Descendants of Time (Role-Play Act 5: Revolutionary Moment)

The rays of the sun proclaimed to her that a day had started anew. Upon awakening, her vision was blurry before it stabilized, she soon found herself in the same room where she first learned of her situation: the fact that she shared her body with that of a lesser Goddess’ spirit. It took several moments for the memories of the battle to be beckoned into her mind as a strange feeling of pain loomed about in her chest. Passing a finger atop the crystal surface, the pain was sharp and she winced.

It only felt like a portion of the pain she felt from the battle when Prince Leopold’s blade struck at her Sacred Crystal, but it was enough to make her feel extremely weak and vulnerable.

Kaitlyn had assumed the hard part had been over after getting the Crystal in the first place, but she knew now it had been incredibly naive of her to think so. The duel had nearly finished her, and that was just the beginning of her training.

She tapped the Crystal again much more carefully this time and still felt pain lance through her. How long will it take for that to go away?

Looking to the right, she found a change of clothes placed above the drawers for her and found herself now donning pajamas. Surely, Prince Leopold wasn’t the one who got her changed, but the thought did flash through her mind.

She took off the pajamas and tossed them aside. As she finished putting on the uniform, her stomach grumbled. Whatever lay ahead of her next could wait. She didn’t know what time it was, but she hoped the cafeteria was serving food. She put her hand up to the wall to open the door and left her room.

When she reached the cafeteria, she learned that it was the lunch hour and that breakfast time had long but passed away. Moreover, the Prince waved at her from behind the counter. Indeed, it was His Highness’ day to cook for the people. It seemed like the rules did apply for everyone.

She smiled as she approached, but it was hesitant as the cold way he acted during the duel resurfaced in her mind. He said he wouldn’t hold back, and she didn’t fault for him it at all. In fact, she would have been angry if he had held back, but the way he had switched from a cold-blooded killer to his usual self so quickly after the fight ended had been unnerving.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” she said.

“Good afternoon, Miss Mercer,” the Prince greeted, his smile the same as usual. “How are you faring? It had been about thirteen days since you fell unconscious. Perhaps slightly more than that seeing as it is afternoon now.”

Kaitlyn’s eyes widened. “Thirteen days?! Has it really been that long?”

“Yes. It is natural for one to rest so long when their soul suffers some damage.”

“About that, the Crystal hasn’t completely healed yet. How long is that gonna take?”

“It will not heal unless you have it fixed. That will be the next part of your training, Miss Mercer.”

A tray was forwarded to Kaitlyn with a plate of fricasse, some sandwiches, and a glass topped by an English pudding. They were all simple items, yet they dazzled her somehow with how carefully crafted they were by the hands of Leopold, or so it seemed.

It was not lost on Kaitlyn that she had now been served food by two high ranking nobles. “By the way… who was it who undressed me after I passed out?”

“Remember the other potential Paladin that I mentioned who could train you? It was she who stepped into the field when you lost consciousness.”

Relief washed over. Someone determining her size at a glance was one thing, a man seeing her completely exposed was another. She picked up the tray. “Give her my thanks. Will we be able to continue my training after you’re done serving lunch, or does Your Highness have other matters to attend to?”

“Yes, that is the plan now that you are awake. I have already surveyed the passage we need to take for the next step, as you must have your Sacred Crystal recovered as soon as possible.”

“Passage?”

The Prince smiled. “Today, we shall depart for the Faerie Realm, Miss Mercer.”

“Why do I get the feeling Your Highness is enjoying this far too much?”

“Am I, now?” The Prince chuckled. “The prospect of adventure is simply too exciting. Even though I have ventured into the Faerie Realm for the same purpose before.”

“I… am starting to really miss England. At least I studied the Faerie Realm at the Academy. Is there anything specific about my training Your Highness can tell me or is that another surprise?”

“Well, after lunch, perhaps. Otherwise all of it would get cold.” The Prince placed a cup of tea on her tray. “I almost forgot about that.”

“After lunch then.” Kaitlyn took her tray and sat down at an empty table like last time. She took a bite of the fricasse. She was too hungry to savor the taste, but she knew it was miles above anything she could have prepared. She really hoped her day in the kitchen didn’t come up soon, for the sake of the other Paladins. That and she didn’t want the Prince to find out he was a much better cook than her.

It took some time for the Prince to be relieved of his duty at last. Perhaps an hour or so—was what Kaitlyn thought had elapsed. The taste of tea was still fresh in her tongue when Leopold ushered her to follow him out of the cafeteria.

“Do you still remember the feeling when you unleashed some of the Crystal Paladin magic, Miss Mercer?”

She had to concentrate at first, but it came back to her. “It was as if everything got colder, like when I was in the depths of the ruins beneath the water,” Kaitlyn said.

“That is how it should be. The Sacred Crystal and the Mystical Crystals are all but a mixture of Terram and Aquam resulting from the Lost Form’s magic. Your body is starting to adapt to this decrease in temperature. There may be some fevers, but eventually this coldness will become completely normal.”

“How did this Lost Form’s magic come about? Euphrosyne—the Goddess inside my Crystal—said she’d been sacrificed.”

“Ah, yes. That is what the chronicle of the Crystal Paladins Lost Form says. It would make for a good story in a transportation. About your earlier question, Miss Mercer, the training will simply involve braving through the difficulties of the Faerie Realm. This part of the training is specifically for future references—required for an urgency if ever your Sacred Crystal is damaged by an enemy.” The Prince raised an index finger as he explained. “That is precisely why I had to aim for your Sacred Crystal in the previous lesson. You are to meet the mother of the lesser nymph Goddesses and learn from her the way to restore the Sacred Crystal to its best form. You may have noticed, but your Goddess has not spoken to you today, has she?”

“Now that you mention it, no.” She’d been so concerned with her own pain. She hadn’t stopped to think what it was like for someone living inside the Crystal. “Is she gonna be okay?” Concern tinged her voice.

“Likely not for the time being.”

“What’s wrong with her? Is she simply too injured to speak right now?”

“There is a misalignment at the moment between the souls of you both, so the Goddess is unable to reach you… or it could be like you have guessed. This too implies that your use of Crystal Paladin Lost Form magic will be limited during the duration of the impairment.”

“I always thought Lost Forms just made you stronger, but it would seem that’s not the case at all.”

“There are many complications in reality. I have heard that the Void Lost Form that my sister utilizes required her to make some sort of a pact with a powerful entity of the Void Realm.”

“That doesn’t sound all that different from what you have to do to become a Crystal Paladin. Can’t imagine what kind of thing lives there though.”

“It seems like all Lost Forms depend on some form of power that supplies you with dangerous magic if at the wrong hands. That may be why they are Lost Forms in this time and age.”

The two finally walked out of the Crystal Temple now and faced the expanse that was the azure sky and the ocean.

“Most people fear what they don’t understand, or can’t control,” Kaitlyn said. “I know that all too well.”

“Now then, if you have nothing to pack up, we will have to leave the Crystal Summit soon.”

Prince Leopold looked towards a ferry that laid at the very end of the peer made out of Mystical Crystals. There were some Paladins inspecting it as they spoke.

Kaitlyn smiled. “The only thing I brought with me were a sheath for a sword I don’t have anymore and my clothes, and those are in tatters.”

“Oh. My friend placed the uniform inside your closet, and had them fixed just yesterday.”

“That was kind of him. Well, there’s no use in bringing them along.”

“Then it is settled.” Leopold paused for a moment. “We are going back to Saudi Arabia after your Sacred Crystal is repaired, by the by.”

“You mean we’re not coming back?”

“Not for now. There is a rumor about my mother’s presence in that country.”

“On second thought, I think it’s best if I go back for my old clothes.” Kaitlyn could care less about the dress. The uniform was more comfortable, and she didn’t have to dress up anymore since she was no longer doing work for the Council. It would be a shame to leave it behind though after the Prince’s friend went through the trouble of fixing it. Her coat on the other hand she missed.

“Then you should go get it. A change of clothes would not be so bad for extended traveling, after all. I shall have a word with the captain in the meantime. We are likely leaving very soon.”

“All right, I’ll meet you back here soon.” Kaitlyn went off back into the Temple. It wasn’t long however before she realized that she didn’t know the way back to her room.

Kaitlyn found many seats inside a room. There was a television that was currently off, and large windows, beyond which all were blue with the sky and the ocean. Inside the ferry, this was what she found. It was surprisingly uncomfortable with how the boat jerked here and there thanks to the waves upon which it was traversing.

Beside her was Leopold to the right, but a stranger to the left. A Paladin she had not met before joined them.

“Hi!” he greeted aloud. “You must be the latest Paladin. It’s nice to meet you, Kaitlyn.” From his accent one could tell that he was clearly not British, but one from the New World. “I’m June.”

“Nice to meet you as well,” Kaitlyn said. “I’m glad you’re not all like—what was his name? Mark?”

“Ahaha, Mark gets that a lot, and before I forget, it’s also a pleasure to be traveling with you, Mister Prince.”

“I am not very privy to your situation, Mister June, but I suppose your Sacred Crystal was damaged like Miss Mercer’s?” Leopold inquired.

“Yep,” June admitted. “Kind of a shame getting it almost broken the second time.”

“A second time?” Kaitlyn asked. Just when she thought she might get used to the rocking motion of the ferry, it heaved to the side slightly more than it had been.

“Got hit by that damned Raven. If Vienna wasn’t there I wouldn’t be here now.”

That wasn’t a name Kaitlyn had been expecting to hear, not on a boat in the middle of the ocean. She felt a spike of anger at the thought of the man who had been using Elizabeth. “What was he up to? Did you hit him back?”

“Just barely, the guy is tougher than I thought. Ahaha…”

“He is the man who tricked the entire Crystal Temple. I imagine it would have been an impossible bout against him if not for Lady Vienna’s aid,” the Prince said.

“How did he trick the Crystal Temple?” Kaitlyn asked. She was starting to like him even less, something she didn’t think was possible.

“He was a spy sent by the criminal Organization known as The Society. He is also one of the famous Ten Agents of the underworld. He’s so used to lying that no one can tell the difference between truth and false,” June answered.

“He is also known for being able to change faces, and is said to be made entirely out of water,” the Prince supplemented. “He learned to become a Paladin, and it was too late by the time anyone realized his identity.”

“Made out of water?” Kaitlyn asked “The guy sounds formidable, but somehow I doubt that part. Did the Temple ever find out what he was after? And who is this Vienna?”

“Oh, he’s formidable alright! He knows many Supreme spells so you’d need to watch out… You don’t know Vienna?”

He has Supreme spells to boot? I guess not any old person can become an Agent. “Should I?”

“Well, she’s famous in your country.” He looked at the Prince. “Isn’t she?”

“That is correct,” Leopold confirmed. “Lady Vienna is a special individual who migrated into England and attained the title of aristocracy purely due to her charisma and talent.”

“I would get assigned to guard nobles sometimes, but I never paid much attention to who’s who,” Kaitlyn said.

“In the Magic World, Lady Vienna is also known greatly for her Song Magic, which is—what I believe—helped greatly against Agent Raven in Mister June’s encounter.”

Back and forth, back and forth, it never stops… She was beginning to feel lightheaded. She shifted in her seat to try to get more comfortable, but it hardly helped. “Song Magic?” she asked, but it was getting harder to pay attention.

“A set of spells that are based on musical instruments. They are quite valuable spells, but practitioners of such magecraft are rare.”

“I… see. Now that I think about it, I heard mention of it once from a friend… once, a while ago… how much longer are we gonna be on this boat?”

“For many hours… I suppose you are prone to seasickness, Miss Mercer?”

“Is it that bad?” June asked. “Then again, I’ve been riding boats and ships since I was a kid, so I guess I’m kinda used to it.”

“The only thing I can even remotely stomach are carriage rides,” Kaitlyn said. “Who… whose idea was it to build the Temple out in the middle of nowhere?”

“Who knows? There are many views about the Crystal Summit, I don’t even know where it began.”

“They say that our ancestors of the Magic World had the idea, but no specific names were indeed mentioned,” Leopold said.

“I wanna find them and punch them in the face,” Kaitlyn said. “Or better yet, drop giant rocks on their heads. Is it just me or is everything starting to get blurry?”

“It may just be you, Miss Mercer…”

“Woah, is this really happening? Man, that must suck.”

These voices sounded very far from Kaitlyn now and her consciousness seemed to be starting to drift away.

“Is there a bed somewhere I can use?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Probably not. Ferries like these are where you sleep on your seat.”

“Just my luck.” She leaned back in her seat and shut her eyes. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t.. not helping. “Is there anything you can tell me about the process for fixing our Crystals?” She thought she heard a reply, but it sounded far away. It faded away until there was nothing.







Another narrow view. Everything looked grey and discolored. The locks of blonde were the only things that held their color, and it was very familiar. A smirk was apparent, and a chilling fear welled up in the heart of Kaitlyn.

A voice echoed from a distance.

“Let us dance, Miss Mercer.”

There was a laughter. This person she knew from somewhere was enjoying whatever was taking place.

“I shall drink from your corpse until it is dry. Ehehe.”

She could tell that it was the voice of that one noble who stayed with her for a month.

“Stop!” Another voice shouted. “Don’t do this, Ellie!”

Suddenly, Kaitlyn could see a field bathed in blood and gore, a barren land she had never witnessed before. The noise of the laughter only intensified with every passing moment.

She lurched awake and bent over, breathing hard. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

“What the bloody hell was that?”

But as the words left her mouth, her mind began to piece things together. That person in her vision, that had definitely been Elizabeth, but what had happened to her? Why would she say something like that? The Elizabeth she knew would never—the Elizabeth she knew was gone now. The thought stuck in her head, and Kaitlyn knew with certainty that it was correct. She didn’t know how she knew, but there was no denying it.

“Are you alright, Miss Mercer?” Prince Leopold questioned, abruptly seeing Kaitlyn wake up this way. “A bad dream?”

She fought to control her breathing, considering whether or not to tell him about her visions. She had tried looking into them once during her days at the Academy but hadn’t found much. What she did turn up said it wasn’t normal, not even for mages.

Weighing her options, there wasn’t much reason not to tell the Prince, but old habits died hard. When she was younger, her visions were one more thing to set her apart from everyone else if they found out.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at the Prince as she spoke, “Has Your Highness heard of people having visions?”

“Visions? Mn… I suppose I have. Only twice. Why?”

“I… I just had one.”

“I… see, what was it about? I imagine it did not show anything you would fancy with how you woke up, though.”

“Something terrible’s happened to Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck. She isn’t dead or injured or anything like that, but… she’s changed.”

“Was she not saved by Lord Haddo, and placed in your… oh. Now that I think about it, there could have been plenty of opportunity for anything to go awry at the time the Buckingham House was raided.”

“I shouldn’t have left, I should have stayed with her.” But Kaitlyn knew it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyway with how easy it had been for the noble lady to sneak out.

The Prince clenched his fist. “I suppose the only victims were not in my mother’s residence that night.”

“She’s still alive. Maybe we can save her, and if not… we can make those responsible pay.”

“If the opportunity presents itself, yes. Otherwise, we shall make it happen… in time. There is too much to do, and too little time.”

Anger burned within Kaitlyn. If there was one thing she hated, it was being helpless. There used to be a time when she was tired of feeling that hatred, but then she realized that was giving in, no longer caring about the world or what it did to you. Now she embraced that hate. As long as she still felt it, it meant there was hope.

Kaitlyn looked around and realized for the first time the ferry had stopped. “Where are we?”

“A Magic Train station. We are going to board it soon. We should get going if you feel better.”

“Right.” Kaitlyn stood up, but she still felt a little woozy and nearly fell.

The Prince immediately caught Kaitlyn and supported her. “You must be a little more careful than that, Miss Mercer. There is no need to rush just yet.”

He smells nice… what am I thinking!? “Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine now,” she said as she broke away from him. In that moment, she was glad Euphrosyne couldn’t hear her thoughts.

“You are welcome.”

The two walked out of the ferry. The jerky feeling finally stopped and Kaitlyn was thus liberated from the seasickness, albeit it still gave aftereffects; a wobbly feeling spread across her body hours ago.

“Have you.. ridden a Magic Train before, Miss Mercer?”

“No, but it can’t be much worse than the boat, can it?”

“It should not be, but if you know what the books tell, the Magic Trains are infamous for their routes, and the way they coil in the sky.”

Kaitlyn could already feel her stomach begin to toss and turn at the mention of it. “Just my luck. How long will the ride be?”

“Not long, hopefully. We still have some time before the train departs. Perhaps you should take a seat somewhere?”

As the two left the pier, they found June waving at them from straight ahead. Kaitlyn had read many times from fiction and textbooks of the Royal Academy, but nothing could describe the beauty of the Magic Train station hanging afloat on the ocean other than her own pair of pupils. She could see railing barring off the very ends of the station so that no passersby could accidentally throw themselves into the water. The water level was almost as high as the station, and the floors were wet. She could see the wind carry some waves inside on a far corner.

The Magic Train was large and unlike any ordinary train she witnessed before. The locomotive appeared grander than anything else. The ethereal Magic Tracks could be seen under the water, and the train lodged atop it.

All thoughts of motion sickness were temporally gone from Kaitlyn’s mind at the sight before them. “I wouldn’t mind taking more trips outside England if they involved sights like this.”

“There will be more… the Faerie Realm is truly a sight to see!” June shouted to her, apparently hearing her words from the distance before he walked up to her. “How do you feel now? Better?”

“For now. I think I would prefer to stay in this Realm though if I had a choice in the matter.”

“You could.” June shrugged. “If you don’t need the power of the Crystal Paladin magics.”

Kaitlyn glared at him. “I’m not leaving her in the state that she’s in.”

“Then put some spirit into it! Sounding glum about it isn’t very motivating for someone such as you!”

The Prince, on the other hand, motioned towards the seats behind June. “You should go rest, Miss Mercer.” He then pointed at some shops behind the two pillars that held up the small roof of the station. “I am going to buy some souvenirs I suppose.”

“I’m fine now, really,” Kaitlyn said. “Although when we get on the Train will be a different matter, I imagine.”

“Very well, Miss Mercer. Please wait here, I shall get the tickets aside from my visit to the shop.”

“I’d like to walk around a bit as well and stretch my legs.”

Now in the Magic Train, Kaitlyn found a much more refined interior inside, despite the lack of colors other than that of steel. Steam was aplenty until she reached their cabin. The luxury was breathtaking, it was simply called a cabin but she could see an entire apartment that she could likely never afford with her old salaries in her life.

“If you do not feel well, Miss Mercer, feel free to take that bed,” the Prince suggested.

Both the gentlemen took the seats, and opened up magazines and newspapers without a word of exchange, apparently having developed habits while boarding the Magic Trains for many years now.

“I’m fine for now, but I’ll take you up on that offer if I need to,” Kaitlyn said. She took a seat as well. She picked up a copy of the newspaper. It felt comforting to hold one. The last time had been before this whole mess started.

The front page of the newspaper seemed to be full of remarks about the Queen being a traitor to the Magic World, labeled as a Descendant of Time, other than the reports revolving around the new rulers of England. She could see the otherwise kind and gentle Prince frowning to these articles.

“Don’t forget who’s writing the damn things,” Kaitlyn said. She folded the paper back up and tossed it back where’d she picked it up.

June hummed. “So that’s what happened,” he nonchalantly added.

“Even if we take the name of the authors, they simply write to get paid in the end…” Leopold stated.

“Exactly. They’ll write whatever sells papers.” She turned to June. She could feel her stomach beginning to act up again. “Have you not heard what happened yet?”

“Sure I did,” June replied, still holding a casual smile in his face and a calm and uncaring tone. “Sounds like big things happened, I guess.”

“You don’t sound too fazed by it all.”

“I mean, no offense to His Highness here but this is a good thing… right? I don’t see how it should be a problem. Now that the bad guy is gone, the good guys will take over and run the country the right way.” June shrugged. “It’s not America, and I only recently became a part of this world, so it’s kinda hard to care about it.”

Sweat began to form on Kaitlyn’s forehead as her motion sickness picked up. “Not your country, okay, I get that. Truth be told, I’d find it hard to care about something halfway across the world too.” She fought back a wave of nausea as she focused on her fellow Crystal Paladin. “But you better watch what you say about things you don’t know much about, or you’re gonna have more than the Prince to worry about.”

“I mean hey, this isn’t really that bad,” June said with open honesty now, his smile gone with his mere facade. “Our country had much worse with what Virgo did.” He clenched his fist. “And that’s why I learned magic, and became a Paladin. A throne hardly holds a candle compared to all those lives that were lost thanks to… the Descendants… and that villain called Aramus Valmark.”

“Last I checked, things would have been a whole lot worse if not for the aid the Queen lent.”

“Or it could’ve been better, because some of the articles now claim that your so-called Queen planned for the battle to take place in my country.”

“Are you really going to believe some third-rate journalists who get their information from the Queen’s enemies?”

“Better than believing in some gut feeling…”

Kaitlyn took deep breaths to try to keep her head from spinning. “I’m not going off gut feeling. The so-called †˜good guys’ blackmailed an innocent woman into killing for them. I saw them in person ruthlessly cut down anyone who stood in their way. The Queen was the only one that night who offered anybody an opportunity to drop their weapons and leave.”

“That just sounds like an arrogant perso—”

“I believe that would be enough.”

A sharp glare from the Prince fell from beside the edge of the newspaper at June, and Kaitlyn could see a visible drop of sweat run down the skin of the Paladin.

June got up, the awkwardness of the situation finally catching up to him. He heaved a deep sigh, unable to face neither the Prince nor the woman he was speaking with, only averting his gaze to the window.

“I’m going to get some fresh air.”

With those words, June left the cabin, and the Prince returned to reading the newspaper. The cold stare that could rival the edge of a blade was all but gone, just as it had when Kaitlyn dueled His Highness that day.

Kaitlyn put a hand to her head. “Ugh, I think I’m going to lay down now.” Arguing with June had not helped her condition out one bit. She plopped face down on the bed. “I’m sorry for causing trouble, Your Highness,” she said, voice muffled by the pillow.

“It is fine. More importantly, there is something I must discuss once you feel better.”

Kaitlyn wanted to keep her eyes closed against the light, but she rolled over to face the Prince. Loose strands of hair fell over her face. “If you wanna wait that long, we won’t be discussing it †˜til we get off this train.”

“That is acceptable. I would not wish you make you any more uncomfortable than you are already, Miss Mercer.”

“We can talk now if you want…” But a second later, she was asleep once more.

The dream was haunted with a particularly loud noise.

The time she saw herself departing from the New Anmer Hall for a picnic trip with her Personal Maid, Nancy, and her younger foster sister, Isabelle de Mauny—who was now known as Isabelle Alicia—was very far.

The Duchess of Norfolk in exile thus awoke. The monotone world was soon ripped apart as a vibrant and colorful world came into view. It was still blurry, but her eyes started to adjust. She found herself in the guest room offered to her by the King of Saudi Arabia. A country that was most hospitable to her despite her most dire moment. As a Starlight Mage, she was quite the welcomed individual.

Blunt noises had resumed yet again, breaking away whatever quiet and thoughtless moments that had passed.

“Maybe she hasn’t woken up yet…”

Words were heard from beyond her door.

“Perhaps we should report as such to the King.”

Svetlana stretched as she felt her body felt sluggish. She was not sure how much time had passed since she went to see Ishtar, but she felt refreshed at last after days of not being able to rest at all.

I wonder who is out there? Svetlana thought as she got up and walked towards the door and opened it. “Excuse me!”

The woman who appeared to be a handmaiden turned, and a smile blossomed soon enough. “Good morning, Duchess Alicia!” the Arabian maid greeted. “Psst, tell the King that the Starlight Mage is awake.”

The other girl thus ran off across the hallways.

Upon a closer inspection, however, her initial thoughts were soon dismissed as she stood before Svetlana. The jingling pearls and the exotic jewelry of her Arabian dress made her appear to be a reputable lady of the palace.

“How do you feel? If you are feeling well, we may get some refreshments.”

“I feel a bit sore but definitely a lot better. A refreshment would be nice. Pardon me though, who would you be?”

“You may call me Sadia, the King asked me a favor to look after you for now,” she responded. “I am also one of those who learned to dance with magic.”

“I see. Then it is a pleasure to meet you Sadia. If I may ask as well, how long have I been asleep for?”

“For about… fifteen days now?”

“My, that is not good. I did not think I would be out that long,” Svetlana said in worried tone. “The King would not be mad would he?”

“My darling has patience, no worries.” Sadia gave a bright smile. “He always takes advantage of moments like these to get other tasks out of the way. He runs this country, after all.” She motioned for Svetlana to follow her and thus they were off to the dining areas.

“Well it is good he will not get mad,” Svetlana said as she followed Sadia.

“That said, we must apologize, but contacting your household did not quite go well.”

“I see. I had a feeling it might not. Things have not been going my way after all. I suppose I must figure out what to do later.”

“We have received a letter addressed to you, however.”

“For me? I do not like the sound of that…” Svetlana said as no one aside from Prince Leopold and Kaitlyn should know she was here.

“She bears the same surname Alicia, we figured that it would be safe to take to you in time.”

“Really? That is odd. I do not recall knowing any other Alicia aside from my mother.”

“Maybe your Sister?”

“I do not think my sister knows I am here. I did just vanish out of nowhere.”

“They did receive our letter, so I believe… she may have sensed your intent. You must not underestimate family.”

“I hope so. Well may I see the letter?”

“I do not have it.” Sadia shrugged and smiled. “I wish I did, but my husband the King has it. So if you go to see him for training, just ask him.”

“I see. Wait! You are the King’s wife!? Should you really be taking care of me then? Or should I not be addressing you as something else not by your name?” Svetlana said in a surprise toned.

“It wasn’t obvious when I called him a darling? You can call me whatever you like, I’m not really so big on status and the like unlike the other wives.” Sadia laughed. “You are a silly Starlight Mage.”

“That completely went over my head. I must be a bit tired still. Other wives? The King has other wives?”

“Why would he not? Of course he does! Great men can’t just settle in for one, that would be unbefitting.”

“It is just that places I lived at you are only allowed one wife. I never thought a country would still permit polygamy. Still, should you really be taking care of me, being one of his wives? Considering all I been thought in England says you should not be doing so.”

“Polygamy is practiced by us Muslims, after all. Besides… if I had the King all to myself, I might go insane.” The wife almost let out a squeal but stopped herself from doing so. “Well, I probably shouldn’t, but I chose to do so… I wanted to see who the King would be spending so much time with to teach some magic. Don’t mind me too much.”

“I suppose in my case if I would marry, I would want my husband all for myself. But that is my way of thought because of how I grew up,” Svetlana said as she gave it a bit of thought. “Do not worry, I just did not expect one of the King’s wives to be taking care of me.”

“I am not exactly taking care of you like a maid, per se. I am simply entertaining a guest. Is that wrong?”

“No. Do not mind me, it is just with how my Personal Maid would be treating me if I were to do something similar, I could see her saying something later.”

“Is she similar to a mother in the caring department? If so, I can totally see it coming.”

“She definitely is. She is even younger than me which does make it a bit odd at times but I do love having her around. I do not know how I would have adjusted to my new life without her.”

“I see, I see. Caretakers like them are good people, aren’t they? I had no mother so my caretaker was quite the woman.”

“Yes they are. Pardon me though, do you think we can eat? I am starting to feel hungry,” Svetlana said embarrassedly.

“It is a large palace so you’ll have to have some patience.”

It took some time after these words were said, and they arrived in a large hall where they could see only a few dining, each with respectable distance amongst themselves.

“Tada! And we are here! Unless you have specific tastes for breakfast, we’ll just serve the usual. Is that fine?”

“Well I just need peaches to be included, then I should be fine. It has been forever since I had a peach.”

“Of all things? Alright… I think we can get some of those in.”

“Thank you! I am sorry but I have a strange circumstance that just makes me crave peaches everyday.”

An hour had passed as Svetlana got to take her time to refresh herself after her long slumber throughout the period of Twilight she experienced. She got to put on new, Arabian clothes, take a shower, and was finally called by a handmaiden to be led to the room where the King awaited her once more.

Svetlana thus ventured forth out of her room once more, now to resume her training after the passing of fifteen whole days, which included two weeks. Her indulgence of Ishtar’s bosom seemed to have costed her precious time, and the contents of the letter were still mysterious to her as it lied with the King.

After the door was opened for her, she found herself greeted by the glimmering stars of the room once more. It was more or less resembling a planetarium, yet it was somehow different. The view of the city was as sunny as ever, but the heat was not so strongly felt here. Svetlana could not spot any air conditioner, so she figured that magic may have been applied to manipulate the temperature of the room.

“Welcome back.”

Svetlana heard the tone of majesty and charisma that accompanied the voice of the King. He gripped tight a book in his hands and was reading it, but gave the Duchess a nod to acknowledge her.

“Thank you, Your Custodian, and good afternoon. I am sorry for the delay,” Svetlana said giving a curtsy.

“It is fine. You never know how long a Twilight phase lasts. There are cases of people being in the strange Realm for years.”

“That would be scary…” Svetlana said. But if it was with Ishtar I suppose it would be fine. Svetlana began thinking lewd thoughts before snapping herself back. “Excuse me, Your Custodian. I heard Your Custodian had a letter for me.”

“This is… a very peculiar letter.” The King gestured towards the table before him, and motioned for Svetlana take a seat behind said table and take the letter for herself. “I must apologize beforehand, though. For the sake of safety, we had to verify it ourselves first.”

“That is fine. Even I find it odd. If I may ask then, is it from my Sister? She should be the only other Alicia that knows me currently,” Svetlana said as she took a seat.

“You are free to find out.”

“Okay,” Svetlana said as she reached to for the letter and opened it and then began reading it.

Dear daughter,

I am loathe to inform you of this, but I am terribly disappointed. For you to turn against the Queen… I will personally punish you one day if I must.



Svetlana was confused. How could her mother Alicia write her a letter when she was supposed to be dead? Was this some kind of prank? Svetlana sat there looking at the letter for a bit longer, lost in thought if Alicia really had written the letter.

“Is this some sort of prank? If it is real I am sorta afraid of what will happen…”

“That is what we want to ask!” the King exclaimed, he was just as confused as Svetlana was. “If that Duchess Alicia is alive, the world could really use her help about now.”

“I am not completely sure what to say. I saw her die in my very arms back in Japan... If she is alive why was she not with me and Isabelle? We both really miss her,” Svetlana said as she rubbed away the tears that tried to start. “Would there be a way to find out if it is truly a letter from her?”

“The letter was sent from your home. That is all that we were able to find out. The only proof that it was indeed the late Duchess was the handwriting and the sign she made on your letter.”

“From my home?” Svetlana said as this news was an even bigger surprise. “I am not sure how to take this. I feel like I must return home at once now but that probably will be a mistake at my current state.”

“Well, we were supposed to contact your household. It is quite the mystery to us how the sender—if a prankster at all—knew about your stay here.”

“It would be much easier to find out if not for current circumstances. Even as much as I want to find out, I must wait. If this is actually from my home and if it is from mother, my sister must be safe. I would like to continue my training, Your Custodian.”

“Right, you have attained what you needed from the Goddess?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I did say that we would start with the Starlight Eyes spell.” The King gave his hand a wave and the curtains immediately blocked the view of the city, now leaving it in darkness. The lights of the stars etched on the walls of the room glowed in this darkness, but even then Svetlana felt blind. “Come to the center of the room.”

“Understood,” Svetlana said as she got up. She began walking towards the stairs she recalled seeing. A few steps in, and she tripped on one of the steps and fell forward. She tried to grab onto the rail before completely falling.

Just before she hit the floor, the arms of the King gently held her, preventing her from being hurt.

“Be careful.” He helped her walk up the steps slowly and led her to the center. “Are you alright? I apologize, I didn’t think you’d be prone to the dark.”

“Thank you,” Svetlana said. If there was more light in the room she could be seen as a slightly red color from her face. “My eyes had not adjusted yet. I should have been a bit more patient.”

“No, it is a particularly good time since your eyes have not adjusted. First, you will have to start with the dance you were taught for your attunement rituals.”

Svetlana could hear the King taking steps backwards after he released her.

“Okay,” Svetlana said as she took a deep breath and then began her dance to attune with the stars.

“This is an Intellego Ignem spell. You should start drawing the mana at the same time as you dance, but before that you’d have to cast your Starlight Shroud.”

Svetlana began concentrating her mana soon after her blue sparkles began forming around her body. Her hair began to look as if it was brighter and burning. She could feel the light of the stars on her body as she could when Ishtar had poured them into her.

“The core light of the stars in your soul is indeed brighter than before,” Abdullah evaluated. “But it is only halfway to the level of my daughter’s.” He watched Svetlana’s dance for some moments and soon spoke again, “Now you will need to prepare for your new spell. Aside from it being Intellego Ignem, you need to supplement Corpus and Vim aspected mana, like the rest of the other Starlight spells.”

Svetlana began doing as told. She could feel herself struggling a bit drawing mana from all the different Realms as she could also feel the light of the stars burning hotter within her body. Still having trouble drawing mana from all the Realms even though I’ve done it before. Just how much more time do I need to practice?

“Corpus is usually applied for the mechanism to harness the light of the stars when you cast the Shroud. For the Starlight Eyes—as you may have guessed—the Corpus requisite is meant to allow you to focus the mana on the eyes. Make sure to keep your eyes closed throughout the process.”

“Do I just keep them close all the time during Starlight Eyes?” Svetlana asked as she continued to focus.

“Actually… have you been taught how to convert the mana to Spiritual Energy via the Shroud?”

“Yes.”

“Have it converted first, then apply it to the eyes. The Shroud will keep the Spiritual Energy applied for you on its own, so you’ll not need to worry about it once it’s applied.”

Svetlana began concentrating her mana into the core of the light of the stars. She then began to take the mana out of the core, but instead it came out as spiritual energy which she then began to apply into her eyes.

“And now… you may open your eyes.”

As soon as Svetlana did, her eyes were revealed to be completely dark and hollow. Svetlana couldn’t see anything, and she felt dizzy. King Abdullah immediately caught her before she collapsed to the floor.

“...I suppose it wasn’t meant to be so easy after all.” The King carried Svetlana to her sofa and placed her to rest. “We’re taking a break.”

“Thank you,” Svetlana said as she could feel herself blushing again as she was being carried. “Suppose I will never get one right on the first try,” Svetlana said, laughing.

“Don’t fret, they’re all Lost Form spells after all. Each of these are classified as Supreme spells.” The King sank back down to his sofa. With a swift movement of his hand, the curtains were moved and the lights returned to the room. “It seems like using the Starlight Dance to make it easier did not quite go as planned.”

“Do not worry, similar things happened with the other spells I learned. I will learn it with time like the others,” Svetlana said as she could feel herself examining the King. “Pardon the sudden question, Your Custodian. How come there have not been other Starlight Mages trained? Or is Princess Aisha critical on who she teaches?” Svetlana asked, wanting to keep her mind distracted.

“It is not quite the issue with my daughter but the stars themselves. If the star does not choose you, you are not meant to learn the Lost Form of Starlight. There was a project by the previous King who took up talented girls from across the lands to teach them the Starlight spells, but the results were grim.”

“I see. I cannot recall but was I chosen by the stars? It would be kinda scary to continue if I was not.”

“Do you not remember? My daughter argued that you were chosen. To me, it was a first, to learn that a foreigner would be chosen. For past centuries we have only had girls from across these lands chosen by the stars.”

“In all honesty, I was more worried You Custodian would not let me stay back then when you began to argue with your daughter that I suppose it flew right past me.”

The King laughed. “I apologize, but it was quite the important matter in our country. I suspected my daughter of lying to me and the anger flew right into my head. If you have come so far, I do not think there will be a problem; her words were true.”

“It is fine. I believe that is natural if all your previous Starlight Mages were only from your land. But if it is fine with you, Your Custodian, if I do manage to live long and master Starlight would it be fine with you if I find others who can learn it and teach them? Since it is a Lost Form of your lands, I believe I need to ask you first.”

“Well, it is in your destiny to do so, provided you live. Every practitioner of the Lost Form must find an apprentice and pass on her knowledge, as the tradition states. I would recommend beginning your search in my country, if that is not too much to ask. But yes, this is your right and you are free to teach them.”

“Thank you. Well then once I have it mastered, I shall search your country first then, Your Custodian. I just have to hope I live long enough. Currently with how my life has been going, I wonder if that will even be possible. I probably might not even get to realize one of my dreams if it continues down this path.”

“Mages of this generation are not the only ones with a frightful life full of battles, mind you. It has been going on for a long time. Fate is arduous as it tests you time and time again. I dreamt of being a King, on that topic. Much has occurred since the days of childhood have passed.”

“It must be great having accomplished your dream. Well my dream is not exactly one I can accomplish myself. I just have to hope fate puts that person in my path one day so I can work hard with them,” Svetlana, said feeling embarrassed.

“And I suppose you are averse to discussing it?”

“It is just embarrassing to speak of. Simply put, I wish to be a mother one day.”

“Oh… I see.” The King looked away. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of… wanting to have a family.”

“I know. I am just a bit ashamed that someone of my age has yet found herself a husband, though my current circumstances do make that difficult considering I am part Infernal being ”

“Mn. That is true, there are not many who would be willing to marry… an Infernal. That is simply how it has been for long. In fact, rumors say that Infernals like you often settle for Diabolics.”

“No thank you! I’d rather married someone normal, I may be an Infernal now but it doesn’t mean I behave completely like one.”

“How long has it been since you were an Infernal? I do not think you were born as one; you do not seem to be like the ones I have met before.”

“It has been a little over a year. I was born as a Faerie mostly, only partially human. That changed though once I asked Grandfather to fuse me with the demon that was previously inside my sister.”

“And I suppose that is King Hades?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“Just an educated guess. There are very few mages who actually get the meet King Hades and lives to speak of it. Your predecessor has met him too, learning Supreme Spells that put her future in jeopardy.”

“I know I had ask Grandfather to tell me everything I had to know of mother. But it seems I did the same when i asked him to fuse me with the demon within me.”

“Strange how history repeats itself. That said, more power may not have been a bad idea now that we see all these Descendants running rampant in this world…”

“Even then I do not believe I have become stronger. Even if others say I have, I can never see myself being stronger than before if I cannot bring Virgo’s life to an end one day.”

“If you are comparing yourself to God-like individuals then it will likely remain a dream. Descendants were mostly brought to heel with groups of magicians, after all. Even the fabled Duchess of Cavendish Bentincks—who, regrettably got assassinated recently—had help from many peers before she slew the previous Sagittarius.”

“Princess Louise shall pay dearly for what she had done to the Duchess of Cavendish Bentincks. She even had the nerve to have her assassins taint her corpse!” Svetlana said as anger began to fill her before she calmed herself down.

“Taint, you say?”

“I fear one of the assassins might have also destroyed the Duchess’ soul as well. If killing her wasn’t enough for them! All I know is one of the assassins is dead, but he was a complete fool. I doubt he was the one but there was one within the Princesses’ group that gave me a feeling of darkness, but I cannot say for sure.”

“I see. It may be a user of the Undertaker Lost Form, as they are known to spread the taint. There is also the Void Lost Form that is affiliated with the dark, but it does not often deal with the souls if not outright sending them into the Void Realm.”

“I shall take a look into this later once I learn more about this Lost Form to see which one is similar to what I felt on the Duchess’ corpse.”

“Generally, England was supposed to bear the Void Mages, while Saudi Arabia—the Starlight Mages. Undertakers are supposed to not exist due to the Church finding their actions ironic. Undertaker may be more likely to your case, however, as they are known to command the souls of the dead. So, who knows? A user of the Undertaker Lost Form may have assassinated the dear Duchess, and obtained her soul.”

“If they have then I shall hunt them down once I find them and make them pay for what they did. She was very precious to my Sister and I cannot allow them to play with her soul.”

“I know you will. It is part of your duty to seek out such people. Now, since we are on the topic of Lost Forms, I believe this would be a good time to tell you more about the lore of the Starlight.”

“There is still more to know? Did Master Aisha not tell me everything?”

“Haha! Of course not. The Lost Lores are long and the Masters have to tell bit by bit. Each time a big step ahead is taken. For the Starlight Lost Form, we do it each time the apprentice gains a bit more of the light of the stars after Twilight.”

“I see. I was starting to think it was because of forgetfulness again.”

“I believe you were told up to the bout the ancient priestesses had with Gilgamesh?”

“Yes. Mentioning Gilgamesh reminds me if maybe I should have asked her what happened. I am sorta curious.”

“Well, how much of the story were you told?”

“Gilgamesh not accepting Ishtar and her priestesses going after him.”

“I suppose my daughter loves to summarize the tales she speaks of?”

“...” Svetlana was speechless for a second and then thought to herself why she didn’t think her Master did such a thing considering there was many things she had previously left out as well. “If I do ever get to teach someone I will make sure to explain it to them properly.”

“Her sloth travels long indeed.” The King chuckled at Svetlana’s response, ascertaining his guess. “Shall I start from the top?”

“Yes, please. It would be nice to learn the whole history. I will probably come to you also for the next part as well.”

“Very well, and feel free to approach me in the future for the other parts.” The King cleared his throat and thus began to speak of the tale of Starlight. “A long time ago there was the Goddess of Love, War, and Sex, Ishtar. This Goddess had many chronicles of love that I do not know where to start, but there came a time where Ishtar supposedly fell for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh, however, refused her love. The King of Uruk feared this love, for he knew it could bring an end to him. Ishtar’s love was strong, it was both soothing and perilous. The declination brought to him many perils regardless. The Boar of Heaven was only one of the creatures sent to lay him to waste, when the Priestesses of Ishtar were enraged that their Goddess’ love was rejected, their fervent prayers to Ishtar gave them access to sacred scriptures of the Incantations of War. You have seen these scriptures, and within them were the Starlight spells. According to the legend of the Starlight, the battle was so intense that it left the Kingdom of Uruk almost annihilated.”

“I see. I still find it odd they would try and kill him just for not accepting her love… Even though I know I cannot see why he would reject it.”

“It was an insult to the Goddess. Gilgamesh not only rejected Ishtar, but he spoke words of defamation.”

“Okay, even I would not stand for that. How dare he do such thing!”

The King stared wide-eyed at Svetlana. “I guess you are one of the priestesses of eld now!”

“Well aside being Virgo’s Celestial Spirit, I cannot see a reason to speak ill of the Goddess. If he was just gonna reject her that is one thing, but speaking horrible things of her is another.”

“Wait, is she really her Celestial Spirit?”

“Wait, you did not know that?”

“To be honest, I do not think anyone knows who the Celestial Spirits of the Descendants are… that is a large discovery, you know?”

“I see. I just figured since the Lost Form of Starlight is from here and the Goddess Ishtar is the one that supplies us with the light of the stars you knew.”

“Not quite. We learned of the Goddess Ishtar through the chants that call upon her as the deity, from whom the power is drawn from. I knew she existed in the Realms accessible from the Twilight but I didn’t know this fact… it is interesting, though.”

“Well the Goddess herself in my opinion is wonderful. Virgo herself can go die in a fiery hell.”

A chuckle was most a King could respond with to the curses of a woman. “Well, that was the first part of the story, the second… refers to the story of Enkidu. I do not know how much of the mythology you are aware of from the mundanes, but Enkidu was the only beloved companion of Gilgamesh, and they had bested many enemies together. This is also supported by the lore of Starlight. What the King of Uruk did not know, was that Enkidu met Gilgamesh thanks to the intervention made by Ishtar to his fate. One of the ancient priestesses of Ishtar bedded Enkidu, and it led to many circumstances that brought about the meeting of these two men. The Goddess did so to allow the King to learn of friendship, camaraderie, and various values that could do one good.”

“Well I have heard nothing. You only learn this in Japan if you choose to take the class. Since it was not mandatory, I did not take it,” Svetlana said with a chuckle. “Though that seems rather nice of the Goddess after all that happened. Unless there is a dark twist somewhere in this story.”

“Oh, that there is, all of this happened before Ishtar’s confession of love was made.”

“I see. Well proceed, Your Custodian.”

“As you would expect, Enkidu and Gilgamesh thus best all the foes and enemies they have—as mentioned—and it is also Enkidu who aids the King in slaying Gugalanna, the aforementioned Boar of Heaven. How would you feel if the one you lead to your beloved eventually takes him far from you? I can only imagine the Goddess’ love produced more hatred than one could imagine. Indeed, it was Enkidu who told chronicles of the Goddess’ love with the other creatures, and the misfortunes that befell them—to the King. However, what the King did not know was that the words Enkidu spoke originated from a lie.”

“How dare he say about that of the Goddess! She would never do such a thing like that!”

“This lie—was in truth—words sent into the ears of Enkidu by Tammuz, the lover from Ishtar’s supposed †˜youth,’ and according to the lore, he wanted to have Ishtar all to himself.”

“Well I should not find it surprising she had former lovers. But that is not a way to go about this. How dare he do that!”

“I believe this tale gives one an understanding of what results good intentions may bring, and at the same time tells one how love may influence people. For now, though, this is as much as you’re going to learn of the story.”

“Okay. Well I have to hope now I can listen to the rest. I am glad you are not like your daughter when it comes to information, Your Custodian.”

“I believe the issues comes from her mother with my daughter.”

“I see. Have I met her? I only recently found out you have many wives, Your Custodian. You must be living a delightful life.”

“Well, it is one on of the few factors balancing the amount of work I deal with day by day. It is not all joy and delight, however… as Aisha’s mother, she is deceased.”

“I am sorry to hear that.”

“I believe her death influenced her in many ways… before she gained very questionable affiliates…” The King sighed. “Anyway, shall we return to your training?”

“Yes. Though, Your Custodian, I imagine you must be a busy man at night as well,” Svetlana said with a chuckle as she stood up.

“There is no rest for a King, after all,” he said as he followed.

“Wonder if I should find someone like that one day.”

“If you do, you may be in for more surprises than one.”

“Well if it is a fun surprise, it would be fine, you know. I can deal with it if it just that.”

“Sometimes they are not… but I suppose that is dependent on taste.”

“Indeed, too bad you belong to many, Your Custodian.”

The King laughed. “†˜Tis a privilege to be loved, but I am not without scars from the sirens that loved me before.”

“Indeed, but sometimes some are just greedy and want someone all for themselves.”

“Sounds very much like your Goddess.”

Svetlana went up to the King and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Too bad I cannot have you all just for me. I think it would have been great fun.”

The King gave a most charming smile that was a mix of his majesty and charisma that could win over any woman. It was as if the King was used to such flirtation, and thus took it in stride.

“I believe I will never be clear of all the demands for reasons like these.”

“With a smile like that, it is no wonder the ladies fall to their knees for you,” Svetlana said as she could feel her own heart pound faster and her face turn bright red.

Abdullah shrugged. “I hope that warmed you enough for the prelude to your training.”

“Maybe a little too much.”

Claudia walked across the streets of Saudi Arabia. She hated those women wearing the black robe-like attires, as they hid their face and body completely. Who’d think she’d have to wear those burqas herself now? Claudia was completely covered in this attire, and of course it was hot, as it was only around July in the modern world outside England.

From the cold ending times of winter of London to the heated summer season in Madina. Before her was of course her Master. The person who had mastered the Lost Form of Undertaker. She had also dressed herself in a burqa. Apparently, their faces were known to the Saudi Arabian members of the Magic World, and they were wanted figures.

“I have heard of your exploits in England,” Rafflesia began, voice muffled. She hadn’t spoken much since their reunion in the airport. “You have failed the Mistress yet again.”

“As expected of a failure, Master Rafflesia,” Claudia said obediently. Her voice was as dim as her personality as she spoke. “I offer no excuse.”

“You are currently disappointing, but in time, I will make you a shining example of a warrior.”

Claudia nodded under her burqa, although her master had likely not seen her do it from where she was walking. “Yes, Master. I will accept your teachings wholeheartedly.”

The two waited beside the street for some time.

“Have you been taken to any of the research facilities of the Mistress before?”

“No, never.” Claudia shook her head.

“I shall give you a tour then.”

“Research… what is it that Mother is researching, exactly?”

“Many things. Many fascinating things.”


“I see. Knowing Mother—a Descendant—anything that isn’t quite in her grasp would be fascinating indeed.

A taxi stopped before them, and Rafflesia beckoned Claudia as she opened the door and entered.

Claudia took care to enter the taxi after her Master, sitting next to the woman and straightening out her burqa.

“You may take off the disguise now,” the taxi driver said. He only turned slightly at Claudia, revealing the face of Constance.

“Ah, Mister Constance,” Claudia said with a little enthusiasm. Though vague, she was clearly happy to see him. She removed the disguise, kicking back a grimace from the heat. “So we aren’t alone on this trip, then?” she asked her Master next to her.

“Good evening, Lady Claudia,” Constance greeted as he started to drive.

“It’d be better than having a stranger drive for us. We cannot take many chances after what happened the last time we were here,” her Master said.

“Our last visit is another thing I would rather put behind me. Indeed, another chance taken is another chance for the Witnesses—or otherwise—to come for our lives.”

“Indeed. We cannot let any commoners see the location of the facility, just in case, too.”

Claudia wiped the dripping sweat from her brow and sighed. “And if they do?”

“…What do you think would happen?”

“I was only confirming. I will do away with them if it ever comes to that.”







After a few hours. Claudia and her Master were brought over to a mountain outside the city of Madina. These mountains in Madi e Jinn—Al Baida were apparently just the nice place to hide an underground research facility.

Claudia came across a very large underground area, after being brought over by Crimson Rafflesia. After she was brought over to an office room, she could see a great expanse of cargo being transported, and many people being transformed by machines, quite literally. It was almost as though they were making products of ordinary nature in a factory. The machines would inject strange chemicals, of sorts, into subjects, transforming them before the next in line would be brought over.

In simple terms, Claudia was watching how the Countess made a system through which lycanthropes were being mass-produced.

“The research you spoke of?” she assumed, gesturing her hand towards the many machines.

“Just some of it.”

“More? I imagine it becomes worse than this.”

“Worse? Is this bad?”

“Innocent men and women being transformed into Lycanthropes against their wills? Indeed, from a human’s perspective, this would be called inhumane, not that I sympathize.”

“We are vampires, such perspectives matter not here.”

“Of course, Master.” Claudia bowed.

“Now take a seat,” Rafflesia said from behind her desk. “Speak to me about your experiences, what have you learned from these few events since parting with me?”

Claudia simply did as Rafflesia ordered and sat down. She took a moment to gather herself and pull together the memories.

“A fair deal, Master,” Claudia began. “After reuniting with Mother, I had forgotten how lenient she was with me. I would not turn around and embrace my old self because I experienced an iota of kindness after long. Your teachings would be for nothing.” She spoke wholeheartedly, not in a nonchalant tone how her old self would in the past. “Also, in my own expeditions against the Queen—the former Queen—Victoria, I utilized my Lost Form against my targets, the nobles devoted to protecting her. In my own failure, I only managed to succeed in killing one of them.”

Claudia opened her palm, revealing the soul of the late Duchess Caroline to her master.

“This is the soul of one of the nobles. She was rather powerful, but she was no trouble—unlike my allies, who were badly injured.” A grimace came across her face when she mentioned her allies. “Speaking of, one of them happened to be Michael Kallweit, a former priest who I was rivaled with. Alas, it was all in the past as I had no interest in fighting or bickering with him. After your teachings, I have learned to cast off all my former gripes.

“There was another man whom I was allied with. He… was a strange sort. We only conversed once or twice, and all it took was me asserting myself against him for the man to devote himself to me, and refer to me as Mistress. Needless to say, he was a fool in the end, and died a dog’s death. I was no longer phased by the deaths of others… I’ve learned—after long—that feeble attachment is meaningless. As of now—as it will always be—you, and the Countess will be the only ones I am attached to.”

Claudia tripped up her own words that last sentence. It was as if her mouth moved on its own and projected whatever she was thinking.

“It is good to know that you have remembered my teachings. What is this about… an attachment? The only attachment you need is to your Mother.”

“Yes, Master... “ Claudia wanted to stop talking there, but once more her mouth moved without her will. “But despite what I’ve thought or said about you in the past, I’ve grown rather fond of you, Master. You are wise. A person to be feared. Something I yearn to be in the future. You and Mother.”

“Attachments are weaknesses of the heart. I will not tell you who to like and not like, but keep it in mind.”

“Yes, of course…” Claudia cursed herself, as another word escaped her lips. “Though if attachment is not what you seek, then perhaps a tryst every now and again would suffice?” Claudia, stop fucking talking. You idiot.

Rafflesia made a rare seductive smile. “Oh? Do you want me to take care of you that badly? What a greedy apprentice.”

“I would love it if you did, Master. Mother told me I should be more honest, after all.” A smirk sprouted from Claudia’s lips in return.

“It was a joke.”

Claudia’s smirk dropped, same as her hopes for that millionth of a second. “Like Mother, I see you also have a peculiar sense of humor,” she sighed.

“Makes just the kind of face I want to see.”

“What, this?” Claudia pouted, this time with a little embarrassment now that the moment had long passed. “If I didn’t know any better, Master, I would think that you are a sadist.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Jokes aside, that was my experience in London since I left you last. Not that it is worth speaking of,” Claudia said, quickly changing the subject, pursing her lips. She coughed before speaking again. “How have you fared, Master?”

“We have both had a hectic time, it seems. White Lotus has passed away and the illegal ring ran by our Mistress was out of control. It took some time to bring it back together.”

“White Lotus is dead? Killed by whom?” Claudia did not concern herself with the slavery ring; the death of White Lotus surprised her more, despite the Representative not seeing or hearing of her for quite sometime.

“We do not know.”

“I see… then may she find peace.”

“What a human thing to say.”

“Humans should not be the only ones to have peace at death. Life is a terrible experience, especially for us Infernals.”

“There is nothing saying that we cannot have peace after death, though, is there?”

“I suppose not.”

“So, you lost against Queen Victoria… what did you learn from this loss, specifically?” The previous time she asked the question, the answer was not quite satisfactory, after all.

“I must remain vigilant and refrain myself more often. Charging steadfast into battle—especially against a Descendant—that is one of my many downfalls.”

“Remember that the strong will always triumph over the weak… but there is still worth in hunting the strong foes, for you may learn to overcome them. It takes a good mind to do the latter, however.”

“Yes. And an able mind is what I desire, as well as the power to achieve such a feat.”

“For now… what do we have at hand?”

“Ah.” Claudia held the dimly illuminated soul towards her Master, giving her a closer look. “The soul of a noble I was assigned to assassinate, as I mentioned previously in my tale. The departed Duchess Caroline.”

“What else?” Rafflesia sighed. “By that, I mean other powers; weapons? I need to know your full arsenal. A full sense of your capabilities, if you would please.”

“Ah, yes.” Claudia dismissed the soul first and faced her Master upfront. “Of course you recall my scythe, Lachesis’ Fang.” She then summoned one of her newest Relics, given to her by her so-called mother first. “This is Apollo’s Bow, a gift from the Countess. The next is Aegis of the Gods, a greatshield heavier than anything in my arsenal,” she said. “I have not mastered the bow as of yet, nor have I used the shield.”

Rafflesia frowned. “You did not employ the shield against Victoria?”

Claudia bit her lip. “…No, I have not.”

“Fool.”

The Representative hung her head in shame.

“I know…”

“Your Mother is thoughtful, giving a weapon to strike from afar, giving a shield to block the impossible, and providing a blade to cut anyone before you. You fail even then.”

“You are correct…perhaps she is too thoughtful.”

“We’ll be starting your next course with the training. Prepare yourself.”

Claudia raised her head with a renewed scowl, one more rigid than the one she had put down for a rest previously. Despite the cruel judgment from her Master, she accepted every word. Truly she wanted to improve. She wanted to do more than that; she desired nothing but power, and wanted to swallow the souls of everyone who opposed her, with renewed determination.

“Yes, Master.”

“We can use those slaves as target practice for the new spells… I suppose.”

“That is fine by me.”

Rafflesia and Claudia moved on to the section below the office where the process of creating lycanthropes was taking place. She met some of the individuals working with facilitating the various processes of the facility.

“Constance, otherwise named Thomas Walter Brand, will be the new manager at this facility of Al Baida, as per the words of the Blood Countess,” Crimson Rafflesia announced.

The other vampires presented words of welcome and of course, Constance appeared to be delighted. Claudia spotted various Infernals other than vampires working at this facility and they were all part of what appeared to be a large control room situated beside the office room that she had been in earlier. They more or less dressed like scientists.

“With that said,” Constance began, looking up to Claudia with a charming yet dark smile, “if there is anything you would need of me, or from here, please feel free to let me know.”

“In that case, I shall make that a habit from here on out.” Claudia lidded her eyes halfway and gave Constance a small curve of her lips.

“We will take you up on that offer. Please prepare some of the slaves,” Rafflesia said. “My apprentice will need them for her training.”

“At once.” Constance gave the staff members a glance, and they were off to inspect the many slaves kept in the cells.

“One of the reasons you were brought to this facility is because we have lots of fodder for you to use as practice,” Rafflesia claimed. “You need lives to practice with for the next set of spells that I will teach you.”

“In case each spell will take me more than one try, I assume?”

“I assume you will be killing dozens if not hundreds.”

“Very well, then.” It’s not like any of them will be missed anyways.

“Now, the function of the Collection spell that you used to gain the Duchess’ soul is quite necessary for the Undertakers. For the souls are essentially spent for casting the greater spells you will have in your arsenal. Do make note, however, that once a soul is used for such spells, their energy burns out… and they die.”

“So I cannot keep a soul to be used further. Right…”

“If you want to utilize that soul of the Duchess for other means, feel free to keep it. You will be extracting souls from the slaves with the new spell that you will learn.”

“A spell other than Collection to steal souls? Sounds enticing.”

“For the Collection spell, one must have parts of their body particularly decayed. This spell, however, does not have such a condition. All you need to do is bring them close to the door of death.”

“That’s quite a few people to cut through just to practice the spell. It may become tedious in the end. Are you feeling productive, Master?”

“As always. The Undertaker’s Lithomancy spell is the one you will be practicing while you bring them to the brink of death. It is a spell that allows you to control flesh by sending a soul directly into a vein. Your enemies would be akin to puppets. As you are able to control flesh with it, you may break the flesh, too.”

“Two spells in one practice. Not a bad plan,” Claudia said. “And what is the other spell?”

“Undertaker’s Execution.”

“Hmm. Fitting.”

As they were inside the mountain, the floor outside the rooms were of course simply the dirty ground. Crimson Rafflesia took up a rock from said ground and it turned black immediately, several veins of red running through it.

“Anything you use with this spell becomes your weapon.” Crimson Rafflesia tossed it at a random slave that was being injected with various oddities, and a part of it decayed quite literally, with the skin turning grey, accompanied by a howl. “As you can see, this will make it easier to use the Collection spell.”

Claudia looked on with interest. And Ansel thought that fun would be void while training under Master Rafflesia. To Claudia, this was the most fun she had ever had, knowing that she would be able to perform a spell like this.

“I see. I see. So like that rock, I can use Execution on say, Lachesis’ Fang, and bring my victims to decay like that, if I am receiving you correctly?”

“Yes. It will likely be the most potent combined with a relic. In the event that you lose it, however, it will still be castable… with whatever you pick up.”

“Incroyable…”

“Why do you keep spouting French words in some instances, anyway?” For once her Master showed curiosity. “Surely, you did not spend much of your childhood in that dreaded country of depraved minds.”

“It’s my native tongue,” Claudia answered simply. “Despite not being there for long, I cannot seem to shake the habit of speaking French no matter what I do. Is English your native language, Master?”

“I am a mix of American and Arabian blood. I suppose English is my native tongue.”

“American and Arabian, you say? That’s an interesting mix. Are you able to speak Arabic at all?”

“You think I can’t?”

“I only asked if you could, Master. Some people mixed with other races cannot speak a word of another language other than their native.”

“I have been in this country for good many years. It became essential, eventually.”

Constance and the others returned.

“Would it be alright to practice around the cells, Lady Claudia?” Constance asked. “We would not want too many corpses gathering around this part of the facility.”

“I do not mind. Lead the way.”

The three headed down to a hallway made out of steel. The mechanical gate opened with steam oozing out like it would in a sci-fi film she could find in America which was amusing to say the least. Constance led Claudia past a large room where computer screens were lodged all across the walls. There were various inputs coming from the security cameras and other data about the slaves, and the machines employed across the factory.

Another gate opened on the other side of this room as they were exiting, and they walked into an elevator. This lead them downwards, deeper into the earth.

Exiting it after their ride had ended, Constance led the pair way to what appeared to be a dungeon to Claudia, where many prison cells were visible under the dim hanging lamps. There was one large cell where she could see many people kept together. It was a rowdy bunch, sounding like buzzing bees from afar.

“These people, my ladies, will be the slaves you may use to your liking,” Constance said.

Claudia stared at each of them with contempt, with sheer disgust in her eye. “Excellent, Mister Constance.”

“I hope you enjoy yourself.”

“Have faith, I shall.”

“Come, let us proceed,” Rafflesia said impatiently.

Before Constance could open the door to the prisoner cell with a key, Rafflesia took up her hand and a clanking noise was heard, the door opening on its own. The Master and apprentice thus entered. The slaves all gave a fearful look at their oppressive appearances.

“I will show this just once.”

Crimson Rafflesia took up her hand and the familiar violet light burned on the tip of her index finger. She wrote the word “bend” in the soul language, followed by “control” then “flesh” and the results were astounding, as Claudia watched the flesh of a slave literally shift and move, a bloodcurdling cry echoing across the walls. The flesh was soon ripped apart due to the man declining to let Rafflesia’s souls rule over his body.

“Impressive,” Claudia mused, hardly phased by something grotesque now.

“Now, the Undertaker’s Usurpation.” Rafflesia walked up to the injured slave. All the other slaves inched away from him in fear of Claudia’s Master’s presence. Placing a hand on his forehead, she scribbled on his skin with her burning finger, etching the word “usurp.”

The man immediately fell limp on the floor, the glowing soul of him on Rafflesia’s palm and she showed it to Claudia.

“Remember,” she began, walking up to her. “A soul directly taken out and a stray soul you command are very different. This is because you cannot harness the full extent of the stray souls’ powers, yet only command them. This soul I have here…” She glanced down on it. “Is under my grasp, and control. I can thus burn it to summon… the weapon of the Executioner.”

“The weapon of the Executioner?” Claudia repeated, astoundment in her voice.

Rafflesia looked down at Claudia’s shirt and reached a hand out. She tore off a part of the sleeve, and it was shaped into a black, sharp blade immediately, red veins running across it as it became the weapon Claudia addressed a moment ago.

“That is correct. You will require at least two souls to activate this Supreme spell.”

“Incroya—I mean, incredible. Could I try?”

“Go ahead.”

A similar purple flame came about on Claudia’s index finger, and she faced the slave in front of her.

“Hold still.”

Through the air, the Daughter of Vampires had written the word control, then bend, then flesh, same as her Master, and recited them under her breath just to be thorough.

At first, nothing happened. Once Claudia wrote the words to overwrite her first attempt, the man’s flesh began to shift, akin to the first slave. There was some resistance from him, as his skin began to tear a little. His reaction was simply delightful to Claudia as he held back his scream. Claudia licked her lips with focus as she approached the man to draw the word usurp on his forehead. Once again, nothing happened however.

“Obey me…”

Claudia attempted once more, writing the word across the slave’s forehead a second time. He fell onto the ground, clearly knocking on Death’s door. Before she knew it, the soul was resting on Claudia’s palm. It took a few tries, but she managed to succeed.

“Good, good. That is not bad at all. Shall we keep going?” Rafflesia said.

“Yes, Master. The next step is the weapon, yes?”

“You need another soul for it.”

Humming with acknowledgement, Claudia stood up and faced the first slave she saw, raising her finger again. Control, bend, flesh, she thought, writing the words through the air. Unlike her first attempt, this one bore no fruit as the slave before her stood petrified, without any indication that her Lost Form had touched him.

“Are you shitting me?”

With slight frustration, Claudia wrote the words through the air again. She was left at ease as the man’s screaming told her she had succeeded this time. She had written usurp on his forehead and whispered, ”Silence,” into his ear, causing the man to die, and his soul to find Claudia’s palm.

“Now all that remains is the Execution. Take up an object. Infuse it with the chosen souls.”


“Might as well even out my shirt, then.” Claudia tore off a sleeve from the other side of her shirt and brought it, and the two souls together.

As expected, red veins enveloped the piece of clothing, shifting it into the aforementioned Executioner’s weapon—a large, black, sharp blade lush with red veins.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go kill someone.”

With a clear, smileless expression, Claudia gestured one of the cowering slaves towards her—the one behind the rest of them. She did not take too well to one person hiding idly while the rest of his fellow slaves would be slaughtered. She hated that.

“You, the coward. Come.”

With trembling legs the slave approached Claudia, whimpering and begging for his life. His pleas fell on deaf ears as she wordlessly swung the blade, cleaving his head clean off.

“Excellent. We will repeat this process… until you stop getting those failures of casting.”

“Yes, Master.”







Now back to the office, Claudia and her Master, Crimson Rafflesia were resting. Compared to the time they had first entered, the Representative noted guards that were not present prior. These were vampires generally dressed in black.

Here, the air conditioning was present and the feeling was soothing, especially after the training had been called off temporarily. Claudia’s body overused the mana it gathered and thus she could no longer cast her Undertaker spells, resulting in the break.

“So, what are your impressions of the new spells?”

“So far, they are splendid to the eye. I would be lying if I said I was not enjoying myself. That’s a lot to say from my first time meeting with you.”

“I see, but what if I tell you that these powers can control you, instead of you controlling them?”

“That is possible?”

“Yes. Have I told you before of the tale of the Undertakers?”

“More or less of it. Is there more?”

“You are never told the full story while you are still in training. When training for a Lost Form, the apprentice is to be told bits of the story as the spells are taught. That is what the tradition dictates.”

Claudia nodded. “Of course, Master.”

“You learned about the experiment that Jesus Christ started the last time. This story continues from there, and it leads into the era where the witch-hunts took place. Surely you have heard of this dreaded history before?”

“Yes. It was commonplace for one to be branded a witch whenever a coincidental occurrence of sorcery were to take place. They would burn someone at the stake without a second thought, yes?”

“Yes, these witch-hunts were started due to the mundanes misunderstanding typical magecraft for devil worshipping and Satanism. Ironically, the Church’s mages were also killed in these times.”

“Ironic indeed. Misunderstandings happen in the mindset of paranoia.”

“Meanwhile, the Infernals—mind you, us vampires too—continued to lie and speak their way out of the grasp of mere mundanes. Thus, Jesus Christ took the initiative to experiment with the souls of the dead; Undertaker spells were born. The issue was the nature of the spells, however. As you yourself have noticed, the soul of the dead contribute to a great dark, eroding power. It is worth harnessing, but is it meant for all to use in search of success? Nay. Weak minds cannot handle this poisonous strength.”

Claudia sat upward, crossing both her legs over each other. “And to harness this power correctly…one must possess a strong mind?”

“A strong and fortified mind. Despite that, your soul will inevitably darken, and it will lose its light, but let me ask you… if you are able to comprehend the dark, will you fear it?”

“I fear nothing, Master.”

“Good. In sacrifice of blood and souls comes power, and nothing more worthier, casting aside fear is the correct choice. It is said that the experiments were brought to a halt when the spells were not proven too effective against the Infernals—as the users were too weak for the power of the darkness. However, one of the Representatives of Christ continued, and thus the set of spells were complete. His discovery of the ability to use—and thus kill—the soul of a dead man was by accident, but I can only call it the work of fate. Through this accident, the spell to make any object the weapon of an Undertaker was invented.”

“An accident on their accord, which led to the creation of this Lost Form? Interesting,” Claudia said, musing.

“Continuation, rather than creation. That is all for this tale… for now. Claudia, you must learn to feel more of the darkness, and be far more acquainted with its whims.”

With a still expression Claudia nodded once more. “Absolutely. I shall invest more of my faith in the dark… and cast off even more from my skewed self… if it is to embrace the way of the Undertaker.”

“Good, good. If emotions are necessary, they are to enforce your actions. Chain your hate and sorrows, unleash them at your foes. Power cannot be ever hollow, fill them with darkness—your own, cultivated darkness.”

“By my hand, I shall ensure it will. I will achieve power, and harness my hate and anger to fuel it. With your help, Master, I will grind my enemies beneath my heel under yours, and Mother’s name.” Claudia bowed her head towards Rafflesia, fire burning in her chest as she uttered these words.

“I trust you will indeed. Now… that particular soul you hold as a trophy, how do you intend to put it to good use?”

“Whenever the chance comes, I plan to use it for a foe who is potentially stronger than I, only to even the playing field between us.”

“Why not plant it in her body and have the undead serve you? If it is so strong, it may not be worth completely burning out… just yet.”

“That’s a good idea. The Duchess was a strong opponent. Using her for my own will could help in the future,” Claudia said.

“If you are interested, I would want to conduct an experiment with… this soul. I have the will to create a… homunculus.”

“A homunculus…?”

“Artificial human beings, but stronger, and sturdier. The Archmage Titania is rumored to be one such creation. This may be an answer to a nearly perfect slave to use for your future designs.”

“I see. Then so be it. An unquestioning slave sounds pleasing.”

“Good. First, we will complete your current course of the training. After you master these new spells, you shall return to England. Your objective after your return will be to seek the grave of the Duchess, and bring to me some of the earth from it. Take any possible remains you find.”

“Yes, Master. What is next on the agenda, with that said?”

“For now, we should return to your training. Currently, our Mistress has not informed us of her plans.”

Claudia sighed. “That sounds like Mother, alright…”

“Miss Mercer? Miss Mercer…?”

Such calls muffled into her very dreams, as she saw the face of the one who she should never have left behind to fight for the Queen on that fateful night. Her laughs and the calls of the Prince dominated the strange world she found herself in, a grass field darkened by the cloudy sky.

Finally, the eyelids parted and the blurry vision was starting to clear itself slowly; Kaitlyn awoke, finding the Prince who was the culprit behind the end of her dream.

“You are finally awake, Miss Mercer. It is regrettable for your sleep but we must depart from the train now.”

“I wasn’t having a very good dream anyway,” Kaitlyn said. “Besides, I think I’ve slept enough the past few days.” She swung her legs over the bed and got up much more slowly to avoid a repeat of what happened last time.

“Did you have yet another glimpse of something ghastly…?”

“It wasn’t a vision. Just a regular, old bad dream. It’s difficult to explain, but I can tell the difference.”

“I see…”

The two walked out of the train. A sea of passengers was what one would expect, but Kaitlyn hardly saw many people in the station. The air was fresh in contrast to the salty winds of the oceans or the smog of factories from London. Despite all those she saw just outside the station, it was strange how none of them would walk into it, as if it wasn’t there for them at all.

“I guess these people are used to seeing the train all the time,” Kaitlyn said.

“The entire station is concealed by magic,” the Prince stated. “It is also hidden well from the government.”

Now that Kaitlyn thought about it, it sounded familiar. She was sure someone had told her at some point. Still, it was strange being completely ignored by everyone.

Coming out of the station, Kaitlyn finally got to peer at the majestic city of Tokyo. In her immediate vicinity, she spotted people standing atop panels across the pavements that seemed to move automatically, a form of transport that transcended the need for one to walk. The dress code was indeed terrifyingly different as she’d heard from her classmates at the Royal Academy before. The skirts were so short they appeared incomparable to the Victorian dresses that were known for both their nature of elegance and modesty.

There were tall skyscrapers, and vehicles flying across the cloudy sky. No signs of steam were apparent unlike her homeland. Instead, she could vaguely spot transparent roads that seemed to allow these transports to soar high up in the air. Aside from this, the large televisions were next to drew her attention, many advertisements playing that struck against her ears immediately as they exited the barrier of the Magic Train station.

Kaitlyn found herself turning every which way as she tried to take it all in. There was only one place she could think that they could be.

“We’re in Japan?”

“Indeed we are.”

June seemed to be waiting for them on the other side of the road, and waved at them. Noting the signals turn green—that showed the insignia of a walking person—across the roads, Leopold and Kaitlyn crossed it and walked over to him.

“I uh… wanted to say sorry,” June began. “I was being insensitive back there.”

“I was as well,” Kaitlyn said. “Sometimes… I can get a little heated I guess. Sorry.” She offered her hand.

The two shook their hands and the Prince smiled at them making up. They started to move as soon as they noticed that people were staring. As foreigners, it was natural to gain unwanted attention from the general pedestrians across the pavement. Especially noting the hair color of both the Prince and Kaitlyn, there were light grey and bright red respectively. June, on the other hand, had jet black hair but his facial features of that of an American drew the eyes of many ladies close by.

“Where did you decide to stay anyway?” June asked the Prince, who was already used to how casually June would address him.

“The Magic Academy, the one that has stopped operating for now. I suppose you are not one for stopping by to rest anywhere?”

“Yep.” June gave a nod. “If I was traveling alone… I’d probably go straight for the destination.”

“Where is our destination?” Kaitlyn asked.

“It is actually at the base of Mount Fuji,” the Prince explained. “There is an ancient Gate of the Faerie Realm there. It is the closest way to the Realm from the Crystal Summit.”

“Thing is, the Crystal Temple once had a pathway to the Faerie Realm before. Remember that orb-like thingy just as you would enter the temple?” June said. “That’s the reason why we don’t like the spy; he sorta broke that thing.”

“Did we ever find out why?”

“Not quite. Villains just love to make things inconvenient for the good guys sometimes.”

“I suppose so. How far is Mount Fuji from here?”

“Quite far… I have not been here for some time so I do not quite remember. It has been years,” the Prince said.

“It’d take a few hours by train? Not that long, actually… but we can’t take that transportation here,” June said. “We have to go by foot, unless you want to risk getting a cab.”

“Unfortunately, there is no Magic Taxi out in this country, either.”

Kaitlyn inwardly groaned. “Normally, I’m one for getting the work done as soon as possible, but rest sounds fine to me right now.”

“Agreed,” the Prince said. “That said… I wanted to discuss this back at the train but it appeared to me that you are prone to motion sickness. Anyway, Miss Mercer, what do you think of becoming a Diviner?”

“I have no idea what that is, Your Highness.”

“First time I’m hearing of them too,” June added.

“They are like Fortune Tellers, of sorts,” the Prince stated. “In the Magic World, they are particularly valued as they are the true Mystics, Oracles, or whichever term you may prefer to identify them. Unlike the fakes that rely on tricks such as observations of their clients. Those with the exceptional ability to see visions may learn to control it to a degree, and thus become Diviners.”

Kaitlyn hadn’t expected anything like this at all to result from telling him of her visions. She didn’t know what to say. The idea of being valued wasn’t something she could say she was overly familiar with either. She liked the sound of it. No, if I’m going to do this, I should do it because I want to do it for myself, not for someone else. “That’s a lot to take in,” she said, hesitant. “I’d have to think about it…”

“Well, one of my Sisters—not Princess Louise or the sort, of course—happens to be a powerful Diviner, so I believe she may be able to teach you.”

“Are you sure we can trust Her Highness after what happened?” She didn’t want to ask it, but it had to be done.

“I believe… at least I wish to believe—I do not think all of my siblings have completely turned against us. The Sister I speak of carries the same name as my Mother, she is the Royal Princess Victoria.”

“Would Her Highness be willing to teach me?”

“I am sure she would. I shall make the request myself… if we are able to make a detour to England.”

Kaitlyn let them walk on silence for a moment before answering. “I’ll do it, and thanks. I didn’t even know it was possible to control it at all until now.”

“It would be me who would thank you if you are able to master your potential. A Diviner is invaluable in times of strife.”

“Your Highness can count it good as done.”

“Are they better for combat?” June asked. “I mean it sounds cool and all, but I’m curious about their usefulness.”

“Hm… there are numerous accounts that they are able to predict coming perils, which applies too in battle,” Leopold answered. “It would be no surprise if Princess Louise hired Diviners for the upcoming war. They hold the potential to turn the tides. Albeit…”

“Their visions are still not fully understandable all the time, are they?”

“That will always be a shortcoming, I suppose. Needless to say, visions do not always come to the Diviners.”

“It can’t be worse than no warning at all, can it?” Kaitlyn asked.

“But aren’t there myths out there where prophesies lead people to do the wrong things and the tragedies happens anyway?” June said.

“You know, you’re surprisingly negative for a guy who smiles so much.”

“Ahaha…” June sighed. “Well, I can’t help it nowadays.”

“I know what you mean. After everything that’s happened…” Her thoughts returned to home once more. She wondered when she’d next get a chance to see the people she left behind, if her family had any idea of her involvement in the rebellion. If they did, they probably thought she was dead. She didn’t even want to ask how hard it would hit them.

The three thus continued on their way to the deserted Eastern Magic Academy, with the Prince taking the lead, June ending up as the rear, and Kaitlyn in-between the two gentlemen, packed in the middle of the myriad crowds of people that traversed across Tokyo.

Finding floors that almost seemed to sparkle in cleanliness, the buildings of the Magic Academy stood tall and proud before the eyes of Prince Leopold, ex-Enforcer Kaitlyn, and Paladin June. A gloom hung afloat the premises despite the purity of the sight, the clouds particularly matching the mood of the lone Boundary Realm.

The three crossed the gateway that separated the dimensions across a road they had finally reached in Tokyo but moments ago, leading them to this area.

“It is the same, yet absolutely different,” Prince Leopold was the first to make the remark upon its desolation. “Virgo has done its reputation and function quite the blow.”

“Is there no one who wants to take over the position of Headmaster?” Kaitlyn asked.

“It is not easy to be a Headmaster of a Magic Academy. A man or woman of particular skill and power is required… you have to be at least close to the level of Archmage—or simply an established Archmage—or the founder… or one chosen by the founder.”

“Sounds complicated,” June commented. “Heard the old man of Crystal Summit is still looking for someone.”

“This place is so eerie,” Kaitlyn said. “I would have liked to see it when it was still up and running.”

“I had studied here for a year when it was still lively. Albeit this Academy had its own moments of tension,” Leopold replied.

“Like what?”

“Racism and discrimination was extremely common. This was a place where the easterns and westerns would bicker to no end against one another.”

“Should have guessed. It seems no matter where you go, there’re always people who pick on those who are different.”

“I remember Sister Louise would often berate such people… she was also a close advocate of equality between genders, among other philosophies that seemed to reflect a well and just nature…” Yet why did she do such a thing…? The Prince sighed. “Shall we make a survey of the remains, or simply use the empty dormitories?”

June shrugged. “Your call. I’m not really tired. So I could go check things out.”

So there is some good in the Princess at least, Kaitlyn thought. It was weird to think so though since Kaitlyn’s first and only encounter with her so far had been them trying to kill each other. “Are we sure this place is secure?”

“That would be the purpose of the survey,” June said. “Though I don’t sense anything bad right off the bat. It’s just a place left behind by people, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, yet Miss Mercer and I are quite tired from the trips,” Leopold said. “I believe it is more or less safe for now.”

“I had plenty of time to sleep, Your Highness,” Kaitlyn said. “The walk over cleared my head as well. In fact, I’m feeling a little restless. I wouldn’t mind giving the grounds a look over first.”

“Very well. I shall find myself a room to sleep in for some rest. Shall we meet in the cafeteria of the main building later?”

“Okay… but where is that?”

Prince Leopold pointed at a building beside the main building. “That there is the male dormitory. The structure closer to the Academy building is the female dormitory. You may use it when you are tired—doubt anyone is overlooking it nowadays.”

“Got it.” She turned to June. “Paladin June, shall we stick together or would you prefer to split up?”

“I’ll let you choose. Don’t mind either way… we’re here for the whole day anyway,” June answered.

“Maybe it would be best if we stick together for now. So no one gets lost.”

“Gotcha. I’ll take lead just in case.”

With that said, the two departed for the survey, while the Prince made his way towards the male dormitory.

“I guess we should start with the main Academy building first,” June added.

The two scrolled across the pavement, passing by a fountain—with the statue of the founder—of which no water flowed. As expected of a Boundary, the dimension was particularly well-controlled despite the fact that its owner was lost; there was no sign of any spec of dust in the air, and the air thus felt cleaner than in Japan, but the tinge of unnaturalness would make one feel out-of-place in the foreign domain.

Inside the building, the halls were large and long. The ceiling was high but covered only half the space a Victorian hall would. It only now came to Kaitlyn just how much the Victorians had a penchant for grandeur. Despite the fact that the Academy was in a futuristic country, items of antique still seemed to be present to make reminders of past eras, such as chandeliers and candles often coming into sight across the hallways.

The classrooms always had only three layers of concrete walls on the sides, instead of four. They would find a wall made out of glass instead for the final layer, with sliding doors. The tables and chairs appeared far more comfortable than those of the Royal Academy.

“Is this your first time in Japan?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Second,” June answered.

“What was the first time you were here, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Same reason as yours.”

Kaitlyn couldn’t help but smile. “Got your Crystal cracked during training?”

“Yeah, my Master was brutal that day. I’ll never forget it.”

Kaitlyn almost winced just thinking about the pain. “You can say that again. The Prince didn’t hold any punches during our duel, not that I’d have had it any other way.”

She expected a response, but there was nothing. She looked up, and June was gone. Looking around, she suddenly found a lively environment. Countless student scholars walking about as if the Magic Academy was in its peak of activity like it was a year ago.

She stepped back as a student walked by her but was too stunned to do much else as she watched what would have been a normal day at the Academy unfold around her.

At last, she remembered her voice. “June?”

One, two, three. Seconds passed, but there was no response.

A student almost seemed as though she came out from Kaitlyn, but in reality, she was only passing through. Kaitlyn looked down at herself, finding her body transparent. Looking up, she saw Elizabeth traversing the hallways. Another figure passed by her transparent form, and she recognized this person as Aramus Valmark, a Magic Magister.

“Now we really go for the kitchen. Do not worry, Teacher. Since it was I who got the healing, I shall accompany you on your journey to obtain the rare bottle of wine. Of course, I shall pay for it, so please, do not worry yourself regarding the expenditure.”

“What I need is someone to help me identify a decently aged wine,” Aramus said. “You up for that? I can handle the rest.”

“B-But for a teacher to pay for me… it is not like you have any obligation over my health as a caretaker… I feel like I should not indulge such kindness… ”

“Then take it as that, something a teacher should do. Every job has its hazards, this is much better than suffering bodily harm. Your goal as a student is simple and you are doing a magnificent job at it, I just wish that some of the others would share the same spirit as you do towards my lessons.”

Kaitlyn heard the conversation as they walked away. The noble lady was still as bright as she could remember, unlike the ghastly recollections she had of her visions.

“Elizabeth? Valmark?” They either couldn’t hear her or they were ignoring her. What the bloody hell is going on in this place? This couldn’t be real, but then what was it?

Kaitlyn followed them down the hall. “Wait!” But like before, there was no response.

She soon saw the cafeteria. It was crowded to say the least. She found Elizabeth sailing through the groups of students with no difficulty, as if she was used to dealing with them. It seemed like everyone was waiting for something. Looking to the side, the lady behind the counter was panicking. Apparently, it was one of those rare days of crisis when the Academy had a shortage of food.

Elizabeth opened the door to the kitchen and immediately closed it. Kaitlyn could swear she saw a puff of black smoke escape from the sliver of space that cropped up when it was opened.

“Oh dear, it is full it seems. How unfortunate,” Elizabeth said. “We seem to be a little unlucky today. However, I shall not yield to this, yes.” She gave a nod, as if to make a resolve. “Please allow me to lead the way. I am aware of an alternative to our poor stomachs.”

“I don’t even want to find out. It’s all yours Elizabeth, show me what you can do,” Aramus said, making a grin, enchanted by the prospect of homemade cooking, as it appealed to him more than store-bought food.

Thus, Kaitlyn saw the pair walk all the way out of the Academy building. She followed, curious. They tread exactly as the Prince once pointed to, the girls’ dormitory. To think a noble lady was leading a male teacher to her room. This would be enough material for an article to cause a scandal back in the turbulent times of Victorian London. She watched as Elizabeth carefully inspected her surroundings. The students generally cared not who went where, but other girls similarly from London would. Apparently, Elizabeth was lucky in that regard.

By the time Aramus entered the room of Elizabeth—and Kaitlyn as the ghastly figure that she was now—the noble lady herself was extremely nervous, even though it was her own idea. It was likely her first time letting a man inside her room. She kept saying that it was messy, but it was in reality very clean and tidy.

Kaitlyn spotted a large bed covered with a pink sheet. An oversized stuffed teddy bear sat atop it, and some Victorian dolls shelved beside it. On the other hand was another bed, but white and plain; Elizabeth had no roommate. In the other corner a kitchenette could be seen, and lastly some seats and tables. It was more or less plain, but some of the convenient luxuries showed that the rich could indeed get whatever they pleased with the power of wealth.

She watched as they spoke sparsely, and the lady went about cooking for her teacher. The noises sounded to her like an intense battle in the kitchenette, as if it would fall apart any moment. Indeed, Kaitlyn knew what Aramus could expect. However, her own expectations fell flat when she saw Elizabeth deliver to the Magister a “bentou”—a Japanese styled lunch. The scent carried and even she could take it in despite her body not being in solid form, making her somewhat hungry.

“You have my deepest thanks, Elizabeth. Truly, what I usually eat could not compare to this,” Aramus said.

“I-Is that so? You are welcome, teacher,” Elizabeth responded.

Kaitlyn smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. “I know that feeling.” She hadn’t had to cook for herself for some time, but she wasn’t looking forward to the next time she had to. An image of Elizabeth blushing popped into her mind when Kaitlyn had asked her if there was anyone special in her life. “Wait a minute. No. It couldn’t be… could it?”

While she was contemplating the possibilities of Elizabeth’s love, the two before her seemed to descend into a trail of conversation that led to one thing after the other. For some reason, Elizabeth was suggesting teaching the Magister table etiquette, while the Magister was being incredibly negative about attending parties the nobility often partook in England.

It reminded Kaitlyn of her own days at the Academy back in England when one of her friends had taken it upon herself to teach her. She had rarely had an opportunity to use those skills though. By now, some of the finer points had been forgotten.

Suddenly, she heard something. Kaitlyn looked towards the corner of the room. There was nothing. She tilted her head, the sound was getting stronger, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

Looking front again, Elizabeth was sleeping, then waking up, dressing up, applying makeup, combing her hair. She came and went, repeatedly. It was all happening in a motion so fast Kaitlyn could hardly tell what was going on as time fast forwarded rapidly, the sound chipping as well. For moments, the room became peaceful eerily as Elizabeth was gone. Kaitlyn could see the dust settle into the room unsettlingly fast and the birds moving and singing at an unimaginable speed; the leaves rustled, days and nights passed.

Finally, the door opened, and the passage of time turned again normal, but the Elizabeth who stepped into the space was completely different, and Kaitlyn’s blood could be felt getting hotter, her senses on the edge. A chilling sense of fear at the same time invaded her heart. The noble lady’s smile looked pained as she was picking something up from the desk.

The noise from earlier returned, as if beckoning Kaitlyn while something unbelievable was in the process of happening.

“Hey, Kaitlyn!”

The hallways of the main building now seemingly less cleaner and dusty after she had witnessed what it was really like. She was standing, but not in Elizabeth’s room. Turning, she found June, who seemed concerned for her.

“You alright? You’ve been standing here like a statue for a while,” the American said.

Did she see the past, the present, or the future? Or did she see all of it at once?

“You… didn’t see anything?” Kaitlyn asked.

Only now did she notice that he had placed his hand on her shoulder, thus she came back to her senses.

“See what?” June looked around. “There’s no one here but us, you know?”

“But the students… and Elizabeth and Val—” She stopped herself when she remembered the hatred June had for him. She retraced what had happened in her head. She had followed the teacher and student to the young noble lady’s room, and then—

“I’m sorry, there’s something I have to check!” She took off sprinting down the hall before June could reply. That last bit she saw, could it have been what was going on right now? Only one way to find out.

She retraced their steps out of the main building, only taking a wrong turn once and having to backtrack. Bursting out of the doors, she headed straight for the building the Prince had indicated earlier as the female dormitory. She entered and made her way to Elizabeth’s room, taking the path she had been shown by the lady herself.

Finally opening the door, she found the large stuffed teddy bear torn apart, cotton making the floor messy. The bed was broken in two. The table shattered as it was originally made of ice. The kitchenette’s sink was now in an indescribable shape which resembled what she could call a balled-up tin can. In the middle of this unholy mess was a black long mantle, and a familiar head of blonde hair, except it was slightly brighter than before.

Turning, the noble lady faced the former Enforcer, holding a golden necklace in her hand that she picked up from the desk. Her eyes now carried a deep shade of scarlet as she turned, her smile revealed a canine fang, and her lips curled; sinister in nature.

The chill and the hot blood both erupted in Kaitlyn at the same time at the sheer presence of Elizabeth, a form that contrasted her old self greatly.

“Oh? This is quite a surprise.”

Kaitlyn was at a loss for words. She hadn’t actually expected to find her here. “Elizabeth… what happened to you? What are you doing here?”

Under the mantle was Elizabeth indeed, wearing a fancy dress that imitated the shape of a corset to Kaitlyn. It was all in black, the inside of the mantle displayed a bright red, as red as her eyes. The fashion was nothing a Victorian would endorse usually.

She laughed, her voice slightly different than before. “I wonder about that. What are you doing here?”

Kaitlyn was suddenly weary. Her instincts told her not to trust Elizabeth too much. Something had happened to the noble lady, that much was sure. Until she knew what, she couldn’t risk revealing too much. “A lowly Enforcer like me? That’s not important, not compared to you.”

“I can feel your doubt over me.” Elizabeth took a step forward. “Scared?” Kaitlyn noticed now, that in the parts of skin in clear visibility aside from her dress, there were patches of bandages dressing the skin. Despite her words, Elizabeth was in reality injured, and likely weak.

Kaitlyn kept her voice steady. “I want to help you, but I can’t do that if you won’t tell me what’s going on.”

“I have no intention of seeking your help, Miss Mercer.” Calmly, Elizabeth closed her eyes, and wore the necklace that she previously held, a faint noise of the material was heard. “Your little job is over and I do not need to play the act of a good noble lady anymore.”

“Guess I failed in the end. I had intended to come back for you after the battle but… things got out of hand. I’m sorry.”

“What?” The noble lady tilted her head quizzically. “What are you talking about?” She laughed again, this time it sounded much more grim. “You helped me greatly with your absence, oh yes. I could finally relax.”

Kaitlyn clenched her fist. “Is this what came about from relaxing?”

She grinned, both her canine fangs now visible. “I suppose you could put it that way, Miss Mercer.”

The details of Kaitlyn’s vision clicked into place. She became all too aware that she was unarmed except for her mana. “You—you’re…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

“Yes?”

“When did it happen? How were you turned?”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“When we were stuck together in my apartment, I started caring about you, not just because of the job. I thought maybe you had started caring about me as well, but maybe that was just the †˜good noble lady act.’”

“I might have.” Elizabeth shrugged before crossing her arms. “I was such an annoying goody-two-shoes.”

“I liked you better then if that counts for anything.”

“I do not care—” The vampire coughed, a hand holding her mouth. Looking down, there was crimson blood. “Tch, that bitch struck harder than I thought.”

Her language shocked Kaitlyn. The old her never would have said something like that. “Who are you talking about?”

Elizabeth’s tone was laced with venom as she answered, “The whore who stole from me… my Aramus.” She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Oh well, I’ll kill Her Majesty and take him back eventually.”

The idea of Elizabeth and the Queen fighting over Aramus Valmark of all people sounded like something out of a crazy dream. “If you’re after the Queen, then it would seem we’re enemies.”

Her manic laughter reverberated against the room’s walls. “This world is my enemy anyway. A pebble becoming an enemy changes nothing.”

The fallen noble lady was injured, but Kaitlyn had no idea what she had been capable of before becoming a vampire, and she definitely had no idea after turning.

“Whatever you’ve done, I’m sure it’s not too late to atone for it,” Kaitlyn said. The least she could do was give her one last chance. She owed her that much. “There has to be a cure out there somewhere for what you have.”

“Huh?! Are you dumb?” Elizabeth’s brows knitted, the mantle floating up as invisible mana revolved around her very figure. “I became this way out of my own volition; I do not need a cure.”

Before Kaitlyn could think, she used her mana to send spikes bursting out from the wall. She backed out into the hall, keeping her guard up. When the dust settled, Elizabeth stood there completely untouched. “Well damn…”

The ends of the mantle seemed to have curved to stop the spell. It was as if it was made out of steel, and the spikes out of something much, much softer, enough to twitch and break on contact.

Elizabeth raised her arm up to the heaven, a blazing greatsword materializing. The relic Surtur’s Blade sailed down. Kaitlyn could only see the vampire’s visage coming up to her in an instant—the speed making zip closer to her, displaying unimaginable feats even in the Magic World. It dug against the shoulder of Kaitlyn, drawing forth deep red blood.

A kick sent her flying afterwards, screaming, the walls tearing apart at the wake of Kaitlyn as the powerful force carried her far, demolishing room after room. When she finally hit a wall and stopped, she could see Elizabeth gazing at her with glee.

Pain racked Kaitlyn’s body, but she wasn’t out of the fight yet. She created a boulder and launched it at Elizabeth’s face. It was shattered almost immediately as Elizabeth held it with a single hand and crushed it.

Darkness spread from the noble lady—painting the surroundings black—as her grin grew wider with magic having enveloped the space. Before Kaitlyn could react, the vampire gripped her neck tightly with strength unbelievable, and picked her up from the debris-littered floor.

“Is that all you can do?”

A coldness seized Kaitlyn, as if something had leached away all the heat of the dorm. The source of it seemed to come from all around her.

“How about this?” she managed. She tried to focus on the Crystal in her chest, but as she gasped for air, her concentration slipped.

Elizabeth’s grip tightened. It felt as though her neck could break any moment. “And?”

“How about this then?” she choked out. She reached out desperately for Vim mana, but the spell she had in mind fled her.

“You are lacking in power, Miss Mercer.” Elizabeth’s eyes shined scarlet in the darkness, her leer seemed to look deep into her soul. The darkness that obscured all that surrounded Kaitlyn gave her a chilling sensation across her skin. She bore her fangs. “The weak shall only remain for the feeding of the strong.”

Just before the noble lady drew upon her blood from her neck, a blade cut into the darkness, and Kaitlyn could see June settling upon the vampire a sharp swing. A strong gust blew, and the end of its sharp invisible talons was Elizabeth, her fist firmly planted against the wall at the end of the corridor. After the ex-Enforcer fell out of the grip of the vampire, June provided a helping hand.

“I see you’re the type who loves to run into trouble literally, aren’t you?”

Kaitlyn gasped for breath as she took his hand and climbed to her feet. Whatever June had done expelled the darkness. “Not really, but I’ve been making a habit of it lately.” She coughed. “Careful, she’s a vampire.”

“And a strong one at that…” June inspected Elizabeth, who had already pulled herself out of the wall’s embrace. “She took a direct hit and is standing as if it did nothing even then.”

“You did better than I did,” she said as the air around her shimmered from her mana. She was going to have to do better if they were to fight Elizabeth off. She drew upon the Vis Rook as she formed gold before her. She made a javelin like she usually did with the spell, but it was noticeably larger than usual and still glowed red-hot even after it was done forming. “Sorry,” she breathed as she launched it at her.

Wings of burning red formed from the back of Elizabeth and each of its sharp ends met the tip of the javelin of Kaitlyn. Modern magic clashed with ancient magic, forming devastating shock waves that marred the walls and the floor, reaching up to the two behind, even.

The already-tarnished wall behind Elizabeth gave out when the wings of the great Phoenix could not hold back a Vis-powered Golden Sphere spell. The javelin-impaled Elizabeth was sent away to the floor below the dormitory, all the way down from where they were.

Kaitlyn crept up to the hole and peered down. The force of the spell had sent the vampire down two floors, but her wings had caught her at the last moment, breaking her fall. She hung suspended from the floor. Kaitlyn shot another boulder at her. This time, it crashed into her, knocking her loose. Dust and debris obscured her from sight. She waited for several moments and was preparing herself to jump down after her when Elizabeth came flying back up at her.

The blazing sword formed yet again under her palm on the right hand. A new relic formed on her left hand, a blue large hilt was the first that Kaitlyn recognized. It was the sword that Aleksander once stole and drew much hatred from Aramus with. Now Elizabeth was its proper owner. Fire and water thus danced under her command. June put up his sword, Mystic Crystals forming with a blue shine, enchanting his clothing and protecting them both as he moved up before his companion.

When the waves of fire and water cleared, June sighed a breath of relief, in which moment Elizabeth herself clashed fiercely, sending him flying, sending both Kaitlyn and himself away.

Kaitlyn hit the floor and a split second later, June landed on top of her with his back. Kaitlyn groaned. “Thanks for the assist, but I’d appreciate it if you could get off of me.”

June rolled to the side, doing as told. He got up wearily facing Elizabeth. “Your friend here has some crazy strength. Were vampires ever supposed to be that sort of a monster?”

“I don’t know, but I’m beginning to wonder,” she said as she got up. She was running out of ideas. The only time she seemed to even hurt her was when she used Vis, but she couldn’t keep doing that forever. She didn’t even know how much the Rook had left.

“Close your eyes,” Kaitlyn whispered to June. “I’ll create an opportunity to attack.” A bright flash took the hall. When it subsided, she could see that the noble lady had covered her eyes with her mantle.

A black air started flowing from behind Elizabeth. The air was not filling with mana but Spiritual Energy instead. This was informed to Kaitlyn instinctively, but the inexperienced person did not know how to perceive it. With each echo of the step, June moved back wearily, fearing the vampire’s next move.

The glowing wings of the vampire shrinked, the lady taking up the twin blades.

“Get down!”

The waves of fire and water danced again with elegance and intensity both, and this time it was the blade of the Prince that met the combined forces instead of June’s, sending away more shockwaves that rattled the walls before they collapsed.

Unlike June, the Prince intercepted the next attack and the two warriors partook a dance of death, the songs of steel carrying far into the lone space of the Boundary Realm.

“Tch, insects, coming out one after the other,” Elizabeth cursed under her breath.

“Come to your senses, Lady of the House of Cavendish Bentincks!” the Prince called out, but it was for naught.

Elizabeth’s expression was wrought with a manic look. This battle was but an entertainment to her as she laughed each of those moments her blades clashed.

“So Your Highness is the one who would not submit to the new authority. Ehehe. How does it feel being in exile like this?”

Leopold only groaned in turn, swinging his blade. Black and ephemeral bats flew up to Elizabeth from the shadows, joining her in a blackness that seemed to create for her a path to the world outside the Realm.

“Well, I got what I came for,” the noble lady said to herself, floating backwards. She laughed. “Till we meet again, Miss Mercer.” The portal closed, and the atmosphere immediately started to become calm and silent.

“I’m glad Your Highness showed up, but if she’s still with The Society—which she probably still is—then word’s gonna make its way back to Princess Louise that Your Highness is still alive,” Kaitlyn said.

The Prince turned to Kaitlyn, sighing, resting his shoulders and sheathing the blade now that the battle was over.

“I am afraid she is not, Miss Mercer. Not fully, anyway,” Leopold said. “Miss Cavendish Bentinck has joined the notorious Countess.”

“You mean that terrorist leader person?” June asked.

“Yes. She is no ordinary vampire, too… I hope I am wrong in that I have just fought someone on the league of a Representative… or a new Representative of the Countess,” the Prince said.

A chill ran down Kaitlyn’s back. To think we were fighting someone that strong and didn’t even realize it… “She said it wasn’t forced on her. She chose it.”

“Whatever the case… your visions have prophesied this change. I suppose there is no room for doubt now.”

“Seems that way,” June said. “That was too sudden, though. Running off without really explaining. We could’ve stood a better chance if we faced her together from the start.”

“I’m sorry,” Kaitlyn said. “What I experienced back at the main building, it was another vision I guess, but it was different than any I’ve had up †˜til now. I saw the past and for awhile, it was like I was walking through the Academy with Elizabeth while she was a student here. I followed her to her old dorm room, and then it jumped ahead to another point in time. I suspected it was the present, but I couldn’t be sure.

“If there was a chance of seeing her again, I didn’t want to miss it. I thought maybe if I could talk to her… I don’t know what I thought. Whatever it was, it didn’t work.” She looked over the destruction of the fight. “When I snapped out of the vision, it was like being pulled out of the middle of a dream and you wake up in bed and you don’t know what’s going on at first, but that’s no excuse.”

“So I guess that was a daydream sorta thing…? You were completely still like a statue back then,” said June, contemplating based on what he saw back then. In fact, June was dumbfounded for some time before he bothered to call out to Kaitlyn directly when he noted the way she was strangely standing still. “Now that I think about it, there is something weird about this whole place.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t really put a word to it… it’s just there.”

“You must be picking up on the system left behind by the Academy,” the Prince said. “It was often not told to the students who used to study here, but the late Headmistress had the idea to have a magical field set across the campus, which would help draw out the potential of the scholars that used to be here. It is an ingenious idea that has worked to this day, it seems.”

“So… it gave me a stronger vision than normal?” Kaitlyn asked.

“It is certainly an improvement.”

“I didn’t even know it was possible to see the past. Until now, they’ve always been about the near-future.”

“I have also thought that it was limited to either the past of the future… perhaps Sister Victoria would shed more light on this matter.”

“I hope so. By the way, does Your Highness know if this Academy keeps weapons on hand like the Royal Academy back home?”

“There is some practice weaponry in the combat practice rooms, yes. Most of them are wooden, though.”

Kaitlyn sighed. “There wouldn’t happen to be any places nearby where I could get a real sword, would there?”

“I apologize, but I do not believe they produce swords often around the area in Tokyo, either. Carrying real weapons in illegal there. At best, we may find for you a weapon in the Faerie Realm.”

Kaitlyn smiled sheepishly. “No need to apologize, Your Highness. It’s my fault. I don’t know why I didn’t ask to be armed before we left the Crystal Summit.”

“Because you’re careless,” June mockingly said with a big smile. “Well, no worries. You got a dashing Prince to protect you and all; it’ll be fine.”

“I’d be dead if not for the both of you. Although, I offered to serve His Highness, but it seems like all I’ve done is be a burden so far.”

“Simply drop more of those boulders down and perhaps you would serve me fine,” Leopold said with a laugh. “Now that the threat is gone though, I would like to get back to the dormitory and rest.”

Kaitlyn grinned. “Oh, I’ve got plenty more boulders if you want them, Your Highness.”

“That shall be good enough. I shall now return. I believe you two may continue with the survey, or take rest as well.”

“Well, what do you wanna do?” June asked the ex-Enforcer. “I can still go for a survey if you’re up for it.”

“We may as well finish looking over the campus,” Kaitlyn said. “When we’re done, I think it might be best if I take an empty room in the male dorm. I don’t think we’ll get attacked anymore while we’re here, but it might be best if we stick close together.”

“Not to mention that this place was rocked hard from the fight,” June agreed. “No spacing out this time though.”

“It’s not as if I have control over them…”

The two scoured the main Academy’s building. Aside from its grand halls and rooms, there was a myriad of offices and most particularly, the combat practice rooms. When the two walked down a staircase, they found an underground floor of the Academy which lead to another long hallway, this time full of wooden doors and no glassed walls like the classrooms. One would be reminded of a hospital, or a research facility with the way the architecture was down here, especially June, who found it awfully resembling to such places. Above each of the doors were labels, all with a green background and a number scribed.

Walking through the corridor, the path appeared to be rather endless, they stopped around the seventieth room, and even then, the path was far from over.

“Just how many rooms for practice did they need?” June exclaimed, catching his breath. “This is a bit too hardcore even for a Magic Academy.”

“It’s certainly bigger than the Royal Academy, that’s for sure,” Kaitlyn said.

June opened the door labeled under seventy, and as he entered, Kaitlyn noticed that the green background of the label changed to red and glowed. The room inside had a floor made of wood, and it was smooth to the touch. The lights turned on automatically.

“This place in neat for a spar, that’s for sure.”

Kaitlyn walked up to the sword rack and lifted a wooden sword up. Its style was different than what she was used to and if she got in a serious fight, it wouldn’t last one attack, but it was better than nothing. She rested the sword over her shoulder. “Don’t think they’ll miss this.”

“Don’t think they will either.” June picked up a wooden katana for himself and made a toothy grin. “Wanna go at it?”

Kaitlyn returned a grin. “If you promise not to cry too much when I hit you.”

June shrugged. “Who was the one crying when I found you? Those squeals didn’t sound anything like mine.”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t crying.”

“That’s what they all say.”

June walked up and took a fighting stance.

Standing opposite him, Kaitlyn drew the wooden sword and held it before her. They sized each other up. Kaitlyn lashed out to test him, and her sword was turned aside with ease. They exchanged a few more strikes, the sound of wood clacking echoing across the room, before Kaitlyn noticed an opening and brought her sword down hard on his shoulder.

June smirked through the strike. Having taken greater blows in life before, this was close to nothing in comparison. He twisted his wooden sword in an awkward fashion as he displayed his swordsmanship, but Kaitlyn bolstered her defense in tandem, the two dancing with the clashing pieces of woods. A counter strike was made when Kaitlyn blocked an attack. His sword snuck past her seemingly impregnable guard, striking against her forearm.

Pain flared where he hit, but she ignored it. She immediately struck back at his torso. June dodged back, lessening the blow, but it wasn’t enough to avoid it entirely.

He winced in response, but made a sweeping motion at her gut, making a clean cut just before she retracted her weapon completely.

Kaitlyn gritted her teeth as the two broke apart and took up stances once more. They eyed each other wearily. They both charged at the same time, Kaitlyn aiming low, June coming in high. At the same moment she struck him just below his ribs, he struck her in the shoulder.

“You’re pretty good,” Kaitlyn said, rubbing the spot he struck.

“Same to you.” June heaved a sigh. “Up for round two? Or continue the survey?”

“That’s enough playing around for now. We should get back to the survey.” Kaitlyn sheathed the sword. “We’ll settle the tie another time.”

“Oh well. Too bad, I’m more of a fighter than a scouter, but I guess you’re right.” June put away the wooden blade, putting it back in its rightful place.

Kaitlyn slid the sword into her belt. “I’d prefer to just sit down and have a nice cup of hot tea, but I get the feeling the opportunities for that will be few and far between in the times ahead.”

“Probably.”

The two exited the dojo-like combat practice room and soon exited the Academy, finding nothing else to look into inside the main building.

June began as they faced the dormitories yet again, “Should we bother with that female dorm anymore now that we’ve been there once already?”

“We might as well search it over, or what’s left it at any rate,” Kaitlyn said. “I don’t know about you, but I was a little pre-occupied earlier.”

He shrugged. “Oh I’m sure you were.”

The two walked up to the female dormitory now. There was a book on the desk of the counter. June flipped through the pages and found various names of students and a list of their rooms. Each of the rooms were assigned a number and a name next to it.

Kaitlyn noticed thanks to her visions that the dust had indeed settled in. In such a Realm that was initially always perceived as clean, it was hard to tell when it would get old and dusty if one wouldn’t see it in its prime and original clean state.

Proceeding inside, the first floor was more or less intact, unaffected from the earlier battle. Although the two could spot stray cracks on the walls that made them think otherwise. The rooms were plain and empty. A bed or two and a desk and drawer would almost always be found, carrying nothing of note.

The second floor was a mess. Due to their fight with Elizabeth, much of the rooms were destroyed, but some were still found to be mostly undisturbed. The rooms were still empty. Now that she thought about it, only Elizabeth’s room was not entirely empty, but it seemed that the vampire had torn what little belongings laid in the room to smithereens as they revisited it.

“I think she was here because she came back for something,” Kaitlyn said. “When I found her, she was holding a necklace.”

“So… something important to her,” June said. “Maybe a magic item… or just a personal thing.”

“Something from her old life… You know, despite what she’d have us believe, I don’t think the old her is completely gone.”

“So what? You aren’t gonna say those cheesy things like you won’t kill her after beating her or something, are you?”

“Perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think she had intended to hurt me at first. I attacked her first. I let my anger get the better of me again. I only knew her for a month, but I have a hard time imagining her becoming the Countess’ Rep unless she didn’t have a choice. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not condoning what she’s done. I’ll kill her if it comes down to it, but I’d rather not.”

“That kinda resolve is… I dunno, feels half-baked to me. I’ve seen people hesitate and get killed instead. Don’t be one of those people.” June faced away from Kaitlyn, took one last look at the unholy mess that was Elizabeth’s room, and walked away.

Kaitlyn remained standing in the room. “I’ve seen people like that too,” she said to herself. She used to think they were foolish, but now she wasn’t so sure. She stepped outside and caught up with June.

“There’s a third floor it seems…”

As they walked up the staircase, the third floor was particularly dark and dusty. The windows were shut tight and curtains closed any light of day from entering. The air was thick and it was uncomfortable.

“I don’t like this place one bit.”

“Afraid of the dark?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Just a bad feeling,” June said with a “harumph.”

Most of the rooms were still empty, but some of them seemed to have left behind belongings. For example, there was one room where many scrap papers of random written words were found. Apparently there had been an artist or lyricist staying in that room. Another room had some Buddhist charms hidden for some reason.

The final room seemed to be at the end of the corridor. It was on neither side unlike the other doors, but in the middle. June had to push the door with his shoulder to break it open, for it was too old and stuck against the wooden walls. Unlike most of the other rooms, they found one that was completely untouched.

Sofas, beds, furnitures lavish and carpets decorated the room. There were portraits of Tokyo, and some that seemed to be inspired from Japanese culture. Kaitlyn marveled at the exquisite tastes of the owner of this room. Even June seemed to be impressed. The air was cleaner inside as it was preserved quite well, thanks to the tough door and the shut windows. As they walked across the room and analyzed it, the ex-Enforcer found a small framed portrait placed atop a desk. It showed the late Headmistress of the Academy, a blonde woman.

Behind the blonde woman were her students, and beside her were seemingly the teachers. Aramus could not be seen so it was determined to be quite old.

Kaitlyn realized whose room this had been. It hadn’t simply been abandoned like the others. Its owner was dead. “This is where she stayed, isn’t it? The Headmistress.”

June pointed at the wall. “Seems like it.” Kaitlyn then found another portrait, this time with only the Headmistress in it. June opened the drawers to check, finding various gadgets that even he could not use. “What the hell are these things…”

Kaitlyn hadn’t the slightest idea. They were unlike anything she’d seen. “It’s disrespectful to go through the personal possessions of someone who’s died, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” June put down an item, but something seemed to click unintentionally, and a holographic display formed, showing an image of the Headmistress standing in empty air.

“Hello,” the Headmistress said. “I seem to have visitors today.”

Kaitlyn tilted her head. “Huh? What is this thing?” She poked it with her index finger. Of course, her finger went past it as it was only an image.

“Huh? A holographic program? Really?” June confusedly said, holding the device up.

“Never heard of good technology, have you?” The Headmistress seemed to shrug. “Well, welcome to my Academy. I suppose I am considered long dead now?”

“Um, yeah,” Kaitlyn said. She held up the wooden sword she’d taken. “Hey, you mind if I borrow this?”

“If no one else needs it, why not? Rather, how are the state of things now?”

“Thanks.” Kaitlyn glanced at June. “Do you wanna tell her, or should I?”

“I haven’t been a part of the Magic World as much as you, so go ahead?” June answered with a shrug.

Kaitlyn wasn’t sure where to begin. So much had happened since the Headmistress’ death. “A big chunk of South America and the eastern coast of the United States got destroyed in a battle with Virgo, but that was a year ago… more recently, there’s been a revolution in England, and the Queen is missing.”

“Mnm… so all that has happened. I wonder what the current me thinks of all this. I suppose Princess Louise has finally acted, good for her.”

“Whoa, hold on. How are Princess Louise’s actions a good thing? How do you even know she’s responsible for the revolution?”

“Fufufu, you aren’t one for politics, are you? Once you step into the underworld many things become clear.”

“Underworld, huh…” June murmured. “So you knew something terrible was gonna happen, and you didn’t tell anyone?”

“Of course not. It was something only valuable for a gossip at most when I still had my body,” the Headmistress said.

Kaitlyn glared at the hologram. “People’s lives were ruined. I’d hardly call that gossip.”

“That’s enough for a tea time gossip for the aristocracy. You underestimate your own race, silly child.”

“I’ve had a long day, so if you’re just going to mock us, I’m leaving.”

“You’re free to turn away from the truth any day.” The Headmistress’ tone was jolly as she waved goodbye. “I am just a program with the personality and memories of Lumiere anyway.”

It took effort to not leave the Headmistress’ old quarters. “Are there any other truths you know of?”

“Depends on what you want to know. I know and hear many things, or at least used to. My current self would probably know more, but I doubt you could consult her.”

“Who is this current self?”

“Let’s say that she is a part of a collection of greater consciousness now. A part of the origin.”

“That is the most unhelpful answer I’ve ever heard. If you’re not gonna tell us about that, then what did you mean by stepping into the underworld?”

“Helpful answers are too simple and are not fun. Underworld? Was that not self-explanatory?”

Kaitlyn wanted to smack herself. Of course, that’s what she meant. “Never mind.” She turned to June. “Was there anything you wanted to ask it?”

“Don’t think I’m as curious as you are. Should we just put it away?”

Kaitlyn shut the hologram off and picked up the device. Rather than put it back, she kept ahold of it. “We might have questions later. I’m taking it with us.”

“And that’s not considered disrespecting the personal items of the deceased?”

“This device was left behind for others to find. Besides, after what she revealed to us, I don’t have an awful lot of respect for her.”

“I think that’s because you’re too hot-headed. Personally, I found her kinda cool.” June closed the drawer where the device was found, putting away the rest of the gadgets too. “Anyway, let’s be on our way.”

“The Prince did say I could get fevers while adjusting to the Lost Form.”

“I think that’s unrelated.”

Kaitlyn headed for the exit. “What do you know? After all, I’ve been in the Magic World longer than you have.”

“I’ve been a Paladin longer than you.”

“Well… you’re… stupid.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Kaitlyn mumbled under her breath. She knew when she’d been defeated. “That’s all of the Academy besides the male dormitory, isn’t it?”

“Should be… unless there’s more. Kinda our job to go and figure that out though.”

“I suppose so.”

They exited the dormitory of the females. The breeze picked up as they did, and June soon turned to the boy’s dormitory.

“So that’s the last plac—oh, there’s another building over at that side… I forgot about it,” June said with a sigh.

In truth, there were three buildings of the Academy, and the pair had only but looked through one of the three. The two dormitories together would make five structures in total. To Kaitlyn who had studied in the Royal Academy, this was natural. Facilities to nurture scholars would always require more than one building.

“Come on, let’s get it over with,” Kaitlyn said. She could use a rest too after scouring nearly the whole Academy and fighting a Descendant’s Rep, but that would have to wait just a little while longer. “We should check out the forest as well when we’re done with that building.”

“Well, two of those buildings it seems. Why didn’t we notice them earlier anyway?” June was confused. Were they really that blinded when they first set foot on the campus grounds? “Forest huh…? I wonder why they needed that for the campus.”

“For exercises perhaps? Actually, we have someone with us right now who could answer that.” Kaitlyn pulled out the device they’d taken and activated it.

“Do we really need that for everything? Rather, does it even have much charge?”

“Good morning. It appears that we meet again,” Headmistress Lumiere the lady depicted by the hologram greeted.

“You wanna know what the forest is for, she’s probably our best bet,” Kaitlyn said to June. She turned to the hologram in her hand. “I have two questions. One, what’s the forest in this Boundary Realm for? Two, are you close to running out of power?”

“Mnm… the forest is a bit of a setup for a barrier that used to house the mansion of Duchess Margaret Alicia, the Archmage. I reckon that barrier is long gone now due to her passing. As for power, I have approximately seventy-two hours worth of time left.”

Kaitlyn had known the Archmage taught at the Academy, but the mansion was news to her. “So you can give straight answers. How do we recharge your power when it’s out?”

“It’s out when it’s out, and I am an educator better than you, after all. I am surprised that you didn’t get the charging adaptor when you took this device out.”

“I’ll go back and pick it up later.” Kaitlyn turned the device off and pocketed it. “There you have it,” she said to June.

“You don’t really like her, do you?” June said, even though he knew the answer. “That adds another thing to look into in our list, though. This place being huge doesn’t help that one bit.”

Kaitlyn ignored the question. “I can get it on my own.”

“Alright, cool. Actually, let’s split up,” June suggested. “You get the adaptor and check out the forest and the mansion. I’ll go for the two remaining buildings. We meet up at the entrance of the boys’ dormitory. Deal?”

“Works for me. Hopefully there won’t be anymore Reps crawling around.”

With the adaptor and the device firmly planted deep into her pockets, the ex-Enforcer departed for the forest behind the Academy’s main building. It was unsettling to carry such devices in her pockets and at every moment she could hear clinks of steel as she traversed across the Academy’s grounds. Kaitlyn reminded herself of the words of the holographic Headmistress Lumiere; she claimed that there was the mansion of the famous Archmage Margaret Alicia within the forest.

Usually, a mansion would be tall enough for one to find it sticking out of the forest’s trees, as they were not too tall from what she could see, but Kaitlyn couldn’t find any such things. She wondered if the barrier was still active after all. Unlike any ordinary forests, she couldn’t spot a single creature save for a few birds. Even then, the birds were very scarce in number.

It took about an hour of wandering before Kaitlyn finally found the mansion. It was much smaller than any such establishment she had seen back in England. It was at least half the mansion of the British aristocracy, and one would find themselves wondering if the so-called Duchess was poor. There were no gates, walls, or any such physical barrier. By this time, she knew that no magical barrier existed as she had found the place. She could see some unattended gardens with wilted flowers, especially many lilies and sunflowers. Which was also uncommon to her, not because the gardens were unattended, but because there was one at all. In England, such things as gardens or greenery were rather rare due to the lack of sunlight. Having a garden in itself was considered a special luxury.

It looked as deserted as the Academy, but Kaitlyn didn’t let her guard down. She walked up to the front door and tried it. It rattled in its frame but refused to open. She held out her hand and a sphere of gold formed above it. She used less gold than usual and shaped it into a dagger this time. When she was done, it fell into her hand, and she jammed it into the lock. A twist and she was in. Pardon the intrusion.

A foreign scent seemed to intrude her nostrils as she strolled across the hallways of the mansion. The lure of grandeur drew her eyes to the many portraits hung across the walls. Small though it may be, the inside of the mansion betrayed none of the standards of aristocratic abodes. Most of the portraits displayed either the Archmage—the owner of the house—or her apparent daughter, a blonde young girl who seemed to be about eight.

If Kaitlyn had to guess, the girl had to be the current Duchess’ sister, the one Princess Louise was apparently after. As her thoughts turned to Svetlana, she hoped she had been able to get in contact with her family and that everything had turned out okay.

As expected, it was empty. The fixtures lay about with no pieces of cloth over them to protect them from the dust that seemed to settle in due to the lack of cleaning. Other than the living rooms or the halls, however, she’d never find any furnitures across the corridors, such as a stray expensive vase as one would in any other mansion of nobles.

Eventually, she came across one room that was in quite the unholy mess like the one she saw of Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck earlier. A sense of deja vu came over Kaitlyn as she saw the charred walls and the window. Apparently, someone had unleashed powerful magic before, but the damages seemed very old and unattended unlike the recent experience she had in the dormitory. She got a somewhat bad feeling about it regardless.

She stepped inside and surveyed the wreckage, but there wasn’t anything of interest. Well, this is an Archmage’s residence, she thought as she stepped back and looked at the damage once more. But she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she got. She moved on, glad to put the room behind her.

In the kitchen now, she found many supplies of food abandoned. The refrigerator was shut off from a lack of electricity and everything inside it gave a smell one would be better off not describing. There were many packages of tea leaves—expensive ones—that were stashed away and could be used for months. The staff working in here in the past seemed to not even think twice about leaving the place, not daring to steal any of the leftover items even though no one would have been there to catch them.

As she went through the rooms, there were many empty bedrooms. Literally empty, with no fixtures altogether, save for one room where she could find a bed. She almost believed that it may have been where the daughter, or the Duchess slept, but it was far too lacking in luxury.

There were many obvious traces and hints of magic used to repair the walls and the floors from utter destruction. For some reason, only one room was not to find itself recovering from the savage burns. This house had undoubtedly held someone very powerful and out-of-control, and it was likely the Archmage who was put to the task of keeping the person under reins. The first possibility that came to mind of who this person could be—to Kaitlyn—was likely the blood-related daughter of Margaret Alicia, Isabelle.

Just as she shoved these thoughts aside to get back to her survey, she found the last room that she had yet to enter. She was now at the very end of the small mansion, on its second floor, and the door before her too, happened to be locked.

Like before, Kaitlyn produced a golden dagger and broke the lock. The door swung open, admitting her. There was a sight of complete whiteness before her. From the walls, the floor, to even the bed and the shelf on the very right, everything was completely white and fair. It felt rather exaggerated when she noted how the covers of the books were also of the same color. It was most definitely the cleanest room in the mansion so far. There was a feeling similar like the room of the late Headmistress that she had recently visited.

She picked up one of the books and leafed through it, but it was just a story albeit one of the Magic World. The other books she picked at random were fiction as well. Despite herself, Kaitlyn found herself slightly disappointed. When she was putting into place the last book she picked up, the book fell from her hand instead as she took a step back. Her body froze in place as she found a sight too bizarre before her.

She could see the ethereal ghost of Margaret Alicia standing before her, between the shelf and herself. A blue form of a spirit, clearly see-through. There was no word, or noise. Alicia only turned toward the bookshelf, and walked, going beyond it.

After several moments had passed and Kaitlyn realized nothing else was going to happen, she moved at last. Hesitant, she began checking the bookcase, for what, she didn’t know. The ghost—or whatever it was—seemed to be saying there was something behind it. Or it just walked through the wall because it’s a ghost… but it can’t be a ghost, can it? Surely it’s some kind of spell?

Just as she was having this thought, she took out a book that had the mark of a star inside a circle, and the bookshelf immediately started to move in ways a Londoner could hardly imagine. Mechanically, the shelf parted ways, the books leaving on both sides before revealing in front of her a dark staircase downwards.

As far as Kaitlyn could tell, there were no lights beyond the hidden entrance, but sunlight pouring in from the windows of the dead Duchess’ bedroom offered some relief. The Paladin in-training pulled out the device once more and activated it.

“Why would an Archmage living behind a barrier inside of a Boundary Realm need a secret room?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Use some common sense; to keep a secret?” Lumiere said with a shrug.

Kaitlyn started walking down the staircase. “This doesn’t strike you as a little… excessive?”

“You think too much. You could leave it be if you don’t like it; breaking the privacy of the dead is uncommon in this country, you know? Not like it’s any of your business.”

Kaitlyn felt uneasy about it, but her curiosity had been piqued. She was already here. Might as well go the rest of the way.

“In the country I come from, it’s considered rude to not tell people when a revolution is being planned.” As she made her way further down the staircase and the light from the bedroom faded, the dim light provided by the hologram made up for it a little bit.

“How is that related to this matter?”

“Never mind. You have any gossip about this?”

“Not this secret room, but they say all kinds of things about the Archmage herself.”

“Such as?”

“Like how she lived in the forest—you know that now—or how she’d wander across the Academy at night in search of something. I cannot tell when the student’s are making things up. Back in England, they were talking about the Duchess performing devilish magical experiments and whatnot, so this section could be linked to that.”

“Devilish magic?” An image of the half-demon who had inherited the late Duchess’ title popped into Kaitlyn’s head.

“Yes. If you have not been privy to the scandals from many years ago, the Duchess was exiled from England because she was apparently practicing Forbidden Spells.”

“I have heard of that, actually. When you said †˜devilish magic,’ I thought you meant something related to the Infernal Realm.”

“That’s just how they described it, I thought it was literal enough. Besides, it is related to said Realm. Most Forbidden Spells are taught by the Devil to Diabolists, hence they are banned and the practitioners are scorned. Sometimes Supreme Spells not affiliated with the Infernal Realm may also be taught by the Devil, so it’s a little hard to tell if one is truly guilty. In Alicia’s case, she was not officially an Archmage of this era, and Supreme Spells were limited to those with the titles back then, which sparked more issues for her.”

“What’s your opinion on Supreme Spells and the Infernal Realm and all that? Do you think it’s so bad that people were right to persecute their users?”

“Of course, they are dangerous and Queen Victoria was right in every way to limit their users. Most of the Supreme Spells are not borne of the Infernal Realm, but it was the direct source. I cannot say if learning from the Devil is actually bad, though. It’s only morals and faith that really get in the way of greater knowledge. In the end, everyone has to pick their poison, for what they believe is right. Alicia learned Supreme Spells for her daughter, and I still don’t outright find it wrong, but perhaps she should’ve had a bit more patience.”

“I… actually agree with you on that.”

“This is but a conjecture, but I believe you are heading to a room where Alicia kept her research notes.”

“I can’t imagine what else she would have had worth hiding.”

“You never know what may have cropped up from the Archmage’s doings over the years. She had been at this Academy for a long time.”

Kaitlyn loosened the wooden sword in its scabbard with her free hand. It hardly helped in making her feel safer. “Is it possible there’s something I should be concerned about?”

“Hopefully nothing harmful, but you can never be too careful. There could be a guard.”

Kaitlyn nodded. She slowed her descent and proceeded more cautiously. The spiral staircase seemed to finally come to an end as her feet landed on flat floor. There was no light now save for the device she held that produced the holographic projection of Lumiere. She drew her wooden sword in vigilance and looked about, but nothing was easy to see. This light was simply not as great as a candle.

“Reach for the walls,” Lumiere said. “There could be a switch for lights somewhere.”

Kaitlyn did as the hologram suggested. She put the wooden sword away and felt along the walls, feeling dust and grime accumulate on her hand, but she came up empty. She followed the wall and bumped into something with her thigh. Kaitlyn cursed. She held her leg up and rubbed it.

“If you know Ignem, you could just conjure a ball of flame, as an alternative.”

“Nope.”

“Too bad. I’m surprised the Archmage would… oh. I forget that this is Japan and not England. Never mind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It was just a thought. Mages in England would often have magical lights turning up as soon as anyone would step into their atelier. Since it’s highly likely that electricity was utilized here… how long has this Academy been closed again?”

“Over a year.”

“Electricity was likely cut-off long ago then. Lights would not work… there may be a magical device somewhere to provide light.”

Kaitlyn held the hologram out in front of her and found a table near the chair. A device sat on top of it. She activated it, and the room filled with light. She blinked as her eyes adjusted.

There were many papers strewn over the table in a disorganized manner. She could find some cases of bottles and small capsules of magical potions of all nature. Kaitlyn did not take extensive classes based on potions, but from the few lessons she took before, these seemed to be very advanced items.

“So it was the atelier. I guess you’re lucky in a way that the Archmage is long gone now.”

“How come?” Kaitlyn asked.

“See those on the walls?” Lumiere pointed to some magical circles drawn across the walls that were only revealed thanks to the light produced from the magic device. “Those would only work if the original caster was alive. That is one of the highest grade Magic Charms you may find, but this is their own downfall.”

“If the Archmage was alive, I doubt I’d be down here.” Despite her words, she couldn’t help but feel as if she’d just avoided something terrible. She picked up one of the papers on the table.

“Hence, lucky.”

The paper on Kaitlyn’s hand had scribbles in English. While some of the others seemed to be written in Japanese. It was a research paper based on what was called the “Ores of Yore.” The handwriting felt rushed, and the contents described magical relics that held what the Archmage called “infinite potential” to amplify magic.

Vis came to Kaitlyn’s mind, but this seemed to be talking about something different, something potentially stronger. “If we could get our hands on some of this stuff…” But it could be just as bad if Princess Louise found out about this as well.

“Isn’t that right there?” Lumiere pointed at another table where some more papers were located in the other corner of the room, but Kaitlyn could hardly see it.

Upon close inspection, and taking up the magic lamp over to it, there was indeed a round rock placed atop some papers.

Kaitlyn set the hologram down on the table and picked it up. She ran her thumb over its surface. She considered then and there taking the Ore and the Duchess’ research back with her. It could be a huge advantage. But it could also fall into the wrong hands. If she left everything down there and sealed the staircase back up, chances were no one would find it, not for a long time. Kaitlyn smiled and put the Ore back down. She picked the hologram back up.

“Time to head back.”

“You sure you don’t want any of this? I think the papers and the Ore—or the potions—are valuable.”

“It’s not mine to take. Next time I see the current Duchess, I’ll inform her. It’s up to her what to do with this research.”

“Or you could take them to her. Do you think she really has the time? Rather, I’m surprised there is an inheritor at all. Is it the daughter?”

Kaitlyn paused. The Headmistress was right, but it was possible something could happen to it along the way. On the other hand, there were no guarantees it would stay hidden if she left it behind. “Bloody hell,” she said under her breath. She set the hologram back down and set about gathering up all of the papers and the ore sample.

“The daughter’s guardian,” Kaitlyn said.

“Mnm… so that’s how it is. Some of these could be left behind for them, then. Especially that letter under the Ore is quite kept there to seek attention, don’t you think? Personally, it’d be a waste to leave a lot of the things here behind.”

“Might as well grab the letter if we’re already going out of our way to deliver the rest of the stuff to her. Not reading it though.” Kaitlyn stuffed the Ore and some of the potions—there were far too many for her to carry—in her pockets. She killed the light and carrying the stack of papers under her left arm and the hologram in her right hand, she began making her ascent.

“Not even the research?”

“I’ll look over the research with the others later. Any letters though stay sealed.”

“I could help you make a change to one of the Charms in there to make it easy to go over the documents. It seemed like the Archmage had such a nifty feature added to them. Too late now, though.”

Kaitlyn stopped. “Now you say that. What do you mean?”

“Basically, it would magically organize the documents and let you go over them. It’s like a specialized feature for reading and writing comfortably. Just luxury, I suppose.”

“You can do something like that? I mean, you’re just a hologram aren’t you?”

“Of course I can’t. I can only provide you directions.”

“Oh, that makes more sense… but weren’t those Charms made to stop intruders and potentially even, you know, kill them? How would a modification like that work?”

“It was just one of the Charms that was made for luxury. The others, yes—they were put up to kill. Modifications were only required because it was limited to users by blood. If you would imprint your blood—you could use it for a fun reading experience.”

“No offense, you’ve been pretty helpful so far, but I don’t really trust you yet when it comes to modifying magic I don’t know much about that was erected by an Archmage.”

“Not that I want your trust or anything. I was just an educator who was retri—uhm, killed. This device but holds a relic of the past. You could just throw me away if you cannot trust a principal.”

Kaitlyn looked at the hologram pointedly. Using the Charm could help make a lot of sense out of the research faster. “I hope I don’t regret this.” She went back into the workshop.

“Alright, take up one of those markers.” Lumiere pointed at the table, on which a few stray marker pens could be seen.

Kaitlyn set her load down on the table and did as told. The object felt strange in her hand, but she had a good idea of what it was for. She faced the magic circle that was drawn over the wall behind the table. There were three pointed ends like horns that faced three different directions from the circle. Within the most outer circle she could see various other circles, and many smaller drawings of Latin alphabets.

“This Charm is based on the Holy Trinity. You can see the three large horns there, yes? All you need to do is place a drop of your blood on each them. Give them a rub as soon as you place the drop of blood so that they register with the circle properly.”

Kaitlyn wiped the dirt off that had accumulated on her hand and bit into her index finger. She dabbed each horn, rubbing them as she did so.

“Now all you’ll need is mana. Charge it up with any kind of mana and it should activate.”

Kaitlyn was about to do it but stopped. She turned to the hologram. “Should?”

“Should.” Lumiere shrugged. “There is no confirmation till you see it.”

“Here goes nothing.” Kaitlyn called up her mana and injected it into the Charm.

The magic circle on the wall started to glow with a hue of scarlet. After some moments, Kaitlyn turned and found the papers all floating in the air and surrounding her. Each of them glowed with the same color.

“Seems like it worked as I thought it would,” Lumiere said.

“Never doubted you for a second. What happens now?”

The magic started to lift Kaitlyn up into the air. The air under her acted like a seat, holding her up apparently indefinitely. She could see one of the papers coming up to her, just before her eyes, while the rest of the sheets consistently maintained a certain distance away from her.

“As you can see, the papers are all organized. If you finish reading this, the next should pop up. There is no need to sort between them, as the author should have organized it accordingly. This will help you avoid confusion when you go through the texts, not getting things mixed up.”

The sensation of floating was new to Kaitlyn, and not entirely comfortable to her. “The papers will stay organized when I end the Charm, right? I didn’t want to read all them this exact moment.”

“They will fall off unfortunately.”

“Well that’s bloody inconvenient. We can come back and use the Charm I suppose if we need to, but I don’t have the time right now to read through all of these. I need to meet back up with June and His Highness.” Kaitlyn cut off the flow of mana.

“That’s up to you. It’s not like you absolutely need luxury, and could just go over the documents with the others. Reading speed-wise, that may be more time-friendly.”

“All right then.” Kaitlyn gathered up the papers and the hologram device once more. “Anything else you wanna say before we head back?”

“Nothing.”

“Let’s get going.”

About an hour had passed since the two Paladins agreed to meet up at the entrance of the male dormitory of the Eastern Magic Academy. When Kaitlyn was passing by the main building of the Academy, she could see June leaning against the wall beside the door of the dormitory.

“You sure took your time,” June said as the ex-Enforcer finally reached her destination.

“Paladin,” Kaitlyn said. “Find anything?”

“Bunch of locked doors everywhere. Didn’t want to invade on privacy. I did find some good materials that would help with crafting… couldn’t help but pick some up.”

“The Duchess’ mansion was locked up as well. Perhaps it wasn’t the most honorable thing to do, but I forced my way in and came across this.” Kaitlyn indicated the stack of papers under her arm. “Research by the late Duchess.”

June whistled at the sight of the papers. “Hit the jackpot, eh? These are the Archmage’s research… might be worth the dishonorable act.”

“We’ll see what the Prince says, but my hope is to return it to the current Duchess Alicia.”

June gave a nod. “To the rightful owner, I guess.” He opened the door and entered. “Anyway, let’s get some rest first. Not like our Prince is awake to go through the information there.”

Kaitlyn followed him inside. “I suppose not.”







“So, you are telling me that these are all written by the late Duchess the Archmage?”

Prince Leopold bore witness to a stack of papers presented to him by Kaitlyn Mercer, the ex-Enforcer. Beside her sat June, the American Paladin who was still far from the level of the Prince in terms of skill.

In the male dormitory, the three had met up at dusk. A magical light device was prepared, something that June had found earlier from one of the other campus buildings. He also prepared some tea for them, fancying coffee for himself.

“That’s quite a lot of papers,” June said. “I’m guessing that we’re heading out soon?”

“Yes. Likely after we are done going over these documents first. We would likely not find the chance to relax and read some documents again for some time.”

“Probably not,” Kaitlyn said. “But yes. I have no idea what her handwriting looks like but considering where I found them, it’s got to be her work. I know this could prove to be very valuable, but I suggest that we take it to it’s rightful owner when we get a chance.”

“The current Duchess, yes?” The Prince was reminded of Svetlana, who was quite an emotional person and smiled wryly. “I suppose the other Archmages would like to read these, but that is no excuse to not deliver it to the Duchess. Very well, that is what we shall do.”

Kaitlyn smiled. She figured the Prince would agree, but it was a relief to hear him say it. “Thank you, Your Highness. In the meantime though, I don’t think there’s any harm in looking over them.”

Leopold took up a page and skimmed through it. “There is no page number labeled it appears.”

“Unfortunately not. There’s a Charm back where I found the research that allows the pages to be read in order, but when the Charm is dropped, they fall back to whatever order they were in before.”

“I suppose the hidden chamber is a long way from here?”

“It is quite the hike, yes. The mansion is on the other side of the forest.”

Prince Leopold handed Kaitlyn a quarter of the papers, doing the same for June with his other hand. The pages he kept to himself were mostly scribbled in Japanese. “Then we all read, and shall sort the information out ourselves.”

Kaitlyn held up the first paper in her stack.

There exists about three Ores of Yore. These relics are products of mythology that exist for reasons various, but purposes unknown. All that could be told so far is that they may be used for well or worse, as they carry in themselves infinite potential.

I carry with myself the Shard of Palladium, which was mentioned in Greek mythology. Of course, since I do not have the statue, that is all it could be called. At least that was what the Original Duchess Margaret would call it, as it was her possession. It is told that the wooden statue of Palladium that fell from the sky would never allow Troy to lose a war as long as it stayed there.

I have made various attempts to test it, but it turns out that the Shard of Palladium confers an extreme amount of Magical Energy to its holder.

Beware of its lust for power. If your will is not enough strong, it may drain your life next after your magic. The user must always supply mana to the Shard after they use it, otherwise they suffer great misfortune. To use the Shard, a pint of mana must be applied for its effects to be activated, much like the Vis.

Kaitlyn looked at the Ore once more. It appeared innocuous enough just sitting there on the table, but then so did the Vis Rook she wore. She set the paper aside and moved onto the next.

After a lot of excavating in the ruins of the Faerie Realm, I have found a particular stone tablet upon which it was carved information on other Ores of Yore. It appears that only the one I possess is quite literally closer to its name given.

The other two items consist of a necklace and a cup. I do not know the identity of the necklace but Queen Victoria is its current holder. The cup, I suspect, is the fabled Holy Grail, or perhaps the Cup of Jamshid, or simply the Elixir of Life. The necklace could range from the one that was given by the Lady of the Lake, or the Necklace of Harmonia. As for the Shard of Palladium, it may hold a connection to the sacred stone of Baetylus, since it supposedly saps life.

It is unknown who is in possession of the cup, or where it is hidden. While my curiosity as a researcher beckons me, I pray that it remains hidden until a well-hearted researcher chances upon it.

Kaitlyn was suddenly glad she let the hologram convince her into taking the research back. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have discovered the existence of the cup.

Today, I have tested the Shard of Palladium, having ventured into the Infernal Realm.

I had braved through the Seven Gates, going through the seven trials of the seven sins, and have found the Chamber of the Stars where Laevateinn was kept, and its owner—Asteria—resided. I was not interested in the relic, so I simply challenged the so-called Goddess to a duel.

One Supreme Spell was enough to knock her out. It augments magic indeed. Albeit, I have also discovered that no modern magic is ever amplified, the holder must know Supreme Spells for this relic to be effective.

Kaitlyn knew from first-hand experience how much Vis powered up regular spells. She could scarcely believe what a Supreme Spell would be like amplified by a substance even stronger.

From venturing into the Infernal Realm while carrying the Ore of Yore, there has been many fascinating discoveries that I did not expect.

It turns out that the demonic creatures of the Realm are not only able to †˜sniff’ one out by their bodily scent, but also their mana. I suspect that the Devils claiming to find you out based on the scent of your soul actually find you out based on the mana you carry within yourself. This is often a mistake of casters who may draw an incorrect amount of mana from the appropriate Realm they cast a spell for.

That is why a most able caster should only draw mana when required—the appropriate amount. A mage at the level of a Magic Magister should be able to draw mana in but three seconds for strong spells. Seeing as I am able to draw said mana in a single second, perhaps that is what is expected of the Archmages.

The ex-Enforcer blinked. One second? She knew Archmages were strong, but to read one who thought about it so nonchalantly put things in perspective.

Today, I have tested the Shard of Palladium once more—against the Descendant famously known as Blood Countess of BloodLuSt. The Descendant of vampires is likely the fiercest foe I have ever met, next to Virgo and Aries.

Unfortunately, despite the use of the Shard of Palladium, I lost the battle. However, the fact that I could stand my ground alone against this monster of a Descendant proves that this relic is more than just valuable. If used on an inexperienced Descendant, it may truly prove its worth.

A Representative may just be an experienced caster’s equal with this Shard, provided that they possess some knowledge of Supreme Spells. Due to how-mana hungry it is, the holder must also train their will and soul so that they may learn to contain more mana within themselves and not be worn out before the battle is over.

That said, if the Ore is not used for some time, it intentionally covers itself in some weird shell of stone. Apply a bit of mana and it shall reveal its true form.

P.S.: I was forced to remember in my fight just how bloody fast the Descendants are. If you are one of those slow casters, chances are it may be better to use what you are very used to. Otherwise your life would end before you would even know it.

Kaitlyn hoped she never had to face one, but she would take the Duchess’ advice into consideration if she ever did.

Research on Libra:

I have heard the tale over and over regarding the one Fortune Teller—thought to be a Diviner at first—who was identified to be the Descendant of Libra.

According to the records, it seems to me that it was a lie, no matter how I read it. A Diviner who would succeed regardless of how many times she would be tasked with a request to make a prediction was hardly a cause for alarm. Someone reported the Diviner to use Spiritual Energy and thus she was suspected? That is a bit of an exaggeration.

Nowadays, Diviners need to be able to use some portion of a Spiritual Energy to ascend to greater heights in their field of specialty. It is also the reason why other rare jobs become available to them.

It may be a great misunderstanding or perhaps our old Fortune Teller was framed. The true Libra may loom amidst us in the societies of man. Who knows?

Kaitlyn couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Diviner who’d potentially been falsely accused, all the more so since she was to become a Diviner herself if everything worked out. The need for Spiritual Energy worried her as well. As far as she knew, she didn’t have any.

Research of the Blood Countess:

I would never do this if not for the fact that I had fought her recently. We all know how she is a terrorist and her actions rival the greatest eccentricities from the mundane history—or surpasses them—but what is actually known about her?

Records say nothing of great value.

The Blood Countess Dracula is one of the most mysterious Descendant despite being the most frequently witnessed Descendant in modern history. It is certain that she has been appearing since at least the fourteenth century, but there is a great possibility that she may be older. The one name that got stuck with her in the Magic World’s history was the †˜Blood Countess,’ but for what reason? She could be taking many names like clothes, wearing them, and discarding them, yet this is the single name that was never dropped.

Perhaps preserving a level of fear and antagonism in the Magic World may be more important than actually causing the trouble she so loves to cause.

I observed several Commandments—the grand authorities of the Descendants of Time—that she had exercised while we fought.

Shapeshift: Self-explanatory. The extent of this power is beyond imagination, as I believe she became the Ancient Dragon before she completely neutralized my Supreme Spell. Ancient Dragons is a term of the Magic World mainly due to their primordial nature, but the other reason why they add the word †˜ancient’ is due to their ability to cast Supreme Spells.

Blood Link(?): Apparently, you suffer yourself whatever harmfulness you inflict upon the Countess.

Black Feathers(?): You would find these surrounding the Countess, and when you would see them, it means that she performed a mysterious feat of great movement. Descendants have always had their Commandments that are similar to our †˜Step Spells’ which boost our range of movement.

Her relic blade seemed like something from the Greek mythology, the sword of Perseus, likely.

It seems that she is very, very secretive about her real identity. Since I figured it out anyway, I shall leave the name

Kaitlyn looked down at the page. It turned out that the very last part of the page was torn out, and the name of the Blood Countess was lost. Kaitlyn set the page down harder than she had intended. Had she left it behind at the atelier, or was she not the first person to come across it as she had thought?

Research on Virgo:

Records indicates that Virgo was defeated long ago, and was identified to be the so-called Heart-Breaker Queen. This was a name only known in the Magic World. She was supposedly the Queen chosen by the father, who could trust neither of his sons to be a competent King. The sons plotted against the Queen in great envy, and eventually found out her true identity, and thus had her executed.

Sounds a little too good to be true.

Here’s what I know: A certain Saint of Summer once fought the Queen, and defeated her. Virgo is impossible to be killed due to the effects of a certain Commandment, hence she was sealed. Virgo may one day return if she finds a way to break the seal. Seeing as I met a person who looked exactly the same as Virgo—the Headmistress Lumiere, that is—I suppose she did…

Kaitlyn slowly lowered the paper back to the table. She would have more questions for the Headmistress’ hologram later, but that could wait. She was almost done with her stack of the research papers.

Research on Aries:

I changed my mind. Just thinking about writing about that damned annoying brat makes my head hurt.

This research is aborted.

“What the bloody hell?” Kaitlyn said aloud. Why even bother with this page then? She set it back down with the rest. It was a lot to take in, and it had only been a fraction of the Duchess’ research. She was curious more than ever now as to what the rest of it contained.

“Something the matter?” Leopold asked.

“Just… this last page. It’s not what I expected of an Archmage.” Kaitlyn passed it over to the Prince. “But more importantly.” She activated the hologram. “What do you know about Virgo?”

The Prince smiled. “I see even the Archmage shows some emotion in such papers.”

“What would I know?” Lumiere, the hologram said with a quizzical look. “Just as much as everyone else knows, yes?”

“But not everyone looks exactly like her.” Kaitlyn held up the page on Virgo to the hologram. “Unless you’re telling me the Archmage is mistaken.”

Lumiere made a wry smile. “So?”

“You know something you’re not telling us. You’re dead. What does it matter to you? Earlier, you mentioned something about your current self.”

“I am dead, so what does it matter indeed. I find no obligation to tell you anything about it.”

“What is this about?” The Prince inquired. “Rather, why is the Headmistress in such… a form? Also, calling her dead is a little too rude, do you not think, Miss Mercer?”

“She’s not exactly being polite herself right now, and it’s not the Headmistress. Sort of. This device contains her knowledge, personality—I’m assuming—pretty much everything about her. Your Highness, she… it seems before she died, she knew what Princess Louise was planning.”

“I… see.” The Prince looked down. “Well, it is said that the Headmistress favored gossip quite a bit more than the average person, so perhaps she may have come across hints of it. A pity she shared not the details to the authority.”

“Wait a second, she is related to Virgo though, isn’t she?!” June snapped. “What is that about?”

“A pity’s one way to describe it,” Kaitlyn said to the Prince. “I’m sorry to deliver such news to Your Highness.” She turned to June. “If I had to guess, her current self is Virgo, though what that means for the Headmistress, I have no idea.

“Current self is Virgo… what does the paper say?”

Kaitlyn handed it to him. “Here, read it for yourself.”

June read the page hurriedly and had to re-read it only because he wasn’t paying attention properly due to his emotions.

“So, that is how Virgo really looks…?”

The Prince snatched the paper from June as he heard this line and read it for himself. “I see, so perhaps a clone, of sorts.”

“Correct,” Lumiere confirmed. “I was a clone. Happy now?” she asked Kaitlyn.

“No, That doesn’t explain anything! How are you a clone? Why would Virgo even make clones?”

“Please tell us, Headmistress,” the Prince urged, but Lumiere faced away.

“That’s as far as you’ll know from me,” Lumiere replied.

“You were pretty helpful when we were at the Duchess’ mansion,” Kaitlyn said. “Why not now?”

“What is kindness and what is private should be easily discernible to even the dumbest of adults.”

“Now, listen you—”


June tried to take ahold of the device and forcibly convince Lumiere, but the Prince stopped him.

“I believe forcing the late Headmistress is simply not the best way to go about this,” Leopold said.

“I don’t think it would work anyway,” Kaitlyn said, glaring at her. “So you absolutely refuse to tell us? Ain’t no way we’re ever going to convince you otherwise?”

The Headmistress looked back at Kaitlyn, silent. The ex-Enforcer sighed and switched it off.

“Based on the events, there are certain things that may be confirmed. First, Virgo broke her seal. Second, her †˜clone’ was killed… presumably by Virgo, or her possible enemies, or the Headmistress may have committed suicide for some reason. Whatever the case, I doubt we would learn much from the answers that Miss Lumiere may have known,” the Prince said.

“Perhaps, but we’ll never know.” Kaitlyn turned to June. “How are you holding up?”

She only heard his grumble, but she couldn’t quite understand any of them. The Prince only glanced at June before taking up the papers he was holding.

“I believe we have all finished reading. Shall we report on what we read of the research materials?”

“I can go first if Your Highness would like,” Kaitlyn said.

“Seeing as you had made quite the ruckus, why not?”

Kaitlyn’s eyebrow twitched at that, but she moved on. “The papers I have describe three †˜Ores of Yore.’ One of them,” she gestured at the rock sitting on the table, “is Palladium. According to the Duchess’ research, it can be used to amplify the power of Supreme Spells. The Duchess herself was able to stand toe-to-toe with the Blood Countess while using it. The second Ore is a necklace that, thankfully, should be in the possession of the Queen. The last is a cup that she speculates to be the Holy Grail, but as far as the research indicates, she didn’t know where it was at.

“The Duchess also studied some of the Descendants, including the Countess, as well as Libra and Virgo.”

“Toe-to-toe against the Countess… I believe that was some time before the Duchess had passed away,” the Prince claimed. “It was quite the commotion but did not last long as Virgo was the greater problem in the big picture for the time. Regardless, I had no idea that my mother was in possession of such a relic…” He reminded himself of that night, and the powers his mother had displayed, and the lance she used. “But perhaps that is not surprising now that I think about it.”

“Why not?” June said. “Does the Royal Treasury really possess such things?”

“No, it’s a little more complicated than that…” He faced Kaitlyn and attempted to change the topic. “What did the Duchess write regarding the Descendants other than Virgo?”

“On the Countess, she listed out powers that she observed while fighting her. Your Highness has seen the Virgo research for himself, and Aries for that matter. On Libra, the Duchess has reason to believe that the real Descendant is still alive, and the one we think was her was actually an innocent Diviner who was framed. The main piece of evidence against her was the use of Spiritual Energy, but it seems it’s not uncommon for Diviners to use that.”

“Now that I think of it… that is quite true regarding the supposed Libra. It was discovered in our era that Diviners also have the talent to become Spirit Seers, who utilize Spiritual Energy. It is not unlikely that a Spirit Seer could be framed by the real Libra.”

“It’s a disturbing thought.” Kaitlyn took a sip from her tea which had gone cold by now. “Well, that’s it for the papers I got.”

“Very well, I shall share what I have learned from the papers now.” The Prince took up the papers as he went over them. “Each of these papers in my hands speak of Supreme Spells. They are all direct instructions, and even provide the type of hand signs you would need to perform to activate the spells. These materials would be very dangerous in the wrong hands. One of the pages had research of Pisces, whereupon the Duchess speculated that she may be the first Descendant enslaved by technology. She also entertained the prospect of the Blood Countess wanting to take out the Descendants for some reason, as she found in the Japanese records an incident where Pisces was attacked by the Countess.

“Another page had research on Gemini, and there are cryptic mentions of a large Organization made up entirely of the †˜King’s’ harem that attempts to rule the world… it appears that there are no records of Gemini—which is indeed true—and it is also a reason why the Duchess believes in her theory. The last page was a part of the Ore of Yore’s research. It documented how some great tragedies may have actually been the cause of this Shard of Palladium here. If the Shard is used with processes incorrect, it would cause what the Duchess refers to as a †˜Magical Hazard.’”

“One of the papers I got mentioned that if a user of the Shard isn’t careful, it could end up sucking out the user’s life force,” Kaitlyn said. “Nothing about tragedies, but I wouldn’t be surprised, given the power of the ore.”

“So the effects and the side-effects are kinda mixed up between the documents?” June said. “I have a paper here that says the Shard won’t activate unless you have a Vis to provide raw mana from. If a specific Form-aspected mana is supplied too much… it might cause what the Duchess calls… †˜reactions’ that would spark the so-called †˜Magical Hazard.’”

“Some of what I read mentioned Vis as well,” Kaitlyn said, “but it didn’t say you specifically needed it to activate the Ore. Is there anything that indicates what a Magical Hazard is?”

“Yeah, one paragraph says it’s a gigantic explosion of mana from an object. Since the mana is usually too strong, it may destroy the place almost entirely. The size that may come up from the Shard is suspected to rival that of a town.”

“That is indeed quite risky a relic to use,” the Prince remarked. “If Lady Alicia is to utilize it, she must observe the proper procedures.”

“Bloody hell,” Kaitlyn said. “To think that something so small could cause so much destruction… Indeed, Your Highness. For her sake as well as others, I hope she doesn’t take this stuff lightly.”

“What else did the documents you read say?”

“Lots and lots of speculation about the location of many relics that the Duchess herself didn’t verify to be sure. There is also a guide of three pages detailing how to be an Archmage.”

“How does that even work?” Kaitlyn asked. “I thought Archmage was a title awarded to extremely powerful mages.”

“It just says here how becoming extremely powerful works. To be honest… I’d rather not go down the path described here.”

“What is it?”

June stopped speaking. The Prince tilted his head and gestured the Paladin to hand him the papers. Going over them, the Prince raised eyebrows.

“Miss Mercer, let us simply say that this is quite the hardcore guide for practitioners of magecraft.”

“Now Your Highness is just making me want to find out even more. May I see it?”

“Very well.” The Prince handed the papers.

Kaitlyn accepted them. She finished the first page and moved on to the second, and then to the third. She handed them back to the Prince. “Well, I don’t think I’ll become an Archmage anytime soon.”

“Oh right,” June began. “There was this page saying that the three Ores of Yore have their own source of power, and that you should never mix them. The Shard of Palladium only utilizes magic, and should never be mixed with Spiritual Energy. Moreover, you can only cast one Form’s spells, and should give some time before switching to another Form, preferably about three hours. The necklace is said to use Spiritual Energy, and the cup remains a mystery.”

“I see,” the Prince said. “Is that really everything or did you forget anything again, Mister June?”

“O-Of course not.”

Kaitlyn grinned, but it slipped from her face. “There is actually one more detail I forgot to mention in what I read. The Duchess suggests that beings from the Infernal Realm are able to sniff out mana, which is what they use to track people.”

“So it would not be surprising if Lady Alicia is very capable of sensing magic,” the Prince said. “That sounds helpful in our case for the future.”

“Your Highness…” Kaitlyn gave him a pointed a look. She glanced at June out of the corner of her eye and shook her head.

“Hm?” The Prince gave a most innocent expression in return. It took a moment for him to realize and chuckled. “Ah, right, right.”

On the other hand, June seemed to be going through the documents even though he said that he didn’t forget anything, just in time.

“Well, unless Paladin June’s got more to add, I think that covers most of it,” Kaitlyn said. “Was there nothing about the potions?”

“Found it!” June exclaimed. “Glad you brought that up. There was this page about the potions that I kept forgetting about… ahaha.”

The Prince made an even wider smile. “Is that so?”

“A-Anyway, it’s a list of the kind of †˜Magic Drugs’ that the Duchess has concocted using her own practices. It even lists their effects and ingredients.”

Kaitlyn suppressed a laugh. “So what do they do?”

“Some of them just help with combat I guess. Like there’s this one that allows your body to withstand more mana, or there’s this one that lets you cast two spells simultaneously. There’s the staple thing that increases your physical strength. The oddest one is the one to uhh… reduce… your Warping?”

“Warping?!” the Prince exclaimed, taking the paper from June immediately. “The Warping Potions are some of the most rarest and most treasured potions to exist… for the ingredient to be right here…”

“Damn, why would the Duchess hold something like that back?” Kaitlyn asked. “The Ore I understand, but something like this could only help people unless there’s something I’m missing.”

“It requires items that are too valuable… and this is true it seems. Some of these items listed… would require us to venture into all three of the Realms. I am aware that the recipe was only known to King Abdullah and the Space Police, and they are the monopolizers of the ingredients.”

“In other words even if the recipe got out, it wouldn’t do any good for a lot of people because the potion would be so expensive.”

“Seeing how big a business Vis is some may not ever want it to see the light of day as well. Regardless, this should be everything.” The Prince got off the chair. “I shall be holding onto the documents and the Shard, if neither of you have any objections.”

“None,” Kaitlyn said.

“You’re the strongest among us anyway,” June said with a shrug.

“Very well. Now, let us get prepared,” the Prince said. “I say that but there is hardly much to pack up other than these documents, the Ore, and the correspondents.”

“Wait, we’re going to Mount Fuji this late?”

“Yes, that way it would be hard for the Japanese to catch us.”

“Oh… alright.”

“Why would they want to catch us?” Kaitlyn asked.

“We are outsiders, Miss Mercer. Moreover, the Faerie Realm’s Gate is guarded by the shamans. They do not want their enemies utilizing their property,” the Prince answered.

“How are we using the Gate if it’s guarded? Are we going to have to fight our way through?”

“We sneak around the guards. The Gate itself is normally not occupied, it’s the various paths that lead to it that are usually guarded.”

“Let’s get moving then while it’s still dark.”

Having ventured out of the Boundary Realm of the Eastern Magic Academy, the trio consisting of Prince Leopold, Kaitlyn, and June was in close vicinity of Mount Fuji on Honshu Island. Kaitlyn initially assumed that they would have to take a ferry trip seeing as the towering mountain was on an island, but it was enlightening to find out that there was a bridge connecting to the island instead.

Regardless, many hours were spent just to reach the island that it was closing midnight. They were currently located at the base of the mountain in the darkness. Kaitlyn could understand now why they had to come so late at night. Despite the time, she could see the Japanese Shamans patrolling here and there.

The Prince mentioned some time ago that in the morning that there would be many mages practicing their magic across this island, which would be particularly disadvantageous if they’d be sighted. Mundanes would only look at foreigners with some degree of surprise, but the magicians of the country would look for opportunities to directly attack them.

The three had also taken magical medicines to completely remove any possible lasting mana from their bodies. This was to avoid any stray Shamans from sensing magic in them.

Each time the path would clear, they would sneak their way in. Scaling the cliff was another option, but it would be too tedious, and June warned them that he was almost caught for that reason once.

“You know, that shrine over there is suspicious,” June whispered. It wasn’t a shrine in close vicinity, but much higher in the mountain, a light from the higher grounds made its place apparent.

“I am sure we all feel that way,” Leopold said. “I cannot shake off the feeling but I do not think we will ever learn of its purpose.”

“What’s so suspicious about it?” Kaitlyn asked. The Japanese architecture was strange to her, but nothing in particular looked out of place.

“You don’t ever see lights in a shrine so late at night,” June said. “Besides, being at the top of the mountain is kinda strange, much less a volcano.”

“You think there’s someone up there doing something they don’t want others knowing about?”

“Could be. You never know what could be developed now that a war is said to be close.”

With all that had happened, the impending war had slipped to the back of Kaitlyn’s mind. If we could find out what’s going on in there… But if they were caught, it could jeopardize her training, not to mention the fact that her and June’s Crystals were already damaged, and if something should happen to them and the Japanese got their hands on the Duchess’ research, the consequences could be worse than she imagined. “If only there was a way we could find out without putting ourselves in danger.”

“I believe that is rather impossible considering this circumstance…” the Prince stated. “Utilizing magic would get us caught. Trying to get past the guards would also put us at considerable risk. Not to mention that neither of us specialize in espionage.”

“Wishful thinking, Your Highness.”

“Exactly.”

The shifts of the guards was about to take place, and the three ran across the road upwards to the mountain, taking advantage of the very small hole in the security. They then followed a particular route that seemed to send them downwards inside a cave. Even darker than before now, Kaitlyn didn’t know where she was walking until the Prince turned up a torchlight to illuminate the cave.

“This should be deep enough,” Leopold said.

“You sure?” June whispered again. “What if they see the lights here?”

“I doubt they switched places with the guard so soon. Come!”

The three nodded and proceeded far deeper into the cave. With every passing moment, questions started to come to Kaitlyn’s mind. She could see various symbols etched across the walls of the cave, most she couldn’t tell head to tails of thanks to the lack of proper light. It almost seemed like alphabets, but they were too strange to read.

“What’s that stuff on the walls?” Kaitlyn whispered.

“Writings of the Faeries they say,” June answered.

“More specifically, of man and Faeries both,” Leopold explained. “Long ago, there was a covenant between the two races, and it was said that as proof, the contents of the covenant were written in both the language of the Faeries and the humans. Considering the country… some of the scribblings here are Japanese writing on the walls.”

“I’m beginning to understand why there’s a Gate here,” Kaitlyn said. “How did this covenant come about?”

“There is no one specific answer regarding that, unfortunately. Some say the Faeries visited the Earth and it came out via many attempts of communication. Others say the humans invaded the Realm somehow, and one thing led to another before the covenant was formed. The more eccentric people claim that a Descendant once acted as a middle person between man and the Faeries for the covenant to be formed.”

Kaitlyn wasn’t sure if she’d have believed that last part a few weeks ago, but she had experienced firsthand that not all Descendants were bad. Maybe there was some truth to it. “Sounds like a story you’d tell a child as you put them to bed, but whatever happened, the writing and the Gate are proof it.”

“What do you think?” June asked the Prince. “What’s your opinion of it?”

“Unfortunately, I like to believe what the eccentrics say,” the Prince answered. “I cannot imagine the humans and the Faeries to be on proper terms without a mediator mending the relationship between them.”

“Why not?”

“I would simply think that the Faeries would be overprotective of their world, and the humans selfishly wanting to expand their territory.”

“Now that Your Highness mentions it, that does sound much more likely,” Kaitlyn said. “If a Descendant was involved though, I wonder which one it was.”

“Hmm… I do not know where to take a guess with that. It could even be a certain someone for all we know…”

Kaitlyn smiled. It was hard to imagine the Queen serving as a mediator between Fairies and humans. Then again, she might not have always been a Queen. “Your Highness could be right.”

The Prince stopped. “We are here.”

Kaitlyn looked up. A gate very tall before them laid straight ahead. It was gray, and the symbols of the sun and the moon were apparent.

“Alright,” June said. “Finally.” He turned to Kaitlyn. “We’re gonna have to push the gates open for our majestic Prince, though. So let’s go,” he added with a sarcastic tone.

“Says the person who admitted His Highness was stronger than both of us a few hours ago,” Kaitlyn said. She nonetheless was ready to help.

“Not like I can hold this humongous gate’s both sides alone.” June pointed. “You hold the left part of the gate, I’ll hold the right.”

Kaitlyn moved up to the right side.

“Miss Mercer, you are a lady, surely you do not need to go along with… I suppose it is a little too late now,” the Prince said, but halfway through his words, the two Paladins started pulling on the gate.

It was heavier than Kaitlyn thought so it took particular effort for her side of the gate to budge before it parted ways, revealing the light of the new world that unfolded before them. The Prince shut off the torchlight as soon as this bright light seeped into the darkness of the cave. June gave Kaitlyn a nod, and she stopped.

“Alright, we’re finally here,” June said. “Careful about the wind, by the way. You can never get used to that.”

The mention of wind niggled at Kaitlyn’s memory. She had taken a class on Fairie lore during her time at the Academy, but that felt like a lifetime ago. “The wind?”

“You’ll see.”

The Prince chuckled. “Feel, you mean.” He took the lead, departing from the world into the Realm. “Come, we do not want to stay here any longer.”

Thus, the trio ventured into the Faerie Realm, the Gate of the Faeries closing behind them magically as they walked past it.

Quite a lot of time flew by as Roland was put through a ritual back in Russia, just after they fought and defeated the great White Wolf, Fenrir. It was one of the worst moments of his life, where he thought he was dying due to the blood of the wolf being put into his body via the ritual. Those hours of pain and suffering were gone, but from time to time, Roland would feel that the pain would return to haunt him again, instinctively.

It took quite some time to come back to Italy, as the frequency of a Magic Train coming and going from Russia was rather low. In the meantime, Roland was eager to get started with mastering the Heartbeast, but his Master prohibited it cruelly, claiming that his body needed to adjust with the wolf’s blood first. He’d still suffer from headaches and moments of weakness as signs of the adjustment, which hinted that his body was naturally trying to resist the changes.

Thus, Roland spent his time writing the research papers that Titania expected from Calamity Witch.

Exiting the ferry, getting some ice cream from the town, they were well on their way back to the house of Calamity Witch on Isola del Giglio.

As they walked the forest path, Roland’s mind drifted back to their arrival in Russia. In the span of two days they had broken into a secret government facility, freed a legendary detective who also happened to be a Descendant, saved a legendary god-eating wolf on the verge of death, then promptly beat up that same wolf to obtain some of his blood for a hidden form of magic erased from history. That fetch quest turned into quite an adventure, he mused.

Though the sense of growing dissatisfaction he felt throughout remained with him. He had been present at all those incredible events, but he was of little aid as they were going on. Now that they were back and his training could begin in earnest, he was determined to improve so he would not be so helpless in the future. With Sherlock on the case of his mother’s past, there was nothing to distract him from throwing himself completely into his training. Shifting his bag slightly, he looked down at the many documents he had written while in Russia. If things went well, he would have the chance to learn from two Archmages from here on out.

As they were exiting the forest, Roland could see the sky throughout the whole region, as the house of the Archmage lay atop a hill. He could see more black clouds than the last time he was here. The normal weather and the stormy weather were still in stark contrast beside each other—he couldn’t feel any cold wind of a storm as one would feel when close by.

“The distortion is getting worse…” Treanna mumbled beside her student.

“Bad enough to share the details of what is happening? Or is it still classified to the Space Police only?” Roland asked, overhearing her words.

“We do not really know what in the world it is ourselves anyway. All we know is that it’s bad for the world.”

“Is there a particular reason why it is kept under wraps? I imagine it would be better to have more minds trying to figure out what it is then.”

“That would be unwise. If that was the case, this world would be in a worse situation.”

“To put it that way, does that mean you already know what is causing the distortion?”

Treanna only shrugged in response. “How do you feel now?”

“Quite a bit better.” Roland noted the sudden change in conversation but let it pass without protest. “It seems the chronic headaches have finally started to settle down.”

“I want to sleep… but I think we can start after a little rest when we’re there. Heartbeast is a long process at the start like any other Lost Form, after all.”

“That would be great!” Roland exclaimed with a bit more force than intended upon hearing it was finally time to begin. A brief look of surprise flashed across his face at his Master being so proactive, but he quickly hid it.

“There better be nothing else once we’re done with Heartbeast…” Treanna yawned.

“For today…” Roland answered noncommittally.

Treanna gazed at her student. Her eyes full of sloth. “For the rest of your life, right?”

“That is an awfully large decision to make in the spur of a moment. Let’s take things a step at a time.”

“Well, that takes too long. Something tells me I’ll get pretty busy soon…”

“Please also teach me how to fight.”

“What kinda request is that?”

“Both in the Underground and in the ice labyrinth you defeated foes I was practically helpless against. Is it so strange to want to learn from such skill?” For tedious stuff such as magic theory, I’ll probably have better luck trying to convince Titania to teach me.

Treanna waved her hand dismissively. “That’s just a difference in experience or spells, right? It’s nothing new. I’m sure you’d eventually win if I wasn’t helping out of impatience.”

Roland let out a sigh, it seemed this would be another uphill battle. “While I wish I could believe that the first step to improvement is to realize what I am lacking, what better way to gain experience and spells than learn from one who is a master of combat.”

“I don’t know… a person’s combat capabilities are made of various factors. I have my own things and you, yours. †˜Learning’ is a weird term then if you think about it—because all you really need to do is train and practice.”

“That is true, but at the very least it can’t hurt to add some new techniques to my arsenal. While I cannot simply copy your style I can try to improve my own with what I glean from yours. Even if it is just sparring and learning combat spells, I think there would be much to be gained.”

“I wouldn’t recommend adapting any of my stuff into yours… so I think you have a lot of reading to do soon in the general archives on the Magic World. Or maybe hit the mundanes for martial arts.”

“Neither of those options will be available while training here for the Lost Form. Besides, you could probably match up with the best of them. Even if it is hellishly difficult I would like to try learning from you if you’d be willing to teach me.”

“Or you could just go off after you learn Heartbeast?”

“As you said before, time is precious. I wouldn’t want to squander what time I have while being taught by you if there is more I could be learning.”

“We’re going on a circle with this conversation, aren’t we? What more could you learn from me anyway? Much of my fighting style is too specifically attuned to me.”

“Would it not be possible to become similarly attuned to it?”

“Similar? That sounds really annoying…”

“So it is possible?”

“There is no such thing as similar in that aspect. You would have to literally break yourself down and start all over… and that means it’d take many years. In other words, I’m too lazy for that.”

“Ah, I suppose it is a lost cause for current purposes then.”

“Good to know you understand.”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve completely given up on it though, just deferred.”

“You can’t make decisions in life with that half-hearted spirit, kiddo.”

“All in good time, unless that is an offer to teach me now after all.”

“Do you really think I would make such an offer?”

“To be honest no, but there is little harm in asking another time to be sure. I would hate to have missed an opportunity because I let presumptions sway my thoughts.”

The two finally reached the house atop the hill. A lightning bolt coiled across the horizon as the Witch opened the door. She frowned.

“What evil omen is this…?” she murmured, taking a step inside. It was much warmer inside. They could find no one at first glance.

Treanna was of course—happy. Not finding Titania filled her with bliss. She expected far worse, after all. A sigh of relief was heard, and she plopped herself down on the sofa.

“Now this is life,” she said absentmindedly.

“Nothing quite like that feeling after returning from a long trip,” Roland replied. Making a quick detour to the kitchen, he put away the ice cream they had bought before sinking into the sofa too.

“Was there anyone there in the kitchen?”


“Not that I saw. I wonder where Sherry and Titania might have gone?”

“Maybe asleep…? Or out researching?” The Archmage hummed in thought. “I feel like I shouldn’t care and laze around but I wonder if anything came up.”

“All I’ve seen so far of Titania would suggest the latter but I wonder if Sherry would be with her for that?”

“Well, duh. The letter you presented me mentioned that she could help with our research.”

This moment of peace was disrupted as the door abruptly opened and the pair turned to find Titania.

“Look who’s back…”

An owl flew into the room from behind the seemingly younger Archmage and it sat on the hand rest of the Witch’s sofa. The look of Treanna was as if she found the devil itself beside her.

“Welcome back…?”

“Thank you.”

“Why the heck did she come back so soon…” Treanna mumbled, and Titania made a big smile.

“Did you say something?”

“Nothing at all, was just thinking how nicely dressed you are today.”

“It is the same dress you last saw me with.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah.”

“I’m waiting.”

This was not the voice of Treanna, Titania, nor Roland, but the owl who sat beside a certain Archmage with a still look.

“You’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

Treanna frowned, but the bird remained adamant.

“Are you ready to receive my Master’s message?” the owl asked.

“Absolutely not.”

“Understood, I will reveal the message now.”

“Are you even listening?!”

The owl instantly transformed into nothingness, becoming air itself before a letter formed instead. The seal on the letter opened itself and its contents were pulled out magically. The paper was still in the air, its text glowing with an orange hue.

“Dear Witch of Calamity,

We of the Crystal Summit have reached a decision, and would like to inform—”

“I really am tired and would rather not hear this now!” Treanna interrupted the reading of the letter, which was being carried out by magic.

“No, shut up and listen.”

“How dare you?!”

“No, listen to it,” Titania quipped, and Treanna growled in response.

“…And would like to inform you that you have been chosen to be the next Headmistress for the Eastern Magic Academy.”

“WHAT?!!”

“Of course, you have no say on the matter as you were absent from the meeting.”

“Y-Yeah, I was b-but… I can’t take on such a job!”

“Just give up, Witch,” Titania said with a triumphant smile.

“You plotted this, didn’t you?!”

The Witch of Calamity was as good as barking now, while Titania laughed proudly for her scheming had finally paid off.

“Hoho. I know not what you speak of.”

“You little…”

“This decision is final.”

The letter said again, as if to allow the reality to sink into the mind of the Archmage.

“I’d rather train that boy over there,” Treanna said, pointing at Roland, “teach him about goddamn combat and spells rather than running a boring school that houses a bunch of wannabe caster brats!”

Oh, sound like I just received some leverage, Roland thought with an inward smile.

“Anyway, a package will soon arrive to this address with instructions, and some funds for the project. We wish you luck.”

With a poof, the letter transformed back to the owl and gave a cry as it flew out of the house through the open door.

“My peace. My sweet peace… was so darned short…” Treanna’s back fell onto the sofa again, palming her forehead. “This is horrible.”

“Better get to work soon, eh, Administrator of the Space Police?” Titania said with a mocking tone, laughing as she walked back to her room.

“Tch, just you wait. I’ll pay you back tenfold for this one day!”

“Ohohoho, I would like to see you try.”

With that, Titania left the two be.

Seeing the main door of the house still open, Treanna simply made a dismissive wave of her hand and it was closed shut.

“So…” Roland let the atmosphere hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “Might I volunteer to be your way out of this predicament? Would you be able to avoid the position if you had a full time disciple?”

Treanna sighed, cupping her head with her hands as she leaned forward from her sofa.

“Probably not. They’re gonna rope me in no matter what.”

“Better than going down without a fight at least.”

“You’re just taking advantage of what I just came up with in a rush, aren’t you?”

“Is it not a mutually beneficial arrangement?” Roland replied innocently.

“It’s not…” Treanna sighed. “But fine… I guess I can train you anyway. I’m too tired to deal with your stubbornness.”

“I’ll give you some peace then.” With that Roland got up off the sofa. “I still need to pass the Fenrir papers to Titania and wonder where Sherry has gone off to.”

“Well I doubt Titania would want you to walk into her room now.”

“Having too much fun cackling with glee from her victory?” Roland joked. “I’ll look for Sherry first then, I still have my promise with her to honor.”

“Don’t bother.” The Witch waved again dismissively. “People love to wander on this island but my guests always comes back. No need to be hasty.” She yawned. “Moreover, we need to talk about you, and your future.”

“Very well,” Roland replied, sitting back down.

“So you’re probably going to have to abandon a lot of the things you learned about combat throughout your life.”

“That might not be too difficult. It's a long story but most of my training was built around mastering a relic that last year I, err…, happened to lose.”

“And now you got a new one,” Treanna said, eyeing at the little locket wrapped around Roland’s hand.

“You noticed it?” Roland held up his arm examining the locket. “The madam passed it to me as we left and told me to hold onto it. I didn’t realize it was a relic though.”

“Well, yeah, there’s no reason not to notice the last thing my old man left me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was a momento.” Flustered, Roland quickly took off the locket and offered it to Treanna. “It belongs with you more than it does with me.”

“No thanks.” Treanna put her hand up, halting Roland. “You keep it. Now that you’re my uh… ugh…” Roland could see her grimace at having to claim it thus, “my full-time disciple or whatever you call it…” She cleared her throat and recovered her countenance. “So yeah, I don’t wanna carry it because it just keeps reminding me of him.”

“If you are sure.” Roland wrapped the locket around his hand as it was before and, after a moment’s thought, pulled his sleeve down so it was covered up.

“The locket grants you regenerative powers. It’ll help since you suck at fighting,” she said with a mocking tone.

“Hopefully not for too much longer, Master,” Roland replied with the quip of his own.

“Oh right, you might as well start by taking off most of your clothes.”

Roland hesitated slightly but followed her instructions starting to take off his overcoat. “Is this required for training?” he asked, slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah, just some briefs or shorts would do I think… maybe not boxers though. That would just be lame.”

“To be honest I’m not sure if I even own a pair of shorts. Dressing in such fashion was not condoned in England.”

Treanna looked down at her halter and the black shorts she wore, and looked back up to Roland. “They’d hate to have me as a neighbor, huh?”

“Maybe just outwardly for the sake of keeping up social appearances…” Roland replied noncommittally, letting some of his thoughts slip out.

“Totally not my style…” She looked down at her wristwatch. “Alright, let’s go. The town’s shopping district probably has a shop or two somewhere for your needs. People love the beach on an island so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Okay,” Roland replied hastily, putting his overcoat back on, relieved in the moment that he did not need to strip further yet. “Lead the way.”

The trees’ leaves rustled with the passing breeze. It was cold, carrying some of the weather of the storm nearby. It seemed like the so-called “distortion” was starting to affect the nature after all. It was only illusory, or at least it was thought to be, but perhaps things would change.

Roland was led to a place he hadn’t expected. There was a lake before him, and a waterfall beside the overseeing hill. It would have been a peaceful and serene place if not for the nearby storm. He could see the clouds starting to gather across the island. Not the dark storm clouds, but still gray nonetheless; it’d rain soon.

His attire was now changed, but he was still not used to the lack of it on his body, and the winds made him shiver. His upper body was completely bare while the only thing covering his bottom was a pair of jet black cargo shorts, the first he had seen in the store. On his feet were a pair of wooden getas.

“Okay, we’re here.” Treanna looked back at Roland as she said so. “We’re going to be meditating under the waterfall.”

Replying with a nod, Roland followed her lead and waded into the lake. Taking a deep breath he stepped under the waterfall, the cold water chilling his body instantly.

“You’ll probably not reach Enlightenment any time soon but it’s a start.” The Archmage walked up to Roland. There was a resounding noise of a clap as the hands of the Witch joined and her palms landed on the water’s surface. A magic circle formed under Roland.

Roland took note of it, but the roaring waterfall made deciphering any details of it impossible. Paying it no mind, he assumed a lotus position on a large stone under the waterfall and closed his eyes.

On the corners of the circle were symbols of leaves. Animals decorated the inner circle, and the final circle under Roland represented the earth. There were smaller Latin alphabets that made up the rest of the formulas of the magic. It glowed green, instantly making Roland wince. It slowly started to warp, and each of the symbols and alphabets ran up through his skin. It felt as though they were knives cutting through his skin as they moved. It didn’t help that the process was slow.

Staying motionless Roland grit his teeth and endured the process, focusing on trying to empty his mind, but neither the water pressure or pain made it easy. A small lapse in attention sent him off balance, and he threw out his hand to try to prop himself but slipped on the smooth stones of the lake bed and capsized. Picking himself up, he tried to return to his meditative position but the pain of the ritual made his movements too unsteady to climb up again. Leaning against the rock, he endured the rest of it where he stood.

“You alright there?” Treanna asked as soon as the ritual ended, Roland’s body glowing with the green marks all over it.

“Painful, but I’ll be fine,” Roland replied with a bit of effort. The pain gradually faded and Roland could move as he wished once again. Looking at his limbs, he examined the new markings. “What are these?”

“You might’ve noticed that I’ve had an enchantment spell woven over my skin all this time. I just casted it upon you now.”

“What kind of effects does it confer? From watching you in Russia I imagine at least one effect is some form of physical protection.”

“It’s a combination of physical and magical protection. Thanks to that many bad weather conditions won’t affect you. It takes a bit of getting used to though, so you won’t feel its effects now. Basically, when these marks slowly disappear from your body, it’d imply that the spell has sunk into the skin and thus enchanted you.”

“Does it take long? I imagine it would be best to avoid public areas while looking like this.”

“It’ll take a week or something. Suffice it to say it’s only the first step.”

“What is the next?”

The elf walked up to the wet stone surface and sat beside Roland, assuming a meditative position. She inhaled, and then exhaled her breath.

“Resume the meditation, I guess.”

With the water falling upon the Archmage and her gold hair now draped atop her skin, it made for a very stunning sight if any onlooker would be present.

Taking just a moment to admire the sight exclusive to him, Roland joined her beneath the waterfall.

“Concentrate,” Treanna said. Her eyes were closed shut but Roland could see her frown, somehow sensing his gaze. “Or would you like… an example?”

“I’m focused!” Roland hurriedly replied, quickly getting into a meditative position and closing his eyes.

“The sooner you get to sensing the nature, the faster you get to do this.”

His Master only flicked her finger to the air before her, and the water in the middle of the lake burst forth in every direction, purely thanks to her supposed brute strength.

“That does make for good motivation,” Roland replied, feeling droplets sent flying from the impact reach him. Taking a deep breath he slowly centered himself.

“And that’s why you need to learn to connect with nature, and wear as less clothes as possible. The power of nature will not enter your body properly if you have too much baggage over you. That’s the secret to my strength.”

“Does clothing, or rather the lack of it, make that large a difference?”

“Yeah. To attune with nature you have to let it come to you as well. Why else would I get used to this get-up?”

“Personal preference?”

She frowned again. “You can try mastering it with clothes yourself then.”

“I’ll defer to your experience as the master.”

“We’re going to have your first trial of the Heartbeast tonight, by the way.”

“It finally begins, I can hardly wait,” Roland replied excitedly almost slipping off the rock again, but this time he regained his balance. “Is there anything I should do to prepare?” he asked.

“Well, the trials are all rituals. The only way to prepare is to steel your determination… and I guess some calmness will take you much farther than you’d think.”

“I understand.”

The night was calm and peaceful. The moon was high in the starry night sky. A swarm of races from the forest cried in every moment; insects. With the trees rustling and the continuously falling water beside the lake added—the stormy winds would add another tune to the cacophonous symphony that the island at night played repeatedly as if it was a cycle at the whim of nature.

On the lush green grass beside the lake was Roland, his back against said grass and his eyes laid upon the elven beauty who bathed the lunar lume. Under him was yet another magic circle. If one would turn left or right from Roland’s position, they would surely find numerous alphabets that made references to countless animals. The characters were very small, but their presence indeed remained etched on the ground, for his Master had scribbled them down with magic.

The Witch of Calamity held upon her fingers a terse root with a pointed end. At said end was an evergreen shine, and upon touch it’d leave a stain as if it was ink. Her speed of writing made it apparent that the Master was far more used to scribbling than one would believe, considering her personality full of sloth. Indeed, the Witch was diligent, if not sleepy.

On the ends of the circle were similar roots with pointed ends stabbed against the earth. Five of these roots marked a star and thus the English gentleman was encircled.

The ritualistic trial would soon begin but of course, Treanna was tight-lipped regarding the trial itself.

“Okay, it’s done,” Treanna said. “Are you ready?”

She tossed the root-stick aside and looked down at Roland—who only wore cargo pants and felt the chilly winds of night and was practically unable to move. Not because she forbade him, but because of magic. The initial application of the magic circle completely froze Roland. If not for the subconscious ability to breathe for air, his body would’ve given out long ago. One could claim that the superior natural abilities conferred due to being a magician had saved him, and thus kept him alive.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Roland replied in a whisper due to his restraint. The serene atmosphere of nature around him was soothing and had there not been the trial to be done, he may have dozed off where he lay.

The Archmage only gave a nod in response. She took a step up to him and crouched down before her face was literally inches away from his own. The golden locks fell down like a curtain, taking away the luminescent shine of the moon from his view. Before Roland could speak, she placed a finger on his forehead. The index finger pressed hard, and thus he felt a great pain throughout his skull, before it ran across his very brain.

With a jolt, Roland got up, but he didn’t find his Master there, but his notebook and pen in hand. Confused, he took his eyes up and looked about in every direction.

There was a sea before him, and the beach was completely devoid of people and items of particular note. Turning, he expected to find something but instead found that he was on an island, and that it was only made out of a field of sand entirely. The waves washed up to his feet, and the wind was somehow warm.

Looking up, he found the sun that lit the sky bright, all the way to the horizon. Seagulls flew across the never ending seas and indeed, it was a very lonely world.

His mind immediately set about trying to understand what had happened. Was I transported? No, it didn’t feel like that and there was that pain in my head. Could this be within my mind then? Curiously he flipped through his notebook which had suddenly appeared with the new scenery to see if it offered any hints.

The notebook was empty. He checked his pen, and found that the ink was fully loaded, not a pint of it spent. As he looked down when the wave of water crashed against his feet, he thought he found something.

Turning to his reflections, there he found a myriad of strange writings.

Truth—the one word researchers loved. For it was fact.

It was then that he noticed that he was on the treasure trove of information. The supposed Sea of Knowledge that he’d heard many rumors about back in the Eastern Magic Academy. As the rumor would have it, on the surface of the water one would find the truth reflected, and beneath it—even greater mysteries answered.

Though if the sea truly did exist as in the rumor, the other rumors of it might have credence as with stories of it having been tainted. Leaning down, he took a closer look at the words by his feet. Though he could not recognize the language they were written in, their meaning appeared within his head. Taking his notebook and pen he copied some of the symbols in the chance when he returned it would come with him and he would be able to look into the language in depth.

For hours he stared into the shallows as answers to everything he had wondered about appeared before him in the waves, scribbling furiously within his notebook. Secrets behind the powers of the Descendants, the true nature of spiritual and magical energy, what truly was the highest power in existence. Everything was revealed but at the same time, the longer he watched the waves the more a nagging feeling of unease grew within him. There was nothing new within the water. Everything that washed up before him was a thought he had before but dismissed because he had not the means to confirm it. With a sigh he put down his pen and closed the notebook, wondering whether he could trust what he had seen. At the very least it would be worth looking into later.

It hadn’t quite dawned upon him that his feet was wet for a long time as he was concentrating on jotting down everything the sea told him. Only now looking down did he notice that the water had swallowed the tiny island he was located in. Abruptly, the sandy ground ceased to exist and he fell in the water, the depth below him very deep out of the blue.

Overcoming the shock of suddenly being dropped into the water, he splashed his way to the surface with some difficulty, struggling with one hand as his other kept a tight grip on his notebook.

Just as he thought his notebook was safe, something grabbed his legs and started pulling him down. Roland thrashed. His notebook was snatched despite his desperation. Whatever it was below the surface of the water released his feet as soon as it was taken.

The loss of the notebook did not bother him much. He had already considered he might not be able to return with it and committed what he had learned to memory. However the identity of what lurked beneath the waves and why it seemed interested in his notebook caught his curiosity. Quickly he dove underwater to pursue but could not make out more than a shadow in the gloom of the sea. Kicking his legs Roland propelled himself after the shadow, but it was to no avail and it kept getting further away. As his breath began to run out he gave up and swam for the surface but misjudged the strength of the ocean currents pulling him downward. Fighting against them, he finally ran out of air and, sucking in a lungful of sea water, lost consciousness.

A solid and cold floor was under him. It hurt—his whole body was in pain. Roland woke up in this state, but he couldn’t see anything.

In this blackness, his first reaction was to palm the floor to check if there was anything around himself, but it was simply a dry cold floor. It was hardly smooth, but was rough, as if he was not inside an establishment made by man. It almost felt as though he was in a mountainous area based on the noise of the wind he heard.

Listening intently, Roland could faintly hear the sound of deep breathing in front of him. Getting to his feet with a slight groan he gingerly walked towards the source of the noise with his arms out in front of him, slowly feeling along the ground with his feet for each step as to not trip on the uneven surface.

An animalistic voice was heard for a short moment and he fell hard against the dry floor. The wound on his chest burned and he placed a hand on it as he pulled himself up—it was wet with his blood. He winced as he felt through his wound, and it appeared to him that he was slashed with three large claws. The noise of the breathing shifted, and whatever that was attacking him was possibly toying with him, watching him suffer.

He did not know what he was up against but the size of the claws that had struck him and a hunch as to the identity of their owner informed him it was likely a beast he would have trouble facing even if he were able to see. Staying where he lay on the ground he called out. “Not the most honorable move, attacking a blinded man without warning.”

There was no answer except a sudden rush of air and tremor felt along the ground as the beast moved to attack him once more. Anticipating the swipe Roland attempted to roll out of the way but moved too late, three marks mirroring those on his chest carved into his back. With surrender seeming to not be an option he quickly got to his feet and raised his arms to protect himself, straining his senses to try to sense where the next attack would come from.

However the effort was futile. The beast circled around him attacking rapidly from various directions, leaving him able to do little more than protect his vitals with his arms as new scratches appeared all over his body. Though taking the repeated attacks was not fruitless. Slowly he was able to discern the form of the beast attacking him, a wolf.

Eventually, the supposed wolf lunged at him, pushing him to the ground with its paws. Roland could feel the ground crumbling under him, and soon he fell into the abyss.

Still getting beat even in my own mind, he thought frustrated, as the wolf’s presence suddenly disappeared.

“That’s right,” the voice of the wolf echoed. “This is your reality—and your heart knows it well.”

“Who are you?” Roland asked aloud, startled by the voice suddenly booming from the darkness around him.

“I am you,” it answered. “We have long become one through the ritual.”

“To have lost to myself… This may be my most disgraceful defeat yet,” Roland commented with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

“Then, do you want to give up?”

“Never.”

“Then stop feeling so pathetic. We all start somewhere… even the so-called God-Eater was…”

“Was what?” Roland asked, his curiosity piqued by the sudden silence.

Roland could hear some mumbling, but he couldn’t understand the words.

“Whatever the case, what do you wish for? I am a part of you, but I am only a form of power, and it is up to you how you want it to become.”

“I wish for the power to follow my will without faltering or succumbing to the obstacles I may encounter. To stand alongside and protect those dear to me as I follow my path through life.”

“Very well, but I will warn you, stronger wills will always prove to be obstacles successful in deterring you.”

“Such is the nature of life, however, so long as I don’t give up there is hope to one day overcome,” Roland answered with a smile.







A pair of emeralds stared down. Large and close. It surprised even Roland, and his body reacted before he could think. Thus, Roland’s head bumped against Sherry’s as they were too close to each other upon his awakening. Rubbing his temple, he found the Witch of Calamity sighing. The magic circle was no longer glowing.

He felt the chilly breeze of the night and held himself immediately, remembering that he lacked his clothes like usual.

“Seems like you passed the trials… somehow,” Treanna stated.

“Sorry about that,” Sherry said, rubbing her forehead. “Are you alright… Mister Roland?”

“Yes, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have moved so suddenly. Are you okay?”

“I will be fine. How did it go?”

“It was quite an interesting experience to say the least. Though on that topic…” He turned to Treanna. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were hoping it would fail to get out of teaching,” he joked.

“Absolutely,” the Master admitted, making a smirk. “Well, good job on getting over the first hurdle.” She patted him on his head.

“Thanks.” Being treated like a kid slightly annoyed him but it was not worth making a fuss over. “So what comes next?”

“Sleep. I’m too tired to continue for now.”

“Ah, I suppose in my excitement I forgot about how late it is. Shall we all head back?”

“Yeah, let’s—what are you doing?”

“I think I’ll sleep here…” Sherry said, laying down on the grass.

“She alright?” Treanna asked Roland.

“Still set on using the island as her bed it seem.” Roland replied. I hope she wasn’t sleeping out here the entire time we were in Russia, he thought, walking over to where Sherry had laid to rest. “As comfortable as I can vouch for it being having laid there myself, let’s go back to the house to sleep, Sherry. It is quite a chilly night.”

“Is it, really?” Sherry said, tilting her head before getting up. “It doesn’t seem so cold here, but if you say so.”

“Even so, I’d worry about you being out here alone,” Roland replied, offering a hand to help her to her feet.

“Hoho, no need to worry for I am still a Goddess, after all.”

Sherry accepted the hand, while a puzzled look loomed over Treanna. Regardless, they departed for the house of the Witch.

Getting passports ready for the two was them was no easy order. The governments across the world only allowed the Magic Train stations to be installed in their entries so that they would be able to control the coming and going of mage legally to an extent. Hence, getting visa was still the norm. Even the magicians of the Magic World couldn’t escape these general laws.

The trip by Magic Train took almost twice as long as it’d take by airplane. Since the airplane trip would be too expensive, and would require them to stop in a modern country for it, taking the Magic Train was the best alternative to the mother and daughter.

In the main island, Pulau Ujong now, the two came out from the station.

“So, we are finally here, Mother,” said Charlotte Brontë, daughter of Weiss Ackerman. “Where shall we start?”

“Since I got the info from a hospital, we should visit one. I still have the nurse outfit but let’s just go there first.” Weiss suggested while carrying their bag.

“Why do you need a nurse outfit from the nineteenth century, mother?” Charlotte inquired as they walked off.

“To blend in? It’s still a hospital and all.”

“Why do we need to blend in when you can simply use your Commandment, Mother? Besides, that is ancient here, anyone would notice the oddness and it may draw more unwanted attention.”

“If the hospital is small, we can just go through the walls and look, but if it’s big, we should ask around.”

“It does not warrant having to wear a uniform, though,” Charlotte added teasingly.

“I was going to say that they wouldn’t give some random people some random information. Oh well, we’ll just sneak in and interrogate a doctor in some private area of the hospital.”

“We need not do something so brutish, I am able to hypnotise people just fine. Albeit, I do not prefer to use it very often.”

“Ah yes, that would also work.” Weiss nodded.

“Well, speaking of hospitals, I do have a compilation here.” Charlotte handed a list of hospitals from across the country to Weiss.

“Hmm...Lets check Alexandra, Changi, National University, and the General Hospital.” Weiss suggested after looking at the list of hospitals.

“Very well.” Charlotte took out a card. It looked like the ones Weiss witnessed in America where people would use them to buy goods and services. However, Charlotte’s one was slightly different. It was a Magic World member’s card. She simply took it up and a taxi immediately rode up to them. “You first, Mother.”

“Thank you my dear.” Weiss stepped in the car.

Charlotte joined Weiss moments later. The taxi driver turned to them, holding his hat up.

“Welcome to the Magic Taxi—a special service for the mages of the Magic World—may I know where we are going, Madam?”

“To Changi hospital, please,” Weiss responded and smiled at the driver.

“Understood.”

Weiss’ smile fell flat as soon as they went off, the taxi was so fast no rollercoaster could match up to it. It was faster than a bullet train if anything, and the two’s backs naturally clashed against the seats.

“I hope you two ladies had not forgotten about the seat belts,” the driver added.

“D-do they go this fast mostly?” Weiss was rather surprised with the speed of the car was going.

Charlotte was smiling casually as if it wasn’t a big deal to her anymore. “Yes, time is valuable for us mages, after all.”

“I-I see, I’ll get used to it soon anyway,” she said and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

“Perhaps next time you will.”

The driver opened the door for Weiss. “We are here, madam.”

“Thank you.” Weiss stepped out of the car while holding both hers and her daughter’s bag, She looked at the building.

The hospital wasn’t as packed as the ones on england. Although few people went in and out. The hospital itself was quite smaller than the ones in england.

Weiss entered, a hand holding her head upright due to the headache she received from the ride she had just exited from. It almost made appear to be a patient-to-be.

“This hospital is quite large, though… it would take some time for us to find anything related to my sibling,” Charlotte said, having surveyed the size of the facility some moments ago.

“Indeed, if there’s a database that we can access, maybe we can speed things up a little bit.” Weiss responded while taking a peek inside some rooms in the lobby.

“You could simply go past the walls and find a computer. No one would note a person fallen unconscious so early in a busy hospital, yes?”

“I suppose,” Weiss held her daughter’s hand and walked passed a few walls. Mostly she went in some empty patient rooms, luckily she found a hospital pc that was being used by a doctor. She looked at the top corner of the room to see if there were security cameras present. She swiftly swatted the camera off and knocked the doctor before he realised. “Charlie my dear, go search the hospital’s database using the computer while I stand guard.” Weiss said as she closed the room’s binders and locked the door.

“Mother, since you suggested it, I was thinking that it would be you who would search?” The expectations of the daughter fell flat, perhaps her mother wasn’t so good at computers after all.

“There are only a few computers in Russia, my dear. You can count on how many there are with the fingers on your both of your hands, and to top it all off, there are only one in home base and it is used by that one guy that helped me maintain my bike and weapons.” Weiss smiled followed with a sigh.

“Really now…? I was quite certain that our Mistress used many such gadgets and devices for her own ends?”

“She has them inside her body. So that doesn’t count. What makes you think that sometimes she wears a huge cloak when she fixes me?”

“She… she does?”

“Yes, so you were never conscious when she fixes you?”

“I am not quite an android so I would not know, mother.”

“I see, you should join us when she fixes me sometimes. You need to get used to see her in her true hilarious form.” Weiss teased.

“I wonder about the authenticity of your statement, mother,” Charlotte said, taking a seat on the chair and looking into the computer. “I had not used these devices much before so do not expect much.”

“Oh I’m sure you’ll love it. Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep them away from this room if they start banging on the door.”

Thirty minutes had passed since Charlotte started tinkering around with the database, looking into the list of patients and the many associated cases of these people. Needless to say, she was attempting to gain an understanding of how a computer worked while trying to find anything relatable to either her mother or she herself, and the name of the case they were told of back in the clinic in England. Nothing seemed to come up, but with time, and a lack of response, people got very suspicious. It was likely because of the fact that the camera was not functioning that the inhabitants of the room were under much doubt.

There were people banging on the door, calling out the name of the doctor who was unconscious beside Charlotte and Weiss.

Well then, Weiss looted some pens and the doctor’s coat. She wore the coat and sank in the ground. She sneaked passed the people outside and started to threw things from inside a trash can. Just before they could see who threw it, she disappeared into the wall again.

Noises of confusion and screams were mixed as they floated into the room where Charlotte was still reading names—or at least trying to.

“Mother, it is quite impressive that I am able to concentrate at all in all this chaos, and you would make more?”

“That’s quite a sarcastic comment my dear Charlotte. I’m having loads of fun right now.” Weiss laughed like a ghost and sank back in the ground. She managed to find a blood pack and decided to smear the blood on her hand and coat. Ohh, I haven’t have this much fun since ages ago.

She grabbed a random person’s leg while still under ground, making them scream for their lives. “G-G-G-GHOSTS!” They each yelled in unision.

Charlotte gave a defeated smile. To Weiss, it almost seemed as if she was pitying her. “Oh dear, someone here sure loves her pranks.”

“What? Don’t tell me that you’re not enjoying the screams of the people here saying something delusional as ghosts.”

“Maybe if it was my dear Mary’s screams… ehehe.”

Weiss giggled, “See, keep that positive attitude and stop being so negative!”

“And that is supposed to be positive?”

“At least you smiled.” She patted her daughter on her head.

Charlotte laughed. “I suppose so, yes.”

To the outsiders that just barely heard this conversation, it was as if listening to two murderers rather than a mother and a daughter.

“So, did you find any clues so far?” Weiss asked.

“Nothing… some names are hard to read, it may be due to the language of the country… I am sorry, mother.”

“Oh don’t worry my dear, did you check on the cases files also?”

“What are those?”

“You know, like those unsolved sickness or ailments that comes and goes as quickly as it appear. Like something bizarre or similar.”

“I believe the names of the sections and the files are much more bizarre than what you would claim, dear mother. It is a chore to just… look through these lists. How did that person ever get used to all of this?” Charlotte eyed the unconscious doctor on the floor.

“You know… maybe you should try to wake him up and help us.” Weiss suggested and peeked outside. “If we have time that is. I have a feeling that the police or the fire department might come. So we might have to escape before that and check other major hospitals.” She continued before sank back into the ground.

“I do not think the doctor would want to help us would-be assailants, mother. I believe most of them speak in a different language from our own too…”

“I did hear they sometimes yell in english and some unknown language. Anyway we should move on to the next hospital.” Weiss said as she removed the lab coat that she was wearing and lift her daughter up and their luggage on her arms. She then ran through the walls and into the ground. She tried to find an empty spot before reappearing on the ground.

“Now then, lets go to the next major hospital on our list.” Weiss said after putting down her daughter on the ground. They were in an empty alley with mostly used newspapers and plastic bags lying around.

“Would we not run into the same issue on each hospital, though?”

“The computer interface was in english, so I assume that the doctors have to learn English to use it. So later we’ll force him or her to check the computer. Maybe I’ll be the one to force them while you create a diversion. Ok?” Weiss winked.

“Me? Create a diversion? Pardon, mother, but I do not think a Representative such as myself should make my face known any more than necessary to the mundanes, and nor should you as a Descendant…”

“Was just a suggestion, my dear. I’m fine with doing distractions.” Weiss sighed.

“Again with the distractions…”

“Okay fine, I won’t do distractions.” Weiss sighed again.

“My mother is so unladylike,” Charlotte said, mostly to herself.

“I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear that.”

And so, the pair stayed in Singapore for two months, searching for their remaining family member in vain, going through each of the hospitals, asylums, and various facilities.