus didn’t feel as bad. Or maybe he would say that once this ordeal was over.
They took a turn to the right and there were several doors and passages that they crossed through. Other than housing whatever secret that would threaten things he had no idea about, there were some peculiar aspects of the house he did not understand either. There were many dolls, accessories, dresses, and other things that a lady, or rather, a young child would want. Even the walls were pink. None of this made sense.
There was a completely red door when they seemed to have finished their little journey. Witness DKD only turned to Witness DAD, giving one nod with a very serious face. Twisting the knob and opening it, the two entered.
(BGM: https://soundcloud.com/gahald-mills/iqlirifgl6ey)
It was a small room—no, a veranda. There was a large glass that seemed to be present instead of it being open-air. These glasses showed something that made Aramus forget to breathe.
This was the origin of the red hue.
There were countless pillars of glistening red running down across the walls. The walls were shining, it was a mountain’s back rather than a wall if anything. He could see blooming cherry blossom trees but they were crimson red—as red as the blood—instead of pink, and were sparkling. There was a lake of an orange hue and he was not sure where it seemed to flow off to, but as far as he could see, it ran past beneath the house they were in. The place was grotesque yet beautiful at the same time.
Of course, the Magister was only looking at the surroundings of the thing. The thing that he was here to witness.
It was unbelievable.
Before the Magic Magister—only about fifty meters away—was one large Hour Glass.
An Hour Glass.
None of it made sense. There was a large structure before him made of mostly glass, with beautifully sparkling sands that seemed to be trickling down from the upper portion to the lower portion. He wasn’t sure if they were ordinary sands, probably not. A pair of gold pillars seemed to support this enormous object and the scarlet pillars seemed to nestle around them, including the Hour Glass itself, as if embracing it—protecting it.
Aramus just stared at it, in a daze by the absurdity of what he had just seen. It seemed straight out of the mind of a madman and yet here he was, gazing at the Hour Glass. Perhaps he was going mad.
“Do you see it?”
“Yes. What is it?”
Witness DKD pointed at the very center of the Hour Glass, a gold core shining. Aramus narrowed his eyes at the light and looked closely as he could.
When he realized what he saw, he fell down to his knees.
Queen Victoria was trapped inside.
“Her Majesty!” Aramus cried, crawling forward to get a closer look. Why was she in there? Was there a way he could get her out? Awfully unlikely given that there were so many other Witnesses but even so, there must be a way.
The Queen was apparently not conscious as she was between the two extremes of the Hour Glass. She was covered by what seemed like an ancient golden set of armory.
“There are two others in there if you look at the two big portions up and down, but they’re hard to make any details out of due to the sands.”
“So once the sands run out, it ends? Her life? Their lives?” Aramus said, whirling on DKD with a stricken look.
Witness DKD shrugged.
“No one knows what would happen. The Queen refuses to answer any questions. However, the only acknowledgement was Her Majesty statementing: †˜my body.’”
Aramus hung his head, wracked by all kinds of thoughts as he tried to find any avenue to help his liege. As a Descendent, she was beyond his ken but any good retainer would think as such, least of all Aramus. Now that he was privy to this, a Witness, there would be no other recourse.
“Her Majesty knew what she was doing, what I was going to see when she sent me here. There must be a reason.”
“By the way, see those small cracks on it? They are apparently caused by the distortions.”
Aramus stared long and hard at the minute cracks marring the Hour Glass, wondering how bad it would get once they started getting larger. He would terminate whoever was toying with the rules, and Her Majesty, with extreme prejudice.
“I suppose this was your first job, any thoughts?”
“If all of them are going to end the same way, I’m going to need to prepare more sets of clothing.” Aramus joked. “Though honestly, it was easier than I thought. Probably because you were there with me, DKD.”
“Well, DAD, while I think you are right, I doubt you need to prepare more clothes.”
“How so, DKD?” Aramus said with a puzzled look.
“I did made a promise the first time you came to the office about your attire, remember?”
“Oh, is the same as the one you’re wearing?” Aramus said, the excitement showing in his eyes.
“Same thing would be a bit boring, but the quality is guaranteed, my uncle in Italy is a great tailor, you see.”
As they walked, the hue around them from the Void started to look red rather than blue, something he never saw before.
“So, why is it turning red?”
“I suppose anyone would notice that by now; I am not taking us out for the cake. Remember this one peculiarity that exists in our given names?”
“Witness? Is this what that entails?”
“What do you think one should †˜witness’ to have that word sticked in?”
“Something really awe-inspiring? Or something equally as gruesome and mind breaking?”
“Mn… maybe, but I feel as though it is something that goes beyond the reach of words. It is also the reason why fixing the distortions became important, and thus the creation of the Organization.”
“I see… Well, only one way to find out.”
Witness DKD took out a key and a large gate seemed to form before them.
“Witness DAD, I want you to promise that this is a secret you shall keep your entire life. Only the members of this Organization, and select few are aware of this existence.”
“Without a doubt, I swear that this knowledge will go with me to my grave.”
Inserting the key into the hole, the gate parted ways and the hue of red grew brighter. The cries of what lied beyond roared and was heard. Aramus shuddered at the sound of it. Walking inside, the two made way into a hallway.
The floor and the walls were full of bloodstains that seemed to eternally bathe them, there were pearls and gems scattered about and he knew not why they were present. It was without a doubt that they were in a house of some kind. It seemed like the blood dropped down from the ceiling continually too and one of them melted a small portion of his thawb.
“Try and be careful of these drops. They are the acids of the guard.”
“The guard?” The Magister gulped at the hissing sound it made as the blood burned a hole right through. He didn’t like this place, it set his senses ablaze with warning signs.
“Every secrets must needs its guardians, otherwise a rat may scurry out alive.”
DKD seemed to be completely casual as she spoke of these scary things. Scary to most, anyway. This seemed like a horror movie set to most, but perhaps to DKD it was more like her back alley.
“That is… true.”
“Be mindful that this is also secret to the Archmages, except for… the Calamity Witch, that damned old man and the Queen.”
“The Queen knows?” Aramus asked with a strange look on his face.
“Let’s just say that very important people has a clue about this. For good reasons. Albeit, we do not know what result we’d get from telling the King of Saudi Arabia, so we refrained.”
“Understood.” Now that he didn’t have to worry about keeping a secret from the Queen, Aramus didn’t feel as bad. Or maybe he would say that once this ordeal was over.
They took a turn to the right and there were several doors and passages that they crossed through. Other than housing whatever secret that would threaten things he had no idea about, there were some peculiar aspects of the house he did not understand either. There were many dolls, accessories, dresses, and other things that a lady, or rather, a young child would want. Even the walls were pink. None of this made sense.
There was a completely red door when they seemed to have finished their little journey. Witness DKD only turned to Witness DAD, giving one nod with a very serious face. Twisting the knob and opening it, the two entered.
(BGM: https://soundcloud.com/gahald-mills/iqlirifgl6ey)
It was a small room—no, a veranda. There was a large glass that seemed to be present instead of it being open-air. These glasses showed something that made Aramus forget to breathe.
This was the origin of the red hue.
There were countless pillars of glistening red running down across the walls. The walls were shining, it was a mountain’s back rather than a wall if anything. He could see blooming cherry blossom trees but they were crimson red—as red as the blood—instead of pink, and were sparkling. There was a lake of an orange hue and he was not sure where it seemed to flow off to, but as far as he could see, it ran past beneath the house they were in. The place was grotesque yet beautiful at the same time.
Of course, the Magister was only looking at the surroundings of the thing. The thing that he was here to witness.
It was unbelievable.
Before the Magic Magister—only about fifty meters away—was one large Hour Glass.
An Hour Glass.
None of it made sense. There was a large structure before him made of mostly glass, with beautifully sparkling sands that seemed to be trickling down from the upper portion to the lower portion. He wasn’t sure if they were ordinary sands, probably not. A pair of gold pillars seemed to support this enormous object and the scarlet pillars seemed to nestle around them, including the Hour Glass itself, as if embracing it—protecting it.
Aramus just stared at it, in a daze by the absurdity of what he had just seen. It seemed straight out of the mind of a madman and yet here he was, gazing at the Hour Glass. Perhaps he was going mad.
“Do you see it?”
“Yes. What is it?”
Witness DKD pointed at the very center of the Hour Glass, a gold core shining. Aramus narrowed his eyes at the light and looked closely as he could.
When he realized what he saw, he fell down to his knees.
Queen Victoria was trapped inside.
“Her Majesty!” Aramus cried, crawling forward to get a closer look. Why was she in there? Was there a way he could get her out? Awfully unlikely given that there were so many other Witnesses but even so, there must be a way.
The Queen was apparently not conscious as she was between the two extremes of the Hour Glass. She was covered by what seemed like an ancient golden set of armory.
“There are two others in there if you look at the two big portions up and down, but they’re hard to make any details out of due to the sands.”
“So once the sands run out, it ends? Her life? Their lives?” Aramus said, whirling on DKD with a stricken look.
Witness DKD shrugged.
“No one knows what would happen. The Queen refuses to answer any questions. However, the only acknowledgement was Her Majesty statementing: †˜my body.’”
Aramus hung his head, wracked by all kinds of thoughts as he tried to find any avenue to help his liege. As a Descendent, she was beyond his ken but any good retainer would think as such, least of all Aramus. Now that he was privy to this, a Witness, there would be no other recourse.
“Her Majesty knew what she was doing, what I was going to see when she sent me here. There must be a reason.”
“By the way, see those small cracks on it? They are apparently caused by the distortions.”
Aramus stared long and hard at the minute cracks marring the Hour Glass, wondering how bad it would get once they started getting larger. He would terminate whoever was toying with the rules, and Her Majesty, with extreme prejudice.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Aramus browsed through many collection of suits. In this paradise in Venice, he couldn’t believe his eyes as he admired the slick feeling of the suits as he touched one. The shop was large but there seemed to be hardly anyone around.
“Is it going to be one of these?”
“Not these… they’re not even half-good,” DKD said, frowning at the collections, comparing them to her own.
“B-But… They’re so pretty.”
“Compare those to mine. What do you think?”
“Well, they can’t be. Yours is just way better to the point it’s almost a Realm apart.”
“Good that you have eyes for quality. I asked the old man here to tailor something for you…”
“You know my size?” Aramus asked, astonished.
“I can change that myself… hopefully.” DKD looked away in doubt herself. “Maybe.”
DAD smiled at DKD’s demeanor, finding it endearing. “It shouldn’t be an issue.”
They walked up to the next floor where there were even more suits on display. Aramus’ eyes practically sparkled as he went past these works of art. There was an old man behind a desk, going over black clothes and materials used for crafting. He was the tailor, the master of suits apparently.
Aramus admired the way the artisan was inspecting the materials. Unfortunately, the Magister was too poor to have an eye for good quality, but the way the man did spoke of years of experience.
“Welcome.” The old man seemed to not have much to say.
“Is it finished?” DKD inquired.
“Yes.” The artisan took out a suit from behind him and put it on display for them to see. The suit hanging was very similarly designed like that of DKD’s, a swallowtail tuxedo with very exquisite materials at first glance. There were only two differences, the size was larger, and the shawl lapels were silver. It shined under the lights beautifully. He was also shown few of the other parts of the attire he’d get, such as the gloves or the trousers or the vest, etc.
“It’s splendid.” Aramus gingerly reached a hand out to touch the coat, running a hand down its silky material. There was almost no resistance whatsoever and if his was already this good, what of DKD’s?
“You like it I hope?” DKD asked. “This will be yours.”
“Like it? I love it! It’s absolutely wonderful!” Aramus raved, inadvertently raising his voice in the small shop.
“I see, shall we celebrate in the Magica Café?”
“You’ve already done enough for me, DKD. I’d feel bad if there was even more prepared…” Witness DAD said.
“Oh, don’t be shy. This will blow your mind out of the world. Let me tease a bit: ever heard of the Magic Cupcake?”
Aramus’s world slowed to a crawl as he processed what she said. “Magic… Cupcake?” he said slowly, accenting each word heavily.
DKD leaned closer with a sly smile. “You’d love me to feed you that, right?”
Aramus fidgeted a little under her teasing. “Well, yes…”
They proceeded outside the artisan’s shop and walked for an hour, took a boat and crossed through the rivers of the beautiful city that was Venice.
Later, they entered a shop that was apparently the most exemplary cheap food shop the Magister saw. Aramus was rather surprised that such a shop was known as the Magica Café. They sat down across a table. A waiter placed two cups of tea on their table.
“Why of all places is it here?” Aramus asked.
“Finish the tea and you’ll know.”
Aramus downed the contents of the cup, tasting a hint of citrus before setting the empty cup down. He then looked at DKD expectantly. The floor under them disappeared, a dark circular hole forming. They fell with their tables and chairs while Aramus was screaming and DKD was slowly finishing her tea.
When Aramus opened his eyes, he found himself in a lavishly decorated fancy underground café. There were many portraits and pictures of drinks of all kind on the walls. Several of the other tables and chairs seemed to be replaced by thin pillars, apparently connected to the shop above. There were only one other group of people on the corner of the shop, and they were partying loudly, somewhat drunk too.
“Well, that was a wild ride…” Aramus said as he absently lifted the teacup for a sip only to remember that it was already empty.
“This shop’s owner is quite famous. If you’ve heard of Henry, the lone Magister of England who disappeared some years ago. He had been busy running this café here.”
“I’ve heard of him before. Were the rumors surrounding him and a Princess the cause of his disappearance down here?”
“Truth is stranger than fiction they say. Henry himself has an entirely different story to say.”
“I’d love to hear it one day. It’s always fascinating to learn what lies beneath the surface.”
“Come, might as well learn now.”
DKD and Aramus got off their chairs and walked up to the bar. The layout of the café was nothing like a café. However, the color scheme of the bar was nothing like one either. It was too full of white and light-blue that it was hardly making any sense to Aramus.
“Why is this place so peculiar? Is it furnished to Henry’s taste?”
“Apparently… don’t ask me,” DKD whispered.
“Hello, if it isn’t lovely Amelia, what would you like to have today?” Henry inquired, seeing DKD and DAD approach him. This handsome man was dressed in a black suit and was wearing spectacles, of course, Aramus didn’t feel undermined anymore thanks to his new suit.
“Hello, Henry. It’s good to see you kicking after so long. Might I introduce my junior to you today? Henry, meet Aramus Linfield, a fellow Magic Magister. Aramus, meet Henry Jettison, a Magic Magister as well, albeit he no longer works for the Royalty or the Royal Council.”
“Magister Henry Jettison, it is an honour to meet you in person. I am Aramus Linfield as introduced by my senior, I hope we get along,” Aramus said with a bow to his senior Magister.
“Aramus… Linfield? Sounds familiar,” Henry responded.
“He had his name changed recently, apparently. Used to be †˜Valmark’ for a surname,” DKD supplemented.
Henry, then gave a bow to Aramus after resolving the confusion. “Oh, i see. I hope we get along too. I have heard much about you so it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The butler-like dressed man handed Aramus a card. “Please keep this, as this café operates on an invite-only basis.”
Aramus received the card with both hands gratefully. “Thank you very much… though it seems that my bad reputation precedes me, no doubt you would have heard of all my misdeeds amongst the Nobles and Magisters alike.”
“What did you do?” Henry laughed. “Rest assured I do not get much general news here aside from the more stranger gossips.”
“This would be the place you look at when you want inside information on some dangerous Organization,” DKD stated.
Aramus let out a sigh of relief at Henry’s reassurance before nodding at DKD that he understood. “I’d imagine this place gets all kinds of people.”
The laughters roared and DKD gave a nod. “All kinds of people,” she repeated.
“Well, what would you two like to have today?” Henry inquired. “Today’s recommendation is the Magica Honey dipped on a parfait.”
“Ah… Do you happen to have the… Magic Cupcake?” Aramus asked sheepishly.
“Of course. How many would you like to have?”
“Good question,” Aramus said as he looked to DKD for instruction.
“Each one costs a fortune. How about three for today?”
“Then let’s go with that…” Aramus tried not to balk, especially since he didn’t know how much she meant by a “fortune.” Judging from the way his own suit was tailor-made and likely extremely pricey, for her to deem a cupcake expensive would be… probably enough to find his livelihood for a good amount of time.
Witness DKD seemed to give a card to Henry, who accepted it and did the work of processing payments. Aramus was seeing thousands and thousands of Euros being worked, the card was likely very special as well. Albeit Aramus was not privy to the matters of modern technology.
While the two Witnesses were waiting back in their table, DKD seemed to be grinning happily, much more than usual. She made an order that the Magister didn’t really catch.
“Oh yeah, try putting your hand on your mouth as soon as you take a bite of that cupcake.”
“My hand on my mouth… Ok, you know what? I’m not going to ask anymore questions. Let’s just experience it for what it is.”
Henry brought the items on tray. There were three cupcakes on it and one thing. Aramus could not quite make out what it was, there was a straw and the glass looked like one used for a parfait, then why was something like Vim magic floating on it?!
“This is… intriguing. How…?” Aramus made a few strange motions with his hands as he tried to find a way of how one would eat with that Vim around.
“It has a rather ecstatic effect.” DKD was already feeding Aramus the cupcake. “I suppose that is similar to this,” she added.
Opening his mouth, Aramus bit into the cupcake and covered his mouth like DKD had instructed, chewing on the cupcake. For every bite he had, magic seemed to flow out of the dough. This was an experience he had never before. It was as if the dough absorbed magic like sponge when it was being prepared somehow. Aramus started eating the cupcake without fully relishing it slowly after experiencing the first bite. The magic that flowed out almost spilled from overflowing, and his hand helped to not let it leak out past his lips. DKD was warning about this. The magic created a cool sensation in his mouth and it was a taste he could not quite describe, a mixture of sublime sweetness and perhaps minty taste? Whatever the case, after Aramus swallowed it all, he was simply at a daze, as if he had a drug—he was truly at peace, almost forgetting all the sorrows of his life.
He waved a hand at DKD like he was drugged and opened his mouth to speak. To try and tell her how this might have been one of the best things in his life or that DKD was equivalent to a Saint for bringing him here. No, not Judgement Saint. In the end, it seemed the cupcake had overloaded his brain so he settled for just smiling like a dimwit.
When DKD had her own drink, it seemed like the taste had made her this way too, peaceful and dreamy, but she could still talk.
“Ahh, now this is life.”
“Actually, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“Aren’t you a poetic Magister?”
“Only in the realm of the Magic Cupcake. I was blind before but now, I see. The truth before me, the Magic Cupcake.”
“There are two more of these truth on that tray… and here you are after just one.”
“I do not think I’d be able of have coherent thought after the second.”
“We can have them packaged, no worries. They are good antidotes for depression. Also helps to clear the mind… for some time.”
“I think these will be the end of me.”
“Surely, the best cupcakes in the world, no?”
“Precisely so.” Aramus said with a smile of bliss, closing his eyes as he let the euphoria take over.
“So… what do you think?” she asked, drinking water from a bottle.
“Absolutely nothing, that’s how much it’s affecting me. I think this Magic Cupcake has spoilt every other cupcake for me. I can’t go back.”
“I mean about that Hour Glass.” DKD made a brooding face as she stared at her empty glass.
Immediately, whatever cloud that Aramus was on evaporated and it sent him plummeting to the earth below. Talk about being dragged back to reality.
“What of it? It distresses me to no end that my Queen is trapped within it whilst I am unable to do anything but stop the heathens who try to widen those cracks. I want to get Her Majesty out.”
“I keep wondering… about the truth.” DKD ate more of the parfait. “The Hour Glass is the strangest thing i ever saw in my life. Three people trapped inside… and for what reason? There are sands already, what are they supposed to do inside?”
“I do not intend to sit around and wait for it to happen. Assuming it is a countdown like it seems, I must ensure that my liege will not suffer any ill effects. Maybe taking away one out of the three might cause a change but for better or worse, I will find a way to do so.” He sighed and steepled his fingers, laying his chin on them. To any onlooker, it would’ve seemed the spirit had gone out of Aramus.
“I had been investigating this for some years now, and I can’t seem to find anything related to it at all. We might have to… ask Her Majesty once more.”
“I will inquire. Perhaps as a Magister, she might be willing to share more… Even though it seems impossible...”
“Unfortunately for you, you’re the scum of the earth now after the Virgo fiasco.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” His voice caught in his throat even as Aramus thought of all that he done thus far. It was bitter and he never knew that one could feel such self-loathing until that event.
“The Royal Council is known to decline such people without a glance.”
“I do not deserve to tread the same ground anymore. I would proceed without letting Her Majesty know if that was possible but… I’m…” Aramus trailed off mid-sentence with a shake of his head. “I’ll ask around. The only issue we have is that the Hour Glass is classified information and that limits our options.”
“We couldn’t risk it. What if someone breaks it? What would we do if time stops and we’re all stuck? We don’t know what changing things might cause.”
“I can’t just leave my liege like that. At least, I would want to know more about the Hour Glass before we come to a decision on what to do about it.”
“It may take the rest of the year, but let’s try when we go to London for our future case. There is still the incident going on about missing people.”
“Will I need a disguise…?” Aramus said glumly.
“I’ll help you.”
“Do as you like. I’m already hated by all, nothing much can top that.”
“We’re both hated people here, DAD.”
Aramus chuckled at the way DKD said it. “I appreciate all you’re doing for me DKD. Master Christopher aside, there aren’t many who would spare me a glance after that. If there’s anything I can ever do, just say it. Your presence… eases the pain.”
DKD just looked down, still brooding.
“I’m not that great of a person. All of this… is just me atoning. We all are. You may have had some memory problems, but it wasn’t intentional. I… I made the gas ignite in an entire city, just to break one damn experiment. I should’ve been killed that day.”
“But you weren’t. Just as I still have my head attached, you’ve been given the same chance I received and are trying to repent. You never know how it feels till you’re the one responsible and sometimes, finding out that way is… extremely unpleasant.”
“I don’t think I deserved the chance. I killed my family and my home, and everyone in it. Now I’m supposed to live the world they could no longer indulge? Sounds like selfish bullshit, but I didn’t have the guts to let it all go to waste and suicide like a coward, I guess. No, that’s not true, I was scared of death—like any other human. It really is unpleasant… but it doesn’t stop me from being inquisitive. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to have heroic ideals too. Aramus, let’s save this world, Your Queen, and the people. It’s partially our job, anyway.”
Under the shell of a cool beauty and a dignified lady was Amelia, a girl who was still young but was forced to grow up—crying nonetheless, just as she was now silently—all alone.
“It will always be our sin to bear. As they say, living is more painful than death. At the end of the day, we are all human with all our flaws and vices. But so long as there is the will to do something about it, we can move forward. So yes Amelia, we will save the world. The world might not realize it, but I think that’s fine. Knowing that we safeguarded the future is solace enough for me.”
“That’s right, recognition and atonement are different after all. It’s all about self-satisfaction, however shallow it is, it’s better than spouting noble ideal crap.”
“Though I’d love to see the look on their faces… Nah, never mind. Just a remnant of the old days. So long as we get the job done, I can rest easy.”
“Is it going to be one of these?”
“Not these… they’re not even half-good,” DKD said, frowning at the collections, comparing them to her own.
“B-But… They’re so pretty.”
“Compare those to mine. What do you think?”
“Well, they can’t be. Yours is just way better to the point it’s almost a Realm apart.”
“Good that you have eyes for quality. I asked the old man here to tailor something for you…”
“You know my size?” Aramus asked, astonished.
“I can change that myself… hopefully.” DKD looked away in doubt herself. “Maybe.”
DAD smiled at DKD’s demeanor, finding it endearing. “It shouldn’t be an issue.”
They walked up to the next floor where there were even more suits on display. Aramus’ eyes practically sparkled as he went past these works of art. There was an old man behind a desk, going over black clothes and materials used for crafting. He was the tailor, the master of suits apparently.
Aramus admired the way the artisan was inspecting the materials. Unfortunately, the Magister was too poor to have an eye for good quality, but the way the man did spoke of years of experience.
“Welcome.” The old man seemed to not have much to say.
“Is it finished?” DKD inquired.
“Yes.” The artisan took out a suit from behind him and put it on display for them to see. The suit hanging was very similarly designed like that of DKD’s, a swallowtail tuxedo with very exquisite materials at first glance. There were only two differences, the size was larger, and the shawl lapels were silver. It shined under the lights beautifully. He was also shown few of the other parts of the attire he’d get, such as the gloves or the trousers or the vest, etc.
“It’s splendid.” Aramus gingerly reached a hand out to touch the coat, running a hand down its silky material. There was almost no resistance whatsoever and if his was already this good, what of DKD’s?
“You like it I hope?” DKD asked. “This will be yours.”
“Like it? I love it! It’s absolutely wonderful!” Aramus raved, inadvertently raising his voice in the small shop.
“I see, shall we celebrate in the Magica Café?”
“You’ve already done enough for me, DKD. I’d feel bad if there was even more prepared…” Witness DAD said.
“Oh, don’t be shy. This will blow your mind out of the world. Let me tease a bit: ever heard of the Magic Cupcake?”
Aramus’s world slowed to a crawl as he processed what she said. “Magic… Cupcake?” he said slowly, accenting each word heavily.
DKD leaned closer with a sly smile. “You’d love me to feed you that, right?”
Aramus fidgeted a little under her teasing. “Well, yes…”
***
They proceeded outside the artisan’s shop and walked for an hour, took a boat and crossed through the rivers of the beautiful city that was Venice.
Later, they entered a shop that was apparently the most exemplary cheap food shop the Magister saw. Aramus was rather surprised that such a shop was known as the Magica Café. They sat down across a table. A waiter placed two cups of tea on their table.
“Why of all places is it here?” Aramus asked.
“Finish the tea and you’ll know.”
Aramus downed the contents of the cup, tasting a hint of citrus before setting the empty cup down. He then looked at DKD expectantly. The floor under them disappeared, a dark circular hole forming. They fell with their tables and chairs while Aramus was screaming and DKD was slowly finishing her tea.
When Aramus opened his eyes, he found himself in a lavishly decorated fancy underground café. There were many portraits and pictures of drinks of all kind on the walls. Several of the other tables and chairs seemed to be replaced by thin pillars, apparently connected to the shop above. There were only one other group of people on the corner of the shop, and they were partying loudly, somewhat drunk too.
“Well, that was a wild ride…” Aramus said as he absently lifted the teacup for a sip only to remember that it was already empty.
“This shop’s owner is quite famous. If you’ve heard of Henry, the lone Magister of England who disappeared some years ago. He had been busy running this café here.”
“I’ve heard of him before. Were the rumors surrounding him and a Princess the cause of his disappearance down here?”
“Truth is stranger than fiction they say. Henry himself has an entirely different story to say.”
“I’d love to hear it one day. It’s always fascinating to learn what lies beneath the surface.”
“Come, might as well learn now.”
DKD and Aramus got off their chairs and walked up to the bar. The layout of the café was nothing like a café. However, the color scheme of the bar was nothing like one either. It was too full of white and light-blue that it was hardly making any sense to Aramus.
“Why is this place so peculiar? Is it furnished to Henry’s taste?”
“Apparently… don’t ask me,” DKD whispered.
“Hello, if it isn’t lovely Amelia, what would you like to have today?” Henry inquired, seeing DKD and DAD approach him. This handsome man was dressed in a black suit and was wearing spectacles, of course, Aramus didn’t feel undermined anymore thanks to his new suit.
“Hello, Henry. It’s good to see you kicking after so long. Might I introduce my junior to you today? Henry, meet Aramus Linfield, a fellow Magic Magister. Aramus, meet Henry Jettison, a Magic Magister as well, albeit he no longer works for the Royalty or the Royal Council.”
“Magister Henry Jettison, it is an honour to meet you in person. I am Aramus Linfield as introduced by my senior, I hope we get along,” Aramus said with a bow to his senior Magister.
“Aramus… Linfield? Sounds familiar,” Henry responded.
“He had his name changed recently, apparently. Used to be †˜Valmark’ for a surname,” DKD supplemented.
Henry, then gave a bow to Aramus after resolving the confusion. “Oh, i see. I hope we get along too. I have heard much about you so it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The butler-like dressed man handed Aramus a card. “Please keep this, as this café operates on an invite-only basis.”
Aramus received the card with both hands gratefully. “Thank you very much… though it seems that my bad reputation precedes me, no doubt you would have heard of all my misdeeds amongst the Nobles and Magisters alike.”
“What did you do?” Henry laughed. “Rest assured I do not get much general news here aside from the more stranger gossips.”
“This would be the place you look at when you want inside information on some dangerous Organization,” DKD stated.
Aramus let out a sigh of relief at Henry’s reassurance before nodding at DKD that he understood. “I’d imagine this place gets all kinds of people.”
The laughters roared and DKD gave a nod. “All kinds of people,” she repeated.
“Well, what would you two like to have today?” Henry inquired. “Today’s recommendation is the Magica Honey dipped on a parfait.”
“Ah… Do you happen to have the… Magic Cupcake?” Aramus asked sheepishly.
“Of course. How many would you like to have?”
“Good question,” Aramus said as he looked to DKD for instruction.
“Each one costs a fortune. How about three for today?”
“Then let’s go with that…” Aramus tried not to balk, especially since he didn’t know how much she meant by a “fortune.” Judging from the way his own suit was tailor-made and likely extremely pricey, for her to deem a cupcake expensive would be… probably enough to find his livelihood for a good amount of time.
Witness DKD seemed to give a card to Henry, who accepted it and did the work of processing payments. Aramus was seeing thousands and thousands of Euros being worked, the card was likely very special as well. Albeit Aramus was not privy to the matters of modern technology.
While the two Witnesses were waiting back in their table, DKD seemed to be grinning happily, much more than usual. She made an order that the Magister didn’t really catch.
“Oh yeah, try putting your hand on your mouth as soon as you take a bite of that cupcake.”
“My hand on my mouth… Ok, you know what? I’m not going to ask anymore questions. Let’s just experience it for what it is.”
Henry brought the items on tray. There were three cupcakes on it and one thing. Aramus could not quite make out what it was, there was a straw and the glass looked like one used for a parfait, then why was something like Vim magic floating on it?!
“This is… intriguing. How…?” Aramus made a few strange motions with his hands as he tried to find a way of how one would eat with that Vim around.
“It has a rather ecstatic effect.” DKD was already feeding Aramus the cupcake. “I suppose that is similar to this,” she added.
Opening his mouth, Aramus bit into the cupcake and covered his mouth like DKD had instructed, chewing on the cupcake. For every bite he had, magic seemed to flow out of the dough. This was an experience he had never before. It was as if the dough absorbed magic like sponge when it was being prepared somehow. Aramus started eating the cupcake without fully relishing it slowly after experiencing the first bite. The magic that flowed out almost spilled from overflowing, and his hand helped to not let it leak out past his lips. DKD was warning about this. The magic created a cool sensation in his mouth and it was a taste he could not quite describe, a mixture of sublime sweetness and perhaps minty taste? Whatever the case, after Aramus swallowed it all, he was simply at a daze, as if he had a drug—he was truly at peace, almost forgetting all the sorrows of his life.
He waved a hand at DKD like he was drugged and opened his mouth to speak. To try and tell her how this might have been one of the best things in his life or that DKD was equivalent to a Saint for bringing him here. No, not Judgement Saint. In the end, it seemed the cupcake had overloaded his brain so he settled for just smiling like a dimwit.
When DKD had her own drink, it seemed like the taste had made her this way too, peaceful and dreamy, but she could still talk.
“Ahh, now this is life.”
“Actually, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“Aren’t you a poetic Magister?”
“Only in the realm of the Magic Cupcake. I was blind before but now, I see. The truth before me, the Magic Cupcake.”
“There are two more of these truth on that tray… and here you are after just one.”
“I do not think I’d be able of have coherent thought after the second.”
“We can have them packaged, no worries. They are good antidotes for depression. Also helps to clear the mind… for some time.”
“I think these will be the end of me.”
“Surely, the best cupcakes in the world, no?”
“Precisely so.” Aramus said with a smile of bliss, closing his eyes as he let the euphoria take over.
“So… what do you think?” she asked, drinking water from a bottle.
“Absolutely nothing, that’s how much it’s affecting me. I think this Magic Cupcake has spoilt every other cupcake for me. I can’t go back.”
“I mean about that Hour Glass.” DKD made a brooding face as she stared at her empty glass.
Immediately, whatever cloud that Aramus was on evaporated and it sent him plummeting to the earth below. Talk about being dragged back to reality.
“What of it? It distresses me to no end that my Queen is trapped within it whilst I am unable to do anything but stop the heathens who try to widen those cracks. I want to get Her Majesty out.”
“I keep wondering… about the truth.” DKD ate more of the parfait. “The Hour Glass is the strangest thing i ever saw in my life. Three people trapped inside… and for what reason? There are sands already, what are they supposed to do inside?”
“I do not intend to sit around and wait for it to happen. Assuming it is a countdown like it seems, I must ensure that my liege will not suffer any ill effects. Maybe taking away one out of the three might cause a change but for better or worse, I will find a way to do so.” He sighed and steepled his fingers, laying his chin on them. To any onlooker, it would’ve seemed the spirit had gone out of Aramus.
“I had been investigating this for some years now, and I can’t seem to find anything related to it at all. We might have to… ask Her Majesty once more.”
“I will inquire. Perhaps as a Magister, she might be willing to share more… Even though it seems impossible...”
“Unfortunately for you, you’re the scum of the earth now after the Virgo fiasco.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” His voice caught in his throat even as Aramus thought of all that he done thus far. It was bitter and he never knew that one could feel such self-loathing until that event.
“The Royal Council is known to decline such people without a glance.”
“I do not deserve to tread the same ground anymore. I would proceed without letting Her Majesty know if that was possible but… I’m…” Aramus trailed off mid-sentence with a shake of his head. “I’ll ask around. The only issue we have is that the Hour Glass is classified information and that limits our options.”
“We couldn’t risk it. What if someone breaks it? What would we do if time stops and we’re all stuck? We don’t know what changing things might cause.”
“I can’t just leave my liege like that. At least, I would want to know more about the Hour Glass before we come to a decision on what to do about it.”
“It may take the rest of the year, but let’s try when we go to London for our future case. There is still the incident going on about missing people.”
“Will I need a disguise…?” Aramus said glumly.
“I’ll help you.”
“Do as you like. I’m already hated by all, nothing much can top that.”
“We’re both hated people here, DAD.”
Aramus chuckled at the way DKD said it. “I appreciate all you’re doing for me DKD. Master Christopher aside, there aren’t many who would spare me a glance after that. If there’s anything I can ever do, just say it. Your presence… eases the pain.”
DKD just looked down, still brooding.
“I’m not that great of a person. All of this… is just me atoning. We all are. You may have had some memory problems, but it wasn’t intentional. I… I made the gas ignite in an entire city, just to break one damn experiment. I should’ve been killed that day.”
“But you weren’t. Just as I still have my head attached, you’ve been given the same chance I received and are trying to repent. You never know how it feels till you’re the one responsible and sometimes, finding out that way is… extremely unpleasant.”
“I don’t think I deserved the chance. I killed my family and my home, and everyone in it. Now I’m supposed to live the world they could no longer indulge? Sounds like selfish bullshit, but I didn’t have the guts to let it all go to waste and suicide like a coward, I guess. No, that’s not true, I was scared of death—like any other human. It really is unpleasant… but it doesn’t stop me from being inquisitive. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to have heroic ideals too. Aramus, let’s save this world, Your Queen, and the people. It’s partially our job, anyway.”
Under the shell of a cool beauty and a dignified lady was Amelia, a girl who was still young but was forced to grow up—crying nonetheless, just as she was now silently—all alone.
“It will always be our sin to bear. As they say, living is more painful than death. At the end of the day, we are all human with all our flaws and vices. But so long as there is the will to do something about it, we can move forward. So yes Amelia, we will save the world. The world might not realize it, but I think that’s fine. Knowing that we safeguarded the future is solace enough for me.”
“That’s right, recognition and atonement are different after all. It’s all about self-satisfaction, however shallow it is, it’s better than spouting noble ideal crap.”
“Though I’d love to see the look on their faces… Nah, never mind. Just a remnant of the old days. So long as we get the job done, I can rest easy.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
“This should be a good space.”
Christopher surveyed the open field in Piazza del Colosseo. Aramus never got to leave Italy after his little venture of surprises with Witness DKD. Christopher himself fled Saudi Arabia along with his assignment when Aramus met his Master in the airport. It was a fateful reunion.
So how was it that the two were in the famous colosseum of Rome now? Aramus went through an entire rollercoaster of fun that was his Master’s antics—a guilty trip while the world’s time was ticking.
In the Flavian Theatre, an ancient structure that they snuck in on, they were supposed to train.
“A good space for what, Master?” Aramus inquired with a tilt of his head. It was a nice sightseeing trip that Christopher had brought him to so far, perhaps he might have something special in mind.
“A good space to let loose some Dragon Fists, lad.” Chris gestured at the open field that was the arena. “It’s time to show you what the other techniques that I plan to teach †˜ya for the rest of the year.”
“Understood, Master.”
Aramus could feel his heart skip a beat. It always happened when Christopher decided to teach him something new about the Lost Form, a part of him that never seemed to get excited at a new discovery or toy, like a child.
“So, I remember teaching you to meditate—the old soothing Mudra—which especially comes in handy when the spiralling energy runs you dry in no time. You meditate from time to time as I had instructed you, yeah?”
“Yes, whenever I feel restless. It helps calm me down, especially when my mind starts drifting to… the aftermath.”
“I guess I taught you the Aether Manipulation to get the heat pumping, and the Fist of the Dragon that is the basic after that, so… guess I know what else to teach. Alright, watch closely.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You have that clone spell thing, right?”
“Yes, I do. Would you like me to summon one?”
“Yeah, we need a dummy for this.”
Aramus did a quick incantation and he was looking at himself not a moment later. “Man, I really did get tanned…”
Christopher curved his fingers while keeping his thumb straight, it was like making something like a drill with his hand, of sorts. With a dash his pointed fist struck at the chest of the Magister’s clone. Aramus could clearly see a cluster of dust breaking out from the back of the clone, the blow surpassing the body with ease. Aramus gripped the spot where Christopher had punched the clone, a phantom pain passing through him.
“This is the Dragon’s Viper Claw. With proper training, you will learn to poison the insides of the target with it.”
His Master crouched down, positioned his fingers again, and with a swoop he plunged his finger on the ground, shattering it. A circle of broken ground formed going up to a few meters.
“That is brutal… How does an action like that poison the opponent?”
“That is the job of your dragon. The heated mana would be lethal to a body that is not used to it.”
“Ah! Right, it would destroy whatever internalized circuits they’ve been using up till now with the introduction of such a potent mix of mana. Is every †˜venom’ different?” Aramus asked as his eyes shone with curiosity.
“Depends on your dragon, but I think the effects are similar. The most difference comes from the Dragon’s Sigil. The best bet is to hit the chest of the target to spread it out nice and good.”
“Ahh…” Aramus said as more ideas floated around in his head. Perhaps that might be another way to utilize this.
“Anyway, this is just the start of the big combo, but you should take the rest of the year just practicing things.”
“Food… light, and life…” Aramus heard in his head somewhere, his dragon was speaking to him.
“Master, how do you communicate with your dragon? Just via the Mudra and meditation?”
“Yeah, mostly anyway. Sometimes you can feel its will with your fists. That one really tells you how it feels. Try practicing the Fist of the Dragon if you really feel lost and need its counsel.”
“I understand. It just spoke to me and uh, it wants food, light and… life?” Aramus said as he scratched his cheek in confusion. “What does it mean by that last one?”
“What kind of noble thoughts do you have in mind, lad?” Chris seemed very saddened by these words.
“Noble, Master?” Aramus asked. He hadn’t really entertained anything apart from that conversation with DKD, Amelia now, about saving the world.
“You must’ve had some crazy big ideals, otherwise your dragon wouldn’t want to be something like a super holy dragon, lad.”
“All I want to do is… to atone for my sins and save people. Give those in trouble the chance they need to get back into the game. The distortions as well, they might spread even further across the globe...”
Christopher crossed his hands, staring at Aramus. “Sounds pretty grand to me. We’re off to what… Australia now?”
“Well, I hadn’t intended it to be this way. If I can police the world for distortions and save a few people on the side, why not?” Aramus said with a shrug.
“Because there is only one seed in the entire world that your dragon wants to eat.”
“I… am not going to look forward to the answer, am I?”
“Ambrosia. Only one man managed to pick one off the trees of the Dominion Realm in the big Mage’s War all those years ago. I don’t know what blood and soul we’ll be paying to get our hands on that treasure.”
Aramus remembered the short trip he had taken to the Dominion Realm courtesy of Her Majesty and how eager the angels were to skewer him. Aramus hoped that they’d forgotten an insignificant human like him by the time he went back.
“Oh well, son. Let’s go. No more sightseeing or… Italian babes or… oh well.”
“It’s okay, Master. I’m sure Australian babes will be just as appealing.”
“We better be hitting the beach. Also lad, don’t be cray like those Victorian kids not showing skin their to each other.”
Aramus looked around like he didn’t know what Christopher was talking about. “Who? Victorian? Me? Naw.”
“What? You tellin’ me that you ain’t from the Victorian and steampunk mix that is London?”
“I believe you have me mistaken for someone else. Why would one go to the beach if not to see skin?” Aramus said with a smug face.
“Good, good. That is exactly the face of a good man. The ladies would love that.”
Christopher surveyed the open field in Piazza del Colosseo. Aramus never got to leave Italy after his little venture of surprises with Witness DKD. Christopher himself fled Saudi Arabia along with his assignment when Aramus met his Master in the airport. It was a fateful reunion.
So how was it that the two were in the famous colosseum of Rome now? Aramus went through an entire rollercoaster of fun that was his Master’s antics—a guilty trip while the world’s time was ticking.
In the Flavian Theatre, an ancient structure that they snuck in on, they were supposed to train.
“A good space for what, Master?” Aramus inquired with a tilt of his head. It was a nice sightseeing trip that Christopher had brought him to so far, perhaps he might have something special in mind.
“A good space to let loose some Dragon Fists, lad.” Chris gestured at the open field that was the arena. “It’s time to show you what the other techniques that I plan to teach †˜ya for the rest of the year.”
“Understood, Master.”
Aramus could feel his heart skip a beat. It always happened when Christopher decided to teach him something new about the Lost Form, a part of him that never seemed to get excited at a new discovery or toy, like a child.
“So, I remember teaching you to meditate—the old soothing Mudra—which especially comes in handy when the spiralling energy runs you dry in no time. You meditate from time to time as I had instructed you, yeah?”
“Yes, whenever I feel restless. It helps calm me down, especially when my mind starts drifting to… the aftermath.”
“I guess I taught you the Aether Manipulation to get the heat pumping, and the Fist of the Dragon that is the basic after that, so… guess I know what else to teach. Alright, watch closely.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You have that clone spell thing, right?”
“Yes, I do. Would you like me to summon one?”
“Yeah, we need a dummy for this.”
Aramus did a quick incantation and he was looking at himself not a moment later. “Man, I really did get tanned…”
Christopher curved his fingers while keeping his thumb straight, it was like making something like a drill with his hand, of sorts. With a dash his pointed fist struck at the chest of the Magister’s clone. Aramus could clearly see a cluster of dust breaking out from the back of the clone, the blow surpassing the body with ease. Aramus gripped the spot where Christopher had punched the clone, a phantom pain passing through him.
“This is the Dragon’s Viper Claw. With proper training, you will learn to poison the insides of the target with it.”
His Master crouched down, positioned his fingers again, and with a swoop he plunged his finger on the ground, shattering it. A circle of broken ground formed going up to a few meters.
“That is brutal… How does an action like that poison the opponent?”
“That is the job of your dragon. The heated mana would be lethal to a body that is not used to it.”
“Ah! Right, it would destroy whatever internalized circuits they’ve been using up till now with the introduction of such a potent mix of mana. Is every †˜venom’ different?” Aramus asked as his eyes shone with curiosity.
“Depends on your dragon, but I think the effects are similar. The most difference comes from the Dragon’s Sigil. The best bet is to hit the chest of the target to spread it out nice and good.”
“Ahh…” Aramus said as more ideas floated around in his head. Perhaps that might be another way to utilize this.
“Anyway, this is just the start of the big combo, but you should take the rest of the year just practicing things.”
“Food… light, and life…” Aramus heard in his head somewhere, his dragon was speaking to him.
“Master, how do you communicate with your dragon? Just via the Mudra and meditation?”
“Yeah, mostly anyway. Sometimes you can feel its will with your fists. That one really tells you how it feels. Try practicing the Fist of the Dragon if you really feel lost and need its counsel.”
“I understand. It just spoke to me and uh, it wants food, light and… life?” Aramus said as he scratched his cheek in confusion. “What does it mean by that last one?”
“What kind of noble thoughts do you have in mind, lad?” Chris seemed very saddened by these words.
“Noble, Master?” Aramus asked. He hadn’t really entertained anything apart from that conversation with DKD, Amelia now, about saving the world.
“You must’ve had some crazy big ideals, otherwise your dragon wouldn’t want to be something like a super holy dragon, lad.”
“All I want to do is… to atone for my sins and save people. Give those in trouble the chance they need to get back into the game. The distortions as well, they might spread even further across the globe...”
Christopher crossed his hands, staring at Aramus. “Sounds pretty grand to me. We’re off to what… Australia now?”
“Well, I hadn’t intended it to be this way. If I can police the world for distortions and save a few people on the side, why not?” Aramus said with a shrug.
“Because there is only one seed in the entire world that your dragon wants to eat.”
“I… am not going to look forward to the answer, am I?”
“Ambrosia. Only one man managed to pick one off the trees of the Dominion Realm in the big Mage’s War all those years ago. I don’t know what blood and soul we’ll be paying to get our hands on that treasure.”
Aramus remembered the short trip he had taken to the Dominion Realm courtesy of Her Majesty and how eager the angels were to skewer him. Aramus hoped that they’d forgotten an insignificant human like him by the time he went back.
“Oh well, son. Let’s go. No more sightseeing or… Italian babes or… oh well.”
“It’s okay, Master. I’m sure Australian babes will be just as appealing.”
“We better be hitting the beach. Also lad, don’t be cray like those Victorian kids not showing skin their to each other.”
Aramus looked around like he didn’t know what Christopher was talking about. “Who? Victorian? Me? Naw.”
“What? You tellin’ me that you ain’t from the Victorian and steampunk mix that is London?”
“I believe you have me mistaken for someone else. Why would one go to the beach if not to see skin?” Aramus said with a smug face.
“Good, good. That is exactly the face of a good man. The ladies would love that.”
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Act 4 Review:
Opening their eyes, a familiar set of neon lights on both ends of the black walls were found. It was a dark place with only few such lightings. There was a sea of seats everywhere they looked.
Memories started to come back to the now-former priest. He was not in the stage this time, but a part of the audience seats. This sight reminded him that it was just like the cinema hall he visited with Hare to watch a movie. That was when he realized that he was in one again.
“A movie theatre, what a refreshing change of pace!” Michael sarcastically said, leaning back on his seat as he waited for something to happen. He looked at the seat to his left and saw no one, but to his right a seat away from his was the Magister Aramus Valmark.
Unlike Michael, it was Aramus’s first time in this peculiar movie theatre. He found himself carrying a bucket of popcorn and a drink, something he thought was peculiar but accepted with a shrug. He popped some of the popcorn into his mouth, noting that it was salty. Aramus shook the bucket at Michael, indicating he should take some.
“I’ll pass, that’s probably as old as the shows here. Thanks, though. You might want to finish that soon, our host might arrive soon.”
Michael continued to look around, only to find out that it was as empty as the theatre was when he first experienced this event. He raised his voice when speaking his last sentence, feeling the need to spur whoever their host was to hurry up.
Grimacing, Aramus left the bucket on the empty seat between both of them. “Any idea who our host is?” he asked his half-brother, absently taking a sip from his drink as he looked around the theatre before he realized what he had just done.
“Idea, yes. Proof, none.” Michael adjusted his position and leaned towards the Magister, extending his right hand towards him. “Pleasure to meet you Magister, I am Michael, Mistress Lotus’ butler, her only servant to be honest.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at Michael, but uh, okay.” Aramus gave him a queer look, something between a frown and confusion. “Who’s Lotus?”
“My Mistress.” Michael tilted his head, were handshakes not in the norm anymore?
“I see, so that’s where you disappeared off to without telling any of us? Way to go,” Aramus said with a sigh before turning his attention to the still-outstretched arm. “Why the handshake? We’re closer than that.”
“What are you talking about? I apologize, but—since my accident—I can only recall a few things. Are you perhaps a former employee by the Mistress too?” he asked, retracting his arm. “I don’t think the Mistress would have any need for a Magister, however.”
The Magister palmed his face, wondering how his brother had been reduced to what he appeared to be now.
“Michael, you know… this is one of the few times I’ve heard you address authority properly if not the only time. Tell me what you remember. I think we can start from there.”
“No.” Michael rested his chin on his hands, frustrated at their host’s absence. “What kind of person pulls us into God knows where and then arrives late himself? That’s awfully rude.”
“Who knows, I’m just glad I get a short breather. This seems like an awfully interesting place despite how empty it is. It’s like something’s going to happen.”
Aramus shrugged, perhaps Michael would be in the mood to talk later.
Michael stood up and dusted his clothes.
“Well, I am going to go get some refreshments, and find the men’s room ”
“Wouldn’t the refreshments be just like the popcorn over here!?” Aramus protested.
“Now, now, I think it would be best to relax, son.”
Aramus looked to the very right and saw a reminiscent deep-blue Victorian dress. His mother, Mary Linfield was walking up to him with a warm smile. A kind of loving smile he witnessed recently.
“Mother!” he exclaimed, wondering why she was here of all places.
“It heartens me to know that you remember me.” Mary walked up to them, she took up the box of popcorns from the seat between Michael and Aramus’ and sat down. “Are you doing well?”
“Could be better, but I’m coping… somehow. Were it not for Master Christopher or DKD, things might have been different.”
“I have heard, they seem like nice people. It is too bad that I am not able to thank them.”
“You will eventually. I will come for you, no matter how long it takes.”
“No, son. You should be focusing on your life, I have had my run. I will sleep… wherever I am.”
“But there’s still so many things for me to…” Aramus huffed. “Let’s say I make a detour somewhere in my life and somehow find you again… That could work.”
Mary laughed. “I was only joking, silly. I will be waiting for you; you and your brother both.”
“That kind of joke is in bad taste,” Aramus said. It irritated him a little, but how could he stay like that with her of all people? “And then this guy gets himself lost somewhere. Now I don’t know where he or who that †˜Lotus’ he’s talking about is either.”
“I get that a lot.” Mary blinked her eyes a few times at the statement about Michael, and turned to his seat. “Lost? To Lotus? Again?”
“Again? Does he let himself get carted off so often? Who is Lotus?”
“I saved him once from her. She is a vampire who took a liking to him. She seemed to be prominent at brainwashing him, though.”
“So that explains why he’s acting like an idiot. Do you know where she is? I’d like to find him somehow, but don’t have an idea as to where to begin.”
“Ah, our host has arrived. And what a lovely lady our host—hostess is!” Michael returned, wearing an apron over his clothes. He had a tray with a dome covering what food he had arrived with on his hand, but a sweet fragrance wafted throughout the movie theatre. “It’s a good thing they have a kitchen here. Which is unnatural considering this is a movie theatre. Huh. I brought cakes!”
“Kitchen? Here? Well, thank you.” Mary waved at Michael before turning back to Aramus. “Even if I tell you, you will forget all recollection of coming here… I think. I am sure you will find him again, though, one day.”
“Speaking of which, where are we? Why does this place have that effect on us? Then again, considering that you’re here…” Aramus questioned.
“It is because your mother is the side-tracked woman of the year,” a woman dressed as a knight said, coming from the other side. As a female, it wasn’t really full of visibly steel armors, but a blue uniform of the Church. It was someone Michael once knew in the past, Laura. “The entire point is to review Act 4, you are always like this, Miss Shelley.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Mary chuckled nervously. “I am but a mother, it kind of escaped my mind,” she said, facing away from Laura’s inquisitive gaze.
Michael sat back on his seat.“It’s a good thing I made enough for five. Pleased to meet you two, please call me Michael.” He beamed.
“Pleased to meet you too,” Mary said.
Aramus took a look at the newcomer, wondering how close she had to be to refer to his mother as such. He vaguely remembered her chest being ripped open by a vampire back at the Queen’s meeting.
“I do not believe we’ve met. Magister Aramus Linfield, a pleasure,” he introduced himself with a smile.
“Laura, Commander of Knights from the Church,” Laura’s tone sounded commanding indeed as she tersely introduced herself, taking a seat beside Michael before noting his new appearance. There was nothing to say to him, not when he was like this.
“Scary, right?” Mary whispered to Aramus. “I cannot tell how those two got so close together in the past.”
“You know how he acts around authority. Maybe he secretly longed for it.” Aramus whispered back.
“I-Is this what we call a †˜fetish’? I cannot say that I have seen such a thing much before…”
“I’m not sure if there’s any other explanation for it, but we’ll find out eventually,” Aramus chuckled as he looked at the happy couple. What did he find happy about them, though?
“Mhm. Only time will tell if any of this remains, however.”
“With the way he is now, I’m not sure if anything will get through. I’ll just have to slap some sense into him the next time we meet,” Aramus said with a wave of his hand.
“Mn. I am sure that he will be back soon.” Mary patted Aramus’ head. “Good luck.”
It felt extremely out of place to be patted on the head by her but Aramus relished the affection she was showering on him. He just wished that it didn’t make him look so child-like in front of the others. However, that feeling was not enough for him to protest the treatment.
“Alright, allow me to give you both a belated welcome to the reviewing of Act 4, Michael Kallweit, Aramus Linfield—you two are guests for the recap of the events that took place so far. I am your host for tonight, and my name is Mary Linfield. The Commander of Knights, Laura is the co-host joining for tonight.”
Laura only gave a nod in response.
“Unlike Act 3,” the knight began. “This was very delayed. Almost four months and it seemed like the world was going to end.”
“Our storyteller is very lazy, so I am sure it seemed like that to everyone,” Mary responded with a chuckle. “Ahhh, I knew I was going to get into deep trouble, it was sort of a torture—that long wait.”
“Moving on, Act 4 started with the complete resurrection of Virgo.”
The screen of the theatre before them finally started playing. It displayed Virgo standing atop a magical circle that glowed—giving away a blue hue at her surroundings. The Descendant was participating in the banquet of its final clone’s heart. She was shown making a comment about what loneliness felt like, the final fragment having granted her the last emotion she was missing.
Everyone was shown to be preparing themselves for the events to come shortly after.
“Each of the characters had their own thoughts and burdens,” Mary narrated.
Aramus was shown to have returned from the Infernal Realm with important information. Michael was working with Emilia to have better weapons, and was researching, while secretly worrying about the Archangel. Weiss was already heading out to defeat Duke Powlett. While Svetlana seemed to suffer internally from her demon’s hatred and anger that attempted to dominate her heart and soul. Aleksander was shown to be living with Princess Louise, who arrived in America with the aid of Void spells. Lastly Claudia was shown dancing… the scene was cut off immediately as if it was ignoring her.
It was soon shown how Michael requested Mary to look into his Archangel issue. With a bit of hesitation, the Victorian lady accepted.
“And then, I called upon the Archangel to inquire about his aim.”
In the end, Mary was end up hurt, as the display showed her experiencing a mind-numbing pain. She clutched her temples and cried. Michael held her and begged the angel to stop. The voices of the speakers were heard:
“I-It was my fault!” Mary shrieked. “I’m… I’m sorry, Charlotte.”
“Miss Mary! Please Archangel Uriel, stop this! I’ll do what you ask, just stop causing her pain!”
“Do not face away from the truth, o child of the Linfield! Michael Kallweit, this is a child even Christ cannot save forever. Do you really think I am causing this pain?”
“Then tell me! What’s happening? Why is she being hurt like this? Tell me! What can I do?!”
“That is not for me to decide, but the ruler of the Heaven. The moment of truth is almost at hand… you shall have a glimpse… soon. Decide for yourself then—what must be done.”
That day, Michael didn’t receive the answers he was seeking. He ended up with more questions instead. Resulting him in lashing out against a wall with a punch.
“What did you see in that guy?” Michael asked. “Why is that angel there with him? Is he some high ranking official?”
“What, is your memory busted so bad you can’t recognize yourself?” Aramus snickered.
“I am neither buck-toothed nor freckled.” the butler huffed. Why were people so rude these days?
Mary chuckled nervously at the two.
“After this, the Magic Magister began his journey back to New York,” Laura continued with the narration this time.
The image showed Aramus and Elizabeth struggling against all kinds of problems in an airplane. From loud explosive noises to facing a Representative and ending up facing a Commandment that dyed the sky in yellow hue. Suffice it to say, it was one of the most dangerous situations any would face, but for Aramus this was just another day at work. Duke Powlett was shown battling with Weiss, the Descendant with the symbol of Cancer, before they struck at each other and were both falling off of it, while Judgement Reaper—Weiss’ helper—caught her and took her to safety with his golden cloud.
Aramus ended up having to work the hardest with controlling the air and having the plane land—or rather—crash down on a wheat field on Oregon.
“You seem to have had a tough time,” Mary told Aramus. “Nothing like a good work out, eh?”
“Just another day in my life,” Aramus said with a sigh.
While Aramus was dealing with the crisis in the plane, it seemed like Mary was busy battling with the Blood Countess under the full moon. The two clashed several times in the evening—under them lying the bustling city of New York. Mary seemed to suffer a fatal blow from Countess’ sword before she retreated.
Some of the wound from this fatal blow recovered in time, but it wasn’t enough. She would lose a more important battle due to this in the future.
“Could say the same of you, mother.”
“Wait, you two are related?”
Aramus looked over at his brother, deciding to play the fool. “Of course. Mother and son, why? Does it look strange to you?”
Michael just looked at the Magister strangely. His “mother” looked even younger than he was, and it wasn’t just a praise. “Right,” he looked at the lady knight they were with as if to ask for her support.
Mary gave a shrug. “I suppose members of our family gets into these things everyday, more or less.”
“While all of this was going on, the Princess seemed to have other problems…” Laura continued, ignoring Michael.
The screen shifted to show Aleksander, who seemed to start out by being particular about little details with an attendant of the hotel. He presumed his tea to be favored by Princess Louise, and showed a poor attitude. The Princess herself, however, disagreed to his claims immediately. It was revealed that they were forced to stay in together due to poor circumstances in the hotel room. The bodyguard was shown to be making all kinds of remarks that seemed to make him look like a Prince on similar standings rather than an actual body guard.
Louise calmly began by explaining her agenda for the visit, her patience unwavering at the bodyguard’s rudeness. The Princess intended to deal with the situation concerning Virgo herself. One would think that the Princess held herself in high esteem, for she assumed that her abilities would make a large difference in the battle. Perhaps she was correct in this presumption. Meanwhile, despite having her taste his tea, Aleksander was busy having lecherous thoughts while preparing for another tea, resulting in him causing the boiling water to overflow and make a mess. The Princess didn’t even ask for more. In fact, she didn’t really like it, and was being polite when she said “not bad.”
Aleksander was shown to be tossed aside with magic as a result, Louise finally snapping, only momentarily however.
“You know, this new character did not make a very good first impression,” Laura commented. “I cannot fathom what he was trying to even do.”
“It was a bad idea to ask someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth to serve someone in the first place,” Michael replied.
“He seemed… alright when he introduced himself. Now that I’ve seen his true colors, I must say I’m positively repulsed by him. The gall of him, honestly,” Aramus said with a sneer.
This boiled down to something worse as time passed and Aleksander didn’t make proper apology to the Princess. Instead, he was making convenient excuses to disobey her and forcefully stay with her, despite the member of the Royal household asking for him to leave her alone.
Their voices were soon heard as Louise finally had an idea.
“Tell you what. If you can find me in a game of… yes, a game of hide and seek—I shall allow you to remain. You shall be allotted an hour to search and find me. If you fail, you shall leave me alone for good. If you win, you shall be allowed to continue your promise with my mother.”
“Awfully high stakes for just your forgiveness… Might I suggest an additional boon in the case of my own victory, as well as another rule on how the game is to be played?”
“Are you saying my forgiveness has no value to you?”
“Not at all. It’s a fine boon, and a worthy objective to work towards milady. I simply am concerned over cheapening my own sense of integrity and betraying the trust of the ruler of my country of birth, as well as the place I call home. I would like to request that no magic be used during the game for the purpose of hiding or finding, but it would be allowable in case of personal danger, as well as that you only ignore me sometimes, instead of ignoring me unless I’m asking a direct question or you want something.”
“Casting of magic shall be banned after our little game starts, unless in case of emergency, then. Is that good enough?”
When Louise casted magic to open a gateway to the Void Realm, Aleksander saw this as a violation to the rule he suggested and immediately used the Raven’s Cloak spell when Louise finally announced that her game started, and entered the Void Realm.
Aramus’ sneer only grew more pronounced as he watched the noble violate his own rules.
Michael’s gloved-hand just palmed his face as he sighed.
After the little “game” started, Aleksander searched in the form of a raven, and he spent about twenty minutes before finding an unknown wanderer in the strange Realm.
The mysterious man knew from a glance that the man in the form of a raven was a newcomer to this strange world, immediately advising that he should visit the bar, where Princess Louise would likely be located. The raven was very suspicious, requesting the wanderer to take off his mask and show his face, but the request was politely declined.
Very doubtful, the raven proceeded, and soon reached a signpost with hands pointing to two different directions. The raven chose to ignore the direction of the bar and flew to the right—a path to the unknown. He couldn’t read the text in the signpost for this path but chose to take a risk.
Of course, what Aleksander didn’t come to believe was that the person he met wasn’t necessarily a liar and by the time he realized it, he found himself caught in the lair of a notorious Void Monster. It seemed very hungry to him.
In response, Aleksander—in the form of a raven—chucked a Snickers bar and fed it, but it had no effect. Eventually, the mysterious man came to rescue in the form of a majestic Ent, and freed the exit open for Aleksander to escape.
Michael took out from his pocket and opened a Snickersâ„¢ bar he nabbed from the front desk and took a huge bite while watching all the action happening.
“Wait, wait, wait, that guy was holding onto a chocolate bar all along? Who’d want a melted chocolate bar anyway, ick,” Aramus said sardonically.
The moment Aleksander finally entered the bar, he seemed to be extremely irritated. His pride was wounded that he was unable to deal a single strike to the Void Monster—his relic sword having went straight past the black lumps of the creature when he tried earlier—and to be saved by the stranger he was suspicious of. Needless to say, he found Louise and was full of sarcasm the moment he opened his mouth, his mood apparently “shitty.”
Louise was very disappointed that Alek actually won the game, from what it seemed. Despite the frequent mention of the contract with her mother that Aleksander had, it seemed more like an excuse to pester her, and it was painfully clear to her. Aleksander and Louise’s conversation was thus heard.
“I have no idea what this place is. About as much as I knew going into this was that you were in here somewhere, and I needed to find you in a hurry. It was my mistake not to trust the stranger I met at first… More importantly, where are we? What did I see? Why do you know how to get here? If you can summon magic portals to another dimension… perhaps letting you out of my sight at all is an awful idea… And don’t think that I’ve forgotten how readily you broke the rule against using magic to hide either. I can only protect you if I’m nearby. What if you ran into what I did? You think you could take on one of those things by yourself?”
“Of course I can. Besides, never had I agreed to not using magic before the game began. Did you really think I would play hide and seek in a hotel? Clearly, that is boring. You used a spell yourself, did you not? I would claim that it is rather fair in that regard.”
“When I saw you casting a mystery spell, the first thought was that you were a cheating, manipulative young lady, which surprised me just a little bit, since I actually thought you’d play fair for some reason… The second thought was that there was no way you were going to leave me behind. I’ve come too far to lose that easily, so I did what came naturally. I dove for the portal. The spell was just an extension of that instinctual thought… Do you not want me to protect you for some reason? Is my presence really that onerous that you’d go to such lengths as potentially getting me killed by dropping me into such a hostile place with no forewarning?”
“First, allow me to confirm that I am indeed unfair and manipulative, but it is not your place to judge me, commoner scum. I had no reason to be fair at all when I was forced to deal with your petty kind. I particularly do not enjoy your attitude, and you still dare speak in that tone? Second, I never claimed that I required your measly protection. My mother has nothing to do with this; I myself had not expressly wished for it. So, yes, your presence is more than an annoyance now. You say that you have obligations, but are you sure you heard the right request from my mother?”
“I apologize for the inconvenience. I only want to help you be safe, and happy. I’m more than happy to do anything you request of me except for leave your side… I don’t even particularly mind that you’re abusive in nature, since abuse is something that I’m well used to in my life thus far. I am ninety-nine percent sure that I know what your mother asked me for, and I’m here to do exactly that. It is my own personal desire to be of help to you that leads me to be so persistent. I’m sorry if you don’t appreciate it, but I have no intention of stopping. I would’ve loved to have somebody care about me enough to lend a helping hand, and nobody did, so to see you acting as you are now leads me to believe that you’re fitting the stereotype of a spoiled rich girl perfectly! There’s nothing wrong with accepting help once in a while, even if you don’t think there’s much I can do for you... All I want is to be there to help support you, to feel like I’m making a difference.”
“Why yes, I am a spoiled rich person. So? I am not going to become your ideal lady. I have also confirmed with my mother some time ago that you misunderstand your duty. Talk about being dedicated.”
“Might be I’m not a very good Dark Knight then, if I’m mis-performing my duties. Now if you don’t mind, I can’t drink and talk at the same time…” He called for another shot. “I’m tired of apologizing all the time, so I won’t. If you dislike my company that much, then you’re more than welcome to try to kill me, because I’ve no intention of giving up on you just because you spit a little bit of venom at me…” He’d taken the significantly larger glass the bartender slid him, also full of tequila, and guzzled it in just a few large swallows as he felt an intense warmth course through his veins from the stiff drink.
“You do not apologize as much as you say you do. And having reasons to apologize all the time shows how incompetent you are.”
“Oh, well aren’t you just the cheekiest lady I’ve ever met. How original to make fun of my competence. If anything, I think it takes a certain level of competence to make the decisions I’ve made so far... Some of them were pretty shitty, but I got here in the end. I’d be dead if it weren't for Bjornaer, but because I was nice to him instead of being a jackass, he helped me out in my time of need. There’s a powerful lesson there, and one that you might do well to heed. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar and all that shit. Besides, you’ve no room to complain about my competence after I won your little game despite your bending the rules, so I suggest you lay off before I actually get tired of the charm of your little verbally abusive games…”
“Why do you act like I care about your little issues? Did you even look without seeking help? Well, whatever.”
“Pfft, whatever.”
“Well, to be fair.” Michael took another bite. “This is pretty good. If anything, he should’ve used it as a peace offering to the Princess.”
“I stand by my point that no one likes melted chocolate bars. At least have the decency to offer her a fresh one,” Aramus said with a sip of his drink.
“After all was said and done, Princess Louise stayed true to her words and allowed Aleksander to remain. Albeit, I think she was hoping that he would somehow be lost from her…” Mary narrated.
“She definitely did,” Laura confirmed. “That type of serving is not serving at all.”
It was shown how Mary confirmed in the meeting with the Princess that there were several locations where Virgo’s attack could take place. Apparently some places were to be invaded as distraction, and due to the safety of the civilians, they couldn’t ignore these possibilities. She outlined and marked Jersey City, Brooklyn, and a place close to the Statue of Liberty as possible targets of the Descendant.
Not even the next dawn took place when Virgo did appeared close to the coast facing the Liberty Island. The Heaven Buster Commandment was the first to be seen when Takeru was driving a microbus to the site.
Since the mages were sent to the location for the sake of the Princess, one could claim that it was thanks to the Princess that they could face Virgo at all. Louise took the decision to go to the coast near the Liberty Island and this spurred the Duchess to change the plans.
The screen particularly showed Virgo unleashing her Commandment without much thought and singlehandedly destroyed hundreds of mages. Aramus was shown combating the Descendant while Michael shot bullets at her. Svetlana casted her spells and fought with a dagger that sparkled brilliantly with electricity.
Suddenly, Aramus ended up touching the chest of the Descendant, failing to execute a spell.
“My, my, you are so youthful, son,” Mary said with a laugh, her tone sarcastic yet proud. “Good going, you groped one of the eldest and beautiful woman in history.”
“Well, at least we know where your priorities lie, Magister.” Michael covered his mouth with a hand and chuckled. It was obvious from the fake laugh that he was mocking him.
Aramus glared at the two of them but otherwise said nothing, instead muttering unhappily to himself.
Aramus and Svetlana were soon shown battling with Virgo on the Statue of Liberty, having accepted the Descendant’s invitation. The two were no match for the ancient conqueror who took on their attacks in stride, hardly feeling the intended damage. Aramus soon saw the meteor coming down from the sky due to Svetlana’s spell.
This was the least of his worries, however. When Virgo used the World Buster Commandment shortly, half of South America was destroyed, and it was after Frederica told him, that the Magister was starting to feel the gravity of his mistakes.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Aramus muttered as he mentally prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen.
While all of this was happening, Mary was shown to be battling Judgement Samurai some distance away where the New York city was burning thanks to half of the meteor falling on it. They were the voice of the samurai.
“It is a shame that you’re a wounded opponent. I cannot test my swordsmanship like this. I hope to meet you again when you’re at your full strength.”
“I do not think there will be that next time…” Mary was looking up to the samurai who leapt away gracefully as he escaped the battlefield. Leaving Mary who looked towards the Statue of Liberty. “How could I possibly live through a fight with Virgo with this wound?”
“No wonder Saint did not want to tell me about this affair… It all seems so bleak. I am sorry for mocking you earlier, I can’t possibly fathom what you felt when that happened,” Michael faced Aramus and apologized sincerely.
“I’d appreciate if we didn’t talk about it.” Aramus waved Michael’s apology off with a pained look on his face before turning to Mary. “Why did you battle Claudia alone with that injury? You should have let the two of us join in.”
“Claudia?! You know her? The Mistress’ guest told me she was an old friend of mine.”
“Anything but an old friend. You’ll see,” Aramus said.
Michael just quirked his eyebrows and he leaned back on his chair. He glanced upon the lady knight, Laura and spoke, “So, come here often?”
“Yes, what about it?” Laura replied.
“Does that mean you’re dead too? Doesn’t seem like you’re a visitor like me and the Magister here.” Michael didn’t know why, but it felt natural to him to bug her.
“Mary did called me the co-host. Take what you will of it.”
“Let’s see, Miss Mary is the Magister’s mother and it doesn’t seem like you two knew each other. I have a feeling she called you here for a reason, but so far nothing comes up.” Michael started rubbing his chin. “You’re a lady knight, so you work with the Church… There was a priest with the Magister in the bus—you know him.”
“Get your memories back and string the clues yourself, would you?”
“So he was a mutual friend to us both? No wonder the Magister seemed like he knew me, too!” Michael’s face was filled with glee when he found out he was surrounded with his friends. “You guys should’ve said so from the start!”
“I feel for Laura,” Aramus whispered to Mary. “I definitely wouldn’t want to be reduced to that state, ever.”
“Seeing Laura here is akin to watching a ticking time bomb…” Mary whispered back.
Aramus turned to look at Michael engage the knight in conversation, a smile plastered on the ex-priest’s face as he remained woefully ignorant of their true connection. “I think I would too in her situation.”
Virgo met the Queen briefly after activating the World Buster Commandment in the screen. Victoria appeared in her ephemeral form as a thought projection.
“What you are about to do will spread an excess amount of spiritual energy…”
The Queen sounded very much pained at the sight. Virgo’s voice, on the other hand, was resolute.
“An acceptable risk, considering my situation.”
After this brief exchange, Virgo activated another Commandment which finally brought down a piece of the moon. The beams of spiritual energy were shot to devastate the country and the world shook at the wake of the great force.
The characters were shown to be entering the moon shard shortly. Each of them hearing all kinds of voices.
“That reminds me, everyone seems to hear about someone they care about. Whose voices did you hear?” Mary asked Aramus.
“H-Her Majesty’s…” Aramus said softly, looking very chagrinned.
“Hoho, Her Majesty, of all people…”
Michael stopped bugging Laura to stare at Aramus without uttering a word.
Aramus withered under their combined gazes, his cheeks faintly pink. “It is wrong for me to have done so…?”
“Good choice Magister.” Michael continued to smirk.
“Of course not. It is never wrong to love.” Mary patted Aramus again.
“But will someone like me ever have a chance…” Aramus said as he was consoled by Mary’s patting. “It’s already overstepping my position.”
“Time will tell. If your love happens to be more important than positions, then you have already arrived to your answer.”
Michael cleared his throat, “So… about Claudia. Who is she? If not a friend… an enemy? But the Mistress’ guest; was she lying?”
Before anyone thought to reply, the display continued playing the footages. Michael was shown to be hearing all kinds of voices from the past, until it was enough for his rage to build up to a climax.
Marco was shown to have found him, and they both loathed each other immensely, a battle starting not long after their meeting.
The battle among the two avengers ended with the priest overwhelming the vampire with his new spell, even if it was bad for his heart, Michael kept pushing himself. The vampire who was traumatized by Descendant Aries couldn’t believe that he was falling thanks to an ordinary human. He called out to the Countess in vain as he perished.
Soon, Michael was shown to meet Mary and Aramus before an ancient arena. Mary met Claudia there, and the Michael from the audience saw her at last.
“That priest has a lot of anger inside him,” Michael felt uncomfortable watching the bout, as if he was experiencing deja vu. “It was like he was seeing an enemy beyond the one he is clashing swords with. And that spell… I know how to use it too.” Is it possible that… No. No, that can’t be right.
Mary and Claudia’s fight intensified after a bout involving Charlotte, Mary, and Claudia. The three were apparently close friends before things went south. Mary was panicking from Charlotte’s sudden appearance, while Claudia claimed that she’d own both Mary and Charlotte as her slaves, while Mary only seeked Mary’s companionship, and wanted Claudia gone.
Mary displayed an iron will as she carried the burdens of her body and fought Claudia, demonstrating the power of a veteran Representative, but it was as far as she could go. After Lachesis’ Fang took control of half of Claudia’s mind and released all of her potential that she was unable to utilize thanks to inexperience, Claudia was a match for Mary, and with her injuries it was impossible to turn the tables against her.
The last feat Mary managed against Claudia was breaking her necklace given to her by the Countess, and slicing the tiara in two.
“This was one thing I -had- to do,” Mary claimed. “Storyteller really wanted that tiara gone. Someone had to carry out his will.” She nodded to herself.
“Ten out of ten, would do again.” Aramus nodded his head in agreement too.
“You guys are mean,” Michael said but he himself didn’t notice the large grin on his face.
The Countess appeared to stop Claudia, who was on the verge of battling Marco’s murderer, Michael, after she noted the coat he was wearing. As the spiritually enhanced chain that kept Mary bound broke, her memories returned, and at the same time, Jesus Christ made his appearance.
Aramus threw his popcorn at the screen, booing loudly. “I want a refund.”
Michael bolted up, accidentally toppling the tray with the cakes over. He stared at the screen, his whole body shaking as he felt his body heating up, the unknown anger he had inside him erupting like a volcano. “W-What?”
“Listen to me, Aramus… I am sorry. We… never found the time to decide on your name, and left you behind that day beside the streets… I do not believe that I am forgivable, but I want you to know that you were not an orphan. I had truly failed you, and I still regret many things. Your father yet wanders across the world—he still lives. Your half-sister is there too, somewhere with my surname, Linfield. Michael, please listen carefully, you are his half-brother. Your father is… my Master. Let go of your promise, there is nothing you can do to †˜save’ me from him. This was my fate, and I had accepted it a long time ago, I was only living a delusion as I wanted to be free from my burdens. Mister Bram never knew the whole story.”
Her two sons vowed to take out those who had caused her harm and suffering, but Mary refused to let her sons waste away their futures that way. The two were given their inheritances, a sword and a necklace, to Aramus and Michael, respectively. Her final words were heard:
“Revenge is an utterly petty idea. It will surely lead to your end. Simply know that I love you both, Aramus, Michael, not to mention my daughter.” She then looked at Aramus specifically, “Your father… and my family. Now leave.”
Mary’s body dissolved, under the effects of Jesus Christ’s Commandment, her body lost life and time and was sent away.
Despite suffering the Penance Stare that was strengthened by the Descendant Jesus’ Commandment, Michael, who was barely saved by his mother claimed thus:
“I WILL END YOU, MONSTER!”
Aramus too, gave his word to Jesus, Countess, and Claudia:
“You think you are above us, that you can toy with our lives as you please, that your immortality makes you better than us—you are greatly mistaken. There was a time when you were people like us, with hopes and dreams, with love and pain like our lives… when you were once mortals. We will teach you that no one lives forever. You will both know what it means to fear again.”
The two left, as well as Jesus, whose objective to reclaim Mary was complete.
“And then…” Laura began.
“Claudia babbled some nonsense,” Mary finished for Laura.
“Indeed.”
“Sometimes I wonder what runs through her head,” Aramus said.
“She’d pay for hurting my friend. Just like her boyfriend. And him. All of them will,” Michael spoke, his face not visible to his companions for he was standing in front of them. His fury was very pronounced in his voice, but none of them could see how far gone his eyes were. It seemed that experiencing one million sinners did more to the priest than one would imagine.
“You didn’t answer me earlier but why did you take on Claudia alone, mum?” Aramus said, turning to Mary as his half-brother raged and ranted.
Mary looked down, making a face full of regret.
“It was my responsibility… for how she became. How could I cheat my way out with higher numbers? I had to face her myself.”
“Even so—” Aramus began before he was cut off by Michael, turning a little sour.
“Your responsibility?! Your—our only fault was not killing her the first chance we had! She was a beast that needed to be put do—” he turned around shouting, and then it was then that he saw Laura, awake once more. “L-Laura...”
Laura’s expression looked full of pain when Michael called out to her, she turned away and got up.
“I am sorry, but I think I am leaving for tonight…” She walked away, her form vanishing as she did so.
Michael chased Laura as she walked away and tried to pull her, but failed. He bowed his head and just smiled to himself speaking in almost a whisper, “Of course… Of course… There’s only a single path for me now. Seeing her again…. It’s more than enough.”
He soon felt something pelting him, realizing it was Aramus who was chucking popcorn at him this time. “Screw your head back on properly and think before you do something, stupid. No sense in running around. Now that you seem to be back, do something about this †˜Lotus’ person before she does something to you again.”
“And I’m supposed to know how to do that?” Michael suddenly sounded cheerful, and when he faced his brother once more he was smiling as if nothing happened.
“You’ll figure something out. Laura’s waiting for you so come back in one piece,” Aramus said as he shoved more salty popcorn down this throat.
Michael returned to his seat, “She shouldn’t. It’s nice to see you again, Mary.”
“What? You would not address me as mother?” Mary joked. “Back on topic, Claudia was just another person who was brought into a pile of mess. I think in some way… she was innocent.”
“Bad decisions, the lot of them. She probably knew what she was getting into,” Aramus said. “But that tiara had to go.”
“Even if you say so, I feel like it was her real family that did her in,” Mary stated. “The twisted mindset would otherwise never happen.”
“Mhmm, let’s continue the movie.” Michael didn’t agree with his mother, not one bit. He’d put her down the moment he’d get an opportunity.
The screen continued with the rest of the story. Svetlana was shown to have fought Judgement Summoner, while Princess Louise, along with the Duke, the Duchess, and Aleksander, put an end to Judgement Samurai. Judgement Reaper met his end against Kazimir, Aramus, and Michael. Claudia, George, and Rose, on the other hand, fought with Sagittarius to fulfill their given objective.
Lastly, Svetlana and Lily faced Virgo, resulting in a life-changing occurrence for the Russian magi who lost her best friend Lily forever in but less than a moment.
“In honor of Aleksander… some Snickers please,” Mary asked Michael.
“Luckily for you, I am always prepared.” He took a couple of Snickersâ„¢ bars from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Good, good,” Mary accepted one, and took another, handing it to Aramus.
“It’s not melted right? You wouldn’t stoop that low.” Aramus said as he unwrapped the bar.
“Of course not, silly.” Mary said, unwrapping the bar. “No one can stoop that low.”
“Apparently someone did. The look on the Void Monster’s face said it all,” Aramus muttered.
There was a loud noise of a crunch—the three took a bite from the chocolate at the same time as the picture of the raven, who was in fact Aleksander under his spell, fell due to the Soul Buster Commandment replayed on the screen.
The display continued with the footages once more. Svetlana was out of control, tossing out all she had on Virgo. However, it was not nearly anywhere close to defeating her. Despite this, she caused many tremors on the shard of the moon and it turned out that the power of an Infernal demon was not something trifling to the mages, but that a Descendant was simply at a league of their own. Eventually, Virgo left her to let her mourn Lily’s death.
Aramus, Michael, Kazimir, and their companions faced Judgement Saint and Summoner some time later. A rough battle took place. The odds were clearly against them and they almost died, but at the very end, the Representatives of Virgo allowed them to live. They knew that the mages had potions with them so they only intended to “rough” them up.
Defeating the berserked Svetlana, and moving onto the entrance of the Lunar Temple, the group was now joined with Princess Louise, the Duke, the Duchess, and Aleksander. After Artemis joined them from under the gate of the Lunar Temple—Duke Powlett’s death was confirmed. Emilia was the last to join them before they went into battle with Virgo. The movie played onwards and showed most of the fight with Virgo.
“In hindsight, we should’ve just collapsed the thing on her. Keep pumping spells from outside, you know? Or maybe we should’ve opened with that rock golem.” Michael still hated golems to this day.
“Should’ve just summoned Arthur from the get go. Who knew?” Aramus said.
“King Arthur? He was lost for some time, and he woke up late too,” Mary replied.
“Seems to me our †˜heroes’ not being what you expected them to be a running theme here. Everything we have done only for her to escape. And now I realize that’s a good thing.” The Executor shrugged.
“How can you even say that after what she’s done?” Aramus said as he lost his temper at Michael.
“How can you live with what you’ve done? If I didn’t quit they might’ve sicced me onto you.”
“That is my lot to bear. Running away doesn’t solve anything,” Aramus said, folding his arms.
“But power does. She has power. Lots of it. If there’s one thing that can change anything here… it’s their power.”
Mary chopped both of their heads before she sighed. “Now, now. I think some calm would do both of you some good. What is done is done.”
Aramus huffed before settling into his seat, grumbling. “Everyone has to remind me that I’ve killed millions of people. Whoops, I conveniently forgot that I’m a mass murderer.”
Michael crossed his arms and huffed, refusing to face the two. “You don’t need to be worried about that soonâ„¢.”
Mary smiled wryly. “You two are such a handful. We are all murderers here it seems.”
“I’ll pray that the next generation doesn’t…” Aramus shook his head as he thought of those to come.
Finally, the battle between Hyperion and Virgo was displayed. A fierce battle took place. The only opportunity to send Virgo to the Infernal Realm was lost and Elizabeth lost her consciousness with the Hell’s Fire dying out. After the loss of the Magister Takeru, the Duke, and Emilia, it was looking bleak, especially because Anna and the Duchess were taken out by the Soul Buster Commandment. Aleksander fell from the curse of the Jewel’s Blight. After Hyperion was defeated, King Arthur appeared, just as Aramus’ Golden Earring’s Supreme spell was unleashed. The King almost defeated Virgo, but she was saved by her Representatives before she made her escape.
The battle had ended and Virgo was thus presumed to be gone for some time. The characters all went their own path. Some went to become stronger, learning the basics for their Lost Forms, while others went into deep studying and searching for the answers they seeked. A young researcher’s journey was just starting, Svetlana had become a Duchess, and had met some misfortune along the way—leading her to Saudi Arabia where she met an Aramus in training. Claudia was seeking to become a greater warrior, one who wouldn’t be like how she used to be. Michael was serving White Lotus after his memories were wiped as a butler.
Meanwhile, Aramus witnessed a fragment of truth, something that allowed all of existence to run in order, and his Queen’s real body.
Where would the paths of these characters lead and what was to come in Act 5?
“I think that is all for tonight,” Mary said. “Thank you for coming, both of you.”
“Thank us when we manage to save you,” Michael replied.
“It was my pleasure.” Aramus said as he hugged Mary.
With a single pull, Mary had the former priest under her arm for a hug, displaying abnormal strength. She held both her sons together.
“As I said, I will be waiting for you two.”
The screen continued for some time, showing the Queen at her knees, facing what seemed to brought despair to her after who knows how many years…
Aramus froze up within the hug as his eyes widened. “Wait! This kind of cliffhanger end sucks, continue the reel! Please!” he pleaded.
As if in response to Aramus’ words, the screen played the moment when Svetlana sat over Aramus to seduce him.
“So this is what you wanted to see…” Mary said with a sigh.
“Wait, mum, no! This isn’t what it looks like! Remember that loli, yeah, that’s her! She just got a new form, that’s all!” Aramus pleaded again in a different tone.
“And so you hang around with… with such a shameful person now that she looks nicer? I admit she looks better than me, but still… so much for the devotion to the Queen.” The mother shook her head.
“Huh, and I thought you had a specific taste for the Queen. Seems like it was just breasts after all,” Michael looked disappointedly at Aramus.
Mary wondered if it was really about breasts. The Queen had larger… I am so jealous, I do not want to think of it.
“I will never forsake Her Majesty!” Aramus said, suddenly fired up but then added in a softer tone. “But… does that mean I’m not allowed to have fun?”
“Uh huh. I’m going to see if Laura’s still somewhere here.” Michael separated from the two. He would never look at his brother the same way again.
“She would turn your heart black. I mean look at this pervert.” There was a remote controller on Mary’s hand for some reason as she pressed a button.
Svetlana was doing something with Nancy. “Something.” Aramus and Michael heard moans and their mouths were agape while Mary sighed and walked away.
“Then again, this is why men are…”
Michael laughed exaggeratedly as he exited the room.
Truth be told, there was a part of Aramus that wanted to stay and watch but he wisely followed after his family. No wonder Nancy was so protective of Svetlana, they were now on “friendlier” terms than just mere master and servant.
Opening their eyes, a familiar set of neon lights on both ends of the black walls were found. It was a dark place with only few such lightings. There was a sea of seats everywhere they looked.
Memories started to come back to the now-former priest. He was not in the stage this time, but a part of the audience seats. This sight reminded him that it was just like the cinema hall he visited with Hare to watch a movie. That was when he realized that he was in one again.
“A movie theatre, what a refreshing change of pace!” Michael sarcastically said, leaning back on his seat as he waited for something to happen. He looked at the seat to his left and saw no one, but to his right a seat away from his was the Magister Aramus Valmark.
Unlike Michael, it was Aramus’s first time in this peculiar movie theatre. He found himself carrying a bucket of popcorn and a drink, something he thought was peculiar but accepted with a shrug. He popped some of the popcorn into his mouth, noting that it was salty. Aramus shook the bucket at Michael, indicating he should take some.
“I’ll pass, that’s probably as old as the shows here. Thanks, though. You might want to finish that soon, our host might arrive soon.”
Michael continued to look around, only to find out that it was as empty as the theatre was when he first experienced this event. He raised his voice when speaking his last sentence, feeling the need to spur whoever their host was to hurry up.
Grimacing, Aramus left the bucket on the empty seat between both of them. “Any idea who our host is?” he asked his half-brother, absently taking a sip from his drink as he looked around the theatre before he realized what he had just done.
“Idea, yes. Proof, none.” Michael adjusted his position and leaned towards the Magister, extending his right hand towards him. “Pleasure to meet you Magister, I am Michael, Mistress Lotus’ butler, her only servant to be honest.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at Michael, but uh, okay.” Aramus gave him a queer look, something between a frown and confusion. “Who’s Lotus?”
“My Mistress.” Michael tilted his head, were handshakes not in the norm anymore?
“I see, so that’s where you disappeared off to without telling any of us? Way to go,” Aramus said with a sigh before turning his attention to the still-outstretched arm. “Why the handshake? We’re closer than that.”
“What are you talking about? I apologize, but—since my accident—I can only recall a few things. Are you perhaps a former employee by the Mistress too?” he asked, retracting his arm. “I don’t think the Mistress would have any need for a Magister, however.”
The Magister palmed his face, wondering how his brother had been reduced to what he appeared to be now.
“Michael, you know… this is one of the few times I’ve heard you address authority properly if not the only time. Tell me what you remember. I think we can start from there.”
“No.” Michael rested his chin on his hands, frustrated at their host’s absence. “What kind of person pulls us into God knows where and then arrives late himself? That’s awfully rude.”
“Who knows, I’m just glad I get a short breather. This seems like an awfully interesting place despite how empty it is. It’s like something’s going to happen.”
Aramus shrugged, perhaps Michael would be in the mood to talk later.
Michael stood up and dusted his clothes.
“Well, I am going to go get some refreshments, and find the men’s room ”
“Wouldn’t the refreshments be just like the popcorn over here!?” Aramus protested.
“Now, now, I think it would be best to relax, son.”
Aramus looked to the very right and saw a reminiscent deep-blue Victorian dress. His mother, Mary Linfield was walking up to him with a warm smile. A kind of loving smile he witnessed recently.
“Mother!” he exclaimed, wondering why she was here of all places.
“It heartens me to know that you remember me.” Mary walked up to them, she took up the box of popcorns from the seat between Michael and Aramus’ and sat down. “Are you doing well?”
“Could be better, but I’m coping… somehow. Were it not for Master Christopher or DKD, things might have been different.”
“I have heard, they seem like nice people. It is too bad that I am not able to thank them.”
“You will eventually. I will come for you, no matter how long it takes.”
“No, son. You should be focusing on your life, I have had my run. I will sleep… wherever I am.”
“But there’s still so many things for me to…” Aramus huffed. “Let’s say I make a detour somewhere in my life and somehow find you again… That could work.”
Mary laughed. “I was only joking, silly. I will be waiting for you; you and your brother both.”
“That kind of joke is in bad taste,” Aramus said. It irritated him a little, but how could he stay like that with her of all people? “And then this guy gets himself lost somewhere. Now I don’t know where he or who that †˜Lotus’ he’s talking about is either.”
“I get that a lot.” Mary blinked her eyes a few times at the statement about Michael, and turned to his seat. “Lost? To Lotus? Again?”
“Again? Does he let himself get carted off so often? Who is Lotus?”
“I saved him once from her. She is a vampire who took a liking to him. She seemed to be prominent at brainwashing him, though.”
“So that explains why he’s acting like an idiot. Do you know where she is? I’d like to find him somehow, but don’t have an idea as to where to begin.”
“Ah, our host has arrived. And what a lovely lady our host—hostess is!” Michael returned, wearing an apron over his clothes. He had a tray with a dome covering what food he had arrived with on his hand, but a sweet fragrance wafted throughout the movie theatre. “It’s a good thing they have a kitchen here. Which is unnatural considering this is a movie theatre. Huh. I brought cakes!”
“Kitchen? Here? Well, thank you.” Mary waved at Michael before turning back to Aramus. “Even if I tell you, you will forget all recollection of coming here… I think. I am sure you will find him again, though, one day.”
“Speaking of which, where are we? Why does this place have that effect on us? Then again, considering that you’re here…” Aramus questioned.
“It is because your mother is the side-tracked woman of the year,” a woman dressed as a knight said, coming from the other side. As a female, it wasn’t really full of visibly steel armors, but a blue uniform of the Church. It was someone Michael once knew in the past, Laura. “The entire point is to review Act 4, you are always like this, Miss Shelley.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Mary chuckled nervously. “I am but a mother, it kind of escaped my mind,” she said, facing away from Laura’s inquisitive gaze.
Michael sat back on his seat.“It’s a good thing I made enough for five. Pleased to meet you two, please call me Michael.” He beamed.
“Pleased to meet you too,” Mary said.
Aramus took a look at the newcomer, wondering how close she had to be to refer to his mother as such. He vaguely remembered her chest being ripped open by a vampire back at the Queen’s meeting.
“I do not believe we’ve met. Magister Aramus Linfield, a pleasure,” he introduced himself with a smile.
“Laura, Commander of Knights from the Church,” Laura’s tone sounded commanding indeed as she tersely introduced herself, taking a seat beside Michael before noting his new appearance. There was nothing to say to him, not when he was like this.
“Scary, right?” Mary whispered to Aramus. “I cannot tell how those two got so close together in the past.”
“You know how he acts around authority. Maybe he secretly longed for it.” Aramus whispered back.
“I-Is this what we call a †˜fetish’? I cannot say that I have seen such a thing much before…”
“I’m not sure if there’s any other explanation for it, but we’ll find out eventually,” Aramus chuckled as he looked at the happy couple. What did he find happy about them, though?
“Mhm. Only time will tell if any of this remains, however.”
“With the way he is now, I’m not sure if anything will get through. I’ll just have to slap some sense into him the next time we meet,” Aramus said with a wave of his hand.
“Mn. I am sure that he will be back soon.” Mary patted Aramus’ head. “Good luck.”
It felt extremely out of place to be patted on the head by her but Aramus relished the affection she was showering on him. He just wished that it didn’t make him look so child-like in front of the others. However, that feeling was not enough for him to protest the treatment.
“Alright, allow me to give you both a belated welcome to the reviewing of Act 4, Michael Kallweit, Aramus Linfield—you two are guests for the recap of the events that took place so far. I am your host for tonight, and my name is Mary Linfield. The Commander of Knights, Laura is the co-host joining for tonight.”
Laura only gave a nod in response.
“Unlike Act 3,” the knight began. “This was very delayed. Almost four months and it seemed like the world was going to end.”
“Our storyteller is very lazy, so I am sure it seemed like that to everyone,” Mary responded with a chuckle. “Ahhh, I knew I was going to get into deep trouble, it was sort of a torture—that long wait.”
“Moving on, Act 4 started with the complete resurrection of Virgo.”
The screen of the theatre before them finally started playing. It displayed Virgo standing atop a magical circle that glowed—giving away a blue hue at her surroundings. The Descendant was participating in the banquet of its final clone’s heart. She was shown making a comment about what loneliness felt like, the final fragment having granted her the last emotion she was missing.
Everyone was shown to be preparing themselves for the events to come shortly after.
“Each of the characters had their own thoughts and burdens,” Mary narrated.
Aramus was shown to have returned from the Infernal Realm with important information. Michael was working with Emilia to have better weapons, and was researching, while secretly worrying about the Archangel. Weiss was already heading out to defeat Duke Powlett. While Svetlana seemed to suffer internally from her demon’s hatred and anger that attempted to dominate her heart and soul. Aleksander was shown to be living with Princess Louise, who arrived in America with the aid of Void spells. Lastly Claudia was shown dancing… the scene was cut off immediately as if it was ignoring her.
It was soon shown how Michael requested Mary to look into his Archangel issue. With a bit of hesitation, the Victorian lady accepted.
“And then, I called upon the Archangel to inquire about his aim.”
In the end, Mary was end up hurt, as the display showed her experiencing a mind-numbing pain. She clutched her temples and cried. Michael held her and begged the angel to stop. The voices of the speakers were heard:
“I-It was my fault!” Mary shrieked. “I’m… I’m sorry, Charlotte.”
“Miss Mary! Please Archangel Uriel, stop this! I’ll do what you ask, just stop causing her pain!”
“Do not face away from the truth, o child of the Linfield! Michael Kallweit, this is a child even Christ cannot save forever. Do you really think I am causing this pain?”
“Then tell me! What’s happening? Why is she being hurt like this? Tell me! What can I do?!”
“That is not for me to decide, but the ruler of the Heaven. The moment of truth is almost at hand… you shall have a glimpse… soon. Decide for yourself then—what must be done.”
That day, Michael didn’t receive the answers he was seeking. He ended up with more questions instead. Resulting him in lashing out against a wall with a punch.
“What did you see in that guy?” Michael asked. “Why is that angel there with him? Is he some high ranking official?”
“What, is your memory busted so bad you can’t recognize yourself?” Aramus snickered.
“I am neither buck-toothed nor freckled.” the butler huffed. Why were people so rude these days?
Mary chuckled nervously at the two.
“After this, the Magic Magister began his journey back to New York,” Laura continued with the narration this time.
The image showed Aramus and Elizabeth struggling against all kinds of problems in an airplane. From loud explosive noises to facing a Representative and ending up facing a Commandment that dyed the sky in yellow hue. Suffice it to say, it was one of the most dangerous situations any would face, but for Aramus this was just another day at work. Duke Powlett was shown battling with Weiss, the Descendant with the symbol of Cancer, before they struck at each other and were both falling off of it, while Judgement Reaper—Weiss’ helper—caught her and took her to safety with his golden cloud.
Aramus ended up having to work the hardest with controlling the air and having the plane land—or rather—crash down on a wheat field on Oregon.
“You seem to have had a tough time,” Mary told Aramus. “Nothing like a good work out, eh?”
“Just another day in my life,” Aramus said with a sigh.
While Aramus was dealing with the crisis in the plane, it seemed like Mary was busy battling with the Blood Countess under the full moon. The two clashed several times in the evening—under them lying the bustling city of New York. Mary seemed to suffer a fatal blow from Countess’ sword before she retreated.
Some of the wound from this fatal blow recovered in time, but it wasn’t enough. She would lose a more important battle due to this in the future.
“Could say the same of you, mother.”
“Wait, you two are related?”
Aramus looked over at his brother, deciding to play the fool. “Of course. Mother and son, why? Does it look strange to you?”
Michael just looked at the Magister strangely. His “mother” looked even younger than he was, and it wasn’t just a praise. “Right,” he looked at the lady knight they were with as if to ask for her support.
Mary gave a shrug. “I suppose members of our family gets into these things everyday, more or less.”
“While all of this was going on, the Princess seemed to have other problems…” Laura continued, ignoring Michael.
The screen shifted to show Aleksander, who seemed to start out by being particular about little details with an attendant of the hotel. He presumed his tea to be favored by Princess Louise, and showed a poor attitude. The Princess herself, however, disagreed to his claims immediately. It was revealed that they were forced to stay in together due to poor circumstances in the hotel room. The bodyguard was shown to be making all kinds of remarks that seemed to make him look like a Prince on similar standings rather than an actual body guard.
Louise calmly began by explaining her agenda for the visit, her patience unwavering at the bodyguard’s rudeness. The Princess intended to deal with the situation concerning Virgo herself. One would think that the Princess held herself in high esteem, for she assumed that her abilities would make a large difference in the battle. Perhaps she was correct in this presumption. Meanwhile, despite having her taste his tea, Aleksander was busy having lecherous thoughts while preparing for another tea, resulting in him causing the boiling water to overflow and make a mess. The Princess didn’t even ask for more. In fact, she didn’t really like it, and was being polite when she said “not bad.”
Aleksander was shown to be tossed aside with magic as a result, Louise finally snapping, only momentarily however.
“You know, this new character did not make a very good first impression,” Laura commented. “I cannot fathom what he was trying to even do.”
“It was a bad idea to ask someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth to serve someone in the first place,” Michael replied.
“He seemed… alright when he introduced himself. Now that I’ve seen his true colors, I must say I’m positively repulsed by him. The gall of him, honestly,” Aramus said with a sneer.
This boiled down to something worse as time passed and Aleksander didn’t make proper apology to the Princess. Instead, he was making convenient excuses to disobey her and forcefully stay with her, despite the member of the Royal household asking for him to leave her alone.
Their voices were soon heard as Louise finally had an idea.
“Tell you what. If you can find me in a game of… yes, a game of hide and seek—I shall allow you to remain. You shall be allotted an hour to search and find me. If you fail, you shall leave me alone for good. If you win, you shall be allowed to continue your promise with my mother.”
“Awfully high stakes for just your forgiveness… Might I suggest an additional boon in the case of my own victory, as well as another rule on how the game is to be played?”
“Are you saying my forgiveness has no value to you?”
“Not at all. It’s a fine boon, and a worthy objective to work towards milady. I simply am concerned over cheapening my own sense of integrity and betraying the trust of the ruler of my country of birth, as well as the place I call home. I would like to request that no magic be used during the game for the purpose of hiding or finding, but it would be allowable in case of personal danger, as well as that you only ignore me sometimes, instead of ignoring me unless I’m asking a direct question or you want something.”
“Casting of magic shall be banned after our little game starts, unless in case of emergency, then. Is that good enough?”
When Louise casted magic to open a gateway to the Void Realm, Aleksander saw this as a violation to the rule he suggested and immediately used the Raven’s Cloak spell when Louise finally announced that her game started, and entered the Void Realm.
Aramus’ sneer only grew more pronounced as he watched the noble violate his own rules.
Michael’s gloved-hand just palmed his face as he sighed.
After the little “game” started, Aleksander searched in the form of a raven, and he spent about twenty minutes before finding an unknown wanderer in the strange Realm.
The mysterious man knew from a glance that the man in the form of a raven was a newcomer to this strange world, immediately advising that he should visit the bar, where Princess Louise would likely be located. The raven was very suspicious, requesting the wanderer to take off his mask and show his face, but the request was politely declined.
Very doubtful, the raven proceeded, and soon reached a signpost with hands pointing to two different directions. The raven chose to ignore the direction of the bar and flew to the right—a path to the unknown. He couldn’t read the text in the signpost for this path but chose to take a risk.
Of course, what Aleksander didn’t come to believe was that the person he met wasn’t necessarily a liar and by the time he realized it, he found himself caught in the lair of a notorious Void Monster. It seemed very hungry to him.
In response, Aleksander—in the form of a raven—chucked a Snickers bar and fed it, but it had no effect. Eventually, the mysterious man came to rescue in the form of a majestic Ent, and freed the exit open for Aleksander to escape.
Michael took out from his pocket and opened a Snickersâ„¢ bar he nabbed from the front desk and took a huge bite while watching all the action happening.
“Wait, wait, wait, that guy was holding onto a chocolate bar all along? Who’d want a melted chocolate bar anyway, ick,” Aramus said sardonically.
The moment Aleksander finally entered the bar, he seemed to be extremely irritated. His pride was wounded that he was unable to deal a single strike to the Void Monster—his relic sword having went straight past the black lumps of the creature when he tried earlier—and to be saved by the stranger he was suspicious of. Needless to say, he found Louise and was full of sarcasm the moment he opened his mouth, his mood apparently “shitty.”
Louise was very disappointed that Alek actually won the game, from what it seemed. Despite the frequent mention of the contract with her mother that Aleksander had, it seemed more like an excuse to pester her, and it was painfully clear to her. Aleksander and Louise’s conversation was thus heard.
“I have no idea what this place is. About as much as I knew going into this was that you were in here somewhere, and I needed to find you in a hurry. It was my mistake not to trust the stranger I met at first… More importantly, where are we? What did I see? Why do you know how to get here? If you can summon magic portals to another dimension… perhaps letting you out of my sight at all is an awful idea… And don’t think that I’ve forgotten how readily you broke the rule against using magic to hide either. I can only protect you if I’m nearby. What if you ran into what I did? You think you could take on one of those things by yourself?”
“Of course I can. Besides, never had I agreed to not using magic before the game began. Did you really think I would play hide and seek in a hotel? Clearly, that is boring. You used a spell yourself, did you not? I would claim that it is rather fair in that regard.”
“When I saw you casting a mystery spell, the first thought was that you were a cheating, manipulative young lady, which surprised me just a little bit, since I actually thought you’d play fair for some reason… The second thought was that there was no way you were going to leave me behind. I’ve come too far to lose that easily, so I did what came naturally. I dove for the portal. The spell was just an extension of that instinctual thought… Do you not want me to protect you for some reason? Is my presence really that onerous that you’d go to such lengths as potentially getting me killed by dropping me into such a hostile place with no forewarning?”
“First, allow me to confirm that I am indeed unfair and manipulative, but it is not your place to judge me, commoner scum. I had no reason to be fair at all when I was forced to deal with your petty kind. I particularly do not enjoy your attitude, and you still dare speak in that tone? Second, I never claimed that I required your measly protection. My mother has nothing to do with this; I myself had not expressly wished for it. So, yes, your presence is more than an annoyance now. You say that you have obligations, but are you sure you heard the right request from my mother?”
“I apologize for the inconvenience. I only want to help you be safe, and happy. I’m more than happy to do anything you request of me except for leave your side… I don’t even particularly mind that you’re abusive in nature, since abuse is something that I’m well used to in my life thus far. I am ninety-nine percent sure that I know what your mother asked me for, and I’m here to do exactly that. It is my own personal desire to be of help to you that leads me to be so persistent. I’m sorry if you don’t appreciate it, but I have no intention of stopping. I would’ve loved to have somebody care about me enough to lend a helping hand, and nobody did, so to see you acting as you are now leads me to believe that you’re fitting the stereotype of a spoiled rich girl perfectly! There’s nothing wrong with accepting help once in a while, even if you don’t think there’s much I can do for you... All I want is to be there to help support you, to feel like I’m making a difference.”
“Why yes, I am a spoiled rich person. So? I am not going to become your ideal lady. I have also confirmed with my mother some time ago that you misunderstand your duty. Talk about being dedicated.”
“Might be I’m not a very good Dark Knight then, if I’m mis-performing my duties. Now if you don’t mind, I can’t drink and talk at the same time…” He called for another shot. “I’m tired of apologizing all the time, so I won’t. If you dislike my company that much, then you’re more than welcome to try to kill me, because I’ve no intention of giving up on you just because you spit a little bit of venom at me…” He’d taken the significantly larger glass the bartender slid him, also full of tequila, and guzzled it in just a few large swallows as he felt an intense warmth course through his veins from the stiff drink.
“You do not apologize as much as you say you do. And having reasons to apologize all the time shows how incompetent you are.”
“Oh, well aren’t you just the cheekiest lady I’ve ever met. How original to make fun of my competence. If anything, I think it takes a certain level of competence to make the decisions I’ve made so far... Some of them were pretty shitty, but I got here in the end. I’d be dead if it weren't for Bjornaer, but because I was nice to him instead of being a jackass, he helped me out in my time of need. There’s a powerful lesson there, and one that you might do well to heed. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar and all that shit. Besides, you’ve no room to complain about my competence after I won your little game despite your bending the rules, so I suggest you lay off before I actually get tired of the charm of your little verbally abusive games…”
“Why do you act like I care about your little issues? Did you even look without seeking help? Well, whatever.”
“Pfft, whatever.”
“Well, to be fair.” Michael took another bite. “This is pretty good. If anything, he should’ve used it as a peace offering to the Princess.”
“I stand by my point that no one likes melted chocolate bars. At least have the decency to offer her a fresh one,” Aramus said with a sip of his drink.
“After all was said and done, Princess Louise stayed true to her words and allowed Aleksander to remain. Albeit, I think she was hoping that he would somehow be lost from her…” Mary narrated.
“She definitely did,” Laura confirmed. “That type of serving is not serving at all.”
It was shown how Mary confirmed in the meeting with the Princess that there were several locations where Virgo’s attack could take place. Apparently some places were to be invaded as distraction, and due to the safety of the civilians, they couldn’t ignore these possibilities. She outlined and marked Jersey City, Brooklyn, and a place close to the Statue of Liberty as possible targets of the Descendant.
Not even the next dawn took place when Virgo did appeared close to the coast facing the Liberty Island. The Heaven Buster Commandment was the first to be seen when Takeru was driving a microbus to the site.
Since the mages were sent to the location for the sake of the Princess, one could claim that it was thanks to the Princess that they could face Virgo at all. Louise took the decision to go to the coast near the Liberty Island and this spurred the Duchess to change the plans.
The screen particularly showed Virgo unleashing her Commandment without much thought and singlehandedly destroyed hundreds of mages. Aramus was shown combating the Descendant while Michael shot bullets at her. Svetlana casted her spells and fought with a dagger that sparkled brilliantly with electricity.
Suddenly, Aramus ended up touching the chest of the Descendant, failing to execute a spell.
“My, my, you are so youthful, son,” Mary said with a laugh, her tone sarcastic yet proud. “Good going, you groped one of the eldest and beautiful woman in history.”
“Well, at least we know where your priorities lie, Magister.” Michael covered his mouth with a hand and chuckled. It was obvious from the fake laugh that he was mocking him.
Aramus glared at the two of them but otherwise said nothing, instead muttering unhappily to himself.
Aramus and Svetlana were soon shown battling with Virgo on the Statue of Liberty, having accepted the Descendant’s invitation. The two were no match for the ancient conqueror who took on their attacks in stride, hardly feeling the intended damage. Aramus soon saw the meteor coming down from the sky due to Svetlana’s spell.
This was the least of his worries, however. When Virgo used the World Buster Commandment shortly, half of South America was destroyed, and it was after Frederica told him, that the Magister was starting to feel the gravity of his mistakes.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Aramus muttered as he mentally prepared himself for what he knew was about to happen.
While all of this was happening, Mary was shown to be battling Judgement Samurai some distance away where the New York city was burning thanks to half of the meteor falling on it. They were the voice of the samurai.
“It is a shame that you’re a wounded opponent. I cannot test my swordsmanship like this. I hope to meet you again when you’re at your full strength.”
“I do not think there will be that next time…” Mary was looking up to the samurai who leapt away gracefully as he escaped the battlefield. Leaving Mary who looked towards the Statue of Liberty. “How could I possibly live through a fight with Virgo with this wound?”
“No wonder Saint did not want to tell me about this affair… It all seems so bleak. I am sorry for mocking you earlier, I can’t possibly fathom what you felt when that happened,” Michael faced Aramus and apologized sincerely.
“I’d appreciate if we didn’t talk about it.” Aramus waved Michael’s apology off with a pained look on his face before turning to Mary. “Why did you battle Claudia alone with that injury? You should have let the two of us join in.”
“Claudia?! You know her? The Mistress’ guest told me she was an old friend of mine.”
“Anything but an old friend. You’ll see,” Aramus said.
Michael just quirked his eyebrows and he leaned back on his chair. He glanced upon the lady knight, Laura and spoke, “So, come here often?”
“Yes, what about it?” Laura replied.
“Does that mean you’re dead too? Doesn’t seem like you’re a visitor like me and the Magister here.” Michael didn’t know why, but it felt natural to him to bug her.
“Mary did called me the co-host. Take what you will of it.”
“Let’s see, Miss Mary is the Magister’s mother and it doesn’t seem like you two knew each other. I have a feeling she called you here for a reason, but so far nothing comes up.” Michael started rubbing his chin. “You’re a lady knight, so you work with the Church… There was a priest with the Magister in the bus—you know him.”
“Get your memories back and string the clues yourself, would you?”
“So he was a mutual friend to us both? No wonder the Magister seemed like he knew me, too!” Michael’s face was filled with glee when he found out he was surrounded with his friends. “You guys should’ve said so from the start!”
“I feel for Laura,” Aramus whispered to Mary. “I definitely wouldn’t want to be reduced to that state, ever.”
“Seeing Laura here is akin to watching a ticking time bomb…” Mary whispered back.
Aramus turned to look at Michael engage the knight in conversation, a smile plastered on the ex-priest’s face as he remained woefully ignorant of their true connection. “I think I would too in her situation.”
Virgo met the Queen briefly after activating the World Buster Commandment in the screen. Victoria appeared in her ephemeral form as a thought projection.
“What you are about to do will spread an excess amount of spiritual energy…”
The Queen sounded very much pained at the sight. Virgo’s voice, on the other hand, was resolute.
“An acceptable risk, considering my situation.”
After this brief exchange, Virgo activated another Commandment which finally brought down a piece of the moon. The beams of spiritual energy were shot to devastate the country and the world shook at the wake of the great force.
The characters were shown to be entering the moon shard shortly. Each of them hearing all kinds of voices.
“That reminds me, everyone seems to hear about someone they care about. Whose voices did you hear?” Mary asked Aramus.
“H-Her Majesty’s…” Aramus said softly, looking very chagrinned.
“Hoho, Her Majesty, of all people…”
Michael stopped bugging Laura to stare at Aramus without uttering a word.
Aramus withered under their combined gazes, his cheeks faintly pink. “It is wrong for me to have done so…?”
“Good choice Magister.” Michael continued to smirk.
“Of course not. It is never wrong to love.” Mary patted Aramus again.
“But will someone like me ever have a chance…” Aramus said as he was consoled by Mary’s patting. “It’s already overstepping my position.”
“Time will tell. If your love happens to be more important than positions, then you have already arrived to your answer.”
Michael cleared his throat, “So… about Claudia. Who is she? If not a friend… an enemy? But the Mistress’ guest; was she lying?”
Before anyone thought to reply, the display continued playing the footages. Michael was shown to be hearing all kinds of voices from the past, until it was enough for his rage to build up to a climax.
Marco was shown to have found him, and they both loathed each other immensely, a battle starting not long after their meeting.
The battle among the two avengers ended with the priest overwhelming the vampire with his new spell, even if it was bad for his heart, Michael kept pushing himself. The vampire who was traumatized by Descendant Aries couldn’t believe that he was falling thanks to an ordinary human. He called out to the Countess in vain as he perished.
Soon, Michael was shown to meet Mary and Aramus before an ancient arena. Mary met Claudia there, and the Michael from the audience saw her at last.
“That priest has a lot of anger inside him,” Michael felt uncomfortable watching the bout, as if he was experiencing deja vu. “It was like he was seeing an enemy beyond the one he is clashing swords with. And that spell… I know how to use it too.” Is it possible that… No. No, that can’t be right.
Mary and Claudia’s fight intensified after a bout involving Charlotte, Mary, and Claudia. The three were apparently close friends before things went south. Mary was panicking from Charlotte’s sudden appearance, while Claudia claimed that she’d own both Mary and Charlotte as her slaves, while Mary only seeked Mary’s companionship, and wanted Claudia gone.
Mary displayed an iron will as she carried the burdens of her body and fought Claudia, demonstrating the power of a veteran Representative, but it was as far as she could go. After Lachesis’ Fang took control of half of Claudia’s mind and released all of her potential that she was unable to utilize thanks to inexperience, Claudia was a match for Mary, and with her injuries it was impossible to turn the tables against her.
The last feat Mary managed against Claudia was breaking her necklace given to her by the Countess, and slicing the tiara in two.
“This was one thing I -had- to do,” Mary claimed. “Storyteller really wanted that tiara gone. Someone had to carry out his will.” She nodded to herself.
“Ten out of ten, would do again.” Aramus nodded his head in agreement too.
“You guys are mean,” Michael said but he himself didn’t notice the large grin on his face.
The Countess appeared to stop Claudia, who was on the verge of battling Marco’s murderer, Michael, after she noted the coat he was wearing. As the spiritually enhanced chain that kept Mary bound broke, her memories returned, and at the same time, Jesus Christ made his appearance.
Aramus threw his popcorn at the screen, booing loudly. “I want a refund.”
Michael bolted up, accidentally toppling the tray with the cakes over. He stared at the screen, his whole body shaking as he felt his body heating up, the unknown anger he had inside him erupting like a volcano. “W-What?”
“Listen to me, Aramus… I am sorry. We… never found the time to decide on your name, and left you behind that day beside the streets… I do not believe that I am forgivable, but I want you to know that you were not an orphan. I had truly failed you, and I still regret many things. Your father yet wanders across the world—he still lives. Your half-sister is there too, somewhere with my surname, Linfield. Michael, please listen carefully, you are his half-brother. Your father is… my Master. Let go of your promise, there is nothing you can do to †˜save’ me from him. This was my fate, and I had accepted it a long time ago, I was only living a delusion as I wanted to be free from my burdens. Mister Bram never knew the whole story.”
Her two sons vowed to take out those who had caused her harm and suffering, but Mary refused to let her sons waste away their futures that way. The two were given their inheritances, a sword and a necklace, to Aramus and Michael, respectively. Her final words were heard:
“Revenge is an utterly petty idea. It will surely lead to your end. Simply know that I love you both, Aramus, Michael, not to mention my daughter.” She then looked at Aramus specifically, “Your father… and my family. Now leave.”
Mary’s body dissolved, under the effects of Jesus Christ’s Commandment, her body lost life and time and was sent away.
Despite suffering the Penance Stare that was strengthened by the Descendant Jesus’ Commandment, Michael, who was barely saved by his mother claimed thus:
“I WILL END YOU, MONSTER!”
Aramus too, gave his word to Jesus, Countess, and Claudia:
“You think you are above us, that you can toy with our lives as you please, that your immortality makes you better than us—you are greatly mistaken. There was a time when you were people like us, with hopes and dreams, with love and pain like our lives… when you were once mortals. We will teach you that no one lives forever. You will both know what it means to fear again.”
The two left, as well as Jesus, whose objective to reclaim Mary was complete.
“And then…” Laura began.
“Claudia babbled some nonsense,” Mary finished for Laura.
“Indeed.”
“Sometimes I wonder what runs through her head,” Aramus said.
“She’d pay for hurting my friend. Just like her boyfriend. And him. All of them will,” Michael spoke, his face not visible to his companions for he was standing in front of them. His fury was very pronounced in his voice, but none of them could see how far gone his eyes were. It seemed that experiencing one million sinners did more to the priest than one would imagine.
“You didn’t answer me earlier but why did you take on Claudia alone, mum?” Aramus said, turning to Mary as his half-brother raged and ranted.
Mary looked down, making a face full of regret.
“It was my responsibility… for how she became. How could I cheat my way out with higher numbers? I had to face her myself.”
“Even so—” Aramus began before he was cut off by Michael, turning a little sour.
“Your responsibility?! Your—our only fault was not killing her the first chance we had! She was a beast that needed to be put do—” he turned around shouting, and then it was then that he saw Laura, awake once more. “L-Laura...”
Laura’s expression looked full of pain when Michael called out to her, she turned away and got up.
“I am sorry, but I think I am leaving for tonight…” She walked away, her form vanishing as she did so.
Michael chased Laura as she walked away and tried to pull her, but failed. He bowed his head and just smiled to himself speaking in almost a whisper, “Of course… Of course… There’s only a single path for me now. Seeing her again…. It’s more than enough.”
He soon felt something pelting him, realizing it was Aramus who was chucking popcorn at him this time. “Screw your head back on properly and think before you do something, stupid. No sense in running around. Now that you seem to be back, do something about this †˜Lotus’ person before she does something to you again.”
“And I’m supposed to know how to do that?” Michael suddenly sounded cheerful, and when he faced his brother once more he was smiling as if nothing happened.
“You’ll figure something out. Laura’s waiting for you so come back in one piece,” Aramus said as he shoved more salty popcorn down this throat.
Michael returned to his seat, “She shouldn’t. It’s nice to see you again, Mary.”
“What? You would not address me as mother?” Mary joked. “Back on topic, Claudia was just another person who was brought into a pile of mess. I think in some way… she was innocent.”
“Bad decisions, the lot of them. She probably knew what she was getting into,” Aramus said. “But that tiara had to go.”
“Even if you say so, I feel like it was her real family that did her in,” Mary stated. “The twisted mindset would otherwise never happen.”
“Mhmm, let’s continue the movie.” Michael didn’t agree with his mother, not one bit. He’d put her down the moment he’d get an opportunity.
The screen continued with the rest of the story. Svetlana was shown to have fought Judgement Summoner, while Princess Louise, along with the Duke, the Duchess, and Aleksander, put an end to Judgement Samurai. Judgement Reaper met his end against Kazimir, Aramus, and Michael. Claudia, George, and Rose, on the other hand, fought with Sagittarius to fulfill their given objective.
Lastly, Svetlana and Lily faced Virgo, resulting in a life-changing occurrence for the Russian magi who lost her best friend Lily forever in but less than a moment.
“In honor of Aleksander… some Snickers please,” Mary asked Michael.
“Luckily for you, I am always prepared.” He took a couple of Snickersâ„¢ bars from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Good, good,” Mary accepted one, and took another, handing it to Aramus.
“It’s not melted right? You wouldn’t stoop that low.” Aramus said as he unwrapped the bar.
“Of course not, silly.” Mary said, unwrapping the bar. “No one can stoop that low.”
“Apparently someone did. The look on the Void Monster’s face said it all,” Aramus muttered.
There was a loud noise of a crunch—the three took a bite from the chocolate at the same time as the picture of the raven, who was in fact Aleksander under his spell, fell due to the Soul Buster Commandment replayed on the screen.
The display continued with the footages once more. Svetlana was out of control, tossing out all she had on Virgo. However, it was not nearly anywhere close to defeating her. Despite this, she caused many tremors on the shard of the moon and it turned out that the power of an Infernal demon was not something trifling to the mages, but that a Descendant was simply at a league of their own. Eventually, Virgo left her to let her mourn Lily’s death.
Aramus, Michael, Kazimir, and their companions faced Judgement Saint and Summoner some time later. A rough battle took place. The odds were clearly against them and they almost died, but at the very end, the Representatives of Virgo allowed them to live. They knew that the mages had potions with them so they only intended to “rough” them up.
Defeating the berserked Svetlana, and moving onto the entrance of the Lunar Temple, the group was now joined with Princess Louise, the Duke, the Duchess, and Aleksander. After Artemis joined them from under the gate of the Lunar Temple—Duke Powlett’s death was confirmed. Emilia was the last to join them before they went into battle with Virgo. The movie played onwards and showed most of the fight with Virgo.
“In hindsight, we should’ve just collapsed the thing on her. Keep pumping spells from outside, you know? Or maybe we should’ve opened with that rock golem.” Michael still hated golems to this day.
“Should’ve just summoned Arthur from the get go. Who knew?” Aramus said.
“King Arthur? He was lost for some time, and he woke up late too,” Mary replied.
“Seems to me our †˜heroes’ not being what you expected them to be a running theme here. Everything we have done only for her to escape. And now I realize that’s a good thing.” The Executor shrugged.
“How can you even say that after what she’s done?” Aramus said as he lost his temper at Michael.
“How can you live with what you’ve done? If I didn’t quit they might’ve sicced me onto you.”
“That is my lot to bear. Running away doesn’t solve anything,” Aramus said, folding his arms.
“But power does. She has power. Lots of it. If there’s one thing that can change anything here… it’s their power.”
Mary chopped both of their heads before she sighed. “Now, now. I think some calm would do both of you some good. What is done is done.”
Aramus huffed before settling into his seat, grumbling. “Everyone has to remind me that I’ve killed millions of people. Whoops, I conveniently forgot that I’m a mass murderer.”
Michael crossed his arms and huffed, refusing to face the two. “You don’t need to be worried about that soonâ„¢.”
Mary smiled wryly. “You two are such a handful. We are all murderers here it seems.”
“I’ll pray that the next generation doesn’t…” Aramus shook his head as he thought of those to come.
Finally, the battle between Hyperion and Virgo was displayed. A fierce battle took place. The only opportunity to send Virgo to the Infernal Realm was lost and Elizabeth lost her consciousness with the Hell’s Fire dying out. After the loss of the Magister Takeru, the Duke, and Emilia, it was looking bleak, especially because Anna and the Duchess were taken out by the Soul Buster Commandment. Aleksander fell from the curse of the Jewel’s Blight. After Hyperion was defeated, King Arthur appeared, just as Aramus’ Golden Earring’s Supreme spell was unleashed. The King almost defeated Virgo, but she was saved by her Representatives before she made her escape.
The battle had ended and Virgo was thus presumed to be gone for some time. The characters all went their own path. Some went to become stronger, learning the basics for their Lost Forms, while others went into deep studying and searching for the answers they seeked. A young researcher’s journey was just starting, Svetlana had become a Duchess, and had met some misfortune along the way—leading her to Saudi Arabia where she met an Aramus in training. Claudia was seeking to become a greater warrior, one who wouldn’t be like how she used to be. Michael was serving White Lotus after his memories were wiped as a butler.
Meanwhile, Aramus witnessed a fragment of truth, something that allowed all of existence to run in order, and his Queen’s real body.
Where would the paths of these characters lead and what was to come in Act 5?
“I think that is all for tonight,” Mary said. “Thank you for coming, both of you.”
“Thank us when we manage to save you,” Michael replied.
“It was my pleasure.” Aramus said as he hugged Mary.
With a single pull, Mary had the former priest under her arm for a hug, displaying abnormal strength. She held both her sons together.
“As I said, I will be waiting for you two.”
The screen continued for some time, showing the Queen at her knees, facing what seemed to brought despair to her after who knows how many years…
Aramus froze up within the hug as his eyes widened. “Wait! This kind of cliffhanger end sucks, continue the reel! Please!” he pleaded.
As if in response to Aramus’ words, the screen played the moment when Svetlana sat over Aramus to seduce him.
“So this is what you wanted to see…” Mary said with a sigh.
“Wait, mum, no! This isn’t what it looks like! Remember that loli, yeah, that’s her! She just got a new form, that’s all!” Aramus pleaded again in a different tone.
“And so you hang around with… with such a shameful person now that she looks nicer? I admit she looks better than me, but still… so much for the devotion to the Queen.” The mother shook her head.
“Huh, and I thought you had a specific taste for the Queen. Seems like it was just breasts after all,” Michael looked disappointedly at Aramus.
Mary wondered if it was really about breasts. The Queen had larger… I am so jealous, I do not want to think of it.
“I will never forsake Her Majesty!” Aramus said, suddenly fired up but then added in a softer tone. “But… does that mean I’m not allowed to have fun?”
“Uh huh. I’m going to see if Laura’s still somewhere here.” Michael separated from the two. He would never look at his brother the same way again.
“She would turn your heart black. I mean look at this pervert.” There was a remote controller on Mary’s hand for some reason as she pressed a button.
Svetlana was doing something with Nancy. “Something.” Aramus and Michael heard moans and their mouths were agape while Mary sighed and walked away.
“Then again, this is why men are…”
Michael laughed exaggeratedly as he exited the room.
Truth be told, there was a part of Aramus that wanted to stay and watch but he wisely followed after his family. No wonder Nancy was so protective of Svetlana, they were now on “friendlier” terms than just mere master and servant.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
(And so the story goes on... you'd think that things would get better about now? I wonder. That said, all of those shit after Virgo's final fight were extras. I bet that would be a pain for anyone to read through, heh.)
Act 5: Revolutionary Moment
The gusts ran rampant. The clouds stirred, the rain fell rapidly, and the thunders rumbled violently; there was a tempest. Many of the floating rocks were diminished to mere dusts and particles at the wake of the great King.
An unavoidable stroke of fate—the clash of the rulers—was to take place. The Realm shuddered at the prospect of an unholy revelation of catastrophic powers. Something that nature itself seemed to loathe.
Many armaments of war fought tooth and nail with the ancient conqueror. The ruler of the Realm summoned relic weapons to battle against the strongest adversary he had dared to incite the wrath of.
“A pity you met not an end in the Lunar Temple, Virgo,” the King growled, having grasped his hilt tightly once more, the blade was many times larger than that of his opponent’s twin weapons.
“A pity you forgoed your wisdom for the sake of taking over my Realm—only to lose it today—King Solomon.” Virgo’s blades faced the King’s gigantic and towering steel. The ancient conqueror knew no fear, showing her trademark smug grin. “Fear me well, for I shall judgement thee tonight.”
The shining sword on the right and the sword on the left swirling with winds grew in size exponentially, as spiritual energy merged with the relics. Both swords were longer than her own body soon enough, but the weight didn’t seemed to rise in correspondence.
“The heavens are under my palm and my vicinity of rule. Thus, extend—my blades—I call upon the tools of war and dance to my heart’s content!”
The Commandments of the Descendants of Time were testaments to their powers. It was their proof of authority. It was their legitimacy as hosts of Gods and Goddesses. Thus, each of the twelve Descendants were blessed with these tools of war. Each Descendants possessed varying number of these Commandments, and it took a long time for the hosts of their celestial entities to master these groundbreaking powers. In this case, Virgo had activated her Holy Blade Dance Commandment.
Blessings of the Heaven’s Commandment—that seemed to come like a package with all the Commandments and abilities—were followed by the natural respect and leadership of a certain Realm. The twelve Descendants were all eligible to rule over a particular Realm their God or Goddess were related to. In this case, Virgo was apparently a heir to the Faerie Realm.
It was not surprising that King Solomon hoped for her fall by Queen Victoria’s followers. It was not surprising that King Solomon supported Queen Victoria and closed the Gates of the Fay to stop the ancient priestesses of the Starlight from aiding Ishtar’s host. It was not surprising that Dana—Alexandrina the Great—the ancient ruler, was able to have the priestesses break the seal and activate the Commandment. And it was no surprise that she was here to execute King Solomon for good, seeing as he was arrogant enough to stand in her way.
Virgo intended to leave the King be when she had returned after breaking her seal. This was evident by her action to face the Human World instead of the Faerie Realm, which was comparable to a birthright to a Descendant like her. In fact, Virgo assumed that King Solomon was a respectable King who could keep the world of the Fay running in order if he could manage to steal it from her grasp after she was sealed. All of this had changed with his one decision to support the Royal Queen of Britain.
King Solomon would surely pay the price tonight.
Dana, the ancient conqueror danced with her gleaming blades. She appeared to be the light in the dark. The only source of light in the world where the clouds darkened immensely. Albeit, her long blades were needles akin to the colossal greatsword of the King, yet when the ruler of the Faeries drew an arc against Virgo—a prospective ruler of the Faeries—a part of the steel was carried into the gale. The spirit of the King’s blade cried as a result. Despite the difference in size, the difference in power was much too evident, but the King refused to give up. He possessed a heart of iron will and great pride. The latter was something perhaps the Steel Princess could sympathize with very well.
The two’s weapons of war collided relentlessly, sparks sprinkled all across the skies before they ceased—taken afar by the stormy airs. With each stroke and thrust, the King lost many relics, while the Goddess of ancient Tuatha danced with her only two relics from the legendary settlement of Irish origin.
“Giga Raze!” King Solomon once more arced his sword.
Alexandrina the Great flipped back like a swallow nimbly with grace in response.
The curved wave traced from the edge of the colossal blade and an enormous explosion took place at the designated target. The winds rushed, countless debris were formed, myriads of rock islands were demolished, and neighboring planets floating in the skies of the Faerie Realm were forced to crumble and shatter.
“Praise be given to the titans of yore. Praise be given to the guardians of the Realm. Yet praise be relinquished from the disruptors of tranquility. Through the act of conquer—through act of punishment—through the act of judgement; justice is delivered from the conqueror hitherto!”
Thorns of deep, navy-blue erupted from under the once-wise King. Rifts ripped through the air and tarnished the armory of the steel-adorned ruler. The thorns of Virgo traveled deep, tearing and shattering flesh and bones. From the legs to the shoulders—Solomon’s peerless defense was penetrated with ease. Any ordinary titan would not even be able to move anymore at this point. The King, however, resisted this Commandment, the Colossus Buster of Virgo, and raised his blade high up to the sky.
Dana honestly considered the feat commendable.
“May the wills of the spirits be known!” Solomon sang. His remaining relics were made to become the new lamps in the dark. Radiantly burning, each of the relics shone like that of the stars—the constellations.
“Your hubris knows no bound. Very well—o King, I shall respond in respect to your will.”
Dana glistened with a white light, unlike the navy-blue aura she was cloaked under like usual.
The stars that the King prepared all lunged themselves forth at the same time. Like bright shooting stars they were powerful tools meant to cause genocide. An execution the King intended not to commit with his people. These golden shines of the relics were replaced by a pure white light that brilliantly radiated like the sun.
An year ago, there was a very similar luster that was witnessed by the warriors who fought the ancient conqueror. There was a sphere above the two blades that were crossed atop her blonde hair—the source of the white sunshine. Massive spiritual energy converged together in one tiny spot for this disastrous power to take shape. This concentration of compressed energy was more than enough to completely wipe out an entire continent in the Human World.
Why was it known as the World Buster Commandment? Because it held the potential to destroy a planet in the Faerie Realm. An year ago, when Dana was preparing this World Buster, however, she was supported by the Siren’s Prayers—the ancient priestesses of Ishtar, the Starlight Mages—whom gathered tremendous spiritual power in the body of Ishtar’s host. For an entire year, Virgo held all this spiritual energy in her body. She suffered, undoubtedly, and felt ill while her body took a long time to recuperate.
A single body to hold onto this much power was considered an impossible feat. Any normal human being would turn to dust before the energy would crumble the world surrounding the deformed person, but Dana held it all to herself with determination.
She came up with an idea eventually. There was no better place than to release it on an arrogant King who stole the Realm from her, rather than break an entire continent—or the Earth’s core—in the Human World.
“I leave the rest to you, O Queen of Britain…”
In Italy, there were many islands, and in one of these many islands were three individuals situated. These three investigated the island thoroughly for almost a month. Isola Del Giglio held a comune situationed in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, and was part of the Province of Grosseto. It was one of the seven that formed the Tuscan Archipelago.
Located in the Mediterranean vegetation, the three found themselves deep within a forest of pine trees. The sky was a bright blue with few clouds scattered, the air was clean and the natural scent of trees were lush to say the least. However, no birds ever sang in the area. Voices of animals were completely unheard of. This was an abnormality often hard to notice. Especially to the new visitors who were strangers to the conditions of the island.
Between the two who stood in the middle could be said to hate the heat to a great extent. Her chest was wrapped with a summer halter, and she wore black shorts across her hips. Some old, worn-out heels seemed to be used. It was not everyday that one would find such a beautiful woman journeying extensively in a forest with such heels. However, those were the least of concerns of the locals who were rather frightened by her pointy ears, calling her an elf. This blonde Faerie was the Calamity Witch.
To the left of the Witch stood a young maiden. A white hat, and a blue one-piece with some frills was what finished off her outfit. It was very girly indeed. Her getup made it apparent that she was out to picnic all the way here. The blonde hair held a perfect shade, something her father seemed to purposely give her for the sake of perfection. A damsel—in apparent distress—needed to be perfectly pretty, otherwise it’d be a waste. Her father was indeed eccentric, and his daughter was labeled to be a perfectionist all the same. This daughter’s name was Titania.
Lastly, the trio was completed by the classy girl who fancied herself a slick jet black swallowtail tuxedo. Her hair was silver—much like her apprentice—with a darker shade, and her expression gave away her cool and collected nature. This was a person who could calmly cut a legendary ancient dragon’s arm and proudly bathe deep in its warm blood and live to boast of it. She was sometimes called the Elegant Savager, but was otherwise known as the Witness DKD.
“So, exactly how do we break this?” the Witness questioned.
“…I do not know.” The picnic girl who was one of the most renowned researcher in the Magic World looked up to their problem at hand with wonder and fear both. “Even my Boundary Diminisher spell cannot undo this abomination.”
“Well, isn’t that a calamity?” the Witch chose to make an ironic statement as if to joke, only to receive glares of her helpers. She shrugged with a nervous look. “Ahem. I am at a loss for words myself. This is the seventh distortion, and there are still no signs of its cause…”
“Even if you say that, my spell has failed—yours have failed—I’m afraid we’re at an impasse,” DKD responded. “And honestly, it’s a pretty big deal. I suspect most of the cracks are from this…”
“Cracks?” Titania questioned.
“Never mind her,” the Witch tersely dismissed, giving a glance to the Witness of her own Organization, the Space Police. The Witness only turned away with a click of her tongue.
An outsider who was not a part of the Space Police Organization would hardly be given an explanation regarding the massive Hour Glass, of which the mysteries were shrouded in a blanket of secrecy. Until everything about it could be learned, the Witch swore to keep most of the information confidential for the sake of the world.
The distortion was a large, violet and black portal-like existence that seemed to be the size of a tower, except it was just as big on the sides, too. There were energy swirling about it and any spells were repelled if attempts to destroy were committed. It seemed to be invisible to the eyes of the mundanes, which was a saving grace for now.
“Is there really no way to get rid of this?” DKD questioned, and the pair of Archmages beside her fell silent. “That does not seem to be the face of cluelessness.”
Titania hesitantly spoke, “You see, we could… but—”
“Well, out with it, Miss Titania. This thing is dangerous, you know?”
“It seems like this is too powerful for magic. As it is connected to the Void Realm. I foresee only two ways…”
“It cannot be. Then, you mean one of those are…”
“Yes,” the Calamity Witch began. “Either a Void Mage, or a Descendant…”
The Witness scoffed. “Tch, both of the options are troublesome.”
“We’ll continue to look for a third way,” Titania stated with a sigh. “If there is one, even.”
“I’ll see about getting to work with the other two, don’t expect much, though,” DKD finally said, realizing why the Calamity Witch had called her all the way out here to witness the distortion.
Act 5: Revolutionary Moment
Spoiler:
The gusts ran rampant. The clouds stirred, the rain fell rapidly, and the thunders rumbled violently; there was a tempest. Many of the floating rocks were diminished to mere dusts and particles at the wake of the great King.
An unavoidable stroke of fate—the clash of the rulers—was to take place. The Realm shuddered at the prospect of an unholy revelation of catastrophic powers. Something that nature itself seemed to loathe.
Many armaments of war fought tooth and nail with the ancient conqueror. The ruler of the Realm summoned relic weapons to battle against the strongest adversary he had dared to incite the wrath of.
“A pity you met not an end in the Lunar Temple, Virgo,” the King growled, having grasped his hilt tightly once more, the blade was many times larger than that of his opponent’s twin weapons.
“A pity you forgoed your wisdom for the sake of taking over my Realm—only to lose it today—King Solomon.” Virgo’s blades faced the King’s gigantic and towering steel. The ancient conqueror knew no fear, showing her trademark smug grin. “Fear me well, for I shall judgement thee tonight.”
The shining sword on the right and the sword on the left swirling with winds grew in size exponentially, as spiritual energy merged with the relics. Both swords were longer than her own body soon enough, but the weight didn’t seemed to rise in correspondence.
“The heavens are under my palm and my vicinity of rule. Thus, extend—my blades—I call upon the tools of war and dance to my heart’s content!”
The Commandments of the Descendants of Time were testaments to their powers. It was their proof of authority. It was their legitimacy as hosts of Gods and Goddesses. Thus, each of the twelve Descendants were blessed with these tools of war. Each Descendants possessed varying number of these Commandments, and it took a long time for the hosts of their celestial entities to master these groundbreaking powers. In this case, Virgo had activated her Holy Blade Dance Commandment.
Blessings of the Heaven’s Commandment—that seemed to come like a package with all the Commandments and abilities—were followed by the natural respect and leadership of a certain Realm. The twelve Descendants were all eligible to rule over a particular Realm their God or Goddess were related to. In this case, Virgo was apparently a heir to the Faerie Realm.
It was not surprising that King Solomon hoped for her fall by Queen Victoria’s followers. It was not surprising that King Solomon supported Queen Victoria and closed the Gates of the Fay to stop the ancient priestesses of the Starlight from aiding Ishtar’s host. It was not surprising that Dana—Alexandrina the Great—the ancient ruler, was able to have the priestesses break the seal and activate the Commandment. And it was no surprise that she was here to execute King Solomon for good, seeing as he was arrogant enough to stand in her way.
Virgo intended to leave the King be when she had returned after breaking her seal. This was evident by her action to face the Human World instead of the Faerie Realm, which was comparable to a birthright to a Descendant like her. In fact, Virgo assumed that King Solomon was a respectable King who could keep the world of the Fay running in order if he could manage to steal it from her grasp after she was sealed. All of this had changed with his one decision to support the Royal Queen of Britain.
King Solomon would surely pay the price tonight.
Dana, the ancient conqueror danced with her gleaming blades. She appeared to be the light in the dark. The only source of light in the world where the clouds darkened immensely. Albeit, her long blades were needles akin to the colossal greatsword of the King, yet when the ruler of the Faeries drew an arc against Virgo—a prospective ruler of the Faeries—a part of the steel was carried into the gale. The spirit of the King’s blade cried as a result. Despite the difference in size, the difference in power was much too evident, but the King refused to give up. He possessed a heart of iron will and great pride. The latter was something perhaps the Steel Princess could sympathize with very well.
The two’s weapons of war collided relentlessly, sparks sprinkled all across the skies before they ceased—taken afar by the stormy airs. With each stroke and thrust, the King lost many relics, while the Goddess of ancient Tuatha danced with her only two relics from the legendary settlement of Irish origin.
“Giga Raze!” King Solomon once more arced his sword.
Alexandrina the Great flipped back like a swallow nimbly with grace in response.
The curved wave traced from the edge of the colossal blade and an enormous explosion took place at the designated target. The winds rushed, countless debris were formed, myriads of rock islands were demolished, and neighboring planets floating in the skies of the Faerie Realm were forced to crumble and shatter.
“Praise be given to the titans of yore. Praise be given to the guardians of the Realm. Yet praise be relinquished from the disruptors of tranquility. Through the act of conquer—through act of punishment—through the act of judgement; justice is delivered from the conqueror hitherto!”
Thorns of deep, navy-blue erupted from under the once-wise King. Rifts ripped through the air and tarnished the armory of the steel-adorned ruler. The thorns of Virgo traveled deep, tearing and shattering flesh and bones. From the legs to the shoulders—Solomon’s peerless defense was penetrated with ease. Any ordinary titan would not even be able to move anymore at this point. The King, however, resisted this Commandment, the Colossus Buster of Virgo, and raised his blade high up to the sky.
Dana honestly considered the feat commendable.
“May the wills of the spirits be known!” Solomon sang. His remaining relics were made to become the new lamps in the dark. Radiantly burning, each of the relics shone like that of the stars—the constellations.
“Your hubris knows no bound. Very well—o King, I shall respond in respect to your will.”
Dana glistened with a white light, unlike the navy-blue aura she was cloaked under like usual.
The stars that the King prepared all lunged themselves forth at the same time. Like bright shooting stars they were powerful tools meant to cause genocide. An execution the King intended not to commit with his people. These golden shines of the relics were replaced by a pure white light that brilliantly radiated like the sun.
An year ago, there was a very similar luster that was witnessed by the warriors who fought the ancient conqueror. There was a sphere above the two blades that were crossed atop her blonde hair—the source of the white sunshine. Massive spiritual energy converged together in one tiny spot for this disastrous power to take shape. This concentration of compressed energy was more than enough to completely wipe out an entire continent in the Human World.
Why was it known as the World Buster Commandment? Because it held the potential to destroy a planet in the Faerie Realm. An year ago, when Dana was preparing this World Buster, however, she was supported by the Siren’s Prayers—the ancient priestesses of Ishtar, the Starlight Mages—whom gathered tremendous spiritual power in the body of Ishtar’s host. For an entire year, Virgo held all this spiritual energy in her body. She suffered, undoubtedly, and felt ill while her body took a long time to recuperate.
A single body to hold onto this much power was considered an impossible feat. Any normal human being would turn to dust before the energy would crumble the world surrounding the deformed person, but Dana held it all to herself with determination.
She came up with an idea eventually. There was no better place than to release it on an arrogant King who stole the Realm from her, rather than break an entire continent—or the Earth’s core—in the Human World.
“I leave the rest to you, O Queen of Britain…”
***
In Italy, there were many islands, and in one of these many islands were three individuals situated. These three investigated the island thoroughly for almost a month. Isola Del Giglio held a comune situationed in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, and was part of the Province of Grosseto. It was one of the seven that formed the Tuscan Archipelago.
Located in the Mediterranean vegetation, the three found themselves deep within a forest of pine trees. The sky was a bright blue with few clouds scattered, the air was clean and the natural scent of trees were lush to say the least. However, no birds ever sang in the area. Voices of animals were completely unheard of. This was an abnormality often hard to notice. Especially to the new visitors who were strangers to the conditions of the island.
Between the two who stood in the middle could be said to hate the heat to a great extent. Her chest was wrapped with a summer halter, and she wore black shorts across her hips. Some old, worn-out heels seemed to be used. It was not everyday that one would find such a beautiful woman journeying extensively in a forest with such heels. However, those were the least of concerns of the locals who were rather frightened by her pointy ears, calling her an elf. This blonde Faerie was the Calamity Witch.
To the left of the Witch stood a young maiden. A white hat, and a blue one-piece with some frills was what finished off her outfit. It was very girly indeed. Her getup made it apparent that she was out to picnic all the way here. The blonde hair held a perfect shade, something her father seemed to purposely give her for the sake of perfection. A damsel—in apparent distress—needed to be perfectly pretty, otherwise it’d be a waste. Her father was indeed eccentric, and his daughter was labeled to be a perfectionist all the same. This daughter’s name was Titania.
Lastly, the trio was completed by the classy girl who fancied herself a slick jet black swallowtail tuxedo. Her hair was silver—much like her apprentice—with a darker shade, and her expression gave away her cool and collected nature. This was a person who could calmly cut a legendary ancient dragon’s arm and proudly bathe deep in its warm blood and live to boast of it. She was sometimes called the Elegant Savager, but was otherwise known as the Witness DKD.
“So, exactly how do we break this?” the Witness questioned.
“…I do not know.” The picnic girl who was one of the most renowned researcher in the Magic World looked up to their problem at hand with wonder and fear both. “Even my Boundary Diminisher spell cannot undo this abomination.”
“Well, isn’t that a calamity?” the Witch chose to make an ironic statement as if to joke, only to receive glares of her helpers. She shrugged with a nervous look. “Ahem. I am at a loss for words myself. This is the seventh distortion, and there are still no signs of its cause…”
“Even if you say that, my spell has failed—yours have failed—I’m afraid we’re at an impasse,” DKD responded. “And honestly, it’s a pretty big deal. I suspect most of the cracks are from this…”
“Cracks?” Titania questioned.
“Never mind her,” the Witch tersely dismissed, giving a glance to the Witness of her own Organization, the Space Police. The Witness only turned away with a click of her tongue.
An outsider who was not a part of the Space Police Organization would hardly be given an explanation regarding the massive Hour Glass, of which the mysteries were shrouded in a blanket of secrecy. Until everything about it could be learned, the Witch swore to keep most of the information confidential for the sake of the world.
The distortion was a large, violet and black portal-like existence that seemed to be the size of a tower, except it was just as big on the sides, too. There were energy swirling about it and any spells were repelled if attempts to destroy were committed. It seemed to be invisible to the eyes of the mundanes, which was a saving grace for now.
“Is there really no way to get rid of this?” DKD questioned, and the pair of Archmages beside her fell silent. “That does not seem to be the face of cluelessness.”
Titania hesitantly spoke, “You see, we could… but—”
“Well, out with it, Miss Titania. This thing is dangerous, you know?”
“It seems like this is too powerful for magic. As it is connected to the Void Realm. I foresee only two ways…”
“It cannot be. Then, you mean one of those are…”
“Yes,” the Calamity Witch began. “Either a Void Mage, or a Descendant…”
The Witness scoffed. “Tch, both of the options are troublesome.”
“We’ll continue to look for a third way,” Titania stated with a sigh. “If there is one, even.”
“I’ll see about getting to work with the other two, don’t expect much, though,” DKD finally said, realizing why the Calamity Witch had called her all the way out here to witness the distortion.
1
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
Once upon a time existed warriors possessing powers that could manipulate time.
They were said to all walk their paths—for most part—solitarily. This was true, yet untrue. People were, and are, careless. They pick words without prior notice, and spread them—not knowing in full about who they speak of. Truly, the communities of human beings were, for the most part, uninformed about these beings. Even the few magicians—wielders of power beyond comprehension, was as uninformed as most men who inhabited the world.
Their powers—in reality—were beyond compare with the practitioners of magecraft. Their powers—in reality—reigned supremacy even over nature itself.
Why? One may soon learn…
This is the tale of the third meeting between four of twelve of the Descendants of Time.
It was a place beyond dreams, imaginations, and wonders. Pretty lightings shined like no Engine lights could, vehicles flew across the sky and levitated over the roads like no carriages or toll gurney could. People moved over pavements without having to walk like no ordinary people could.
Were the lights really that pretty? Absolutely.
Were they flying? Oh, no, the pavements themselves were moving!
Were the vehicles in the sky really flying? Half true, one would only need to peer intently to notice that there were transparent road set across the sky. Vehicles were definitely levitating, however.
The detective found himself in a foreign world where he was not only clueless on the language, culture, the race, but also the very structures and level of development itself. As a detective he was disappointed in himself for not having known—or better yet, heard—of the true extents of the development of Japan thriving in the twenty-third century.
It was as if he had stepped into a village and found out that it had no steam technology—or any kind of technology, at that—except that it was completely the opposite here. Perhaps beyond just opposite.
The man tried to remind himself what he was doing before coming here. He found himself a strange mirror in the middle of nowhere as he wandered the cobblestone pavements of London. Obviously, he had nothing better to do today. No work, no client, no pay. It was a lax and uneventful morning, until he found that mirror—that mysterious portal—the entrance to paradise itself.
“Oh my, looks like we have a lost lamb in the experimental site here,” an unfamiliar gentleman said, he spoke in English like any British gentleperson would.
His hair was black and it shined with the clear blue sky of the futuristic country. Black stars circled it, and a white spiky wheel spun eternally behind the back of this strange man. A white cloak floated behind his head, strangely enough. What’s worse was that it didn’t seemed like the cloak would ever truly be donned.
“Have you come through my portal, lost one?”
The visitor was at a loss for words for a moment. The man that spoke to him was as strange and bizarre, or even more so, than the place he was in. It was probably not worth trying to make sense of things here. Not yet at least. Exchanging information would be the quickest way to understanding the situation he was in.
“I do not know where I am or how I came to be here. I could not tell you if I came through a portal you made, but if you are suggesting it, then I suppose you have an idea how I might have come to be here? Last I remember, I was staring at a mirror.”
“Yes, it seems like you have entered one of my portals indeed,” the odd man said, somehow sounding pleased rather than upset, or confused. “It must be fate—to have you here, Sherlock Holmes. Will you not watch as the grand experiment takes place?”
This man had all of the momentum in the conversation, and given his current predicament, he had to follow along. “I have not told you my name. How do you know me? What is this… grand experiment you speak of?”
“Information flows to me like water does in a lake in a waterfall,” the man replied, closing his eyes deeply with a smile, soon turning his back on the detective and staring into the futuristic city. “How do you think this country became this way? A country of the twenty-third century—obviously should not be here in this world don’t you think?”
The man before him was suggesting that he had hand in what he now confirmed to be the futuristic Japan. Not only that, he implied that he was the cause. It was a massive improbability, but at the same time, the man did not seem like he was lying. “So you mentioned a grand experiment. You’ve yet to explain that part.”
“That is the reason I have asked… I have had two experiments here. Well, one, but I am about to perform the other,” he answered. “First had changed this country. Second should… well, hopefully it’d be the reversal,” the man answered, unsure if it would work out himself.
“You intend to bring back old Japan? If your words have weight then I would be glad to watch. As it stands, Japan’s power is a little bit more than a threat to the rest of the world. What do you plan to do?”
“That will not be happening,” a different voice spoke out, one more monotone than imaginable.
The current location was, in reality, over a tall building, and this other blonde woman appeared at the corner of the roof-top out of nowhere. Sherlock wondered just how exactly she got up there on the railing, when he hadn’t seen her a single moment ago. It was as if she was a ghost. Magic was a scary thing, he felt.
“And here comes our trouble-maker,” said the strange man with a sigh. “You will not be getting in my way… not this time.”
Sherlock didn’t know what was going on, but it was in his best interests, in multiple ways, to just sit by and observe. Hopefully he could learn a thing or two about these people.
“I do not have the time for you… perhaps I’ll let my cute little pet take care of you this time,” as he said so, a portal opened from above and just beside him, and in came a platinum-hair lady—falling and bumping hard into the concrete floor.
“Ouch!” She exclaimed in pain as it seemed totally unexpected to her, she attempted to protest, “I told you not to bring me out like that… in fact, I thought I said that I refuse—”
“You do as I say… otherwise,” the seemingly kind man’s tone had completely changed to a more menacing one. “it won’t go so well for you.” White glowing chains appeared around the her neck, and the next moment, she was found struggling on the floor—suffocating.
“S-Stop…” the poor woman pulled a word out of her fresh-pink lips desperately, but the cold-hearted man did not listen.
Moments had passed before the chains vanished, and she was released from her misery, but she knew well enough that it’d happen again if she wouldn’t behave herself for the times to come. Picking herself back up, she stood straight, albeit grasping her neck instead to make sure it was fine.
“Alright…” the young lady finally uttered. “I am sorry, but it seems that I must stop you from getting to my… Master,” she told the blonde adversary in the corner of her sight.
“Good, Mary. You’re so obedient. I like that part about you.”
From Sherlock’s observation, he saw several strange things, but there was one thing he found very much more mysterious. It was her right eye. A bright gold eye, apparently seeming to be like a cat’s eye, or perhaps something else. Her other eye was an ordinary blue, much like her dress, albeit it was deeper.
However, things were only meant to get stranger. As they say—truth was stranger than fiction.
A black hollow hole appeared in place of Mary’s golden eye, as she squirmed in apparent pain—her hands rushed to where her eye previously belonged, as if trying to hide it from others’ view out of shame. A hilt pulled itself out, and her hands grasped it, drawing out a deep black blade, before the hole closed. Her eye was there again, gold in all its glory. Mary held it in her right hand, giving it a swung in the air. It was sharp, remarkably even so, as it sliced the air with a preciseness Sherlock did not expect. Moreover, the swing was done so fast it felt as though she wasn’t human anymore.
“Why not pick a side, Sherlock Holmes? Would it not be better for your home country if you join our side in the fight?” the man asked, counting the many advantages for Sherlock.
“Given my two options, I would have to side with you, sir. You are equipped with a lady that could likely cut me down. Besides, if you plan to revert back Japan, then all the better.”
“I thank you,” the man said, vanishing in thin air afterwards.
“So be it… regardless of the opposing number—I, Geneva, shall protect my country from harm,” she said, her eyes giving off a glow of blue.
Mary held up her blade as she fortified in response to these words.
Protect her country? Does she mean that futuristic Japan is run by her?
Sherlock had plenty of questions, but now was not the time. He didn’t know how strong this blonde woman was, but he was in futuristic Japan, he would probably die if he was not willing to fight back. He closed his eyes, entered a stance, and with a deep breath he concentrated and felt a surge of energy within him. He didn’t use it often as he didn’t quite know of its origins or full capabilities, so the feeling of power felt incredibly fresh. He slowly opened his eyes—both holding the symbols of a certain Zodiac—and soon with an explosive noise electricity came forth from him, and climbed up to the already-cloudy skies; forming three orbs of lightning. He didn’t know what was coming, but he put up his arms in preparation to fight.
Stormy clouds begun to form, and before he noticed, the entire area was painted black-and-white. Everything felt lifeless, vehicles within his vision had certainly stopped moving, and for some moments he was confused as he took in the very unsettling scene before him.
Time had definitely stopped. Sherlock could hardly believe it.
He was unaffected and could move freely. His orbs seemed to be floating naturally as well, but everything else was simply frozen. Much like his powers, he didn’t understand, but perhaps he didn’t need to. His top priority right now was taking out the blonde woman, though sadly, it seemed that the two people around him were also unaffected.
“Are you the next Capricorn?” The woman named Mary asked, taking steps before she stood beside Sherlock with her blade at bay. Lightning shrouded the man, but it wasn’t anything that would hurt her from this distance.
“I do not know what you are talking about, nor do I know where these powers came from.”
“Ignorance is bliss,” was all Mary stated with a smile, then faced their adversary of the day.
“I can hear… the voices of your hearts,” Geneva said, apparently not caring for the small exchange between the two before her. “A man who seeks… a murderer. A lady who seeks… salvation. A pity that you both are… misguided,” she stated, her voice resounded grandly, and was distinctive compared to her monotone manner of speech.
Sherlock’s eyes widened for a moment and he swore that he almost lost vision. Did he accidentally use his power? Or did her words simply trigger that much of a response? Just what did she know? Rather, what did any of these people know? He did not fancy her saying he was misguided though, and a certain fury erupted within him. Once again he channeled an unknown power inside of him, and upon his desire, he became shrouded in a whirling typhoon of black lightning. Mary would have to fend for herself as he lunged at the blonde woman in his new form.
A blade materialized in Geneva’s hand as the two clashed. The steel sword was put against the man clad in black lightning. Sparks and shockwaves spread in all eight directions as they vied for supremacy. Mary could feel the cracks. The cracks that ran down to not just the floor she stood on, but the entire building. It was impressive how their opponent could withstand the force of thunder like this.
Another explosive noise occurred, and the two were gone from view.
Mary leapt upwards facing the sky, knowing that the structure was done for, and observed as her body was beginning to be pulled downwards by gravity. From there, she witnessed the black bulge of thunder following Geneva from one highrise building to another—the two were locked in a cat and mouse chase of sorts. Each time Sherlock stopped; he crashed and decimated a building—tall and expensive premises, likely—she wondered how much Japan would have lost by now if the time wasn’t stopped.
Whenever Sherlock would manage to hit her, she’d block with the blade, and whenever he couldn’t, it’d turn out that Geneva was a step ahead.
This process repeated until Sherlock found himself panting from a tiredness that caught up to him in no time, yet Geneva was simply standing before him; taciturn, expressionless and silent.
“I hear the voice of your heart… lonely, dark, and forever searching… you collect information and use them… eventually repeating a cycle to find but one killer. Never succeeding…”
Sherlock looked at the woman and glared. She was expressionless, but he could tell from her choice of words that she looked down on him.
“Maybe you are right. Maybe I am repeating a cycle to find a killer, but I will tell you what you do not know. That is I am going to find that killer, and I am going to find the truth. And anyone who stands in my way, I will strike down. Right now, that is you.”
He had only done it once before, and the effects it had on him were far stronger than his previous power. However, he was in no mood to think about the repercussions, Sherlock wanted the woman gone. With a burning fury in his eyes, and a powerful stomp forward, the sky above grew darker and its clouds stretched even further than before. Thunders roared, and lightnings furiously danced in the clouds as if answering his anger. He raised his left arm towards the skies and looked down at the woman. “Let us see if you can look down on me any longer.”
He swung his arm down, and at his command, bolts of blinding lightning came crashing from the skies and onto the woman. The collection of lightning—a result of his collective anger—seemed to have blasted upon the woman and a cloud of dust soon arose from the site. The buildings burned down and collapsed as the thunders in the sky growled and fell. Explosions sounded and they were ear-piercing, even to the caster of the catastrophe himself.
Sherlock himself leapt away to a different building—sped up with his dark lightning.
However, what he saw next left his mouth agape.
A large spherical object rose from the depths of the smokes that drifted out of the ruins of the building his attack had destroyed. An impossibility indeed, and he could hardly believe his eyes. Just what could survive such an attack, rather, just what was that?
The golden sphere stopped above Sherlock and his building as if to mock him—looking down at him. In the center of the monstrosity was his apparent enemy—she who addressed herself as Geneva.
A voice echoed from it—all the way to Sherlock.
“I hear the voice of your heart… you are… angry, insulted, and still searching… for a way out of the cycle.” Geneva smiled, perhaps for the very first time in a long time. It was sarcastic, almost. She had her sword face him, and spiritual energy began to concentrate at a rapid rate in one point—the point of the direction at which Sherlock stood.
“What are you doing here? Her stardust is lethal!” Mary exclaimed from behind Sherlock, appearing as suddenly as she had disappeared earlier. “Run!”
However, she was too late.
The woman who apparently ran Japan was done with her preparations.
Two beams—each blindingly bright—launched off from the sphere, they intertwined as they travelled towards Sherlock. Unfortunately for him, he was blind and he couldn’t tell where he needed to go. As soon as he saw the sphere, his vision was clouded and darkened that every moment.
All Sherlock could hear were something akin to mumbling from behind, and something brimming, and hot—was what he could make out. He could instinctively tell that it was something bright, yet it definitely wasn’t electricity. He simply didn’t know where he needed to go, so he chose to jump up. That way, he could avoid the attack for the time being.
That was not meant to be, however.
Moments had passed, and Sherlock woke up, his bed felt particularly warm and nice, inside a certain abandoned building, or so it seemed.
“You alright now?” Mary asked.
Sherlock heard a voice that he could barely make out. His body was in pain, but even worse was his sight. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, but each time he blinked it got a little better, he could see the glint of an all-too-noticeable golden iris looking down at him. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“I cannot say that I am okay with full confidence, but I do know that I should probably be gone from this world by now. What happened?”
Indeed, it was her lap he found himself resting upon.
“You got hit, you do not remember?”
Back when the twin beams departed from the golden sphere of Geneva, Sherlock remembered having jumped to avoid whatever that was approaching him. What he couldn’t realise was that the beams changed direction and followed him up to the sky, and injured him greatly.
“Ah… I do recall that. It happened rather fast, that even I know it is hard to put things together. Even so, how am I alive? Getting hit was the last thing I remember. It is unlikely to think that she would stop her assault.”
“You do not know what you have really become, d you?”
“I have no reason to lie. I am in a disadvantageous position and I can gain the most from sharing the truth. I have no idea what you are implying that I have become.”
“Well, we do not have much time as the Pope himself is fighting Geneva. He told me that he would stall her till you awake,” Mary stated before beginning a short summary, “Basically, you are one of the Descendants of Time prophesied to appear in this world. You are believed to possess unnatural strength, vitality and greater natural immunities from the Zodiac that picked you… and gain strong powers—Commandments—that are of supernatural nature rather than magical. You also become immortal in the process.
“Your body has not aged for quite some time, I assume? That is likely the reason why.”
“As much as I would like to ask if you were joking, it is more believable that you are telling the truth at this point. It is indeed true that my body has not aged, or at least not that I can tell, but immortality? Now, that is a rather hard concept to take in. You mentioned these Zo—wait, these questions can wait. We have urgent matters to attend, correct? I know not what to do; I trust you have plans for me to follow? I am willing to listen.”
“To be honest, Geneva is peerless when it comes to her tactics, and most attacks are somehow warded off half the time,” Mary answered, voicing her main concerns. “The Pope only asked us to †˜stall’ for that reason. We must work together for it to happen. So here is what I think we should do… I shall distract her as the bait. You would be performing the surprise attacks from afar. Sounds simple, but they do say that simple is best. Plausible to you so far?”
“We’re up against a being with force that I’ve never seen or even heard of in all the years I have lived. I have no other ideas, so yours will have to do. My ranged weaponry is limited to my orbs and the other power I cast, though. Anything more than that I cannot guarantee.”
“What about that… black thing? It seemed fast enough,” Mary suggested.
“From what I understand, the black lightning only encompasses the area immediately around me. Like a bubble. Sometimes, the size varies, but I have not been able to use it in a ranged fashion before.”
“If it is fast enough, I’d reckon it can work as an instant surprise attack, no?”
“Perhaps. I should mention that I suffer from temporary blindness as I cannot see while inside the black lightning, so if we plan to use it, then you will need to watch yourself. If you are fine with that, then so am I.”
“Then, while I engage her with my sword… I shall simply jump off backwards; you may be able to use it before she pursues me… that may be a better idea since she would likely be more occupied with me.
“So be it. Let’s move before the… Pope gets killed.”
Now that he thought about it, the Pope being here felt as unreal as everything else, but that discussion needed to wait.
“I wish he got killed, but I doubt it,” Mary smiled wryly as she waited for Sherlock to get off her lap before they could move out.
As Sherlock slowly got up, rubbing his eyes with one hand, he said a short bow.
“You have my gratitude. Regardless of the situation and your orders, you have saved me, or at the very least, you have let me rest. Let us go; I will be sure to return the favor one day.”
“You are welcome. For now, we are in this together, after all,” Mary said, despite sounding so casual, she seemed somewhat nervous.
Sherlock wondered why her cheeks appeared pink for but a moment.
Sherlock saw the same man again. He was as bizarre as he had seemed since the first time he saw him; revolving black stars above the head, a flaming white wheel; and a cloak that seemed to be more silver than white behind the head. Purely, a strange individual. Was he like him—a Descendant of Time—like Mary was saying some time ago?
He saw the woman he fought earlier on the other side. There was nothing exceptionally odd about her other than her words themselves—monotone, emotionless, and perhaps even robotic. This time, her eyes were closed, but she faced the Pope without relent, regardless.
Sherlock soon realized what was taking place. It wouldn’t be an understatement to call it the battle of the century.
Before him was a contest of strength—an otherworldly strength. Rocks and debris revolved around the duo of abomination. A vortex of energy set the pair apart from the timeless world—making it a moment of awe.
I can only wonder if such a shoddy plan will work on this titan. My power my be supernatural in origin, but the difference in caliber at least several folds Sherlock had no options if he wanted to live; he would need to make the plan work if he wanted to survive.
Geneva gave away a hue of dark blue, while the Pope blazed with his stars. Beams comprised of pure energy lashed out from both sides before they collided with an ear-splitting noise; they were indeed locked in a contest of strength. Neither seemed to be ready to yield and reveal the victor to the eyes of the two spectators.
Something charged in like a bullet. In fact, it seemed like a round ball of stone—a unique one, any onlooker would think. It broke just as it closed in on the monotone lady—or rather, flexed open her arms and legs—revealing her black blade, and having it run past the flesh of her back. Breaking through the strong currents of air around the two must’ve taken pure courage and endurance, but it worked in their favor.
Their adversary fell and the attacker used her figure as a stepping stone to land over a structure that lost its color to the stopped time. The Pope smiled and floated over to her—apparently having the ability of flight.
“Wonderful. It was about time you would come back, where is our precious helper of this Grand Experiment?”
“I know not myself,” Mary replied, shaking her head. “He will attack when a better opportunity is met. I will distract her. That is my job, right, Pope?”
“Indeed, I shall be on my way, then,” he replied, his voice full of his usual arrogance—despite the sarcasm—soon landing onto the floor before walking into a portal. Mary idly questioned why he decided to walk instead of fly into it, but that was a minor factor for Mary now.
“Now then…” Mary thoughtlessly said, peeking down to the blackness below her. It was really dark below with the world’s colours gone.
Abruptly, a figure blitzed out from the bottom. The speed was as unreal—to the eyes of Sherlock—as ever as Geneva landed over the building that Mary was already upon with her blade forged ahead of her. A single strike, and cracks ran as far as a few stories from the top—making Mary gasp as she leapt instinctively. However, Geneva was merciless, and used the collapsing rocks of the structure—many of the large particles that departed for the road in the ground below—as ledges to jump and hack at Mary.
The blades of the two collided with a loud clank audible to even the detective.
He glanced from one direction to another—finding flashes of steel almost every moment in varying spots as their weapons clashed with hardly a pause. It was unbelievable to him how fast they were leaping and jumping across this large view of a city he had.
Then there was the moment he was waiting for—the moment of truth, if one may want to dramatise the moment that way—as he found Mary leaping backwards to dodge a horizontal slash from Geneva, who calculated the exact spot Mary would land on, and seemed to be spearheading towards it.
Without a moment of hesitation, Capricorn leapt, simultaneously engulfing himself in a torrent of black lightning while propelling himself straight to where he knew Geneva would land. Whether or not Mary would be caught was out of his control now as that he lost vision and could only feel the force of his own acceleration pulling him at speeds he did not even think possible.
Geneva faced the black bulge of lightning making way for her, but that was it. She could feel it coming, but couldn’t take any action to prevent the eventual collision; it was too late. Before her blade could connect with Mary’s figure—Sherlock blitzed in and pushed her into the next structure. She could feel the pillars and boundaries of concrete parting ways as she was dragged beyond the building, and onto the next, and the one after that.
In total, the attack bashed her past three structures from her previous location. A bloody red wound was open around her stomach, and she didn’t even bother to look down at herself as she pulled herself up; a few meters away from Sherlock in a wreckage full of shocking residues now.
As Sherlock looked down at her, he noticed that there wasn’t so much blood. Instead, there was more steel and metallic scraps that fell out. She tried flexing her arm to see if it was still operational, and sighed in relief, seeming to find it useful still.
Despite the situation he was in, he said aloud, “Is that… metal?” Of the many things, Sherlock found strange up until this point, the one thing he did not expect was for the woman that was trying to slaughter him was some kind of machine.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins and interrupted his thoughts. He was reminded why he was here, and with whatever strength he had left he lunged at the woman trying to grapple her neck. Unlike his previous attack, he was no longer charged with lightning, nor did he have the time to gather his power. He would have to try and overpower her with his strength and position alone.
Sherlock’s hands grasped the neck of the woman and pressed her; taking her off the dirty and ransacked floor.
“You will… regret this… the voice of your heart gives away… that you are smart. However… I believe that you are easily misgui-” she gasped, Sherlock pressed onto her neck with more pressure and force, than before, disallowing her from ending her sentence that was spoken out painstakingly.
With his right hand still tightly gripped onto her, he used his left hand to lift her right eyelid. It was glowing blue, and he could see very small text and numbers going up and down. A small portion of it reflected himself on the pupil. The iris faced up slightly, but moved down to peer at him after a moment.
“Good lord…” Sherlock muttered.
He let go of the eyelid, and his grip of his right hand loosen on her neck. He slammed his left fist down on one of her arms in an attempt to render it useless. Afterwards, he transitioned into a lock with his left elbow, lightly pushing on her throat and his right hand was used to immobilize the other arm. It was a simple lock, but one that could easily kill.
“I know you are conscious. Answer me before the other woman arrives. What is that man’s plan? And why are you trying to stop him?” He looked down at her with a glare. The most important thing was no longer his survival. What he needed was information.
He could see Geneva’s mouth open, but it stopped, and her head edged upwards as if a shock went through her body. A grotesque noise was heard, Sherlock took a moment to look down; there was an arm that gave away steam immense heat—a bloody arm with traces of electricity. The splattered red crimson burned over his skin as they latched onto him as soon as the arm came out from Geneva’s chest.
Sherlock halted his breathing and froze in a momentary shock.
“Well, aren’t you curious?” a familiar voice uttered, Sherlock noticed that it was the Pope, and wanted to take a step back instinctively, feeling a killer’s intent from his voice. However, he could feel from just his voice that he was grinning wide; this man clearly enjoyed the act of killing.
Geneva cringed and focused; gathering her spiritual energy. Her apparent mechanical body giving away an orange glow, with radiating sparkling stars form in close proximity. Soon, the same old orange sphere formed—decomposing the structure they were in further before Mary could arrive.
Sherlock woke up to what seemed like absolute darkness. The last thing he remembered was falling off the building he crushed Geneva to, then attempting to question her, but the Pope interfered somehow, after which Geneva used her powers, and from what he had gathered; both him and the Pope were pushed away forcefully.
So, what was this darkness?
Sherlock took a step, and it felt vastly different from where he was. There was nothing but blackness no matter where he looked—up, down, left, right, even behind. He took another step, and wondered if he was inside a building somehow, but then, why did the floor feel like this?
Another step.
Sherlock crouched to touch it to get a feel of the familiar solidity and structure.
After a moment of inspection with a single rub—the word came to him—he realised that it was steel. A floor of steel. It didn’t sound like a road nor a random room. Perhaps a part of a steam factory in London? This made him wonder if futuristic Japan did the same even in the different age and time they lived in.
Where the hell am I? Where’s everyone else? More importantly, I need to find Geneva. She has the answers.
The room was surprisingly spacious. Sherlock walked around, and couldn’t quite find a structure to touch or feel aside from the floor below. As his vision was adjusting gradually with the new place; the area begun to take shape from his perspective with every passing seconds.
Black walls, gray statues of monsters he’d only see in nightmares, and the previously noted silver floor—all riddled with ornate designs with a certain pattern he had felt from his touch of the floor earlier. When he rubbed his leather shoe-covered foot with the floor, he felt a sensation other than just steel, he felt the inscriptions that seemed to be etched over the floor, likely also made from steel. However, when he peeked down, he simply couldn’t read any of it as they were of the same colour. He was no history master so he wouldn’t know any old language enough to understand them from a rub or two.
He turned to what lied behind—he needed to properly examine this place for an exit—and found a dark and tall gate. His eyes were drawn to it the moment he found it. How could he have missed the exit all this time? Whoever tossed me in here would have a lot of electricity surging through them by the time I’d be done with them, he thought. Now all he’d have to do was go past it to find his way back to the building where Geneva was wounded.
The gate parted ways—slightly, with a barely audible creak—and opened—as if to answer his decision to go past it—revealing a deep crimson beyond it. It seemed like no sunset sky he’d have known, much less a sky at all. However, he took in a stench of rotten death, and a chilling cold air like never before, yet it looked hot. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it seemed rather dangerous.
His inquisitive nature of curiosity as a detective fought against his instinct for danger, and the latter eventually won.
Having reached the conclusion, he decided to take a step back.
Or so he wished.
Sherlock came to a realisation that his body was not listening to him, at all. His body was frozen still. For moments, he pondered what gave rise to the paralysis, perhaps something was in the air? A poison gas? That wouldn’t be good, despite being immortal according to Mary. Things were only getting worse.
It was as if his body responded to his last thought, and begun to move on its own—ironically—towards the black gate. The slit of the opening from the gate seemed to be getting closer and closer, and his eyes facing it without following the direction of his mental command made it much less comfortable for the poor man. He felt like a live puppet—his legs and feet moving in an abnormal manner as they bended and took steps—making way to what seemed like his worst nightmare.
Click, clack, click, clack.
Entering the portal and following his curiosity would be an absolute mistake—according to his instincts—and it’d teach him a lesson to remember for a long time to come. He wondered what kind of a gas it might’ve been if it was also controlling him. It’d be more than just a mere poison gas, not that he confirmed that there was any gas here. He couldn’t smell anything strange in particular until he took in the disgusting stench of death. Something might’ve been injected in him while he was unconscious for an unknown amount of time? The possibilities were wide, and the thought only served to make his soul shudder in fear more and more. Yes, fear. Sherlock felt fear for the first time in many years. He was immortal, and had overcame the fear on a subconscious level, but now it made its return rather remarkably.
Click, clack, click, clack.
He desperately tried to regain control of his body; his mind screamed at the living flesh that seemed to be not his own anymore. It was a moment beyond unbelievable, as he approached an apparent doom—the door to death. That red slit which brought light to the room was mistakably anything but salvation. Sherlock called upon the powers that lied deep within him over and over again, and it failed to respond. He treated it as his last resort, but if even that refused to lend him a hand, how could he possibly free himself from the bounds that stole command over his body? His shoes undoubtedly took slow and steady steps.
He looked left, then right, was there nothing that could help him, somehow? Wasn’t there anything that would work as a keyhole—something that would trigger the moment he’d look into it—to break this wretched curse?
Click, clack, click, clack.
The echoing noise from the foot tapping against the steel floor was a proof he had heard over and over again—the scarlet vertical line in the middle of the gate reached ever closer—reminding him that time was ever ticking without mercy.
His hand lifted against his will—reaching out for the gate, an even more chilling air hung adrift before it; he could feel it. If it was one thing that worked, it’d be his pair of eyeballs. The look in his face was wrought with fear and terror. A kind of terror that made breathing difficult, thinking harder, and living—borderline impossibility.
Click, clack, click, clack.
Just like that, he started to reminisce his life—as if he was on the verge of death, all his memories flushed into his mind within a single second. Such an experience was new to the man.
Sherlock Holmes—the King of Detectives—closed his eyes, giving in to the fear, and resigned himself to his past soon enough. He looked back to the days of his life as a Londoner. Everyday was tiresome; running about the corners of the streets and alleys with an empty stomach, and having to settle with low quality food as dinner brought by his parents—being a part of the poverty-stricken people. Working as a local tailor felt almost pointless when he wasn’t even paid; it was frustrating to say the least. His thirst for knowledge was what kept him going.
His visits to the library was what brightened up his days. Every pain and suffering seemed far little compared to it. Olivia’s smile was like the sun to him; her kindness was something he could never forget. Having learned how to read; knowledge flowed into him like river—he learned so much more than ever—he could even act like aristocrats as he picked up their ways, and all of it was thanks of her. It wouldn’t be an understatement to claim that she was the one who truly raised him. Stray children were no longer a match for him, as he had grown in time, so did his sense of logic and his style of fighting. Even if it was brawling—the development of his mind complimented to that of his body overall.
When Olivia one day died, he questioned why she had chosen to leave him.
Why? Why? Why?! He questioned over and over, logic was replaced with insanity, and he could only wonder how he’d live out the rest of his life without that shining—smiling—sun. How could she…? That was when it hit him. It wasn’t her choice. It was the choice of the culprit. Exactly—it was the murderer—he thought. It was then that his resolve was beginning to take shape—after a long time of grieving, and moments of disbelief—the detective was soon born.
Click, clack, click, clack.
He picked himself up, along with his will, his eyes burning for vengeance, and his hands aching to grab a knife and go at it with the apparent heartless murderer. He would have him arrested by the constables, like any proper gentleman would. Wouldn’t Olivia want that? Wouldn’t she be happy that way? Wouldn’t her soul rest in peace—at last—knowing that her killer was gone and put behind the bars forever? And yet, why? Why was it so damn hard to find this killer?
That’s right.
He found the killer. Bailing out from the Scotland Yard’s prison from what little fortune his dead parents saved—that day, after two years, had finally came—when he tracked him down at long last; it was a glorious moment of his life. He informed the constables and had him swiftly arrested. After this, he felt liberated from the chains of vengeance; a more relaxed life began to come back to him. However, that opportunity was taken away by the suspicious behaviour of the killer in the prison cell; his words contradicted, and the truth was never given away. His senses and logic were too good for him. He knew better than to believe the lies of the man in the cell.
Click, clack, click, clack.
He thirsted for knowledge—all kinds of knowledge—and wanted to find the truth behind Olivia’s death. Countless years had passed, he gained political powers; using blackmail materials and knowledge as his weapons. All the connections were under his palms, or so he believed. Until the day he met the man wielding unnatural abilities known as magic, and the Magic World; things have changed. He once again realized how little his presence was, in reality.
Then, many strange events followed, and he gained a mysterious power—his one and only companion throughout the miseries and mysteries of his life. He cracked so many cases, but never his first. An obsession grew within him.
Sherlock questioned himself—could he really go through this gate, when he hadn’t even finished what he swore to end with his own two hands? After all these years, he hadn’t given up even now, he could feel the unrest of Olivia’s soul somewhere out there.
Indeed, he had to stop his hand from reaching out to this monstrosity somehow, or else, it’d be too late.
What happened next was what he would call a miracle for the times to come.
He saw light.
Yes, light.
Bright, white, pure and illuminating light. Had an angel decided to visit him, and save him from the clutches of hell? Was he forgiven for whatever sins he had committed, for having such a noble goal of wanting to find a killer and bring him to justice? Was that supposed to be considered noble? Wasn’t that his personal justice?
The light approached from behind, and soon that light pulled him. Indeed, the warmth was placed over his shoulder, and he was turned around against his will. Beyond the light lied someone unexpected, and someone he felt was truly pure. A beauty he hadn’t the time to consider. It almost reminded him of Olivia, for some reason.
However, that warmth left his shoulder, and touched his cheek? A strange feeling—he thought. Why did it hurt? Was she burning hot—like the sun?
Of course not!
Sherlock realised that he was in a daze.
Geneva had just slapped him. He shook his face, as if to get his emotional side out of the way, and looked more intently at the woman before him—she was indeed glowing with a mysterious light. Now that he thought about, he could move again!
Sherlock quickly transitioned from shock to pain as his body and mind had taken more than just a beating.
“I hear the voice of your heart… your heart weeps with sorrow and grief, eternally. You are not done with the world, are you?”
The fact that Sherlock could move brought him temporary relief, but he was more immediately concerned with the woman who was overlooking him. Despite the light shrouding her, he could see a clear red spot on her stomach—a product of his attack—another on her chest, and her body was a mess as a whole, there was a trail of blood running down from her mouth, and she generally appeared to be tired herself.
“What the hell, what are you—no… where are we?” he asked the woman in an angry, but pained voice. He was frantically looking for answers to thousands of questions, but he needed to ask them carefully and efficiently, or at least to the best of his abilities given his circumstances.
“Gates of Tartarus,” Geneva answered. “You were the sacrifice required for his experiment.”
As Geneva said so, the gate opened wide and stretched forth—the scent of death filled the room and the crimson light painted over them both. Red tentacles slithered out from within the gas and mist that poured out. This made Sherlock shudder, a bad vibe running through him.
“I hear… roars born from hunger. Fight for your life, Capricorn.”
The tentacles moved without a warning, faster than anything imaginable, Geneva cut them with her sword, faster than even the predators, apparently. Despite her injuries, she could still fight with finesse and grace.
“For the love of God,” Sherlock said in an annoyed and panicked voice as he scrambled to his feet.
His body ached and screamed at him and he could feel a massive headache forming from the vertigo he just induced onto himself, but adrenaline also began to pump into his blood just as quickly. He closed his eyes and briefly hoped he wouldn’t experience what he had dreamt. He searched deep in himself for the supernatural power he needed now more than ever.
To his brief relief a number of familiar blue orbs appeared and floated above his head. It was the most comfortable use of his powers and one that he felt complimented his fighting ability the most. With a renewed sense of security, Sherlock put his fists up in a defensive position and stood ready to counter anything that came. Perhaps due to his power working, he also felt a resurgence of confidence and his strings of thought felt clearer.
“Gates of Tartarus? What the hell is that? Who are you?”
“I feel no obligation to answer. Find out yourself,” Geneva bluntly declined, portraying an unchanging face.
The tentacles made way for Sherlock, unfortunately his brawling skills were nowhere near fast enough to deflect them; getting himself caught in a matter of moments, but his lightning orbs buzzed them to bits; freeing him every time.
“Shit! Shit! What is this stuff?!” Sherlock thrashed his way through the endless hordes of tentacles that came at him. He made sure to keep his orbs active as that was truthfully the only thing that kept him alive. He looked over to his side to see if Geneva was having as much trouble, but to his dismay, she was not. In fact, it seemed almost trivial for her.
“The Pope... what’s his plan?! Why does he want to sacrifice me? You want me on your side right?” He struggled to talk and he took long pauses and deep breaths as he fended the alien abominations from strangling him.
“Not quite… I care not regarding what you do, either way. Remember the words of the Pope himself—he planned to use you for it.”
Sherlock remembered that Geneva was a machine, or at least part machine, but like anyone that could have a conversation, there were always clues. Sherlock felt a small, familiar inspiration well up inside of himself. Geneva was both indifferent and antagonistic, all the while she no longer attempted to kill him, in fact she woke him up. She told him to fight.
She has to want something. There has to be a reason why I’m here.
“What does it do?
“...Are you mentally retarded? Reverse Japan’s time.”
Sherlock was ticking a bomb alright. Geneva had the mind of a human whether or not her body was a machine. “I see. As much as I would like to keep Japan from dominating the world, I can see why you would be opposed. Then why? If the Pope needs me for his little project, why are you keeping me alive?”
“If the Gate eats you—the experiment succeeds, changing my country with it. Otherwise, I see no reason to shed blood.”
“Well, that makes sense. I guess I should start asking the important questions.” Sherlock paused to smash several tentacles with his hand while lightning rained down from above to stop the ones he couldn’t reach. “How do we stop these damn things?”
“Close your eyes, and then open them.”
As hesitant as Sherlock was, he’d seen stranger things work. He had his own lightning guards to protect him momentarily as well, and so he did as he was told and closed his eyes. Then, he slowly opened them, finding the futuristic city of Japan before him once again. He looked around, and his lightning companions were gone, and so was Geneva from close vicinity. Looking up, he found the same sky he had known some time, and an unfamiliar street; he really did crash down here after that attack from her.
“God damn it!” he screamed out.
She was gone, which meant his potentially greatest source of information was also gone. While relieved he was no longer under attack, he needed more time, much more time before he could get more from Geneva. He breathed a heavy sigh before working through his thoughts once more.
There had to be reasons why she was there. Why were we both there? Why didn’t she tell me to close my eyes earlier? What were the conditions for being able to †˜return’? And why did she not kill me? Avoiding bloodshed or not, you kill the weed by the root, not by the stem. And perhaps more importantly, she asked me, †˜You’re not done with the world, are you?’ He would have to meet her again, but first he had to figure out where to go again. He began walking down the road.
A noise uttered from behind, and Sherlock turned around, hoping to miraculously find Geneva there, but saw Mary instead—who landed from above—walking up to him.
“Are you alright? I did not expect her to perform a counter like that,” she said, inspecting if he was badly hurt. It didn’t quite seem that he was very injured, which was a relief.
“A counterattack? What the hell happened? Where’s Geneva?!”
“You were knocked back from the building when she used her powers,” Mary answered. “We do not know where she went. The Pope seemed angry for some reason.”
“Damn it, I can’t believe she got away.”
On the surface he was cursing the fact that she fled and avoided her death, but on the inside he had both a stronger anger and a large relief brewing inside. She was alive, and what he just experienced was probably not a figment of his imagination. However, she was also not here, which meant he’d lost valuable information on one side of the problem that he was being thrown into. He breathed a heavy sigh.
“So what now? Do you plan to blindly chase her? Even if she’s injured, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s still dangerous even to beat us down.”
“No, we are retreating,” Mary answered. “And I am glad for that, since I am not so fond of fighting, she seems strong, anyway.”
“I see…” Sherlock’s voice trailed with a hint of sadness and regret before continuing, “So where are we headed now?”
“We are to be sent back to London,” Mary answered, pointing behind Sherlock. “All we have to do is go through that.”
Sherlock and Mary then walked their way into the portal, while Geneva watched as they left from afar. The color to the world had slowly begun to return—the broken structures repairing themselves—it was a miraculous sight.
Geneva peered back—seeing a shadowy figure of a man—and gazed back to the mirror-like portal, only to find that Sherlock and Mary was now gone. She then peered back to the figure, but there was nothing. She shrugged in an awkward manner, then figured that she’d have to do something about these gaping wounds on her stomach and her chest, and so she too, took leave.
And that was how the tale of a never-known history came to an end.
They were said to all walk their paths—for most part—solitarily. This was true, yet untrue. People were, and are, careless. They pick words without prior notice, and spread them—not knowing in full about who they speak of. Truly, the communities of human beings were, for the most part, uninformed about these beings. Even the few magicians—wielders of power beyond comprehension, was as uninformed as most men who inhabited the world.
Their powers—in reality—were beyond compare with the practitioners of magecraft. Their powers—in reality—reigned supremacy even over nature itself.
Why? One may soon learn…
This is the tale of the third meeting between four of twelve of the Descendants of Time.
***
It was a place beyond dreams, imaginations, and wonders. Pretty lightings shined like no Engine lights could, vehicles flew across the sky and levitated over the roads like no carriages or toll gurney could. People moved over pavements without having to walk like no ordinary people could.
Were the lights really that pretty? Absolutely.
Were they flying? Oh, no, the pavements themselves were moving!
Were the vehicles in the sky really flying? Half true, one would only need to peer intently to notice that there were transparent road set across the sky. Vehicles were definitely levitating, however.
The detective found himself in a foreign world where he was not only clueless on the language, culture, the race, but also the very structures and level of development itself. As a detective he was disappointed in himself for not having known—or better yet, heard—of the true extents of the development of Japan thriving in the twenty-third century.
It was as if he had stepped into a village and found out that it had no steam technology—or any kind of technology, at that—except that it was completely the opposite here. Perhaps beyond just opposite.
The man tried to remind himself what he was doing before coming here. He found himself a strange mirror in the middle of nowhere as he wandered the cobblestone pavements of London. Obviously, he had nothing better to do today. No work, no client, no pay. It was a lax and uneventful morning, until he found that mirror—that mysterious portal—the entrance to paradise itself.
“Oh my, looks like we have a lost lamb in the experimental site here,” an unfamiliar gentleman said, he spoke in English like any British gentleperson would.
His hair was black and it shined with the clear blue sky of the futuristic country. Black stars circled it, and a white spiky wheel spun eternally behind the back of this strange man. A white cloak floated behind his head, strangely enough. What’s worse was that it didn’t seemed like the cloak would ever truly be donned.
“Have you come through my portal, lost one?”
The visitor was at a loss for words for a moment. The man that spoke to him was as strange and bizarre, or even more so, than the place he was in. It was probably not worth trying to make sense of things here. Not yet at least. Exchanging information would be the quickest way to understanding the situation he was in.
“I do not know where I am or how I came to be here. I could not tell you if I came through a portal you made, but if you are suggesting it, then I suppose you have an idea how I might have come to be here? Last I remember, I was staring at a mirror.”
“Yes, it seems like you have entered one of my portals indeed,” the odd man said, somehow sounding pleased rather than upset, or confused. “It must be fate—to have you here, Sherlock Holmes. Will you not watch as the grand experiment takes place?”
This man had all of the momentum in the conversation, and given his current predicament, he had to follow along. “I have not told you my name. How do you know me? What is this… grand experiment you speak of?”
“Information flows to me like water does in a lake in a waterfall,” the man replied, closing his eyes deeply with a smile, soon turning his back on the detective and staring into the futuristic city. “How do you think this country became this way? A country of the twenty-third century—obviously should not be here in this world don’t you think?”
The man before him was suggesting that he had hand in what he now confirmed to be the futuristic Japan. Not only that, he implied that he was the cause. It was a massive improbability, but at the same time, the man did not seem like he was lying. “So you mentioned a grand experiment. You’ve yet to explain that part.”
“That is the reason I have asked… I have had two experiments here. Well, one, but I am about to perform the other,” he answered. “First had changed this country. Second should… well, hopefully it’d be the reversal,” the man answered, unsure if it would work out himself.
“You intend to bring back old Japan? If your words have weight then I would be glad to watch. As it stands, Japan’s power is a little bit more than a threat to the rest of the world. What do you plan to do?”
“That will not be happening,” a different voice spoke out, one more monotone than imaginable.
The current location was, in reality, over a tall building, and this other blonde woman appeared at the corner of the roof-top out of nowhere. Sherlock wondered just how exactly she got up there on the railing, when he hadn’t seen her a single moment ago. It was as if she was a ghost. Magic was a scary thing, he felt.
“And here comes our trouble-maker,” said the strange man with a sigh. “You will not be getting in my way… not this time.”
Sherlock didn’t know what was going on, but it was in his best interests, in multiple ways, to just sit by and observe. Hopefully he could learn a thing or two about these people.
“I do not have the time for you… perhaps I’ll let my cute little pet take care of you this time,” as he said so, a portal opened from above and just beside him, and in came a platinum-hair lady—falling and bumping hard into the concrete floor.
“Ouch!” She exclaimed in pain as it seemed totally unexpected to her, she attempted to protest, “I told you not to bring me out like that… in fact, I thought I said that I refuse—”
“You do as I say… otherwise,” the seemingly kind man’s tone had completely changed to a more menacing one. “it won’t go so well for you.” White glowing chains appeared around the her neck, and the next moment, she was found struggling on the floor—suffocating.
“S-Stop…” the poor woman pulled a word out of her fresh-pink lips desperately, but the cold-hearted man did not listen.
Moments had passed before the chains vanished, and she was released from her misery, but she knew well enough that it’d happen again if she wouldn’t behave herself for the times to come. Picking herself back up, she stood straight, albeit grasping her neck instead to make sure it was fine.
“Alright…” the young lady finally uttered. “I am sorry, but it seems that I must stop you from getting to my… Master,” she told the blonde adversary in the corner of her sight.
“Good, Mary. You’re so obedient. I like that part about you.”
From Sherlock’s observation, he saw several strange things, but there was one thing he found very much more mysterious. It was her right eye. A bright gold eye, apparently seeming to be like a cat’s eye, or perhaps something else. Her other eye was an ordinary blue, much like her dress, albeit it was deeper.
However, things were only meant to get stranger. As they say—truth was stranger than fiction.
A black hollow hole appeared in place of Mary’s golden eye, as she squirmed in apparent pain—her hands rushed to where her eye previously belonged, as if trying to hide it from others’ view out of shame. A hilt pulled itself out, and her hands grasped it, drawing out a deep black blade, before the hole closed. Her eye was there again, gold in all its glory. Mary held it in her right hand, giving it a swung in the air. It was sharp, remarkably even so, as it sliced the air with a preciseness Sherlock did not expect. Moreover, the swing was done so fast it felt as though she wasn’t human anymore.
“Why not pick a side, Sherlock Holmes? Would it not be better for your home country if you join our side in the fight?” the man asked, counting the many advantages for Sherlock.
“Given my two options, I would have to side with you, sir. You are equipped with a lady that could likely cut me down. Besides, if you plan to revert back Japan, then all the better.”
“I thank you,” the man said, vanishing in thin air afterwards.
“So be it… regardless of the opposing number—I, Geneva, shall protect my country from harm,” she said, her eyes giving off a glow of blue.
Mary held up her blade as she fortified in response to these words.
Protect her country? Does she mean that futuristic Japan is run by her?
Sherlock had plenty of questions, but now was not the time. He didn’t know how strong this blonde woman was, but he was in futuristic Japan, he would probably die if he was not willing to fight back. He closed his eyes, entered a stance, and with a deep breath he concentrated and felt a surge of energy within him. He didn’t use it often as he didn’t quite know of its origins or full capabilities, so the feeling of power felt incredibly fresh. He slowly opened his eyes—both holding the symbols of a certain Zodiac—and soon with an explosive noise electricity came forth from him, and climbed up to the already-cloudy skies; forming three orbs of lightning. He didn’t know what was coming, but he put up his arms in preparation to fight.
Stormy clouds begun to form, and before he noticed, the entire area was painted black-and-white. Everything felt lifeless, vehicles within his vision had certainly stopped moving, and for some moments he was confused as he took in the very unsettling scene before him.
Time had definitely stopped. Sherlock could hardly believe it.
He was unaffected and could move freely. His orbs seemed to be floating naturally as well, but everything else was simply frozen. Much like his powers, he didn’t understand, but perhaps he didn’t need to. His top priority right now was taking out the blonde woman, though sadly, it seemed that the two people around him were also unaffected.
“Are you the next Capricorn?” The woman named Mary asked, taking steps before she stood beside Sherlock with her blade at bay. Lightning shrouded the man, but it wasn’t anything that would hurt her from this distance.
“I do not know what you are talking about, nor do I know where these powers came from.”
“Ignorance is bliss,” was all Mary stated with a smile, then faced their adversary of the day.
“I can hear… the voices of your hearts,” Geneva said, apparently not caring for the small exchange between the two before her. “A man who seeks… a murderer. A lady who seeks… salvation. A pity that you both are… misguided,” she stated, her voice resounded grandly, and was distinctive compared to her monotone manner of speech.
Sherlock’s eyes widened for a moment and he swore that he almost lost vision. Did he accidentally use his power? Or did her words simply trigger that much of a response? Just what did she know? Rather, what did any of these people know? He did not fancy her saying he was misguided though, and a certain fury erupted within him. Once again he channeled an unknown power inside of him, and upon his desire, he became shrouded in a whirling typhoon of black lightning. Mary would have to fend for herself as he lunged at the blonde woman in his new form.
A blade materialized in Geneva’s hand as the two clashed. The steel sword was put against the man clad in black lightning. Sparks and shockwaves spread in all eight directions as they vied for supremacy. Mary could feel the cracks. The cracks that ran down to not just the floor she stood on, but the entire building. It was impressive how their opponent could withstand the force of thunder like this.
Another explosive noise occurred, and the two were gone from view.
Mary leapt upwards facing the sky, knowing that the structure was done for, and observed as her body was beginning to be pulled downwards by gravity. From there, she witnessed the black bulge of thunder following Geneva from one highrise building to another—the two were locked in a cat and mouse chase of sorts. Each time Sherlock stopped; he crashed and decimated a building—tall and expensive premises, likely—she wondered how much Japan would have lost by now if the time wasn’t stopped.
Whenever Sherlock would manage to hit her, she’d block with the blade, and whenever he couldn’t, it’d turn out that Geneva was a step ahead.
This process repeated until Sherlock found himself panting from a tiredness that caught up to him in no time, yet Geneva was simply standing before him; taciturn, expressionless and silent.
“I hear the voice of your heart… lonely, dark, and forever searching… you collect information and use them… eventually repeating a cycle to find but one killer. Never succeeding…”
Sherlock looked at the woman and glared. She was expressionless, but he could tell from her choice of words that she looked down on him.
“Maybe you are right. Maybe I am repeating a cycle to find a killer, but I will tell you what you do not know. That is I am going to find that killer, and I am going to find the truth. And anyone who stands in my way, I will strike down. Right now, that is you.”
He had only done it once before, and the effects it had on him were far stronger than his previous power. However, he was in no mood to think about the repercussions, Sherlock wanted the woman gone. With a burning fury in his eyes, and a powerful stomp forward, the sky above grew darker and its clouds stretched even further than before. Thunders roared, and lightnings furiously danced in the clouds as if answering his anger. He raised his left arm towards the skies and looked down at the woman. “Let us see if you can look down on me any longer.”
He swung his arm down, and at his command, bolts of blinding lightning came crashing from the skies and onto the woman. The collection of lightning—a result of his collective anger—seemed to have blasted upon the woman and a cloud of dust soon arose from the site. The buildings burned down and collapsed as the thunders in the sky growled and fell. Explosions sounded and they were ear-piercing, even to the caster of the catastrophe himself.
Sherlock himself leapt away to a different building—sped up with his dark lightning.
However, what he saw next left his mouth agape.
A large spherical object rose from the depths of the smokes that drifted out of the ruins of the building his attack had destroyed. An impossibility indeed, and he could hardly believe his eyes. Just what could survive such an attack, rather, just what was that?
The golden sphere stopped above Sherlock and his building as if to mock him—looking down at him. In the center of the monstrosity was his apparent enemy—she who addressed herself as Geneva.
A voice echoed from it—all the way to Sherlock.
“I hear the voice of your heart… you are… angry, insulted, and still searching… for a way out of the cycle.” Geneva smiled, perhaps for the very first time in a long time. It was sarcastic, almost. She had her sword face him, and spiritual energy began to concentrate at a rapid rate in one point—the point of the direction at which Sherlock stood.
“What are you doing here? Her stardust is lethal!” Mary exclaimed from behind Sherlock, appearing as suddenly as she had disappeared earlier. “Run!”
However, she was too late.
The woman who apparently ran Japan was done with her preparations.
Two beams—each blindingly bright—launched off from the sphere, they intertwined as they travelled towards Sherlock. Unfortunately for him, he was blind and he couldn’t tell where he needed to go. As soon as he saw the sphere, his vision was clouded and darkened that every moment.
All Sherlock could hear were something akin to mumbling from behind, and something brimming, and hot—was what he could make out. He could instinctively tell that it was something bright, yet it definitely wasn’t electricity. He simply didn’t know where he needed to go, so he chose to jump up. That way, he could avoid the attack for the time being.
That was not meant to be, however.
***
Moments had passed, and Sherlock woke up, his bed felt particularly warm and nice, inside a certain abandoned building, or so it seemed.
“You alright now?” Mary asked.
Sherlock heard a voice that he could barely make out. His body was in pain, but even worse was his sight. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, but each time he blinked it got a little better, he could see the glint of an all-too-noticeable golden iris looking down at him. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“I cannot say that I am okay with full confidence, but I do know that I should probably be gone from this world by now. What happened?”
Indeed, it was her lap he found himself resting upon.
“You got hit, you do not remember?”
Back when the twin beams departed from the golden sphere of Geneva, Sherlock remembered having jumped to avoid whatever that was approaching him. What he couldn’t realise was that the beams changed direction and followed him up to the sky, and injured him greatly.
“Ah… I do recall that. It happened rather fast, that even I know it is hard to put things together. Even so, how am I alive? Getting hit was the last thing I remember. It is unlikely to think that she would stop her assault.”
“You do not know what you have really become, d you?”
“I have no reason to lie. I am in a disadvantageous position and I can gain the most from sharing the truth. I have no idea what you are implying that I have become.”
“Well, we do not have much time as the Pope himself is fighting Geneva. He told me that he would stall her till you awake,” Mary stated before beginning a short summary, “Basically, you are one of the Descendants of Time prophesied to appear in this world. You are believed to possess unnatural strength, vitality and greater natural immunities from the Zodiac that picked you… and gain strong powers—Commandments—that are of supernatural nature rather than magical. You also become immortal in the process.
“Your body has not aged for quite some time, I assume? That is likely the reason why.”
“As much as I would like to ask if you were joking, it is more believable that you are telling the truth at this point. It is indeed true that my body has not aged, or at least not that I can tell, but immortality? Now, that is a rather hard concept to take in. You mentioned these Zo—wait, these questions can wait. We have urgent matters to attend, correct? I know not what to do; I trust you have plans for me to follow? I am willing to listen.”
“To be honest, Geneva is peerless when it comes to her tactics, and most attacks are somehow warded off half the time,” Mary answered, voicing her main concerns. “The Pope only asked us to †˜stall’ for that reason. We must work together for it to happen. So here is what I think we should do… I shall distract her as the bait. You would be performing the surprise attacks from afar. Sounds simple, but they do say that simple is best. Plausible to you so far?”
“We’re up against a being with force that I’ve never seen or even heard of in all the years I have lived. I have no other ideas, so yours will have to do. My ranged weaponry is limited to my orbs and the other power I cast, though. Anything more than that I cannot guarantee.”
“What about that… black thing? It seemed fast enough,” Mary suggested.
“From what I understand, the black lightning only encompasses the area immediately around me. Like a bubble. Sometimes, the size varies, but I have not been able to use it in a ranged fashion before.”
“If it is fast enough, I’d reckon it can work as an instant surprise attack, no?”
“Perhaps. I should mention that I suffer from temporary blindness as I cannot see while inside the black lightning, so if we plan to use it, then you will need to watch yourself. If you are fine with that, then so am I.”
“Then, while I engage her with my sword… I shall simply jump off backwards; you may be able to use it before she pursues me… that may be a better idea since she would likely be more occupied with me.
“So be it. Let’s move before the… Pope gets killed.”
Now that he thought about it, the Pope being here felt as unreal as everything else, but that discussion needed to wait.
“I wish he got killed, but I doubt it,” Mary smiled wryly as she waited for Sherlock to get off her lap before they could move out.
As Sherlock slowly got up, rubbing his eyes with one hand, he said a short bow.
“You have my gratitude. Regardless of the situation and your orders, you have saved me, or at the very least, you have let me rest. Let us go; I will be sure to return the favor one day.”
“You are welcome. For now, we are in this together, after all,” Mary said, despite sounding so casual, she seemed somewhat nervous.
Sherlock wondered why her cheeks appeared pink for but a moment.
***
Sherlock saw the same man again. He was as bizarre as he had seemed since the first time he saw him; revolving black stars above the head, a flaming white wheel; and a cloak that seemed to be more silver than white behind the head. Purely, a strange individual. Was he like him—a Descendant of Time—like Mary was saying some time ago?
He saw the woman he fought earlier on the other side. There was nothing exceptionally odd about her other than her words themselves—monotone, emotionless, and perhaps even robotic. This time, her eyes were closed, but she faced the Pope without relent, regardless.
Sherlock soon realized what was taking place. It wouldn’t be an understatement to call it the battle of the century.
Before him was a contest of strength—an otherworldly strength. Rocks and debris revolved around the duo of abomination. A vortex of energy set the pair apart from the timeless world—making it a moment of awe.
I can only wonder if such a shoddy plan will work on this titan. My power my be supernatural in origin, but the difference in caliber at least several folds Sherlock had no options if he wanted to live; he would need to make the plan work if he wanted to survive.
Geneva gave away a hue of dark blue, while the Pope blazed with his stars. Beams comprised of pure energy lashed out from both sides before they collided with an ear-splitting noise; they were indeed locked in a contest of strength. Neither seemed to be ready to yield and reveal the victor to the eyes of the two spectators.
Something charged in like a bullet. In fact, it seemed like a round ball of stone—a unique one, any onlooker would think. It broke just as it closed in on the monotone lady—or rather, flexed open her arms and legs—revealing her black blade, and having it run past the flesh of her back. Breaking through the strong currents of air around the two must’ve taken pure courage and endurance, but it worked in their favor.
Their adversary fell and the attacker used her figure as a stepping stone to land over a structure that lost its color to the stopped time. The Pope smiled and floated over to her—apparently having the ability of flight.
“Wonderful. It was about time you would come back, where is our precious helper of this Grand Experiment?”
“I know not myself,” Mary replied, shaking her head. “He will attack when a better opportunity is met. I will distract her. That is my job, right, Pope?”
“Indeed, I shall be on my way, then,” he replied, his voice full of his usual arrogance—despite the sarcasm—soon landing onto the floor before walking into a portal. Mary idly questioned why he decided to walk instead of fly into it, but that was a minor factor for Mary now.
“Now then…” Mary thoughtlessly said, peeking down to the blackness below her. It was really dark below with the world’s colours gone.
Abruptly, a figure blitzed out from the bottom. The speed was as unreal—to the eyes of Sherlock—as ever as Geneva landed over the building that Mary was already upon with her blade forged ahead of her. A single strike, and cracks ran as far as a few stories from the top—making Mary gasp as she leapt instinctively. However, Geneva was merciless, and used the collapsing rocks of the structure—many of the large particles that departed for the road in the ground below—as ledges to jump and hack at Mary.
The blades of the two collided with a loud clank audible to even the detective.
He glanced from one direction to another—finding flashes of steel almost every moment in varying spots as their weapons clashed with hardly a pause. It was unbelievable to him how fast they were leaping and jumping across this large view of a city he had.
Then there was the moment he was waiting for—the moment of truth, if one may want to dramatise the moment that way—as he found Mary leaping backwards to dodge a horizontal slash from Geneva, who calculated the exact spot Mary would land on, and seemed to be spearheading towards it.
Without a moment of hesitation, Capricorn leapt, simultaneously engulfing himself in a torrent of black lightning while propelling himself straight to where he knew Geneva would land. Whether or not Mary would be caught was out of his control now as that he lost vision and could only feel the force of his own acceleration pulling him at speeds he did not even think possible.
Geneva faced the black bulge of lightning making way for her, but that was it. She could feel it coming, but couldn’t take any action to prevent the eventual collision; it was too late. Before her blade could connect with Mary’s figure—Sherlock blitzed in and pushed her into the next structure. She could feel the pillars and boundaries of concrete parting ways as she was dragged beyond the building, and onto the next, and the one after that.
In total, the attack bashed her past three structures from her previous location. A bloody red wound was open around her stomach, and she didn’t even bother to look down at herself as she pulled herself up; a few meters away from Sherlock in a wreckage full of shocking residues now.
As Sherlock looked down at her, he noticed that there wasn’t so much blood. Instead, there was more steel and metallic scraps that fell out. She tried flexing her arm to see if it was still operational, and sighed in relief, seeming to find it useful still.
Despite the situation he was in, he said aloud, “Is that… metal?” Of the many things, Sherlock found strange up until this point, the one thing he did not expect was for the woman that was trying to slaughter him was some kind of machine.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins and interrupted his thoughts. He was reminded why he was here, and with whatever strength he had left he lunged at the woman trying to grapple her neck. Unlike his previous attack, he was no longer charged with lightning, nor did he have the time to gather his power. He would have to try and overpower her with his strength and position alone.
Sherlock’s hands grasped the neck of the woman and pressed her; taking her off the dirty and ransacked floor.
“You will… regret this… the voice of your heart gives away… that you are smart. However… I believe that you are easily misgui-” she gasped, Sherlock pressed onto her neck with more pressure and force, than before, disallowing her from ending her sentence that was spoken out painstakingly.
With his right hand still tightly gripped onto her, he used his left hand to lift her right eyelid. It was glowing blue, and he could see very small text and numbers going up and down. A small portion of it reflected himself on the pupil. The iris faced up slightly, but moved down to peer at him after a moment.
“Good lord…” Sherlock muttered.
He let go of the eyelid, and his grip of his right hand loosen on her neck. He slammed his left fist down on one of her arms in an attempt to render it useless. Afterwards, he transitioned into a lock with his left elbow, lightly pushing on her throat and his right hand was used to immobilize the other arm. It was a simple lock, but one that could easily kill.
“I know you are conscious. Answer me before the other woman arrives. What is that man’s plan? And why are you trying to stop him?” He looked down at her with a glare. The most important thing was no longer his survival. What he needed was information.
He could see Geneva’s mouth open, but it stopped, and her head edged upwards as if a shock went through her body. A grotesque noise was heard, Sherlock took a moment to look down; there was an arm that gave away steam immense heat—a bloody arm with traces of electricity. The splattered red crimson burned over his skin as they latched onto him as soon as the arm came out from Geneva’s chest.
Sherlock halted his breathing and froze in a momentary shock.
“Well, aren’t you curious?” a familiar voice uttered, Sherlock noticed that it was the Pope, and wanted to take a step back instinctively, feeling a killer’s intent from his voice. However, he could feel from just his voice that he was grinning wide; this man clearly enjoyed the act of killing.
Geneva cringed and focused; gathering her spiritual energy. Her apparent mechanical body giving away an orange glow, with radiating sparkling stars form in close proximity. Soon, the same old orange sphere formed—decomposing the structure they were in further before Mary could arrive.
***
Sherlock woke up to what seemed like absolute darkness. The last thing he remembered was falling off the building he crushed Geneva to, then attempting to question her, but the Pope interfered somehow, after which Geneva used her powers, and from what he had gathered; both him and the Pope were pushed away forcefully.
So, what was this darkness?
Sherlock took a step, and it felt vastly different from where he was. There was nothing but blackness no matter where he looked—up, down, left, right, even behind. He took another step, and wondered if he was inside a building somehow, but then, why did the floor feel like this?
Another step.
Sherlock crouched to touch it to get a feel of the familiar solidity and structure.
After a moment of inspection with a single rub—the word came to him—he realised that it was steel. A floor of steel. It didn’t sound like a road nor a random room. Perhaps a part of a steam factory in London? This made him wonder if futuristic Japan did the same even in the different age and time they lived in.
Where the hell am I? Where’s everyone else? More importantly, I need to find Geneva. She has the answers.
The room was surprisingly spacious. Sherlock walked around, and couldn’t quite find a structure to touch or feel aside from the floor below. As his vision was adjusting gradually with the new place; the area begun to take shape from his perspective with every passing seconds.
Black walls, gray statues of monsters he’d only see in nightmares, and the previously noted silver floor—all riddled with ornate designs with a certain pattern he had felt from his touch of the floor earlier. When he rubbed his leather shoe-covered foot with the floor, he felt a sensation other than just steel, he felt the inscriptions that seemed to be etched over the floor, likely also made from steel. However, when he peeked down, he simply couldn’t read any of it as they were of the same colour. He was no history master so he wouldn’t know any old language enough to understand them from a rub or two.
He turned to what lied behind—he needed to properly examine this place for an exit—and found a dark and tall gate. His eyes were drawn to it the moment he found it. How could he have missed the exit all this time? Whoever tossed me in here would have a lot of electricity surging through them by the time I’d be done with them, he thought. Now all he’d have to do was go past it to find his way back to the building where Geneva was wounded.
The gate parted ways—slightly, with a barely audible creak—and opened—as if to answer his decision to go past it—revealing a deep crimson beyond it. It seemed like no sunset sky he’d have known, much less a sky at all. However, he took in a stench of rotten death, and a chilling cold air like never before, yet it looked hot. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it seemed rather dangerous.
His inquisitive nature of curiosity as a detective fought against his instinct for danger, and the latter eventually won.
Having reached the conclusion, he decided to take a step back.
Or so he wished.
Sherlock came to a realisation that his body was not listening to him, at all. His body was frozen still. For moments, he pondered what gave rise to the paralysis, perhaps something was in the air? A poison gas? That wouldn’t be good, despite being immortal according to Mary. Things were only getting worse.
It was as if his body responded to his last thought, and begun to move on its own—ironically—towards the black gate. The slit of the opening from the gate seemed to be getting closer and closer, and his eyes facing it without following the direction of his mental command made it much less comfortable for the poor man. He felt like a live puppet—his legs and feet moving in an abnormal manner as they bended and took steps—making way to what seemed like his worst nightmare.
Click, clack, click, clack.
Entering the portal and following his curiosity would be an absolute mistake—according to his instincts—and it’d teach him a lesson to remember for a long time to come. He wondered what kind of a gas it might’ve been if it was also controlling him. It’d be more than just a mere poison gas, not that he confirmed that there was any gas here. He couldn’t smell anything strange in particular until he took in the disgusting stench of death. Something might’ve been injected in him while he was unconscious for an unknown amount of time? The possibilities were wide, and the thought only served to make his soul shudder in fear more and more. Yes, fear. Sherlock felt fear for the first time in many years. He was immortal, and had overcame the fear on a subconscious level, but now it made its return rather remarkably.
Click, clack, click, clack.
He desperately tried to regain control of his body; his mind screamed at the living flesh that seemed to be not his own anymore. It was a moment beyond unbelievable, as he approached an apparent doom—the door to death. That red slit which brought light to the room was mistakably anything but salvation. Sherlock called upon the powers that lied deep within him over and over again, and it failed to respond. He treated it as his last resort, but if even that refused to lend him a hand, how could he possibly free himself from the bounds that stole command over his body? His shoes undoubtedly took slow and steady steps.
He looked left, then right, was there nothing that could help him, somehow? Wasn’t there anything that would work as a keyhole—something that would trigger the moment he’d look into it—to break this wretched curse?
Click, clack, click, clack.
The echoing noise from the foot tapping against the steel floor was a proof he had heard over and over again—the scarlet vertical line in the middle of the gate reached ever closer—reminding him that time was ever ticking without mercy.
His hand lifted against his will—reaching out for the gate, an even more chilling air hung adrift before it; he could feel it. If it was one thing that worked, it’d be his pair of eyeballs. The look in his face was wrought with fear and terror. A kind of terror that made breathing difficult, thinking harder, and living—borderline impossibility.
Click, clack, click, clack.
Just like that, he started to reminisce his life—as if he was on the verge of death, all his memories flushed into his mind within a single second. Such an experience was new to the man.
Sherlock Holmes—the King of Detectives—closed his eyes, giving in to the fear, and resigned himself to his past soon enough. He looked back to the days of his life as a Londoner. Everyday was tiresome; running about the corners of the streets and alleys with an empty stomach, and having to settle with low quality food as dinner brought by his parents—being a part of the poverty-stricken people. Working as a local tailor felt almost pointless when he wasn’t even paid; it was frustrating to say the least. His thirst for knowledge was what kept him going.
His visits to the library was what brightened up his days. Every pain and suffering seemed far little compared to it. Olivia’s smile was like the sun to him; her kindness was something he could never forget. Having learned how to read; knowledge flowed into him like river—he learned so much more than ever—he could even act like aristocrats as he picked up their ways, and all of it was thanks of her. It wouldn’t be an understatement to claim that she was the one who truly raised him. Stray children were no longer a match for him, as he had grown in time, so did his sense of logic and his style of fighting. Even if it was brawling—the development of his mind complimented to that of his body overall.
When Olivia one day died, he questioned why she had chosen to leave him.
Why? Why? Why?! He questioned over and over, logic was replaced with insanity, and he could only wonder how he’d live out the rest of his life without that shining—smiling—sun. How could she…? That was when it hit him. It wasn’t her choice. It was the choice of the culprit. Exactly—it was the murderer—he thought. It was then that his resolve was beginning to take shape—after a long time of grieving, and moments of disbelief—the detective was soon born.
Click, clack, click, clack.
He picked himself up, along with his will, his eyes burning for vengeance, and his hands aching to grab a knife and go at it with the apparent heartless murderer. He would have him arrested by the constables, like any proper gentleman would. Wouldn’t Olivia want that? Wouldn’t she be happy that way? Wouldn’t her soul rest in peace—at last—knowing that her killer was gone and put behind the bars forever? And yet, why? Why was it so damn hard to find this killer?
That’s right.
He found the killer. Bailing out from the Scotland Yard’s prison from what little fortune his dead parents saved—that day, after two years, had finally came—when he tracked him down at long last; it was a glorious moment of his life. He informed the constables and had him swiftly arrested. After this, he felt liberated from the chains of vengeance; a more relaxed life began to come back to him. However, that opportunity was taken away by the suspicious behaviour of the killer in the prison cell; his words contradicted, and the truth was never given away. His senses and logic were too good for him. He knew better than to believe the lies of the man in the cell.
Click, clack, click, clack.
He thirsted for knowledge—all kinds of knowledge—and wanted to find the truth behind Olivia’s death. Countless years had passed, he gained political powers; using blackmail materials and knowledge as his weapons. All the connections were under his palms, or so he believed. Until the day he met the man wielding unnatural abilities known as magic, and the Magic World; things have changed. He once again realized how little his presence was, in reality.
Then, many strange events followed, and he gained a mysterious power—his one and only companion throughout the miseries and mysteries of his life. He cracked so many cases, but never his first. An obsession grew within him.
Sherlock questioned himself—could he really go through this gate, when he hadn’t even finished what he swore to end with his own two hands? After all these years, he hadn’t given up even now, he could feel the unrest of Olivia’s soul somewhere out there.
Indeed, he had to stop his hand from reaching out to this monstrosity somehow, or else, it’d be too late.
What happened next was what he would call a miracle for the times to come.
He saw light.
Yes, light.
Bright, white, pure and illuminating light. Had an angel decided to visit him, and save him from the clutches of hell? Was he forgiven for whatever sins he had committed, for having such a noble goal of wanting to find a killer and bring him to justice? Was that supposed to be considered noble? Wasn’t that his personal justice?
The light approached from behind, and soon that light pulled him. Indeed, the warmth was placed over his shoulder, and he was turned around against his will. Beyond the light lied someone unexpected, and someone he felt was truly pure. A beauty he hadn’t the time to consider. It almost reminded him of Olivia, for some reason.
However, that warmth left his shoulder, and touched his cheek? A strange feeling—he thought. Why did it hurt? Was she burning hot—like the sun?
Of course not!
Sherlock realised that he was in a daze.
Geneva had just slapped him. He shook his face, as if to get his emotional side out of the way, and looked more intently at the woman before him—she was indeed glowing with a mysterious light. Now that he thought about, he could move again!
Sherlock quickly transitioned from shock to pain as his body and mind had taken more than just a beating.
“I hear the voice of your heart… your heart weeps with sorrow and grief, eternally. You are not done with the world, are you?”
The fact that Sherlock could move brought him temporary relief, but he was more immediately concerned with the woman who was overlooking him. Despite the light shrouding her, he could see a clear red spot on her stomach—a product of his attack—another on her chest, and her body was a mess as a whole, there was a trail of blood running down from her mouth, and she generally appeared to be tired herself.
“What the hell, what are you—no… where are we?” he asked the woman in an angry, but pained voice. He was frantically looking for answers to thousands of questions, but he needed to ask them carefully and efficiently, or at least to the best of his abilities given his circumstances.
“Gates of Tartarus,” Geneva answered. “You were the sacrifice required for his experiment.”
As Geneva said so, the gate opened wide and stretched forth—the scent of death filled the room and the crimson light painted over them both. Red tentacles slithered out from within the gas and mist that poured out. This made Sherlock shudder, a bad vibe running through him.
“I hear… roars born from hunger. Fight for your life, Capricorn.”
The tentacles moved without a warning, faster than anything imaginable, Geneva cut them with her sword, faster than even the predators, apparently. Despite her injuries, she could still fight with finesse and grace.
“For the love of God,” Sherlock said in an annoyed and panicked voice as he scrambled to his feet.
His body ached and screamed at him and he could feel a massive headache forming from the vertigo he just induced onto himself, but adrenaline also began to pump into his blood just as quickly. He closed his eyes and briefly hoped he wouldn’t experience what he had dreamt. He searched deep in himself for the supernatural power he needed now more than ever.
To his brief relief a number of familiar blue orbs appeared and floated above his head. It was the most comfortable use of his powers and one that he felt complimented his fighting ability the most. With a renewed sense of security, Sherlock put his fists up in a defensive position and stood ready to counter anything that came. Perhaps due to his power working, he also felt a resurgence of confidence and his strings of thought felt clearer.
“Gates of Tartarus? What the hell is that? Who are you?”
“I feel no obligation to answer. Find out yourself,” Geneva bluntly declined, portraying an unchanging face.
The tentacles made way for Sherlock, unfortunately his brawling skills were nowhere near fast enough to deflect them; getting himself caught in a matter of moments, but his lightning orbs buzzed them to bits; freeing him every time.
“Shit! Shit! What is this stuff?!” Sherlock thrashed his way through the endless hordes of tentacles that came at him. He made sure to keep his orbs active as that was truthfully the only thing that kept him alive. He looked over to his side to see if Geneva was having as much trouble, but to his dismay, she was not. In fact, it seemed almost trivial for her.
“The Pope... what’s his plan?! Why does he want to sacrifice me? You want me on your side right?” He struggled to talk and he took long pauses and deep breaths as he fended the alien abominations from strangling him.
“Not quite… I care not regarding what you do, either way. Remember the words of the Pope himself—he planned to use you for it.”
Sherlock remembered that Geneva was a machine, or at least part machine, but like anyone that could have a conversation, there were always clues. Sherlock felt a small, familiar inspiration well up inside of himself. Geneva was both indifferent and antagonistic, all the while she no longer attempted to kill him, in fact she woke him up. She told him to fight.
She has to want something. There has to be a reason why I’m here.
“What does it do?
“...Are you mentally retarded? Reverse Japan’s time.”
Sherlock was ticking a bomb alright. Geneva had the mind of a human whether or not her body was a machine. “I see. As much as I would like to keep Japan from dominating the world, I can see why you would be opposed. Then why? If the Pope needs me for his little project, why are you keeping me alive?”
“If the Gate eats you—the experiment succeeds, changing my country with it. Otherwise, I see no reason to shed blood.”
“Well, that makes sense. I guess I should start asking the important questions.” Sherlock paused to smash several tentacles with his hand while lightning rained down from above to stop the ones he couldn’t reach. “How do we stop these damn things?”
“Close your eyes, and then open them.”
As hesitant as Sherlock was, he’d seen stranger things work. He had his own lightning guards to protect him momentarily as well, and so he did as he was told and closed his eyes. Then, he slowly opened them, finding the futuristic city of Japan before him once again. He looked around, and his lightning companions were gone, and so was Geneva from close vicinity. Looking up, he found the same sky he had known some time, and an unfamiliar street; he really did crash down here after that attack from her.
“God damn it!” he screamed out.
She was gone, which meant his potentially greatest source of information was also gone. While relieved he was no longer under attack, he needed more time, much more time before he could get more from Geneva. He breathed a heavy sigh before working through his thoughts once more.
There had to be reasons why she was there. Why were we both there? Why didn’t she tell me to close my eyes earlier? What were the conditions for being able to †˜return’? And why did she not kill me? Avoiding bloodshed or not, you kill the weed by the root, not by the stem. And perhaps more importantly, she asked me, †˜You’re not done with the world, are you?’ He would have to meet her again, but first he had to figure out where to go again. He began walking down the road.
A noise uttered from behind, and Sherlock turned around, hoping to miraculously find Geneva there, but saw Mary instead—who landed from above—walking up to him.
“Are you alright? I did not expect her to perform a counter like that,” she said, inspecting if he was badly hurt. It didn’t quite seem that he was very injured, which was a relief.
“A counterattack? What the hell happened? Where’s Geneva?!”
“You were knocked back from the building when she used her powers,” Mary answered. “We do not know where she went. The Pope seemed angry for some reason.”
“Damn it, I can’t believe she got away.”
On the surface he was cursing the fact that she fled and avoided her death, but on the inside he had both a stronger anger and a large relief brewing inside. She was alive, and what he just experienced was probably not a figment of his imagination. However, she was also not here, which meant he’d lost valuable information on one side of the problem that he was being thrown into. He breathed a heavy sigh.
“So what now? Do you plan to blindly chase her? Even if she’s injured, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s still dangerous even to beat us down.”
“No, we are retreating,” Mary answered. “And I am glad for that, since I am not so fond of fighting, she seems strong, anyway.”
“I see…” Sherlock’s voice trailed with a hint of sadness and regret before continuing, “So where are we headed now?”
“We are to be sent back to London,” Mary answered, pointing behind Sherlock. “All we have to do is go through that.”
Sherlock and Mary then walked their way into the portal, while Geneva watched as they left from afar. The color to the world had slowly begun to return—the broken structures repairing themselves—it was a miraculous sight.
Geneva peered back—seeing a shadowy figure of a man—and gazed back to the mirror-like portal, only to find that Sherlock and Mary was now gone. She then peered back to the figure, but there was nothing. She shrugged in an awkward manner, then figured that she’d have to do something about these gaping wounds on her stomach and her chest, and so she too, took leave.
And that was how the tale of a never-known history came to an end.