By his annoyed gaze, I knew Cylrit noticed my revelation, but it didn’t matter. I knew his weakness.
Sylvie, capitalizing on our discovery, quickly casted the spell she had been preparing. Like a brilliant firework display, hundreds of sparks spread with blazing trails. Rather than fade, though, the sparks of light remained suspended in the air all around us.
A wave of fatigue leaked onto me from my bond, but she remained determined to finish this quickly.
‘I need to concentrate fully on maintaining this mana art. Don’t let Cylrit near me.’
With a mental nod, I burst forward, using a condensed blast of wind to aid my acceleration. I was doubtful whether we could pull off the sort of coordination we would need to follow through with Sylvie’s plan, but I followed through with her intention.
Cylrit was obviously wary of the gleaming sparks of light surrounding him but his attention remained focused on me as I was the more immediate threat.
I conjured a single blade of ice as I approached the retainer. The spark of light beneath my right foot turned into a panel for me to push off of, allowing me to sharply change my direction. Another spark turned into a platform, and another, until I was dancing around Cylrit fast enough for him to lose track of me briefly.
‘Now!’ Sylvie expressed.
I pushed off one of the many platforms of mana my bond had conjured directly behind the retainer.
Even without his powerful vacuum ability, however, Cylrit’s reflexes were on par or even above mine. He whirled around, bringing his large sword around at a speed that made me believe his weapon was a hollow toy.
I saw the mana composition changing within his weapon before feeling my blade of ice being sucked in towards the black sword.
As I resisted the force pulling at my conjured weapon, Sylvie triggered one of the sparks of mana hovering nearby.
A blinding beam of pure mana shot out towards Cylrit just as my blade clashed with his. The retainer, unable to alter his weapon’s ability in time, was forced to dodge out of the way.
Sylvie’s attack still managed to glance off his black armor, leaving its mark alongside the small wound I had inflicted on his torso.
We didn’t stop there. I abandoned the ice sword for the countless time and concentrated mana into my fist before swinging hard at my opponent’s face while sending a blast of lightning with my other hand.
Cylrit opted to absorb the blast of lightning while using his own arm to block my fist. While he was pushed back from the force, I conjured a new—even larger—blade than the last one and striked.
Unable to change his ability fast enough, he took the full force of Ice Sword Mach Twenty-something. The mana around his body negated the brunt of the attack, but by the blood leaking from the corner of Cylrit’s lips, I knew we had landed our first successful attack.
We continued to stay on the offensive, mixing spells with conjured swordplay or attacking with my own hands and feet.
It’s working, I sent to Sylvie.
My bond triggered another spark to release a blast of mana while I purposefully shattered my latest ice sword. Being a white core mage, molding the dozens of ice fragments into spikes was instantaneous while they hailed down on the retainer.
However, before either of our attacks could reach Cylrit, the retainer spun towards me. I barely managed to dodge the kick aimed at my face but his foot still scuffed me on the shoulder.
Tumbling back in the air, I tried to regain my balance when a spotted a black object advanced directly at me. It was Cylrit’s sword, along with the barrage of icicles that were being pulled towards it.
I grabbed on to one of Sylvie’s suspended sparks to stop myself from tumbling. Four other sparks in between me and Cylrit’s thrown sword lit up and connected to form a large barrier.
The pitch-black sword pierced through Sylvie’s mana barrier but managed to stop the ice shards.
I dodged Cylrit’s weapon easily enough but the retainer followed up with another kick.
Barely managing to duck out of the way, I imbued my fist with lightning, but as I tried to strike at him, a force pulled the spell surrounding my fist back behind me.
This gave Cylrit enough time to land a solid punch to my jaw. The mana protecting me soaked up some of the force from the impact but my vision still swam.
I dodged the next hit and tried to gain some distance from him but he stuck closely to me. The sparks around us glowed threateningly, a sign that Sylvie was waiting for a chance to fire once more.
Now was the time—while Cylrit’s sword was set to attract physical spells.
“Do it!” I roared.
A note of panic and confusion bloomed from my bond’s mind, but I expressed my confidence and determination.
My bond abided and fired everything she had.
The sky lit up as every single spark fired a bright beam of mana directly at us.
My body begged me to move out of the way. It wasn’t too late. But instead, I grabbed ahold of Cylrit.
‘Arthur!’ Just from hearing Sylvie’s voice in my head, I could feel how horrified she was.
The retainer struggled to break free from my grasp, his attention focused not on the spell but on his sword behind me. It was obvious that he was trying to get his weapon back, but I didn’t make it that easy. Unable to even risk releasing a single limb from Cylrit, I smashed my forehead into his nose and repeated until the heat from Sylvie’s mana beams could be felt on my skin.
Static Void.
The world grew still again just as the cluster of beams were inches away from us.
I tried prying myself away from Cylrit, but the retainer had been grabbing onto the fur-lined mantle that Virion had passed down to me.
I slipped out of the piece of outerwear and dropped down out of harm’s way before releasing Static Void.
The world’s color shifted back to normal and I watched from a distance as Cylrit’s figure disappeared within the beams of mana.
Damn. So much for not wasting my energy, I cursed myself.
Cylrit’s abilities made it a bad match-up and there was still much to be desired from the coordination between Sylvie and me, but we managed to win without any serious injuries—a large improvement considering we got our asses handed to us by Uto last time.
I saw Cylrit’s figure plunging down into the canopy of trees and fog below but with Realmheart, I knew he was still alive.
I looked at my bond, both of us prepared to finish our journey, when I felt a mild shock pulse from within my pant pocket.
It was the transmission scroll linked with my sister. I quickly unrolled it and read the short message now inscribed on the vellum.
My hands trembled as I read and reread the content of the scroll. I fumbled with the scroll as I tried to shove it back into my pocket. But even after that, I remained still. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t decide.
A beat of silence passed before Sylvie’s voice echoed in my head. ‘Arthur. Let’s go.’
I could tell by the angst from Sylvie that she had read my thoughts that I hadn’t bothered to hide. She quickly shifted into her draconic form, swooped underneath me and scooped me up.
‘We’ll assume that the retainer was telling the truth for now. Right now, your sister needs us back at the Wall.’
Chapter 222: Future’s First Step
GREY
A lot changed after Cecilia’s accident at school. Things weren’t as drastic as Nico had feared after our friend’s secret was exposed—at a glance, at least. Despite the crude oligarchy we were in, we still had basic rights.
The enforcers couldn’t just take Cecilia and keep her for whatever purposes they had in store, but they were able to basically force Cecilia to attend sessions at a nearby government facility for “tests” under the guise of helping her “control her abilities.”
Another problem was that Cecilia was an orphan like Nico and I were. With no legal guardian available after Headmaster Wilbe
ck passed away, more than once did a supposed wealthy or powerful individual extend their desire to adopt her.
I’d like to say that I was there to help my friend as she endured the stresses and hardships that came from being under the spotlight, but that would be a lie.
With Nico by her side, being the shoulder to lean on for Cecilia, it was quickly apparent that they had become more than just friends. While I thought my initial reaction to this would be discomfort at the fact that my two childhood friends were on the path to becoming lovers, I was actually happy for them. It was hard for me to show that, though, since I was hardly ever there with them.
Training with Lady Vera became even more intensive as I met and even exceeded her own expectations. She had the authority to allow me to skip most of my classes since her own training regimen was several times more intensive than the academy so my social life and youth was compromised. If I wasn’t training or sparring, I was learning etiquette and basic knowledge required for the exam to even qualify to be a king. As it turned out, you couldn’t only be a good fighter—you needed the intellect and charisma to appeal to your country’s citizens.
It was while under the full tutelage of Lady Vera and the team of tutors dedicated to making sure I had a fighting chance to become a king that I learned the role was more akin to a glorified mascot than it was a leader.
Still, I needed the power and voice that came with the position. I still hadn’t forgotten about the assassins that were responsible for Headmaster Wilbeck’s cruel death.
I also used that reason to justify my absence with Nico and Cecilia. Days and sometimes even weeks would go by without even being able to see their faces, and while I felt bad, I fooled myself into believing that becoming a king would solve everything. Whether the government was running shady tests on Cecilia to get a better grasp of her abnormal ki levels or the politicians trying to use her as a tool to further their gains, becoming a king would get rid of all of those problems.
I wasn’t sensible or emphatic like Nico was, nor did I have strong enough feelings for Cecilia to dedicate my time being there for her like my best friend. If anything, there was still a small part of me that blamed Cecilia for Headmaster Wilbeck’s death. The woman that was basically my mother was killed protecting her.
It wasn’t fair for me to blame her—I knew that. I swallowed those unjustified resentments long ago because Cecilia had taken her death hard as well, but it still left a small chasm in our relationship.
Perhaps that’s why I could never reciprocate the feelings Cecilia once had for me. Whatever the reason was, it didn’t matter. I barely had time to sleep since my current schedule was planned down to the minute of every day by Lady Vera.
She wasn’t completely heartless, though. She would still give me time to hang out with Nico and Cecilia every once in a while, and although many of the times Cecilia couldn’t come because of her own “training,” talking and joking around with Nico was one of the few joys in my life.
We were almost eighteen, and would soon legally become adults, when Nico brought up his plan with Cecilia while on one of our now-monthly hangouts.
“You’re going to run away?” I asked incredulously.
“No… well, I guess, in a way.” Nico let out a sigh. “You make my well-thought-out plan sound like some sort of prepubescent rebellion.”
“Because it sort of is,” I scoffed. “Do you think the government will even let you run away with Cecilia? As far as they’re concerned, she’s basically a national asset.”
“Trust me, I know. But after Cecilia and I no longer need a guardian, we can drop out of school and go to a different country. The new prototype of the ki limiter I made is already several times more stable than the previous one and that accounts for the growth in her ki levels.”
“How much has her ki level grown?” A part of me didn’t want to know the answer.
Nico leaned back against the seat. “According to her latest report, more than double.”
“What?!” I yelled, instantly drawing the attention of the other students in the cafeteria.
“Yup. Apparently, it’s not just her inherent ki level that’s monstrous but its growth as well. At this point, I just hope the team of researchers watching over her know what they’re doing—I’d expect any form of explosive growth can’t be perfectly stable.”
“Still, that’s ridiculous,” I said, lowering my voice. I couldn’t help but imagine myself having a ki level so high. A majority of my training with Lady Vera consisted of compensating for my levels of ki despite the endless resources she had spent on medicine and supplements.
With my combat abilities and Cecilia’s ki level, becoming a king would have actually been just a matter of time. I could see why the government wanted to control her so much.
“Training still rough?” Nico asked his routine question once again.
I nodded, barely able to raise a grilled piece of chicken breast to my mouth. “It’s getting a bit more bearable now, but yeah.”
Nico usually didn’t pry for details, but I guess he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He set down the fork and looked at me with his sharp eyes. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”
I continued to carefully chew my food, answering only with a raised brow.
“I barely see you nowadays. Hell, Cecilia isn’t as busy even with the government training sessions and politicians hounding her. When I do see you, you’re either bloody to the point that it’s seeping through your uniform or you’re so sore you can hardly stand. Is being the king that important that it’s worth throwing away your body and youth?”
“You know it’s not as simple as that,” I said with a threatening tone.
Nico rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. It’s apparently the dying wish of Headmaster Wilbeck for you to avenge her by wasting away your life.”
I slammed my utensils down on the table. “Are you done?”
There was a beat of silence between the two of us as we locked eyes. Nico relented, letting out a breath. “Look, I didn’t mean to come off like such a jerk. I just wanted to say that Headmaster Wilbeck wouldn’t have wanted this for you. She would’ve wanted you and Cecilia to live as normal students and be happy with normal lives and families.”
“You know I can’t let it go that easily. Not after her whole murder was covered up as an accident. Those assassins are part of a bigger organization, I just know it.”
“So you become a king and then snuff out the organization that killed Headmaster Wilbeck. Then what?” Nico pressed.
“Then I retire. Find a quiet place and ‘be happy with a normal life and family,’” I replied with a smirk.
My friend shook his head helplessly. “Let’s hope it’s that easy.”
I chuckled, wincing at the pain it brought to my sore chest. “What about you and Cecilia? Do you have a particular country in mind or are you just content with going wherever the wind blows like gypsies?”
“Engineers never ‘go wherever the wind blows,’” he scoffed. “I have pretty much the whole plan set. And it’s all legal… just, low-key.”
“Well have you told this masterplan to Cecilia?”
“Not entirely, but—oh, speak of the devil. Cecil! We’re over here!” Nico suddenly called out, practically bolting up from his seat. It irritated me how his voice went up a pitch every time he talked to Cecilia. It wasn’t over-the-top but still a bit cringy.
Nevertheless, I turned my head and waved to our friend with a smile. My greeting was casual and laid back, but my eyes scanned Cecilia with scrutiny. She had gotten taller, and her posture much more straight and confident despite the exhaustion shown on her face. It was easy to say that, objectively, she had gotten much prettier. Whether this was because her strict training was shaping her body into a more feminine figure or because of her inherent genes coming to fruition with age, she attracted the gazes of most of the male students around her.
She was dressed in a similar uniform to mine, indicating to
the students and faculty that we had mentors and were exempt from showing up to class or school. It was a more extravagant version of the ones normal students wore, embellished with gold trims and buttons to match. I thought it always looked odd on me, but on Cecilia, it made her look like a noble straight out of a fairytale.
Cecilia smiled back at us before taking a seat across from me next to Nico.
“It’s been a while, Grey,” she said, smoothing out her blazer. She looked at me with weary eyes. “How is training going for you?”
“It’s been going well,” I replied awkwardly. “How are you?”
Cecilia had always been a quiet girl, but seeing her less and less made our interactions even more strained than usual.
Still, she was a gentle and selfless girl—selfless enough to say she was doing good when, despite her improved physique, her psyche seemed to be at the cusp of shattering.
“Here, Cecil. I saved some of your favorite foods before they were all gone.” Nico pushed the tray of untouched food toward her and I watched as she forced a smile and practically shoved the creamed seafood medley down her throat.
For someone so smart, Nico was pretty clueless.
I watched for a while as the two of them conversed; Nico did most of the talking. Cecilia mostly listened but responded genuinely to all of Nico’s questions while she finished off the platter of food.
Despite the change in dynamics between the three of us, things seemed normal for a while. We were three students sitting and chatting over a meal in the dining hall of our school. While my drive to become a king grew more and more while training, I still missed spending time like this.
It was only when Nico mentioned his plans about fleeing the country that things started going south. Cecilia’s expression hardened, to a point where she almost looked… afraid.
“N-Nico. I don’t think we should be talking about that here,” Cecilia said, looking around.
Nico cocked a brow. “Come on, Cecil. It’s not like we’re actually running away. We’re legally allowed to go to other countries, you know.”
“Still…” Cecilia’s voice trailed off as she continued to survey our surroundings.
TBATE Volume 7 Page 22
