Thump, Thump-!
I dropped the bodies in front of me and sat down on a rock, leaning back and relaxing my head against one of the trees. I was tired. Exhausted.
Each breath that I took seemed to be laced with flames while my mind was quite light. Not only was I physically exhausted, but so was my mind.
Going all out with Emotive Magic wasn’t so easy.
I had to take deep and steady breaths to calm myself down.
‘Regardless, I still managed to come out on top.’
I glanced at the three bodies next to me. I wasn’t quite sure about their identities, but I knew from the brief exchange I had with them that they were incredibly strong.
I honestly hadn’t expected to win against them like that, but I had severely underestimated
my own capabilities. I really… was being incredibly inefficient with how I was using my own skills.
This was a learning experience for me.
I knew that I could still improve further. Not only that…
‘Once I manage to integrate both of my domains fully, I’ll be able to become even stronger. By then, my growth should explode even further.’
The thought alone made me excited.
“That was quite good, human.”
As Owl-Mighty appeared next to me, I glanced down and saw Pebble also materialize. Unlike Owl-Mighty, Pebble wasn’t as pleased.
“You improved, human, but that’s because you never train properly.”
Pebble almost seemed offended.
“Hmph.”
“Uh?”
I scratched the side of my face.
What suddenly brought such attitude?
Owl-Mighty quickly cleared my doubts.
“It’s because you don’t use his skill enough.”
“Oh.”
Well…
“It’s not that he doesn’t use it, stupid Owl. It’s that whenever he uses it, he uses it wrong!” “I use it wrong?”
“Yes!”
Pebble flicked its head back in my direction.
“You have no control over the skill, human. The possibilities are endless, yet all you do is use the most basic form of it! If you knew how to harness its true potential, you could’ve wiped out those weaklings even faster!”
“Oh.”
Pebble’s words made sense.
I did know that I wasn’t using the most out of the skill. In fact, I wasn’t making the most out of all of my skills.
“…If only quests didn’t keep popping up so often, I could’ve spent more time training and mastering my skills. This is especially so after I learned a new skill. I’ll need to spend more time properly learning that one.”
I thought back to my newly acquired skill; [Mana Sense]
It was a skill I had learned from the bone absorbed from the Melanchony, and it essentially allowed me to see through all illusions and detect mana with my eyes. Once activated, the skill let me peer through objects, revealing anyone hidden behind them. As long as they had mana traces, [Mana Sense] would pick them up.
It was a great skill, but the only issue I had with it was that it hurt my eyes quite a bit.
I also knew that there was more to the skill that I currently use.
What I needed was time.
So long as I had enough time…
“Hmm.”
Hearing a sudden sound, Owl-Mighty and Pebble faded from view as my attention snapped to
one of the bodies. That’s when I noticed the eyelids of one of them twitching.
‘He’s about to wake up’
Soon enough, a pair of deep black eyes came into view as they blankly stared above.
“Where is-!!”
His words were short-lived as he soon noticed my presence. He quickly tried to move, but it was useless. His entire body was covered in thin purple threads, rendering it completely
weak.
“Settle down, I’m not going to kill you.”
Though I tried to calm him down, his eyes stool shook at the sight of me, alongside his face which paled considerably.
Was I that scary?
Thinking about it for a moment and the way that I acted, I found my lip twitching.
Maybe…
“I’m looking to trade you three in exchange for compensation.”
It was only when I said these words that I noticed him finally calm down. Couldn’t really blame him. Had I been in his position, I too would’ve acted in a similar fashion. To know that I was being exchanged for compensation made things more reassuring.
“You…”
I thought things would end there, but all of a sudden, I heard his voice and as my brow raised, he asked, “…Are you not afraid that by letting us go we’ll hunt for you again?”
“Uh?”
His question surprised me for a moment as I found myself unable to immediately reply.
Did I not think they would hunt me down after releasing them? Yes, I thought about it quite a
bit.
And yet, I still chose to release them without much of a thought.
It kind of sounded stupid on my part, but the reality of the matter was simple.
“I’m not worried.”
Indeed, I wasn’t.
Far from it.
Suppressing a chuckle, I fixed my gaze directly on the man’s deep black eyes which seemed to
be as deep as the sky itself. And yet, compared to ‘hers’ they almost felt like the very sun
itself.
“Far from it, really.”
I was growing.
Faster than anyone could ever hope to think of.
I had Atlas, Delilah, Quests, Owl-Mighty, Pebble, and many tools to aid my growth.
If there was one thing I wasn’t worried about, it was them.
“The version of me you’ve met is the weakest one you’ll ever see. By the time we meet
again..”
I pressed my lips and didn’t say anything else.
I didn’t need to say anything else.
***
Shortly after the events in the forest, the High-Seats of the Nocturne Order were promptly
informed of the situation, and a clip was quickly shared with them.
The halls were silent. Every eye was locked on the projection, which displayed the unfolding
events from the forest.
This continued for a few minutes until the projection ended, and even then, the silence persisted. That was until a certain voice broke the silence, “I thought the relics were supposed
to be strong enough to handle his Emotive Magic.”
“It should’ve…”
The figure pointed at the projection.
“Then what is that?”
The projection rewound to the moment when Julien appeared above Sagittarius, his hands
gripping his head just before the necklace shattered.
Several heads turned toward Seraphina, who watched the projection with a conflicted expression. Having experienced his Emotive Magic firsthand, she knew just how powerful it
could be, but even then, she hadn’t realized it was to that degree.
‘Looks like I’ve misjudged its lethality.’
….Or did he not go all out against her?
Seraphina found herself pressing her own lips tightly.
“How do you expect us to handle the situation?”
The question seemed to be aimed at her, the one responsible for the entire situation.
Seraphina wasn’t angry at the sudden inquiry.
She understood that the situation had turned out like this due to her own misjudgment and it
was only right that she’d pay the consequences for it.
“I’ll pay off the ransom.”
“Pftt-!”
Her words were met with a short chuckle, causing Seraphina to frown. When she turned her
head, she saw a figure leaning casually, her cheek propped up on her fist, watching her with an
amused expression.
“What’s so funny?”
“Um? No, nothing.”
Though she said that, covering her mouth, she let out another laugh. Seraphina’s brow
furrowed even deeper as her expression hardened.
“Pftt.”
She laughed again.
With her long, flowing light green hair and striking red eyes, the Seat of Jest was relatively
pretty. Though neither had directly clashed in the past, their animosity was clear, with the Seat of Jest often treating everything as a joke, much to Seraphina’s irritation.
“Laugh, laugh, all you can do is laugh…”
“You can’t really… pftt… blame me for that.”
Wiping the corner of her eye, Jest covered her mouth and leaned back, her voice laced with
amusement as she spoke, “How can I not find the situation funny?”
“Funny? What’s so-“
“You offering to pay in our stead. I thought that was funny.”
||
Narrowing her eyes, Seraphina leaned in closer, locking gazes with the Seat of Jest, who met
her stare with a knowing look.
“Who do you think receives the money that you pay off?”
“Obvious-“|
“Your son.”
Jest’s voice cut through Seraphina’s, leaving her stunned as the entire place fell into a state of
silence.
“The money will go to your son.”
Repeating her point, the Seat of Jest suddenly burst into another fit of laughter, her amusement clear. Her crisp, yet melodious laugh reverberated throughout the large halls as
she continued like that for the next few seconds before finally calming down and looking at
the black-faced Seraphina. “Now, now, don’t make such an expression. It’ll make your wrinkles more evident.”
She covered her mouth once more, stifling yet another laugh before looking towards the other
Seats.
“Does nobody else find the situation amusing?”
Her words pierced through the hall.
“…I find it hilarious how she’s acting like she’s biting the bullet for her mistakes when the one
directly benefitting is her!? We’re talking about her damn son!”
No longer was she laughing.
One could even see hints of madness in Jest’s eyes as she looked around.
“She does raise a good point.”
“That’s true…”
Despite the madness, her words made sense. Even the other Seats had no other choice but to
agree as they all looked at Seraphina with narrowed eyes.
Feeling all the attention directed towards her, Seraphina didn’t look at all disturbed.
“He is indeed my son.”
This was something that everyone knew.
“…But I have never treated him as such.”
She was merely a ‘mother’ in name.
“I’ve given up everything to be here. My achievements speak for myself.”
Her eyes swept the hall, pausing on several Seats.
“…And if we really have to pin the faults on someone, it sure as heck looks like a few of you
shouldn’t be spared.”
The atmosphere became incredibly tense all of a sudden.
“What do you mean by “
“Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Seraphina spat, her words becoming less curt with each passing second.
“I may not have assessed his strength well, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was your
disciples who failed.”
She pointed at the projection, a jeer spreading across her features.
“Quite pathetically at that…”
She was just about to follow up when all of a sudden, she found her words stripped out of her
mouth.
“_!”
She wasn’t the only one.
Everyone found themselves in a similar situation and their eyes widened in surprise.
Before they could even figure out what had happened, the space before them fluctuated, and a
figure emerged.
“Now, now…”
His presence alone felt like that of a mountain, pressing against their backs and forcing them
to bend.
As if the very air itself had frozen, the sound of a single step echoed across the spacious all as
all heads bowed down in unison.
Nobody said a word. Nobody could say a word.
Because…
He was here.