《Infinite Misconception》


 Version Information

    All material is copyright ? with exceptions by the author of Infinite Misconception


    Dylan Frendo


    December 25, 2019


    {Content Edited in November 2024}


    Official Revision Version: 09This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Copyright Exceptions: The cover image was created by a third party artist, and the commercial use rights for this have been granted. K-Mart is a separate legal corporation mentioned in this book; not an idea created by the author. In addition, Ford and its products are also separate legal entities. Though included in this novel, Ford and all of its products are not original ideas by the author.


    All rights reserved


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    This segment includes book #10/19 ~ #12/19 of the official Leray Series.

 Chapter 0: All of my Sins

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    Energy flows through all of us, bringing about the spark of life, and the dawn of a new era. It is far too easy to get lost in a world of our own surrounding. Of the many mistakes and sins I have made, I find myself standing in stasis; unable to move, unable to act, and unable to breathe. The world is growing darker every day, and I am but partially to blame. What I must do, all that I can offer to correct these mistakes, I must cause great pain to others, and risk many more lives that are not my own. Leray magic made me who I am today, but it also broke me, as well as the friends I made long ago. Investigations, plans, memory drill through time... Good and evil conspire against each other in the dark. The clock is ticking down to the end. Still must I drown in the sorrow of my past. What will become of the world''s greatest change?The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

 Chapter 1: Flight

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    <02/15/1972 ¨C 05:11>


    Compression of air and sound, encased in a barrier with rapid shifts in altitude and geographical position, increasing air pressure. This perhaps is what causes this annoying sensation inside both ear canals during the critical moment of takeoff in flight. Danny certainly had no other conclusive details drawn out to explain why the so-called popping of the ears hurts for a few minutes. Luckily for himself and the others, nobody suffered from motion sickness.


    Multon Aeronomics, the company firm owning the technology used to build such an enormous passenger craft; this multi-national business of worldwide flight designed this plane among many others. While there wasn''t anything all that special about a passenger jet which Nyar had seen before, Danny and his friends were certainly overexcited by this bore of a ride. This is most likely the energy of youngsters stuck in something so new and alien of an environment; however, Danny is defiantly holding all his excitement in, if there is any.


    Nyar arranged to have second-class area seats on the flight. Therefore, the section in the plane here was quite comfortable and designed for a lot of room, despite the side-attached chairs being only two per side unit. Nyar sat himself by the closed windowpane, next to Danny, and Taylor sat next to Jane just in front. Despite having taken off more than 3 hours ago, neither of Nyar''s passengers would settle down. Unfortunately for Nyar''s nerves, Jane wasn''t exactly seated in her chair.


    "Bet I can do a backflip from the seat?" Jane challenged precariously as she barely struggled to balance on both feet, each pressed against the chair handles closest to the aisle. After having to gawk at all the amazing technologies and structural integrity of the jet airliner, Jane soon became hyper and excited upon losing the curiosity that came with that long moment of learning, and she had only been off of Sprawn Valley for 180 minutes.


    Taylor''s eyes lit up fast in a nervous rush to stop Jane from what she was about to try. Though only three feet to her left, Jane was standing on the armrest handles of the foam chair welded into the elegant carpet floor painted with black and red stripe designs. Despite the announcement that seatbelts were not currently required after ten minutes of takeoff, Jane was still taking her idea of a joke way too far.


    Nyar was much quicker to react than Taylor could however, gleaming his angry brown eyes at the girl he promised to house and feed while in New York. "Jane Venn! Sit your butt down now!" Nyar had to be firm since Jane could seriously get hurt taking things out of line. She''s been acting like a kid since this flight began, and to some extent, so has Taylor. But just look at her! Jane is making a scene in the entire section of the cabin. Though there are less people seated farther apart in this area, Jane is totally embarrassing herself and anyone associated with her. People must be thinking that the parent can''t control their own child. If the stewardess were here to see this right now, they would make him formally apologize, and strap Jane to a chair using duct tape.


    Jane could see the entire section behind her seat being so high, and almost had her head hitting against the upper storage section where people keep their extra luggage. Despite being steadily balanced, Jane felt Nyar''s aggressive tone pierce through the entire jet, hurting her ears being as close as she was. Though she was joking around, Danny, Taylor, nor Nyar found it funny or exciting to say the least. Their disappointment immediately coaxed Jane to sink down back into her chair with a mild pout.


    Taylor felt like she could be accidentally smiling, but not from joy. It''s just amazing sometimes how much Jane could take her excitement to a new level. Sure, she is traveling by plane outside of her home for the first time, but so is Taylor and Danny. Even back on the Tidal Max did neither of them portray such careless energy, but Jane does get like this sometimes. Still, hovering on a seat while midflight is dangerous for anyone involved. "We''ve got plenty of time for that once we reach New York."


    Nyar, ignoring Taylor''s attempt to house or balance Jane''s recklessness added to his long list of rules for this little trip outside. "You told me back there that you were sixteen years old, so start acting like it. An airplane is no place for horseplay. And I won''t have either of you damage my house with such stunts either. Do I make myself clear?"


    After a brief moment of silence populated by the continuous noise of the muffled turbines and wind draft from outside the surrounding metal, Jane sat herself on her knees, lifting her face slightly above the top of the rear padding of her seat to meet Nyar''s face. "I won''t horseplay again... Hey Nyar? Why do they call it New York? Was there an Old York? Did something happen to it?"


    Danny chuckled against his control, muffling the noise with his hand. It figures that Jane wouldn''t know something about New York or America for that matter. General School in Sprawn Valley is notorious for teaching their people a lot about the world inside and out of the nation, but geography and history were most likely not Jane''s strong suit. Nyar''s expression from Jane''s question is what''s really funny, not Jane herself. It''s that puzzled look he gets mixed with disappointment and confusion. He''s probably wondering what they teach in Sprawn Valley.


    "What the hell do they teach kids these days?" Nyar kept his voice softer as to not attract any more attention to his area, but Jane already speaks so loudly that this ship has already long since sailed. If it were just Danny, this would be so much easier to handle. But Jane is impossible! She never sits still; she often has the mind of a nine-year-old... Why are Danny and Jane friends?


    "That''s just what they call it," Danny replied. Nyar didn''t want to reply to Jane, but at least he wasn''t being too harsh.


    Taylor added the one thing she knew about New York, coming from the desire to be part of the conversation. "New York was originally supposed to be our only destination while on the cruise from Kalamo. But things didn''t go as planned, and we ended up in your hometown. Now we can all see it for ourselves."


    Jane sank further, trying to better seat herself against the chair while addressing Taylor. "How did you come off of the cruise anyway? Wouldn''t something like that have guard rails or something?"


    After two seconds of silence between Danny and Taylor, Nyar let out an inaudible huff of embarrassment and sympathy. Jane does at least catch on to some interesting details regarding their story. Nyar heard the details from Danny and Taylor directly from their story before, but as Jane would ask, how did they manage to fall off of a cruise in the middle of the night; a cruise outfitted with security locks, designs to make the entire vessel unsinkable, and of course guard rails all on the edges of the ship? You would have to be trying to jump into the ocean in order to succeed at such a catastrophe. Danny did promise that the storm outside made things hectic. He still has not provided a good enough excuse to why he and Taylor were wandering out on the pontoon at night in the first place during a storm. The boy is smarter than that... Then again, he did teach himself how to use Leray magic. Even if it was for the purpose of self-defense, this girl he is drooling over may have some part of that.


    "It was a rough storm," Danny clarified. Surely this reply alone wasn''t enough for Nyar, and Taylor knew the whole truth herself along with him, but Jane probably wouldn''t see the reason as severely significant or curtail for detail. Danny knew that he and Taylor were jettisoned from the Tidal Max because he was a complete idiot, too curious for his own good. Even if the light outside was somehow from residual Leray magic, it wasn''t reason enough to risk his life out there, especially that of Taylor''s. Even so, trying to climb up that wet rock wall is by far the most unforgivable¡ª


    "Oh well," Jane answered. "I guess we''ll just have to wait until we can visit all of the stores there."


    Nyar crossed his arms as Jane kept her head just high enough while sitting on her legs to be seen. "You really think life in America is so simple?" Compared to the easy life of running around shooting magic, New York is not so similar at all, and Jane just doesn''t get that.


    Danny couldn''t help but briefly return to a side thought he had earlier, particularly about the flight terminal and the concept of air travel in itself. Using a fuel source similar to that of automobiles, jet airliners can support tons of weight in the cabin of the vehicle while lifting off the ground with powerful turbines and engines, using the aerodynamic design of the build to save energy otherwise lost by gravity and air friction. On the inside of the plane, passengers are stuck in a small area often strapped to a seat with a stewardess to provide food and drinks for the passengers, but never did he believe the difference in time scale for the mode of travel. It will only be several more hours of time before they make it to America, probably around fifteen more to go. It doesn''t feel that quick right now, but compared to the Tidal Max, the difference is much more noticeable. Luckily for himself and Taylor, they''ve packed up on loads of food and clothing before departing from Sprawn Valley. Taylor in particular was showing off something one would wear on a typical day outdoors, but as expected, Nyar brought more clothing and luggage of his own for himself and Taylor. Jane is lucky to have her own supply, since Taylor''s clothing size is somewhat too small to fit her.


    Jane calmly tried to figure it out, why Nyar kept on saying such words. "You said something about people having to work hard jobs to make money in America. But for those back home who don''t rely on magic, life is actually the same for them."


    "No," Nyar directed. "It is not the same there as it is in America. I''m talking about hard work; back breaking labor. The only way out of that process is through incredible luck. Or if people follow the same road I''ve gone down with law school, you can make money so long as you have the brains to work out defense cases."


    "But I''ve got all of these credits from my wins." Jane flashed out her identification card given to her at the Leray station in Eldora City. Despite having the same appearance as a Leray wielder''s license, the material is no longer digitized or magically fueled, since it wouldn''t run outside of the native country. On either ID card is displayed a full name, small frame of a person''s facial ID, credit count, profession, and level or experience in that profession.


    "You''ve already shown me." When will she learn? Nyar broke it down once more for Jane to understand the situation. "You can''t just use credits like that in America. There is a rough conversion process that must take place before the currency is usable there, and such a process is also very difficult."


    This would be the first time hearing about having a difficulty converting credits to USD, for Danny and Taylor both. "Why is that anyway?"


    That''s right, Nyar remembered. He had yet to explain it to Danny or to Taylor, perhaps because he assumed they wouldn''t be interested. Maybe Jane plans to share her money between the two of them. "Well unlike most currencies, there are conversion centers set up in every country to handle out-of-pocket currency conversion. But among many other countries including the one we are heading to, the currency known as Leray credits are not accepted."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Cranktown Night ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST</a>


    <hr>


    Finally interested, Taylor sat up parallel to Jane, mirroring the same question on her mind. "But why? Do people hate Leray magic that much, that even their money is no good?"


    With a sharp gaze and tone, Nyar answered to the assumed cruelty. "That''s exactly the reason behind it. In order to trade credits for cash, you have to carefully navigate through a crowd of people who are usually below the law, people who are specifically interested in purchasing Leray credits and giving away their cash in the process. Such a personal trade is considered illegal in most fifty states of the country, which is why finding such clients is not easy to do, nor is the practice easy to conduct in a place as big as New York hiding their competitors. For that reason, offers to convert credits to cash are often one-sided profit based deals, in which the receiver of credits is gaining about double the amount if not more for the fair amount of initial cash value."Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "So they swindle people out of their money?" Danny didn''t need much time to put that together. It makes sense in the process, but are people really that stupid to hand over 50% of their entire credit value for some useless paper cash?


    "All of them do, but with steady competition in the credit conversion black market, you''ll learn that all dealers have different rates of gain for this. Locating the right client who won''t take as much to convert credits to cash, who also is a safe and trusted source comes with incredible difficulty... Jane, you won''t have much of a choice here but to leave the matter in my capable hands. Such a process will take a lot of time, so you and your friends must take up part time jobs in order keep food in the fridge. Is this understood?"


    With a mild sink in her expression, Jane copied the many replies she had to give Nyar before. "Yes sir."


    Uncle Nyar sure knows a lot more about the Leray world than he initially led on. But then why do people hate magic so much? Isn''t Nyar included on that list of people? Countries won''t even accept Leray based currency, despite that currency just being a number. "Hey Nyar?" After waiting long enough to draw the man''s full attention, Danny prepared to get to the bottom of this little mystery. There are reasons for disliking Leray magic, but none that go as far as what has been heard already. "What is it with people and Leray magic? I don''t understand how half the entire world population outside scorn the practice so much, to the point where I had to be lied to about its existence for my entire life... Well?"


    Nyar let out a rough exhale, giving himself time to process the fact that Danny, Taylor, and Jane were all staring at him intensely for the answer they wished to know. Unfortunately for them, they are reading away from the direction of truth. "Honestly now. What child wouldn''t dream of running to a land full of magic and powers that they themselves can learn? To the untrained eye, it seems too good to be true. But despite Danny and Taylor being as old as they are during their unplanned arrival in Sprawn Valley, they were totally new to the concept of magic. This, I surmise is the reason you both went against my advice to stay away from the magic."


    Danny glanced down somewhat in memory. Though Nyar is right that he ignored the helpful advice, it wasn''t due to curiosity. "It''s not the reason though." Sensing Nyar''s closer attention alongside of Taylor''s, he elaborated his point. "It is true that I was somewhat coerced into learning Leray magic, and for some time I too feared its effects, but it''s nothing more than a powerful system to help defend people, yourself or others."


    "But you see Danny," Nyar continued, "that is exactly the problem I have with it. In Sprawn Valley, other than magic wielding people or creatures, what would you have to defend yourself from?" Seconds passed... Five more long seconds... Danny and Taylor aren''t talking anymore, perhaps finally understanding the issue here. "Magic is just a powerful tool, more like an entire arsenal of weaponry. People with good intent wish to use it for fun or to protect people. Others with harmful intent will use that power to destroy and raze land to the ground, while taking lives in the process indiscriminately. Outside of Sprawn Valley, you have the good and the bad; honest working people mixed into a crowd of criminals ranging on a scale of petty thievery to outright murderers. If you add magic into the equation, nothing changes. Although the ability to kill or destroy becomes more efficient."


    Jane argued quickly, sensing that Nyar was somehow getting to her friends with this nonsense. "But the veil protects people from dying when stuck by magic, and other things."


    Nyar retorted before Jane could get anymore out. "And on what level do you see this type of immortality a natural thing for the human body? You think it is actually healthy for a veil to affect people''s sleep and eating patterns, or how about their very essence of life force energy?"


    There he goes again, Danny realized. Nyar defiantly knows what he is talking about, but this context never came from his own input nor from Jane''s. "Listen Nyar. I know you don''t like magic either. But if I didn''t learn it, I would never have made it to the airport safely. And I don''t hate Leray magic. Magic really can save people from sudden death. It may not be natural, but so what?"


    "So what? I''ll show you what," Nyar promised. "You said just a moment ago that people cannot die from magic. But Danny? You and I both know this to be a load of drivel. In fact, I knew about that before the moment I learned that you were stuck on that insane asylum. It''s something we refer to as dark magic. Many of the government officials try to deny the very existence of this, but we both know even from your claims and stories that dark magic can be used to kill regardless of the veil. We''re all lucky that such magic cannot escape from the veil of that country."


    But... No, Nyar''s not wrong there. Danny knew he was losing his argument with that. Leray magic can defend against dark magic, but not with ease. The fact that magic isn''t really safe these days; is this the so called lie put out into the world that people hate so much?


    "And what of the animals there affected by that forced curse of what''s called Leray magic? Nobody asked those creatures if they would accept such a violent change. Now I hear all about mutated creatures and even evil monsters that reside somewhere in that zone. It could be isolated to creatures of the air, or perhaps it goes all the way down through the Hollifax Ocean. But I''ve at least seen one of these creatures before on the restricted television channel. I believe actual mages refer to such things as summons, but they were once real living breathing creatures that were harmless well before their forced transformation. How then can that be okay with anyone?"


    Jane knew this was just crap coming from Danny''s annoying uncle, but trashing her own summons is not okay. "There is still no proof that all creatures were transformed to become summons. The missing link to the drakes and dragons has never been found to back that up. Also, summons help us out in battle, and we don''t treat them unfairly."


    "Can you really say the same for all magic wielders?" Nyar questioned. "How about the so called criminals I spoke of before? Nobody is born a bad egg. I would assume it to be easy for a magic wielder to one day turn on their own people, and use that summon as a monstrous slave to get their bloody work done for them. A summon is the same as magic, a tool. But worse, the creatures that have been forced to change into magical monsters also have no apparent say in their masters or their orders. You may still not see magic as evil for that reason, but I promise you that many others around the world agree with my own testimony."


    Magic was never supposed to be used this way though. Taylor could feel this much in her heart, but Nyar isn''t buying any of it, and Danny won''t defend himself right now. Why does Nyar act so much more like Danny''s father than some distant relative? And how does he know so much about magic already?


    Nyar continued since nobody was arguing back anymore. "I get that lots of people don''t understand the length I have gone through to classify why magic is an evil art. But I also must make myself as clear as I can. Magic is not safe, nor has it ever been safe."


    Jane held the chair firmly with both hands and fingers, desperately trying to put her way of life in the spotlight it deserves to be in. "Well just because you are afraid of magic doesn''t mean I''m going to give it up."


    "I never suggested that anyone give up anything so suddenly." Nyar had everyone''s direct attention again, and he laid Jane''s assumptions to rest. "And I was never fearful of Leray magic. Loads of people really do fear magic because of their suspicions, but also for what they don''t yet know. However, I already understand completely how that disgusting art works in the first place. Therefore, my reason for hating Leray magic is simply the factual evidence already confirmed by the story Danny and your friend Taylor has summarized for me. I am grateful that all three of you never chose to go down such a dark path by hurting other people with such a deadly weapon."


    Is this what Nyar is really like? He speaks so confidently... I can''t say anything else to change his mind. Taylor sank just slightly, entranced into all of the thoughtful memories of Sprawn Valley that she might not see ever again.


    "Danny? And Taylor?" Nyar addressed. "I am not against the life style choices that you''ve made in that zone. Even now am I okay with the fact that both of you learned such a dark art, but only because you both already understand the dangers that come with it. Had you come to me with no idea about the potential dangers and twisted concepts attached to Leray magic, I would never forgive either of you until you did understand. Luckily for us both, we won''t have to worry about that in New York."


    Danny felt confused. Nyar wasn''t mad at him or Taylor for learning Leray magic after all, but as Nyar just said, it was because he knew what he was getting into and why. At least that is what Nyar sensed. Danny never threw in the part where a particular Leray agent tricked him into learning the style of magic in the first place, even though his views matched up with Danny''s in the end. Still, Nyar just hates Leray magic. You couldn''t ever convince the man otherwise... But maybe it''s for the best. Danny knew he wouldn''t have to worry about dark magic, or evil cults, or bloodthirsty monsters in New York. This is a nice change of pace for this vacation.


    "So then..." Taylor struggled to keep her voice level, sensing the answer she didn''t want to hear. "What happens after this? You''re not sending me back, right? I can go back to Sprawn Valley if I want to?"


    "Don''t worry about those details," Nyar promised. "With you in particular, I''ll find some way to work out the kinks you caused with your family. If they don''t change their way of thinking, then you can return to wherever you want." Noticing Taylor sigh in relief, Nyar added, "But Danny''s situation is another story. His family are nice people, and they miss him already. If Danny decides he needs to return to Kalamo to visit them instead or before returning to Sprawn Valley, then that is a possibility you will just have to accept."


    Danny wanted to protest the thought, but he couldn''t get the words out. His family, Arias and Jenson have to be worried sick, even with the good news that Nyar has finally taken Danny into custody. But what would they think of all this magic business? Surely they wouldn''t approve either, considering they chose not to say anything about it for his entire life. Come to think of it, nobody in the entire area of Slatetown or perhaps all of Kalamo spoke of Sprawn Valley or Leray magic. Does this amount of people not know the truth?


    Still, there''s the issue of leaving Taylor behind to visit them. Danny knew he couldn''t allow for that, even under Jane''s supervision. Taylor has been through so much already, and if she returns to Kalamo just like Lonagan said, Taylor will be subject to renewed citizenship status if discovered there. And of all times, Jenson has to have stage two cancer. Danny never really did receive a status update to any of that. He hasn''t spoken to his family for over a month, longer than Jane tried ignoring her own. There should be plenty of telephones stationed in New York, and Nyar would defiantly know all about their locations.


    Taylor noticed how quiet and entranced Danny suddenly became. Is Nyar right about that? Danny misses his family so much that he''ll leave back to Kalamo instead? A long denied thought crossed Taylor''s mind in the silence ensuing. Am I a horrible person for keeping him here?


    "Well we can worry about that later, right?" Jane worked quickly to change the subject, interested again in what the area will be like. "Let''s try to guess what New York City will be like."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Play With Me, My Fellow! ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


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    "Good luck with that," Nyar sniffed.


    Taylor took onto the subject immediately, picking up on Jane''s excitement where she left off. "We''ve both never been there before Jane. It could be like anything. I guess if it is a city, it may resemble Gross City, perhaps Eldora City."


    Nyar again interrupted to shoot down their wild guesses, ensuring they do not get their hopes up. "With that colossal tower going up into the sky? Try again. New York is about as boring as any other place on Earth."


    Jane lifted her arms up high to fuel her imagination while speaking. "Just imagine if we could use Leray magic there too! I bet that would make things interesting."


    "More like a nightmare." Nyar muttered softer to avoid criticism from either Jane or Taylor, expecting it after being so negative this whole time. Still, all Jane can think about is magic this and magic that. Is she in for the shock of a lifetime or what?


    "Even if we can''t," Danny suggested, "think about all of the other places they might have there. Surely the must have parks, all sorts of animals, restaurants, stores, and maybe activities for skating."


    "Oh, I want to check out all of the clothing and jewelry!" Taylor let the excitement flood back in at the thought of it. Even without any money on her, window-shopping a jewelry and clothing store is still so much fun.


    There they go again with their imagination. Still, Nyar soon remembered how much into skateboarding Danny was back then. Is that still a thing even after all of the horrors he had to face back there?


    "I bet they have a beach here or there," Danny concluded. "That means we can do a lot there too. I want to try out this thing someone showed me. I think it''s called surfing. It''s like skateboarding on water instead of land."


    After a muffled quick exhale escaped through his nostrils, Nyar managed to interrupt all three of them, and finally let out an interesting laugh that lasted for more than five seconds. Unfortunately did this confuse or scare all three of the kids out of context. Nyar then hugged Danny firmly while rubbing the top of his hair. "Surfing huh? It''s a lot harder than you make it sound, but that''s still a manly sport."


    With a peaked interest, Danny decided to accept that Nyar''s behavior must have changed so suddenly because he could somehow relate. "Do you know how surfing works Nyar?"


    "Of course I know how it works. I was once young too, boy. When we get enough time to go to the beach, I''ll show you the basics, but you best be prepared to fall off a few times. Nobody masters surfing on their hundredth try."


    "Th¡ªthank you." Danny didn''t mean to sound hesitant, but after all this time, Nyar had nothing to talk about that wasn''t in some way depressing. Maybe he does know how to have fun. This is a vacation after all.


    Nyar realized that there is a whole process to this trip, and all members must follow the rules. "Don''t forget that we first need money to do just about anything, with the first priority stocking up on food. Even for a man like me, holding down a place to live while paying such hefty bills comes with difficulty."


    "The job won''t pay enough?" Jane questioned.


    "Right now," Nyar confessed, "I''m on paid leave of absence. I''m to return to my duties as city lawyer in three days, and I only have one day remaining for that. When I do return to work, I''ll have a tight shift, and I doubt my earnings will be enough just to feed the three of you. Obtaining part times jobs amongst the three of you will be paramount."


    Jane balanced her neck on the top edge of the seat while backwards to face Nyar. "But how does that work then, since you keep saying it''s so different?"


    "I''ll just show you when we arrive."


    "And what else do they have here? You should know, since you live in the city, right?"


    "When we make it to my home, we''ll discuss it then." And that was all it took to calm Jane down. She soon turned to seat forward like a normal human being, though he could barely hear Jane and Taylor talking quietly between each other. Danny was as quiet as usual, but it''s liberating to see that he hasn''t cast away all of his normal ideas of fun for the sake of Leray magic. Still, that must mean that somewhere in Sprawn Valley, there must be a small selection of people who reject the art too. If so, why bother to live there? "I think we''re only six hours away by now. So everyone just hang tight. I''m going for a long power nap."


    Danny saw that Nyar was serious, attempting to slide half his body to lean near the windowpane, with a pillow already set before his head for the comfort of sleep. It really wasn''t all that fun on an airplane. Actually, the Tidal Max had so much more to it, and the view was better too. Right now, it''s almost pitch black out of that window, which means it must be totally dark outside. Even with all of the handheld television screens mounted into a compartment of the back of each chair, there wasn''t much use for them with only two movies to choose from. Aside from that, Danny''s eyes were getting heavy too. So this is another thing Nyar wasn''t lying about. Airplane rides are so lame.

 Chapter 2: JFK Airport

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    <02/15/1972 ¨C 11:10 | Queens, New York, United States>


    It wasn''t more than six hours before Jane was practically shaking Nyar and Danny to wake, with the additional announcement that the craft has landed already. In her haste to explore, Jane already made sure Taylor was prepared to move along too, only after having taken a four-hour nap. "Come on! It''s time to see what we''re missing!" With Jane''s excited smile of joy on her face, it didn''t take long for her friends to once again analyze her.


    Where does she get that energy from? Nyar permitted himself a long nod followed by some arm stretches. It appeared as if everyone in the plane was walking forward in a clean and patient line, their luggage already encased into their hands.


    Danny went straight for the luggage he knew was stored in the capsule container above his seat, and grabbed Nyar''s suitcase while he was at it. During that moment, he soon appreciated having such good rest. He did not feel as refreshed since that last fight in Sprawn Valley, or even in the Greene Hotel, but finally were his minor wounds and exhaustion healing. The same could be said for Taylor too. Jane on the other hand still has some minor scar spots on her lower arms, and some on her face, mostly invisible thanks to her powerful makeup.


    As all of the passengers left the aircraft connecting to the second primary flight terminal, the space opened up again into a wide vast area that momentarily stopped Jane, Danny, and Taylor in their tracks. Nyar was forced to stop, analyzing that these kids were still in exploratory mode.


    "Wooooow!" Taylor''s voice escaped her partially, her throat a bit dry to fully express her emotion, but the open space here was so impressive. People were everywhere, with multiple escalators going down from this section of the terminal. It was already evident to say that the Junon airport and this one are clearly different.


    John F. Kennedy Airport, or JFK for short moniker; Danny knew that this was the place he was standing in, as told by Nyar before arriving here. Not only is he in the JFK airport, this place is also the state of New York, or rather the country of the United States of America. After all this time, he finally made it with Taylor, and to think that he could have been awestruck by this amazing beauty if he had simply stayed on the Tidal Max.


    Jane could see so much, but could only guess as to what some of the stations were supposed to represent. This place has most of these bonus areas on the very floor below. Restaurants, stores, videogame stations, massive restrooms, there are so many places to go from here. They even have an entire food court somewhere here, as suggested by the confusing map Nyar brought with him.


    Sensing the evident shock in the three of them, Nyar shook his head slightly with little applaud. "I''ll never understand how you can all be so excited to see what most people call the worst place in America."


    "Huh?" Danny thought at first his confusion was isolated, when Taylor and Jane both had the same exact reaction matching his own, now all looking at Nyar. The worst place in America? Is that what he said?


    "Never mind," Nyar dismissed. "You won''t get the reference until you''ve traveled enough times using airlines. Just follow me and don''t run off." Nyar advanced forward keeping a steady pace. In truth, there was nothing to be nervous about, but large flight terminals are not the best places to be in. Thievery runs rampant here from any stranger, targeting those dumb enough to abandon their luggage temporarily for the service of dinning or using the bathroom. But the real problem is how thinly they stretch the staff here, both in customer assistance and in security... At least that''s what it feels like sometimes. If you get lost in a terminal the size of this one, you''re likely to never be seen again. Knowing Jane, she would find some way to publicize the entire incident. No, she wouldn''t get lost, but she would somehow manage to go to great lengths to embarrass her entire party without even realizing it.


    "One of those again?" Taylor complained. She referenced the escalator in front, as Nyar was soon to approach and use the machine descending downward by one floor. Taylor had never seen or used an escalator before, until her first arrival in the Junon Airport. Even though it took her some time to get over the fear that the machine could eat her alive, she didn''t want to go through that again.


    "You''ll be fine," Danny promised.


    Easy for you to say. Taylor remembered their reactions to using that machine last time. Danny at least had a very cautious or concerning look on his face, and Jane wasn''t used to the machine either. Taylor''s heart rate rose noticeably for her, but she continued walking forward anyway. Nyar was already getting on, with Jane closely behind; even she isn''t afraid of that thing anymore. Just three feet away... Two feet... Against her own expectations, Taylor slowed to a complete stop just short of the metal ramp she would need to use walk onto the escalator, but what surprised her moreover was the sudden pressure around her left hand.


    It was Danny, who noticed Taylor''s change in pace and expression. He grabbed Taylor''s hand with just a slight tug forward. Taylor somehow didn''t hesitate a second time when riding the same moving ramp section as Danny was. "Nothing to worry about Taylor."


    Taylor nodded with a smile she couldn''t hide, nor could she tell if her face was changing in color just by the incredible sensation of Danny helping her so directly. Wait... No! No! No! I must look so weak and helpless now. I can handle an escalator Danny!


    Danny panned his eyes only somewhat, after failing to read what Taylor was feeling when she faced forward to avoid his gaze. Do I really make her that nervous? Still, Taylor obviously didn''t mind even the simplest of gestures. By the time they reached the bottom after Nyar and Jane, Taylor claimed her hand back, and went on as though nothing happened at all.


    "Parking lot is still a way this way," Nyar claimed. He made sure all three of his companions were behind him and not running off. His eyes were sharpened onto Jane, since she was the most likely character to just leave from any sort of distraction. Luckily for him, Jane wasn''t tempted enough by all of the flashy looking side stops they were passing, even though she gazed deeply into each one of them. Several times did she almost run into Nyar or into some other stranger since her attention span wasn''t all too great right now.


    The JFK Airport was far beyond Jane''s own imagining. On top of that, she had never seen so many random citizens and people so congregated together like this, just free to go wherever they choose. Benches populated every single split-way path, and the people using them were either close to napping or repackaging their own luggage.


    "Parking lot," Danny repeated, nearly out of context with his late timing. It got Nyar''s momentary attention despite him not saying anything to confirm it. "That must mean there is a drive to get to your house? A drive in a car?"


    Nyar wanted to sigh and laugh at the same time, but did neither in his inability to choose. Danny nor Taylor have ever been inside of an automobile before, despite seeing a few on occasion. "I see this trip will be a great learning experience for you both." Jane not knowing about them makes perfect since, as she was quite literally living under a rock for the past sixteen years. But still, not knowing what a car is in New York - is like not learning anything past the fifth grade. No, Danny and Taylor are smarter than that, but Kalamo is such a rugged place¡ª


    Taylor lifted her hand right beside Nyar to volunteer herself. "Can I sit up front then?"


    Nyar paused for just a brush of a second, allowing Jane to catch up and his thoughts to collect. "You cannot." As he paced forward again, Nyar explained his reasoning to Taylor and to Danny as they stuck closer to hear his voice over the loud ambience of the airport. "There are four of us, and naturally I''m the driver. This means that we will reach the maximum passenger carry size for a standard automobile, thus seating arrangements will be based on age difference. Jane Venn is sixteen years old, and the two of you are still fifteen. The national law in America prohibits anyone under the age of sixteen from riding in the front seat of a car, unless they somehow obtain a driving permit. That means you and Danny must be seated into the back section of my car."


    There''s a sophisticated law just for that? Danny wanted to question Nyar on how many strange laws there were here. He did mention that life in New York was harder. Does that have to do with the difference in laws put from Sprawn Valley to America?


    "Everyone has everything they brought right?" Nyar instructed even himself to answer his own question by checking his pockets and weighing the suitcase and other case in his hands, and there is one more good reason to make sure right now. "We''ve got one more checkpoint up ahead. Just be patient." Nyar knew he hated these things, but they too are the law here.


    Security checkpoints block off entire segments of space in various areas of the terminals, all of which are equipped with metal scanners and x-ray conveyer systems. Still is it all standard stuff. Nyar put his bags and suitcase onto the conveyer while greeting one of the on duty officers there. Of course, he was bored just standing around all day; anyone would be. After that was taken care of, Nyar walked through the metal detector, free of any alarms or sounds that he didn''t want to hear. With that, it was simply a wait for the scanning machine to show the security guards here that nothing of a weapon or suspicious item was hiding inside of his own luggage. After a few more seconds, the next agent helped Nyar take back his things.


    Danny and Taylor followed the same process, but was made quicker by the fact that Nyar was holding most of their stuff anyway. The conveyer belt didn''t even need to be used right now, so they simply passed through the weapons detector, built to be a large arch-like doorway. But with a few more seconds...


    Loud high pitch beeping pierced through the noise of the area, silencing lots of passing by travelers and drawing the attention of everyone towards the detector unit. To Nyar''s surprise, Danny and Taylor were already at his side. It was Jane Venn who was brought to a standstill, right under the unit with a red blinking light to indicate that some foreign object was detected on Jane''s person. What did she do? Jane made it past the checkpoint in the Junon Airport, so why now would this happen?


    The security agents all stepped out of their original post, escorting Jane to the quarantine section where they would more thoroughly search her. One of the agents however approached Nyar, making sure he didn''t leave. "Sir, I must ask you for your ID and passports."


    Nyar rolled his eyes at the whole situation, but complied by reaching into his back pocket. Luckily, Taylor and Danny had the sense to just stand here and be silent right now. This is a fine mess Jane just got herself into.


    The agent quickly glanced at the license and ID registered to the 49-year-old male. The identification of the kids probably wouldn''t be as important. But if that other girl is with him and is carrying illegal cargo, then this guy will be held accountable. "Montemeitrev Nyar. U.S. citizen. Any reason your daughter would be smuggling weapons into the terminal?"


    Jane? His daughter? Weapons? "What?!"


    After bringing Jane to quarantine, the next officer waved a handheld metal bar and moved downward from Jane''s head. When the device reached Jane''s hips, the device beeped and made some more noise. "Pockets girl. We need you to give us any metal objects you have."


    Jane felt so embarrassed, but struggled to think about any metal objects she might even have on her. The necklace was obviously some sort of nickel or something, the one Jane had been wearing since her departure in Sprawn Valley, and the same one that was a gift from Alyssa. But surely, that wasn''t what the officers were talking about. Are they against all metal? Perhaps just weapons?


    Jane took her time to think, and then lifted up her overskirt revealing one steel blade dagger attached to each side of her leggings. The officers however responded to this quite severely, holding Jane''s arms behind her back until they could snap off, while the other officer confiscated each weapon. "Small blades, approximate to daggers, two units." After throwing the blades into a small metal box behind him, the officer used the handheld scanner once more, going over Jane''s entire body from the neck down. Surprisingly, there was nothing else to be found. Why would a young girl carelessly walk around with dangerous knives? Did she have these on the airplane?


    Nyar continued his expression, as if he never would have expected the girl to hold any illegal weapons. But after hearing one more response from the earpiece in his headset, the agent quickly had more to go on. "Nyar, is it? Your party is found in illegal possession of unregistered small blades. Care to explain?"


    "Small blades?" Despite Nyar''s mental warning earlier, Danny had to think about that word aloud. It sounds much too similar to what Jane might do, even by mistake. "You mean the dagger blades?"


    Nyar turned around to Danny directly. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I thought I told all of you not to bring any of that voodoo crap back here!"


    How did the boy know they were daggers? And why is this guy so upset now instead of before? "Sir?"


    Nyar turned around to the officer, ready to explain what now clicked in for him. "I''m so sorry about this. I wasn''t aware that Jane took those things with her. She''s a fighter from Sprawn Valley, so I can tell you that to be the origin of such weapons."


    "Sprawn Valley? That magical place? Even so, nobody is allowed to have open weapons in airports or in aircraft. You should know better than to train your kids¡ª"


    "She is not my kid!" Nyar nearly lost it by now. Jane, how dare you do this! Everything is falling apart now because of you! "Jane is a registered traveler hailing from Sprawn Valley, and has temporarily joined my custody from parental permission. The two behind me are mine."


    Taylor wondered why Nyar would lie about himself behind her real father, but what was more important right now is getting Jane out of there.


    "Look," Nyar explained. "This is a complete misunderstanding. I don''t even know how she managed to get those weapons past the first checkpoint in Junon. But we''re not here to cause trouble. Can you please just let her go? Do what you want with those blades."


    "They''re for protection!" Jane was almost in tears right now. Why are they doing this to her? They''re just training daggers, totally unable to be infused with magic and other properties. "I brought them from home. I always walk around with two daggers."


    "Uh huh." He glanced at his partner for a moment. "I''ll go run the system check and see if their stories check out." After lifting the small metal box of evidence off the ground, the officer went to the desk with a computer terminal, preparing to search up all the information on Sprawn Valley available.


    Nyar crossed his arms with patience. "Take all the time you need to check it out. I''ll give you any phone number you need, but I''m not leaving without Jane. I was instructed to look after her, and that''s what I''m going to do, sir."


    The man in front of Nyar held in his earpiece while keeping a close eye on the three of them. Danny and Taylor appeared to be genuinely frightened and concerned about their friend in quarantine. Still, this has to all check out first. "Please run background check on Montemeitrev Nyar, and that of the origin of Jane Venn."


    "I''m telling you," Nyar begged. "This is a real thing for people in that country. They base their entire lives walking around with dangerous weapons, even machine guns, all because they think to be invincible by the veil. Jane is simply not old enough yet to understand the concept."


    "It''s true!" Danny cried. "That place is crazy enough to make anyone think that dangerous stuff is safe and okay to use anywhere. Please look into it!"


    Taylor nearly gasped. Danny surely didn''t believe that, even though they were the words from Nyar. What is he doing by lying to himself like that?


    After pulling up the info page section of the network site, the officer checking the info confirmed what he initially believed to be a load of bull. But here it is. Sprawn Valley: a place where travelers all over the world go to seek magical battles, often assisted with ordinarily dangerous weapons. In Sprawn Valley, the veil of protection changes the very properties of the way and format weapons operate, making them non-lethal, but there was much more to it than that.


    "Come with me," he ordered. Jane had no choice in what to do but to follow the officer''s directions. Jane followed him all the way around an exit section leading back to Nyar and the gang. Just like that, Jane was being released from custody, but the other agent was confronting Nyar about something else.


    "Sorry about the misunderstanding Mr. Nyar. It seems that your version of the story checks out for her."


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Even though the expression of surprise crossed his face, Nyar agreed that Jane be released back into his capable custody. "Thank you. This won''t happen again."


    "No, it won''t. Naturally, we''ll have to keep the blades. And just so we make this perfectly clear, all citizens traveling from the Junon Airport should actually check items personally. It seems that the Junon security team still allows normally illegal weapons to be carried onto ordinary passenger jets."


    "They what?"


    Sharing the surprise for Nyar, the officer gave his regards. "Yeah. We''ve already made official reports and sent more requests to change their guidelines for personal security, and so have the NTSB. Jane wasn''t stopped at the Junon checkpoint properly because that country classifies weapons differently than we do."


    Nyar spat through his teeth, "That''s completely insane! She was almost arrested over this!"


    "Nevertheless, please make sure all of your traveling party is well aware of the guidelines before you so much as board a single aircraft. Jane is now clear to move about the terminal with no remaining weapons." Rest assured, he knew too well that this is hardly the first time this has happened at this terminal. When will Junon Airport change their policies?


    Danny sighed religiously. That''s good. The people here bought the story, Nyar''s version of it anyway. Jane, what the hell were you thinking bringing those daggers?


    "Alright?" The officer shook Nyar''s hand as a sign of trust. "I bid you a good day. Keep safe out there."


    "Of course," Nyar agreed. With a swift twist of his neck, Nyar barked at Jane with a fierce expression. "Come on!"


    Jane twitched from Nyar''s response. Though you couldn''t hear it from the inflection in his voice, his facial expression for just a moment seemed murderous and fixated on Jane alone. Surely, he was going to say something about this in the next five minutes, but Jane continued moving forward alongside Danny and Taylor. By the time they were out of hearing range for the checkpoint agents, it was as expected.


    "Do you want to get sent back home right now? I thought I told you before not to bring any suspicious looking object or unnecessary magic related things to New York."


    "I''m sorry," Jane apologized.


    "I mean, daggers on an airplane? We look like terrorists! What the hell possessed you to bring those despite my warning?"


    Jane didn''t sound as sorry after continuing to defend herself, but her reasons were well founded. "They were just personal self-protection, my training daggers. I didn''t think I would actually use them anyway."


    "You could have wound up behind bars for that alone. Your attachment to that vile place is stopping your ability to recognize reality!"


    "Hey, she said she was sorry," Taylor defended.


    Nyar quickly ignored Taylor''s outburst and focused again on Jane. "Sorry doesn''t keep people out of trouble. You have to learn how to think." Nyar felt that his luggage in hand was somehow tainted after that horrifying experience. Hopefully Jane felt worse about it than he did. "The world has rules Jane. Things are not the same in Sprawn Valley. Here, you have to follow the law or go to prison. If you do something stupid to wind up in that situation, I can''t help you even with my position as a lawyer."


    Surely he doesn''t mean to abandon Jane if she did mess up again? Nyar, this is going too far. Stop being so harsh! It''s her first time here! Danny wanted to shout all of it at once, or somehow beam his thoughts to Nyar telepathically, but even then would he argue. The man is beside himself right now, but Jane really didn''t mean to get everyone into trouble.


    "Let''s just focus on getting home," he demanded. Without looking behind him, Nyar had to simply trust at this level that Jane and the others were following him closely, as they were now approaching the exit of the building through the subsection leading outside into the massive parking lot. He could guess that Jane would at least be slumped down, looking depressed and ashamed. If she is, then she is finally learning one of many lessons.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Morning Mirage ~ Yarn (Downtempo)</a>


    <hr>


    After a few moments of walking through the fresh sunny air did Taylor notice the difference in environment. The pavement here went on for miles in all directions, the short trees distant as they were. It was also close to cold outside too. Taylor knew she had warm clothes packed away somewhere in the luggage of clothes Nyar was holding, but he might not be in the mood to open it up right now. Where are they going anyway?


    Never before had Danny or even Jane seen this many cars so close up in real life. Obviously, they operate completely; otherwise they wouldn''t be here. There were also contrast painted parking spaces divided by white lines continuing to stretch everywhere in a parallel pattern. There were also small, skinny vertical structures, only as tall as Danny himself, parked in front of each car or visible parking spaces vacant of a car.


    None of these vehicles were recognizable in comparison to the models seen in Kalamo. Not even the jeep Danny only saw once near Fronas was anywhere around here, but these models look more impressive regardless, as they have a lot of room for the interior passenger. Somewhere in this maze is Uncle Nyar''s automobile.


    It took almost six minutes of walking straight for one direction in near silence for Nyar to make the announcement. "Here she is. This one here is mine." Nyar was practically about to walk into the back of the vehicle, just before stopping still and placing all of the luggage into the cement below him. Predictably, the kids all zoned around the car to examine the vehicle as if it were a crashed UFO. Nyar fiddled in his back pocket for his set of keys.


    Danny and Taylor both shared one side while Jane examined the other from the exterior of the car. The entire outer paint job was colored to a mid-tone of beige, and the leather seats inside had a somewhat brighter shade of the same color. Inside, Danny could clearly see one large connective seating in the back and two separated seats in the front as suggested earlier by Nyar. The steering wheel and gauges were on the right side, which actually seemed normal to all four of them, but Danny wanted a closer look at the gauges and what they were all supposed to mean.


    Nyar had to step in front of the car, over to the vertical structure which only he identified as a parking pay service; a parking meter. You simply look at the total fee on the unit''s analog counter and insert coins to match the amount it costs to park here overnight. At JFK Airport, it wasn''t cheap. Since Nyar had been parked here for a little over two full days, his ticket read out to match $48 USD. After inserting coins and bills into the slot to match the price, the small machine spit out a receipt for the service, of which Nyar crumpled into his right pocket. Then he turned around for the trunk. It wouldn''t be that easy to just drive off in New York, as the only exit gate leading to the highway asks for this receipt in return for passage, less you drive over spikes that will pop your tires and invalidate you as a law abiding citizen.


    After a click and a pop momentarily attracted their attention, Nyar opened his trunk and began placing the suitcases and other materials inside. Jane actually came back here with him to take a closer look into the trunk. Nyar unfortunately couldn''t hold back his remarks to their alienation of cars even for a moment. "Fascinating huh?"


    "So the back door¡ª"


    Nyar corrected Jane on the spot. "It''s called a trunk."


    "Stores the stuff people can''t carry inside of the front of the car?"


    "She''s got a name you know."


    "She?" Danny hadn''t realized that automobiles come with genders. He didn''t see any particular difference between most of the cars, but even if there were...


    "A man can tell," Nyar completed. "This right here is a 1970 Ford Escort. They''re quite popular on the road these days, but she never lets me down."


    Danny passed a few more defining features he noticed on the way towards the trunk, such as the solid chrome cast rims between each tire, or the fancy door handles, which curled over right at the back of the handle and not the front. The small antenna on the front of the car made little sense either. With the trunk still open, Danny stood next to Jane and Nyar with his hands in his pockets for warmth. It was at least 59<sup>o</sup>F in the air right now despite the solid sunshine.


    Nyar continued his explanation from where he left off. "Lots of cars can be the same, but the model makes the feel of drive and even the reliability that much more different. Since they''re actually quite new models, you probably have never seen these before in Kalamo. I doubt a country that drives themselves towards near poverty would even consider requisitioning them either."


    Taylor didn''t want to talk about anything if it involves Kalamo, so she just listened passively while at the front of the vehicle, studying more features that didn''t make very much sense to her either without any explanation.


    "I''ve seen one car in person before, back in Sprawn Valley."


    Nyar tested Jane''s claim carefully, since it seemed so unlikely. "That must have been something. Sprawn Valley normally has no such cars."


    Jane questioned Nyar to see if he might understand why. "Is it because they won''t want to afford it either?"


    "No," he answered. "Sprawn Valley simply doesn''t want to integrate cars into their society. Their official claim has some lame testimony to it, such as making people exercise more, or improving the reliability of other cheaper vehicles. But the real reason such integration has failed is because Sprawn Valley is a land filled with destructive magic, where people wield its destructive capabilities. You might not think it at first glance, but an automobile is actually easy to destroy. I can only imagine how many cars may have been lost in testing resistances to hostile magic in the first place."


    "I guess that actually makes sense." Jane couldn''t argue with the facts there. Leray magic can destroy any object or structure, and while most buildings there are made out of special Leray resistant metals, smaller vehicles such as bikes or scooters are commonly ruined. A car is also just as vulnerable. Thinking back on it a long time ago, she felt so powerful for unleashing that spell. Then again, Lightning Strike only has an average power level of 3.5. "That jeep I zapped didn''t last very long for a low level spell."


    Wincing noticeably, Nyar immediately intensified the subject to fully understand what Jane just said. "Did I hear you right? You saw a jeep in Sprawn Valley, and then you zapped it?"


    Danny stepped in to explain, since Nyar might be getting upset simply from the lack of context, which Jane wasn''t great at providing, but he had to scoot closer to Jane and turn to face Nyar to get his attention to begin with. "Yeah. Some thief managed to score a vehicle there, and was about to use it to get away from town and police. So Jane did the sensible thing and attacked the car with Leray magic. For a large machine, it actually leveled the entire equipment unusable. It took a lot out of Jane to do it though."


    Why won''t he let me tell that story? Jane recalled the moment well, and it only drained her because it was her very first successful invocation of Lightning Strike. She guessed that the machine must use an electrical power source, thus shocking it with higher voltage would have to calm it down. Instead, the front of the car began smoking as if it were about to explode. But it didn''t.


    Nyar rubbed his head between three of his fingers up and down in a moat of stress. This seemingly idiotic girl has enough power to wipe out an entire vehicle? It shouldn''t be surprising since vehicles are known to be weak against Leray magic. But still, even having that much potential gives you enough prowess to attract the attention of any criminal. "Let''s just get in, okay?"


    Danny could tell that he was right to try and summarize the version of events carefully, but even then did it frustrate Nyar noticeably. Did he really hate magic this much? From here, it looks a lot more like he is still afraid of what it can do. After watching Nyar slam the trunk and open the right side door with his other key, he waited for Nyar to hit the unlock switch to open all four doors of the car. Danny and everyone else still had to pull on the handles to open the side doors, but it was a pleasurable few seconds of experience. As planned, Jane slid into the left front passenger side while Danny and Taylor scooted into the back.


    For Taylor, the bright side to this was having to sit so close to Danny, which he didn''t seem to mind either, but his curiosity of the car was still bursting with his zooming eyes here and there. Even Taylor had to ask about a few of the components, to help Danny get over it faster. "So how does this work?"


    Nyar turned around to show Danny and Taylor how to strap in their seatbelts, and afterwards demonstrated how to use the rotating hand crank lever to move the side window up or down for air. Since it was already somewhat chilly, everyone kept their windows up completely, and Nyar thus activated the heater unit of the car. As the warm air seeped in through the vents, he explained this process as well. "All standard vehicles have this function too now. The heat from the engine is filtered into the vents for warmth. If I were running the air conditioner, it would have to use liquid coolant combined with high-speed fans. So enjoy the warmth while you have it. The heater at my place doesn''t do as good a job."


    Danny and Taylor exchanged a glance, then returned their sight forward again, with Danny leading the next question. "What''s that antenna out there for?"


    Though he didn''t turn around again to address Danny, Nyar noticeably raised one eyebrow. "Come on! You don''t even know what a radio is for? Kalamo and Sprawn Valley both need to get their things in order. Here." Nyar brushed the power switch with his left hand to the radio tuner in the middle of the car, causing Jane to wait as well while she fixed her seatbelt.


    Though the car was perfectly capable of running the unit off a battery without the engine engaged, Nyar knew it was risky to do this for more than ten minutes at a time. Still, he was just demonstrating right now. In another second, the entire car filled with noise, particularly of classic hits of music. This however began freaking all of them out, with their heads turning up and around everywhere in a panic.


    It''s like there are other people in the car, and Taylor just can''t see them, but she soon noticed that the small circular screens were the origin of all current noise. Still, how is he able to play music from the car like that?


    "What is this?" Jane fussed. "Make it stop!"


    Nyar only turned down the volume significantly, since it wasn''t a big deal. "It''s just a radio. Sheesh! You turn it on and it plays music through electronic speaker systems."


    "You mean," Danny barely heard of stuff like this before, about how music can be recorded and played back through devices other than standard record players, but this was beyond his previous imagining. Still, he believed by now to understand. "The speaker units in the car, that''s what they''re for? They play recorded songs for people to listen to?" If it''s true, then it''s also simple. A radio is just like a television without a screen to see anything. Kalamo strangely has radios and television sets, but not speakers separate from electronic devices.


    Nyar pointed with one finger, "That''s my boy. But you''re mistaken to think these are all prerecorded. I mean, the music is, but the stream is all live."


    "I don''t get it now." Danny had to confess when he was completely lost. At least he realized that it wasn''t harmful. The noise was loud a moment ago though. Nyar must have control over standard volume and amplitude as well. All from that little box in the front of the car?


    Nyar broke it down for him specifically, realizing that the girls would perhaps never understand this. "We have radio stations that pick and choose what music is streamed at which times of days and in whatever local locations. The radio tunes into those live streams and plays back anything that is broadcasted by those stations. It''s live in a sense where any radio show host can just come on and announce anything he wants, which isn''t prerecorded, and neither is the decision of what songs to play. But the music in question is actually being broadcast using similar playback equipment, sent out through radio waves, which this unit here picks up to analyze using the antenna out in front."


    Even Danny''s head was spinning after that detailed explanation. Still, he didn''t mind the system and how it worked. The music itself was quite interesting to hear. "I''ll just take your word for it." A car has all of this? What a cool invention! How does Sprawn Valley not invest in these things?


    Nyar wagged his head just slightly while smiling in response. All of these kids are hopeless. Even Danny doesn''t get the concept of a standard car-radio, or that of a family vehicle. It''s funny because out of everyone here, he tries the hardest to understand it. So analytical, just like his father. Nyar shook the thought since he was wasting time, and turned the key into the wheel to trigger the engine startup sequence. Again, everyone except for him jumped in place from the sudden noise. The process alone killed the power to the radio momentarily, until it was picked back up again. This time however, Nyar didn''t continue to explain this, since it was going in one ear and out the other. Instead, he backed up from his parking space in the lot, and began to drive to the main highway.


    Everyone got used to the car''s movements quickly, even the low volume playback of the randomized music from the radio, but Jane had to ask once more about music in general, since she was perhaps the most unfamiliar to it. "So people get together in bands and make this music right? It''s almost like that music session I went to a long time ago. They were playing something called Jazz, but I barely remember much about it."


    Taylor quickly made sure Jane wasn''t as much of an outsider as she sounded right now. "You mean, other than one musical session, you''ve never heard of music before?"


    Jane nodded up and down once while glancing behind her. Danny was just as interested in her answer. "Some music groups go around in Sprawn Valley and play music as bands in the nearby towns, but I think more than half of them are actually from outside. We don''t have radio in Sprawn Valley though. It''s just ProCom news and other stations. I''ve heard of short tunes before from TV, but I don¡¯t think they''re the same."


    "It may be a while before Sprawn Valley adopts those customs," Nyar explained. "After all, they tend to only focus on that one thing all the time, like there is nothing else. But don''t worry. Soon enough, you will all have some of the best rock and metal stuck in your heads forever."


    Danny didn''t say anything back while Nyar was driving to approach some sort of checkpoint, but even he had to judge once more his level of hatred to magic. Nyar won''t even say the word Leray or magic in an ordinary sentence anymore. He just doesn''t understand what it''s used for.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Peurs Et Pleurs ~ Electrypnose</a>


    <hr>


    The drive didn''t end any time soon. In fact, the time dragged on for over half an hour, boring everyone inside. Even Nyar stopped adjusting the radio unit eventually; giving up on finding what he called good music. While being on many different connecting roads with highways and passing by numerous cars and tall building sights, there was only a matter of time for how long the constant shift in scenery could occupy the attention of Jane or her friends. It wasn''t long until Jane simply repeated one of the many excitements in her mind aloud, seeming to be over-repetitive. "I wonder what kinds of places New York has. Nyar? How big is New York, compared to Sprawn Valley?"


    For once, Nyar hesitated before answering Jane. He didn''t know Sprawn Valley''s interior size all too well, other than what references he had available to study on primitive maps. "I reckon New York is probably half as large of a state as Sprawn Valley is a country. But you shouldn''t take my word for it this time."


    "Why not?" Jane questioned.


    "Because. I''ve never lived in all the areas of Sprawn Valley. New York is my home. There''s actually a small section of land in Manhattan, patches all around the inner city that have individual houses that are usually expensive. I was lucky to partially inherit the rights from my grandfather when he bought the property, but keeping that place is another story. You''ll all get plenty of chance to explore when I get there."


    "See?" Danny fused. "It''ll be easy." Danny spoke more directly to Taylor than he did to Jane, assuming Taylor to still be nervous or on edge. Taylor of course would deny being nervous anytime he suggested as much, but this was obviously a big lie. Looking around and outside through the transparent view of the interior windows, Danny could see all sorts of things he had never seen before, and will continue to witness new things the longer he spends in America. On top of that, the destination is unknown as well, and in all that, Nyar is his only immediate family member to take care of him.


    Being in a country alien to your own, away from your mother and father, and away from anything else familiar to you, even when right beside your friends, it''s a terrifying experience to say the least. At times, it feels incredible and exciting. Your heart and mind races with wonder, the world is so big and you''ve been thrown headfirst into such an unknown area. Whatever the sensation is, it''s there to remind you that this isn''t normal or usual. New York is as alien to himself as it is for Jane and Taylor too. So there is no way that Taylor can fake that smile and pretend to be perfectly fine inside. Sure, it''s nothing to get upset about either, nor is it something to overreact or freak out about, but this feeling makes anyone nervous. Danny certainly felt more alert and somewhat tense. Taylor has to be feeling something of the same too. And Jane is always an energetic person, but she always manages to display her emotions in the same exact way; you''d mistake it for being hyper every time.


    "I didn''t say it won''t be." Taylor noticed that Danny was looking directly into her eyes as she replied. They were sitting somewhat close together from the design of the car and the seatbelts holding them in place. Even now, Taylor could so easily lose herself in this gaze, this undefinable look Danny would give her sometimes. Despite her hard efforts, Taylor can''t always read what Danny is thinking.


    Sighing loudly enough to disrupt the moment Danny and Taylor were having, Nyar slumped back against his seat with his arms outstretched onto the steering wheel. He knew this road already, soon to be in view of the long bridge connecting Queens, New York to Manhattan. But for now, he simply let himself relax with the familiarity of home. "I''d say we can relax a little, since I won''t get lost from here on out, but you two in the back should think of what plan you''re going to have for your stay here."


    Taylor gestured her hands slightly by Nyar''s mystification. "What do you mean? Like where to go after we get to your place?"


    "Come on," Nyar grilled calmly. "Didn''t we just talk about this earlier? I can''t play daddy with you three for more than a month of time, not without financial support. My job barely allows me to save up for anything these days. If you want to stay here longer for your vacation, you''ll all need to find part time jobs earning some of your own."


    "Wh¡ª" Jane cut herself off to think about what Nyar was talking about. He did mention something earlier about this, but she too would have to get a job as well? "What happens if we can''t find any good jobs?"


    The answer to that was simple, as set in his original plan of action for taking Danny and Taylor out from Sprawn Valley. "Then in one month of time, all three of you are to go back home immediately. I''d have to likely take out a loan just for that."


    "Oh." Taylor tried to shut herself up, but her mild response was most noticeable. The end result of failing to make this work means Nyar would send Taylor back to Kalamo, the worst place in the world to be.


    Jane sunk her head down slightly, uncertain of how this long trip will actually go. If she doesn''t earn any money, the vacation will be short. But on top of that, going to places just for exploring probably costs money too, and Jane didn''t feel all too ready about going back to Sprawn Valley yet.


    Noticing their sudden onset of depression, Nyar realized he might have pushed this too far too fast. "Now don''t get all down and out about it. All you need to do is envision a real future for yourselves. You could actually live in New York if you take up a real career and advance it forward."


    "What about all of those credits Jane saved up for?" Danny knew he asked about this before, but did Nyar forget about all of it?


    "I already told you I would work on it exclusively. I''m simply not placing high hopes for that alone. It''s good to have a backup plan after all."


    Jane perked up with confidence again, imagining all of the possibilities here. "Well I don''t know about you two, but I came here for the fun and excitement. I''ll be going back to Sprawn Valley eventually, but I''d rather see what else is out here first."


    Nyar still didn''t understand Jane''s mentality. Most people who grow up on Leray magic never leave their home country, particularly for the reason that they believe it to be dangerous. On one level, it is dangerous. If people leave the country believing their limited invulnerability applies in the outside world, things usually end badly, especially without parental guidance. But somehow, someway, Sprawn Valley officials give their youngest teenagers valid adult-like permissions at such young ages. It''s a miracle nobody constantly gets kidnapped when they leave... Or perhaps Nyar never really bothered to check those statistics should they exist.


    "She''s right." Danny held his right fist up slightly, reminding himself about the promises he made a month ago. "Taylor and I are actually here for about the same reasons. I don''t know yet if it is possible for me to head back to Kalamo to visit my parents. I mean, I know it is, but then I''ll have no way of leaving Kalamo if I do so quickly."


    "So then you want to have more travel options and availability?"


    Answering Nyar''s proposal, Danny put his thoughts into words quickly. "I want to have the option to head back to Kalamo or Sprawn Valley or New York at any time I leave those places."


    "It costs money," he emphasized. "I''ll work on credit conversion in the meantime. I just hope you at least talk to your family about these things. I''ll even let you call them once we reach my place."


    "That''s good," he agreed. "It''s been a while since I was able to speak to them."


    "Yes." Nyar hugged the wheel as he was beginning to approach the massive bridge extending over the large body of water yet to be visible from the position of his car. "It won''t be that much longer till we arrive. Just stick to the less annoying games this time, like eye-spy." Nyar knew what he was doing. Jane in particular would become annoying like before more often when bored. At least this way, the three of them can get used to the way things will be around here. Just several more minutes to go, so long as traffic doesn''t have another accident. He could sense his sweet home nearby.

 Chapter 3: Chapels Creek

    <hr>


    <02/15/1972 ¨C 13:49 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    After the long drive of usually unwanted traffic and the complaining of how much longer the drive would be from the kids, Nyar finally managed to pull his Ford Escort into the somewhat rocky area known as Chapel''s Creek. It''s just the name of the small neighborhood with a few houses set far away from the inner city of Manhattan, up in the mild hills and generally isolated. While maintaining a much nicer level of serenity to that of average apartments inside of the central city, Chapel''s Creek homes are usually expensive to maintain for the very reason the land takes away much of usable business space from the county. But the neighborhood is nothing more than a collection of about thirty well-spread apart houses with roadway paved only with gravel or run-down stone.


    All around them were tall trees that were populated at such a low-density level, obscuring very little of the view back towards the visible city of towering buildings. One could hardly even call this a small patch of forest or woodlands; this is just nice decor with the low amount given in the mildly elevated hills heading towards Nyar''s personal house. While continuing to push the pedal towards the driveway of the home, Nyar had to remind himself which day this was. February 15, 1972. A simple thought process excluded the need for a calendar, strengthened by his constant work having him memorize many details to civil case files.


    Nothing else right now was needed to remind Nyar how the welcoming feeling of home flushed over him the moment Nyar''s eyes met his house once more. He carefully pulled into the driveway while decreasing the vehicle speed, and allowed for his company to gaze upon its beauty.


    Danny knew he wasn''t alone in analyzing every aspect of Nyar''s house right now. After all, the houses in New York could be very different than those in Sprawn Valley or in Slatetown, Kalamo. At first glance, the relatively small house was well designed and painted on the exterior to appeal in a less symmetrical sense. Windowpanes that could not be seen through populated the left side of the house more than the right, where the front door also resided. All around the house was flat land consistent of dying short grass and leaf corpses, mixed in with residual gravel that simply made up an empty lawn with no real purpose, spanned in all directions. While Danny did not understand the reference to the terminology or functionality of a standard garage, there was no need to understand it since this house does not have one.


    Nyar parked the car into the more solidified section of the lawn in front of the right side of his house, after which he turned the key the other way to kill the power to the engine. While he waited on Jane to get her "Wow!" expressions of awe out of the way, he noticed in his mirror that Danny and Taylor were taking in all of the sights too. Nyar himself remarked his attention to the somewhat distant house on his right, partially obscured by small shrubs or tiny dying trees. The neighbors here are usually spaced apart by 170 meters, thus private homes here are actually private, unlike those horrific apartment structures deeper in the city. Having to live in one for a short time, Nyar shuttered at the very reoccurrence of the memory, and put his focus back on getting inside.


    "So this is where you live?" Danny continued to take it all in while climbing out of the car from the back door and stepping his shoes onto nature''s floor. There was a mild noise of crunching every time his feet shifted in the ground beneath him, of all the rocky mesh mixed in with a few residual leaves being displaced by the disturbance there. Perhaps the most immediate noticeable change was the rapid shift in the air temperature here. It''s much colder right now than it was back at the airport. Wherever the sun was, it was now hidden behind the sky, blocked by a solid color of clouds acting as one coat of fog. Though still bright to glance at, Danny could feel the strong winter shift take over as the wind speed picked up and spiraled down to himself and his friends exiting from the vehicle. Even though he was better at keeping himself warm in the cold, Danny too shivered with his arms hugged tightly around him in response.


    "Course it is," Nyar replied. "Better head in if you don''t want to freeze." He held his keys after shutting the driver-side door, but stopped short of locking the car. "On second thought, we better get all this stuff out first. Danny? Help me carry."


    Jane was close to shivering already, when she hovered closer to Taylor and began to complain about the cold. "I''m guessing it''s always this cold here?"


    Nyar glanced at Jane with a soft grin of regretful sympathy for her. "Nope... It''s usually colder." He opened the trunk and lifted one of the two large luggage cases over his shoulder, coaxing Danny standing near him to do the same. After slamming the trunk with nothing else to retrieve, it was a simple walk to the front door.


    As Taylor and Jane grouped closer to Nyar and Danny, Taylor wondered in hope that the temperature difference would be positively higher inside. "You have a working heater system inside, right?"


    Nyar had to momentarily process Taylor''s reaction, only because she and Danny were unusually unfamiliar with a lot of things here in America. Back in Kalamo, most houses supposedly have usable heater or cooling systems installed despite the situation there; but it depends, both on how well your standard of living is, and by how much truth there is to this rumor. "It will only go so high, but I promise it''s more comfortable there than out here, unless you like the cold that is."


    His failed attempt to attract even a hint of laughter or tongue scuffing soon kept Nyar silent. All three of them are apparently in a negative mood just by cold weather? Isn''t it winter time in Sprawn Valley too? Maybe it just doesn''t get this cold there. Nyar fiddled with his keys to insert into both locks of the front door, having an installed top lock for slightly extra security. This of course makes it take somewhat longer, but being used to this, Nyar had the door open in just a few seconds, after which was a barreling of people inside at once, rather forcefully. Once the door was shut behind them and the main lights turned on, the atmosphere of the mood was once again changed.


    Danny and Taylor both felt just a small amount of familiarity to this setup of a personal home, but Jane on the other hand was immediately in her hyperactive excited mood again by the new scenery alone. "Wow! This is much nicer than where I live. It''s great in here."


    "If that''s the case," Nyar began to conclude, "then I must be doing enough out here for myself."


    The moment they walk into the house, they are literally aligned with the narrow hallway down the path further, where to their right and left is a split of rooms between the dining room and the living room space. Jane immediately went to the living room since there wasn''t much taking up the space in the center, as she spun around once with her arms out. Was she pretending to be a princess in a fancy home?


    Nyar knew it wasn''t as impressive as they believed it to be. Their lack of exposure to anything greater than this right here was actually concerning to say the least, but it''s also a more realistic position to be in for an average... Actually, Nyar realized that on certain technicalities, he had it easier by inheriting some of this. The average person really does have less, at least if they live in New York, Kalamo, or Sprawn Valley. How tragic!


    Taylor let the space fill in, though careful not to bump into anything while approaching the dining room table. There were actually four wooden chairs of the same design perfectly tucked evenly under the same patterned table, showing that Nyar somehow prepared to have herself and Danny here on possibility. Maybe the fourth chair was just an extra surprise, but that is good news for Jane.


    Taylor treaded her way into the kitchen area, which was relatively small compared to the rest of the house so far. The standard appliances were tucked against the wall, plugged in where you wouldn''t be able to see it. The metallic looking fridge and freezer unit was actually the tallest thing in the kitchen, much less the stovetop, which was combined with an oven unit both made with an analog interface, yet the dishwashing machine that Taylor heard about was absent here. Perhaps Nyar hand washes everything that gets used... That means chores will get heavy around here.


    Jane noticed the nice though singled out couch against the wall with a small wall lamp above it, and she sat down with a bounce to feel for its texture and everything else. The television stand was nothing impressive, and the TV unit itself actually appeared to be incredibly similar if not exact to the same model and type she had back in her house, the one in the living room of her home. "Does New York get the same stations as us?"


    "Hardly." Nyar crossed his arms, mildly upset by Jane''s insolence. She should at least know better that all countries have their own unique broadcasting. Actually, states have their own as well, but not all of them broadcast under a local level. The word New York seems to be in context of America too often where it should not be, but whatever. It matters not right now. "Don''t get too comfortable with the idea of entertainment through television. My TV is currently non-functional."


    Danny winced just barely, not expecting Nyar to have a broken TV. "What''s wrong with it?"


    "It just doesn''t power on anymore. I simply haven''t had time to fix it right now, so you''ll just have to go without one this week."


    Jane lifted herself back to her feet quickly, now interested in the maroon colored curtains on the wall set to block out the natural light behind two large windows. Jane pulled both curtains aside, despite Nyar''s late warning not to touch anything such as those. In fear that Jane might break something, she actually managed not to come near ruining the curtains, and now showcased the shut windows in their absence. Quickly did a lot of natural light from outside flood the living room interior. Though there was a limit on how much that affected the view given current weather conditions, Jane still wanted to open the windows, failing to pull the frame upward like she was used to.


    Nyar was immediate to speed walk over towards the property that Jane was soon to break on some level. "That''s not how these work." His tone was firm, and Jane backed up by a space, expecting Nyar to demonstrate for her. "Fine. I''ll show you how to open these windows, just in case - god forbid something happens and you need to unlock them. Don''t open these windows when I''m not home, or without telling me first, understand?"


    "Of course." Jane nodded with her answer, but Nyar hesitated before showing Jane how it worked. Much to Jane''s surprise, and that to her friends since this was a design unique to this house, Nyar flipped a tiny metal lever attached to the side seal, and then pulled from a side latch towards the center of the pane. The windows open sideways instead of sliding upwards, and there is enough room in the center buffer space to open both all the way at the same time. Nyar however shut this rather quickly since it was cold outside, and that his electrical heater system would not appreciate the stress. "So that''s how it works?"


    Taylor noticed a grandfather clock taking up a bit of space right next to Jane, made more visible when she opened the curtains to let more light in. The unit told time as expected, but its very placement and existence gave a unique feeling to the room that it did not have a moment ago. The same could be said for some of the small dressers near the TV set. In all summary, this is actually impressive, and somehow so comfortable. "This place is really nice." Taylor didn''t mind giving the compliment. In fact, Nyar didn''t object to it as he usually would with any compliment to anything.


    Nyar took his time to analyze how much Danny and Taylor were both liking this place by first impression. "Yes, well... You know if you both sustained yourself with good careers, you could both own a house as nice as this, and then decorate it however you would want to. I couldn''t say such a thing to Danny before, because you both live in Kalamo, and Kalamo is by definition closer to a communist union than a free country like America is. Anyway, my point is, you need money in this world to get anywhere."


    Jane went then to the large bookshelf next to the grandfather clock, and sure enough were there massive collections of books she had never seen before. She studied the names on the spines extensively, aware by now that Nyar would get upset if she unorganized all of them by pulling each one out of place.


    Nyar noticed that all of their luggage was sitting on floor beside the dining table, reminding him that these people needed to be settled, not just shown around. After grabbing the suitcase full of clothing and leaving his own briefcase behind, Nyar cast himself down the hallway. "This way - if you want to see where you''ll be sleeping tonight."


    Like tourists, Jane, Danny, and Taylor stayed close behind down the short narrow hallway, with a side room door leading into a small bathroom. Nyar actually showed them in here first. With the bright lights on, they could all make out the mirror above the sink, next to the shower station, and of course the toilet somewhat behind the opened door. While there was a nice floor mat right under the sink and plenty of space for just one person, it was quickly evident that this was the only bathroom in the entire house. Nyar however didn''t even bother concerning himself with the potential fights that might break out over that problem. His rules were much more important. "I trust that all three of you know how to use a bathroom and take care of it at the same time. If you wreck my bathroom or do anything to disorder the place without fixing it, I''ll wreck you."


    Without much of a response to his decree, Nyar continued down the hall, where the section then split left and right, evenly distributing two master bedrooms. Nyar went to the left room, which had the same amount of space available, though minor differences with pictures on the wall of Nyar''s family added to the uniqueness of the area. There were two beds set into this room, despite its small size. It actually made things cramped and tight, but Nyar figured Danny and Taylor would have to sleep in separate beds. Luckily, this works out for Jane, since one of the two beds is much larger in size. The smaller bed would be hard not to fall out of, but Danny has little choice, thanks to Jane joining so unexpectedly. "This is your room, all three of you. Danny, Jane and Taylor will have to share the bigger bed. Therefore, I give you the option of this small contraption here, or the sofa out there."


    He glanced back up at Nyar, affirming why he got the short end of the stick here. "Are you serious?"


    Looking cutely disappointed, Nyar had to make sure he tries to separate Danny from Taylor, for obvious reasons. "I do have some rules to this house while we are all here. While it may seem arbitrary to set yourself and Taylor or Jane apart simply due to gender, I must remind you of your age as well. I don''t necessarily approve of you dating so openly right now, so know that I''m actually giving you a long leash by making an exception between you and Taylor, given your shared traumas in Sprawn Valley. The least you can do is sleep apart."


    Danny didn''t know exactly what else to say besides agreeing with Nyar''s authority, but he just said this in front of Taylor and Jane as well. Unable to prevent himself from blushing, Danny simply wanted to change the subject rather quickly. "Yes sir."


    Jane felt like laughing after seeing the look on Taylor''s face. She''s just as easily messed up by that lone suggestion as Danny is, and it''s just so cute! Jane however didn''t say anything or hint to any joke, since it obviously seems like Mr. Buzzkill would have her head for it.


    Nyar pointed to the one and only closet in the room, as small as it was, and then gently set down the suitcase. "You can use this closet here to fill its void with all the clothes I''ve packed for you. Taylor? It goes without saying that Jane will need at least one extra change of clothes that can fit her." Good luck with that too, since Jane is naturally taller and bigger than Taylor, even if by a small amount. "We have a working washer and dryer for clothes, so I do expect the three of you to keep up with your own, and to not break anything in the process."


    Danny spoke up to ask why Nyar was constantly teasing them with this. "Why do you keep assuming we''re going to break something?"


    Nyar retorted, "I''m not the one here who couldn''t understand the basic principles behind how an automobile or its functions operate - even by concept. However," he pointed directly to Jane Venn while she was testing the comfort of the bigger bed, already outfitted with clean sheets and pillows. "It''s your friend Jane that I''m expecting to break things, being that she is more of an outsider to basic things than the two of you are. You both saw for yourselves how archaic things are in Sprawn Valley."


    Danny didn''t say anything again, but he wanted to beam his own thoughts of memories to Nyar as much as possible. Nyar doesn''t know anything about Sprawn Valley despite its deceptive appearances. Fronas for example appears to be an extremely poor town. Actually, it really doesn''t accumulate a lot of income, but just check out the Dakota training academy, specifically in the dark room. He hadn''t even seen the vault unit before, but by its description, vaults stored in training facilities are more advanced and secure than banks located in this very city, most likely. Then there is the interior of Eldora Tower. There are more advanced technological aspects to Sprawn Valley than one would think at first glance. Whether these advances have to do with the existence of Leray magic and its direct involvement or not is beside the point Nyar was trying to make a moment ago, singling Jane out like that.


    "I mean it," Nyar reaffirmed. "If you don''t know how to use something here, ask me first. Also, the room next door is my own, and I keep it locked when I need to. So don''t enter if I''m not home. I''d rather return to it the same way I''ve left it." Nyar began walking back to the dining room leaving them with his sentence, when Danny followed quickly and demanded for one more thing.


    "Hey, wait a minute Nyar!"


    Nyar stopped cold and turned around. "Yes?"


    Danny kept himself serious, reminding himself about the promise he made the moment he arrived here. As impressive as it could be to run around excited to explore the area, there is dire need to fulfill some responsibilities first. "Where''s your phone? I need to call home and check in."


    Nyar''s stiff expression was lifted, and he simply showed Danny to the connective area between the dining room and the kitchen. Hung on the wall was an old fashion telephone with a turning ring. "This is the phone, and I only want you to use this in case of emergency if not checking in with your parents. I''ll give all three of you a business card with my number on it. Call this number only if you have a concerning emergency, and nothing else." Nyar handed Danny the card.


    "And if you don''t pick up for any reason?"


    Nyar had to accept this possibility as well. Anything could happen, especially with the incredible bad luck Danny or Taylor somehow attracted since they left Kalamo. "I advise against it because this is a last resort thing to do... But in the event of an emergency that directly threatens your life or anyone else here, and you cannot reach my number for any reason, you must dial zero for the operator, and ask for emergency services. This can however create chaos, so I simply ask that you don''t get into an emergency. Don''t try to cook, don''t touch the thermostat, don''t wildly explore outside, and don''t horseplay."


    "I got it."


    Danny seemed to be paying close attention, and Nyar was thankful that the boy has enough sense and concern for himself and other people to be as responsible as possible. Hopefully he can be in charge of Taylor and Jane while he goes away to work. After all, Nyar has no way to babysit any of them. Many states forbid this as being against the law, but they also don''t mention the inability to afford such a service, even by personal means.


    Danny watched as Nyar nodded, his mood lifted perhaps by his sudden lack of worry, and he pulled up a small bag, emptying the contents onto the table. The slight sound of the smack of the bags of chips and a few candy bars actually had Taylor and Jane running through the hallway back out into the dining room. How did either of them know that was food?


    Nyar disregarded the lack of manner in the two girls, assuming them to be starved at this point. "These snacks should hold you down for now, and I''ll have some real food sometime later tonight when I go out for it."


    "They have snacks and I''m hungry," Jane assessed. She was allowed by Nyar to sit down and eat what was here, but Jane remained mindful enough to make sure Taylor and Danny would have enough themselves too.


    Danny however went to the phone, and with Nyar''s permission, used it to dial only the number to his own place, where Arias and Jenson were at right now. Luckily, Kalamo doesn''t charge any high fees for international phone calls like many other countries do. Danny even knew about the process of adding a number one to the beginning of the number when making a long distance call, and Nyar attended to his own unpacking while Taylor and Jane somewhat watched Danny in curiosity.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Cloud Forest ~ Jon Dahlander</a>


    <center><iframe title="Cloud Forest ~ Jon Dahlander" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E-WeD8WzbFo" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    After calling the 11-digit number by spinning the dial and waiting for it to return to position, Danny heard the familiar noise on the speaker of the system dialing the number, and he waited several seconds.


    "Mason''s Residence." It was Arias Mason, though some minor amount of noise reduced the clarity of what could be heard, likely on both ends.


    Danny knew this voice anywhere, and with everything he had ready to say or ask in mind, it was immediately melted away. "Dad!"


    "Danny? Ah, god! Finally! Now I know you''re safe. I''ll have to thank Nyar for this later. But how are you? Tell me what''s going on!"


    Taylor and Jane were both holding their food in place, halting their teeth to realize who Danny was in fact calling on that phone. Even though they could hear just the faint amount of voice from their distance, there was no way for anyone other than Danny to make it out since his ear was to the phone. Taylor didn''t know why this suddenly felt so awkward, but Danny is finally calling home like he is supposed to. It''s actually a wonder why he didn''t do this before back in Sprawn Valley. Jane is just curious for now.


    Danny held his voice firm, but he couldn''t deny the warm feeling of his family, bringing him close to glossier eyes. "It''s a long story dad. I don''t know what Nyar told you, but we''re in New York now."


    "Well then that''s very good news. Thank god nothing ever got worse."


    "Dad?" Danny didn''t know exactly what Arias meant in his context, but figured he might break it down.


    "I mean, falling off a cruise in the middle of the ocean, what were you thinking? You had us worried to death!"


    Danny knew that Arias wasn''t yelling in anger right now, much more was he venting all of his thoughts since this all first started, but even now, there was reason enough to hold so much guilt. It really was Danny''s fault in the first place. What was I thinking? Even after making it to Sprawn Valley and nearly killing Taylor in the process, twice, Danny never called his parents; instead he called Nyar. Danny knew he called Nyar of first choice only because he was the one to be expecting them in the first place. But why didn''t he call home at some point in time? Why?


    "What? Yes. Danny, I''m putting your mom on the phone. Here..."


    Danny waited patiently to hear his mother still in recovery from her illness, uncertain of whether she would sound better or worse, or whether such a distinction could even be made over the questionable phone quality. Still, he needed to hear that voice right now!


    "Danny? Is my son okay?"


    Danny nodded despite only being on the phone. "Mom. I''m fine now. I didn''t mean to take so long to call back¡ª"


    "Awh, don''t beat yourself up over that! We just needed to make sure you were safe. I feared the worst."


    "Sh¡ª shouldn''t you be resting?" Danny wasn''t sure if it was the right moment or even authority to ask, but Jenson should defiantly not be moving around too much after the chemotherapy and radiation treatments.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "I think after what you''ve been through, you should be the one resting. I''ve had enough rest anyway, so you let me and your dad worry about me."


    "Fair enough," he replied. Danny could sense and literally catch the glimpse of Jane and Taylor eyeing him like a zoo animal, much more Taylor than Jane. Still, all he had to do was glance back to push their attention back on the chips and chocolate bars.


    "But I''ve also heard something happened with Taylor and her folks. I don''t know what''s going on, but she''s fine too, right?"


    Nyar told them about that? Danny hardened his teeth together at the thought. Nobody else has the right to share that information. Even if her own parents are the one who squeaked, they should at least do so honestly. Danny should just say that Taylor is fine, but... Taylor is far from okay, mentally speaking. Her country, the same one he is from has an illegitimate kingdom trying to falsely recruit young or attractive women for a behind-the-scenes slavery operation. Even fit men or children are recruited for hard labor, and they make it seem legitimate or worth the while by hiding the dark truths behind pension and reward money to the respective families, which actually comes from the taxpayers there, the citizen''s own money. This fake empire is called the Banshee Empire, and their victims are known as either the Banshee victims or Banshee slaves, sold off by their families who don''t do enough research to see the massive fraud for what it is. It''s a wonder how the monarch hasn''t been caught yet, or if these propositions from up top are really as optional as advertised.


    But Taylor did her research. She has friends who she knew, friends that have never returned nor were heard of again who were Banshee slaves. Despite that bit of knowledge, against all claims, Laura and Lonagan Feer are willing to put their only daughter out there just for a big boost of money they can use for themselves. Somehow, they even believe Taylor would be able to come back and visit, the idiots. Everyone has been supporting her against this movement, and because of that, she''s actually a legal Sprawn Valley citizen right now; that is until she literally sets foot back into Kalamo. But Danny knew he could only imagine what kind of traumatizing feeling this has given Taylor, where her one and only family are literally against her very way of life in all forms.


    So, no! Taylor is not doing okay, but it''s such a long story to tell, and there isn''t time for it right now, not unless Taylor is up for that. Danny peeked at Taylor for a few seconds, who skittishly kept her head down. "It''s complicated, but she''s alright. Nobody is hurt."


    "That''s all I needed to know. When Nyar told me that you and Taylor were trapped in Sprawn Valley, I feared the worst for days. And naturally, nobody else could come to get you. Your dad was watching after me. Only now am I finally recovering from this disgusting illness."


    So she knows about Sprawn Valley and magic as well. "Mom? Be honest with me here. I grew up never believing in magic, nor have I ever heard of it before... So why wasn''t I informed?!" Danny''s voice shouted at a new volume, letting all of that rage he held back finally consume him. All of this time, the simple knowledge of this could have changed everything, even prevented them from ever going to Sprawn Valley had he believed it to be real yet dangerous. But it''s too late to lie about it now. "Why did you lie to me and Taylor for all of those years?"


    "You were there, weren''t you? You saw what it was like for yourself. Magic is nothing but a complete waste of time, an evil art that claims to help when it can only destroy. Making people live forever? Yeah right. I wasn''t about to let you get dragged into that mentality, where magic was some wonderful form of grand adventure. Even your father beside me is shaking his head in agreement."


    Complete waste of time? What about people like Jane then? People give up so much of their life just to experience the fun of magic battles. Even if it is exclusive to that one section of the entire planet, who cares what it can''t do? It wasn''t designed for people to live forever, or for destruction. "Oh, yeah? Were you ever there? Just once, in your entire life, did you visit Sprawn Valley?"


    "Son, I never had to be there in person to hear through the noise of lies that government spits out."


    "Don''t you talk to me about the noise of lies like you know it all! Leray magic isn''t this evil art that you people make it out to be. And yeah, people need to learn it responsibly, but I''ve seen what Leray magic can do for people in the world. It actually can help save lives, just as much as it can take them."


    "Christ, will you listen to yourself?! Though Nyar warned me about this. You must have been there long enough to test the magic for yourself. But trust me Danny. You''ve not been there long enough to see the whole picture. Leray magic is dangerous. Even the top officials there don''t know everything about it."


    "The same goes for you too." Danny made his moment to calm down. Yelling at his own mom certainly wasn''t something he let happen before, but this was beyond insanity. How can people hate magic when they''ve never seen the true potential? And so what if it isn''t natural? It saved Taylor''s life from certain death, even Jane. In fact, if Jane weren''t marked to help out in the dark zone incident, that black hole of evil could have swallowed up the entire country and killed everyone who wasn''t ready for it. Dark magic was the culprit behind Alpha Zero, but Leray magic was able to resolve the situation. It works! "So I like to use a little magic. I guess that makes me an evil criminal, huh?"


    "No one is saying that. I¡ª" "Give me that..." Danny could hear the voices shifting with the sound of noises against the device on the other end. Arias was obviously taking the phone from Jenson. "Listen Danny. There is no need to stress out your mother anymore. You know that she and I both don''t approve of you using that magic voodoo from Sprawn Valley. Take whatever you want in life, you can have it as long as it doesn''t involve magic."


    "Why is this suddenly out of my hands? You both criminalize what you don''t understand."


    "That''s where you''re wrong, to think we don''t understand. Why else would we lie to you about it then, huh? I didn''t want you getting involved with Leray magic. Even Nyar thought the same way, so that''s how it is."


    Danny held the phone so tight his hand may snap through the plastic. But he couldn''t get anything else to escape his breath. What more could he say? What''s supposed to happen then?


    "Now... I don''t know if Nyar is busy unpacking, but if you know what he plans to do in order to take you back to us, please let me know."


    Danny sighed slightly away from the phone. He knew this much at least, and might as well fill them both with the probable hope that he will go back home. "Nyar is looking after us until he can raise enough for a flight home. He estimated that it would take around thirty days before it could happen realistically. So we''re just sitting tight right now, and he''ll of course give you updates."


    "As will you. I want you to call us every single night, whatever time it is, I don''t care. Got it? Tell Nyar to call me whenever he gets a free moment."


    "Okay." Danny didn''t want to waste time arguing about magic, but it still bugged him to no end. How could they be so stupid? It''s just like Taylor situation... No, hers is still much worse. Fine then.


    "I love y¡ª"


    Danny threw the phone back on the hook before he let his dad finish. He already acknowledged giving Nyar the task, so there was no more need to continue talking about it. Finally, that was over with, but now Taylor and even Jane may be bursting with questions... No? They''re just sitting there eating. Well, nibbling really, pretending to eat to hide their nosiness.


    Taylor finally let herself study Danny carefully. He hadn''t shown this much stress and frustration since he first learned about her personal situation back home. But what was that all about in the first place? Taylor heard her name come up in part of that mess. Danny looks like... He looks like he''s about to put his fist through the wall. Taylor stood up, preparing to comfort him in some way.


    Danny noticed immediately what sort of look this was with Taylor. She''s too sympathetic, especially given that her situation is much worse than his own. No, no hugs this time! "I''m fine." Danny marched forward, nearly brushing Taylor''s side hard enough to upset her if not for the near miss, and he continued down the hallway to find his uncle, give him the news.


    Jane didn''t understand what was going on, but it felt troubling. Taylor looked so empty right now, and the way Danny just pushed her away like a bad thought... "I don''t really get what''s happening sometimes," she started. Jane was careful not to sound like a total jerk. "But I hope your luck turns around, for both of you."


    Taylor held her hands together with her index and pinky fingers outward, the other two folded inwards while she stood in a depressing trance. There wasn''t anything she could do for him, is there? Danny wouldn''t even share with Taylor what that was about, but it didn''t sound all too good. Something about it was magic related, since he was obviously defending the existence and practice of it. Nyar shoots it down all the time too, but somehow, instead of Jane being upset by it, Danny is the one affected?


    "That''s what I''m saying."


    Jane and Taylor heard Nyar''s voice from down the hall, as he was walking quickly down towards them with Danny marching out in front. Danny still seemed to be pissed off, but Nyar was into it now.


    "They left me the message," Danny repeated for the third time, "and I delivered."


    "That''s not the point. I was expecting you to hand me over to the line as soon as you checked in."


    "Well it didn''t go that way, okay?"


    Nyar was still stunned by this. Danny hadn''t been showing very much emotion since their flight began, but he initially assumed that this was all for the best. Why is he so bent out of shape? Clearly, there were details missing, and it''s time to throw the books. "Alright. Everyone listen to me right now. All of you!" After having the attention he demanded, Nyar decided it was time to get real with all of them, right here at this dining room table. "I''ve let the three of you get away with your half-assed explanations for long enough. I know that Danny and Taylor were trapped in Sprawn Valley for over a full month of time. And in that time, I have absolutely no idea what happened among the three of you. But whatever it is has obviously changed you both; the way you think life works, the sudden glorification of Leray magic. I''m not going to ask to argue with anyone. I just want to hear the full story; the entire bag of bull that you suffered, all three of you. Nobody leaves here until then."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Alone ~ Jaia</a>


    <hr>


    There was silence, not entirely out of shock, much more out of study. Taylor, Danny, and Jane were all staring at Nyar and his serious expression, as he has already realized the presence of some kind of problem. Since nobody was talking, and since Danny knew Nyar well enough to understand that he was also as serious about nobody leaving this very room, he decided to go first with the summary.


    "Fine." When Taylor and Jane both glanced back at him, he gave them no mind. "I''ll share it all, my whole life experience on that rock," Danny admitted. "And when I do, I want no more heat about this evil magic thing from you, from anyone. Then you leave us alone about what happened in Sprawn Valley, since I''m about to say it all anyway."


    "Yes," Nyar agreed. "I won''t fuss over what happened in the past. I just need to know what you all went through. Because until I know that, I can''t truly be with you or take care of you, see?" Nyar''s words were meant to be figurative, but he soon realized that they might have taken that the wrong way, the literal way.


    Danny kept it summarized since it was such a long story he played in his head over and over like a metronome. How could he forget the days that changed everyone''s lives? Through it all, Danny kept himself composed as best as he could while spilling his memory, but the beginning was the most difficult for him. Nyar listened silently while Danny explained in full detail what happened on the Tidal Max. When Danny got to share his experience, in that the reason for getting himself and Taylor locked out, Nyar almost lost it respectively.


    Holding his head as if to display a migraine, Nyar dared to analyze why Danny would make such a poor choice. "You went outside into a deadly storm after being told not to just to check out a light?"


    Technically, Taylor wanted to know a bit more about the unusual glowing light, but Danny took it fairly since he should have stopped her curiosity as well. "I still have no way to prove this, but I believe it was an unusual glowing source of Leray magic, some magical burst gone astray making it all the way into the sky above us at night. We were close to the shore of southern Sprawn Valley after all..."


    Taylor wanted to interject where Danny failed in memory. Danny wasn''t merely curious about the green light source he saw outside, and Taylor didn''t run out like an idiot either, not until Danny wen first. Does he not recall the trance he went into? What were those words he mumbled that day? It was too difficult to recall now, but something strange happened to Danny in that moment; he didn''t exit to go outside willingly, rather out of total confusion.


    Satisfied with the blunt explanation that the presence of something fully unknown to Danny got the best of his defended curiosity, Nyar let him continue uninterrupted. Danny continued to explain, on the moment where they were locked outside on deck by the sudden reset in electrical power. And then when the rain grew heavier, the floor getting slipperier, Danny and Taylor fell off of the cruise together into the ocean during a near capsize effective tip of the vessel.


    But as unbelievable as it sounded, Danny continued to quickly amaze both Nyar and Jane with the excruciating details of their arrival to the new country. It began with surviving in place in rapid dangerous waves of ocean rushing in all directions, with a storm as deadly as ever and no way back onto the Tidal Max. With no way to signal for help, the crew didn''t even realize that two of their passengers were in peril.


    After the storm calmed down with the very slight rising of the sunlight, Danny spotted and swam to an unidentified rocky island with Taylor in tow. After that, sensing no source of clean water or fresh food, Danny decided to try and scale the 250-meter rock wall, vertical and slippery in its natural design of a barrier.


    According to what he learned later on, the proper way into Sprawn Valley by sea is Vanon Port, which of course the Tidal Max does not acknowledge, but if they had arrived there, Danny and Taylor would have quickly made it to Blue Port Town, and learned about the secrets of the land much quicker. Instead, they cut through a section of forest after having to bypass the wall in some other way, after causing Taylor to have such a fatal injury from her fall.


    At this point Nyar couldn''t breathe if he wanted to. He tried to imagine what that sort of process this would do to a young boy, having his best friend fall down a wall to their death, much more under guilty circumstances from allowing her to climb in the first place. Somehow, despite the obvious injury and skin damage, Taylor though unconscious didn''t fall dead. Danny said that even at that time, despite not knowing anything about magic was he able to confirm much later on their stay that Taylor''s full demise was just barely blocked out by the veil''s protective effects, which wasn''t as effective since they were at the very edge of the effective veil.


    When he got further into the forest with Taylor in his arms, a short nap woke the both of them, with Taylor''s injuries only partly visible, and her stamina mostly restored. Nyar could feel it; he could feel the fear and confusion from Danny as he spurred his memory back to that moment in time. Danny saw someone who should have died in the realistic circumstances, totally revive herself from a critical injury, after which such an injury was instantly healed as if with magic. It is common knowledge for those who know about Leray magic that the process has this effect, this property of extending the life of people simply by rejecting naturally inflicted critical injury. Even if it isn''t natural to anyone''s state of mind, in Danny''s case, the very magic he didn''t know about saved Taylor''s life...


    Danny didn''t stop there though. After arriving to see the first of civilization in the town of Fronas, Danny learned so much at once. First, he learned that the so-called island was actually a very large country normally off map. The second thing was of course the existence and integration of Leray magic as well as its functions. All they would have to do is show Danny and Taylor simple demonstrations to prove that as well, and that''s when Nyar got the phone call from outside his residence, from Danny himself, outfitted with the terrible news.


    After learning about Leray magic, Taylor wished to stay behind for a bit longer to learn magic. Danny only agreed for the potential of self-defense, but was pressured by one of the agents there.


    Danny continued in summary, and eventually got to the part that would normally upset Taylor. With her permission from a single nod, Danny went forward to tell Nyar that during a weekend training session in Fronas, Taylor broke the one only secret she had towards him, that of being an enlisted Banshee slave.


    Jane quickly conferred the connection of this with the moment in her memory, when Danny and Taylor asked to have a moment alone, only to return Taylor in tears with no explanation at all. That was the big secret?


    "Taylor?" Nyar eyed. "Does this mean that your vacation here was initially just a means of escaping that horror? You planned to come here to visit with Danny, only to later run away somewhere in the city?"


    Taylor nodded without any verbal response. She couldn''t get the words out. Danny was the first one before to draw that conclusion about her little plan, flawed as it was.


    "It''s not the same reason she went with me this time," Danny clarified. "Taylor could have stayed in Sprawn Valley and easily have avoided being part of that Banshee recruitment..." Danny gave Nyar a concise look. "But I knew we would have better luck with family, if not her own, then some of mine."


    "Then that was the reason for such a long delay?"


    Danny made sure it made sense to him as much as it would for Nyar. "There were other delays of getting sidetracked, but mostly was it us trying to figure out a way for Taylor to avoid having to put up with this."


    Then you should have left Taylor behind like you suggested. Nyar couldn''t help but seem ashamed of this development. After all the judging he did, Nyar assumed his own family got wrecked up in Leray magic simply for the aspect of amazement. These people have more going on than they''ve let on, but this is indeed a problem. "Danny? Taylor? I have to be as clear as possible so that you understand the full purpose of your stay."


    What is it now? Danny didn''t want to push his luck with Nyar, but this didn''t sound anymore condescending from before.


    "Danny, as your uncle, I do have immediate right and care to you as your legal guardian. As for Jane, the laws set in Sprawn Valley with her parent''s approval to travel gives her the right to be here. But as for Taylor, even as a citizen of Sprawn Valley, her family lives in Kalamo, and they still have full lawful custody of her no matter where she is, being that Taylor is underage to be an adult. Much more is this true since you are now in the United States, where adulthood is considered at the age of eighteen."


    "What are you saying?"


    Nyar began to spit it out, realizing that his hop around the subject was only making this harder to contemplate. "Legally speaking, I have no right to hold Taylor here, despite that I''m doing it right now." Getting angry glares, Nyar assumed they''ve already misunderstood. "Right now, we''re under the radar, but the first moment a child custody lawsuit is filed against us, which would only come from mister and Mrs. Feer, I will have to hand you over to them, else would I be in violation myself."


    Naturally was everyone shocked by such defeating words, but Taylor would also take this to be the worst news. "What do you mean send me back? I can''t ever go back!" Unable to fight tears to her eyes and the familiar trembling sensation of wanting to melt, Taylor didn''t know what else to do.


    Danny popped out of his chair fast enough to backslide the seat behind him, and he stood in front of Taylor, getting up in his uncle''s face to decree a better idea. "I''ve heard about enough of that. You and I talked about this! Taylor isn''t going anywhere near that sad excuse of what you call her family." Danny generated a near T-pose, assuming Nyar to react negatively to his defense.


    Nyar only sighed with his arms folded in front of his chest. Danny really is more grown up. That short time he spent in Sprawn Valley may have twisted his mind some, but not nearly out of phase. If anything, the experience has only toughened him up, and seeing Jane hugging Taylor could only mean that the two girls here are not as powerful as they may seem. Still, Danny would willingly go out of his way to ignore and deny any sort of law just to make sure Taylor is okay? Would he even let her live by herself in Sprawn Valley to avoid this? Because that is the only current solution available.


    Even Jane made sure to voice her opinion on this, after getting along with Taylor for so long now, and seeing that Danny had the exact right idea. "I''m not letting anything bad happen to my Tay. If her parents do come for her, I''ll hide us both."


    "There is no need for such threatening actions." Nyar puzzled the situation more strongly, sensing that this wasn''t going to work as he initially thought. How could he send Taylor back? She would simply just avoid it somehow, and his successful attempt if ever made would do the world one big harm. Danny would never forgive anyone if that happened, if Taylor became a Banshee slave. "Alright," he sounded. "There might just be one other way to change this situation for the better, but the chances of success are incredibly low."


    Danny lowered his guard, sensing that Nyar wasn''t actually on the side of the enemy. He can''t be so calm right now if he was in opposition. "I know some interesting tricks to transfer custody from one person to another. It''s not an easy legal process, and it will be made more difficult by the fact that I am in current illegal custody of Taylor Feer. But if I somehow succeed in a side-case session, I might be able to manipulate the power those criminals have over you." To this, Nyar addressed Taylor directly, making Jane let go and Danny step aside, though unnecessarily.


    Taylor didn''t have anything she could prepare to say. This was defiantly a shock, but a confusing one to say the least. Nyar is saying that if he can succeed in a case-custody battle, he will become her new daddy.


    Sensing the tensions change quickly, Nyar quickly put his foot down fast enough to make sure no false hopes are given out freely. "I remind all of you that this is unlikely to go my way. If in the event that you desperately need to escape persecution from the Banshee Empire, Taylor, I must inform you that there is one other thing that you can do."


    Danny gasped upon realizing what Nyar was about to say. He wanted to protest, but there was no other way to contemplate a way of doing so. If this happens, Danny will have to make a life changing decision.


    Nyar made sure not to be cryptic in his explanation of Taylor''s final resort option. "If you were to return to Sprawn Valley, then your active status of their citizenship will apply more strongly, and you will have independence so long as you reside there, but this also means you can''t leave Sprawn Valley until you''ve reached eighteen years of age."


    That''s the catch, Danny realized. Taylor could very well avoid legal transfer back to her monstrous parents and avoid being a Banshee slave, if she went away for almost two years never to be seen or heard from. She could hide in Sprawn Valley, and even defend herself there, but Danny would either have to stay behind for the sake of his own family, or use the same escape method Taylor would use to be with her, having little to no contact with his own family in the process for the same amount of time. This just sucks Nyar!


    Nyar quickly changed the subject, hoping nobody would be stupid enough to make a delicate choice on something so heavy right now. "I urge you not to even think about this right now. We won''t be faced with this issue for over a month of time. Even if a child claim lawsuit is filed, I wouldn''t be able to send Taylor back in the first place without money. So we do have time on our side to figure out a solution, and time I can use to change the status of her custody. That is, if you can trust me to try."


    After everyone fell silent, confused thoughts colliding with the contemplation of a serious puzzle of legality issues Nyar was faced with, the offer he made sounded more pleasing the more it was thought of. Eventually, Danny and Taylor both answered with agreement verbally at the same time, and her tears were soon to dry away. Jane sighed in relief that she was just overstressing about a bigger fear, and realized that Nyar really was on their side.


    "I do apologize for bringing up such a heavy subject in the middle of your explanation¡ª"


    Danny cut Nyar off; he didn''t allow Nyar to apologize for this, since it was so required. "Don''t have to," he claimed. "I think this was something we should have covered right now. I want Taylor to be free and happy. If you can help us do that Nyar," Danny was quiet for a few more seconds, only to process how he could thank the man, "then I know that we can always trust you."


    The fact that Danny doesn''t trust him right now is a bit disturbing, but Nyar took this to agreement, assuming Danny meant other things, such as his disposition towards Leray magic and everything else. Either way, this large summary wasn''t over yet. There is still the matter of their new friend to discuss. "Jane Venn? I realize you haven''t had much of a chance to talk about your experiences in Sprawn Valley. I am of course only interested in what happened to involve yourself with my nephew, and urge you to discuss with me how this all started between the three of you."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: {Phantoms (FFX)} ~ Final Fantasy X (Remaster)</a>


    <hr>


    Jane prepared to explain her version of the story, but soon found it less necessary to summarize what she already knew. It''s not like anything different happened than what Danny already told him, and there was only one important aspect to it all. "All my life in Sprawn Valley, I''ve loved Leray magic to its fullest, and I still find it beautiful."


    Another nutcase. Jane''s eyes even light up like he''d never expect just from talking about magic. Nyar exhaled silently and let the girl continue.


    Finding the topic more exciting, Jane let herself drag every thought from the concept to her lips. "I love all of the amazing spells people can use, all of the different strategic ways we can fight, and the fair sport of it all. I''ve dreamed ever since of becoming a Leray master, the best Leray wielder status in the world."


    After letting that ideal sink in, Jane quickly shifted her subject and tone. "But after meeting these two, I learned that there is more to the world than just Leray magic. Don''t get me wrong, I still love it to my heart''s content. I''ll never get tired of it. But..." Jane eyed both Danny and then Taylor with her bright green eyes and smiling luster, using her memories to best guide her tongue. "Danny and Taylor are my best friends. We trained together, traveled together, even fought together in Sprawn Valley, and they''re both such nice people. I''ll admit that I first believed they loved Leray magic as much as I do, but even as I find that not to be certain, we all take care of each other now."


    This is certainly a stunning development, and neither one of them is denying her claims. Why then is this so? It doesn''t make any sense. Jane is saying that just because Danny and Taylor met her in Fronas, they''ve been tight friends? What purpose would that have served? If she loves Leray magic more than them, how would it even last?


    Jane continued quickly from where she left off. "Maybe it''s because I''ve never had friends like these before, but I''d never trade them for the world. I¡ª" Jane almost stuttered to make sure that her explanation wasn''t too embarrassing for them, but she didn''t want to hoard the truth either. "I love Taylor and Danny as my best friends, and I''d never let anything change that."


    Danny was surprised to see this much admission from Jane, since she is often passive aggressive about it in the first place, but even her face was saturating a little more just by saying it. Still, it is true. Danny felt this way too. At first, it was only between himself and Taylor. But now that they are romantically involved, the way Jane describes love in a format of friendship, it just fits how it feels. One can have an acquaintance that they know and sometimes call a friend, but it won''t guarantee to mean much with little connection. With a situation like this, Danny would die to protect Jane, more so for Taylor than for Jane. In truth, it feels like all three of them would do the same both ways. Jane is that type of friend.


    "I must say that is quite odd." Nyar didn''t know how else to put it. A simple friend who would go through such amazing lengths even though she can''t be anything else? Does Jane really feel so strongly about Danny and Taylor as to treat them like family? It can''t be so. "And what of Sprawn Valley and magic? You came all the way here knowing that your magic would be disabled temporarily."


    Jane knew that answer was a no-brainer. "Duh. Why would I stay behind when I can have a vacation with my favorite side-kicks?" Jane knew her phrasing felt mildly cringy, but seeing the smile return to Taylor and even Danny even if from embarrassment was just as heartwarming to her.


    "You do realize they might not ever return to Sprawn Valley, right? What would happen then?"


    Jane''s expression sunk fast, realizing this to be true, although she knew of the possibility beforehand. "Wh¡ª well then I''ll just have to make the most of it, I guess." Nyar had a point. If Danny and Taylor were to go back to Kalamo, Jane would be screwing herself to follow them. She has a family too, and even a full situation back home that she cannot ignore.


    Danny broke the silence before it began to sting. "If that ever happens, we still have phone lines and other ways to stay in touch."


    "I know what you''re thinking Nyar," Jane assumed. "I must miss Leray magic really bad by now, especially after being away from my home for so long, and you''re not wrong to think that. I do miss it." Jane acknowledged that Danny and Taylor were comfortable with her words before finishing her statement. "But my home is always right here, with the people I can trust. Spending time with Danny and Taylor is the reason I wanted to come with. I do have a curiosity about this country, but I don''t think I would have been able to leave if not for them."


    So that''s why she came along? Nyar didn''t protest to the idea, but Jane wasn''t trying to be annoying after all. This certainly complicates things, because now separating one from the three of them is going to be much harder... But Jane can''t live like this forever. Taylor has her own problem to deal with, and no magic in the world can save her. As for Danny, well... There''s no way to tell what will happen here. Jane, you should have stayed behind too, for your own sake. With a loud sigh, Nyar didn''t know what to make of this, though he did try to piece together one thought to another. "I don''t know what''s happening anymore. Why does Sprawn Valley do this to people? They willingly throw their young children into a vast array of dangerous Leray magic. And from there, it''s just every man for himself to figure out these problems. Just chuck everyone into the void!"


    Jane nodded left and right blissfully, knowing Nyar to be wrong. "Hm-mn! That''s incorrect. You''re acting as though magic is dangerous because it has the power to harm. In truth, it does, but Leray magic and dark magic are classified by those different terms for that reason of separation. Only dark magic has the power to cause harm, but Leray magic does so much great to us all, and it can save anyone who uses it the right way."


    "Yeah, so long as that person intends to," Nyar retorted. Here we go again with this. "Why is this so hard to understand? Dark magic is made illegal in Sprawn Valley, right? Do you think that a criminal gives a load about whether something is legal or not?" Having their distraught attention, Nyar made his point very firm and clear. "Let me make this simple for you all. Magic is magic. There is no difference between the two, since virtually everyone has access to it by sheer desire. Therefore, magic can be used to create or to destroy. While you make it sound like this is a controllable situation, it won''t stop villains from using such magic to pursue their own nasty plots."


    "But Nyar," Danny protested. His attempt wasn''t even allowed through his uncle''s talking.


    "Oh, but Leray magic can be used for good and stop the evil." Nyar had shifted his tone entirely to sound completely sarcastic in an ideological manner. "Don''t give me that crap. What makes you think a sixteen-year-old girl can stop all of the horrible things happening in the world? And how could the very possibility cross your mind when the top officials of Sprawn Valley are currently struggling to do the very same, against this new cult I''ve been hearing about? You don''t think news travels? That place is doomed to hell, and there isn''t anything you can do to stop it! Trying will just get you all killed."


    Jane opened her lips just enough to show her teeth, but she couldn''t get anything out. Why is he saying these things? Why won''t Nyar just see how wonderful magic can be? Jane knew that she used Leray magic to stop the spread of Alpha Zero. They''ve already won! The Scarlet Cult won''t be around much longer with Danton on the hunt for their leaders. Magic isn''t this terrible evil thing people make it out to be.


    Nyar saw Jane sink her head lower as she went silent. Oddly, all three of them synchronized to the same behavior. Though he sounded harsh, Nyar knew this to be the truth. It doesn''t matter how much time passes; the same thing never changes. If all of the bad guys in the world were to suddenly go away, new ones would be born, right in the backyard of that terrible nation. If magic were made available to the whole of this planet, the world would live in anarchy and chaos.


    Just as he was about to say more, Nyar''s pager began beeping and making noise, distracting everyone. He forgot that it was still clipped to his back pocket, though surprised it was going off at all. It was only used for work, and he wasn''t expected back in office until tomorrow. Nyar pulled the pager up and read the digital text on the device slowly.


    Danny watched as Nyar''s mood shifted rather quickly, and he began rushing his own things together, already dressed in a button tie jacket that was well suited for something formal. "What''s happening?"


    Nyar didn''t realize this much time had already passed, but he would have to take care of this now, less he regret missing the appointment later on. "I have to catch this appointment with one of my associates. I have a new case already that I have to assist with." Nyar began packing up by holding his small briefcase and his car keys. "I won''t take all night, but I need the three of you to look after yourselves until I come back home, with supper. Danny, do it just like we talked about."


    Nyar was simply referring to Danny being left in charge, but this was so sudden for all of them. Nyar is just going to leave already, back to his job? What the hell are they supposed to do in that time? Even the television doesn''t work! Come on, Nyar!


    "I know you''ll be fine. And Jane?" Nyar waited for Jane to pay him any attention, though her previously excited expression was transformed into a total obvious depression, which he knew was there no hope of fixing right now. All the same, "Just do as they say and stay out of trouble."


    "Yes sir." Jane couldn''t even sound remotely positive about this, but it wasn''t because Nyar was leaving the house for a while. Despite everything she knew, Nyar wasn''t totally wrong about what he said, at least it didn''t feel the same anymore.


    After Nyar left the front door and locked it from the outside, Danny and Taylor both crept closer to Jane, trying to cheer her up and comfort her in spite of Nyar''s pointless argument. But now that things were back on Jane''s mind that she wished she could forget, it was no use right now. Jane at least tried to let them cheer her up, but she needed to sort some things out in her head first.


    Taylor asked Jane if she was going to be back to normal yet, after failing to bribe her with more candy. "It can''t be that bad back at home."


    Without even glancing up, just staring down at her shoes, Jane let it all sink in, particularly about how things are going back home. There is Alyssa and Iona to worry about, though she did leave them with enough instruction not to get themselves into trouble. Right now, Danton is dealing with the Scarlet Cult, but that isn''t the only thing he has to deal with. If these problems don''t ever get solved, nothing will ever change. If only, "Sir Danton..." Jane didn''t mean to say that out loud from her thoughts. Naturally, this caused Danny and Taylor to ask what about Danton was bothering her mind. It wasn''t much of a bother as it was a solid memory from before. There is so much to fix right now, for Jane and for Sprawn Valley both. Right now, Danton is performing the task of his leadership title well, though with incredible stress. But this also involves her directly. Danton must know what he is doing...

 Chapter 4: DNA Sampling

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    <02/13/1972 ¨C 00:45 | Alpha Zero, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    In the heartland of what once was a beautiful area of full-grown groves polished by Mother Nature, now stands a desolate field of ashes, the grave of destruction in totality. This is what happens when magic is used for the wrong reasons; this is the result, the cause and effect of Alpha Zero. Danton could still taste the scent of the burning carbon in his throat, seeping all the way into the interior structure of this small residence of this enemy. The Den of Purity as it was called is nothing more than a monument now, soon to be sentenced to ruin. All of this was made possible by some unknown infusion of dark magic into a wide field, somehow done by just one man, Brightworth.


    That man... If he weren''t tied up right now under the surveillance of his personal team, Danton would certainly knock every tooth out, cut into every muscle... No punishment would appropriate the amount of evil and devastation this has caused, and yet here they are, Danton and the other teams sitting in idle while others search the premises for hidden materials and research documents. In the living quarter''s section of this enemy sanctuary, Danton was almost alone right now. Danny and Taylor were outside somewhere with Mainne, and for some reason, Jane wasn''t with them. "The heat is over now, Jane Venn. You should relax and take a needed rest." Danton was only suggesting what Jane appeared to need. "And with those wounds, that goes double for you." Jane was scarred all over the place, her Sphere Gauge armor broken and chipped in a few places to make her face and hair that much more visible. It looked as though he took a person through a warzone for over a week without any care, and her skin abrasions and burns were everywhere.


    Jane knew Danton was correct on many levels. They already captured professor Brightworth, and now they just have to find the source of his dark magic field, but it was hard to calm down. Jane couldn''t be too familiar with the sensation; the feeling of anxiety brought on after crazy things have happened, while the situation currently needs less awareness. Jane felt as if her adrenaline from the battles would never die down, or perhaps it were the other extra things on her mind. The only sensation forcing her anxiety away was the strong headache brought on by passing out earlier. Though her voice was sore, Jane still attempted to use it to the full extent, expressing her never-ending concerns. "We got Brightworth already." Jane glared into Danton''s silver eyes as they focused on her from above. "But there is still Geiger to worry about. The Scarlets took him on our way to Lennith City, and I still have no idea why."


    That makes less sense for Jane to put it this way. Maybe she really is tired after all of that battling. Even Danton couldn''t subdue that creature, that spawn called Gaia. Yet her team took it down like it was nothing. Her mind should barely be functional in her present state. "You told me back in Lennith that the reason had to do with the E-7 Mark 64 spell bomb prototype that he created while enlisted in the role of the Scarlet Syndicate. And even if he has turned away from that organization, it doesn''t change the fact that the Scarlet enemies have targeted themselves for such a powerful symbol, something we still clearly know nothing about. Now that you have it, the enemy won''t be happy to hear the news." Jane didn''t look as if she agreed with the answer, but noticeable fatigue was also masking her expressions. "Look at it this way then. If they took Geiger for the same device, they don''t know that you''ve used it on yourself already, not yet at least. When they do, it won''t be a good time for either of us."


    Jane held out her entire right arm almost eye level to her face, pondering the mystery behind the marking. "I don''t know why they made this thing. Is there really no way of removing this symbol?"


    Of course she would be concerned about that, anybody would be, but Danton already pardoned Jane for having that mark in the first place. An executive pardon may not stick if the council fights the decision, but Jane doesn''t need to know the politics right now. It''s incredible that she still wants it removed. Most people would have simply taken the symbol and lived with it, but Jane doesn''t see it that way. Coincidence? "Let me see," Danton requested as he shifted his legs to Jane''s held out arm. She had armored gloves on earlier for battle, but took them off upon arriving in this house. Even with her cut up hands visible, there wasn''t a single trace right now of that symbol.


    It''s just like before. Jane can somehow phase her symbol out of sight and mind as if it never existed, but it is still somewhere inside of her, creating one of the most unusual situations ever. Did the Scarlets do this by design as well, creating a means of stealth for their chosen unit to receive this symbol? What would have been their target, assuming it could have realistically been used against anyone, or any security system? Still, it makes no sense! Symbols can''t hide in a person''s blood stream, or beneath skin, or even in phase space. So how is this mark able to mimic that?


    After realizing he was staring at the top of Jane''s hand for more than ten long seconds of silence, Danton snapped himself back to reality, and came up with another idea. "Jane? The more we know about this symbol, the better. And I think it be time to analyze this marking as best we can."


    "How?" Jane pulled back her arm, though intrigued that Danton was thinking of another way to possibly scan her symbol. Deep scans won''t do much except tell Jane how high her ME levels have become in relation to the symbol, but that won''t help rid her of this curse, will it?


    Danton calmly lifted a portable device from the front of his pocket, behind the special robe he was wearing. The small scanner was just above the size of his hands, and it caught Jane''s attention quickly. "This is a molecular scanner, capable of extracting information from as deep as DNA structure." Jane now seemed surprised, but Danton knew it was of little shock to anyone else on his team. He brought the scanner to study any of Brightworth''s magic devices, but the unit can easily be adapted to extract biomaterial too. "Technology is getting better and faster at these things. This device right here will be capable of collecting large amounts of digital data based on DNA profiles, blood cells, and other miscellaneous biological material."


    "It can scan the symbol?" Jane never realized that Sir Danton had this! That device could tell everyone the key to removing this thing. "What are we waiting for? Scan me now!" Jane held out her arm in front willingly, but Danton was hesitant to do anything.


    "Be patient, and sit in that recliner next to you. I''ll call Brock in to assist." Jane did as Danton instructed, but she had no idea what she was in for. These molecular scanners are not user friendly for extracting bio-data on living creatures; the pain level it can cause on a single person may be just as bad as that of the worst pain inflicting spells one may know. She''ll have to be held down.


    While Jane waited nervously for Danton''s friends to arrive, he only brought in Brock to the main room, explaining the situation to him. Brock then crept behind Jane''s seat, and prepared to help Danton with his scanning equipment, more so to prepare Jane. "Jane? I want you to remain still and calm." Brock bent over the seat and held Jane''s lower arms down against each rest, as if his body weight and position became a sort of restraint for her. "Don''t get us wrong, but this will hurt."


    Danton waited for the expected panic, and Jane did noticeably tense up in surprise, but she didn''t lash out or say anything. It''s as if she wanted to be tortured if it produced even a remote chance for a cure to her symbol problem. How valiant of her! "This won''t take long, but there really is no other way to make this happen. It won''t do any real damage to your cells, but it will be quite painful. I just need you to bear with us."


    "Hurry," Jane exclaimed. She just wanted to get it over with. Without Danny and Taylor here right now, she knew this would be even less comfortable. But if they were here, surely they would start some sort of argument about the process being inhumane. Please stay outside you two! There is no need to see this.


    Danton powered on the battery operated portable device, with LED lights zoning out from the machine. After a quick calibration, Danton placed the suction tip on the top of Jane''s right hand, and waited for the automated program to do the rest. In a few more seconds, several tiny needles pierced through her skin, one into her bone, all of which were used to extract biomaterial that could later be used for analysis.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Immediately did Jane tense up, clenching her teeth and trembling with mild muffled groans. Danton didn''t need to try and compare the pains, as it was obvious on Jane''s current expression that this needed to be finished fast. But the device still wasn''t done, and a lot of biomaterial such as blood, marrow, and other sources needed to be extracted. It took only six more seconds, but for Jane, they were the longest six seconds out her entire day. She wanted to scream no doubt, as tears were already flooding to her eyes, but at last, it was over. The needles shrunk back into the device, the LED turning from a solid blue to a solid green color state. Danton lifted the device and gave Jane his condolences while preparing his supply sphere for the device''s storage. "It''s over. You won''t ever have to do that again, and this material should provide us with an answer to what is actually going on inside of your magical symbol."


    Jane felt every nerve relax inside of her, but the stinging in her right hand bothered her to no end. "Why does it have to be painful?"


    Realizing that Jane wasn''t all that serious for an answer, Danton provided one nonetheless while waiting on anything to come up positive for a search, and Brock let go of Jane to continue the sweep of the area. "All of this magic we involve ourselves with has its own origin. Through it all, it''s the science that has made it all possible. These things we do daily are more based on special research and scientific integration than we both realize Jane. Therefore, I have no doubt that this scan we just performed will tell us what is going on with you, the moment we put it through the lab in Eldora Tower."


    "You have a lab there too?"


    Danton wasn''t shocked that Jane didn''t know this, as it is not public knowledge. The interior contents of Eldora Tower, particularly the floors that contestants never get to visit because they are restricted access areas ¨C are highly classified. "We do. And in that lab, we have experts that can provide objective data on every cell you have, to see the changes that the symbol could have made to you. This research however will take a lot of time."


    "Well I do have a lot of time." Jane carefully stood up from her seat, covering her right hand using her left. "So what now then?"


    Danton summarized the simplicity of his work for Jane. "It''s the same plan as before. While the molecular scan is analyzed, I''ll be doing my part to rehabilitate Lennith City, scour the Outback for any incriminating evidence to see what Brightworth was searching for, and use other resources to locate the leaders of the Scarlet Cult. I will also of course try to find Geiger alive and well."


    Jane sighed noticeably, as if that explanation alone took off stress she was building up from before. "That''s good. I don''t think I''ll be able to help you with that until I''ve healed though."


    "Exactly. I wouldn''t let you take part in a search with your unhealed wounds. After all, the Scarlet Cult are very dangerous people with the power to kill regardless of the protective veil."


    It was as she thought. Jane knew that Danton was protective of these injuries, but Jane actually had no intention of involving herself in the search, not after the rationalization they''ve come to earlier. Soon, the Scarlet enemies will know she is marked. This does make it dangerous for her, but Danny and Taylor have other plans themselves.


    "Then there should be no worries." She could feel solace returning to her, Jane''s previous adrenaline kicking down while Brightworth was securely tied up in the basement of his own home, being interrogated while Danton over-sought the operation here, but as she tried to relax with glorious words, Danton''s reaction was rather disturbing.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Mooncave ~ Brandon Fiechter</a>


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    Now pacing the room, Danton decided to open up to the girl who defeated her in a championship battle, realizing how naive she has let herself become. "That may be true for you, but we have our work cut out for us."


    "Y-you do?"


    Danton answered with his words of warning already given to himself, though he felt as if he traveled so far behind time just thinking about it. "Right now, we, the elite five - including myself are in the middle of a new investigation of what could possibly be one of the world''s biggest threats we''ve ever seen."


    What is Danton talking about? Jane couldn''t put any logic to it. Wasn''t the biggest threat Alpha Zero? This place is going to die out soon, at least the evil magic of it will. What''s left to worry about? The Scarlet enemies?


    "The more time that passes, the more I feel that the leaders running the Scarlet Cult are not these random people we''ve made them out to be in our minds. Only powerful warriors such as my personal team and us would be capable of conducting all of these illegal activities so successfully, and I say that goes double for evidence since the Scarlet Cult has been around for nearly a decade with little to no significance on our populous."


    "Wait a minute," Jane caught. "Are you saying that the people running the Scarlet Cult, they''re not random criminals? You know who they are?"


    Danton didn''t want to admit this, but such traumatizing experiences could not forever be blacked out from Jane, or from himself. "Let me put it briefly. If you ever come anywhere near the actual leaders of the Scarlet Cult, your life is in immediate danger, even for a person such as yourself suited with a highly powerful symbol in your hand. They don''t care about the value of life, and their moral principles have been twisted by the tempting powers of the arts of dark magic manipulation. But I won''t say that I know who the leaders are, only since I still have no real evidence to back up such a wild theory."


    "Oh..." Jane didn''t mean to sound so depressed, but just talking about people who use dark magic was a dark topic in itself. Dark magic is incredibly dangerous and powerful, yet criminals use it knowing this fact, and would willingly kill or harm other people to get their way. But then why have the Scarlet Cult been so active lately, of all natural enemies of Leray magic?


    Danton wound up in a trance of thought, which Jane tended to ignore, perhaps in her own trance. What if he was right all along? What if they have turned this evil? What if they''ve fully grown to integrate their own leadership into the Scarlet Syndicate? Those murderers! They can''t be allowed to get away with this!


    Iona had her own run-in with recruits of the Scarlet Syndicate. They''re growing in numbers quickly, but why? The system of Leray magic and battles works so brilliantly. Why would anyone want to destroy what already works to protect the people from their own fun sport? Why would people embrace dark magic to such extreme levels? Jane let herself ask the personal question, after thinking about it for so long and hard. Danton would certainly have the easy answer to this one. "Hey Danton? How does it work? The process of Leray magic, and that of my symbol; what happens if I step outside of Sprawn Valley itself, outside of the veil?"


    That''s a strange question, but one very obvious to answer. "It''s as anyone would expect. Your ability to use or wield magic would suddenly be blocked. This would also include natural effects that the protective veil provides, such as immunities to unnatural deaths and sleep rejection. But as for your symbol, all of our current research over the years has proven that even symbols are blocked out by the lack of a magical veil. You won''t be able to use magic or wield your unusual symbol outside of this country, which I happen to find comforting to say the least."


    That''s good news. Jane wondered if her symbol would still function or behave outside of Sprawn Valley, but it won''t happen that way. Even if the outside world is dangerous, it''s also where Danny and Taylor will be soon. They won''t be able to use magic either.


    "Listen." Danton wielded his Mega-Staff tightly in preparation to continue the interrogations on Brightworth, but this needed to be taken care of too. "I''m going to hand you a paper card with my personal cellular phone number on it." Already holding the card out for Jane, Danton realized that her contact would be necessary to figure this all out, since she is still involved in this. "I''m going to provide you with a secure mobile phone that I already have the number to, as it will work anywhere in the world. I want you to have it charged and powered on at all times to receive updates from the molecular scans when there are any. I''ll be the only one making such calls."


    "Okay." Jane accepted the card and the small device, though was surprised that this mobile telephone had been invented before. They must be expensive.


    "I also want you to call my number if you are able to reveal at any time any information about the mystery regarding the Scarlet Cult and their activities. It will be very important these days to stay in touch."


    "Okay." Jane felt a bit awkward by accepting the number from someone so formal and grown up, but it was strictly a professional gesture either way; Danton looks like he cares more about his investigation right now. Jane hid the paper and cellphone elsewhere on her, planning only to use it as necessary.


    Danny and Taylor would be coming back inside soon, and Danton had to attend to the matters at hand. Jane was then left alone, all with her thoughts about the direction the world was being swung to, but nothing could be done about it right now. With the molecular scans taken, it would only be a matter of a long time before she could learn anything new about her symbol. On top of that, there was the Scarlet Cult on his mind too, on everyone''s mind, but Jane knew it in her gut. She can''t justify staying here much longer, not when her best friends will be somewhere else far off into an unknown territory.


    Mainne huffed quietly while standing just behind the corner of the wall concealing her presence from Danton. There was nothing wrong with the way he was involving Jane, but his sudden worry about the Scarlet Cult was genuine after all. It wasn''t Mainne''s style to eaves drop on Danton like this, but she had to be certain that he wasn''t losing it. Danton can''t just say these things if he isn''t sure about this.


    Mainne could remember such better days where she and Danton were able to practice magic together with her friends, back when things weren''t so tense. But if those certain people really are involved with the Scarlet Syndicate, it changes everything, and Danton''s state of mind won''t be in the right place anymore... No! It just isn''t possible! Those people would never join a task force that kills innocent people with the very magic they grew up on. Danton, you''re right to be upset, but you''ve got the wrong guys pinned into your scopes. Please don''t fall into this hole once more. You might not make it out again like the first time.


    Mainne knew she wanted to say these things to Danton indirectly, but he would just brush it off and pretend not to understand what she was talking about. There just has to be some way to prove what is really going on here. "I don''t care what those freak shows in the council say." Mainne began whispering to herself, a promise to everyone. "I will find out who is responsible for this. I will prove that this wasn''t the work of our past selves."

 Chapter 5: Cider de Gal

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    <02/15/1972 ¨C 19:41 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    After the dawn broke away from the silent skies filled with a winter sheet of fog, the house grew evermore silent. Taylor and Jane tried to talk about some of the moments they''ve had in the past growing up just to pass the time, but Danny grew restless and irritated by the lack of anything to do. He even examined the front and back of the living room television thoroughly with no success of finding any real cause of major flaws. The device simply would not power on for anyone.


    Well after situating themselves into the house and unpacking all of their clothing and personal items, Danny checked out the entire kitchen for food in the pantry or in the refrigerator. It''s as if Nyar abandoned the kitchen long ago, leaving little food for a trace. Though he wasn''t hungry just yet, it wouldn''t be much longer until then. Why couldn''t Jane bring some of that Sprawn Valley food with her?


    Taylor already put away the clothes in the single closet they all had to share, and the three of them took turns showering in the bathroom for comfort of heat and cleanliness. Nyar wasn''t kidding about the heater system. The device was set only to 66<sup>o</sup>F. The control panel was actually locked in a plastic case with a keyhole on the edge, emphasizing Nyar''s message about not changing the thermostat.


    Taylor changed into one of the better dresses of style she bought from Eldora City while in Sprawn Valley; such clothing would be ordinary and infused with no magical energy. Apparently, if one drags any object that is said to be protected by the properties of magic - outside of the veil, then the protection simply breaks, permanently so. This didn''t make the load of carry any lighter for the two of them.


    Danny had a change of outfit too; a button-up long-sleeve beige colored dress shirt, and a brighter pair of jeans that looked comfortable for his fit. Taylor had to admire once more that Danny''s sense of proper dress wear was much improved from the many months before. So much has he changed since then.


    Jane noticed Taylor''s eyes drifting to and beaming below Jane''s neck, and remembered that she still had that necklace equipped right now. She must be curious. "I got this thing from Alyssa." Jane held up the jade color gemstone level to her eyes so that Taylor could get a closer look. "She said it was something I could have to remind me of her."


    Taylor wasn''t certain why Jane so quickly brought that up, but her curiosity was already peaked by how beautiful the gemstone reflected light. She remembered Jane wearing that thing before, but didn''t it have some sort of magical effect too? Too bad it won''t work here, and if the rumors are true, Jane just permanently broke any passive magical effect it would ever have by bringing it here. "You and Alyssa, you met back at Lennith Academy? What was that place like, and what is she like?"


    Before Jane could answer to anything, the sudden pop of the front door opening had herself and Taylor jump up a millimeter in surprise. Danny was by the dining table in seconds, when they recognized his uncle Nyar walk through the door with a puffy warm dark coat around him, and small brown bags in his hands.


    Nyar struggled to get inside the house while Danny offered to assist in putting away the food he said to bring back home, preferably to put it into his stomach. Nyar realized quickly just how bored these kids must be, but there isn''t much that can be done about that tonight. He noticed while bringing in the frigid air from outdoors the change in apparel and the smell of shampoo spreading throughout the house. That bathroom better be spotless!


    Jane let her friends help drag the few bags of food to the table, most of which were standard items like a loaf of bread, a box of cereal, and some milk. Jane recognized most of the material since Sprawn Valley imports a lot of American food in alongside of the nation of Japan. But now that Nyar was here, it was time to get the night started. "Hey Nyar? Can we go somewhere? There''s nothing to do around here."


    Nyar figured Jane might ask about this, but right now is much too soon, even if she does sound sad about being bored. Without magic, what do these people do? "I was just out there. I''m staying in right now."


    Danny wondered why it only took Nyar a few hours at most to go to his job, whereas most jobs take longer to get home from. "What was that client case thing you had? It didn''t take as long as I thought."


    Indeed. Nyar knew it himself, as the day held still in the middle of the transformation towards nightfall, assisted in time by the lack of sunshine. He let out a stressed sigh just to answer the boy''s question. "I won''t be getting called in like that again. Anybody could have answered those questions for my client. The idiots want me back and they don''t even have a real case for me to work. So I am home just a little early. You''ll have to make those groceries last for tonight and tomorrow morning." Nyar projected his last sentence forward, ensuring it reach Jane and Taylor.


    Jane wasn''t finished. Nyar still had to provide something to fill their leisure. "You don''t have any TV, or card games, not even a fireplace."


    Frustrated with Jane already, Nyar voiced his reminders to her immediately. "What did you think you were walking into Jane? A vacation is all fun and games, but you can''t have one until I''ve set up the funding for your stays."


    Danny noticed quickly how defeated Jane was by Nyar''s lasting decree. Honestly, it isn''t very fair at all. He had more to do at ordinary school in Kalamo than here in this house. It is a nice house, but it''s also void of anything that can be used, even for something productive. Then you come here and bring us all minimal food, and expect wonderful praise? Danny glanced back at Nyar, now in sync with his friend instead of his uncle. "Come on Nyar. We can''t just sit around all night and day with nothing to do."


    Nyar was silent only for a second, to which he replied, "I had intended for the three of you to use my backup work laptop to browse the internet for job sites, putting in part time applications and posting availability for those companies. But I can''t set this up until tomorrow evening, and the TV breaking is just bad luck and bad timing. So that''s how it is."


    Danny couldn''t totally understand what Jane was thinking, but if he had to guess, she must be totally upset right now. Jane came here thinking this would be an exploratory vacation. They just talked about going to the beach, or a movie theatre, and everywhere else, but Nyar isn''t even talking about these things in his promises. "What about back outside?" he tested. "There isn''t anywhere in New York we could go to pass the time? I thought this was such a big city."


    Close enough. Nyar first had to comment to himself silently that Danny once again mixed up the meaning of a city and a state. Sure, they''re in New York, but this city is called Manhattan, just a tiny fraction of New York despite having a massive population scale. Either way, Danny was simply asking to go out somewhere, and after feeling bad about spending little on food where he still had plenty of wallet space left, Nyar thought of a good idea for this rather quickly. "Fine." Before he could finish, their expressions all lit up so quickly. "I''ll take you out to eat. It will complement the snacks I brought here, and you get to do something. Sound fair?"


    Jane jumped up out of her seat with one fist in the air, the gesture of success in her tone. "Yes! Who-hoo!"


    Nyar almost laughed, not at how odd Jane was behaving, but by that look of embarrassment on Taylor''s face, short lived as it was. Jane always has this energy it seems, and it certainly would be embarrassing at such a well-established restaurant. Jane better behave herself this time. Why do they even stick around her? "I''ll decide what you can get though, since we are on a budget."


    "What''s the place called?"


    Nyar answered Danny willingly, since pronouncing the name itself was satisfying. "Cider de'' Gal. They''re a mix of a restaurant and a bar, much more of a bar by nightfall. They have excellent food there for affordable spending. It''s the reason I always go."


    "Cider de'' Gal?" Taylor repeated the name back to herself. It was a mouthful to pronounce, but the thought of all that food was making this worth it, and they get to explore more of the city at the same time. Right now, Jane isn''t the only one ready to leave.


    Nyar pointed to the bag on the table. "Well put that thing in the fridge and get ready to head out. I''ll be waiting in the car." Nyar went back outside into the brisk, standing by the door to make sure he could lock the house after the kids get out here. They won''t take long, not if they''re this excited just to get out somewhere.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Air Harmony ~ Star Ocean 3 OST</a>


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    The drive into the city wasn''t as fast as they wished it could be, but Nyar knew of the route and the average time it would take on the road, which was about 30 minutes even during nightfall. By the time they arrived at the bright and shinning neon banner of the restaurant, the skies above them were pitch black. Nyar found his parking spot quickly and escorted the teens into the building. It was easier since their excitement was for the interior of the restaurant, that or the food. By the time they''ve made it inside of Cider de'' Gal, the atmosphere noticeably changed in every way.


    Other than the comforting warmth provided by the heating system of the building, there were neon light sources everywhere, from the advertising of the bar to the crystal bulbs hanging from above. All of the table booths by each window had a hanging lamp with a source of light in constant fluctuation of color. The bar itself was outfitted with hundreds of bottles just for the display shelf in the back, where other neon distractions decorated the area. Then there was the flat panel television screen in the far corner aimed at an angle good enough to see from here. The channel was tuned to the sport of football.


    Danny recognized two things he recently saw. The first was the flat panel television screen. They aren''t common from Kalamo, not even in Sprawn Valley, but Eldora Tower was provided one about fifty times this size just to watch the tournament. The other additive was the subtle beats of music that were somewhat similar to that of what he heard in the car radio. They were playing on speakers high up on the ceiling, giving additional mood to the aesthetics of the place. It wasn''t until a few more seconds when everyone could then smell the incredible yet mysterious food from the back of the kitchen.


    Nyar waited for the host to show up from behind the counter of the bar, patient since he recognized the routine quickly. "Here we have a bar combined with a restaurant, one with few waiters. In America, we call these diners."


    "Wait a minute..." Danny and Taylor both looked confused at the same time, but it was Jane who made the sudden comparison.


    "It''s just like that one place in Eldora," she spoke. "They have a diner there too."


    Nyar winced slightly. "They what?" When did Sprawn Valley steal this idea?


    Jane couldn''t count all of the differences here though. This place is beautiful! "It''s nothing like this though. This place is amazing!"


    Before Nyar could process Jane''s comparison to the fact that they have seen some places similar in Sprawn Valley, host Huestace showed up to greet them. "Evening Nyar! Didn''t realize you''re already back." Nyar calmed his nerves quickly and shook hands with Huestace. They''ve known each other for years now. This guy has managed to keep this job and practically run the place at best. Despite this, he is still officially the bartender of Cider de'' Gal... And the host sometimes... And probably other things too.


    "Well I couldn''t be gone for too long." Nyar casually wagged two of his fingers together towards Huestace. "Who would keep you out of trouble?"


    Huestace snickered from the joke Nyar made to set his own mood, but it was certainly refreshing to see this man with three kids now. There''s no way he hit it off and made this work so quickly without saying anything. "Who''s our guests tonight?"


    Nyar patted Danny''s back while standing tall to speak to his old friend. Danny and the others were acting a bit shy right now, perhaps only because they weren''t expecting to see his own connections here. "Don''t get the wrong idea now. Only this one right here is related to me. Meet my nephew, Danny."


    Danny sensed he would have to shake hands as well... Yep, just as expected did Huestace extend his arm to him. "Good to meet."


    Huestace didn''t see that much resemblance between Nyar and Danny, but this was at least believable. "I''m Huestace, one of Nyar''s pals. And who are these fine ladies with you tonight?"


    Nyar wanted to introduce them on their behalf, but Jane and Taylor beat him to it. Thankfully none of their formal introductions were weird or unusual.


    "I''m Taylor Feer."


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "And I''m Jane Venn."


    Nyar added the details in for them. "They''re essentially extra guests that I''ve been asked to take care of for a while. So we''ll be dining here tonight. Best prepare your chefs for their appetites."


    Huestace had a sudden expression of mild concern unreadable to any of them, and he leaned in slightly towards Nyar, hoping to whisper in code. "Think you can show me something in the back?"


    Nyar knew already what he meant by that, but this isn''t going to happen tonight. It''s been too long of a day for this Huestace. "Not this time. We''ll just take a good seat tonight, if you don''t mind."


    It''s that serious then. Huestace knew that Nyar may have been set up to take care of possible foster kids or something of the sort. It''s totally unusual for this guy to go out of his way to take care of anyone who isn''t his relative family member, such as the extra kids he''s straggling along, but normally he''s more open about it. Otherwise, the situation isn''t good. How could it be? "I''ll prepare everything for you now. First let''s show you to a table."


    This didn''t take very long, only because the business right now wasn''t heavy or medium. Other than two families and a loner sitting at the bar, there were practically no other customers in here right now, making the area nice and quiet. After sitting down at a booth that could support exactly four people, two per side with a view outdoors of the street, Huestace took off to prepare taking the order, while Nyar complimented what was now apparent of good public fashion sense. "Danny? You''re looking sharp right now. You''ve picked the right outfits to go out, all three of you. I''m proud to say the most."


    Danny didn''t know what to reply. Did Nyar really expect the three of them to dress poor or horribly? Is it because he spent time in Sprawn Valley? Not everybody dresses weird Nyar. The people that do - defiantly stand out, not in a good way either.


    Nyar hit a tiny button on the top of the lamp in front of him, causing the color changing light to stay in linear mode to give off a normal radiance of yellow, and it wasn''t much longer before Huestace came back here with four menus. Danny and Nyar sat on one side, while the girls sat on the other, making it harder to deduce what the connections here were. Maybe Nyar will talk about it later, but for now, he''s doing well to avoid bar gossip.


    "Thanks," Nyar appreciated. "They''ll need time to decide. But for now, what do you all want for drinks?"


    "Water." "Water." "Water."


    Hearing three waters one after the other sounded majestic, but what the heck has gotten into them? Danny rarely drank water, relying more on sports drinks or other electrolytic beverages. Taylor probably can''t be spoken for, but Sprawn Valley really doesn''t need to ban all of the good stuff. "Come on. Just waters? That''s all we''re getting?"


    While Taylor and Jane were in immediate agreement, Danny soon realized that Nyar was still going to indulge them to a degree, and that he actually did not have anything but water for a very long time. All of the sports drinks from Kalamo were delicious and full of sugar, but what would they even have here for a substitute? "What would they have here that''s good?"


    Nyar cursed himself for placing the choice upon himself like that. Danny did drink things other than water, but Nyar wouldn''t know what they have here, and he still isn''t all in total sync with the boy''s desires for food or drinks. Danny is either a Coke drinker, or a coffee lover... Tea perhaps? "Let''s try a coke. I''ll order a second water just in case. And for myself," Nyar glanced up at Huestace, trusting him with the information so far. "I''ll have the Argus Malta."


    So he plans to not sleep either? Huestace wrote it all down, noting that Nyar usually does order the Argus Malta blend, but only on his busy nights. Argus Malta is the name of a blended malt drink with wine, mixed with caffeine to counter the effects of feeling drunk, despite the drink containing such a low content of alcohol overall. It''s just for people like Nyar, when he needs a drink, but also can''t afford to drag himself to sleep; and it tastes really good, making it a popular beverage in this diner alone. "I''ll be back to take the rest of the orders." After Nyar saw him off, Huestace took the note to the counter to prepare the order soon to be, and prepared to pour more of the drinks from the shelves.


    Nobody was new to ordering food off a menu. For Danny and Taylor, they learned how to do this mostly on the Tidal Max, since the cruise was high caliber for serving amazing food in their primary restaurant at seas. For Jane, she has been to restaurants before near her hometown, recently to Chapel''s Diner in Eldora City. As they found the exotic American meals they were looking for, to whatever sounded delicious, each one would read it aloud back to themself, mainly for Nyar to hear.


    "Fettuccini Alfredo with grilled chicken and seasoning?" Jane went first, barely pronouncing each word correctly from the menu. "What is all this stuff?"


    Nyar replied to Jane, coaxing her to go with the meal she just described. Another reason why this place is so popular is that these amazing foods are incredibly cheap in price, making it affordable. Needless to say however, this will be the last time they go out to eat together, for a long time anyway. "I think you would like that dish, Jane, but choose wisely. You only get once chance to get the meal you want. I won''t order twice."


    After Jane locked in her selection with minor hesitation, Taylor went next, picking the most interesting meal while reading the entire description with the title. "Ki Ngombo; French Roux with German sausage, spinach seafood, peppers, and okra. I''ve only heard of one of those ingredients before."


    "Well now you get to try them all. That is a very big meal," Nyar warned. With that, Taylor accepted her choice, putting Danny under the same pressure.


    But there was no need for any pressure. Danny knew that what he found was what he wanted. Since Nyar wasn''t setting an official price range, this should suffice. "I want the medium eight ounce steak saut¨¦ed in white cheese sauce mixed with mild Cajun and bourbon soy sauce."


    Nyar raised one eyebrow, impressed by how confidently he wanted this meal, and by the fact that it was way more expensive than what the other two were ordering. But to be fair, Nyar''s drink would be the same price when mixed with his own choice, and it is a classic full meal worth dying for. "Getting fancy aren''t we? I''ll get these things for you, but if you don''t finish them, they''ll go home as leftovers, and you''ll finish them there. Understood?"


    Danny responded knowing that in translation, Nyar meant that he wouldn''t bring them here again simply because this was outside of his ordinary price range. Nyar said it was affordable, but that term is subjective to specific menu meal items. The real food here is almost too expensive, but it sure does sound incredible. Still, that has yet to be tested. "Understood."


    After Huestace came back for the full order while handing out all of the drinks, Nyar placed all three of the orders into the man''s little pocket book, while he gave an order for himself to eat. Nyar simply ordered the German rolls, which are bread rolls seasoned with garlic and herbs, filled with scrambled eggs. It''s much cheaper, but also something he was used to eating here. He already knew that this bill would soon shoot up close to $62 USD, but it was already late to take this back from them. While Huestace wrote everything down, Danny tried to sip on his coke drink. Unfortunately for Nyar, Danny showed no liking or disliking to the drink. Don''t be afraid to say if it''s messed up!


    "Alright, we''ll have it ready in about twenty-five," Huestace announced. After confirming with Nyar, he went away to give the order slip to the cooks.


    Nyar assessed that the long wait time wasn''t long considering all of the food Danny and his cohorts just asked for. The restaurant doesn''t close until 02:00, well away from the current time.


    The evening grew less eventful during the long wait, of which was most boring since nobody wanted to talk about anything. To be more specific, Jane and Taylor were both squeamish about saying anything magic related in front of Nyar realizing his heavy disposition, and Danny only managed to sip on the coke three times before switching over to the backup water Nyar ordered. It seems Nyar chose wrong, and that means Danny is a coffee person just like himself.


    By the time the food arrived, the lust from hunger took over for everyone, as the suspense to eat it all grew stronger, but Nyar already knew they had enough table manners to wait for Huestace to leave them be before digging in, specifically so that he could make sure everything was good. With all of the delicious food steaming into everybody''s face, it was high time to give it taste.


    Nyar began first, understanding that he would never get tired of these rolls, less he ate them every day, which wouldn''t be possible on his budget alone, but he noticed everyone else taking their time just to saver the smell and steam of their meals, as if they were demanding permission to consume anything. Speaking through his half-chewed food, Nyar encouraged that his money not go to immediate waste. "Dig in now."


    Danny went first, cutting up a piece of his steak with the steel knife provided for him, and holding the meat down the other end with a fork. The seasoning and sauce remained on the top of the chub, and Danny soon got the separation he needed to put his taste buds to the test of ultimate glory.


    Jane tried her Alfredo, which immediately coaxed her into trying a double sized bite to help stuff her face with a taste that she never once achieved in all her life! "Hmmm!" Jane didn''t mean to say anything, but she could barely control herself by the time the taste was all there; the seasoned grilled chicken and the cheesy noodles shaped like skinny rectangles. What is this called again? Why do they not have this in Sprawn Valley?


    The Ki Ngombo Taylor was trying was especially yummy compared to anything she had ever had before, ten times more pleasant than Jane''s homemade Magellos soups. Taylor too was entranced by the amazing food from this place. Cider de'' Gal; she will never forget this restaurant name.


    Nyar was impressed that nobody so far objected to anything they were trying. Everyone went out of their way to order something less usual for first time diners at this place. Danny seemed to be enjoying his steak, sipping on the water that was provided... Guess he doesn''t like coke. Still, Jane is stuffing her face along with Taylor. He would have expected a bit more of a fight.


    Jane sniffed from her running sinuses and took her time to chew before complimenting the meal, thanking Nyar for the opportunity. "This is American food? Why don''t they ever import it back where I live? I could eat this every day!"


    Danny joined the conversation by slowing down and giving himself more time to digest and saver the rest of the large contents on the plate. "They''ve really outdone themselves here Nyar. I''ve never had anything this good before."


    "Not even in Sprawn Valley?" Nyar had to test his question extensively, even if they would realize that he was testing this food by comparison.


    "Not even there."


    Nyar was quickly puzzled by how easy Danny''s confession was. He didn''t even blink to denounce the taste of their food back in magic land. How far down the scale did that rating just go? What the hell do they feed their people there?


    Danny soon elaborated on the fact that his very access to great foods in Sprawn Valley was limited for a long time. "Well, we were surviving on light weight rations from the moment we arrived."


    "I see." Way to kill such an amazing compliment. Cider de'' Gal and food rations doesn''t even belong in the same sentence together.


    "So naturally, that didn''t taste very good in the first place, but after Taylor and I accumulated more credits that we were able to use in Eldora City, we tested out one of their restaurants, a diner similar to this one, well, without the artwork." Danny could tell that everyone around him was listening, despite already having heard the story. Nyar was the exception to hearing this more than once, but he appeared to be the most focused after pausing his mealtime. "Either way, at the time, I thought I was eating well... But this stuff right here..." Danny knew Nyar was actually waiting for him to spit this out, only realizing it now since he hates Sprawn Valley, and would jump at the chance to mock any part of that country just because of its traditions. At least this isn''t a low blow. "I''ll never be able to properly complement Sprawn Valley food again."


    Nyar couldn''t completely hide a slight smirk forming, but he didn''t let this get to him completely. "What did I tell ya? Cider de'' Gal has great food. Lots of American food is delicious. I''m sure I''ll have you all trying pizza and chicken in no time."


    Jane felt far behind being unable to mentally identify that term, but it sounded like it was some type of animal or livestock. America is supposed to have a much larger addition to wild life than Sprawn Valley does, something said to be done intentionally as to ensure that animals in Sprawn Valley do not mutate from the magical infusion. But the meaning of a chicken was still yet to be known to her, even though she heard of steak and beef. Chicken must be some other animal cut up for cookable meat, but it tastes really good!


    Taylor continued eating in silence, but it soon bothered her that nobody could reach a topic of discussion... No, that''s not what felt out of place here. It''s the reason they are here to begin with, the reason they''ve come to New York. Jane in particular doesn''t look all that excited anymore. She is enjoying all of that pasta no problem, but the look on her face says it all. In truth, the way Jane acts is often cringy, but it''s also a sign that Jane is okay and working correctly. She''s excited all the time; she''s supposed to be, and Nyar shut her down earlier. Something he said back at home made her silent ever since, but this isn''t supposed to be tough for her. Jane came here for a vacation. If you can''t ask him, I will!


    Taylor cleared her throat slightly, and directed what she needed to say to Nyar. "Hey Nyar? I know I already asked before, but what sort of awesome places can we visit in the near future? There has to be more than restaurants around here, right?" It was already working. Jane slowed her pace of eating, even though she was almost done inhaling the food. Her posture changed to focus her hearing in this direction, even though she was acting too modest to care.


    Nyar replied differently this time, realizing that Taylor wasn''t trying to go to these places tonight. "I know that you all came here for vacation''s sake, and while I will have you searching for jobs online tomorrow, that is something that cannot be done for an entire day''s length. So if I get the time, I''ll swing you by Pride Park tomorrow. It''s only a kilometer west of this fine establishment."


    "I wonder what the parks here are like." Finally perking up her expression, Jane was already into the idea of visiting new places tomorrow. "Alright. I''m adding that to the visit list. What else do we have?"


    That was certainly fast. Nyar wasn''t expecting to see Jane''s eyes of excitement glimmer again just at the chance to explore anything. Come to think of it, she hasn''t totally been herself since they''ve left for this restaurant. Or maybe he is just reading her wrong. Such a strange girl, and she hardly acts her own age. But now that she asked, "We also have the Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn, New York. Though I''ve already taken the time to map out Ducan Port, a specific section of the massive shoreline."


    "Specific section?" Taylor repeated. "How large is this Coney Beach?"


    "It''s about the size of five standard beaches put together, more than a couple of miles stretch." Nyar didn''t remember the exact figure, but it wasn''t important. The important part of this is that the plan to visit the beach was genuine in his earlier statement. On the plus side, Danny would immerse himself better here since he was already interested in surfing, and clearly interested in women his age.


    "When can we go?"


    Nyar knew Taylor or Jane would bother him about this detail again. "On a later day at a different time." That''s all they need to know, since he can''t clarify the day himself with the busy schedule he has every day. Nyar took a sip of his Argus Malta to help everything sink in.


    Danny briefly recalled a mental glance at a paper map he looked at earlier, one very specific to highlight such wonderful places. One in particular caught his mind. "I''ve heard of this thing called Cyrus Water Park nearby here. But what''s the difference between that and a beach?"


    Danny must have planned to go to both places, bolstering everyone''s curiosity to increase the chances that he would agree to such a thing. This one-month stay might quickly turn into two months by the time his wallet is begging for mercy. "Cyrus Water Park? Yeah, I know it. We can find out there too someday."


    Taylor realized it was her turn to try and remember one of the things Danny mentioned earlier. "I heard of some interesting places too. Apparently they have fashion shows here, though I''m not certain what they''re all about."


    "You probably have to be older to participate," Nyar discouraged.


    "Oh!" Taylor jumped. "But they have this Helena Outlet Mall in New York too. I want to go and checkout everything they have. Jane, you''ll come with me there too, right?"


    "Of course," Jane agreed. "I also have a few places already in mind I''d like to hit."


    Nyar was suddenly frozen out of phase. What just happened here? Only a moment ago did he have full control of this schedule and how this will all work. But they can''t really be serious about exploring every nook and cranny of this entire city, can they? When did they even get the time to look up or research all of these different places? Is Danny hiding a cellphone or a laptop? Great! Now Jane won''t calm down! They''re just going on and on and on about what places they want to go to; even Danny is in on it...


    Nyar sighed loudly, trying not to be rude to interrupt, and he masked it by gulping down more of his drink, but he noticed near silence the moment he opened his mouth. Someway, he had to let them know that they''re getting too far ahead of themselves. "I hope you realize that we must be selective on where to go. I don''t have the funding to take you to every single one of these places."


    Jane recalled Nyar mentioning a money problem, but her current credit count should have already taken care of that. Did he already forget? "What about all of the credits I have saved up on my card? I thought you said you would help me convert them."


    "I intend to uphold that promise." Nyar almost sounded angry in his tone, for thinking that Jane thought otherwise. "But it''s not as easy as you think. First, I have to find someone in the entire stretch of New York who is actually interested in this item. Only those who want to travel to Sprawn Valley and are unable to due to lack of funding would be searching for vast amounts of credits. And the other issue is finding someone who will buy them for a cheap price. They''d have to make some profit off the transaction, but we don''t want to be swindled out of everything."


    "I didn''t know it would be that difficult." Jane''s tone sounded defeating, but Nyar reassured her anyway after she started to sink.


    "It''s all about finding the right candidate who has a love for Leray magic, someone who would do absolutely anything to trade their cash for credits with a good conversion factor. On top of that, I have to somehow trust that such a person isn''t a dangerous criminal ahead of time."


    Danny was curious about this process too, since he never heard of this before. It was actually impressive that Nyar of all people knew how to do this. "Where do you even find these people?"


    "By using a secured online website that has only been around for two years. I have to use my portable computer to do so, and it still isn''t easy trusting someone you''ve not met in person."


    "I have faith in you." Jane held her arms behind her head in comfort, displaying as much faith as she could.


    That''s the expression of gloat, Nyar corrected. Jane really thinks the world is just that easy. "In truth, we''d all have better luck just finding part time jobs and accumulating the money that way."


    Danny heard of that before, and he knew what sort of thing Nyar was talking about. Part time jobs are no fun either, especially when you have to work with a short time window to use the money in the first place to get what you need. But that still warrants one question. "What kinds of jobs do they even have here in New York?"


    Nyar was glad that someone was finally listening to his earlier logic, but Danny might as well have been asking a rhetorical question. "When I hook up the machine tomorrow, I''ll show all of you what all sorts of jobs exist, and how to apply for them. For now, let''s just enjoy the meal. Once we''re done here, I''m heading straight home for bed, which I hope you all can agree on." Nyar knew he wasn''t being too harsh. This just isn''t the exact right time for their excitement. At this point, Huestace will soon check up on them, likely just to learn anything more about the three of his guests, but it isn''t his business what he has going on right now. Nyar is also dreading the soon to be high bill of the meal itself, on top of the high tip he would be obligated to give out to his friend in the first place.


    Danny didn''t realize that all of these things existed here. Is this why Jane wanted to leave Sprawn Valley? She couldn''t have actually known what was here. Still, all of this food is amazing! Nyar is finally going out of his way to take care of them. If Jane''s credits can be converted over to USD, then going to all of these places should be possible.

 Chapter 6: Pseudo-Placidity

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    The night ended as smoothly as Nyar expected it to. Jane actually fell asleep in the car on the way back home from Cider de'' Gal, of where Nyar''s wallet was emptied to his expectations. Nyar''s estimation of the cost was spot on, but luckily from that, Danny learned how delicate someone''s personal economy can be in the real world. After a short moment to the bedrooms, everything else was prepared for the night, and Nyar made sure food and water were abundant for tomorrow morning.


    As nothing else had to be done, Nyar caught himself some sleep. The morning afterwards was more exciting than the last one was... No, that''s actually just Jane, and her unyielding hyperactive energy. Nyar woke to find everyone eating cereal and milk like normal human beings in the dining room with how early it was. Jane and Danny were actually having whatever talk they were about something, exciting enough to make the three of them laugh together in response. Nyar couldn''t complain seeing how much happier Danny was becoming after so long before.


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    <02/16/1972 ¨C 07:30 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


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    With the sun just rising past the horizon through the obstructed view of the curtains of the living room and the naked blinds of the dining room, Nyar knew it was about thirty minutes past 07:00 hours. While it would be early to set up the workshop of technology, he also recalled having today off work with no current pending cases. That would give him plenty of time to freshen up in the bathroom, set up the laptop, fix the TV, and perhaps plan to go somewhere afterwards on the same day. At least it won''t be boring.


    As the time shifted forward to 09:00, Nyar came out into the dining room again with a case in his hands. He began unpacking his portable computer, a V-Tech laptop set up with a power cord and a small screen size. The bulky material wasn''t ahead of its time, though portable computers were becoming increasingly popular since a few years ago from technological innovation.


    Danny and his team gathered their wooden chairs closer by sliding to the edge of the table where Nyar set up the device. Though everyone knew what this was about, there was a large delay due to the time of booting and the loading time of the entire system. Upon waiting, Nyar decided to break down the method for them despite being unable to presently show anyone a demonstration.


    "Using online services is not required to apply for a job," Nyar stressed with his arms crossed. "But it does make it easier for us since it cuts the time it takes to go to each place individually. I''ll navigate you to the web page of a job finding app, and filter the settings so that it only shows part time jobs only."


    Danny wanted a lot more information than this. What kind of jobs are there to apply for in New York? Something also told him that this question would soon be answered by the same online service.


    "What kinds of jobs do they have?" Jane wasn''t so patient, and Nyar was forced to come up with something since it was Jane asking.


    "They have a job position for everything. Jane? I suspect you may be suited for something like pizza delivery, or a babysitting service." Oddly enough, Jane didn''t reply. She wasn''t as readable today as she was before, and it was impossible to tell if his suggestion offended her or made her ponder what it would be like.


    By the time the system booted with everyone now paying close attention, Nyar launched the internet app, and waited for the system to connect online through the Ethernet cable. Since that would take another good minute, he cleared away the dishes of empty bowls on their behalf. When he came back, Concave Browser running from a Linux OS transferred to the home page; the search engine of Aegis Online Indexing.


    Naturally, Nyar handled the controls from there. He navigated to the job finding online website known as Asper. When that loaded, it was finally demonstration time for the three of them. "I trust you know how to use a basic keyboard and mouse. So from this website, you can key in any search word to the finder bar and pull up related job postings within a twenty mile radius." Though relatively new to the online community, Nyar understood how it worked completely, trusting Danny to figure it out with haste of his own.


    "Say I want to apply to be a host at this restaurant right here." Nyar found a random restaurant posting section. After left clicking it once, the page pulled up the details for the specific business with more options. The drop down menu showed only a few positions, but Nyar chose a host as an example. "I would select host position on the drop menu here, and then click on apply, after of course checking to make sure the area is within travel range." When Nyar hit apply to job, a new page opened up, showing a detailed online application with empty fields that looked similar to the format of standard print paper. "Then they will ask you questions that you answer in the correct boxes scattered around, clicking on next until you''re done. And after that, I''ll be emailed or called directly if that place is interested in hiring you. Since none of you have any cellphones, you won''t be able to provide your own numbers or email accounts on these apps."


    "But Nyar?" Danny knew there was already a few problems with this. He''s just using an example, but the jobs here in New York could be anything nobody has been trained for. "We don''t have any training for these jobs, and I don''t know what we will be doing."


    "Don''t worry about it," Nyar assured. "They train after hiring you on the job. Nobody''s going to just hand you a slot and ask you to get straight to work high and dry..." Jane and Taylor were paying well enough attention too, but this moment is where the long process of selection comes in. "I only have this one computer. Please shut it down after everyone has used it - to save energy, and do take turns browsing."


    "Where are you going now?"


    Nyar realized that his sense wasn''t all where it should be, though Danny was addressing how to take care of his one and only laptop computer. Let''s face it. Any one of them could break it easily, and Jane would be the most likely. "I''m off today. I''ve got no important cases to work, so I''m only on call. That said, I want to start seeing some job-hunting right about now. I''ll stay here and oversee it all to make sure you three get the hang of it. And in the meantime, I''ll plan to pack some stuff for Pride Park, as long as you all put in some applications." Nyar''s bait worked quickly, even on Danny who became the first volunteer to search for the online jobs through the Asper app. With as much leisure time as he had, Nyar knew he could squeeze in another outing if not terribly expensive. The park is free of charge, making it the best opportunity to take everyone out to fight their constant boredom. They''ll have jobs soon enough that will take care of this anyway.


    Danny first had to create a personal account on the app to register Nyar''s cellphone and email address. From there, the selection continued on for a couple of hours. It wasn''t as easy as it appeared to be, since there was so much detail about each and every job. Nyar had to constantly explain and iterate that the three of them will be limited on which jobs they will be allowed to have, since there are labor laws in place. Fifteen years of age is the minimum age requirement for having most part time jobs, though babysitting isn''t technically the same. Only part time jobs of certain fields would be applicable, but Nyar already set the online filter for such positions, making it simpler for him and the others.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    By the time all of them had a good turn of putting in at least two applications, Nyar saw to it that they''ve become experts on logging into the online service, the browser, and even the computer itself, as well as shutting it off the correct way. And now, if he isn''t home, they could search for more jobs securely without his own supervision. After having fulfilled their promises, Nyar congratulated them on putting their first step into the economic world in America, and then prepared to leave for the park.


    After everyone got into the car, uncertain of what to expect, Nyar regarded the nice warmer weather today that would allow anyone to walk around without a coat. After driving off to Pride Park, he knew he could relax with the others in a good morning of work.


    <hr>


    <02/16/1972 ¨C 11:57 | Pride Park, Manhattan Outskirts, New York, United States>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi („M) {Alt Version}</a>


    <hr>


    Their excitement peaked as expected when they arrived. Pride Park; a section of natural well-maintained short cut grass in a vast open field set in the outskirts of Manhattan, built simply for a place for people to sit down and relax with minimal city bustle. Nyar knew what he was getting into, but he prepared for everything.


    Naturally, Jane''s energy for exploring kicked in quickly when she and her friends got a sniff for the entire area. The park itself was sectioned off from the road, and approximately half a kilometer in diameter. The weather was just warm enough not to bother anyone with uncomfortable differentiation, while warding off the sensation of the chilling winter cold. The sun was shining brightly overhead without a cloud in the sky to bother its ray of function.


    Though this was everyone''s first time here, Jane recalled a minor amount of resemblance between here and Meaj Park in Eldora City. The park here had hedges of darker grass built up like statues. Benches near a few water fountains populated a few of the zones, one right under a comfortable looking oak tree. Other people were moving about having fun of their own. One small swing set near a kiddy slide strengthened the statement due west, and of the most noticeable things, Jane saw quite a few interesting pets she wasn''t familiar with. Dogs and cats, though very rarely were there any stray cats compared to the dog population here. People were playing with the dogs by throwing balls and having them fetch.


    Taylor knew enough about the common house animals imported into Kalamo not to be too impressed, but she could see it all over Jane''s face. She was about ready to explode; the simple thought of exploring a new place is just more exciting for Jane then conducting a Leray battle! Her eyes are totally fixed on everything around her, and Taylor felt a bit excited too. After applying for that part time job, this was a nice reward to get for the day. Since all they had to do was whatever they wanted, this reminded Taylor of previous moments from Kalamo, one park in particular where she first met Danny Mason.


    "My one rule is that you all stay where I can see you. I''ll be by the fountain." Nyar began walking from the entrance of the park over to the fountain, his cellular phone in hand prepared to make a few long calls to whomever he needed to reach.


    Those were easy rules to follow, and Danny knew as much that Nyar would likely leave them be if they leave him to whatever he was about to do. Right now, all he could feel is a sense of happiness and joy despite being away from home. Of all situations, Jane and Taylor are here right now, and they are already having fun just looking at this place. Amidst the muffled roar of car engines wrapping around the buildings, the chirping of birds in the park mixed with the occasional sound of barking dogs and mingling amongst the people - drew a lively aura Danny never felt before until right now. He had been to peaceful places in Sprawn Valley several times, but somehow, this felt different.


    "Well come on!" Taylor led the way before Jane, driving the three of them deeper into the park until Jane finally got closer to one of the animals, attracted not to Jane, but to the Frisbee that nearly decked the bottom of her legs a few inches short in flight.


    "Sorry!" One of the ladies called out, after realizing she almost hit Jane with the Frisbee, more so for attracting the big puffy creature to the stranger.


    Jane didn''t address the woman in the distance. She was immediately distracted by the plush animal in front of her. The dog was almost just as curious, sniffing her hand while Jane hunched down to run the top of his head. "Cute doggie!" Jane had never been this close to a cute dog before, let alone this specific breed that was so friendly around people.


    Taylor crept up to pet the large animal as well, attracting the owner to their area, though with little concern for how easily everyone was getting along. Danny kept only a slight distance, though chuckled when Taylor''s face was licked by her new animal friend slobbering all over her. Jane took plenty of additional time to get better acquainted, after which she let the owner continue her playtime, and then made fun of Taylor for what happened.


    "Doggies are so cute!" Jane pointed at Taylor since she was still wiping her face with the bottom of her shirt. "And you got your face licked!"


    Taylor knew even by Jane''s tone that she was teasing her about the same thing she saw a moment ago. How did Jane not get licked like that? This better not have ruined the light make-up! "Oh whatever! I''ll hit you with this Frisbee." Taylor was referring to one of the yellow Frisbees she obtained earlier from Nyar on their way over here. Supposedly, this is what people do for fun in these parks. The idea is to throw the device as far as possible, having someone else in that vicinity catch the floating object if they''re fast enough, and Taylor didn''t mind trying to give Jane a workout.


    Danny joined in as well on the sidelines once this became a thing. Though because of the time it took to have an opportunity to catch anything in the air, he found himself thinking back about home. Kalamo is most certainly a hole compared to America and Sprawn Valley alone... But there were still moments back there, moments he would never forget. It wasn''t all bad considering what else there was out here.


    Though Jane had a hard time learning to throw the Frisbee for the first two times, she became a professional at getting a good aim and distance the moment she figured out the trick behind it. Contrary to Taylor''s earlier threat, Jane was never hit once in the face by that flying object. Jane didn''t get too distracted by anything else, not even other dogs getting close nearby. But in the freedom of time it took for Danny and Taylor to throw her back the yellow plastic disk, she could observe Nyar from here. He really is talking on that cellphone. Who knows how long it has been since? Is he working on another case without being in an office?


    Taylor couldn''t compare this to any other moment she ever shared, even though there were plenty she tried for. The Arragon Forest back in Sprawn Valley did come a bit close, but this one spot right here felt so incredible and uplifting, assisted by the view in front of her. The sun itself was mostly obscured by one of the distant tall buildings, throwing off the hue of the rays just enough to create an incredible mirage in the sky, which Taylor soon associated with the park.


    Jane continued passing the Frisbee, but wondered whether it would be any fun to play on the swing sets. It was obvious that they were designated for younger people, but Jane once shared a small swing set and trampoline with an acquaintance living up near Blue Port Town. Could she go somewhere else and have the same amount of fun?


    When Danny passed the Frisbee again to Jane, he noticed how close it came to smacking her in the face. Jane literally had a delayed reaction to realizing she was supposed to catch the thing, though she did turn around to pick it back up as if nothing was wrong despite missing the catch. Danny didn''t want to consider that anything could be bothering her. But in truth, he knew there were tough thoughts that could get to himself and to Taylor, so why not Jane? If she is thinking about anything at all, how bad could it be?


    "Next throw will be better!" Jane promised. She aimed well and threw the circular disk through the air, now taking the newfound time to reflect again. Jane couldn''t keep those thoughts away, not like she could before. She felt so liberated right now, prone to how much fun she was having right here. People would play all the time in Sprawn Valley, but it was always the same with Leray magic. This is how people without any magic pass the time. Everything in New York is so different, but at the same time, this is only because magic itself is disabled here. To be more specific, the spot Jane glared at; the top of her hand looked as ordinary as ever. In America, her unique symbol is just as disabled as anything else is, and that means she is not a potential fugitive here. Still, what of Danton and the whole situation back in Sprawn Valley? What of the results on her molecular scan sequence Danton performed a while back? Would there really be a way of removing this permanent curse? Would simply staying here long enough erase the past?


    Taylor held the Frisbee while walking over towards Jane, coaxing Danny to come close to figure out what was up. When she was in range, Taylor bumped Jane''s right arm and quickly ran off in the other direction. "Now you''re it!" she warned.


    Danny quickly understood what just happened by that wording alone. Taylor was going to play tag with Jane, and she was no stranger to running long distances. Immediately seeing Jane take off towards him, Danny ran with Taylor in the other direction, getting the unexpected exercise he deserved. Jane won''t catch him at all!


    Nyar could clearly see how relaxed the three of them were from here. It''s amazing how they are all acting like children just by bringing them to Pride Park... But this isn''t so bad. They can be hyperactive all they want here with no repercussions, and they''ll all have jobs soon enough. Nyar let himself smile that things were finally looking up, but kept enough focus on the conversation he was having on the phone. Though it didn''t sound like things were about to go his way from here either. It will be time soon enough to call the next client.

 Chapter 7: My Many Mistakes

    <hr>


    <02/17/1972 ¨C 20:00 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    With the fountain system supplying the chamber''s most beautiful aesthetic having been shut down, the only noise coming through the air was the solid heating system meant to comfort the air temperature during this time of the year. After an entire hour''s time of passing, Danton remained unchanged in his state. He only stood still, wielding the inert Mega-Staff in one hand with his head turned to the metal ground below. Pondering one of his strongest moments of memory, Danton leveled his breathing, waiting patiently on any form of updates from his subordinates.


    It''s only been a few days since Jane and her partners left Sprawn Valley, and despite this, the world has been nothing but a silent sea of chaos spurred by the evil organization of the Scarlet Cult. Good timing to go on vacation Jane. Still, why would the Scarlets want the symbol? They''ve proven its importance by capturing the developer alive before everyone''s eyes, and the Mage Council still won''t leave the government alone about the events preceding Operation Restore Outback. Jane is just an innocent bystander who got too close to the wrong crowd. Why must she be targeted for capital punishment?


    The sliding elevator doors echoed through the entire area of the chamber, lifting Danton''s head and attention to the zone behind him. Perhaps someone has come to update him on something, though it wouldn''t be very likely that anything new would develop. Danton''s eyes lifted just slightly upon realizing who it was. It''s Mainne, and her referee Pilpy.


    Mainne held herself high and firm walking alongside Pilpy towards Sir Danton, who is still wearing that robe as if the championship is still on. Since the material offers some level of natural magical protection, it wasn''t too surprising. For specific reasons though, the national event has been put on hold by executive order. Mainne felt the difference in air temperature again, this room being set warmer than what he usually sets it to. Again is this another sign that something just isn''t right. Danton has been acting strange again, more docile and isolated than usual.


    Just as Mainne stepped close enough to speaking range, Danton asked for any updates by projecting his voice through the room. "Mainne... And I see you brought Pilpy with you. Are there any changes in any of the reports or activity within the council?"


    Mainne answered first, after having put Pilpy on surveillance duty to the Mage Council. She stepped much closer so that she wouldn''t have to raise her voice, and stopped short to study Danton more closely. "Nothing new. Our search teams have checked everywhere now, all except for the Brunus region."


    How is that possible? Danton pondered this mystery and the other at the same time juggling the case further. The lighthouse incident still bothered everyone deep to the core. The Scarlets were defiantly searching for something very specific by stealing the data from that facility, but they''ve not necessarily acted on their new data yet. Now they''re two steps ahead of us. "And what about E-7 Mark 64?"


    Danton was referring to the deep layer scans being conducted from DNA sampling material he collected on Jane while in Alpha Zero. Mainne was actually assigned to keep track of any new developments and post Sir Danton on the findings. "Sadly," she began, "the marking still seems to be as mysterious as before. No matching data of any kind has been found. It has our analyst''s heads spinning."


    I''ll make their heads spin faster if they don''t do better than this. Danton could barely control his frustrations today, and gripped the staff tighter as a simple means of controlling his tension. "Pilpy?"


    Pilpy, the older male assigned to be Mainne''s personal referee reported the changes observed in the council. "The council is only adding our recent attempt to shut down the championship battles to their investigation. But ever since Jane went missing, they''re more confused on what to actually do right now."


    That is really the only good thing about Jane leaving Sprawn Valley. The council can''t touch her if she isn''t here, not that they''ve gathered any legal grounds to work on it. Danton pardoned the girl himself while under full executive control of an operation, and that means she should be free of such capital punishment even if she does have that symbol on her. But the council would attempt to disagree, naturally. At least things are calm where she is. "So then there is nothing new." Danton concluded this to be true without really expecting an answer to the question.


    "Sir Danton?" Mainne wanted his attention, but she soon forgot what she could even ask. Why is be being so distant lately?


    "I''d like to ask you two to leave me be," he requested.


    Mainne protested quickly with a firm tone and gesture. "Sir Danton! We need you helping us out there. You''re not accomplishing anything by locking yourself in this room."


    Danton didn''t even advert his eyes or gaze towards Mainne when he replied in denial. "Right now, this room is the safest place for us all, less I mess things up again."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "What is he talking about?" Pilpy didn''t understand any sort of the context, but somehow Mainne seemed to be much more in sync with Danton''s motives than anyone else was.


    "I''m talking about one of my many mistakes I made so long ago."


    Mainne nodded her head, ashamed that Danton still blames himself for that dark past. "I told you a thousand times that it wasn''t your fault. Everything you did back then saved both of us, a lot more than you realize."


    "But it didn''t save the others," he retorted. Mainne was dead silent, and Danton now regretted trying to argue with her. Mainne wasn''t put in her place, but rather mourning with him about the horror that took place a decade ago. "Regardless of who is to blame, I won''t stop thinking back to that moment." Danton knew this is where he wanted his thoughts to reside right now. They are his worst and best moments combined. "Ten years ago, we gave birth to the most incredible team I''d ever had the privilege of being a part of. And like an idiot, I believed magic to be this all-loving wonderful thing. I think we all did at that time; how naive we both were." Danton didn''t hear any replies from either of them. Pilpy would be hearing this for the first time, but Mainne wasn''t new to this story. It''s one of Danton''s darkest moments, a painful past just won''t leave him alone!


    "I know," Mainne recalled.


    Danton put another possible consideration to play, though it hurt just to even try. "If those two are really in charge of the chaos that''s been happening here, then I blame the very existence of Leray magic." Ten years ago; that''s when all of this really started. It was ten years ago when everything came together, only to crumble to pieces before his very eyes...


    <hr>


    <10/21/1962 ¨C 21:01 | Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Gemstone Caves ~ Derek Fiechter & Brandon Fiechter [Fantasy Realm]</a>


    <hr>


    Lennith City, Sprawn Valley. This is the location where he began his journey. Born and raised from Nabrook Town just northeast of Lennith City, Brash Danton prepared himself for the beginning of his tests in 1962. Having a skinnier flex and darker hair, Brash''s training felt near completion. After being trained personally by his father, Brash learned how to control his own aura and connection with the Leray veil of energy. After his father fell too ill to leave home, one of the local gradyents took over for his training, showing Danton how to better concentrate and focus his own power together.


    That''s essentially how it all began. Brash planned the first few outings too, living in Lennith City for a while, making short trips to and back from Route 96 to selectively challenge tougher opponents to battle. His winning ratio soon rose to eighty-three percent out of six people if he reached the quota in a day. Battling was soon made easy for Brash, but his true goal was already set out for him. Becoming a Leray master is a very long challenge, one with a difficult road to transcend to.


    Going to additional school wasn''t needed, as Danton was trained personally by part of his own family, and a retired gradyent who sought to help out during dad''s battle with cancer. No medical miracle in the world could cure such an illness, and for that ailment, magic was useless. Everyone knew this when it came to the rules of Leray magic. It cannot be used to heal diseases that lie outside of magically inflicted issues, which also didn''t seem to exist very often.


    Danton learned everything firsthand instead of what would normally be picked up by books of spells and classwork assignments. Though since he still needed a basic wielder''s license to legally use magic, he simply took a test at Lennith''s school to determine if he was ready. Coincidently, it isn''t technically illegal to use magic as a child or teenager if you are doing so for training with the supervision of your family, provided that your family also has a legal license to practice. But there are not many loopholes for this either, and people asked him questions before testing as a result.


    Still, he learned a great multitude of solid spells and their associated power levels, effects, MP consumption, and everything else. Due to the nature of such personal training, Danton learned how to fight both unarmed and while wielding a lightweight sword. His martial arts acquired from his father was quite impressive to anyone he demonstrated them to, though only useful at a closer range to opponents. Wielding a saber - only felt right if the other target had a weapon drawn of their own. Regardless, Danton prepared seed money for his ultimate journey, placing it only on the essentials, and using his earnings to generate small amounts of additional credits each time.


    The system of the economy works in this wonderful way. Unless you are a high steaks gambler, the best way to make a living as a Leray wielder is to win most challenges of Leray battles and channel the earnings back into something that would help you fight better for next time, after gathering more food and water to support yourself should things go south. Most of the younger generation ends up traveling like this alone or without their families. However, this is not a requirement, and the legal minimum age to do so is set at fifteen years old. Since Danton was actually twenty-three years old, there was hardly an issue. He had been training since turning sixteen, thus is there plenty of room for rapid growth.


    Some people formed teams and traveled together in packs, while Danton and a few other of his opponents traveled solo. But one night on Route 96, there was a group of people who stood out apart from the rest. Even now, Danton couldn''t recall why they were so different from ordinary people. They were truly impressive fighters, not that he learned of that before such introductions.


    After getting much closer on the mission run to Monoc Port, Danton eventually met a group of four individuals who were all hanging out by a drum fire, right at the edge of a cement incline which made up for the lack of fencing on either side of the wild lands beyond the official road line. Since it was already past nine P.M. with a slightly brisk temperature, the fire for warmth and light made clear sense. But despite Danton''s attempt to walk by them, the group nearly harassed his destination path to discover identity. There was already a strange atmosphere in this specific spot. Most people are nearly tired or in bed by this time of night, but these four folks are full of energy, anyone can just tell by the way they stand or walk.


    This is normal too for Leray wielders. People can challenge whomever they want however they want, and despite the initial appeal, Danton wanted to be stopped for a challenge, so long as the opponents were tough. Three men, close to his age, one with the same height and age as Danton approached, and then one beautiful adult female filled the rest of the group. Their faces were all well lit by the nearby fire they kept going, and the flicker of the flame created amazing shadows behind all of them. With little delay, they soon introduced themselves to Danton.


    Danton met with all of the members of their official Trujima Gang, impressed by their confidence in what there was to say, and how well they could flex their Leray powers in theory. Danton remembered being captivated by the audacity of the gang, who thought they were the though leaders of this entire route, which couldn''t really be true. Aside from the official gradyent he had yet to rematch, Danton won his battles with many of the other route leaders, and even said as much to the Trujima Gang members in his own statement. Perhaps both were impressive to each other. Whatever was in the air that night, a very rough battle was already destined to build legitimacy to such strong claims. The very thought of a Leray battle gave Danton a level of excitement he could reach no other way. There had been a bit of a dry patch for skill lately. These people appear as if they would make up for all of that lost skill. The Trujima Gang will be the next greatest challenge!

 Chapter 8: Welcome to Reality

    <hr>


    <03/08/1972 ¨C 17:45 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    "Well, don''t all speak at once." Nyar pressured the three of them for results of their attempts, but Jane and her friends were not saying very much. Everyone was actually mute until they finally got home in Nyar''s Ford Escort.


    Three weeks passed ever since Nyar introduced the job finding Asper app online. In that time of leisurely period, the three of them had fun at Nyar''s expense, which wasn''t very much since he spent a lot of his money in the beginning. But last morning, Nyar got several phone calls around the same time, all of which were setups for job interviews between Danny, Taylor, and Jane. It felt like a mass hiring spree flooded the vicinity like an overcast storm, but Nyar had to handle at least the cellular communications.


    The interviews are set up for today, March 08, 1972. Well, this is actually true for Taylor more than the others. Jane had one this morning, and she landed her job according to what Nyar picked up. Now was the time to draw out answers. They either didn''t get the job, saved it for a later date and time, or started on the same day with luck worse than Nyar could imagine. Daylight already broke in the sky, and it was time to start talking.


    "They weren''t willing to hire me," Taylor confide. Out of all those interviews, nobody wanted her on the staff, and all of this was because of her current job inexperience. What would Nyar think now?


    Nyar explained the simplicity of Taylor''s confusion on the spot. "It isn''t likely they will. Inexperience makes it harder to land the first job, and your age isn''t attractive for the big market places either. But in any case, I know that you tried, and that''s all I ask of you three." Nyar wasn''t angry or upset. Finding a part time job willing to hire a fresh teenager is harder than it looks in the state of New York. Taylor actually blew through three separate interviews just this morning close to the same time.


    "Uhm," Jane turned her head slightly and pressed both of her index fingers together, her demeanor lacking confidence in reporting what happened. "Well I did get the job at K-Mart..." Jane paused before continuing, knowing how he''d react to the situation.


    "I already know that much," Nyar replied. "I just want to know what you thought about the job, and if they''ll be seeing you again the next day." Jane was asked to work there on the same day for training and screening, despite her short shift.


    Jane sighed silently to herself, preparing to get it over with. "Well, they actually decided not to keep me."


    "What?" "What?!"


    Danny and Nyar both reacted at the same time, now staring at Jane for answers. But Nyar knew the questions to ask for troubleshooting. "You got fired on the first night? Jane, it''s a grocery store. What the hell did you do to piss them off that much?"


    Now facing Nyar with honest eyes, Jane tried to detail her day further. "I don''t know what I did wrong! I did the stocking and stacking like they wanted me to. I wasn''t even supposed to greet any customers, but I ended up talking to a few anyway. Nothing went wrong."


    That''s impossible to believe, and Nyar knew better. If anything went wrong, it would likely be something very simple, something that only Jane would screw up. Still, they should have given her some sort of warning! "You can''t think of anything bad that happened to you at the store?"


    Jane held her tongue for a few seconds, recalling what she believed to be an unlikely cause, more of simple bad luck. "Well there was one hour where I had to stack canned food... I stacked it in a pyramid just like they said, but the cans all fell over and spilled everywhere."


    Nyar wanted to let out an understanding breath loudly, but that incident alone shouldn''t be grounds on firing anyone.


    "I think one customer tripped over one of the cans with their cart, but I still helped out afterwards. I don''t think they fired me for that reason."


    "Neither do I," Nyar confessed. Jane is a sixteen-year-old girl just out for a part time job. A grocery store suits her best, and spilling some cans of beans shouldn''t suffice for punishment of any kind. If a customer does get hurt, an accident is still an accident... Unless... "Say Jane? You said they told you to stack cans in a pyramid, and then left you to it?"


    "That''s right."


    "And can you describe for me what the shape of a pyramid is?"


    "Yeah," Jane agreed. She showed hand gestures to simulate the size of the 3-D object in her mind, though uncertain as of why Nyar would even ask the simple question of her. "It''s this large triangle pillar, going from one point up into a square."


    Up into a square? Say it isn''t so! Jane, you did screw up! "How..." Nyar couldn''t even get the words out. This is unbelievable. She did mess up her own way again. How do you get the shape of a pyramid right, but then set it upside-down? "Jane? You do realize that pyramids have the square section to the floor, right?"


    "They do?" Jane didn''t understand why, but Danny and Taylor both burst into laughter, continuing beyond what she understood. "You mean the point is on top? Is that why my cans kept falling down?!"Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Nyar face palmed in agony, while Danny and Taylor were letting Jane have it in her own humiliation. Still, it isn''t that funny since Jane lost her job on the same night. This isn''t going to be easy to fix. But of course they fired her! Who the hell stacks cans in an upside-down pyramid? How do you even get past the first few layers without causing the entire structure to collapse? Being honest here, that''s actually impressive. Someone should have taken a picture.


    Danny got over himself just long enough to interrupt Jane for another statement. "I guess that''s why they call it K-Mart Smart. You''d need to be smart enough to stack those cans." Danny returned his laughter in sync with Taylor, making fun of the company logo and Jane.


    Jane turned around red-faced and discouraged both of them. "Oh, shut up! I didn''t know that! How is it supposed to make a difference anyway?" Jane didn''t like this. Getting fired was one thing, but this is just embarrassing. Her friends are insulting her intelligence. Nobody trained her or showed her how things were supposed to look. "It''s not my fault!"


    "That''s enough - you two!" Nyar raised his voice to get Taylor and Danny to quit further humiliating Jane. Even if she did mess things up in that way... K-Mart Smart. The education requirements speak for themselves. Nyar held back his imminent laughter well enough to change the subject without further damaging Jane''s morale. "There are more jobs out here than you could imagine Jane. We''ll just give some other place a shot. Don''t worry about it. Besides, K-Mart is still required to pay you some money by check at the end of the week. You still worked for a few hours, so that''s the law."


    Jane calmed herself down, and cupped both of her hands together. "I''ll look for more tomorrow then."


    "Yes," Nyar agreed. "Then I''d like to hear an update from Danny. What about your ability to get a job?"


    Danny let everything feel serious again, ignoring Jane''s canned incident to explain this to Nyar. "I got hired for dry cleaning at the Laundromat."


    "And..." Nyar held his face down slightly to gesture the demand of more detail. He too is supposed to have worked on the same hire date for training.


    "I hate it, it sucks, and it''s boring... But I didn''t quit. I''m still working there the next day actually."


    "So you kept the job then," Nyar summarized. "Lots of part time jobs will be boring Danny. They do suck and they aren''t very fun, but it''s the only way to make money out here in the world. In one week''s time, you get your first paycheck, which you can use to buy yourself anything in your price range. That is how things work out here."


    Danny understood what Nyar was saying, and even pieced together that himself, being the only one with a job is actually something Nyar was proud of right now. But it doesn''t change the fact that this is all too different. Back in Sprawn Valley, he could just conduct fun magical battles, and if he wins, big funds head his way. Jane is living proof of that, even if her credits don''t work here. "It''s just so different than I was expecting."


    Nyar knew that Danny meant to say it was worse than expected, but different isn''t much of a lie either. Still, that is the lesson he should take from this. "Welcome to reality." Nyar had all of their attention on him, but this was all about how things should be. "Know that this isn''t permanent. When you all have part time jobs at the same time, the money you would bring in collectively would save us enough in no time flat to budget a flight anywhere we need to go. And if there is anything left over, get yourselves some souvenirs from New York too if you''d like. However, it is hard to work and support yourself in the world. That''s how it works in America, and many other countries."


    Jane didn''t want to argue aloud with Nyar, but this is worse than she could have imagined. Sure, in Sprawn Valley, she needs to work and make credits too to support herself, but the jobs there are so much more fun! This can''t be all there is to a world without magic. "It''s so different. This will take getting used to even for a vacation."


    Danny couldn''t argue against what Nyar said to be reality, but chastising this dump wouldn''t be a problem for him. Even Kalamo didn''t have it this bad. "It does make me miss Sprawn Valley. And I didn''t even like magic as much as everybody else in the country."


    "You''d rather have anarchy where people run around everywhere k¡ª" Nyar stopped himself short, unable to say the rest in front of the people who keep praising that world so much, but they just don''t get the real difference yet.


    Danny addressed Nyar directly to give his point to him. "So it runs less civilized, so what? Sprawn Valley is a beautiful world too, but they run things differently there than they do here. Having a bit more freedom is better, not worse."


    "And you believe that to be a good or healthy thing? Think about it like this then," Nyar proposed. "When Jane came to New York, she knew about ten percent of what the two of you combined understood about this place. Sprawn Valley is nothing more than a dark veil covering up what should be reality, and the truth to itself."


    "And what truth might that be?"


    Nyar was caught in his tongue. He wanted to refer to the truth about evil magic, but Danny would still disagree. He''s had it real bad too. Danny refuses to say anything negative about magic whenever it comes up, and despite promising to call his family every night, Nyar had to fill in for him. Danny won''t even associate himself with his parents anymore, all because they too realize the dangers of magic powers. Everything''s been getting out of hand... But then he still has something to show for it. He tried and succeeded in getting a part time job, succeeded in keeping that job. So he must understand at some point that nobody can keep going on like this. Nyar quickly changed what he was going to say, matching up to something else instead. "The truth that Sprawn Valley does not educate their own people enough about the outside world."


    Despite his changed stance, Nyar waited in silence, expecting to hear more backtalk from any three of them. But as seconds passed, silence endured. They really couldn''t argue this? Then it really is true. Jane isn''t stupid; she''s just not educated about the outside world... It really is true! How could they not teach their own children about the difference outside? What if someone thought they could use magic and live forever outside of the veil? Wouldn''t they get into a dangerous situation? What''s wrong with that place?!


    "I understand that," Jane spoke. After all of that bickering, Nyar did have a point. Jane was in truth interested about the outside world for some time, but it wasn''t until she met Danny and Taylor when those interests peaked. "General school doesn''t teach us much about what else is out there. I guess I do resent that." Jane had Nyar silent, admitting that he was right on one particular detail. "But even so, I''d rather be doing things this way, walking out to visit the rest of the world in person. Despite what it may look like, I''ve been having fun even after I left."


    What it may look like? No one is doubting you Jane. Nyar felt quite impressed that the girl could actually admit that some things about her little world are imperfect. "All I''m saying, is that when you live in certain parts of the world, even temporarily, you need to adapt to their customs, their laws, their workforce, every part of it in order to survive. I wanted to make sure your liking to Sprawn Valley wasn''t one-sided. You can''t pick and choose how to live if you''re only exposed to that one country."


    It at least makes sense. Though Danny felt as if Nyar was going somewhere else with his argument. Still, he let it go whichever way. "I guess I''ll keep my job then, and work out the schedule as I go."


    "That''s good," Jane congratulated. "Just keep working hard, and we''ll earn enough money to finally go to Ducan Port."


    Danny shot Jane an irritated look. "You don''t expect me to work by myself to get to that goal, right?"


    "I''ll be getting a job too! Don''t worry about that." Danny is testy when he thinks he has to pull anyone else''s weight. But what does he take me for?


    "I''ll keep trying too," Taylor added. "I want to go to Ducan Port soon, so let''s make it work."


    "I''m proud of all three of you." Nyar gave the kids his short review while he went off to the kitchen to make more black coffee. Just for the shortest moment, the pride he reflected through his eyes shimmered back at the three of them, setting a new atmosphere never before established. "You set your mind to something and refuse to give up even after a stumble." Danny would want his favorite drink as well, which by experimenting did Nyar find out that Danny''s favorite drink is actually hot brewed black tea with a hint of hazelnut flavoring. Nyar knew he would need to pull some resources together to take them to Coney Island Beach, but now they''re willing to work jobs for it, which is exactly the goal here. This is the way things are meant to be.

 Chapter 9-A: Shadows of us All (Danton VS Gleeon)

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    <10/21/1962 ¨C 21:09 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    The night was still young in October 21, though the winter winds paid an early visit to the open roads of Route 96. Despite the chill, Brash Danton remained warm while distant from the drumfire set in front. The view of the approaching group initially intimidated him as it would with anyone, but Danton knew his limitations well, and presumed these people would be a piece of cake.


    Their faces were barely visible from the available light, but the gang of four adults quickly surrounded the tall loner to the side, only wearing a light jacket and possibly concealing weapons somewhere else. With little delay and a crooked grin, the leader introduced himself. "Well, what do we have here?"


    Danton quickly studied the four of them. The one beginning to talk had dark cut hair that converged at every end and tip dangling over his face. His stance was rather calm for the flex in his tone. His other teammates followed behind and around him.


    "A bit late to be traveling these roads alone," he warned.


    Danton didn''t take the threat lightly, but all it took out of him to reply was a huff of air to display any lack of fear. The man sounded so clich¨¦, probably on purpose as a means of sounding cool in front of the others. "I''d say the same thing about your little picnic."


    The leading male stopped immediately in surprise. Whoever this young traveler is, he isn''t scared of them at all. He''s not even wincing in distress of feeling surrounded. The stranger, appearing to be in his late twenties held a solid stance for preparation, but there is only one possible way a person can practice such brave gesture. He is a Leray wielder. "Now that''s a bit much..." Glancing around his teammates, the leader thought of a slight variation in the usual plan. "You certainly have some brass coming up here to us."


    Danton replied calmly, "You''re the ones surrounding me."


    Everyone fell silent for a moment. The leader usually would not let this drag on any further, but to reward the bravery, he asked the stranger a few unordinary questions. "Have you by chance had a match with our local gradyent?"


    Danton inhaled slightly, though unnoticeable by sound. It was an odd question, but the answer is what embarrassed him the most. "I have." His honesty rose the eyebrows on everyone, but Danton continued, sure not to drag out any false merit. "But as expected, he overpowered me."


    "What level or skill are you at right now?"


    Danton ignored his first question, instead proposing a new one. "I don''t just hand out that information. Though I''ll ask you the same. If you want to know what my skills are, you''ll have to test me."


    The woman broke protocol, speaking directly to the group leader from Danton''s unexpected confidence. "Sir, we might want to consider a low bet for¡ª"


    "Just let me do the talking," he responded. His partner shut up immediately, and his attention returned to this stranger, who seemed fascinating since he wasn''t deterred by anything so far. Most challengers fear getting surrounded like this. He doesn''t have any idea who he is dealing with. "You certainly have a death wish." Within a few more seconds of silence, he began laughing aloud undeterred, after which he extended his left open hand out to the stranger. "I like it! My name is Kite Fargenst, and we are the official Trujima Gang that watches the roads here."


    Danton shook Kite''s hand in good faith, but was curious in that these people were calling themselves a gang. What kind of gang are they talking about? Is that just a silly moniker? "I''m Brash, Brash Danton, but you should just stick to calling me Danton."


    Kite shook Danton''s hand, and was still surprised by how levelheaded the man remained. He appeared to be about twenty-seven years old, but his power can''t be that strong if he failed in a match against the Route 96 gradyent. "Danton huh? Please join us by the fire then. I''d like for you to meet the rest of us."


    "Kite?" She had to ask what Kite was suddenly up to. He usually intimidates the weaklings to leave them be and never bother the Trujima Gang ever again, but this time he isn''t doing anything of the sort. Danton may have this tough look to himself, but it must be a facade.


    By the time everyone gathered around the small fire, Danton could read the details on everyone''s face better, as well as their more obvious attire designed for Leray battles. The woman must be just a few years younger than himself. Kite is around the same age too. Then there was one who appeared to be twenty-one years old, while the guy with more muscle mass appeared to be much older. What a strange pairing of people. "What is the Trujima Gang?"


    Kite answered expectantly, "I''m so glad you asked. But first you might as well meet all of our official members." Kite nodded just to confirm and agree that he would reveal more of his gang to Danton. The atmosphere grew calm and alert at the same time.


    Danton first looked at the bigger dude to his left. He introduced himself automatically, but the tone in his voice was deeper than expected. "I am Gleeon Miao, and that''s all you are allowed to know of me."


    Kite allowed his usual cryptic answer, explaining the reason to Danton. "Many of us are not so open to strangers, but that is because outsiders like you must prove yourself a worthy adversary before doing such things."


    Danton glanced at Kite with a confusing frown in his expression. "Why then would you introduce me before battling?"


    He isn''t even afraid of the very idea of fighting four on one? Incredible! "Only because I believe it necessary for you to recognize the names of those who will be defeating you tonight. Eh?" Kite nodded his head to a direction signaling Danton''s shifted attention.


    The female introduced herself while agreeing with Kite''s values on Leray battling. "We are not to be taken lightly," she spoke. "Only the best belong in the Trujima Gang." Danton seemed just a little surprised that she would identify herself as being strong... Typical behavior for any man. They always underestimate herself because she is a female warrior. "I''m Mainne. That''s all the information you need right now."


    The woman with long dark hair and blue eyes speckled her attention in Danton''s personal direction. He had never met someone so strong willed before. Yet here she is standing before him, wrapped up in a powerful gang of warriors, so they keep saying. Danton didn''t return the favor of saying anything, since it would be rude to improperly address someone so beautiful.


    "And I guess that just leaves me." The other younger male stepped forward in front of Danton. "I''m Vanoss. New to Trujima, but not to fighting."


    "He is a new recruit," Kite admitted openly. "But not one to be underestimated."


    Danton turned around to Kite, already fully aware that he calls the shots in the official gang. But that still begs the question. "So you take in new recruits? What exactly is the Trujima Gang for anyway?"


    "I''m so thrilled you asked."


    "He really isn''t," Mainne whispered aloud. Kite certainly heard her, but was used to her chronic sarcasm by now.


    Kite decided to summarize for Danton, eager to test the stranger''s real skill level. "It''s rather simple actually. We''re the strongest bunch here. Trujima will constantly patrol Route 96 and watch for any potential high-level warriors. To be honest, it''s not common that we get any. Though that''s actually the point."


    Danton felt he understood immediately. The Trujima Gang operates in a similar way that a gradyent does, rather for the same general purpose. "Level-based population control." It''s a similar enough term to mean the same thing. Trujima consists only of powerful warriors, and patrols the area regularly to establish their dominance while keeping weak stragglers off the road. Who wants to fight weaklings anyway? That''s the mentality these people must have.


    "You''re sharper than you look." Kite studied Danton seriously, but Danton wasn''t the type to wear his own personality or power level on his wrist. His clothing gear consisted of a standard mercenary outfit, which is simply light gear designed for warmth and light elemental protection. It also lets someone who is highly agile to perform well in the field. The man is obviously refined.


    "I''m just wondering," Danton stated. "What would it take for a person to join your Trujima Gang?"


    "Our slots are full," Mainne replied.


    "What Mainne means to say, is that I don''t just let anyone join. But back to business, our people have been itching for a good challenge lately."


    Danton stopped Kite from going on since he would only beat around the bush all night long. He stepped right in front of their leader with his hands behind his back and his stance totally firm. "Why don''t we just settle it right here then?" Danton''s immediate challenge finally had the four of them gasping, except for Kite, though his expression lifted too in similar surprise. "I know you were going to get someone to battle me, but why not raise the steaks higher than credits?"


    This guy means business! Finally, someone who can stand up to anyone! "Name your price, soldier."


    Danton replied willingly and swiftly with his tone still firm. "I''ve been getting bored around here lately. Since you seem to think that your Trujima Gang is so strong and precious, I''d like to test the strength of all your members, including yourself in a single battle each. And if I win all of them, I''ll be taking point for Trujima from then on."


    Mainne and the other members tensed up. Kite has never been challenged like this before! What Danton is saying is that if he defeats their strongest fighter in battle, Kite will be forcibly removed to the back rank of the gang that he founded himself. Brash Danton? Where the hell did you come from? And who are you?


    Gleeon folded his arms in silence, realizing what this means. This isn''t a simple challenge or offer, but a total duel between all members. Officially, this is how rankings are to change within gangs or official elite groups. Naturally, if Kite refuses to duel, it would be the same as committing social suicide amongst them all. Forget throwing away all trust; he would no longer be recognized as an honorary leader, not unless he himself can defeat Danton at his own game.


    It took a few seconds for Kite to finish processing that large of a request. The steaks are much higher than credits right now. Danton isn''t battling for money, but for status and proof of his own power. It''s incredible and rare to find someone of this caliber running around. Still, mentality and will isn''t everything. Kite knew he had been training for a very long time. If Danton has been training too, then one is bound to be better than the other, correct? No, this is a test from God. Danton is the ultimate test to see if the Trujima Gang really is something special, and now he has no choice but to take the challenge head-on.


    Kite cleared his throat to reform the situation in front of him. "Recruitment into the Trujima Gang works in a very specific way. Usually, those who want to join are stress-tested, much like how you are about to be with your offer. But should one challenge all other members of Trujima and then defeat me without slipping up one battle between any members, then I would have to hand over our veneration to the strong, yielding myself as obsolete. That is how we do things here." It''s the same way the League of Elites conducts their championship battles, the righteous wielders they are.


    "I accept those terms," Danton answered. Kite was sugar coding the situation, but it was easy enough to read. Kite is drawing out his glorious moment by forcing Danton to battle and win against all of his subordinates before challenging himself directly. Otherwise, defeating only Kite wouldn''t mean anything. But that''s fair enough. Danton was willing to play this game tonight. Only having been awake for a few hours, drawing the necessary energy for this moment wouldn''t be difficult.


    Kite''s face cringed slightly, he wasn''t very happy about this sudden arrangement. Having no choice, he set up the rules for this tournament, first by addressing his entire team. "I''ll have everyone''s attention in Trujima. We have been challenged by a lone traveler seeking leadership and rank changing in our system. You all know what this means. Who here besides me will go first?"


    Mainne''s mouth was held open by how unexpected this was already. She had never seen Kite behave this way before. He''s usually reserved and careful about these things. Also, she wouldn''t have a problem if he turned down the challenge in fear of losing his leadership, but then this random Brash guy is something else. How dare he?! Waltzing up here and messing things up like this? Kite? How could you even agree to give the man a chance?


    "I''ll go!" Gleeon held his right shoulder while twirling his arm forward in a type of early stretch. "I''d rather assess the situation firsthand, and trounce this weakling if he''s flexing so immaturely."


    Kite felt comfortable already sending in the big guns first. Gleeon is probably more powerful than Mainne and Vanoss combined, even if he isn''t skilled enough for personal combat. Gleeon has been weightlifting and performing tons of exercises that promote physical and muscular growth. On top of this, despite his weaker magical level, he can both tolerate and inflict incredible amounts of pain with the skills he does have, making his HP endurance level very high. Danton won''t stand a chance. "Very well then. Danton and Gleeon, please take your places for battle. I''ll initiate the preparations and parameters."


    Danton felt comfortable quickly, realizing that Kite must be nervous about his own battle by sending in his best team member so soon. Gleeon however does look the part. This battle may actually get rough. Still, if it''s not as intense as that gradyent... Danton shook any shred of doubt away, and prepared his stance and position while Gleeon did the same. Judging first impressions won''t be easy, as it never really is for this kind of purpose.


    Gleeon held his position, now twenty meters apart from Danton. While waiting on Kite to make the battle here official, Gleeon wondered what kind of tactics or strategies Danton might try and use. He can''t be serious about rushing in totally unarmed. That either makes him an excellent magical user, or one that hides his own weapons from plain sight. Therefore, daggers or small weapon units is likely his best defense, and that is already a good sign for Trujima.


    With everyone now apart and at the correct distance to project the ideal Siriean dome in the middle of the road, Kite announced the parameters in which both participants would need to agree on. "The battle between Brash Danton and Gleeon will commence shortly. The rules are standard, and the reward spoil won''t involve any credits due to the nature of which this battle is set on. Are these terms and conditions agreeable for both wielders?" Kite knew he didn''t need to sound so certain of the rules, but it was often a requirement for setting the proper parameters for the correct Siriean dome situation. The holographic text that displays the rewards for winning and losing should report from here on no wins or losses, but there is something bigger at steak either way.


    "Agreed," Danton and Gleeon spoke at the same time. By the time both of their energy scopes were up, Kite gave the final announcement to begin the match, and the will to fight from there on automatically triggered the entire formation of the Siriean dome around Danton and Gleeon.


    Chapter Theme Shift: Scars and Bruises ~ Alexander Wolfgang Pfeffer [Epic Score] (Ravaged World)</a>


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: N/A | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    The Siriean dome that was set up lit the area better than the ambient drumfire could have from this distance, but the dome shield itself was almost fully transparent, allowing Kite, Mainne, and Vanoss to all watch the battle from just outside the dome. The light it provided helped to better see the interior area as well. Gleeon would soon make a move to initiate it all, or Danton would have to do the same if he doesn''t go first. Still, Danton remained perfectly calm despite the excitement building. After all, this is still a walk in the park, and he has been polishing the skills he learned before for a long time now. It felt generous giving them all a fair amount of excitement in the night, but Danton knew not to take it easy. These people won''t get in the way of proving himself to anyone. Even a strong man like Gleeon isn''t game enough for that.


    Gleeon tensed and held his stance as the battle soon began officially. Danton wasn''t moving much, so it would seem he needs some additional motivation. "Alright Danton. Don''t disappoint me!" Gleeon spoke with his fists already drawn as if to punch Danton in the face from a far distance. "You act all tough, but I want to feel what you''ve got!"


    With Danton''s heart already racing, he took Gleeon''s words seriously. Whether he is strong or not, never hold back against any opponent. That is rule one of training, so said father. "Fine then," he enabled. Danton was obviously being asked to go first, and he immediately began to charge Leray energy in the form of MP towards his wrists. A magical spell causing elemental Leray damage would soon make short work of this guy. Danton prepared his arms and hands for the proper motions and signaling, enabling a jade color electrical type glyphring to form around the right wrist while chanting the name of his early spell. "Electro-Ball!" Danton released the stored energy from the glyphring, cannoning out a solid sphere of magical light arcing at the base randomly as it flew near the speed of a bullet. At the same time, Danton''s base MP level dropped by three percent.


    Electro-Ball only has a power level of 2.5, and thus deals a low amount of magical damage overall by electrocution. However, the unmatched speed of the projectile and low MP cost still makes the spell highly popular and effective against stationary targets at short or long range. As expected, Gleeon actually didn''t have enough time to react or jump out of the way. It actually seemed like he had no such intention of moving out of the way of that electric sphere. When the projectile slammed against the fabric material in his shirt, blasts of arcing electrical energy zapped at his nerves in every end of his body for 0.7 seconds. Despite how short lived the spell was, the pain level was in the high range. Gleeon was still however used to this type of pain. While his limbs felt numb, it didn''t last long enough for worry.


    With only 5% HP damage in one single spell, Gleeon quickly judged that Danton''s small spell was somehow efficient and more powerful than average Electro-Ball users, but for skill, it was a massive mistake to make to the Trujima Gang. "You fight like a little kid," Gleeon taunted. "Aero Blast!" Forcing his energy through the same way Danton had done before though without any glyphring, Gleeon created a powerful concentrated blast of wind that drilled through the air narrowly like an invisible beam towards the stationary target.


    Not expecting the speedy return fire, Danton shielded his face by lifting up his arms, cringing in his teeth that he let himself get attacked so easily. Though this was just high-speed air slamming against him, the rush to his face made it impossible to look up and see, while the force kept his strength all on his ankles for balance and support, less he be blown away by a non-damaging spell. Aero Blast has a power level of one, and uses about no energy since a simple blast of high-speed air doesn''t cause damage in this particular spell, but it can be effective in battle interruption. Right now, despite the blast lasting longer than usual, Danton was unable to break free of the hold the rushing air had over him.


    Gleeon concentrated all of his magical focus to the single point, using additional MP energy to keep the Aero Blast spell going ten times longer than it normally should. On top of that, the spell became more powerful as a result. Gleeon knew of the possibility of overpowering spells, which causes them to fail and backfire, but in this instance, he is simply reigniting the same spell cycle as the next one ends. Keeping Danton unable to move due to air friction was a solid enough distractor that took the opponent by surprise, but in order to do anything afterwards, Gleeon would have to stop using Aero Blast and shift focus.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Just as Gleeon let off on the spell, the artificial translucent air generated by the spell wore down enough to reveal Brash Danton, who was still shielding his face with his arms, unable to find some method of escaping that common trick Gleeon was used to using. Now this is the moment of defeat for him; checkmate! "Earth Glave!" Gleeon''s spell went into effect immediately, since he had plenty of training himself. The sudden drop in his MP levels was well maintained and synchronized with the advancing wave of uplifting earth and rock heading straight for Danton. Earth Glave would be on him in 1.4 seconds, and he was already too stunned to move out of the way.


    Danton saw the Earth Glave about to meet up at his position just as the heavy winds died down, and given such little time to react, he was too slow to block out the damage or find another way to dodge the attack. Carrying an average power level of 5, the Earth Glave spell smashed dirt and rock chunks right into Danton''s face, with one bumping off his right temple and causing a visible red scar to form. The force of the blast also knocked him off his feet and backwards, while the advancing wave descended back into the ground to disappear without a trace, but Danton was left with heavy damages.


    "Impressive endurance." Gleeon had to commentate shortly after counting the drop in HP. Given the critical hit to the target, his HP should have dropped six additional points by average standards. So he has been beat up before...


    Danton stood back up quickly, now realizing where his weakness was set to. Long-range combat tactics are not going to cut it against Gleeon. It''s time to get physical, just like in training. Danton charged at Gleeon first thing on foot, draining his own MP energy and channeling all of that power into his right leg. "Flash Kick!" Enabling the quick spell-assisted magical skill, Danton''s aura around his leg intensified into a white translucent color that bloomed brighter in the night. In a single leap off the ground, he flew at an accelerated speed towards Gleeon, closing the gap of twenty meters to zero in a split second. With a flying glowing kick, Danton delivered the magical assisted slam of his boot to Gleeon''s face. Danton twirled around in the air afterwards to assist himself in landing on both feet just to attain moderate distance after landing his hit.


    But as Danton came to his senses and checked the energy scope above Gleeon, he also realized that despite the painful kick to the face, Gleeon was barely affected by it at all, and his body didn''t even stumble backwards from the impact. The guy is a heavy weight body builder for sure.


    Gleeon twisted his neck as if to stretch, not even addressing the bruising sensation of his sore face. Right now, Danton just tried to attack with magic again, and made himself more vulnerable by trying to move away. Gleeon knew plenty of magical spells, though he didn''t like to rely on them too much. This next one in particular will serve just as well. As Gleeon put his hands together, slowly pulling apart his fingers now glowing brightly with blue auras of energy, he chanted the spell as it let out. "Thunder Flare!"


    Danton''s eyes opened wide, as he recognized the spell cast immediately, and that of its full capabilities. Danton charged sideways to try and dodge, not taking any chances with a power-level-7 based spell, but it was too late. The large blue sphere of light encased Danton in a legally defined damage zone quicker than he could get out of the way, and damage set in the moment that light intensified. Electrical arcs flew everywhere to and from Danton and the edge of the sphere, electrocuting him in place with a field of electrical elemental Leray energy. Thunder Flare can also last up to five full seconds of time from advanced users, capable of draining tons of HP and stamina from any target.


    Now having Danton trapped in the middle of the electrical sphere, Gleeon continued to let out the remaining energy in him, swapping his MP levels for Danton''s HP reserves. It had to be painful from the evident yacking coming from Danton. Thunder Flare causes the most painful amount of damage per voltage level; the jolt hold seems to last forever. By the time four seconds went by, the bubble faded fast, and Danton was released from mid-air down to the ground on his hands and knees, his skin smoking with scars hiding underneath his outfit.


    Naturally, Danton''s heart was pounding faster with heavy intent from within his chest. The electrical blast that got him was much more painful and damaging than he could have realized. Danton learned Thunder Flare himself, but never got it quite right with the high draw from MP reserves. How is it that any one of these people could perfect such high-powered spells?


    Danton couldn''t move just yet; his entire body was shaking involuntarily from the tingling sensation everywhere. It wasn''t numb, but rather blistering with pins and needles poking at every nerve, and the drain to his stamina brought on by the drop in HP from an electrical attack didn''t make this any easier. He still struggled to try and stand back up, the fight not over yet. Now that he understands the capabilities of just one of Trujima''s warriors, he has to keep going until the end.


    Kite was standing watch right beside Mainne, judging every aspect of the battle from both sides. Right now, Danton was trying hard just to get himself back up from the Thunder Flare he suffered. "I did try to warn him." Kite folded his arms in front of him. "Danton is lacking somewhere, but I do admire his valor to keep going." Just watching this was painful, but Danton was noticeably struggling to take back control of his nerve-shot limbs again. It''s very rare, but sometimes electrical attacks can cause temporary paralysis on people, preventing bodily movements or at least slowing them down. Danton must have been hit badly, though Gleeon''s power is impressive enough for this not to be a surprise.


    Mainne watched closely, unable to take her eye off of Danton as he struggled to move. In another two seconds, Gleeon would make another attempt to end the fight before it can even begin. There''s just something about him, the way Danton wants to keep going. Plenty of people push themselves, but does he really want to be in charge this badly?


    With very faint electrical sparks occasionally zipping around the edges of his arms, Danton knew that temporary paralysis must have set in, a legally defined Leray rule bound by the protective veil. Without that veil, his heart would have stopped in that brutal spell, and the paralysis would have cut off his ability to breathe too, but coming out of paralysis takes too long. Come on! Move! Danton desperately tried to regain control, his body locked in place with his hands and knees stunned in place, and after one more second of intense struggle did he find enough strength. "Naaaaagh!" Though it hurt like hell, Danton managed to move both arm muscles and that of his legs, standing back up despite his intense lightheadedness. The intensity of the pain and shot nerves died down very quickly after he managed to regain control again, and now he faced Gleeon, who somehow seemed to be standing there disappointed.


    "This doesn''t impress me Danton. You should have stayed down, so that I could put you out with honor."


    Danton was speechless. Did Gleeon really expect him to just give up? What is this about putting anyone out with honor? Don''t you understand where you are? The idiot doesn''t realize that this is just another Leray battle. Battles are not about honor or dignity. Danton quickly reached behind him and swung out from the grip attached to his belt with retractable hinges, a utility allowing people to hide smaller weapons, though Danton knew hiding this wasn''t necessary.


    As he swung behind to extend the tip, he held his right hand forward with a few spins and swooshes of the metallic blade, just like he practiced. Danton was better in close combat situations too, but wielding a short sword is something he adapted this with as well. The short blade was only 18 inches long; close to the design of a standard Wakasashi, but the hilt and lightweight design allowed Danton to maneuver the saber in the air very effectively. His sudden draw of his weapon raised the eyebrows of the three spectators watching this battle unfold. Danton prepared himself and his sword for combat, now realizing where and how to strike. "I''ll show you a battle. Octoslash." Danton didn''t holler the name of his skill, though it wasn''t needed since Octoslash is simply the name of a maneuver without any magic in use.


    Danton charged head first towards Gleeon while he stood there in defense and preparation. With Danton''s grip on the hilt tight as it could be, he swung the blade just one foot away after catching up, shifting around quickly on his feet to go faster at his combination strike, but as Gleeon was being sliced with the short blade, the stings that should register didn''t even faze him. On the energy scope, Danton still noticed very insignificant drops in Gleeon''s HP. Octoslash isn''t working! Is he immune to slashing damage?


    Danton had only two more strikes to go, but Gleeon didn''t even bother allowing his opponent to waste any more time. He grabbed Danton''s right wrist just before another strike, and used his left fist to punch the blade out of Danton''s grip. The short saber flew backwards, clinging to the ground with solid metal collision. Gleeon then used the same free hand and punched Danton straight into the gut, simultaneously letting go of his wrist so that Danton could fly backwards somewhat on top of being punched. The hit obviously affected Danton much more than it did Gleeon.


    That feeling one gets when punched in the stomach as hard as ever, when they suddenly are unable to breathe any more oxygen, it lingers even in a place with a protective veil. But Danton having this happen many times before got over the situation quickly, standing back up and facing Gleeon with his fists out and balled up. Gleeon must want a close combat battle. You''re all about honor, right? Stick them up and fight!


    Gleeon saw this as another pathetic attempt for this wimp to show any level of strength, but if he must need another punch to the gut to get the message, so be it. Gleeon changed his stance and prepared for a real battle, finally interested that Danton at least understood the fighting style of which Gleeon was more comfortable with.


    When they were both in range to attack again, Danton got the first hit right on Gleeon''s jaw, just as he ducked down and changed position to strike Gleeon''s stomach from a sidewinding punch. However, Gleeon didn''t really take any noticeable pain or damage from either hit, and when he threw his fist into Danton''s shoulder, the hit knocked him over on his back. Danton maneuvered from the ground to get back up and keep trying. Luckily, he was faster than Gleeon was when focused, but Gleeon can hit much harder too, and this just kept things difficult for the both of them.


    Kite nodded his head left and right, feeling more relaxed and subtle than before. "Oh, no. You guys are supposed to be making this interesting. This dribble just bores me."


    "Still," Vanoss added. "The guy is brave for trying. Right boss?"


    "Ptch!" he spat. "If you try and fail, then what does that make you? Hm?"


    "You guys want to shut up and watch, or miss the whole thing?"


    An odd reaction coming from Mainne. Kite didn''t know Mainne all too well yet. She did just join two months ago, but she''s usually so bored by battles due to her skill level that she doesn''t even bother with people anymore. What''s the deal with everyone today? All of you! "Gleeon! Stop fighting like a girl and show that idiot who''s in charge here!"


    Gleeon could hear Kite, despite the Siriean dome being 44% sound proof. This pointless exchange of fists is boring though, and Danton just keeps trying to dodge everything thrown his way, even when nothing is coming. So be it then. Push Wave! Gleeon didn''t open his mouth upon releasing the special magical ability. He simply aimed at Danton right as he was about to be hit in the face, generating invisible force in a directional wave so powerful, it could knock Gleeon off the ground too. Danton was naturally forced back in his struggle while scraping skin against the rough terrain of pavement. No real damage was done to Danton though, as Push Wave is simply made effective by resetting someone''s position or situation.


    Danton however came back to it quickly, frustrated that Gleeon can take every type of attack. There has to be some way of stopping this guy. "Shadow Wave!" Danton unleashed his next spell rather quickly, and from ten meters away, it was soon to hit already.


    Gleeon wasn''t stupid enough to just take every attack thrown his way. When HP reserves get lower, it becomes more difficult to defect away from any reaction to pain. Therefore, this Shadow Wave must go away. Gleeon charged energy into both hands to release them as fast as he could. "Twister!" The quickly generated tornado of visible opaque wind traversed forward, quickly swallowing the Shadow Wave. If anything strong enough comes into contact with a Shadow Wave, then that spell triggers the damaging part of the attack, causing the wave to explode. Usually, meeting one spell with another cancels each other out.


    Contrary to expectation, the Shadow Wave exploded the moment the Twister zoomed over the wave, and as for the Twister itself, it just kept on going forward. Twister is a slightly upgraded version of Whirlwind, with a power level of 4.7. Shadow Wave has a power level of 4.0, therefore, the Twister won''t be stopped by a simple Shadow Wave, and wind elemental slashing damage will be caused as the twister advances to the target.


    Danton wasn''t expecting it, but he was soon engulfed in the slicing winds and air of the Twister attack that Gleeon used to trick him out. The onset waves of slicing set into Danton''s skin, creating visible cuts on his hands, forearms, and the bottom of his legs, but they weren''t deep cuts. The damage and pain itself wasn''t as alarming as Danton would have believed it to be.


    The winds surrounding Danton subsided rather quickly, revealing to him Gleeon, who was standing there with a changed gesture and stance. Was he expecting that one spell to be the last one he needed to try? Danton reassured himself, knowing full well that he could defeat Gleeon if he only try harder and harder. "Eye for an eye," Danton glared while charging MP energy into his right hand again. "Lightning Strike!" With an upgraded form of Electro-Ball, Lightning Strike has a power of 3.5, improved completely on the design. Danton launched a distant arc of electrical energy through another jade colored glyphring bigger in size, though holographic and intangible. With that arc, Gleeon was met with a high electrical current for almost two full seconds. No matter how high one''s endurance is, jolt holds are not something anyone can get out of. Despite his resilience to pain, Gleeon''s health finally dropped of a higher level through the energy scope.


    Gleeon regained his senses quickly, but it appeared that Danton still wasn''t willing to go down without a fight. So be it. "I''ll give it everything then. Drilling Fate!" Gleeon summoned a small pair of daggers from two yellow generation glyphrings, after which he charged energy into the devices until they were glowing yellow with an aura. When ready, Gleeon threw the small knives at Danton, sure he would be unable to calculate the trajectory sequence. Within less than a second, the spinning blades created a horizontal vortex of air about a meter wide in diameter, now shooting forward until colliding with Danton''s front.


    Danton immediately used more of his energy to create a yellow glyphring of his own. Seeing as Gleeon is immune to slashing damage, perhaps another element is more effective. "Hammer of Might!" Just as the oversized sledgehammer formed into Danton''s hands, he charged towards Gleeon, and threw the hard metal with as much force as he could. Contrary to what happened previously every time, Gleeon swept to the side, intentionally dodging the hammer flying his way. The metal object continued onward until slamming into the shield wall, making a negation sound and forming large hexagons at the impact site. The Hammer of Might faded into nothingness shortly after, and Danton''s technique scored no damage.


    Finally frustrated, Danton pulled out his saber again, as before it transferred back in the same place he left it when attached due to the properties of Leray defined rules. With his saber drawn, Danton figured it was time to get back to the basics of combat since nothing else was working. "Power Attack!" A simple blade would deal no damage to someone like Gleeon, but if he infuses non-elemental magical energy into the weapon, the power level of each hit is often multiplied by a factor of five. Danton knew already who was faster in this situation.


    With the glowing blade ready, Danton charged into Gleeon first with a shoulder bash meant to knock him off balance. Gleeon tried again to grip Danton''s wrist while he recovered, but Danton instead blocked that attempt with a blunt downwards to his arms, next slashing the blade through the top of Gleeon''s left arm. Despite all previous resistances, the damage level to Gleeon actually caused enough pain to make him flinch and blurt out nonsense. Danton continued this close combat combination, using the power of Leray magic to his advantage in the blade as he took more sweeps at Gleeon''s sides and legs. For every hit and strike, Gleeon reacted negatively while his HP chipped down further and further. By the time the range dropped below halfway, Gleeon knew he had to stop this with something other than brute force, and he unleashed magic just when Danton was in front of him again.


    "Pin Missile!" Hundreds of sharp metal needles spawning out of a yellow glyphring pierced through Danton''s skin and clothing, creating a reaction that had him totally frozen by the pain of several stings. His HP dropped down at the end of the needle barrage cycle, but only slightly compared to the amount of hurt this put him through. Gleeon appeared to be hurting too, backing away for comfort while he rethought his strategy.


    Gleeon didn''t take away more than two meters of distance, since Danton was obviously the one disabled. Now was his chance to strike back. Gleeon prepared to charge more energy for one final spell cast.


    Danton however let it all go, moving his limbs despite the needles still stuck inside of him. While it hurt like hell, being paralyzed again wasn''t going to happen. Now that Gleeon is close enough for this to work, "Crimson Flare!" Danton''s MP levels dropped significantly, but he only formed one large crimson sphere. Crimson Flare creates a crimson sphere that is basically intangible, though with a radius of 4 meters in all directions. Set with a power level of 5.4, the pain level is said to be just as devastating as the damage factor. As slow moving as it is, Gleeon won''t know what to do being this close to start with.


    Gleeon was trapped in less than a second, inside of the crimson sphere dealing fire elemental and non-elemental magical damage at the same time. Having about 200<sup>o</sup>F steam encasing his bare skin is about close enough to the experience one would go through with a Crimson Flare attack, and the damage level for HP reduction is just as high. Gleeon fixed his mouth shut only with his teeth, clamping down his fists as he became immobilized by the agony of the long lasting Crimson Flare. Danton tricked him by using it so close range; that invocation was lightning fast too.


    Gleeon escaped the sphere as it faded away, panting from the exhaustion and physical pains scattering everywhere around his body. Whatever it was inside of him growing, Gleeon could finally ignore pain once again.


    "Sword Sweep!" Danton threw his short blade as if it were a spinning dagger, and it withstood the same effect going through the air.


    Gleeon caught the blade by the handle just before it grazed him in the eye, and he now held onto Danton''s sword. Danton was of course surprised, but it was this moment where Gleeon remembered one interesting Leray rule. The weapon will always respawn back to its owner when lost, except in one circumstance. If an enemy catches that weapon without damage being caused, ownership is transferred until the blade is recovered or dropped again, lasting for the entire battle. So what will you do without your precious metal, Danton?


    Danton reacted quickly once Gleeon took a few slow steps forward wielding his own blade. "Fire Bolt!" Danton''s Fire Bolt took off from his red glyphring like a cannon, but in that short moment of time, Danton watched his own blade cut through the flaming sphere of magic, defusing its entire effect to nothing while Gleeon was swinging the thing around like a maniac, now closing in on Danton to finish him off.


    Gleeon swung the sword forward from an upwards position, but Danton swept to the left in order to dodge. It was then that Gleeon made use of his free hand, already charged with energy, already glowing with a surrounding fire elemental glyphring aimed to the guy''s chest. "Triple Fire!"


    There was no chance to react to this development, other than for Danton to realize what was now to happen to him. With a triple blast of three Fire Bolts at once, Danton was shot and forced backwards while sustaining the first-degree burns under his outfit and onto his chest. He felt much weaker in the same moment, his health dropping well below that of Gleeon.


    Gleeon continued to approach Danton even while he was down, preparing to stab him with his own short sword. Danton was struggling on his legs as if they were disabled. Though the real issue he was having was proper energy consumption. The veil will only allow consciousness with its protection if he doesn''t wear down the energy of his own MP level too quickly. When he does, HP levels take its place. Lose both, and the battle is finished early.


    "Any last words?" Gleeon wasn''t even serious about his offer, drilling the sword downward to impact right on top of Danton.


    But Danton immediately rolled away, causing the blade to stab against the pavement and cling away instead. His roll then allowed him to position his body in a manner that enabled him to stand back up with ease. What Gleeon was now realizing was that Danton''s right hand, and that of both his corneas were glowing with a radiant cyan color. "Never hesitate to take your victory! Thunder Flare!" Danton saw Gleeon tense tightly, likely because he knew there was little chance to dodge Thunder Flare, but it could also have been that Gleeon wasn''t expecting Danton to also have knowledge of the spell. Honestly, this one is very difficult to execute. There was no way one Thunder Flare would be enough to end this match, unless he modifies it first.


    The large blue sphere encased Gleeon just as it began the electrical discharge of high energy, and there was no way to stop what was coming next. Danton held his hands out and open, controlling the entire field in front of him while the discharge continued. Gleeon made a few grunting noises in between, but this was uncontrollable for him since the jolt hold was impossible to escape from...


    After six seconds passed, Danton still had his hands and eyes glowing from the effects of the spell cast, but the electric sphere was still full of life, continuing to discharge while Gleeon''s HP drained rapidly. After eight seconds, Danton could hear Gleeon''s teammates calling out through the field, while he tried to control himself from fainting given the rougher MP discharge.


    "What the hell''s going on here?! That''s too long for a Thunder Flare to last!" Kite''s concern was noted, but there was nothing he could do. His job is to start the battle, but he legally has no way to end it since he is not an official referee. Still, how is Danton manipulating the time of discharge on that Thunder Flare? After a closer examination, he soon realized that Danton''s MP reserves were falling down even faster than before. So that''s how he''s doing it. Kite forgot that wielders can manipulate the average time and discharge of spells by using more MP energy. You can''t overpower a spell, but you can manipulate certain properties to cause more damage in other ways. Danton is choosing to electrocute Gleeon until it''s over. How could he be so brutal?!


    Danton counted the single digit number now dropping on Gleeon''s energy scope. Danton felt dizzy right now, but he continued to let out all of his remaining energy, keeping this electric bubble going until Gleeon was out of it. After a few more seconds passed, just as the number dropped to zero, the bubble faded away, and Danton fell to his knees due to pure exhaustion. His breathing became heavy quickly while he desperately tried to stay conscious and keep it together.


    Gleeon collapsed quickly on his stomach, totally unconscious due to the natural rules of Leray battling. He''s not dead, but rather unconscious for the next 15-30 minutes. Danton felt so lightheaded and sick to his stomach from all of the bruises he suffered for this one victory. It was much harder than he initially believed it to be, and to think there are no credits for this win. Still, a match is a match, and all wielders must fight the hardest every time. Otherwise, none will make it as a wielder.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Brash Danton | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Chrome Mom New 12 ~ Advanced Battlegrounds OST</a>


    <hr>


    With that, the Siriean dome collapsed around the both of them, and silence ensued much longer. Was it the shock of the result, or how incredibly intense that was? Mainne couldn''t be sure, but the results on the holographic reward read as clear as day. Danton won the match. Even if that was a close call, and even if Gleeon wasn''t the better fighter compared to Kite, he was still the second best. Right now, she can''t tell if that face Kite is making is due to fear, anger, or the surprise of the current results. Regardless of the situation, Mainne knew she needed to step out there and give Danton a healing orb.


    Danton finally pulled out one of his many healing orbs, when he noticed Kite trying to stop Mainne from delivering one of her own.


    "Don''t we want to help him recover after that?" Mainne was about to lose it. If Kite decides he''s going to cheat somehow, then this was all for nothing. Besides, she and Vanoss still have to fight Danton too. It''s impossible that Danton would defeat all of us.


    "Danton can take care of himself using the healing orbs he brought with him." Just when it seemed like Mainne was about to try harder to yell at him, Kite heard a response from behind.


    "He is right you know."


    Kite and Mainne turned around to see Danton standing tall and energetic again, holding a glowing white orb of healing energy in his right hand. Danton felt so refreshed, but there was no need to have this little argument. After agreeing with Kite, Danton explained why. "Every Leray wielder should always be responsible and capable of healing themself for future encounters after a rough match. So I carry plenty of orbs on my person. Mainne? There''s no need to make an upset about it."


    Mainne was silent after, but it doesn''t make it okay that this guy just plowed through his finest subordinate. "Look at you just calling your own shots. I get that you''re tougher than you look, but you can''t just extend spells to get your way in a battle."


    Danton flung out his short sword, knowing it was reattached in his favorite space again since Gleeon was out cold. "You might want to be careful making those extreme accusations. Everything I did followed every legitimate Leray rule and code there is to practice, and you announced yourself earlier that your specific battle parameters were normal, so that''s how it is." He saw that Kite tensed up again ready to argue, but Danton made sure it was clear as to how he beat Gleeon. "He almost had me. But when he had his chance, Gleeon took too much time to actually make anything final. It''s too easy for anyone to feint a weakness, and that''s why I don''t hesitate to finish a person off."


    Mainne could feel herself trembling slightly, but assured herself it was just from the cold outside. Danton doesn''t hesitate? What does he mean by that? Can he just finish anyone off with that powerful Thunder Flare?


    Kite''s expression changed drastically, and he held his hand to his brows in frustration. "I see." Invoking a reaction from Mainne in disbelief, Kite elaborated what he understood between both of them. "I''ll have to have a talk with Gleeon about that then. We don''t tolerate weaknesses in Trujima."


    "Kite!"


    Ignoring Mainne''s constant arguments, Kite put his hand to the tip of Danton''s saber. "You can put that thing away now. Save the violence for your next battle."


    Danton did as he was instructed, but raised a bit of concern for his fallen foe. "Are we battling in the same exact location?"


    Kite sighed, now realizing what Danton meant. He sure does have a very indirect way with words. "Will someone please get idiot number one off the field? Now?"


    Mainne decided to go help drag Gleeon back here and attempt healing orbs to wake him up, but Kite was being way too harsh on everyone right now. Danton can''t possibly intimidate Kite this much.


    "Well then," Kite replied after seeing Mainne go to help Gleeon from the floor. "That puts you against idiot number three."


    "Name''s Vanoss, sir."


    "Yes, it is." Vanoss. He sure has come a long way since joining, despite only being in this gang for just three weeks. His sword skills are quite excellent compared to the others, perhaps enough to match that of Danton, but he is still inexperienced. Might as well get on with the slaughtering of the pawns. Then again, if Vanoss can still stand here so bravely and correct his words when the leader is in an unforgiving mood, it''s just more proof that he is growing. Let''s find out then. "Danton, Vanoss will be your next contestant. The same basic and general rules of battle will apply. Now take your places."


    "It won''t be much longer before I take your place."


    "An interesting threat," Kite replied. "Don''t announce things you don''t already know. Even if you do face off against me, boy, you won''t take my place in Trujima. And Vanoss? You need to give this everything you''ve got, as if your life depends on it."


    Kite sure is being pushy now that his position is threatened, but Danton was okay with it this time. This actually encourages Vanoss to try his absolute hardest. If he didn''t, there would be no battle. So all the more scary encouragement, please continue.

 Chapter 9-B: Shadows of us All (Danton VS Vanoss)

    <hr>


    <10/21/1962 ¨C 21:50 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    As soon as Danton and Vanoss took their places in the last battle location as before, the reward spoil system, energy scopes, and Siriean dome were all pulled out. With the battle already starting, it would be up to one of the contestants to choose who goes first.


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: N/A | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    "The match begins," Kite announced. "All soldiers draw swords!"


    Danton wasn''t sure why Kite would order himself or Vanoss to draw their primary weapon. He doesn''t have to follow that order, since Kite never specified any particular rules beforehand. But Vanoss reacted immediately, drawing a retractable long saber attached to a metal hilt. The sword was completely curved with a thirty-degree arc, but the blade itself was just over a meter long, and very thin from refinement. Vanoss swung the sword around himself a few times just to show off that his swordsmanship skills were actually legitimate and scary.


    Though he didn''t need to, this coaxed Danton into drawing out his short saber again. He could use this himself to deflect Vanoss''s blade, but Vanoss would still have the advantage of a better weapon. It probably weighs more too though.


    "I might be newbie, but I''m no pushover!" Vanoss established his place right in front of the new guy. Danton might act all tough, but he''s all talk. Gleeon is just too worked up about honorable fighting. He won''t even use swords anymore. A blade is a warrior''s best weapon! "I''m mopping the floor with you tonight. You hear me?!"


    "My word," Danton murmured to himself. "I never even intimidated him yet. But if this rookie wants to show off his skills so badly... Show me everything you''ve got!"


    Vanoss prepared his stance and his sword. At first it appeared as if he were about to charge at Danton, a predictable gesture, but instead, Vanoss ran forward only about two paces, his blade already glowing with a radiant heat from magical buildup, which was undetectable until now. "Splice!" As Vanoss swung the sword sideways, the glowing arc of metal traced a pattern of light in the air, a nearly two-dimensional white line that shot forward in a linear path.


    Danton saw what was coming, even if his earlier estimations about this rookie were off. It takes a lot of skill and patience to learn Splice, but often do sharp objects possess the power to create this peculiar spell. Usually, dagger users prefer it best since they can create a crisscross line that intercepts and makes it so much more difficult to evade for the target. With a single sword, you only get one line, less you double the energy consumption. Still, the power level and pain level is too high to take it head on. Danton ducked down near the last moment, finding an opening closer to the ground where the line would pass over him. During that short moment, Danton could feel the intense radiant heat coming from the magical spell, which would have drilled through his entire body if he did not dodge it.


    Kite''s eyes opened wider in surprise, while Mainne gasped noticeably from how unexpected that was. Vanoss never once showed him that he could use such a powerful skill. He really is trying his absolute hardest right now. Vanoss must have hidden this ability in order to fool Kite until this point. This little fighter can give this battle some fuel, provided Danton doesn''t dodge everything in his path.


    He dodged it? Guess I should have known. Vanoss held his blade tightly in preparation. Danton must have enough speed on his side to make short work of anything slow. That must be how he so easily endured Gleeon, who never dodges anything, but Vanoss knew his limitations as well. He was trained how to wield a sword by Kite himself, but being agile is something he was born with. Two can play this game.


    Danton charged energy into his right hand creating a fire glyphring. Vanoss would certainly see this coming from a distance, but can he really dodge them all? Danton released his energy through the glyphring, shooting out Fire Bolts by the second. "Triple Fire!" As all three Fire Bolts left the glyphring, Vanoss was left to figure the situation out for himself. Even Danton remained still with his fading glyphring to watch the result.


    Vanoss knew the others were watching, Gleeon soon to wake up and join them, but dodging this is something he alone depended on. Three Fire Bolts, each with the same individual power level cut down slightly to reduce MP consumption, all with the same rate of speed, all with homing properties that lock on to his body heat. Distance between each projectile is 2.7 meters. Vanoss knew now that he needed a very heavy leap to his left side at the very last possible moment, following a solid deflection.


    As he executed his evasion therapy, Vanoss leaped fast away to his left from the first projectile, just as he could feel the imminent heat about to smash into his chest. His leap was so far from his initial position that the second Fire Bolt wasn''t able to change direction quick enough to continue tracking him, and it too continued forward towards the edge of the shield wall. The third Fire Bolt however was on quick approach. Vanoss wasted no time at all while lifting his long saber up. He pointed the very tip out in front, forcing the Fire Bolt to latch on. Vanoss then swept the sword away from himself while side stepping in the opposite direction, causing the Fire Bolt to veer far off course before becoming weak and spiraling towards the ground.


    Just like that, Vanoss demonstrated the necessary speed and calculation needed to make short work out of Triple Fire. Danton could hardly believe that Vanoss had this much skill. Why would Kite send him out second? Did he think all of this fighting and healing would wear people down that quick? It makes no sense!


    "Keep it up Vanoss!" Finally being supportive, Kite decided to cheer for his own team. Though he had no idea Vanoss was really this good. That''s his hidden talent, other than being skilled in lifting that sword. Kite taught him most of this himself.


    Vanoss responded with action, prompting Danton to prepare for his counterattack. Instead of retracting the saber, Vanoss simply let it drop to the ground, emitting a loud metal cling from the vibration of the metal, but the reason was soon noticeable, as both of his hands were glowing with colored auras. The right hand was glowing yellow, and the other a darker orange color, neither of which needed support glyphrings. Vanoss unleashed his power shortly after charging that energy, beginning with his right hand without even so much as a chant to determine the specific spell.


    Danton didn''t need verbal identification for what he saw unfold in front of him. The twister that expanded to be about four times the size and power began shifting forward in front of him. This spell is known as Rotation; the last tier of refinement for the initial spell called Whirlwind. With this power level, Danton would sustain a heavy amount of wind elemental slashing damage, which would hurt in a tornado of this size, but before he could think of a good plan of evasion, something from behind shoved him far forward, something solid and sharp, enough to bruise his back and shoulders. Danton was sent forward unexpectedly, which caused him to land closer to the Rotation attack already sliding on top of him. In less than an additional second, Danton was engulfed in the strong gusty winds that made it impossible to see ahead by more than a meter. The wind was also kicking dirt and small rocks into his face while cuts and abrasions formed all around him. This devastating attack pattern lasted for six additional seconds, grinding down his HP on the energy scope while Danton was left to try and figure out what just happened.


    "Excellent!" Kite shouted with his fist raised high. That''s the way to do it. Danton totally didn''t see the silent Dualcasting trick Vanoss pulled off. With Rotation coming in front the front, Vanoss started an Earth Glave from behind Danton heading towards him instead of away. That Earth Glave pushed Danton straight into the storm for double the damage. That''s how you battle!


    Mainne felt excited and confused at the same time. A part of her wanted Danton to try harder and win, but right now, Vanoss deserves all the credit for the way things are going now. "Keep going Vanoss!" As Mainne continued cheering for her teammate, Gleeon woke up from behind, and joined their watch while he healed using an orb.


    Vanoss didn''t hesitate to wait for something to happen. He picked up his long saber again, and rushed in towards Danton before he could recover.


    Danton was long recovered by now to handle anything else, but Vanoss was doing so well at long range. Now he wants to fight close combat? Danton accepted that challenge with excessive caution, certain there was another trick up the guy''s sleeve. With his short blade wielded in one hand, Danton prepared to defend himself while Vanoss closed the gap quickly.


    There was little delay left when Vanoss tried to jump on top of Danton - sword first. Danton held it back with his intercepted sword, but the clash of metal was ear piercing for them both. Vanoss tried to strike again and again relentlessly, leaving Danton to constantly catch where Vanoss''s sword was going to be before it happened. Anytime it would be too quick, Danton would have to simply get out of the way of the curved blade until he could block with his own short saber again.


    As this continued to go on, Danton finally found an opening, attempting to stab at Vanoss''s shoulder, but somehow, he caught the motion quick enough to slide his saber sideways and lock Danton out of that opening. He''s fast!


    The constant sound of metal clashing was something Vanoss had to get used to. Danton was blocking or dodging every single hit. Whoever taught this guy how to evade so well must have been a gradyent himself. Who else would have trained Brash to fight this good, using that pitiful excuse for a saber? "Ragh!" With one massive force of muscle going downward from up high, Vanoss tried to simulate cutting Danton in two, but was suddenly pushed back before he could get the sword down.


    Danton had unleashed a blast of pure force from his left hand, using the spell Push Wave to stop Vanoss in his tracks, but upon being pushed backwards like that, Vanoss rolled back up to his feet instead of staying on his back, and he charged towards Danton again with his sword. How long could he keep this up?


    Vanoss swooshed his sword from left to right, and Danton dodged both swings effortlessly. Vanoss then tried to copy Danton''s last move, using a Push Wave to get him off balance, but Danton literally dodged the directional Push Wave by ducking below his hand while simultaneously gripping his wrist. Danton then punched Vanoss in the face, and kicked him backwards. Vanoss however took that pain and went right back to it, trying to deflect Danton''s blade enough times to wear him down. Push Wave didn''t work this time, but maybe after this maneuver.


    Watching those two go at it with swords was making Kite''s blood race through every vein. He imagined himself being down there, trying to get Danton with better tricks than Vanoss. He had to consider that Vanoss was only thinking on the spot, barely keeping Danton on his toes... After all of that fighting, pushing, and kicking, not a single one of them registered any change on either energy scope. They''re evenly matched!


    "Raaagh!" Vanoss vigorously tried moreover to get in just one slice to Danton, just to prove that he could hit him despite the man''s speed, but it still wasn''t working! It didn''t matter who was on the offensive or how long it lasted. Vanoss could easily block every hit Danton threw at him so long as it came from his small saber, but Danton could do the same in return. Who the hell trained this maniac?


    "Push Wave!" Danton''s forceful Push Wave used from more of a distance shoved Vanoss back while Danton spurted forward, but unexpectedly, Vanoss planted his curved blade into the ground mid-flight, shifting his body weight and supporting his flight using the same sword. Vanoss then swung all the way around using the blade as a circular fulcrum, lifting out at the last moment and transferring all of that momentum in both his shoes for a solid kick to Brash''s gut.


    Finally, Danton was kicked with all that force in his chest, which made him slightly twirl backwards mid-stumble. With Vanoss still landing on his feet and coming after him, Danton got over it quick to continue blocking out Vanoss''s sword strikes. That kick probably didn''t even drain Danton''s health by one single percent, defiantly not more than one if it did, but Vanoss fights relentlessly without even tiring out. Danton already felt like he ran an entire marathon. This has to stop!If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Exa-Plasmosis! Danton had to chant the name in his mind, since his mouth was in full use just to breathe in and out. Danton charged the energy, and released the greenish-purple projectile of plasmic energy bolts straight into Vanoss''s chest. There were three of them, each hitting at nearly the same time with more than enough force to launch Vanoss backwards and off to the ground in agony. Finally! That stopped his constant bombardment.


    Vanoss however got back up, still after a few seconds of being breathless. But Danton didn''t add to the attack... He must be out of breath! Now is the time to strike, magic against magic! "Plume!" Little delay ensued with his hand glowing yellow with magical release.


    Danton was suddenly surrounded with geysers of rock and dirt bits exploding upward from beneath the ground during a low-level earthquake made to disrupt his actions further. Danton wanted to try something to get out of this mess he was in now, but Plume is very difficult to escape from. It''s a power-level-six area attack, dealing heavy earth elemental magical damage by bombarding the character with heavy chunks of rock and boulders shooting upwards from the ground in randomized locations. It is theoretically possible to evade this by standing still due to the randomness, but with Danton''s current luck...


    Vanoss watched, as dumbfounded Danton stood there right before being blown sky high from the geyser going off below him, hitting the ground quickly as the dirt settled enough to see in that direction again. His energy scope updated accordingly, proving to Vanoss that he could win this if he kept things going like this.


    Vanoss may very well have this in the bag. Kite noticed Gleeon beside him now, watching in amazement while Vanoss took the lead after him. Danton was over on the ground cringing in pain while Vanoss made him look like a fool. "Gleeon?" Kite spoke without diverting his eyes to the peripheral side.


    "Yes sir?"


    This makes the most sense right now. Even if Vanoss somehow loses, the results so far are clear enough. Kite made a mistake trying to rank Gleeon above the new trainee. "Your rank has moved down to third. Vanoss is much more powerful a warrior than you, at least for today."


    After finally getting up, Danton realized he wasn''t getting attacked any further, and soon discovered why. Plume is a high tier spell, and it took a lot out of Vanoss''s MP levels just now to perfect that ability. Now he''s standing still panting, waiting for him to make a move. So his endurance was simply linked to the fact that Vanoss isn''t comfortable expending his MP early. It makes sense now. If your MP level is really high, take any amount of hits to your health as you may, it will barely stun you.


    Danton however didn''t have any bright ideas at the moment for how to chip down his opponent''s HP. He would first need to wear down the MP of his opponent before trying, conserving his own in the process. Better to go with a full barrage to buy more time. "Laser Rain!" Needing no glyphring, Danton unleashed the massive buildup of energy, despite telling himself to be more conservative. There was more than a three-second delay to the start of the spell.


    Soon after, lasers began shooting down all over the entire field on Vanoss''s side. Though he was already getting hit with a few of the magical rain of light, the damage level wasn''t all that intense. Danton must be new to the spell entirely. Silly he should try that. Vanoss shouted the name of his next spell, casually standing in the rain of lasers bombarding only his side of the field. His glowing blue hand passed over the entire curvature of the blade, transferring the energy respectively. "Electrical Sword!" By the time he was done enhancing his blade, Vanoss''s weapon was glowing green with visible electrical arcs coming off the end. He electrified the entire blade, now adding the potential to deal electrical magic damage every time it strikes a target. Some additional assistance of slashing force will be added too, giving Danton one hell of a problem.


    Danton worried that the MP reserves were still high for Vanoss, on top of his leading HP while standing in a rain of red lasers soon to dissipate. Now Vanoss was happier with his upgrade of a blade; already was Danton being charged with that deadlier version of a weapon.


    Vanoss soon entered Danton''s range again, still is he prepared to defend himself with that small little saber of his. Vanoss slashed at Danton again and again. At first, his attempt to block his attack with his own short sword were still just as effective even while Danton was stepping backwards during the moment, but it was just a few more swipes until Vanoss finally swiped the side under him, slashing the blade under Danton''s waste towards the upper leg.


    Danton cringed immediately and sank down, giving Vanoss the chance to try striking him again in the head, but Danton thought quick and used another Push Wave just like before. Vanoss was shot backwards while somehow maintaining enough balance not to fall down off his feet. This gave Danton plenty of time to get over the pain of both a cut and electric shock. He stood up despite the leg pain, and advanced forward towards Vanoss despite the new danger attached.


    Vanoss took the challenge willingly; even letting Danton cut the side of his armpit while Vanoss shoved his arcing metal blade through Danton''s left shoulder. The moment the blade went in, Danton''s HP dropped, but while it stuck in there, contrary to what happens with an unenhanced normal sword, Danton''s HP gradually dropped more and more, the electric shock dealing damage over time quick as he struggled to grab hold of Vanoss''s sharp saber and pull it out despite adding damage and open wounds to his left hand.


    The moment Vanoss had his sword pulled out of Danton, he swung upward at a side sweeping angle, just enough to knock Danton''s short saber far out of his hand since he was too distracted to hold onto it. The trick worked out well, with Danton hopping back and holding his shoulder from the intense pain. Vanoss attempted to jump forward in pursuit, when Danton suddenly used his right hand to shoot water in Vanoss''s face. It was a full-fledged Water Blast spell.


    Danton felt the sting long after that thing was removed. Blasting Vanoss with water wasn''t entirely random either. Though it didn''t exactly work out the way he hoped. Instead of causing electrical issues with that sword zapping Danton, the blade simply lost its luster and dimmed down until going back to normal. When electrified, that blade really deals a lot more HP damage than he expected.


    "Come on! You''ve got this!" Kite just wanted Vanoss to get it over with, sizzling the words through his teeth should he fail. Vanoss was only blasted with water after all that. Shake it off and finish him!


    Vanoss was dripping wet with pure water shot out from Danton''s low level magic. It was annoying, but it serves no purpose since there is no HP damage involved, nor does it add any other effect. "We''re not here for a water war," he taunted.


    Vanoss thinks he''s just fine if he dries off? Danton figured this could happen. Vanoss is skilled with battle, but he isn''t all that well educated. Water works wonders with matching up against fire based spells, but it also adds adhesion to electrical current, drastically lowering one''s resistance to that specific element. Even now, Vanoss was charging forward on his feet again, soon to try and chop Danton up despite the upset.


    Requiring at least 20% of charged MP reserves, Danton had secretly been building this up during a small stop in Vanoss since he got wet. Now it was time to unleash the full power Danton stored in his hands, requiring no such glyphring to function. "Electro-Sheet!" Well before Vanoss even got close to Danton, he unleashed his powerful magic at the ground, generating a solid square shape about three meters wide in all directions of electrical current.


    Vanoss was stopped immediately, now being electrocuted by one of the most painful magical attacks he had ever faced before. Electro-Sheet is a very difficult skill to learn, one that has a power level of 8.5 without refinement. Though it''s one weakness is being bound to a small section of the ground, the damage and pain level is ultimate compared to other electrical spells, while this one also can last up to five agonizing seconds of defeating horror. On top of all that, the damage level is nearly doubled to those who have recently been hit with any wet substance. Danton knew what he was doing.


    Meanwhile, Vanoss was trying to scream at the top of his lungs, though unable to since the jolt hold locked up every part of his body. For the next three seconds, his HP dropped faster than anyone would have expected, and when the jolt hold was finally over, Vanoss felt dizzy enough to fall to his knees, luckily left away from the state of paralysis.


    His very skin was rumbling with the sensation of nerve damage tingling in all location, while his stamina was for the most part drained out entirely. Such a powerful electrical attack shouldn''t even be possible with anyone. Feeling hot or cold anymore won''t be a problem at least.


    "Agh!" Kite reacted. "Get back up and finish him off! It''s too close to call it quits now."


    "Come on Vanoss!" Mainne couldn''t bear to watch this go down. Vanoss was hit so badly that he lost just over 60% of his health in one single attack, but that has to have drained Danton of his energy too. There''s still a chance!


    Danton finished backing away further, ensuring he could win this without getting too close. His own HP was a bit low for comfort too, and his pain still lingered on as Vanoss''s pain would for a while longer, but after getting far enough, Danton decided to put an end to his misery with one last sure spell. This one would leave him with little MP left, enough for one more emergency spell. He held out his arm aimed at Vanoss, charging the massive load of MP required to trigger the launch of the spell. This one won''t be easy. With one final inhale, Danton triggered the release of the spell just when he was ready, and just when Vanoss was finally standing again. "Prism!"


    The very name of the spell echoed over towards Vanoss from Danton''s far distance. Danton was now launching random projectiles from Prism, one of the most well-known and hardest spells to learn outside of secret elite tricks. Prism combines all the elements of fire, ice, and electricity all in their respective bolts and randomizes each pattern based on user-defined parameters to barrage a target with elemental hell.


    Vanoss charged his energy for something, anything! He doesn''t have to use it yet, just so long as he stores it in both his hands until needed for a good idea. Something was strange from the moment Danton released his first projectile. The first one was a Fire Bolt, then an Ice Bolt, then Electro-Ball... "Got it! Shotgun Blast!" Vanoss spawned a blaster weapon in his hands, artificially made using magic running off a timer with magical assistance. Vanoss also knew of one trick Danton used to defeat Gleeon, draining more MP reserves to keep the same spell going longer. It works to keep weapons from going back into phase space too, so this shotgun weapon can last for a long time.


    Before Vanoss began to fire into the airspace above him, he realized his plan was better suited since Danton really didn''t have as strong a hold on Prism as he thought. Prism is supposed to combine elemental bolts, but he modified the spell somehow. Instead of shooting Fire Bolts, he is shooting Fire Balls instead, spheres with less power and no homing properties. Though his aim is still spot on, it was also a weak choice since Thunderbolt, A.K.A Lightning Strike has been replaced with its weaker format of Electro-Ball as well. That means by itself, it can be dodged, and with the rest, it can be defused.


    Vanoss began firing off his shotgun weapon, unloading normally harmless shells into the air, and aiming straight for all of the bright projectiles heading for him. Since the scattershot weapon had somewhat random accuracy, Vanoss was only able to shoot down most of these projectiles, forcing them to explode or detonate in the air before reaching him.


    Danton sure didn''t see it coming, and he learned well too late that using Prism in its less refined format to save his energy turned out to be one of the worst ideas, though he couldn''t use the real version of Prism just yet. After Vanoss was only hit with two Fire Balls and one Electro-Ball, shooting down all the rest by extending his weapon''s life, Vanoss threw the weapon away, and created two more yellow glyphrings in front of him, while Danton assessed the power of his failed Prism strike.


    Danton was surprised that the guy still had enough energy and stamina at a low health level to keep going, as most do not have this capacity. But he now had to prepare himself for another unknown attack heading his way even at this distance. Danton already has low MP reserves, and low HP reserves. Taking a hit or giving one will likely be his very last move. The next attack has to be dodged!


    Now holding two small dagger blades, Vanoss infused the necessary energy into each small curved knife to generate the start of the effective spell. "Flying Guillotine!" After throwing each blade at the proper angles, the red circle that usually forms between each spinning dagger came to life with magical slashing damage now infused into the spinning projectile. Even at this distance will the attack be effective. Danton can''t dodge from moving to the sides or ducking down.


    So Flying Guillotine is what he has to dodge? If only he could fly¡ª "Oh, right. Seragus." Seragus showed him that using the power of magical assistance, he can use his limbs and more to manipulate the properties of gravity on his own body. Danton charged that small amount of energy into both of his legs, then gave himself a leap off the floor. "Jump!" Danton performed his plan successfully, leaping high into the air as if he were standing on the edge of the moon. After achieving an altitude of thirty meters from the floor, Danton could see the pitiful Flying Guillotine still bound close to the floor by design, now returning to the sender. Surely everyone was wondering what Danton was up to, already incredibly close to the very top edge of the dome shield. From up here, this was all still just to dodge an attack.


    "Meteor Strike!" he bellowed. Danton used the very last of his remaining magic, deciding to finish this with a real aerial attack that cannot be dodged so easily. Jumping up will actually result in the same injury of getting hit by these falling stones from space. In a matter of two seconds, Danton watched as the glowing red rocks nearly grazed his face as he began to descend downward. The stones pillaged the cement beneath him, slamming next to or around Vanoss until one big meteor finally crushed the entire zone he was standing on, now revealing Vanoss as he was already face down on the ground. The only problem now with Danton was that his magic was completely used up, and that means his fall back down to the ground is going to follow the normal rules of gravity. At the top of his fall, even just one percent of MP energy can fix that.


    Danton couldn''t pay Vanoss''s energy scope any attention, since he was focused on passive regeneration of MP energy. It was harder to concentrate on that than he thought, and just two seconds away from the ground, he would have to make this work with one percent MP energy left, not that the spell needs any more than this much. "Push Wave!" Forcing the energy downward to create a sonic blast of gravity defiance for a short moment, Danton''s Push Wave slammed on the ground right where he was to land, forcing negative inertia back up his direction. The result only lightened his fall to the floor, which was still more than enough to crack the cement slightly, and lower his HP levels by five percent. Any more than that would have instantly incapacitated him for sure. The shock to his limbs forced Danton to remain there on the ground while he tried to recover from the bruising damage. "Uhg!"


    <hr>


    <Reward: Brash Danton | Real Time Mode>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Demons of Razgriz ~ Ace Combat 5 OST</a>


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    The holographic text showed up right above his head; clear enough to see even after his moment of blurred vision from barely surviving that fall consciously. The Meteor Strike must have been the finishing hit Danton needed. He finally did it. Against Gleeon, it was rough, but if he had to fight Vanoss again, Danton was skeptical whether he could pull this off a second time. These people really are tougher than they look.


    Kite wasn''t alone in the awe. Mainne and Gleeon both were slouching with their mouths wide open. Not a single one of them has ever seen anything like this before. Danton somehow used magic to jump high in the air like a rocket ship taking off to space. More importantly than that, after everything he did, Vanoss lost the battle! Vanoss lost the battle!


    Mainne was wondering if Kite would say anything again this time, but even he was speechless after that performance. How? How could some random dude just show up and beat the crap out of everyone here? Danton doesn''t look so great right now, but ability to win is better than losing. Mainne knew she was ranked one step above Gleeon right now from Kite''s estimations, but before that, she was considered above Vanoss. In reality, she knew she was dead last. Kite is the only person here capable of defeating Mr. Danton.


    Danton coughed from the damage of that fall, begging for a healing orb from his supply sphere. Luckily they deigned these things so that they can''t be damaged, hiding mostly in phase space until he can call it out with magic, a similar process to calling out his own energy scope. "Guess nobody''s gonna help me out." The Siriean dome already collapsed moments ago, and Danton didn''t hear a thing. Did Kite and his team flee away in fear? That wouldn''t be likely, not with that man''s ego.


    Kite gently clasped his hands, and faced Mainne with her attention drawn and expression broken. "Well... Guess it''s your turn to give it a shot, Mainne."


    "Uh¡ª" Wait a second, what did he just say?

 Chapter 10-A: One Spark (Danton VS Mainne)

    <hr>


    <10/21/1962 ¨C 22:22 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    "But, but what makes you think I can pull it off?" Mainne had to be realistic. She knew this battle was coming, but there wouldn''t be any point in conducting it now. She can''t fight like Vanoss can, and her skills still haven''t been fully refined to her own liking either. "You have to be the one to defeat him."


    "Nonsense!" Kite denied. "I understand that these battles can get intense, but you still need to try."


    What does he expect me to do? Mainne tilted her head in disagreement, but she felt lost in her own argument. She would just have to battle and lose. "I don''t know what I''ll be able to do."


    "Well I''m not giving you any other choice, and neither is he. Now go out there and put Danton down. Do your best. It''s all I ask of you tonight."


    Kite sounds so serious, like he hasn''t lost a nerve, but Mainne knew this was just a bad idea waiting to happen. She glanced over toward Danton who was finally sitting up, glowing from the ambient light of the healing orb he found. She would still need to drag Vanoss over here before anything more could happen, but this is crazy! Danton is way more trained than the four of them combined. He already qualifies as a Trujima member by skill. What is there to gain by battling?


    By the time Danton healed up, he helped Mainne pull Vanoss out of the next defined battle zone, to the same exact area as before. Despite healing from his battle, Danton felt more exhausted than before. Vanoss was tougher to defeat, and there was no telling what Mainne might be hiding in her arsenal of skills.


    Until they prepared to take their places, Mainne was totally silent, perhaps nervous to begin, but Danton reassured her that this was normal. It''s totally natural to get excited or nervous before a good battle. Though there is one more thing to remember. "Mainne?"


    Mainne looked up at Danton. His voice was still so clear despite all of his physical exertion earlier, and he spoke her name so precisely. "Yes?" He isn''t intimidating at all right now, yet he seems to be completely focused on her.


    "I only ask you one thing when we go into battle." Danton was sure that Kite could not hear their conversation, which was a good thing. If Kite could hear this, he would protest simply because he is the one asking this favor, but Mainne is already missing something important to her. Danton could see the lack of life and luster in her eyes, and that isn''t what she needs before a Leray battle. "Whatever it is you''re doing, however you''re doing it, just remember that Leray battles are about bringing out the best of your Leray skills, and all of that brings out the thrill of combat between everyone involved. I want us both to have a good time; to have fun, regardless of who wins. Am I clear?"


    Mainne couldn''t answer right away. What kind of request is that? He wants her to have fun fighting in battle? Using Leray magic is fun, but battling is about more, right? Grinding her teeth didn''t do much to help her think about it. Kite told her to do her best, and now her own enemy as asking her to have fun instead? Is there even a difference, or is he just insane? "Can we just start the match?" Mainne began thinking tactics while Danton began the match officially, creating an energy scope and another Siriean dome.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Re.Trauma ~ Tutti Sound</a>


    <center><iframe title="Re.Trauma ~ Tutti Sound" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oW2tvZHzwhI" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


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    Danton announced himself over the distance between himself and Mainne, prepared to begin just like before. "I''m ready to begin the match. What say you?"


    Mainne simply nodded and held her arms slightly while shifting her legs in preparation to strike. Her dress sphere for battle was already prepared for action, though Danton wouldn''t know a thing about it. As soon as Mainne was ready to fight, the dome shield formed around both of them, creating the holographic text that officiallize every battle.


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: N/A | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    There wasn''t a need to wait or prepare, for Danton was ready to fight the moment that holographic text showed up again. "I''ll go first," he announced respectively. "Charge Attack!" Danton rushed in with his short saber held out again, prepared to take Mainne on beginning with a close combat tactic. Being so far apart to begin with, Danton would also risk the time it would take to close the distance on her.


    Mainne charged the Leray energy into both of her hands, forcing her eyes to shine brighter than what would naturally occur, and she discharged her energy aiming both open hands in Danton''s general direction. "Icy Wind!" Mainne unleashed a burst of freezing cold air down towards her front. Despite the Icy Wind spell containing a non-damaging power level property of three, Danton was literally interrupted and stopped in his tracks.


    Danton tried to shield against the cold wind with his arms, stopping because of how unexpected the lower level of that trick became. Mainne''s Icy Wind made the air around him brisk, while the wind pushing against his clothes seeped through to his skin, creating goose bumps on contact. It felt like walking straight into an artic wasteland, while the Icy Wind held against him for a short duration.


    Successful to stop Danton''s current actions, Mainne followed up her spell with one designed to cause actual damage, releasing more of her energy into an ice elemental glyphring. "Ice Bolt!" Mainne''s spell shot out a solid bolt of energy, freezing to the core as the projectile zoomed through the air homing in on Danton''s face.


    Noticing the light in front of him, Danton swiveled his body downward, narrowly avoiding the Ice Bolt even though the material grazed the side of his arm. The Ice Bolt continued going beyond his location, but the touch of the cold on his left forearm lasted long enough to degrade his HP level on the energy scope by one percent. If that were any more of a direct hit, the bone freezing cold rush the impact brought on would have been disabling to Danton, on top of the slow-down brought on by the constant rush of cold air from Icy Wind.


    Danton held out his short saber firm, charging energy to flow into the metal of the blade. "Blazing Sword!" With a low power level designed to conserve MP energy, the spell Danton cast supercharged the metal blade in his hands with an elemental magical spell of fire and flames. Needless to say, the blade itself became engulfed in a fiery aura of orange with short burning fire from the metal, glowing in the darkness around him. After the spell was cast, it was time to use that elemental property to combine the strike damage to Mainne. Danton took off in her direction in a hurry like before, but this time he would be packing heat in the event of another blizzard.


    Mainne suddenly found herself on quick defense, since Danton was closer this time than to start with from his first Charge Attack attempt. With that fiery blade coming to crash down on her face, Mainne was left with little choice but to try and block it by holding both of her wrists up above her crossed. With that, the solid sound of metal clinging off of another hard object brought further attention away from Mainne and Danton.


    Just like that, Mainne''s wrists though covered slightly by the firm material in her dress sphere totally blocked his attempted sword strike as if it struck metal. The impact itself caused a bright spark to fly off from the now exposed metallic substance around Mainne''s hands. Danton brought the sword back and away to process what kind of a defensive technique that was. Mainne must have some sort of protective material around her hands, all the way past her wrists, but he wouldn''t know it at first glance. Or was this some sort of spell?


    Mainne inhaled for relief that her tactic would still be effective even against the heightened power level of Danton''s Blazing Sword strategy. Using a light mercenary outfit that Mainne modified herself, it was easy to throw in extra protective padding around each hands and wrists, though the protection goes all the way to block out all types of physical damage, so long as she isn''t hit there with magic from a non-elemental spell, and this is the result. Instead of ducking or jumping out of the way, why not wear the shields on her own hands? What will you do now Danton?


    Kite began to wonder if this will go either direction with this development. To his entire team, Mainne''s defensive blocks on her wrists are not something new, but she has been able to use them effectively in the field. That said, it has become a strategy less popular in her recent winnings. Still, Mainne is nothing like himself or Vanoss, so this could all just be to draw out time.


    "Fine then," Danton accepted. He began where he left off, sword still blazing with a fiery aura soon to wear out. He dashed ahead wielding the blade up high, and carefully coordinated his aim with a downward diagonal side sweep to make this less predictable for Mainne. With another swing, Mainne simply jumped backwards with a simple leap, and blocked Danton''s third sword slash again with her right metal bangle.


    Mainne kept herself concentrated on the direction and trajectory of that fiery stick. Each time Danton would try and strike her with his quick tricks, Mainne was more than capable of moving one wrist or the other in enough time to position the collision where the material would simply reject the damage and create the loud metallic noise that followed, but she had to constantly be on the move to not take any hits elsewhere. It took a lot of physical dexterity each time rejecting the amount of force put against her arms.


    By the time Mainne found an opening to go on the offensive, she punched Danton straight in the face with enough power to send him back far enough to take another transition. Mainne then immediately shot off a Fire Ball glyphring from her left hand, striking Danton again in the face while his hands covered that spot for recovery. Mainne then opened her right hand and quickly charged another glyphring on her wrist, shooting off an Ice Ball, which slammed into Danton''s chest.


    Despite the clean hits and the slight decline of health for Danton, both of those spells have such low power levels and pain levels, so Danton recovered from both of those very quickly, though it was surprising how fast Mainne was in her style. Her spells are not very predictable; they''re too quickly triggered and invoked to be made readable. In a close combat situation, she isn''t defenseless at all. Still, this didn''t stop Danton from trying to strike her again with his sword, soon to run out of magical fuel for the fire blazing around the blade.


    With several more evasive maneuvers mixed together with successful blocks with Mainne''s metal wrists, Danton failed to score any damage to her over the course of five long seconds. In the heat of that moment, Mainne got the best of Danton again with another spell she charged all while defending herself. "Lightning Strike!" With just an aim at the target and the release of her magic, Mainne began to electrocute Danton where he stood, totally disabling his movement and defensive ability to dodge such a fast kind of spell. When Mainne finally let off to give herself some extra distance, the change on the energy scope was finally working towards her side.


    Danton found himself through the painful shock and its painful after effects. With Mainne no longer on a constant barrage, she''s just left herself vulnerable to long-range magical tactics, of which those metal wrists won''t be able to shield. "Sphere of Might!" With his battle getting more intense, Danton noticed subconsciously that both his spells and Mainne''s magical abilities were being invoked at much faster than normal speeds despite the incredible requirement for focus on every spell. With this one, it was less than a second of time before Mainne was suddenly slammed down the front by a barely translucent red sphere of non-elemental energy. The sphere spawns right in the same location as the target, which then causes immediate blunt based damage. In other words, that hit to her face and chest may leave a bruise, and a painful sensation at that.


    Mainne wasn''t in trouble yet, and Danton would have to do better than this to win at a long-range battle too. Mainne copied the idea, and began charging for a spell that would triple the damage she just took towards Danton. "Radial Hammer!" Chanting the name aloud only to help her focus on one of her newer spells, there was a bit of delay since her MP levels were still declining to fulfill the quota needed to use Radial Hammer.


    Even though Danton knew of the upgraded form of Magical Hammer, Mainne''s attempt to turn the spell into a more powerful area attack spell fixated on one general selection of land wasn''t a good enough idea. The spell is a flawless tactic, but he should have been hit by now in the casting. Danton didn''t even see any hammers spawning by the five yellow glyphrings that normally associates with Radial Hammer attack spells. In other words, she is still too new to the spell to make its invocation quick enough. "My turn then. Earth Gave!" Danton raised and lowered his right arm quicker than he could finish his sentence, and executed the lower MP cost spell which immediately shot ground dirt and boulder chunks in Mainne''s face from below her position. The interruption to her charging spell ended up forcing her to cancel the action since she was being launched up from the ground. As usual, Danton knew it was more effective to quicken Earth Glave by spawning the location further away from the user, a modification from the original spell design plans.


    Mainne had to take more time than usual getting back up, but in the process, Danton was taking his time too strategizing. He did so by slowly walking forward with his saber out again. It looked like he was planning for a major assassination right now, but fatal would it be for him to mistake his confidence. Mainne pushed herself back together faster, her MP already charging into both of her hands like before. "Icy Wind!" Mainne blasted the area in front of her with cold wind while Danton was only twelve feet away from her, and the freezing cold air still had an effect on him. Though Icy Wind deals no damage, there is little way to defend against its freezing cold effects.


    Just as she planned, Danton''s change in posture gave her enough time and motive to charge energy for another spell; one designed more to her liking. "Cold Shower!" Since this was a spell Mainne made up herself from other existing magic tricks, she had two ice glyphrings spawned at once, one for each wrist. With her right hand, she unleashed an invisible power above Danton''s location, which combined another Icy Wind spell with small chunks of frozen water. With the air rushing down from above, the simulation turned into a brutal hailstorm only limited to a small radius. While she bounced those small ice rocks off of Danton, her left hand worked to fire a massive barrage of Ice Needles, sharp frozen shards of water that would be painful to impact, and work double as effectively to make sure Danton freezes to incapacitation.


    For the long duration that Mainne''s so-called Cold Shower affected Danton, he found himself unable to move from the freezing cold air on his arms, legs, and face, a pain compelling enough to force a change in strategy. This didn''t stop Danton from charging MP energy into one of his most powerful spells. This one he kept off the records despite practicing the spell in open fields. It will have to do since Mainne specializes in the cold element. "Flamewheel!" Sure that Mainne wouldn''t have a clue what this would entail, Danton got over the immobilization of the freezing cold, and created a massive red colored glyphring aimed vertically into the air while attached to his right wrist.


    With that, Danton noticed his HP dropping just slightly from Mainne''s barrage of attacks, but her cold spell was over by the time the glyphring activated at full power. With Danton unleashing the concentrated form of energy, the glyphring launched 36 separate Fire Balls consecutively into the air, all forming a large area of a spiral formation that generated a hot vortex. Danton then worked with his spell and concentrated on tipping the vortex over as part of the design with Flamewheel. When turning the glyphring on its side and aiming it at Mainne, the vortex of gravity also shifted in the same direction and angle. Now with a horizontal vortex of heat and thirty-six Fire Balls all spiraling towards Mainne''s general location, she quickly became stunned by the surprise that followed the incredible advancement of the spell. This of course nearly drained Danton dry of his MP levels, especially since the spell is considered to be at a power level of eight.


    Mainne was powerless to think of a way to try and get out of this, and was thus hit by nearly half of all the Fire Balls thrown in her general direction. The path of each Fire Ball was on a spin, though linear and without any homing properties. The heat they brought on gave Mainne several uncomfortable burning sensations all over her arms, hands, legs, and a few that grazed the side of her face and ears. When it was finally over, the absence of anything else also allowed a silence to endure. Mainne was too dazzled by that very spell to think straight anymore.


    Kite was also amazed that Danton could pull off such a powerful spell, but as his luck would have it, Mainne was not far on the losing side of the battle. Still, she wasn''t fighting like she normally does. What is with all of the cold spells anyway? Making up magical spells and specializing that way isn''t going to work against a tough guy like Danton. Mainne should have known better than to try new things at a time like this. "What are you doing Mainne?!" Kite had to yell for his voice to properly penetrate the Siriean dome further away. "Stop using ice spells and do a better job! I''m calling a time out!" This is ridiculous, and Kite had to stomp his foot down. Fighting his best team members is one thing, but it won''t count if they are not doing their very best.


    "What?" Mainne didn''t know whether to agree or disagree with a timeout. Ultimately, Danton would also have to be okay with the idea, otherwise this Siriean dome won''t go down.


    Danton couldn''t understand what was wrong. He was winning, and now Kite wants to give Mainne a second chance? "What''s the problem?" Danton figured this wasn''t going to go well, but he allowed for the timeout simply by agreeing to it in his head. With a little extra magical exertion behind that thought, the Siriean dome shut down immediately.


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    <Battle Interruption | Real Time Mode>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Age of Dragons ("The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Trailer #1 Music) ~ Audiomachine</a>


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    Kite hollered from his position to voice the obvious concern. "I''m calling that a draw, and demand an immediate restart to the match. Mainne? I''ve never seen you fight with that style before. Stick to what worked out last time. None of that Cold Shower non-sense!"


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Danton winced with his teeth becoming unglued. This was a sight he never would have expected to see at all. Why would Mainne''s own mentor say something like that? Mainne was fighting so well, and she was simply inexperienced with some of her spells. Her spells had everything to them; strategy and passion to make them work harder than the inventors themselves. Mainne was going with a specific strategy, one she seemed to be comfortable with. Freezing Danton''s body where he stood was making it challenging for him without a doubt. All of those Icy Wind blasts still had him close to shivering in the night. But Kite would shut Mainne down on that just to try and win? It''s not your battle yet!


    "What do you want me to do?" Mainne was very frustrated with Kite''s command, and didn''t mind stressing it to her voice.


    "Making Danton chilly won''t be enough. Just do what you normally do for every other win you''ve had. Stick to the results that work!"


    Danton felt like smacking Kite upside the head. How dare he try and force Mainne to adapt to a less comfortable style! That''s not what battling is all about! He let out a soft breath and prepared himself again. "Fine!" he allowed. "We each use one healing orb and start again." Mainne was doing just fine using her cold spells to disable Danton''s ability to fight close range; it literally cripples his factor of speed, even though Mainne is already quick on her reactions. But if this is how Kite responds to failure, he''ll have to learn of his own mistake the hard way. Sorry about this Mainne, but fighting battles for fun is all it takes to get motivated, and I''m going to wipe that cocky look off your boss''s face once and for all. "Let''s do this fast!" Danton healed himself with another healing orb, while Mainne used her own. With each energy scopes reset, the recreation of the Siriean dome didn''t take long, and the fight simply started over from scratch.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Cybernetica ~ Sonic Symphony & Trailer Bros (Maximus)</a>


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    <Reward Spoil: N/A | Battle Mode>


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    Danton knew this was crap. Kite has gone and taken the fun out of battle, with Mainne now about to be lifeless in her own style. Forget fighting fair, we shall throw that away too. Danton knew he was going first, and wasn''t shy about charging a solid spell this time to start things off. "Fire Wall!" Casting the stored energy was easy with this low grade effective spell, forcing a solid tall wall of fire spanning over twenty meters wide as it slid in the ground towards Mainne like a Shadow Wave attack spell.


    Mainne was used to seeing these Fire Walls before from other opponents, and now that she was given a second chance to fight and win, her own style should work again here. "Ice Wall!" Mainne charged enough MP energy into both hands, causing her eyes to glow again until the release of her magic. On cue, her spell created a ghostly like glacier wall of freezing air and water, advancing forward at the same speed as Danton''s Fire Wall.


    Danton wasn''t expecting such an intuitive counterattack by Mainne, using an exact opposite version of Fire Wall. Upon the collision of both magical walls to the center of the field, the impact created a powerful force of wind blowing back in all directions, while both walls collapsed downward to nothingness. The Ice Wall negated the Fire Wall evenly.


    Mainne knew it was a risky trick, since it tanks much of her MP levels on the spot, but that turned out to be worth the shot, and now it was her chance to go on the offensive. "Bullet Blitz!" Immediately creating two yellow generation glyphrings close by to create small sub machine guns in her hands, and with little chance of evasion, Danton was caught in surprise as she pulled both triggers in aim towards his direction. As expected, Danton could only stand there and take the low damage attack of speeding bullets while Mainne emptied both magazines in place. By the time it was over, she threw the useless guns to the ground and assessed the damage level.


    Feeling the sting of those bullets was something Danton had to bypass quickly, before Mainne was given a chance to speed herself up like before. Danton created two small yellow glyphrings of his own, generating two daggers into his hands. There was only one obvious trick to this action. "Flying Guillotine!" With both blades burning with a magical coat of aura, Danton threw them in a crisscross manner, generating a red circle of damage by the time the blades made it halfway down the field.


    But Mainne knew of an easy way to dodge this attack as well. In the early days of her training, the same instructor taught her how to perform evasive maneuvers acrobatically. It was as simple for Mainne to recall the moments and execute them on cue. Just as the Flying Guillotine circle approached her, Mainne performed a half-backflip behind her, using the tops of her hands to land for support. After successfully getting some more distance from the quicker oncoming attack, Mainne assisted her gravity-defying maneuver by blasting a close range Push Wave magical spell just off the ground to her right. The result caused her to soar far left into the air, just barely avoiding contact with the spinning sharp blades in time while landing back on her feet. As the Flying Guillotine of daggers returned towards Danton by spell design, the trajectory had no intention of tracking down Mainne for the second hit. As a result, she easily dodged the costly spell while opening a new window of attacking.


    Mainne prepared the energy into both of her hands, creating two ice elemental glyphrings at the same time. As she fired the projectiles off towards Danton, there would be little time for him to react to the obvious spell cast.


    Danton knew he had to dodge, but Mainne sent both of those Ice Bolts in succession so quickly after she evaded his own spell. Since Ice Bolts tend to track the target, it would be next to impossible to try and move the way she just had. On top of that, she was still sticking to her previous strategy, despite having Kite try and force her to adapt to a new one. Danton had no choice but to lift his short saber up to try and block the projectiles, slicing through each one in an effort to defuse the situation. Since Mainne''s magic was cast so quickly, Danton didn''t have enough reaction time to coordinate a proper stance to block using his sword, despite his attempt to place the metal in front of the path of the Ice Bolt. After getting slammed into the chest by the sheer cold bolt of Leray energy, Danton was quickly hit again on his right shoulder by the next Ice Bolt, forcing him to cover the afflicted area and try to warm it with his displaced body heat.


    Kite stamped in the cement where he stood, disregarding how effective that trick may have seemed against Danton. It wouldn''t be enough to overcome his overall persistence. "What are you doing Mainne?! I told you to stick with the old strategy!"


    What a moron. Danton personally wanted to just skip Mainne and fight Kite to prove how wrong he was. If Mainne actually does change her strategy now, it will become too easy for him to shoot her down. Still, new strategy or not, Mainne has excellent close range defensive techniques. It would be fair to test that again, just to show how much potential they both have. Danton however had every intention of winning this fight, battling to the bitter end. He lifted his blade as a sign to charge, and took the initiative to get in closer to Mainne.


    Mainne felt confused at first by Kite''s demanding orders not to fight Danton with her effective ice attacks of magic. This probably allowed Danton to feel superior in his morale to overcome her ability to battle at all, but Mainne prepared herself and her stance, knowing full well just how to repel a close combat counter attack from anyone. With her indestructible bangles ready, Mainne waited for Danton to get within striking range.


    As Danton was ready to hit Mainne, he swung his sword downward, with Mainne using both of her wrists crossed over each other to block the metal steel with her own. The wrist guards that went way over her wrists provided an amazing amount of metallic defense, but she also had to put all of her muscle and might into making this trick work. For Danton, it was overwhelmingly enough. Mainne stopped the advance of his short blade, and immediately deflected the weapon to the side, giving her the edge and decisive move to sweep over to Danton''s side and kick him above the shin.


    Despite how well trained Mainne was at stopping Danton''s close combat advance and strategy, he continued to try swinging his sword from different angles, trying to outflank Mainne, or at least score some hits against her, but with every attempt made, Mainne was able to dodge the swipes or block them with her metal wrists entirely. It wasn''t long in continuous fighting before she finally gained the upper hand against him. Mainne threw in an unexpected punch right for Danton''s face, forcing him to momentarily back off. Mainne responded with an additional counterattack, one that involved two quickly formed and immediately spawned Fire Ball projectiles. Both of the fireballs struck Danton at the same time, forcing him backwards even more. With that little bit of damage set in, Danton halted his attempt to overcome Mainne by force completely.


    "Uplift!" Mainne left Danton no possible moment to try and recover, as she threw much of her magical energy into a very unique spell. Uplift; with a power level of seven requires the brownish color of an earth elemental type of glyphring to form around the wrist. Though it costs a high amount of MP energy, the spell effect is triggered almost instantly to prevent evasion. When Mainne unleashed the magical energy from the center of the glyphring, it caused the invisible force to shoot a massive chunk of solid rock from beneath the earth, breaking thorough the crust of the ground and cement, and sending Danton high up into the air with a solid slam from below.


    Mainne wouldn''t even wait until Danton was to come back to the ground before executing her next combination of attack sequences. Fighting him close combat was simply not good enough either. "Lightning Strike!" Mainne made sure to once again use two of the same spell at the same time, one glyphring for each wrist. Her spell with little delay struck Danton with a double Lightning Strike attack just as he finally hit the ground, zapping him where he lay for two solid seconds, while the HP declined on his energy scope rapidly.


    Danton felt the pain of electrocution and bruising everywhere. If this was Mainne''s alternative strategy, it was defiantly just as effective. Did Kite personally train these people to be fighting warriors? He had faced challenges like these before, but never to such great lengths. Danton coughed some of the dust out of his lungs while attempting to stand back up. After losing a large majority of his health, it was soon clear he needed to try something different to get the best of Mainne.


    With much of her magical energy spent, she was taking much longer now to recharge and catch her breath. A simplified spell should make things even harder for Mainne. Danton lifted his glowing hand up, charging magical energy for a special Leray spell. "Drain!" The aura lit up around Mainne, immediately zapping her of her natural energy and draining her base HP levels. Drain has the linear property of always stealing an average of 5% HP from the affected target, while costing the user 10% of their MP reserves. With such an instantaneous invocation time, Mainne was zapped helplessly. Though 5% meant little to her, it made much more of a difference for Danton, who felt energized again from the successful use of his quick striking spell.


    Mainne didn''t retaliate with an attack spell. She felt further drained by her loss in MP energy from all of the magical fighting she took part in earlier, and though using an MP booster would be against the rules in a Leray battle, there are very rare spells that take care of the same issue. The spell she had in mind would only cost Mainne 4% of her MP reserves, something she would get more back in return.


    "Calling of Light!" Though Mainne''s magical spell came with a long delay, Danton stood totally still since he didn''t know what to expect with the unknown name of the spell. Only after a few seconds, Mainne became shrouded in a transparent cyan colored aura, all around her body and giving off a small amount of light in the darkness. With that in place, Mainne would soon be feeling better again, with her MP levels passively regenerating so much faster.


    Calling of Light as Mainne knew was the hardest spell she has ever mastered so far. Due to its rarity and high power level, hardly anybody is capable of learning how to use it, and it is a conditional spell too, totally dependent upon the weather and time of day. Only usable at night with totally clear skies, Calling of Light generates an aura, which passively absorbs distant starlight while converting that into usable Leray energy, speeding up MP regeneration by ten times the speed for as long as the aura lasts. After it ends, the spell cannot be used again for at least another hour.


    It didn''t take Danton long however to realize that Mainne''s delayed spell was a support spell, and saw how quickly her MP levels were climbing. She''s going to regenerate her low energy to counter her loss in speed and get the upper hand again! Danton knew he couldn''t let that happen, and took immediate action to try and strike her from a distance again. "Crush Wave!" Sending out a magically assisted Shadow Wave combined with earth power and crushing rocks, Danton waited for the advancing wave to hit Mainne again, but she easily dodged the attack by running far to her left side, changing the angle of her own attack vector. As Danton noticed this shift, he immediately added another spell to his combination, trying to recover from his spent magic. "Rush Assault!"


    After becoming shrouded in a white transparent aura, Danton charged at Mainne with untraceable speed, using his sword with that momentum to increase the damage level, but despite this, Mainne was perfectly capable of dodging his attacks, or blocking them out. What Mainne didn''t realize was how much faster the aura around Danton made his movements. Danton swiftly tried over and over to slash the blade into Mainne, and with his increased speed and shifts in strike angles, he succeeded quickly. Mainne wasn''t able to block anymore after the first hit, and Danton kept up the combination of attacks since each strike would momentarily stun Mainne with the stabbing sensation of the sharp sword penetrating her skin and causing additional physical damage.


    It wasn''t until Mainne fell to the floor when Danton finally stopped attacking her, but that was because his aura soon wore off from the spent magical assistance. He had to gain some distance before risking a tricky attack from Mainne again. As he checked on her energy scope for the damage, he noticed how well her MP reserves were climbing, with that blue aura still around her body for support.


    When Mainne pulled herself together, she realized that Danton was just getting desperate to finish her off. He''s running out of HP much faster than she is, and with enough combinations, she could finish this even faster. "Shadow Mace!" With a short burst of energy dispersion, Mainne became shrouded in a dark black haze, the small dark earth-bound cloud that disappeared shortly after, but Mainne was nowhere to be seen after that mist cleared up enough to see through. Before Danton could realize that Mainne''s position must have changed, he was smashed upward from a spiked metal mace that Mainne was wielding, spawned from the yellow generation glyphring made invisible to Danton''s field of view. The uppercut strike is designed to teleport the user just before using a blunt metal mace to uppercut the target. Danton naturally didn''t see it coming. With Mainne''s impact a success in knocking Danton off his feet from behind, Mainne let the translucent mace weapon fade away from her magic, and began charging even more MP energy into both of her hands.


    This gave Danton plenty of time to get back up, even enough to visually see that Mainne was up to another counterattack from a short distance away. As he hurried himself on his feet blade in hand, Danton prepared to dodge or counter the oncoming spell soon enough.


    "Shadow Wave!" With her left arm only, Mainne launched a typical Shadow Wave towards Danton. By itself, it wouldn''t deal a lot of damage, nor would the spell be hard for Danton to dodge, but with her right hand, only two seconds afterwards, Mainne fired from a red glyphring three solid bolts of fire, shouting "Triple Fire!" to support her mental concentration. Launching the Fire Bolts from the cannon of her right palm, Danton was now pinned down by two spells at the same time. Though Shadow Wave does not home in on the target, it does cover a large area of effectiveness. If Danton were to try and evade it now, he would be totally vulnerable against the Triple Fire launched by Mainne.


    Too upset to find some way to get out of the well-coordinated double attack, Danton once again froze up and braced himself for the initial impact of the Shadow Wave. The wave clashed into his feet, thus expanding the magical dispersion while cuts and slashes of magical energy dug into his skin. Shortly after, before the Shadow Wave aura disappeared, the Fire Bolts touched down on Danton''s chest and face. With the final burst of fire and the pushback from the expended Shadow Wave, Danton was again knocked backwards and off balance, nearly too dizzy to stand up or comprehend what just happened. While trying to recover, Mainne took her time to read the scope and plan out her next move.


    Feeling first-degree burns on his upper body, and several open cuts on his lower body, Danton made another struggled attempt to get back up, his unused blade still in hand. The fact that he wasn''t already under assault again was daunting to him, since Mainne''s skills could have just now finished him off. Kite made an interesting call for Mainne to shift her strategy. Danton believed fighting her the first time was hard.


    After regaining his senses, Danton noticed that the blue aura around Mainne had gone, and she was breathing heavily with fatigue, likely brought on by her constant movement more than her MP drain. Mainne must have wanted to wait and plan a better attack, but with Danton''s health still in the clear, he could perform any action he wanted against her. It''s time for the infamous Drill Horn maneuver to live up to its name. Danton would be able to give all the credit to his previous master if he could pull it off again against a more experienced fighter, but first, he needed the time to charge all of his remaining energy. "You fight well Mainne. Your skills are defiantly impressive."


    "Less talking - more fighting!" Kite hollered aggressively over the shield dome, addressing Mainne more than Danton. It was obvious that she was well spent, but Danton was about to turn this around again. It was obvious that his words were just a diversion to buy time!


    Danton knew Mainne wouldn''t try saying anything back, and she would be able to move again shortly. She could try and intercept him right now, but it was already too late. "However, I don''t stop fighting until it''s over! Flashpoint!" With a new white aura around his body, Danton flew with the speed of a bullet in Mainne''s direction, stopping just short of her body before thrusting his fist towards her jaw. With all of that magically supplied momentum packed into the single punch, the hit threw Mainne far off balance despite her stance still remaining persistent. Danton then pressed his saber to his hilt, putting away his weapon to fight Mainne again, this time without his sword.


    Though Mainne was a bit winded by that punch to her face, she quickly recovered enough to block out some of Danton''s unarmed hits. He was brave enough to try punching and kicking Mainne with his own close combat maneuvers. Despite her ability to block Danton''s punches with her metal wrists, he seemed much faster and more agile without a blade in his hand. Danton soon overcame her a few times and landed his punches to her shoulders or to her chest. Mainne however landed a few of her hits as well, but both of them remained strong and continued to fight, since unarmed physical attacks retain low damage levels.


    It was then when Danton found an opening that Mainne left, when he swung his arm down to prevent Mainne from blocking her face given enough time. Danton simultaneously unleashed some of the magical energy he had secretly stored in his body''s aura, blasting Mainne''s face close range with a spell coming out of his right hand. "Harmonic Blast!" Though to Danton the spell just seemed like a concentrated blast of wind similar to Aero Blast, the story was entirely different for Mainne.


    The moment she was hit in the face from Danton''s Harmonic Blast, she was prevented from taking any more action. Sounds of high and low pitch booming triggered from right within her ear canals. It felt like the roar of bombs had gone off inside of her head, while the screeching of the high pitch noise melted her thoughts straight away. Mainne found herself holding her head on both sides and praying to make the sounds stop. The spell was already giving her a severe migraine!


    Danton thus took the opportunity to strike Mainne again while she was disabled. Harmonics is a spell used to disorient the target, much so in a painful manner by overloading their hearing abilities with random noise. Nobody is immune to the spell, though Danton knew of a method to modify the spell to travel faster and more precisely by adding a wind element to the dispersion of the energy, giving it the ability to travel at the speed of sound for accuracy. Now that Mainne was stumbling in her feet to desperately recover, Danton took action by adding the blade back into his hand. With the rest of his energy prepared, he gave his next spell all of his effort. "Splice!" Danton used the common spell Splice by adding the aura into his blade, and slashed the blade through the open air to create a diagonal two-dimensional white line of magic, which drilled its way through the air. But Danton performed the same action again going from the other direction, spending double the amount of magic for two Splices to drill through the area.


    Used at close range like this, Mainne was a sitting duck, still affected and too distracted by the sonic pain in her head to do anything about the situation. Thus, both Splice lines cut their way through her body, gashing open her underarm and her upper thigh. The pain signaled from that far outweighed the blasts of sound in her head, sending Mainne to the ground in screams of panic. She had never felt any spell this painful before, and she couldn''t move or hope to recover from the damage.


    Danton didn''t move anymore. He didn''t want to watch how the rest of this would go. Mainne was obviously finished already if Splice was this painful to her, and that new migraine was probably causing more issues than he could imagine. She should just give up and surrender already. It wouldn''t be right to keep attacking her now.


    Kite couldn''t bear to watch this either. Mainne was out there on the ground, still screaming though less intensely after the moments passed by. How could Danton be this powerful?! "Mainne! Get up and defeat him before it''s too late!"


    "I can''t!" Mainne screamed. Finally accumulated enough of her senses to concentrate on what was right in front of her, Mainne knew what was to come. There is no sense in denying this. "I can''t beat him! I give up! I can''t fight anymore!"


    Before Danton could even honor Mainne''s agreement to forfeit the rest of the battle, the Siriean dome began to collapse around them. Mainne''s forfeit was automatically detected rather quickly by the automatic spoil system. When the battle finally came to a stop, Danton could relax.


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    <Reward: Brash Danton | Real Time Mode>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Henry Briggs ~ Jeff Broadbent [Planetside 2]</a>


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    After it was clear to him that Danton won the battle against Mainne by forfeit, he soon turned his attention to the brutality of his combination spell and the effect it was still having on Mainne. His little operation Drill Horn obviously worked, despite going through the unnecessary movement of fighting in between the initial Flashpoint attack and the Harmonic Blast. It''s a maneuver designed to quickly end a battle against a tough opponent, forcing them to surrender to pain rather than chipping away HP reserves, but Danton was still new to executing the combination of spells. Harmonic Blast was hard to invoke, Splice even more difficult and draining to his stamina.


    But right now, Mainne is the one suffering the most. Danton had to step in and help her up with two different types of healing orbs in his hands. They were supposed to be for himself, despite his heavy abundance of healing orbs. He first gave away his own equipment to Mainne, who tried to use them as quickly as possible. The first healing orb simply replenished her health and stamina, while the white colored orb was designed to work as an effective magical painkiller. Even after Mainne used the white colored orb, she was still suffering from all the damages. The wounds had gone away from the healing orbs, and the pain was cut from the other orb, but the sharp pain in her thigh and under her arm still lasted halfway. Her migraine was still here too, proving how much rest she was going to need in order to recover.


    While Danton was helping Mainne to recover, Kite nearly lost his patience from the distance. "This is absolutely absurd! All of you should be ashamed of yourselves for letting some hot head blow through our ranks! This is the proud Trujima Gang! Or did you all forget?"


    "Calm down!" Danton commanded from afar. "Your crew fought well, and you''ll be getting your turn soon enough." Danton''s lack of fear soon silenced Kite, perhaps stunning him with the daunting realization that he too would now have no choice but to fight him.


    Mainne let Danton help her stand and limp, holding her stomach for physical support like a brace. "Thanks. I didn''t mean for our leader to get so upset."


    "You should be thanking yourself too," Danton replied. "You fought well against me, both times. Even with changed tactics did you adapt to make it work. Seeing as you nearly had me beat, I actually had fun in that battle."


    What is with this guy? Mainne couldn''t look away from his concentrated expression while he helped drag her to the area out of bounds for battle, where Kite and his crew would be. Danton must not be as young as she initially thought. His experience is far up there, yet he''s so polite and patient just to deal with hot heads like Kite. Then all of this about the fun of battling... Mainne didn''t want to agree with Danton especially with Kite close enough to hear, but she could imagine herself being anywhere else today. Despite losing that fight, though Mainne didn''t understand why, she still wanted to try again and again. Right now was out of the question though.


    "Oh come on!" Kite pressured. He was already furious about the way Mainne was limping, and how she was letting Danton help her out. "You can''t be hurt that badly!"


    Danton helped Mainne to sit down against one of the boulders near her other teammates, and then turned to face Kite while using a healing orb on himself. "Kite Fargenst! The time has come for you to recognize what Leray battling is all about. I now challenge you to the final duel. You already know what the terms are if I defeat you in battle." Danton was more certain than before, having cared less about destroying this gang until seeing what Kite was really like. Defeating him will be the ultimate thrill.


    Standing to face the threat in front of him, Kite exhaled heavily while preparing himself. It has been such a long time now since he actually faced such a tough opponent, but there must not be any more mistakes. His so-called teammates are simply too weak to finish the job. "I have no choice it seems but to prove it to all of you that this shaggy hag will not be capable of toppling the Trujima leadership. We shall get the battle underway. Immediately!"

 Chapter 10-B: One Spark (Danton VS Kite)

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    <10/21/1962 ¨C 22:40 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Despite hectic reluctance to let this continue from some of Kite''s other supporters, Kite refused to give up the challenge. Forfeit counts as a loss, and would immediately let Danton run the gang. That can''t happen! This kid might be a tough opponent, but he can''t be strong enough to overcome decades of swordsmanship experience.


    Danton and Kite took their place on the battlefield only moments afterwards, this last push that would determine the future fate of the Trujima Gang. A momentary pause ensued just to prepare them both mentally for the big moment. The pressure was only as intense as before, and Danton held the confidence that Kite was only as strong as those he managed to teach so well. It''s time to prove it. "Okay. I''m ready for the battle to begin." After both of them took their places, the Siriean dome mounted its usual barrier, while the Leray spoil system displayed holographic text in the middle of the field to officiallize the situation. Following the activation of both energy scopes, the match was on.


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    <Reward Spoil: N/A | Battle Mode>


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    Kite immediately pulled out his weapon from the back holster, a long bladed sword, twice the length of Danton''s short sword saber. And with that, Kite''s intentions were already made clear. "I think you''re going to regret your choice to try this Danton. I''ll show you how a true warrior fights!"


    Danton took the challenge willingly, noticing Kite already nudging his feet closer to his position. After pulling out his short sword, Danton released a small amount of Leray energy to his hands, casting a spell and infusing the blade with the aura of energy needed to activate the effects of the spell. "I''ll start with Blazing Sword. Come at me then Kite!"


    Kite replied, "With pleasure and honor." Now performing the same technique Danton started with, Kite let his eyes glow with a slight hue while the magical buildup was released into his own blade, as if to mimic Danton''s actions. "Spirit Blade!" His sword was now infused with spirit elemental magic, one of the more confusing elements of Leray effects and spells. With a dark purple glow, it would only be known to Kite what exact effects this sword would have if the metal of the blade pierces Danton''s skin. With this preparation complete, Kite stormed in on foot towards Danton, who soon did the same to get this battle over with.


    Danton figured Kite might have excellent close combat skills, but he automatically found Mainne''s tactics to be overly impressive. Surely Kite couldn''t be better on that level, and he prepared his fiery saber to meet the steel of Kite''s sword. In a matter of seconds, the real fight already began.


    "Ragh!" Kite swung his sword first, since the blade was longer and heavier. It would make his life easier than Danton with a longer range. Danton quickly reacted by shifting out of the way to dodge, but when Danton tried to get his sword into position, Kite was already moving his blade back around with a twist, giving Danton another reason to block or dodge.


    Danton held up his blade to the oncoming path of Kite''s sword, and the bash of metal on metal pushed him away from the difference in applied force Kite sent towards him. Danton tried again to swing Kite''s sword away for an opening, but Kite was somehow faster than Danton''s reflexes. The blade was longer as well, giving Kite another potential advantage. The weight of that larger sword doesn''t even matter to that guy!


    Kite continued blocking Danton''s every attempt to attack him, and eventually found two potential attack openings to Danton''s left side. Upon changing the angles of his sword swipes, Danton fell for the classic misdirection happening too fast for the eyes to track, and the spirit blade cut into Danton''s hip quickly.


    Without having the check the energy scope, Danton felt the stinging pain of a large cut to his side, but what followed the sensation afterwards caused another problem. Danton''s visual field changed with the occurrence of double vision. Everything became much darker and harder to see, while the eyes stretched Kite and his weapon into two separate figures almost touching each other''s shadow. Even the shadows casted their own double shadow. "What the?"


    Kite used his new opportunity to directly puncture the front side of Danton, and then kick him backwards with enough force to launch him off his feet. Shortly afterwards, the spirit elemental aura disappeared from his saber, just as the fiery aura faded from Danton''s. With Danton now on the ground, Kite surely had an early advantage.


    "What''s going on?" Danton knew this wasn''t normal. The visual disturbance he was experiencing only intensified while he tried to stand up. It could have been from taking spirit elemental damage, but Danton never had this issue before from it.


    Kite felt so bad for Danton already that he at least elaborated on what was happening to him. "My spirit blade causes confusion to humans that are hit, and immediate destruction to summoned creatures. You of all people should have prepared for that detail."


    So it is spirit elemental damage! Even now is the disturbance lasting. Everything just looks different and wobbly. It has to wear off soon!


    "And now it''s over," Kite commanded. He quickly began speed walking towards Danton with his blade up for defense. Danton could easily be pretending to be stunned by confusion, and he''s already close to changing the rules today.


    Danton knew his vision wasn''t going back to normal soon enough, and he could already see both of Kite in front of him approaching with the blade. Fighting back with a different strategy will just have to do for now. After charging enough energy, Danton released it into the new glowing sphere in front of him, fast enough to succeed in the invocation. "Power Blast!" The sphere shot forward like a bullet, impacting off of Kite''s body just before exploding. The sudden blast wave of invisible wind went everywhere, forcing Kite far back through the air, while the sonic bomb that followed blasted Danton backwards as well. The shockwave actually shook the entire earth below them, and the sound of glass shattering in the distance stole Danton''s attention...


    It was the glass cups and drinks Vanoss was holding in the background. The sonic boom from Power Blast affected them from outside the dome shield. Though it wasn''t too surprising that it could happen, since Power Blast doesn''t actually cause physical damage in the first place. It worked out for Danton; with Kite being thrown off guard like that, it bought him just enough time to recover from the spirit elemental effects he suffered from earlier. Now with his vision restored, and Kite struggling to obtain his hearing back, Danton could attack him from a long-range distance. What better ally than that of a summon? "Ifrit! I''ll summon you!" Danton''s magical level began dropping rapidly while he tried to create the yellow glyphring in the sky as he could before in practice, but even if he would be successful, the invocation of these summons takes a very long time.


    It was more than enough time for Kite to stand back up, recover his senses, and realize what was going on. To think this hag actually knows how to summon creatures into battle. "I won''t let that happen," he promised himself. Danton needs to fight fairly, without the use of summons and allied creatures. He will have to interrupt Danton from this current distance right now. "Creshendo!" With the release of Kite''s energy, the phantom pillars of Creshendo all formed up around Danton. Surely he took notice immediately, but if he moves out of the way now, it would stop his connective focus on the summon, and the spell will fail.


    To what nobody expected, Danton didn''t move out of the way at all. After trying to get the energy for the summon charged up, Danton tried to endure the attack right here motionless, but when the pillars all caved in on his location, all of his limbs felt as though they were being crushed under several hundred pounds of pressure. When the pillars all shattered like broken glass while the spell faded, Danton caved into the pain it caused all over, and his HP was further reduced.


    Perfect hit! Kite noticed just how his plan worked perfectly. Danton is too much of an arrogant fool to stop what he is doing, and now he would pay for it tenfold. "Dampen Field!" Now casting a support spell on himself, Kite took notice of his own MP levels as they declined to grant him a new dark blue aura around his entire body. This aura of Dampen Field will allow him to completely reduce the magical damage done against him. Magical damage against this partial shield is cut by 70% effectiveness, and the aura will last for 2 full minutes, or until enough damage cuts the aura out before then. Anything Danton tries now will be futile, and his magical abilities will be hampered. "Is this the warrior I was set out to fight?" Kite knew Danton was strong, but he continued to further taunt him into attacking quickly and without plan.


    In an attempt to stop Kite from gaining any more potential power, Danton fired a quickly invoked Ice Beam spell to his front, while the bright cyan beam of light brightened the entire field from the center of his glyphring. With a power level of seven, it was sure to slow Kite down at least if it doesn''t cause any damage.


    But instead of letting Danton get his way, Kite shifted his long saber just in front of him, aiming at the oncoming Ice Beam heading straight for his chest. With a simple stance of dexterity, Kite let his sword absorb all of that concentrated energy of freezing force. The blade was surely getting cold, but such Leray based weapons are immune to physical destruction. As a result of Kite''s quick reflexes and good aim, he simply stood still while making the Ice Beam effectively useless in mere seconds. When the Ice Beam faded away, it was quick for Danton to assume that he just lost his lead to continue attacking.


    As Kite prepared himself with his hands and legs glowing with white auras, he put his saber away to intensify the effect of physical damage associated with his punches and kicks. Though he was a few meters away from Danton, it wouldn''t take him very long now to shorten the distance between them. "Power Attack!"


    Danton had no choice again but to prepare his stance and his response time to try and block Kite''s imminent close combat attack. In the very first attempt, Danton forced back his open palm against Kite''s left fist glowing with extra energy shooting towards his face, providing just enough force of his own to stop him, but Danton''s pushback was short lived, as this created several openings and weak points for Kite to go after. Assisted by magical aura, his every punch or kick, or any other force provided by his close combat tactics would be amplified in damage and in strength. Since Danton wasn''t able to mimic the same technique, Kite once again began to mop the floor with his opponent. Punching Danton straight in the face and kicking him in the sides or back became relatively easier since every impact caused him enough pain or damage to stumble the man out of his previously established speed, while this barrage of hits went on for several more moments.


    Gleeon on his team could only watch in glory at what was happening. It has been a long time since their captain fought like this against any tough opponent, particularly because there never was any tough opponents anymore. Seeing Kite battle so well was just different from every other time before, and Danton was paying for his mistake. "Now I understand why we lost. Look at the way master fights. It''s something I''ve never been able to come close to."


    Mainne wanted to agree aloud, but watching this gory exchange of magical spells used against people, it didn''t mimic the same feeling she had when fighting against Danton herself. This is different somehow. It''s creepy and suspenseful, like their lives are literally on the line right now. For all of that trash talk Kite was doing earlier in his days, this certainly did him more than enough to justify all of it.


    With one final high kick to Danton''s front side to end his combination sequence, Kite got the total upper hand against the enemy, and launched Danton backwards to the cement floor, but thus was only the end of the Power Attack skill sequence. Kite had plenty of other ideas in mind for this, as well as plenty more MP energy to keep it going. "Prone Strike!" Though launching this particular power packed spell takes some time, Kite only gave it two seconds of which he had free to generate the energy to invoke the ability in front of him. Prone Strike has a power level of nine, and a large explosive finish at the end of the sequence to prove its worth.


    After launching his spell into the ground to create what appeared to be an ordinary Shadow Wave, Kite took a few steps backwards to prepare himself for anything else should Danton somehow survive this last attack. When the Shadow Wave came close to impact on Danton, who was already stuck to the ground in bruising pain, the aura launched upward nine feet into the air just before detonating its own explosion of bright white light. The explosion wasn''t long lasting, but Danton''s body could be seen shortly afterwards, sliding and rolling on the floor away from the blast by 18 meters. Kite knew that his successful spell cast would debilitate Danton if it didn''t finish him, though he checked the energy scope of his opponent for direct confirmation.


    "Did you see that?!" Vanoss couldn''t pretend not to be surprised. Kite was demonstrating skills he''s never show off before. "Where did Kite learn how to do that?"


    Danton pushed himself back up despite the ringing in his ears from that magical explosion, the same one that burnt his skin through his clothes and made him feel dizzier than before. It was clear that his current technique wasn''t working, and Danton needed a new one... No, Kite''s strength is impressive. It equals that of his own physical endurance. There has to be some other way, but with that blue aura of Dampen Field around his body...


    Kite noticed how impressive it was for Danton to still stand tall and try to gauge himself, despite how weak he was looking already. "I always admire bravery and resilience in tough warriors. But I am stronger than you, faster that you Danton. You can''t win!"A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "We''ll see about that. Flame Beam!" Though Danton had been charging all of his energy while Kite was talking, his ability still needed an extra two seconds before it could be invoked, as it virtually drained 50% of his remaining MP levels. As hard as it was to learn, it isn''t always the best skill for the job. Danton knew he needed more power to defeat this guy. For now, Flame Beam will have to do.


    Having never of heard of Flame Beam''s spell before, Kite could only watch in amazement as Danton''s next spell expanded in size, just as tall as the entire Siriean dome itself. The bright vertical vortex of several Fire Ball projectiles spiraling in motion became a moving sight. Each and every Fire Ball itself wouldn''t have a high power level, but there were about seventy flares in the entire vortex Danton just created with the rest of his MP energy. When the vortex quickly changed position to fly towards Kite, it became clear how impossible it would be to block or dodge the magical area attack.


    In just two more seconds, Kite was surrounded by the vertical vortex of Fire Balls all raining down on top of or around his body. Even if the flares didn''t have any homing properties, there were way too many of them to ignore for the potential of damage. Kite had no choice but to suck it up and endure the barrage of fiery burning hits of fire elemental magic, but even though each hit hurt with the sensation of a first-degree burn while degrading small chunks of his health each time, the damage done overall after the vortex vanished was laughably low, and Kite already knew why.


    Despite taking over thirty hits from that fiery area attack spell, Kite still had his Dampen Field aura surrounding him. As long as this aura is active, all elemental magical attacks used against him are cut in damage by 70%. It was actually pitiful to see that Danton had forgotten this little rule.


    Danton grinded his teeth at how ineffective and inefficient his massive area attack spell was, and that was supposed to be one of his best ones. "Oh come on! I''m not giving up Kite!"


    "I wouldn''t expect anything else from you Brash." Kite finally felt the upper hand around him. It was finally his moment to smite Danton down, holding every advantage of battling possible. Danton can''t win anymore. "Creshendo!" Kite unleashed another long-range magical spell, and thus continued to charge additional energy in his next aura for another follow up spell.


    Danton noticed quickly that all of the seven phantom pillars were surrounding him again just like before, but this time, thanks to not charging any particular spell, he was ready for this close up long-range attack. Jumping backwards out of the impact zone as quickly as he could, Danton easily managed to leave the impact point before the pillars all converged on the target area of where he would have taken the damage. Creshendo was made useless, and Danton pulled out his blade to send his counterattack. "Splice!" With energy already charged from before, Danton slashed his glowing sword through the air to create a solid white line of magical power, drilling forward towards Kite at a quick speed.


    Kite noticed one of Danton''s Splice attacks again coming his way, but unlike his usual Splice attacks, Danton didn''t use a cross swipe to create two lines perpendicular to each other as demonstrated previously, likely to save on the last remaining MP energy he spent earlier. Kite therefore found the easiest angle to duck down and dodge the drilling line of damage. In just another second of time, Kite easily avoided the Splice attack sent by Danton. Even if Danton dodged Creshendo, he would have more difficult time dodging "Ozcom''s Razor!" With his magic exerted into the spell, the generation of a massive sword high above Danton was almost instantaneous.


    Danton however saw this large blade coming down on top of him quick enough to react. Only instead of jumping out of the way, he held his short saber up with both of his hands, one of which were on the blunt end of the other side of the blade. With another moment, Danton had to immediately block the incredible force of impact heading down towards him. In his great adversity of strength, Danton stopped the advance of the massive Ozcom blade above him, but the continued force against him didn''t cease so soon.


    Kite tensed and froze from what he saw in front of him. Danton was only using his short blade to try and stop the Ozcom Razor from crashing down from above, and it was working! Danton had to keep up the pushback for as long as he could, and it was visible from where Kite was standing that the magical blade he generated was still trying to fight back just to hit the ground. Danton''s knees were locked in his efforts, but he was forced to bend them down slightly over time; the magical blade five times the size of Danton was slowly winning, with Danton''s physical brute strength withering away.


    In a last minute effort to avoid this damage, Danton swiped backwards again, letting the large blade smash cracks into the cement just before disappearing while Danton narrowly avoided the hit. He then unleashed a small amount of magic, creating a fiery aura around the metal portion of his saber. "Crimson Blade! I''m not through proving my sword skills Kite. Show me what you''re really made of!"


    "A duel of swords, huh? Very well then!" Kite noticed during that last display of Danton''s strength that his Dampen Field aura was long gone, but even with Danton''s Crimson Blade aura attached to his sword, there was no possible way for him to turn this around. Kite therefore conserved his remaining energy and rushed forward to meet the brave warrior on the battlefield. In a matter of seconds, both of them returned to their close combat duel that was never finished from before. Danton swung his sword with swift speed and power, but managed to time his evasions and movements just well enough to balance his posture and enable him to block all of Kite''s sword strikes over the next few seconds. It was a bit surprising for Kite to see that despite Danton''s critical MP and low HP levels that his reflexes and speed are both still well intact. This battle could drag on for a while longer.


    Mainne''s mouth was stuck open when she froze every other thought to focus on the battle in front of them. Despite Danton''s severe disadvantage, he was still fighting so valiantly. Then again, Kite was trying his absolute hardest as well to prove which of the two of them had better sword skills than the other. Their constant exchange of sword swipes went on for over an entire minute, with both sides constantly on the move. Yet even from here was it easy to tell that neither one of them suffered a single scratch so far. Mainne remembered how fast Danton was up close with his sword, but Kite is just as fast too, mirroring that speed back at him. It''s moments like these she can''t look away from.


    Just when Kite noticed that he left himself open to an oncoming swipe that Danton was about to unleash with his fiery saber, Kite jumped back as far as he could, assisted by the extra force of magical expenditure, and this enabled him to dodge that last hit just before the edge of Danton''s sword could draw through his armor. With the speed and thought of tactics still fresh in his mind, Kite performed another magical ability just as quickly to try and throw Danton off, since it was clear at this point that they were both evenly matched with their speed and skills of swordsmanship. "Crush Wave!"


    Danton noticed a fast moving Crush Wave aura about to slam into him. Kite didn''t jump that far away from him, and this shortened the time needed for him to take hits from further spells. With his focus on the entire battle, Danton quickly shoved his fiery saber down in the ground like a forced mount, and waited for the impact of the Crush Wave. Just like before, Danton managed to stop the impact of a Crush Wave aura with the power of his blade and defense, but the explosive diffusion of the spell itself nearly knocked Danton off his feet. He barely had the strength to pull that trick off, and it likely wouldn''t happen again. Kite is adapting to his every trick so easily. Danton''s MP energy was charging up further since he saved some of his magic reserves too. Now would be the time to go all out. "Uplift!" Spending energy from his arm into an invisible aura, Kite was soon blasted high into the air from a large ridged boulder, which shot up from beneath the ground. Similar to Earth Glave, Uplift works even faster, designed to launch opponents higher into the air for the offset of reduced HP damage, and it worked just as Danton wanted to. With Kite as vulnerable as he was now, he could perform his best magical skill.


    Kite felt the bruising pain spread to his entire body, but soon got over the pain to focus on winning this fight. Even though he was launched into the air, Danton was now just standing still and open. It was easy for Kite to regain control of his aim and magical exertion on the field during his free fall, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to hit Danton while he isn''t expecting it. Kite will use the attack spell from mid-air! "Power Blast!" With a small glowing projectile flying at bullet speed to the ground, the magic impacted right on top of Danton, exploding into a blinding light that sealed his fate and everything around him.


    Kite landed on the ground shortly after, his descent offset by the sudden shockwave sent in all directions from the explosion of Power Blast. The blast itself blew all of the dust and dirt into the air like a thick cloud of smoke, making it that much more difficult to see how much it affected Danton. Kite was safe too for the same reason. After getting himself back to stance and waiting for the dust to die down, he noticed that his teammates on the outside of the shield dome were blown down to the ground, proving that Power Blast for whatever reason sends shockwaves through the dome shield regardless of who uses the spell. Kite just learned this spell too, having invoked the skill for the very first time by watching Danton''s actions. It wasn''t that hard to understand, and now this fight would be over. "What the?!"


    Just as the dust cleared enough to let light through, Kite was standing dumbstruck to watch the bright blue glowing light coming from in front of Brash Danton, who had been unaffected from that blast while charging what appeared to be a powerful spell. Danton almost lost his nerve and balance after having that force shoot him back against his own weight, but Power Blast is a shockwave-only magical spell; it doesn''t inflict actual damage. It failed to interrupt his process of charging the most obvious looking spell that even Kite appeared to understand with his current expression of fear. "Photon Blast!"


    Kite wasn''t expecting this, and had no way to dodge or block that spell. It''s well known for being one of the most powerful area spells known to man. But what the hell is Danton doing with knowledge of the skill? Only elites should be able to invoke Photon Blast!


    Danton finally unleashed the rest of his remaining energy, shooting several dozens of small photons of light forward. The amount of photons soon obscured the view of Kite all together, but the reduction level of his HP on the energy scope was more than obvious. The barrage lasted for several seconds, but after it was over, Danton realized that he and Kite were only locked again in an epic stalemate. He was still standing.


    Kite was breathing heavily, struggling to keep his conscious after being forced to feel the incredible burning and piercing sensation of that ear-banging barrage spell, but this only put him down to a disadvantage. Kite knew he was still capable of fighting. As for Danton, that energy scope shows zero MP levels in reserve. There would only be one way to finish this now.


    Having all of his members of the gang watching and guessing the outcome of this battle was indeed nerve-wracking, but Kite knew he wouldn''t lose, as he promised himself that his own training and skill level was enough for this man.


    Danton lifted his short saber again, already choosing the last method of his battle tactics, and Kite did the same in agreement. With both of them low on energy and low on health, the only way to decide this battle would be a sword duel to the absolute end, no more tricks this time. Their training in close combat fighting cannot be exactly the same. "One of us has to be stronger than the other. Would you like to find out which one of us will win?"


    "What are you waiting for?" Danton answered. He soon sped off on foot, just as Kite did to mirror his expression of this major battle. As soon as they were close enough again, both Danton and Kite engaged once more in a close combat exchange of sword swipes, dodges, and blocks that lasted for another long moment of time. In one of the moments both of them tried to push each other back blade to blade, it left Danton the availability to try and bring down the man''s morale, though his words had other intentions. "Judging by the looks on your team, I''d say I was right all along. You do fight better when you have everything to lose!"


    Stop talking Danton! Just fight and fail! "Raaagh!" With a final push of strength, Danton was forced back and almost stabbed in the face if his motion was a microsecond later. "I know I''m better than you Danton. I''ve already won!"


    Again angered by Kite''s constant source of arrogance, Danton only tried once more to piss off his opponent. "Then prove it!" Soon feeling the response of those words, Danton found himself blocking and dodging hits yet again from Kite''s sword slashes. Any opening that Danton left for him was exploited with a kick to the gut or a punch to his face. It wasn''t worth checking the energy scopes. They would both just battle until one of them drops, but Danton was confident enough. He had been expertly trained how to move like the wind, and how to balance his attack coordination to ensure that he could defend himself in the same breath. Kite seems well trained too, but it can''t be from the same source.


    Kite continued his barrage against Danton, who then suddenly decided to become more aggressive in his close shaves to try and wrap this up as quickly as possible. Now finding himself on the defense, Kite simply held his ground and remained as patiently as possible. All of this fighting left his lungs dying for several deeper breaths, but he couldn''t afford them, and neither could Danton right now. With a few more failed attempts to take him out, Kite finally found the moment he had been waiting for. Quickly moving out of the way of a total forward stab from Danton that would have been a critical or fatal hit, Kite noticed how Danton had to extend his arm out all the way with his entire body lunging forward. Too late to correct the mistake now!


    Kite quickly used both of his arms to lock Danton in place from behind, after making an easy sweep in the other direction with Danton''s failed attempt to stab him. In another short moment, Kite had Danton locked in place, with both of his arms strapped to his sides. Kite then quickly disarmed the threat in front of him by elbowing the forearm joint of Danton''s right arm, forcing his short saber to fly out of his grip and slide on the ground far out of reach! In one last moment maneuver, Kite stopped Danton from struggling by shoving both his shoulders downwards, Danton crushed to his knees on the cement. Kite was now holding the sharp end of his saber close to Danton''s neck. In just another second, Danton let the situation sink in, and stopped moving altogether.


    No way! Danton didn''t dare move after realizing the situation he just put himself in. Kite was holding him by the blade. Making a single move would enable Kite to slice that saber through his neck. A cut like that isn''t fatal in Leray battles due to the veil of protection, but the veil does count something like this as a critical strike, meaning it would deal a devastating blow to a person''s low HP level despite the lack of additional magic or force at work. If that sword swipes across his neck, Danton will lose all of his HP in an instant, and lose the battle. With no MP reserves remaining, he can''t do anything else. That sword will take too long to automatically return to his side, and even if it did, there isn''t any way out of this chokehold. Damn it Kite! "How?"


    Kite held Danton tightly as he prepared to finish him right here. This would automatically declare Kite the winner in one single blow, and if this were a battle to the death, Danton would have only the sense to surrender or die right here. "I already told you Brash. Nobody on Route 96 has ever been able to outmatch my skills. You may be an impressive fighter, but I''m still better than you, good enough to defeat you in any Leray match." Having not to hear a single reply or breath from Danton, Kite assumed he might try something, and held the grip even tighter.


    Danton knew his training was intense and severe, but nothing he did worked this time. His best skills, his best training, everything just wasn''t good enough for this one battle. It wasn''t fatigue or disadvantages that stopped him from winning. It''s the guy standing behind him, holding him hostage with a deadly sharp saber currently edging into his skin. Kite does have impressive skills, and seeing him resist defeat this entire time only proves his worth... "You''re right."


    Kite almost lowered his guard just upon hearing this guy admit that, but he kept his crushing stance just in case this was a trick.


    Danton admitted in front of his opponent, "You performed better than I expected. You''re skills outclass my own somehow. I have no choice in this situation to forfeit the match. I''ve already lost."


    Kite wasn''t expecting Danton to actually see the errors of his ways, but in the same moment he let go of Danton, the Siriean dome around them collapsed, and the holographic text appeared again to finally declare Brash Danton the loser of this tournament.


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    <Reward: Kite Fargenst | Real Time Mode>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Knockin to the Heaven Door ~ Kyoto</a>


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    Danton left himself down since he was incredibly exhausted from all of that movement, but it was as clear as day that he lost this tournament to Kite Fargenst. There was no need to continue fighting, having seen all of the possible ways to win removed from his grasp. No wonder Kite is the respected leader of a Leray hit squad. Kite''s training level is just barely above his own.


    "I actually won." Kite knew it was true, but after all he did, the battle felt far too close to seem like any ordinary win. That was the most intense moment he''d ever felt in a very long time.


    "You sound so surprised," Danton expressed with a weak voice. "My training is still inadequate, far too under-leveled to defeat you."


    "Kite! You did it!"


    "Good job kicking that guy down to defeat."


    Kite was hearing the compliments from Mainne and Gleeon, who all were approaching him for what appeared to be an imminent group hug. Kite swung his sword around in an appearance to show off his skills juggling a sharp blade, but the desired result in front of him came true when everyone stepped back. Kite was never one for touchy stuff, but it was easier to just give a light signal for everyone to back off and relax. "Indeed I did, and this means I am still the leader of the Trujima Gang. Based on your performances tonight, there will be a few rank changes." Kite used a healing orb on himself, while Danton stayed glued to the ground, using his own supply of healing orbs to pull his stamina back into order.


    Mainne easily felt frustrated with that claim already. What Kite means is that the ranks will change based on who lost to Danton first, which shouldn''t even matter right now. "Why would we have to do that?"


    Kite replied, "You know the rules everyone. Besides, we''ll be needing a new order and structure of things if my theory about tonight is correct." Kite ignored any possible confusion from his team by tuning them out, and offered his arm down towards Danton, who had just finished recovering on the ground. Danton gripped his hand to help him stand back up in spite of the dizziness, and Kite continued his offering of admiration. "You sir, just demonstrated power and skill that I''ve not noticed in a very long time. I think that does at least deserve something special."


    Danton noticed how different everyone was acting now, but especially the difference in Kite. He''s all the sudden condescending and calm. "I know I already asked this before, but, who are you people?"


    Kite held Danton''s back as a sign of trust while escorting him to the drumfire everyone set up earlier. "I know you''re curious. We''re curious about you as well. We might be able to make some use of those skills you''ve demonstrated earlier."


    "What are you saying master?"


    Kite decided to elaborate to Vanoss''s question by giving Danton the new proposal. "Well-refined fighters don''t just walk across low level routes all the time. Brash, was it? I think we should talk. It appears we might have an open position still available for you in the Trujima Gang after all, at a different rank level of course."


    Danton was dumbfounded by this request. Didn''t Kite hate his guts for being brave in the first place? He must respect it in truth after all. "You want me to join the Trujima Gang?"


    Kite elaborated his actions, making the offer sound legitimate to this impressive warrior. "I want the both of us to learn things from each other. I''ve been training my team as many skills as I can, but you still managed to make short work of them anyway. Now maybe I just don''t have what it takes to invoke my skills onto other people, or maybe there is something you have that my team does not. I''d like us all to get to know each other better. And I take it you have nothing better to do if you''re aimlessly walking around challenging people for their gangs."


    "Weren''t you the one who provoked me?"


    "What do you say?" Kite offered. "You have already proven that you have the necessary skill to fit in with our group, thus no further testing is needed. Will you become an official member of the Trujima Gang?"

 Chapter 11: Tangible Dream

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    <03/11/1972 ¨C 12:28 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    Three days. It took three long and tedious days for any news to change between Nyar and Jane regarding her job position. Danny was most eager to hear about it since it felt like Jane and Taylor were leaving him out to dry with his horrific job. As everyone gathered around the dining room table, Jane broke the ice to Danny''s uncle.


    "Not the job; the interview. And it''s scheduled for tomorrow at one, so we can''t do anything more tonight." Jane felt as though the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders just by landing an interview. After so many attempts to get back into the job market, only this one place was allowing her to try again. Applying for jobs is hard, not because of the process, but because of the stress it involves with waiting and hoping.


    "That''s still good news to hear Jane." Nyar knew that Jane could do it, and mentioned still that she should still apply for jobs today, just in case that place doesn''t work out. However, applying for multiple jobs everyday can be pressuring in a strange way. Still, there must be a lot of new French places opening up nearby. Cider de'' Gal has been a well-established business for a long time, and only the name of the restaurant is French, yet now this happens. "You said it was called what?"


    "Le''Flanc. They''re kind of like the restaurant we went to the other night with a bigger bar."


    Jane serving tables would be interesting to hear about, and bless her soul for taking on something so challenging, for her anyway. Still, Le''Flanc? They better not cause any competition problems for Cider de'' Gal. It must be close by too, since the job search filters are set so low in range.


    "Well there''s more good news to that story," Nyar added. "Though I will have to work on a new case, it doesn''t start until tomorrow. That means I got today off."


    "So then we can go to the beach." Danny felt no guilt twisting the question into a declarative statement, considering Nyar promised he would take them at least somewhere soon. Danny was already holding the bag full of towels and some spare change of clothes. The beach was decided already as the next place to have fun in a unanimous decision between Danny, Taylor, and Jane. Since he is off work today, the timing couldn''t be any more perfect.


    Coney Island Beach. That was the new hangout spot the three have bothered him about for the past few days, but since Danny had not worked long enough to receive a paycheck, the group was basically begging Nyar to use his own cash to check in to the beach. Though Nyar was reluctant to agree for those reasons, he also reminded himself of the workload he set up for himself last night on the internet. He finally set up the profile needed to advertise a credit conversion service for those willing to trade in American cash for Leray credits. But whether people will bite, that''s going to take time to discover. "Fine. We''ll go there today. Taylor? I want to see new applications tomorrow after five P.M, got it?"


    "Of course." Taylor knew Nyar would pressure her more often since she was the last person likely to receive a job in the market. But why even worry about that when Danny was offering to go to the beach already? She already packed her bathing suit she brought with her from Sprawn Valley, as did Danny and Jane. So the vacation can finally begin.


    Seeing as each ticket per person is only ten dollars right now due to the strange weather of hot and cold, Nyar would accept their desire to indulge a little longer. He already told them before that visiting every hot attraction in New York wasn''t going to be possible. So if they want to blow all of their funds now, who is he to question them?


    Nyar drove them all the way to Coney Island Beach while the day was still young, and the kids had to put up with the long drive there. Despite the recent cold weather, New York continued to shift between above average warmth with clear weather and sheets of dark clouds that were only threatening with their appearance. Rain was absent for at least a week, and that makes today perfect for a sunny experience at Coney Island Beach.


    Nyar gave the three of them the same basic rules as before back at the park, but this time, he didn''t have to worry about any phone calls. After he found a spot to pitch the umbrella, the team met back up with him as promised before getting ready to go out and have fun. All of them looked the part with their change in clothes, but Danny in particular appeared to seem much more relaxed than he was before. He was smiling several times while randomly conversing with Taylor from afar.


    "It probably is like the same thing."


    "Then we''ll make the most of it. You brought the ball right?" Taylor was checking if Danny remembered the blow-up beach ball, which he did remember to bring. His other statement regarded the comparison from here to Tilsit Beach. But it doesn''t matter. A beach is a beach, and nothing here seemed to change that, other than the enormous size difference. This place makes Tilsit Port appear like somebody''s backyard; you could run in either direction for miles and still have a shoreline.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Neobodamu ~ FFXIII-2 OST</a>


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    Jane missed the smell of the ocean air, so similar to that in Tilsit Port. She could even feel the same warmth level of the sunlight over her, cooled slightly by the cream of the fresh sunscreen. It appeared that Danny and Taylor were about to bounce around a beach ball this time, and Jane would want in on that action.


    "We''ve got five hours here. Make it count." Nyar made sure his announcement was firm. It would be boring to sit under an umbrella for that long, but Nyar had no intention of getting close to the water. Having fun on a beach just isn''t his style. Danny would disagree though, especially with those two hanging out with him.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    For the next hour, Danny and Taylor took turns cycling their team with Jane, so it was always two against one either way playing volleyball. Since there was no net to use for themselves, Danny simply drew a deep line in the sand with a stick, and used that line as the border of reference. Jane never played volleyball before, but she learned really quickly how to pick up points for herself. The entire moment kept Danny''s mind racing with thoughts, while he tried to keep them focused only on the ball.


    The thought of using magic on a beach, either to show off a skill or to battle brought him back to that memory on Tilsit Beach. But other moments reminded him of things too, such as the people he met back there. So much happened in Sprawn Valley. Danny never even got a chance yet to swim out here, though swimming wasn''t what he was interested in.


    In the next moment, Jane edged each of them to enter her own little contest to see who could build the best sandcastle in only thirty minutes. With everyone agreed, only Taylor''s sandcastle turned out to be the best. Danny and Jane''s were just a mound of clumps in the end, but that''s only because Taylor had much more practice with this from her earlier days, before meeting Danny. It wasn''t until Taylor finally brought up the idea to get into the ocean when Danny was reminded again about one of the new activities he wanted to try.


    This however required Nyar to help him rent a cheap surfboard. However, Nyar agreed with no hesitation, and actually rented one for himself too during that moment. Danny was at least curious as to why Nyar suddenly changed his routine of sitting in the shade.


    "I didn''t know you surfed!"


    Nyar forgot that Danny wanted to try and learn surfing, which he somehow learned about while in Sprawn Valley. This is the one easy thing Nyar could do to spend time with his nephew. "I''m no expert, but I might as well show you how to ride some waves while we''re here."


    Danny didn''t mind a long lesson. Taylor and Jane were out in the deep splashing each other, and he was looking forward to this for a while now. But to think Nyar would actually attempt to enjoy himself...


    "Come on. Let''s get to the basics." Nyar already rented the two boards and led Danny to the shallow end of the beach where basic training lessons could begin.


    It didn''t take long to begin, but it was a real struggle for Danny to figure anything out at first. Nyar tried demonstrations and explanations as to where Danny should put his feet. Even if he could stand up okay, any small movement under the water tripped him up into the shallow sand every time, but without having Danny give up, Nyar continued the lesson repetitively until he finally switched tactics. Since Danny wasn''t getting anything new into his head, Nyar tried to give Danny detailed explanations for how the surfboard moves in the water in contrast to the currents and waves.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: The Cursed ~ Ian Robert Anderson [Punk Anthology]</a>


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    Though he took a long time just thinking in silence, Danny eventually took his board a little deeper out into the ocean and practiced on his own, without asking Nyar for any sort of help. Nyar passively watched while he too practiced on his own board. It had been so long ago since he did anything like this.


    As the long minutes passed, Danny analyzed how he moved and in which direction the waves pushed the board every time he fell back into the salty water. Eventually, he was able to last longer each time, while covering more distance at a higher speed. In other words, he was picking up the skill like a natural. Nyar soon joined near his location just to show off, but both of them soon attracted the attention of Jane and Taylor.


    "Is Danny surf boarding?" Jane at least recognized the activity from her memory as a kid when she saw other people at Tilsit Port doing the same thing, but she never figured that Danny would be into that.


    "So now he skates on water?" Taylor grinned in acceptance that Danny would at least indulge into some of his old habits. He doesn''t love the water that much, but to him, this must be like skate boarding with a twisted style.


    In his attempt to master steering, Danny''s board ended up skidding the water into the air towards both of them, but the splash only landed on top of Taylor, causing Jane to laugh at the humiliating accident.


    Since Danny never noticed, he continued on trying not to wipe out with the most pathetic waves yet. The water was almost too calm to try this on, but Nyar was teaching Danny how this works with a steady pace. For another entire hour, this went on and on.


    Jane was happy that she and everyone got to have fun, including Nyar for the first time in probably several years. She never imagined that Nyar could be so involved and full of positive energy like this. It almost made Jane want to join the fun of surfing, but now that it was time to reapply the sunscreen, she would first need to travel all the way back to the umbrella spot to try and dry off a little.


    Just shortly after drying herself with one of the clean towels left there, Jane could hear a muffled electronic beeping noise; close enough to be right below her. At first, she had to process what sound that could possibly be, but the realization came to her shortly after. The noise was a familiar ringtone, and the sound was coming from her one and only cellphone that she placed into Nyar''s bag on the way over here. Somebody was calling her phone.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track MM</a>


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    Jane picked up the cellphone from inside of the bag, confirming that the phone was ringing right in her hand. With Danny and Taylor closing in behind her to also reapply their sunscreen, there wouldn''t be a way to keep this little conversation hidden. Jane was sure she already knew who was on the other line, but he shouldn''t be calling her at all unless this is important. Jane flipped up the phone, enabling the device to automatically answer the call. When Jane put the phone up to her right ear, she turned around to see Danny and Taylor taking notice of her action with blank stares on their faces.


    "Hello?"


    "Yes? Code name?" Jane almost forgot to ask for that, as proof that the only other person on the line would be a trusted source of information.


    "Code name Zazzel. It''s good to hear from you again Jane. How are things?"


    Different now that you killed the mood! But Jane couldn''t say that. Danton wouldn''t call her for no reason. "We''re fine."


    Danny almost immediately understood who Jane must be talking to, but was still surprised to see her with a cellphone. "When did Jane get a cellphone? That''s not Nyar''s is it?"


    "Who are you talking to?"


    "Shhhh!" Jane put her hand out and shushed Taylor and Danny to pay the call more attention. However, this only caused both of them to hover closer in curiosity.


    Danny thought at first Jane was talking to her parents, calling them from home, but she had done so already the other day from Nyar''s home phone, and could do so at any time. Judging from the look on her face, it''s as if Jane is receiving some serious news?


    "Understand?"


    Jane nodded aggressively even though Danton could not see it. "No, I don''t understand. I don''t know what all those terms mean."


    Danton simply translated the language by dumbing down the statement for her. "The first level of the scan compiled the data from the sample we took from you earlier. We now have the molecular level of data that we need to determine the composition of your symbol."


    Way to beat around the bush Danton. "So... You still don''t know yet?"


    "No. But I wanted to let you know that we''re much closer now to discovering more about your symbol, and that the sampling we did was a good idea."


    "But..." This isn''t right. Danton was strict about making sure to keep communications to a bare minimum. Why would he call to tell her that the scan is still going in the direction we already knew it was? "That''s not the only reason you called, is it?"


    "Sharp as ever I see."


    "Who is on the other line?" Danny repeated, wanting to know why Jane was going silent on them.


    "It''s Danton. Now shut up for a minute." Jane needed to hear any news she could. Any update on her family or the hunt for the enemy was more important than anything.


    "Danton? Why do you have¡ª" Danny trailed off, suddenly unwilling to ask the question. Jane and Danton must have exchanged phone numbers... More than that, Danton must have given Jane that cellphone for communication. But then why the hell would she not mention something like that to them? Is she trying to keep more secrets?


    "The news isn''t good Jane. I was afraid this would happen, but I''m not surprised that it did."


    Jane couldn''t talk over him hearing this. The moment she learned the news, Jane felt tight knots in her stomach. It''s the kind of nightmare that instantly made her sick, the news that easily ate at her morale. So this is why he called.

 Chapter 12-A: The Journey of Magic (Part 1)

    <hr>


    <10/21/1962 ¨C 23:09 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    The night grew louder as the passing winds tumbled into the side fences while picking up speed. It wasn''t as easy as it was before keeping the drumfire alive, but Vanoss supplied them with plenty of bio-fuel material and short logs. Despite the adversity that Danton faced minutes ago, his exhaustion ceased halfway with the cool-down, and now he had a new dilemma in front of him.


    Kite just asked Danton if he would join the Trujima Gang, but Danton couldn''t decide whether he should or shouldn''t, since the question wasn''t expected, nor was this entire experience on Route 96. Danton planned to make it into Monoc Port tonight. Instead, he was still talking with the people in this gang, and despite the earlier hostile introduction, everyone was suddenly so nice.


    "I still don''t get why you would head in that direction if your skill level is as high as it is." Kite was simply pointing out the flaw in Danton''s pattern, since he knew already that he was going to Monoc Port. "Everyone knows that most of the rookies and lower level Leray wielders hang out in the Gulop Region. Junon is where all the action is."


    "Heading to Gulop is on my agenda, but not for the purpose of fighting weaklings. I guess I wanted to sight-see a little bit."


    Mainne wanted to giggle slightly, on count of Danton''s expression appearing to be so much different than before. He was acting all shy and uncertain of himself right now, all after establishing that tough demeanor. Kite was strangely being nice to him, which isn''t usual in many situations. Then again, neither is it normal to have random challengers join the gang, but Danton did pass a benchmark test in his eyes.


    Danton held himself together against the winds around him growing colder by the speed of the wind and the sound echoing over everything else. "What about you four? What is the Trujima Gang all about? You''re just a hit squad?"


    "We''re more than a hit squad." Kite hadn''t heard of the term in a while. Leray hit squads are what other wielders call groups of teams that work and train together to achieve a common goal, while specifying territory to dominate and patrol. "But I wanted to ask you, what is your goal?"


    Danton wasn''t surprised with the question, but it still took him long to answer. The situation with magic is actually complicated. He had been trained for so long on how to battle like an expert and how to execute some powerful skills. But in the end, what is it all for? Every Leray wielder has a specific goal. Some become Leray agents, while others become gradyents. Some become teachers while a select few become elites, or perhaps the champion of magic. Battling is supposed to be fun, but without a clear endgame in mind, that fun isn''t so visible.


    Danton had to take a long time to decide on a goal for himself. Even now does it feel strange, to fight for an ultimate power without a reason to use it. Living up to the name of his past father is apparently reason enough. He aimed for the absolute top of the chain, and though his quest was cut short by unfortunate circumstance, that only left the quest in Danton''s capable hands. So the goal here is simple, despite how long it may actually take. Given the fact that he was just defeated in battle by this man in front of him calling himself the lead member of a gang, there was obviously a long way to go. Danton cleared his throat and gave Kite his simple answer. "My goal is to one day be in charge of Sprawn Valley. I want to challenge the champion of Leray magic and win."


    Everyone else gave a noticeable expression of surprise, but Kite accepted that reply willingly. "Aiming for champion isn''t an uncommon goal I hear these days. It''s actually quite ambitious."


    "Don''t you have one similar enough?"


    Danton''s question to Kite was expected. After all, Kite knew he and his team weren''t ready yet for such a big fight. The route gradyent would still kick him down with every attempt, so more training was just a passing necessity. "I guess it hasn''t really been decided formally. Getting to be the strongest bunch of wielders is on the list right now, but that too would inevitably lead to us challenging the champion someday."


    "I see..." Danton took a moment to analyze this gang. Most hit squads are usually in it just for the money. With control over a specific section of land, they easily target those just below their level in fights, and end up winning loads of credits, though Kite didn''t mention that part. Is he really aiming to become as strong as ever? With similar goals in mind, it would actually make sense to join Trujima and just barrel towards Eldora Tower to wipe out the champion. But with this many people on the team¡ª "I guess I''ll join Trujima then."


    "That''s the spirit," Kite added while resting his arm on Danton''s shoulder. "Well for now, you''re in the back of the pack until we get you some special training and you prove yourself to be better than the other three here."


    "I guess my earlier victory wouldn''t determine that?"


    "Not likely. You are strong, but still new. So there are a few things to learn first."


    Danton figured that forgetting about Monoc Port for now should be acceptable. Training with a few new partners might actually be the best possible way of challenging the top of the chain anyway. "When should we train? I don''t suppose you expect us to try it tonight with how exhausted¡ª"


    "Of course not," Kite finished. "I''m not a ridiculous person. I''m just stronger than you is all."


    Don''t trip over your own ego! Danton knew Kite would still be like this deep down. Kite really wants to be number one... But that''s a good thing in this situation. If his goal suddenly becomes challenging the champion, winning won''t come with difficulty for Kite. His confidence is also his own motivation. "Then we shall train tomorrow."


    "Of course," Kite agreed. "My team will show off some of their skills to the wielders passing by, and that will give you something to learn. It also helps us get to know each other better. Might as well catch some rest tonight. I''ll set up the tent."


    Here''s another surprise. "You live out here?" Danton figured they just set up the drumfire to establish a temporary base before heading into a hotel. Apparently, this method of living is much cheaper.


    Kite lifted his index finger in a gesture to lecture the inexperienced newbie. "Now-now, a powerful gang like us can''t afford to give up our best spot on Route 96. Besides, we have plenty of extra supplies and food to last us for a week. Vanoss usually handles the resupply operation to ensure we don''t lose this spot to another gang."


    He makes this sound like some secret organization operating like the military... Whatever. Sleeping in a tent will have to do for now. "Fair enough." Danton prepared to help everyone with the tent, but noticed that all eyes were on him, except for Kite''s. They probably aren''t as shy as they are curious of his skill or his motive. It''s as if they all wanted to interrogate him to find out why Danton would be interested in joining a gang in the first place. The reason isn''t important. The end result will speak for itself.


    <hr>


    <10/22/1962 ¨C 09:12 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: °Ù¹íÒ¹ÐÐ ~ Tutti Sound</a>


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    In the following morning that the gang slept through, Danton was formally introduced to the team members of the Trujima Gang, but not with a traditional handshake or a nice gesture. Today, everyone began with warm-up battles on Route 96. Any random person traveling from Monoc Port or Lennith City was challenged on the spot. Kite put more of the pressure on his team than himself or on Danton. The result was having Mainne, Gleeon, and Vanoss discuss their battle tactics in the middle of fighting their random challengers.


    Just by observing could Danton and Kite see which battle tactics and styles each person went with most commonly. Gleeon demonstrated his skills first. Because of all the noise that the heavy battle caused on top of the Siriean dome cutting the sound level in half through the shield, Kite explained what he already knew about the man to Danton while watching the battle unfold.


    "Gleeon is basically our brawn when battling in the field. Sure, he is really strong and has a high tolerance to pain from those piercing attacks, but his real strategy involves spells that invoke support auras such as Dampen Field and Armor of Darkness."


    Danton understood immediately where that would play to the guy''s strengths. "So he defends himself mainly with impressive support spells?"


    "That, and anti-support spells. Gleeon''s most popular strategy involves aura spells that sabotage the enemy with harmful auras, most of which can be a gamble to use in the field."


    Danton didn''t realize there were that many anti-support auras out there in the first place. He watched as Gleeon, who was already having an easy time with his opponent invoke one of the spells in example. But without an explanation for what the spell was, Danton wouldn''t figure it out on his own.


    "Kafire!" Gleeon cast the anti-support aura, causing a dark green radiance of light to surround the body of his opponent. Initially, the man in front of him panicked slightly since he too didn''t know what that spell was about, but the result soon made itself clear when he tried to attack Gleeon with magic from a distance.


    Danton watched and waited while a simple jade color glyphring was aimed at Gleeon, but the amount of time it took to unleash the soon to be Lightning Strike was beyond normal. It suddenly gave Gleeon sure warning about an imminent Lightning Strike spell, and he made the attempt to dispel the skill by spawning a twister of his own. Wind elemental magic can easily disrupt electrical elemental magic, so the choice was a good one. On top of that, Gleeon''s MP levels were still in the high range.


    Luckily for Danton, Kite was ready to automatically explain what was happening, since Kafire is another rare spell that few know about, particularly because it is hard to learn, even harder to strategize with. "Kafire isn''t easy to learn, but when used, it creates an aura around the target which sabotages their ability to invoke magical spells with a speedy ejection. Suddenly, using something like Lightning Strike would cause the glyphring in use to require three times the focus and the time needed to successfully fire the payload. Trying to invoke an area attack would likely make that time more than a minute."


    "Wow!" Danton couldn''t believe he could have been faced with this earlier. Why did Gleeon hold back then? Maybe there is some sort of drawback to the ability? "What''s the downside?"


    Of course there would be one. Rare spells often have small drawbacks. "The Kafire aura around the same target allows their MP to be saved when used. The amount needed for any spell is therefore cut into a third. So even if their spell fails to work, their MP won''t suffer as badly."


    So that''s why Gleeon held back. Against an unknown and potentially tough target, using abilities with moderate drawbacks would be out of the question.


    Kite continued to educate Danton while Gleeon made short work of his target using other heavy attack spells from a distance. "Gleeon joined the team on the same day Mainne did, despite the both of them being strangers to each other. But the specifics never mattered to me. I simply decided to form a team in order to dominate territory. It is the easiest way to make a living."


    As usual, Danton thought. But it does seem fair. It''s not against the law or the rules to team up into groups and battle people individually in order to increase the odds of success per fight. In fact, the shared training can turn each individual of an entire team into an elite fighter compared to solo training, and of course, it enables them the option to have multi-battles, in which one group challenges the other under a single Siriean dome. Real teamwork then becomes paramount in the determinant of the victor.


    "Gleeon taught me that aside from raw power in magical spells, every single person often leaves an opening for specific attack angles or specific spells that can be used against them with ease. For example, did you know that someone who is speedy and moves around quickly, as good as they are at close combat is five times more likely to rush in and charge at their targets without as much of a plan of attack? They''re impatient and don''t think things through often enough to win against someone who is more prepared and thorough. Or how about the panic principle? When you present your opponent with a situation unknown to them, no matter how insignificant the danger is against them, they will panic and make twice as many mistakes in the meantime trying to dispel what they don''t understand."


    It''s incredible that Gleeon knows these things, but it''s also strange how Kite is so analytical about the tactics of his teammates. He really pays this much attention to everyone? What was that nonsense then yesterday about Mainne using a different strategy? "Where does that leave Mainne?"


    "Well let''s wait for her battle next. It looks like Gleeon will have this wrapped up in the next few seconds." Kite wasn''t off about his prediction either. In just another moment, Gleeon won the match via knockout, winning himself a small collection of credits that he and the other bet on. The route here was becoming hot with battles erupting everywhere in visual sight, distant as they were. Now that he was done, it was Mainne''s turn to show off more of her skills for training. She already battled twice moments ago, but her fights were so easy that a rookie could have the same victorious result. Perhaps with a better challenger things will become clearer.


    Kite had to wait though before another potential warrior came near them. In the meantime, Danton shook Gleeon and Mainne''s hand.


    "I guess you could say my specialty is speed and special evasion therapy." Mainne made the simplification as easy as ever for Danton.


    Danton already knew this from their match last night, but did Kite really learn how to move from Mainne? Their styles weren''t exactly the same. Mainne is speedy, but those metal wrist pads that extend to cover the tops of her entire hands were incredibly useful too. Using those to block requires an unwavering amount of coordination and focus. So who gave her those? "Your metal pads were a show before me, but what was all of that ice and wind attacks you threw at me last time? I get the feeling you don''t normally invoke those spells."


    Mainne knew that Kite was just as curious to hear this as Danton was despite his silence. Mainne was beginning to test new strategies, one which involved the principle: Instead of moving around quickly, prevent the target from moving quickly. Using a combination of ice and wind attacks to make the opponent too cold to want to move seems to do the trick best, since the chilling cold of those attacks is long lasting in Leray battles. It isn''t as easy to adjust to. "Just some experiments with cold spells. My speed would be faster in comparison if the target were slower."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I dare say it almost cost you the battle the first time you tried it."


    How can he still think that? Danton said nothing, but even he knew the truth. Mainne nearly had him beaten before their rematch halfway into their battle. Mainne''s cold spells gave Danton a chilling sensation he was never used to before. It''s a similar sensation if he were to walk outside in the wind at ten degrees with shorts and a T-shirt. The cold becomes debilitating. Maybe Mainne should just decide to specialize in cold spells. She might win more often that way with less effort.


    By the time the next battle began with Mainne and somebody else random, Gleeon took his break beside Kite, who then explained to Danton what her background was like. "There isn''t much to learn about Mainne Gelica. You already know about her tactics. I just wonder how far they will take her."


    Danton felt the dilemma become more intense. How could this blockhead realize the full potential of Gleeon but not Mainne? The last time Danton tried to explain Mainne''s initial strategy to Kite, he just wouldn''t begin to hear it.


    "Graduated at Lennith Academy, second best to her class I hear. But as for the reason she likes to fight the way she does, we don''t ask, and she won''t tell."


    "That''s stupid." Danton raised his own eyes upon realizing that some of his thoughts were slipping out of his mouth. Wonder how much offense Kite would take from that. It''s too late now. Might as well elaborate. "You''re a team, but you don''t try to figure out what happens in your lives?"


    Kite glared Danton in the eyes with an aggravated expression. "People''s personal lives are off limits if they say so. Mainne is an excellent fighter, but that''s all that matters here."


    That couldn''t be further from the truth. Danton however didn''t know what to say to argue any further. If Mainne is a totally unknown person, then how could she even be called a team member, or a friend? We know nothing about her!


    "Gleeon has told me much more about himself, not that there is much to say, aside from the stories that sound more like jokes than anecdotes, but that''s what he wanted to share, so that''s how it is."


    The sudden manly roaring sound from the side distracted Danton and Kite to that location, where Vanoss was also in a separate Siriean dome having his own battle with his long saber. Vanoss''s current strategy was much like the last time Danton fought with him.


    "And Vanoss. He prefers to fight with a sword, holding back on magic unless it be absolutely necessary. Right now, he can get away with it. The bonus side to that strategy is that he further refines his sword skills the less often he relies on magic. I recall him giving you quite a run for your money for a long period of the match."


    "His skills resemble your own. Vanoss must have picked it up directly from you."


    "Still so sharp," Kite credited. "Vanoss is a newer addition to the team, and in the beginning showed me such little potential with magic. But when I dueled him, I was impressed with his speed. He''s actually faster up close than Mainne is. But with speed, skill is also a requirement. Against my better judgment, I decided to personally train him with a sword. It actually turned out to be the right call. In just a few weeks, the results were better than expected."


    Vanoss is impressive. So Kite''s specialty is knowledge of MP conservation, and that of impressive swordsmanship, and he passed this tactic down to Vanoss. They share the same skill on different levels. Kite is more aggressive though. There might still be a way to overcome him.


    "You overcoming all three of them proved me wrong about your own skill level. But to think you were confident enough to actually challenge me to a duel for official leadership? That''s something else. Something you''re not telling me?"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Burning Night ~ Crysis 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    "I was bored. Honestly, if it weren''t for what we talked about last night and this morning, after defeating you, I would have most likely quit the gang and gave up the title to someone else instead."


    "So then you don''t want to run the Trujima Gang?" Kite pressured. "You only wanted to test your own skills after realizing how repetitive the people on this road were?"


    Danton eyed Kite before nodding. That description of this past week was spot on. Danton knew that an actual hit squad with a well-established leader would defiantly have a high-powered strength or magical level. But to think they were this strong... Yet even they failed in their last attempt to defeat the official gradyent of this road.


    Shortly after the victory of Vanoss and Mainne, the entire team regrouped together, huddling close to Kite while the conversation continued on. Danton had to shake Vanoss''s hand too, but his gesture didn''t match his earlier personality at all.


    "You put up a fair fight last night. I wish I could be good enough right now to rematch you and win."


    It''s like Vanoss is much more laid back than Kite. They''re nearly total opposites, and Vanoss is really just a nice guy interested in battles. "You''ll get your chance someday," Danton promised.


    "But that''s enough about us," Kite exclaimed. "I would like to hear your story." Danton''s fighting style wasn''t worth asking about, because there wasn''t really a way of understanding it. Last night, Danton didn''t stick to any particular strategy. In fact, that might be why Gleeon lost to him so easily. Can''t exploit a weakness if you aren''t creating one in the first place. Danton was holding back and waiting for a weakness to exploit for himself. When against Mainne, he went all out with his close combat skills. He''s a skilled swordsman too, and somehow manages with such a short blade. It''s like there is no strategy there. He just decides on things at random!


    Danton soon realized the flaw in that question. All he would have to do to keep anyone from learning anything about him is claim that information to be too personal to share, like Mainne did. Either way, Mainne, Vanoss, and Gleeon were also eagerly listening for the same story. Might as well just get it over with and share the truth. Kite might feel sorry for asking about this afterwards. "Well I started at a young age just off of Lennith City."


    "So you went to Lennith Academy too?"


    Since Vanoss was the one asking, nobody bothered to warn him that he was interrupting. Danton answered the question and continued with his shortened life story. "Actually no. During the early stages of my training, my family was hit with some kind of illness called cancer, particularly on my dad. My mother was fine physically, but after he died, she just became distant." Danton held no flex in his voice, since he was so used to this fact by now, but he could see the instant regret of their curiosity on everyone''s face. He continued talking in order to avoid any of the emotional response they might have. "My dad was only able to help out for a short time, so one of the local gradyents there personally trained me instead of the school. Our family was poor around that time, so it worked out for the best having a gradyent teach me how to fight for free." It was probably out of sympathy since that guy was friends with Danton''s father.


    "I can''t believe your dad died from cancer. That''s horrible!" Mainne reacted as many expected her to, but she had no idea Danton was walking around by himself with such a burden!


    Then Kite reacted with the key knowledge he was searching for. "So a registered gradyent actually trained you?" That''s where his strength is. Danton is simply highly skilled, and probably learned a lot of powerful magical spells starting at such a younger age. His tactic is - simply being good at fighting, even without being officially educated on spells.


    It figures Kite would show little remorse about his family, but Danton actually didn''t mind this. It''s tiring having people act like Mainne every time he has to explain this. "Actually he''s a retired gradyent. We''re still on good terms when I go back home, but I''ve started my own little adventure weeks ago in this direction."


    "So you didn''t go to school? How did you get a license then?"


    Gleeon nodded in disappointment that Vanoss easily forgot about the simplicity of the registration system. "It''s obvious Vanoss. He took his post-class test to receive whatever level license he qualified for. If you have money to take such a test, you can bypass an entire course. Having Danton train with a registered or retired gradyent would make such training legal in the first place." It''s actually interesting. He became this powerful without ever stepping foot in school. Somehow, it seems like the disconnect from his own family might have toughened him up more than he''d expect.


    "Well in any case," Kite projected, "I''m sorry to hear about your father''s passing. I''m impressed that you''ve come this far suffering through such tragedies."


    Danton felt less validation hearing that from Kite, but he didn''t question it on the off chance that Kite isn''t as much of an ambitious idiot as he previously thought. "Thanks."


    "There is one thing I should ask however, that is regarding your so-called journey."


    "What''s that?" Danton had the same puzzled look as the others did.


    Kite delivered the question, wondering just how tough his own opponent would be. "If you''ve come this far on Route 96, and you''ve been practicing around here for several weeks, that must mean that at some point in time, you''ve faced off against Leray gradyent Belzer. Mind if I ask the result?"


    "Sure." Danton knew this question was coming too. Kite really just wants to win every battle and stay on top. Aiming for the top should be his only goal. If Kite lost to gradyent Belzer, surely would he require as much information on him as possible for tricks and tips. "I didn''t defeat him."


    Naturally, everyone except Kite was mildly shocked to hear that, but Vanoss felt less surprised too despite the expression he gave a second ago. Belzer is a powerful fighter. If he''s more powerful than Kite, than surely Danton won''t be able to defeat him either. Still, what is Danton doing on this side of the road then? Gradyents don''t allow wielders to pass unless they win those battles, with a few exceptions. "That guy just gets on my nerves!"


    "I take it you lot didn''t have much luck against him either?" Danton already knew that Trujima lost against Belzer too, but it was a little amusing to put Kite in the spotlight with any matches he loses. He could see his temper and pride mangling together in his body language.


    Kite replied after a tough exhale. "Belzer is a tough gradyent. We''re planning to rematch the guy sometime this week."


    What? This is the first news Mainne has heard about this, and it doesn''t look like Vanoss or Gleeon heard of this plan either. Why does Kite care so much about looking cool in front of other people? He won''t win just because he wants to.


    "Okay. Why not try it now then?"


    "What?" Kite couldn''t hold back anymore. Danton sure can be annoying sometimes. Who does he think he is? He already lost to Belzer!


    "I''m talking about rematching Belzer," Danton clarified. This time, he wasn''t teasing Kite around. If they''re really going to try and become the champion, might as well act like it and drill down towards Eldora City, starting now. Besides, Belzer really is annoying. Danton was still haunted by the humiliating defeat from before. Surely, Kite must feel the same way. "Let''s go do it tonight."


    "Tonight?!" Kite repeated. "What''s gotten into you kid? You''re not ready to take on that much of a challenge."


    "Then you take him on."


    "Pardon?" That''s out of the question, boy!


    Danton delivered the logic he saw before him. "Belzer is still a gradyent, and if the leader of a gang wins the battle, the entire team is allowed through should we specify this before the battle." This is true for most gradyents. They''ll assume an entire team is as strong as its leader. This would be one of the many exceptions noted before.


    Vanoss pointed out an interesting fact before Kite could even reply. "Why bother? It didn''t stop you from getting past him somehow."


    Danton didn''t mind hiding the fact of how he got here. "I snuck around him. So what? I wanted to see Monoc Port last night, so I made my chance going through undetected."


    "Couldn''t we just do that then? You know, in the other direction?" Kite offered.


    How amusing. Even Kite doesn''t want to fight Belzer. Yet he is supposedly more powerful than Danton himself? Does he think he''s getting off that easy? "That would defeat the whole purpose of having a battle." With Kite''s attention on him again, Brash elaborated why he wanted to take Belzer down a notch. "Didn''t we just decide that our goal was to challenge the championship?"


    "And you seem to think we''re ready for that now?" Gleeon interrupted.


    Kite put his hands up to gesture Danton to stop talking. "Hold on. Hold on. That was your goal. Not our goal."


    "What is our goal?" Mainne needed to know since she assumed Danton''s goal was the same as Kite''s.


    Kite however made this as simple as it could be. "Our goal is to become the strongest gang in all of Sprawn Valley. However, there can only be one champion. The act itself of us all challenging the same champion would separate our group."


    "Not if we all make it past the first few stages."


    "What is he talking about?" Kite looked to his teammates to discover if Danton possibly planned something behind his back, but everyone else was just as clueless.


    Danton again tried to reiterate his plan of action by including everyone. "Strongest gang? Just take over for the official elites then." In an instant, everyone''s eyes and expressions sharpened into a state of understanding. "There are five of us here, the perfect amount of people which could fit into that tower''s hierarchy. One of us becomes champion, and the rest of us becomes official elite members. Even if you''re not champion, being an elite is practically the same as being the strongest support member of a gang. You simply change your home from this tent over to Eldora Tower."


    Only silence endured Danton''s elaborate explanation of his goal. It wasn''t without total ambition, and it involved everyone in the group. Kite sure as hell didn''t expect this... Five people? Wait a second! This was Danton''s plan all along! If he joins Trujima, that would give him the perfect excuse to use the rest of the gang as support for drilling all the way down to Eldora and challenging the championships. Having teammates simply speeds up that time, but he isn''t in charge of that decision. What makes him think that rushing in right now is the best idea for¡ª


    "Not too bad for a newbie. For once, I actually like the plan," Mainne replied.


    Kite didn''t expect this either. Danton''s rash impatience shouldn''t be impressionable on anybody, and he had to move quickly to stop this. "Don''t be an idiot! Taking over the champion''s chambers is a nice idea, but we''re nowhere near ready for that. We would need years of training before that would even become feasible."


    "Okay," Danton accepted. "And who do you propose we train with? Everyone else on this route is only as useful as target practice. You want to get better at fighting? Then we need to target those we haven''t beaten yet. Now is never a bad time to start."


    "What the hell has gotten into you man?" Kite finally stopped caring whether his aggravation was noticeable or not. This tactic isn''t going to work. "Did you forget about the rules we established last night? You''re not the leader of the Trujima Gang, and that means you don''t make the call on when or who we fight."


    "Then forget about a group decision," Danton tested. "I''ll go back there and fight him on my own. Seems to be simple. You don''t want to fight him for whatever reason." Kite should have plenty of money saved to retry that battle too, so funding isn''t an excuse.


    "You aren''t allowed to go off on your own either."


    "Interesting, since I hear your own teammates do it all the time." Danton knew Kite would have to agree to this idea sooner or later. Danton might as well just quit Trujima, but it would only leave a bad impression on him. Care to change your mind before you blow it with everyone else?


    "Well they aren''t supposed to. As leader of Trujima, I say we need more official practice before we show Belzer who is boss. You won''t get anywhere by fighting a losing battle."


    "I''ll learn more about the battle whether I win or lose. That''s life!"


    "And whose dumb advice did that come out of?"


    "Guys!" Gleeon knew it was no use calming down these airheads. Kite has a temper worse than Danton, so a fight like this was bound to happen sooner or later.


    "Just stop arguing about it!" Mainne''s interjection went totally ignored while the two babbled on about which one of them was right.


    But then Danton added a small fact that soon made Kite regret the rhetorical question he asked him. "My parents. That''s who gave me the advice..." Finally, there was peace and quiet. Brash couldn''t hold Kite responsible for making a mistake in his own judgment, but if he can''t realize that trying and failing is better than not trying, this interesting truce will never work. Becoming a Leray master will be much harder, and would demand a lot more work. "My parents taught me, that everyone involved in a Leray battle learns something. Even when you lose, you realize your own mistakes and learn how to prevent repeating them the next time. I won''t put it lightly. Belzer flattened me like a pancake. So I might lose again if I challenge him tonight, but I know I''ll last longer than before. I''ll last long enough to figure out how to win and then finally take him out. Or, you could try it yourself. Man up a little and show us more of what you can do."


    Kite however wasn''t budging with that pathetic attempt to call him out. "Whatever Brash. If you leave right now to go challenge Belzer, it will only show me that you have too much to learn to be in our group, mostly by taking things into your own hands so early."


    You made your own bed Kite. "Then I''ll simply just quit this gang. I can''t see it going anywhere."


    Immediately, Mainne protested to the idea. "No... Danton, don''t just¡ª"


    "Let him go," Kite decided. "If he thinks that having such high confidence is all it takes to win his battles, let him learn the mistakes by himself. I''m not carrying teammates who can''t respect a little discipline." Danton didn''t seem to move much from his statement. Is there any regret right now in that man''s thick skull of his?


    The others had concerning expressions, but everyone allowed Kite''s words to sink in further and further, all until Mainne decided this was far enough. "Then I''ll quit too." Mainne''s reaction had the entire team turning in surprise. Kite is being a total jerk. What have we all been doing in all this time? Training, training, and more training. Ever since Mainne joined Trujima, she and the rest of the team have all stayed very close to Route 96, never going anywhere else. "What Danton is saying makes more sense anyway. I didn''t sign up to stand here all year and twiddle my thumbs."


    "Mainne!" Kite wasn''t getting through to her. What sparked this rebellion all the sudden?


    "I just wanted to have fun with magic. Even if it is crazy, challenging the championship even knowing I can''t win is far more fun than freezing my ass out here in the middle of nowhere."


    Though his reaction was also delayed, Vanoss tensed all of his muscles, and drew his sword pointed to the ground. "Damn it all."


    "What are you doing Vanoss?"


    Vanoss held the sword out further, as an offering towards Kite. The blade technically belonged to him after all. "I don''t want to disband Trujima... But after everything you''ve taught me, I can''t just let my skills go to waste. After everything your new friend just said, we really are just wasting our talent standing out here every month, aren''t we? Sorry Kite, but we just can''t stay here on this route forever."


    "This is insane!" Damn him! Kite finally realized it after all that time. Asking Danton his life story was the same as activating a time bomb! By admitting openly that his parents died, and aligning their advice with his lifelong goal, Danton just made himself the most likable member of the entire gang, and he knew that it would. Look at the way he''s grinning in disguise. You just wanted to shift the position of power to yourself by popularity instead of skill level, didn''t you Danton? Someone as crafty as this must know of things even he could benefit to learn.


    "I''ll at least give you a minute to decide," Vanoss offered. "But if you can''t at least go along with our goal to become the new elites of Eldora Tower, then I''ll hand this blade back to you, and I''ll join Brash Danton instead. Otherwise, I still want you to be the leader in all other decisions."


    How loyal. Danton figured Vanoss might have a difficult time disrespecting the man who trained him, but this is the right move. Kite is holding all of them back to maintain a status quo, and it''s a disgraceful sight to experience.


    "Alright! Fine!" Kite didn''t care, but his sudden change in mind wiped the stone expression clean off Danton''s face. "Keep the sword. Mainne? Chill off. We''re going to rematch Belzer. And after that, we''ll slowly make our way towards Eldora Tower to participate in the championships."


    "Are you sure?" Gleeon didn''t know whether his own question was an attempt to solidify Kite''s claim, or to see if he really was okay with sacrificing his own personal principle for the sake of being in charge of their group. All things considered, Gleeon wasn''t on board with leaving with the newbie. As flaws as Kite is, he of all people understands that everybody needs more discipline, something Danton wouldn''t know anything about.


    How did this happen? Danton was sure that Kite was the kind of person unwilling to show any weakness in front of other people. No way would he actually give up his pride in leading a gang just for the sake of the people close to him... Or maybe he isn''t such a bad person after all.


    "Yes, I''m sure. I might have underestimated Brash in more ways than one. Who knows? Even if I still think this is a bad idea, maybe I''ll end up learning something from him."


    Mainne was speechless. Having Kite change his mind is one thing, but even after defeating Danton in a battle, for Kite to accept the remote possibility that he would possibly learn something from the guy he seems to dislike the most, that''s certainly far from normal. How did Kite agree to this? If he is still the leader, what is he in charge of now that we''re following Danton''s lead?


    "And we can rematch Belzer tonight?" Danton established.


    "Tell you what kid. I''ll let you take a swing at him first. If I notice an opening from Belzer during your defeat, I''ll be sure to pass the memo." Danton must want to be in charge of Trujima, and he''ll get to do that regardless of who is stronger with magic, unless Kite plays against him correctly. This must be some kind of challenge! Danton must be trying to show Kite that he is stronger in other ways than Leray magic. We''ll see who''s really better at keeping a herd.


    Maybe Kite will see this as some kind of challenge. Doesn''t feel like it though. Danton didn''t let the thought bother him. If he could really make friends with all four of them, how bad could he really be? The same could be said for Kite, since the others are still willing to follow his lead on other unrelated decisions. Still, Danton couldn''t get the butterflies out of his stomach. He just announced to the gang and to himself to challenge gradyent Belzer again. He did manage to learn a few things in the time afterwards, but the last battle with him was a far stretch. Maybe tonight will be different.

 Chapter 12-B: The Journey of Magic (Part 2)

    <hr>


    <10/21/1962 ¨C 23:09 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Swapping from one horizon to another, the imminent sunset marked the beginning of Danton''s promised challenge with the official Route 96 Leray gradyent. It wasn''t difficult to track the man down, but upon seeing him again, Danton had to prepare himself physically and mentally.


    "You heard me!" Danton hollered from his moderate distance while pointing directly to the man he needed to rematch. "I challenge you to a full Leray battle. And if I win, you allow me and my friends here permanent passage through Route 96. What will it be, Belzer?"


    The gradyent wore strange rubbery rings around the middle of each hand, with his dark hair tied in the back to a single ponytail. The denim mercenary outfit he was provided offered excellent coziness in the growing cold. With all of his preparations, Belzer is still considered the best Leray fighter on Route 96, the official Leray gradyent for this section. As a gradyent, all are honor-bound to prevent or slow the passage of traveling Leray wielders to ensure they are ready for the next difficulty density of land, preventing the weak from mixing into the strong. Though traditionally, the gradyent always challenges the wielder, not the other way around. "I know you, don''t I?" Belzer soon realized that he should remember this guy, since his name is known by him. "Oh right." The memory came back in a flash. "You''re that novice I faced before, Brash."


    "So he remembers challenging him?" Gleeon was asking Kite in a low voice, but Kite''s attention was too focused on Danton''s interaction with Belzer.


    "Just shut up and watch. We might learn something."


    Belzer continued to taunt the man he faced before, confident that this little rematch would end in the same way. "I defeated you without suffering a single scratch, and yet you think you''re ready to try again only after a few weeks?"


    Danton prepared his short saber in front of him with both hands, a promise that he was not backing down. "Want to find out? I don''t take kindly to those who willingly get in my way of progress."


    So young and fired up, but Brash seems to be more prepared now than before. Last time, he was just senseless and overconfident. Maybe the boy has learned some patience. "Very well then. It is my job to accept these kind of challenges. If you can really defeat me in a Leray match right here right now, I give you my word to allow permanent passage for you and your entire team. Are these terms clear?"


    "This sure is taking off fast." Kite never believed a gradyent battle could begin so quickly. Unusually elites like to brag about their skills or tease their opponent on for a while just to show off, and now Brash is fighting him. This should be interesting. He''ll probably get the floor mopped with him.


    "As clear as it gets. Now let''s prepare for battle." Danton first had to make sure nobody was in range of getting trapped in the soon to be Siriean dome. When the holographic text appeared between the two, the beginning of the Leray match was soon prompted. At last, Danton can rematch this gradyent and win.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Into The Fire ~ Josh Powell & Daryl Griffith</a>


    <center><iframe title="Into The Fire" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mk_ub7HSq18" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    <Gradyent Test | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    Prepared for the beginning of his rematch, Danton began first by charging the Leray magic to his right hand while balancing the blade into his left. With his intention to get the first strike, Danton relied on spells he didn''t use in his last fight against Belzer. "I''ll go first! Phantom Wave!" Releasing the magic stored from his MP energy, Danton expelled five radiant photon spheres of energy the size of his fists, all of which quickly zoned forward towards the human target in front of him.


    Phantom Wave isn''t a common spell, but it also isn''t that useful either. Belzer already dealt with Phantom Wave from other opponents, and was more than prepared to cancel this homing projectile barrage. Phantom Wave only has a slightly elevated power level compared to Shadow Wave, since the energy pattern is practically the same. Phantom Wave converts the slashing magical damage into blunt magical damage, and uses flying photon spheres instead of the floor-bound Shadow Wave spell, introducing a more sophisticated version of Shadow Wave. However, the difference in power level isn''t impressive at all.


    "Ragh!" Belzer slammed his glowing fist into the ground, charging and releasing energy on the fly to generate a powerful Earth Glave spell, causing the ground in front of him to shoot up into a tall pillar. The expected result used that tall rock wall to protect Belzer completely from the oncoming homing projectiles of Phantom Wave. All five bolts of magic slammed into the uplifted earth without causing any damage to the temporary structure. Belzer stopped his concentration on the spell shortly after to lower the ground and save his energy. In just a few short seconds, Brash''s attack spells were again made useless. He hasn''t learned very much. Going with new or different spells doesn''t ensure victory in a gradyent battle. "Not very impressive Brash. Now let''s see if you can block out my magical attacks."


    Kite winced backward slightly from the defeating memory he had of fighting Belzer himself. The gradyent isn''t easy to hit, but this guy can deflect almost anything as impressive as an area attack. Brash won''t beat him! The idiot just doesn''t understand that.


    "Shadow Wave!" Belzer unleashed a Shadow Wave in front of him, and then prepared his sword shortly after. Danton didn''t seem to be expecting the magical attack, but if he moves quickly, Shadow Wave could easily be dodged. Even so, Belzer doesn''t make anything simple for anybody. "Now it''s time. Octoslash!" Utilizing the special techniques he acquired long ago, Belzer didn''t wait until Shadow Wave was close to Danton before using his other signature skills. He invoked the special skill of Octoslash, and enabled his aura with the magical ability to transfer through space instantaneously, the technique similar to short range teleportation (matter transference).


    In one short second, Danton was suddenly being slashed with the sharp blade of a sword from Belzer, who teleported to multiple sections of space around him. Belzer would warp, slash his blade once or twice, and repeat the pattern until he managed to score in eight total hits from multiple directions. Just after the final strike, he leapt far enough away from his target for Danton to be blasted by the Shadow Wave at full force and no way to block. The ending result was catastrophic to witness. Danton was thrown back off his feet with HP declining rapidly, his energy being drained quickly. Belzer decided to give Danton enough time to stand back up and brush off the damage he just took.


    Ignoring all of the scrapes, cuts, and bruises Danton now had from those hits, Danton lifted his blade in preparation, and charged at Belzer to change tactics. Being skilled in close sword-based combat, Danton knew he would at least have an easier time up close to this lunatic. "Charge Attack!" Though the skill he shouted utilizes a conditional free-form combination attack, magical involvement isn''t required, and Danton knew he needed to save his energy as much as possible fighting Belzer.


    Belzer dealt with Danton''s impressive sword skills before, but Danton wasn''t too far outmatched by Belzer. Belzer was a sword user too, and his longer blade would soon be capable of tasting victory tonight. "We''ll see how this goes." Belzer began by deflecting Danton''s first sword strike, hitting nothing but the steel blade in Belzer''s possession. Danton continued his sword strike combination, slashing and moving in preparation to dodge while making it harder for Belzer to get the upper hand in a single attack. For the next few seconds, it seemed to work in Brash''s favor.


    Belzer kept placing his sword in front of him for protection against Danton''s relentless assault. Danton has gotten much faster with that sword combat than before. Belzer realized quickly that he wasn''t going to be able to attack Danton directly like this. Even if he wasn''t taking any hits from the guy, being only capable of defending isn''t a good place to be during a Leray battle. Luckily, Danton has already lost. For whatever reason, the kid still won''t rely enough on magic and his own unique skills during other attacks. If one can''t use magic while attacking or defending, fighting in magical battles is pointless. Belzer continued to deflect the short blade, sheering the sound of clanking metal through the air, while he charged up additional energy into his left hand, causing it to glow with an orange aura. When Belzer found just a split-second opening, he unleashed all of it. "Earth Glave!"


    Using Earth Glave this close to somebody could be dangerous, in the sense that the spell could also deal damage to the user as well, but Belzer knew what he was doing. The second Earth Glave spell he unleashed was more powerful than the first, intentionally designed to cause damage by uplifting the ground in three total waves of shooting boulders. Danton was launched into the air far away, and slammed with stone pillars twice in a row before finally coming back to the ground. Of course, Earth Glave can be made more useful at close range, especially when the target doesn''t expect that skill, or has no counter for the spell. Danton was again thrown off his game, with his health declining further down at a rapid pace, but the guy was still fighting to stand back up and think of a new strategy, which is impressive given his severe disadvantage.


    This was just pathetic. Belzer expected more of a challenge out of Danton, but he just isn''t showing it today. Even though he seems to have made a few new friends, that doesn''t give anyone automatic strength. "Whatever. It''s time to put an end to this battle. Air Strike!" Without holding back, Belzer''s Air Strike spell caused several small spheres of explosive magic to rain down from the sky and barrage the floor where Danton was standing.


    Danton had the reaction time to put his arms up in front of his face in a defensive manner, but he could only embrace the imminent defeat from this powerful spell. Belzer isn''t letting up at all, and Danton was soon being blasted with hot explosions of energy sending shockwaves everywhere. Each blast felt like a metal punch to the skin.


    Despite the heavy damage from Air Strike and the dizziness beginning to settle in from the loss in health, Danton decided to try operation Drill Horn. It worked well on Mainne, and the very first part involves disabling an opponent with specialized pain. Belzer is tough, but even he won''t be able to deal with a massive migraine. "Harmonics!" Using Harmonic Blast the same way Aero Blast is used, Danton''s spell shot forward with quick unimaginable speed. Even as close as Belzer was to his current position, the man side-jumped out of the way before the projectile could scratch at his skin. Instead, the sphere of wind continued down through the air, dissolving into the Siriean dome. As soon as Danton realized the mistake, his expression changed into a worrisome fear. Belzer dodged Harmonic Blast!


    Realizing what sort of strategy Danton was up to, Belzer realized how significant his dodging technique was upon registering the familiar words of the spell. Harmonics overloads the hearing senses with painful blasts of high-pitched frequencies that causes a massive migraine. It seems that Danton will resort to any particular technique to try and win, but with none of them working, he must not be willing to try and specialize them any further. What will you do now Danton?


    Growing impatient to score at least one single hit on Belzer, Danton lifted his short blade again, and charged at Belzer. Even realizing how quick Belzer is to dodge or deflect sword attacks, he was ready to watch out for Earth Glave this time, but even as Danton tried to hit Belzer with the sword as fast as he could, Belzer was just as quick on his feet, dodging the hits and deflecting Danton''s sword too. Belzer did try to slash towards Danton for some slashing damage, but Danton was also fast enough to deflect Belzer''s swings. Given this setup, both were evenly matched.


    Just when Belzer prepared to try Earth Glave again, Danton shifted away, without any visual warning that something else was about to happen. Belzer canceled the attempt to use a spell, since Danton might be up to something right now... Exactly! That glowing around his left wrist indicates an attack is imminent from a distance. Belzer backed up to allow for more time and room to counter Danton''s pending spell. As several long seconds passed, Belzer noticed that Danton''s MP reserves tanked by half the entire capacity, while a large fire-type glyphring began to solidify in the air. He''s charging a heavy area attack!Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "It''s time you tasted Flame Beam!"


    Mainne twitched both her arms beside Kite, amazed that Danton could invoke such a powerful spell. "Brash can use Flame Beam?!"


    Kite clenched his fists tightly and high up in a gesture of celebration. "Yes! Belzer won''t know what hit him with this spell." Kite knew of Flame Beam, despite never being capable of using the spell. One of Danton''s strengths is that he knows a surprising amount of heavy magical attack skills most people his level wouldn''t know. Flame Beam has a power level of nine, and uses about 50% of a person''s maximum MP for just one invocation into a powerful elemental area attack. Only elite warriors know how to properly invoke the spell, but Danton has this down too. Just look at all those Fire Balls forming in mid-air!


    Danton''s invocation was successful, as a massive spinning vortex of 72 individual Fire Ball projectile began to transfer the direction forward. The total spell resembles that of a tornado of fire and flames, packed with heat and fireballs that bombard the target with little chance to dodge. Even Belzer won''t avoid the damage from this. "Haagh!" Danton had to give his concentration everything he had to launch the vortex forward by design, and his eyes were glowing with a bright blue radiance from the heavy magical build-up. Now all he had to do was watch and wait.


    Belzer laughed quietly to himself while charging up energy. That massive fiery vortex would be all over him in about three seconds from now, but there was no need to worry. While casting such a heavy spell is impressive, Brash lacks absolute style in his battling techniques. All of these challengers are a total novice at this sort of thing, and he could easily dodge this by teleporting away like he did last time. Still, it would be better to defuse this situation with grace. "Whirlwind!" Belzer released the Whirlwind spell, a more powerful version of its existence given the overhauled practice he''s had with the ability. Soon, his visible Whirlwind vortex collided into the fire vortex on approach.


    The moment both vortexes collided, the travel speed of each of them came to a halt. The fireballs ended up transferring from the original fire vortex into the newly created Whirlwind, changing the magical composition completely. Around the same time, Danton''s Flame Beam vortex faded away, while the 72 Fire Balls were all spinning out of control heading upwards. In an incredible display of fireworks, all of the Fire Balls were eventually shot upwards towards the roof of the Siriean dome. Each explosion generated a ton of lighting, and attention was drawn to that section, while Danton''s powerful spell was rendered useless by a much lower level spell such as Whirlwind. Of course for Belzer, this was no surprise. Flame Beam is powerful, but a majority of that energy goes into the Fire Balls individually, not that of its vortex. As a result, the wind elemental magical power of Whirlwind greatly overcomes the currents generated from the initial vortex in Flame Beam. By using a frontal Whirlwind to protect himself from damage, Belzer easily came out of this bad situation. Danton must now look like a fool in front of his new companions.


    "Are you kidding me?!" Kite cried with his arms flailing. "This guy''s unstoppable!"


    Gleeon assessed the same with Kite, though having little to learn since Danton was losing horribly. "Belzer knows a lot more than we initially thought." Kite would lose to him too, despite his earlier victory over Danton... It was almost a draw between those two. And besides, Kite can''t use ultra-powerful attack spells that would get the best of Belzer. This gradyent really is unstoppable.


    As the air cleared, Danton wasn''t doing anything. Finally has he realized that nothing Danton could use to attack would ever work against a gradyent far above his level. It''s time to end this. Even after that, Brash isn''t the person to back down and declare forfeit from any match. He must be beaten into a knockout. "Time to wrap this up. Dualcast!" Belzer''s quickly used spell surrounded his body with a dark purple aura, which worked effectively to speed up his invocation process in the background. Even with that, Danton didn''t look like he would be prepared to deal with anything. He only held out his sword in an attempt to deflect any oncoming attack, but that won''t work at all.


    "Tri-Thunder!" Generating three electric glyphrings in a format entirely similar to Tri-Attack, Belzer simply specialized the elements of each glyphring to become electrified only, enabling him to deal more damage and make it less possible to dodge. The spell is actually exactly the same caliber as Tri-Attack, and the name difference is unofficial, though Belzer''s trick worked all the same. With Dualcasting in effect, his glyphrings all formed and fired their magical payloads instantly. Danton was zapped for 1.4 seconds by three different bolts all at the same time, and before giving him a chance to recover, Belzer continued his combination streak from afar. "Bullet Blitz!" Creating two small submachine guns using two yellow glyphrings right in front of him, Belzer unloaded both clips towards Danton to cause additional damage and piercing type pain. The energy scope above him followed the changes Belzer expected to happen.


    He can survive a few more hits than the average person, but that isn''t innovative either. Belzer''s aura faded quickly, since Dualcast doesn''t last very long, but he was still fast enough to remain on the offensive and dance Brash to sleep with his impressive training. "Triple Fire!" Belzer''s small fire glyphring wrapped around his right wrist holographically, and enabled him to fire three Fire Bolt projectiles successively. In a few more seconds, Danton was slammed in the face by two of the first Fire Bolts, while the third exploded on his chest. The force of each blast easily knocked him off balance and back onto the ground. This time, Danton wasn''t getting back up from the capital punishment.


    Belzer calmed down after seeing just how easy it was for Brash to crash down. A complete knockout means he loses this fight, and now none of these people watching him will be allowed to pass either, not until they grow to be much stronger. "Well that''s that." Belzer saw the holographic text update appear just to formalize the result of the battle, while the Siriean dome collapsed automatically to allow Danton to receive medical attention, likely in the form of healing orbs.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Fade Belzer | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Underwater Stranger ~ Aquascape [Downtempo]</a>


    <hr>


    No way! Kite could hardly believe this was happening. He knew that Danton was no match for his own skills, but watching this fight was far more degrading than he feared it could be. Belzer didn''t even take any damage! Not one single hit chipped away at his HP. How? How can a gradyent even be that powerful? And Danton wants to try for the champion? That idiot!


    "Danton!" Mainne predictably rushed over to Danton''s unconscious body holding a healing orb. Of course, the orb won''t work right now. Danton has to first wake up, which will restore his base HP levels back to five percent. Then the orb will do the rest. Danton tried too hard to win, and he couldn''t land a single attack!


    "I guess this means you''ll have to beat him if we ever want to get any further." Vanoss knew it would never happen right away, but he still has plenty of faith that Kite could defeat Belzer. He did do better against him after all, compared to Danton''s botched fight.


    "Who? Me?!" Kite seemed surprised that Vanoss or Gleeon would think he was ready to take on Belzer. "That guy is unbeatable. Even I couldn''t take him down."


    "But if you train and get even stronger," Gleeon started.


    "That would take at least a full year," Kite warned. "This is exactly what I was warning you about! Danton is passionate about beating the champion this year, and I do admire that. However, none of us will ever be ready to do that in such a short amount of time. Now do you all understand what I was trying to tell you earlier?"


    "It seems all of that roughhousing has brought some of you to your senses. Brash Danton has not at all learned anything from our first battle."


    With her eyes squinted slightly to free her expression, Mainne stood up facing Belzer. That just wasn''t a fair fight at all, but to say Danton has learned nothing is just dead wrong. He defeated her in battle after all. "Listen you! I wouldn''t be feeling so confident right now."


    Belzer held his tongue, curious about who these people were. Some of them felt familiar, but Belzer couldn''t quite understand why. Perhaps this woman would like to test her skills next? It wouldn''t be smart, since they''ve likely bet their best fighting skills on Brash. "And why is that? My job here is again complete for another day."


    Mainne pointed to Belzer''s face, as a new wave of confidence rushed over her. Belzer seems so smug now, but just wait. "Danton and I are going to do some special training, and when we come back, he''s going to defeat you in battle!"


    "Is that so?"


    What is she doing?! Kite raised his tongue and stepped forward to project his voice over there. "Hey Mainne? What do you think you''re doing? We just talked about this. We make decisions as a team, not for each other!"


    "Shut up Kite!" Mainne''s tone did put him to silence, but it wouldn''t last forever. Kite hates it when other people try to take over training without his permission, but he certainly doesn''t intend to try and defeat Belzer next, right? "Fade Belzer? When we come back to challenge you again, I promise you that Trujima will not lose!"


    "I''ll hold you to that," Belzer replied. All of that passionate energy; Danton didn''t seem to use any of it during the match. How ironic! "If you rematch me for the third time and lose again, I''ll be very disappointed."


    "Ah, up yours!" Kite could tell his teammates were getting frustrated at him again, and this is all because Danton tried to force his way through a challenge. Nothing good came out of this, and it never will if they keep going against his personal advice. "Mainne? We''re not doing that!"


    "Oh yeah? And why not?" Mainne was yelling partially to project her voice, but she was also frustrated at the current result of things. And now Kite is being Kite again. "Are you going to step in and defeat him yourself?"


    Kite calmly delivered the same advice he knew to be true from the past. "Only through time can we ever become strong enough and train long enough to take on tough guys like that. I''m no idiot."


    Refusing to agree to that kind of mentality, Mainne still sided with Danton despite his current physical state proving it to be a bad idea. "Maybe with some of my training, we''ll change that. You can''t possibly just throw in the white flag now!"


    You, train me?! There isn''t anything more to learn that would work on this gradyent. It''s already over. "You know that won''t be able to happen either. Belzer isn''t even beatable."


    How odd. Belzer never recalled meeting these other people, but it appears the older one has absolutely no self-confidence. They could all stand to learn something.


    "Let''s¡ª" Gleeon hesitated at first to try and side against Kite on this plan, but he was refusing to toughen himself up in the battling styles of Leray magic. Mainne wants to teach Danton something of her own, but Gleeon knew it would work better if he pitched in as well. Why can''t Kite understand that Belzer is beatable? "Let''s all just give it a chance and see what happens?"


    Kite wasn''t even angry anymore. It''s just no use trying to make logic with these idiots. "Just do what you want. The result is the same either way. Sure, it may be possible to pull this off, but not ever in a few weeks'' time. I''m not stupid enough to think like that, so I''m going to sit this one out and wait until everyone has learned their lesson." Kite began walking away, back towards the extinguished drumfire about a mile towards Monoc Port.


    Gleeon couldn''t understand what the hell has gotten into Kite these past few days. He just isn''t making any sense, and he won''t agree to try and get better. Why is he even the leader of Trujima? Just because he can beat Danton up in a fight doesn''t mean he is the ultimate supreme legendary ruler of magic. Besides, there are things even Kite has never learned from Gleeon, or Mainne, or perhaps even from Vanoss. But Danton is willing to learn, right?


    On second thought, they may not have much discipline, but Danton, Mainne, and Vanoss all have ten times the amount of drive that Kite has for himself. That''s their difference, something Gleeon could see only now...


    "Where is he going?" Mainne demanded.


    Both Gleeon and Vanoss headed towards Mainne though, refusing to follow Kite back to their little camp-out. Vanoss was finally decided on what to do about this trivial issue. For some reason, watching Danton try his best to overcome the skills of this gradyent, it''s just so inspiring. "I wonder if it is possible for me to beat Belzer if I trained harder, but I think Danton might actually be the closest bet we have."


    "That''s unusual to hear coming from you." Gleeon knew that what he was saying is on point. Vanoss only joined Trujima recently, and ever since, he''s received a bit more special treatment from Kite in regards to training and praise. Vanoss has returned much of that loyalty back to Kite, which might be the reason those two are a bit closer. Because of this, witnessing Vanoss refusing to side with Kite on anything is about as rare as a blue moon.


    Vanoss knew what he was doing, and he knew that this right here is the right move to make. Otherwise, there would be no point of being a Leray wielder. "You know what? Maybe it really will take several weeks, or months, or maybe a full year? But that won''t deter me from ever trying as hard as I need to overcome challenges, like this guy." Though Belzer was being silent standing still in the night, he could hear every word about him. "Kite didn''t actually teach me everything I know."


    Knowing he should let this situation develop on its own, Belzer at least felt the need to properly draw the conclusion he felt before him today. "It sounds like one of your friends isn''t fond of mitigated persistence?"


    "Yeah," Mainne assessed. "I guess Kite gets intimidated easily, but I want Danton to be able to defeat you."


    Gleeon shifted his stance. Never before has Mainne acted out this way. Why wouldn''t she simply want the victory for herself? She isn''t the type to have doubts about her own skills. "Is there something about having Danton do it that I don''t understand?" His question, though directed at Mainne felt like anybody could have given him an answer.


    "Simple," she said. "If Danton is the one who defeats Belzer in battle fair and square, it might kick Kite''s senses back into shape."


    "Huh?" Both Gleeon and Vanoss were now totally confused by that logic. How would that change anything?


    "As it stands now," Mainne explained, "Kite simply doesn''t believe this is possible, but when he was fighting against Danton directly last night, I saw something in him I''ve never seen before... That settles it. Danton makes a perfect rival for Kite."


    "A rival?" Gleeon didn''t sound so sure while repeating what Mainne was saying. It doesn''t feel like that is the situation at all. Everything Mainne is saying now is all superficial and clich¨¦. Kite doesn''t do any of that touchy-feely stuff, not even finding a rival.


    She elaborated further, "I think Kite wouldn''t like it very much if Danton could suddenly pull this off and beat Belzer with his own skills. So when it does happen, just imagine how infuriating that will be for him. Kite will become so mad; he''ll change his pace and try harder."


    "Oh!" Vanoss exhaled. "I get it now. You''re saying that if Danton beats Belzer, it would make things seem like he is a better fighter than Kite, and if Kite believes that, he''ll do everything in his power to get on board with the champion battle quest."


    "That''s right." There is no denying it. Kite for whatever reason loves to be in charge, whether he does a poor job at it or not, but without any desire to get stronger, he can''t learn anything new. Having Danton jeopardize his leadership position would be the equivalent to lighting a fire right under his ass. "And you two are going to help me. We''ll each take turns training Danton our personal skills over the next week or two. He needs to learn how to specialize in a tactic, since he already doesn''t have one."


    Belzer was satisfied that things between these people will be all right, and he turned his attention back to guarding both sides of the road to ensure no new weak challengers get by. "I''ll leave you all be then, until next time the rematch is ready. I will change my position in the meantime."


    Vanoss however had one easy concern. "But Danton defeated all of us in battle. What could we possibly teach him that he doesn''t know already?"


    Mainne began to see slight signs of Danton soon beginning to awaken, and she simplified the answer for both of them. "You don''t always learn everything about somebody''s battling skills by battling them. You have to spend time training together. Besides, this doesn''t have to be so intense of a thing either. I know we all want to win, but I think this could turn out to be fun too."


    "Fun?" Whatever has gotten into Mainne suddenly has Gleeon baffled. She''s acting totally different than before. She''s usually reclusive and serious about everything, a total pain to be around. Still... Gleeon felt this a while ago, but watching Danton battle and fighting against Belzer, it was more than interesting. Is that what she means by fun? And to challenge Kite''s position of power like that, it is a bit destructive to the respect Kite deserves, but Gleeon couldn''t say no to this. Whether he believes it or not, Kite is just an ordinary human being like everyone else. He was once a rookie unable to wield a sword, and that means there will always be somebody more powerful than the next. The chain of power as Kite calls it can change at any time. The leader of that list is no exception to the rule. Danton will become more powerful than Kite in no time, unless that man gets everything together. Mainne plans to make Kite care about the honored rules of being a leader. But whether it will work...


    <hr>


    To be continued...


    <hr>


    > Liking the series so far? Click >here</a>< to continue to the next book. Don''t forget to like, bookmark, and support</a>.

 Chapter 13: Fugitive Factor

    <hr>


    <03/11/1972 ¨C 15:00 | Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn, New York, United States>


    The sea breeze in the air gave a more comforting feeling than the constant sunlight in the clear sky, and through it all, none of it could ever make up for the twisted sensation in her stomach. Why is this happening now?


    "I don''t get it though." Danny still had catching up to do. Jane can be sneaky sometimes when she wants to be. Though having Danton call her out of nowhere with a secret cellphone hardly compares to what she went through much earlier, regarding her symbol. But then why would Danton call her at all? What would it even be about? The way Jane looks now, it isn''t easy to tell.


    "I was afraid that this might happen. There were plenty of people watching the live feed that day, while a few unknowns were probably trying to record the event electronically. So now your secret is out."


    That is the emergency from which Danton contacted Jane for. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and what it all meant. This invisible crest on the top of her right hand; Jane held it up eye level, and even though it was deactivated outside of the veil, she knew it was still there hiding somehow.


    "A wide variety of people especially in Eldora City know about your attempt to cheat in the championship using a forbidden symbol. Naturally, they''re demanding to know everything about you."


    "So then what do I do?" Jane''s voice quaked with tears yet to stream from her eyes, and she was barely keeping herself together. They know. They all know! All of Sprawn Valley hates her now! Everybody knows!


    Taylor didn''t understand what was going on, naturally since Jane was the only one capable of hearing Danton''s voice, but she looks frantic right now. "Jane?"


    "It can''t be helped. I''ve got the council to back down, as well as all of my subordinates, but I don''t control the will of the people. There are those skilled in magical power that have already tried organizing a hunt. It''s pathetic."


    "You really think that''s what I needed to hear?!" Jane clenched the rim of her cellphone, her arms and hands trembling. "I can never go back now! I''m a fugitive in Sprawn Valley!"


    "What?!" Danny and Taylor both reacted in synchronicity. Jane, a wanted fugitive? It can only mean one thing.


    The footage that went live from the champion''s chambers leaked out into the world watching that battle, when Jane incidentally revealed her forbidden symbol to the cameras, as if on purpose. Jane remembered that moment well. It was her plan-B trick to scare Danton into submitting to her will, since it would have jeopardized his position of power. It was totally stupid, and Jane can never take it back now.


    "You''re overreacting a bit, Jane. My influence still goes a long way. Since you have been pardoned, you cannot be arrested for having that symbol by any Leray agent. Those who dare try it are acting against the law and will be considered rouge, and therefore would be hunted down by the gradyents. However, I do worry what happens now with regards to the Scarlet Cult."


    Jane gasped as she totally forgot about that. This situation is worse than she thought. Overreaction isn''t the word he should be using right now.


    "When they hear of this news, those in the Scarlet regime are going to be the most dangerous hunters of all. I won''t sugar code this Jane. If you do return to Sprawn Valley, you are putting your life in danger."


    "What about my family? They''ll be hunted too!"


    "No, they won''t. I''ve instructed your friend Alyssa and your sister Iona to protect your family from any potential threat while patrolling the southern section of the Gulop Region. Your family will be fine. Once we figure out exactly what symbol was imbued onto you from the E-7 mark 64 spell bomb, we should be capable of removing the mark."


    "Ah- Are you sure?" Jane never heard that much certainty before coming from Danton. So long had she believed that this was just another symbol that any skilled mage could remove, but for some time, everybody was claiming the opposite. What would have changed?


    "It''s still too early to tell. So let''s just keep hope alive, alright? I just thought you ought to know to be wary if you return to Sprawn Valley anytime from your vacation."


    "Is that all?" Jane''s tone collapsed into a monotone setting, her depression unable to drag itself out any further.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Of course. We''re still keeping our eyes open. The Scarlet enemies won''t be able to make a single move this time without us knowing about it. I''ll only contact you if there are any vital updates."


    "Fine. See you then." Jane hung up the phone without hesitation... But it was far too late to distance her thoughts from this. People in Sprawn Valley are outraged about her having that symbol in the tower. Many already knew before, but the awareness was suppressed up until now. They must be forming a witch-hunt right now to purge her from existence. Whether it be fear or hatred, this is how ordinary people act when they learn about a marked one.


    "Mind if I ask what that was for?"


    Danton turned around in his own chamber level of Eldora Tower to address the spoken question. It was Brock, the fourth level elite of the Eldora champion group, and his long trusted partner. "Just a phone call for Jane, regarding updates about the tensions in Eldora."


    "Yeah, well..." Brock didn''t like to say it out loud, but the truth is still the truth. "She did show her symbol on a live uncut feed with no broadcast delay. Seems our idea of keeping you safe with that protocol was a waste of time."


    "And after all that''s happened," Danton recalled, "after our business in Alpha Zero, they still allow me be the leader after my official pardon. None of the soldiers that fought alongside us are in disagreement. But to those who weren''t on that hellish battlefield, their lack of perception of Jane has turned their hearts against her. Yet, I''m still in charge despite this?"


    "What were you expecting with every contingency you''ve set up? You''re really lucky the council didn''t reprimand you for this." Brock knew he was right. Usually, the mage council isn''t forgiving even of uncontrollable incidents with no culpable suspects. But given the dire situation of the Scarlet Syndicate investigation, nobody can afford to rid Danton of his position. They all must know this deep down. "I feel this is for the best. You did train us for this after all."


    Sort of. Danton didn''t train Brock and his other elites to handle a complex situation such as this. Who knew the Scarlet leaders would resort to dangerous and unknown spell bombs giving people symbols? Somebody is defiantly pulling the strings there, somebody with the brains and knowledge to do so, and now they will find their lost symbol. Luckily, Jane escaped from Sprawn Valley in time. "I guess we''re even luckier that Jane decided to go on vacation when she did. Nobody will be able to find her in a different country, nor would they be willing to go there without their precious magic protection. She is safer there than anywhere else right now."


    "Ironic, isn''t it?" Brock certainly believed so, and he wondered what kind of mood this might put the young lady in back in New York.


    "Jane! You can tell us anything," Danny pressured. "You already know that you can." She looks so depressed right now. Nobody better have died.


    Jane huffed before turning around to face her friends. As curious as they were, Jane didn''t try and hide her expression this time. It was pointless anyway. "I was on the phone with Danton. And if you''re wondering why, it''s because he is updating me on the investigation into the Scarlet Cult."


    "Oh," Taylor realized. "But then, why so down?"


    "Because the population back home now knows about my symbol, and my identity. I''ll be hunted down the moment I go back there."


    "Wh¡ª How did¡ª" Danny cut himself off after the short reminder. Jane did flash the whole world of live TV her forbidden symbol, and despite what she did about Alpha Zero, there must still be people unhappy about the development. This is bad. It means Jane really is a wanted person of interest back in Sprawn Valley... "I''m sorry."


    "You don''t have to apologize," Jane replied. "I made that mistake alone."


    That''s not true. Danny knew that Jane made the mistake of revealing her symbol to a wide audience, but he has every right to feel sorry for her. It''s similar to Taylor''s situation. She can''t ever go back home because the illegitimate kingdom is hunting her in Kalamo. For Jane, much of the same is happening, all out of something that was never her fault to begin with. Both of them are fugitives now in their home countries. How did this happen? "Still, there has to be something we can do."


    "There isn''t," Jane claimed. Unless Danton can permanently remove the symbol, nobody will ever forgive her.


    "Not true." Danny snapped his finger once, a bad habit he recently developed upon coming up with an idea. "The people in Sprawn Valley are hunting you. But despite what you showed them on TV, they don''t know anything about symbols. They only know what the public commonly know. As far as that goes, symbols don''t just disappear."


    Jane nearly twitched with the sudden realization of Danny''s words. That guy is sharper than she remembered. Danny means that the people won''t know about the symbol''s ability to hide itself under her skin. She has gotten much better lately at controlling its appearance... That means,


    "That means you can pretend not to have a symbol. Nobody will come after you if they think you removed it." Taylor finished the thoughts for both of them. But somehow, Jane didn''t seem all that excited about it.


    "True, but I can''t hide it from the higher-ups. They already know about the real situation, and any deep molecular scan will still detect the presence of a symbol."


    "Come on," Danny warded. "What person is going to do that to you? They don''t know about that!"


    "But the Scarlet Cult does know!" Jane could see it all so clearly now. She has doomed herself far worse than anything ever could have. The Scarlet Cult made this symbol. They in fact know the most about it, and they are the biggest threat to her existence. Her statement defiantly shut Danny up, not that she enjoyed saying it. "They''ll associate my face with the symbol too; there is no stopping that."


    Finally, Danny was silent. He somehow forgot about that threat level in Sprawn Valley. The people hunting Jane that are really troublesome are the same people nobody can seem to reach. They''re invisible, they''re evil, and now they seek to control everything. So Jane isn''t safe. Then again, she probably never cared about proving her innocence. Danny tried to imagine what it would be like to have so many people think dark thoughts about himself for something he couldn''t control... But that isn''t even easy to imagine.


    "Is there something going on here I should know about?" All three of them turned to face Nyar in utter surprise. Whatever they were discussing must have been heavy, seeing that reaction in front of him. "Go ahead, spit it out."


    Danny stepped in front of Jane and Taylor, facing his uncle directly. "Sorry about this Nyar. But it''s just Jane''s personal business."


    "All the more reason to let me know. I can''t deal with any issue if I don''t know about it."


    Danny nodded his head both directions, his expression as firm as before. "I doubt you could deal with it regardless. Let''s just say that getting back to Sprawn Valley seems like a less attractive option than before, and leave it at that."


    "Works for me," Nyar agreed. "The further away you kids stay from Sprawn Valley, the better."


    Danny wanted to glance back right now and make sure Jane would be okay with that comment. What is wrong with him? The way Nyar trashes Sprawn Valley is just despicable. It''s Jane''s only home! You can''t just walk all over it like you know everything Nyar!


    Jane found it harder to hold in these feelings inside. This man in charge of Danny, he just doesn''t get anything at all. "You really think you know everything about Sprawn Valley, Danny''s uncle?"


    Uh oh! "Hey Nyar? Can we barrow some money?" Danny popped the question before Jane could say anymore. Taylor better not act too surprised to hear this. Going out somewhere else is the only way to stop this from escalating. Jane hangs her every pride in her home country. If Nyar continues to mock it, things will get ugly.

 Chapter 14: The Meaning of Normal

    <hr>


    <03/11/1972 ¨C 15:20 | Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn, New York, United States>


    "Money? We just got done with our time at the beach. Where on earth do you want to go to now?"


    At last, everybody would shut up about Sprawn Valley and magic. Though after asking Nyar for money, Danny had a hard time coming up with the next idea on the fly. He had to pull from his memory regarding which places they might visit. "What about Cyrus Water Park? We should all go there."


    Nyar nodded his head with gesture of a headache. "We''ve already talked about how we spend our funds. There isn''t nearly enough to go there, and today of all days."


    Danny stepped forward, refusing to accept this constant mirage of low funding. "Haven''t you been converting the credits like you said you would? Jane has so many of them, and transferring even just a small amount would go a long way."


    "We won''t get anywhere without some patience." Nyar felt sickened by how much Danny was pressuring him about this. He really was trying his best so far. Nyar did manage to set up a meeting much later tonight to convert only a small amount, hardly enough to go anywhere. But this is a start. It''s better nobody else knows about it either, less these kids would want to come with and ruin everything. "I am working on it. Just give me more time."


    "But what are we supposed to do for tomorrow?" Danny wasn''t trying to change the subject anymore. He was genuinely curious about what activity anyone else would have planned, despite Jane''s apparent interview the next morning.


    Has he not been paying any attention to the way things are? Nyar quickly set Danny straight with the sharp reminders. "It wouldn''t matter anyway. Don''t forget you have another shift tomorrow to deal with. On top of that, I have to drive Jane to her first interview after dropping you off."


    "I don''t get paid until the end of this week," Danny reminded. Though nobody responded since there was nothing to be done about that small detail.


    "Maybe you can come and watch the interview?" Jane was asking Taylor since Danny would be working elsewhere making money.


    "I''d love to." Taylor''s expression changed just after hearing Jane''s offer. She just reminded herself about something. "Oh, but I actually have plans next morning."


    Danny and Jane, Nyar included were surprised to hear this sudden development. "I hope these plans of yours won''t cost money, since we used up what''s left of it here at the beach."The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "No need to worry about that," Taylor sided. "I''m just going to the outlet mall with a new friend I made."


    "You mean Sereina?" Jane recalled herself and Taylor making a new friend here on the beach, about two hours ago while Danny was apparently learning to surf, but she didn''t recall Taylor being invited to hang out with her. It''s not a problem though. Taylor should go and have fun.


    "Yep. She''s already offered to let her mom drive me there and back."


    "That''s nice of her," Nyar allowed. "But what about not being able to buy anything there?"


    Taylor kept her smile with her, trying to imagine what such a big shop in America would be like. "I''m in it for sightseeing. I''ll only be able to window shop there, but maybe Sereina will find something that won''t cost much."


    Danny felt strange hearing about this Sereina for the first time, but he had no complaints. On the bright side, nobody is fighting about the concept of magic anymore.


    It figures, Jane realized. Taylor must smell the potential of being handed some extra money to use at the mall from Sereina, but that might not be true. It''s hard to tell.


    "Anyway," Nyar concluded. "Let''s all go back home and prepare for tomorrow. It will be a long day, but I''m getting closer to finding a proper client who will take credits for cash. If I''m lucky, I''ll have a breakthrough by the end of this week."


    So Nyar took the three of them home to shower up and eat another dinner of frozen microwavable meals. The remainder of the night was uneventful the rest of the way through, but Nyar knew that tomorrow would be a different story.


    <hr>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Green Fields of Antaloor ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    <03/12/1972 ¨C 07:22 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    This time, after the sun came back up from the edge of the horizon, Nyar''s house would be empty for the majority of the day. Taylor was picked up at a spot just outside of the neighborhood as expected, while Nyar made sure she had her personal emergency cellphone on her for safety and communication. Meanwhile, Nyar had to drive Danny to his job, and Jane to her interview shortly after. Le''Flanc was their next destination.


    In the short road trip that followed to find the place in time for Jane not to be late, Nyar gave Jane interview advice like before, hoping Jane could at least be more professional than expected. Even after the advice though, Jane was still a bit nervous and confused on what this would be like. Working in a restaurant isn''t the same as working a grocery store. Nyar promised Jane that she would do just fine. After letting her out in the car, he parked the vehicle in the lot waiting outside for her. This was still going to take a long time after all.


    Just after Jane went into the fancy looking bar and grill restaurant, Nyar pulled out a few sheets of paper he had on him before. With ink already on the pages from his pen, Nyar pulled out the same pen and began to run more calculations. On top of that, there was a list of phone numbers with some of the top numbers crossed out. These are the phone numbers Nyar gathered that belong to credit converters. The ones he crossed out earlier were either unwilling to make a fair deal, or they tried to swindle Nyar''s offer to get everything for nothing. On top of certain people being potentially dangerous with specific meeting spots of secluded areas, Nyar knew he had his work ahead of him too. To top it all off, Nyar still has to go into the office later in the evening to work a late shift on a few unofficial cases.


    Nyar exhaled in stress, reminding himself that he did agree to this difficult challenge. Taking care of Danny was all he expected to do when he arrived at the Junon airport, but now he has three of them, and they''re all so inexperienced. Doing this extra work would pay off if only somebody will just take the credits Jane has on this card, but without his laptop with him, that work is even more difficult. The technology isn''t perfect, since the battery power lasts less than an hour at best, but hopefully this won''t be necessary. When Jane walks out of there with a job offer, things should turn around for the better.

 Chapter 15: Special Training

    <hr>


    <10/23/1962 ¨C 14:12 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    When the morning came to pass, Kite continued to stand still in silent thought as Danton finally became aware and conscious again. He woke up last night with Mainne''s healing orb, but Danton was also dazed and drained after the butt kicking he suffered. There wasn''t anything to be said anyway; Danton lost the battle against gradyent Belzer, suffering a defeat worse than Kite did during his match. Everyone here battled Belzer before Danton arrived. The results are always the same.


    Danton nearly shivered in his thick uniform from the frigid air around him, but he easily recalled walking around at night after his failed battle against Belzer. He must have slept shortly after, given the position of the bright sunlight on a partially clear day. By the time everything came back to him at once, Danton held his head in shame while seated to the floor.


    "Guess you''re awake," Mainne called. Brash had a big battle yesterday, so it should be no surprise to why he was tired enough to sleep into the afternoon. But Kite had gone silent, instead of preparing all of his earlier rebuttals to shove that defeat in Danton''s face. Even he must be down about this.


    Danton didn''t bother asking for the details of last night, since he could remember all of it. "I guess I am."


    "Brash Danton." Kite finally made his way over to the new recruit, studying the dull look in his eyes. "I guess by now you realize why I knew we weren''t going to defeat that guy. Such a method takes years of training, not a few days."


    Yeah, just rub it in. Danton wasn''t bothered by Kite''s insults though. Even his words sounded so empty right now, and he was right all along. There was no chance of beating Belzer.


    Kite didn''t know what to do now. It''s not like Brash is still the idiot he was. He did at least learn his lesson, but now he''s slow just to say anything. Facing the harsh reality can do that to anyone. "We''re making lunch now." Kite extended his arm down to Brash to pull him back up from the blanket on the ground. "You should eat something after that big battle."


    Danton didn''t refuse or hesitate to sink into the flow around him. Kite isn''t being impolite after all, and Danton was starving by now without eating anything last night. By the time lunch was prepared for everyone, Danton spoke to Kite about the summary of his analysis.


    "I can''t believe how strong Belzer is. I couldn''t even score a single hit of anything."


    "And you even knew how to invoke Flame Beam," Kite reminded. "Where did you learn how to use a skill like that?"


    "When I was training with the retired gradyent," Danton recalled, "I had access to tons of knowledge on powerful spells, but it took a long time and effort to perfect them. Even then, it just wasn''t enough. I guess I''ll never become a Leray master at this rate."


    After dropping the metal spoon into the clay bowl, Mainne panicked enough words into a sentence. "Don''t say that! Any one of us could take Belzer down someday. All we need is the right training!"


    Danton didn''t understand why Mainne was still hopeful that he could beat that guy, but it isn''t worth the breath. "Don''t worry about it. There are just some people we can''t beat."


    "But Brash?"


    "And what did I say about that," Danton snapped. "Call me Danton."


    "Danton," Mainne continued. "You can''t actually tell us that all of your time training was worthless after you and I battled each other. You put everything you had into this."


    "And I did the same thing against Belzer."


    Kite shut his eyes momentarily to rest the scene before taking another bite of the soup. "Danton''s right about that. Just let it go Mainne."


    "But..." Mainne wasn''t getting through to either of them, and Vanoss nor Gleeon are helping at all. This isn''t the Danton she remembered the other night. Even Kite is thrown off by this.


    Danton held the food away from him, too sickened to eat anything right now. "Why does it even matter to you Mainne?"


    Kite answered that for him, based on his memory of the day Mainne joined Trujima. "Who knows? The day Mainne demonstrated her skills and joined Trujima, I asked her what she wanted out of it, and she told me she was just bored."


    Does this really say anything about her? Danton remembered fighting against Mainne. She tried specializing in ice type magic to slow him down, but she was also incredibly quick on her feet. She also fought as hard as she could to win; but was it really for Kite, to keep him in charge?


    Kite noticed another similarity he didn''t recall before when thinking about it. "It''s much like the same reason you challenged me for ownership of my gang, right?"


    "What?"


    Following Danton''s clueless expression, Kite knew he had to be more precise, though this is only a guess. It just doesn''t feel like this man cares about who is in charge of Trujima. He just wanted to defeat Belzer more than anything. If the reverse were true, he wouldn''t have given into this defeat so easily. "You didn''t care about being in charge of anyone. You were just bored, so you challenged the strongest people you could find, aside from somebody else who already kicked you ass." Danton fights out of boredom, and Mainne is just trying to prove something all the time.


    He squinted his eyes slightly, but gave up on trying to figure out why. Why would Kite care about that anyway? It worked to make everyone on guard, didn''t it?


    "Whatever," Vanoss interrupted. "It was more fun before you decided to challenge Belzer again."


    Fun? Danton held some of the soup in his mouth, trying to think back. Why would Vanoss say it that way? Did he really have fun being defeated by Danton''s blade? It should have been demoralizing, much like his own battle against the gradyent. In another silent second, Danton suddenly remembered a promise he made to Mainne in their last match. He asked Mainne to have fun fighting and showing off her skills. But was it really fun for her?


    Danton put the bowl down onto the ground, attraction everybody''s focus while he paid them no attention. Danton did challenge the Trujima group out of boredom, and despite losing to Kite, the matches were well worth their time. Mainne probably battles just for the fun of testing her own skills. So then, what is her goal? What does she fight for? If Danton were to ask her about it right now, she would just claim that it''s all too personal to share, but there must be a reason for it.


    "Danton? Is anything the matter?"


    Ignoring Kite, Danton knew he had to figure this conundrum out on his own. Hold on! What about him? Danton knew his goal was to become a Leray master, but what for? What is there to prove? These wasn''t ever any grand quest or reason to aim for the top. The only reason he ever remembered getting involved was how inspiring it was to use magic as a kid. Living up to the family name is important, but not when there is nobody left see it happen.


    Kite realized this might actually happen, but he never thought it would since it doesn''t seem to fit Danton. Watching him lose that battle with Belzer was far more degrading than he initially thought it would be. What to do now?


    "It''s all about fun..." Having only muttered a rationalization to himself, the others near him were asking to hear what he just said. "How could I be so stupid?!"


    "Danton?!" Mainne didn''t know what to say to cheer him up. Danton is taking this loss harder than she thought he would.


    "I''ve been fighting the wrong way!"


    "What?" Kite didn''t believe this, but Danton just stood up so suddenly with a confident grin on his face. Did he remember some sort of special secret to wipe anybody out? Where did this energy come from?


    Danton could feel it from before. It wasn''t there when he battled against Belzer, when it should have been. "I have to thank you guys for reminding me. No matter what happens, using magic to fight people in a Leray match is never only about getting stronger." Danton didn''t need to pause for the others to understand, but finally was this making sense for him. "We fight in Leray battles and experiment with magical spells because it''s supposed to be fun."


    "It''s what?" Gleeon seemed just as confused as Kite and the rest of them.


    "Fun?" Mainne didn''t get this either, but Danton actually said something similar about the concept before. It was right before she had to face him in a Leray match. Danton told her to have fun in that battle, but even if she did, why would that even matter? Danton doesn''t make any sense sometimes.


    "We don''t need secret knowledge or special tricks to defeat Belzer. All we need to do is train harder and have fun while doing it. If you can''t find some way to enjoy a battle, then what else is there to hang onto?"


    Danton looks and sounds so fired up! But this is nonsense he is spouting. Simply wanting to win more doesn''t make it so. He''s already proven that twice now. "I hate to break the news, but fun won''t win a battle."


    Danton rebuttaled with the clarity in his mind. "But it will inspire us to try harder. Everyone?" Danton eyed every Trujima member on the team, finally at peace with a single idea. "We''re going to do some special training. After that, I''ll challenge Belzer to battle again tomorrow morning."


    "That''s crazy talk!" Aggravated again by Danton''s repetitive stupidity, Kite stomped his foot in a moment of rage. "Belzer will chew you up and spit you out! You''ll just lose to him again. What are you going to do after you put all this time and training into something just to lose, again?!"


    "I''ll tell you what I''ll do," Danton prepared. "I''ll train more afterwards, and challenge Belzer again!"


    It''s like an infinite loop with this kid! Danton doesn''t understand that there are people he can''t defeat. And he thinks this will work in a two-day period? What''s wrong with him?!


    This is it! Mainne remembered what she promised Belzer last night after Danton lost. She wanted to train him to try again and do better, but this behavior wasn''t in him afterwards. Still, does he really think that having fun battling is the key to success? Whatever the case, this still works out. "That''s awesome Danton. I''ll teach you everything I know!"


    Gleeon''s mouth opened slightly in surprise. Mainne is suddenly mimicking Danton''s confidence, but that''s totally unlike her in every way. She''s always so quiet and dark about everything. "You know there''s little chance to win. Even if we all put our skills onto you, and you lost, you would still try to win again afterwards?"


    Danton decided to make it as clear as he could to the group. "I don''t care how many times I have to try. If I lose to him again, I''ll just keep trying to get better and win, again, and again, and again!"


    Danton sure isn''t the typical Leray wielder. Vanoss wondered if Kite''s usual attitude would prevent him from helping Danton out. But he really wants to win that badly... "Okay then. I''ll help out too."


    "Vanoss? You too?" Kite couldn''t understand this. Danton''s energy just took over everybody again, like some strange form of mind control. They aren''t supposed to just jump in like that and side with somebody who has no chance! "Gleeon? You having any of this action?"


    "Well, I''ll give it a chance. Just look at him Kite." Gleeon referred to that gleaming look in Danton''s silver eyes, and his tense limbs itching for action. Just a few moments ago, they would have literally witnessed the opposite, a man totally dead and void of any hope. If fun and hope rejuvenates Danton... "I mean, how can you say no to that?"


    "How can all of you jump to him when I''m supposed to be the one making those calls?"


    Gleeon knew Kite might be like this, but he hasn''t proven anything for himself lately. "I don''t see you doing anything to try and get us all out of this sink hole we''re in. If Trujima members can''t defeat a single gradyent, what future do we have as a gang?"


    "Are you serious?"


    Gleeon continued to summarize before Kite became derailed. "All Danton is doing is trying his absolute hardest to get better without ever giving up. However, if you were to suddenly start doing that, especially to become stronger than Danton, I''d follow you first any day."


    Kite couldn''t say anything, on count of Gleeon''s unexpected claim. Is he telling the truth? The reason everyone keeps flocking to Danton is only because Kite hasn''t done enough to prove how powerful he is? In their eyes, Danton is stronger, but not because of his magical powers, speed, or personal skills. They think Danton is stronger only because he won''t ever give up a single challenge. And all I have to do is try...


    "Alright!" Danton inflated. "Who''s ready for some special training?"


    "Hold on a sec."


    Not again! "Kite!" Mainne barked. "What is it now? We''re doing this, and that''s final!"


    Kite totally ignored Mainne, since he already knew that was going to be the case. "Vanoss? I have a job for you."


    "You do?"


    "Belzer is one serious opponent. If Danton really wants to learn to overcome that gradyent, he''ll be needing all the skills he can get. That''s why I''m tasking you to teach Danton all of the personal sword skills I''ve taught you."


    "Eh," Mainne knew Kite wasn''t talking to her, but to see him finally going along with one of Danton''s plans is actually a first. What just came over him?


    "You''ve got it! You can count on me!"


    Kite wasn''t sure at first, but this passion from Vanoss is all the proof he needs. They''re having fun training Danton only because they know how hard he is trying.


    "Wait a minute," Mainne paused. "What about you?"


    Kite thought they might ask him. But if he trains Danton his own skills, which is sort of what Vanoss will be doing anyway, Danton will become the most powerful one, and that just can''t happen. "I''ll be around. I''ve got some solo training of my own to perfect."


    Kite wants to train now? Mainne was at least accepting of that answer. He does train by himself often, but it''s still been weeks before anything like that ever happened. "Fine. Let''s all begin."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Confrontation ~ Speed Machine</a>


    <center><iframe title="Speed Machine - Confrontation" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1cIFkH9HfwM" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    After Kite went off on his own to train in secret, the others joined Danton in the middle of the road in Route 96 for special training. Since nobody else volunteered to try and challenge Belzer, Danton was the main subject. It was already made clear that Mainne, Vanoss, and Gleeon would all part their own skills and techniques onto him. Once Danton was certain of the plan, he asked Mainne to help him first.


    Without using any Siriean dome, Mainne and Danton were in a faceoff as if to fight each other with magic. Instead, Danton had his blade drawn out again, while Mainne held her wrists at the ready. Danton already knew where this was going. "So Mainne? Those bracelets are an impressive Leray accessory, but your ability to move your arms in the right position every time is your best skill. I''ll ask how you do it."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "You act like there''s a secret to it." Mainne projected her voice slightly due to their distance. Danton was going to have to learn all of this in a single night if he is serious about challenging Belzer again tomorrow morning. Gleeon and Vanoss were standing by to watch and listen. They too have not heard of Mainne''s special technique, they have only physically observed the result. "All you need is speed and focus." Mainne held her arms up ready to move. Trying to have Danton score a single hit on her would not be an easy task. He isn''t allowed to rely on spells to do this either, since that isn''t the problem.


    "I''m guessing that kind of coordination takes years to accomplish." No wonder Kite is always so wound up to throw in the towel. How can Mainne teach him anything in a day? This might not work out!


    "When I want to win badly enough, it doesn''t take that long to perfect. All you have to do is watch your opponent''s movements the entire time. Don''t keep your eyes anywhere on yourself. It isn''t necessary."


    "Okay..." This isn''t any new information. How is this supposed to help him learn how to fight like Mainne?


    Mainne suddenly lunged forward into a sprint, forcing Danton to lift his blade in self-defense, and when she closed the gap of distance, Mainne struck her fists and armlets down towards Danton to try and hit him. This was his test.


    Danton immediately deflected the first few hits Mainne launched at him, keeping the encounter a physical attack only, but the combination didn''t waver for a single moment, and Danton soon had trouble keeping up with Mainne''s speed of movement using only one short blade. Wielding only one blade seems to restrict the ability to block every single time, while Mainne has two arms she can use. In the next instant, Mainne scored a direct punch to Danton''s gut, forcing him back as his feet slid in the rough terrain. Mainne then back-flipped to keep her distance, stopping short since she proved again that Danton wasn''t ready just yet. "Think faster. Be light on your feet! And never leave yourself open to a single strike!"


    Danton felt that punch completely, and would continue to do so for a longer time. Mainne talks about not leaving any opening, but how can Danton block without some sort of buckler or metal bracelet? Is she capable of hitting Vanoss or Kite with the same strategy? "How are you better at this?"


    "You''re supposed to be defending yourself," Mainne explained. "You diverted your eyes again, didn''t you?"


    "I did?" Danton didn''t notice, but then would Mainne even be capable of realizing that? Blocking her attacks happens nearly at the speed of sound! No ordinary person can keep track of what''s happening like that, not completely.


    "Let''s try it again. Eyes on me only!" Mainne went for it again, trying to score another hit on Danton. This training session would not be able to end unless Danton can outlast her unrelenting combination of physical attacks. He needs to be faster, and think faster!


    Gleeon and Vanoss watched and listened while Mainne demonstrated one of her best special skills. Recently, he heard that Mainne was trying to change her strategy with ice elemental magic to slow down her opponents instead of speeding herself up. That''s not a bad idea, but whatever this is right here, this is the first time Mainne has ever shared this strategy with anyone else. It''s not just because she is fast, but also because she can observe her target no matter what else is happening around her. At that speed...


    "Mainne sure is something," Vanoss uttered. With Gleeon''s attention for an elaboration, Vanoss shared his thoughts about the incredible sight in front of him. The more fired up Mainne becomes, the faster she gets, and right now, her every action is like a blur. "When she and Danton were battling, that was her best tactic against him, her best defense. Even now does it seem to work."


    "Perhaps you''re simply eager to battle against her again."


    He wouldn''t be wrong there. "It''s been some time since we all had a battle between ourselves. And I mean a real battle; not that crap from last week."


    "You think she would win against your sword skills?"


    Vanoss grinned and answered, "I doubt it." He paused once more to observe how well Mainne was doing. Even right now, despite Danton going back on the offensive, he still can''t hit Mainne anywhere else. "She''s really fast, but no single human can possibly attack or defend themself without leaving an opening. Every time you move, there is a small fleeting chance where you become vulnerable to something unexpected. That Harmonic Blast Danton pulled off against Mainne is just an example of that. Danton isn''t able to defeat Mainne right now because he isn''t allowed to use magic, but if he were to battle Mainne for real, the result would be the same. Since I know about both their battling styles, I''d win against Mainne for sure."


    "You sound so confident, though the reverse would be certain for myself."


    "Don''t sell yourself so short," Vanoss pleaded. "If I were actually battling against you, then I might lose more often than I''d be comfortable with."


    By the time Mainne stopped attacking Danton, she noticed how tired he became with his heavy breathing and shortened mobility. It wasn''t surprising given how much time had passed. Mainne wasn''t even winded. All of her special practices from before gave her this constant equilibrium of stamina with her focus and energy, but getting tired without the use of magic is also natural. If Danton were in better shape, this would be easier for him.


    "Well..." Mainne decided that this was as far as she could go. "You still haven''t hit me one single time, but I bet you''re paying closer attention to where I''m going." Mainne knew this had to be true, because Danton still managed to dodge and block her attacks for the past three minutes without taking a single scratch. "As long as you keep your eyes on the opponent, blocking and dodging will become easy."


    "Got it..." Danton puffed and huffed for air after moving around. Mainne moves so fast that it would tire anyone out. Hopefully Belzer won''t battle this way.


    "Okay then." Mainne glanced back at the two men calling out to them. "Vanoss or Gleeon! One of you two take over now."


    "Agh!" Danton felt like falling to the ground to rest. No breaks are apparently part of the rules.


    "I''ll go," Vanoss accepted. After taking over for Mainne, she joined Gleeon to the side to watch what he could teach Danton. "Come on Danton. You''re the one who wants to learn it all in a day. You''re going to have to practice everything you learn later tonight anyway."


    He isn''t wrong. Danton fought to stay standing on his tired legs. This is just supposed to be a warm up, but Belzer is a tough opponent. If Danton can learn all of their secrets and use every one of them in his next battle, this should be enough. Vanoss has a similar strategy, right? "So do we draw swords again?"


    Vanoss pulled out his saber, slightly longer than Danton''s short blade. Danton copied the same notion and prepared to defend himself. "Must you really ask?"


    "I don''t understand what about this is different than what Mainne just showed me."


    "Well then..." If Danton is so sure, Vanoss knew he would have to taunt him to bring the truth out. "Why don''t you attack me then? Whoever scores the first strike with a blade earns a point."


    He''s turning this into a game? Whatever. This is still the same concept. Danton held his blade up, and spread his feet apart in preparation to charge. Just keep all eyes on Vanoss and his movements. Danton knew this was the way to beat him like before. "Fine by me!" Danton took off as fast as he could, proving how fast he could sprint without losing his balance and with his blade ready to strike and swing any direction.


    Just as Danton was about to strike his opponent, Vanoss lifted his sword and immediately deflected the hit from Danton. Shortly after, Danton continued his combination assault, trying to prevent Vanoss from going on the offensive, but he was about as fast as Mainne was with his ability to block, despite holding only a one-handed sword. As this went on for the next twenty seconds, Vanoss knew things were soon to change.


    After another deflection from Vanoss, the force pushed Danton back by a few inches. Right there! Danton isn''t guarding his left knee anymore! A frontal stab would be impossible to avoid. Trying to deflect the blade turns the motion towards Danton''s kneecap too. As Vanoss took his chance slashing at Danton''s leg, it caught him by absolute surprise. Danton took the first hit, and backed away in the pain that followed.


    Mainne tensed from watching it all. Even after Danton was going along with what she just showed him, Vanoss is still faster. "Look how strong Vanoss has become after all this time."


    "Just have a battle some time, will ya?" Gleeon knew they would complement each other''s skills forever if not to find out which one of them is better. It''s actually annoying to see them learning from each other, when this should have been clear much longer ago.


    "One point," Vanoss awarded. "And now¡ª" He shifted his sword around him as Vanoss drifted forward towards Danton, forcing him to go on the defensive again. Much like before, Danton wasn''t easy to hit despite having only one blade. But after another ten seconds, Vanoss saw another opening. Every time Danton moves his right arm to deflect a hit, he isn''t using his left arm for any purpose, and there isn''t enough momentum in his body movements to support proper balance away from his right hand. That''s a weak point. "Hrah!" Vanoss went for another side-winding stab forward, this time aiming for Danton''s right hand, right where he was holding his own saber hilt. When Danton moved in time to deflect, Vanoss simply shifted his direction, causing his saber to cut through the side of Danton''s upper forearm. With another successful strike, the pain that followed for Danton was enough to make him cringe and drop his own weapon. With that, it soon became clear that Vanoss had the absolute upper hand.


    "Ouch!" Danton yelled. "How the hell are you faster than Mainne?"


    "I''m not." His simple answer made everyone wince slightly, but Vanoss continued to explain what he meant. "All I did was exploit all of your weak points and openings."


    "But I thought I wasn''t leaving any openings!" Danton couldn''t believe this. Mainne turned out to be wrong. She''s fast, but Vanoss can still find an opening regardless. No doubt is he much stronger than Mainne, despite Kite''s previous rankings.


    "Everybody leaves an opening when they move, including me." After having some silence to explain, Vanoss thought about it in his head. Even the way he moves could technically be exploited, though it isn''t easy. "Every time a person tries to block, dodge, or execute an attack, no matter what, they always slow down to analyze what is happening in front of them for about point zero-four seconds, assuming they''re this quick to analyze. But it is virtually impossible for any human to instantly process in their mind what is happening to them. It makes us pause every time, and that leaves a potential opening."


    No way! "You''re telling me you can think that fast? I don''t believe it!" Danton was hovering on his knees, taken by the surge of pain in his leg and arm.


    "It isn''t easy. However," Vanoss pointed down at Danton and his curious expression. "You pause for slightly greater lengths of time, so it''s even easier to find an opening against you. On top of that, you aren''t putting any counter-balance in your body to take away from your right hand when wielding that sword."


    Danton gritted his teeth quietly. Vanoss can out-think anybody if he really saw all of that, but Danton wasn''t ever aware that his stance wasn''t fully correct.


    "Simply put, you only have one short blade. Therefore, you can deflect strikes all you like, but you can''t defect an attack aimed straight at your hand while it holds the hilt to the saber. It isn''t physically possible. The only way around that is to be ready to use your body to jump back from a well-aimed stab, or to use your free arm to block and take damage from that limb instead."


    Vanoss, that''s incredible! Danton never realized just how talented this man could be. He''s got more than sword skills; it''s all about observations. Both Vanoss and Mainne can make those so fast, and again with the single-hand blade; it seems to be a bad fit so far. "Perhaps using a staff to amplify my magic spells might be of better fit?"


    "It could be." Danton doesn''t appear to be very fond of using swords to battle, despite how good he is in close combat. "But we don''t have any time to go find a staff. They don''t sell any good ones in Gulop either way, so you must learn how to counter your weak points and defeat Belzer. After that, you can change your primary weapon strategy."


    "Vanoss..." Danton had a struggle with his stamina being cut so short. Having this kind of battle against Vanoss and Mainne so soon was draining to him. Vanoss then held out his hand to pull him back up. "Thank you for helping me."


    "Of course." Danton might have what it takes to get better tonight, but he''s already too tired to continue working on proper evasion therapy. "Why don''t you let Gleeon take over for a while? His strategy doesn''t require a lot of movement, so you should be able to learn and rest at the same time."


    "Sounds good." Danton sounded out of breath, but having change tactics from fast to slow was music to his ears. "Gleeon? You ready?"


    "Guess so." Gleeon paced forward where Vanoss was standing, still with his arms crossed from boredom. Vanoss wasn''t wrong for teaching Danton what he knew, but his ideas are hard to execute because of how much energy they take. Fighting like that up close can score him a lot of hits, but physical slashing damage is small on a scale of power level if they have no magic going into it. "Danton? You might have learned how to prevent openings to yourself, and how to look for ones in your opponents."


    "Right?" Gleeon''s statement sounded more like a question, but he waited until Vanoss retreated to a safer distance before continuing.


    Gleeon lined up in front of the space further behind Danton, allowing Danton to watch beside him while Gleeon prepared his demonstration. "But it can always be better to create your own opening to attack, or use methods that weaken your opponent."


    Danton felt frustrated already. What is he talking about? Danton didn''t remember all that well what specific strategy Gleeon stuck to during their battle. He seemed to enjoy employing more painful attack spells than usual ones, but what would that have to do with anything?


    "Danton?" Gleeon asked. "Do you already know how to use the ability called Dampen Field?"


    "No," he answered honestly. "I know about the spell and what it does, but I have yet to learn it. I think Kite used it during our last match."


    "Indeed. Dampen Field works well to weaken all incoming damage that is from magic of any elemental properties. It can give any person who specializes in powerful spells a really hard time."


    "So I should learn Dampen Field."


    "No," Gleeon commanded. "If you already know about the spell, learning how to use it isn''t necessary to win. Anti-support auras and alternate spells are put to better use."


    "I don''t get it."


    "Let''s say a challenger uses the aura spell known as Solar Regen. Solar Regen uses the power of direct sunlight to quickly regenerate lost health points, which makes the spell incredibly useful for the user. However, not only does Solar Regen take time to fully execute due to the effect of passive regeneration only, it is also a spell that can only be used once every hour. Therefore, if somebody were to waste their opportunity on Solar Regen, use their magic, and fail to heal all in the same moment, it creates two openings of advantage all at once. One, in the moment they realize they can''t heal; they are more likely to hesitate. And two, the use of their MP reserves sent to failure will slow them down slightly. It also gives you more time to learn their total strategy."


    "But Gleeon?" Danton knew where this was going, but he just skipped over an important detail. "Solar Regen is a support aura from that same user. So how would you be able to interrupt such a thing?"


    "It''s better if I demonstrate. Go ahead and use a support aura. Try something simple if you like. Anything is fine."


    Right here? Danton knew Gleeon wasn''t joking, but if anything works, "Okay then. How about Dualcasting!" Danton had to first charge the MP energy needed for the support aura before releasing the colored light around his body, thus there was some delay before the effect was noticeable. Soon, a dark green aura of light encased Danton''s entire body, which would affect his invocation speed for more magical spells and speed them up.


    "Now then," Gleeon charged MP energy as well, though the scale of power was noticeably different. Before he even said anything, Gleeon''s eyes began to glow slightly with a radiant light, the effect of a powerful spell charging for Leray skills. As he aimed his open hand towards Danton, Gleeon chanted the name of his spell to ensure success. "Time to shut this down, with Horrordime!"


    Danton was surprised just from the name of the unfamiliar spell, but in less than two seconds, the aura around his entire body flicked quickly until the light died down entirely. Just like that, Dualcasting was rendered useless. It would have taken much longer for that aura to disappear, lasting even longer than usual since Danton wasn''t planning to use the aura to invoke additional attack spells anytime soon. "What the? It shut down Dualcast!"


    "Of course it did," Gleeon commended. "Horrordime is the ultimate anti-aura spell there is, giving me the power to shut down opposing support auras, no matter which spell causes it."


    "Any aura? It can stop any aura from any spell?"


    It seems like a normal reaction for Danton to be surprised. Horrordime is a very difficult spell to master, so its popularity is quite low. "As long as my timing gets there first. However, though you can''t see it with the absence of my energy scope, this spell requires a high amount of MP energy to properly function for each use. About thirty percent of my Leray energy is consumed for every time I invoke Horrordime, which is almost three times as much as any cost for an ordinary support aura. Therefore, I have to use this spell carefully, and only stop auras that are truly threatening."


    Danton was enticed by the explanation and demonstration. Not only is Horrordime cool, but even that spell has a weakness. "So what about an anti-aura with a cheaper cost?"


    Does he not understand how things work? "Okay then. Pull out your saber. And before you do, I''ll cast Void Edge." Though Gleeon didn''t yell the chant of his own support spell, the casing of dark blue light revealed itself around his body. The shade was much darker than usual, but he was still clearly visible. "Go ahead and strike me a few times. I won''t attempt to stop you."


    Danton didn''t understand the mentality. Why would he be asked to slash his blade through Gleeon? Won''t that hurt like hell? With a few hesitations, Danton went for it, using his sword to slash through Gleeon''s body several times. As usual, the veil of Leray protection prevented Gleeon''s skin from bursting open and taking real time damage. Even with that dark shine of an aura around him, the blade was defiantly causing damage for every hit. However, after six strikes towards Gleeon, Danton felt slower on the next hit, and after that, he felt completely drained. This wasn''t the same sensation of moving around for too long. His senses became dull and dizziness set in. This isn''t right at all. "What''s happening?"


    Gleeon could easily move around while inside of this aura, and he explained the situation, ignoring the stings of pain coming from those dry slashes of Danton''s metal sword. "I''m used to painful attacks, so naturally it won''t bother me much."


    "Why do I feel so drained?" Danton was slowly getting a headache as the sensation intensified.


    "Oh that? This would be the effects of Void Edge. Void Edge is a support spell that actually affects the opponent instead of its user, though only when applied to the spell user. With its effects active, only costing me ten percent of my own magic, the aura goes to work draining increments of MP energy from any hostile who attacks me by any means of physical force or contact. If you so much as touch this aura with your hand, or take swings at me with even with so much as a long range blaster, your own MP will decline with every single strike you score. I can keep this aura going for about forty-five seconds in battle."


    "That''s incredible! I''ve never seen a spell like this one before."


    Gleeon knew that his partners were aware of this, but the spell isn''t as amazing as Danton thinks. "It might be useful for those who don''t know about the spell. No matter what your battling style is, any physical contact made from a weapon or a person from any range will be affected by this aura. However¡ª" with Danton''s newfound attention, Gleeon laid waste to the glorification of his own support spell while shutting the one he has active down by himself. "The aura is entirely useless against attack spells that use non-physical magical properties from any range. If you were to launch area spells or Fire Bolts at me non-stop, the only MP you would lose would be that going into your own spells. The aura is useless against ranged magical attacks that don''t rely on weapons or physical contact."


    "Oh. I guess that''s a problem if somebody figures that out."


    "Precisely."


    Horrordime, Void Edge, even Kafire are amazing auras Gleeon can invoke, but they all have some sort of drawback; everything does. Every single magical spell in existence has some sort of drawback. The ones that don''t are simply too weak to make a difference against tougher opponents. Fire Bolt for example is impressive for beginners, but would do nothing against Trujima members, or to Belzer. An area attack, while having a high chance to hit also consumes too much MP energy to get all excited about. Any close range attack can be intercepted whether magic is used or not... "Wait a minute. Does this mean that any tactic has some sort of exploit?"


    "I think you finally understand what I''ve been trying to tell you."


    "Huh?"


    "It is true that my strategy involves creating my own openings mainly using anti-support auras. But if I rely too much on that strategy alone, people will figure it out and find some way around my battling style, much like you did when you ignored my higher tolerance to pain and continued battling regardless of how things looked. All that facade does for me is make me appear to be tougher."


    Mainne whispered, "Gleeon?" just under Vanoss''s ability to hear her. They were both listening carefully. Even this much is new coming from him.


    "There is a counter maneuver for every single skill or spell that exists. And if you think otherwise, it''s only because you haven''t discovered it yet."


    Gleeon is right, about every word. "Every skill can be exploited."


    "Every skill," Gleeon repeated. "This includes Belzer, and perhaps the champion himself. All you have to do is learn how your opponent fights, as fast as you can, and counter their strategy."


    So this is how Gleeon fights. He''s the brains of this gang, and prefers outsmarting opponents, unlike Mainne and Vanoss. "Like Belzer''s Earth Glave and Whirlwind." Earth Glave can be used as an attack and for defense at the same time, but even so, the spell is totally bound to the earth, and doesn''t have a high attack radius going upwards. An assault from above would go right around Earth Glave. Whirlwind is impressive too for the same reason, but as long as a spell doesn''t pass through Whirlwind, it won''t be stopped by the wind. Flame Beam was a mistake after all. With the use of ranged magical attacks, no matter how powerful they are, it still gives plenty of time to think of some way to block or avoid the damage entirely. Spells can be used in multiple ways to create barriers. For example, jumping into the air to avoid earth bound attacks also creates your own vulnerability to be open and defenseless while airborne. "I like the way you think."


    "Simple, isn''t it?" Gleeon was sure about this now. Danton''s strategy is incredibly unique. People keep saying he doesn''t have a specific strategy or skill, but it isn''t true. He''s capable of thinking on his feet when he needs to, and the guy has a mental arsenal of powerful spells that can all be made useful, whether they do damage or prevent damage in combat. "All you need is a touch of training with some new ideas, and you can beat Belzer easily."


    "You''re right," Danton declared. "But I need to put all of that to work right now." Danton glanced over at Vanoss and Mainne, looking bored as usual. "So, who''s going to be my sparing partner?"


    <hr>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Time Machine ~ Dominik A. Hecker</a>


    <hr>


    With all of the promise on their shoulders, Danton trained further between all of the other Trujima members, trying to get stronger, faster, and smarter collectively. Danton wasn''t the only one learning things, but he was going to be the one challenging Belzer to a duel once more. The heavy training thus went on for hours with minimal breaks, and by the time Danton fared he learned enough for tomorrow morning, he showed his face again.


    "So how is it going?"


    Danton and the others glanced to the side, watching while the man approached casually with an uncertain expression on his face. It''s Kite, come back to check in. "Better than expected actually." Danton knew there was no reason to hold anything against Kite, though it would have been nice if he were here too. "Your members are stronger than we''ve realized, and now I''m ready for that rematch."


    Kite sighed with a mild grin and a nod. "You never change, you know that?"


    Holding a clenched fist up high, Danton revealed his prowess to the Trujima leader. "Of course not. I''m going to challenge the champion of Eldora Tower and win. That way, I''ll become strong enough to become the Leray master I''ve always wanted to be."


    "And you really think you can pull it off?"


    There he is, doing it again. What is with Kite and his uncertainty? He could stand to have a little more faith. Danton knew he was on the right track. This day has been the most fun he''s ever felt in a long time, and tomorrow should be even better. "Come on Kite. If all of us five work together training with each other''s weak points and fixing our strong points, I know we can pull it off. Taking Eldora Tower will be a cinch!"


    He really isn''t kidding. The way he talks his game, and the way he holds himself to such a massive promise, it inspires the other members to do the same in return. Danton is all fired up to take Eldora Tower, there''s no doubt about that. What an ambitious nuisance. "In that case, I''d say you have more problems to deal with than Belzer."


    "Hm? What do you mean by that?" Are there more gradyents in the way?


    "I''m talking about Trujima, and the chain of our strength. I realize that you will soon become more powerful like you''ve been trying to. However, I''m going to keep training and getting better as well. That way, you won''t be able to defeat me in battle. If we''re really going through with this, it will be I who sustains the title of champion. You will have to fall under."


    What? Mainne didn''t understand what Kite was going on about. Is he seriously just letting Danton go along with things now?


    Oh, now it makes sense. Kite Fargenst, leader of the Trujima gang; he is a powerful warrior. But someday, he won''t be on top. "Of course you know that there can only be one champion, and I''m not backing down from your challenge either."


    Kite replied with a confident smile in his lips. It felt like having a battle with Danton again right now would be fun, but now isn''t the time just yet. "Now that''s what I''m talking about. I''m going to hold you to your words. If you really want to become champion, you''ll have to become and remain stronger than I am, but I won''t let that happen."


    "You''re on, Kite. I''m not going to lose either!"


    Gleeon also had a surprised expression seeing this. Kite is actually being himself again. No, this is still different from when they first met. He really wants to win and be stronger than Danton all of the sudden... Did Mainne do this? She''s the one who spoke about a strong rivalry. But for that to actually affect Kite¡ª


    "I''ll defeat Belzer tomorrow. You''ll see. Then I''ll be one step closer to the top."


    Mainne couldn''t resist the warm feeling this brought back from so long ago. Kite really is coming around now, and it''s all because of Danton''s persistence. He cares too much about being strong, so naturally, Kite won''t stand for Danton being better than him. Eldora Tower; it really is a possibility now.


    This isn''t about a leaderboard. Kite knew it in his gut. This feeling goes far beyond the Trujima gang he founded long ago. Danton is defiantly a powerful warrior, better than anyone he has ever personally trained, but that won''t last when the time to challenge him again returns to them.

 Chapter 16: The Prospect of Home

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    <03/12/1972 ¨C 07:59 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    Cathryn, facility manager Sanchez, and area director Alex all sat on the same side of the wide office table, judging their current candidate for hire. Though the young lady seemed to be terribly young, her posture and mundane confidence contradicted the negative possibilities. Jane Venn. That is the name of the applicant being interviewed today. Though she seems to be calm, unlike many other nervous candidates.


    Cathryn, the co-manager of Le''Flanc jostled her pen in one hand while hearing Jane''s story, collectively weighting the pressure of all the other applicants that came earlier this week. Le''Flanc needs one more bartender that can take over for Mark since he can''t do it all alone, but all of the people who have come in so far have either been nervous women who don''t seem to have any confidence in their knowledge of wine beverages, or troublesome adults with minor criminal records. Come to think of it, there hasn''t been a single male applicant since the end of February. And such luck; Jane doesn''t sound like she understands what this job is asking her to do.


    Cathryn cleared her throat slightly, silencing Jane and the others to allow her to speak up. "Jane? Do you have any form of identification on you, right now that we can cross-check?"


    "Of course." Jane went for the pockets in her jeans that Nyar chose for her this morning. Luckily, he also knew that Jane would be needing her identification card too. After pulling out the inactive Leray license, Jane promptly handed it to them, and then the three of them all huddled closely to study the front of the card, their expressions twisting to confusion.


    Sanchez glared at the details along with the other two in between him. This card is certainly a curious type of license. Though the facial ID section appeared to be normal, the legal zone the card is attached to appears to be all the way from Sprawn Valley, and a facility called Lennith Academy. Siding with Alex in expression, the defined age on the card is the deciding factor. Jane is only sixteen years old. How did her application session bypass that detail? "You see it too?"


    Alex was already aware of the problem, but the license itself didn''t seem to make a lot of sense. "Well this doesn''t appear to be your typical driver''s license..."


    Jane explained to them what the card is for, since it was obvious enough that they must not even know much about Sprawn Valley or Leray magic. "That''s my Leray license. I''m actually a resident of Sprawn Valley. That''s where everyone does magic."


    "So I''ve heard," Cathryn replied. What a curious girl. "Sprawn Valley; the only country that practices special lee-ray magic." Cathryn stressed the last two syllables to ensure she could properly pronounce the name of the custom, but this unfortunately changes nothing. If Jane is here temporarily from out of the country, that means any job she gets will also be just a temporary or seasonal job. On top of that, she has yet to provide the necessary legal paperwork or passport defining she is allowed to be here legally.


    "Yes," Alex agreed. "I''m afraid that based on the current information we have, you aren''t eligible for hire here at Le''Flanc. I''m sorry."


    "Wha¡ª" Jane couldn''t understand how they so quickly came to this conclusion. They haven''t even spoken to her for more than ten minutes. "Why?" Is it because of the magic thing? How hate filled can a country be?


    "Because," Alex answered while handing Jane back her license. "In the United States of America, all citizens under the legal age of eighteen are not allowed to work tending alcoholic beverages, regardless of which company they apply to. You also don''t contain any needed knowledge or experience on handling such beverages either. Even if your position title were different, most bars prefer workers over the age of twenty before they would consider any position. You''re simply too young to work here legally Jane."


    "Oh." Jane couldn''t prevent herself from looking and feeling a bit depressed. All of that wasted time and effort!


    "As the area director of Le''Flanc, I must trust that the application process is clear enough for people to get through without lying about their age, because on paper it says you are eighteen."


    "I must have went too fast filling it out," Jane excused.


    "Well, we have yet to meet a fitting candidate for either of our open positions. Jane, I''m afraid I''ll have to deny your request to join us."


    Jane exhaled, wondering what else could be done today aside from these horrible applications. They aren''t fun at all. Everyone judges you and claims what you aren''t capable of. "I understand."


    Cathryn held her hands together in her seat with the after-thought of the interview that is now over. Jane really is only sixteen years old. Actually, her seventeenth birthday is close if that card is more accurate than the printed paper application. But still, she behaves much more maturely than anyone she''s ever seen so far of the same age. It''s impressive. Are all people from Sprawn Valley this way?


    Alex made sure of one more thing before dismissing Jane. "I trust you have a ride waiting for you outside, ready to take you home?"


    "Of course. I guess I''ll go now."


    After Jane collected herself and left the building, the three of them were silent for a long moment, having been reminded about the existence of Leray magic in Sprawn Valley. The dark fame centered on the country has long since died down, yet people don''t ever say anything different about the position of magic. Jane sure didn''t look any different than any other person.


    Cathryn broke the silence with her thoughts away from the interviewing process. "Oh well. Would have been nice to have a bartender entertain everyone with magic tricks. I''m going to get more coffee."


    Sanchez nodded and stood up for a stretch. "Now you want a magician for hire? I guess we''ll look into it."


    Despite only having a few minutes to wait, Nyar soon saw Jane heading back to the car from the entrance. Her head is still facing down though. She must have missed her mark this time, but anything could have happened in there. Nyar unlocked the passenger doors to figure it out while Jane climbed inside. "Well how did it go?"


    Jane took her time to answer, getting comfortable in the seat of the Ford Escort. She felt like she was finally used to this car already, all of the surprise of it washed away. "Failed."


    "What?"


    "They didn''t want someone my age working there. And I guess it''s illegal to work underage behind the bar."


    "Behind the¡ª?" Wait a minute. "Jane? Did you apply to work as a waitress at Le''Flanc? Or did you apply to be their bartender?"


    "I just picked one of the two online."


    "You what?! What''s wrong with you?! Of course they''re not going to hire you as a bartender Jane. What were you thinking?"


    Clenching her fists, Jane snapped her answer back at him, feeling no guilt. "How was I supposed to know that bartending requires eighteen years of living? The rules here suck Nyar!"


    After her short-lived fit, Jane crossed her arms and ducked her head towards the view of the side window. She at least calmed down, but Nyar quickly felt sorry for that part of the plan. He hasn''t been closely monitoring the applications everyone has been putting in ever since Danny landed one job, since it seemed like everyone got the hang of it by then. This defiantly is his own fault after all. "You''re right. I should have informed you about that from the moment I heard the word Le''Flanc. Screw that place then. We can just try another."


    With Jane''s attention back on him, she unloaded everything she felt furthermore again. "And for what? No place wants to hire a sixteen year old." Her tone nearly became sarcastic, mimicking Alex poorly. "I don''t know how you''re supposed to get us jobs here when the market doesn''t seem to want me or Taylor. Back in Sprawn Valley, you get to choose between some things¡ª"


    "Don''t!"


    "But why not¡ª"


    "I said don''t!" Nyar wasn''t having that conversation again. Sprawn Valley is no good example of how to live life under any circumstances. Jane needs to forget all about magic while she is here. "We have to try something though. I''ll help you out next time."The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Nyar!" Jane begged. "Do I really have to work in this city?"


    Almost slamming his fist into his own seat firmly, Nyar restated what he had earlier. "I need help from all of you! We''ve already used up most of the vacation funds that I wanted to on this visit of yours, and we''ve very little to show for it. If things don''t turn around soon, I won''t be able to afford your stay for but a single month."


    Jane wanted to argue, but she couldn''t. More strangely, Nyar actually seemed to be upset about something, something else on his mind, though it could have still been her failed interview. Why is he so afraid of not having enough money? Can Nyar really defend how things work here if it won''t work even for himself?


    "And I don''t want that to happen. Danny might be my immediate family, but you and Taylor are both good friends to him. That''s the only reason why I agreed to care for you when you decided to leave Sprawn Valley. Jane? I need your help raising money so that it can continue."


    He''s obviously forgotten about something. "Nyar? My license card has so much money already on it. Why can''t you just convert the funds over?"


    "It isn''t that simple," he argued. Jane can be so stubborn! She doesn''t understand¡ª


    "And why not?"


    "Because it''s dangerous!" His slight shout had Jane wincing backwards slightly. "Converting credits to cash in America is not legal. Because of this, the people who are still willing to make it happen are most often criminals. If I meet the wrong guy, or offer to the wrong candidate, I could easily be ripped off, or mugged, or even killed."


    Killed? Jane nearly forgot about that last detail. Outside of Sprawn Valley, the world is a dangerous one. New York hasn''t been all that impressive itself, has it? This whole time, Nyar has to properly judge which person can convert his credits, because they can easily be criminals and killers.


    "I just keep setting up my laptop to the necessary links, but the result is always too much the same. That''s why this method is going to take time." With Nyar''s words, Jane sat back in her seat again normally, though holding her head in shame. "Let''s just get you something good to eat? Heh? We''ll still need some time before I head off to pick up Taylor. And after that, I might have another night in the office."


    "Sure." Nothing works anymore. Jane could feel how useless she is now. Outside of Sprawn Valley, the world without magic doesn''t feel all that great. As beautiful as it looks, it''s just as deadly. Leray magic is so amazing for what it can do. And yet, people in Sprawn Valley, the same people who use magic themselves now want a piece of her, a piece of this magical curse in her body. Meanwhile, Taylor is out there having fun. She must have made the right call today going to the outlet mall.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi („M)</a>


    <center><iframe title="MoppySound - Nagi („M)" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/inpXuwZq6kY" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


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    Given only a small budget of fifty dollars, Taylor continued her trip to the outlet mall alongside Sereina. Most of her viewing was designated for window-shopping, but a few promising looking places caught her attention several times. Among finding wonderful outfits to try on, Taylor also got to see all of the other products and toys that American companies made. During some portion of the day, she and Sereina split up to cover more ground searching for other interesting places within the plaza. The split was only to last for twenty minutes however, and Taylor still couldn''t find Sereina after half an hour slipped away.


    She stood still, tapping her feet in patience while waiting on Sereina to show up at the primary fountain built just for decoration. Since this was the first spot they both stopped at, Taylor decided to wait here in hopes that Sereina will return here to find her. Despite having a cellphone to call Nyar for pickup, Taylor forgot to save Sereina''s cell number earlier. If there were any unplanned places to meet up, this is the place. Taylor would just have to wait for a long time until Sereina can figure it out, provided she does.


    During her wait, Taylor reflected on all of the places she was able to visit. Walking around with Sereina was a lot of fun, but she also tried to imagine what a difference this would all make if Danny were here as well. Instead, he''s off somewhere working to wash and dry clothes. Taylor never felt guilty about not having a job, since not one place decided to accept an application so far, but this is still supposed to be a vacation for all three of them. Meanwhile, only she is capable of having fun this afternoon.


    "Taylor!" Sereina waved when she finally spotted Taylor hanging out at the fountain, relived that she finally found her after that long separation. Her father would have probably had a fit if this went on unsolved.


    Taylor returned the call down to Sereina as she pedaled her feet over towards the fountain. "Hey! Sereina!" Looks like the plan worked out all right.


    "Sorry to scare you like that," Sereina apologized.


    Taylor nodded in denial, since nothing was really wrong. "I wasn''t scared. I knew you''d find me here of all places."


    "I guess that makes sense." Sereina knew she misjudged Taylor entirely. She''s only fifteen years old, but she''s so brave and smart beyond her initial estimate. Most people lost in a crowd would have panicked or felt scared. She even thought of what most likely place to meet up if she did get totally separated. "I was worried for nothing then."


    "Yep." Taylor held her hands to her hips while the relief sank in. Sereina is a nice person, but Taylor still didn''t know too much about her. Luckily, she was right to trust that she would be a great friend. "I still didn''t get anything though. I think I''m going to save the money if it''s okay with you."


    "If that''s really what you want."


    What''s that look supposed to be for? "Don''t go thinking that I''m saving money because I''m poor, cause that couldn''t be further from the truth."


    Sereina wiggled her wrists left and right to deny the claim. "No, no! I wasn''t thinking that."


    Yeah right. Taylor let her arms relax more, and decided to give Sereina the details. "We''re simply thinking about using that money for a better vacation to somewhere else." Allowing herself to become entranced in the thoughts of the possibilities, Taylor sat down again at the edge of the fountain, right where the stone was kept dry.


    Sereina studied Taylor''s wild expressions. Even though she just met her, Taylor seems to be easily rattled by anything. Who knows what she could be thinking about right now? Walking around here all day to shop must not have been enough fun for her. Taylor is probably thinking back to Sprawn Valley. "Missing something?"


    "Huh?" Realizing how distracted she was, Taylor tried to snap out of it again, but Sereina''s random question didn''t have much context. "No..." Taylor exhaled briefly before putting her feelings into words, but just thinking about them still made her more alert. "I''m just wondering what he''s up to. Danny should be allowed to have a good time too, but I don''t think he is."


    "Oh." If it''s not a place or a thing, it''s must be some handsome guy. Come to think of it, Taylor seemed to be well associated with that boy at the beach. Is that the one she''s talking about now? Danny was his name, right? "You and Danny sound close. You dating?"


    Taylor felt less surprised hearing that by now, but Sereina''s inflection in the way she insinuated her question gave her chilling tingles everywhere, like the first time Danny asked her out. "W-well, yes!" Finding her own voice to be slightly shaken, Taylor tried to explain better while changing the subject. "I mean, we''re both trying to... We''re both from..."


    Holding back a chuckle, Sereina failed to lock away a few seconds of laughter. It''s pretty obvious now how Taylor feels about her boyfriend. Must be a brand new couple. "That''s so cute! You two must make a great couple. I''ve never seen you get all embarrassed and lose your tongue before."


    Great! Now she thinks I''m a weirdo. "It isn''t cute!" Taylor stamped. Though it didn''t stop Sereina from smiling the same way she has been for the past few seconds. As the noise of the water flow behind her sank in with the ambience of the customers walking all around, Taylor knew it was hopeless, trying to change the subject and all. Danny is the only thought on her mind ever since this morning. "Still. I wish he could be here having fun instead."


    "Yeah." Guess she isn''t so young after all if she can attract that much. "But I guess it goes to show you can never run out of people to fall for."


    Taylor squinted her eyes to better contemplate Sereina''s demeanor. What is she saying?


    "If he''s too busy all the time, there''s always someone else."


    "No," Taylor denied. "There isn''t." Sensing Sereina''s sudden surprise to her answer, Taylor finally felt it was necessary to truly define how she felt for him. He isn''t here right now, but what difference would it make either way? "Danny isn''t like any other person that I''ve ever met. The person he is..." Taylor held both of her hands together, fiddling her fingers to help her think. "On the surface, he''s arrogant, a bit reckless, and he''s always acting out like some big shot in front of other people." And then falling down a cliff changed him... Or maybe he''s been like that all along. "But deep down... Danny is; he''s incredibly intelligent and analytical. He actually puts others before himself as long as he knows them. Danny is always looking out for other people, making sure they don''t feel down and out if it." He''s had a hard life just by growing up in Kalamo, and even though it wasn''t as bad as her own childhood, Danny must have known deep down how messed up home really is. Maybe that''s why he always acted like an idiot before, just to protect his emotional identity. "He''s more than just some guy. Danny means everything to me, and I love him."


    Sereina was speechless in place. Taylor was holding her hands to her heart while openly confessing her own feelings about Danny to her. She wasn''t expected to have to go that far. But still, how can someone like her already have found someone like that? To think, Taylor''s already found her soul mate? It must be; she seems so sure and composed right now, after having the time to process it.


    Taylor couldn''t be sure if Sereina would understand. Sereina is two years older than her, but that doesn''t mean she has had all of the same experiences.


    Sereina finally broke her stunned composure with her left hand on her forehead. "Boy. You sure managed to get into the complicated stuff quickly. And to think, I thought you were going to tell me you would rather be spending time in Sprawn Valley, shooting magic and all. But romantic relationships are special too."


    Taylor almost forgot that she already told Sereina about her stay in Sprawn Valley, minus the extra dangerous crisis that occurred there. Still, magic was the last thing on her mind today. "Leray magic is cool and all, but the people that make it fun are what''s more important." Just like Jane, who loves magic more than anything. "There are people there who know what magic is all about, and they have so much fun performing and battling, it inspires other people to try the same things."


    "I get that you don''t live for magic like some people do. But then, what if your boyfriend does?"


    Taylor wondered about the consideration. "I don''t think he''s into it either." Danny said as much while in Eldora city. He too isn''t as into the magic stuff as Jane is, but he does care about making sure Jane is happy with her own situation. She and Danny both worked together to help Jane out because of her symbol messing things up, and furthermore because of the threat from Alpha Zero. But now, if Jane has some sort of problem and has to return home, who knows what Danny might try to do? He doesn''t love Jane like that, but Jane is still such an amazing friend, Danny would easily step away from his own personal life just to help her. Taylor couldn''t blame him for that either, because she would probably do the same thing. "But I think we still sort of miss it."


    "You''re so lucky."


    "Hm? Why is that?"


    "Because!" Sereina explained. "You''ve got a great boyfriend who cares about you, and you''ve been to Sprawn Valley before! Everyone talks about it all the time in such a negative way, but I''m friends with you, and you don''t look like some evil grubbing person to me. So magic really can''t be all that bad. I think I might visit Sprawn Valley one day, go on a whole journey of my own."


    Sereina... So there are people in this world who view Leray magic as a good thing from the outside. Not everybody hates magic. It''s more common that they just don''t understand what it is. Still... "I think it''s a great idea. Though, you might want to give it one more year or two." As it stands right now, Sprawn Valley isn''t really the best place to be in, not according to all of the negative attention it''s getting lately. Who knows what might happen to someone who isn''t strong enough to defend themself these days?


    Before Taylor could say anything else, her cellphone started ringing in her pocket. Taylor was forced to pick up the flip phone and answer the call. "Hello?"


    "I''m in the parking lot. And yes, I know it''s early. But I must pick up Danny in time should I make it to the office tonight. Also, I''m bringing home pizza."


    "Yes," Taylor replied. "I''ll be right there soon... Okay, bye Nyar." Taylor closed the flip phone shut, automatically ending the call. It''s time to part ways already. "I guess they''re ready to pick me up right now. Sorry Sereina."


    "No need for that. I had a great time today." Sereina realized something and approached Taylor before she left. "Hey Tay? Let me put in my cell number to your phone, okay?"


    "Okay." Taylor wanted to do that herself, and nearly walked off to forget about it. Other than cellphone communication, Taylor only has an online chat from Nyar''s personal laptop, a site which she actually wasn''t supposed to be using. But this way, there wouldn''t be any complaints. "I''ll be sure to call you some time. Are your folks coming to pick you up too?"


    "You bet. There." Just as Sereina finished saving her contact to Taylor''s phone, Sereina handed it back and checked her belongings to make sure she had everything. "Don''t be shy if you want to talk some more about stuff."


    "Yeah. I''m sure you''ll want to know more about Sprawn Valley too, so you should return the favor as well."


    "This is goodbye then."


    "Bye Sereina." Taylor headed for the parking lot after parting ways from her new friend. That whole trip actually was more fun today than she thought it would be, and soon she will be able to see Danny again. Who knows if Jane actually landed her new job or not?

 Chapter 17: Higher than Magic

    <hr>


    <10/24/1962 ¨C 14:00 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    When the morning sun lifted into the sky above the grassy gravel road of Route 96, Trujima''s entire team set off to the east in search of their next target. The plan was simple, and this time, Kite would not interfere with the battle to be, or the plans for Trujima afterwards. His personal goal has finally been called to destiny. Danton wants to become the strongest Leray wielder in the world, but Kite knew that this would mean an absolute rivalry between Danton and himself. Kite also knew he needed to be the strongest of the group, which can''t be done with him in the way. The rest of them, Gleeon, Mainne, and Vanoss, they''re all getting stronger too just by getting involved.


    The windblasts hitting their faces were warmer than yesterday, just nice enough not to cause a chill or the discomfort of summer. Winter is finally backing off in the clear skies. That''s the signal of today''s weather, but Danton only focused his thoughts on one thing, the next challenge.


    "I can''t wait to see this next battle unfold. I hope you''re ready for it Danton."


    Acknowledging Mainne''s expected concern, Danton pulled out his short saber early, holding the grip firmly in preparation. "Of course I am. Trying to overcome such a challenge isn''t easy, but I''m glad that I''m going for it. Kite? You better toughen up the next time you and I battle."


    Kite crossed his hands behind his head while he marched forward. "I think you should actually defeat Belzer before you dare make such a bold statement."


    Heading in the same direction to the same location as last time, it didn''t take that long to find Belzer, standing in the center of the path with intent to block anybody unworthy of the strength to match the average around Lennith City. Once again was Belzer by himself, an obvious sign that he danced everybody else to sleep. But when Danton and Belzer''s eyes met again, something new was ignited.


    "Well, well..." Belzer greeted. It''s that weird gang again, and their new recruit. "I didn''t think you would be back for a rematch so soon."


    Danton showed off his blade in front, almost allowing his weapon to be the negotiator. "I am Brash Danton, and I am ready this time to defeat you in a gradyent battle."


    "It has barely been twenty-four hours, my dear lad. And you want to have another go already?" Belzer''s question caused Danton to immediately change his stance, as he swung the blade in circles around his wrists without harming himself, just like some advanced samurai.


    "I think you''re going to find my battle skills to be completely different than last time."


    Belzer let himself grin with anticipation. The fire in Danton''s eyes are more apparent than before. He must really want to win on behalf of Trujima. Or maybe there is something more. "I will allow one battle with you again Danton, but I have one question that needs answering before we can begin."


    "What''s that," Danton requested.


    "I need to know," Belzer paraphrased, "what it is that you are fighting for. Why do you need to defeat me so badly? Is it that important that you make it to Lennith City?"


    Danton let out a micro-laugh to reply. "Is that question rhetorical? You know why I want to battle you again Belzer. My dream is to become a Leray master, and in order to do that, I''ll have to become the next champion of Leray magic. I''ll start by defeating you."


    "The next Leray champion?" Belzer repeated. He''s actually serious about this claim? "Several thousand people want the same thing, and rarely do they ever pull it off. Why, the current champion has been in seats for three entire years. You think by wanting this badly enough, you''ll find the strength to beat everyone in your way?"


    "Are you kidding me?" When will he just let the battle get on already? Danton has been waiting for this rematch to take place forever now. And willpower? Come on! Both Belzer and Kite know better than this by now. "Willpower in Leray magic isn''t enough. There is training involved, skills that need to be learned, observations that need to be made."


    Belzer nodded while taking it all in. It wasn''t easy to remember what kind of person Danton was like yesterday or the first time they battled, other than his physical skills and styles, but what he says now is all true. "Then you have learned just enough to be able to take on such challenges, but your training will still have to be adequate to defeat me and others along the way."


    "I''m not finished." Danton felt the right to interrupt. Belzer must not have reminded himself about the very importance of the concept. "It''s also essential to remember what Leray magic is all about; the reason that people have such intricate battles for ranks and money. The whole reason Leray magic was invented in the first place, it''s all about having fun learning and mastering these skills."


    "What the hell is he talking about?" Kite didn''t talk too loud to interrupt their battle preparation, but he never recalled hearing this from Danton before. Still, Leray magic just for fun? How na?ve can one get?


    How interesting. So Danton battles to have fun and get stronger at the same time. He isn''t wrong, but Belzer was beside himself momentarily for forgetting about this lesson. "Very well," Belzer announced. "If you think yourself worthy and ready to challenge the Route 96 gradyent again, I will let you have another battle, Brash Danton."


    "Finally," Danton replied. "I thought you''d never ask." Danton went ahead and enabled his energy scope early, just to demonstrate how impatient he was becoming.


    "The last two times we faced each other, you had much to learn, and now you stand before me again, looking much more composed and prepared. I hope you don''t disappoint me again." Belzer also enabled his energy scope before officially beginning the battle. First thing is first. "I want all spectators to a safe distance. Danton? I accept your challenge. If you defeat me, you and your friends will have access to Lennith City, and you won''t have to defeat me ever again from that moment on."


    After everything was in order, Belzer and Danton prepared themselves for another gradyent match, triggering the holographic text from the automatic spoil system, and the Siriean dome that spanned a distance to cover the two contestants. With the battle now underway, both Danton and Belzer prepared themselves to fight like before.


    <hr>


    <Gradyent Test | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Futile Futility ~ Deep East Music</a>


    <center><iframe title="Futile Futility" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7uvWEhD1KfI?loop=1&fs=0&playlist=7uvWEhD1KfI" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    The moment the holographic text faded, the total atmosphere inside the Siriean dome changed. Danton and Belzer were both prepared to make the first move, but Danton decided to hold back and try to remember everything from yesterday.


    "I don''t mind who goes first," Belzer announced. "And that''s only because it won''t make a difference. I can tell I''ll have to go all out for this one. I''ll show you my real strength."


    Danton gasped to himself, realizing that Belzer was talking about powering up. Talk wasn''t even the half of his story. Belzer''s hands were both glowing with an aura from this distance, and the MP counter on his energy scope dropped by massive levels. By the time he realized this, Danton was sure that a full area attack was on its way.


    "Now!" Belzer called. "Legend of our summons, keeper of our hearts. To the master of fire and flames, I beseech thee! Massife!" On his call, Belzer summoned a gigantic yellow glyphring high above the both of them, rotating on a vertical axis and becoming less transparent with its intensity.


    "What?!" Kite and the others winced from the surprise and shock. He had fought Belzer once before, and watched Danton try it too, but this move was totally new to his knowledge on this gradyent. "That guy can summon?! This wasn''t part of the deal!"


    Out from the large yellow glyphring, the dragon-like creature about fifty times the size of an ordinary human flew into reality with its wings brushing and flapping towards the ground. The so-called Flare Drake associated with the summon powered up and began to learn about the environment for which it was called, which included the newly attached energy scope.


    Danton remained calm. Having to fight Belzer and a separate summon at the same time isn''t a good thing, but every single ability and action has its downside or opening. Due to Belzer''s decision, his MP has just taken a massive dive, so unless he has a method to regenerate that lost energy quickly in the same battle, he will have that one disadvantage. Danton held his blade firm, quickly assessing what to do. The only thing that would make sense is to attack them both as quickly as possible, focusing on both targets instead of one. If this is how Belzer wants to do things, so be it. Danton knew he has trained for just about everything yesterday. Just because covering the possibility of summons wasn''t on the list doesn''t mean the battle is impossible now. No, Belzer must be defeated here and now!


    After putting his blade back on his rear holster, Danton charged the necessary MP energy into both hands, while trying to incite two different spells at two different times and charge rates, one for each hand. With Belzer prepared, Danton unleashed his first long range attack spell. "Crush Wave!" Using the second tier of Shadow Wave to combine earth elemental magic with the advancing wave heading for Belzer from Danton''s right wrist, Danton soon shifted his concentration to the second spell, now changing targets and focusing his aim while the multi-colored glyphring took form around his left wrist. "Prism!"


    Belzer''s first instincts were to hold his sword out and shove it into the ground in front for the attempt to block Danton''s incoming Crush Wave spell. Though the wave had more power than before given the spell type being a higher power level than ordinary Shadow Wave, Belzer soon learned how late he was to realize Danton''s quickened strategy, as several multi-elemental bolts of energy fired from a Prism glyphring, aimed for his own summon flying in the air without a current attack instruction.


    Danton made sure that every single bolt of energy slammed into the Flare Drake, watching the HP counter decrease harshly for every single hit. Against most summons, elemental magic seems to have a high effectiveness for damage, making Prism the best choice of attack. Since each bolt homes in on the target regardless of distance and speed in the air, the Flare Drake couldn''t really avoid most of the hits it was taking. Just as Prism''s sequence ended, the newly updated energy scope for the summon was a shock to see, for Belzer anyway.


    Danton felt more confident now. It makes total sense how a single Prism blast could do so much damage to a summon so strong. In fact, it''s so easy to guess. Belzer must rarely fight like this at all, and that means he must rarely use this summon for battle. Whether this is a new skill or not, this is the other drawback about using summons in battle. If you haven''t used your summon to absorb damage over the entire time you''ve learned the spell, then the distinct level and HP endurance for that particular summon will be relatively low in comparison. Belzer should have never hid this from all of those people before, pretending as if this was his best pride.


    "Heh," Belzer exhaled. "As if we''re gonna be worm food that easily. It''s time Massife!" Belzer focused further, enabling him to synchronize his thoughts with the summon flying around in the dome shield. This concentration cause his eyes to momentarily glow with a bright yellow color, followed by his next command. "Use Thunderbolt! Right there!" He could see it from here, the sudden fear on Danton''s expression. He wasn''t ready to take an attack from the Flare Drake, let alone a spell always unavoidable to block or dodge. But Belzer knew he had to help out his own summon, and he switched his focus to another spell of his own. "Target locked. Creshendo!"


    Danton''s body stuttered in confusion while Belzer turned the battlefield into a chaotic scene. Despite knowing what was coming, Danton didn''t come up with any countermeasure in time to evade the imminent damage. From above, the Flare Drake roared just before unleashing an overpowered Lightning Strike spell crashing down on Danton, immediately zapping him with high voltage in a jolt hold that would last for a few seconds more. Just as the jolt hold ended, Danton was already surrounded with seven phased pillars of light, now moving towards him at a catapulted speed, all to collide into the center of the target. Danton put his arms up and braced himself for the painful slam from all sides that wrecked his balance and mental clarity. When the pillars faded, their absence revealed Danton, drained and cringing from the multitude of pain.


    Belzer is too fast! Danton knew he would have to slow the man down if he were to ever obtain any opening at all, and nothing stuns people more than electrical energy. "Thunder Flare!" Aiming only at Belzer this time due to the natural spawning nature of the spell, Danton soon unleashed a powerful Thunder Flare sphere spawned around Belzer, zapping him less than a second later. Thunder Flare has a much higher power level for damage and even electrical pain, so it was a good choice. However, despite Belzer taking that damage, he didn''t seem all that bothered by the attack the moment the sphere faded.


    "You call that your best work?" Belzer taunted. "I guess you never learn then. Massife!"


    Here it comes. Danton hunched down slightly and prepared himself. Even without knowing what Massife might try and do, there were more ways than one to deal with Belzer''s monstrosity.


    "Unleash your Fire Beam!" Danton would be destroyed by this attack. Much like the skill Ice Beam, Fire Beam, the kind used by the summon of Massife launches a steady narrow beam of pure flames that have almost the same heat as artificial lava. Even if Danton survives the impact, he''ll suffer from second-degree burns despite the protective veil, and forfeit the match from the pain scale alone. On top of this, Belzer was unleashing a second skill of his own against Danton, another combination what would ensure that Fire Beam hits the target. "Whirlwind!"


    Danton couldn''t hear Belzer shout Whirlwind over the constant roar of the Flare Drake flying above. Danton could see its mouth glowing with a raging fire building up, but at the same time, he noticed a sudden opaque vortex of wind surrounded him; leaving him standing in the eye of a large tornado. The dragon was still aiming, flying directly above him. With his energy already charged however, Danton unleashed his power, realizing what the obvious strategy here was. Belzer used Whirlwind and spawned it on top of Danton to trap and surround him into the center of the soon to be blasted crater, but that Flare Drake is too slow. "Dualcasting!" Danton''s Dualcast aura shrouded him in its light immediately since he was ready for it the whole time, and with less than one second remaining, he charged up his next spell with record speed, the aura quickening his invocation rate for all magical spells.


    By now, Danton was trapped in this large Whirlwind vortex of dark grey air, while the Flare Drake was less than a second away from shooting a solid beam of liquid fire from its tongue, but Danton was faster to think of a way out of here. Without chanting the name of the easy spell, he aimed his arm out towards the ground at a sixty-three degree angle, and unleashed his magic. Out came the gravity-defying energy from the spell Push Wave, forcing Danton off the ground with his legs ready to ascend into the air. The blast from his Push Wave was intense on purpose, catapulting him away from the center of the Whirlwind at such a velocity that he easily burst through the edge of the Whirlwind spell, narrowly avoiding a sudden fiery blast visible through the thick haze of air shortly after. Danton finally landed on his feet again, attempting not to fall by sliding his shoes through the thin pavement of this area.


    Surely Belzer would be surprised by that dodge, but Danton wasn''t going to wait around to see that expression anymore. Instead, he used what left of his Dualcasting spell was available to initiate his counterattack, Bullet Blitz. This created two small yellow glyphrings right in his hands, forming one small sub-machine gun in each, fully loaded with magazines of bullets. Without a further hesitation, Danton fired the right gun towards Belzer, damaging him with a low power level piercing attack just enough to prevent him from regaining his nerve. Just as the Whirlwind spell faded, Danton shifted his aim and focus to empty the rest of his mags on both guns towards the floating Flare Drake in the air. The summon was bombarded with magical bullets at a rapid-fire rate, all until its HP was unexpectedly drained to zero percent.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    With everyone in utter surprise except for Danton, all they could do was watch while the giant yellow summon glyphring returned into the sky, now attempting to suck in all of the Flare Drake''s molecules back to the dimension from where it came. Danton had immediately just defeated the Flare Drake, putting an end to that summon which Belzer started, and due to the nature and properties of that specific Leray skill, Massife cannot be invoked again by Belzer for at least two hours. Technically, it''s possible to run out the invisible timer on the Massife summon, according to most guidebooks. But with his awesome power level of magical attacks, defeating his HP is often more efficient. What will you do now Belzer?


    Belzer, including all of Danton''s friends on the outside of the shield were stunned and confused, except for Belzer since he was the only one capable of witnessing what just happened before Massife was wasted. Somehow, Danton launched himself out from that Whirlwind to avoid the attack, but there aren''t many spells powerful enough to do that, unless he was smart enough to invoke Push Wave with the overcharge needed to exceed the wind velocity.


    Noticing that his Dualcasting aura was still active, Danton decided to use it for one more spell, drawing out his short blade before casting it. "Blazing Sword." Without needing to shout his plans to Belzer, Danton covered all of the metal of his saber in a coat of magical fire, easily visible from any distance. With this, he now provoked Belzer to try the same thing, assuming he can fight with a blade.


    "Well that was something different," Belzer admitted. "You used Push Wave to escape from the center of Whirlwind, and from the looks of that aura, you invoked Dualcast just before in order to increase your invocation speed to accomplish this evasion. I guess you have learned something."


    "You gonna stop blabbing and fight me blade to blade?"


    Belzer impatiently drew out his sword, which was a long bladed Dark Lance mark 3. Danton is not the same as yesterday. His entire battling style has changed, surprising to say the least given such a small amount of time. Yet Danton has already proven his long-range superiority. To see him willing to shift tactics to close range now was also baffling. Why change what works in the middle of battle? He must not understand the speed of a well-trained gradyent. "Well come at me then. Rush Assault!" Hoping to catch Danton off guard with a new tactic, Belzer shrouded himself in a bright white aura, maximizing the effects of Rush Assault. Though the spell is designed to maximize user speed for a close range combination attack of punches and kicks infused with magical elements, the aura can also be adapted to work the same way with a blade. Let''s see Danton match this impossible speed!


    Danton watched Belzer take off, fast as a speeding bullet towards his location, but despite Belzer''s speed, Danton''s own Blazing Sword would grant him additional hit power. With enough assurance, Danton flung his sword from down up, anticipating the very first attack vector Belzer would use despite his incredible speed. Rush Assault doesn''t increase the user''s reflexes; another downside to the skill he would have to deal with. Danton''s first attempt to block the blade from Belzer was a successful clash of metal with enough force to create a sonic shockwave of metal noise in the air around them. With that, Danton quickly shifted his stance to try and counterattack Belzer where he now stood.


    Upon doing so, the both of them exchanged blades from one side to the other. As the exchange of slashing, dodging, and blocking lived on for twenty long seconds, neither side was giving an inch or taking any damage. Belzer was just as fast as Danton was at making sure to block each sword strike while delivering another, and the duel went nowhere for that amount of time; that was until Belzer decided to break it up with a well-aimed Push Wave in front of Danton. The Push Wave was potent enough to shove himself and Danton apart while sliding in the broken dirt, a decision made the moment his Rush Assault aura disappeared from existence.


    Danton is impressive with that blade, so the battle tactics will have to change. Belzer wasted no time in switching from his primary weapon to a magically spawned twelve-gauge shotgun. As expected, the time to prepare the attack skill gave Danton just enough time to brace himself, holding the wide side of his sword to his chest in hopes of blocking out the bullets, but it wouldn''t work this time. "Shotgun Blast!" Using bullets that don''t require magic to damage or fire, Belzer''s gun unloaded a scattering of high-speed rounds drilling into Danton''s skin in various locations, with only a couple rounds deflecting off the metal side of the sword. Belzer however increased his magical usage by a factor of two while invoking this skill, allowing him to fire the gun once more, which usually wouldn''t be possible without the extra magic. Danton was hit again with several bullets, from which he noticeably cringed at from the pain level. Belzer then threw the gun to the ground, forcing it to fade away to nothingness while he stood still with his left palm open for another charging Leray spell. "Mize!"


    Danton could see what was happening the whole time too however, and upon predicting Belzer switching to yet another attack after the Shotgun Blast, he immediately unleashed the magical energy he so covertly kept to himself with his own spell. "Pillar Build!" Just like that, a skinny yet incredibly tall stone pillar shot upwards from the ground just in front of where Danton was standing. Before the pillar effectively grew to its top height, he could see a bright scary flash of light from a beam smash into the front of the pillar, where it would have hit Danton instead if not for his quick decision.


    Belzer felt the low growl in his teeth while Danton continued to adapt against his own powers so unexpectedly. Mize would have done so much damage too, an incredibly effective spell if only it hits the target. But against even stone objects, Mize has no power to break through any amount of concrete or armor.


    Danton wasn''t actually expecting the third spell from Belzer to be Mize; a high-power-level beam of magic capable of causing great pain with the damage included, but it worked just as well in his favor, using Pillar Build to block an attack. On top of that, Danton would now use the next skill Pillar Smash to destroy his own creation by design, sending chunks of stone flying in Belzer''s direction. This is exactly what he did, using a magically assisted aura to improve the power of his kick, straight to the center of the stone.


    As expected, stone chunks were sent flying towards Belzer, and all he could do was protect his face from any impacts with his arms and hands. Though as all of the heavy rocks fell to the ground and rolled by him, none of the stones hit Belzer. They have a random scattering pattern of travel as they break from the pillar, thus they have a random chance to hit Belzer if any do at all. Even so, Danton is not to be underestimated. His processing speed and intelligence for countermeasures was totally absent in the last two battles, but this time, it may actually be enough to win him a gradyent match. "Well then, I can see that you''re all fired up today to win. But I won''t just let you claim a victory over me. Prism!" Unleashing most of his remaining MP energy, Belzer created a colorful glyphring of his own, prompting Danton to change his stance in an attempt to block all of the hits, but Belzer threw in his own surprise twist.


    As soon as the bolts of magic began launching from the palm of his hand, Belzer twirled his arm around in almost random circular patterns, causing the initial spawn trajectory to change. At first, it seemed to cause most of the elemental bolts to un-lock from Danton as the target. Instead, they all began to spiral in strange circles traveling through the air, and after the first and second hit to Danton''s shoulder, it soon became clear that each bolt still had a perfect lock to his position. Danton put up his best stance to try and block out the damage, since Prism is not all that avoidable. Belzer made that more challenging by making it less possible to predict where each bolt of magic would strike him. As unexpected as it was, Danton was able to block about half of the entire barrage of attacks, while the other half including electric spheres broke his defense enough to total up damage against him.


    The pain was intense, but Danton held through it all, aiming his blade still shrouded in fire and charging up the magic he would need. "You''re wrong Belzer. I''m going to defeat the champion, and there''s nothing that you can do to stop me!"


    "Then prove it!"


    "Quake!" Danton shifted his magic into the ground below him, causing an earthquake that could deal a good amount of damage towards the gradyent. Given that Belzer heard the word Quake in the nick of time to prepare a countermeasure, all he did was use little magic to simply jump high into the air, avoiding the damage or effect from the Quake spell.


    In this moment however, Danton grinned while he executed his next move, holding the hilt of his blazing sword firmly while releasing the rest of his magic into a white aura. "Flashpoint!" No way would Belzer counter-react in time. Danton''s sudden invocation of Flashpoint enabled him to leap into the air towards Belzer''s airborne location at the speed of light. While Danton flew through the wind, he held his sword outward, aimed at Belzer''s body. During his quick movement, he allowed for his current momentum to do the work and carry the strength of the single sword slash through Belzer''s chest, twisting himself afterwards to face his direction again while watching Belzer plummet into the ground.


    Danton wasn''t finished just yet. Even now could he see Belzer holding his chest tightly from the intense burning sensation from that unexpected critical hit. Now that he was more so immobilized than before, Danton could release the rest of his magic while the timing was just right. "Air Strike!" Causing a swarm of small photonic spheres of light to explode into high intensity blasts on the ground, Belzer was bombarded from above, just as he was having trouble getting over the intense pain from Danton''s sword. Having been blasted several times with these explosions, the damage level further increased against him, draining Belzer of his energy and ability to block the blasts of light.


    By now, the explosions shifted a lot of the dust and dirt into the air, blocking everyone''s view of Belzer''s current condition including his energy scope, but Kite and everyone else watching the battle were glued to every detail of the match, mouths open with their teeth clenched in the shared anticipation of the battle''s intensity. Nobody here has ever seen Danton fight like this. Kite wasn''t around for the training practice yesterday either, so he was even more bewildered at what sort of training they gave Danton for him to become this good. After that blast, Belzer should be out of it now.


    Danton huffed for the air he needed, as his stamina was draining quickly from how much he was moving around, on top of losing more of his MP energy to the barrage of magical attack usage in the field. It was still a good strategy. Belzer thought he could avoid Quake by jumping, but in doing so, he can''t maneuver around in the air while falling back down to the ground; a huge vulnerability and a large opening, just like Vanoss spoke of. On top of that, a spell like Flashpoint can also be manipulated just for its incredible speed, combining a different weapon instead of the signature punch Flashpoint is associated with. Air Strike is just the bonus. When the dust cleared up, Danton and the others got to read the energy scope belonging to Belzer.


    Danton suddenly panicked, not just upon seeing that Belzer was still combat capable using the energy scope, but rather from the sudden surge of bright light piercing through the thick dirt cloud and revealing his location. Any amount of magical light usually means an imminent attack.


    "Sereing Blast!" Belzer fired a wide area beam of pure light towards his target, coming from the over-powered glyphring rotating in front of him at a rapid pace. It was clearly easy to see afterwards that Danton was getting slammed by the heavy beam, and pushed into the ground with a massive amount of damage afterwards.


    Faintly aware of his own surroundings, Danton tried to snap out of the wave of dizziness and confusion the low HP level put him through. If he took one more hit now, it would surely be over. How did Belzer survive that?


    "You should have quit when you had the chance, but at least you put up a better fight today than yesterday." Belzer equipped his sword again, preparing to charge at Danton since his own MP levels were totally drained for magical spells. Danton will move much more slowly now due to his newfound fatigue.


    It didn''t take Danton long to find his nerve however. Seeing Belzer rush up to him with a sword only prompted him to use his blade as well to deflect Belzer back in close combat again. Having less energy isn''t the same as losing his nerve. Belzer must not understand that. "What did I just tell you?" Danton lunged his blade upwards again to stop Belzer''s sword just before impact, and then blocked straight downward to protect himself again from Belzer''s quick spiral slash. The two of them held that position, pushing back with pure strength matching perfectly. "I am not giving up any fights!" Danton fought back again by swinging his blade in style to strike Belzer''s right side, but was again blocked by his quick reflexes and long metal blade. "You''re not stopping me this time!"


    Belzer was mentally stunned by how much passion Danton placed into his current fighting skills, despite being a bit slower than before. Surprising and admirable to say the least. However, "Getting loud won''t save you." Belzer unleashed his barrage of sword slashes and counterattacks, while Danton just barely managed to dodge and block every one of them, until his speed was too slow for a moment. Belzer only managed to stab him in the lower leg. Without any magical infusion, the damage level would be incredibly low, reducing Danton''s current HP by only two percent. Despite this stab, he wasn''t giving a hint of forfeit. However, just after Belzer scored a hit on him, Danton changed his tactics yet again.


    Shrouding himself in the same white aura as before, Danton invoked Flashpoint, using it only to increase his jumping speed. He leaped backwards to obtain a distance from Belzer, realizing that his strategy wasn''t working with his low energy and HP levels. While using Flashpoint to jump backwards wasn''t all that unusual, Danton invoked it again just after the first aura disappeared. Since Belzer couldn''t predict what he was about to do, Danton unleashed his new technique, mastered yesterday as a potential game changer against those who have never seen it before. While the Flashpoint aura activated once more, Danton put the rest of his remaining MP energy into another silent spell, lighting up his sword with vibrant radiance as he slashed the blade through the air, aiming perfectly at Belzer.


    The slash revealed the spell to be native to Splice, a powerful and extremely painful two-dimensional line of magic sent form a user''s sword. Of course, with one-handed swords, you can only send one line through the field, unless you use Splice two times successively and slash the sword twice. Danton however played at a different trick, using his Flashpoint aura just after sending his Splice line towards Belzer. Danton jumped forward with all his might, landing just behind Belzer in a single blink of an eye. Using that speed again disrupted Danton''s Flashpoint aura afterwards, leaving Belzer to figure out what he was up to while simultaneously preparing to avoid the hit from that frontal Splice.


    Normally, Belzer would have enough time to dodge the attack, but before Splice was even in range to drill through Belzer''s body, Danton used his new position and remaining energy to slash another bright white line in the air again, this time from behind Belzer. Now having his opponent face two Splice lines both coming from opposite directions at once, Belzer would have no way to dodge, except for jumping straight up again, which Danton was also prepared for.


    Belzer''s sudden confusion in figuring out how to evade two separate Splice lines at once was enough as a distraction to freeze up his mind instead. Belzer was thus hit by both Splice lines, drilling through his skin, and creating the sensation of deep cuts like no other. Belzer was thus sent to the ground on his knees from the sudden burst of pain which nobody is immune to, leaving Danton to avoid the initial Splice coming at his direction that he created. Afterwards, Belzer was left with an HP amount much lower than Danton''s, but he soon tried to tough out the intense pain while standing up to face Danton, blade in front for the formation used to dodge any range of physical attacks.


    "Ugh! You fight bravely, but I''m not forfeiting either."


    It figures Belzer would fight to the end, but Danton was feeling much better in comparison to Belzer, despite the heavy exhaustion. Danton also had at least the same amount of MP remaining as Belzer currently had. That''s more than enough to end this. Belzer might block any low level attack, but there are other ways to increase the normal parameters of physical attacks other than official spells. Thinking outside of the box is what others would call this, and Gleeon managed to teach him this yesterday, unofficially that is.


    "Have it your way." Danton held up his short sword in his left hand, while charging the last of his energy on the right. It''s all Danton knew he would need. Belzer backed up one pace and prepared his sword as if it were a shield. Danton thus tossed his short blade high into the air above him, waiting for the blade to spin downwards. Preparing the release of his magic, Danton made a fist with his glowing hand, and matched up his timing with the falling blade becoming eye level to his face. With one final punch, Danton released a Push Wave from his fist, used to change the force and direction of his saber. The results were catastrophic.


    The blast from Danton''s Push Wave, while only affecting his falling sword shot the blade forward like a speeding bullet. Even though Belzer was ready to block the impact, the force of the sword carried an extra amount of the velocity from Push Wave on impact, causing Belzer''s body to unhinge from the ground and to be launched backwards, the impact creating another shockwave in the air. When Belzer hit the ground before Danton''s sword spun wildly on the ground, his HP fell all the way down to empty, forcing the results to display themselves automatically.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Brash Danton | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Calm ~ Aleksander Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)</a>


    <hr>


    With the dispersion of the Siriean dome, the results were made final, with Danton successfully defeating the Route 96 gradyent. As tired as he was, Danton allowed himself to fall back on his legs and take a rest sitting on the ground. There was a long pause among the other Trujima members before moving or saying anything. They must have been expecting a less intense match, or perhaps they were just shocked that Danton pulled it off. But without kidding himself, Danton already knew in his mind that this was all possible, if only he tried his absolute best, all the time in every situation.


    "He... he won!" Vanoss claimed. "He actually won."


    "I guess I misjudged him," Kite added.


    Misjudged? Gleeon knew Kite better than that. Surely, he would have to know how much better Danton would perform today compared to any previous moment of battle. "Uh, you might want to be prepared for the day where he decides to retry your skills."


    "And don''t you misjudge me," Kite retorted. "Don''t forget that I plan to defeat the champion as well. There can only be one."


    "Since when were you including yourself in that tournament?" Gleeon felt he already knew the answer. Until now, Kite was usually opposed to taking on anybody who might be stronger than him or his team.


    "Since I now have competition that stands right before you. I''ll be capable of defeating the next gradyent. Don''t forget that J-H road should have one, once we get there anyway."


    "Still..." Mainne wasn''t able to blink from all of that action. It was even more intense than the battle Danton had against Kite. "That was so amazing! Both of them knew what they were doing, but Danton really has become much faster. To think you can use Push Wave and Flashpoint like that."


    Kite was observing the same thing, and logically it was starting to make sense. "Yes, Danton does seem to have a knack for using spells in ways they were never intended to be used. It''s like he''s creating his own magical skills. No, maybe it''s a new style he''s created?"


    "Well whatever it is," Vanoss challenged, "I''d like to battle Danton again someday, when I get stronger. And Kite? If you really do beat Danton to that task of becoming champion, I''ll be challenging you as well."


    No need to be so patronizing. It''s clear as day to Kite that his entire team sees Danton as the better fighter between himself and the new recruit. And perhaps he is right now, but that won''t last forever. One day, Danton will fall under again, farther away than ever before.


    Danton finally recovered enough to use a healing orb on himself. The others were talking quietly among themselves, leaving Danton to wonder if he overdid it... No, there is no holding back when aiming for the championships. If Danton can fight that well against a Leray elite, surely can he train hard enough to win against the Eldora chain, in less than a few months if he needed to. But first, Belzer has to wake up so that he can update his license card with accepted access to Route 96.


    By now, everyone else was walking down towards Danton, congratulating him on his victory and everything. "To think we actually beat Belzer, well, you did anyway."


    "Don''t forget about the deal we made," Danton reminded. "I defeated him in an official gradyent battle. This means that all of us are allowed to use this route whenever we please."


    "So we can travel together," Mainne summarized. "But then what happens now?"


    Danton stood up, his strength restored while stretching his arms and shoulders. "Simple. We head for Eldora City at first light tomorrow."


    "Wait a minute!" Kite stopped. "You can''t just think you''re already strong enough for the champion." Though Kite''s words were similar before, the others that glanced at him were in agreement this time as they shifted back to Danton''s confident face.


    "Not yet," he admitted. "But we all will be by the time we make it to Eldora Tower. Don''t forget that we still need to upgrade our equipment and gear once we make it to Lennith City. We can do that by challenging more people on Route 96 with higher steaks. After we make it to Lennith, we can do some more special training in the fields of the Outback up north. Then when we''re ready for the tougher guys hiding in the neighboring town to the south, we defeat all of them to test how ready we are for the finals. Then we should be ready to hit Eldora Tower and take out the champion."


    What Danton is talking about would actually take months, maybe an entire year. Does he not realize this? Mainne felt shifty about whether this was a good or bad idea, but Danton''s heart is surely set on this. "That sounds like a long term plan, but..."


    "It''s fine." Everyone glanced at Kite with mild surprise. "What? It makes logical sense anyway. If you map out exactly how you''re going to train, you''ll be able to test yourself as you go. At least this is better than rushing the Eldora elites like you''re some big shot before you''re the big shot. We''ll do things this way."


    "Glad we decided on that." Danton coaxed Kite and the others to wait for gradyent Belzer to wake up. After he did, Belzer had no choice but to digitally update the license cards on all of the Trujima members, showing their official victory against the Route 96 gradyent. This digital stamp allows all of them to permanently pass this road anytime they want without having to challenge the gradyent again.


    "Brash Danton. You proved me wrong tonight."


    It was only now while Danton was realizing that their long battle passed time enough to turn dawn into dusk, with the sun setting on the horizon, but Belzer''s complement was well placed. "Thanks. It''s because of your strength that I was able to train harder and get even stronger. I can''t help but feel like I''ve raised the bar for everyone else though."


    Realizing the truth to that, Belzer laughed while thinking about it. It is true now that Belzer would become stronger too as a result of the battle, and that means any more challengers will have to try even harder to defeat him. Losing this battle really isn''t a bad thing, and Danton is able to realize this. "I feel like you''ve all really excelled beyond your normal potential today. If you fight like that, you may actually become Leray masters at some point. So as a reward, I''ll also hand out some seed money, evenly distributed among your group."


    "Are you serious?"


    Danton''s surprise was with expectation. It''s true that gradyents don''t normally reward their victors with any amount of credits, but betting credits is totally optional and up to the challenger either way. "It''s not much, but you''ve all earned it showing off those skills tonight. Five thousand credits."


    Wow. Kite couldn''t even lift a single eyebrow. It really isn''t much, as he said. Five thousand credits is a nice reward for somebody winning a match in a single battle, but since that amount is being split among all of Trujima members evenly, that means it''s only a one thousand credit boost per person. That alone isn''t even enough money for the basic restock for food and orb supplies.


    "Thanks are in order. I guess you should watch for me after several weeks, on the channel for champion battles."


    "I guess I shall."


    "Let''s head east for a while before setting up camp for the night." Though it was Danton''s idea, everyone thought the same way for how they should go about the rest of the night. From here on out, it will be intense training, all the way to Lennith City.

 Chapter 18: The E7/64 Secret

    <hr>


    <03/14/1972 ¨C 23:24 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    In the hopes for Nyar that anyone else would get either a new job or a promotion, a few days passed without much to show for anything. In a way, he also failed to convert any amount of credit into cash given all of the searches conducted. Taylor presented everyone with the fifty dollars she saved from her trip to the outlet mall, but it only went far enough to keep a surplus of food in the house. Nyar was only able to take them all to the park again a couple of times, whereas no other potential vacation spots were used due to the lack of funds. While Danny got paid a few times from his job, the accumulated funds were barely a positive net gain for the savings to go to international transportation.


    So naturally, things became a bit more boring around the house. Nyar worked with Danny to fix the television''s electrical problems, but they were faced afterwards with an issue receiving any transmission of any broadcast, so even that was a waste of time. But while it may not feel like much was happening, everyone else was probably trying to prepare themselves for tomorrow.


    Today is March 14, and that means that after the sun comes up again, Jane Venn would turn seventeen years old. Taylor and Danny already hinted that they knew about it in advance. Taylor said something about some people choosing to celebrate their official birthday at mid-night on the day of. If that were to be the case for Jane, then she would consider herself seventeen in just thirty-six more minutes from now. However, plenty of people, herself included choose the hour of their birth. At 9:30 A.M., Jane will officially begin her birthday.


    Exciting right? Jane knew already that having a birthday right now was as meaningless as anything else in the world. Maybe it wasn''t like that back then, but right now, turning seventeen does absolutely nothing to help her out. What would even be the point? Tomorrow would just be as messed up as any other day of her life. Plenty of people probably enjoy it, but Jane knew she couldn''t, all because she is herself.


    Though Danny and Taylor were both sleeping like babies, Jane was carefully shifting on her sides every ten minutes, glancing at the digital alarm clock on the shelf to keep track of how many hours it would take to get any sleep around here, but as that time ticked on past midnight, Jane never found any sort of peace. How can anyone sleep in a world as messed up as this one?


    With enough time spent attempting to rest, Jane soon felt that the gesture was entirely useless, and she put on her jacket quietly while creeping outside of the bedroom. Nyar is probably asleep too, but nobody would mind if she went outside to sit in the open field like she did before. Jane stepped outside through the front door, trying to close it silently to not wake anyone up inside. Her estimation of the lowered temperature tonight was spot on. It''s only enough to make someone cold without a light jacket though, so the frigid breeze is no big deal today.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Mysterious Atmosphere ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


    <center><iframe title="Mysterious Atmosphere" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZEubB5R9mME?loop=1&fs=0&playlist=ZEubB5R9mME" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    Jane went to her new favorite spot, just west of Nyar''s house where an open field of unused land rests. Nyar never said it was part of his property, but nobody else ever uses it. So, he installed a cheap wooden bench to sit on over in that field, and Jane decided to sit there under the clear night of the stars. The chilling sensation around her heightened her senses and thoughts once more, but Jane only decided to contemplate anything after sitting down on the bench.


    Sitting down under the sky, Jane steadied her glance upwards, watching the radiant glow of every twinkling light, the millions of them all. The heavy glow of the moonlight was out too; brighter than normal given tonight is another full moon. The scenery quickly reminded Jane about her inexplicable feeling and attachment to the thought of the full moon, which only happened a while after she was branded. By now, that sensation is long gone, replaced by the sorrow in her eyes.


    All of these stars are beautiful, individually and collectively, but the light from that moon is just plain mysterious. The light of the moon, solar glares reflected off that shinny rock are actually the primary source of magic, and due to the technology always available from the continent of Sprawn Valley, only those such people were ever able to harness this energy in a usable manner. They converted its light with some sort of algorithm and mirror magic, storing them into lunar crystals and crystal fragments. From there, they complete the conversion from lunar light into Leray magic, supplied by an invisible veil of energy that spans all over Sprawn Valley. The light from this moon created all that is possible with magic.


    Jane held up the top of her right hand for comparison while she thought. The moon is also responsible for whatever happened to her with this symbol. The blast of light from the full moon is what blasted her body and zapped her right hand; Jane was sure of it. The spell wasn''t illusion magic or phantom light. The sequence was never an eye trick either. The magical spell bomb of E-7 mark 64 literally transformed the direction of light''s travel in the higher atmosphere, turning day into night in the town of Blue Port, and after that happened, everything went to hell from there.


    The moon, and this symbol hiding behind skin; they are both connected. Jane never understood exactly how it all works, but if the moonlight is responsible for all magic, perhaps it holds all the answers. But in any other state or country outside of Sprawn Valley, the moon is but a pretty sphere that shines vibrantly, supplying extra light in the dark, and giving further mystery to the cosmos of this galaxy.


    The sight of the stars and moon jogged Jane''s memory quickly. All of the training she did to become a better fighter, to become eligible for classes, and to ultimately become a Leray master; all of this was stolen from her, just from this one symbol. The curse made Jane lose her mind, and try to go into a deadly place alone without much of a real thought for anyone else. But even now, with this stupid crest inside of her skin, what else is there?


    Danton said it himself, that the initial scans suggest the symbol is going all the way down to the alteration of her DNA, her own genetics. Still does this sound impossible to her now. Danton did say that the deep scanning of the data obtained was still incomplete and needs further analysis, but he also spoke about other things. People all over the world, even people inside of Sprawn Valley hate symbols and magical markings, but Jane knew she never asked for this. Yet there must be thousands of people who hate her right now. Jane couldn''t blame them. Everyone (including herself) should hate this marking, hiding behind her skin in plain sight. If only there were a way to reverse it all.


    Then there is the rest of the world. What would life be like if magic never existed? People live like this all the time, even here in America. Though they at least know that it exists in a different part of the world. Is this all people have to look forward to? Everyone tries to struggle to land some job everyone hates, or something that is boring on its own, and their reward is to hold their own in a house, barely making it by. That''s not magic; it''s hell on Earth. New York was supposed to have so much to offer, so much to show for. Instead everyone and everything is dead.


    "Told you we''d find her out here."


    Startled, Jane jumped up from her seat on the bench, only to find Danny and Taylor curiously spooking around. They must have woken up trying to find where she went.


    "You should have said something before going out on a walk," Taylor lectured.


    To another fear, Jane had to ask since the big guy wasn''t currently standing here. "Where''s Nyar? You both didn''t wake him, did you?"


    "Relax," Danny assured. Jane is right to wish Nyar asleep. He wouldn''t usually allow anyone to wander or sit down at night, no matter how close to home they are. From this angle, he can still see the house, so nothing is worth getting alarmed over. "Nyar''s still asleep. I figured you just went out for fresh air." Waiting for Jane to retake her seat again, Danny and Taylor both joined her.


    "Hey Jane?" Danny knew it wasn''t important, but he needed some sort of opening if he was to find out what was bothering her. "Getting a job actually sucks. It''s the worst."


    "I figured it would be." Jane didn''t mind the warning, but even with her friends here, nothing was shaking her thoughts away. Everything horrible that has ever happened to her is still happening now. They can''t fix this.


    Seconds went by without another word. Danny lowered his head in the failure that followed. What the hell is wrong with her? For the past three weeks, Jane hasn''t been even a portion the amount energetic as she used to be. That same reckless girl who almost got us all in trouble twice in flight and another at the airport, even after that, it didn''t even bug her for a single moment. So why now is Jane shutting down like this?


    Jane did it once more, holding up her hand next to the solid moonlight, certain that her fate was forever locked in. She would remain like this forever, a twisted marked one with the power to destroy anything she ever wanted to. This mark was never meant for her. It was supposed to be used on one of the Scarlet enemies, powering up some generic asshole who would use the symbol in combination with dark magic to bring great harm to Sprawn Valley. There is no chance they would have designed a mechanism for reversing the effect and removing the symbol. There would be no desire to. After realizing this once more, Jane let a few warm tears streak into her eyes, trying to hold them back. It doesn''t matter what they know. Nobody will be able to reverse the cursed spell bomb. "I know you''re both just worried about me."


    Why is she crying? Taylor knew there had to be something bothering her. Jane was like an open book sometimes, but she had no idea it was something this bad.


    Barely composing herself and her voice, Jane tried to summarize everything for them. "I''ll never be able to undo the damage this thing has ever done. I''ll never be able to remove this cursed symbol."


    That''s why she keeps holding up her hand to the sky. Danny cleared his throat, trying to remind Jane, "We talked about this already, remember? Whether you can remove it or not, you''re able to decide when and how you use that crest inside of Sprawn Valley. I know that it causes a few problems here and there, but think about all the good you can do with that instead, just like how we shut down Alpha Zero."


    Jane clenched her teeth at his remark. Danny doesn''t understand at all. "And what about my goals?" Her voice soon turned into frustrated shouts. "What am I supposed to do about becoming a Leray master? What do I do about all the people back home who want my head on a stick? Do you think they care about that sentimental crap?!"


    Danny stood back up, trying to make her see the bigger picture. "You''ve already been pardoned for that. And there still isn''t any proof yet that the symbol can''t be removed." Jane didn''t have a reply, but that expression of anger survived on her face. Danny sighed and sat back down, giving up already on figuring out what exact thing was bothering her. "I can''t believe you''re letting this get to you." Danny remember all of the amazing times they shared together in Sprawn Valley, back when Jane was still herself. Even while she was lying to him about her symbol, she was still persistent, and determined to do anything and everything it took to find peace for herself. "Back in Sprawn Valley, the Jane I knew would never have given up on this."


    The Jane he knew? Jane pondered why he would say something like that. Was she really acting all that different from before? And what''s it to him anyway? Why are Danny and Taylor always so interested in her? Why do they care in the first place? It doesn''t make any sense!


    Taylor tried to keep her optimistic about it too, since it is possible that the symbol can still be removed. "Don''t worry about it Jane. The people at Eldora Tower know what they''re doing. They''ll find some way of removing the symbol."


    Jane nodded her head in denial of that hope. "How can you even be so sure of that?" Jane tried to draw the image of her symbol in her mind; a bright blue oval shape with a tiny open circle in the center, and two rings coming out as if to represent a planetoid. Sometimes the symbol''s color wasn''t the same, but it never really made a difference either way. "I keep thinking about the night I was branded by it, and the week it nearly killed me, the time I spent sick, and the other time the symbol''s activation made me pass out afterwards. I think about what''s going to happen to me later." Her voice lost nerve again, her body trembling from the thought of it all. "And I get so scared!"


    She''s shaking as if she were cold. Jane just said she is scared. Taylor quickly realized what that meant, and hugged Jane on the side for comfort.


    Danny could hardly believe it, but that look of fear in Jane''s eyes is more real than it will ever get. I should have thought of that. Jane has a symbol that nobody knows about, that nobody understands, and the only thing certain is how dangerous it can be, as well as how unlikely it is to remove.


    "I don''t know anything about this crest," Jane admitted. "How am I supposed to find peace with that? How am I supposed to go on knowing I''ll never remove this dangerous tattoo? I may not even be human anymore!" Finally embracing Taylor''s comfort, Jane let all of her feelings pour from the depths of her soul.


    "Jane?" Danny tried to comfort her anyway he could, but all anyone could ever offer her now is hope that things will work out somehow. Knowing Jane, that will never be enough.


    Jane didn''t even let Danny get any words in either, since there was more to that for what''s really bothering her. "And how can anyone outside make peace like this? I never thought America or Kalamo could be such scary and dangerous places." Taylor let Jane go, giving her more time to think. If Nyar choses the wrong guy just to convert credits to cash, he could be murdered? What kind of screwed up planet is this place? "Without magic in anyone''s lives, nothing good ever happens to anyone."


    "You know that isn''t true," Danny settled. "Did you forget how much fun you had learning about this place? Or how about going to the park several times? We even went to the beach. Taylor found a new friend and went to the outlet mall. Nyar even took us out for amazing food. There might still be a few places Nyar can have us go to." Danny knew it was true, but refused to spoil the surprise for now. "You can''t tell me that you didn''t have just a little fun, because I was there beside you for half of it all."


    "Why should that matter," Jane retorted. "Just because I was having fun doesn''t change how horrible the world is without magic."


    "Look," Danny stated. "Even I got used to the Leray magic thing given enough time, and realized that no matter where you are, every place in the world has its downside, including any sort of activity you could be doing. But you coming here with us to learn all of this stuff, whether you like it or not, that''s part of your journey. You told me that yourself." Jane still wasn''t accepting the answer, instead choosing to pout in silence. But nobody could ever lie to themself forever. "If you think I''m lying, I bet you didn''t know that before you and I met, I was scared to death of Leray magic, thanks to what Nyar tried to warn me about. But I never really knew what to think until I got my own hands dirty."


    Why is he saying this? Jane knew what he was trying to do for her, but trying to explain his own life story wouldn''t change what''s wrong now... Wait! Jane''s eyes sharpened with a single exhale while remembering the look in Danny''s eyes, on that very first day. He just said that he was afraid of magic, before they actually met in person. Danny and Taylor learned about it on the same night they arrived in Sprawn Valley, according to what they told her about it earlier. Does that mean...The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Jane recalled it all, that moment in the classroom. Before that day ever happened, Jane never managed to find any real friends despite getting close to it, but having trained all the time for magic was one of the main reasons. Most of the time, nobody ever understood how cool or amazing magic is. That day, where two new students arrived, as normal as Taylor was behaving, Danny was staring at Jane, right in her eyes as if he had never seen such a person in all his life. But in a way, that''s actually true. To Danny, at that time, Leray magic was a totally new and mysterious concept. Thus, the people that were always involved with it were just as mysterious as aliens from another world.


    Danny? Is that the reason you kept staring at me that day? You must have thought that I was some kind of freak, or some person constantly involved in magic. You weren''t attracted to me; you were just curious. From an outsider looking in, even the people there are total unknowns. Danny wanted to learn everything about Leray magic, despite knowing how scary it could be. And Taylor, well... Maybe she just jumped into the subject because she thought it was cool. She seemed more normal than him either way. What incredible powers must I have inside? That must have been their questions for her, despite never asking directly, since it would probably seem rude.


    But Jane knew this was a double-sided epiphany, for herself included. In all her life, Jane only tried to train one group of unwilling people who turned out not to care about Leray magic. After that, she became more distant to involving anyone ever again. But even while Danny and Taylor were curious about her, Jane remembered how she felt about them that same night. It got much weirder when Danny and Taylor wanted to show her what they could do with magic, despite never learning it. They had to be people new to Sprawn Valley; Jane was sure of it, and she decided to teach them both as much as she could. Jane now had to ask herself why. Why did she take her own interest in these two? Why did she also become curious about them both? Is the thought about outsiders of Sprawn Valley just as similar as they''ve seen her before? Danny and Taylor, both of them like total aliens. They brought their worldviews into a place where it may not have belonged, into an unknown and scary world. What did Jane do in all that time but try and push the magic concept further into them? It turns out that Danny was afraid of Leray magic, while Taylor was pretending to get into it just to hide her own secrets. Yet Jane never saw that coming?


    Still, back in Eldora City, they were both honest with her about it without her ever asking. Danny and Taylor, they both will never love Leray magic like she does. Despite that... "Danny? Taylor?" Jane felt awkward just speaking, since she just spent minutes in dead silence drowning in her thoughts. "If you don''t love Leray magic, why do you both defend it so much? Like every time Nyar says something about it? Why do you care about whether people can use it or not?"


    "Well," Danny began his answer before Taylor could, but they both likely had the same thoughts, leaving Danny to now take her question in the spotlight. "Leray magic, it''s... It means everything to some people that I know. Despite what Nyar might claim, people choose to live their lives by living with magic, battling with it constantly to raise their money and experience. They live and breathe magic, and in return, Sprawn Valley''s government allows and encourages this, while also protecting their own citizens from those who use it for the wrong reasons. If you love or hate magic, I don''t care either way. But to try and tell somebody else how they should live their life, to try and prevent them from doing that one thing that actually makes them happy, I don''t care how much you know about anything in the context; that''s just wrong!" Jane listened to every word, since Danny now seemed so sure of himself. "There were two reasons that Taylor and I wanted to help you remove your symbol. What I just said applies as one of them. Nobody can tell you how to live your life, and I don''t care if symbols are illegal or not; it isn''t your fault that you beamed that thing onto you."


    "But it is¡ª"


    "Jane!" Danny barked. "You did everything by the book back then. When you accepted that unknown orb from that stranger in the woods, you had no idea who he was. So naturally, you couldn''t trust him. Am I right so far?" Jane didn''t answer, so Danny continued his breakdown through her own eyes. "And because you didn''t trust him, his advice was just as void, whether it be a warning or a plea. Since you couldn''t fit the damn thing into a supply sphere, the next best thing would be to use it. You even told me before - that spell bombs with negative permanent effects were beyond rare. Everything you did was logical and normal at the time. So if you keep telling me it''s your fault for getting branded, I''ll start throwing Shadow Waves at you until you admit that I''m right."


    "Uh," he''s serious? Danny must have forgotten that he literally can''t use any form of magic right now. Still, he would willingly attack her with Leray magic just to change her mind?


    "Anyway," he continued, "the other reason we helped you out is because from the moment you decided to teach us about magic, we''ve been good friends. And I''d like to think we still are."


    "I couldn''t have said it any better myself," Taylor added. "To be honest though, I''m beginning to love magic for the right reasons, more than I did before. I think I just needed time to warm up to the idea." Taylor knew that in the beginning, she could use Leray magic to her advantage, in the event that her parents came to capture her. In fact, she actually did do just that. But that''s not a yearning for power; that''s just a defensive attachment; they''re not the same thing.


    "And hell..." Danny felt a little embarrassed to admit this too, but Jane might as well know the reason they are all friends. "Having you absent from our journey to the airport would have been such a drag. You can be so stubborn all the time. All of your hyperactive energy did get on my nerves for some time... But if I had to really go without that in my life, it would suck! Everything would be so lame, all the time!"


    Jane almost gasped at his confession, but was reminded simultaneously what he meant by that. Jane could remember just as well. Most of the time, she always had some sort of passionate energy, whether she was happy or angry, backed into a corner, or sentenced to a state of solitude, but even she was aware of the past few weeks. This horrible city is finally getting to her, isn''t it? Or maybe it''s the stupid symbol? Regardless of it all, Danny and Taylor are choosing her to be her friend, simply because they want to. That''s all there is to it.


    Jane sighed, attempting to wear just a slight smile. "I know you both love me as a friend."


    Taylor hadn''t heard of it phrased that way before, but it feels right. She can love someone in so many different ways, and this right here is love for her best friend.


    "But," Jane glared at Danny with her sharp green eyes. "If you threaten to beat me down with a barrage of Shadow Waves, I''ll have to teach you a lesson in combat, Danny Mason."


    Danny''s throat tightened, since Jane sounded so intense saying that. Jane could whip anybody out of shape with the flick of a wrist, but maybe one day, that symbol won''t be as powerful as she thinks it will be. "I guess I''ll take you up on that challenge, after we return to Sprawn Valley."


    "Wait, you mean we''re going back to Sprawn Valley after all?" Taylor knew this was the first time hearing this from Danny. Naturally, Jane was curious too.


    "I don''t know when just yet," he reminded. "I mean, I really need to see my folks as well. So I''m still thinking of some way to arrange that."


    Taylor thought of something else while reminded of Jane''s unusual symbol. Danny of all people would be the guy who could figure it out. "While you''re at it, don''t be shy about thinking of a way to remove Jane''s symbol."


    Jane held her arms in friction for personal warmth. "Yeah, like he''ll ever understand that."


    Danny however decided to give the idea another pondering, his curious expression returning. "Well, first we have to find out what symbol the thing is. Everyone claims the symbol is experimental, even I agree with that. But we can''t rule out the possibility that the symbol has actually existed before in the past. Or maybe it was modified from an existing symbol that is well known. And then..." Danny stared straight up at the bright moonlight above. Many times now has he heard of this concept before, that Leray magic actually comes from the moonlight. This means, if any other country had the right technology or knowledge of how to properly convert that light into magical energy like the mages of Sprawn Valley do, there would be two countries practicing magic, not just one. Anyway, that''s not the point. "There must be some connection with the moon and symbols. I don''t say that just because you were blasted with that light in Blue Port."


    Jane remembered it all too well, but somehow, even Danny and Taylor could sense the connections. If magic comes from lunar light, it would mean that symbols also come from the same source.


    Leray magic is a converted form of lunar energy, because of some strange rule where people can''t directly harness that pure energy, or something like that. But then would that raw format of Leray energy, or perhaps dark magic be the direct source of symbol creation? "How do you create a symbol in the first place?"


    Checkmate. Jane never thought of this before, and that''s because nobody really knows how to generate symbols on their body, except for the criminals who do. This time, the spell bomb did all the work for her. Maybe Danton would know how to draw symbols. If he knows that, what else is he not saying?


    "Anybody?" Danny thought Jane would know, but she doesn''t. That''s just it then. How can Jane give up when there isn''t even enough information to go on right now? "I guess that is the question of the day then. But we don''t have to figure it all out tonight."


    Well Danny didn''t really figure anything out, but he does know how to ask the right questions. Taylor almost laughed, comparing his skills to that of a detective.


    "Thanks for helping. I guess I just need to rest. I''ll worry about it later." Jane stood up, clenching her jacket and finding the direction of Nyar''s home.


    "Are you sure you''re okay?" Danny knew Jane wouldn''t really answer him honestly if she weren''t alright. She is still getting freaked out about that symbol. It isn''t fair for anyone in Sprawn Valley to treat her any differently because of that, but Jane too will beat herself up over it, even if the entire problem is just having an unfair advantage for battling.


    "Yeah. I''ll be fine." Jane didn''t turn around to face either of them when she answered, and she shortly began pacing back to the house on her own.


    Danny knew Jane was still going to be stinging for a while longer, but he didn''t want to move just yet, not on a beautiful night like this. From that look Taylor was giving him, even she wanted to stay longer out here, maybe.


    "Well at least we have a moment alone."


    One way to put it. Danny felt just a little more nervous than before. He remembered asking Taylor out on Route 787, and she actually agreed to it. His request was totally genuine; it just didn''t feel the same with all of the other girls he ever asked out before. Beyond this, Taylor is still more beautiful than all of them.


    Why is he acting all skittish now? Taylor knew things were awkward from the start. Danny just had weird timing is all. But after everything that''s happened, she was sure of herself now. Any moment without Danny was hurting more than it did before, more torturous than anything she ever felt. "I missed you at the mall."


    Danny felt bad about that one, but he couldn''t help it then. "I had work." Oh, that didn''t sound right coming out. "Er, we can always go somewhere else any other time, just the two of¡ª" Danny stopped short, when his memory reel stopped short on one single moment. It was always enough to freeze his nerves. After all said and done, Danny was the one who let Taylor fall off that cliff. She fell, and under any different circumstances of detail, her head would have cracked open completely, leaving a pool of blood just under her¡ª


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Premonition ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


    <hr>


    Why''d he shut up all the sudden? Taylor had to take more time to notice that Danny was shivering slightly. Is he really cold with just a mild breeze? "What''s wrong?"


    "It''s nothing," Danny swallowed. "Just don''t worry about it."


    No way! He''s doing it again?! "Hold on. I know that look. You were thinking about the cliff again, weren''t you?"


    "Can you really blame me for that?" It must have been obvious. Danny wasn''t always reminded of that incident, but he could never really forget about it. His arrogance almost got her killed!


    Taylor hopped off the bench and hunched down in front of Danny, clenching both of his sweaty hands. "None of that! No one is blaming anybody." Taylor watched as Danny''s face nearly sunk again. Why is he always like this? "You''re different now than you were before. I know you would never let anything bad happen to me again. And I won''t let you push me away like that!"


    Danny let all of that feeling out with a long breath. "I''m sorry Tay. You know I didn''t mean it like that."


    "Then why can''t you just think of all the good times instead?"


    "Have you ever seen a body drop that far down before? Right before you hit the ground, I couldn''t help but predict what was going to happen next. Even though you''re alive now, I still play it out in my head that you never survived."


    "Why?"


    "Because I still find it to be an unbelievable miracle that you didn''t die or explode from that fall." Danny met her eyes again, certain of why she hated this memory, but now his words just made her look like she was about to hurl. "You''re still alive Taylor!" Danny knew it was stupid to think otherwise. "You being here right now, holding my hands, that''s my miracle. I think about it because I know you''re alive, and I''m thankful to whatever cosmic force saved you."


    Cosmic force? Oh, right. Danny was never really a religious person, but lately he''s spoken more about god and miracles. He must really think there is a god just because she survived.


    "I just feel like I''m supposed to thank someone. That''s all."


    "Why can''t you just be happy that we''re both here now, together?"


    "Of course I am." How could Taylor think that? Even right now, she just looked surprised by that statement. Danny stood up gripping her hands more firmly. "You don''t think I go about my day with an idle mind, do ya? Whatever it is that I''m doing, you''re always in my thoughts. And that''s because I love you too Taylor. Always! I would never have it any other way."


    Though it took another moment, Taylor accepted the tingling sensation around her as she smiled and twirled Danny and herself back onto the bench. "I know you do. I just wanted you to say it this time."


    If Danny could twist his entire face from confusion, he would have done it right now in front of her. Why now must Taylor be a spaz? Could she not have just asked some other way? "Well, getting back on the subject, I know I said some things to Jane so she would feel better, but..."


    "Don''t tell me," Taylor interrupted. "You don''t truly love Leray magic like everyone else?"


    "I guess a part of me just doesn''t understand it. I mean," after everything everyone has ever taught him, "does anyone out there really know what Leray magic is? Most people hate magic because of that mystery. And yet plenty of people practice it all the time, still not fully understanding it."


    "I don''t know what you mean. People who live by magic in Sprawn Valley understand enough to get by."


    "But even they have limited information. You''ve got school history lessons on magic, dark magic that is forbidden, countless spells, and then the source of all magic. But something still doesn''t feel right."


    "Is it about the symbols?" Danny didn''t act this way about it before. But even right now, he''s just being himself, and Taylor was happy enough to indulge his thoughts.


    "No... I think something else might be up. What if, and I know this will sound far out there... What if the government of Sprawn Valley, that is Danton and all of his team members are covering something else up? Not about symbols, but about where magic actually comes from?"


    "Why would they do that? Aren''t they on our side?"


    "Sides wouldn''t matter when you consider the severity regarding disclosure of confidential information. Let me put it this way then." Danny kept his eyes on Taylor, hoping to have her attention in the event she does understand. "Sprawn Valley from the beginning of time is the only country in the world that has available Leray magic. And from what I can tell, that is because they have the technology and ancient knowledge of how to convert magic with the mages - which contain the same skills."


    "Okay..."


    "Technology and knowledge. That isn''t too difficult to obtain given enough time. Don''t you think it is strange that in all of the nine or ten centuries that Leray magic has existed, no other country has ever been able to replicate those results?"


    "But I thought everyone outside the country hated Leray magic, so why would they?"


    "No," Danny denied. "Not everyone. I''m sure there are plenty of people like you and me who would almost kill just to have Leray magic installed in your own area. There should be agencies researching the concept of magic based on how to first generate it, and then have that process replicated in their own research zones. I just know there are people interested in that, so why has it not happened yet anywhere else? Nobody can answer that question."


    "Well it would have to do with the way they process their magic source. Wait, yeah." Taylor didn''t realize how fun that was just now, to try and piece this together. But then how does it all work?


    "Then that must mean," Danny continued, "that whatever process mages use to convert Leray magic, or perhaps harness the initial energy source is highly classified, something nobody in their right mind would ever share."


    "Well then, maybe it should stay secret."


    "A good point. But in Jane''s case," Danny reminded, "Danton should not hold any information back about such things. You never know if something like the source of magic or its process in conversion might hold the answer to removing her symbol. I''m starting to get that bad feeling again, like somebody we know, such as the guy at the top of the chain is hiding something from us which could be helpful."


    "Is it worth checking out?"


    Danny thought about it long enough. "No. If I get Jane to ask Danton about it over the phone, he''ll just pretend not to know. I think I''ll implant the idea into her mind when Jane decides to go back to Sprawn Valley. That way, she can ask the man himself in person. If Jane finds out that Danton really is hiding something which could potentially help her, what do you think she would do in that situation?"


    Taylor answered, "You don''t have to remind me. It would be a repeat of her championship battle against him, or something else involving explosions and such. Jane can get completely physical if she really loses her temper."


    "So can you."


    "What was that?"


    "What?" Danny poked. "You don''t remember? Back when we found Jane in Lennith City? I think you gave her an extra bruise in the face, not that Jane didn''t deserve it at the time."


    "Oh." Taylor glanced down at her hand, balling it into a fist. She did do that to Jane, huh? "Maybe I should be careful not to pick up any of her habits."


    "And I''ll make sure not to provoke you either. But if we both ever step foot into Sprawn Valley again, you and I are having a battle of strength."


    "Fine by me." Danny sure is something. To think that he was afraid of Leray magic, so he tried first not to learn any of it just to protect Taylor from that exposure. Then he learned it for the same reason, pledging to protect her by using magic. And he thinks he did her wrong at what point in time? Come on, you big idiot.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Feels Like Goodbye ~ Joe Bongiorno</a>


    <hr>


    "Taylor?" With her eyes gleaming back at him, Danny knew what promise he needed to keep. "Whatever happens now, all I know is that I will never let any harm come to you, from any world. I hope you understand what that means. I''m never leaving your side anymore. So if I do end up visiting my parents in Kalamo, I want you right there with me. I can hide you better than you think I can."


    "And what if I don''t go to Kalamo?"


    Tough question, but the possibility does exist. "Then I''ll just find a way to bring my parents to me instead."


    Of course he would have a backup plan. Danny is getting smarter than he used to be, sharper as well. It''s too hard to believe that he was never like this before Sprawn Valley. Danny must have hid it the whole time, but all the way back to the first day they met in the park while Taylor was being bullied by some creep, Danny chose her as his friend over anyone else.


    She slid closer to Danny, wishing to feel the warmth of his body heat longer. If only things were any easier... "You know, you don''t always have to keep your distance if you''re nervous."


    "Who said anything about being nervous?" Danny''s face was only a foot away from Taylor''s, but nervousness was absent right now. "I know. I''ve never been good at all that touchy romance stuff couples do. That''s probably because most girls turn me down, and the few that didn''t want anything to do with me... But then I met you, and realized that relationships are about a lot more than that."


    "Keep talking. You''re good at that part."


    Seeing her smile let Danny do the same. "I''m not totally clueless. Look up there," Danny pointed. "We have the whole sky, and this beautiful full moon to ourselves."


    "Yeah." Her voice was soft then, a spoken whisper ready to slumber. Taylor slightly leaned in towards Danny''s shoulder too; feeling more relaxed than before.


    "There are only some things I''m good at. You want to learn one more?" Taylor looked at him now in question, their faces almost touching. But instead of letting her talk, Danny leaned his face in closer, all to hold Taylor''s lips inside his mouth. As sudden as his move was, Taylor didn''t jump away or slap him silly, despite her racing heart. Danny was sure this is what she wanted.


    She could feel her pulse about to jump out of her chest, but Taylor did her bet to remain calm. Sharing her first kiss with Danny, he''s so warm and... Taylor maneuvered her neck slightly, allowing herself a chance to kiss him back... So this is what making out feels like. Why did she not try this with him before?


    Danny held her closer while they both shared saliva, and he stroked the back of her hair gently. A wave of emotions spilled over into his thoughts, melting everything else away entirely. Taylor! You''re the most wonderful person in the world, and you mean everything to me. "I love you." He could barely get the words out while sucking faces, but that''s all he needed to say.


    Taylor continued this with him, and vowed to spend the rest of tonight right here on this bench. Forget about time or sleep. Tonight is their night, and nothing could change that. Whatever happens now, Danny, I''ll always be with you, always! Let my name be stamped into your heart forever.

 Chapter 19: This Ugly World

    <hr>


    <03/15/1972 ¨C 09:35 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    Last night was unforgettable, and sleep made a minimal difference. That was the only reason Jane found herself standing at the dining room table in silent thought. Being the first one to wake, she had this peace to herself for at least half an hour, but then Danny and Taylor both walked into the same room, their eyes quickly finding her. With a simple good morning greeting, Jane soon noticed that Danny and Taylor both stopped short of the table, with all hands and arms behind their backs. It''s not a usual gesture, and Jane had to call them out on it. "What''s in your hand, the two of you?"


    With a mild glance at each other, Danny and Taylor both presented the small glossy paper material to Jane, all while starting the day off correctly. "Happy birthday Jane!" Danny and Taylor spoke at the same time, resonating the surprise in Jane''s expression.


    Jane wasn''t surprised to hear the words. She knew that today is March 15, and that means today is her birthday. They both knew last night. But those things in their hands, a total count of three... Those aren''t just any short slips of laminated paper; they''re tickets that were bought in advance, not just any tickets. The silver color and shiny coat could only come from one place. "Are those Cyrus tickets?"


    "You bet they are," Taylor replied holding two of them in one hand. "Nyar figured we would make your present one of the better places to visit on vacation, and I have all the bathing suits we''ll need."


    She''s already so psyched up! Jane felt she had no choice but to put all of her thoughts aside for this one. The Cyrus Water Park is one of the most exciting places she wanted to go to while in New York. The entire time, it''s all been about how nobody can afford to go there. How is it even possible that Nyar could afford this today?


    "We all pitched in together for this trip." Danny knew Nyar wouldn''t mind if everyone paid for it except for Jane, not that she actually had any money yet. "Taylor even saved some of the money from the outlet mall just to add to the ticket count. Whenever you''re ready to go, just say the word."


    "Are you kidding? I would have been ready any day!"


    Taylor smiled sensing how awesome this is. Jane''s excitement is already coming back to her. She just needs to remember that this is a vacation. "We''ll wait for you to pack everything you need."


    "Good!" Jane nearly jumped over the table, and darted towards the hallway. "Don''t you dare leave without me!"


    Danny could hear Jane''s footsteps barreling through the house. Knowing they would have all the time in the world, it was very refreshing to see Jane perk up with her gleaming eyes in a total rush of desire not to be left out of this trip. No matter how she is feeling, Jane is still Jane.


    Nyar stepped into the kitchen from the hallway, looking disturbed and confused. "What''s all the fuss about?"


    Did he not figure that out already? Danny presented his ticket in hand as a reminder to their driver. "I showed Jane the tickets since it is her birthday, remember?"


    "Of course I remember." Nyar didn''t cut the frustration from his tone. "And we agreed to surprise her by driving to the water park. Now, once she gets into the car, she won''t shut up."


    "Yeah," Danny agreed. "But she looked like she could use that news sooner rather than later."


    "Very well then. I might let you supervise her today instead."


    Danny didn''t know what to make of that statement. Naturally, Nyar has had to babysit Jane''s behavior from the beginning of her arrival to this country, but Danny never actually considered what kind of hard work that might be. His reply; an expression of plea and forgiveness, not that it would change Nyar''s mind if he were serious.


    "I guess I''ll go pack my things. If you rush me, you''ll both owe me a favor." Nyar knew that Jane would end up rushing him. That''s what Danny and Taylor get for waking up the handful so early in the morning.


    <hr>


    <03/15/1972 ¨C 10:51 | Cyrus Water Park, Ducan, New York, United States>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Kouchou Kouchou ~ Haruhi Suzumiya OST</a>


    <hr>


    For each and every water slide available at Cyrus Water Park, long lines of people formed while the lifeguard signaled when it was safe to let the next kid go down one by one. Since Nyar had today off of work in advance, it was made clear that the three of them could stay here and have fun for as long as the water park is open. After already testing two of the largest spiral water slides, Danny, Taylor, and Jane waited in line for another go, having already changed into swimwear.


    "Nope!" Taylor happily showed Jane off as she once again tried to suggest how Taylor felt about coming here with Danny. Taylor instead held his hand generously while waiting for her reaction. Jane must not understand that by now, Taylor isn''t embarrassed to have any of her wishes come true. "Nothing you say will intimidate either of us. Your days of torture are over!"


    Danny scratched his head with his free hand while Taylor pointed to Jane''s face with victory. He didn''t understand what was actually going on for a moment, but given that playful gesture, it must not be that important.


    "Huh?" Why is she so confident? Where is the old Taylor who would tremble just by the thought of clinging to her boyfriend? Come on!


    "That''s right." Taylor let it sink in. Jane has finally lost the game. "Danny and I are an item now."


    "I thought Jane already knew that."


    Letting the clueless man speak his peace, Jane tried once more to get any kind of cute reaction from Taylor. Something had to give. "Really huh? Then you wouldn''t mind proving it? Come on, just one kiss."


    "Eh?" What is with Jane and Taylor? Did they make some kind of strange bet?


    Jane must still think I get too nervous to do any of that stuff. She missed all the fun last night. "I''ll do better than that." Taylor leaned into Danny''s face for a smooch on the lips, to which he reacted with initial awkward surprise, but after another second, Danny kissed her back while their actions turned into a make out session, with Jane standing right in front of them watching in awe.


    How can she do that? Jane couldn''t believe it, but her Taylor is growing up too fast! "That''s..." Speechless by how much fun Taylor and Danny were having, and by the fact that Taylor wasn''t shy in the slightest; Jane held her cheeks in defeat.


    Letting up on showing off, Taylor checked out Jane''s reaction again, the sweet face of total shock. "Told ya so," she mocked. "So Jane? It''s your turn next. When are you going to find yourself a boyfriend?"


    "Oh boy," Danny sighed sarcastically. Trying to imagine someone as intense as Jane having a boyfriend with similar attributes would be interesting. Given her situation inside of Sprawn Valley, there must be at least a small handful of guys willing to try and go for the strongest Leray wielder in the nation, marked or not.


    "I''ll find one when I''m ready to. Geeze!" Jane crossed her arms after turning around to the front of the line.


    "Don''t wait too long," Taylor warned, "or else I might find candidates for you."


    "You better not!"


    Danny found their playfulness amusing at least. It made the time fly easier while standing in line just to slide down the falls. But they''re a little too into it now. "Hey Tay? Lay off the teasing, will ya?"


    "You even have Danny feeling sorry for you."


    Taylor continued her ranting despite Danny''s desperate warning, but he didn''t care all too much. Luckily, Taylor is on his side today. Given their position from the top of the stairs, Danny felt he had the time to change the subject before any more action. "Did you call your folks yet Jane?"


    "Oh. Not yet." Jane was supposed to call her parents on her birthday, but she was too excited about leaving the house to think about it.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "No worries," Danny assured. "You can always catch them at night. I already called mine this morning."


    "Really? And they didn''t yell at you about that magic thing?"


    To answer Taylor''s question, Danny had to correct her imagination first. "The subject never came up, for the last three calls." He knew that was intentional too. If mom or dad bring Leray magic up again knowing their disposition against it, Danny would no longer have a desire to stay on the phone, and it seemed to make Nyar happy enough.


    "I know I should." Jane thought back as far as she could, reminiscing in front of her friends. "Usually on my birthday every year, I celebrate with my family. I usually end up getting something cool, Leray related of course."


    "Of course." By the time the team made it to the top of the slide, Jane decided to slide down last, leaving Taylor to go first. Against his advice earlier, Taylor peeked over part of the stairs, realizing how high up she was from the ground. That must have been the reason she began hesitating down the slide. Despite being in the watchful eyes of the lifeguard to the right already signaling the okay sign to head down, Danny decided to give Taylor one more prank. One solid push with both arms sent Taylor falling into the entrance of the water slide on her belly, while gravity did the rest, but while her surprised scream rang up from below, Danny soon had to explain himself and say that it was okay. Pushing random people down the slide wasn''t okay with the rules, and the lifeguard near him gave him a death gaze for it.


    Jane found it funny that he had no choice but to apologize to the lifeguard before being allowed to head down, and then it was her turn. Jane already went down two of them, but she still wasn''t used to them yet. The sensation of flying downward at a high speed with water splashing everywhere in the back is a one of a kind feeling, and this time, Jane took her thoughts down with her.


    Two whole hours must have gone by at this point, but Jane wasn''t keeping track. While sliding down on the water at a rapid pace, she tried to keep her thoughts as focused as possible, but unfortunately, Jane wasn''t able to destroy her feelings from last night. Even though she suppressed her melancholy for most of the morning, the sensation crept up on her again. For whatever reason, Jane''s memory and feelings intensified alongside the rush she was getting from the slide. The thought of the symbol and its secrets, Sprawn Valley''s hatred towards her, and the general hatred towards magic by all people in the outside world; Jane was reminded about all of it.


    At the bottom of the slide following a large splash of water to her face, Jane came to her final conclusion for the vacation. Danny and Taylor waved at her in the distance, asking her to go again to a different slide, but Jane waved back without moving; a silent promise to catch up with them later. It''s finally time to tell Nyar.


    Finding the guy was easy of course, since he didn''t move from his spot even once. Strangely though, he wasn''t on his phone or laptop this time. Nyar is actually relaxing like an ordinary person. Jane twisted her wrists a few times, psyching herself up. Every time she needed to talk to Nyar about anything magic related, it wasn''t going to be pretty, but the man at least knows how dangerous this world really is. That is something she has in common with him now. "Hey Nyar!"


    Nyar sat up straight upon seeing Jane approach him. She should be out there with her friends, but Jane probably ran out of sunscreen already. "Need another drink?" Without answering his question, Jane sat down on the towel next to him, wearing a stone-faced expression. Nyar wasn''t sure if Jane is just a weirdo, or if something was really bugging her. Guessing on a hunch, he had to ask, "What''s eating you?"


    Jane clasped both of her legs closer to her chest without turning her gaze from the park. It was easier to say without trying to think about it as much. "I''ve made up my mind."


    "About?"


    Jane knew it wasn''t the best news, but nothing good ever happens here given enough time. "About how long I''ll be staying in America. I''m defiantly going back to Sprawn Valley the first chance I get."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Mental Anguish ~ Easily Embarrassed</a>


    <center><iframe title="Mental Anguish" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9BtRH1js45M" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


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    Nyar processed her words with weight and consideration while letting the thought sink in. "In that case, we''ll have to prepare a D-class flight plan. It will drop you off in Sprawn Valley with Danny and Taylor on the same ride, only to take off again to other destinations. First and second class seats don''t exist on those kinds of jets." For another long moment, Jane was completely silent. Shouldn''t she be over there having fun, or full of energy? Hell, if she loves going to Sprawn Valley that much, why would making that call drive down her energy? Jane might just be hungry. "I guess I should ask what prompted you to give up on finding a stable job here, but it''s technically not my business."


    "That''s okay," Jane accepted. Of course Nyar would want to know; it''s the same reason Jane can''t stay outside of her home any longer. "I know that Sprawn Valley isn''t the safest place in the world these days..."


    "No arguments there."


    "But you can''t get any more dangerous than outside countries."


    "Are you saying that you don''t like America?"


    "I''m just saying it''s dangerous and all." Nyar wasn''t arguing that either. Maybe he just hates the thought of people coming out of Sprawn Valley believing to be invincible. "Back home, I''m usually protected by the veil. And out here, well..."


    "You should follow every safety rule regardless of where you are. Don''t always trust that veil, you hear me?"


    "Yeah, but, that''s not what I meant." Nyar studied Jane with a sharper stare, and she explained herself again. "What I mean is, I never thought it was going to be this hard to sustain yourself in the other worlds. If I were living all by myself in Sprawn Valley, I could pull it off without a sweat. But out here, I''d never survive. I''d either starve to death, or something else."


    She doesn''t need to aim that low. "The fact that you now understand that - is a good thing, since it will prepare you and all. But don''t start thinking that it''s impossible simply because of how difficult it is to get a job."


    "Isn''t it though?" Jane argued. "At least for me, Sprawn Valley has given me so many possibilities, even with all the horrible stuff that could have happened to me. Everyone who lives there has a chance for such an awesome opportunity, or a simple life. And that''s why I think I need to go back."


    What? That''s the reason? Jane just doesn''t understand anything. She hasn''t changed; she hasn''t matured... "What is wrong with that place?"


    "Huh?" Jane at first didn''t understand to what Nyar was referencing, but he soon made it clear. Despite the imminent interruption of Danny and Taylor approaching, Nyar didn''t change what he was about to say.


    "Sprawn Valley and Leray magic. Look at what it has done to you Jane. Instead of taking the challenge of adulthood, you choose to define your strength by such insignificant matters such as magic and spells. You don''t understand how the real world works, and I doubt you ever will."


    Bothered by that lame outspoken doubt, Jane raised her voice with her fists ready to fight. "What''s that supposed to mean? I''m only saying I can''t survive out here because it''s true."


    "Then you''ve chosen to give up on learning anything," Nyar filtered. "You and your stupid Leray magic. The very concept of it has completely spoiled you; it has poisoned your perception of adulthood and responsibility!" Nyar knew his voice was growing in volume, but these words also felt so true to the heart. Jane needs to hear them right now before it is too late. "If you really think that magic powers are going to make you safe and happy, then I feel very sorry for you Jane. The only thing Leray magic will bring you is illusions and weakness. Anyone who follows the concept of magic are all idiots! And they''re never going to grow up to be real people; only flakes who think they know what they''re doing. If that''s why you''re going back, then you''re even more pathetic than I thought."


    Jane wanted to argue back, but after every sentence Nyar finished, the thought of it all froze her entire body. Everyone who embraces magic is a pathetic weakling who can''t survive in the real world. That''s what Nyar is saying... Is it so wrong though?


    "Hey!" Danny shouted violently, after hearing the few final words Nyar spat into Jane''s ears. Taylor was just as prepared to pounce on the situation, but Danny knew he had it taken care of already. "That''s enough Nyar!"


    Jane ducked her neck down again, further processing what she already knew to be the truth. This symbol in her hand, it''s a curse instead of a blessing. Her own stupidity is what allowed her to overlook the details of the E-7 mark 64 spell bomb in the first place. This is her fault for getting marked. Even after it happened, Jane is still incapable of removing the symbol, and that''s just the start. So what if she accomplished so many great things back on her journey? All of it was made possible because of this cursed symbol, and because of magic itself. She really isn''t strong at all. Without magical powers, Jane knew she was nothing, nothing at all. Surviving like an ordinary human being really is impossible, because she and her entire family are all weak.


    "It''s exactly enough," Nyar replied, though he felt such surprise inside that Danny could ever raise his voice like that to his face. "When will you all realize that clinging to Leray magic is the most childish thing you can do?"


    "He said that''s enough!" Taylor got in on the same action Danny did, and she didn''t care who Nyar is to them.


    "Don''t you dare shout such words at¡ª" Nyar stopped himself short at the sound of a loud sob, followed by a strong sniff of fluid. Expectedly, the sound was coming from Jane, who already began breaking out in tears while rubbing her eyes.


    When Danny noticed the state the conversation put Jane into, he immediately tried to rush in to comfort her. But instead, Jane wiped her eyes and sprinted far to the north of their spot, heading down towards the road and some of the tall buildings behind it. "Jane!" She ignored his warning entirely, running away in tears with her audible crying dying out with the rest of the noise around them. Instead of trying to keep up with one of the fastest runners he knew, Danny changed his focus to Nyar, whose face right now made him tense as tightly as he heeded to. "Why did you say those awful things to her?!"


    Nyar wasn''t intimidated by the situation. Though making Jane cry was never his intention, it''s a necessary step to make everyone realize the truth. "I only annotated what is true about magic."


    "What, that she''s a weakling or pathetic?" Danny heard every word this guy let loose, but couldn''t interrupt in time due to shock. "Maybe you should take a look at yourself Nyar." Even as his uncle raised his eyebrows, Danny didn''t stop for a moment. "The only pathetic person I know is someone who would pick on people for their life choices."


    Taylor nudged Danny''s shoulder, snapping him away from his thoughts. "We have to find Jane!" She could have run far away, anywhere. It''s incredible that Nyar hasn''t tried to chase after her, or that he isn''t even sorry.


    Danny stepped forward in the direction he last saw Jane escape to, but he back-stepped to make sure Nyar was paying close attention as well. "This isn''t over Nyar! If anything happens to Jane, I''ll hold you responsible!" Danny pointed at Nyar''s face, ensuring that he fully understood. The guy didn''t even flinch though, and Danny had to put this situation to the side and dash off with Taylor to find Jane in this dangerous world. Who knows what horrible dark thoughts might be running through her mind right now?


    Jane dashed through one of the less busy streets, passing by a few public mailboxes and traffic cones, all through the side of a large building where no traffic of traversing pedestrians existed. Jane had been running for three minutes as fast and as far as she could, and her heart beat pounded away in side of her chest, but all the time while finding her solitude, Jane held on to the same lone thought, the sting of truth. Even if Nyar is an asshole, is he really wrong? A world like this one; a world without magic is not only full of danger, but also people who don''t have any power or special skills. Nobody here is exceptional, and nobody gets what they want in life. Without magical powers, even just without the symbol, Jane would have been killed by several potential dangers in Sprawn Valley. Patrissa and her gang of thieves, the Alpha Zero and its monsters, Stanley Marx, or any of the other Scarlet enemies having a field day in her own backyard. Of all things, Danny and Taylor might have been killed too if she were any weaker while defending them. Magic is her only strength, her only real power. If she is standing anywhere else in the world, she can''t do anything!


    Jane continued to let her tears flow, holding her head with both hands while the truth bombarded her mind. The symbol on her hand, this evil marking destroys everything she ever tried to work for. Even if the people of Sprawn Valley leave her alone about it, the Scarlet Cult never will. She''ll be hunted down and killed, all for making stupid mistakes. Forget becoming a Leray master, forget taking wonderful journeys, and forget about learning of all the special spells. Just become some worthless secretary, or maybe a librarian, and live a simple safe life without any meaning or glory. That''s all I''m capable of!


    Jane had her solitude to herself for five agonizing minutes. But there was no silence or peace; her thoughts were louder than her heartbeat and her breath, louder than the wind pushing her hair in a fan, louder than anything she could imagine. Jane sank to her knees, tired of standing up straight. She stopped crying, but that didn''t make anything feel better. And then¡ª


    "Jane!"


    Jane nervously glanced behind her, noticing Danny with Taylor twenty meters behind him in pursuit. They found her despite her head start and hiding spot, but that doesn''t change anything. Those two have no more ability or hope than she does.


    "I found her Taylor!"


    Taylor could see Jane already, and sprinted twice as fast as Danny had been, since she was pacing herself behind to widen the search angle. Her idea of searching between some of the nearby buildings across the street was a good guess, since Taylor knew that is where she would want to be alone. Taylor rushed in and embraced Jane in a heavy hug just after passing Danny by, but Jane didn''t react or change her position at all. Why won''t she move? Why won''t she just try and be herself again?


    Danny feared that Nyar must have gotten to her deeply, but he still couldn''t know exactly what was going on in Jane''s head. She''s been depressed more often lately, and somehow, it doesn''t feel like this is last night''s problem. Jane isn''t afraid of anything; this is something worse than he could imagine... But she isn''t going anywhere. Not until he could undo the damage Nyar has done. "Of all the lousy losers of the world... I hate him."

 Chapter 20: The Eldora Chain

    <hr>


    <10/30/1962 ¨C 12:45 | Outback Wildlands, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    It didn''t take long for the end of the month to roll around. October the 30<sup>th</sup> was expected to send fronts of cold wind from the east Atlantic Ocean. Instead, the land was bombarded with humid storms that brought little downpour and plenty of warmth. People were often complaining about the out-of-place heat, sometimes exaggerating that this was the weather of Blaze Storm. Though there was little harm done.


    Sprawn Valley is at least known for having occasional off-weather moments, and notorious for receiving only one day of rain every week on average, but with the after-results this morning, the weather transformed to a less humid warm sunny day; one as beautiful as any other in the town. As a result, the team prepared themselves for a trip to the north.


    "Vanoss says the others are almost ready now."


    Danton acknowledged that Mainne was behind him telling Danton to be more patient. The gang decided today that everyone would go on a picnic in the wild lands due to today''s generous weather. Though for others, the reason was more celebratory. Trujima didn''t back down from any other challengers on the way to Lennith City, and made good credits as a result. They spent the past two days in Lennith gathering more supplies, and buying additional battle items to do better in combat. Putting credits to such use means everyone can specialize easier.


    The picnic was mostly Mainne''s idea, but Vanoss was looking forward to the event as well. With Danton''s approval, the vote was three against two. It was only natural for Gleeon and Kite to be more interested in intense training or battle exercises, but today, they would be taking a well-deserved break. With Brash Danton as their newest member, Trujima was moving in a new direction; aiming for a goal to become the most powerful elite force the world has ever seen.


    "Make sure they pack everything," Danton reminded. Without turning around to face Mainne, he kept all of his thoughts to himself. "If we encounter any challengers out there, I''ll want to have a crack at them, and I know they will too."


    "Right. We''ll be right out."


    Mainne sounded happy and excited about the whole thing. Danton wasn''t sure if she really enjoys warm picnics, or if her changed mood was from something else. But Danton cared to focus on the scenery around him, imagining how different it would be in the next few hours. He had been to the Outback before in the past, but has rarely visited the zone recently. Lennith''s town section is still so lively today, but that makes sense due to its location being the center of trading and closest to the capital city of Eldora. With all this time, the Outback remains to be some barren wild lands with nothing but short grass with minimal tree density. It''s the perfect place to get away from everything.


    When a couple hours passed by, Trujima was already deep into the Outback wild lands, pressing northward to find a perfect patch of land to set down the picnic towel. There wasn''t much out here for the Outback at first glance. Human activity in particular was as low as it could get. With all the well-teemed grass stretching on for miles in all directions and the shy trees growing careful and independently, the scenery closely resembled the grasslands of Cantabria, Spain. The team even spotted a few wild animals roaming freely in the distance, from bunny rabbits and kangaroos to rhea birds and lamas.


    The sights with the clear sky matched up perfectly for the weather while everyone sat down on the mat, everyone accessing their supply spheres to prepare their premade lunches, often of which were either chips or sandwiches. Danton was the only one holding off on his food, since hunger had yet to set into his stomach. Instead, he quietly pondered what new battling styles and techniques he could pull off. Danton recently sold his sword to a Leray shop in Lennith, using that money to trade his primary weapon for a magic staff.


    Magic staffs are on the rare side for weapons made and sold in Sprawn Valley, usually because they are effectively useless to those who have inadequate training with Leray spells. Simply put, they are the worst weapons for beginners, but staffs have plenty of benefits to their nature, even if they do lack physical hit power. There are two kinds of staffs; crystallized staffs, and absorbers. The absorber staff, otherwise called mana savers are designed to invoke magical spells for the user while simultaneously conserving a lot of the MP energy that would normally be used in a spell. However, this is the only benefit for that staff. It can be useful with practice to increase the amount of higher-level attack spells per battle that the user is able to invoke, but this effect usually requires years of practice and a calm mind during battles, on top of being unable to use the staff itself for an effective physical weapon. Then there are crystallized staffs with emphasis put on reusable energy crystals. Crystalized staffs are well known for amplifying existing spells from Leray magic during their invocation. Though this process also requires much experience with a staff, users who can focus on high levels spells are said to have faster success than those with a lower Lexile level for Leray spells. While it won''t change how much magic is used for each skill, the power level of magic spells is often doubled.


    Luminous Artemus; the special staff that Danton nearly went broke over while spending. The staff was on special display today and last night, imported from Eldora''s weapon factory. The staff and its name proved worthy enough for Danton to take on its challenge. Serving as a crystallized type of staff, he would now be able to take his entire arsenal of spells, and overpower them in battle without ever having to use additional MP energy in the process. Additionally, even though staffs can''t be used as physical weapons, on the count that they have no such damage level, it doesn''t stop of forbid users from swapping out for a temporary weapon mid-battle. Doing so still costs MP energy though, for every moment that weapon is to last. Danton trained himself earlier how to spawn a sword similar to his old short blade using the yellow glyphring technique, but it still caused quite a drain to his MP in the process. Hopefully it can still be made just as useful in an intense Leray battle.


    "What''s eating you Danton? Lunchtime is now time."


    Before Danton could answer Gleeon''s curious question, Kite guessed the issue for him aloud. "Ah, lay off. He''s just jealous that I''m the only one here with smoked beef between these buns. I heard you can only get beef imported here from the Americas, but I''m not sure how much that clerk really knows."


    The clerk? "So now we know why you took so long to check out," Mainne determined. Danton took a long time shopping yesterday for his new weapon, but that was to be expected since he was going for a new style and battle method. Kite however usually keeps everything relatively simple. "You were just there to check out that hot sales clerk."


    Kite never intended to keep one of his hobbies a hidden secret, but Mainne picked a strange time to bring that up again. "Yeah, so? It''s my duty to seek out powerful, and attractive, ladies who know what they''re doing, or at least those who have enough knowledge on Leray fares. But I don''t know about that one from yesterday."


    "Why am I not surprised?" Mainne casually bit back into her homemade sandwich, failing to keep Kite in that kind of spotlight.


    Though everyone heard Mainne''s last rant, they went on changing the subject. Danton wondered however what her story was, altogether anyway. Mainne is a strong and fast woman, perfectly agile and capable of winning Leray battles. But what in the world made her join Trujima long ago? What was her goal at the time? Danton was already told that she keeps her personal life to herself, for as long as the gang has been around, but shouldn''t somebody at least be more curious about that?


    "So anyway, this kid from basic¡ª"


    Kite was moving on with the changed subject, which at least allowed Mainne to feel more at ease since Kite of all people was able to enjoy a wonderful moment like this. To think that he was complaining about it less than twelve hours ago.


    "The look on his face was just about as pathetic as his knowledge for Leray battles were. He was like, it was my turn to attack; that''s not fair! And his opponent just laughed in surprise." Kite was referring back to a moment only he witnessed on Route 96 the other day, while watching a weak kid''s battle. He remembered that the idiot said he graduated from Gulop, some landlocked town in the south. The point is, somebody who doesn''t understand basic attack and speed dynamics should never have acquired a basic wielder''s license. Actually, it would have been better off to deny him access to the rights of any schooling facility. He continued the story, feeling at ease since Danton was finally biting into his own similar lunch. "I guess the people from Gulop really are about as weak as they say."


    "Well..." Vanoss was about to argue the opposite, but considered the weight of the details before doing so. "I''ve heard that Gulop usually has worthy fighters, but I think those only pertain to people coming from other regions as travelers. I guess if somebody graduates from Gulop, they might as well be worthless in battles."


    "Their standards in Gross City are too low." Kite never visited that sector or region before, but there wasn''t much reason to go there apparently. After lightening the mood amongst the team, he figured that now was as good of a time as any to put Danton on the spot for his earlier claims. "So? Anyone want to go over the plan of how we''re exactly going to become the strongest gang the world has ever seen? I''m mainly asking Danton, since everyone seems to keep taking the ideas from his recklessness."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Gleeon glared at Kite, assuming already that his own arrogance has blinded him entirely. "Do you really need reminding on the simplicity of our next move?"


    "We''re going to storm J-H road tomorrow and defeat the gradyent there. I don''t care who the hell does it. After that, we take on the Eldora Chain." Danton knew it might be a two-day experience just getting to Eldora City and J-H road. There wasn''t a reason to reference Route 787, practically because the term doesn''t exist. These days, everyone has to sail northeast in the Hollifax Ocean for several miles before reaching J-H road, a small section of nature housing the only entrance into the city. Sailing will be the worst part of the trip, since people can''t battle each other in the ocean. Attempts to do so will damage and sink ships, and that''s no fun for anybody.


    "Yeah, I knew that," Kite claimed. "I''m feeling confident about the next gradyent being a pushover myself, but we don''t know anything about those guys at the top. We''ve never studied their battling style. I don''t even know the name of the current champion of Eldora."


    Danton wouldn''t know that name either, since Gleeon already got such a response by asking him that three nights ago. But their current knowledge of the Eldora Chain is just ill mannered, and Gleeon had no choice but to begin filling in the blanks. "Lawrence Citrin. He''s the guy who''s been in charge of Sprawn Valley for nearly three years now. If he can hold that title for almost a thousand consecutive wins, it must mean the guy is no pushover."


    "Well then," Kite stood up, drawing his sword with a deep gaze fixed at its tip. "Lawrence Citrin will be defeated by my skills and this sword. After he goes down, Danton and I will have one final match to prove which of the two of us are stronger."


    "That''s what you took out of that?"


    "No need to dispel his intentions Mainne." Danton was finished eating already, and he stood up to match his height to Kite, his secondary opponent. "Kite? It might turn out that your strength will surpass my own at that time, but we always get stronger by training, usually with disproportionate measures. So even if I lose to you another time, I''ll eventually win."


    Kite grinned with confidence. Good answer. Danton shouldn''t be so naive though to think that he can always get stronger with training. The method will only take one so far. "As your future champion, you''ll be allowed to rematch me anytime you want, but it will only have the same results every time."


    "You can relax now. This isn''t the battlefield yet." Mainne was certain that Kite and Danton were probably capable of fighting each other to the death if dared. Luckily, the veil would never allow for such a challenge to exist. "Besides, there is still the Eldora Chain we know nothing about. Gleeon? What info do you have on them?"


    "None I''m afraid."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Little Red Riding Hood ~ Derek Fiechter & Brandon Fiechter [Once Upon A Time]</a>


    <hr>


    "Hold on," Kite challenged. "I thought you knew everything about the Eldora Chain."


    "I never implied that," Gleeon responded. "All I know is that being in the Eldora Chain is hard work, much more difficult than the workload of the champion. When a new challenger arrives to Eldora Tower, they are required to battle against each of the four elites and win all battles successively. One single loss on the challenger''s part means his chance to battle the champion is forfeit until the three months flies by. But on top of those types of challenges, there is an event called The Catalyst Grove."


    "Well that''s a stupid name." Danton realized only now that his blurt interrupted Gleeon more than he meant it to.


    Gleeon however agreed to that tested statement. "I know. Anyway, this Catalyst Grove is more or less a different kind of assignment. Those who enter it are to choose which of the four elites they are to challenge. If they target an elite with a rank higher than the lowest level out of the four, that challenger must still defeat their elites all the way up to which rank they''ve chosen, much of the same process as trying to make it to the champion."


    "What happens when the challenger meets the chosen elite?" Kite and the rest of them had every right to know, but he never figured that Gleeon was such an expert on the Eldora structure. Maybe he used to challenge them in the past.


    "Then a special type of battle is engaged between the two. The challenger will have three total restrictions placed upon them prior to battle. Condition one will have the challenger unable to carry any specific weapons or armor into battle. Only certain dress spheres that offer zero protection are permitted, and weapons must all be spawned from spells or magical glyphrings. But the standing elite can use whatever he wants."


    "That''s kind of harsh," Mainne protested.


    Gleeon continued since there was more to the challenge than it seemed. "Condition two will limit the total time in a battle to ten minutes. The challenger must somehow drain the elite''s HP to zero before ten minutes is up. So simply surviving for a long time isn''t going to cut it. And condition number three limits the challenger''s HP decline rate to fifty percent. Meaning, that if the challenger loses only half of their health from full, they will automatically lose the match by decree of the referee. Meanwhile, the standing elite must have their health drained to zero."


    "That sounds totally unfair," Kite shouted. He remained calm afterwards, simply sympathizing how hard this sounded for such a challenge. "So what''s the reward?"


    "Well, those three conditions are only enforced once the challenger makes it to the rank they have chosen between the four elites. But if the challenger can actually win their match, and defeat the chosen elite while satisfying all three conditions in under ten minutes, then that challenger will automatically inherit and take over that rank, including their job and salary. Meanwhile, the standing elite will be forced out of the ranks. Usually when that happens, those people retire."


    Kite put away his sword, but uplifted his fist in respect. "Now that''s a challenge I can get behind. Only the strong should be allowed to sustain such a high rank close to the champion."


    "Of course, the standing elites are always allowed to challenge the champion to a duel once every three months, without needing to re-enter the Catalyst Grove, and without needing to satisfy those three conditions. If such an elite wins, then the ranks between the two are swapped out. Thus, that new champion can rule for about three months, or until some total random tough guy kicks him off the throne with a normal championship battle. Since you need to acquire all four chains of consecutive wins from each elite to officially challenge the champion as an outsider, this is why they''ve inherited the name as the Eldora Chain."


    "Then that means..." Danton took a moment of silence to process it all. There are five people standing here. Technically, it is possible for all of Trujima to replace the entire Eldora Chain, with one of them becoming the new champion of Sprawn Valley. "Trujima actually can replace those ranks."


    "Come on," Kite warped. "You really think all of us are okay with just one of us being champion? Everyone here will be aiming for the top. And you can''t enter the Catalyst Grove while aiming for the champion in the same moment. Isn''t that right, Gleeon?"


    "That is correct," he answered. "However, if just one of us becomes champion, it would be more efficient for the rest of us to take over the jobs of the other elites. That way, after it''s all done, challenging the new champion as well as each other won''t have the consequences of getting kicked out for a period of time."


    "He does make an excellent point," Kite murmured. He turned to the whole group, facing all of them in the proposal. "Is everyone okay with that arrangement then? I assume you all realize by now that the strongest of us all based on my latest rankings are still Danton and myself. But if any of you think you''re ready to challenge us both and win, speak up now. Otherwise," Kite summarized while looking Danton dead in his serious face, "The fight for the champion battles will only be between you and me."


    It makes sense those two would go at it so aggressively. Mainne just smiled and said, "I''ll be fine. I can always defeat the new champion after everything settles."


    Gleeon was of the same mind, and vocally accused himself as such. "I will wait in the shadows as well, striking only when absolutely necessary. Besides, even if you are turned into a standing elite, your salary pay is supposedly really high."


    Vanoss held his tongue no longer, and he became eager to whip out his blade and beat down the tougher opponent. "Then I guess we''ll all wait to see which one of them is stronger. And then, I''ll fight whoever makes it to the top."


    "By waiting," Mainne interjected, "I hope you mean compete in the Catalyst Grove before standing by. I know I''m having all that action too."


    "Of course that''s what I meant. Now let''s get some training already!" Vanoss knew he would need a sparring partner, and he didn''t care who it was. Mainne was more preferable since she nearly matches his own speed and dodging style, but having a picnic usually implies some kind of action afterwards.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Northland (Alternative) ~ Antti Martikainen</a>


    <hr>


    Though Mainne wasn''t expecting any kind of battle or training right after the picnic, she was dragged into it by popular vote. Even Danton knew he needed some experience wielding his new staff. Gleeon however volunteered to train with Danton before Mainne could ask him, and Vanoss wanted to spare with her style of expertise as well. Luckily this time, Mainne had also decided to shift her style into a new format, going forward with new and powerful spells designed to freeze and slow down the target.


    Kite as usual preferred solo training, likely to hide anything new he learned from Danton. He kept asking Gleeon a few more times how Lawrence battles, but got the answer he didn''t need. Gleeon didn''t know, and even discouraged Kite from going with that strategy, since the champion likely uses no single strategy to battle. So the afternoon drifted by slowly while everyone got back into their most enjoyable instinct of pleasure.


    Danton focused his mind while holding the Luminous Artemus. The style of using a staff was absolutely different in more ways than he initially realized. To begin with, when charging MP energy, you can''t centralize that sensation to your arm or your hand. Doing so will make the spell fail while holding the staff. Instead, you have to charge all of that MP energy and somehow centralize the location to be at the end point tip of the staff while holding it, in this case the crystal at the end of the staff. The item becomes an extension of your own magical aura as a result. Danton was holding and pointing the staff correctly, but trying to change the method of charging energy was more difficult than he imagined. By the time he did at least master a low-level spell, his sight to be unexpected caused Danton to lose focus again and fail for the fiftieth time. Apparently, the glyphrings that normally surround one''s wrist relocate to spin around the crystal part of the staff itself, and that means you also have to aim the tip of the staff at your target when launching projectile spells.


    Gleeon wasn''t much help getting Danton to battle with the staff, and making him train with his old style was simply out of the question. Danton was dead set on mastering this staff trick tonight. He said he was going to defeat those at J-H road including the gradyent and eventually the champion using the Luminous Artemus. At least in theory, the idea was somehow fitting.


    Luminous Artemus. Danton remembered not only the name of his staff, but the description attached to its supposed special effects. They say that with Luminous Artemus, the staff will more likely power the user up whenever they present and master a strong will to expel magical power. That is to mean, the user must require enough will power mostly above everyone else in order to get the real effects from the staff. But such descriptions as ominous as that are just sales gimmicks and lure tactics, only as effective as an old rumor.


    Danton tried to be strong willed either way, and after a whole hour, he didn''t get very far. He did eventually learn to shoot a few low-level spells from the crystal of the staff, but in doing so, there wasn''t any noticeable difference in the power level, which is supposed to be amplified. It must really take a lot of practice. People often say it could take years to effectively learn how to make it work. However, he and the others don''t have a year of time. Danton already announced the plan after tonight''s training exercise. They will make way to Tacyon Port just east of Lennith''s town, and rent a large boat to sail all the way to Eldora City. Lots of people usually hang out on J-H road just before the standing point for the city''s gradyent, so there are plenty of challenges along the way. Some challengers at sea even agree to battle as soon as they arrive on land. Either way, Danton knew he would need to concentrate harder and speed up his pace to fight using a staff, and there was a long way to go.


    Kite never said anything about Danton''s useless tactics to battle with a staff instead of a sword. He wished Danton would at least fight with blades against him when the time comes, since he too decided to go with a different tactic. Kite knew it can sometimes be challenging, but with a totally different battle style easy enough for himself to pull off, nobody, not even Danton will be able to overcome such great technique and skill. It''s funny how the guy thinks we can all pull this off in just a week of time and planning. But who knows? Maybe the people in that tower are just a group of weaklings. Nobody will be able to stand up to the might of Trujima.

 Chapter 21: First, Theres Magic

    <hr>


    <03/15/1972 ¨C 12:59 | Cyrus Water Park, Ducan, New York, United States>


    "Isn''t he your uncle?" Taylor didn''t mean to assume too much about Danny''s personal life, but she was never made clear all of the details of his own family. Danny just claimed he hated him.


    "Nyar might be related to me," Danny admitted. "But I''m nothing like him." Why is Taylor looking at him like that? "Hey, you hate your parents too, don''t you?"


    With a guilty sinking expression, Taylor decided to drop it, still trying to comfort Jane, who still wasn''t saying anything right now.


    Danny wondered what it was like sometimes, actually being Taylor. She must hate her parents, probably doesn''t even consider them family anymore. And why should she? But Arias and Jenson hate magic too. They won''t condone Danny''s recent actions with his involvement in magic. Of course, since it''s too late for that, all is forgiven, for now anyway. Danny couldn''t bring himself to think he hated his immediate family. Especially for mom and dad, they simply fear magic because they don''t know much about it, and that''s okay. But uncle Nyar knows more than he lets on about magic, and today he just crossed the line.


    "Danny''s right though." Taylor tried to make Jane look her in the eyes, when Jane finally pushed her away softly. "You shouldn''t trust a word Nyar says."


    A word Nyar says? Nyar has been saying a lot of the same thing from the beginning of this entire journey into America. He might hate Leray magic, but he must have a reason for it. Magic is dangerous according to him, and Jane had to wonder. What if Nyar was never talking about magic being dangerous physically? Magic makes people think they are strong; that''s his line. Jane let it repeat and pulse through her brain over and over. "Magic isn''t meaningful out here, is it?"


    Danny slipped closer to Jane, immediately answering her question. "Don''t ever say that! Nyar is a coward and a liar!"


    Danny... He seems so tense right now, but he really doesn''t care for magic that much, at least as far as she''s been told. Weather he embraces it or not, it doesn''t change the truth. "I''m not really strong."


    "Yes you are!" Of all the times for Jane to be stubborn...


    "I''m not strong!" Jane was sure enough to shout it above her throat. Despite what Danny might think, he''s wrong on this one. "I might be able to do cool things back where I''m from. Everybody uses magic there."


    "It doesn''t change how things are out here."


    Jane ignored Danny, but she felt familiar with his feeling. She used to think so too. "In all of the outer worlds, nobody has any real power. Even if magic existed here, that would just be another illusion as well."


    Taylor twitched from what she felt and what she heard. Jane was saying that magic is fake and meaningless; Jane Venn is saying these things. "You..." What about all of the amazing things she did in Sprawn Valley, all of that training and battles? "You don''t mean that!"


    "You know I do," Jane responded. She flashed her forehand in front of them both, reminding them of her greatest tragedies and mistakes. "You both remember what happened to me, to all of us. You both know that this crest in my hand is nothing but a curse. As much as it can do, look back at all the harm it''s caused. Now I can''t ever go back home because everyone still hates this thing. This symbol isn''t powerful either. It''s just another illusion, especially out here."


    "Jane." Danny sounded defeated; more was he breathing faster from having his heart beat increase. Seeing Jane like this was far scarier than the monsters he had to face in Alpha Zero. What is it you want Jane? Do you really want to lay low out here and make such an ordinary and normal life for yourself? What happened to your honor as a Leray wielder, and your dream of being a Leray master?


    "If you had any fun at all back in that world, you should just go there without me. You''re not wanted by the Scarlet Cult, so you''d fit right in."


    "We''re not leaving you!"


    Danny glanced at Taylor, then back to Jane, hoping to get through to her. "Took the words right out of my mouth."


    Her voice became further from a persistent tone, Jane noticeably tensing up to fight her tears. "My dream of becoming anything great was shattered the moment I became branded with that spell bomb."


    Why does she keep bringing up her symbol? Danny never really understood it, being marked. Yeah, she''s a fugitive in hiding from the General Army, but Jane fixed that already, and even if he could imagine a scenario, the only thing worth having at that point wouldn''t be the ability to harness the power of that symbol; it would be to hang tight with as many of his friends as possible. In fact, that''s how he remembered getting through this.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Why must I be the one to say it?" Jane knew how they would both feel about hearing this. Might as well get it over with. "There isn''t any point. Magic doesn''t make anyone strong at all; it''s nothing more than some grand simulation."


    "Maybe it is." Danny stepped forward a few paces, while his agreement surprised Taylor into a gasp, and Jane into a more attentive state. "I''m sure I''m not the first person to admit that having the power to shoot cool energy photons from your hands or from those spinning disks doesn''t make that person any more powerful than the other."


    "What are you saying?" Taylor panicked, stamping her foot into the concrete as a form of threat to Danny.


    Danny put his arm towards Taylor, signaling her to just stop and let him speak to Jane alone. At least, her way of thinking is familiar to him. He once felt this too, but assumed Jane had already figured it out when he found her in Lennith''s medical bay. "Jane? Magic powers aren''t what make the three of us strong."


    "Okay?" Jane was right to be confused. Danny sounded like he was about to let loose with years'' worth of wisdom, but what would he know any different?


    "You know my story already," Danny reminded. "I never took a liking to magic even after I grew more comfortable using it. And that''s because I never once trusted in Leray magic to help defend myself or save someone else''s life."


    Jane felt calmer already, but only because of how poorly Danny was doing at trying to make his point. If he never believed in Leray magic, then wouldn''t he be proving her point, and not his own?


    "So instead," he paraphrased, "I put that trust into myself." Danny saw Jane''s teeth close slightly. Finally, he was striking a nerve. Of course, he knew all of this was true. Sorry about this Taylor. "I decided that I wanted to protect Taylor. And so I adopted a new attitude. What if I try by learning magic? Maybe it will work, and maybe it won''t. Either way, I had to solve my problems with my own abilities. If magic wasn''t going to work against someone who might have used dark magic to attack us, then I would have at least made sure to take down as many assholes with me as possible before I''d let anyone take Taylor away."


    Who was he expecting to take her? Taylor didn''t recall having any complications on the way over to Lennith city. Jane had more of that to deal with.


    "And then I got to meet you. Even if you did manage to piss me off at first, when you offered to train us out to fight, I thought - thank god! Finally! Somebody who is an expert in this stuff."


    "What about Kain?"


    "Creep." Jane and Danny both answered Taylor''s short question at the same time with the same description. Kain Abel is a Leray agent, but he isn''t really a good people person.


    "My point is," Danny continued, "it was never your impressive skills I trusted in. It was the way you chose to live your life. You saw magic as some amazing thing everyone could use, but you also saw the two of us as people you could hang out with, on any occasion."


    "Is this about to turn into some cheesy, we''re all friends monologue?"


    Jane best shut up, or she would miss the point entirely. "We''re friends Jane. I knew you would never do anything to attack us, harm us, or use us for some sort of personal gain. Even after you ran off by yourself doing something stupid, we made it all the way to Eldora Tower together, as a team. We fought together, watched each other''s backs. We''re team JDT!" Jane held her breath, while Taylor just crossed her arms with a weird smile. "Yes, it may sound cheesy, but sticking together as friends and working together as a team is our real strength. And if you don''t believe me, I''d remind you of how far you actually got on your own, even with your symbol and your incredible power shield trick you do."


    Leave it to Danny to always find just what to say. Taylor could never have put it any better herself. And to that Jane should be...? She''s crying?!


    Jane cupped her face into her hands again, assuming sob position, but even when a few more tears ran down the sides of her wrists again, she began laughing, more hysterically than she usually does. While that continued, Danny and Taylor were both totally confused. How can Jane be crying and laughing? Has she actually gone insane already? "Are, you okay?" Danny spoke slowly, trying not to get too close.


    "Hahahahaha!" Finally lifting her face from her hands, Jane let them both see her embarrassing reaction to everything she just heard. "You''re both such idiots!" Jane''s tone didn''t defect from the joy or playfulness, practically laughing while talking, drifting further into her euphoria. Out of all that, Danny wanted to say that friendship is their strength, their magic? He could have just said that by itself, but nothing prepared Jane for such elaborate paraphrasing. When Jane finally calmed down, she tried to make sure they weren''t totally clueless to what she meant earlier. "But maybe you''re right about that."


    Danny descended slightly, relaxing almost every nerve in his body. Jane is just teasing and being herself as usual. Helpless against an embarrassing grin, he shifted away slightly holding the back of his head. "I know I said this sounded cringy, but you don''t have to rub it in."


    Taylor felt relieved too. Jane was finally smiling and laughing again. Danny really went all out though, not that anything he said was wrong. Taylor was reminded again, after nearly forgetting that his earlier disposition towards learning Leray magic had all to do with being careful by not trusting strangers like Kain or Bella, and all with the intent to protect her from harm. That probably included the whole Banshee thing too later on.


    "Still, we should¡ª" Danny was about to further elaborate what Jane should think of her special home, but he stopped himself after noticing a figure approaching them from his side, out towards the streets. It was Nyar of course, finally coming around to locate and pick them up, but Danny felt totally different about this. This unsettling sensation, it isn''t right. "That''s far enough Nyar!" Danny didn''t even want to look at him anymore, thus the need to get closer was nonexistent.


    "I came down this way to find the three of you, but I''m not here to apologize."


    "Big surprise," Danny tested.


    "Maybe it is. I''m taking you three home to discuss this."


    "Like hell you are." Danny''s fears all melted away, and he began taking aggressive steps towards his uncle. If it were anyone else, Nyar would have prepared to be punched in the eyes. "You''re going to have a lot to answer for, you coward! The hell did Leray magic ever do to you?"


    Nyar wasn''t as surprised as before. He expected Danny to begin acting irrational right now, since he''s angry about Nyar upsetting Jane. But arguing about it our here isn''t going to accomplish anything. "Get in the car..." Danny wasn''t moving, but Nyar''s request did shut him up. Is he testing the authority of his uncle right now? "Now!"


    If this situation were any different, Danny wouldn''t be caught dead or alive going back home with Nyar. The obvious choice would be to run away, as far away as possible... But then what about Jane, and Taylor? They aren''t legal children under Nyar''s authority, and if the police here discover that, it''s all over. Danny didn''t speak, but he eventually shifted his body where it didn''t want to go, and complied with Nyar''s orders. Knowing how to get back to the water park, and backtracking to the car was easy enough for Danny, while the other two followed Nyar, who followed Danny.


    Nyar felt he would soon regret a few past things he let slip by. These teens are all hitting their rebellious stage, a bit too soon for comfort, but that is to be expected. The boy has been through enough, him and Taylor both. If that weren''t bad enough, they''re both soon to hit their next number, sixteen.


    As everyone made it back to the car, Nyar drove them all the way home, with everybody in a tense or quietly violent mood. Nobody said a word, or hummed a single sound. The radio might as well have been disabled or dismantled, because it wasn''t to be touched by anyone. As awkward as the ride home was going to be, Nyar knew it was only going to get worse from here. There is no more holding back from now on. These kids think they''re invincible, all because they spent time in that cursed place. They think the world works so easily and automatically, but there is a structure to this country, to any country you go to. It''s time they learn some responsibility.

 Chapter 22: The New League Arises

    <hr>


    <11/04/1962 ¨C 15:43 | Route J-H, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    The plan to undergo intense training and gather more credits and experience went well for most of Trujima members, but it wasn''t until November 4<sup>th</sup> when they finally bumped into Eldora''s official gradyent on J-H road. Sailing to the separate region took two full days when they departed with little delay for training, followed by battles and training with others on the other side of Tacyon port waiting in line to challenge the same gradyent. Kite and the others made short work of who would challenge this gradyent next, but among Trujima, the official battle would be Danton''s honor.


    Since he had been training mostly with the Luminous Artemus, Kite at least didn''t take the idea seriously, regarding his ability to overcome the gradyent. True it was that Danton''s battling style was totally different.


    However, deep way into the gradyent challenge, the afternoon battle persisted without either side gaining a severe advantage over the other. The team members watched in awe as Danton once again demonstrated all of the possible new skills, battling right now against the powerful elite warrior guarding rightful entrance to Eldora City. Defeating him would be a requirement to access the city''s Leray related services, including taking part in the championships next week. Right now, Danton had no time to think about anything other than his skills and the battle at hand.


    Jumping back with an easy and elegant dodge, the elite mage sternly studied his opponent''s battling style. Cadan Draix, the Eldora gradyent was about as tall as Danton, with short cut hair and special protective material which included a white collared cape. The man was dressed the part, and well prepared to make sure this young adversary receives the most amount of training possible. Only the best of the best make it to Eldora Tower!


    Danton tried to carefully control his breathing. Cadan can move very quickly at close range when he wants to, and this staff doesn''t do very well to block physical attacks. Danton was already breaking a sweat only a few minutes into this Leray match, but so far, the results might as well become a tie if this keeps up. Training with the magic staff took a ton of practice, with Danton taking a few losses against other elites earlier. He had to lose in order to figure out how to prevent making any mistakes. Tactical assessment and well-planned magical spells is the key to fighting with a staff. If he blindly uses magical spells at random, he''ll never win using this weapon, despite the spells being more powerful than usual. It was even more difficult to stay level-headed while magical spells designed to cause great damage or pain are constantly heading his way. Just now, Cadan launched another spell, ground based and quickly approaching. It''s a Shadow Wave! And with this speed, Cadan has perfected the spell in practice to pack a real punch.


    Having to think fast and act on his feet was the one thing Danton continued to polish with every battle, and right now was no different. With his staff already pointing forwards and a steady mind for thoughts of spell dynamics, Danton countered the oncoming Shadow Wave attack with his own Leray skill. "Earth Glave!" Using a spell that required no glyphring sped up his average invocation time by 15%, while the advancing wave of boulders and stone pillars began closer to his physical position. The timing and counter idea was very effective, since Danton was less than a second away from being pulverized by that large Shadow Wave. The Earth Glave continued forward, swallowing Cadan''s Shadow Wave while neutralizing its effects like a steamroller. Earth Glave, the easy and common spell which deals earth-elemental blunt type damage quickly zoned in on Cadan, shooting stone boulders and pillars into his body faster than he could process a response to the danger. For the after-result, Cadan was sent flying into the air about two meters up and back. The damage was obvious whether anyone would assess the energy scope or not, but since Cadan was quite unpredictable as well, Danton decided to wait and prepare a proper defense.


    Cadan pushed himself back up, noticing all of the small areas of deferred pain on his arms and in his chest from the bruising sensation Earth Glave can cause. That Danton is resilient with his counter-spells, given the chance, but he isn''t so good at dodging attacks, even the easy ones. Cadan thus stood tall and aimed his right arm at the guy while charging his multi-colored glyphring circling his wrist. "Let''s try Prism!"


    Despite Danton hearing the spell name from his present distance, the elemental bolts of fire and ice were already shooting out just as instantly. Danton had a way of dealing with incoming elemental bolts, so long as he was ready. Contrary to popular knowledge, staffs, especially those that are crystallized can be used to deflect or even absorb the Leray energy within elemental projectiles. But that''s the catch; they have to be elemental projectiles, which Prism happens to be made of entirely. Danton tried to focus, since he never before deflected a barrage of them as large as Prism''s full arsenal contained. It was common technique for Prism users to slightly control the randomized order of which bolts strike the target first. Always hit first with a Lightning Strike attack, so that they are too stunned at the next moment to dodge any of the other slower moving fire or ice spheres.


    Danton spun his staff around rapidly in a circular motion, something he could do several times before after rigorous practice. The crystal end lit up slightly as a result of his preparation. By spinning the staff around to fully cover his entire height and width from incoming directional damage, if spun quickly enough generates enough of a centripetal force slightly assisted by magic within the crystal to deflect electrical energy. Danton did it before to deflect a few lightning bolts; the catch was predicting the time of dispersal before getting hit. His trick successfully worked; Danton could see the bright blue arcs of electrical magic stop just short of the spinning fan he created briefly, but after that, it was time to use the crystal directly. Danton stopped the motion of his staff with a free hand, smacking his palm with the force, which caused quite a sting. This was necessary, as the same trick won''t work on the other elements easily. Danton instead targeted the trajectory path of each elemental bolt flying at him, and jabbed the end of the Luminous Artemus into the flying spheres. Much like it would be to cut into a magical sphere with a blade to deflect an attack, he would have to use the staff''s end point or crystal to jab into the same type of magic projectile to deflect the damage away, and only that section would be capable of blocking the effective damage arc. Danton however was fast acting and high on his reflexes. He easily jabbed the next two Fire Bolts and the preceding Ice Bolt before any of them could do any damage. He then spun the staff around again just after, expecting another Lightning Strike, deflecting it the same way as before.


    As impressive as it was to watch, Danton could not predict the light speed usage of each and every Lightning Bolt. Therefore, Cadan''s Prism attack eventually made it through to do serious damage, but by then, his total spell''s attack power had been deflected, cutting its potential in half completely. The drop in HP on Danton''s energy scope was nothing for Cadan to be proud of. Danton didn''t even look all that injured when Prism finally ended. Instead, he was preparing for another kind of attack, forcing Cadan to prepare himself.


    Even if the spinning of his staff couldn''t block out lightning every time, it was useful for other purposes too, like the fact that he can charge MP energy into the staff''s crystal more discretely while moving around for deflection. The staff''s crystal lights up during the spinning motion, to assist in deflection power as the staff has an automatic detection agent infused into the material by magic, but the crystal also lights up when MP energy is charged into the device by the user, making it harder to predict instant spell invocation right after a deflection, and Danton knew this as well.


    While spinning his staff following the end recovery of Prism, Danton chanted the name of his next spell, stopping the staff''s motion just as it was time to release the energy. "Photon Wave!" The glyphring was instant, while the release of magic easily caught Cadan off guard.


    Cadan could see the nearly invisible dark photons of energy flying down towards him. As fast as they were, he still had enough time for a last second counter-skill. "Glave!" Skipping the extra syllable for the Earth Glave spell, Cadan quickly raised the earth in front of him only for a chance to let it block Danton''s spell. Even as the wall ascended in the squeeze of time, the first photon sphere smashed through the entire stonewall, shattering the entire structure as if it were fragile glass, and the next fifteen photon spheres now had an easy opening to their target. Being barraged with powerful non-elemental energy assisted in power level by Danton''s passive ability from the staff, Cadan was feeling the hurt, several small but painful blasts in multiple locations on his body. If they were any stronger, he would have been shot backwards and off balance as well.


    Cadan was left standing, but his breathing rate increased from having to endure as much damage as this guy was causing him. Danton didn''t fight so balanced at the beginning of this battle, but even now is he learning to adapt to a better strategy. Still, he can''t counter everything. Against staffs, bladed warriors always have special advantages. "Electric Blade!" Cadan let a yellow glyphring phase the metal object into both of his bands, already infused with electrical energy on the saber itself. Since he never fights with an official weapon of choice, it was easy for Cadan to wield a spawned weapon rather quickly, but he took his time preparing himself for this, giving Danton the chance to see the skill that will take him down.


    Almost pushed to a laugh, Danton responded by putting his staff behind him in its holster. "If that''s how you want to play this..." Using similar magic, Danton created a yellow glyphring of his own, spawning a short saber sword similar to the one he sold off about a week ago. Just because he was learning to use a staff didn''t mean that his sword skills have been forgotten, and Cadan doesn''t share the same close combat speed either. Danton chose not to infuse his short saber with any magic, even if that would put Cadan''s striking power level to a higher advantage.


    Cadan happily charged in with confidence, choosing to engage Danton especially after noticing his sword''s electrical advantage, but he was met with a surprising resistance of speed and defensive malice. Every time Cadan efficiently struck the blade towards his opponent, Danton''s saber was always in the way, or else he would dodge the swinging attack in time. Danton was faster than expected, but Cadan''s personal skills with evasion therapy allowed him to match the speed for some time. Amidst impressive evasions and counter strikes, neither Danton nor Cadan managed to score a single hit with their swords to each other, but Danton pushed on with heavy determination, getting Cadan to walk or slide backwards while he helplessly deflected a barrage of sword slashes. Even if Danton wasn''t using magic in his blade, there had to be some reason why it wasn''t necessary.


    When Danton finally saw the opportunity he wanted, where Cadan wasn''t paying attention to anything except for Danton''s temporary sword, he openly unleashed a quickly invoked ability from his free hand forced towards Cadan''s chest. Danton unleashed a powerful Push Wave spell that sent Cadan flying backwards and away several meters. Cadan impressively learned to land on his hands and feet while in mid-air, but the surprise gave Danton the perfect opportunity. With a quick wave of his hand over his short blade, the metal obtained a dark purple glow of an aura, a magical coat of special spiritual elemental energy. While he quickly lifted his blade and prepared his stance, Danton proceeded to deal the final blow.


    "Flashpoint!" Upon immediate release of his charged aura energy, Danton launched forward and off the ground at the speed of light, turning his figure into a solid white hazy beam. In the untraceable motion, Danton used the speed and inertia of that energy to drill his magically infused blade through Cadan''s chest, leaving him unable to block and unprepared following the Push Wave. As Danton reappeared with his aura drained and the sword fading from existence, a white hot line was painted on Cadan, the trace of the blade''s impact sight only visible due to the extra energy involved to increase the damage tenfold. Cadan''s response to the pain and the situation was slightly delayed, but the intensity of the impact was beyond excruciating. He had to cover the deep cut he sustained, while making sure his health didn''t drop too low to be counted out of the fight. Despite his dropping stats, Cadan was still prepared to fight Danton to the end. Luckily this time, that spiritual damage didn''t affect his judgment or senses.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Cadan turned around to face Danton, who was still having a rough time keeping his composure together. Despite Danton''s remaining MP levels, he was still exerting a lot of energy. Danton''s health wasn''t great, but it was still higher than his own. "Rugh! You fight impressively with a sword. But I''m a Leray gradyent! You won''t get past me unless you can pull off another stunt like before, and I''ve got a few tricks up my own sleeve. Dualcasting!" Using the Dualcast aura skill, Cadan quickly had his entire body shrouded in a dark green veil of light, while he charged up energy for the rest, and despite knowing that this left him open to be attacked, Danton wasn''t going to risk it on behalf of the potential danger of unknown techniques or spells. Cadan invoked the next two of his spells, focusing on the effect of the magic and his personal aura to ensure this would work. "Armor of Darkness, and Dampen Field!" Though his invocation took some time to generate one solid aura over another, Cadan demonstrated the ability of stacking auras one on top of the other. There is nothing that stops anyone from using two special auras at the same time; it''s just not as easy to learn. Now Danton, try and break down this shield!


    "How impressive!" Gleeon of all people understood the secrets behind special auras, and this was the first time watching someone other than himself successfully generate and operate on two auras at once.


    "He can do that? That guy''s unstoppable!"


    Kite''s concern was ill-placed, but Gleeon responded to the situation objectively. "Cadan is capable of generating multiple auras. Anyone can technically do this, but the process isn''t exactly the same, and it requires a lot of time and practice. In fact, he used a double aura trick twice in a row, since Dualcasting is also its own aura. Using it first makes sense, because both Armor of Darkness and Dampen Field take a long time to invoke after each other. But still, Armor of Darkness protects the user from damage entirely, though is based on a total defense point system, not based on a time limit. Dampen Field lowers the damage received from magic specific attacks, while based entirely on a time limit. Quite frankly, Cadan just increased his health all the way back up to a hundred temporarily."


    Danton was surprised that Cadan could do that. But as expected, while using two auras at once, one must constantly concentrate on their successive generation. That means Cadan can''t move very fast at the moment. What spell would be able to bust through such impressive defense? The Luminous Artemus increases spell power level, but only to a specific extent. There is another way to increase spell power, but...


    "What''s wrong," Cadan taunted. "Can''t make your next move?" Danton wasn''t answering, and he finally seemed to be all out of ideas. "Just because my MP dropped to zero, doesn''t mean I can''t attack you. Knife Toss!" Cadan threw two small knives towards Danton, sure to at least coax him into losing his patience.


    Danton easily dodged the Knife Toss, and went through with his risky plan. The time it takes to make this work is what makes it so risky, and he could easily become interrupted even by a simple Knife Toss, but now is as good a time as any. "Kafire!" Using the staff to amplify its energy aura over Danton, he unleashed the spell, coating himself in a dark green aura of light.


    "Now Cadan will have three auras," Vanoss concluded. "Wait? Why is Danton the one... He forgot not to use it on himself by mistake!"


    Danton could feel the difference. Everything felt slower, though his reaction time and reflexes were left unchanged. Kafire is usually an anti-aura against the enemy. But after using it on himself, Danton changed his movement and tactics, using the staff again to generate three different glyphrings all surrounding Cadan in the presence of a triangle. Tri-Attack is the spell, creating one fire type glyphring, one ice type glyphring, and one electrical glyphring. Danton generated the glyphrings quickly, but he needed a lot more time to energize them to the point where they would be allowed to fire their elemental bolts. Danton changed his aim of the staff and direction to focus on each glyphring located at separate points. In the meantime, Cadan just threw two more knives in his direction.


    Danton noticed them in time to dodge again, but it could have easily interrupted the postponed charging sequence. Due to Kafire''s effects, Danton''s charging speed for all spells was less than halved, meaning they were taking a lot longer than usual. Nevertheless, he continued to concentrate on three points of each glyphring, generating a secondary spell at each point one at a time. "Molecular Boost!" Danton exerted magic from the end of his staff, creating another kind of glyphring floating just in front of the center of the fire elemental glyphring. Its effect, Molecular Boost will dramatically increase the power level of any spell, especially that of a projectile that happens to pass through the special glyphring when perfectly aimed, but Danton didn''t stop there. Despite how much energy Molecular Boost takes just to use once, he switched position to aim at the ice elemental glyphring, chanting the same name. "Molecular Boost!" Danton again switched to the electrical glyphring and performed the same action. "Molecular Boost!" Though his MP reserves were almost depleted and still draining to continue charging all three elemental glyphrings, the new addition of all three Molecular Boost glyphrings were well aimed to amplify the power of Tri-Attack tenfold.


    "I knew it!" Gleeon wasn''t sure about Danton''s motives before, but this amazing display of power, as long as it was taking all revealed a singular purpose. "Danton did use Kafire on himself, with every intention to do so."


    "What?"


    Gleeon knew that Mainne wasn''t the only one confused for answers, so he explained it anyway, amazed that Danton was giving the spell as much time to have it explained. "Kafire does more than slow down your invocation time. It conserves the MP energy you use by half. Normally, it would be impossible for anyone including Danton to generate three separate Molecular Boost rings at once, let alone to control all of them. The energy requirements are far too high for that. But because his magic points are reserved, he can overpower Tri-Attack all he wants without as many consequences. Plus, the benefits of Kafire are two-sided. In order to pull this off, Danton knew he would need to hold off on launching the Tri-Attack sequence, having prepared the other glyphrings before that. Normally, you can''t delay the charge time of your own spell, not without consuming additional MP energy, which generally would not do you any good. But in this case, the increased charge duration from Kafire is helping him focus each Tri-Attack ring while powering up each bolt of attack." It''s far more effective than overpowering something like Prism, because in this case, Tri-Attack counts as three separate spells as far as damage is concerned. Molecular Boost doubles power level, but in Danton''s plan, he is multiplying that factor far beyond two. Each elemental bolt will do six times their ordinary damage, since all three Molecular Boost rings are synchronized to the same general spell. "He really is learning how auras work. Cadan is finished."


    Even though this charge sequence took almost thirty seconds now, it didn''t change anything for Cadan. His auras were still active, but the disadvantage to running two at once as Gleeon once spoke of, is a reduction in mobility. Right now, Cadan was trying to figure out what was happening on the field. Too late now though, because Tri-Attack is ready to fire. Danton was already exhausted from this lone technique, but his attention was still unscathed. He released his Tri-Attack, sending all three bolts of energy to fire from their respective glyphrings, and since they would immediately pass into their own ring of Molecular Boost glyphrings, there''s no telling how much this would amplify the spell in total.


    To even Danton''s surprise, the bolts from all three sides immediately transformed into blinding beams of colored light fixated onto the same target point. There were three flashes of light, followed by a massive explosion of energy sending a shockwave in all directions, blinding Danton further with a sudden dust cloud. All of the glyphrings disappeared, including Danton''s aura from Kafire. After the dust dispersed further from the blast origin, the results were left in plain sight for the last man standing. Cadan was already in the process of dropping forward to the ground, failing to use his hands to shield his face from the fall, being unconscious already. Cadan''s auras, both of them were effectively destroyed by the blast of energy, which apparently was enough to perform additional damage afterwards. His HP was already dropped all the way down to zero percent, and by now, the battle was over.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Brash Danton | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: The Gapra Whitewood ~ FFXIII OST</a>


    <hr>


    "Haagh!" Danton relieved himself from standing, falling into a leaning sit-down in the grass, staff barely grasped into his left hand. As cool as that plan was, it took a ton out of him. That technique took thirty full seconds of uninterrupted concentration; it won''t ever happen again. Cadan was just stupid enough to make himself immobile for over thirty seconds.


    By now, the Siriean dome faded away, rewarding Danton with an automatic pass into Eldora City will all perks attached, but the gradyent will still have to wake up from that and manually input the same benefits for the rest of the gang. Cadan promised as much if Danton could defeat him in battle. However, not everyone was jumping up to celebrate.


    "What the hell was that?! I thought you said Danton had a long way to go before he could pull off some magic crap like that!"


    Kite is still his usual self anyway. At least it made things feel more normal. With Danton being the leading charge to Eldora City, everything just felt out of whack. Gleeon knew that he and Kite were both sensing this. Vanoss might be as well. Either way, Danton''s adaptability and creativity with that staff are reaching heights he has never seen before. "I guess there are a lot more secrets in Leray magic than we were previously aware of..." Nobody wanted to answer to Gleeon''s deduction, but now, somebody would need to help Danton and Cadan recover.


    It didn''t take too much time to revive Cadan and recharge Danton using healing orbs, but the team had to wait until Cadan was awake before anything could be done. When both of them came to, Cadan was then made to honor his end of the deal. Just like Belzer did for the entire team, Cadan updated the license cards of everyone in Trujima, praising Danton for his victory. Naturally, Cadan didn''t have a reliable memory of the last few moments, the amazing spell combination that defeated him. Danton saw no need to explain it to him. There is no way that trick could work twice, no matter how amazing it was.


    When everything was taken care of, the team pressed on foot to the interior of Eldora City, on approach to Eldora Tower for the registration process. "Still, I think I could have done better."


    Danton sighed from Kite''s repetitive behavior. Kite doing something better than the way Danton battled; he would love to see that in action. "The time for dreaming and self-delusions is over." Danton knew Kite wouldn''t take that without some resistance, but he welcomed his enthusiasm to defeat everyone in the upcoming Eldora championships.


    "You better watch yourself kid. I''ve become stronger too during this time." Kite knew Danton wasn''t as easy as he made it sound, but there is still a chance.


    Mainne nearly laughed at the familiar situation while she and the team reached the city entrance. "You both sound like kids going at each other. There will be plenty of time to prove yourselves, and we have a whole week to train before the championship starts again."


    Mainne was referring to the official process of championship chain events, in that the battle hosting for these events only happens once every week, in order to give the ruler of Sprawn Valley plenty of time to navigate their executive duties. The last battle finished last night, apparently with no changes to the current chain of command.


    Having never been to Eldora City before, Danton and Mainne were both eccentric with the scenery before them. The city itself is beautiful in every way imaginable. The streets were filled with people walking to their jobs or to their apartments. The size of the area was beyond what anyone could see. A map of Eldora was proving that one would have to explore on foot just to get the whole idea of the size of the area. But the most amazing structure of course was the massive cylindrical building in the distance, spanning up into the sky. At appearance, Danton guessed it to be well over a thousand meters tall, but there were special edges in specific areas outside of the tower, appearing to resemble extra rooms on certain levels that were totally opaque from this viewing angle. With a blank stare for answers, Danton could see that Mainne found the structure to be just as interesting. It was like walking into another world. Somehow, Gleeon and the others weren''t sharing the same sentiment.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Northland (Alternative) ~ Antti Martikainen</a>


    <hr>


    "Let''s not look like tourists," Gleeon pleaded. He actually used to grow up here in the past before his family moved to a more remote location. Somehow, it didn''t feel worth all that extra effort, but based on the memory he held in from earlier, Gleeon knew that Kite visited Eldora City before too, as a citizen anyway. Vanoss''s story was more mysterious than this, but he didn''t seem as surprised as the other two were. Maybe he visited Eldora as well?


    There was a long walk just to reach the entrance of Eldora Tower, but Danton just remembered something important about the registration process. "So Kite? Which one of us is going to register for the championship battle? If we both do it, it will take much more time to face off against each other."


    "I should do it of course."


    "You seem confident," Mainne reluctantly assumed.


    "Lawrence has nothing on any of us. Besides, if I become the champion, it will make the battle more exciting."


    "You are forgetting that I just defeated two gradyents in a row. What sort of demonstration of skill have you provided to us lately?"


    Kite was about to grind his teeth, having Danton dare to question his ability to fight at all. "I work in the dark to train kid."


    "And what''s with this calling me kid crap? My name is Brash Danton. Use at least the first or last name."


    "I don''t know," Kite declined. "You seem more like the kind we took under our wing, and not the other way around. Look. I''m still technically the leader of Trujima, so that''s how it is."


    "If I sign up for the Catalyst Grove, it will be faster to challenge you directly, but the same case could be made if you were the one who signs up for it."


    Kite glanced back at him while pacing his steps. "What do you want out of this, man? You want to fight me now just to see which one of us deserves to try first for the champion? I promise you that Lawrence is not a tough opponent. I''ve done my research on his battling style."


    Mainne stepped in to invalidate that offer before it was too late. "Registration ends at five today. We don''t have the time for random battling."


    "Fine then." Danton crept up closer to Kite, changing his mind on how to make this work. "We''ll rock-paper-scissors for the first chance to sign up."


    "If that''s how you want it..." Kite dragged his speed back to draw his right arm over to Danton''s. He had the right idea anyway. This is also an acceptable way to settle any dispute, best out of one. Kite bobbed his hand up and down alongside of Danton''s, preparing to reveal the results at exactly the same time. Kite had a strong feeling that Danton would chose rock over anything else, based on the likely fact that Kite usually goes for scissors. But this time, he was ready for it. Kite chose paper, while Danton chose rock, and that was that.


    "Nagh!" Danton sadly studied his clenched hand, soaking in his own defeat. "Fine. You get to go first," he allowed. Danton would just have to sign up for the Catalyst Grove, and make his way into the elite chain. "But if you somehow lose to Lawrence, I''ll be taking his place long before you make it back into the ranks of the elite chain."


    "No need to worry. I won''t lose."


    When the Trujima gang made it to the front counter of Eldora Tower for registration, the time and date for everyone was set. For those in the Catalyst Grove, everyone had to choose one of the four current elite members to overtake should they score a victory. The rules were once again repeated, in that the final challenge of the Catalyst Grove will have to be done with half the challenger''s HP reserves, and a time limit of ten minutes, without bringing any native weapons or armor into the chamber. With the plan already set into action, it would be time to settle into a place to sleep, with plans to continue further training in the meantime. From here on, it will be nothing but hard work and sheer determination to take the elite chain of Eldora Tower, in the name of Trujima.

 Chapter 23: Behind a Leray World

    <hr>


    <03/15/1972 ¨C 14:33 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    Nyar wasn''t giving up in his silence during the car ride back home. The drive there was awkward in total, but he and the others all knew what was to come upon entering that front door again. Danny had his arms crossed over his chest, not glancing over at Nyar even once. Jane avoided eye contact as well, but even if this has depressed all of them, it''s better they learn the truth.


    Nyar thus waited until he was the last one inside of the house, shutting and locking the door behind him to continue the conversation he left off on, this time with somebody more important. Danny and Taylor let themselves in without a direct destination to head to, and Danny was already pacing around in the living room. "Okay. Family meeting time right now."


    Danny stomped in Nyar''s direction to hold his position and get everything off his chest. "Let''s just cut right to the matter." Danny felt so pumped and heated, but Nyar wasn''t out of the blame yet. He pointed to his uncle for clarification. "You''re the one who thinks people from Sprawn Valley are tainted somehow; that if anyone uses magic for any reason, they''re a disgrace to society!"


    Nyar figured Danny would still be this upset, but he has yet to crystallize everything Nyar was trying to explain earlier. This was his chance to put everything into perspective. "People who use magic as a replacement for their entire life span; their whole reality is misguided. That''s what I know."


    Shaking his head in disapproval, Danny continued his disagreement standing in place, while Jane and Taylor bobbed their heads between whoever was talking, paying such close attention. "You know, I was able to get over this only because you kept your mouth shut. Both my mom and my dad have already learned that lesson."


    "Am I not supposed to speak what I believe boy?"


    "You don''t get to push your way into other people''s business and tell them they''re entire life choice is forfeit! Jane practices magic because she loves it. It''s her decision! And you will accept that!"


    Nyar sighed, realizing that Danny was far beyond any sense of recovery. His feelings are too mixed up. He cares far too much about Jane''s life, and who knows why? "What about your life choices, hm? Do you have plans to do the same, to head into Sprawn Valley and drown in that illusion?"


    Danny packed two steps forward, lowering his voice while firm. "I don''t know what I want to do with my life just yet, but I have the freedom to decide whatever I want. If I really wanted to, I could go back into Sprawn Valley right now, and become a lifetime Leray wielder. And what if I do? You''re saying that you would hate me for making that choice?"


    "I never implied that I hate people who chose magic as their life style."


    "Tch! Could have fooled me!"


    "Think back by a few weeks," Nyar ordered. "To all three of you, when you arrived in America, you hardly knew where and what everything was. Nobody is blaming you for that. But even as you are new to the outside world, you are also new to the way the world is supposed to work. Making a living for yourself requires personal and economical responsibility."


    "Did you forget that I''ve been working my legs off at that Laundromat?"


    "You know I haven''t. But this news should apply to all three of you, and nobody wants to understand the possibility that I''ve seen firsthand."


    "What the hell are you talking about?" Danny wished Nyar would just be clearer. Whatever message he wants to get out, nothing has changed.


    "Look at it from my perspective. I see kids growing up in Sprawn Valley, having fun with their magic battles. Hell, even adults do it too. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with that. But then take all of that magic and fun away, and what are you left with?"


    "A place that sucks from here to hell."


    "I see it must be a shock," Nyar explained, "to see that the outer worlds run things differently. Life is hard out here, and I''m not saying that I very much enjoy that difficulty. But think about how incompatible the people in Sprawn Valley become, when faced with the reality that they need to grow up, get a job, make a living for themself, and accepting all of that responsibility all while learning everything. In Sprawn Valley, that sort of life lesson is totally bypassed, all because they have magic to fall back on."


    "And that''s supposed to be such a bad thing?" Jane drew attention to herself by popping the question between their argument, but it was worth finding out what Nyar really thought about it. Is living life with magic really such a bad thing because it''s different from the outer worlds?


    Nyar didn''t care whom he answered to, since all three of them are right here. "I don''t want anyone to travel outside of their comfortable home, unprepared for how differently things are. You can''t just waltz into another country and assume the rules are all still the same. Sometimes I tremble to imagine what would happen if all the magic in Sprawn Valley one day vanished, the chaos and anarchy that would follow."


    Jane didn''t have a response, not that she needed one. Danny was still upset by this though. Nyar really is a piece of work. Who here ever said the rules were all the same? This was made clear from day one! "Well you certainly painted the picture out here that you wanted to. You think Sprawn Valley is such a horrible place, but the way I hear and see it, especially coming from you, America sucks a whole lot worse. Kalamo too. All of them!"


    "You know," Nyar reminded himself and his nephew of the moment where times were different, "if you and Taylor had remained on the Tidal Max during its entire cruise, if you both arrived without learning about the secrets of Leray magic and Sprawn Valley''s practices, I know for a fact that you both would have been able to adapt to this place easily. You might have even been happier with the way things go here, and dare I say, more motivated to make something of yourselves in the world. But ever since you involved yourselves with that magic, I can see that you''ve come too close to its influence. Your minds have been poisoned by this idea that a place like Sprawn Valley could really ever make someone happy. Even if it could, do you really think such strong peace would last forever?"


    "What did you just say?"


    "Tell me!" Nyar barked to Danny. "Tell me that everything in Sprawn Valley is perfectly fine; that there are no criminal organizations threatening the lives of their own people. Tell me that there aren''t dangerous conspiracies lurking beneath the cover-ups of their own council. Tell me, that there is absolute certainty that nobody, even under perfectly normal circumstances, are unable to die under the protection of the veil."


    Danny knew none of those hopes were true, but it was almost threatening seeing Nyar''s face and his voice shifting in tone. His eyes were becoming glossier, and his arms and legs were stiffening with anger. "You really don''t believe that the people in Sprawn Valley are totally unaware of what''s going on?" Danny remembered everything from the beginning of his adventure in Fronas, where there would be at least some cause of concern. "I''ll admit," Danny allowed. "I have met a few people who don''t realize the possible dangers that magic can''t save them from. But I''ve also met people who learn magic, including myself, specifically for self-defense. We can adapt magical power to ourselves in Sprawn Valley to help each other out. And if it comes to that, fight for our lives, even against those who try illegal dark magic. It never was a perfect system Nyar."


    So he knows and admits to such contradictions! But being brave doesn''t solve anything. "I''m actually proud that you decided to learn magic only for that reason Danny. You had every right to realize any potential danger in that zone."


    "Oh, shut up!"


    Nyar didn''t hesitate for a moment. One way or another, Danny of all three of them must understand the truth. "But do you honestly believe for a moment that you were somehow invulnerable to danger because of those skills?"


    Danny threw his arm aside his chest, casting Nyar''s assumption aside. "What difference does it make?!" The guy doesn''t understand a fraction of what it''s been like. "You really have no idea what the three of us have been through. I never got around to finding the time to explain it to you. I figured you didn''t want to know."


    "We already spoke about¡ª"


    "No, we did not! I never told you how much danger we were in from time to time. My skills and powers grew with practice, but if left by myself, I would have been injured or worse against such dangerous and convoluted people. Hell, Jane would have too if she were by herself, but the three of us stuck together, and it made us that much stronger." Danny saw Nyar giving him that look of dismay again. "It might not be pretty, but the people there will stick up for themselves, and risk their lives for other people. I don''t care if that mentality is dangerous or not."


    "Well you should."


    "What are you saying Nyar? That it would have been better to surrender our lives to those assholes who tried to ambush us? To just let the Scarlet Cult get away with whatever they wanted to?"


    "It''s not your job to play a hero of foreign countries!" Nyar was shouting, but he didn''t care how it might sound. "The Leray agents are there to protect their own people, and this includes investigative teams, gradyents, or elites on assignment! The champion himself is supposed to clean up those messes, not leave it to their own citizens!"


    Jane didn''t want to get in between Danny or Nyar. With what he just said, Nyar sort of had a point. But even right now, Danton and his team are perfectly aware of the situation, and they aren''t having the easiest time dealing with it. More importantly, how does Nyar know about Leray gradyents and elite assignments?


    "I disagree," Danny defended. "It''s the job of every single person who embraces Leray magic, to protect what it means and what it stands for. Sometimes it takes more than the force in uniform to handle something as big as national threats."


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Nyar held his head in distress. "I can''t believe what I''m hearing. It''s like you think you''re all real soldiers, even right here where your powers don''t exist."


    "You want to say that again?" Danny turned his threatening attitude into action, by picking up one of the thirty-pound weights he left in the living room from Nyar''s gym equipment last night. When Danny lifted the weight, he held it eye-level to himself using only the muscular strength in his right arm. When he spoke, his voice wasn''t stressed by the usual force it would need to hold a heavy device for a period of time. "Is this not supposed to be real?"


    "What? You''ve been benching some more weights?"


    "Not at all," Danny explained. "The average sword weapon you can find in Sprawn Valley is actually right around twenty pounds. To a total newbie, that''s quite heavy... But given enough practice and training, this small thirty pound weight feels right at home with me, maybe on the lighter side."


    Nyar shook his head in disbelief. "So you can lift more by swinging a sword."


    "Among other things," Danny clarified. "I might not be able to use magic powers while I''m here, but all of my other skills, my training, my reflexes, they all stay with us even after we leave Sprawn Valley. And you know what, Jane might not look it, but I bet she could beat up three heavy dudes unarmed all by herself. She''s fast, she''s built up muscle, and nowhere can you call that an illusion of power."


    "Danny, you¡ª"


    "No!" he stopped. "You listen to me! None of us has shown arrogance to the difference between New York and Sprawn Valley. None of us has denied taking responsibility for anything. If Jane wants to live as a Leray wielder, it''s her call to make. Same goes for myself and Taylor. We''ve all been involved in things I never thought were possible. But now that we are, I won''t abandon doing the right thing for the people I care about! And for what? Because you''re scared it could be dangerous?"


    "It is dangerous!"


    "And I don''t care," Danny rebuttaled. "Taking more precautions is one thing, but I won''t turn my back on people who might need me, nor will I turn my back on what I really want to do. My freedom!"


    Nyar shifted his attention to Taylor, who has been dormant in this argument the entire time. "And what do you think Taylor? What do you say to your boyfriend, who wants to willingly risk his life to solve other people''s problems, friend or not? Are you okay if something happens to him?"


    "I wouldn''t let anything happen to Danny."


    "That''s not an answer," he warned.


    "You know what I think?" Taylor heard enough already. Nyar had some interesting ideas about Sprawn Valley. It was at least made clearer to why he doesn''t care for Leray magic at all. It''s not about hating Leray magic; people really are afraid of the practice, not even the substance itself. "I think you''ve done a lot of hard work and planning to make a living for yourself out here, and I get it. People who use magic for a living don''t work in the same thing; they don''t have the exact same hardships that you have. But instead of simply being proud of what you''ve made for yourself here, you''ve let all of that hatred melt you mind instead." Nyar was about to speak and argue again, but Taylor lifted her forehand flat, allowing her to continue. "You already know that Danny and I got into tight spots in Sprawn Valley, and it was dangerous. But fighting for the right thing and risking our lives isn''t an easy thing to do on its own. It''s a different life style, but it isn''t wrong just because we went to a different school, or learned different things."


    "None of you understa¡ª"


    "Enough of your crap!" Danny interrupted. How could Nyar really stand here and go on after being talked down to by someone a fourth of his own age? "Taylor''s right. You''re stressful job or whatever it is that you do has blinded you to what''s real and what''s not. Or maybe you''re just jealous that life is simpler in other places."


    "As if," Nyar denied. He faced towards Taylor again, prepared to analyze her situation more closely and openly. "And I never expected someone in your position to understand. It makes perfect sense that you''d cling to Leray magic and Sprawn Valley with everything you have."


    "It does?" Taylor tested.


    "Well, with you being a Banshee to be and everything,"


    "Enough Nyar!"


    Nyar didn''t take Danny''s warning considerably. This is the truth after all. "It would be the perfect get-away. Why mock the only place in the world that might actually accept you for who you are?"


    "I said enough!"


    "See what I mean? Circumstance excuses everything. You just better hope that Sprawn Valley lasts long enough for you to avoid getting captured by the Banshee Empire."


    Danny stepped between Nyar and Taylor, and took a defensive stance. How dare he bring up the Banshee situation in such a demining way! "Screw you Nyar! You... You''ll burn before I ever let you threaten any of us again!" Danny lifted his right arm with his hand open, aimed at Nyar''s face. And in his fit of anger, there wasn''t anything else to think about. "Fire Bolt!" Though Danny expected nothing other than a red glyphring to suddenly surround his wrist and launch a sphere of fire energy from the center of the ring out from his open palm, the situation was met with awkward silence and pause. Taylor and Jane raised their eyebrows in surprise. Nyar just kept his disapproving look, and Danny was left to come back to the surrounding reality, remembering that no matter how badly he wanted to make Nyar pay, his efforts were thwarted by the lack of a veil, the lack of Leray magic. In a defeating realization, he lowered his arm, unable to think of some other way to make Nyar leave all of them alone.


    "I''m very disappointed in you Danny." He actually tried to use magic against him! "You''ve only proven my point. You''ve forgotten what differences are between this world and the last, all because you rely on Leray magic too much to help fight for you."


    "Fine then!" Danny leapt forward to throw a solid punch at Nyar''s face, since that doesn''t rely on magic, but Danny had a few problems trying. The fact that Nyar was taller by a whole foot did not help reaching as easy.


    Nyar was of course prepared to see something like this coming. He narrowly dodged to the side without shifting his legs, and grasped Danny''s slinging arm, only to take Danny for a throw over his shoulder. The slam to the ground was loud and likely hurt, but Danny was still struggling to get back up and try again, totally unfazed by the pain it could have caused.


    "Come on," Jane begged.


    Taylor as well didn''t want either of them fighting like this, as dangerous as it was. "You guys, stop this!"


    Danny managed to get back up, with Nyar holding Danny''s arms slightly in an attempt to block any more incoming punches. Instead, Danny turned around swiftly, letting the back of his elbow drill through the air behind him. Danny didn''t see it directly, but felt the force of impact with his elbow to some part of Nyar''s body. When Nyar''s arms let him go, he realized it was a direct hit to the face, hopefully on his nose.


    Nyar stumbled backwards without dropping, and studied his face with his hand to sense the damages. Danny''s elbow jab hurt like hell, right on his left cheekbone, barely grazing his nose. Before he could think to do anything else, Nyar''s pager began beeping on and off. It was enough to stop Danny from coming at him. Nyar was curious too, since he was scheduled to have the whole day off. Nyar pointed down at Danny with his command. "Stay put, and don''t move!" After reading the pager, Nyar picked up his personal cellphone, dialing the number to his office place. Right now isn''t the time to come in and work a case.


    After getting an answer on the phone, Nyar was allowed to talk out whatever was going on without further interruption, but their eyes glared at him with anger and vengeance. "I thought we had discussed that today was off limits... I don''t care who called out! Didn''t you try the others?" Nyar had to put up with this moron''s explanation as usual, but this was ridiculous. "You''ve gotta be kidding me... Adrien? You owe me a special drink after this. And you''re coming this time, understood? Good! I''ll be right there."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Aerial Drift ~ Tigerforest</a>


    <hr>


    Danny judged the situation as it was quickly while Nyar hung up in shame. "Can''t even stick around long enough for me to kick your ass."


    "We''ll have plenty of time to kick each other''s asses later." At least they were all capable of sitting tight and keeping out of trouble. "I want all three of you to stay put in the house until I get back. Same rules as usual. Is that understood?"


    Despite a delay for answer, Taylor just let everything move on. "Sure, whatever." It was good enough for Nyar to leave. Even after he went out the door, Danny looked like he was going to kill him, but Taylor couldn''t blame him for that anymore. Who knew Nyar was going to be such a pain?


    Jane sighed that it was over, but nobody really made a lot of sense while screaming at each other. "I''m really surprised you thought Fire Bolt would work out here," she judged. "But I guess it doesn''t matter either way. Nobody seems to accept magic these days." Jane slumped into the dining room chair, but her moping drew Danny and Taylor closer to her with their reassurances. They can''t even just let her have her own thoughts about it all. As rude as Nyar is, magic really is a type of illusion, in its own way.


    Danny knew Jane was still recovering from Nyar''s toxic advice. Who knows how long he has been trying to convert her? If he did succeed, Jane would be nothing but a depressed failure. Why turn her into that Nyar? Why?! "Jane. You know that isn''t true."


    "When I got excited teaching you two everything I knew, I was deceived into thinking you both actually loved magic. And I was mostly wrong."


    "Well sure," Danny explained. "I wanted to learn for defense, and to protect Taylor. She wanted to learn to protect her facade and appear as normal out there as possible. But my reason for embracing magic has changed."


    Jane let Danny speak, studying his expression. It wasn''t a surprise that they were both trying their hardest to cheer her up, but everything they''ve ever done is stood up for Leray magic. She never really knew why though.


    "Like it or not, magic is part of this world. It''s not an illusion, even if Sprawn Valley is the only place it can exist in. Everything we all went through in that place was completely real. Everything we''ve been through is important!"


    He really means that, and Taylor appears to be happy with that explanation too. She''s smiling on it right now, standing next to Danny, wrapping her arm in between his own... Right, they''re a fully-fledged couple now.


    "And living your life as a Leray wielder, or rather a Leray master; that''s totally inspiring to me. If I have to risk my life to help a friend get the freedom to do just that, I''ll help you out any day."


    "Thanks you two." There he goes again, trying to bring JDT back together. Maybe that''s not such a bad idea. Jane didn''t want to ask Danny to return to Sprawn Valley, because he would be missing his parents... But it''s possible that Danny would chose that on his own free will, asked or not. As for Taylor, it would go without saying how beneficial it would be for her to go to the same place. Let''s face it; these two are inseparable. "I wish everyone wasn''t so scared of Leray magic. If that were true, people like Nyar would be different."


    "Most people anyway," Danny replied. He soon differed his attention to a side thought, his expression showing as much. "You know what; I used to think that Nyar hated magic simply because he was afraid of it."


    "And now he''s not afraid?" Taylor didn''t believe Nyar changed at all from that argument, but Danny might mean something else.


    "I doubt he ever was. He''s missing the entire purpose of Leray magic in whole. Lots of people are both afraid and ignorant of magic, but for one reason or the other. I don''t think magic scares that guy. I just can''t convince him what magic is really about anyway."


    "And what is it about?"


    Danny felt a slight tickle from Jane''s question. Her tone was happier yet pungent, trying to put him on the spot, though there wasn''t a reason he wouldn''t understand it. "Leray magic, though initially designed to have fun with Leray battles, it symbolizes so much more now. It''s more than just a life style. It represents freedom for those who don''t have it, a sport like no other, exercising the body and mind. Leray magic is so much more, and I think there are so many possibilities for what it can be used to do. For the three of us, it''s our real freedom."


    "You sound like you''re getting interested in becoming a life-time Leray wielder," Jane pointed out.


    "There''s many more options than being a Leray wielder." With her attention again, Danny elaborated on his earlier statement. "There are Leray scientists, Leray inventors, Leray agents, Leray gradyents, Leray teachers, Leray archeologists, and I''m sure I could think of a few more. I might even come up with something new related to the field."


    "If only you could also be a Leray scientist on symbology."


    "No need to worry about all that." Danny knew he was right to sound confident. One day, he knew he would return to Sprawn Valley again, but before he does, Jane needs to know one thing. "There might be people that think you''re some kind of monster just because you''ve been branded, but they don''t know the whole truth; they have no perspective on your story."


    "Thanks, but I''ll be fine not making it a public announcement that I''m marked."


    "Whether you do or not," Danny prioritized, "I''ll virtually destroy anyone who hates symbol wielders who never asked to be branded in the first place. It''s a misplaced hatred that has no place in any sort of country. And if you''re ever on your own, I expect you to stand up for yourself in the same manner."


    "And live with an irremovable symbol?"


    "Live to do what you want, and to do the right thing. You don''t have to punish yourself just because you can''t remove that tattoo from your hand. I promise; it won''t stop you from becoming a Leray master."


    Jane rebuttaled her argument to the contrary, "I''m more powerful than Brash Danton. But I know that I shouldn''t be."


    "The only difference it makes is in how much energy it takes for you to invoke those powers of yours. Danton will work on whatever weaknesses you exploited. You''ve just raised the bar for him, that''s all."


    "You sure do see things optimistically..." Danny must know how stupidly valiant that behavior is. "But I guess it''s worth a try."


    Taylor congratulated Jane on taking her own life back regardless of symbols. "That''s the spirit. Having that thing does nothing but toughen up the people you really want to defeat. And one day, we''ll show you just how far that thing will let you go."


    "Oh!" Jane lounged. "That sounds like a brave challenge."


    "What, you forgot?" Danny had to be the one to remind Jane of this? "You and I, and Taylor are going to have our battle. Even if I lose, I''ll defeat you one day Jane. With that symbol assisting you, it only makes me more psyched to finally defeat you and prove what I''m worth."


    "Well then, I guess we''ll just have to find out."


    Taylor knew Danny was sincere in his words, but she was also glad seeing the effect on Jane''s face. That glint of excitement in her eyes; she loves Leray magic so much. The thought of it gives her the thrills! Somehow, seeing Jane happy again is so refreshing for a change.


    "And Taylor?" Danny hadn''t forgotten about Nyar''s other ugly comments to her on the delicate situation. "You don''t have to worry about that Banshee situation. If I do head back to Kalamo to visit my folks, I want you there right with me. You can stay at my place for a while. I won''t allow anything bad to happen to you there."


    "Y-your place?"


    "Point is, I''d never let that sort of harm come to you. I''ll tear down the entire Banshee kingdom with my bare hands if I have to. I don''t need magic to do that either. So you''re safe with me."


    How could a person stand up to a worldly problem without any form of magic? Danny sure is confident today... Taylor ended up laughing out loud from his statement, and apparently, Jane was laughing as well. His currently confused expression only made this funnier. She could imagine Danny going directly to the Banshee king, only to shout in curses and forbidden tongue. It probably wouldn''t end well realistically, but at least he''s serious about helping her.


    "What''s funny about that?" he begged. "You know I''m serious. There''s nobody who will ever mess with me."


    He never changes. Jane remembered every time Danny would bridge himself up like this in Sprawn Valley. It just feels right; this feels normal again... Yeah! What does Nyar know about anything?

 Chapter 24: Champions Duel

    <hr>


    <11/11/1962 ¨C 18:02 | Eldora Tower, Eldora City, Sprawn Valley Capital>


    "Welcome back to the Leray championship battles! I''m your host, Allen Score, and you''re watching Eldora Networking." Ready for the live televised statement, Allen Score, the host reporter for the championship chain carefully summarized the events that unfolded during this week''s popular events. "We''re back with more results and updates on the new challenger going by the name of Kite Fargenst, who has managed to defeat all four of the standing elites. His battle with the current Leray champion will be something to look forward to. Best not to miss out on this battle, which will take place at six-fifteen P.M. this evening."


    Allen read the teleprompter update, which was a basic instruction to update the audience in addition to the Catalyst Grove. He needed a short pause before continuing. "And in other news, it looks like the Catalyst Grove has allowed several new elite players to replace the standing elites. These battles just took place after Kite Fargenst made his rounds towards the top. With the new results we have now, the following battles and outcomes have been decided. Vanoss Highdrow faced off against standing elite Jhore Leion, taking his place as the first level in the chain. Gleeon Miao ended up challenging the Vanoss Highdrow, winning his victory, but Gleeon''s selected target level was against standing elite Ash Willson. Now Gleeon Miao has attained the level two status in the elite chain. And another challenger named Brash Danton faced off against standing elite Harris Leesh. With a close-call ending, Brash Danton managed to take Harris''s place as the third level elite in the chain. After that heavy action, Danton was defeated by another new challenger of the Catalyst Grove, Mainne Gelica. Mainne however went on targeting the fourth standing elite, Azazel Mython, and gave him a crushing defeat. Today has been a total wipe of the previous elite chain, sending them all home in defeat, while these tougher, younger warriors dominate control of Eldora Tower. The only remaining member is the champion, Lawrence Citrin. If Kite manages to pull this fight off, it will mean big changes in Eldora''s chain and hierarchy. Folks watching this at home, stay tuned for live action in our primary event!"


    Though Kite was currently waiting on the 900th floor, the news feed was being broadcasted through the speaker system of the entire room. This news is good for him; it means all of Trujima managed to keep their word and work their way into the ranks of Eldora Tower. Danton must be itching to fight the champion right now, but members only get to battle the champion after all of the main events have ended for the day. So instead, he''ll have to settle for someone much more qualified to lead the role. Citrin''s time has come to an end. Kite knew he was prepared to battle against the standing champion today. The last four victories came easily, with only minor struggle against his last opponent, and yet Mainne somehow overcame it. This also means that Mainne actually defeated Danton to get her position. Must have been some battle.


    The qualifying battle was going to begin shortly. Standing firm in a white capped robe with special designs and artwork on the interior, Lawrence Citrin prepared himself for his very first challenge of the day. Only a couple of fighters made it through the first elite this morning, before they were overridden by the Catalyst Grove event by a bladed maniac, but Lawrence didn''t frown on today''s strangest luck. It was exciting to break the reprise that followed week after week. Champions don''t get to battle people outside of the elite chain, unless they are worthy enough to make it this far in this event. Of course, if Kite wins, then Lawrence will have to step down as leader of the nation. Who then dares to step into this sacred chamber?


    Speaker systems and cameras were all set up on the walls of the entire enlarged room. This huge cylindrical space will be the battleground; the champion''s chamber, designed with the highest quality of artwork, following a fight that has existed for centuries. Several minutes passed, giving Lawrence the sense that Kite would be on his way up soon. The suspense left him in thought again, to the prior announcement regarding the elite chain. It''s only on occasion for a standing elite to be replaced, but for more than one elite to be replaced in the same day takes a route through rare luck. It couldn''t have been luck today. All four of them were replaced in a single event, something that has likely never happened before. Is it possible that Kite is training in a group? If it is, then his group must have planned to battle here today in one way or another. To think they might be this strong...


    When Kite stepped into the champion chamber; floor 950 of Eldora Tower where the final battle is to take place, he was first amazed at the intricate artwork of paint and design installed into the room, with patterns of ancient symbols drawn all the way up to the unreachable ceiling of the building, and that was saying a lot, considering there is a distance between there and the ground, about 100 meters of vertical space. Then there was the champion; Lawrence Citrin. That robe he wears must be a battle robe, likely capable of deflecting lots of magical elements, but he''s no match for Kite''s recent training exercises. He took everything he learned, including what he learned from Danton, and forged new battling tactics that has proven to be unbeatable. Kite also had time to study up on Lawrence''s battling style. He has only a couple of weaknesses, and exploiting them won''t be an easy task.


    Kite noticed the unfamiliar warrior as he walked in, amazed by the sight of the room in person. It''s true what people say; that the live feed from the mounted cameras and the physical view of the room are like night and day. Lawrence could study this much from the current situation. But who is he trying to fool, with that black haircut and a long-bladed sword? That''s a Dire Saber he''s carrying by the looks of it. They''re not really expensive, unless you''re middle class with credits. Looks like he''s in his upper twenties. Lawrence thought about what he should expect from a swordsman, and the obvious swordplay came to mind. All champions end up receiving special training with all weapons, even if they are refreshers.


    "Who''s the assistant?" Kite''s question echoed through the room, but he stopped walking when he found himself about ten meters from Lawrence. His question referred to the other guy of age standing far behind Lawrence, likely already out of range of any possible Siriean dome.


    To this, Lawrence gave his simple answer. "That is my trainer and referee for our upcoming match, Shadler."


    That weird looking guy is his trainer? Kite swallowed the news quickly, spicing himself up for the greatest battle ever. "Alright then, Lawrence Citrin. I''ll challenge you right now, in the name of the championship battle."


    "We''re ready to go in just a few more seconds."


    Kite almost forgot about the necessary calibrations that needed to be made, since the battles here are aired on television, but despite the integrated speaker system, he didn''t hear any announcers or talk hosts. Lawrence must have some way of muting them during the match. Might as well call it a mutual decision. That noise is annoying in battle.


    Lawrence could sense Kite''s eagerness to proceed straight to battling. It''s time to see what the guy is made of. "Kite Fargenst," he pronounced. "Our battle here will determine the next champion of Sprawn Valley. Should I lose this battle, the transfer of power will be almost immediate, and Shadler will fill you in on the rest if that happens. But you should know that there are strict rules for our match today. I trust you already know about the standard marks for battle?" When Kite nodded, Lawrence continued to summarize. "Then you should know about the specialties to battle me. Defeating me will automatically award your digital license with five hundred thousand credits."


    Kite''s eyebrows rose, as this was news to him. In all of the time of researching the champion''s battle and specifically Lawrence Citrin, no section ever said anything about winning such a huge credit bonus at the end. Now he has to win!


    "In addition to that, there will be an enlarged Siriean dome to allow extra battling room, and no official time limit. As champion of Sprawn Valley at the top of the elite chain, I will always begin a battle in Eldora Tower with ten percent extra HP, if that''s alright with you."


    Ten percent extra health? "I guess I''ll just have to hit you ten percent more often."


    "Ha-ha! You''ve obviously got the skills to make it up here without a scratch on you, but my elites get replaced all the time, and I''ve been here for three years."


    "I already know that. I know everything about you Lawrence." Kite knew his phrasing might sound strange to him, but his study was solid, and his practice was everything else. "I know what moves I have to make, how I must dodge attacks, and how I''m going to beat you today."


    "Is that so?" Lawrence equipped his primary weapon, a crystallized staff, similar to one Danton uses now. Of course, this staff looked very different, and was twice the normal size, though this means he''ll have even more trouble blocking sword strikes. "I change styles anytime I need to. People who rely on unofficial data without actual experience won''t stand a chance. So let''s get this show on the road, Kite."


    Upon his request, the Siriean dome formed all around the room, covering all the way to the wall, and just short of the ceiling. After the holographic text appeared to display the official beginning of the Leray battle, Lawrence engaged his energy scope, with Kite copying the action for preparation purposes.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Winner of the Spacetime ~ FFXIII-2 OST</a>


    <center><iframe title="The winner of the spacetime" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O8TghOooMs4" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: Champion Title + 500,000 CR | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    With the brightness of the room''s lights intensifying slightly, and the official announcement to the battle being made, Lawrence performed his first action, simply by jumping and sweeping backwards without turning around, a retreat of distance to take advantage of his magical staff. "Go ahead Kite. I''ll let you have the first move."


    Kite predicted even this much. If Kite really gave it all he had right at the beginning, the advantage would fall to Lawrence instead. Nice try, former champion. "Oh, don''t worry," Kite reassured. "I won''t be going easy on anyone today." Kite was holding his blade in his right hand the whole time, but now he reached around with his free arm to the back of his pants, clipping his hands around the grip of another device.


    Lawrence almost panicked, expecting Kite to pull out some sort of forbidden object, or perhaps another kind of weapon. In either case, his referee would call out the problem.


    Kite delivered on his promise to surprise Lawrence the moment the battle began. If Danton was watching this somehow, he too might not see this coming. Kite pulled the blade through its attached combat hilt, dethatching it from the resting place and into his left hand. With this second Dire Saber, Kite was now holding two of them at once. This passive ability isn''t ruled by a Leray spell, or assisted with some sort of magical skill. Dual wielding is a natural skill that one must develop by hand, one that takes time and coordination. Normally, the Leray veil blocks the user from dual wielding one weapon with another weapon, so long as each weapon is technically different in its model or class. But if you can carry the exact same one-handed weapon in each hand, this rule during battles is exempted as praise for those who have the physical skill to dual wield in the first place. It''s even true what they say about holding two swords; the weight doubles on you. Kite practiced for strength as well as speed.


    Lawrence held tight and aimed his staff further down his range of vision. "A dual wielder? That doesn''t surprise me. I''ve dealt with your kind before."


    With a sadistic grin forming to his face, Kite lowered his left sword so that the metal tip would drag against the metallic floor, putting more pressure to add to the agonizing sound of metal screeching cutting throughout the room, and Kite very slowly paced forward to keep it going.


    Lawrence nudged his legs back slightly, and congregated his teeth together from the anticipation before him. Why would he make that hellish noise, walking forward so carefree? Doesn''t Kite realize that he can''t block with a sword? What is this guy''s game?


    Seeing Lawrence refuse to take action only proves what a coward he is. Kite tensed all of his arm muscles, lifting force into the left blade while exerting only a small amount of magic to the device. With his slash from the ground upward, the release of that magic created the skill Wind Slash, a small yet highly visible line of air gashing through the air quickly. Kite''s action''s created the Wind Slash without much effort, and he kept his chants to his head to avoid alerting to the champion of his actions.


    Noticing the Wind Slash on approach, Lawrence quickly sidestepped to his right, allowing the visible line of wind-elemental magic to drift on and glide away towards the dome shield. Instead, the projectile ended up crashing into the ground, missing Lawrence by a large margin. When it was over, Lawrence relaxed a fair amount. If Kite''s accuracy is this bad, this should be easy... Unless that was some sort of bluff. Either way, Lawrence soon had his chance to attack. Being this far apart wasn''t going to make most spells easy even at a range. But this should force Kite to battle like he really means to. "Fire Wall!" Launching a solid wall of fire one meter high and thirty meters in diameter, the advancing wave of fire quickly traveled forward at a speed closely approaching that of a top-level Shadow Wave. As it approached Kite, the impact was going to be one incredible display of his endurance level.


    Kite was hoping for this, a weak and compromised magical attack that leaves Lawrence so open. Even with both blades in his hands, using magical spells wasn''t difficult for him, especially for spells that don''t rely on glyphrings. Danton proved already that releasing magic through other parts of the body was possible. "Earth Glave!" Both his choice of spell and chant for the power was intentional. Kite launched an Earth Glave starting at a location right in front of his current position, while artificial chunks of rock, dirt, and stone were shoved forward, and more were created as the wave advanced. As predicted, the average height of an Earth Glave easily blocked the view level from his target.


    Kite knew the Earth Glave was going to cancel out a chunk section of Lawrence''s Fire Wall while overpowering the spell enough to continue forward, but before this happened, he charged more magical energy through each of his blades, and shoved both of the metal tips into the steel floor with enough force to pierce through the smooth surface. The result followed by the release of that charged energy generated a strong Shadow Wave spell advancing forward from Kite''s position, faster in speed than the Earth Glave. That''s another interesting fact about using swords, even when holding two at once; the user can channel energy through a sword for non-glyphring related spells to get them started, as if the blades themselves are a conduit extension of one''s body or limbs. Charging a Shadow Wave like that was as easy as it was in practice. But here come the real results.


    Lawrence should have known that Kite was more experienced than this. Using a more powerful earth element of magic to cancel out the Fire Wall while simultaneously attacking is just good strategy, but the Earth Glave could use some work. Tall doesn''t mean fast, and it took little effort for Lawrence to simply back jump away at the next moment to avoid getting hit from the Earth Glave. The range of Earth Glave, if started from the user''s position is barely fifteen meters at best, and the wave isn''t all that fast either. At least that''s what Lawrence expected. At the same time, the tall peaks of the Earth Glave spell rendered Kite hidden behind the structure. So when the spell ended, a sudden Shadow Wave of higher speed was already just half a second away from where the Earth Glave ended. In the next moment, Lawrence was too late to react a second time to the unpredicted Shadow Wave. With pure surprise, Kite''s Shadow Wave slammed into Lawrence.


    Cutting his skin and through the magic robe with magical slashing damage, Lawrence was trapped in place by the cutting combo of magic, as designed by Shadow Wave. The ability in one way stuns the target until the aura itself disappears completely. While the damage level is still comparatively low in such a high-level battle, Lawrence being unable to move or predict the next moment left him even more open to another problem.


    Right after launching that Shadow Wave attack, Kite powered his tactic up further with a follow-up skill. Infusing a higher amount of MP energy into each blade, Kite ferociously swung both white glowing blades through the air, ejecting the magic through the space with each swing. One sword and the other at different angles though focused on the same direction, Kite''s follow-up skill was Splice. With two swords, the ability''s power gets two hits for almost the same MP price.


    Just after Shadow Wave ended, Lawrence had two white glowing lines of hot energy drill through his body, immediately creating first-degree burn marks at the impact site, while bringing the pain level of each slice to a level difficult to forget. Lawrence was suddenly feeling the horrible sensation of Splice; the blade spell that causes severe pain with each hit, though costly to the user''s MP as well. Luckily for Lawrence, his ability to fight from long range prevents this new ailment of pain from slowing him down. It was wrong to underestimate Kite.


    That''s a huge tank in HP, considering what he had to start with. Lawrence prepared his staff, for the time taken to evaluate the subject was far too long. Kite has to go down quickly, or else this will end in the wrong way. With his next aim, a jade colored glyphring formed at the edge of the material staff, when Lawrence relinquished the power. "Electro-Blast!" Out came a fast glowing projectile of electrical energy, zooming down the field through the air, almost fast enough to generate a sonic boom. When Kite gets hit with that, he won''t be able to do anything about it.


    Kite saw the projectile coming his way, but the bolt of electrical energy was much faster than he anticipated. It looks like an Electro-Ball, but Lawrence didn''t cast that exact spell. Playing it safe, Kite placed his swords in across from each other at opposite angles, turning his chance to block while aiming the predicted path better. His speed was barely capable of moving the blades in the right position, just as the electrical bolt slammed into the sabers with such force, Kite was nearly rocked off his footing.


    Kite however didn''t know what this spell was, which became the next mistake Lawrence took advantage of. Though Kite managed to stop the bolt from hitting him at full force, he was still just as vulnerable to the effects that came afterwards. While normal elemental bolts simply explode or vanish after an impact, Electro-Blast transforms the flying sphere of energy into a much larger sphere, one that engulfed Kite''s entire body a moment later. With Kite stuck on the inside of the enlarged sphere, the magical ball began to light up with electrical arcs, soon to release the main payload. Kite knew what was about to happen after recognizing this portion of the spell, but it was all he could accomplish before the activation took effect. Kite was electrocuted from inside of the sphere for a few long painful seconds with high voltage; simulating the same spell as Thunder Flare, and when it was over, Kite''s blades and parts of his body were slightly smoking, while all the nerves in him were tingling with a sensational drain.


    Against what Lawrence expected, Kite grinned with a mild laugh, as he held tightly to both blades with a full dash forward. Kite had every intention of getting up close to try and battle Lawrence blade to blade, despite the difference in Lawrence''s weapon of choice. But no matter, "You maniac! Shotgun Blast!" Forming a single yellow glyphring in his free left hand, Lawrence now had access to a small but powerful one-handed shotgun weapon, capable of dealing a fair amount of non-magical damage with the projectiles of each bullet and their blasts. Lawrence held the gun by the back trigger, aiming at Kite as he was rampaging towards him only seven meters away now.


    With a blast of shrapnel and shotgun rounds, Kite was soon to be inflicted with the painful sensation of speeding bullets, stopping his advance to fight Lawrence in close combat effectively sooner than desired, but Kite was ready for such eventualities. Having trained for so long how to be the fastest swordsman has also sharpened his predictive abilities and reaction time. Kite battled with the nature of training in his mind; approach the target without taking any damage. As a result, Kite managed to leap to his left, just out of the way of a narrow barrage of bullets as he landed on the metal floor with a squealing slide. Kite reacted the moment he saw the gun appearing to Lawrence, well before the first shots were fired. Otherwise, it would have been too fast.


    Though Lawrence was surprised that Kite managed to dodge the speed of a bullet, he again turned his gun with sharp aim to Kite, firing once more, and another time after that. With each burst of shrapnel, Kite somehow knew where to move in order to dodge the projectiles, leaping left and right like some sort of acrobat, and the weight of those swords wasn''t slowing him down one bit. In another second, he would be in striking distance. Lawrence thus discarded the shotgun, tossing it far to the side as it slowly faded away from the physical world, and in conjunction, he used another yellow glyphring to generate a short saber in his hand. With the staff in his right grip, and a short sword in his left, Lawrence was now dual wielding in a defensive attempt to stop Kite''s close combat rampage.


    Kite bellowed as he drilled forward with both Dire Blades rising up above his head. He noticed Lawrence drawing a sword of his own, but paid it little mind since the skill level would still be outmatched. With both swords high ahead, Kite put all of his force into a double downward strike towards Lawrence''s body. Instinctively, Lawrence blocked the strike with the metal of his own sword. Lawrence already put away the staff on his person, allowing him to use two hands to deflect the force of Kite''s serious strike, but this turned out to be nothing except for a display of challenge and strength.


    Now in perfect position to show off his combat skills, Kite unleashed the fury of his training, slashing his blades towards Lawrence one at a time, keeping one sword in a steady hand in the event he needed to defend himself simultaneously. With his effective movements of keeping Lawrence on his toes, Kite managed to create a momentum of advance, with Lawrence slowly stepping back with each block against Kite.


    He''s fast, and Lawrence had no possible way right now of opening a new attack window. The sword training of his own life was just enough to keep himself together, just enough to avoid getting hit with those longer sabers, and Kite wasn''t letting up for a moment. One strike after another, Lawrence blocked every single swing with the metal flat of his own blade. Kite attacked him relentlessly and without letting up. Lawrence was lucky enough not to take any hits so far, but at the same time, Kite would soon wear him out first.


    Kite continued bombarding Lawrence with consecutive attacks with alternating blades, but Lawrence became surprisingly quick enough to evenly match him on defense. Lawrence eventually switched tactics, trying to dodge Kite''s attacks to open up his own attack window, and leave Kite more vulnerable, but Kite could notice this happening at the same time, and the purpose of his alternating blades allowed him to deflect any hit Lawrence tried to use, while switching the blade to strike back.


    For several moments, this went on without any progress to either combatant. Lawrence and Kite were evenly matched in close combat using blades, and it was obvious to everyone watching on camera. Lawrence however knew of more ways than one to end this cycle and regain his lost momentum for magic battles. As tiring as this was, the lack of MP usage enabled both himself and Kite to slowly regenerate some of the MP reserves that were already used up in the beginning of battle. So Lawrence took that chance, backing away further from Kite while managing to deflect or block his swords of fury. To get away, he expended just a tiny fraction of his magic reserves, causing his body to disappear and rematerialize elsewhere all while evading an imminent sword strike from Kite. Thirty meters on the battlefield behind Kite, Lawrence successfully teleported away from Kite''s position, putting an end to the farce and opening the options back up for long-range battle tactics. Since such tactics involve heavy magical skills, Lawrence also switched back to his special staff in order to do so. Holding it up high for a counterattack against Kite, he unleashed the magic through the crystal, causing some of the ground beneath them both to quake violently. "Fiery Plume!"


    Kite knew Lawrence might try something like this, but Fiery Plume is a heavy hitting area attack spell. If he takes any damage, this might end early against his desire. Kite thus charged forward again, after turning around to face Lawrence and his confident stance. Lawrence''s blade was gone, so the temporary weapon aura must have faded when he teleported away. Clever mage! Kite however decided to dash forward through the exploding geysers of scorching air, shooting up from the ground by magic design. While Fiery Plume is an area attack, each geyser explosion happens in randomized locations, and that means there is a small chance that Kite could actually avoid taking any damage out of randomness. Trying to dodge these is pointless.


    Against Lawrence''s expectations, Kite bravely charged at him again with both blades out and ready. Despite the tremors below their feet, despite all of the rising heat and smoke nearly surrounding him, Kite was totally unfazed by the danger that could easily defeat him. As Kite closed the gap even faster, Lawrence held his staff in preparation. Fiery Plume was going to wear off by the time Kite attacks him, and he has just left the effective radius already. By absolute random chance, Kite was betting on not taking any direct hits from that area attack, and somehow, he was lucky enough to avoid all of it.


    "Nagh!" Kite struck towards Lawrence again, while Lawrence used the staff itself to block the hit of his blade. Normally, a staff wouldn''t allow any weapon to be deflected, so this must be some special weapon the champion is able to wield. Kite let off again, and started attacking Lawrence in close combat like before. This time around however, Kite was having trouble scoring any hits on Lawrence. His ability to move that long staff as it was is formidable enough to count as dual wielding in a way. The staff is so long, that if used correctly, he can use either end to deflect two separate blades striking at different locations and angles, which is exactly how Lawrence chose to defend himself. Kite let up again to retry an angle of sword swipes, but was met with the same results.


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    Eventually, Lawrence decided to push back, using a normally ineffective rod of the staff to try and hit Kite, probably to create another opening. With just a few swings, Kite began to lose his previous momentum for close combat measures. Instead of fighting back like before, Kite lunged backwards far enough to escape the rod''s range, casting some sort of shadowy aura throughout his entire body.


    "Void Edge." Kite performed the ability just like Gleeon had shown him before. A dark pulsating though highly transparent aura of energy suddenly surrounded his entire body. For the duration it will last, Kite would be able to quickly regenerate his MP reserves any moment he is hit by Lawrence''s physical attacks, or for any moment Kite is able to land a physical hit against Lawrence. He might not understand what this ability is. While it might seem early to use the aura spell, Kite knew he was still suffering the heavy loss of initial MP from his first few attacks at a long range. The advantage of fighting up close is that he normally won''t need to rely solely on magical essence.


    Lawrence tended to ignore this aura, since he wasn''t certain of its effects. He heard of the name Void Edge before, but the results were escaping his old memory. In all carefulness, Lawrence generated another weapon yet again, putting away his staff to ensure he could wield the heavy device. Casting the Hammer of Might spell, Lawrence held onto a massive hammer, made from the magic all around them, and capable of dealing massive blows to the enemy''s HP if landed. The effective metal is so massive in surface area; it could potentially block both of Kite''s sabers, and if used correctly, overpower his own strength while dealing blunt damage to his body.


    Kite knew there was a slight problem with his plan to use Void Edge. The effects are ignored when your primary weapon only strikes the weapon of your target in a blocking attempt. Kite might have to endure a few hits for this to work, but the easiest strategy would be to provoke Lawrence into hitting him. Kite accepted the fate of the current situation, and lunged at Lawrence again with both blades ready.


    Lawrence instinctively kept up his guard, using the new hammer he spawned as an effective shield against Kite''s blades, but instead of having to maneuver his hammer around his frontal base, Kite was apparently slowing down. Lawrence took the chance that there was no apparent bluff, and swung the massive steel away, knocking Kite''s swords out of striking preparation against him, and with another blow, he managed to slam Kite''s upper chest with the blunt object he wielded with both hands, forcing air out of Kite''s lunges and making him more vulnerable for the next hit. Lawrence used his new opportunity to keep up the combination of attacks against Kite, draining away slowly at his HP while causing him great pain. He made little effort if any to block most hits with his blades, but was unsuccessful for the most part. When Lawrence finally saw the chance he needed, he shot the hammer forward in a straight line, smashing Kite in the face as he stumbled backwards for balance and recovery. But it wasn''t until after studying his energy scope with the free time given to him when Lawrence realized what effects Void Edge likely has. It was a trick after all!


    That much MP recovery over such a short period; Kite used damage to regain lost MP. Since the hammer wasn''t infused with additional magic, the HP cost was ultimately worth it to him. Kite''s too cunning to take lightly, even by strategy.


    While standing back to his legs, Kite noticed a sudden pause in Lawrence''s actions... So he finally noticed. "What''s the matter champ? Didn''t you say something earlier about how out of place I was in your chambers?"


    "If you''re trying to provoke a reaction out of me, it won''t work."


    Kite didn''t care either way. The next phase of his strategy took effect as soon as Lawrence was done talking, with Lawrence''s hammer weapon fading away, now unusable. While Lawrence pulled out his special staff once more, Kite could feel his aura failing on him already. It won''t matter though. Even if all he gets left are a few more strikes, he now has the total overall advantage to win this fight. Kite held his weapons close to his face in preparation, charging energy into each metal saber. "With the power flowing through me, my blades will make you burn!" Without chanting the exact name of the spell, Kite managed to infuse both blades with the same aura, coloring the swords into a crimson colored glow with flaming particles and effects flowing around the metal. Crimson Blade on both swords is what Kite decided to invoke next. With that, he once again took the close combat challenge back to Lawrence, who would only use his long rod of a staff to block.


    With increased firepower however, Kite quickly and easily overcame Lawrence''s physical strength, while sending his vulgar edges of sharpened metal through his skin. With each slice through Lawrence''s chest, the sword phased out between the interior of his skin, and returning to normal upon exiting; the specific design of the Leray veil to prevent certain physical demise, though the effects of pain and magical damage by amplification are all the same. The burning fiery sensation on Lawrence''s body with every strike made it harder to focus or concentrate on blocking Kite''s attacks. On top of that, the amplification of magical damage also appeared to slightly amplify his physical strength for each sword strike, making it close to impossible for Lawrence to deflect the blades with his staff as he did previously.


    Kite was playing on this strategy too, since Crimson Blade spells last for a good period of time. He managed to recover even more MP for the first three hits before Void Edge finally ended during his barrage of close combat combinations. With the scoring of ten solid hits, Kite wasn''t about to stop, but Lawrence had other plans in mind, teleporting away again like a coward to avoid physical bombardment. In the same motion, Kite noticed a green glowing aura becoming stronger and stable around Lawrence, just after the teleportation to a further distance was complete.


    "Healing Aura!" One of Lawrence''s many trump cards he could use in tough situations was healing himself almost instantaneously after taking a fair amount of damage. It wasn''t even worth checking his own energy scope until after the aura takes full effect. Kite is far more powerful than estimated. The fact that Lawrence has to resort to using Healing Aura proves that. "Ha-ha!" he laughed. "Your skills are more impressive than I could have imagined, swordsman. After all this time, you''ve finally given me the fun of defeating a worthy adversary."


    "That last part''s my line," Kite taunted. "Even after a one-time ability as powerful as Healing Aura, I have a full advantage over you Lawrence."


    "Would you care to test your theory, now that I know what I''m up against?"


    "Electric Blades!" Kite once again infused his sabers each with a magical aura coating of elemental infusion, while changing the type of elements used for each strike. The aura of red and fire quickly transformed into bright and blue arcing electricity surrounding the metal of each sword. While it took a lot of energy for Kite to use, he was ready again to prove who will be victorious tonight. With another charge forward, Kite began another close combat assault against Lawrence using the electric blades.


    Lawrence prepared to defend himself again, but with Kite''s power added with the magical energy of infusion into each blade, similar results from before were replayed against the current champion. Kite''s strikes with his blades far exceeded Lawrence''s ability to block the hits using the rod end of his staff, and he was soon taking slashes of hits again. This time, the pain signature was far worse than before, an electrical discharge with every strike that left Lawrence stunned in place, all of his nerves tingling and shocked while his body struggled for self-control the millisecond after the electrical effect ended, leaving behind burning sensations at the impact site currently masked by the temporary numbness. Lawrence wasn''t able to accomplish anything or regain control after the very first hit, because the effect that left him stunned lasted more than enough time for Kite to continue alternating blades one slash after another, indefinitely keeping Lawrence unable to block, dodge, or avoid taking enormous amounts of damage per hit.


    Kite eventually struck Lawrence fourteen times before he was finally too exhausted to keep going at that current speed, and he kicked Lawrence in the chest to knock him down in a method of gaining a small amount of safe distance. With Kite''s MP drained from the initial invocation of his own ability, his stamina was ultimately reduced, and he tired out more quickly than he was comfortable with after taking all of those muscular swings. By now, the electrical auras were wearing off from the swords, lasting for a shorter amount of time than usual, given that Kite rarely invokes that specific aura on any of his weapons. Crimson Blade will last him for twice the amount of time just based on how much training he has had between using Crimson Blade and Electric Blade. At least now, the results were showing a high effect.


    After being knocked down and left alone long enough to regain his senses, Lawrence felt totally wiped and drained, for a number of reasons. After studying his own energy scope, it was clear that Kite would soon win the battle just using his blades alone, even against a well renowned champion. Refusing defeat, Lawrence stood back up and unleashed magical power through his body, while Kite had to wait long enough to assess what was going to happen next. "Armor of Darkness. Grant me the power to keep fighting on." Casting Armor of Darkness generated a dark red aura with black pulsing waves within the glowing light, and shrouded Lawrence inside of a protective field attached and aligned with all of his other abilities and movements. The spell and its known effects are popular; immunity from damage granted by a limited shield of magic integrity.


    "What a nuisance," Kite remarked quietly. Despite what he thinks, this wasn''t going to be the setback Lawrence wanted to create. Kite watched several moments where Danton, a warrior more impressive than this idiot in front of him demonstrate the most amazing abilities and strategies used against the gradyents of Junon. In return, Kite has prepared himself for situations like this one. In order to overcome the powerful aura linked to Lawrence''s Armor of Darkness spell, he would need a spell capable of breaking through that shield, something powerful and also energy efficient. "Let''s try Firesurge." Kite casted the chunk of MP energy into both ends of his blades, something usually done at the wrists to generate the powerful wave-based attack spell. These swords will represent everything Kite fights for, the reason he can defeat any champion on the battlefield. They may not be ready to defeat Danton, but against this guy, "It has to be enough!" In a crisscross formation, Kite launched both of his swords down into the metal floor of the building, simultaneously releasing the stored energy, and generating a shockwave from the impact alone strong enough to support the initial invocation of the Firesurge spell. The moment the metal touched the ground, became the moment of creation for the maximum tier level of Shadow Wave heading towards Lawrence and his useless shield.


    Lawrence could see Kite''s attempts to attack him from a distance regardless of the barrier he put up in place. A Firesurge wave, refined from Crush Wave to contain the highest power level of damage and magical projection allowed for the ground-based spell. Despite the burning wave of advancing energy appearing larger than most Shadow Waves or Firesurges, Lawrence stood his ground, certain that Armor of Darkness will hold long enough for Kite to deplete his magic reserves, or to give up entirely on the fight.


    Kite gave Firesurge every ounce of strength and willpower he had available, and patiently watched the potential results. When Firesurge slammed into Lawrence''s shield, the physical contact causing the wave to explode with damage after cutting into the field of protective magic, both Kite and Lawrence witnessed the first of many successful attempts to perform what normally would be considered impossible. The Firesurge wave upon explosive impact knocked Lawrence back into the air, while simultaneously destroying the entire network of holographic hexagons surrounding the Armor of Darkness field. When Lawrence landed on his back, the red and black aura around his body shut down immediately, and he was no longer protected.


    While the health on his energy scope was unchanged, the Armor of Darkness aura was totally defeated with a single spell. Kite was impressed in his own abilities, while wondering how shocked Lawrence must be feeling right about now. How much will it take to get this guy to cave?


    Lawrence had no choice but to contemplate what just happened as he supported himself back to a stance. Kite just destroyed a powerful protective aura shield in just one move. Is there no limitation to this man''s strength? No strategy that Lawrence has employed failed so many times in a row for a single opponent, not for years and years. In all hope, something has to give! "Spirit Volley!" Sending a massive amount of MP through his crystallized staff, Lawrence unleashed the spell of Volley, infusing each and every magical arrow spawning through a temporary haze of yellow glyphrings with an additional aura of spirit elemental magic. This is an area attack that Kite cannot dodge, and if he gets hit by just one of them, his entire battle judgment may change.


    Kite soon noticed the massive volley of arrows beginning to rain down from above. There must have been several dozens of small yellow glyphrings high in the air aimed at him, firing arrows with purple glowing auras around each head. With the area of effectiveness, even with a Push Wave, there is no possible chance to dodge the zone in time. Kite held onto his blades tightly, charging additional energy into his body while preparing for the right moment, right when the arrows were close to his skull. "Shining Bracer!" Without moving his body an inch, the release of magic into the spell Kite cast sent a powerful shockwave of negative gravity in all directions spanning over a meter in effective distance. The result in front of him bewildered Lawrence, who could only stand and watch as the entire barrage of arrows suddenly changed course to areas only around or aside from Kite''s general location. The effect literally bent the flow of gravity around Kite, pushing all arrows into a different direction, as if two magnets of the same charge opposed each other to a distant setting. Every last arrow was thus made useless as they crashed into the steel floor. Kite only expended two percent of his energy to do just that, something Shining Bracer is always capable of. But to get the timing on that so perfect to outlast a volley of arrows was just too new. Learning how to use these spells in different ways is usually Danton''s style, but it comes in handy when adapting to his own methods as well.


    Kite turned around towards Lawrence, appearing evermore confident in the direction of the remaining battle to be. Sensing no retreat or forfeit from Lawrence''s stance, Kite continued his strategy of battle, using the remaining energy he kept charged inside of his body to unleash another counterattack. "Tornado Strike!" During his chant, Kite became surrounded in a whirlwind of visible air, spinning around him at the speed of a tornado, while leaving him the center of the small storm. Since the tornado will move with him in synchronization, Kite literally controls the direction of this twister. With both blades ready for action, Kite rushed on his feet towards Lawrence, and delivered another devastating blow, a single strike with both swords to his lower thighs, assisted by the additional small cuts and brute force of the tornado itself. When the tornado ended shortly after, Lawrence was revealed to be recovering, trying to prepare himself to fight back even after all of that hectic downplay.


    Lawrence pulled himself together, noticing Kite right in his sights. With the hidden energy already charged at the end of the crystal in his staff, Lawrence thus unleashed a speedy counter spell against Kite, one that took effect much quicker than he would have expected. Lawrence didn''t bother taking the extra time chanting the name aloud, which allowed for the spell to invoke and strike the target instantly, leaving Kite with no reaction time afterwards. With the flick of the staff, Kite was suddenly surrounded by translucent conic pillars of crystal, phased halfway into the ground.


    In the next moment, they all converged to a single point, right where Kite was standing. It all happened so fast, Kite never managed to think of his next action before being crushed by the converging pillars, dealing blunt magical damage to him on seven different points all at once. The sensation afterwards momentarily sent Kite down to his knees, knocking the air out of his lungs completely.


    Despite Kite being sent down with that hit, he still managed to hold both swords tightly, and infuse more magic into each blade. "Flaming Sword," he coaxed. The ability difference in Flaming Sword against Crimson Blade is the time it takes to generate the aura being much longer for lower power level auras, though the cost in MP is greatly reduced. Kite held himself conservative while his body tried to recover, but the sudden flaming aura in both of his blades would surely be noticed and acted upon before he would have a chance to use them.


    Lawrence wasn''t about to let up while the momentum was on his side, and he quickly invoked another magical skill, ensuring Kite never fully recovers from that critical blast to his HP. "Quake!" Additional release of MP energy through the staff allowed Lawrence to quickly create the conditions for an earthquake within the entire dome shield, the effects unable to reach the outside of Eldora Tower. At least now Kite was now having a difficult time standing upright, while slowly taking a small amount of damage each second the Quake lasted. It gave Lawrence more time to think of another spell strategy, even while he is close to being defeated.


    Kite stood up during the Quake against all odds, unfaltering and balanced despite the seismic shifting under his flooring. Perhaps Lawrence expected this to give him more time. How pathetic! "Rush Assault!" Adding an additional speed aura to his body, Kite zoomed forward at an untraceable speed, wielding both fiery blades before the target. Kite thus unleashed his close combat fury against Lawrence, who was unable to protect himself due to the sheer speed of each hit, and the fiery effect of each strike had Lawrence in a struggle for recovery and control.


    But the moment Quake ended, Lawrence bounced back, suddenly striking upwards with his staff against Kite''s blades, sending them enough force to break the connective grasp in Kite''s hands. His swords were sent flying far off to the left, leaving Kite completely weaponless until they were to respawn via transference back into the owner''s hands. Even with a critical health factor remaining, Lawrence wasn''t ever going to give up without a real fight!


    "Bullet Blitz!" Having spawned the weapons immediately into his hands, Lawrence unleashed both clips of machine gun bullets into Kite''s body, left totally unguarded without any blades nor a shield. The stunning effects of pain Kite experienced was noticeable, as the bullet tracks slowed him in place while Lawrence was left the opportunity to continue his relentless combination of spells and attacks using all of the magic available to him. Lawrence traded the guns for two small standard knives in the glyphring spawns, quickly generating enough magic into each metal tip for the next attack that Kite would be unable to dodge even with his swords. He shot bright blue narrow beams of Leray energy from each knife tip; the Mako Beam spell. Landing two hits on Kite, Lawrence quickly shifted to his next remaining ranged magical spell, holding his staff again after discarding the knives, and casting Laser Rain against Kite. Despite there always being a delay between the invocation of Laser Rain and the smack down of laser energy rays, Kite was still too damaged by the previous attacks to respond, thus was he bombarded by several dozens of lasers in a single instance.


    Every last laser that drilled Kite from above was more painful than any attack he faced so far; the burning sensation generalized to each location they penetrated through his skin on both sides. By now, Kite held out his hands, reclaiming both of his swords, and realizing the mistake of lowering the guard on his grip even for a moment. Lawrence is a tough opponent when backed into a corner, but his last actions have just left him totally drained and void of all remaining MP energy. Despite this, Kite planned to finish this here and now, with a single blow. One of the special ability combinations he trained himself to learn, that will be the deciding factor of this battle. "Nice try, but it''s over now. Shadow Launch!"


    While not an official registered ability, Kite began by generating an aura of spirit elemental magic around each of his swords, amplifying their power greatly. He then invoked two additional spells at the same time with great mental concentration. Starting with the generation of a Shadow Wave, spawned initially at the position he currently stood upon, Kite normally would be hit with his own spell as a result, but just before releasing Shadow Wave''s form, he also enabled a Flashpoint aura around his body, using it to take off forward just as he let Shadow Wave take form on the ground, where he previously stood. Kite was basically flying through the air, his body a narrow array of light shooting off at the speed of a bullet, both swords strung out and prepared for a powerful hit. Since Flashpoint is too fast to react to, Lawrence never saw it coming, and thus did Kite virtually drill both of his magically enchanted sabers through Lawrence entirely. The added speed to a double sword strike, combined with additional elemental damage would overpower the single strike. In case it wasn''t enough, Lawrence was again slammed with the Shadow Wave Kite left behind, only a second later since the distance gap was initially low to begin with. Before he could even turn around, Kite heard a thump and a clank to the metal floor behind him following the sound of the small magical burst of explosion when Shadow Wave disperses. And that meant...


    When Kite checked his back, Lawrence Citrin laid on the floor, unconscious from all of the painful battle damage and the high impact from Kite''s last hit. Just like that, it was finally over. Kite just won the championship! What a powerful and glorious feeling! "I''ve defeated Lawrence." With that judgment, the Leray reward system appeared in holographic text, causing the entire Siriean dome to collapse by design, and revealing the result of the battle to everyone watching through the angled cameras of the room. To think all of this time he thought champions were tougher than this...


    <hr>


    <Reward: Kite Fargenst ~ Champion Title + 500,000 CR | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track AD</a>


    <hr>


    "Oh my goodness," Shadler echoed through the other end of the room. "You just defeated Lawrence..." The old man had to revel in the thoughts of everything possible to believe the battle he witnessed, something he was doing during that long match, but Lawrence lost the fight with the landslide that Kite Fargenst delivered today. This really is happening, a new mage rising to the top to take control of Sprawn Valley. Shadler composed himself once again to make the public announcement official. "You''ve defeated champion Lawrence Citrin, and are hereby moved to champion status!" Shadler had witnessed only a couple of victorious champion battles, but he could never get used to them. Kite Fargenst; warrior of the blade and skilled fighter will become the new champion today.


    Kite wanted to say more, but his mouth was preoccupied keeping up with the constant breaths for air he needed. Moving around as he did, taking all of the battle damage, and using up so much MP energy at the end took a severe toll on his stamina, but this is nothing. When the time comes, Danton will be even harder to face up against. It will require all that he is to defeat him.


    Shadler threw a special healing orb to Kite, who caught the device in hand easily. Shadler then calmly walked towards Lawrence Citrin, who was passed out on the chamber floor. He is to be awakened and informed that his title as champion is hereby stripped, but that will take a few minutes even with the top quality revival orbs, designed to quickly awaken and heal people at the same time. "That was some impressive fighting, Kite Fargenst."


    While using the healing orb on himself, Kite replied back to the former assistant. "You can just call me Kite now. Anyway Shadler, what will you do now?"


    Shadler paused in his footsteps momentarily, easily amused by Kite''s obvious confusion. "Did you really believe me to be some puppet only loyal to Lawrence Citrin? Kite, my name again is Shadler Cowl. I am the personal trainer in council, only devoted to those who are currently in championship status. This means from now on, I must get used to becoming your personal assistant instead."


    What a weird guy. "Whatever. I won, so let''s wake this guy up now and tell him."


    "Aren''t you forgetting to wave to the audience watching our program?" Shadler had to remind Kite that every viewer in the nation must be overexcited about how things turned out tonight. "The least you can do is acknowledge your victory. Try waving at the cameras; any angle is fine."


    Kite had a better idea. Despite feeling fatigued even after the healing orb began restoring all of his stamina and lost health, Kite managed an impressive swords play technique, spinning both blades while alternating the grip for each hand. He gave all of the viewers an aftertaste of the impressive display of skill he used tonight, something much more memorable than a simple shy wave of the hand could ever achieve. "Will this suffice?"


    "It will have to do." Shadler held his hand high in the air for a few seconds, making Kite wary of his potential actions, though that''s all he did, lowering his arm back down afterwards. Contrary to what Kite realizes, the tower has a crew monitoring the live cameras and controlling which cuts are sent to the public broadcast. His hand signal was an ending to the feed in the champion chambers, giving everyone some free room to feel themselves. "The camera feed is now disabled for this room, including all speaker and microphone systems. Kite? You may now be at ease."


    "Aw! That was my show old man."


    "You jest," Shadler replied. "As gatekeeper of Eldora Tower, I implore you to immediately begin accepting the new responsibilities as they heed your call." Shadler was already working on reviving Lawrence, but the process was obviously going to take some time.


    "What? You going to teach me about some selection of secrets to rule Sprawn Valley or something? All I''ve done so far is prove which one of us is stronger than the other."


    "Something like that."


    "Well don''t get comfortable yet," Kite ordered. "First we need to work on my training as a knight. I know that I won''t have to fight anybody until next week."


    "Regarding the champion ceremony to allow wielders to take on the challenge and reach the champion to battle him or her, the ceremony automatically ends the moment a new champion is declared if it happens, thus those remaining to have battled him are automatically sent to next week''s listings. But I must ask. Why so eager to train further with your skills so soon? Have you not secured a new victory?"


    "Obtained the victory I have." Kite suddenly felt keen on reporting to this Shadler guy what was about to go down soon. Lawrence isn''t awake yet, but it won''t concern someone who is too weak and unfit to hear the news. "But secured this I have not. Are you familiar with the Trujima gang?"


    "Uh, no..." What an opportunity, to think this guy would willingly supply people information about any connections he has.


    "They''re a pact, a group of people we''ve all formed, and I am the leader of the Trujima gang." Shadler was silent, so Kite had to continue to intrigue the man while the healing process glowing with light still continued to revive Lawrence. "All five of us, have successfully infiltrated Eldora Tower by all legal means."


    "Huh?"


    "You really don''t understand old man. This display of skill and raw power tonight was a group effort." Kite put his swords into their protective cases behind him, putting himself more at ease. "Gleeon Miao, Vanoss Highdrow, Mainne Gelica, and Brash Danton. The four of them are in the same pact, and all competed in the Catalyst Grove to achieve elite statuses. The reason for this is to prove which of us five is the strongest."


    With a mild hesitation to answer, taken by the time to process Kite''s admission, Shadler enabled his understanding. "I see now. Eldora Tower is nothing to the five of you but a stepping-stone to see which one of your members is the strongest. And if you were the only one exempt from the Catalyst Grove, that must mean that one of the other four might be far greater than yourself?"


    "That''s a generous way of putting it. I have to prepare myself. For next week, before the Catalyst Grove event, he will challenge me in combat directly to take this position. I must not underestimate his abilities. Lawrence was nothing compared to the battle I''m soon to have."


    "I see." Shadler pitied and admired Kite at the same time, a true rarity among people. He isn''t very bright, deep inside that strategic mind of his, giving out free information to strangers who could potentially use such information against him. On the other hand, the truth to this story makes Shadler''s job so much easier and simpler. There is no necessary means by which to train Kite to rule as a champion, not while there lies a chance within the next week that his own reign could come to an end so swiftly. Whoever this he character is that Kite shields for privacy must be even more interesting than anyone else in this entire building. Shadler had never seen such refined swordsmanship in his entire life. Despite this, even in theory is it easy to defeat him in battle by means other than close combat.


    But Kite knew of this, and thus forced Lawrence to conduct in such combat to play at his weaknesses. That is why Lawrence lost today. If there is someone potentially capable of defeating Kite Fargenst even in his current state of brilliance, that battle will be worth seeing, for all eyes of the world. "In that case, I will see that arrangements are made to ensure that all battlefields are cleaned up and well fitted for the event. I think I''ll leak a little bit of talk to the networks as well, to make sure that ratings are at an all-time high when next week comes."


    "You do whatever you want with that." Kite only realized it after disregarding Shadler''s statement, but what he just said actually means that battles that occur outside the normal event of champion chains and Catalyst Groves are also recorded for live television. Still does this not matter. If the whole world wants to watch and see who is more worthy than the other within the new Eldora chain, then may they watch with grace and honor.


    "If I may ask," Shadler handled, "what will you do if either of the two scenarios plays out?"


    "If I win, then that means my challenger will be barred from the same combat in Eldora Tower for three entire months. It also proves that the natural skills and order of a top swordsman are always to be rightful for the position of a king."


    He really would dare use that word? Leray champions are not kings; they do not rule the people with an iron fist, and neither does the mage council. "And if you are defeated fairly?" If Kite is defeated in a Catalyst Grove event, the rules state that he and the new challenger would switch positions. In a normal champion battle however, the former champion is removed from the tower structure entirely.


    "Then," Kite sighed, "I will of course renounce my position to the magic warrior. He and I will trade places, since the outcome would have me put on ice for a three-month period. It may also in his new leadership cause the Trujima gang to disband, but I have no solid proof that this would happen." If Danton does somehow win, I''ll have to refine my training again, and take him on one last time. A rematch on my terms is possible, though it not so easy on his part. That is why becoming the first to achieve champion status was so vital today. I can''t believe we decided that with an archaic and trivial game of hand gestures.


    With a loud groan and gasp for air, Lawrence came back to his senses, wondering what transpired. "What happened?"


    "I''m sorry Lawrence Citrin." Shadler had to give him his condolences. It has been nearly three whole years of such kind dedication and duty, but things are changing now. "You have been defeated in battle. Kite Fargenst is the new champion."


    "But, that''s not possible!" Lawrence struggled just to sit upright while the healing effect took place. His previously inflicted wounds from Kite were so severe even after having been reduced and limited by the protective veil. Fatigue and muscle weakness were the most difficult of all pains to fight through, likely from all of the electrical attacks Kite deployed against him. But if Shadler claims this to be the truth, then after all these years, he''s finally... "Kite defeated me?"


    "That I did." Kite hovered above the man from a few feet away, Shadler looming down much closer to Lawrence''s body.


    Lawrence stopped struggling, deciding to let the healing devices work their magic on him. "Then I must hand over my title as Leray champion over to you, a warrior far more capable in the arts of swordsmanship than I, and truly a worthy challenger that shall excel in power far beyond my own capabilities."


    "Your kind words ill suit your manner. You embarrass yourself Lawrence."


    "Not at all." Lawrence finally managed to stabilize himself sitting upright, but Shadler wasn''t huddling down at his side for no reason. Stingy guy he is. "I''m honored to have seen somebody other than myself grow to such great lengths as a wielder. This defeat of mine was only a matter of time, as will be the same for you someday. Here you go Shadler." Lawrence handed over the oversized white rod staff with a red crystal centered into a core to Shadler, who was patiently waiting for the holy weapon to be relinquished. Only one may bear its potential.


    Shadler accepted the special staff from Lawrence, as it was his duty to hand over certain items and objects. "Thank you Lawrence." It''s too bad that Lawrence wasn''t able to finally tackle the Trial of Mages before he was defeated. If he had, this battle might have ended much differently. "I''ll keep this safe as usual."


    Lawrence stood up carefully, shaking his head slowly to keep himself orientated with his old sense of balance. Not wielding that staff was already difficult to get used to, and this defeat felt in some way humiliating. "Well then, Sir Fargenst? I hope to see great deeds to Sprawn Valley demonstrated from your greatness. You''ve proven to me today that a man can only go so far for so long in the name of Leray magic, before they ultimately hit a wall. But one day, I''ll probably overcome that wall. If that ever happens, you and I will meet again under different circumstances."


    "Lawrence, I don''t know if you''re lucky enough to get that far..." Kite suddenly noticed a strange expression from Shadler, and he ended his statement short. "But good luck to you on your journey to grow as you wish."


    "Thank you." Lawrence glanced at Shadler, whose face now read that it was the time to expel himself from Eldora Tower. Luckily, the money transfer comes from the government of Eldora Tower, not the person who has lost directly. That means Lawrence won''t be indebted to an unbeatable warrior, but he still lost his chance for so much more. The Trial of Mages, and the Mega-Staff that has yet to reach its full potential; they belong to another for now.


    Shadler held the Mega-Staff given only to champions who are ready to wield it, and asked for Sir Kite''s Leray license, which would be updated to its new holy status, while half a million credits are transferred onto the storage unit as well. As for Lawrence, his title as champion will be stripped, and his card will automatically be updated to revert all the way back to ordinary Leray wielder. He could of course reapply for elite status, slowly working his way back here, but something else might happen long before Lawrence is ever ready to prove himself. Sir Kite has a wonderful rival to challenge in the near future. Now it is time to train him in the art and style of a befitting Leray champion. The first challenge will be to get Kite to understand that those blades he carries are not his only weapon.

 Chapter 25: Then, Theres JDT

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    <03/15/1972 ¨C 20:01 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    "I''ve already taken care of that too." Danny made several reassurances to Jane, who wasn''t in total agreement with the plan. Without a shared aspiration to make at least one thing right, Danny figured that everyone here would just continue to sink further into a depression. Nyar picked one hell of a time to head into the office today of all days. Because of the drama, nightfall never came as it should for the time felt to pass, only now there would be a way to make up for this broken day.


    Jane never felt so nervous since coming to America, but even after everything Nyar said, he wasn''t wrong about how risky it is here, and Danny wants to take that risk tonight. He still has the laptop open, connected to the page as proof of his confidence. "And what about insurance steps being taken in case something goes wrong?"


    "I''ve located several hiding spots to use in the event something does go wrong, but I think we can trust his offer." Danny was referring to the Krieg''s List page he found, temporarily taking over one of Nyar''s jobs since he has so far failed to accomplish anything with Jane''s credits. Jane has nearly a million credits that can be converted into cash. Best-case scenario, they can turn 300,000 credits into $200,000 worth of cash. It''s a near net gain of $100,000 for the buyer he communicated with online, and such a high steaks offer may never come again. "We won''t get another chance at using a valid credit conversion method. If we can get that much money, it will be easy for me to visit my parents and come back to Sprawn Valley anytime I want to. And for Taylor, it can do great things too."


    "But why so late at night?" Danny got through telling Jane that the meeting is supposed to be between himself and the buyer only, alone at midnight sharp. Danny already explained that he wouldn''t really be alone, despite saying as much to the buyer. But at nighttime, it isn''t easy to see your own surroundings. "I feel like that just makes it more suspicious!"


    "Not at all," Danny explained. "You see, being that credit conversions are frowned upon by the police in this country, it''s only natural and expected for buyers to conceal their identity and actions under the cover of nightfall. The fact that we could both agree on the timing proves to both of us how trustworthy we are, and that we aren''t undercover agents."


    "Cops," Taylor corrected needlessly. "But I''m not so sure either. I know it''s not too far of a walk, but you know Nyar will eventually learn that we''ve made that trip."


    Danny nodded his head, fed up with this fear of Nyar for the last time. "You leave those details to me. Nyar doesn''t control any of us, and he isn''t worthy of asking for help. He''s not helped any of us from the very moment we got here to America. So the way I see it, this is a task fitting for JDT. Am I wrong?"


    JDT huh? Danny still wants to use that name to describe the three of them. Jane missed those moments back in Sprawn Valley, which also caused her to draw up the total comparison. Given everything that has happened so far, America and Sprawn Valley might as well be the same as far as danger is concerned. Still, traveling to a dark area behind some old buildings surrounded by alleyways is a sure way of living on the edge. "So we do this without Nyar''s consent. What happens if¡ª¡±


    "Nothing is going to happen!" Danny had to keep reminding Jane of this, but it was already frustrating. She isn''t usually the person to call out how dangerous and uncertain these things are, nor is she the only person considering them right now. "And if something does somehow happen, they won''t be able to retrieve our money given a double-cross. I''ll have Taylor retrieve the wallet when I''m certain the offer is fair. No thugs are going to kill us even in such a dark place. Trust me. Nobody will risk putting themselves on police radar over some farce regarding uncertain money transfers. They''d much rather back out of the deal and have nothing to do with us ever again."


    "We really are doing this?" Even Taylor needed to raise a concern. Danny is right regarding Nyar''s obvious disregard to convert Jane''s credits. But how could Danny possibly find an offer in one moment, where Nyar has failed over several weeks?


    Danny glanced over to Jane with certainty in his voice. "Jane? I''m not expecting anything to get ugly out there, but you''ve learned how to make some amazing moves when you were training in Sprawn Valley. In a close combat situation, even if your opponent has knives or daggers, you would be able to disarm and detain them?"


    "Of course." Of this, Jane was sure. Last week out of curiosity, Jane began practicing her movement and evasion skills in Nyar''s back yard during the daytime. Amazingly, her physical skills didn''t falter. A person''s physical strength, reflexes, speed, and control of balance is all the same no matter where they are, yet training with weapons and backflips keeps that skill on them for life regardless of magic. It''s an amazing thing to discover. Taylor and Danny likely have the same stamina even right now.


    "I might be a bit rusty," Danny figured, "but if anyone gives us trouble, I can still throw a well-aimed chop to instantly incapacitate anyone I target. Taylor would thus be on backup, possibly calling police to our location if things get ugly."


    "Fine," Taylor agreed. "On one condition however, I''d like to spend some time in the local pawnshop, the one I saw so close to our meeting point on the digital map."


    She must be referring to Chusty''s Pawn Shop. It might be some rundown old place, but who knows what they might have there? Danny and Taylor both have already heard that all pawnshops in America sell all sorts of items that have already been used, and sold to their store in good condition, as a way of selling back to customers at really cheap prices and good deals. It''s not like they have the exact money to spend on it anyway. The walk there is almost an hour in duration. Nyar will defiantly find out, but who cares if he does? This is up to JDT now. "Very well. Let''s pack our things and head out. Jane? The backpack is still in your room if I remember right."


    "I''ll get it." Jane still felt uncertainty in the plan, but with Danny taking charge and knowledge of every precaution, this might actually be well worth the trade. Having that many American dollars can do so much in this country, and Jane could always make those credits back in Sprawn Valley later on.


    <hr>


    <03/15/1972 ¨C 22:54 | Manhattan Outskirts, New York, United States>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Fairy Glade ~ Derek Fiechter (Kingdon of Magic)</a>


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    Upon arriving in Chusty''s Pawn Shop, Danny allowed himself and the others to feel at ease inside of the calming atmosphere. Aside from two other quiet customers, nobody else was inside of the entire store, which was at least as large as a small restaurant. This slow business is likely cast from the setting sun bringing night through the city of late New York. It would only be just over an hour now before the official meeting.


    The storeowner greeted the three new customers as they arrived, but Danny had to remain on sharp behavior to ensure none of them would be called out for not having any parental guidance. However, no conflict ensued, and this pawnshop stayed open as late as one A.M. Taylor and Jane were allowed to look around to their hearts'' content. As expected, it only took minutes for Jane to find an entire case of special hunting knives. The goal wasn''t to buy anything here today; just to kill time. Still, Jane must miss carrying around a pair of daggers. What must it be like to carry the same weapon every day for more than a year, and then to strip them from your person?


    Danny shook the thought and focused. Everything is going to be fine. There are more reasons than one to trust that tonight will go as planned. Danny never explained some of the other technical details of his methods to check the validity of the buyer and the meeting, but that''s only because they wouldn''t understand how networks operate online. The buyer in question has sold and bought numerous things from numerous people who have made positive claims to his page; backers. The backers on Krieg''s List give ratings using their profiles, profiles that discern personal information such as living addresses and validation emails. Normally, this is all meaningless due to the potential of people faking their information, but those profiles have shown up before on plenty of other buyers, where the backers positively or negatively rate certain profiles within a selected group. Even if their information is false, the accounts are real for this reason. This means that should the client chooses a random location never before to be used for a service, it would only be natural since they operate underground astray from the American police force. This buyer is not a shady character; he can''t be, given the amount of backers generated to positive recommendations. Everything will be fine.


    Danny was tempted again to double check and make sure from this location, but internet connections don''t just travel anywhere with other people, and it was best to leave Nyar''s laptop back home, to not give him any idea of where this team has gone out to.


    Taylor had a wonderful time glancing over all of the movies and books she was going over. Never before had she noticed such a large collection of VCR tapes in one little location. The books aren''t plentiful, though there are still unusual collections in their titles, interesting enough to read coming from a totally different country... But none of them have any cash. Danny intentionally left his saved money at Nyar''s house. The wallet is still on him, but in it only contains Jane''s personal license card, the new one given to her in Eldora City just before her departure. They''re totally broke!


    "I see you''re still a fan of the knives," Danny coaxed. Jane was just hovering above the well-lit case of short-ranged weapons, and he decided to make small talk until everyone was satisfied. Danny couldn''t think of a single thing in this store that could possibly interest him, so this was just for Jane and Taylor''s settlement of boredom.


    Jane turned around, now noticing Danny''s presence, and one of the workers standing behind the perpendicular counter crossing his arms in curiosity, but she only paid attention to Danny just to answer his dumb question. "You know I do. Knives are just my thing."


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The guy behind the counter cleared his throat, and engaged in their curious conversation. "So you like knives eh? Normally it''s my duty to ask what a young miss would possibly need with a hunting weapon, but I won''t bother with it today." He walked to the other side, allowing passage to reach the knife counter and get a closer look at these weird teenagers. "As such, I might be able to allow you a temporary discount."


    He''s just bargaining. "Uh, thanks for the offer sir, but..." Danny remained cautious enough not to oversell anything about their current business. "We''re only browsing for now. It''s best to make decisions before carrying lots of money into a place with so many options."


    So this young lad must be the responsible type. He must be older than he looks. Most would mistake him for a sixteen-year-old high school student. "That''s smart of you then, making sure you don''t carry too much cash every time you go out. I respect that kid."


    Good. Now go away.


    "I still feel the need to ask however, if your parents are at least close by."


    Danny replied with little change to his tone, and as quickly as he could, "They''re close enough."


    "Very well. I''ll trust you..." He doesn''t seem interested in the knife collection at all. "Say, you don''t seem to find knives all that attractive boy. Is your interest closer to that of hunting rifles?"


    "Hunting rifles?" Danny repeated out loud, quickly paraphrasing the meaning of the term inside his head. Guns! They sell guns here?! Of all places, in a place where no magic exists, they still have guns? Maybe they''re different, less deadly somehow.


    "Right over here," he pointed. The counter he was standing by before was holding the gun collection, but he had the lights in the case previously turned off for precautious reasons. "Small nine millimeters up to forty-five calibers. We only have a contract for pistols and hunting shotguns, so the collection isn''t as impressive as your usual metal guild."


    Jane and Danny both watched in amazement as the lights in the case came on, revealing an arsenal of pistols. The shotguns were in the case next to it, though they both recognized the pistols more often with the similar shapes and functional forms of weapons spawned in the Leray system. With an exciting gasp, Jane rushed herself closer to look at all of them, while Danny carefully took glances from more of a distance. "People can just walk in here and buy guns?"


    The boy actually believes that? "Hah! Of course not kid. You have to be eighteen or older to purchase a gun here, and that doesn''t include the process of purchasing bullets, sold separately from this store unit. On top of that, you have to be a registered citizen with no criminal records, with a full background check that usually takes between six to eighteen weeks. And to get bullets, you have to pay up front and requisition them. So it''s not as easy as you think to just ask for these tools with a wad of cash. But, I figured you already knew about that."


    "Of course." Danny didn''t pay his own response much attention. Instead, he inched closer to the case very slowly and carefully, his heart beating faster and harder than it was a moment ago. Guns. Guns that load bullets into their chambers and kill with sharp rounded projectiles that pierce through most material, easily through skin. In Sprawn Valley, wielding a gun such as this is no big deal at all. Due to the Leray protective veil that exists there, a bullet, no matter where it may land phases through the body instead of drilling through it completely, like a ghost that can only affect the most outer layers of a person''s skin, but never their internal organs or their blood. Even if a bullet is to land straight to your eye, the most harm it could possibly do is create a sensation of pain in the afflicted area, possibly a small harmless bruise depending on the impact power.


    Danny could remember every single moment he wielded a gun, one that wasn''t native to the energy blaster, which felt more like a toy every time. A pistol? A sub-machine gun? They come in many different shapes and sizes when spawned from that yellow generation glyphring, or when bought from a store in Sprawn Valley. The guns are made special, but despite this, even ordinary weapons like the ones in these cases, if ever brought into the veil are subject to the same effects of protection against humans. They''re as harmless as the spell of Radial Stars.


    But this isn''t Sprawn Valley. This place, America, New York, Chusty''s Pawn Shop; what are deadly weapons doing here, on sell no less? Even if they aren''t loaded, what''s to stop anyone from stealing them and finding bullets through another partner, going out afterwards to... Danny broke his own chain of thought before it got worse, but it wasn''t leaving his conscious alone. Sweat began to accumulate on the back of his neck and under his armpits. His eyes fixated on the barrels of each black painted pistol, with the same thought in mind. There is no protective veil here, which means that a single bullet fired from any weapon would have a different outcome. The bullet would have no problem drilling a hole into any vital part of the body. It kills on contact, or seriously threatens the life by injury if landed anywhere else. Those tools in this kind of place kill easily and violently. One hit and you''re dead forever, without the ability to wake up! Point, aim, and shoot! That''s all it takes. Pointed at himself! Pointed at Jane! Pointed at Taylor! Anyone isn''t safe in the iron sight of those barrels! They can kill as many people as you have bullets! One person for one bullet! Easily concealed! Easily maintained! These guns are the instruments of death! Here! There! Anywhere but the country of magic.


    "Haaay!" Jane hollered loudly, waving her hand in front of Danny''s locked gaze. "Danny? Are you alright?" Finally was he snapping out of whatever the heck that was. He totally wasn''t able to hear the guy''s last question asked to him. No, it looks more like something was freaking him out. He''s taking so many breaths at once, like he just ran all around the block and back without a sip of water. What''s going on with him?


    Danny didn''t realize until now how aggressively he was breathing, brought on by his faster heart rate, and only now was he making sense of what was going on. Jane is bothering him about something... Danny just lost a moment of time. What the hell just happened? "I''m fine."


    His voice even sounded shaken, but Jane had no way of knowing what was making him so anxious... And Taylor isn''t anywhere in sight. She must be in the other section, obstructed in view by several shelves of junk.


    The seller glanced down at the older girl, realizing that this display case might not have been in the best interest for everyone, neither is their whole visit. "It seems that your friend over there doesn''t enjoy the sight of firearms." With a flick of the switch, the lights to the display case were shut off in an instant. Danny was looking away in his own shame. "If you were so scared of guns, you should have just said so. I also suggest that you reunite with your family soon, casue it''s almost time to close up shop."


    Danny nearly jumped in the middle of that guy''s statement. As if, Danny scared of guns? Afraid? Frozen in fear to the brink of having a panic attack? Yeah right! There wasn''t anything to worry about. "Yeah, we''ll be going soon. Taylor! Come on!"


    Jane waited while Danny went to find Taylor somewhere in the store, but she held her thoughts in stasis. Of all the time hanging out with Danny, even when facing deadly monsters from the dark zone, that expression he held on his face was never seen before. It wouldn''t make any sense however for Danny to be afraid of guns, considering his experience with using them in combat. But if he isn''t afraid of guns, then what was that?


    "I wanted to look around more." Taylor''s cute pouting expression did little to cheer Danny up from one of his moods again, but if he wanted to head to the meeting spot early, that is his decision. Jane was coming with too it seemed.


    "Guess we''ll come back another time." Jane waved to the seller for his politeness in trying to show them cool stuff, and it was time to go back outside. As it was, Danny only went far enough on the sidewalk to clear the sight of the windows of the pawnshop before stopping and leaning against a wall. He wasn''t going to the meeting place at all. Though it is early to do so, he obviously just wanted to get out of there. Jane opened her mouth to ask him about it, but Taylor reached a chance to talk to him first.


    "What''s with you?!" Taylor didn''t get to see what happened earlier, but the way Danny was having sudden mood swings meant something was already bothering him. "Is there a problem with the meeting?"


    "The meeting''s fine," he regarded.


    "Was it the guns?"


    Taylor turned around, curious to why Jane would ask something so strange. "Guns?" Danny held his eyes on Jane, but he wasn''t turning his head or talking, leaving Jane to explain it to her instead.


    Jane wanted both of them to hear this however, and projected her voice through the soft wind creeping into the area, over the noise of engines in the night so close by. "They have a display case for pistols using live ammo, something that''s hard to acquire, though possible to sell there... But Danny? You looked like you saw a ghost in that case. I don''t think you''re afraid of guns, since you''ve handled them before."


    Danny sighed, going over his previous thoughts again with himself. Danny knew he wasn''t afraid of guns, but the fear of death was somehow stronger without that shiny veil there to protect him. "I''ve handled guns in Sprawn Valley, but not anywhere else. Out here, one bullet to any part of your body is instant death." Taylor gasped from hearing that, though she should know this already. Jane just stared at him with a blank expression. "I''m not afraid of guns!" he repeated. "I just wasn''t ready to see that many..." What would even be a fitting name of something that can kill at any range with such little action and effort? Death blaster? Kill guns? "I don''t like the idea that a gun can kill anyone in one shot, let alone that any person without a record could just walk up and buy one with age."


    He really is scared... Or maybe he just wasn''t ready to get that idea into his head. "I''m sorry," Jane apologized. "I assumed already that you knew how dangerous it was outside of Sprawn Valley, even involving bullet based weapons."


    She''s so calm. How can she sound so calm talking about this? Danny took weight off his feet and faced Jane directly. "Jane. How does the thought of death not scare you out here?" If it weren''t for the veil, Taylor would have fallen off that cliff and died. So what if the thought is brought up again? The same could happen at any corner! Anywhere you turn to in a country outside of Sprawn Valley, your next breath could be your last! How can she... How have I not been driven to madness by this already? "It''s so much easier to die now that we''re out here. How are you not affected by that?!"


    Jane almost growled through her teeth, and shouted to Danny, "You idiot! Everyone is afraid of dying!" Jane''s response sent a small shock to Danny''s nerves, leaving Jane to assume the obvious junction that he has completely forgotten how everyone feels. "If I really thought about it, how many opportunities there are for me to lose my life in this horrible city... If I actually stopped to consider all of the possibilities and ways I could die, or to stop and consider how likely it is that my next breath is my last, I would have lost my mind a long time ago!" That idiot! How could Danny be so stupid to dwell on something so meaningless?


    "J-Jane?"


    "There isn''t any point in trying to think about it. If I''m going to live or die, I don''t want to do it worrying all the time, in a fear that would stop me from living how I want to."


    Danny lowered his gaze to the floor in shame. All this time, Jane has been battling death for a long time. She survived an experimental symbol blast from the sky. She was ambushed by criminals in her own country. She risked her life to remove the symbol, twice as a matter of fact, and then risked her life again just to do the right thing and shut down Alpha Zero. Sure, she might have been scared, but if there was ever true fear, a noticeable moment of paralyzing terror, Jane never once revealed that to anyone. Every second alive is a tick on a clock closer to death by any means. The way she lives her life, is to simply ignore the clock of death, the time of the end. "Hagh!" Danny wanted to slam his fist into the brick wall beside him, but he held back since it wouldn''t do any good. Jane speaks the truth, and up until this point, Danny never felt too afraid to live life as he wanted to. So why now? Why now must this bottled sensation trembling beneath his skin, electrifying his heart, and shocking his thoughts into an overcrowded metropolis of anxiety take root inside him? "I shouldn''t be scared to do anything! I of all people!"


    "Danny, come on." Taylor took his hand by force, trying to make him feel better, but there was a longer moment of silence and uncertainty before he finally got his breathing under control.


    I of all people must suddenly fall prey to anxiety and fear? The same person who faced more challenging excitement in Alpha Zero and in other parts of Sprawn Valley? Why now am I afraid of danger? "Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Danny yanked his hand back from Taylor, slapping himself in the face with such force, the sound echoing through the noise to reach both of his best friends. "I don''t know what''s gotten into me," he admitted, "but I''m not backing out of anything. Taylor! Jane! Prepare yourselves for a friendly meeting."


    "O¡ªokay!" Taylor felt slightly embarrassed by the way Jane was eyeing him now, like Danny is the biggest weirdo she has ever met all the sudden. But in truth, she also felt a little embarrassed for Danny as well. It can''t be easy to suddenly feel that way and then decide to tough it out, but this is a side to him she had never seen before either. Of course he gets afraid inside, right? Everyone does during some point. Taylor still never got to see him display this so carelessly as he was a second ago.


    Taylor and Jane followed Danny''s march into the area he memorized by scans of digital maps, eventually leading them down an empty alleyway abrupt from the streets. Taylor however was happier now, without much understanding to why. Danny... He''s one thing, and then another. After all this time, there is still more about him than what she thought she knew. Why does that feel so thrilling?


    "You two stick to the plan and stay sharp." Danny knew what to do before ever leaving the house, but this never felt right from the beginning. Bad crowds could hang out here, and nightfall brings the worst of New York to locations like the meeting place. From that location, everywhere else spanning closer to the streets in either direction is like a maze. "Taylor? My part of the plan is going to be different. Give me the wallet with Jane''s license card. I''m going to need it after all. Also, you two only let me do the talking."


    "Are you sure?" Jane is the owner of this card. If Danny is the only person to speak, it might not look right.


    "Trust me Jane. I''ve decided to take every precaution tonight, despite the amount of trust I still hold to this buyer and its offer." From this moment on, everything will change whether Nyar likes it or not.

 Chapter 26: Champions Honor

    <hr>


    <11/17/1962 ¨C 15:02 | Eldora Tower, Eldora City, Sprawn Valley Capital>


    "I still don''t think you''re ready for it just yet."


    Danton disregarded the concerns of his training partner. Mainne managed to defeat Danton on her way up through the Catalyst Grove, something he wasn''t expecting to happen. Over the past five days, all of this effort has been to cast the skills of judgment upon the leader of the Trujima gang, the best swordsman in all of Eldora Tower. "That won''t change my mind. In the next hour, I''ll be going up against Kite himself, in an official duel for the champion''s position."


    "And you know what happens to you if you lose," she argued again.


    "Of course I know." Danton knew all of the rules by now, as would everyone else here. Over the past five days, he and the others have been forging their skills to peak condition, making sure that in the weekend to come, nobody can defeat a single one of them. Though it is still possible that those positions will never remain defended forever. "That''s why it has to be today." With sincerity in his eyes, Danton let out everything he felt about this situation. "I can''t take the risk that I or Kite are booted out from the ranks before he and I have our match."


    "I thought you were trying to become the strongest wielder. That means defeating any champion would do, right?"


    Mainne must not have been paying any attention all this time. "Wrong," he corrected. "I don''t care who is in charge or not. Champion or no champion, Kite is now at his peak physical condition, as I am. My only desire ever since I''ve joined the Trujima gang is to become more powerful, so that I can defeat him in combat on equal footing." Kite has proven himself so far, impressing and surpassing all of them with his skills for dual wielding. So when Kite said he would change strategies, that passive skill is what he meant, but Danton has been training for a long time too. Wielding nothing but the Luminous Artemus, he continued to pull off amazing spell casts and abilities, to grow far beyond where he was at the beginning of meeting all of these wonderful people. "And now, the time has come to test which one of us is the better warrior. My match is already set up." Danton made sure Mainne had all of the details. "Challenges to the champion like these are also recorded live to the feed of the tower, and displayed in the night later to add to the network''s show. So Mainne, I want you to watch and learn."


    "Very well," she allowed. "I''ll just have to have faith in you, that you can actually pull it off if anyone can." Danton has defiantly improved, but his overall speed hasn''t had a chance to improve, not in a close combat situation. Lawrence fought the same way, and he lost to Kite by allowing himself to be drawn into close combat at every moment. Danton really has to pull out his best tonight.


    Danton bowed to Mainne, honoring her time and effort in helping him forge the best in his own abilities through series of tests. Then he turned to the elevator door in the north part of the arena, using it to head all the way up to the top where he will be waiting.


    With a loud sniff of fresh air, he sighed exhaling in deep serenity with a grin of rejoice. "That water fountain in the back really does make this feel more fitting for my role. And this arena, this battlefield, it couldn''t be any more perfect for our main battle!"


    As expected, Kite was overly excited and thrilled to fight this opponent of his. Shadler knew that his future was riding on the outcome of the battle to be. Any minute now, the rival will step forth from that elevator and host the challenge face to face with Kite Fargenst. "I''m glad to see that everyone is hyped up about this, but I wonder if you''re training is adequate to challenge a member who has been trailing in your shadow for so long."


    "Only for a few weeks, Shadler." Kite turned around, giving a disappointed look to his referee. "You really should have a little more faith in me. After all, we don''t get to pick any sides but that of our own selves. The fight with Danton will be a battle of honor and skill alone. Only the best will be decided here tonight, and I won''t be losing against him. I defeated Danton once in battle, on the day we first met. Now he must learn his place. I''ll make it happen again, replay the same crucial situation as before. He''ll realize what it really means to go up against me."


    His overconfidence is unpleasing to watch, and with such immaturity, this Danton character might actually take the win, but it''s impossible to see a certain outcome. Shadler never got a wide chance to study Danton''s battling tactics, but it was clear already that Kite''s skills are nothing to gawk at. Even now, this current champion has an astonishing advantage.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Blind Spot ~ Ace Combat 5 OST</a>


    <hr>


    "No more time to talk trash everyone." Attracting the glances of Kite and his apparent referee, Danton finally made it to the champion chamber. The artwork here is highly impressive, and the space of the arena in all dimensions far overcomes that of the other floors of the tower. Being up so high should normally thin the air a little, but somehow it feels like the freshness of an outdoor garden. This battle area is perfect. Danton took a few more eager steps forward, tense though confident that this could go in his favor.


    "Brash Danton," Kite pronounced. "I had some doubts about you when you joined our pack, but I see that your ability to grow is still well intact. You should know however that I didn''t just defeat Lawrence by studying his strategy through past video footage. I sharpened my skills as a swordsman, and even added a few skills fitting of a mage in the past few days. The only thing that will happen to us if we face each other right now is a repetition of the battle we first shared. Would you like to prove my expectations?"


    By the time Danton walked close enough to Kite for medium range skills to become effective, he stopped and considered everything that has happened up to this point, pausing in his thoughts before daring to answer to Kite. There is no doubt that everyone has grown over the weeks, all just by trying to aim for the top, but the real reason Danton stands here today is to have the promised battle one more time, to prove which one of them has grown the strongest. Regardless of any public displays from earlier, Kite cannot be underestimated. He is the current champion after all, something that doesn''t normally happen overnight. This moment is for the purest battle in his entire heart. Every fight Danton could ever remember winning and losing, to anyone and everything since childhood, they all ride on this one lone battle. He could feel it in his heart, climbing in his chest from the suspense of the upcoming action. This isn''t just a test of everyone''s skill; it''s more than that. A Leray battle, no matter what the gamble, regardless of the weight of the steaks, every single Leray battle always has one thing in common, and that is the uncertainty of the outcome. Battles have so many different aspects and tactical strategies that factor in, which means even with odds stacked against you, victory is never impossible. This right here is what makes all Leray battles so much fun!


    Danton pulled the Luminous Artemus staff from the back holster attached to his outfit in a threatening manner. Skills of a swordsman won''t help him out. Magic is his strength, and any choice of weapons are allowed for this particular match. Everything has come to this moment! "Kite Fargenst!" he bellowed. "Champion of Leray magic and all of Sprawn Valley. I, Brash Danton of the level three elite status challenge you to an official Leray battle. We will face each other here, using our primary weapons and our best of skills to defeat each other. I want to do so in a way where forfeiting is not allowed."


    "Brash Danton," Shadler called out. "Only I get to make those rules, and¡ª"


    "Shadler!" Kite interrupted his referee rudely; making sure the mage learns his place. "This might seem like an ordinary challenge to you, but this won''t be exactly the same. Danton wants a battle for the title of championship right here where it should be, with the added benefit of making sure that forfeiting is disabled, and I insist on taking him up on this offer."


    Shadler disagreed, arguing back the problem with that idea. "Need I remind you of the potential risk involved regarding Vital Drain? If either of you enters Vital Drain, the match would normally end early in that person''s defeat, in order to not risk their actual lives should the veil cease protecting them adequately."


    "In other words," Kite paraphrased, "if the conditions make this so, this battle could turn into a battle of death. You really think that either of us care, Shadler?" Kite saw Shadler wince in surprise, but he blocked any attempt of letting the old man argue any further. "If either of us end up red-lining our energy scopes, I can promise everyone standing here that it won''t put a stop to anyone''s fighting spirit. Don''t you agree, Brash Danton?"


    "Normally," he explained, "I''m opposed to the idea, for the same risks realized by your referee. However, I''m fighting against Kite Fargenst today. So this will be the one exception I make to such safety protocols. I won''t hold anything back. If I''m one cut away from death, it won''t stop me from ensuring my victory against you Kite. I know you would fight the same way after all."


    "Hahahaha!" Finally! The time has finally come! "I knew you were a man of honor Danton. That is the one thing I do admire about your fighting spirit. This will be a lot of fun tonight! Shadler! Start the battle preparations! I grow tired of waiting."


    "Before that, I must inform Danton about the wager he is making tonight."


    "I already know," Danton cleared. "If I lose the battle with Kite under these circumstances, my position as a level three elite will remain unchanged. However, for the next three months, I will be forbidden to battle any champion in an official match. I would have to wait for those three months of restrictions to end. If I win, then Kite will swap places with my current position, with no preceding restrictions to his ability to challenge me back, and I will thus become the next champion of Sprawn Valley."


    "You see?" Kite demonstrated to Shadler. "He already knows the rules. Now get the battle started. Record this on your cameras or don''t. I really don''t care either way."


    "Very well." Shadler glanced above him to his right, eyeing the lens of one of the wall mounted stationary cameras far out of range of any potential dome shield from swallowing it inside, and he bobbed his head downward for confirmation. He then returned his attention to the two challengers to be, and began walking backwards to ascertain his distance from the range of the dome shield. "The official match between Brash Danton and champion Kite Fargenst will commence, the moment both constants engage their energy scopes."


    The two of them got the preparations right underway, enabling their energy scopes at the same time, which triggered the creation of a large Siriean dome, and some holographic text in the center of the field as usual, text that would fade in the next three seconds.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: One Final Chance ~ World Beyond</a>


    <center><iframe title="One Final Chance" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P33NOCJ66hc" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: Champion Title + 500,000 CR | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    That''s right, Kite remembered. If Danton wins, then all of Kite''s winnings of half a million credits earlier are in jeopardy. Normally, that money transfer is granted by the mage council government itself, not taken directly from the champion, but that rule only applies if the current champion has been undefeated for six months. Otherwise, it gets drained from the personal license card of the sitting champion. Whatever; just another reason not to lose to this guy. No pressure.


    Standing thirty meters apart, Danton lifted his crystallized staff, already glowing with the creation of a bright glyphring at the end. With the battle officially started, it wouldn''t matter who would attack first. With his MP energy already charged into the first spell, Danton chanted and invoked the magical ability from the staff, surrounding Kite in a large blue electrical bubble. "Thunder Flare!"


    Kite knew he would have to watch out for Danton at long range due to his magical attacks, but those rules did not sink in just yet. Fighting Danton really will be difficult, and he must form a strategy while suffering from an early electric shock lasting for three long seconds of time.


    Cringing in pain after the electric sphere disappeared, Kite realized again that there are more factors at play here than initially realized. Danton is using a crystallized staff of all weapons. That means that all of his spells can potentially double in power. The question is; how much can the staff improve the power level of randomized spells? One way to find out is to send a lengthy magical attack that likely won''t affect him, one as a test. "Crush Wave!" Kite slammed his swords onto the metal floor while releasing his magic, just like he did before against Lawrence. The Crush Wave he created was loud and bright as it zoomed bound to the floor towards Danton.


    Danton countered the cheap Crush Wave using his staff again, generating a Shadow Wave with little effort. The Shadow Wave that was created cost the same amount of MP as it usually would, but this time there was a catch. When Danton watched his own Shadow Wave crash into Kite''s Crush Wave, the two abilities exploded and canceled each other out. Normally, Crush Wave would have overtaken Shadow Wave and continued on, being that it has a higher power level than Shadow Wave. So this staff really does increase attack power! Kite''s style of battling isn''t to send a Crush Wave and wait. He wanted to confirm this for himself too.


    "You should chill out." Danton ran the pun aloud while charging an ice glyphring at the end of the crystal again. This time he aimed directly at Kite, and fired a solid narrow beam of water freezing in mid-air as it advanced in a straight line.


    An Ice Beam! Kite immediately tried to block the ability by crossing his blades and holding the flat sides out to the predicted point of impact. At first, the impact of the Ice Beam created a force pushing him back, but Kite held his ground, barely capable of seeing through the brightness of the spell he was blocking with his swords. Normally this wouldn''t work against many spells, but Ice Beam has such a narrow diameter of effectiveness, it can be blocked as an exception. Danton failed to take that into account!


    Kite swung both swords aside when he noticed the beam losing power in front of him. With a successful block, Danton would have to process how that just happened into his mind, while Kite had an opening to try and get closer. Being this far apart however wasn''t going to be good enough for a close combat strike. To deal with this problem, Kite used his blades again as conduits for his magic invocation, using the right blade to fire off an Aero Blast sphere of wind elemental magic, as he dashed forward afterwards. Before the Aero Blast would strike Danton, Kite alternated to his left sword to launch another Aero Blast at Danton while Kite continued to rush forward in the same direction. The Aero Blasts would momentarily keep Danton too busy to deal with an approaching opponent. Still, at twenty meters, the gap is far too wide. Luckily for Kite, there were a few more abilities capable of getting the best of Danton. Kite launched what appeared to be another Shadow Wave in front of him, allowing it to advance forward.


    Danton jumped back to try and escape from the small spheres of wind blowing in his face and interrupting his focus. Kite was running at him, trying to get closer as expected, and now there was a Shadow Wave approaching as another form of distraction. A jump to the left will be enough to dodge the Shadow Wave and... Danton froze when he noticed the increased speed of Kite''s Shadow Wave, something far abnormal compared to normal Shadow Waves. Then, just four meters from impact, the Shadow Wave launched into the air by several feet, exploding with a downpour barrage of dark photons that Danton had no chance to dodge. With a feeble attempt to block the Prone Strike, Danton was blasted with magic, the pains of burns on his skin accumulating with the HP damage.


    Kite stopped his movements short of eighteen meters away, as he watched his successful Prone Strike take Danton by surprise. One of the benefits of Prone Strike is that it initially disguises itself as a harmless Shadow Wave attack, only to speed up over time and annihilate anything in the forward area. Finally! Danton will be defeated at last!


    Danton could see it on Kite''s face, the smug expression of confidence soon transformed into a mixture of surprise and anticipation, and that''s because with Danton''s magic rod raised high, a large white aerial glyphring hovering high in the air, aimed downward in vertical position. Most people are capable of recognizing this type of area attack spell from this glyphring alone, but having those explosive photons raining around him gave Danton some visual cover while he attempted to generate the magic needed to invoke Mega-Flare. Though the charging sequence can take a long time, Kite''s noticeable shock and stumped mind worked in Danton''s favor as he released the magic everywhere. The full light-screen of Mega-Flare swallowed every visible thing inside of the dome shield with white light, burning anything other than Danton to a crisp for two long seconds. When the light-screen faded, Danton could see the damages left behind on Kite, who was bending his legs to his knees in pain trying to recover.


    Kite began breathing faster from the pain and disorientation that Mega-Flare caused, but despite this putting them both on equal footing, Kite had several more tactics up his sleeve, and promptly charged MP energy into a white colored aura surrounding him instantly. "Flashpoint Strike!" Holding both swords out for a sweep right to left, Kite shot forward in a single leap, his body effectively a wide beam of light with the speed of sound. Kite launched forward and slashed his blades through Danton while using Flashpoint as a means to close the distance gap and strike too quickly for anyone to dodge it, all in the same motion. His customized ability of Flashpoint Strike, as used against Lawrence was just as effective against Danton, who had no time or method of blocking the hit.


    Despite the stinging sensation across his chest from two swords cutting his skin, Danton recovered quickly and turned around to face the champion once more. Kite was going to try this trick sooner or later, as it makes blocking impossible, but with Kite far past where Danton was, he wouldn''t have an easy time moving out of the way for this one. "Hugh!" Danton used his free hand, blasting a Push Wave below his feet and sending him high into the air just as Kite took notice from below. While ascending, Danton was charging MP energy into the crystal of his staff, causing it to glow again. "Electro-Sheet!" Requiring no glyphring to invoke, Danton''s Electro-Sheet spell was instantly activated the moment enough energy was charged into the staff. Upon release, a large square section of the floor where Kite stood suddenly lit up with bright electrical arcs, now extending to Kite''s entire body as he was electrocuted in place for the duration Danton remained in the air in free fall; three seconds.


    Kite felt it again, the burning sensation in every spot followed by a sharp and painful tingling experience of all his nerves. He carefully tried to recover, holding both blades with preparation as he thought out the next move. Kite was never made aware that Danton knew how to use Electro-Sheet, but what''s more embarrassing is that he could have launched himself into the air with a Push Wave of his own, evading the spell bound only to the floor. Kite watched Danton land on the ground gracefully, and both were prepared to fight it out with whatever choice was made available next.


    Kite took deeper breaths of concentration, realizing that Danton has a strong upper hand in long-range magical spells, while he won''t have that same advantage at close range. This battle is much like the fight against Lawrence Citrin, who strategizes in a similar manner. Danton has impressive sword skills, but he hasn''t worked on them for a while, thus he won''t have the advantage there. "Crimson Blades!" Kite immediately covered his swords in a red aura of fiery magic, and then charged at Danton to slash at him with added magical elements. Danton reacted with his staff, trying to use it as a melee weapon, but after running in range, Kite soon felt his advantage take hold.


    Danton and Kite battled each other in close combat, dual wielding blades against a blunt staff. Every time Kite slashed at the rod, his strength alone overpowered Danton''s muscular might used to stop the blade''s advance, and was stabbed as a result. Kite also alternated each of his hands for each hit without a clear or predictable pattern, which gave him about two slashes into Danton for every chance he had. Danton helplessly took cuts from the blades, cuts that caused first-degree burns for every hit. Despite his staff''s ineffective ability to block the swords, Danton continued trying and failing. When Kite''s Crimson Blade aura finally wore off after over a dozen hits, he kicked Danton in the chest to push him backwards, leaving him no chance to counterattack in time.


    Danton was pushed back into a stumble from Kite''s last kick, but he didn''t trip over himself. Instead, Danton let go of his staff while generating a yellow glyphring spawning a bow. The process was so fast that he caught grip of the bow and arrow while recovering his balance all in the same moment. With Kite at a slight distance again, Danton loaded the Crystal Arrow and launched the projectile at Kite without ever chanting anything aloud.


    Kite instinctively drew his swords higher in an attempt to block, the same thing he did against Ice Beam earlier, but without knowing exactly what kind of arrow was used against him, Kite fell prey to the Crystal Arrow''s effect when the tip impacted against the flat side of the blade, exploding with a small payload afterwards. Crystal Arrow usually has an explosive impact just weaker than a standard hand grenade. Kite was blasted backwards while stumbling for his own balance, but on the energy scope, his health barely moved at all since the attack was also partially blocked. As a result, Kite wasn''t too affected by the attempt against him. Now that Danton was reaching down to pick up his staff again; it would give Kite another moment to strike back.


    "Splice!" Kite used both blades to slash at the air and generate white hot lines massive in length. The Splice lines flew through the air quickly without ever changing their angles, and using two consecutively at different angles was going to make it even more difficult to dodge.


    Danton didn''t need to hear the word Splice to see it coming. Kite has the same body movements as always when using that ability, and Danton was expecting to see it sometime during this match. Those white hot lines move quickly to cause devastating and debilitating effects, but only if they land. Danton prepared himself, leaping over the bottom side of the first Splice line. While falling back down, Danton intentionally took a prone position, trying to get his body as low as it could possibly go. With enough time, the second Splice line zoomed just over his body laid flat on the metal floor, continuing on to reach the edge of the Siriean dome. Danton quickly picked himself up afterwards, taking his personal victory to heart for dodging Splice.


    Danton noticed Kite''s body tense to the surprise. He wasn''t expecting someone to be as quick and agile, but that''s one of the tricks to fighting using only a staff. He can''t always battle at long range, nor can he stand still all the time against enemy spells. Now it''s time Kite paid for underestimating him. Danton held up the glowing staff, which is all it took to create the invisible transfer of MP energy for the reaction needed to create a sudden rock pillar, one right under Kite''s footing. The pillar launched from the flat floor to about ten meters high in just a few milliseconds, that momentum sending Kite high into the air with minor damage from the spell itself. Similar to Earth Glave, though weaker in power while unmatched in invocation speed; the spell Uplift is responsible for this phenomenon.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Danton kept the words in his mind until it was time. He would need further concentration for hitting Kite in mid-air with this! "Creshendo!" Releasing more MP energy, Danton aimed his staff at Kite, who was slowing down due to gravity. The seven phased pillars of Creshendo spawned in mid-air, another fact Danton learned by accident when going up against Mainne earlier this week. When you''re in the air, maneuvering to dodge is impossible. As such, Kite desperately tried to block using his crossed sword trick again, not realizing that Creshendo hits from seven equidistant angles going all around the target. Danton watched as Kite was smothered in the heavy impact of crystallized pillars shattering outward, draining Kite''s health as he helplessly dropped to the ground in agony.


    Struggling to stand after another devastating blow, Kite disregarded self-control to his breathing. Every bit of combat damage taken so far has been brutally painful. Danton looks to be a little tired too, but with Danton''s disadvantage at close range, Kite knew that sticking to that same strategy is the only way to defeat him. "Void Edge!" Casting a dark colored aura on himself, Kite generated another Void Edge aura, giving himself an opportunity to stay ahead on MP reserves. He then dashed forward with both blades ready, though Kite kept magical infusion out of each sword for now.


    Using his staff again, Danton changed his grip of the rod to using both hands at the center of Luminous Artemus. This gave Danton more control of the staff''s position and movements while trying to block each of Kite''s quick hits from each saber. Unlike last time, Danton charged a small amount of spirit elemental magic into the entire staff, giving himself equal strength against Kite''s muscle might. The trick seemed to work well enough. Danton had to twirl the staff around in weird positions to block or dodge each of Kite''s relentless strikes. Despite the Void Edge aura, Kite can only generate MP if his blades strike Danton himself, not the staff.


    Kite alternated between blades faster than before, trying to trip Danton up, but Danton was suddenly faster than before, and strong enough to use the staff to block the attacks, something that is normally thought to be impossible. Infusing elemental magic into weapons must add strength and hit/blocking power from the power level of Leray magic on its own. Got to hit him at least once! Kite spun halfway, used both swords to strike at once, and even tried knocking that staff out of Danton''s hands by cutting upwards, but none of his tactics worked for the entire duration that Void Edge was enabled.


    Kite leapt backwards far out of range, realizing that this wasn''t working. Void Edge is still active, but going in for ordinary hits isn''t going to work. Kite instead charged MP energy into his right blade, causing it to glow brightly with a white light, while simultaneously charging energy into a separate white colored aura. Another Flashpoint Strike should make short work of Danton''s defenses, and just to be sure, the right blade is carrying the energy of Splice. It turns out that Splice can be used as an infusion to bladed weapons on their own, instead of being sent outward. The cost however is that the power level is half of that compared to Splice used as intended. Adding the speed of Flashpoint will compensate for the power loss.


    Danton noticed Kite''s aura glowing brighter immediately, and reacted with a last minute spell to increase his ability to block more attacks. Having no actual clue what spell Kite was about to invoke from over there, Danton didn''t hesitate regardless. "Pillar Build!" Quickly used and focused only on creating one concrete pillar, the structure rose from the ground right in front of Danton, with about the same millisecond speed as the Uplift ability he used earlier.


    At the same time, Kite launched forward at an untraceable speed, his right sword drilling through with high cutting power. Unable to see or hear Danton''s chant in time, since he already covered himself in two auras that already made it harder to see, Kite was suddenly pounded face first with the crushing sensation of a boulder slam. Though his face hit the structure first, Kite''s entire frontal body also felt the stopping power, while the sword itself consequently drilled into the vertical concrete pillar. Where did that even come from?


    Danton jumped back in amazement to what just happened the moment his pillar structure came to life. In the same instant, Kite''s glowing saber cut into the structure, immediately weakening the stone to hundreds of stone crumbles, but contrary to what it looked like, Kite was stuck holding his face, his stance broken by the bruising surge of pain. Danton understood it quickly; just as quickly as he took opportunity of the sudden advantage given to him. Kite tried to use a Flashpoint Strike again, but having no idea what was coming, Danton used Pillar Build in front of him to block any ranged attack, a common trick mages will use for protection. "Prism!" While charging enough energy for a Prism glyphring, Danton wondered in curiosity how badly that had to have hurt for Kite. Flashpoint is very similar to Fatal Charge, in that both instances can cause collision damage to the user. Flashpoint however stops your movement just short of the target, so that there are no collisions. Having no time to take that pillar''s coordinates into account, Kite miscalculated when to stop his Flashpoint, causing him to slam into the structure headfirst.


    Danton was done charging the spell, and released the entire arsenal of Prism against Kite, who was still having a rough time recovering from the self-inflicted pain, but now he was going to have elemental bolts joining him. Danton kept them going through the end of his staff easily, using Lightning Strikes to stun Kite, keeping him from blocking the attack entirely. When it was all over, the energy scope results were fantastic.


    Initially expecting to rush back into the fight immediately, Kite stood in place, shaking the damage of impact from his face until he could eye Danton again. After taking a Prism attack, it seemed that Danton let up on the long-range combinations to assess the progress. But with a fight yet to be over, Kite held up both blades eye level to himself, taking another aim at Danton while struggling to synchronize his breathing to his fast heartbeat. "I''ve got to say... You run circles around Lawrence!"


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    Chapter Theme Shift: The Light Of Faith ~ Tutti Sound</a>


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    "Thanks for the compliment," Danton allowed.


    Kite continued his praise, having experienced more than enough already. "You''ve again surpassed my expectations, and yet you don''t even wield a blade. Here I was worried you wouldn''t give me enough sport tonight."


    "Peh! I don''t need a sword to defeat a skilled swordsman. That''s why I''ll now take your place as proof that I am stronger than you, Kite Fargenst."


    Don''t need a sword to defeat a swordsman? "We''ll see about that." Kite didn''t say anymore. He stood in place, charging energy into each blade. The time they just spent talking regenerated about three percent MP reserves for both of them, and Kite needed to use every last ounce of it. With his Void Edge aura gone, there was no point in trying to bring it back. Noticeably, his right blade burst into flames with a fiery aura of Crimson Blade. His left saber held a mostly transparent shiny pink aura of spirit elemental magic. Either one would increase the striking power. With nothing else to lose, Kite charged forward with both Dire Sabers, forcing a close combat fight onto Danton once more.


    Having more time than usual to anticipate what Kite was up to, Danton put his staff away again, and used a small yellow glyphring to spawn his favorite short saber again. This time, he would face Kite in close combat in the same style as before, but to give himself an edge, Danton also used a Rush Assault aura around his body, maximizing his physical speed and reaction time to everything in his senses. With that, Danton was ready to face Kite with only one blade.


    The two warriors met metal with no delay, blocking each other''s strikes while trying to inflict slashing damage on the other. Kite had to give his focus total demand, since Danton was suddenly faster than before. That pale colored aura around his body was to blame, but it wasn''t going to be enough. Kite''s swords have more power flowing through them right now than usual, and matching his personal speed was going to require more than a simple aura.


    Kite launched a devastating combination of alternating hits and twirls, allowing him to strike while blocking and dodging all at the same time. Despite Danton''s increased speed and reflexes, it only took a few more exchanges of clashing metal for Kite to finally send his left saber through Danton''s lower body. The moment he was hit, the pain alone was enough to momentarily distract Danton''s focus, giving Kite the next chance to stab Danton forward with the right flaming blade. The saber drilled all the way to the other side, impaling Danton with a burning pain of fire just as Kite took the blade out and kicked Danton back again.


    Danton held his wound while holding out his short saber, keen on protecting himself. The kick back didn''t knock Danton to the ground, only did it serve to build more time. Adding time wasn''t for the best of either side however. Danton''s sword disappeared back into the glyphring, having been out for long enough. At the same time, both of Kite''s Dire Sabers lost whatever elemental enhancement they had, and the faceoff was back to default setting again.


    Danton pulled out his staff, creating two spells at once, though only one of them was noticeable to Kite. "Flame Beam!" Taking the lengthy approach to a high area spell, Danton generated a massive vortex of wind and heat all in the same area; a tornado consistent of 70 Fire Balls all spinning within the vortex. The vortex formed quickly, and soon wrapped Kite inside of the heat storm. Within the first few seconds, Kite was being blasted with blind Fire Balls rotating quickly around the vortex, all without a homing path to follow.


    Danton wondered just how much damage this would do to Kite, trapping him inside such a high yield vortex. Most of the 70 Fire Balls descend downward by design, ending to hit the target. Danton needed total focus and control for the creation and redirection of the Flame Beam spell, connected directly to his staff in the process. While this spell would normally have drained him of all remaining MP, Danton''s MP stats were quickly regenerating back upwards, going up from three to ten, and then from thirteen to twenty-seven. The result was just the Void Edge aura surrounding himself, used in conjunction with Flame Beam. Void Edge normally won''t work if the damage done is not physical, that is unless you combine that aura''s link with the spell being used. Dangerous when used this way, only if the attack spell misses the target, Danton managed to deliver a devastating blow to Kite while regenerating a lot of MP in the process...


    "Power Blast!" With the fire vortex still spinning relentlessly, Danton had to disconnect his special aura of regeneration, and channel energy to the end of his staff. The result was about to slam into him from the ground; a well-placed Firesurge wave closing in on Danton''s location, as it must have crawled out from the vortex of fire using its own elements for advantages. As Danton shot a Power Blast at the Firesurge just moments away from taking him at an impact, the blast created a shockwave that disrupted the Firesurge payload, but also powerful enough that it blasted Danton backwards into the air a good distance, sliding on the metal floor before regaining any control.


    Kite took several hits from those Fire Balls, but he was able to cut a few of them down before impact as well, while sending out a Firesurge spell against Danton. After the vortex faded, Kite was able to see if his Firesurge landed. At first it seemed like it, but Danton''s health was left unchanged, while his MP¡ª "What?!" How did Danton end up with more MP than before? What kind of trick is this?! Danton appeared to have been knocked over by something, but he was already recovering. "How can you keep all of that energy?!"


    "I won''t hold it back anymore," Danton shouted. "Massife!" Raising the Luminous Artemus high above his head, Danton generated a yellow aerial glyphring so large that it nearly covered the view of the ceiling through the dome shield. Though it was going to take a while to finish the summon, Kite wasn''t responding to his only opportunity. Perhaps he was surprised that Danton managed to learn how to summon a Flare Drake in just a few days of time. "Out of the depths of desperation, I call on your assistance!" When the summoning glyphring lit up and solidified for brightness, several hundreds of glowing particles all came together, materializing the creature in the air as it took form and flight over the battlefield. With Flare Drake''s appearance made successful, the glyphring vanished, and a new player joined in combat. Just as the creature''s energy scope was coming on line, Danton focused on synchronizing his thoughts with the Flare Drake, something known to be difficult to do. Mainne somehow had the training for it, but Danton still needed more to practice in controlling summons. As a result of synchronizing his thoughts with Massife, as with what normally happens in Leray summoning phenomena, Danton''s corneas changed color to yellow, reflecting more light to glow at a distance.


    Kite glared in awe at the scaly miniature sized dragon, which for reference is still the size of a large house alone. Now Kite would have to battle two on one. "Might as well go all out myself then." Danton''s MP just took a massive dive to a single digit number, but Kite''s health was far lower in comparison, as was his current MP reserves nearly drained. "I''ll cast Void Edge and Dampen Field!" Learning a while back how easy it was to cast two auras at the same time with stacked effects, this move left Kite nearly dry on MP energy remaining. It was still enough to create an overlap of a navy blue colored aura, one that would steal MP energy from Danton or from his Massife should that dragon attack him by physical means. With Dampen Field, any ranged magical attack will be severely reduced in attack power when used against him, for about seventy seconds. "Come on!" he taunted to the sky. "Come at me you oversized toaster!"


    With Danton capable of seeing the entire battlefield from above through his summon''s eyes, Kite was basically asking for it. On cue, Danton mentally ordered his Flare Drake to start with the Fire Beam ability. Flare Drakes all come with elemental attacks that use narrow beams instead of bolts, but of course, of all elemental attacks, fire magic is its best magic. "Fire Beam Kite Fargenst. Then give him a swift Body Slam while you''re at it."


    With full compliance, the Flare Drake roared with its big mouth open, generating flames at the tip of its teeth, and before long, the dragon began to fly downward, unleashing the beam of fire at Kite, who simply stood there to block. The Fire Beam didn''t seem to faze Kite, probably due to the Dampen Field around his body, though the Flare Drake was following two attack orders at once. When soaring downward, the dragon pulled up just in time to avoid a collision with the ground, but it''s large underbelly smacked Kite far off his feet from an impact alone. The results showed a staggering loss in his HP, while also revealing a sudden surge in his MP. So Kite has Void Edge active on top of Dampen Field.


    Kite quickly pulled himself back up from that beat down, and he managed to get through that just fine. That dragon must be weak against bladed attacks, especially on its belly, which contains fewer scales than the rest of its body. Good to know for a potential exploit, but that''s not the only one. Kite could see it all the way from here. With Danton so focused on controlling his summon, he''s partially distracted from the rest of his senses. A close combat strike should work.


    Danton could see Kite suddenly running in one direction. Through the eyes of Massife, Danton could see from up there, Kite taking a daring Charge Attack against him in person; a fatal mistake. Danton dropped his mental connection with the Flare Drake momentarily, still with plenty of distance between himself and Kite, who held both swords out in an attempt for a double jab. Now focused on what was right in front of him, Danton held out the end of his staff, and charged an electrical glyphring at the end of it, forcing Kite to stop in realization of his own mistake. "Lightning Strike!"


    Kite wasn''t expecting Danton to remain totally aware of all his surroundings, and was dealt another blow of electrical damage. Luckily for him, the Dampen Field cut out 70% of the pain and damage altogether, but Kite still didn''t have an advantage yet.


    "Do it now!" Danton ordered. Even without being mentally synched with the dragon, Danton knew that his summon had a style of attacking most native to flying low sweeps for body slams, and that''s what the Flare Drake did next.


    Kite readdressed his attention to the area above and behind him, where the large dragon was about to pounce down on him from above. This was the opening, the chance he noticed earlier. Kite held both blades up, infusing each tip with low-powered spirit elemental magic. He then charged forward towards a sure impact with both blades out, sliding on his knees at the last second while drilling both blades through the rough stomach of the beast above him. Nearly avoiding a direct body slam collision with the Flare Drake, Kite was still hit with a random impact of the dragon''s tail, which knocked him onto the ground with both blades falling out of his hands.


    "Oh no!" Danton reacted quickly to the trick Kite just pulled off, slashing the underbelly of the Flare Drake using spirit magic, which is super-effective against summoned creatures. The Flare Drake quickly flew upwards, but both blades were stuck inside of the dragon''s stomach, dealing damage over time after the initial sliding impact. In just a few more seconds, the yellow glyphring reappeared to suck the Flare Drake in, his HP long dropped to zero.


    After watching the summon be sucked back into the glyphring like a cool black-hole effect, Kite and Danton were again at a standoff. They stared each other down, and Danton had to hold out his staff with preparation, knowing that Kite would stick to close combat tactics if possible. What''s worse is that Danton''s MP is nearly at zero percent, same as Kite''s.


    "So it''s come down to a sword battle." Finally! Danton can''t use his ranged powers forever. Kite''s Dire Sabers respawned in his hands after being lost to the Flare Drake, and he simply waited for Danton''s witty response.


    Danton didn''t say a word, only holding out his staff as if it were a sword itself. He took a defensive stance, bracing what was to come. Kite''s endurance given such low stats is highly impressive. This match could still go either way.


    "Here we go." Kite dashed forward first, keeping Danton in place to defend himself. As expected, Danton blocked each of Kite''s sword strikes with his staff, failing to completely deflect the hits since staffs are not designed like swords. If it weren''t for the veil, that rod would have been diced into pieces at the beginning of this match.


    Danton desperately kept blocking or dodging Kite''s sword strikes for as much as he could, but he was eventually struck with the Dire Sabers occasionally, a close combat battle that again lasted for over an entire minute of either opponent gaining little advantage. In the middle of the intense blasting of metal, Danton finally took advantage of the very slight opening he saw left open immediately, using Harmonic Blast with his free left hand aimed at Kite''s face. Kite doesn''t tend to block with his blades if Danton is not using the right hand for any particular movement. His attention was too focused in one area, so take this!


    Kite had no reaction for the random pulse of magic Danton blasted his face with, but the sudden surge in high pitch frequencies that came just afterwards debilitated his ability to concentrate and keep his eyes open amidst the new migraine. Kite held his left ear in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain inside of his head, while taking a random blind slash at Danton with his right hand, but his aim was too far gone to make a hit.


    Danton rejoiced in his success, but soon realized that the Harmonic Blast alone dropped his MP reserves to only one percent, which meant he could no longer use any magic at this point. Still, having an immediate opening on Kite still prompted Danton to try something. In the speedy counterattack, Danton used the end of his staff to jab at Kite''s chest knocking him backwards as he clutched the area around his chest. The jab wouldn''t be painful for long, and likely did no damage to Kite''s health in total... There isn''t anything to do!


    Kite tried to recover as quickly as possible, but he kept his distance for now, since the pain in his head lingered for a long time. The sonic blast part of the spell was over, but now the migraine shifted to a pain on the left side of his head, causing Kite to momentarily cover his left eye as if it could help somehow. "There you go again with your tricks." Kite had trouble getting the words out while cringing in a lasting pain. "But you were better off with a sword than a staff."


    "Kite!" Danton held the staff tightly. It didn''t matter that the object lacked sharp metal. It''s still a blunt object in the end, and it can still be used in the same way. At the start of this battle, Danton wasn''t sure if he had what it takes to win against Kite. But now¡ª "I don''t care how long it takes or how much I have to try. I will defeat you in combat Kite. I''ll prove how strong my will to win is against your blades!"


    Danton noticed Kite''s discrete chuckle, but was then distracted by a sudden surge in glowing light from the Luminous Artemus. Not just the crystal, but the entire device itself was radiating brightly with magical energy that Danton did not charge into the weapon itself. It was reacting on its own, energy at the crystal concentrating.


    "I thought you were out of magic," Kite argued.


    "I''m not doing this!" Danton''s confusion, combined with the way he held the staff further away from his body in response was enough to convince Kite that something weird was happening to that staff. In a matter of seconds, a mostly transparent phased shape extended out from the top of the crystal, growing in length and changing in shape, though currently masked by the brightness itself.


    "What is that? Shadler!"


    "I''ve seen this before," Shadler admitted from afar. "Danton must be wielding the staff of Luminous Artemus. Though it''s extremely rare and takes special practice as a mage, the user of Luminous Artemus can sometimes transform their own staff into a weapon of desire, if their heart and spirit is in the right place for it."


    "What?" Danton and Kite both repeated the shout at the same time, but the staff did all the explaining when the final pulse of light revealed what the effects were all about. Finally, at the end of the staff, the red crystal shrank in size all the way down to a small gemstone, walled off by segments of metallic armor that extended outward. The length beyond the crystal solidified into an impressively shinning skinny saber of steel. That is to say, the Luminous Artemus underwent a transformation into a special sword itself. "It''s a sword!" There is no doubt that this blade formation isn''t like any other as far as combat stats are concerned. Heavy enough to be worthy of a blade, Danton swung the blade for a test, noticing a trail of glowing light behind the motion.


    Shadler explained the rest from there. "The Luminous Artemus has changed shape into a sword. While not a permanent change, this means that Danton''s need to fight with a bladed weapon instead of a staff resonated with his mind, and incited the will to do so."


    "So this is because I wanted to use you as a blade this entire time?"


    Kite began laughing in excitement, confusing Danton for a moment while he collected himself. "Like I said. You are better off with a sword. What an interesting development you kept under your sleeve. To think that you weren''t even aware of this yourself..."


    "I wasn''t. But this changes nothing in our battle Kite. I''m going to finally prove to you that our battle back then will never have the same result over time!" Danton charged at Kite this time, confidence wielded in his new blade transformed before his eyes. Kite instinctively blocked the impact, but Danton''s sword carried a noticeable amount of force compared to anything else he wielded. Another passive effect of swords is that sword types and lengths can factor into hit power regardless of a person''s physical strength, so long as they''re in Sprawn Valley.


    Kite kept up with Danton''s speed regardless of his impressive sword. It was hard to adjust to the new attack arcs created by the extra length in that blade, given that Danton usually uses short sabers instead of long ones. With his dual wielding skills enabling him to block and occasionally strike back at Danton at the same time, Kite managed to totally avoid taking a single hit for half a minute. Danton took a few close cuts from Kite''s sabers, thus proving that even in this amazing development, he is still the better swordsman.


    Danton grew more confident by the seconds that ticked by, despite taking minor damage with each occasional hit that Kite managed to land, but by now, enough MP energy was regenerated for one more spell. Leray battles are not all about fighting with blades. "Ice Blast!" Invoked quickly and unexpectedly against Kite, Danton shot a barrage of five Ice Bolts from his left hand, three of which slammed into Kite while he tried to recover and fight back still only using his swords. Danton now had no MP energy remaining, but Kite now only had six percent health remaining, with some MP at his disposal.


    Getting back into the rhythm despite his critical stat levels, Kite kept Danton on edge with a relentless combination of sword strikes, shifting styles whenever opportunities called for it. Danton kept using his new sword to deflect and strike back at Kite, but Kite was still fast enough to deflect every one of Danton''s hits.


    After a few more second of time''s passing however, Danton suddenly increased his pace and striking power, intentionally leaving himself open to Kite in the process. Danton didn''t care if Kite could strike him over and over with a slightly higher health level, and Kite took advantage of some slashes to his sides regardless. Danton continued to bash against Kite''s swords with malice and determination, pushing forward in a berserk manner. After seven more deflections against Kite''s swords, Danton again sped himself up with sheer desire, pushing Kite to walk backwards while blocking that he eventually held both blades across his chest like a shield, which worked for a few more strikes. Danton continued raining down sword strikes, which increased in strength, until Danton finally managed to drive the sharp edge of his saber into Kite''s body, the sword pushing back on Kite''s Dire Sabers until the Luminous Artemus phased through Kite''s flesh in a successful hit. Danton didn''t stop there either, using his blade to duck down and cut at Kite''s ankles, then uplifting his blade against Kite''s. The uppercut motion slid Kite''s blades from his hands.


    Kite, without anytime to process the horror of his own situation was left completely open to Danton''s next move. Danton charged MP energy into his special sword, and drove it forward until the other end phased through to the other side of Kite''s abdomen. Despite being a non-fatal hit, the blade''s magic drilling into Kite''s body alone froze him in a shock of pain, while the effects quickly drained away at his HP over time. Being unable to counter with any potential battling plan, and being unable to move due to having his own breath knocked out of him, Kite quickly began to lose consciousness.


    When Danton finally took his sword back out from Kite, the last of Kite''s HP reached the lowest point, while everything around him in his senses faded to a quiet blackness.


    Danton held back from attacking when noticing Kite dropping to the floor unconscious. His body and blades were fallen on the floor, and Danton thus noticed the energy scope report above Kite. Danton himself only had about twelve percent of health remaining on his end, but that fight was totally difficult to pull off. By the time the results finally sank in, Danton''s blade suddenly transformed back into the original Luminous Artemus staff he was initially familiar with. The power inside of it drained out entirely, while the crystal grew back to the original size, though inert from power loss. During this reverse-transformation, the entire field''s Siriean dome collapsed around them, fading away until there was nothing left but a deafening silence. The reward spoil system generated holographic text just to make the win more official.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Brash Danton ~ Champion Title + 500,000 CR | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Mystery Theme ~ Aleksandar Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)</a>


    <hr>


    Danton sank down to the ground from exhaustion alone, and waited for Shadler to approach the middle of the field and help both combatants recover. The results were finally in. Danton did it. He won! I finally defeated him. Kite Fargenst, powerful warrior and top swordsman. I finally got him back for that win he took back on Route 96. Danton was weak, though fully satisfied with the results. This means he really is the strongest Leray wielder in the group. No, he''s the Leray champion now.


    "You really went at it this time." Shadler held the healing orbs in effect, brining stamina back to Danton, and cutting the awakening time for Kite. "I''ve seen a lot of action in my day, but I never knew that two sword fighters put together could produce such displays of battle." Shadler was only reaching Brash right now, given Kite''s current state of unconsciousness. Danton was quite silent himself, taking all of that time to recover.


    "This of course means that you are now the next champion of Leray magic. Kite wasn''t kidding to say that his position wasn''t secure with a mage such as yourself in play. He probably won''t be happy to know that the credits must come directly out of his own license."


    "What about his position?" Danton didn''t know what Kite would do now, but he shouldn''t be kicked out of Eldora Tower just for losing that match.


    Shadler replied with more of a question for Danton. "By default ruling, he simply swaps the official title and position of yourself, since you did not use the regular champion chain to get to him, but this still counts as a champion victory on yourself. Though technically, as champion, you have the power to strip Kite Fargenst of his place in the elite chain, for the next forty-eight hours."


    What a strange way to work things. Danton nodded his head and waited for Kite to wake up. When he did, the reaction was as expected.


    "What just happened? You''re telling me I lost?!"


    "That is what happened," Shadler reported.


    Kite took a long moment of silence, followed by a sigh of stress, but he then shifted his attitude with the memory of the battle. "Brash Danton? You defeated me in battle, using sword skills no-less... It looks like I''ve dropped a rank since our last encounter."


    "Don''t take it so personally," Danton warned. "I told you I was going to be a Leray master someday, and that means that crazies like you won''t stop me from getting stronger."


    "Well, you''re the champion now. I''ll have to get used to that for a while."


    Danton nearly jumped up from that implication. "What are you saying Kite? I''m not kicking you out!" Kite genuinely seemed surprised to hear that news from him. "Come on! You''re still in the elite chain, level three. And, you''re still in the Trujima gang."


    After all that? Danton could have just taken the leader title of Trujima, expelling Kite from the gang in its official rules that state defeating one in a duel expels the loser from the gang if already a member if decreed by the victor. Danton might not have the authority as champion, but as a Trujima member; the rules do apply. "But why?"


    "To test a theory," Danton replied. "I don''t know how long it will actually take... But I''ll take a guess and say, one month. In one month, you will train like you''ve never trained before. Not just with swords, but with magical powers too. And in that time, I want to see just how far that takes you."


    "But Danton!" Shadler stepped in front of Danton''s face to remind him of one of the tower''s rules. "If you do this, and Kite defeats you next time, it will dispel your ability to rematch him for three months, all the same to him. The three month rule from here on includes yourself if challenged by the same former champion."


    "Then I guess I better train hard too." Danton stood more firmly, finally recovering with the aid of those healing orbs. Kite seemed to be a bit shaken still from the battle damages, but his focus was now contemplating another challenge. "What do you say Kite? Let''s have one more battle going all out. If you can somehow defeat me again, I''ll let you have champion title for a few more months."


    This isn''t normal is it? Danton really wants to do it again! Is it this fun for him to fight in Leray battles? Kite suddenly felt stupid for asking the question. That battle was exciting for himself, having such an amazing challenge before him. This is what fighting is all about. That''s what Danton believes in, and with practice, the odds can always shift in favor of another. "Danton. We have a deal. You better watch yourself."


    "Good," Danton agreed. "Just do me one favor on that note, and don''t get taken out from some random guy taking on the Catalyst Grove."


    "Nah, you jest too far kid..." Kite studied his swords, and then glanced at Shadler, who managed to find a suitable sparring partner for Kite during this time. It''s no question to whether Shadler will end up assisting Danton in the end, but maybe Mainne will know something that he doesn''t already. Kite picked up both of his swords, and holstered them into the cases attached to the back of his suit. "I''ll give you one thing; you were right about us winning Eldora Tower on such short notice, but now I''ll prove my worth in about a month from now. You better not disappoint."


    "How can I, when I''m so obviously to win the next time too?"


    Another joke. "We shall see."


    Danton stood relaxing while Kite went to the primary lift and descended down to whichever level he wanted to reach. After Kite was out of sight, Shadler was Danton''s next focus, having never officially met him before. "So, you''re going to train new skills into me?"


    "As long as I am worthy," Shadler applied. "I have to congratulate you on fully activating your staff. Only that brand can transform the way we just witnessed, and it''s extremely rare, the process that is."


    "How so?"


    "The technical magic level required for an Artemus transformation is exceedingly high, while also requiring a type of willful synchronization. You''re ME levels must be higher than I initially anticipated."


    What is the guy even talking about? "Whatever. I''d like to train and all for my next upcoming battle, but if I''m going to be champion for a month, I''ll need instruction too. I''m sure you understand; I''ve never been in charge before."


    "There is a lot more to it than you realize, and your powers as leader of Sprawn Valley are still partially limited to the mercy of the mage council."


    So being in charge isn''t ruling with an iron fist. Danton knew all about the political function of the mage council, but hearing it to be true from an official member is more comforting. "That''s good. This shouldn''t be too hard then."


    Shadler stopped for a moment to process what steps would need to be taken for Danton''s preparations. "I''ll have much to show you, in due time. First, we''ll go over the basics."

 Chapter 27: Waypoints in Shadow

    <hr>


    <03/16/1972 ¨C 00:00 | Manhattan Outskirts, New York, United States>


    The sheer recklessness of this plan is just shameful to conceive. That''s what Nyar might say right now if only he knew what was really going on. Danny wondered while treading down the dark alley whether Nyar was even aware of this situation yet, or if he was still out at his work, but it doesn''t matter. This is going to work!


    Jane and Taylor huddled closely together behind Danny marching in front, though it did little to stave off the creepiness of this strange zone. Small business structures and a few abandoned warehouses all cuddled up together, generating the open system shaped in a maze on a map. In the center of the meeting zone Danny was designated to arrive at, all of the short sections of space opened up into a square-like drop-off with crates of unknown materials fenced off with chains and locks.


    This is the place Danny recalled in his meeting point. This open space of concrete with corners subtlety packed with rusted down barrels and garbage piles outside the overflowing dumpster set the vibe that was currently keeping Jane and Taylor silent. Danny took every detail for sight possible while slowing down to observe. There are four possible exit points from this area, though the one on the left is blocked off by a pointless fence that could easily be climbed. The area here is silent and dark, the only illumination coming from a back door entrance lit with a low-powered emergency LED light fixture. All of the surrounding walls blocked off the noise from the roads, which were a distance in either direction anyway. You could possibly scream out here and nobody near the streets would ever hear the sound, but at least the air wasn''t nearly as brisk as it was the past few nights.


    Still, Danny tugged his dark jacket while bravely assessing the situation. A short strained glance at his watch proved it was just beyond midnight. Despite the meeting time being met, there was nobody else here. Danny checked every corner up and down stationary, ensuring that nobody was potentially hiding in plain sight.


    "This doesn''t feel right," Taylor concerned. "Where is this buyer you mentioned earlier?"


    "I don''t know," Danny responded with sincerity. He stepped further to the center of the area, right into the open space, and cleared his throat. "If anyone is here for the credit bargain, please step out right now. Show yourself! I wish to make this arrangement as simple as possible."


    Responding to his loud demand, the sound of footsteps echoed through the open square. In just seconds, three adults with their identities concealed behind the darkness of their cloaks emerged from the shadows, casually approaching the center of where Danny is standing on the opposite side. Their cloaks concealed most of their entire bodies like a special robe; each colored the same way mostly white with red striped designs, though color was difficult to see in the poorly lit area.


    "Finally." Danny tried to sound as calm and mundane as possible, since this already feels so dangerous. "So which one of you is the client? I thought we both agreed to meet each other alone."


    When the three of them stopped, the man between them took two additional steps to reveal his position and talk to Danny directly. "These men are my insurance policy, some protection. But I see you''ve brought yourself some uninvited quests yourself. Such beautiful girls too. Are they backup bargaining chips?"


    "You''ve got it all wrong," Danny corrected. At least the additional people was easily explained. "These two are insurance policies of my own. I guess we both trust each other about the same amount."


    "Sure," he agreed, "if you can call that protection." Those girls can''t even stand up straight, hugging each other''s breath for comfort. This guy truly is out of his mind, and alone, and with such a size, he can''t be much older than a legal adult.


    "Are we going to make this deal, or not?"


    "And how would I be able to prove you''re not some idiot going undercover for the police? Trying to scurry away our people like rats?"


    Danny quickly argued the contrary. "Am I not taking the same risk as you have? I''m fully prepared to make a trade, and I have to trust that your intentions are all the same. I would be disappointed if either one of us were stupid enough to risk our lives side-stepping each other in a trade agreement. The cops have bigger fish to fry anyway, right?" What is with this guy? Why go through all this trouble to hide their faces? They better not be armed.


    "I do love it when people turn out to be such smooth talkers, but talk is cheap these days boy. Enough messing around. Show me proof of your claim."


    "Of course." Danny pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, only containing Jane''s Leray license card. "As I''ve said before, I''m prepared to trade you three hundred thousand credits for two hundred thousand U.S. dollars."


    The middleman in the cloak examined the license card carefully, noticing the picture ID and the credit count on the card. "I see. You''ve got well over the amount promised for additional savings, and it seems that one of your friends is skilled in the arts of Leray warriorship." So they really are part of his protection. "So you want to exchange three hundred grand for two hundred grand?"


    "That''s the deal, isn''t it?"


    The man tucked the license card within his hood, keeping it out of sight completely. "The deal has changed." Easily as predicted, all three of the kids winced back with anger and surprise. The woman with the same picture on the card approached him in a threatening manner.


    "Forget it then," Jane hollered. "Give me back my card right now!"


    In a simple matter of showing all of them the counteroffer, the men in cloaks all pulled out small blades, mostly daggers and short sabers, aiming them at the three traders and forcing them to stop and back up in fear for their lives. "I said, the deal''s changed. You were actually stupid enough to bring a license card with well over the amount of credits we were expecting. This makes it far more tempting to take it for ourselves and let you brats sulk in the consequences of your own stupidity."


    Danny watched Jane back up in fear behind him for cover. He couldn''t blame her, because right now this is a really bad situation. Dying here is incredibly easy, and may only take one small cut from those blades. Danny dug his eyes everywhere to the addition of the noise, as almost a dozen more people in the same colored robes emerged from the darkness off each exit. They''re surrounding all three of them! This really is a trap!


    "That''s my license!" Jane tried to stand up for herself despite cowering behind Danny. It''s not like she or Danny brought weapons of their own, and Jane''s daggers were confiscated long ago. So much for making New York safer. "You can''t just take that from me!"


    "But you see, Jane Venn, I just did." Almost on the verge of laughter, the man kept things simple. "Normally, this is the part where I mug you and kill you, but today I have orders not to slaughter anyone. So as long as you do as my men tell you, you''ll be just fine, granted with a few broken ribs or two."


    "But how?!" Danny lashed out in confusion, at himself instead of the criminals in front of him. "How could this offer have been a fake? A setup? I confirmed from several different local accounts that you were the real deal."


    "It''s called a proxy bounce, you loser excuse for a computer nerd. What purpose would it serve to announce my physical location to everyone in a ten mile radius?"


    Proxy bounce? That trick where the location of each system is mimicked from a different much further location? No, something else was going on here, but Danny knew he too was tricked long before this meeting ever happened. Dammit! Nyar was right about this being dangerous after all! "You tricked us! Now you''re stealing from us!"


    With hesitation, the person leading this small loot changed his gaze to Jane. "You''re bodyguard doesn''t seem to grasp the concept very quickly. Is it possible we broke his mind?"


    Despite the pounding in her chest to the obvious danger, Jane crept back in front of Danny, revealing to them a tiny portable red LED light the size of her thumb. "Either way, you''re going to answer for this somehow. This thing right here is a tracking device tuned into a police band. I only needed to use it in case we were tricked by you."


    "What?"


    "So," Danny shifted. "You remembered how to use that thing after all."


    "Everyone scram!" The guy in the middle panicked quickly upon the realization, as he threw down a small unknown device. The result quickly created a massive explosion of thick smoke, which easily obscured the view of everything. The fog was suddenly so thick that he couldn''t see beyond two feet of any direction, though, everyone here knew the layout of the area.


    Danny at least had one less danger to deal with. This sudden smoke cloud must be their way of making a quick escape while masking it. Jane''s license is still stolen, but at least they won''t die a horrible death. That prank she just pulled was incredible. Danny had no idea that Jane had such a backup plan, but that small device is obviously not a tracking device. It''s just the tiny little light Nyar gave to Jane, to satisfy her excessive energy, though it never really worked that way. The technology might look and mimic a tracking device, especially with such difficulty seeing the whole unit in the dark, and these thieves are afraid of the New York police. "That was good thinking Jane."


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Infiltration ~ FFXIII-3 OST</a>


    <hr>


    "Not so fast! I''m not letting them get away!" Jane darted forward through the smoke and fog, which spread in a wide direction of space. She knew to head forward only by instinct, and after studying the part of the map to the meeting place, she already knew at least where the north exit is and how far into the maze of alleyways it leads.


    "Jane! Wait!" Taylor glanced at Danny, after witnessing Jane take off without them in the thick haze. Taylor and Danny held hands to keep from getting separated, after which they rushed forward to try the same with Jane. After a few seconds of jogging forward, and recovering from slightly bumping into one of the walls, they both found the north exit Jane went for. However, Jane was nowhere in sight. Taylor and Danny tried to look around the next corner, the passage just before the rest of the next fork turns this massive section of grouped structures into a maze-like opening, and still, nothing. Jane must have ran at her top speed chasing after those guys just to get her license back, but that''s incredibly dangerous beyond anything she could realize. Danny and Taylor looked at each other with worry, promising that they must find Jane and quickly before she gets herself into trouble.


    After just managing to escape from the smoke screen, Jane continued going down each path, almost randomly. She could hear the faint footsteps in range. These hooded thieves are still close by, trying to escape, likely back to whatever they''re using for a hideout. With her license in their possession, there is no room to slow down and let them get away. Jane knew with a short back-glance that Danny and Taylor were not able to keep up with her right now, but it doesn''t matter. Jane only needed to move quickly while remaining sneaky. They can''t run away without leaving a trail.


    Jane continued down the path, peaking her head over to the next corner carefully and only for a second before hiding again. In her view, she just caught the sight of the back of someone''s footsteps heading down the next left turn. They''re very close, but could possibly spot her if they send somebody to backtrack. Jane checked to see if she was clear, and quickly huddled down halfway while shifting her feet, remaining speedy and quiet at the same time. With her head halfway down, she quickly ducked behind one of the many tin trash cans left to the side of the wall, providing herself some cover in case there is somebody watching her from above. After another scan above the trashcans, Jane shifted and moved forward again, failing to avoid a disgusting puddle of rain running water into her shoes and socks.


    She ignored the inconvenience and rushed onward, taking that left turn. The path would force her to go only right in just ten feet with no other possible directions, and Jane continued to mark each turn and check behind the walls to keep track of her targets. She couldn''t see anyone behind this wall, but there were three more potential routes to choose from, and right now, Jane could hear the mild noise of muffled chatter. She moved down the path, hoping to match the direction of the sound to where she should go next... Left again. This time, Jane saw a glimpse of two more people take another route down the path of her own, wearing the same cloaks as the thieves before her. She''s getting closer!


    Continuing to march left and right down several sections of such short openings, littered with rust, trash, graffiti, and cut open fences, Jane eventually caught up to a section that opened in two different areas. One would lead behind an old store that was already closed down for business, and the other goes straight out into the street, currently void of any signs of vehicle traffic. "Danny said I''ve got to be brave. I can do this." Jane quietly psyched herself up, taking it more slowly towards the next split in the walls. She could hear more men talking, even though she couldn''t make any of it out. Surely, they were the thieves, but the closer she got, the louder they were to her ears. They must have stopped moving.


    The realization only made Jane slow her pace completely, ensuring she does not make a sound audible for anyone to hear. When she got to the split, turning her head over to peek to the very back of the run-down store, Jane saw all of them. Every single person wearing the same white and red robes were all gathered around, apparently to the back entrance of the store. They appeared to be arguing about something, though with little volume to their voices. Jane still couldn''t make out what they were saying, and they kept their hoods over their heads concealing their facial identities too. She also had trouble figuring out why there is a single gravestone near the wooden fence further behind the store. Whatever it was didn''t seem like a real gravesite, nor did it belong where it was.


    What the heck is this place? And who are these people? Jane knew she couldn''t find out much more from standing around, but revealing herself is too risky. She can''t take the chance that this place isn''t their gang hideout. Something is wrong about this setup too... Which one of them stole her license? It''s too hard to tell them apart anymore with all of them wearing the same outfit. What are they doing right now?


    "I want them found! Backtrack and make sure they cause no trouble!"


    That doesn''t sound too good. Jane knew she was heavily outnumbered here, and her only real chance of getting her license back would be to snap out of illusion that she can fight them, and actually involve the police force. She quickly backtracked herself, trying to stay out of sight before anyone finds her, but after taking one of the turns, one of her worst nightmares came to life in the form of some stupid luck.


    "Jane! There you are!"


    Jane cupped Danny''s mouth as quickly as she could, trying to shut him up as there is someone likely following her just behind that corner, but when she attempted to, Jane''s foot tripped over one of the flat wooden slabs leaning on the stone wall, causing her to fall down on top of Danny, bringing some of the metal pieces sitting on the ledge to the ground as well. With one of the loudest trips to the concrete floor she ever had, Jane tried to recover, now feeling desperate to escape from this situation before it got any worse.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Ad Mortem ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    "Who''s there?! Check it out!"


    That voice is so close! Jane helped Danny up and gave the warning they needed to hear to get moving. "We have to leave! Now!"


    "Stop right there!"


    With a flashlight in their faces coming from two sides, Danny, Taylor, and Jane were again surrounded. The surge of light also blinded them temporarily, while confused from being discovered again.


    "So, you thought you could sneak around like the rats you are? Tie them up! Jane? You''re coming with us."


    Jane could feel her back against Danny''s or Taylor''s. Why do they want to take her? This isn''t going to work. "Like hell I am! We have to fight." Her last comment was a whisper to the ears of her friends. Even if they are outnumbered and outbladed, this can''t go down any other way.


    With the flashlights dimming due to excessive battery use, Danny could see much better while his eyes adjusted. The people surrounding them were still keeping some distance for insurance. "Why do you want her?"


    "Our boss seems to recognize the maiden. And whatever he asks for, he gets every time."


    "They recognize you?" Taylor sounded just as confused as Jane or Danny was about the matter, but the situation remained the same.


    "You wouldn''t have tried to track down our hideout over a license card, not if you could have waited to get the police on your side. I''m guessing that tracking device was just an impressive bluff. But now that we know you''re all alone, your options are to leave us with Jane, or die."


    Now noticing a wet metal pipe on the floor beneath him, dropped from that fall Jane took, Danny reached down and grabbed the pipe as his weapon of self-defense. "How about, you come anywhere near us, and we all mess you up?"


    Though the three men pulled out daggers and short swords, the man holding them hostage gave a hand signal to his men. "That won''t be necessary boys. We can''t risk having our merchandise injured. It won''t be a problem."


    "You really want to fight us barehanded?" Jane tested.


    "Oh, you actually think we''re scared of you? Don''t make me laugh, plebs! You honestly think that a couple of wannabe warriors from Sprawn Valley have any real power out here in the wilderness beyond your precious veil? Magic has no use out here. But actual military training in close combat; that applies anywhere, and is a force which could be just as deadly. So you''ll surrender your lives to us now, if you know what''s good for you."


    Without saying anymore, Jane threw a small stone she picked up after tripping to the ground, and chucked it at the thug trying to hassle them. The rock then bounced off his skin, leaving him unfazed. It only hit him in the shoulder instead of the face, but it still should have hurt to a degree.


    "The hard way it is."


    Danny took his cue and rushed in with the metal pipe grasped to both hands firmly. Pretending as though this thing were a short sword from Sprawn Valley made it easier to handle, and brought back memory of maneuvers he could try. Upon reaching striking range, Danny was actually able to deflect one of the man''s unarmed hits, and deliver a painful blow to his hips with a side swing, but shortly after this, two more of the hooded thugs appeared from the front end, outnumbering them further.


    "Capture the girl! Kill her friends!"


    "No!" Jane would never allow that order to be carried out, and fought with her fists just as the others were trying to do. Her efforts easily backed up Taylor, as Jane eventually punched one of the guys to the ground, but the next one who came after her quickly drove his entire arm to Jane''s chin, after which he struck again with a shock to the side of her neck. Despite the efforts, Jane immediately passed out to the ground, making plenty of noise knocking over more materials that Danny and Taylor were fully aware of.


    Taylor went to try and save Jane, but was kicked backwards into the wall by the same man, now picking unconscious Jane up and holding her over his left shoulder.


    Danny took surprise to see that Jane was actually being taken hostage right before his eyes, unconscious and unable to move, while Taylor was apparently recovering from a hard kick. Two of the hooded gangsters hovered near the brute carrying Jane to block Danny''s access from trying to fight and get her back. Danny continued his efforts desperately, swinging his metal pile like bat to try and debilitate the enemies. His efforts easily landed two of them to the ground in agony, but then another challenger stepped in front of him.


    Danny was forced to block a punch from the man with his own crowbar, but was then struck in his left arm and left leg consecutively with a small knife, cutting sharply into his skin and drawing blood through the clothing. With another punch to his nose, and a kick that sent him flying back into the trash can, Danny was disabled quickly with two new wounds and a bloody face. This caused the other girl to panic and stand guard in front of Danny, so the soldier simply threw another small knife into Taylor''s left shoulder. The pain in her wound was easily distinguishable with her painful scream. He then threw the metal pipe he stole from Danny to Taylor, smacking her in the eye and sending her down to the ground aside from Danny. Both of them were still clearly fine despite their new wounds, but totally stunned from taking those hits. The idiots thought they were as capable here as they were in Sprawn Valley. But such fools they are! "There. That''s better."


    "Are we finishing them or not?"


    "They''re harmless worthless scum," the man replied. "Let them be. We may need them to stay alive if we''re to have better bargaining chips later. After we''ve dealt with Jane, we''ll come back and find these losers, to kill them as well."


    "Then let''s get back to the chamber before somebody else finds us."


    "Relax, agent Six. We''re going to be just fine with this discovery."


    The cuts on his arm and leg, as well as the heavy bruise to his nose left Danny with a heavy painful distraction, but he felt something similar to this before, when taking damage in the dark zone of Alpha Zero. This isn''t enough... Why are they walking away? Danny wanted to get up and fight them again, but everything hurt, and he felt so weak compared to the last few seconds. Why is everything so blurry? "Taylor." Danny covered his scalp with a headache, and couldn''t understand why he was being left alone.


    "Stay put, you inch worms. I''ll be back for you soon enough. If your friend cooperates with us, you''ll get to die quickly and with mercy."


    How dare they! They''re taking Jane! Come on! Danny struggled heavily to strain himself and get back up, but the effort was constantly being wasted. He was so weak, it took much too long to regain his balance and stamina. He had the wind knocked out of his lungs earlier, still something affecting him. Taylor''s face was beat up too, her shoulder bloody from a small knife wound. She was holding the bloody knife in her other hand, after she must have pulled it from her skin. This is bad! "Taylor, you''ll be fine."


    Taylor could hear Danny, but his voice sounded as if he were being crushed. She was in just about as bad of shape as Danny was, but she decided not to make any sudden movements. It was stupid to think any of them could fight against real criminals out here. Might as well give up.


    "Nagh..." Jane managed to groan slightly from her fatigue and exhaustion. After having been knocked out, she was coming back to consciousness to figure out what happened, but she couldn''t move or wake herself up completely. She was elevated off the ground, hovered halfway dangling off one man''s shoulder as he walked behind other cloaked bandits, back to that gravestone. Jane knew she couldn''t get out of this, and tried not to struggle. Pretending to be unconscious, Jane kept her eyes open lightly, witnessing the most unexpected thing she saw all night. From the backend of the store she observed earlier, the gravestone suddenly flattened down, and expanded into a larger square, which eventually opened up automatically into a small opening with stairs leading down underground. They actually have an underground hideout! Or maybe it''s a chamber? What is this?


    "We''re not ready for conscious testing. Knock her out again."


    Crap! They knew she woke back up! Jane finally tried to struggle, when a white cloth was pressed against her mouth. At the same time, her arms and legs were held together to prevent her from fighting back. The smell of chlorine overtook her senses, until she slipped back into a blissful state of sleep. Wherever they are, Danny and Taylor will have to help her now.


    <hr>


    To be continued...


    <hr>


    > Liking the series so far? Click >here</a>< to continue to the next book. Don''t forget to like, bookmark, and support</a>.

 Chapter 28: The Trial of Mages

    <hr>


    <11/25/1962 ¨C 15:02 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    The beginning of next week went without a hitch in the plans. Brash Danton, now referred to as Sir Danton by title of champion received some combat training by the use of magic with the assistance of Shadler. Shadler also had to teach Danton about the politics of leading in Sprawn Valley, and the role of being a leader. Every weekend for most weeks, the championship event is held for wielders attempting to take his place. In addition, the Catalyst Grove is also held to try and replace elites in direct methods. But with the excellent fighting spirit and training of the Trujima gang, as well as restrictions placed on those trying to get into the chain of the elites, this weekend went by without a single change in the rankings. As far as the champion chain is concerned, not one single challenger made it beyond the second level elite, protected by Gleeon Miao.


    At first glance, the politics seem straightforward. As a champion, you simply sign off on several legal documents that come in from the mage council, the amount of documents ranging variously. Status updates on all country, town, and city projects come in, usually to report a request in funding for materials or federal programs. There are seven members who sit at the highest level of the mage council each representing departments of interest to the nation, and lower members who vote them in, who are voted in themselves by the citizens of Sprawn Valley. As such, the mage council can easily override any refusal of signing to a document if six of the seven representatives vote to veto executive decisions. In all of this, the job of the champion is to make such executive decisions, while also remaining commander in chief for Sprawn Valley''s official military organization; the General Army. The army is only intended to act in manners concerning national security, and still have a slight leash from the mage council.


    Viewed by literal experience, it wasn''t the easy job that Shadler made it out to sound. Danton had to learn so much in such little time, all while wondering if this kind of life is what he really wanted for himself. Whether it is or isn''t, leaving isn''t a preferred option, not until he and Kite have their final rematch in about a month from now. Leading an entire nation is a lot of pressure, and Danton continued to convince himself that it simply isn''t the kind of work he could enjoy. Still, the thought of protecting everybody in Sprawn Valley while aiming to improve the lives of the common folk gave a warming sensation of fulfilment.


    "Sir Danton? A word?"


    Danton snapped out of his current chain of thought, and focused on his assistant, Shadler Cowl. Shadler was teaching Danton how things work while running Eldora Tower, but there were still clusters of missing information that he was keeping for some reason. Shadler also acted as personal assistance to Danton, trying to do things for him. It was a bit much, having butlers make lunch and dinner every day, organizing public announcements on his personal behalf, and even creating ridiculous charts of tasks to be followed day-by-day, a chart which took up all of his time if not redone by bargaining, and staying cooped up in this elegant chamber built for the champion is just unsettling. Danton was never really encouraged to leave the tower or go outside. To spend his entire life in a single room just sucks, and every day that goes by, Shadler just seems less trustworthy somehow. He acts more like a chaperone than a trainer. "What is it Shadler?"


    Knowing that there was nobody else in the entire room, Shadler felt comfortable speaking about heavy matters, especially to Sir Danton, but he still tried to carefully sugar code the situation. Danton is already feeling the stress of his new position; obviously did he imagine something different. "I have a task for you that I''d like to see carried out."


    "As long as your errands take me outside of the tower, I don''t care what it is."


    Sensing the frustration in his tone, Shadler took it more slowly, trying to relax Danton and himself. "This time, the matter will take you outside of the tower."


    The thought of going outside grabbed Danton''s immediate attention, taking his stance and facing Shadler face to face. "Finally! I can ditch the robe and get some sun."


    "If you simply wanted to go outside, you need only ask, but it''s less likely to be suggested to new champions. That''s all what the fuss is over."


    "Well, whatever the task, lay it on me," Danton begged.


    Shadler nodded his head in disagreement, seeing that Danton was getting far ahead of himself. "For starters, you might want to keep the outfit." Danton was referring to a thick jacket of royalty, one exquisite in design and fashion. It''s the kind of clothing only befitting on a royal king. "It carries several invisible layers of magical barriers and elemental protection."


    "Shadler, my man..." Danton held Shadler by the shoulder to try and convince him that all of this isn''t necessary. "Whatever you''re worried about, I promise I won''t be knocked around doing some simple errands."


    "Oh, but these are not simple errands, Sir Danton." Shadler knocked Danton''s grip away, hoping he would understand the situation at best. "Had you simply waited for me to finish patiently, you would have realized by now that this task I ask of you is not without an adventure and a hint of danger. Also, you won''t be needing to worry about fashion for where you are being dispatched. Of course, you don''t have to accept this mission I''ve assigned you."


    "Wait a minute," Danton stopped. "You assigned me this mission?"


    "Let me just start from the beginning," Shadler tried. He held out his right arm and hand openly, until a phased object suddenly appeared into reality, the similar trick to spawning magical weapons into battle, but there was no glyphring, thus the weapon is fully as real as it gets. The weapon Shadler teleported in his hands was not of the usual kind. Some sort of special staff, a white rod covered with special artistic designs going around the pole, and a concave crystal sphere at the center of the top core container. It''s not the usual kind of staff Danton was used to seeing. "Hold this staff in your hand Danton."


    Danton did as the old man asked him too, feeling the full weight of the special staff. The material utilized some type of wood, hardened as much as steel, and weighing far more than any sword Danton has ever carried. It''s heavy for a staff. "What is this?" Is Shadler giving him a free staff?


    "Danton? Do you know what magic crystals are?"


    "I''ve heard about them before. They''re special crystals that can store Leray magic, right? I never understood how that worked."


    "They''re a little more advanced than that. One of the many things our personnel does here involves procuring special crystals that have the potential to store and redistribute magical energy on higher levels. I usually call them Eldora crystals, since they have a specialty that requires our top mages to process them into usable gemstones."


    "I don''t quite understand what all of that is about," Danton answered. "But what of these Eldora crystals?"


    "Eupharus Island is loaded with these crystals. Every six months, we head to Eupharus Island in order to mine and procure these crystals, taking them back to this tower''s science lab for further processing. Understand?"


    "Well, yes." It''s simple enough. But why ask him? Oh, of course! "Let me guess. You want me to help with the mining?"


    "Eupharus Island is a remote location without a large habitable landmass, and is actually uninhabited for many reasons, one of which being that the zone is restricted by the military. Only the top mages and the champion himself are allowed to travel to Eupharus Island."


    "Why restrict it? There something about these crystals you''re not telling me about?" Danton''s curiosity finally peaked, having never seen Shadler remain so clear on information before.


    "Well, Eupharus Island is also center to Sprawn Valley''s one and only active volcano. The Eupharus volcano is practically the entire feature of the island itself."


    "Oh, great... Listen, why am I being asked to do this again? I mean, at first I was just appalled that you wanted me to procure some stupid crystals all by myself on a secluded island with nobody to bump into, but now it just feels like your sending me out to be blown away by lava." Danton paused to process an interesting thought. "Is volcanic lava fatal to humans under the protection of the veil?"


    Shadler went first by answering his last question. "Molten lava has proven absolutely fatal to all living things that touch it regardless of the veil. Despite Eupharus Island being under the cover of the veil, lava on its own is a substance too high in temperature for the veil to adequately protect humans. If covered in lava, you would theoretically survive slightly longer than normal due to the veil, but your HP would drain to zero in less than three seconds, while the pain level would be so intense that you''d pass out from pain shock before that were to happen. And when unconscious with zero HP, your remaining MP reserves are used to protect you in your slumber. So in six seconds, you would run out of stats, and then burn alive until all your organs shut down completely, causing the Leray system to consider you as technically dead. When that happens, the body is no longer covered by the slight protection of the veil, and is thus rendered with no magical energy source from which to draw from. In a matter of three seconds to enough exposure, the lava would kill anyone. All of that doesn''t even include the harmful health effects of inhaling the toxic fumes should the lava burn certain material during its highly-active phase."


    That sure is one hell of an explanation. "Right... I''m not going."


    "With all due respect Danton, the volcano rarely erupts into the island, and we constantly monitor the activity there at all times. In fact, the volcano''s last eruption was five years ago, time enough for palm trees to grow back there. That place is half a jungle now."


    "Still, anyone can just go and get the crystals. And I am kind of new to this champion thing, sooo..."


    It figures Danton would be unwilling to go. Perhaps he needs the real motivation. "The density of crystals we need is very low to the sea level, on the bottom end of the mountain itself, and the thermal vent isn''t at the top of the volcano, but rather an elevated side tunnel. The top of the volcano is not open, but rather shut by an impressively powerful and sturdy bed-rock fixture."


    "We''re you not listening? Get somebody else to mine it."


    "Mining and procuring the crystals wouldn''t be your task."


    "What?" Danton felt confused. Why even ask him to go if other people are doing the heavy lifting?


    "Danton?" Shadler continued. "Eupharus Island is restricted due to a different kind of danger, one that poses a great threat to ordinary civilians, but much less to people like you and me who are well skilled in magical abilities."


    "What sort of danger are we talking about? I feel like you were trying to say that lava is of little concern in comparison to something else."


    "Oh no," Shadler corrected. "If any lava is found on the island, we won''t be doing this job. But right now, our aerial report shows no extraordinary volcanic activity. Danton, the reason we can''t just go there and mine in the places we need to is because those places are guarded by a creature."


    "A creature?"


    "Yes. To be more precise, this creature resembles a natural monster created in possibility by Leray magic. But this creature is in itself a natural summon, and an element of raw spiritual energy, from a source still unknown to us."


    "The island is guarded by a summon?! Why didn''t... I¡ª" Danton struggled to keep his thoughts under control from the surprise alone. It makes sense though why people don''t know. If Eupharus Island is restricted, then the news about that place must also be under wraps of the government. "A summon? Just on its own and without a master?"


    "Yes." Shadler could remember what the beast looks like every time. "The creature is a rare specimen with very strange elements that bind it to this world. The beast only lives on Eupharus Island, but we''ve named him Entiene."


    Why is he telling this story? Why ask people to go to such a dangerous place, for some stupid crystals? Crystal shards could be located elsewhere, right?


    "This unique summon of Entiene is completely independent, and a solo-species. This means that Entiene is capable of binding itself to a Leray wielder as a controllable summon. At the same time, there is only one available Entiene in the entire world. This we are sure of."


    "You''re saying it''s possible to tame Entiene? Control its powers?"


    Now Danton at least looked amazed and interested. "Yes. In truth, our records clearly indicate that Entiene has been assigned and controlled by five people before now. In most cases, only the champions of Eldora Tower are allowed to go to Eupharus, and take the challenge to control Entiene. We call this challenge, the Trial of Mages."


    "The Trial of Mages," Danton repeated.


    "Naturally, only champions get to attempt the Trial of Mages, which is why only champions or former champions have ever had control of Entiene. But over all of the years, people still live out their lives until the end. Aging cannot be prevented by the veil. So when Entiene''s owner dies, Entiene is then set free. After that happens, Entiene returns to its home island to live and patrol there."


    "What does that thing eat?"


    What a silly question. "Currently, we don''t know. Entiene is an element of spiritual energy, which is what gives him its translucent appearance. You can literally see through the large dragon."


    "Dragon? Entiene is a dragon?" Who could ever subdue that? Wait, "Like a drake?" Drakes are just smaller dragons. Maybe Entiene is like that.


    "Entiene is no drake. By all of our studies, Entiene is a dragon of spiritual essence, thought to feed on the spirit and will power of those who challenge it. The beast won''t always use its wings to fly, especially when assigned to a wielder. Entiene does have wings that is uses to fly, but when summoned by humans, Entiene will hide those wings and refuse to use them, since it appears to try and battle in this mode with the same natural abilities that their owner has."


    "That''s just weird."


    "As such, several people have attempted the Trial of Mages in the past, but in total, only a select few of the champions have ever successfully subdued the creature. By accepting the Trial of Mages, the champion is made to head to Eupharus, challenge Entiene in a fair Leray battle, and defeat him. If successful, that person will be in control of Entiene as a summon for battle, all until the day they pass."


    "And then that champion can just use Entiene in any battle? How is it that nobody has spoken about it before, if it was recorded and all?"


    "By the time television became the next best thing, the previous owner of Entiene passed, just before having the chance to debut on the live recording. As a result, many who still know about Entiene aren''t taken seriously about Entiene''s existence to commoners. To the populous who suspect or know of Entiene''s existence, it''s usually a belief in legend."


    "So I take that to mean that Lawrence Citrin never challenged Entiene?"


    "Lawrence, nor the champion before him were able to defeat Entiene, though both did challenge the creature fairly. Lawrence even challenged Entiene again this year, but he still fell far from a victory."


    "S¡ªstill, why tell me all of this and ask me to go to the island myself?"


    "Sometimes," Shadler went on, "I''m astounded by your obliviousness. I''m asking you to take the Trial of Mages head on. Your battle with Kite was on a different level than Lawrence''s battle with Kite. I feel like you have a better chance at this."


    "What if that thing eats me alive?" Danton concerned. "You''re the one who said it was dangerous!"


    "The lava is dangerous. Entiene is an entity entirely composed of Leray magic. This means that Entiene is also only capable of using Leray magic to battle. And so, if you are defeated, no harm comes to you whatsoever. Your battle with Entiene will take place on the top of the volcano, where the bedrock protects everything from the center of its funnel."


    "That''s even more insane! What if the bedrock breaks and falls in?"


    "It''s never happened before to all those who have attempted to battle there. But in the unlikely event it does happen," Shadler paused to place a tiny green gemstone into Danton''s left hand. "You simply need to activate this crystal with your energy, as it will instantly teleport you back to the landing port we will arrive at. See, now I''ve just given you another insurance that this is actually safe."


    Danton pocketed the small gemstone, but he wasn''t convinced yet. "Still, even if it is safe, I don''t think I''m powerful enough right now to defeat a giant spirit dragon of legends, of which there is only one in the world."


    "Dant¡ª"


    "I''m not cut out for it Shadler!"


    Shadler held his hand up to try and calm Danton''s voice. "I still would like for you to attempt this trial. It will give you the chance to leave the tower that you''ve been trapped in. Plus, it provides excellent battle experience."


    "But I know nothing about the summon. Can''t you at least give me some sort of boost? Like, what is Entiene''s elemental weakness?"


    "As one designated to oversee the trial, I can''t disclose that to you."


    "Oh come on!"


    Shadler swept his hand on the large staff Danton was still carrying. "You already have the tools you need. Your skills, and this staff will give you the chance for success."


    "This staff?" Danton examined the staff again, never realizing that this weapon might have a unique purpose.


    "This is the Mega-Staff of Eldora Tower, designed centuries ago for the sole purpose of capturing Entiene. This staff is also one of a kind; there are no other devices like this one."


    "Mega-Staff?" Danton''s eyes lit up in expression. "Is this like, the most powerful staff or something?"


    "That''s a matter of opinion," Shadler responded. "There are ways of overcoming any potential advantage in battle, so calling this the best weapon is only accountable to those who wield it. The Mega-Staff is uniquely designed with a concave super crystal as its base. With this design, this staff holds both of either class all in one. The Mega-Staff is both an absorber class and a crystallized class staff. That means the wielder will both amplify his magical powers, and save magic while dispersing spells." Shadler noticed Danton staring at the weapon with more concentration than before. "And of course, this is the only staff capable of binding the summon of Entiene to the wielder who defeats him. You would have to use this staff to battle Entiene to stand a chance, and if victorious, link his essence to yourself."


    "That''s..." Danton shook his head, and gave Shadler an annoying glare. "Still, why ask me to do this Shadler? I really don''t think I''m ready for it. Can''t this at least wait or something?"


    "I''d rather know if you are going to fail or succeed in this task. The reason I am eager to see you pull this off, is because capturing Entiene and binding him to the champion, also means that the island of Eupharus will be left unguarded. If you capture Entiene, our extraction team can harvest all the crystals we need to, and mine in some of the best spots available. As things are now, Entiene won''t let anyone get close to those rich zones."


    Danton''s expression seemed more monotone as he stared at Shadler holding the Mega-Staff with two hands sideways. "So you do get something out of this after all."


    "What''s that look for? Of course we get something out of this. Danton, if you succeed in this task, not only will you control Entiene for any battle purposes, you''ll also be allowed to keep your Mega-Staff and use it in battle too, whether you summon Entiene or not. Lawrence was only permitted to hold it as champion because be proved how close he was to defeating Entiene. But now that he''s out, I need to try this with someone else, someone more willing to win, and someone with exceptional skills. Only the best of the best can do this."


    Danton silently studied the staff again, imagining what it would be like to wield such power. Shadler even said himself that if anyone''s championship title was lost, Entiene is still bound to them until death due them part. "Wait a minute. Kite! Kite was champion for at least five days. He knows about this too, right?"


    "Wrong," Shadler shifted. "I never offered the trial to him, and if you want to know why, it''s simply because Kite told me something the moment he became the next champion. He told me that he was waiting on a tougher challenger to defeat in about a week of time. I figure it had to be you. The Trial of Mages is no big joke, nor is it anything to take lightly. In addition to this, the information about Eupharus is restricted. I didn''t want to risk Kite opening up about information that would have nothing to do with him should he have¡ª"


    "Yeah, I got it man." Danton already understood the reason well before Shadler could finish the excuse. Kite isn''t great at keeping secrets, but this challenge might be beyond the both of them combined. Shadler just wants to freely mine crystals, and in return he offers a summon of incredible power and ability. Something just doesn''t feel right about this, but Danton couldn''t clearly identify what could also be wrong. "So you want me to take the Trial of Mages, defeat Entiene, and capture him as my personal summon. Is that all?"


    "That''s all my task demands of you. All of your other duties for today have been pushed off until tomorrow to make these preparations. I am eager to see it through, but you are allowed to take all the time you need in training before you head off, regardless of my impatient ramblings."


    "That''s quite alright." Danton weighed the pros and cons of the very event himself with thought. If he somehow falls to another in battle, even if Kite were to defeat him, then the challenge would become unavailable to Danton. If Danton does this now and wins, he''ll keep Entiene for a very long time, and the very word Eupharus won''t have to be mentioned again. Still, just going there is dangerous. To think that lava could be so deadly in a safe zone, on top of the potential of drowning at sea. "I accept your challenge, and will take on the Trial of Mages."


    "That''s great to hear Sir Danton."


    "Just give me time to prepare. I assume you want to move out this afternoon, but I don''t like the sea as much as you might think."


    "I never would have taken you for sea-sickness," Shadler admitted. "But I''m afraid you''ve misplaced your fears. We aren''t sailing to Eupharus Island."


    "We aren''t? Oh, right, teleportation."


    "Not that either. The rules imposed on the mage council, and all members associated with Eldora Tower forbid travel to Eupharus Island either by sea or by teleportation. Either mode of travel can indirectly be traced by anyone. No, Danton; we''re going to take our trusted helicopter to the island."


    "Helicopter?" This is nuts! Since when did Eldora Tower secretly house motorized military vehicles? "A helicopter isn''t much of a subtle exit."


    "You''ll get over your fear of flying on the way there. Our chopper can be seen, as it has before in the name of research, but it can''t be tracked that high in the sky."


    "I can''t believe, I have to ride in a helicopter. How many more secrets exist out here? Shadler?"


    "All in good time, champ. I''ll admit there is a lot of curious information we operate with all the time, but to reveal it all at once would do your head no good. So, are you ready to head out?"


    "Give me ten minutes, at least."


    "Very well. This event has been set up and arranged, even though there was a possibility you''d decline. So there''s no need to set arrangements of your own. Just be prepared for everything."


    <hr>


    <11/25/1962 ¨C 16:07 | Eupharus Island, Eupharus Region, Sprawn Valley>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: The Heaven Above ~ Soundcritters</a>


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    Danton and Shadler both took an experienced pilot with them to land at a naturally made post on Eupharus Island. The aerial view of the island was breathtaking. White clouds of smoke hovered in various places throughout the island, mostly from the side tunnel near the top of the volcano. Only a small section of land outcropped on all sides around the volcano, with the exception to the southwest area. A limb of connective land there already continued growing the palm trees as Shadler described earlier, but there was no way of trying to imagine the elegant visuals cast from the weather here. None of this white smoke blocked out the clear sky and the sun above it, and according to Shadler, the air here was non-toxic to breathe, so long as nobody sees any dark or black smoke. Soot from volcano during higher activity creates a dangerous toxic field of gas easily visible to the eye, a toxin that also has no inhibition from the Leray veil. After exiting the vehicle together following a touchdown to the landing spot, Danton was further coached by Shadler regarding how he must go and defeat Entiene.


    "There will be plenty of time for sightseeing after you''ve defeated Entiene. In fact, if you win, I''ll grant you the rest of the early evening off to explore."


    Danton accepted the kind offer Shadler extended with his intentions. "In that case, I won''t let you down."


    "Good. Right now, Entiene isn''t visible or active. It can enter a state of slumber that renders itself invisible until it senses any powerful Leray wielder or mage near its house, which is on the very top of the bedrock of the volcano."


    "So, until we make it up there, Entiene won''t reveal itself."


    "That, and if we don''t make a lot of mechanical noises with our drilling machines we bring by, but this is the moment where you and I separate for your task."


    "Wait." Danton glanced behind him at the colossal conic mountain, then back to Shadler with worry in his eyes. "How do I get up there?"


    On cue, the pilot of the helicopter tossed a beige-green backpack to Danton''s feet, his gaze in a state of pity. "You walk."


    Danton picked up the zipped bag, full of essential supplies designated for those who go on hiking adventures. "You''ve gotta be kidding me."


    "I''m sorry Danton," Shadler apologized. "But we can''t just take you up there. If we tried to fly there with the helicopter from virtually any altitude, Entiene would hear the noise coming, wake up, and destroy our ride. You have to hike on the mountain path located on the west side of the volcano. I''ve packed a paper map inside to help you find it. If you don''t approach the path from the right side, you''ll soon run into a dead-end. Don''t take the west path no matter what."


    "Because it might ruin the trial?" Danton guessed.


    "Because we''ve deliberately blocked that path with massive boulders, given that the wrong side of the volcano generates heat beyond what a human can handle, and is the first spot of lava flow during higher levels of activity."


    "Oh." Danton scratched his face, uncertain if this was such a good idea.


    "Now go ahead and get going. You can stop halfway up for lunch if you''d like. We''ve packed everything you might need in that heavy bag. We''ll also monitor your progress from here."


    "All the way down here?"


    "Entiene is a large creature. Even from here, we''ll be able to see the summon as it tries to fight you. You of course won''t be visible to us, but if Entiene stops fighting and gives up, that will be enough to tell us that you''ve passed out. If that happens, you need only to wake up naturally and activate that crystal I''ve given you."


    "Right... Here I go." Danton didn''t yet move an inch, hesitant to trust either of these men who were asking so much of him. He then took a long study of the tall mountain before him. Getting to the path could take half an hour if he rushed it, and then getting to the top from there, the base that literally extends beyond the white puffed clouds in the sky could take five hours or more. "Here, I, go."


    <hr>


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Powered by Maxwell¡¯s Demon ~ Morrigan</a>


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    Hour by hour, footstep by footstep, the rocky pebbles crunched beneath the bottom layout of Danton''s sport shoes. Every step and movement against gravity was a challenge. As the sun shifted position in the sky, so did the air turn from pleasant to hot. Whether it was the baking sun against the surface of the rough terrain, or the invisible currents of volcanic air circling the mountain, Danton felt as though he were experiencing a hot summer day. Hiking up this barely visible trail brought back old and forgotten memories of the past.


    It doesn''t matter if you''re in Sprawn Valley or not. Views and experiences like these are the same everywhere in the world. The dirt beneath the terrain held a level mixture of dark stones long cooled off, through thin and isolated threads of dried grass. There wasn''t a hint of life anywhere nearby other than the low levels of vegetation struggling to live up here. The air is silent, and the smell brings to mind the fires of death. Between the naturally formed path and the edge of the cliff Danton was up against, he would only need to take about ten steps off course to fall off the side of this mountain. Even with his footing carefully planted, the view up here was both amazing and terrifying at the same time. At least the veil would protect him from a horrible fall if something should happen.


    Since he began hiking upwards, Danton took small breaks in between his walks every twenty minutes just to catch his breath, and every time he looked up at the towering volcano in the sky, this task felt much more impossible. How long has it been after four consecutive breaks? How much more would he have to climb? Danton felt so winded and tired, the sweat rolling down his back and seeping into the shirt he changed into for this occasion. His knees were sore, his legs tired of carrying the weight against gravity. Shadler packed several water bottles into the backpack among other equipment he could use to go back down the mountain, including a small medical kit of the unusual type for Sprawn Valley. After twisting the cap off another bottle, Danton sucked the entire contents of the plastic container down his throat, bringing him the indescribable feeling of relief after thirsting for so long. Only down to three bottles now, Danton tossed the empty one off the edge of the mountain, and before long, he had to relieve the build-up of all these fluids from the spring. There are no bathrooms around here, but there are also no people to bear witness.


    The white puffs of smoke coming from the volcanic heat vents simulated normal clouds for the most part, though they were only hanging out high in the sky, far above the peak of the mountain itself. Danton got to see it all, all of what the weather had to offer even to this desolate area. Even though much of the land around him seemed lifeless, the bright tint of the sunlight baking everything from above brought a sensation to the rolling cobblestone in front of him, and the bristling dried grass blades void of any green color, curving with the windy currents. In between the breaths of the faint soot and ash smell coming from the tunnels of the volcano, Danton tasted true fresh air within it all, and this left no doubt. If this volcano were to die away and settle down, Eupharus could easily be populated with any type of life thrown its way, but right now, there is nothing. Not a single bug, lizard, nor rodent scurrying around behind the small rocks, or in the air. Even birds avoid this place with its potential. The lava activity can''t be the only thing to blame here.


    It''s Entiene. Shadler said that thing is made out of spectral energy alone. Such a large ghost must have the natural ability to ward off any creature of nature, keeping its lair only to himself. A spirit materialized from Leray magic alone; a dragon that shares an entire region of wildlife with no one. It begs the question of where this essence came from. Entiene, a summon like no other, a tale from legends nearly void of compatibility with life itself. Something about Entiene doesn''t fit the natural order of Leray magic. Shadler might have exaggerated this story, putting emphasis only on ridding the beast from this place once and for all. Whether it can be controlled or not doesn''t matter. Such a beautiful place shouldn''t be kept away from everything like this, and it wouldn''t make sense for Leray magic to spawn a creature of spiritual madness only to disrupt the natural order of things. Defeating Entiene sounds like a task less optional than before.


    The path wound upwards in a counter-clockwise formation, at about a twenty-degree angle that shifted higher the further Danton made it. The air all around him only became hotter the closer he made it, though the view from above also became more detailed than before. Danton could see everything near the top of the volcano; the forest on the lowest levels near the Hollifax Ocean, and even the tiny dots down there, the small shelter and the helicopter. This must be what everything looks like from the perspective of a crow. From this distance, the helicopter below might as well be a small ant. "Why do I have to walk?"


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Danton let his tired body speak for him. Even though he was getting close to the top now, it still felt so far away in comparison. Another mile maybe? If only Leray magic could make people fly on air, or have some way to reset exhaustion levels... Danton found himself gasping for air again, and he sat down on the dirty path to catch his breath and drink more water. If there was anything Shadler ever forgot to mention, it would be how thin the air will be climbing at this altitude, yet the air around him only grows warmer. What exactly is at the top of this partially active volcano? Will there by nothing to separate the peak from the lava below? What if Entiene destroyed the bedrock already?


    Danton would yell out to the world below right now from the stress if he weren''t too afraid of the possible repercussions. Entiene can supposedly hear the noises of those who approach it from far away. It''s best not to provoke it until the perfect arena is set, but after all this, the battle better be worth the trouble. He soon picked himself back up to his feet, and continued the hike towards the top, while the trail itself became more narrow and harder to walk on without falling off, but he kept the pace adamantly, putting every last breath into completing the mission. Climb to the top, and subdue Entiene.


    The peak finally in reach, Danton had to jump and grab hold of the edge of the final upward obstacle before him. Once he peeked his head over the edge, he focused on the amazing floor at the top of the volcano. From here to the other side, five hundred meters across the diameter, a solid formation of stone patterns covered the space in between here and the active magma below. After putting all his might into pulling his body over the edge, Danton kneeled on the bedrock; the texture sensation an experience on its own. Hot air blew slightly between the cracks in the flooring, but above all, the bedrock structure felt incredibly stable.


    This is it, the peak of Eupharus Island, and the top of the volcano. Danton dismounted his backpack from the shoulder straps, and left it behind to explore the area. The stony bedrock was much easier to walk on compared to the uphill trail that went on for many miles at a time. Other than the mild warm breezes of wind, there wasn''t another sound or sight. Moments passed in silence and inactivity, and Danton used it to calm down, but after enough time, the wait brought doubt to the mind.


    "Okay... So what now?" Rumbling in the faintest form sounded in his ears, and trembled the bedrock below his feet. Danton could feel the vibrations all around him, as faint as they were. After looking around long enough in a panic, something high above him began to form. With a short-lived swirling motion of the white smoke in the sky above the mountain, a disturbance of magical energy - that''s what this felt like. Danton watched that spot for any changes, as they came in just seconds after hearing more sounds of wind blowing at higher velocity and volume. In another moment, tiny particles of light barely visible to the eye gathered to the center of the aerial position above the volcanic bedrock, while Danton prayed for the structure not to give out.


    If the bedrock collapses, there will be only at most two thousand meters of space between this position and the bubbling magma beneath. If that happens, the small green crystal in his back pocket would only need to be activated in his hands. The dancing light particles became easier to distinguish when more of them poured in from all directions, seemingly from nowhere. The more light particles that formed, the easier it was to see their radiance in the sky. Swirling together in a clustered mix about two hundred meters above the bedrock, Danton kept watch in awe as the amazing magical display continued to dazzle everything around it.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Aftermath ~ Revolt Production Music</a>


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    The swirling of light quickened as the density of light particles grew at an exponential rate, and in about ten more seconds, the light particles all changed shape, forming several different curves and inclines while simultaneously growing brighter. By the time the light became blinding for Danton to withstand, the particles all flashed at one and materialized into reality. When Danton revealed his eyes again, he could see it in full. The material, born from the particles of light from an unknown source gave shape and form to one of the largest and most unusual creatures Danton had ever seen before. A dragon, one far wider and dangerous than the usual type, a dragon with the size of the largest summon anyone had ever witnessed before.


    The scaly creature was totally solid for a few seconds, after which Danton could suddenly see through the matter entirely. This dragon, it''s transparent by about thirty percent. The dragon summon is totally see-through from every angle, and its eyes, those bright purple eyes are speckles of colored flames, as is the spectral blue fiery breath emitting from the dragon''s gapped mouth. Its jaw held razor sharp teeth of which by sight alone could crunch through the bedrock Danton stood on right now. The wingspan was massive, defiantly fitting and realistic for a creature of this size requiring such aerodynamic structure to fly, though the dragon was barely flapping those massive wings at all. No doubt the floating mechanism for this thing involves magic itself. A single claw from this thing''s paw was trice Danton''s personal size, and the tail held some spiked structure at the end, oddly without any transparency to that specific zone.


    This must be it. This spawn of a summon like no other, a deadly creature that is ruler of all animals in Sprawn Valley itself. This summon must contain the highest level of stats, endurance, and ME levels ever recorded in all of Sprawn Valley''s confidential history. This is the legend of Entiene. Though Danton knew what this meant right in this moment, he didn''t dare twitch or move a single muscle, only did he exhale a single breath.


    With a rumbling roar from up high, Danton came to his senses, realizing that this spawn of magic can still be incredibly dangerous in more ways than one. This roaring of the beast must be a kind of challenge to himself. Danton pulled out his Mega-Staff, holding it tightly in one hand, lifting the heavy weight to point and aim at Entiene. The sudden standoff marked the beginning of this challenge, and the energy scopes marked the beginning of the fight.


    Already was it made clear to him that Entiene - powering its own purple energy scope on its own behalf indicated the intelligence of the creature as well as its freedom of action. Danton soon noticed another smaller holographic box attached to Entiene''s energy scope, an action display center. Entiene will know several unknown abilities with names Danton knew he would have never seen before. The battling style of this monster is completely unknown, and according to Shadler, Danton must fight Entiene using only the Mega-Staff as a weapon.


    Multi-Shock! Already activating holographic text into the ADC, Entiene decided to flap its wings in hover-still position, aiming down at the small human below. Entiene''s white colored horns, as it had one on each side of its head, lit up with a magical essence of light. Giving Danton little time to react, Entiene unleashed its stored energy for the attack, releasing the magic through both of its horns in the form of two electrical bolts of energy zapping down straight at the target. Danton was easily caught off guard by this electric strike, and Danton was forced to take the damage in full while experiencing the pain of a high-powered electric shock, which chipped away first at his HP levels.


    Shaking off the sensation of a stunning electrocution lasting shorter than a typical Lightning Strike, Danton psyched himself into this game of strategy. Entiene must be a powerful dragon creature, but even summons like these are capable of taking hits and damages. Danton raised his Mega-Staff higher while generating a glyphring at the end of the crystallized section. The glyphring rotated quickly until Danton finally shot the magic through the center of the ring, shooting blue bolts of pure Leray energy towards Entiene. The Magical Blitz spell Danton activated wields non-elemental magic, and should thus serve as a severe blow to Entiene''s HP while ignoring its natural elemental resistances. The magic bolts traveled fast and high, but with Entiene''s current distance from the top of the mountain, it was about three full seconds before all three Magical Blitz spheres were able to land into the target. Entiene could have probably dodged the attack in that time, but instead Entiene made no such attempts to move from its present position, flapping its wings at a slow rate to remain altitude-locked, and when the bolts of blue energy dissolved into Entiene''s ghost like essence, Danton took immediate note of the energy scope changes.


    With his surprise, Danton only had the nerve to standby and clench his teeth in confusion as he tried to understand what just happened. Magical Blitz isn''t a high tier magical skill, but it should have at least put a bigger dent into Entiene''s HP. The fact that Entiene can use a simple lightning bolt attack without stressing its MP just speaks volumes about its natural ME levels. Entiene isn''t just some summon that is all talk. He must have been alive for millenniums, strengthening itself and its stats over all that long time. Unlike all other summons and creatures, Entiene really is one of a kind with total control of its own actions, and as such, his stats are subject only to grow with that experience. The lack of damage must simply be Entiene''s natural endurance at its finest. But if that is true, what possible weakness could Entiene really have?


    Tail Swipe! Danton bent his knees a little further the moment the ADC lit up with additional instruction that Entiene was about to follow. The ghostly dragon began to move a lot more than it was before. Entiene steadied its wings and zoomed to angle downwards, straight towards the bedrock in the mountain, and straight towards Danton.


    Entiene got much closer to the bedrock floor first before it came near Danton, making a diving frontal pass to try and attack him head on. On his way there, Entiene shoved its spiky tail into the rocky floor while drilling forward at top speed, destroying the topmost layer of the bedrock and sending its chunks flying in random directions. Using its tail to damage parts of the flooring that Danton was standing on, Entiene made its pass at Danton, bringing its tail on a collision course to Danton''s face for the attack.


    But Danton remained vigilant, jumping out to his left side in a quick attempt to dodge the physical attack that was to be used against him. While Danton threw himself back onto the rocky ground of the mountain peak, he saw the phased tail destroy everything in its path just as it narrowly missed his body, flying back up above the rocks with Entiene. The noise alone from all of that breaking rock sounded dangerous, as did the realization that the structural damage could have easily caused the entire flooring to collapse into the magma below. Entiene doesn''t seem to give a single regard to their own safety... Entiene is probably immune to fire damage on top of everything else, but Danton still dodged that attack, his heart pounding from the rush it suddenly gave him. There is no doubt that taking a direct hit from that tail with that momentum would have virtually sent Danton flying far off the volcano itself. Without a dome shield to stop it from happening, the fight could have ended just a second ago in one single hit.


    With Entiene flying back upwards in an effort to reposition itself, Danton realized by now that he must give this battle everything he has in order to stand a single chance of victory. The best spells and the best strategies shall all be valid right now. "Photon Blast!" Again using the Mega-Staff to generate the needed glyphring for Danton''s high-level spell, the staff demonstrated its own special effects for Danton as the Photon Blast was amplified in power, while simultaneously conserving the energy that Danton needed to expend to create the Photon Blast spell. On top of that, the invocation of the spell began to speed up, using the staff''s natural power as a catalyst.


    In just two seconds, Danton''s crystallized tip shot off dozens of luminescent phased photons, spheres of energy dark in color. Each photon shot outwards without retaining any homing properties to Danton''s airborne target, and in another moment, the photons themselves sped up into narrow beams of light. Entiene was suddenly blasted one beam after another by the entire arsenal of Photon Blast, with only a few beams missing the target and traveling onward without any near collision course. When Danton''s glyphring faded with the ending spell, it was clear that his entire attack spell made full contact with Entiene. But as powerful as it was, the ghostly monster continued flying around, seeming unscathed by the brutal payload.


    A magical spell such as Photon Blast, especially when amplified in power level from this Mega-Staff should have done far more HP damage than what was being reported in front of him. Danton knew that he used far more MP reserves in comparison to attack Entiene where it was in the sky. This current strategy was obviously failing to make much of a scratch on Entiene. While Danton was trying to figure this out, Entiene turned around to face him again from above, remaining partially stationary like it did at the beginning of the battle. As expected, the ADC lit up with a new attack pattern again. Breath of Will!


    Danton braced himself for whatever was to come, but even he wasn''t ready to expect the glowing breath of purple fire to burst from Entiene''s jaw. Entiene opened its mouth after charging its breath, shooting a wide area focused beam of magical fire to one direction below. Danton held out his Mega-Staff in a panic of reaction, unable to dodge the oncoming spur of fiery energy that would land on and around him for a diameter of eight meters. Danton was immediately feeling the heat from the breath blast, adding to his confusion with the HP dropping quickly. The Mega-Staff in front of him however reacted with a bright flash of light, cutting the duration of the purple fire beam short so suddenly. It was then that Danton remembered one of the lessons he received from Shadler earlier today; the Mega-Staff is capable of absorbing energy, mostly from projectile attacks, and rarely from other forms of spells. Though the staff didn''t do much to help Danton block out the damage. The HP reduction was still high, and the enemy spell left Danton with a sensation of uncertainty and tingling all in and around his head, the burning sensation increasing despite the attack window being closed. The only thing that would possibly explain this sensation to Danton''s early memories is the presence of spirit elemental magic. This element must be something Entiene can employ at random.


    "I can''t let spirit damage get to me," Danton chanted in his crushing urge to let go of this fight. Entiene is far more powerful than any known being, but Danton knew this wasn''t impossible. All of his training, all of his journeys, they''ve showed him so many things. Danton could recall winning all of his battles by well-placed strategies and wonderful spell combinations thought of in the moment. It''s time to test one of those combinations. "Let''s see how smart you are!" Danton spoke out to Entiene with frustration and fatigue. He was currently charging the MP energy needed to begin a spell combination, something Entiene would never see coming. Entiene was resting there in the air, its fiery breath burnt out and in need of recharging. Danton cast his aura around his own body, activating the hidden effects from the spell design. "Kafire!"


    Just as Danton finished casting Kafire, the aura that slows invocation time to 33% and increases MP conservation, Entiene launched a magical attack of his own. It was clear already that Danton was charging up a massive amount of MP energy, preparing it for use, but thanks to his Kafire aura, it will take a very long time to perform. Entiene however had other plans, and activated two red aerial glyphrings above Danton''s position. Simultaneously, a red circle formed under Danton''s feet, and designs of a necromancy star formed within the confines of the circle, all of the lighting fueled by magic. Entiene''s Star of Darkness wasn''t an instant spell either, but this version of the spell covered over half of the entire bedrock field with its inescapable radius. Danton couldn''t do anything to stop it either, since he was charging the energy needed for his personal combination. As the star activated under his feet, Entiene''s spell began to slowly drain Danton of his HP and natural stamina.


    The combined sensations of a growing headache, fatigue, and exhaustion quickly came over him. The power of the spell affecting Danton overtime became such a defeating feeling to experience. All in that time, Danton still managed to keep his determination alive, already using his Mega-Staff to generate three double-layered glyphrings all in an aerial triangle formation to surround Entiene. The Tri-Attack Danton set up each had their own glyphrings accompanied by an additional glyphring from the spell of Molecular Boost. Using the same trick Danton learned twice, he further charged the spell combination he created, something that would greatly overpower the elemental barrage of Tri-Attack while harming Entiene. Entiene also cannot dodge without shutting down his own Star of Darkness spell; a fatal flaw in the rather effective dark magic ability.


    Danton held his concentration strong even at the very end of Entiene''s spell, where the two red glyphrings zapped Danton in place with red colored lightning bolts for a split second, draining even more of his HP. Despite this, Danton managed to activate his spell in full, launching a Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Thunder Bolt through the glyphrings, which then passed through the glyphrings of Molecular Boost to power up even further before slamming into Entiene''s astral body. With the triple impact, Danton saw Entiene finally react to one of his magical spells, a slight squirm in the long neck, a various shake of the head, and a short wail of displeasure. Danton knew his energy scope would be affected as well, but this was the tradeoff he chose.


    Only eleven percent?! "Come on Entiene! What must I do to win?!" Danton''s aggravated provocation was only met with another ADC action for Entiene; Super Saber! The name was just as ominous as usual, with Entiene sticking to new skills every single time to prevent becoming predictable. Danton braced himself as the Kafire aura wore off. In the next short moment, one elemental glyphring after another immediately appeared in random areas, located high in the air and all aimed at the center of the same target from different angles. With the total light display of quickly generating glyphrings, Danton soon found himself surrounded from all sides with over a hundred glyphrings of three different colors, all of which were aimed at him. This must be Entiene''s rebuttal to Danton''s feeble Tri-Attack. Danton had to be real; the sight before him installed fear.


    Even so, Danton charged energy into his staff, thinking quickly about which spell to use just as the elemental bolts all began firing. The electrical glyphrings shot Electric-Balls instead of Lightning Strike spells, but the overall arsenal heading for him at once would still be enough for a one hit knockout. "Electric Bane!" Danton slammed the bottom end of his rod into the ground, releasing the stored energy into an interesting spell that immediately generated a five-meter wide ion field centering from the staff. The ion field went to work the moment the first few magical bolts of energy entered, as they were immediately electrocuted mid-flight until they dispersed into a light of heat. Working in all directions, Danton held the charge for as long as he could only using 15% of his MP reserves for the spell''s maximum charge rate. Dozens of bolts flew towards him, and dozens more were shot down or zapped into oblivion by the electrical ion field he created. But after about three seconds, Danton''s magic was fully exerted from the crystal of the staff, causing the ion field to collapse while plenty more elemental bolts were on their way to him. Without any other way to counter them, Danton was slammed with several different elements of explosive energy in the form of small spheres each with uniquely low power levels. Put together, they chipped further into Danton''s overall HP until the combination ended with him collapsing to his knees from the pain.


    Danton pulled himself back up, trying to ignore all of his battle damage while figuring out what exact thing would take Entiene down. Even if he was short on plans, Danton still continued to throw everything he could think of at the astral dragon, while taunting it further for his personal comfort. "I''ll shoot you right out of that sky. Spirit Volley!" Casting his staff quick and high, Danton''s spell was extremely quick to invoke, as arrows each infused with a small element of spirit magic spawned from the sky above Entiene''s hovering position. Without another moment, Entiene''s airspace was raining with these sharp arrowheads, the devices drilling through the creature like steel rain. Danton could see all of the purple glowing arrows as they went through Entiene''s ghostly essence, and Entiene had another reaction during the damage sequence it received.


    To Danton''s surprise, another ten percent of health was chipped off Entiene''s health. Normally, a good spell doing that much damage wouldn''t seem like much. But Spirit Volley, or even regular Volley has lower than average power levels for various reasons. The damage level was expected to be lower, even though Danton''s choice was random in itself... Entiene, and spirit elemental magic. Could they be?


    Firesurge! Entiene actually landed directly on the bedrock while resting its wings to try and invoke its next attack spell. Only this version of Firesurge created by Entiene generated three waves instead of one, all of them starting at different angles equidistant apart and zooming to the same target vector. It was more than enough time for Danton to notice and react.


    Having already stand far away enough from Entiene after it landed gave Danton plenty of time to react to this odd spell. Three Firesurge waves would ultimately be fatal together, but Danton put his curious theories to hold while defending himself. Invoking the next attack combination, Danton launched a Firewall spell from the end of his staff, and then combining the advancing wave of fire with massive bulges in the ground; creating artificial rises in the bedrock by adding more bedrock. It''s technically Earth Glave, merging with Danton''s Firewall to become even more powerful, but when used on natural surfaces, Earth Glave can partially transform the format to build on that surface and use its texture and design for the damage. Danton''s skill also happened to work effectively. All three Firesurge waves converged closer together, just in wide range of the special Earth Glave spell that pushed the waves back until they exploded. The advancing Earth Glave itself including the attached Firewall faded away shortly after, coming nowhere near Entiene''s ghostly figure. Entiene was also apparently resting its wings right now, though the added weight on these delicate rocks only made Danton more nervous. He would have to finish this fight faster than planned.


    "Splice!" Using a small yellow glyphring to generate a short saber, Danton launched a magical Splice line traveling quickly towards Entiene, who made no such attempt to intercept the spell. Hoping to score some heavy damage on Entiene for the cost of his own MP, Danton instead was faced with a haunting reality check when the magical line glazed through Entiene''s internal body, with absolutely no reaction or change in its energy scope whatsoever. The line continued on towards the sky until eventually fading. "What was that?" Danton''s short saber faded away as well, and he was left to assess further possibilities regarding Entiene''s natural resistances... A ghost body; it must not have the ability to absorb any amount of damage from physical based attacks. That means that a sword strike, or something like Splice that comes from a physical weapon is absolutely useless. Then again, some magical spells seem more effective than others. Entiene has a natural elemental weakness, but which one would it be?


    Frenzy Quake! Since Entiene was already on the ground, its ability to activate his next spell was almost immediate, much too fast for Danton. A sudden swarm of stone tentacles from an unknown source shot up from beneath the bedrock where Danton was standing, slamming into his face, launching him into the air, and knocking the Mega-Staff out of his grip. When Danton plummeted to the floor, the bruising sensation around his jaw and left eye remained far more intense than the falling damage to his chest. Knocking the wind out of him, Danton glanced around for his Mega-Staff, which was sitting a distance out of range.


    "Entiene!" Danton cried aggressively. "Spirit Bolt!" Forgetting about retrieving the Mega-Staff, Danton used his bare right hand to point and aim the glyphring at the monster, and fired the bolt of energy infused with the elements of spirit essence. Though the spell only shot out one single bolt of energy, the impact on Entiene as well as Entiene''s sudden reaction as if it were in pain again gave Danton a new connection after watching the status report change from the summon''s energy scope.


    Considering that at the beginning of the battle, Danton blasted Entiene with a full powered Photon Blast using the Mega-Staff, and this simple Spirit Bolt taking away the same amount of health and energy, it was already clear to Danton which element Entiene was weak against. Spirit elemental magic isn''t as common for most wielders to learn, so it normally won''t factor into elemental weaknesses, and against humans, the effectiveness of HP reduction is always really low. For a ghostly structure of spiritual essence, it seems that Entiene''s spirit body is ironically weak against spirit elemental attacks used against him. Spirit magic, or spells that derive from similar sources have the advantage here, nothing else.


    Ultima! Moving its massive arms and wings together in silent chant, Entiene began the countdown and charge for a full area spell, and this time, Danton recognized the type of spell about to be used against him. With or without the Mega-Staff, Danton knew there was no way to dodge this. Without a dome shield, everything within a 500-meter radius would be burnt with the magical light screen. With no other way to dodge, Danton chose another method of blocking, invoking an aura around his body just as Entiene was unleashing its hellish Ultima spell. "Dampen Field!"


    Danton still covered his eyes to the surge of brightness that covered everything in all directions. At the same time, Danton could feel the intense heat seeping through the protective aura he created for himself. The aura only blocks out 70% of all magical related damages, and just 30% of Entiene''s Ultima attack was painful to the skin. As soon as the bright light calmed down, Danton was still standing adamantly, his health only mildly affected.


    Danton''s Mega-Staff finally teleported back into his hands automatically, and he stood still to anticipate Entiene''s next move. Oddly curious to Danton''s expectations, Entiene lowered its head slightly, extending its neck as if to squint at its live target. The action wasn''t fast, and it led Danton to believe that Entiene was not about to attack him yet. The moment became an awkward and silent stare down between each of them. Danton and Entiene, both glaring at each other''s eyes in wonder. As weird as Danton thought it was, he simply allowed it to continue longer, letting his dormant MP regenerate to slightly higher levels. Danton whispered to himself in the silence, learning why he was brought out here in the first place. "Entiene may be powerful, but I''ve been brought here for a reason. I''m Leray champion now, and that means I have a duty to protect the lives of those we involve with the magic we use. I won''t ever give up battling this rancid-breath oversized lizard!" A moment later, Entiene made a final judgment decision. Ethereal Blast!


    Thinking fast, Danton gathered all of his remaining energy to match the signature of Entiene''s next move. "Ethereal Blast!" Using Danton''s entire body aura for the firing arc of the energy blast, Danton''s aura fired in the form of a wide area beam, while Entiene launched a blast of similar energy from the abyss of its mouth. In an instant, both energy waves from each Ethereal Blast collided in the air, bending light and sound between the space of Danton and Entiene until the blasts finally exploded in annihilation, canceling each other out with a shockwave powerful enough to send Danton flying off the mountain, but instead of trying to keep his footing, Danton winded his hand motions with his staff into another spell, quickly shifting the magical energy into a surprise counterattack. "Creshendo!" While spawning the phased pillars of Creshendo all surrounding Entiene, Danton took the extra step of infusing spirit elemental magic into each of the phases pillars, simply adding to their damage. He did this even though it meant running completely dry on all remaining MP energy.


    At long last, Entiene was surrounded by glowing phased pillars, which all shot towards Entiene''s center at once from each angle, and exploding into a short-lived light show after the impact. As a result of Danton''s technique, Entiene''s HP dramatically dropped down, the creature wailing out in pain. But as Danton was monitoring Entiene''s energy scope, he noticed his staff lighting up on its own, after which his energy scope changed without warning.


    Danton was defiantly confused by the sudden surge in MP energy he obtained at random. It was synchronized with the odd behavior of his Mega-Staff, and now he had a higher level of recharged MP energy to use from. It doesn''t make any sense to how he got this. In that time to think, Entiene made a move of its own. Downstrike! Danton recalled the spell of Downstrike, a ruthless barrage of electrical attacks that come from above, but the spell requires an electrical storm to function. Entiene will have to cast Storm Build first...


    Danton noticed the sudden weather changes above him, soon spelling out that Entiene didn''t even need to bother putting Storm Build into the ADC, as it was already happening. Right above the both of them, a dark thunderstorm forming from invisible magic began to build quickly, much faster than most Storm Build spells. While Danton was left to stand there helplessly, Entiene also began to flap its wings, taking off from the ground to become airborne again. Before Entiene was only a few meters off the ground, the storm was well enough established to begin the Downstrike spell, which is exactly what Entiene did.


    Luckily for Danton, Entiene''s special skill came with a beneficial twist. The sudden downpour of lightning strikes against the bedrock were randomized in location. There were plenty of them, but Danton took some hope in the fact that he would not be hit with every single electrical bolt. Soon zapped from above, Danton had to count and brace himself for the unavoidable area attack. Two more electrical bolts hit Danton, lowering his HP levels a reach further.


    By now, Entiene was high in the sky, and the Storm Build he created somehow persisted even after Downstrike ended. Danton was feeling far weaker than before given his lower HP levels, but he knowingly wasn''t out of the fight. Charging energy through the crystal of the Mega-Staff, he unleashed another ranged spell at Entiene, hoping the missing elemental factor would still count for something. "Sereing Blast!" Shooting a solid white beam of light through the overpowered glyphring, Danton quickly landed a strike of magic on the creature, but he didn''t stop there.


    Trying to conserve some Leray magic, Danton respawned his short saber into his left hand again, infusing the metal part of the blade with spirit elemental magic. Already was it clear that Sereing Blast wasn''t as effective as he hoped for, Danton threw the sword up in the air with muscle alone, knowing it would never ascend beyond a few meters from his position. Then he activated the spacial glyphring right as the saber traveled through it. While expending more energy, another larger spacial glyphring formed high above Entiene''s floating position, shooting the sword out from the end and striking a hit against Entiene''s astral body from above.


    Shadler had the decency to teach Danton how to use instant matter transference on other objects mid-battle, claiming that its understanding was essential for learning full-body long-range teleportation, which Danton didn''t know how to use just yet. In battle, one can use spacial glyphrings to teleport objects to and from any location if you concentrate well enough. In this case, Danton could still reach Entiene from all the way up there. Fire Blast!


    Another warning from the ADC, and Danton was soon to take a defensive stance. Entiene opened its large jaw again to blast fire from its hot breath. Only this time, the fire''s color was yellow while descending down to the bedrock, an indication of fire-elemental magic, but Danton was already on it, calculating the element to be used and coming up with a counter defense plan. While invoking a large Whirlwind with his left hand, Danton added a strong element of cold and freezing water to the spell with the staff in the right hand, quickly generating a Whirlwind spinning with sub-zero temperatures. The Whirlwind of protection surrounded Danton, blocking out the sudden fire smashing down from above. With the amazing temperature difference, Danton was able to deflect the Fire Blast Entiene threw his way, but his own Whirlwind failed the moment it was over, too weak to keep that defense up for a significant amount of time. Finally, it would be his turn to attack.


    Danton''s eyes opened more slightly when noticing Entiene zooming and gliding through the air with minimal wing effort. Entiene wasn''t flying up or down, but in a route that would make it harder for Danton to hit. Buzzing around like a vulture who has located food, Entiene charged its energy slowly and quietly, while making it less possible for Danton to strike an accurate hit from his present distance. In just two seconds, a sudden ball of light became visible from high in the sky. This light wasn''t a random glimmer of bewildering sights, nor was it an ordinary meteor. Before Entiene could learn anymore about its trajectory, his entire astral body suddenly locked in place, paralyzed while in mid-air, yet unable to fall up or downwards.


    Danton knew he was behind all of this. While invoking Ion Smash, Danton had to use extra energy from his Mega-Staff to hold Entiene in place. Ion Smash crashes down a massive meteorite larger than most meteors, but even Entiene could simply fly an evasion course around it. Danton had already just learned how to exert telekinetic energy from the force of distant magic, and this Mega-Staff simply made the process easier for him. With Entiene now stuck in place via telekinetic hold, he would be defenseless against Danton''s wrath of magic!


    The impact of the Ion Smash meteor and Entiene blasted light towards Danton that was blinding. He had to let go of Entiene''s energy hold, but was certain that Entiene took a direct and powerful hit in all. With his own energy waning, Danton was breathing much faster than before, winded from all of the magical usage and battling movements of today. He had to wait for the flash of light to disappear before examining Entiene''s energy scope if it was still alive. Upon seeing the energy scope however, Danton also noticed Entiene''s action display center already active.


    Doomsday Strike! Entiene''s MP energy slowly began to decline downward, a tell for Danton to realize that he would have to stop Entiene from using his next spell, or else face the consequence of absolute defeat. Just then, an aerial glyphring as wide as the battlefield itself opened up in the sky, rotating very slowly, though still somewhat see-through due to the incomplete charging of MP energy to the spell... It''s an annihilation spell, the kind that takes a long time to activate! Danton didn''t know exactly what this enemy ability could do, but was certain it would cause all sorts of problems if it gets launched.


    Forget the stupid Trial of Mages! Entiene is fighting like a ravage beast. If that Doomsday Strike lands on the battlefield, it could turn all of this bedrock into sand, leaving nothing between Danton and the active magma pool below. Using the crystal to escape wouldn''t be possible in that scenario, because the spell from Entiene would have long since knocked him unconscious. Shadler isn''t watching this battle up close like he should be. Danton developed a sudden feeling like he was sent out here to die! The hairs on his arms and legs stood up under his clothes, and his limbs began trembling in panic. Three seconds... Five... This is defiantly a kill-everything kind of spell, Entiene''s best and most dangerous ability!


    "Stop this Entiene! Call it a draw and stop the spell! You hear me?!" Danton could hear the spirit dragon roaring from above, but Entiene''s flight pattern of circling the entire area in the shape of an aerial eight numeric symbol didn''t change at all, and neither did the massive glyphring in the sky. "It isn''t worth dying over! I can do this without Entiene! If it weren''t for the lava, I could defeat you anytime I wanted!" Danton''s pleas and taunts weren''t making a difference for Entiene, leaving him to believe that the creature isn''t intelligent enough to communicate with in the first place. And now the glyphring is solidifying!


    Danton raised his Mega-Staff, exerting all of the energy he had left for the device towards the area above. "Auto-target transference, emergency power shift, now!" Releasing the magic stored in the rest of his cells, Danton managed to generate hundreds of tiny sized glyphrings vertically angled and dispersed all over the airspace far above where Entiene was flying. He generated this many because part of the dooming spell was already visible from his position. Hundreds of small dark rocks were shooting down from the skies, the color of which was totally transformed into a dark beige hue through the other side of the glyphring acting as an entire portal to the meteor shower. Coming down at a complete vertical angle, Danton''s glyphrings were all placed according to the position path of each and every single falling rock, and designed to teleport them out to a single exit glyphring located on the side of the volcano instead. While it was using all of Danton''s energy to focus this massive teleportation trick, he kept it going just as the annihilation spell activated.


    In the flash of another second, hundreds of small rocks carrying tons of momentum flew through the spacial glyphrings disappearing into a space left invisible to the naked eye. Entiene didn''t fully understand what was going on, not likely, but Danton did. If this fails, those rocks would all smash into the bedrock of the volcano peak. One might not be enough to smash away the bedrock, but the combined force of this meteor swarm would pound it away into dust, knocking Danton unconscious in the process. In fact, Entiene was literally flying below all of the spacial glyphrings, and this was obviously a spell that would damage its own user based on its true power and nature. Entiene would be sent to a mode of defeat as well, but likely not killed since the creature is made of a spiritual essence. In a way, Entiene is being spared its own annihilation too, but it is the option Danton preferred the most.


    The process of transferring all of the falling stones wasn''t an easy task, and Danton''s ability to concentrate warranted further focus the moment the stones pounded on the side of the mountain from the exit glyphring Danton created. His relocation technique requires an exit glyphring to be close by, and this was the best he could pull off. The sudden blasts to the volcano itself causes massive vibrations and earthquakes underneath him in the process, making it that much more difficult to continue the transference spell and auto-targeting function, usable only thanks to the Mega-Staff itself. The quaking became more violent rapidly, likely from the damage the rocks were causing to the volcano in other locations elsewhere.


    Meanwhile, Entiene''s behavior quickly began to change upon realizing that its own spell wasn''t being used properly. Entiene thus began to glide and descend slowly, as it capably sensed the vibrations in the Earth and the location of the impacts to its own spell.


    Danton couldn''t hold it up any longer. While there weren''t any new falling stones to worry about, and given the sudden fading of the massive aerial glyphring in the sky, Danton still had not properly set up the remaining spacial glyphring channels for the last few dozens of meteorites that were to come crashing down on the battlefield. The quakes to the area intensified completely, and the crashing stones immediately broke through the bedrock, shaking the structure apart where Danton stood. He quickly exerted the minuscule remaining energy he had left to try and jump high in the air and remain afloat, but this trick didn''t work well after gaining some initial height from his jump, since his energy was all depleted.


    Soon enough, Danton got to watch the crumbling bedrock fall into the large tunnel opening below him, the magma already visible and the flooring at the top of the volcano caving in completely. Now that gravity was working on himself, Danton began to descend downward uncontrollably. Danton wanted to remain calm and not scream in a bloody panic, but the realization that his magical reserves were at zero, also means that the green crystal in his back pocket is just as useless as anything else is. This is it; the death of Brash Danton by a brutal, painful sensation that literally causes unconsciousness by pain shock in microseconds. Even with just over a mile to drop before reaching his death, Danton knew that would only be less than thirty seconds at this speed. So there is every reason and right to scream at the top of his lungs.


    This amount of time for a drop into the heat of hell, it was still enough time for Danton to think about his entire life before now. This only made the drop feel so much longer, as if time slowed down for death to rub its face in this. Danton finally decided to close his eyes and just embrace what will happen. Just as the heat began to feel unbearable, Danton suddenly crashed stomach first onto something he didn''t see, knocking the wind out of him, but also according to his refreshed eyesight something that stopped his descent flat.


    Flapping its wings with slow but powerful whooshes, the astral body of Entiene managed to descend fast enough into the tunnel of the volcano to catch Danton before he could completely perish from his fall, and against all expected likelihood, Entiene began to ascend upwards at top speed, leaving Danton to hold on tight in his panicked state.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: True Strength - Epic Music ~ John Dreamer</a>


    <hr>


    Danton realized it eventually, but he couldn''t believe the wild luck he just found. The sudden ascension made it easier for him to breathe again, while the molten heat faded away quickly. Being mounted onto this creature while flying straight upwards through the new opening of the vertical tunnel forced this new experience to take hold of Danton''s thoughts. He wasn''t going to fall into the lava after all, even though it was sure to happen. A slight grin of excitement filled him in while he felt the incredible energy of speed he shared with Entiene right now. Entiene made all of that effort just to save him from that drop, and now carried him out of the volcano, flying in the air without a set destination in mind. Now riding on Entiene high in the air and out of direct dropping angle of the volcano, Danton could not have felt more alive than he did right now. "Ha-ha-ha! Entiene! You big dragon feller. You saved me from that drop!"


    Entiene roared just slightly, audible enough not to overpower Danton''s acoustic senses. For just a fraction of a second, it sounded like some kind of verbal response to his statement, which made Danton feel more inspired by the heroic understandings of this creature. It seems Entiene is intelligent after all. "Did you do that because you felt you had to, or is it because I saved you too from that Doomsday Strike?"


    Entiene ascended slightly, only to descend back down to its original altitude. Danton accepted that as some sort of response, though he wasn''t sure which one he meant. It didn''t matter. Danton knew that Entiene saved him out of its own free will. He couldn''t see it without any reflective material, but Danton''s corneas began to shift in color to a vibrant yellow hue, slowly over time, and unbeknownst to himself. "You know, I was wrong about you being some brutal animal creature thing."


    Another mild roar from Entiene made its way to Danton, causing him to nearly laugh. "Hah! At least your reputation of strength lives on, but I know what you really are to us Entiene. Summon, ghost, entity, it doesn''t matter." Danton could feel the rushing sensation flood his thoughts while linked to Entiene, the sensation of finding something that he''s lost for so long a time. Even a creature such as Entiene can feel this sort of sentiment for Leray magic, as well as the loneliness of the skies that harbors freedom in its limitless zone. Shadler must have thought all this time that Danton among other champions have been seeking out that special kind of power used to control or subdue such a powerful creature of ethereal magic, but Entiene is always looking for something different. It''s something much stronger than a sense of adventure or a Doomsday Strike. "What''s important is that we''re now friends, you and I. I will never forget this favor you''ve bestowed upon me. I can only offer everlasting gratitude and respect. If you want to call that battle back there a draw, then so be it..." Danton didn''t hear or notice any major change in Entiene''s current behavior, suggesting that the creature is in agreement with his thanks. Entiene has the body and power of a summon, but also a heart of a whole individual. Danton could feel it without the ability to describe it for himself. Friends! That''s what they are to each other now. How many have failed to realize that Entiene is his own person as well? "Shadler can go kiss my ass if he thinks I''m risking my life to let him mine a few stupid crystals."


    Entiene emitted another louder and longer roar through the valley below. Its entire body then began to dematerialize and split apart into the photons of light it started from when Danton reached the top of the volcano. Still unknown to him, Danton''s eye color was completely yellow and glowing in his thoughts. He felt totally connected to Entiene, but he couldn''t explain or understand what was now happening to his friend. Entiene was changing its shape again, but this time, instead of dispersing through the air, all of Entiene''s base particles were all flowing directly into the crystal material of Danton''s Mega-Staff...


    No wait, the staff is capturing Entiene''s essence! That''s not supposed to happen now! That only happens if Entiene is defeated completely while using the Mega-Staff! Through the confusion, Danton soon learned that he had other problems he needed to deal with, like the fact that with Entiene''s relocation into his Mega-Staff, there was now nothing for him to be seated on. Danton soon began falling down towards the earth uncontrollably, again.


    At least this time, the only thing below him was a thin, short, low dense forest approaching the edge of the ocean, but the height from this altitude and the ground gave Danton the same amount of time as before. Having rested on Entiene''s wing allowed him to slowly and slightly regenerate his magic. Right now, it was more than enough to solve this issue. Danton began to exert the magic quickly, shrouding his body in an aura that is specific to defy gravity as much as possible. Though it wasn''t going to change the speed of his fall one bit. That energy would be reserved for a best class Push Wave aimed downward. Danton aimed his Mega-Staff, used to conserve energy and amplify it all at the same time to generate the proper Push Wave with the best strength just before he was a second away from smacking into the ground. Even if he failed, impact wouldn''t be fatal anymore.


    Danton unleashed the rest of the magic, creating a Push Wave that blew back trees for several hundred meters, and pushed him against gravity to lower his speed of descension. The results changed Danton''s speed and momentum perfectly, as he descended down now only a few feet from the ground as slowly as a feather. When Danton reached the floor, his personal aura gave out again, running him completely out of magic. He would now have to let a little more magic charge back up, only to use it on a teleportation crystal, which will take him straight to the helicopter.


    The plan Danton executed for this went well enough. After appearing again post-teleportation, Shadler and the pilot were still in their positions on Eupharus Island, despite the fact that they appeared to be completely freaked out... So they weren''t expecting Danton to die? It changes nothing. Danton was now sure of everything he now felt for all of this, and he approached Shadler only to let it out, denying Shadler or the pilot any chance to show their alleviation.


    "Shadler!" Danton didn''t let the man reply before knocking his fist into Shadler''s face, punching him far back and into the ground unexpectedly. "You complete moron! I could have died! I should have died! And no thanks to your, ''Oh, it''ll be perfectly safe. Don''t worry about the lava and bedrock'', attitude. I''ll have you reprimanded for this when we get back to Eldora Tower. Pilot! Get the routers started."


    "Yes sir!" Sharing no desire to argue with Danton after he''s been angered, the pilot rushed to the helicopter to make the necessary preparations.


    Shadler pushed himself off the ground slowly and carefully, holding his jaw with his left hand. "We knew something was wrong the moment we noticed that large glyphring in the sky. I knew it had to be Entiene''s doing, but I swear I''ve never seen that spell before in all my life. Entiene must have learned it all on his own."


    "I wonder if this Entiene has a particular appetite for human beings who dissatisfy the honor of Leray magic."


    Now Danton threatens him to be eaten by Entiene? Falling towards the lava must not have been a happy moment.


    "You know what Shadler, after this, I don''t know what your crystals are supposed to be used for, and frankly I don''t care anymore. When we get back, I''m going to postpone, probably ban your little expedition altogether. How dare you put a person''s life in danger for your stupid treasures!"


    "You might rethink that once I get around to showing you what these crystals are really used for Danton. I must however apologize. I never meant to put your life in any danger. If I had the slightest fear the bedrock would crumble, I would have given the task to another more worthy of Entiene''s capture."


    "More worthy?" Danton repeated aggressively. "You better remind yourself who you''re talking to here. I am the rightful champion of Leray magic. But more importantly, I have powerful friends and allies who would on any moment assist me in dealing with problems like yourself."


    "Your gang friends back at the tower do not frighten me Danton, but I hope we both learn from this experience. We''ll explain what''s happened once we get back to Eldora Tower. I''ll have to store the Mega-Staff in a safe place once we''re there."


    "What?" Danton felt confused, but suddenly understood what Shadler was talking about. He was on the opposite side of the island when Danton''s summon dematerialized and he dropped to the ground. His eyes returned to normal shortly after the capture was made complete, so Danton still never noticed the discoloration himself. "You''re word was that the Mega-Staff belongs to the permanent friend of Entiene. As such, this is my Mega-Staff now. I''ll need it to call forth my greatest ally."


    "You-you captured it?!" Shadler never witnessed Entiene''s capture sequence. Come to think of it, Shadler never got a clear view of the close area to the volcano or the area around it. But if Danton really did capture Entiene, then that means he is worthy of this great trial after all.


    "Captured?" Danton knew that''s what all of them meant, but this sequence was slightly different. Danton never defeated Entiene in battle, nor the other way around. Entiene went inside of this staff''s core willingly on its own accord. It''s more like Entiene just decided to join Danton and fight alongside his personal battles. Is that supposed to happen according to the trial? "Entiene is my new ally. Don''t refer to me as his owner. That''s not what we are to each other."


    "I see the binding effect has gone to your head a little."


    "You know," Danton started over the loud roar of the helicopter engine, "I wonder if Entiene will still do what I say, even if it does involve eating those I deem unworthy."


    "Let''s just get back already," Shadler begged. Being threatened to become ghost food, and nearly watching an important figure die; that''s twice an adventure too many for one day. Going back to Eldora is paramount, and because of that bedrock collapse, the volcano will probably erupt in the next few days due to the increased volcanic activity.


    Danton and Shadler made it back into the helicopter safely, while the pilot took off enroute to Eldora City. Danton thus enjoyed the rest of the ride with a new sensation of fulfillment, but he still couldn''t ignore this Shadler problem in front of him. All Entiene wanted to do was guard the crystals. So a challenge to borrow some sounds okay, but fighting to the death, especially making somebody else unknowingly fight to the death over a few rock shards is beyond treachery. This will defiantly fall under a mandatory meeting with the Mage council. Just you wait, Shadler Cowl.

 Chapter 29: Berserk Effect

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    <03/16/1972 ¨C 00:41 | Manhattan Outskirts, New York, United States>


    The entire world was shifting around her; that''s what Jane felt before she could open her eyes. The grogginess and lightheadedness was a familiar tune. It felt like some powerful sedative affected every nerve in her body, making it harder to process a single thought just to move. When Jane didn''t go anywhere, she opened her eyes, adjusting them to the different brightness level of the nearby environment.


    As weak as she was, Jane figured things out immediately. Before studying the basement-like area of a place, Jane noticed turning her head that her arms were held up above her head in wall-mounted shackles sealed and locked around her wrists as tightly as possible, bolted on with screws, and her feet barely rested on the cold floor bare and dry. She could barely lift her leg, not that it would matter with her arms pinned to the wall like this. This was defiantly not some random coincidence. Somebody did this to her.


    Jane noticed that while her shoes were missing from her body, she was still wearing the same outfit that she chose today. Other than having no belongings to lose, Jane remained a prisoner of her captors. One of those captors was standing arms crossed at the end of the wall, his hood masking his identity.


    "She''s awake!" he called.


    Jane could hear the guy from here, when she realized the full size and area of this underground space. There were at least two different catacomb sections in opposite directions, and the stairs that supposedly head back outside far in the distance were chained shut to prevent Jane from escaping. Jane made out more details of the space, including the long table lit separately with LED strips on the sides to the center of the room. Other than that, the damp musty air with the old fashion light bulbs dangling from the ceiling brought to reminder for Jane that she was in a torture chamber of some kind, but the faint feeling she had remained strong, as did her restraints. Bound tightly to a wall, there was nothing she could do.


    The other four members stepped from the corridors to the center of the basement, revealing their presence to the prisoner. "Morning!" The criminal unveiled his white hood, revealing his peach fuzzed face while standing two feet away from Jane. His pleasant sounding greeting didn''t put any smile on the girl''s face; Jane was naturally scared for her life. "You''re Jane Venn."


    Who cares about that? "Where are Danny and Taylor? My friends! What did you do with them?!" Jane had no way of knowing if they are alive or dead, but if these guys did anything to harm them...


    The man without his hood grabbed Jane''s cheeks with one hand, squeezing her face slightly for a closer examination. "Such hype and aggression for someone fully sedated." He then let go of Jane''s face and paced around to and from Jane''s location. "It doesn''t surprise me though."


    "Why me? Why are you doing this to me?" Jane saw no other choice than to figure out what was happening, and perhaps bargaining a way out of this situation. If only she could use magic... "You already took every credit I have!"


    "My friends will be processing those credits in due time, but you''re getting off topic." He stood still a few feet from Jane, staring her in the eyes as he prepared his interrogation. The people behind him were already hiding and holding all of the tools needed for this extraction. "You''re probably wondering who we are, but that''s not your concern. If you must, you may call me Berita. And don''t bother introducing yourself. I already know enough."


    It''s just an alias. Jane caught on to that much already. Who are these criminals? Wait a minute. They know her? "Me?" That''s impossible! The only people who could possibly know Jane by any indirect means are anyone from Sprawn Valley.


    "February twelfth, nineteen seventy-two, Eldora Tower champion chambers, recorded live on ProCom news and other station networks. That was some stunt you pulled back there."


    Oh shit! They know about the symbol crisis, that day Jane fought Danton in Eldora Tower!


    The prisoner made a slightly elevated expression, proving that this is the right target, but Berita didn''t change tactics or tone. "I love talking to people who are marked! But just to be sure, my men had to check you out with our compact symbol scanner; top notch equipment. I''m sure it will work better in the next Quad Scanner prototype being developed."


    "What do you want?" Jane whined. "Just let me down!"


    Berita continued on ignoring Jane''s pleas. "Imagine our surprise when the scanner reported you as negative for any and all symbols. It got me thinking... You wouldn''t have been allowed into Eldora Tower with an activated mark in the first place. Their symbol scanner isn''t mobile, but it is more accurate than any of the gear we pack around. That must mean you were in the business of political persuasion through the use of a simple magic trick."


    Jane didn''t say any more, but it makes sense that these losers wouldn''t know about her hidden symbol. It hides in plain sight beneath her skin, and somehow avoids scanner detection protocols. On top of that, her symbol can''t activate at all outside the confines of Sprawn Valley''s veil.


    "Ha-ha! I''m sure you see the irony with that statement." Berita continued to pace around, giving the illusion that he was having fun so far. "It''s gutsy and intelligent. You fake the use of a symbol to scare all of the higher-ups, and then leverage them in exchange for their lives. Isn''t that what you did?" Jane remained totally silent, unwilling to risk as much as a simple bluff, but Berita didn''t fret already having the information he needed. "There''s just one problem with that whole set-up."


    "Magic tricks too complicated for you?" Jane wanted Berita to inch closer, just so she could spit in his face. "Go on! Show everyone here how powerful you are. Just one spell..."


    If this is Jane''s way of joking around or bargaining for some respect, it has to be the worst of any Berita has ever seen in any of his previous prisoners. "There is nobody in this room who can demonstrate real magic outside of the veil, unless you were asking me to let you pick a card from my deck. But you have forgotten your place already. Agent Grey Nine?"


    One of the cloaked strangers crept up to the side of Berita holding a long black case, opening the case to reveal a thick and black cable. Berita held it in his right hand; showing Jane that this cable is really a powerful human torture device, a whip made of thick material. Jane soon began making silent expressions of terror and regret while squirming her arms, something that made Berita grin while he tensed the muscles in his right arm. "I''ll make this fun and simple for you Jane!" Berita hollered through his actions, whipping the cable to send the sharp end straight into Jane''s stomach, while he wound it backwards to sling it forward again from another angle. Berita continued to whip Jane several times, creating large red cut marks on her face, arms, and a solid bruise line just below her chest, where the cable ripped through the front of her shirt. When he heard Jane crying out in agony and fear, Berita took a small break with the whip, to let this pain sink in longer.


    "One of our spies caught you involving yourself in a battalion, the same military raid that was sent into Alpha Zero the same night to wipe out the foreign magical source. Surely those army heads must have learned that you were faking your symbol during that operation. That would be anyone''s guess, since all eyes would be on you to see what you are really made of... But instead," Berita deduced, "they involved the mage council, and had the charges of your illegal marking dropped indefinitely by executive order of the champion."


    Jane felt the stings everywhere as they lingered long after the cable left her skin. Her legs became wobbly with the trembling all the way up to her hands. At the same time, she desperately tried to build the story from everything these people were saying. It wasn''t a fluke. Berita just said our spies while mentioning the sighting of Jane in Sprawn Valley. That can only mean one possible thing. The only criminal organization in Sprawn Valley around that time trying to stay out of sight, the only organization that would even require spies for any operation are the same ones Danton is after right now. These aren''t random criminals Danny managed to find by accident. These are legit members of the official Sprawn Valley Scarlet Syndicate, more popularly known as the Scarlet Cult.


    "If you were faking your powers by any means, surely those specific charges would have been pressed, and you would have paid a price, but they were dropped instead, something that has surprised the entire population of Sprawn Valley, us included. There is only one reason why anyone would ever do that for you, the only reason that Danton would ever let a danger like you continue." Berita held the whip up to Jane''s neck in a threatening manner, his teeth nearly clenched to demonstrate how serious his threat is. "You are actually marked, marked in a way that shows as negative on our scanners, marked in a way that hides from every inch of your naked body."


    They must know after all. Damn this! The Scarlet Cult know about her mark, and her involvement with Danton. If that weren''t bad enough, they''re gross, vile people. Jane never felt so violated.


    "And with this special marking, you''re actually making a deal to help Danton out with his campaigns and operations. That''s why he must have cleared you. Then you made the mistake to travel here to America of all places, where any and all hope of ever using magic from any signet or crest would be completely disabled. Ring any bells to ya?"


    Jane waited, waited, and waited some more, counting her breath every time. Berita was suddenly glancing behind him, where the other Scarlet members shrugged their shoulders.


    "No? Well let''s see if we can jog that loose memory of yours."


    "No! Wait!" Jane was too late to stop Berita from continuing the torture from before, and she was again smacked around with the heavy whip, crying out from the pain and bleeding out from most of each strike.


    Berita continued his whips from a distance, yelling out his demands to Jane over the sound of the cracking skin. "You''re going to tell me what I want to know about invisible symbols! And you''re going to show me, how to use them, for myself!"


    "Stoooop!" With tears in her eyes, every spot on Jane''s body stung with sensations worse than anything she had ever felt before, worse than any pain she experienced in Alpha Zero. Her heartfelt beg to be spared however was empty three seconds later in silence. Jane literally wouldn''t be able to disclose the information to them. This symbol is the creation of the Scarlet Cult! Shouldn''t they know how it works?!


    "Hm. That''s not what I wanted to hear," Berita warned. None of the others seemed to be bothered by this. That''s good, since Agent Grey Seven is a medic for the team. If she isn''t warning him about Jane''s potential loss of life, it must be too early to put the toys away. "Very well." Berita slung the whip around again several more times, causing Jane to scream and cry in terror. Berita took two-minute breaks in between intervals to make sure she suffered over a longer duration, but after eight minutes, Jane was beginning to lose consciousness, after not giving up any information.


    Berita sent Jane several more whips. Her vision blurred before her thoughts became foggy. The sound of ringing ears overcast everything else around her, until Jane finally relaxed all of her muscles. That''s when everything went dark.


    Berita had to stop when he realized that Jane finally fell unconscious. She must have fainted from the pain, but she''ll wake up again to continue the fun. "Looks like our princess needs a nap." Berita was about to retire the whip and resign for the hour, but Jane''s body suddenly twitched in front of him... "Or is our friend simply pretending to sleep?" Berita felt uncertain. The twitch could have been natural, but it wasn''t likely. Instead of having the luxury to wait and find out, Berita was suddenly bombarded by the ear piercing sound of Jane''s top-level scream, a breath she exhaled for over six seconds.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Strained Engagement ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    <center><iframe title="Vampire Knight Guilty" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zBdrVSTIGyE" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    Berita tensed in confusion. How could she be in that much pain right now? That scream makes it sound like Jane could possibly experience something far worse than the cable. Suddenly, Berita stood stone still in shock when Jane opened her eyes and opened the palms to both of her hands. Obviously, she was faking being unconscious... But that''s not what was scary. It''s her eyes!


    "No way. I''m stopping this now!" Unwilling to believe this was anything above an impressive magic trick, Berita slammed the cable whip one more time towards Jane, but even as it made contact, that didn''t seem to change whatever was happening to the girl. Jane''s hair was slightly blowing up from a breeze, which came from nowhere. The corneas of her eyes were glowing with a blue radiance, and there was also a slight glow growing in brightness from one of her arms. This has to be impossible. Jane must be a talented deceptionist, because this isn''t possible!


    "What''s happening?!" "I don''t know!" "Somebody inject her!"


    Berita could hear all of the panicked voices of his colleges behind him, but all he could do was stop and stare at this most surprising sight before him. This isn''t some pretty fake of a deceptionist. Though this also isn''t possible, Jane Venn is exerting live magical energy right here in front of everyone! No matter how talented, none can''t fake that.


    While Jane continued to yell and holler in place, Berita noticed a change in light intensity on Jane''s right hand, the top of her wrist. Though it was partially blocked in view by the angle with her arms up in the meat seals, Berita was clearly capable of distinguishing the glowing matrix of a magical symbol; a mark that suddenly began to appear and brighten. Its holographic texture became bright and less transparent, with Jane''s eyes finally returning to their normal color... "Agent Grey Two! The scanner! Now!"


    The sudden bursts of wind spread throughout the entire basement while the other Scarlet members rushed around to assemble all sorts of protocol plans, but Berita was growing evermore impatient. If Jane''s eyes stopped glowing while that symbol is still active, it only means her energy is done charging into her unknown magical crest. While waiting on his trusted agent to use the long-range portable scanner on Jane, he soon was fed the report. "Scanner shows negative! This has to be something else!"


    "Yoooou!" Jane scowled with her view fixed on Berita, her voice distorted by an unknown factor. "You wish to destroy Leray magic! Let''s see if you can dominate its power first!"


    There was something oddly demanding and unsettling by how Jane was talking, as if she wasn''t her ordinary self. "Where''s that injection?!" Berita didn''t want to wait anymore, and his concerns were soon validated by Jane''s next actions. Like something he''d only seen out of a super-hero movie, Jane shifted her arms forward, trying to rip through the metal cuffs holding her wrists back. Her attempt failed the first time, but her strength easily shook the entire foundation, putting cracks in the stone wall where the bolts were drilled into. Jane shoved her arms forward again, throwing a screw out from the holding device, and cutting slightly into her skin in the process. It''s like she''s become some other kind of beast! That symbol on her hand, it''s still active, rotating in place like some type of support glyphring.


    Berita turned around to find out why nobody was helping, and it''s because the clumsy idiot dropped the glass syringe, only to step on and smash the material into the floor. Suddenly, Jane broke free of all her metal shackles, both of them at the same time. Berita''s heart sank, while the whip simply dropped out of his hand to the floor. In a panic, he slowly crept backwards one step at a time, unable to comprehend how any of this is possible. His own prisoner is using magic without a veil, without a source! And now she looks really pissed off.


    Jane held out her arm to aim and channel this energy through the open palm of her hand. Without ever needing to create a glyphring for magic, Jane unleashed amounts of her energy through her hand, shooting a fast comet shaped sphere of energy straight into Berita''s chest. With a single hit, Berita was blasted backwards by a few feet, and fell unconscious immediately. Suddenly, every person in the general area froze in fear. With only a short pause, Jane unleashed another surge of energy, this time sending an invisible shockwave that blew back every person in the room, including the table, which became unhinged from the ground, shattered into several pieces, and impaled some of the hooded criminals in one telekinetic push.


    One of the members, who wasn''t affected dashed up the stairs and got the locks opened, leading straight to the outside area behind the building, level to the earth. Jane blasted that direction again, and from this distance sent the man flying far above the ground before he could leave the stairway. The kinetic push was powerful enough to bust out both hinged doors from the cellar and up in the air along with the person Jane targeted. Then another Scarlet member jumped up from the rubble besides Jane, trying to recover and find some way to detain her, but Jane simply blasted another comet-shaped bolt of energy with a sharp blue colored energy matrix straight into the woman''s neck, sending her down to the ground. Her target became unconscious immediately, and Jane walked up the stairs with her right hand aimed out all the way the entire time.


    Her footsteps were even and unchanged, and her aim using her arm was stiff in context. As Jane exited from the bottom reaches of the basement of an unmarked building of territory, she found herself in a small area with a poorly maintained wooden fence, and a section going out into an alleyway. As Jane shifted her direction towards the cement, two Scarlet members suddenly turned around that corner, holding knives and machetes.


    "How did she escape?!"


    Jane''s symbol remained active while she aimed and channeled more energy through to the two soldiers in front of her. Jane simply shot two more energy bolts at her targets, bringing them down to the ground. This time however, they didn''t completely lose consciousness, but as Jane continued to walk towards them slow and steady, she added an additional telekinetic blast wave in their direction, which sent them flying high into the air until they slammed their backs into the side of an adjacent structure, falling to the floor with no intention of ever getting back up.


    Several minutes went by after Danny managed to wake Taylor and himself from that horrible attack he faced earlier. He and Taylor had their backs resting against old trash bins in an empty alleyway, but he focused on bringing Taylor back up to health and speed. All of his wounds and Taylor''s were both non-fatal despite the bleeding, but they were painful in plenty of ways. Danny vouched to continue the search for Jane, but he had to carry Taylor''s injured leg for the first ten minutes through.


    After twenty minutes had gone by, Taylor was barely able to walk for herself. However, their search for Jane never found anything. Danny located the same area he remembered before, to where they took Jane, but it wasn''t until enough time passed in the dark silence that something began happening near him.


    Just past another corner in front of him, Danny and Taylor both heard a manly scream of terror, followed by the amazing sight of someone flying through the air ten feet off the ground, slamming into the back of the other building. This brought Danny and Taylor to attention immediately, both in question for what exactly was happening over that way.


    Just as Danny and Taylor got close to the corner however, about a dozen more Scarlet soldiers wearing those cloaks rushed in from the front, two more from the same corner. They seemed to be confused, but the sighting of Danny and Taylor was very threatening. "We found them!"


    "And we found you," a Scarlet replied.


    Two of the soldiers that came from the other side appeared to be freaked out, giving no attention to Danny or Taylor. "Sir! We have to fallback! The subject is¡ª" A sudden invisible force of wind blasted the two soldiers in the air again, just like it did with the last guy. Their sudden screams of surprise were short lived, when their impact into the wall knocked them out before anything else could be established.


    With everyone now alert and spooked, the Scarlet soldiers all drew their weapons, aimed at the corner that Danny and Taylor couldn''t see. So they rushed by everyone to see the person they''ve been looking for. Jane Venn, walking forward in a linear pattern with her arm aimed out and her symbol¡ª "What?!" Danny suddenly freaked over the unexpected appearance of Jane''s magical symbol, the fact that it was happening here and now, in the state of America! Not only that, but the look in Jane''s eyes was disturbing. Her eyes never once glanced in his direction, nor did her stance change. Danny instinctively grabbed Taylor and shoved her and himself back behind the broken fence.


    Upon their evasion, one of the Scarlet soldiers threw a large two-sided pole at Jane, something to bump her on the head. Jane caught it with her left hand, shot another telekinetic blast forward, and gripped the pole with both hands. Her first push only winded some of the enemies in front of her, so Jane used the pole to slash at their group, channeling her own energy through the device to generate an additional magical effect that catapulted three of the hit Scarlet soldiers several meters back to the right, as they all crashed into another pile of empty trash bins.


    Danny and Taylor got to see the fight up close from a safer angle behind Jane''s position, all while trying to contemplate how it was possible for her to be using magic outside of the veil. Danny also noticed all of the cuts, bruises, and whip scars all over parts of her body where her outfit was torn. They tortured her! No wonder she''s upset.


    "Ragh!" Jane raged further and further, pummeling every enemy in sight with her bare hands. Jane cycled between using her magic and using her punches to get the job done, but she was soon surrounded, forced to take a few hits herself. "I won''t let any of you live!"


    Taylor was shivering from the anticipation of this crazy moment, but Jane was still conscious in there; her words proved it so far. "We have to help her!" Taylor felt the sudden tug downwards from her left arm overpower her physical strength as she tried to rush in there and help Jane.


    "I don''t think so!" Danny forbid. "It''s too dangerous for us."


    Everyone was suddenly distracted once more by a sudden scream louder than anything they''ve heard to date, as Jane Venn fell to the floor on her hands and knees. Her eyes began to glow again with a bright blue radiance, while the symbol spinning on her hand grew in intensity. The magical build up inside her body simply multiplied, but it became very painful for Jane to keep it up.


    Danny noticed sudden behavior changes in Jane, who was currently hinged to the ground like something horrible managed to get the best of her. Even from here, Danny could see the obvious increase of her magical energy through the glow on her hand and in her eyes. Jane stood back up like nothing happened, but she also didn''t react to anything or fight back against the scared soldiers around her.


    Danny was about to get in there himself since Jane wasn''t responding anymore, when she suddenly woke back up, blasting everyone around her with a series of blue energy spheres mixed with telekinetic pushes that powerfully sent the criminals on their way in flight. The sight Jane was performing now was absolutely amazing, and it allowed Danny to pull Taylor away from the corner of the broken fence.


    Jane noticed that all of her attackers were down. She shifted her feet with her head, and held out her arm again. Every body movement she made was completely stiff and binary. When she noticed two more standing further away in the alley section, Jane unleashed her energy.


    "Wait a minute!" Danny noticed a moment too late that Jane''s behavior changed radically. Jane was aiming that deadly weapon at himself and Taylor, as she fired another kinetic push of energy towards them indiscriminately. Danny and Taylor were thrown off their feet and thrown back into the cement of the floor, rolling back while trying to recover.


    Taylor pulled herself back up, ignoring her injuries to learn why Jane would attack herself or Danny. Jane continued to walk in a straight line forward towards them, when suddenly a Scarlet soldier from behind tried to whack her in the head from behind. Jane however shifted around and blasted the soldier with a bolt of blue energy, causing him to fall to the ground. The soldier was either dead or unconscious; Taylor couldn''t tell from this angle, but Jane turned around again, taking her aim back to Taylor and Danny.


    Danny crawled backwards from Jane, who was approaching quickly for someone who wasn''t in a hurry to blast himself or Taylor to death. What''s wrong with her? Is she not in control anymore? "Taylor! I don''t think Jane is conscious of what she''s doing!"


    "She was a minute ago!" Taylor and Danny were suddenly blasted backwards again by Jane''s telekinetic blast, as they were shoved into a brick wall at the end of their flight. The smack to them both was painful and debilitating. If that weren''t enough, Jane was still walking in the same direction, ready to blast anything that moved.


    Luckily, another conscious Scarlet member jumped and tackled Jane from the side before she could get any closer. From here, Danny could make out Jane kicking the Scarlet member, only to blast him away as she did before. This time the soldier was sent flying over the wooden fence and long out of sight. Jane then turned again to take aim at him again. She really can''t control herself! Jane isn''t conscious right now! And now she has the power to kill anyone at range with a single bolt of magic. "Jane..."


    Just as Jane was ready to blast her target another time, a sharp painful sensation sent her to the ground in agony, while her symbol flickered in and out of phase. The pain was everywhere, even in her head in the form of a migraine like none other. Jane could only think about her current objective; stopping everyone nearby. No other thought managed to get through. In her frustrating struggle to make this work, her symbol was suddenly failing, bringing her ability to sense anything down with her. Once the symbol finally faded away completely, the magical circuitry in her hands changed entirely.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Spit Blood ~ Boris Nech [War and Peace]</a>


    <hr>


    Danny and Taylor took their time to get back up, prepared to help Jane escaper from the frenzy she was caught up in. Instead of finding themselves in any danger, they saw Jane on the ground struggling to remain conscious, while both the insides of her hands were arcing with magical electricity. It looked like an electrical effect, only isolated to both her hands, and it effectively stopped Jane from shooting any more energy blasts from either hand she aimed through. Even now, Jane was attempting to use magic against Danny and Taylor, but she couldn''t fire anything off.


    Danny also remembered something in this moment, that electrical sparking in Jane''s hands; it''s so similar to the same sight he and Taylor witness before shortly after Jane was initially marked to begin with, when she felt sick from an over-draw of MP energy. That must mean Jane is overexerting all of her power right now, or she''s completely run out of it. Either way, it didn''t matter a moment later, when Jane suddenly collapsed on the floor, this time completely unconscious. Danny crawled over to Jane quickly for help.


    "Jane!" Taylor went in front of Danny despite tumbling over her injured leg. The sparking in Jane''s hands only died down slightly since she went down; it wasn''t stopping just because she passed out. Taylor held her hand to Jane''s neck, confirming that there was still a pulse and plenty of breaths, but if Jane is down, any other surprise could finish all of them.


    Danny caught up with Taylor, and realized how dire the situation was. They needed a ticket out of here; but without a cellphone, that isn''t going to happen. "I''ll search the goons for Jane''s belongings. Take Jane and run if something happens."


    "Don''t you dare get captured by them!" Taylor''s command was firm, and Danny nodded to approval. This just left Taylor to watch over Jane, who collapsed without any way to revive her immediately. When Nyar finds out what happens, he is going to be livid, but that doesn''t matter right now. "Jane. How in the world did you pull that off?" The way Jane was blasting random energy at people was unforgetful as it played back in Taylor''s mind. Jane didn''t use a single official Leray command when attacking, but she also couldn''t seem to tell her and Danny apart from the rest of them.


    All of these marks on her body, still fresh with sealed blood... They tortured Jane nearly to death! And over what? What the hell did these guys want with her? All of this skin damage stood out without the view of Jane''s symbol. When Taylor tried to touch one of Jane''s hands, the electrical arcs zapped her fingers with about as much power as static electricity. It hurt just enough to dissuade Taylor from messing with them.


    In another moment, Danny arrived back to the spot where Taylor and Jane was left; they were still there. Holding a borrowed cellphone in one hand, and Jane''s license card in the other, he reassured Taylor that everything would be okay. "I''ve got Nyar on his way, but we should move ourselves and Jane closer to the open roads in the meantime." Danny felt lucky to have found this stuff on one of the random bodies that Jane left behind. Unfortunately, this also allowed Danny to check the life status on everybody he searched. Several of those criminals were simply unconscious, in a dead sleep, but two of them didn''t have any breath or other life signs. That symbol actually killed some of those men. What did Jane do a minute ago? How?


    "Help me move her."


    Danny knelt down to help lift Jane, noticing immediately how badly injured she was from the face down. Expediting his pace, Danny managed to hold Jane in his arms, which was easier than letting Taylor try it with her injured leg. She was still limping slightly as she moved. Danny thus took the lead and headed for the path leading to the open road, praying not to run into any more of those hooded freaks. "We''ll get with Nyar and get the help we need." Just then, Jane''s hands returned to normal conditions, but it didn''t stop or slow Danny down. It doesn''t matter if Jane is awake or not. Getting back home is paramount.


    "We''re never gonna live this down."


    Now Taylor is worried too. "Taylor," Danny called. "I''m sorry for all of this. I shouldn''t have¡ª"


    "Apologize later! Right now we need to get out of here." Taylor almost had to push on Danny''s back to get him focused on escaping again. Currently, there was nobody else trailing them, but that could change at any moment, and it''s still so dark. At least there is light near the road. This is New York after all; they''ve always got running streetlights.


    Danny kept his steady pace, ignoring any fatigue he felt from earlier. During his haul, he squinted his eyes shut halfway, and whispered quietly to the sky above him. "Thanks for keeping us all alive. We''re all alive. We''re alive. Please keep us alive longer."

 Chapter 30: Final Adrenaline

    <hr>


    <12/20/1962 ¨C 14:30 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Everyone waited for one long month, December 20<sup>th</sup> to mark the official date of Kite''s rematch against champion Brash Danton. All members of the Trujima gang remained intact with the elite chain, keeping a figurative barrier of invulnerability just to make sure they could watch the match unfold on screen and in person. Just like before, the events here today would be recorded and broadcast locally throughout the tower, but even with all of the excitement in the atmosphere, Danton was certain he would be capable of defeating Kite again and again.


    "I said I was ready to try again. Set it up Shadler!" Kite was growing impatient, but he felt this to be understandable considering all of that time in training and spell refinement. Danton really has become more powerful with his skills and abilities, and of all things, he has a special staff that can transform partially into a sword or another weapon. That has to merit a worthiness to be tested, and Kite knew he was finally ready.


    Kite also remembered the rules and laws of Eldora Tower. Since he is challenging Danton using his immediate status as an Eldora elite, failure on his part will bring the end of his position in the Eldora Chain for a total time of three months. Kite would be outcast and pushed out of the group. Danton doesn''t have as much to lose. If Danton fails tonight, he simply gets pushed down a rank, though Danton will also be unable to rematch Kite for a total time of three months. Those are the steaks made clear.


    Danton stood firm in the center of the champion chambers, listening to the rushing waterfalls behind him, and taking mental note of the massive space of the room. Even after a month, this place is hard to get used to with the elegant craftsmanship put into this wonderful tower. Then there is Kite, who appears to be totally composed and still. Despite what it may sound like, Kite must have learned patience after all, but Danton wasn''t doing this for a favor to Kite. Battles like these are fun on epic proportions. "We shall have our match then."


    Shadler called out one more detail that needed to be confirmed before the battle was to start. "Don''t forget that either winner will accumulate a large sum of credits for the attempt¡ª"


    "Negative Shadler," Danton ordered. "I''ll set the bet as conditional for Kite. If Kite wins, he can have all of my earnings. But if I win, I get the satisfaction of proving how much I have grown in comparison."


    "You''re still as confident as always," Kite complimented. "I suppose if you''d like to get carried away..."


    "If that is your wish Danton." Shadler knew this wasn''t like ordinary champion battles, but Danton isn''t all that ordinary himself. He did manage to tame Entiene, his new trump card, and as champion, Danton has full executive command. But today, that power might transfer over to Kite.


    "Prepare yourself," Danton warned. "I won''t lose." Danton never told Kite about his activity on Eupharus, mostly because it wasn''t that important, and it is highly classified. Entiene is his new friend, and Danton had minor practice executing the summon in this chamber room. Losing means losing the bond formed for that new friend; another reason why Danton knew he can''t lose.


    "Let the battle between Brash Danton and Kite Fargenst begin."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Convoy ~ Charlie Clouster [Resident Evil Extinction]</a>


    <center><iframe title="Convoy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wUDEOpzIs_0" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: Champion Title + >500,000 CR< >0 CR< | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    Kite pulled both of his weapons first, still using the Dire Saber dual-wielding technique as before. The blades were both lighter material in his hands than before with his strength built up, but Kite remained passive and distant, making sure he and Danton were both ready to begin this one time rematch for champion title.


    Danton pulled out his Mega-Staff, the special item handed down to him by Shadler, and a one of a kind rare weapon that he was only allowed to keep because he tamed Entiene. The flashy crystallized staff with a red tip at the end of it made Kite wince slightly, likely due to recognition.


    "Hey, is that what I think it is?"


    Danton nodded to answer with an explanation. "This Mega-Staff once belonged to Lawrence Citrin, and many other champions before him. The staff contains both passive effects of a crystallized staff and an absorber, with an extra twist. I had to earn this weapon through a few trials Shadler threw on me. Therefore, I think this weapon is suitable."


    "Hey, whatever makes this more fun for me, right?"


    Danton grinned and squinted his eyes in the expression of success coming early. "I also think you''d like to meet a new friend I made this month."


    "What are you egging me on about?"


    "Perhaps it''s best if I just show you." Danton held his Mega-Staff up high in the air, sending tremendous amounts of energy through the crystal to generate a massive yellow colored aerial glyphring in the entire room, though fitting inside of the Siriean dome during generation. "Earth and fire be my blade. The spirits of us all be our eyes. Come out and fight with me! Entiene!"


    In seconds, Danton''s massive yellow glyphring transformed in color to bright purple, as did the intensity of the light bringing millions of tiny visible particles to the center of the floating disk. Danton''s first move certainly had Kite stunned in place with uncertainty, giving Entiene all the time he would need to phase into this part of the world as a legal summon. When Entiene''s full form revealed itself to everyone in the room, Danton stood only a few meters to the side of its hind leg. The energy scope of Entiene, given new battle parameters shifted in color from spectral purple to bright yellow yet again. The spirit dragon was incredibly large in size, taking up about half the width of the entire battlefield, and half the legal height of the Siriean dome. This time, as Danton remembered, Entiene spawned without its wings, as is natural for battle mode to slightly restrict the great advantage of the wielder. But Entiene doesn''t need wings to battle effectively, and Danton knew this. Even if Danton stood here doing nothing, could Kite even scratch this creature right now?


    "Wha¡ª what is that thing?!" Kite held his swords tightly, but he couldn''t decide on what to do. Summoning for Danton wasn''t far out of the question, but how can something of this size even exist? What the hell is Entiene? The creature looks like a wingless dragon, but the entire essence of the monster is see-through, transparent with its strange color. Kite began to wonder if it were even possible that Entiene is simply just a summon of bluff used as a scare tactic, but he couldn''t take the risk.


    "I see you two need some time to get to know each other." Danton was taunting his power and he knew as much. Kite never froze in battle like this before, but Danton wanted to try and make this a fair fight by letting Kite try to attack first, and right now, Danton also needed another moment to synchronize his thoughts to command actions with Entiene. Though he couldn''t see when his corneas would turn and glow yellow, Danton went by feeling and instinct.


    "Fine then. I''ll have to test this thing''s limits!" Kite reacted at last to throw both his swords as high and far as possible. His target was a couple hundred meters away, and Kite wanted to aim for the face of that monster. As it was humanly impossible to throw such heavy weapons that far up, Kite added a Push Wave boost behind the blades, thrusting them through the air like shooting arrows; another trick he mastered from fighting against Danton. But when the blades came close to contact, Kite''s face was drained of all hope as the metal simply flew through the essence of Entiene, eventually striking the ground of the Siriean dome. Entiene''s health and stamina didn''t budge! Is that thing really a ghost?


    "I''ll give you a hint," Danton assisted. "Entiene has a complete immunity to all physical attacks, at least when not assisted by magic. You''re going to have to step outside your comfort zone today."


    "Oh cut the crap! This can''t be right."


    Must he really choose the most important moment to start being a poor sport? Danton didn''t care anymore, as he felt the synch with Entiene process during Kite''s failed attempt of a sword toss. "Entiene, just Fire Breath him."


    Kite heard Danton talking to Entiene, and then noticed a sudden addition of a holographic box display near Entiene''s yellow energy scope. In that ADC read the same name of the skill type Danton chose; proving that this monster is his summon to the letter. Kite prepared to block or dodge the attack, after which his swords spawned back into his hands just in time to make that happen. Despite this, Kite wasn''t ready to face what Entiene had to throw his way.


    When Entiene opened its gazing jaws towards Kite, Entiene let rip a wide spread breath of magical fire that flew fast and violently to the target on the ground, and in less than a second of time, Kite was being burnt to a crisp by the special attack coming from Entiene. The area of the breath was far too wide for anyone to jump out of the way or block the fire breath attack. With a flesh burn lasting for two solid seconds, Kite was revealed, his body smoking, his lungs hacking up some of the burning tar, and his energy drained.


    With the heavy breathing there only for Kite''s recovery, he realized he was left with another chance to try again, but that last attack was so powerful and simply executed. It doesn''t matter. Kite had to convince himself that any attack that deals damage to Entiene should be powerful enough to destroy the summon. Danton hasn''t had his new pet for long, so its endurance rating has to be low. Still, just the sight of this creature was frightening enough to make Kite shiver. "Triple Fire!" Kite dropped his right sword and used his bare hand to generate a fire glyphring and use the spell he needed at his command. This would test what elemental resistances this monster has against magic.


    Again only to drain Kite''s hopes, when all three Fire Bolts slammed into Entiene''s astral body to explode and cause damage, Entiene didn''t even flinch or roar in distress, and the mild changes on his energy scope were the reason why.


    It has such a little effect! How can this be possible?! "Shadler! What is this thing?"


    Shadler knew that Danton would not interrupt Kite''s need for answers, and tried to explain by projecting his voice through the Siriean dome. "Entiene is a rare one-of-a-kind summon. Danton was only able to tame Entiene by defeating it in a grueling battle. So if he can do it, you can too. Just relax and think."


    Relax and think? Kite wanted to try a shot of fire towards the old man and watch how he would react, but strategy was defiantly important right now.


    "I warned you this would be harder next time. Entiene! Raging Tail!" Without even waiting for the ADC to light up with anything, Entiene lifted its two right legs and swiped its massive spiked tail over to the other side of the field in seconds. Kite tried to react by dodging, but the massive size of Entiene''s tail made that impossible for Kite as well. Upon impact, Kite was thrown all the way into the air, to the opposite side of the field where his body slammed into the edge of the Siriean dome with all of that momentum. Kite then fell to the floor without using a Push Wave to ease his descent, proving to Danton that Raging Tail was effective in both damage and debilitating pain. Kite''s energy scope update proved this to be so.


    It took a long time for Kite to get back up and come to his senses, with the feeling of a destroyed gut behind his stomach. That last blow hurt in every place imaginable, and he still needed to destroy Entiene somehow. There has to be some spell or element that Entiene is weak against. Kite lost his right sword when trying to dodge Raging Tail, but he still held on to the left blade. In this moment, Kite charged MP energy into the blade after switching it to the right hand, and shoved it down into the ground with a powerful spell. "Firesurge!" Kite could chant all the same, but he didn''t scream it as loud since his throat and abdomen felt bruised up, though the spell worked all the same.


    The Firesurge Kite generated created a visible wave similar looking to Shadow Wave with a larger size and a more violent color, as well as a faster speed. Danton knew that Firesurge would only impact Entiene''s legs or stomach, but either way, Entiene has its magical resistances everywhere, something that isn''t based on body parts. He was actually interested in watching Entiene absorb the damage, since he never got to see Firesurge''s effects against a previously flying Entiene earlier.


    As expected, the impact caused almost minimal effect for Entiene''s baseline health. It was still higher than Danton expected considering Entiene''s many resistances, so that was saying something about Kite''s magical power level. Still, this wasn''t going to be nearly enough.


    "Let''s try Stinger!" Danton wanted to test them all, every technical skill and spell Entiene knew in its attack parameters. Summons usually come equipped with five specific spells, and never do they learn anything different, but Entiene is a rare exception. Danton has so far discovered thirty different possible skills and spells associated with Entiene''s natural knowledge. Unlike other summons, Shadler has told Danton that Entiene is capable of learning new spells without forgetting the old ones.


    Kite tensed and clenched his teeth in regret, holding both his swords out in a crisscross to hopefully try and block this unknown attack spell. He got to watch how much more Entiene was made of when its horns lit up with magical energy, sparking like an electrical storm just before the discharge. Entiene used both of its horns to shoot electrical bolts of lightning towards Kite, and despite his attempt to block, the energy level exceeded the sword defense capacity, sending high voltage right through Kite. With a standing electrocution lasting for only a single second, the damage level of Entiene''s abilities were all very high, and Kite once again paid a heavy price for not knowing what to do.


    The draining feeling of quickly lost HP became stronger in Kite, and barely a minute passed since the start of this battle. This isn''t fair. This can''t be fair! "I''m taking one of you down right now! Blitz!"


    Danton was surprised to hear that chant come from Kite. Blitz is a rare and powerful aura that is difficult to use, though highly effective in raising one''s skill-shifting speeds mid-battle. It creates a nearly invisible aura around the body that acts as Dualcasting, but it lasts for a lot longer while generating better results.


    Kite tossed his swords up in the air when his aura activated. Blitz increases his invocation speed and reaction time as well, which allowed him to instantly spawn two sub-machine guns for the method of Bullet Blitz. Kite fired both clips and had them emptied before his swords were close to the ground. He then tossed the guns to the side and caught both Dire Sabers by their hilts, and then he swiftly executed his next spell, expending tons of MP energy with instantaneous charge-up times. "Splice!" Kite slashed both swords to create a double Splice cross advancing forward. In the short moment he had, Kite noticed that his Bullet Blitz attack was worthless against Entiene, but Splice would take some time to make it over there, and Kite had plenty more inside of his Blitz aura.


    Invoking a sudden Push Wave aimed at the ground, Kite launched himself several meters higher into the air. At the top of his massive leap, he launched off a Fire Wall spell before descending back down to the ground, and saw the amazing effects he practiced so far. Though Fire Wall is supposed to be an attack spell bound to the floor, it doesn''t require that condition to be used like Earth Glave does, so Fire Wall''s attack aura and radius can travel up in the air like Splice does. Splice and Fire Wall both impacted Entiene just before Kite landed on the ground again, knocking off only two percent HP; Splice had absolutely no effect!


    But Kite still wasn''t done. After dropping both sabers, Kite unleashed his next two most recently mastered spells against Entiene from his position; Photon Wave followed up by Prone Strike. The instance nearly drained him of his remaining MP energy, but Kite wanted to watch and see how much damage either spells would do, since they are non-elemental magical skills. The Photon Wave''s projectiles all drilled into Entiene, causing it to react and wail in pain, as did the sudden explosive burst of Prone Strike, draining much of Entiene''s health compared to the other spells.


    Entiene suffered a lot more damage that time, while Kite''s Blitz aura finally wore down. This brought to his thoughts both good news and bad news. The good news is that non-elemental spells seem to get through to Entiene''s tougher defense. The bad news is that there is no possible logical chance Kite has anymore of defeating either Danton or Entiene alone. Now the ADC is active with another spell name, Fire Blast.


    Though this spell name matched the official spell of an actual Fire Blast invented by humans, Entiene did something a bit different. The creature unleashed a lot of magic, generating a massive red circle about thirty meters in diameter under Kite''s feet. Following the circle came the generation of a large star design; proving this to be a spell similar to Star of Darkness, just with a different name and better power level. In moments, Kite was sucked and drained of his life force energy, bringing him down on his knees and causing him to become dizzier, followed by a blast of fire magic. After the spell''s effects wore off, the draining effect is all Entiene had to offer, unlike other Star of Darkness spells that end with a red lightning blast.


    Kite huffed and puffed, defeated by this oversized creature Danton was calling Entiene. This isn''t right. None of this was supposed to happen! "Dantoooon! This isn''t the rematch I was promised!"


    "Don''t get all fussy over it now!"


    "You promised me a battle of honorable and fair proportions! Skill to skill!" Kite stood up, angered that this was allowed to continue, but he knew he was right. "I wanted to face you with your expert sword skills! I wanted to see your Luminous Artemus shape shift again and give me hell! But this is too much even for you!"


    "I defeated Entiene by myself Kite. I think that makes it fair."


    "But you didn''t have to do it fighting Entiene''s controller as well. No matter what you promise, this isn''t your battling style I wanted to face today!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Voices From The Past ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    Danton suddenly relaxed, calming his nerves in thought. Shadler wanted to ignore those calls, but Danton kept to himself for a few silent seconds... Kite has a point. Danton fought only Entiene, which attacked him on natural instinct, not by intelligent command. This really was overkill based on the current stats. Kite should be fighting Danton in a rematch, not Entiene... "Shadler! Stop the match in the name of a draw!" Danton watched the Siriean dome collapse on its own, reminding him that Danton just did that himself by calling the end of the battle. With the collapse of the dome also came the response from the reward/spoil system indicating that draw.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Canceled | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    Danton faced the colossal dragon that was his trusted ally, and raised his Mega-Staff to the creature. "Entiene? Return for now and rest." The response to Danton''s command was nearly immediate, as the summon''s essence dissolved into millions of tiny particles all being sucked back into the crystal core of the Mega-Staff Danton carried. The process took several seconds, but Shadler was already freaking out.


    "Sir Danton! You can''t just give in to such petty demands made by¡ª"


    "Enough Shadler!"


    Danton wouldn''t face him, but even a champion shouldn''t behave this way. "But sir¡ª"


    "I said enough!" Danton walked closer towards Kite, who looked to be bent out of shape from a few attacks he took from Entiene. "I can fully comprehend why this experience has upset my opponent. If I''m being honest with myself, I know that was hardly a fair fight."


    "The champion doesn''t have to fight fairly in every battle."


    Danton stopped and turned towards Shadler, but stood still since the man was far away. "Hold your tongue Shadler. Don''t forget that I''m doing this purely by choice, and this isn''t any battle. The trade of skills between Fargenst and myself retains a code of honor, which you yourself seem to lack. First, you nearly kill me over some stupid trial. And now you dare question what tactics I need to use in my own Leray matches?" Danton wondered if his words sounded harsher than they needed to, but Shadler was finally bowing his head slightly in shame and remaining silent as he was supposed to. "You should simply observe this battle in silence, assistant. You might actually learn a few things from me for a change."


    Kite stood up completely, but his expression towards Danton reflected an uncertain regret. "Thanks Danton. I swear; this fair fight will be one to remember."


    Danton suddenly focused on Kite next. "I get it Kite. I want a fun fight too, but I will tell you this. When I defeat you my way, and three months comes to pass, I will have learned how to properly control and tame Entiene to battle with honor as I do with a sword. By then, I will consider usage of his essence on the field paramount."


    "Then it seems I''ll need to learn summoning after tonight."


    "That''s the spirit I wanted to see. Here!" Danton tossed a healing orb to Kite and waited on his recovery. Danton never took a single scratch, so his stats would be full already. "In a few minutes, we rematch for real this time. No summoning! And I get to pick the weapon I want to use."


    Reminding Danton of his options, Shadler allowed him the obvious option. "If you want to use your Mega-Staff, you may do so. You claimed to have earned it in a trial."


    "Screw the trial!" Danton barked. "Come here Shadler!" After waiting on the confused old wizard to walk to Danton''s side, he handed Shadler his Mega-Staff. "I''m not redeeming ownership of this staff or Entiene, but I want you to hold onto this while we battle."


    "But you aren''t supposed to use¡ª"


    Danton shot Shadler an aggravated glance that could have terrorized anyone smaller than him. Shadler shut up and gripped the staff tightly to correct his own answer. Danton nearly sighed in thought. Something about this championship chain of command and hierarchy isn''t right. There are way too many rules in place that completely take away any and all fun for Leray battles, and the council shouldn''t have their hand in everyone''s faces either. After this match, things will have to change. But for right now... "Get some distance and prepare yourself. We''re starting right now." With Kite''s energy scope already still up, Danton saw the full recovery in a literal sense.


    As Kite prepared his stance and Dire Sabers, he watched Danton bring out his Luminous Artemus weapon. In seconds, Kite''s mood felt lifted as he relaxed. This is the battle he wanted to have all along. It seems Danton shares the same interest. Now this is what Leray battling is all about!


    "I, Brash Danton will set the terms of battle to the same as before. The match between myself and Kite will commence shortly." With that speech, Danton knew he was helping himself establish dominance over his own arrogant assistant, and also creating the conditions for another Siriean dome at the same time. With all of the stats and battle parameters reset and renewed, the real rematch took off quickly.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Assault ~ Final Fantasy X Remaster</a>


    <center><iframe title="Assault" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jieToDZeENo" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    <Reward Spoil: Champion Title + >500,000 CR< >0 CR< | Battle Mode>


    <hr>


    Kite looks ready and much more composed. He''s not scared to act anymore; he''s free to fight as he pleases. This is how battles are meant to be fought. If no one is having fun, then why have Leray magic in the first place? Danton felt this way all the time, but it appears some people around here have forgotten that. Oh well. Danton held the Luminous Artemus close to his chest, and let himself feel the incredible feeling that magic in practice gave him, but he also knew that this staff would need to become a blade. This is Kite fighting against him of all people.


    Kite watched the amazing display again, as Danton''s special staff brightly lit up for a few seconds, and grew in size. The staff transformed slightly in shape, while the blade itself became partially transparent and see through, just like Entiene''s astral body. So that''s Luminous Artemus, and Danton only has one sword. This should be fun.


    "You may have the first move," Danton offered.


    "Don''t cry to me when you regret that choice later." Kite held both sabers tightly, infusing his energy into each blade separately. On the left side, Kite''s sword began blazing in a fiery effect of magic; Crimson Blade''s skill. And on the right, the blade became shrouded in a purple almost invisible aura that gave a shiny finish to the metal; Spirit Blade''s skill. For the skill that would start things off right... "Flashpoint!"


    In the blink of an eye, Kite Fargenst flashed through space at the speed of sound, both blades out and ready for a critical striking pose. Once he reached the target, both swords and Kite were suddenly stopped with the ear piercing sound of clashing metal. Kite immediately knew that Danton blocked both of those swords on both sides. Luminous Artemus is a long bladed sword after transformation, so it wasn''t that surprising, but Kite noticed that Danton was blocking the Crimson Blade with his sword, and the Spirit Blade using the top of his wrist? Danton''s wrists were both encased in a metallic like armor unnoticeable from a distance, and it totally shielded a full powered sword strike. That''s Mainne''s technique!


    Danton shifted his weight, slinging his new sword to deflect both of Kite''s blades, while offering the short explanation given his surprise. "Metal wrists blockers can act as a shield, and I''m no fan of bucklers. Raugh!" Danton shot a sudden burst of energy in Kite''s direction while he wasn''t prepared, a Push Wave that easily sent Kite flying backwards and off guard. Danton didn''t stop it there either. Even with the staff in this form, it can still be used to exert pure magical spells with artificial glyphrings. Danton quickly switched to creating a glyphring at the top of the staff with a wild chant, a spell that required tons of his concentration on such short notice.


    "Mega Bolt!" The glyphring formed quickly, and the sphere of colorless energy shot forward towards Kite while draining a large chunk of Danton''s MP levels instantly. Kite could barely recover his posture in time, but the bolt coming at him had homing characteristics, and a fast flying speed he wasn''t used to dodging. Kite instinctively held up his swords in a cross to try and block, but the impact of the Mega Bolt was far more than he could handle with lone dexterity. The Mega Bolt simply exploded around him, creating an invisible damage field that knocked Kite off his feet a second time onto the ground, and drilled away at his HP levels on the energy scope report.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Kite got himself back up quickly, but that blast of energy hurt like hell. Mega Bolt? That one was new sounding on the list. It must have a top power level if it knocked Kite off the ground during a block attempt, but this is far from over. Danton still thinks he can win with all of the new training Kite acquired this month. "Try it again. Exa-Plasmosis!" Kite shot off three energy bolts mixed with a green and purple color homing in on Danton''s location. Their speed was only half that of Danton''s Mega Bolt, and Kite wasn''t so sure they would hit, but with this combination, they won''t need to hit Danton. "Rotation!" Kite added another spell shortly after, generating a large vortex of wind traversing forward on the field towards Danton. While he is busy blocking or dodging the attacks, Rotation will swallow him whole!


    Danton spun his staff around like usual to try and negate the damage, but the trick only worked on the first energy bolt heading his way. Exa-Plasmosis sends three at once in a similar wave pattern as Triple Fire, so Danton was still hit in the chest and arm by the other two bolts. Their power level wasn''t all that impressive, as the damage only left him with minor first-degree burns that faded on their own either way.


    Danton however had to worry about a second problem, Kite''s Rotation attack coming head on, even though Rotation is still one of the slower moving spells. Danton figured he too would have enough time for two spells in a counter tactic decision against this. Kite thought he could use two attacks to his advantage, but this style wasn''t quick enough. "Dimensional Strike!" With his glowing Luminous Artemus, Danton slashed the saber through the air, creating a line that looked exactly like Splice, only this one was far more improved and powerful. As expected, the magical line flew through Rotation without being affected by the enemy spell, and it likely managed to hit Kite who would have not expected it coming out the other side, but Danton still had to avoid damage from Rotation. He had just the spell. "Dampen Field!"


    Danton invoked a new aura around his body, dark blue in color that would protect him greatly from magical attacks and spells. Now, he could simply stand here to take Rotation''s attack with minimal effect.


    Kite felt the surge of pain before he noticed the nearly invisible Splice line cut into his upper chest, as it sent him to his knees in agony. One of the most painful spells to ever experience is either Splice or Fiery Plume, and Danton was already going all out to be using either of them. Still, how did Rotation not stop or slow down that Splice line?


    Danton began walking forward casually, charging up his energy carefully and slowly this time. Due to the effects of Dampen Field, Danton took minimal damage over time as he simply walked directly into the stormy tornado. The wind barely blew his hair, and the slashing damage from the spell could only cut through his aura occasionally. After a few moments, in the center of the twister, Danton activated his spell, continuing what he started. "Live by the sword, pay by the sword. Flashpoint Strike!" Danton shot forward through the vortex of wind like it was nothing, his glowing blade out and trailing light. Danton immediately reached Kite, who wasn''t prepared to block or dodge, when Danton''s sword cut right through Kite''s stomach again, bringing Danton far behind Kite''s position after the strike. Danton recalled himself to pose and turn around to study Kite''s condition. That Dimensional Strike must have worked well, because Kite wasn''t nearly ready to defend himself.


    Kite learned to suck it up real fast upon noticing how well Danton played against his own spells. Trying to ignore all of that pain, Kite lifted both of his swords, and charged in towards Danton, who also did the same with his single blade.


    After their blades struck each other the first time, Kite quickly switched hands and shot off another Push Wave at Danton, giving him a taste of his own medicine. The Push Wave worked just as well on Danton, and Kite took his opportunity to fight back. "Smite!" As Kite rushed towards Danton with both blades out, his body lit up with a white aura that grew with intensity. Over the short period of time, his dash became faster in speed, elevated through time. As the spell description suggests, Smite works a lot like Flashpoint, but accelerates overtime starting from normal speed, and tops off at a better power level. With a manly scream, Kite charged his blades into Danton just as he was flying just off the ground with the speed of a bullet. The force shot Danton backwards a second time just after recovering from the first Push Wave, and Kite got to watch Danton''s stats drop rapidly.


    With a painful groan, Danton pushed himself back up quickly, learning his own lesson while taking the stats on his energy scope into consideration. Kite retained his composure, ready to take Danton on at any moment, but Danton smiled while standing back up and recovering. This battle was going in a totally different direction than he ever would have expected. This is pure skill against skill; the way things should be. "Okay then, Dualcasting!" Danton generated the green aura around his body quickly, knowing that his MP reserves were tanking quickly, but there were plenty of additional spells used to recover them.


    "Void Edge!" Generating another spell around his body, Danton encased his current aura with a secondary aura darker in color and wavier than the last. Void Edge, surrounded by Dampen Field would serve him well in this current battle against Kite, while keeping Danton on top with his heavy usage of magical powers. "Storm Build!" Invoking the next ability with normally impossible speed, Danton''s second spell shifted the atmosphere inside of the entire chamber room, even outside of the Siriean dome. Storm clouds built and spun in rotation, generating arcs of lightning for an electrical storm inside of the building, and inside of the dome shield.


    "Void Edge again?" Kite complained. "You''ve learned nothing then. No physical contact is needed to win. Prism!" Kite had Prism already charged up while ranting to Danton, and sent that energy through the colorful glyphring, shooting random elemental bolts in Danton''s direction.


    Danton knew Kite would realize this. Kite is smart enough to avoid physical contact at the first sign of Void Edge. The only way to play his game is to make Kite realize that ranged magic attacks are a waste of time and energy. Without invoking another spell, Danton spun his staff around in his hand again and again as fast as he could, the same trick he learned before which seemed very effective against Prism. It actually didn''t work against Kite in the last round, but Danton perfected his timing from before, and deflected every single bolt of elemental energy he had coming, including the Lightning Strikes that cannot be dodged. In a matter of seconds, Danton deflected the entire attack just by spinning his staff, and he stopped spinning it when Kite''s Prism glyphring disappeared from view. Now he just needed to wait for Storm Build to take full effect, which it might already have.


    "You have improved," Kite noted. Holding both swords in hand, Kite prepared for a charge attack.


    But Danton had the first move to him. Using the power of the artificial storm above him, Danton tapped into that power, and used little magic to direct the flow of the lightning down towards Kite''s position. "Thunder Strike!" Zapping Kite in place for several long and painful seconds felt easier than it was supposed to, and when the bolt was done with its job, so was the artificial storm Danton created. Kite''s health took another hard hit, while his stamina was shot, reduced from the draining effect of an electrical shock.


    "I''m not finished yet!" Kite growled. "Flashpoint Strike!" Charging at Danton again with better speed, Kite lunged forward again at a speed hard to calculate to himself. Just like before, Danton blocked both sabers, using his sword and his wrist blocker. Kite immediately shifted to try hitting Danton again without the assist of magic, but Danton was far faster than he was in the last time they battled. Every single sword slash Kite launched at Danton was blocked every single time, and what worse, this only fed into Danton''s MP regeneration from the activating Void Edge aura.


    Kite soon backed off, realizing this wasn''t the best strategy anymore. Danton has become an excellent swordsman and an excellent mage, but he isn''t the only one who''s been practicing new tricks. "Dark Slice!" Invoking more of his MP energy, Kite spun around in circles rapidly with both swords pointed outwards. Kite soon became surrounded in a small vortex of opaque air, when dozens of small air slashes of the same form flew to Danton in the shape of sharp projectiles.


    Unprepared for the attack, Danton was suddenly cut in several places by the magical attack, immediately shutting down his Dampen Field aura. The Void Edge aura quit too, but that aura is based on a timer, not on a scale of damage absorption. Still, the several sharp cutting projectiles of magic sent Danton stumbling backwards, trying to get a grip for support. The HP reduction was already immense for a harmless looking spell.


    Holding his staff high and strong, Danton unleashed the hell he needed to in order to put Kite back in his place again. Failure won''t be an option. It would still mean the end of his friendship with Entiene, since Danton would be forced to give up the Mega-Staff should the powers shift again, and Kite won''t take that away! "Radial Blast!"


    "Shit!" Kite took off running in any aimless direction, since Radial Blast hits a large area in randomized locations. It wasn''t likely he could avoid the hits, and Kite only had seconds to get out of there. Danton is reverting to area attacks now!


    Danton watched as Kite effortlessly ran into the next explosion, blasting him far backwards into yet another randomized explosion. The blasts burst everywhere in clusters, and Kite took a tremendous amount of damage from it all, messing up his hair completely. Kite still managed to push himself up gripping both swords, now having appeared to be really pissed off.


    Kite felt a silence growing into him, focus. Pure concentration. He would need all of it to defeat Danton. Pure focus! "Meteor Strike!" Kite launched his own area attack spell, forcing Danton''s attention away from him in the moment. Kite used a lot of his remaining magic to create a burst of energy spanning outwards in all directions to an infinite range. "Zero Zone!" The aura spell worked, stopping time all around him, and effectively removing all color from the world. Kite felt dizzy and tired from the sudden dramatic drop in MP energy required to use Zero Zone, but the focus was worth it.


    Now Kite could attack Danton without his reflexes, and avoid his own Meteor Strike before it hits. Kite didn''t take all of that time to admire how differently the whole world seemed without the proper flow of time. With two charged electric blades draining what is left of his energy, Kite rushed forward on the legs that were bruised and hurting, and dug his sabers into Danton''s flesh. "Raaaaaaaagh!" Kite switched sword over and over again, keeping their aura of electrical energy without letting up the combination on Danton. Kite was already beyond angry, and he unleashed this fury of combination strikes on Danton while he had the chance. Kite almost lost himself in his rage, but he still noticed the slight color shift growing back into reality, his cue to get as far away from Danton as possible, and when he was clear, the effects were stunning to watch.


    Danton suddenly fell flat on his rear, holding his chest from the electrifying pain that all affected him from Kite''s earlier spell. Danton wasn''t even aware of what happened, since he was stopped from having any perspective over a certain period. Shortly after, a swarm of falling magic meteorites desecrated the field where Danton was sitting, blasting him in the face with the rocks until he simply braced himself on the floor for more.


    Danton managed to stand back up, but it was already clear to him that Kite was saving some hidden weapons and tactics for the very end, though Danton had some moves he never tried out in a while either. Danton went with a simpler combination, hoping to trip up Kite in his current position. "Gyrobreak!"


    Danton''s spell took immediate effect in shaking the entire floor beneath him and his opponent, giving a swirling sensation that made it hard to balance, but he soon followed up his work with an attack spell before Kite could ruin it. "Earth Glave!"


    The ground shot up, and once more approaching Kite''s position. Even with this Gyrobreak making it hard to coordinate his movements, Kite didn''t let go of that rage he felt earlier. Danton has to go down, and it has to happen right now! Feeling that no Earth Glave was going to stop him, Kite tested his theory by sliding his right sword on the floor, and fusing it with a small amount of extra energy. With an educated guess of timing, Kite slashed his sword in front of him while running, when the blade suddenly broke through and sliced through a large pillar of rock and dirt. Though it slowed Kite down somewhat, he literally cut down the Earth Glave with a single strike of vigor, then set his sights on Danton again. "Flashpoint Strike!"


    "Uh-oh!" Danton knew he was in hot water the moment Kite''s face revealed itself through the broken crevice of the disrupted Earth Glave spell. In a short moment of reaction based on instinct, Danton pushed off his feet and dived into the air on his side. While airborne, he saw Kite transform into a flash of white light, as it zoomed just past where he used to be standing.


    Kite nearly tripped over himself after traveling a great distance, and he had to carefully stop his own aura. Danton somehow dodged that Flashpoint spell. He''s too fast! Kite lifted his swords in preparation, and dared to recover and breathe as much air as he could. This battle was already exhausting.


    Danton got back up rather quickly, and noticed how far away he was from Kite. This time, Kite was taking it easy. That would likely have to do with his low MP levels right now, but this gave Danton a new excuse to try out another new spell he learned earlier. "Dark Strike!" In a split second, Danton disappeared from view, and unknowingly reappeared standing right behind Kite Fargenst. Danton was still a bit slow on the impact of this spell, since it takes time to come out facing another direction. While he still had the element of surprise, Danton lifted his saber staff aimed for a clean hit.


    Kite sensed the slight and subtle sound behind him just after watching Danton disappear, and he shifted both of his blades around with him in a defensive manner trying to find his opponent. Kite was suddenly slammed against Danton''s long blade, but he ultimately blocked that attack. Since Danton was already this close, Kite suddenly got open again. He wasn''t shy about sticking with his close combat tactics when going against Danton, and this suddenly forced Danton to fight in a similar manner.


    Danton suddenly found himself dodging sword strikes and blocking others with his sword or his metal wrist guards, but Kite was fast and unrelenting, keeping Danton on defense and preventing him the only chance to try a counterattack.


    Kite kept up his close combat combination, himself and Danton exchanging swords for almost half of a full minute, when he noticed Danton slightly slowing down for every time he dodged one of the sword strikes. Kite went with his plan, slashing upwards to force Danton to raise his staff with him. Kite then used his other blade to slam it into the ground with MP energy charged, releasing Kite''s signature Shadow Wave spell, which impacted on Danton immediately before he could do anything about it. Kite knew a Crush Wave or Firesurge spell would have been far more effective, but he was trying to save energy at the same time. Either way, this worked for Kite in the end. Danton still can''t defeat him in a sword battle.


    Danton took another hit, but the blast wasn''t all that powerful this time, and he kept his balance somewhat after Shadow Wave. Kite charged at him again, provoking Danton to react using some spell he knew would work as well as before. "Harmonic Blast!" Using the staff to aim, Danton shot a Harmonic Blast sphere into Kite''s head, and the spell managed to make impact.


    Kite''s expression cringed in pain, but he didn''t actually slow down his pace. Sending a mild Push Wave to Danton, Kite followed up his rebuttal with another spell to keep Danton off balance. "Radial Hammer!" Five small magical hammers appeared out of a short-lived yellow glyphring, all surrounding Danton just before they jettisoned into his flesh for additional damage. Kite could hear all of the painful frequencies in his head, creating a possible migraine, but he ignored the pain and distractions as much as he could. Danton must go down no matter what!


    Blunted by five flying hammer-like objects at once, Danton took another beating from Kite, but even he managed to stay up and going. Danton felt surprised that either one of them could take so much punishment and shake off the damage, something that probably isn''t healthy for either of them. Then again, these energy scopes would turn red as a warning if things got really dangerous. For a protective veil, it doesn''t work well against the pain of taking any sort of damage. That much was soon made a certainty.


    Danton held his staff firm and concentrated. Eventually, the Luminous Artemus transformed back into its former original state, allowing Danton to better control his own magical spells and dispersions. He then used that upgrade to try and unleash another spell against Kite, who was now showing some movement trouble caused by that Harmonic Blast. "Sereing Blast!" The glyphring Danton created lit up brightly just before shooting a beam of energy into Kite''s arms, sending him backwards in a daze while he continued to struggle through the damage and pain of battle.


    Kite tried to ignore the battle damage as much as he could, but he also had enough MP energy for one more spell. In a grand attempt to hurt Danton the same way, Kite took aim with a fire glyphring, and sprayed a steady stream of energy, a Flamethrower in Danton''s direction.


    Though Danton tried to dodge, he was too slow to move out of the way of the beam of fire burning his flesh. Knowing what was at steak and reminding himself every second why this fight is so important barely allowed Danton to prevent himself from being stunned out of pain, or put into submission. This fight isn''t over until it''s over!


    Concentrating once more, Danton turned his staff back into a sword format, but he also put the weapon on the ground, leaving it away from his hands. Kite seemed mildly confused, so Danton elaborated on what this meant. "It''s time we finished this Kite!" Danton held his fists high, easily provoking Kite to come at him. The moment Kite made a sudden movement, Danton acted immediately. "Telepower!" Danton punched and kicked at the air in front of him with glowing fists and shoes, creating a wondrous effect of telekinetic combat that managed to beat Kite up where he was several meters away. Danton used his MP energy to punch Kite in the face, kick him in the legs, and chop at his throat before finally up kicking the saber back to his hands.


    "Come on!" Danton rushed in with rage and a magic sword in his hands, swinging at Kite, who managed to dodge easily with the speed he still had. Soon, Danton and Kite were both at it again, slashing their blades at each other, dodging or blocking each hit more than eighty percent of the time.


    More than two full minutes passed with a heavy exchange of sword skills, or that of physical punches and kicks to each other. The effect slowly degenerated each other''s health and stamina without a clear winner declared in prediction. But as tiring as this was for both of them, the sight of the exchange for Shadler and the others watching was an incredible and inspiring thing to watch. Though this is an important Leray battle in which neither person can die, both Danton and Kite were fighting as if their lives are really on the line.


    At long last, Danton finally got the upper hand against Kite, and jabbed his sword into him from several angles, cutting him from the sides, and piercing his skin front the front. Kite still had a small amount of HP remaining, barely any MP energy, and as well as this combination played off, it also left Danton severely vulnerable.


    Kite took advantage when the timing was right, using his sudden rush of adrenaline to push his swords back against Danton''s and switch between each saber non-stopped in a linear patter that was too fast for Danton to do anything about it. Kite lifted his tongue in a rage felt scream while his arms and blades did the rest for his unstoppable frenzy! Kite wasn''t just angry; but he was losing his mind trying to take down Danton. Unfortunately for his opponent, Kite''s crazy frenzy of quick-paced sword strikes soon wore Danton down, and they dug into his skin over and over again.


    Ten more slashes followed Kite''s furious combo, after which Kite spun his blade around vertically, shoving them all outward in a double jab straight into Danton''s shoulders. Kite struck fast and struck hard, the instance causing a tiny amount of redness to appear at both impact sites. Even with the veil, when one gets close to real time damage without being in official danger, the body is still allowed to bleed on a mild level. That''s what Kite''s double strike did to Danton''s wounds, after they sent him to the ground. Kite didn''t have his swords anymore after throwing them into Danton, but he would no longer need them.


    Danton wondered what was going through Kite''s mind right at this very moment. Danton knew he was in serious trouble, two Dire Sabers stuck in his shoulders, and himself on his knees with blurred vision. He felt so faint and close to passing out. Does Kite see him as less of a threat now because of this?


    Kite simply waited carefully for both of his sabers to exit from Danton''s wounds, and appear back into his hands again to finish the job. Magic could work too, but it isn''t as effective if Danton blocks it somehow. Still, he won''t be able to fight back anymore. Finally, Kite could feel victory a few seconds away.


    Danton watched as both blades faded away into nothingness, as they were really just being displaced into another location, Kite''s grasp. With his arm movement restored for a few seconds, it was time to finish this. Danton noticed that Kite was preparing to step forward and strike Danton from above with both sabers, but Danton suddenly brought himself to his senses then, leapt up and back to dodge, and lifted his staff in his hands again, charging energy.


    "What?!" Kite didn''t expect Danton to still be so fast with such a low stamina rating. Was he bluffing that whole time? What could Danton do with that much MP anyway? Kite decided to charge towards Danton before it was too late.


    Danton unleashed the energy through his staff in a continuous wave, slowly draining his MP reserves over time while he activated the magic he wanted to use. Telekinesis: it has more uses than the spells integrated into them. "I am not losing this battle!" Danton lifted his staff up, synchronizing its movements with the invisible aura he imagined around Kite. Though this was a complete gamble for him, Danton had to go all out on his theory.


    When Danton lifted his staff for a full second, Kite was suddenly stopped just a meter away from Danton. Kite wasn''t just stopped, but he was completely frozen. All of Kite''s limbs and muscle movement were disabled, and he floated off the ground into the air, all of this coming from Danton''s special telekinetic magic coming from that staff.


    Danton figured out the controls rather quickly, and he suddenly used them to put an end to Kite. Danton couldn''t hold back anymore either, because he too was pissed off of how close he was to losing everything he worked so hard to accomplish here. Kite nearly took all of it away, and he''ll pay for it all! Danton shoved his arm down, which incidentally forced Kite''s body to slam into the ground just as it became unfrozen. It was like watching a ragdoll shoot into a hard surface. Danton lifted his staff again, and Kite along with it, controlling most of Kite''s body movements in a magic thought to be untapped. Danton continued the pattern again and again, slamming Kite into the surface left and right, draining the HP so slowly. "You are a better swordsman than I," Danton howled. "But I am Brash Danton. If I can''t win one way, I''ll simply find another!" In his continued rage, Danton slammed the staff close to the ground without hitting the device or breaking it, and this caused Kite to again smash into the hard floor. "I''ve come too far to give it all up now! Submit!" Danton continued this brutality over and over, giving Kite no chance to try and break free of the telekinetic cage Danton had him trapped inside of. After a few more hits to the ground, Danton''s staff ran out of energy, his MP reserves totally depleted. Kite on the other hand had a better source of MP, with his HP depleted. This time, he laid flat on the floor, unable to move or get back up. Because Danton was forced to calm down from the sudden lack of energy, he prevented doing unnecessary damage to his opponent. Thus the match was decided.


    <hr>


    <Reward: Brash Danton ~ Champion Title | Real Time Mode>


    <hr>


    By the time Danton realized that Kite had collapsed and the dome shield was gone, he finally let himself fall victim to the severe loss of energy, taking a full body nap on the floor. Despite the lack of activity, Danton remained conscious, just out of energy to move another muscle.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: A Part of Myself Is Somewhere Else ~ Electrypnose</a>


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    <hr>


    It took moments longer than it normally would for Shadler to snap out of the trance led by that incredible battle, and head over there to help the two of them recover... Three percent health? Considering Danton started with 110% HP, Kite would have won if their battle took place in the wild. What an incredible show the two of them put on! This will boost the ratings for sure! "Hey, guy who is still champion. Have a healing orb." Shadler''s request was rhetorical, as he simply activated the orb himself and placed it near Danton to give him its effects. Reviving Kite won''t be so easy. On top of that, it looks like both of them suffered possible real time damage to a skin level. Why is that not surprising? "I''ll want a medic up here for Kite Fargenst."


    Shadler tended to both of them, though Danton naturally came to his senses faster. With some of the battle marks and cuts still on his skin despite his HP returning to a full complete level, it was proof for Shadler that non-fatal real time damage was still somehow allowed to occur. It just doesn''t go noticed because that dangerous battle is what it actually takes to cause this kind of damage, but Danton didn''t look too bad. With his champion robe equipped, all of his battle scars were covered up nicely, and his face didn''t suffer the consequences either. "You sure can be reckless."


    Danton was still getting his senses in order. Despite coming to a complete heal, that''s only what the energy scope reported. It didn''t reflect how he currently felt at the moment. "I still won." His voice was hoarse, but Danton still tried to ignore that for now. "Kite tried to take it all, my position, my Entiene, but he couldn''t have any of it."


    "Kite can''t just inherit Entiene; he has to earn it the same way you did. And with that bedrock gone, it might be impossible for anyone else who tries it." Shadler recalled telling Danton that Kite would inherit Entiene prior to their battle just as a fib to boost Danton''s motivation. But he may have gone too far trying it...


    "He couldn''t take Entiene. I wouldn''t let him."


    Shadler still had a number of previous questions about Entiene, regarding Danton''s bond with the creature. He has grown fond of Entiene, but never in a sense of battle, it seemed. Those questions were however the personal kind that Danton wouldn''t answer, even to him. "Well I''ll need you to pull yourself together soon. I have a team coming down here to speed up your recovery."


    "Why so impatient?" Danton sounded like he was becoming drunk off his own exhaustion, ready to pass out despite the healing orb, and likely the reason Shadler called a medical team to the area.


    But Shadler felt this might be normal, and proceeded to answer his question anyway. "You''re going to have a meeting with top officials of the mage council soon. So I need you and that brain of yours functioning perfectly."


    "Kite?"


    "He''ll be ejected from the elite chain of course, and unable to rejoin or rematch you again for three months."


    "Wait!" Danton immediately came to his senses again, knowing what else needed to be done. Though his sudden rush to try and recover caused Danton a storming headache, he had to put it off as long as he could for Kite''s sake. "You can''t do that."


    "What are you talking about? That''s what happens to any of our elites who fail a battle against a champion. The only reason I let Kite stay the first time is because he wasn''t technically an elite when he lost, he was at champion status."


    "I know that, but as champion of Eldora Tower, I''m at least giving him the option to stay within the elite chain. I won''t let him battle me again for three months, but you''re not firing him."


    "You can''t just pardon whoever you please."


    Danton got serious real quick, and realized how backwards this system is. It''s surprising considering how much legal power the champion possesses. Danton might as well be a king at this point. Yet Lawrence must have let people walk all over him at the time. "In that case, I''m changing the rules, effective immediately for the elite chain of command process, and how our structure is going to work. From now on, any and all elite members from the chain wishing to challenge the champion and fail to make victory will not be automatically expelled from the position."


    "How then do you propose the members change?"


    "You still have the Catalyst Grove, right? I''ll be making some changes to that as well, to make sure it functions better. There''s a lot of things here that I see, and I don''t like the way our people are treated at Eldora Tower."


    "Fine. I won''t involve myself. But to make this work, you''ll have to actually put it into the mage council''s bills. I don''t make the laws, but they do. Your executive actions do have consequences you know. The council can have you removed if you abuse your power. Just remember that."


    "Like you actually care."


    "You know I do. Kite never showed me that kind of promise, which is why I excluded some secrets from him. But over the next few days, you and I have a lot more catching up to do."


    "If you drop me off at another damn volcano, I''m going to make sure Entiene gets a chance to pay you back for last time."


    Shadler quenched his face in fear, spinning his hands for a quick reassurance. "No volcanos! Promise."


    To further interrupt Shadler''s inquisition, the sliding doors from the main elevator shaft opened up, allowing the medical team to storm in towards the center of the field carrying their best equipment. Danton made sure they didn''t touch him, since his condition wasn''t as bad, but one of the medics offered him a free unmarked stimpack anyway, a prototype version of new medication still in development for the populous to heal real time damage; Starlov Boosters. Kite was lifted onto a stretcher so that the team could carry him to the medical bay inside of one of the tower''s many hidden rooms. Danton figured they were making this seem more dramatic than really necessary.


    While a silence endured between Shadler and Danton, another team entered the room just when Kite was out of sight. A tall dark man accompanied by several other adults both male and female, all wearing suits and ties of professional business attire entered the champion chambers, bringing Danton''s attention down onto them.


    The tall guy introduced himself first to Danton with a handshake when he reached the champion. "Sir Danton. I''d like to introduce myself and the others here. My name is Osirus, and I am one of the representatives of the mage council."


    Danton''s brows lifted while shaking Osirus''s hand, eyeing the others. "The mage council is here to see me?"


    "I''m Baxter," the lady introduced, "and I too have seat in the council of mages. Long story short Sir Danton; we saw your show just now."


    Danton glanced at Osirus, who nodded in approval for confirmation. Given the lack of time between the end of battle and their arrival, the council team must have been waiting inside of Eldora Tower while watching the match. So Shadler let the cameras in here broadcast to the members of the mage council and other teams, even though it isn''t supposed to be broadcast to the general public for the next twenty-four hours? Oh, wait. The general public might not get a hold of this for another week or two knowing these clowns... But at least these kind of people might be useful.


    Osirus further elaborated on the reason why that battle seemed interesting enough. "That display of swordsmanship and magic exchange is something rarely seen these days on our station network. A battle like that is only bound to bring in more ratings when people see it for real."


    "So it''s just the ratings you care about?" Danton knew his question was already answered, though he felt the need to test these people. They already don''t sound like they have a very high regard for what is important. Being part of Eldora Tower is a value of high honor, a best-respected position. However, if they are top officials of the mage council, it means these goons are his only lead.


    Baxter cleared her throat before speaking, a slight panic to deter Danton''s insinuations. "Ratings give more to this department than you realize. The everyday minor taxes we collect only go so far to provide the Eldora championship process with the resources it needs. And I don''t mean to bring hideous gossip to your ears, but Lawrence wasn''t very popular with the station. Nobody ever came close to defeating him often enough."


    With his brows creased forward and his muscles tense, Danton planted a foot forward to further intimidate Baxter and her talking suits. "I''m not some TV puppet made to dance around a camera screen for fun. Do you have any idea who you are talking to right now?"


    "Uh, well I didn''t mean to¡ª"


    "Of course you did." Danton crossed his arms and turned his head slightly, unable to look Baxter in the eye. "You thought you could just storm in here and brainwash a fresh and shiny new champion guy into funding whatever channels you want me to. Make no mistake that I get to decide which micro-departments of the mage council grow or shrink."


    "I hate to say this Danton," Osirus began, "but that sounds like a financial threat to the council itself."


    "That''s because it is a threat, tough guy." Again, Danton took his stance, realizing already where he needed to begin. "I will say this much. For the purpose of the broadcasting all live elite and champion battles we conduct here, I would never want to do anything that would cause problems for loyal viewers at home, but all Leray battles are as real as they get; nothing is ever staged."


    "We can live with that." Baxter had to accept Danton''s logic for now, giving in to the new leader''s demands while it was still smart and proper. "I just hope you and your new team are capable of keeping the legacy interesting."


    "The Leray wielders of Sprawn Valley and ourselves are part of that already. If you don''t start putting faith in the people, I''ll have to take a closer look at what you''ve been up to for the past three years..." Again, Baxter did very little to express or show any sign of impairment to such a subtle rocking, but Danton wasn''t trying to stir any trouble; instead the opposite. "Anyway, I already don''t like how some of this is set up." Danton knew what felt right, and he spoke to Osirus to expect him to take the news to heart. "I''ll soon be making bills of changes to the current structure and function of the elite chain and some of the events to Eldora Tower."


    "What kind of changes?" the tall guy beckoned.


    "Well for one, you have too many new faces in the elite chain all of the time. I understand that the weak must eventually yield to those more worthy of the elite chain, but the punishments imposed on anyone who are defeated in battle are far too strict for everyone to follow. I''ll be making sure that elites are better treated with more leniency with regards to championship challenges."


    "That''s a bit ambitious, champion."


    Danton promised on his persuading argument to make sure everyone here would be happier with these new arrangements. "All we have to do is make sure that the winning requirements for the Catalyst Grove for new challengers are tougher and stricter."


    Baxter didn''t see the current logic behind Danton''s plan, and challenged him by interrupting his testimony. "Are they not already strict enough? New challengers have a time limit, health limit, and weapon to armor limit when attempting a rank takeover."


    "And yet all four of my friends took over the ranks in a single session. I think not being allowed to carry the armor of your own choice is rash, so shall I have it abolished. As for weapons, new challengers of the Catalyst Grove are still not to use their own weapons unless they meet the very basic or standard conditions of low tier weaponry. But most importantly, the battle between a wielder and a champion should be equalized to determine who has the real advantage to lead the people of Sprawn Valley." Danton worked out the numbers in his head, then delivered the report to Osirus and Baxter, while their people hung behind them in silent observation. "I want my extra ten percent of health during all champion battles to be removed permanently. This includes equalization of both parties battling the standing champion, whether it come from one of the elites, or from a new wielder challenging the champion. And before you panic, I want all four elite members to inherit the extra ten percent rule of HP during any battle that is not between the champion, for any and all events related to Eldora Tower."


    "But then..." Osirus had to breathe and process for a moment. This means that Danton will be slightly easier to defeat, yet harder to get to in the first place for new challengers. And since he said all events, that would ripple into the Catalyst Grove as well. All four elites start with 110% health, while Danton and the challenger of any front are on equal health... It''s a strange decision, but also a balanced one. "Still, wouldn''t that just take away from your battles of random challengers?"


    "I see why you might think that," Danton granted. "But just imagine for a moment what happens when you have elites and champions who rarely ever get challenged. The aspects of the game change entirely, because it becomes harder to win, and requires a lot more dynamic thinking and battling styles. This process simply weaves away weaker wielders, and encourages the stronger ones to try harder to reach the top. Suddenly, your show receives battles more often fought with new and impressive fighting styles. I say leave all of that battling only to the experts who have what it takes."


    "Very well," Baxter admitted. Danton might be new to this, but he is especially a smooth talker in these situations. "If you propose such a bill, I''ll have everyone carefully review it."


    "Hear me out though," Danton warned. "People who fail champion challenges should not be punished so severely as they have been recently. Elite members who wish to try champions in combat should not have the ability to try too often, a system that already works in place. But to expel them from Eldora Tower due to their inability to surpass their betters is going too far. I''ll be making a change to correct this situation as well."


    "Is that all?"


    Danton wondered how much more Osirus and his men could take. "I know this will keep you busy for a while, but we''ll also be looking into combining our funds with a couple of trusted technological firms to enhance the physical tower''s experience."


    "Meaning what exactly?"


    Danton panned his head all around the large room. "Look at this place everyone! The champion chamber is an amazing place, one of style and value in its art, but the other elite battle rooms aren''t so impressive to look at. You want better ratings, we need to restyle and improve the artwork of every nook and cranny of this place. I want Eldora Tower redone from the inside out. People who see it on TV want to be amazed, not put to sleep by the same thing all the time." Danton knew in his heart that he could care less about ratings. This was more about making sure Eldora Tower is a best-fit place for everyone involved, but these people don''t talk in a normal language. "The same could be said for dynamic changes and systems to each battle room as well."


    "Systems?" Osirus repeated.


    "Air conditioning units with the power to create ice on a battlefield, or heating units that can set paper ablaze through the air. Spike traps and pits that cause great pain for any person who manages to touch them. Perhaps a bit of uneven terrain on sections of the circular field. And maybe add some sort of new lighting system to the sidewall panels of the interior with color-coded signals. I''m talking about specs!"


    "That''s a highly ambitious project, not just some tweaks here and there." Baxter displayed her concerns on her facial expression otherwise.


    Why do these people not get the message? "These systems will further add dynamics to our battling styles and make things more fun and interesting. Of course they aren''t minor tweaks! I''m not half-assing anything while I''m here..." Their silence was Danton''s only signal that this was as far as he could go. "I''ll send you the names of those tech firms later. Right now, you need to head back to your council and sort out everything before we all get disorganized."


    "I think you underestimate our very ability to function and coexist with the elite chain... But, I will still inform my people that you''ve made compelling arguments. No promises on those changes though." Baxter knew Osirus was just as surprised as well, but they needed to leave now. Danton can''t always have his way with every sentence. "Osirus? Let''s go."


    "Yeah, let me know how it goes. And don''t forget that I''m willing to go public with this mess if it doesn''t get fixed!" Danton figured that was enough. In front of those kinds of people, you have to appear and sound revered and in charge all of the time. Danton knew all about business mentalities like that. "Maybe I can use some of the public opinion to force the changes for good if none of these worms listen." Danton spoke softly and quietly to himself.


    "Well that was interesting," Shadler approached. "I don''t think they were expecting someone so ready to take full command with new bills ready to launch so swiftly."


    "Do you like your job Shadler?"


    Shadler winced slightly because of what Danton just asked. Is he being threatened now? "Of course I do, Sir Danton. I would never do anything to jeopardize my position."


    "Then I suggest you prove it by helping me." Danton didn''t go out of his way to straight up accuse Shadler of sabotage, because there is no evidence or concrete proof of anything, but it sure felt like a set-up. Why would Shadler think to call in the mage council for a personal unplanned interview with a new champion just after his battle, when he is tired and mentally exhausted enough as it is? Danton however felt further replenished. Do those special healing orbs really work that fast?


    "Have I not been doing that all this time?"


    Don''t test me old man! Danton felt further inflamed by this so-called assistant of his. Shadler set him up on a highly dangerous mission to tame Entiene. Having Entiene''s summoning essence and the Mega-Staff is a good thing, but it would have been more sensible to wait until gaining more experience before trying such a deadly trial. And now, Shadler just tried to destroy Danton''s reputation and ability to effectively lead in his own position; at least that''s what it feels like. Even if Shadler is just an innocent moron, he has to be replaced by someone who has better interests in the tower. "Then tell me which firm you think is best to invest our time into."


    "I think we may look first into Ebon-Eye. They''re the ones currently developing the tech for new and improved drone and camera technology. With proper funding, it wouldn''t surprise me to see them develop some kind of flying remote controlled cameras that could reach all sorts of areas." Danton hesitated, causing Shadler to further try and persuade him. "Could be good for our business. We might get access to much better camera angles for the broadcasts."


    So he is useful when he needs to be. Shadler is only buying himself more time for now, but his word should be useful for long enough. "Okay. Ebon-Eye. I''ll look into that on my own time. But right now, I need to go speak to Kite. He''ll want to see me after this defeat."


    "Very well. I''ll be waiting here for you." Shadler let Danton off to do his own thing. It''s a shame he isn''t more patient. There will be no easy way of showing him the way things really are here; the true nature of Leray magic.

 Chapter 31: The Lies of Magic

    <hr>


    <03/16/1972 ¨C 01:26 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    It took almost a full hour before Danny and Taylor were picked up by Nyar''s vehicle and driven back home. As hectic as everything was, Nyar and Danny did their best not to argue about the situation in the car, especially with Jane''s physical conditions. Her entire body was dormant, unconscious to the world around her. Even after making it back to the house, Danny and Taylor both had to carry Jane inside of the door, laying her down on the sofa. Once the three of them were safer, Nyar finally let it all out.


    "Who''s idea was it to head out in the middle of the night to meet those bastards?!"


    Danny stepped in front of Nyar with his hand raised, his face bowing in shame. "It was my idea, and I''m a complete moron for trying it."


    Nyar wasn''t accepting anyone''s apology right now. Danny and Taylor both had cuts and bruises all over their bodies, but luckily nothing too serious. Jane on the other hand was obviously tortured, with large marks all over her skin and her face. "You have any idea what I was thinking when I went through the search history and got a phone call from you? I had the police on line and everything!"


    "I didn''t¡ª"


    "I thought you were going to die!" Nyar wouldn''t let Danny finish, over how stupid the three of them were, but Danny soon slumped to his knees, holding his face in terror.


    "I didn''t want any of this! I should have listened to you!"


    "Hmmmm!" Taylor and Danny both paid sudden attention to Jane, assuming she was waking back up, but after moments passed with Nyar hovering for answers, Jane could only groan and mumble a few nonsense words. She didn''t open her eyes, and she wasn''t really coherent in the slightest.


    "What happened to her?" Nyar demanded.


    Danny had no reason to lie to Nyar anymore about anything. This was getting too dangerous. "We were all ambushed. Those guys were not just random thugs. They''re all members of the Scarlet Cult."


    "The what?! What the hell are they doing in New York?"


    "You''re not the only one with that question." Danny glanced back at Taylor, who was focused on checking Jane''s health. Her worried face warranted further concern.


    "Guys, Jane has a fever right now. She''s burning up!" Taylor felt Jane''s forehead, and still was she unconscious or incoherent. Jane was not recovering from that horrible mess earlier.


    "You disobeyed every rule I gave you, put all of your lives in danger... With the way Jane looks now, and the police investigating the situation, I now have no choice but to send all of you home. This plan to give all of you choices for better lives, that''s been burnt to the ground."


    "I don''t care about that anymore!" Danny never felt so wrong in his life. Everything he did tonight was another careless mistake, just like back on those cliffs so long ago. "I messed up again! I did it again!"


    Taylor found herself trying to defend Danny''s flawed logic instead of tending to Jane, and she knew what he was referencing right now. "Stop it Danny! You did what we all thought was the right move!"


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Nyar held his head as if he had a headache. "I can''t believe this is happening. I failed to protect the three of you, so I''m obviously the one to blame here."


    "That''s not¡ª" Before Danny could try and calm himself and Nyar down, Taylor interrupted the both of them eagerly.


    "Danny!"


    "What?!" Danny turned around, and his face went to horror once again at the sight before him. Jane was still unconscious. It appeared as if she were in some kind of terrible pain and unable to express it, but the top of her hands were slightly glowing blue again, sparking up a static storm. Her symbol was still absent, but this reappearance of her magical circuits backfiring worried Danny even more, and now Nyar is here to see it.


    "What the hell is going on? What is that?" Nyar didn''t understand the situation, but right now, it appeared to be a surprise for Danny and Taylor too.


    Danny had no choice, and he turned around to raise his head up to Nyar standing just behind him. With a swallow of his saliva, Danny reported the whole truth about their encounter tonight, knowing full well that this would freak him out. "Nyar? When we were being attacked, after Jane was tortured, we saw her use magic to break free. She hurt everyone who tried to come at her, and then she collapsed!"


    "What, she used..." Nyar''s eyes widened with terror fueled further by his wild imagination. "She used magic?" Jane blasting random magical energy at the bad-guys; this is what Danny was describing right now... But he has to be mistaken. "No, you must have seen something that wasn''t really there. Magic cannot be used outside of the veil."


    "But Jane is marked," Danny argued. "And I have no idea what that dangerous symbol in her skin is doing to her... But Taylor and I both saw it happen. Her symbol activated, and it supplied her with dangerous magic. She used it to fight back."


    "But that''s..." Danny wasn''t blinking. He''s serious! Jane, using magic because of a symbol activation? What the hell is going on here? "But that isn''t possible! Nobody can use magic outside the veil."


    "Well obviously we were wrong!"


    Right now, Danny sounded just as frightened by the idea as Nyar was. He could sense it in his voice, as his arms were just slightly trembling. "Why are her hands sparking up like that?"


    "I think she overdid it, used too much magic at once without a stable source? I don''t know."


    "None of us know what that symbol is capable of, or what it was designed to be used for."


    "Do you understand what this means?" Nyar questioned?


    Danny twisted his lip in denial, realizing where the real danger was. "Don''t go there. Only Jane can do this because of her symbol."


    Nyar ignored the comment, and went with his better-predicted conclusion. "The veil is a total lie."


    "I''m telling you," Danny warded, "it''s not! The Scarlet Cult had no magical abilities at all. They didn''t even try to fight back, because they knew they couldn''t! The same goes for me and Taylor."


    "Guys, I''m worried about Jane''s health! What if that symbol really did something horrible to her back there?"


    "Using magic outside of Sprawn Valley is physically impossible. You and I both know that. So whatever those arcing things are on her hands, it has to be an impressive light show."


    Danny had to try and break this down for Nyar to understand, but there was plenty already to be believable. "Why is this so hard for you to accept? Impossible as it may be, I saw Jane use magic multiple times before she collapsed! If it wasn''t for her, Taylor and I would be dead right now!"


    "Oh god!" Taylor whined. "This must all be a dream. That explains it all. We''re all dreaming."


    Nyar added to the stress of their situation from Taylor''s comment. "If that''s true, then I''m having one hell of a nightmare, and I''d like to wake up from this as soon as possible."


    "Danton," Danny pronounced.


    "What?"


    Answering to Nyar''s sudden confusion, Danny elaborated his sudden thought. "From everything we''ve learned, magic cannot be used outside of the veil. It''s factually impossible! But that only holds true if what we were taught is true... What if Danton really is lying about everything, to all of us?"


    "You''re saying Danton is behind this?" Nyar couldn''t dilute the possibility. The elites and champions of Sprawn Valley are usually as twisted as the practice is. "If that guy has anything to do with this, I''ll travel there myself and change his face with my fists!"


    "What are we going to do?" Danny felt the time to really panic was now. Jane is still unconscious, her hands still sparking like a tiny electrical storm, the same kind he and Taylor noticed shortly after the spell bomb orb was used on her. Right now, she may actually be in some sort of physical danger. On top of that, Nyar calling the police will soon reveal who Taylor and Jane really are. Their connection to Nyar is weak, as he explained earlier. Will Taylor and Jane be deported because of this?


    "For once, I don''t know." Nyar began to pace left and right between the hallway and the dining room, a cell phone in his hand, but whom could he call? No connection in the world would help anyone out in this situation. And hell, if word gets out that magic can be used outside of the Leray veil, it would bring about mass panic and chaos around the world. People only accept Leray magic''s existence because it is contained, but this changes everything. This has to be a nightmare!


    "This is bad," Danny repeated. Taylor seemed calmer, but her attention was on tending to Jane, not that she could do very much for her right now.


    "I know her symbol has something to do with this. That mark on her hand must be far more powerful than anything we''ve ever realized."


    "Yeah, well Danton was supposed to do a scan on her symbol, and he never got back to us on that."


    "You really think he''s our enemy?" Taylor questioned.


    "I don''t know what to think anymore Tay. I don''t know what''s happening." But right now, there is nowhere to go for answers. That is, unless there is some way of getting truthful information out from Brash Danton. That guy has to be hiding something. Jane wouldn''t lie to them both yet again, not after everything they''ve been through. It isn''t possible!

 Chapter 32: The Truth of Leray Magic

    <hr>


    <12/22/1962 ¨C 20:33 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Only two days needed to pass after Danton''s victory in Eldora Tower for subtle changes to be approved by the mage council. Kite stuck around in the elite chain to continue his training with assistance from the other Trujima members, but today wasn''t about any of that. Danton felt he knew what was coming his way for today''s schedule, though all of that changed when the elevator doors opened to his chamber room, revealing someone other than Shadler wearing a thick pale cloak.


    The man walked forward relaxed with his hood down, revealing his grey beard and age-ridden face to Danton, who was pondering something in the middle of the room. As expected, his appearance changed the way Danton reacted with a belonging surprise. "Champion Brash Danton. You and I have much to discuss this evening."


    Who is this guy? Shadler told him earlier that there was something to show him today within Eldora Tower. Maybe he was just delayed. But this man had a stance to him, a stance that shouted high class and a wealth of experience. He is also big and mysterious. "Ah, Shadler still hasn''t made it up here today?"


    "Shadler Cowl has been given the day off from his duties. I, mage Sirus will be taking his place as your new assistant. Whether this deal will stick is entirely up to the council''s review."


    "What?" Danton couldn''t believe it! Shadler is a shady piece of work... But Danton never got the chance to look into it personally. How did the mage council figure out that Shadler might not be who he seems? "What has been going on with Shadler Cowl?"


    "That is none of your concern."


    Danton threw his arm to his side in anger. "I beg to differ. You really want me to trust a total stranger all of the sudden? I know it was only a matter of time until Shadler would be suspended. You can''t hold that truth from me, but I was barely able to trust him either. I need to know why."


    "If you really wish to concern yourself with his suspicions, then I won''t stop you from learning what may be true. But try to impede in the investigations, and you might be suspended as well."


    "Fair enough," Danton allowed. Mage Sirus is this guy''s name, but what is his angle for wanting to become his personal assistant?


    "Shadler Cowl has been temporarily suspended for suspicions of violating the proper means of training exercises supposed to be given to new champions when heading over to Eupharus Island."


    I knew it felt too soon! Shadler, what have you been doing? "Entiene..."


    "Ah. Then I see the rumors are true," Sirus propagated.


    "I can''t tell you whether Shadler is actually trying to sabotage anything, or if he''s simply lost his way. I wouldn''t know that."


    "Well I may be generous enough to let the council know that a higher probability lies in Shadler''s senility. The old man seems to be taking things quickly and impatiently. I even heard you argued with him a couple of times."


    "I''m guessing that several standard safety protocols may have been skipped?"


    So Danton was in danger during certain moments of his rise to power. "It''s highly likely, given that you''re first guess is as such. But let us not squabble over who made which mistake. I noticed that Shadler has also taken a bit too long to show you one of Eldora''s most valuable treasures."


    "Maybe he didn''t trust me either. I mean, if this thing you call a core is so valuable, discretion should be used, right?"


    "Brash Danton," Sirus combined. "Your mentality seems to be well glued to the rights and wrongs of the entire process here at Eldora Tower; at least this is what I can feel. And that is precisely why you and I need to trust each other. In order to do that, there can no longer be secrets between you and this tower. One of your sacred duties as a champion is to protect the crystal core at all costs."


    "Well I don''t understand why this core is so important, but if you''re about to show me anyway, I''ll just take the tour." This guy isn''t all that bad. He seems reasonable enough.


    "I, mage Sirus will now show you to the highest tier of Eldora Tower, where our sacred crystal core lies. From this moment on, you must swear an oath to secrecy. Not even your friends in the elite chain or your family are allowed to know about this."


    "I am supposed to protect the people of Sprawn Valley while leading them right? I can''t do that unless I know everything. So I''ll swear this secrecy, on my entire life and career, mage Sirus."


    "Then that is all the confirmation I will need to hear from you." Sirus began pacing forward slowly, taking his time to head towards the other side of the room, where the security elevator is located. Sirus seemed tense as he moved, hesitant to get this over with. "Follow me, Danton."


    Danton turned around just as Sirus called him passing by the center of the field, and he had to walk slowly by Sirus''s side, wondering what is so special about this sacred core... Shadler said something about it once while on Eupharus Island. The harvesting of the crystal shards that Entiene was guarding are somehow essential to keep this crystal core functioning... But that''s all Shadler was willing to share.


    "I will ask you now, while you are in your right mind, if you are more willing to have me as your personal assistant, rather than Shadler."


    "During any time," Danton cautioned, "I just want to make sure nobody makes any rash decisions based on anything." Why would Sirus put it like that, while I''m in my right mind? What is he expecting to show me up there? "This core must be important, so just as long as everything goes smoothly, I would rather keep things the way they are now."


    "Then I will do my best to serve you throughout your entire term, however long it may last." Sirus and Danton were by the elevator now. Danton was taken here before, but this elevator oddly leads to all kinds of interesting floors normally inaccessible by any of the other tower employees. Apparently, the primary purpose of this lift leads to the core room at the top of the tower''s superstructure, a place where Danton has never been to before.


    After being taken up several floors with ensuing silence and anticipation, Danton and Sirus stepped out of the lift only to find themselves in another cubed room made entirely out of metal, unlike some of other areas in Eldora Tower, and in this room on the other side stood a shielded opaque metal blast door. Next to the door was an electronic panel with some sort of scanner.


    Sirus knew from experience that Danton might not like what would be on the other side of this door, so he broke the current silence to try and ease some of the pressure building. "What I am about to show you has also been revealed to almost every single champion of this tower before. This knowledge is kept away from the general public, in order to keep our situation under control."


    "Is this something dangerous?"


    "The way this knowledge can be used may pose as a potential danger, if fallen into the wrong hands. So yes. This is dangerous. I won''t try and sugar code any of it." Sirus waited at the panel for Danton to reply and catch up.


    Danton paused for a moment, creased his brows forward in certainty, and proceeded forward towards the scanner equipment. "You see, this is where you and Shadler are totally two different people... I think I see now why he was suspended."


    "Precisely. You and I understand the gravity of the situation, even without all of the details understood. Shadler does not. We worried what might not happen if he were to be tasked with something this important."


    Danton knew this was stalling for time, but the more information he had on Shadler, the safer he felt. "Was Shadler always like that though?"


    "Irrelevant. To try and find out is only a waste of our time." Sirus pointed to the scanner with his thumb, facing Danton to explain. "This equipment is an advanced card reader. It scans any type of Leray license card to determine who is attempting to gain access to the crystal core, as well as a matching fingerprint authorization. When you became champion, your license card was automatically updated with the brand of a champion, and is thus valid at any time you scan it into the system. For other mages who have restricted access like myself, my license card will open the door, but only for today, and only because I have permission from the mage council that will expire in twenty four hours. Today specifically, this scanner will only accept my license and your own if inserted at the same time."


    "Okay." Danton reached into his pocket for his Leray license card, and handed it to mage Sirus so that he could place them into the system''s verification slots. "So what happens if someone isn''t authorized?"


    "Then a mass alarm is engaged throughout the tower, and this room is placed into solitary lockdown until security shows up. For legal reasons, all involved security personnel in that situation are prohibited from carrying valid cards to open such a door."


    "Damn. This is more protected than anything I''ve ever heard." Danton suddenly heard metal noise, followed by the blast door slowly opening up on its own.


    While waiting for the large door to open, Sirus agreed that the current security measures were necessary. "When you find out what''s on the other side of this door, you''ll understand why we take such drastic measures."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Lingering Suspence ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


    <center><iframe title="Lingering Suspence" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7z7B50Kb-bk?loop=1&fs=0&playlist=7z7B50Kb-bk" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    Danton held his tongue. This feeling of pressure really didn''t sit well with him. Danton felt this was too important, that learning something like this could destroy his mind. What secret could be so worth protecting, something dangerous in the wrong hands?


    Time''s up. The door opened entirely, revealing to Danton and Sirus a very strange area of the likes has never been seen before by normal civilian eyes. The room wasn''t a room; but rather an open outdoor space normally invisible from the ground at any distance... "Wait, but..." Danton took too much information in at once. There were large vertical pillars placed evenly in a strange pattern within the area. The edges were lifted upwards to prevent one from falling over the side, while the upper areas had these claw-like columns stretching up towards the center of the center pillar.


    "Invisible two-way camouflage bubble." Sirus described the reason Danton was initially confused. From this angle, you can see out through a bird''s eye view of Eldora City and beyond. But no matter what height you are at, this crystal core room is completely invisible from the outside, and appears instead as a closed off section of room to the tower''s highest level. "You can see out from the core, but not into the core from the outside."


    Danton was glancing around everywhere like a tourist on another planet. At first, it made little sense to why this room needed to be outside like this in the first place. If this is not outside, the core cannot properly function, for whatever purpose it serves. There are seventeen pillars in total, including the larger one at the center. Each pillar held a floating crystal at the top radiating light like Danton had never seen before, but these were obviously not just any ordinary magic crystals... What did Shadler call them again? "Eldora crystals?"


    "Correct." Mage Sirus slowly tethered forward, observing the wonderful view just as Danton was doing as he spoke. "Each and every one of these are known as Eldora crystals, refined from shards and fragments we especially mine from Eupharus Island."


    So it is true... "Sirus? These crystals are all emitting a powerful kind of energy. I... I can actually feel it, like a low kind of buzzing through my body."


    Being unfinished in his explanation, Sirus ignored Danton for the moment, getting to the point. "Eldora Crystals are simply a nickname we use to further obscure the truth. The true name for these devices are lunar crystals."


    "Lunar crystals?" Danton repeated.


    With a long and loud exhale, Sirus got to the point of bringing Danton up here. "Danton. This crystal core we have right here, is the one and only primary source of all Leray magic."


    Two seconds passed, Danton processing Sirus''s claim as literally as possible. "What?" Danton again took his bearings and studied the pillars and crystals around him. This place? "This place is the core of Leray magic entirely?"


    "Better said," Sirus corrected, "this is the place where all Leray magic is born. If not for this structure, Leray magic would never exist." It was becoming clear that Danton really was surprised. It''s as expected. Most citizens grow up thinking that all of this comes directly from mages, but that is only true in part.


    "So Leray magic comes from these crystals?"


    "Look up," Sirus commanded.


    Danton took his eyes higher to the sky above him, revealing a beautiful skybox of numerous stars in the night sky, and also a nearly full moon shinning in its waning phase. Its alignment easily reaches this place.


    Sirus went to continue his explanation as there was a further connection than Danton realized. "The light cast off that moon comes down at us in a different wavelength than normal UV light from the sun. As a result, this lunar light has an entirely different energy pattern, one that our old ancestors managed to tap into at one point in time. But before the invention of Leray magic, there was no best fit way to harvest the moonlight until this core room was invented with Eldora Tower."


    "I had no idea that Eldora Tower''s summit was the source of Leray magic like this. So all of these crystals do the work?"


    Sirus responded, "The lunar crystals float as they do because they are constantly absorbing lunar energy from the moonlight, and hold a lower charge during daylight hours. At night, we expose the crystals to the light of the moon. They absorb a ton of lunar energy, whereas most unprocessed crystals would never have this capacity."


    "So these are very special and rare crystals?"


    "Indeed. Each of these sixteen smaller crystals are simultaneously absorbing lunar energy, while feeding this energy back into our special reactor core."


    "That center thing that looks like an orb?" Danton pointed to the center pillar, where a larger sphere shaped crystal floated, reflecting all light like a shiny mirror, instead of a normal crystal.


    "No, that''s the magic refractor. The reactor core is actually underneath this tower, all the way underground in a networked system. There, the reactor core is fed energy through lines connected to each of these pillars, fed from the light of the moon with these potent crystals."


    "And what does the reactor do? Give us electricity?"


    "No," Sirus nodded. "The reactor works full time to power a natural energy conversion system. It''s a very complicated process; but ran entirely on mechanical machines autonomously, this reactor enables these systems to remove most of the destructive power this natural unfiltered lunar energy contains, and it turns this energy into a limited usable state of what we all call Leray energy."


    "What?" Danton became confused really quick. That''s not how this is supposed to work. Leray magic is supposed to come directly from the moon, and cast outward in a field, a veil supplied by the mage council.


    "This converted energy state is then fed back into the refractor sphere at the center pillar, which then sends out pulsations of this energy in the day time. These pulsations can stretch just slightly beyond the confines of Sprawn Valley, and generate what is known as the Leray protective veil, a veil that in turn also supplies everyone living here with usable Leray energy, measured in the form of Magical Essence, or Magical Potential."


    "So then, this sphere right here is the Leray veil? And moonlight is the power source?"


    "Good guess. In theory, if you could rebuild this crystal core all just to add or subtract the amount of pillars and lunar crystals used in the process, it would immediately affect the total size of the veil, expending or shrinking it. This crystal core was intentionally designed to only span the veil throughout the country of Sprawn Valley, and no further."


    "Wait, then what about the role of the mages? How do they contribute to the veil?"


    "Lunar crystals are not always a permanently stable kind of rock. Over a few years, these lunar crystals will begin to crack, and eventually shatter if not replaced. The purpose of the top mage association here is to constantly maintain the power flow of these crystals by replacing them into the system. And in the event of a total system failure, we would need such powerful mages to create an initial spark, a distribution of personal energy into the system to reboot the chain reaction. Other than that, our job is mostly physical maintenance on these machines, crystal harvesting, and security."


    "But..." Danton stumbled in a circle, trying to figure out what this really means. It wasn''t good news. He thrust both arms downwards facing Sirus, inching closer in a threatening manner. "But this isn''t right! This is not what we were taught to believe Leray magic was."


    "And what did you think Leray magic was? It still comes from the moonlight either way, but the process converts the energy source into a more usable state."


    "Don''t you get it Sirus?" Danton begged this guy to see how he was noticing the system. "This means that everything we knew about Leray magic is wrong. This is a limited system reliant on crystals! Stupid lunar crystals! This entire setup is a mockery of all things we knew about Leray magic!"


    "So you''re upset only because these crystals may one day cease to remain abundant?"


    "Well yeah! How much supply can really come from this? Aren''t we treading on a tight rope right now?"


    "Resources are far away from scarce," Sirus reassured. "Even if we run out of crystals to mine, we''ve acquired a large source in storage that can already sustain this core for an entire millennium, if not more time than that."


    "That''s not the point Sirus!" Danton couldn''t pinpoint exactly why he was so angry about this. Perhaps it was because everything he was told about Leray magic was an outright lie, protected by the government. "S-so-so what? You take moonlight energy and convert it to Leray energy with this reactor? Why not just use raw lunar energy as a source of magic?"


    "Hm. I guess you still haven''t figured it out yet."


    "Figured what out Sirus?"


    Sirus flattened his hand and dropped it slowly to signal a calm request from Danton. "You seem to think that Leray magic and lunar magic are somehow interchangeable, that we mere humans can use one or the other, but this couldn''t be further from the truth."


    "And what''s wrong with using purified energy, instead of that unclean cheap power source you''re feeding us now?"


    "That unclean, cheap, limited energy source you call Leray magic is the grounds of the body''s limits. You want to know why everyone in the world isn''t walking around blasting energy spheres from their hand supplied by the overcast moonlight? It''s specifically based on our inability to harness and control that power source. In other words, it''s way too strong to try and control."


    "Well if that''s true, how did we even know about Leray magic in the first place?"


    "I suppose now is as good of a time as any to start the history lesson, when magic was discovered just over a thousand years ago. The founding fathers of our magic source did their best to harness magical energy from the moonlight. In this state, pure lunar magic couldn''t be controlled. For our own protection, our body contains no proper conduit source to absorb moonlight energy, but by reflecting the light in very specific ways and resonating different angle points onto a fixed location, they managed to store that energy into these crystals. Used directly on a human had no initial results."


    Sirus had to take a breath, expecting Danton to interrupt, but he instead crossed his arms with a discerning expression. "These crystals were then deciphered and made usable by the mages. They managed to expel the magic in such incredible ways. By expelling it directly from the crystal, the energy contained a rather destructive power, but when they finally unleashed the energy into the human body, that person could in turn use that energy, expelling many new elements of magical powers that went beyond the range of anything ever recorded."


    "And then what happened?"


    "Those involved in the experiment to expel this magical energy from their bodies all perished. They died of numerous causes only minutes after their invocations. Brain aneurisms, cancerous tumors of galactic sizes, radioactive organs frying the body, internal burning of numerous organ cells, the cause of death though different all happened for the same reason." With Danton now listening entirely to this needed history lesson, Sirus continued uninterrupted.


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    "The mages called their experiment a colossal failure, proving that the use of pure energy was just too much for the human body the handle, no matter how fit they were. But for some reason, they didn''t stop experimenting."


    "Did the people not care for their lives?"


    "On the contrary," Sirus receded. "Willing participants were coerced and convinced that if these experiments eventually led to a solution, they could fly through the air and become immortal. The struggle to become the best kind of person and live forever maintained a steady flow of demand for the development of magic, though it did dissuade public opinion in the general colonies when word got out."


    Danton''s eyes widened with an epiphany. "That''s why the world hates Leray magic... They never forgot what evil experiments led to the creation of Leray magic. How is any of this true?"


    "The people are very resilient in making sure they remember all forms of danger. These days, nobody knows why Leray magic is dangerous. The people did forget their own history... But surprisingly, that deep stuck-down sensation of doubt and fear of the unknown holds strong after all these centuries. These experiments were considered an issue of ethical and moral complication."


    "But, it obviously worked at some point... Maybe it shouldn''t have?"


    "Not every great invention is designed with the right intentions. To further their research, the mages dialed back on the amount of lunar energy that was to be absorbed and used by each participant."


    "So they used less and less of it?"


    "The results were ultimately catastrophic either way. By using less lunar energy, the humans experimented on survived longer than their previous predecessors did. But the body still does not want to absorb or expel any of that radioactive energy, and the humans eventually fell ill to numerous diseases. Others developed a lower tier of cancer, shortening their lives. After this, public opinion of these practices drove these mages into exile. Even in spite of this, they still continued their experiments in secret."


    "That''s just sickening to hear."


    "But from their previous records, it soon became clear that lunar energy is simply too powerful to control. So they instead got the idea to convert the energy type; recycle the obtained power using very specific calibrated measurements based on scientific equations, until such magic was safer to use on the general population. Due to their unpopularity and need to conduct this research in secret, the development of Leray magic was slow going. But eventually..."


    Danton turned around, observing the results of that horrible time of immoral experiments... "So pure lunar energy, it kills anyone who might dare use it, because it''s too powerful? And this crystal core is the result of that? Generating safer Leray magic?"


    "Yes. It was discovered, after the mages came out with the correct algorithms that the storage and usage of Leray type energy had no harmful effects when expelled from the human body. In addition, the human imagination easily hijacked control of which elements could emerge from the magical expulsion processes. Of this, all sorts of spells were born while Leray crystals became the most popular asset for magical storage and dispersion. But there were still problems."


    "No veil existed yet. Even Leray magic used on its own could kill anyone it is used on."


    "Good deduction."


    "But I thought the veil supplies people with Leray magic. If it didn''t exist then, how did the mages and their subject use the new format?"


    "Because they were still using crystal shards to transfer their energy, which was eventually discovered to be a highly insufficient system."


    "Ooooh." That''s makes perfect sense. This means that anyone with a charged crystal shard can use magic without the veil.


    "Even with this knowledge, the mages went public with their information, trying to sell their new ideas to the masses."


    "And how did that turn out?"


    "Poorly for the mages. People rioted against them, and this hysteria of hatred spread all over the globe against magic. It even eventually triggered the beginning events of the Salem Witch Trials, though such an event had no real connection to the mages involved in these experiments. And to say truth, I don''t blame those developments of mentality. The people who were experimented on were mostly coerced and lied to for the benefit of this research. Woman and children driven from their homes in secret lost their lives in all of this."


    "But then how did the veil become an accepted idea?"


    Sirus hesitated to answer, because even he didn''t like where this went in life. "War." With a prolonged silence allowing Danton to process in his mind what this meant, Sirus took his deep time in continuing the history of Sprawn Valley''s great magic. "The people brought up arms against the mages. But even after promising to drop the idea, the people feared their promises were just vain hoaxes. They performed illegal experiments and killed people for it after all, so their word might as well be meaningless."


    "So then they were forced to fight for their ideals."


    "To them, the mages developing Leray magic, it became more about defending themselves when they were hunted; self-preservation. The people coming after them were obviously on a mission to kill. Despite being against their last resort option, the mages eventually fought back using their Leray magic, powered by the arsenal of crystals they were trying to maintain."


    "That''s even worse. I can''t have any empathy for those idiots."


    "And you don''t need to. But this moment in history is very important, because while defending themselves with their energy crystals, a subsequently small artificial veil of Leray magic protection was mistakenly used by accident, completely protecting one of the magic users from multiple stab wounds, a field generated by that person''s friend."


    "I get it now. He mistakenly exerted energy from his own crystal, and created an artificial veil around the guy he wanted to protect. And this worked?"


    "It freaked the hunters out, but not into submission. The situation only escalated further. When the crystals ran dry, the mages all surrendered, powerless and defenseless."


    "And they were executed?"


    "Not quite. A small band of people, the mage''s reinforcements arrived. They weren''t carrying crystals or weapons. Only moral ideals that convinced both sides to give up on magic for good, and to let the situation be what it is. A compromise was made, and the mages were all banished from the country."


    Danton began to hate the time he wasted in magic school''s history sessions. "That doesn''t sound like the history I grew up with."


    "School history is only based on speculation. We give them bits and pieces of information, enough to learn, but not to disgust or scare everyone into a frenzy."


    "Mass mayhem and panic too much of a risk for you?"


    "I am not finished yet Danton. You must realize by now that the mages never truly gave up. Sprawn Valley was always chosen to be the sacred place for Leray magic, because of its valuable resources and constant moonlight passes from every angle. So instead of returning to their research, the mages taught these theories and equations of magic to another younger generation of people... People who were always welcome into the communities of Sprawn Valley."


    "So they used other people to continue where they left off."


    "Yes, but these newer idealists had something the original mages did not. Their moral principles and ideals all centered on improving the lives of all individuals, which became their center message. First, they used their motivation to power more crystal structures and gadgets, and receive public permission to demonstrate them to the general populous."


    "How did that go?"


    "Poorly, but violence never ensued. They kept trying to nudge people, convince them that their magic research, unlike that from the original mages never sacrificed a single soul, and was specifically designed not to destroy, but to save lives and preserve them."


    "I see. Show them how Leray magic protects instead of showing them flashy spells... That''s actually smart."


    "Their intentions were always pure. They wanted to live in a world constantly fueled by Leray magic, not only to preserve the health of the citizens, but also to invent a new, fool-proof sport."


    "I''m guessing it worked... Just that it took a really long time."


    "Not everyone was happy with the proposed arrangements. But the slow, non-aggressive persuasion tactics gave these idealists access to followers in heavy numbers. People wanted to live free of the fearful grip of death, and after showing how non-lethal Leray magic is when introduced with a protective veil field, their followers also became far more loyal. You can possibly imagine what this difference in mass opinion led to."


    "Another war?"


    "A general split in the population. See, their proposal relied heavily on a larger veil, a massive machine that would project the veil throughout the entire continent. If not relying only on small unconnected crystals, they knew their idea for a new machine could create a veil large enough for the whole country, while simultaneously reducing the power cost needed to maintain a veil."


    "I have to say," Danton observed once more, "their idea was highly efficient in saving energy."


    "According to school history books, it were the pacifist idealists who received the credit for inventing Leray magic, and that apparently didn''t bother the second wave mages at all. So naturally, Lysander Leray, public speaker of these new-age mages received all the credit for our present day veil. As for the people living there who wanted nothing to do with this magic setup, they were out-voted on future decisions, and over time, left the country for their safety."


    "The population splits, the naysayers leave peacefully, and whatever is left are all in favor for Leray magic," Danton concluded. That has to be the smoothest political operation he ever heard of before.


    "This nation was built on the foundation of these ideals; the desire to conduct sporty Leray battles while also extending the lives of their humans, and making all magical usage as safe as physically possible, but also to ensure that the people living in Sprawn Valley have the highest level of natural freedom available. So Sprawn Valley became a partial democracy, though the mage council wasn''t invented until after the coming of the war of mages."


    "So that was a separate second war? And if I know this one, it wasn''t about magic, but about symbol and marking practices?"


    "Precisely. Due to the nature of the uninvolved territory of these two different wars, the official war of mages is historically accurate, right down to the last letter in those history books."


    "So there''s one less lie I need to worry about... But hold on a sec!" Danton put another problem together in his mind. "If you look at everything that has ever happened so far, that means that all magic is still evil in some way. People are learning to neglect the protective effects of the veil by introducing dark magic. That illegal practice, what else could it be if not pure lunar energy? And yet the veil in turn prevents their bodies from frying! This is all messed up Sirus!"


    "You''ve gotten carried away." After noticing Danton''s confused expression from being wrong, Sirus brought the issue to a different area. "Dark magic wasn''t invented that long ago. Its nature does not derive from the same source of pure lunar magic, but rather from the new source of Leray energy."


    "That makes no sense, Sirus. Dark magic negates the veil, so it can''t come from the same energy signature."


    "But it does," he argued. "What do you think happens when a person, so in-tune with Leray magic becomes extraordinary angry or upset?"


    "Then they would be pissed off, obviously."


    "The energy signature from dark magic has proven to initially start from that of normal Leray magic, directly from the veil''s source, but the people storing that energy also have the capacity to shift their own energy signature, mid-invocation."


    "That would be far too dangerous then to have a veil in the first place!"


    "The power of our own desires and imagination sometimes overpower that of our own stored Leray energy. Still is there a lot in study over this, but it means that the power of the human will can almost equal that of the propagation power of the veil sent out every day."


    "I don''t understand."


    "It''s simple to explain if you keep it all in mind at once. You simply take what is given to you, and transform what you have to a point of absolute reversal. Then you end up with an energy signature that is more powerful than what was initially given you. Magical amplification, processed purely by powerful enough negative emotion or will power, and sent out in a state exactly opposite to the signature rate of the veil is the definition of dark magic."


    Strong negative emotion... "Wait," Danton thawed. "You mean that anybody with access to Leray magic can at any time use dark magic whenever they want?"


    "There are dark magic specific spells, but the egg came before the chicken in this scenario. We planted the seed of potential, and in total accident, some people figured out that powerful negative emotion could be used to amplify energy and turn around the signature simultaneously. Once you''ve figured out dark magic, you won''t really need to get as angry the second time, or as much from the second time to the third time. This makes the practice a highly volatile and dangerous mechanism."


    "We invented dark magic? This evil and illegal power that can kill regardless of the veil?"


    "I''m afraid so. It''s entirely possible for random Leray wielders of higher training to accidentally use dark magic if they seriously lose their temper during magical exertion. Even though that is not the only requirement, the process is still a rare occurrence that we control in the reports."


    "You..." Danton suddenly approached Sirus as fast as he could, fist out and ready to strike. There wasn''t anywhere to channel this horrible frustration, and Sirus knew this whole time! Danton struck his fist towards Sirus, but Sirus caught it with his left hand, almost expectantly and with little emotion. "You knew about this! And you just sat on this danger? We ought to be destroying the veil, destroying the crystal core so that nobody can ever use dark magic again!" Danton read those reports long ago, how many people have died in a dark magic related incident. The relative scale may be low, but those were still people.


    Sirus grasped Danton''s hand tightly to defend himself, trying to calm the man down before he lost his own temper. "Every system we already have in place exists to monitor each town and area for suspicious activity and dark magic users. It''s the reason we have Leray agents, detectives, and gradyents stationed everywhere to learn about each new wielder, and track their movements."


    Danton lost his nerve, and let himself sink to his knees with his hands on both sides of his head. He pounded on the metal floor with his bare fist, lashing out anyway he knew how to. "This isn''t what we were promised! This isn''t Leray magic! None of this is as we thought it was!" Gradyents and agents going around everywhere, eyeing everyone as if they are criminals! And they might be; one could never know! This all started from evil experiments lost to memories of the past. And this... This massive contraption giving power to everyone. It''s innocent looking, but if just anyone can learn dark magic with such easy tactics, is the veil really a safe bet at all? How could it be? Anyone can die regardless of the veil! Everything is a lie!


    "You are not the only one who has developed this reaction, Sir Danton. I can assure you that I too once fell prey to a darkening sensation of grief that lasted for months."


    Danton held his teeth shut and out, glaring murderously at the mage aside to him from his position on the ground. "How? How can everyone let this go on?! We were promised Leray magic could never be used to kill, yet here''s all the truth to the contrary. Leray magic isn''t worth all of those deaths Sirus. All of those experiments, all of those lives lost in the war!"


    "Think backwards in time. Rewind yourself to several months ago, perhaps longer than that. And ask yourself, why did you become involved in Leray magic in the first place? Yeah, you didn''t know how dangerous the world could really be, but you still had a reason to rise to the top. Every kid who makes it here has a powerful aspiration they follow in their hearts, a will to win."


    "That''s where you''re wrong." Danton stood though slumped in his shoulders and overall stance, giving him the stance of a zombie depleted of all remaining foods. "All I did in the beginning was inherit my father''s skills and legacy. I fought for him because he became too sick to do it for himself anymore. But after he died, I still kept practicing Leray magic, not because I had to, but because it was supposed to be fun. I brought that all the way into this tower, and you''ve destroyed all of it."


    "Have I? You just told me that you are not driven by a sense of victory. If that''s true, then what about Leray magic was fun for you?"


    "The unbroken concept I thought I had for it, you idiot! Magic was supposed to be more than just a fun sport. It''s a passage of our own lives; it''s the way we live, and everyone is supposed to use it honorably and responsibly! I thought everyone could inspire each other to behave that way."


    "And this desire of yours... Not everybody shares it yet. I''m not that naive either. But then that''s the reason I have not destroyed the crystal core. It''s because I still believe that a better world with this thing is possible."


    "Look around you," Danton commanded. "The world might be fine now, but people will eventually learn more about how to process this dark magic. And when you get enough of that going around, will all of the death, destruction, and crime be worth it to you? When will it be too late to shut down the Leray veil? Answer me Sirus!" Danton could tell his warnings were making some impressionable effect on Sirus. He could see the lost fear still glimmering in the old man''s eyes.


    "But I still believe we can employ tactics that prevent these issues from growing Danton. I know we can make sure Sprawn Valley never faces war ever again."


    "All you have to do for that wish, is shut down the veil."


    "And destroy all of their lives? You really think the people of Sprawn Valley will just be happy to abandon the very reason they live here in the first place?"


    "Better safe than sorry," Danton repulsed.


    "And you would make that decision for them?"


    Danton growled because of how stupid this guy was. He can''t understand anything! "They can''t make that decision for themselves Sirus! They don''t know the truth about Leray magic, because you''ve kept it from them, from all of us!"


    This might have been a bad idea after all. If Danton turns rouge over this, everything will fail! "That''s because it would be even more dangerous to reveal that truth. Lunar energy without its conversion is so intensely powerful, than when compressed into crystals correctly, their destructive energy could potentially be unleashed anywhere in the world."


    The daunting thought finally hit him with that phrase, something Danton should have realized sooner. "Lunar... Lunar energy can be used anywhere?"


    "You don''t really need a veil to use magic. You can store Leray energy into a crystal shard, and unleash it into any environment around the world. But in that unclean format, you barely make a dent, maybe even kill a person. However, with unfiltered lunar magic stored in a device, unleashed onto any part of the world, the destructive power could bring any city you choose to its knees, and the people would be powerless."


    So magic is not limited to Sprawn Valley? That''s an illusion too... Is anything here real or safe? What even is magic anymore?


    "Sprawn Valley suffered incredible hardships to develop where it is today. We keep the veil limited, so that the other countries can live in the bliss they''ve asked for. And we lie to the people, so that those who may ever dare to misuse our magical process never get the idea of harming innocent civilians outside of Sprawn Valley, outside of our protection and our promise."


    Danton was nearly breathless, unable to feel anything anymore. "I can''t believe this is happening."


    "Leray magic," Sirus described, "is like Pandora''s Box. We''ve opened a very dangerous tool. And yeah, we could destroy this veil, and try to pan out the consequences of surviving without magic... Or we do what we''ve always done. Limit the usage of magic as much as possible, so that only the good comes out of Leray magic. While people are going around conducting battles for rewards, everyone out there is having a blast. We monitor all of it to ensure that freedom endures."


    Clenching every limb he had, Danton tried to suffer through the massive headache he''d given himself. Every one of Sirus''s words were hurting. Which decision is the right one? Try to live with this, or destroy the crystal core? "And what happens if we fail?"


    "You really think we''ve been living up in this tower running a candle operation all these years? Even members of the mage council don''t fully grasp the understanding of the source of all our energy. You, me, Lawrence, Shadler, and the people that came before us all know what''s really at stake, all the time. And me? I have to live with it too, questioning whether I''m really doing enough to protect this world from the great harm we''ve created."


    "What would happen to us if we destroyed it?"


    Sirus knew what Danton was referring to, but advised against it. "Then we will live in very dark ages. The future may forever be doomed with high uncertainty."


    "Isn''t it already?"


    "Let me be clear," Sirus tried. "If we were to destroy this veil at any time, what would immediately happen next?"


    "Mass panic, but not the end of the world."


    "Not right away. People like us who know the whole truth, are also the only people capable of understanding how this contraption works. That is, right now. But say we destroy the veil. The panic it would cause would have every member of the mage council and emergency response unit up here in a flash to discover what happened. If they see the system destroyed, they will ask us to rebuild it."


    "So we refuse!"


    "Then they simply throw us out for tampering with their precious Leray system."


    "We fight back!" Seriously! What does this guy not get about the simplicity of the plan?


    "How? What magic would you fight them with?" Danton winced and looked away... There it is. He finally gets enough of how this really works. "We would be powerless against the masses, and even with us out of the picture, they would eventually figure out how to rebuild the system on their own. It''s not as complicated as it might seem at a glance. When they learn how the crystal core works, who then would convince them to keep the new information they would learn a secret from the public? Imagine then everyone at once learning how easy it would be to invoke dark magic, or worse, lunar magic in other parts of the world."


    "We would never win... We would only wake up the people we''re trying to save ourselves from."


    "Corrupt people with this much power will use it however they please. It would actually make it easier. Some vigilante group upset about the fact that their government lied to them regarding magic, convinces an insolent group of people to sacrifice their own lives unleashing moonlight hell in cities all over the world. And the only thing we would have bought ourselves is time before the doom. I still wonder if that''s the way things are now; that we''re simply fighting to delay the inevitable apocalypse that would befall this world if magic existed in all parts of the world. Can we really stop it forever, regardless of whether we destroy or protect the veil? I don''t know Danton, but I still had to make a tough choice."


    "So if we destroy the veil, it would wake the people to the truth, but at a cost of rebuilding the veil without us."


    "I know that sounds like a worst case scenario, set aside on the brink of paranoia, but..."


    Danton studied Sirus''s face again. Everything he has ever wanted in this was all to make the world a better place by lying. For some reason, it''s worked so far.


    "A limited Leray system that works for everyone, improving lives and making the world a more fun place is something I want to get behind. It''s the only reason I haven''t smashed these pillars to pieces. And I know that it''s the same for you."


    "Don''t you dare speak for me."


    "Leray magic, used in an honorable and responsible way brings out the best in people and how they live their lives. I know that''s what you believed before coming up here today. But there is no reason why this new information has to make that idea false!"


    So even you believe, Sirus? How? In a world so doomed by Leray magic, where any change would make the destruction of this country so unbelievably easy, how could you ever for a moment believe that everyone will be so graceful and submissive to our laws? What about moral principles? What happens when some sap somewhere learns how to use dark magic? You just send in a Leray agent to snatch him up and throw him behind bars? Do you just kill him for threatening other lives? What is the truth anymore about anything!?


    "Whatever choice you decide to make, we should do it as a team. But if this is something you can''t handle, then just walk away from it right now."


    "Sirus."


    "I won''t let you destroy this core though. I still believe in humanity''s ability to use magic responsibly, even if dark magic becomes a new threat to the world. We''ll find some way of combating that issue."


    Sirus really believes... And a few hours ago, so did I. The crystal core is humanity''s blessing and its own curse. Without the conversion factor of Leray magic, lunar energy would be used instead, killing anyone who tries to use it on the spot simply because they can''t handle the excess energy. But on the other hand, because the veil exists, dark magic also exists; a nasty child of this so-called Pandora''s Box. What will the future hold for Sprawn Valley if anything bad happens, even just something small? What happens when the world wakes up to the truth about the origin of Leray magic? How many people riot in disapproval? How many turn to such violent action? In a way, Sirus has a point about only one thing. Destroying the veil is also a problem, because it carries the same weight of negative consequences. Keep the veil? Dispose of the veil? "Raaaaaagh! There isn''t a right or wrong choice anymore!"


    "The world is not this black and white place you thought it was Danton. I''m sorry that our lie taught you otherwise. You can fully blame that much on me."


    Is he giving Danton permission to punch him now? Would it even make a difference at this point? "How will we ever know?"


    "We''re not supposed to," Sirus explained. "Every decision we make from this point on will be both right and wrong. That is the sacrifices we top mages make every single day to protect the futures we want. And in order to do that, we must decide which choice is a best-fit solution to every problem, knowing full well that anything we do can backfire. That is why I can''t think about right and wrong like that anymore. I think about my vision instead."


    "Your vision?"


    "I imagine this world as it''s been for the last peaceful sixty years. Everyone grows up all inspired by our magic, and they use it only for the right reasons. People in Sprawn Valley have fun conducting battles, not because they like destruction or hurting each other, but because it''s a great way to practice their skills and spells. Leray battles are the only way we''ve learned new tactics for our amazing work forces, like how the Leray agents managed to develop new skills for capturing potential terrorists, or teaching children how to drive boats lost at sea to land using the power of concentrated water blasts. Like it or not, Leray magic is saving lives and making people happier. The moment we think it might hurt someone, we act immediately at the site and respond. That is our Sprawn Valley way."


    Danton shut his eyes for a moment to inhale deeply, stretching his legs up tall in a stretch with his eyes glistening with tears to be, then shuffling to Sirus, who had his back against the wall. "Those words," he threatened, "are the only reasons why I''m choosing not to kill you and destroy this core right now. If you really believe that, then I''ll have no choice but to try and follow."


    Sirus sighed of heavy relief, proving he had no real idea which way Danton might branch off to. But then Danton lifted Sirus off the ground with his fist clenched carrying his frontal cloak.


    "But if you''ve left anything important out, or even if your intentions are pure and we fail anyway, I''m holding you completely responsible. I mean it!" Sirus had no choice but to face Danton''s wrath and submit to his word of warning. "If I do this, and it''s the wrong choice, I won''t care about saving my own morals anymore, I will kill you!" Danton finally struck Sirus in the face just as he dropped the cloak. The hit actually dented his knuckles and brought pain to the top of his hand, but Danton turned around, finally decided on what he needs to do. The mission is clear enough. Whether it works or not, that''s another matter entirely.


    Sirus slightly fell to the ground, but he''s been punched in the face before, for similar reasons no less. It''s all the same every time... Only Danton really is serious about protecting the people now. That''s exactly what mentality he needs to have for this to work. "Get it all out so you can function on top of your normal duties."


    Danton further questioned a few less important details he still needed to sort out. "Is this also the reason why we have a General Army?"


    "An emergency response unit. The agents will never be able to take on threats bigger than what they can handle out in the field. But an army of soldiers backed by superior technology and top-notch magical skills will surely get the job done. They are only loyal to you, the champion of Leray magic."


    "Don''t call me that anymore." It''s no longer a befitting title, but rather a tainted description for anyone involved. "I am Brash Danton. I''m not some rich arrogant king. I''ll never turn into that."


    Good, because there is too much at stake now. "Oh, and one more thing," Sirus reminded. "You told me to make sure you were informed about every single detail from now on. I bet Shadler didn''t tell you how that Mega-Staff really works."


    Danton turned around, angered again, but with nowhere to drive it to. Shadler isn''t here, but if only he was... "Spit it out then."


    "Other than power-housing the functionality of conserving magic while amplifying your Leray based powers, and other than being the only unit capable of holding the legendary summon of Entiene, that specific Mega-Staff is also a potential deadly weapon. You must never be careless when using it, and never let anyone else hold onto it."


    "Deadly weapon how?"


    "The Mega-Staff is more of a utility than a staff. Its crystal core is extremely special, and has the power to hold and sustain usable energy for prolonged periods of time, no matter where it might be located."


    "Are you trying to tell me that my new staff can shoot magic out of its crystal without the veil?"


    "Strangely, it''s a dual-component based system. Normally used, it functions like the staff you used to know, dispersing only Leray-type energy acquired from the veil and combined with your personal MP aura. But it can also be used to release magical energy, from any energy signature including pure lunar magic, onto any part of the world without the stability of a veil, when completely charged of course."


    "And what charges it?"


    "The very existence of the veil will charge the core crystal with Leray-type energy automatically. This means you can stand here, travel to another country, and fire magic from that staff as the old mages of the past did. You could also optionally charge that staff with pure lunar energy during a full moon night, and unleash it''s type of energy, which would also prevent Leray energy from charging into the core of the staff until seven days dilutes the energy away from the crystal. Think of it as a miniature version of this crystal core."


    "That''s severely unsettling to hear," Danton admitted. "But the charge, it won''t last?"


    "No. Without a veil to supply it energy, your staff will slowly deplete itself, faster during magical invocation. The same can be said for pure lunar energy. But, the use of lunar energy through that staff could easily have a deadly effect on the user. Best not to even try it out."


    "Great. You realize Shadler just gave me this staff without telling me these things?"


    "And now you know why he has been detained. He skipped the entire process of teaching you these truths, and sent you into blind danger to tame Entiene far too early, which breaks several of our sacred protocols. By the way, it was some good luck capturing Entiene."


    "Thanks. But when I see Shadler again, I''ll be sure to give him some of my regards. That two-faced, good for nothing¡ª" Danton gave up rambling on about Shadler''s shady operation. He really is just a stupid senile idiot in light of all this. "Sirus? I don''t know if I can promise secrecy between myself and a few of my friends from the Trujima gang."


    "You don''t have a choice. If a single one of them has a dark spot in their heart, then your truth will transform who they are, and everything will end badly."


    "You really think you know how people are? I haven''t heard such words from my own grandpa, and he constantly got lost in his memories."


    "I am serious Danton. Once upon a time, I once had to bear witness to one of my trusted mentors fall victim to the powerful mental defying effects of dark magic."


    "And what happened to this mentor?"


    "Since it happened here in this tower, we detained him into the interrogation room. He was powerless there, but I''ve never seen a man''s mind so quickly and easily twisted by the tempting power of dark magic. It''s not the magic that does it, but the very realization that such a man can tap into something three times more effective than what they''ve used all their life... That can change anyone should they be vulnerable to the idea, and that''s just dark magic... Lunar magic in comparison runs about sixty times higher in average power levels than dark magic does. The temptation might drive at least one of your friends to a dangerous place."


    "They''re also all I have left, and I can''t tell them anything!"


    "Look at you," Sirus pointed. "You''re barely okay now, but a moment ago, you were losing your mind. Think about the torture this might bring to your friends, and what it might affect in their hearts as a result... Danton, I can''t stop you from telling other people. I only pray for all our safety that you don''t."


    "But I still get to decide that Sirus. You''ve put me through quite enough already, so you''re already on thin ice. Don''t forget that." Danton turned to the door he came from, leaving the same way he came without Sirus to follow him. Sirus was smart enough to realize that Danton just wanted to be alone right now. And well realized; this is the worst nightmare anyone from Sprawn Valley can ever have. Then again, it could even turn out to be worse in the future. What the hell have I inherited from Lawrence?


    Sirus let Danton drag his feet down all the way to the elevator. He forgot to grab his license card keeping the crystal core doors open, but Sirus was already trusted enough to deliver the pass back to Danton in the chamber room floor. Still, it isn''t easy to tell if this will work out or not. Telling all champions the truth is a tough thing to do, but Sirus has never seen anyone react to this so severely before. Danton is the only one who has ever made a real threat to destroy the veil like that, at least as long as Sirus has been a mage here... Watching Danton''s heart twist in pain; that was tough for Sirus to see, unimaginable to how it might have felt. The moment of his own trial with this issue happened so long ago, the memory faded and vague, but it leaves scars on everyone involved. That''s the price to pay for the truth. Until Leray magic can one day be used in a way that is one hundred percent safe and foolproof, this is the best we can do.


    Danton held his head down while descending down the lift. All he could do now was ponder everything he''s ever learned in life. Everything he has ever fought for, was any of it real? Was all of this in vain? It''s too hard to believe that the whole world has changed this much. But really, it never did. Danton is the one who has changed. People who learn the truth about Leray magic, their perspective on everything is different. This system of Leray magic and battles is far more backwards than anything he ever could have imagined. If the founders of Leray magic were really as evil and twisted as they were, does that mean that magic itself is the same way?

 Chapter 33: Lost in Truth

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    <12/23/1962 ¨C 14:00 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Only one day remains before the normal operations of Eldora Tower are restored to full function. With the renovations to the tower pending within the mage council meetings, Danton was left alone in his chambers by the soothing flow of the small waterfall to ponder the mysteries he found himself surrounded by all his life. The way things work in this city; the capital of Sprawn Valley is far beyond different from what most people would think, and Leray magic is behind it all. The people use it every day, unaware they are messing around with the fire that could tear this country to pieces.


    Then in all of this, mage Sirus has known about the existence of lunar magic for years. It''s hard to trust him right now, but why would mage Sirus lie about something so serious? It''s hard to accept, but he is the only trusted ally right now. Danton continued walking between an imaginary line left and right by the glorious shrine of water, hoping to find some peace to this distasteful news. The matter here is that pure, unfiltered magic accumulated by the lunar rays of the moon in the sky are ultimate in comparison to Leray magic, and even more than dark magic, while the limitations of Leray magic supposedly keep everything in check, but nobody else knows about this.


    It was then when Kite Fargenst stepped from the opening primary lift into the area, finding Danton standing alone without anything to do. For Danton, Kite was always welcome up here to talk about anything, or perhaps even to train in combat to improve experience and skill.


    Danton noticed Kite''s presence the moment those elevator doors slid open. He probably wants to congratulate him again on defeating Kite in that epic battle. It wasn''t as easy to win... Entiene, and this Mega-Staff... They might be extremely dangerous tools as well. It might have been a very good thing for Kite to force Danton to battle without them. From a first glance, Kite seemed happy; satisfied that he was standing in the same room as one more powerful than himself.


    "So this is what being a leader looks like," Kite judged wildly. "I guess sticking to being a warrior is more suitable for me."


    He has a point. Combining a rule of powerful mages to a leading role may not be in the best interest for everyone, but that is hardly of any import at this time. "I''ve done nothing but learn things, about the process of being a leader anyway."


    "Then perhaps you could show me some new tricks? What say you and me have a sparring moment right here?"


    "I''m sorry Kite, but I''ve learned nothing new of spells or physical skills just yet... Right now, I''m not in a mood to fight with ten percent of my energy."


    "At least you''re still as confident as ever... Where is that annoying old man anyway? I''m sure he would disapprove of the idea of actual practice."


    Kite hasn''t heard? Why do the mages here insist so much to secrecy on every little detail? It would be safer if everyone knew that some of our own staff is a potential danger to society. "Shadler Cowl has been detained and arrested by the mage council," Danton announced. The surprising look on Kite''s face was almost immediate, proving he really knew nothing about this. "His dangerous lack of following protocol when training champions is punishable by expulsion."


    Kite held his breath for a moment. He already had the impression that Danton didn''t like Shadler. Kite knew he himself hated that guy. But... "So you felt threatened by that old wizard?"


    "What, me?" Danton pointed to himself, surprised that Kite would even get that kind of idea. "No, I had nothing to do with that arrest. I actually just found out myself."


    "Oh..." May that then be the reason Danton has been fairly distant in his thoughts today? Kite couldn''t blame the guy, for he too has been learning some very interesting aspects to new training techniques. "Well anyway," Kite figured it was best to just ignore that and move on now. Best of all, if Danton has no personal assistant strictly enforcing stupid safeguards for secrets, now would be the best time to learn what''s really going on in this tower. "I wanted to ask you what other ways there are for getting more powerful."


    "What did you, forget?" Danton nodded his head and reminded the guy who should already know better. "You train hard every day and you improve quickly. I noticed how much more refined your skills were when you and I fought last time, compared to the time before I found Entiene."


    Right, that big dragon thing. "So, are you still using that Entiene?"


    "No," Danton admitted shamefully. "You''ve convinced me that my skills on their own should become more flawless before I even think about resorting to such brutal tactics. I know using summons like that are legal and all, but perhaps I should hold back a little better from now on."


    "Oh," Kite replied. "So, it really doesn''t make you more powerful?"


    "What gave you that idea? There is no other way to strengthen yourself here Kite."


    "Well I sure hope not Danton... But a man''s got to wonder."


    Now with a serious expression of attention, Danton diverted all of his chain of thought to the man standing in front of him. Kite Fargenst. He does not deal in traceless theories... He knows something already. No sense in holding those questions back. "What do you know?"


    "I actually came here to find out for myself. Thought we could talk about it over a casual sparring match."


    "Tch!" Danton resumed his pacing, only now in the direction towards Kite, with his Luminous Artemus staff in hand for the personal protection Sirus begged him to hold onto. Actually, he was supposed to be using the Mega-Staff for protection, but one backwards thing may lead to another here. Kite isn''t stupid. Somehow, someway, he knows something strange is happening in this tower. "So you figured, I''ve been here long enough to trade you inside secrets about the government, and put them in their place?"


    Good assumption, but Kite had another interest that he chose to express right now. "Tempting, but no... I''ve been speaking to a lot of the people on our staff list, and I''ve also heard some very interesting rumors. When I approach anyone about it though, it either turns into a conversation of denial, or some who fear getting involved any further. If the rumors are true, the higher-ups have an interesting trick, some way of removing what might actually be limits on Leray magic."


    If these are just so called rumors, how the hell could Kite hit the nail right on the head?! This a dangerous thing to get involved in, and he need not poke his nose in this horrible fire! "I want you to stop talking to our staff, or asking them direct questions about that kind of stuff."


    Danton sounds serious, but is that fear or anger in his voice? "Why would you even ask that of me? Unless, you know what these rumors are all about."


    "Kite!" Danton had to calm himself quickly, and he tried again from his perspective. "You and I are not idiots. We both know that something is up in Eldora Tower. The secrets and rumors all reek to hell."


    "Then why can''t I know? I thought we were friends!"


    "We are Kite. But I don''t know much more than you."


    "Oh, bullshit man."


    With another approach of prospect, Danton tired again to convince Kite to drop his investigation. If he learns the truth about lunar magic, it''s entirely possible me might use it for his own benefits. "I know there is something. But you have to give this time before figuring it out. I''ve been treading as lightly as I can."


    What? So he doesn''t know what this is? "Tell me then. Are we in any kind of real danger?"


    "I believe so," he allowed. "Something here doesn''t feel right, and it may regard some dark secret about Leray magic. Or it could be something else going on in the mage council that they don''t want us to know. But I think some people are disappearing, and I don''t want to trip over the wrong wire."


    So it is fear. Danton doesn''t know what, but he does understand how serious the matter is. "If these rumors are something worth silencing people over, all the more reason to find out."


    "If you keep asking around what these secrets might be, the council will get involved, and have you expelled from Eldora Tower, and then there won''t be anything I can do to fix it. I need you to be as discrete as possible, maybe just let me handle the investigation altogether. Nobody else can know about this."


    Because it''s dangerous... Danton is smarter than he looks, and Kite admired such principles of protection. "Very well. But for the record," Kite pointed to Danton, "I don''t like being left in the dark about this. If there is something stronger than ordinary Leray magic, then I think we would be best to figure it out, and use it to our own advantage."


    "Let''s just focus right now on our defense. I want you, Gleeon, Vanoss, Mainne, and myself training as best as we can as fast as we can. We can''t fight anything if we aren''t in a peak condition. And if some stupid Leray wielders come and kick any one of us out of the tower, then I won''t be able to help anyone."


    "Does this make us all a team, of us against them?"


    Danton knew it could be true, but the unification to the best idea is what''s really at stake right now. "We aren''t just Eldora elites anymore Kite. We''re the guardians of Eldora Tower. But what are we protecting? That''s what I need to find out, as soon as I possibly can. So you need to improve your power in your own way, not by their standards."


    "I can accept that decision, Sir Danton."


    "Don''t call me Sir Danton. It makes me sound like a king. I am no champion of anything."


    Why sell yourself so short Danton? "Okay, Brash. I''ll be heading back down to my training room to figure it all out."


    "Good. I''ll see you around." The longer Kite keeps himself occupied with the arts and skills of self-defense based on Leray magic, the better. If he even thinks about trying to learn how to control lunar magic, the process would simply kill him and anyone else who tries to learn about it. When Kite left the area to head back down to his room, Danton knew now how dangerous this secret really was. Mage Sirus wasn''t kidding. Not everyone is stupid enough to risk their lives on pure lunar magic, but Kite is one of the few who might try it. He''s misguided. The danger here isn''t the people; it''s the magic itself.


    Danton held his shoulder in place to twirl and stretch his arm. He really could go for a sparring practice now, but with Kite, it''s asking for overkill... Mainne would be capable however of blowing out random spells, the kind that wouldn''t do him in. "A casual match with Mainne... I''ll go and set one up."


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Ragno Fortress ~ Ace Combat 6 OST</a>


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    After asking Mainne for a sparring match, Danton closely emphasized that this test will not be a duel. In response, Mainne accepted the idea. She seemed a little stressed or on edge, and eager to use Leray spells with someone else. Danton felt the same way, since this could easily help him clear his mind. Without using any of the official rules of energy scopes or dome shields, they both prepared to fight and talk at the same time. Danton planned to do this with Vanoss and Gleeon later in the evening if time would allow, but his thoughts swiftly shifted to the long arsenal of abilities and skills that Leray magic held to his memory.


    "I really wish they would give us more to do out here..." Mainne felt calmer just talking to Danton about anything she felt, but she also focused easily on charging and releasing the MP energy needed to use her special skills. For her in particular, the difficulty was non-existent. "Ice Wall!" Mainne launched a powerful wide but short line of magical energy, shooting upwards slightly with sharp pillars of ice as the wave advanced forward with a quick speed, but it was still no faster than the last time she used the spell.


    Ice Wall? Danton only remembered seeing this spell used once, and only by the same person. It might be something unofficial or simply unpopular. Despite this, the spell can be just as effective in dealing damage to any target. With the special elements of ice damage, the person who suffers the attack also has their external body temperature lowered significantly. Get hit with enough ice abilities, and you approach hypothermia. It''s a double-effective tactic for Leray battling, but Mainne pulls this off better than anyone else.


    As for a counter skill to defend himself, Danton employed a common Fire Wall spell, which collided with Mainne''s Ice Wall to cancel each other out. Though, with fire elements having an advantage of power compared to ice, Danton''s Fire Wall should have overpowered the Ice Wall and continued going forward. Still, it made short work of Mainne''s tactics... Not that she seemed surprised by it. She isn''t trying very hard to hit Danton right now. Luckily, that''s the kind of attitude Danton was feeling towards Mainne. "Still sticking to ice powers?"


    "Yeah, but in practice, they don''t seem to work that well."


    "If anyone can pull of mastering the ice element of Leray magic, I know it''s you Mainne. You shouldn''t give that up. I actually like a person who can pick a tactic and stick to it as well as you do."


    "Th-thank you."


    "Everyone has their own thing. If I were Kite, I would have just used one of my swords to cut through the ice as it approaches me. But... I''m not that crazy."


    "Yeah." Mainne stopped and glanced at the ground in thought, but before she could stress herself out any further, Danton tried to toss her another spell.


    "Prone Strike." Sending away the Shadow Wave of doom, Danton''s actions forced Mainne to shift her state of defense, and she tried to counter the spell immediately, given the fact that Prone Strike has never before been dodged without some form of teleportation.


    "Earth Glave!" Mainne''s Earth Glave was lifted in time to intercept the Prone Strike, but unlike most Shadow Waves, Prone Strikes are even more powerful than Firesurge spells. This one broke all of the rocks of Earth Glave as if it were a pile of rubble, and Mainne was forced to suffer the consequences of that problem. Feeling the full blast of the magical based explosion pushing her back off her feet, Mainne tried as hard as she could to ignore that pain and recover. When she did, she could only think about the hurting bruises that were around her body from that blast. Danton wasn''t trying anything else right now. Does he call that going easy?


    Earth Glave was a good instinct. Mainne almost defused the situation perfectly. "I know there isn''t much to do right now Mainne, but there will be soon. The mage council does get their elites involved with their political business whenever they can. It won''t be long before they have you traveling all over the place, learning how to fight or even teach other people the proper way to balance Leray skills. But for right now, we are simply guardians for this tower."


    "Guardians?" Danton has never used that word before. "And what would us guardians be defending?"


    Danton side glanced his face, trying to change the ugly scenery of this room to something else, though it didn''t help very much to his imagination. The very thought of lunar magic hurt at his core. "Honestly, I don''t know yet."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Phantoms (FFX) ~ Final Fantasy X (Remaster)</a>


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    Wait a minute... Why is Danton acting this way? He''s not having any fun sparring at all. He''s working out some kind of stressful problem. It''s as clear as the day itself. "Danton? What happened?"


    "Nothing I can''t handle."


    "Is this about Shadler getting arrested?"


    So not everyone was kept in the dark about that? Or maybe Kite actually told Mainne what happened. It is possible; the guy had at least twenty minutes to talk to Mainne and then get out of her site before Danton could get down here, but it doesn''t matter. She is still covering up that side of her hip where the Prone Strike made its effect. "Does it hurt Mainne? That Prone Strike I sent your way, such a powerful but legal spell is capable of employing such pain."


    Why is he worried about that? "What? I''m fine Danton. I bet my health barely took a hit."


    Liar! "You''re telling me that you just shook that off? Most normal people probably would at least complain about it. But we''re all different for some reason. You don''t have to force yourself to accept the pain of taking all of these hits from magic."


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "What are you talking about Danton?" Mainne didn''t remember him ever babbling like this. Why would Danton ever think that Mainne of all people wouldn''t like Leray magic because physical pain is allowed? "I have no reason to complain! This pain is part of Leray magic, and I enjoy the response I get for making a mistake in a direct battle."


    "So then, you love Leray magic, like everyone else?"


    "Why wouldn''t I?" Mainne fired back. "You''re the one who showed me how much fun it is to use magic to battle this way. What is with you right now?"


    So this is my fault... Sorry Mainne. Danton shut his eyes for a moment, apologizing in silence. "Nothing." Danton changed his stance with his staff held outward in both hands like a pole, expecting another exchange of magic to initiate from the other side. "Let''s get back to it."


    Mainne however crossed her arms together, holding her hands shut in rebellion. "No. I refuse to throw anymore magic around, because you obviously didn''t come here to fight. You came here to blow off some steam."


    "I thought I had already made that perfectly clear."


    "Then what can''t you tell me? What is happening in this stupid tower that is so important, that you have to keep a secret from everyone?"


    "When I find out, I''ll tell you."


    "But you must already know. You''re acting strange right now, and that can''t just be a coincidence."


    Why does Mainne have to care about this? "I don''t know if I can trust the information that I have, and I don''t want to trust that it''s real. So I need more time to figure out what sick, twisted experiments are happening in this building before I get too worked up about it."


    "Experiments?" What is he talking about? Is Danton saying that Eldora Tower is not the building it chooses to appear as? "What did you learn? I don''t care if the information is faulty or not. I need to know."


    "But I don''t trust what is going on. Mage Sirus made me swear an oath of secrecy. Meanwhile, I have Lawrence Citrin walking out on us without uttering a single word." Danton nearly shouted his last sentence in anger, letting Mainne experience his confused emotions about it all. Lawrence should never have just left the way he did. There are supposed to be debriefings to new champions about important things like this. "I had Shadler being the shady guy he is, handing me tools I don''t understand, nor should I have access to them." Danton let his voice rise with his frustration, and he could see Mainne''s shift in expression from here as she become more worrisome, but it didn''t matter to him anymore. The only power they''ve ever had is Leray magic, the same Leray magic invented by criminals, the same Leray magic that can be twisted into a weapon! "And now I can''t even trust this stupid power!" In his rage, Danton blasted magic from his free left hand, sending a Crush Wave down the side of the circular arena until it crashed into the wall. From the material of Eldora Tower, no damage was done to the structure, but his sudden outburst made the room feel quieter, like everyone was looking at him in shock. Right now, there is no one here he can trust.


    Mainne couldn''t believe what sort of things these mages were doing to him over the past month, but it obviously wasn''t having a very good effect on his mentality. Danton would never lose his temper like this, let alone cast a spell while denouncing the validity of Leray magic as it is. But with her sudden feeling of curiosity diminishing, her thoughts were soon replaced by the weight of Danton''s suffering. He must have learned something highly disturbing, and this Sirus guy told him to never tell another living soul! Is he being cornered, blackmailed by something so bad, Danton can''t trust his own team members? Whatever it is, it''s hurting him! It''s hurting him so much that he doesn''t want to use magic anymore. He doesn''t even want to move. Mainne tightened her jaw and tapped off of each foot to approach Danton.


    Danton could see Mainne speed walking towards him, perhaps to try something stupid like hugging him... But Danton didn''t want to move right now. Trying to stop her or tell her the truth would make no difference anymore. Leray magic will forever be tainted as this tool made for destruction. At least it has that potential. Even if the planners never intended for Leray magic to be harmful, it always will be one way or another. "I won''t talk about it Mainne. I don''t want to hurt you with what I''ve learned."


    Mainne stopped just a couple of feet away from him, but she wasn''t about to let Danton drown alone in his misery. That just isn''t fair! "I''m not giving you that choice. I want to hear it from you, and only from you. What did you learn about Eldora Tower? What did mage Sirus tell you?"


    Danton held his right to silence even in front of Mainne, but he didn''t look her in the eyes, even with her pressing him like this. "I won''t burden you with such a stupid truth as that."


    "So what then? You''re just done? You''re done being the leader of Sprawn Valley, done becoming a Leray master?"


    "Leray master," Danton repeated in question, almost laughing at the term. "No. I''ve quit that idea altogether. I don''t want to be a part of that anymore. I refuse."


    "But... But..." Mainne panned around nervously. All of the memories she had since Danton challenged Kite on Route 96 resurfaced quickly. Before meeting Danton, all she''s ever done was mess around with magic aimlessly, and only found interests in making credits. But it was never really fun... Nothing about this was fun until everyone thought of magic as an art of infinite self-improvement, a training exercise that was only about sporty challenges and finding out who is better in the given moment. Does he think all of that was worthless? "What about everything we''ve done together? Defeating gradyents? Developing new skills and tactics? Winning all of our battles!? I thought you told me Leray magic was all about having fun!"


    "Well I was wrong!" Danton retorted. She still doesn''t get it... "Leray magic and battles, they''re all nothing but a big fat lie! All of it!" Danton watched Mainne''s heart sink with his bold statement, but he proudly kept to it. Screw keeping secrets! They all want to know how evil Leray magic is; they might as well figure it out right here, right now!


    "What? A lie?" Mainne didn''t ever expect to hear something like that, especially from Danton... But what does that even mean? Is he talking about something meta-physical?


    Sorry Mainne, but this is for your own good! "I have trained to use Leray magic for my entire life, and what a waste of time that was!"


    "How could you ever say something so stupid?!" Mainne didn''t want to think about the possibility that he was right. No, he isn''t right at all! Danton has gone insane! Still, the tears were forming in her eyes just from hearing that. The memories she''s held back for so long, they''re going to resurface over this!


    "You really think Leray magic is this bright and glorious force given to us by these clowns? These mages of Eldora Tower do put in the work to make the veil active, but they are hardly the source of magic in this country. Leray magic is nothing more than a fabrication thrown our way to cover up the truth, the origin of magic itself. I don''t even want to think about using it anymore."


    He... He does know the whole truth? "How?" Why is this happening? "Magic can''t be a lie! We use it all the time!"


    "And would you still use that magic, if you knew how dangerous the force is? What if your magic one day kills somebody, or kills you instead? Would you still use Leray magic, calling it a sport of fun? Could you use magic knowing how many lives were sacrificed to filter the process over all these years?"


    Mainne couldn''t reply. She was too freaked out for the moment. Danton sounds crazy right now, but he is the only one who is being fed this information. This secret about Leray magic, is literally about Leray magic, isn''t it? There''s some sort of cost to using it the people don''t know? Or can it be used to kill people regardless of the veil? "I... Damn it! This..."


    Danton felt some sympathy for Mainne''s reaction. She can''t even process the possibility that his words are true. How could she, growing up on the stuff? How many people live their lives unaware of their dangerous attachments to Leray magic? The answer to that belongs to the population of everyone living in Sprawn Valley, and that is a haunting thought for every citizen around the world.


    Mainne couldn''t take it anymore. The truth about Leray magic is something horrible! It''s so bad that Danton hates the very thing he grew to love, but this idea that everyone can be kept in the dark won''t work anymore. "I have to know the truth." Mainne knew Danton wouldn''t be so willing to tell her anything beyond this moment, so she added to her request by holding both of her arms out, spread apart to a near T-pose. She exerted a great amount of MP energy, shooting ice elemental magic out of both palms of her hands without the support of a glyphring, and on both sides of each exit point, Mainne soon created a solid wall of thick ice, blocking the pathway from the bridge of the arena room to the elevator system on both sides of the field.


    Mainne''s sudden actions triggered Danton''s alertness, realizing that Mainne just trapped herself and Danton to the inside of this room using her magic. The ice walls were impressively thick and secure, preventing anyone coming into the room from getting in... "What are you doing?!" This makes no sense. Mainne must know that any experienced user of Leray magic would have an easy time breaking through those ice walls... But the security team might not. She wants to keep people out of here, not trap herself in.


    "You are going to tell me everything you know about this."


    "You honestly think you could force me to? With this kind of threat, I suppose the truth would only make you more dangerous."


    "Dangerous?" Mainne made it clear to Danton just by the tone of her expression that he could not be any more wrong by that assumption. "You''ve just learned that Leray magic is a lie to the world, and I have every reason to beg for the answer for why that is."


    "You''ll live better without knowing," he argued.


    Mainne changed her gaze, making sure she didn''t blink while disclosing her personal secrets to someone so broken inside. "I have a sister out there in the world. Someone I love who I''ve never spoken to since six years ago. And do you want to know why?" With Danton''s immediate interest in her personal story highlighted by his less defensive pose, Mainne proceeded to tell him everything. "Because she''s one of the people who refuses to live inside of Sprawn Valley. She never trusted magic, even though she''s never had a good reason to reject the ideas of it."


    "Even if she never learned the truth in person, which I know she didn''t, your sister has the right idea."


    "But I didn''t share her idea. I''ve been out here!" Mainne shouted, climbing in her thoughts, reaching the painful moment she lived with every day. "Fighting to prove her wrong, to have fun with other people using Leray magic! People are happy using their skills in battle, and I had no reason to doubt any of that. So she and I split up. We haven''t been on speaking terms since."


    "Well you should be able to change that now."


    Mainne stamped her foot into the ground, echoing throughout the room. "No! I just wasted my entire life learning how to use magic. I gave up being cool with my family just because I thought I was doing the right thing, and now you come in here, tell me that I''m wrong, but you won''t explain to me why? If you won''t tell me what the hell is going on here, I''ll beat the truth out of you! And if that doesn''t work, I''ll target Sirus next."


    So she doesn''t care about how powerful and dangerous magic is? No, Mainne is just upset that she threw away her relationship with her own family at a young age. It''s actually not something uncommon in this broken world. But every reason she has done that for is all in vain. She should be upset. Her family isn''t in this for the exploitation of the Crystal Core. "Very well," Danton finally agreed. "I know you will not be happier knowing this, but I see now why I can''t stop you from learning the truth."


    "Then start talking Danton. I need to know what is so bad about Leray magic. What are these assholes lying to everyone about?" Mainne just stood there, waiting patiently for Danton to try and flush it out of his system. He obviously didn''t want to repeat talking about what he learned, let alone try and believe it himself. "We''re supposed to be friends, but I need to know who I can trust."


    With a moment of hesitation, Danton lifted his staff, firing off his own field of magic. The field was invisible, but the results were noticeable. Every wall mounted camera in the room, visible mostly with their infrared lights suddenly shut down. Without their red lights on as an indication of power, Danton gave himself the circumstances he needed. "I''ve just disabled every camera and hidden microphone in this entire room for ten minutes. We should have enough privacy to talk about it now."


    Mainne panned around the room, checking all of the cameras. If nobody can hear or see in this room, the teams monitoring them might assume there is a glitch. Either way, somebody will be down here soon, breaking through the walls of this ice, though Danton also bought further time.


    Danton didn''t know if this is right or wrong, but right now, Mainne''s face begged him for any hint of more information. She''s beyond the point of curiosity, and now she''ll drown in the truth alongside him. "I..." Danton had to reconfigure his chain of thought, pushing straight to the main idea. "Mages are not the source of magic. The light cast down from our moon gives us that energy."


    "Energy that comes from the moonlight. I thought everyone knew that."


    "No," Danton denied. "Moonlight doesn''t give people the power of Leray energy. Even in its pure unconverted format, nobody can just use it as they wish. The magic is stored in the crystals, specially extracted from the source, and are concentrated into these glass formations specially extracted from Eupharus Island."


    "So... Mh," Mainne shut herself up. She needed to let Danton continue, not interrupt with every question. But so far, there is no big deal. If magic comes from the moon, and is stored into the crystals, that''s not such a bad thing at all. Then the mages convert that into usable Leray magic for everyone to use. That''s what everyone knows...


    "They store the moon''s power, and convert it to Leray energy with this massive machine. It''s all further stretched then this tower, but it hides in plain sight. The Crystal Core."


    "The Crystal Core? But, if a machine is doing all the work, how is that such a bad thing? Are you about to tell me that this is the reason you now hate Leray magic?"


    "Mainne!" Danton grunted. "You''re missing the point. Leray magic is only a fraction of what really exists in the world. It''s a cap over lunar energy. In its pure format, that kind of magic can destroy anything."


    "But, people can''t use pure lunar energy."


    "That''s where the lies all begin."


    "What?"


    "Anyone with the knowledge and necessary power source can suddenly invoke lunar magic, and in doing so, the power level far exceeds anything our top mages know. But those who use it pay the price with their lives." Mainne opened her mouth, but thought about it longer, and revealed to Danton where her predicable thought process was heading. "You might be thinking that makes it a problem that solves itself. If you die from using lunar magic, then just don''t use it, but apparently, nobody knows this. There are plenty of ways crooked people could coerce others to use such magic on their behalf, holding back what the process could cost them."


    "But if that''s true... We would have to tell people about this."


    "There''s more."


    "More?" The source of all magic comes from the moon, but that source is halfway usable. What more could there be to ruin the experience for everyone?


    "Leray magic and dark magic are exactly the same kind of energy."


    Dark magic? The same kind of forbidden magic that kills people who are targeted by it? "But that''s, that''s impossible!"


    "Sirus told me everything! Dark magic is simply Leray magic twisted in the expelled energy signature, the energy waves inverted specifically to negate the effects of the Leray veil."


    "I don''t understand. If dark magic is the same, how can people use it and not be hurt?"


    "You would still have to learn how to invert the magic signature into dark magic, and while it might not sound easy, Sirus told me that doing something like that isn''t outside of everyone''s possibility."


    "Shouldn''t we be using a different kind of veil then? Shouldn''t we be protecting ourselves from that kind of harm?"


    Danton tried again one more time, trying to break through Mainne''s natural state of denial. "Dark magic is possible because of the veil. Mainne, you have to understand that people can use dark magic because of the mere existence of Leray magic. They both come from the exact same source, so you can''t just cut one out."


    "But, then..."


    She still looks confused, but maybe she''s getting it now. "Think about it. Lunar magic kills people who use it. Leray magic, the supposed great and glorious answer keeps people alive, but also exempts the rule of dark magic, which is also just another form of Leray energy, given in potential to everyone here by the same veil said to protect us. On one hand, you might want to tell the world about the danger of using lunar magic outside of Sprawn Valley, raise awareness to protect them. But they won''t understand any of that without the additional explanation of dark magic. When you raise the awareness of that, in the fact that just anyone could use it..."


    "Then you give people those kinds of ideas." Mainne felt it in her mind, the epiphany that Danton was going through... But even that doesn''t feel all too dangerous. If the people know, they can hurt themselves more easily. If they don''t know, it means their own leaders lie to them on a daily basis, but then what is the right thing to take from this?


    "My point is," Danton concluded, "magic can be used for what it gets used for today, but it can also be used to destroy everything. As long as that veil exists, nobody is ever truly safe. If word gets out that people can use lunar energy, even at the cost of their lives, it proves to the world that magic isn''t something limited within Sprawn Valley. People will get the ideas to set up additional veils using hoards of crystals, and then create their own twisted form of magic wherever they want to."


    "They... People can use magic outside of Sprawn Valley?"


    "It is actually possible. It would never be easy, but that''s why Sirus and the others guard the secrets of the Crystal Core." A loud sudden bang bellowed in vibration of the room. Danton''s attention along with Mainne''s was attracted to the area behind the ice wall Mainne created earlier. It was one of the security staff of Eldora Tower, pounding behind the transparent crystal wall. Danton knew they would come here eventually, but now Mainne knows the truth too. Sirus can no longer divide Danton from the others with this horrible knowledge. So bring it on!


    Mainne nervously looked to Danton for answers, but she wasn''t sure what he was thinking anymore... Magic really isn''t some toy everything thought it is. It has the power to become dangerous, and that''s the big secret Danton has been suffocated with. "If all of this is true, then what''s our role? What''s our purpose for being here?"


    Danton looked Mainne in the eyes with promise. He hated that she was a part of this now, but there is no other choice. "You and I, people who understand this truth also understand how dangerous it could be if word really got outside of the tower. People would come here to try and learn the secrets of the Crystal Core. Even most members of the mage council don''t know what''s going on, and now it''s our jobs to remain guardians of this stupid concept of magic."


    "So what? We just lie to everyone in the world? We tell ourselves that it makes them safer?" Mainne couldn''t believe it was possible to justify such a blatant fib, but Danton wasn''t going to admit that lying is a bad idea anymore.


    "If we somehow fail, and this blows up in our face, I''ll shut it all down myself. Sirus says he would let me if things really got out of hand. I don''t know if I can trust his word."


    "Shut it down?"


    "The veil. Apparently, it wouldn''t take all that much to destroy the machinery powering the Leray veil."


    "But then nobody would be able to use magic at all!"


    "No magic also means no more danger. It would suck for everyone involved, but at least nobody could use dark magic to harm other people anymore."


    "I... I can''t do that!" Mainne pushed Danton back, causing him to stumble in his balance, to his own surprise. "Destroy the veil? Destroy Leray magic? I won''t do it Danton!"


    Why now? Why did she want to know? Why understand how dangerous this is and let it continue?! "Why Mainne?! Tell me one good reason why I should let this continue!"


    "Even if magic is dangerous..." Mainne was thinking this through as she spoke back to Danton, bringing everything she knew back into her words. "Think of all the lives you would destroy. Even I don''t want to lose Leray magic."


    "Even after all that? Even after learning how evil it is to the world?"


    "You''re not evil!"


    Danton heard Mainne''s voice change as she replied, and it sounded like she was about to break down and cry. "Me? We''re talking about magic, not people."


    "But you''re the one who showed me how amazing Leray magic is. You proved how to properly use it, and how to have a responsible, well thought out battle. You showed me that using magic really is as fun as it looks."


    "But I taught you these things, believing in the same lie being sold to everyone."


    Mainne refused to accept this. Danton might have lost his senses from that kind of pain, but Mainne could still remember. "It''s not a lie." Her tone was dropping somewhat, but Mainne held her beliefs as firm as she could before those guards break through the ice. "We both knew how to use Leray magic, and we both knew how far we should or shouldn''t go trying to live by it."


    "I don''t understand you Mainne. I really don''t."


    "It''s not the magic that does good or bad to the world. It''s us, the people who wield it. We''re the ones who get to decide how we use magic. Evil people will always do evil things, with or without a veil."


    Danton tensed in place from her valiant words. Even after learning the real truth about everything, Mainne still believes. She still believes in the role and purpose of Leray magic. It''s not just her. Even that shady Sirus tried to beckon the same line. What is it with people and their Leray magic? What do they really believe it has the power to do? "Even if what you say is true, it will never change the fact that Leray magic is physically inferior to dark magic or lunar magic."


    "You''re wrong!" Mainne could punch Danton in his peach fuzzed chin, if only he weren''t so easily provoked. "We got stronger by training, stronger the right way, with the right kind of magic. I''m not afraid of some stupid misconduct of our traditions, caused by some dark spot in somebody''s heart."


    "But the dangers for what it can be used for¡ª"


    Mainne instantly cut Danton off, finally certain about what she needed to do. "Screw the dangers! Every day that people live is a risk! People in the outside world do it every single day just fine. But I''ll fight for what I know magic can be used for. It''s the same path we''ve been on for centuries now. Everyone uses Leray magic to play or have fun. You and I use it to get stronger, but also because we actually like to learn all kinds of new spells. You really think a threat of any caliber would shut me down just like that?"


    "But Mainne..." How is she so solid right now? How could Mainne ever accept this? She still wants the veil online? She really wants to believe that nobody in the world would ever turn around and use this power for their own selfish desires?


    "Leray magic is a beautiful thing that I love to use, all the time, every day, and I won''t let you shut it down. If you see somebody trying to exploit that system, then you deliver my attention to them, and they''ll have to answer to me! I''ll protect the values of Leray magic. That''s what I''ve decided to do."


    Mainne. Even with every bit of knowledge given to her, she is still in love with Leray magic... No, this isn''t denial. I''ve never seen someone so steady and determined. That look in her eyes, it''s not the same as it was a few minutes ago. She''ll tear down the whole world if it means saving the existing idea of Leray magic. Her belief in that cannot be broken, no matter how dangerous it gets. She wants to take the same approach Sirus has made; keep the system alive, and bring anyone who would exploit Leray magic to justice with everything they''ve got. It''s unbelievable, but...


    In the sudden moment of silence for thought, Mainne''s ice walls on both sides collapsed, shattering into smaller fragments of frozen glass, and flooding the entire space with the flush noise the shattering caused. And now, Danton only had seconds to finally decide which side he would stand on. Sirus really believes that magic can still be used for greatness, in ways that would outclass the dangerous desires of vulnerable people. But, "I don''t trust Sirus to know what the right thing to do is. But I trust you Mainne... I trust you." Danton needed to feel what he was saying, to know that Mainne is right. She has to be.


    Mainne could see the people from her peripheral vision, the guards shouting at both of them. They must think that their precious champion is in some kind of trouble. But that doesn''t matter right now. "I¡ª"


    Danton stepped closer to Mainne, grabbing both of her hands in a grip, holding them up level to his torso. "I don''t want to let go. I lived all my life involved with Leray magic, and my father died believing in it. Somehow, I was willing to walk away from that, but I won''t do it again. I won''t destroy the thing you love and hold so dear to you."


    Mainne suddenly felt a slight tightness in her chest. It became hard to breathe, harder to swallow her own saliva. Her thoughts became less organized with Danton''s close stare, but he is being completely sincere. He really does believe in Leray magic. He believes in her, far greater than that.


    "Sir Danton! We got here as fast as we could!" One of the soldiers of the General Army arrived, wearing a full body suit with a static metal helmet, used to partially deepen and conceal his voice. He is assigned to Eldora Tower security for the whole week.


    The sudden intrusion forced Mainne to snap out of the awkward trance she lost herself in for three long seconds, and she swiped her hands away from Danton''s, clearing her throat and flushing her face of previous expression. She could feel sweat accumulating under her arms, and her heart pounding inside of her chest. It had to be these stupid soldiers making her nervous. She went with that conclusion while Danton tried to calm them all down.


    "I want all of you to relax. Nobody is getting hurt."


    "The surveillance went dark in this room. We have orders to monitor you for your own safety."


    Danton glanced back a look to Mainne, and then back to the soldier, learning quickly what else would need to change. "I don''t know where this is coming from, but you''re new orders are going to be coming from me. And from now on, you''ll answer only to the chief of the General Army, rightful president of our people. You can start by telling your former commander that random surveillance for security attached only to myself will no longer be tolerated unless I specify."


    "But sir?"


    "No. If you really want to protect me, then you''ll also have to protect every member of my team. Mainne, Vanoss, Gleeon, Kite, and myself. We''re all going to run Eldora Tower together, not separated by these ugly arenas."


    Mainne felt light on her feet listening to Danton argue the small squabble over authority. It felt more like he was standing up for her and their friends, and it is the right thing to do.


    "Along with the changes that will be coming to this tower. If your commander doesn''t like the report you give him, he''ll have to come and face me. I''ll have his ass on a stick if he thinks he can control the gravity of this tower. Am I clear?!"


    "Yes sir!" The soldier changed attitude quickly, turning around to the primary lift, heading down to the main entrance of the facility where his commanding officer would be, and his band of other troops were forced to follow him.


    Mainne and Danton earned another moment alone together, each contemplating what their next move might be. Danton eyed Mainne again, who presented some kind of mood he had never seen before. Her face was looking downward, but her lips perched into an uncertain smile, with color building into her cheeks. "You okay?"


    "Huh? I''m fine!" Mainne stretched her alertness as high as it could go, now aware that Danton still had things he needed to do.


    "Good. There is something very important I need to talk to Sirus about, but I won''t feel comfortable doing this unless you''re there with me. We''re going to go see this SOB ourselves. If he won''t tell us what we need to know, you''ll help me get the truth out of him another way."


    It wasn''t clear what else Danton could possibly learn from mage Sirus, but if he has a lead worth looking into, Mainne was certain it was worth the trouble. Doing this with Danton would be icing on the cake. "I''ll do anything." She couldn''t get her next two words out. Mainne felt she would enjoy doing anything, as long as Danton is there with her. But to say that out loud, it''s just too embarrassing.


    "Let''s go then." Danton turned forward to the primary lift, heading back to his champion chambers, and in the direction where he would find Sirus. This guy is going to have to spill more words than ever before if he wants his precious veil to stay online. The time for secrets is finally over.

 Chapter 34: Shared Home

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    <03/16/1972 ¨C 01:41 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    "Well somebody better figure it out right now!" Nyar stomped on his own carpet, ready to pull his hair with the current situation. Jane is passed out on the couch, and her hands are glowing with Leray magic, something that shouldn''t exist beyond the world of the veil. Something is happening that shouldn''t. Either the veil''s range of protection is a lie, or Jane is something extra special, and a danger to us all.


    Danny understood why Nyar was so frustrated right now. None of this makes any sense. "I don''t know what to do yet Nyar, but we''ll figure it out."


    Nyar pointed to Jane from afar, with his eyes fixed on Danny. "That girl is able to use magic outside of her home." Condensing his point to the boy, Nyar felt the only option remaining. "She is a danger to society, and she must be sent back to Sprawn Valley immediately."


    "What?!"


    Danny stationed himself in between the living room and Nyar, ignoring Taylor''s reaction to handle this herself. He wasn''t going to let Nyar make any kind of decision like that. Jane Venn? A danger to society? Give it a rest Nyar. That''s just going another line too far. "Jane Venn is not somebody else''s weapon or tool you can use at your disposal, and she isn''t a danger to anyone."


    "With those auras around her hands, I beg to differ kid!"


    "All you''ve done since she''s got here is mock the place where she comes from, and try to destroy her concept of living. And now you want to just ship her back like it''s somebody else''s problem? I can''t believe you right now Nyar!"


    "She is somebody else''s problem. She has a family back home who can treat her."


    Danny argued a counter point, "And probably criminals who now know of her existence, who want to study her for that stupid symbol."


    "What is with you people and this symbol nonsense?"


    Nyar doesn''t even understand the concept of magic markings, yet he would dare take control of her life? "That symbol inside of her hand must be responsible for this. It''s the only logical explanation I can think of right now. But you will stop treating her like some dumb kid."


    "She is a kid, and so are you Danny!"


    "She''s a seventeen year old fighter going through something that nobody here understands. The least I''m going to do is help her out!"


    Nyar felt the need to restrain Danny and Taylor, just to force Jane on a ride back to her home. They''re all being irrational right now. This is dangerous stuff! Fortunately for the both of them, the sudden noise of a cellular phone ringing distracted everyone. Danny stepped away first, heading to pick up the mobile device and find out who was trying to contact him.


    It was Jane''s cell phone that was ringing. Danny''s was somewhere else in the house. Being that Jane can''t answer the phone herself, Danny took it upon himself to pick up on the other line, with a fairly certain idea of who would be on the other end. "Nyar residence?"


    "Danny? It''s me, Danton. I would like to ask Jane Venn a few questions if you don''t mind."


    So it is Danton. What a perfect opportunity to get some answers. "It''s Danton," Danny called while covering the speaker of Jane''s cell phone. The identifier held Nyar''s attention, and that of Taylor''s. "I''m sorry Danton, but Jane can''t speak right now. We''re having a problem."


    "Is it something serious? What happened?"


    "We were jumped by your criminal cult! And Jane''s symbol came online despite being away from the veil!"


    "What?!"


    Danny''s ears hurt momentarily from how loudly Danton reacted over the phone. Obviously, Danton wasn''t expecting that kind of news, but still, this guy knows something nobody else does. "She''s unconscious right now. I think she did something and now it''s affecting her health. Danton, you''re going to start giving us answers right now. I want to know what that symbol is. How can Jane use magic outside of the veil? That shouldn''t be physically possible!"


    Moments of silence passed on the other end of the phone, prompting Danny to become more aggressive about the situation. "Hello? Danton, you better start giving me answers this instant."


    "This isn''t supposed to happen. I don''t know what''s going on."


    "You know something!"


    "Were the Scarlets you encountered using magic too?"


    "No," Danny replied. "Just Jane. She turned on her symbol, went berserk, and then passed out. We barely escaped with our lives."


    "What happened?"


    Danny was distracted from the voice behind him. Taylor called his name to the living room, showing Jane now awake and struggling to sit up in her place. Her hands were barely lighting up anymore, but they were still sparking to a small degree. "She''s awake!"


    Nyar didn''t know what to do. This is all happening so fast. But Danton... That guy on the other end of the phone knows something is going on. What is their connection with the champion of Leray magic?


    Jane panned the area around her, but her vision was slightly blurry, her head pounding. Though the scariest thing that freaked her out to a faster state of alertness were the blue painful sparks in the palms of her hands. "What''s happening to me? Taylor!"


    "I''m right here Jane. Try to relax."


    Danny stepped right behind Taylor to reveal himself to Jane. She was fully awake right now, but her pain was also obvious. Taylor felt her forehead again, and turned to Danny to report the existence of a low-grade fever. "Just relax right now Jane. We''re figuring this out for you."


    "What happened? I don''t remember..." Jane tried to think back as far as she could. The last thing she remembered so vaguely was the torture given to her by her captors. "I was kidnapped! But I don''t remember anything beyond that!"


    "I''m sorry Jane," Taylor apologized, "but your symbol came online. I don''t think you were awake for it, but we''re back home now."


    "My symbol?" Jane freaked, staring down at her blank arm. "My symbol came on in New York?! This can''t be happening! That''s not possible!"


    "I''m going to have d¨¦j¨¤ vu and a fever of my own later," Nyar remarked.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Lingering Suspence ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


    <center><iframe title="Lingering Suspence" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7z7B50Kb-bk" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    Danny pressed a button on the phone, placing Danton on speaker mode as he placed the phone on the couch beside Jane. "Danton? She''s awake now."


    "You called Danton?"


    "I called you," Danton corrected through the speakerphone. "You''re symbol came online despite being outside of the veil," he summarized. "Tell me exactly what you can remember, what happened in that moment. It might help me determine what symbol this thing is."


    "I told you, I don''t remember anything except for pain," Jane explained. "It was just pain, and then tingling all over. That''s all I can remember."


    Danny interrupted this nowhere diagnosis to add his version of detail. "Jane used her magic to fight back against the Scarlets, but I don''t think she was fully aware of the situation. She just blasted people with invisible force and unusual bolts of energy until they all fell unconscious. She didn''t seem to care about distinctive differences in her targets."


    "There is no doubt about it then," Danton surmised. "If Jane wasn''t using those familiar spells you''ve seen before, then the magic source she used was pure lunar energy."


    But, "I thought you said it wasn''t possible to use pure lunar magic. You need a veil, right?"


    "Wrong. The veil enables Leray magic converted from lunar magic. But without the veil, any trained mage can use lunar energy in its raw form, usually at the cost of their own life. I must assume that Jane is critically injured from her incident?"


    "I''m a little okay," Jane stretched.


    Danny spoke for Jane back to Danton, since he wasn''t here to see all of the bruises and scars all over Jane''s body. "Emphasis on a little. Her hands are sparking up like a storm."


    "I''ve never heard anything like that."


    "But I have," Danny reminded. "It happened just shortly after she was marked by the spell bomb. Jane never came to the full power she demonstrated to you until a lot of time passed afterwards. But I can''t believe it''s actually possible to use pure magic outside of Sprawn Valley."


    "Neither can I." Nyar finally had his share of the details he didn''t want to hear, and he stepped further into the living room to make sure this bastard could hear him. "Champion of Leray magic. They should be calling you a criminal. How could you know something so important and keep it from everyone?!"


    "Because the people I''m fighting right now want to use that information to exploit such a system. And I think they just figured out how to do it."


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "How?"


    "I don''t have the time to explain the details over the phone. Jane? If what I''m thinking is true, your physical condition will deteriorate until you return to Sprawn Valley. You need to return here now and recharge your energy using the veil. Otherwise, you''ll continue to grow sicker and weaker."


    "I can''t believe people trust Leray magic these days," Nyar spat. "But I will agree to send the girl back to Sprawn Valley."


    "You can''t!" Taylor cried. "If Jane is going back to Sprawn Valley..." She couldn''t finish her thought just yet, as Taylor needed time to analyze the gravity of their situation. If Jane doesn''t go back, she''ll grow sicker and immobile.


    Nyar ignored Taylor''s useless tantrum, speaking only to Danton. "I''ll go ahead and make the arrangements. But it''s only because I want this nonsense out of my sight!"


    "Nyar, was it?" Danton had to come clean with this familiar sensation sooner or later. "I understand why you and a lot of people don''t like Leray magic. You aren''t wrong to assume that it has hidden dangers. We''ve simply kept it hidden to make sure nobody taps into that raw power."


    Nyar pranced in his certainty, despite what the others were feeling. "I knew I was right to assume how dangerous magic really is, but now I have to be even more paranoid. You have any idea how bad this is? People can use magic anywhere they want!"


    "Not true," Danton corrected. "At least, it''s not true yet. People who use lunar magic outside or inside of the veil usually don''t live another week afterwards. Jane appears to be an exception to this rule, but I''ll have to protect her new secrets from the Scarlet Syndicate, or else they will use it."


    "Are you trying to tell me that there is no way to escape the possibility of a full world nightmare?" Nyar needed to know what to expect, how far this could stretch.


    "There is no easy answer. I''ve been on damage control for years, and I know that people hate magic. I personally think they have a right to opt out of the system. But I also need you to trust me on this. Will Danny and Taylor be able to return to Sprawn Valley as well?"


    "Hell no."


    Danny and Taylor both stood up, facing Nyar in complete determination and defiance. "We''re going back," they spoke simultaneously.


    But it was Jane who struggled their argument; she sat up off the couch, holding onto both of their arms, begging for them to never return to such horrors ever again. "Don''t do it." Jane sounded so weak in her voice; she could hear her own echo of noise broken by the damage in her voice and the loss of stamina. "You have family to visit. You need to go back home."


    "Even your crazy friend understands what''s at stake here."


    "But I have no real family to return to. I''m not going back to Kalamo!"


    Danny already knew everyone would understand Taylor''s argument, but there was a reason for him to return to Sprawn Valley as well. It''s a wonderful country, currently in peril when it could be the best place on Earth. Even if it weren''t, Danny knew he could always visit Kalamo whenever he needed to. The credits he could generate with all of his skills as a Leray warrior would quickly draw in enough money for international cruises, or distant flights. "I know I need to visit my folks Nyar, but they''re just going to have to wait longer. I''m going back to Sprawn Valley with Jane, and Taylor is coming with us too."


    "I''m not letting you do that. You already know that Danton isn''t asking you to go back there for sightseeing."


    Jane''s expression went confused, and she faced the cell phone set on the table. "Danton? Is that true?"


    "It is. I want to have their skills, combined with your own and our elite forces to handle the situation here better. The Scarlet Syndicate has suddenly become hyperactive. They''ve been attacking all of our towns and cities, burning infrastructure to the ground, and it seems from our reports that this is all being done just to stir chaos in the faith of the people. Everyone is questioning our ability to wage war with these murderers, and worse, I''ve not been able to pinpoint or locate their leaders anywhere. The same could be said for their hideout. We also can''t do too much to approach them. These guys use dark magic to defend themselves; that makes them a severe danger to society, and to our own armed forces."


    Nyar twisted his fist in a rage, prepared to drive his wrist through the phone right now. "Sending my kids to some faraway land to fight a war for you is something I won''t let happen. If you don''t like how the people are using your magic, then just destroy the source right now, shut it all down."


    "What?!" What is Nyar talking about? Jane refused to believe such a thing would even be possible, but Danton''s mild hesitation made it all too believable!


    "If we shut down our veil, it will raise too much awareness about how our system operates. With that, we''ll simply have the Scarlet Cult setting up their own artificial veil in other cities around the world. Right now, we don''t have the advantage, even if we were to kill the switch on our own magic, but I''ve seen Danny and Taylor battle with my own eyes. Together with Jane, I know they can defend themselves incredibly well. However, that decision is still up to you Nyar. You are their parent."


    "Rightfully so."


    "But, you''re not our family!" Taylor stampeded in place, refusing to have Nyar control her decision to travel and help protect Jane.


    "I warned you that I was going to try and shift legal custody of you over to me. I haven''t succeeded just yet, but it''s only a matter of time Taylor. You don''t want to live with your original parents; I get that. But I''ll be damned if I''m going to let you just waltz back into that hell hole I pulled you out of."


    "I want to fight," Jane argued. "I want to go back to Sprawn Valley and fight these people. It''s not because I''m addicted to magic Nyar. I just want people like you to stop having reasons to refer to Sprawn Valley as a hellhole. I''ve lived there all my life, and it really is a wonderful place to be. I won''t justify people who would use dark magic to ruin everything."


    Nyar knew Jane would partially agree with him on one level, but this needed to be set clear. "Maybe you can stop them, and maybe you can''t. But Danny and Taylor are not your tools or weapons to use as you please."


    "But we are our own people," Danny argued. "I''m making my decision to go back to Sprawn Valley. Taylor is making her own."


    "You are not making that decision for yourself. Going back there will only get you pain and death!" Nyar had to try and keep them both here. There were many ways to force them to stay, but only being reasonable could this lead to the best outcome. "Look at you!" Nyar pointed directly to Jane, even though Danny and Taylor looked beaten up from their encounter just an hour ago. "Jane can barely sit up-right! She''s in no condition to fight, and neither are the two of you!"


    "If I may interject for a moment," Danton interrupted, "Jane''s condition should improve within minutes of returning to a magical source of a veil. I presume her ability to fight is only a matter of time after returning to her home."


    "Great," Nyar continued. "She can go, and these two stay with me."


    To Nyar''s response, Danny and Taylor edged themselves closer to Nyar in a threatening pose. Even Taylor had the nerve to act in such defiance, and she held out her arms as a protective gesture to keep Jane here. "Wherever Jane goes, we both go too."


    Danny assisted Taylor''s mentality in complete synchronicity. "If you send Jane back, Taylor and I will find our own way to Sprawn Valley without your help. If you don''t send her back, it could kill her. Either way, I am not some puppet you need to protect. I can look after myself and others."


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Kagame''s Manifesto ~ Jeff Danna [Continuum]</a>


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    They were only making this worse than it needed to be, and it only frustrated Nyar further. "What is with you and your stupid attachment to that dangerous woman? Do you want to die over some stupid friendship? You''re attachments to Jane aren''t normal. They''re irrational and meaningless!"


    "You obviously know nothing about us!" Danny shouted to the top of his lungs, caring not what any lurking neighbors might hear. But this guy can''t be real family, not if Nyar is willing to go this far, and stop them from doing the most important thing in the world over some stupid protective instinct. He couldn''t be any more wrong about the three of them. "Jane is our best and only friend, and we''re going to help her no matter what!"


    "You would even be willing to die for her? Because that''s all that will happen if you face criminals who use dark magic!"


    "I won''t die," Danny argued. "I''ll do whatever it takes to keep myself, Taylor, and Jane all alive. They''re both important to me! If you can''t understand that, then you aren''t my uncle, or anything like a father to me."


    "Oh I understand this perfectly," Nyar retorted. "You''ve blinded yourselves by learning Leray magic, and it makes you feel so much tougher than the average person, right up until the point where you''ve gone into danger you can''t handle, just like tonight!" Nyar reached for the laptop Danny used earlier to search for jobs and to track down a potential buyer for Jane''s license card credit count. "Using this stupid machine!" He then smashed the screen of the computer over his knee in anger. Both of them seemed to ignore the destruction of Nyar''s personal property.


    "It won''t happen again." Taylor spoke for herself too. She knew she could fight with the existence of the Leray veil. It will work, and Jane will fight too! There isn''t anywhere she would rather be right now than Sprawn Valley, even amidst the dangerous new gangs cropping up.


    Nyar pointed to them both, "You''re right, it won''t. I can''t change your minds. So instead, I''ll just have to use force to keep you here." He hated every word he had to grind through his teeth, but Nyar met his intentions as seriously as he could, pulling out a pair of plastic restraints used to tie the arms and legs together. They can''t return to Sprawn Valley if they''re virtually immobile. Thus, they won''t get themselves killed over something so stupid.


    He''s going to restrain us? Nyar is going to go that far over this stupid charade? Danny knew what he had to do, and he swiftly swiped the glass vase off the coffee table in the center of the living room. With a solid hit of force at the edge, Danny effectively smashed the vase into several broken fragments of glass, but the end he was holding onto now shaped itself into a multi-pointed jagged edge of a lethal weapon. Without hesitation, Danny pointed the shank closely to Nyar, but not too close. He might try and swipe it out of Danny''s hand. "Go ahead and try it, scum!"


    At first, Taylor and Nyar both winced backwards in surprise. This isn''t Danny. He would never threaten the life of his own uncle... No, he would. Nyar knew Danny would. He''s been changed by that place, that horrible veil of evil magic. "You would really threaten my life?"


    Danny twisted his head slightly to stretch, and he held the shank tightly, trying to keep his arm from trembling, to little success. "You threatened ours first. What kind of life would you have Taylor and I live out here? We''ve seen enough of this disgusting world. We''ve had enough of it, all of it!"


    Nyar was careful where to step and how to move. His heart was racing just from the sight before him. Danny isn''t old enough to understand any of this. He can''t be if he''s threatening to commit such a deadly sin... But now Taylor looks just as determined to help him, standing by his side, her fists balled up and ready. She''s okay with this too? "Then I have obviously taught you wrong. You do this; kill me, and you''ll regret it every single day that you live."


    "I don''t want to kill you Nyar." Danny felt the uneven fear in his tone, though he can''t let go now. "But our life is mixed up with Jane right now, back in the place you keep calling hell. And if you try to separate us again, I will only consider that a threat to my own life, and grounds for self-defense!"


    Taylor added with her readiness to fight a declaration of imminent war. "I''ll be a part of this too. I''ve had experience dealing with people like you, pretending to be family, when all you want to do is control us any way you can. I may not be able to use magic, and because of Jane''s condition, she can''t invoke her magic either, but I don''t need some stupid tool to fight for what I believe in."


    "You must understand what I have been going through this entire time!" Nyar segmented. He had to get them to understand. Force won''t work now. They''re stronger now than they were before. Danny will hesitate to kill, but he''ll still manage to get the job done. "Have you been paying any attention to the words Danton was speaking earlier? I''ve been right this entire time. Leray magic is something evil, something twisted and broken. But worse than that, it''s something very dangerous to get involved in, and all you want to do is go back there, pretending to be heroes. I can''t stand by and watch you die beside your beliefs!"


    "You still fear magic," Danny pointed out, with a surprised expression. Nyar began to nod, but Danny didn''t let him get away with that close confession. "Yes, you do! Leray magic, a tool powerful enough to create or destroy. It''s just an objective concept, without any personification, but all I always hear out of you people is how evil it is. There are people in Sprawn Valley. People like us, people like Danton, and Mainne, and all of the General Army who want to use that power to protect our family, protect our friends!"


    "And you''ll just get yourselves all killed Danny. That is why I fight you on this."


    Danny didn''t give up, but he had to hold the glass shards out towards Nyar, keeping him in place. "Magic is nothing but a tool," Danny clarified. "It''s not good or evil, fun nor deadly; it''s just a tool. Like your common house pistol, or the automobiles people drive to work every day. Those are all tools too, and they are just as effective at killing people as anything else in this world. Leray magic is always only going to be as good as the people who try to use it. An evil person with a powerful tool is dangerous. But a good person with the same kind of power can be just as effective, if not more."


    "Leray magic and dark magic are not the same thing."


    "But they do come from the same source," Danny specified. "Isn''t that right, Brash Danton?"


    With the phone still powered, Danton had no choice but to listen to this horrible family fight. Even with such a serious question to be answered, he delivered on the promise to report only the truth. "The boy makes an excellent point. Both kinds of magic are exactly the same format with inverted wave patterns designed by intelligent mages."


    Danny knew what to say, and how this system really works. Jane proved it to him over and over again. "Dark magic might seem more powerful than ordinary Leray magic, but Jane and I all have something even stronger. We''re a team. Jane, Danny, and Taylor. The Scarlets might all be after the same thing, but they aren''t united individuals. Their minds are twisted; their ideals are poisoned! They have noting on us."


    Jane felt as if time stood still for them. The things Danny was saying, she''s never heard anyone talk about Leray magic like that before. He calls it nothing but a tool, and yet still makes it sound wonderful attaching the practice to specific people. Is it true though? Is Leray magic nothing but a common house tool, usable for the same things under a different format?


    "The world is a dangerous place," Danny reminded. The reminder went both ways too. His thoughts always circled back to the moment where he nearly killed Taylor on the cliffs by mistake, or that other time where Fronas was attacked by a single thief. Even Taylor''s life is dangerous in a figurative way. She won''t die becoming a Banshee slave, but that lifestyle leaves no room to live either. "But I''ve always faced it anyway, doing what I know is right. And no paranoid scrub like you is ever going to take away my ability to live with my family!"


    "Am I not your family?"


    "That''s up for you to decide right now, but my home is not a subjective place Nyar. It''s always been right here, with Taylor and Jane. We both make ourselves at home wherever we go. I love Taylor with all my heart, and Jane as my best friend. So you can count on me using this glass knife to make sure you don''t try and prevent us from looking out for each other. Jane goes back to Sprawn Valley, and Taylor and I follow. Hell, you could come with us too if you are really that concerned, but we''ll be the ones protecting you, not the other way around."


    Nyar kept breathing, but it was getting more difficult to argue effectively against Danny''s stupidity. What does he see in Leray magic? What does he see in himself that Nyar doesn''t? There is something there, and it''s not a blind sense of bravery or heroism. Magic... is nothing more than a tool that can be used by good and bad people, just like pistols, or any invention for the matter? That''s what he said, and it isn''t false. Good people won''t ever use Leray magic to harm themselves, but will they willingly use it to fight such dangerous criminals? How could they possibly succeed? "And in all of this, you want to trust some guy on the phone, the same man who lied to everyone over all these years?"


    Danton reacted by explaining himself to the best of his defense. "I think over all these years, the people in the outside worlds always understood there was a level of danger and lies to Leray magic. You felt it the most Nyar, even without ever getting yourself involved. Wanting to protect your children is both honorable and brave, but even with the truth out in the open, they want to help us fight for what our people want. A world full of Leray magic and possibilities, but also void of the corruption and taint of those who exploit it. Magic isn''t dangerous. I see that now. Danny just thought of this in a way I never have. People are dangerous. Not magic; people."


    "So what?" Nyar assumed sarcastically. "I just let them go, on their own adventures into a world full of dangerous people? You have any idea what you''re asking of me?"


    "He''s not asking you anything," Taylor crept. "We''re telling you what is going to happen here. And I''m not going anywhere to lay down and die. You honestly believe we would be stupid enough to let that happen to us?"


    Nyar never felt so confused in all his life, and he held his head from the growing headache this was giving him. "Naaaaaaaaagh! I don''t know anything anymore! How am I supposed to trust all of you? How am I supposed to trust this government that wants to cover everything up all the time?!"


    Jane felt further on the outside. She never expected to see this kind of emotion in Danny, let alone either of them to go as far as threaten the lives of their own biological family. Is this right?


    Danny sighed, and he casually tossed his only weapon to the side of the floor, breaking the glass further towards the side of the dining room. Taking the leap of faith he felt in his gut, Danny deliberately lessened his ability to seem threatening. "Taylor, grab Jane and get ready to pack our things... We''re leaving."

 Chapter 35: One-way Ticket

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    <03/16/1972 ¨C 01:55 | Manhattan, New York, United States>


    "Hold on!" Nyar called, stopping all three of them from moving. Danny gave him another threatening look, but Nyar felt hesitant to do anything... What''s going on here? What is so special about this bond between the three of them, and their ties to Jane? Why do they believe in Leray magic so much? This isn''t about material things, nor is it about trying to avoid going to Kalamo. Danny and Taylor only want to go where Jane goes. Logically, it makes no damn sense! But then has anything ever made sense when related to Sprawn Valley? How long were Danny and Taylor trapped there?


    "If you have nothing else to say, we''ll get ready now. You can stay here and rot."


    They won''t defy what they want in life. They''re so determined to live in Sprawn Valley, live nearby Jane and use magic for the rest of their lives. Never before did they show such liveliness in New York... It''s worse than that. Nyar nearly forgot what the three of them were like from the very moment they hopped on that flight to America. Jane was excited, eccentric, and amazingly alive. Taylor was more reserved, but just as naive and bored as the rest of them. But Danny... He''s always had his head held up, his senses so sharp. Never before did he fight this system, or rebel against it with anything beyond a few words. But right now, they''ve all behaved so differently. Jane has become depressed and homesick, Taylor afraid for her life and in constant fear of heading home to Kalamo, and then Danny... Danny is taking action himself, where he wasn''t before. They''ve all changed so dramatically in such a short time. Only a month have they been here.


    Nyar noticed from the corner of his eyes, the three of them getting ready, with Taylor helping to support Jane''s weakness and lack of energy. They packed the same backpacks Nyar gave them while in Sprawn Valley, filling them with food and water, and a small amount of clothes... They are different now, right? Have they really ever changed? Danny and Taylor spent over a month in Sprawn Valley, confused and alone... Or perhaps Jane showed them things they wouldn''t have understood? Nyar felt helpless in his sea of chaotic thoughts. He couldn''t possible understand what Danny, Taylor, and Jane have all been through in Sprawn Valley. Who did they really fight? Whom did they learn from? What was their quest like? How did they become enticed by the lure of Leray magic? And what gave them this insane idea that Leray magic is good if you''re a good person using it for the traditional purposes?


    Nyar doesn''t have that perspective. That scenery or ability to properly imagine what it must have been like to live in a place dominated by something so alien to him, to all of them at one point. No, he can''t possibly understand how they feel. He can never understand what kind of bond they really have to each other, Jane, Danny, and Taylor, or rather, JDT as they keep calling themselves lately. It''s childish, naive, and probably just as stupid... But still, is there something to it all? Why go through all of that only to return and fight for the same force that dragged all of them into the depths of such darkness? Was this ever really fun for them? Did they ever regret the choices they made, even for a moment?


    Two months of time, spanned out into a long stretch of infinity. That''s what it must have felt like. When more happens to you at a time, you remember a lot more in just a small moment. Two months for them must have felt like a long and difficult burden. Or perhaps it was more amazing and fun than anyone could ever really imagine. Everything they know, everything they''ve learned about magic in such a short time, it must have come from the girl. Jane. That is their catalyst, their reason for going on where they were. They must have been helping her accomplish something very important, instead of meeting Nyar by the airport at the due date. That''s what kept them, the reason they ventured off into some sort of military restricted area; to fight for the same shared purpose.


    "I was wrong," Nyar muttered, a breath too quiet and shallow to be heard or picked up by any of the others. Even Danton, who was still stuck on the phone couldn''t hear him, but the fact still remains. If Danny is willing to kill his own family, to fight for what he believes is the right thing, is that honestly so naive? He protects other people around him with his life, and understands the risks of which he''s involved with. That''s not stupidity; it''s the very thing Nyar felt absent in Danny before. Even while being stuck in Sprawn Valley for just a month or two, the three of them have all become far more responsible than he ever could have imagined. They didn''t learn any of that by coming here and learning about the challenges of adulthood and American jobs. No, that came from something else, somewhere else, and somehow, that can still exist in a world thought to be darkened in a land filled more with chaos than order.


    It barely makes any sense at all. How have they learned so much from a nation that can allow such terrible things to happen? Nyar felt dizzier than before, and he took a quick rest on the couch, carefully crunching over the glass shards below him with his black boots. Taking the chance that Brash Danton was still on the other end of the speaker-activated cell phone, Nyar sat defeated with his hands to the top of his head, beckoning for answers to the most distrusting man he knew. "How can they possibly be ready for any of this? They''re only almost sixteen, with Jane one-upping them."


    After having nothing to say for several long minutes, Danton could finally hear the man on the other line, sounding more submissive and calm. But his question seemed understandable, as is his heavy disposition to Leray magic. "I wasn''t ready to learn the truth either when I did. It corrupted everything I learned since I was a child, and I was torn between the choice to shut magic down for good and set everyone backwards, or to lie to everyone as a form of protection, and just try as hard as I can to move Leray magic forward - only for the betterment of our people. But them? Danny, Taylor, even Jane... They all figured out what Leray magic was about in such a short time of coming into contact with it. I mean, they really learned the reason why people still believe in that system."


    "So you''re okay with sending kids out to fight battles for you?"


    "I''ve been fighting these guys for a long time Nyar, me and all of my teammates. These Scarlet enemies we''re facing, they''re strong and resilient. But your kids are not kids anymore. They''re tougher than I gave them credit for. Together, they actually overpower me and my team, even on our best days. They fully understand how to harness the tool of Leray magic and use it to their advantage, even against dark magic enemies. Perhaps that is the reason they are so strong despite only having a few months of training with it."


    "Then you must know what will happen if I see a single one of them harmed."


    "You..." Danton paused, puzzled initially by the motive in Nyar''s words, but the message was in his tone. "I''ll take full responsibility for their safety."


    "Good. Because if you fail to protect them in my absence, I''m going to come over there, and kill you. I don''t care how I have to do it. I will always hold you responsible if you let anything happen to them."


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "I fully understand the terms of your condition... I''d be nothing if I were to let them down. And so I won''t, sir."


    "Consider yourself warned." Nyar shut the flip phone as hard as he could, the noise bringing attention onto him from Danny and Taylor.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Towards Proxima Centauri ~ Phobium</a>


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    "Sir?" Her words made Danton turn around to face her. They stood in the champion''s chambers, built and redesigned beautifully from all of the changes made to Eldora Tower over the years that have passed. Mainne just made it over here to talk to Danton, but whatever conversation he was having sounded serious. "I still won''t ever get used to you giving such an upbringing name to other people of unknown respect."


    She never changes. Danton turned around towards Mainne. She has been doing a lot lately to investigate Jane''s symbol as much as possible based on the bio-data scanned at the Den of Purity, but she doesn''t appear to be here to report anything new. She should have started with as much. "Mainne? There are some things you must never do. One of those things is coming between a father and his children."


    "So if some unhinged old looking guy comes here and kills you?"


    "Then don''t avenge me over it," Danton worded. "I won''t see us fail though."


    "If you wanted my report that badly, you should have just asked."


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    <02:09>


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    "That should be everything," Danny called. After counting it all, everything was packed.


    "Hmmm!" Jane let her balance slip from her and under Taylor, sinking to the ground. The pain in her head intensified further, and the stamina in her body deteriorated faster. "It''s hurting more than before."


    Taylor tried to lift Jane back up, supporting her weight with the side of her right arm. "Jane. You''ll be fine once we reach Sprawn Valley." After turning around to the front door, they found Nyar, standing right in their way with his arms crossed over his chest.


    Danny was quick to drop his things and immediately get upset. "You really want to try this again Nyar? I''m not afraid of getting knocked around to have my way!"


    "How do you propose you get to the airport anyway?" Nyar''s question, though perfectly valid caused Danny a blank stare of uncertainty. He really can be too gung-ho, just like before. They haven''t changed at all, but they have grown up into such amazing adults, all three of them. "You don''t have the sense of direction memorized, and I just destroyed the only laptop capable of using satellite navigation..."


    "We''ll figure it out one way or another."


    "Just calm down and get in the car. I''m the only one who can drive you." Predictably, Nyar watched all of their faces shift in surprise... Except for Jane''s. She really looks like she is in a lot of pain right now. And all of that from a lunar power drain? Her symbol must not be entirely perfect, but only Jane can modulate it somehow.


    "Wha¡ª" Danny sputtered, "I thought you..."


    Nyar wanted to skip the semantics, but they weren''t moving anymore. "Drag your things to the trunk. Now!" They all moved, finally willing to obey his command since it aligned with their current agenda. Nyar went outside, locking the front door on the way out. It would be faster to just explain this to the three of them on the way to the airport. "I don''t know what the three of you are involved in. Try as I may, I can only imagine the worst, but you three have done more than imagine anything."


    "All that talk about protecting us? What''s changed?"


    Nyar scratched his chin before answering, "I still have to have enough faith that you''re old enough now to protect yourselves, but you need to know that I am not your enemy Danny. I''m your uncle, but even then, I see now that I can''t stop whatever this is. You really want to protect the concept of Leray magic this badly, that you''re willing to fight and die for it? Maybe I''ll never understand. Even if I don''t, I can still do everything in my power to help you." Nyar got into the driver seat of the car, waiting for Danny to take the passenger side. Taylor had already taken Jane to the back seat, so that she could lie down and try to control her intensifying pain.


    Danny reluctantly hopped into the passenger side of the Ford Escort, now worrying about such a simple and insignificant rule. "I thought only Jane could stay up here."


    "You''ll be sixteen in May. Close enough."


    "Hey, she''s really hurting right now. It''s some kind of headache. Her fever''s getting worse too."


    Nyar took the information to consideration. Stopping at a hospital for something as crazy as that won''t be a good idea. Even from here, Nyar could faintly see a few of those electrical blue sparks on Jane''s hands. They were dimmer than before, the glowing effect barely noticeable, but when she gets on that flight, people will notice it then. Nyar reached for the glove box and pulled out a pair of black leather fingerless gloves, which he used to use when riding a motorcycle twenty years ago. They might be oversized for Jane''s hands and fingers, but... "Put these on." Nyar tossed the gloves into Jane''s lap. "Those will hide Jane''s glowing hands when we make it to the airport."


    After having Nyar start the engine to the car, Danny still felt he had to ask. "After all that," Danny returned, "why are you helping us do this now?"


    "Because I''m on your side..." He still isn''t buying it. Not that Danny needed to, but he really can''t believe that Nyar would really destroy their futures just for fun. "If my own nephew is ready and willing to kill me, then I must be doing something wrong." Danny nodded, apparently confused by the simplicity of his actions. Nyar projected his voice, making sure it would reach all of them over the internal noise of the car. "Now when we get to the airport, you must understand this one thing. I''ve pulled all of the available funds you''ve all worked so hard to acquire. It would have been easy sending just one of you back to Sprawn Valley, but I have to buy tickets on spot for all three of you, and that''s not going to be cheap."


    "But we can still afford it right?" Danny needed to pressure Nyar for an answer on this. The flight terminal can''t say no to such a drastic emergency! "We need Jane to get back Nyar. It''s an emergency!"


    "It is affordable, but this will be a one-way flight for you, if all three of you go anyway. It will take me more than a year just to raise that kind of money again. Understand? If I put all three of you into Sprawn Valley, you''re all stuck there for a long time."


    Danny felt calmer given that was Nyar''s only concern. "That''s not a problem. We''re pretty good at raising money in their currency format. Besides, you could just come with us."


    "I won''t be doing that." Nyar decided on that before giving it additional thought. "I''ll stay here where my home is, and you''ll be by yourselves when you arrive at the Junon Airport. You all know what to do and where to go from there, right?"


    "Of course we do," Danny answered. "Our immediate target is Eldora Tower. We have access privileges to Danton''s chambers, and he''ll know what to do from there."


    "I''ll make this a little clearer," Nyar retried. "This is a one-way flight for each of you. That means, it will be your last chance for a long time to slide off and go back to Kalamo."


    "I''ll call my mom and dad from the phones in Sprawn Valley," Danny decided. "We''re not changing our minds about this."


    "Yeah," Nyar huffed. "I knew you weren''t going to."


    "Danny. Taylor." Jane tried to get her words out, but just thinking about talking hurt. Her migraine continued to elevate on its own, and she soon lost the ability to sit up straight. Jane knew she wasn''t going to be able to walk on demand. But still... This doesn''t have to be their fight. "You could visit your family in Kalamo. You don''t have to be with me all the time."


    Taylor held Jane''s hand sincerely, having to correct Jane again for thinking any of this is her fault. "I think we would rather be with you Jane. We want to fight for Leray magic too, just like you do."


    "That''s right," Danny agreed. "No Scarlet grunt is going to change the very way people live in such a wonderful country. You''re the one who taught me everything I needed to know for combat Jane, and now, I''m going to return the favor."


    Nyar tried to give the headlights to the car more power by shutting off the heater system of the car. Jane''s fever won''t be able to handle it anyway, and it was still so dark outside. In so many ways, taking the three of them to the airport, shipping them back to Sprawn Valley just feels so wrong. Nyar knew he wasn''t his normal self right now, but in the last twenty-four hours, he could only recall the most memorable horrible things he has caused. Nyar made Jane cry on her own birthday, gave Danny and Taylor reason to feel depressed in a place of better living standards, let the three of them stumble into deadly gang territory in the middle of the night, and had Danny point a sharp fanged broken vase at his face. Everything he has been preaching to them just isn''t working! It never did. But this moment right now, bringing them back to Sprawn Valley to fight dangerous criminals, and partially to save Jane''s life, it feels like the only single time Nyar has felt doing them all right. Danny and Taylor; they''re always on the same page, and now Nyar can feel himself shifting to the same book of rules they live by every day. The world in their eyes is so vastly different than it is for him...


    It''s just like how Yuel tried to live. She saw an amazing world out there. Even after all this time, these people she never even knew are now just as fond of Leray magic as she was. The secrets of Leray magic never ruined their perceptions, before and after the truth came to light. Wherever they go, luck better be on their side from now on.

 Chapter 36: The Time for Secrets

    <hr>


    <12/23/1962 ¨C 17:30 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    When Danton walked into the champion chambers, the situation was just as he hoped it would be. There, mage Sirus stood in the center of the room in silence to contemplate all that he revealed. Danton would now have the chance to find out more, while nobody else is here.


    It''s become clear enough, Danton thought. Leray magic is constantly converted by pure lunar energy, captured into special lunar crystals hooked up to a massive underground machine known only to the top officials as the crystal core. This machine then uses that power to simultaneously convert energy into Leray magic and generate a Leray field, a veil that coats this entire continent with its protective energy. But as a result, the inhabitants affected are also infused with a small amount of Leray energy, storing a small additional capacity of ME levels. When they practice this magic, those ME levels slowly rise over time as they become slightly more powerful. This also explains why Leray wielders end up using less MP energy for every spell each time they invoke it. MP is measured by proportion, though the spells all use the same exact ME points for every person. So it''s like leveling up in a video game. The cost never goes down, but the efficiency is still improved. One gets to use more spells per battle if they get good enough. But how high can a person''s ME reach?


    There were even bigger related questions bogging down Danton''s chain of thoughts. If anyone would contain the answers, it would be mage Sirus. His footsteps approaching the man echoed through the entire space, giving Sirus plenty of warning to his presence, but there was more than a single pair of footsteps clasping to the metallic floor. Walking besides Danton, Mainne kept her head level and her thoughts calm. She agreed to let Danton do all of the talking, but trusting mage Sirus was also a challenge on its own.


    "Ah, Danton. Mainne. Would you like to use the main chamber for your training exercise?"


    Danton nodded his head in opposition as he got much closer to Sirus, displaying his most serious expression yet. Though he planned to stop only two meters away from the guy, Sirus backed up a step, surprised by their synchronized actions. "No Sirus. I came to ask you a few more questions. There is more about dark magic and lunar magic that I want to learn about, and you''re the only guy who can explain it to us."


    "But..." Sirus didn''t have to point directly to Mainne. Danton knew she was standing right there! No, he couldn''t have! Danton told another member of Eldora Tower about lunar magic and the crystal core without even asking first for permission! "What''s wrong with you? You really think it''s safe to just go around telling all of your friends about this?" Danton was at first silent, but with Mainne staring at Sirus like that, it brought a vibe of immediate danger to Sirus''s nerves. What did Danton tell her? What was her reaction like?


    "Like I said earlier to all my staff," Danton proposed. "There will be a few changes to Eldora Tower and the way we are structured. No, I haven''t decided to just broadcast the truth, but I need to be able to trust my friends at such a critical moment."


    "You consider this moment critical? Oh, well..."


    At least he''s shutting up and calming down now. "I don''t know what Lawrence Citrin was doing when he was here, but I doubt it was anything noble."


    Sirus replied on behalf of Lawrence''s long-term bravery. "He kept our system going, while protecting the people of Sprawn Valley from the same truth that could be used to hurt millions of others around the world. Though I fear he had shut down from the inside for a long time as a result of the truth. It''s a breath of fresh air to have someone so willing and awake to the task."


    "So you''re just supposed to trust whatever champion walks up in here? What if their character is bad Sirus?"


    "Then we have to hold off and evaluate their character." A moment of silence passed. Danton was surprised to hear that explanation? He should know considering it happened a few weeks past. "You didn''t know? There is a reason why we have a structure here, an order to how we do things, and how long we wait to tell specific individuals the ways of pure magic. Kite Fargenst wasn''t in office long enough for a complete evaluation. And on top of that, his mind was so concentrated on becoming powerful enough to defeat you."


    He''s right. Danton held his teeth shut, trying not to seem like Sirus knew everything, but Kite''s behavior has always been designed to rival him. He didn''t care about being in charge; he just wanted to be better than Danton, but things are different now. "That''s not the point anymore Sirus. Mainne and I know the truth now, which is good, because I refuse to handle this all by myself. There is a reason why we came up here to pressure you a second time."


    "You wanted to know more about dark magic?" He said as much earlier, but this isn''t good. Danton should already know never to mess with that kind of power. People who get involved can often lose sight of what''s important. They see dark magic as more of a powerful force because it rejects the veil, and with regards to power level emissions, the force is three times more powerful than ordinary Leray magic. If Danton is being tempted with the lure of the power of dark magic, it will turn out to be terrible. The things he could do with a dark mind from the secrets he knows now, it would be a national tragedy!


    "You said before that it was easy for just anyone to invoke, but I want to know what you meant by that. Also, how powerful can that signature be in comparison to Leray magic?"


    "Dark magic is dangerous you two." Sirus knew he couldn''t sugar code this. The only way to dissuade them away from such temptation is through the use of fear. "Yes, it is far more powerful in scale comparison to Leray magic."


    "And it really can kill people, just like advertised?"


    "It''s far worse than that," Sirus claimed. "Yes, it can reject the rules of the veil and cause great harm to targets, but think about what that kind of freedom might do to a person''s mind."


    "Wait," Danton coughed. "Are you saying that dark magic has a way of luring people to use it?"


    "It''s all still psychological in nature. It''s not as if it would be impossible to drag someone so involved with it back to reality. Plus, using dark magic numerous times has proven in a few tests not to actually overshadow the psyche of other people during or after invocations. It''s all about personal character and mentality."


    "Oh." Danton felt underwhelmed. For a moment, it felt like Sirus was about to claim that dark magic has some invisible way of forcing people to this irreversible dark side of eternal evil mentality, but it''s just a clich¨¦ power struggle for the wrong kind of people.


    "Certain people for instance may want to take what they could learn from dark magic, and use it to harm other people, all in the name of becoming the top player, or perhaps using it to further some sort of crime spree. In one instance, we detained a Leray wielder for attempting to use dark magic in secret during an official battle with an elite."


    "And what was that like?"


    "The suspect had somehow brainwashed himself into believing that being much more powerful in that way was more important than how he was using his magic. He didn''t care who might get hurt in his career. Though, his radical shift still went unnoticed to the public, and we had to imprison him overseas. No matter what we did, trying to pull him back into believing that Leray magic is best used for the people for their best sport was not possible."


    "Yeah, but how would you even know the difference between each magic type?"


    "It''s not hard once you learn about it in the first place." Sirus knew that answering these questions could be used for such great harm, but he had no choice right now to give Danton the full truth of it. Still, why drag Mainne into this? "Invoking dark magic involves an extra step during spell invocations. It''s a kind of mental and emotional space in your mind that with practice can actually be controlled. Someone who experiences unimaginable rage or pain may subconsciously invoke a kind of mental focus during magic invocation, causing their casting energy to negate the veil. Though the signature has to be reversed too, almost like you simultaneously want to cause harm to another individual. Even then, something like that would be noticeable in public, mainly because that same person would appear to be having some kind of mental breakdown if it is their first use. All in all, it''s still incredibly rare for it to happen by accident. When you can learn to control this psyche, concentrating on building our spells using such emotion without ever needing to express it, that practice will further strengthen your ability to control dark magic."


    "So, if it''s rare, then there is nothing to worry about, right?"


    "That''s what I believe. With all of the sentries and monitors we put out there, I''d be more concerned if something happened to our internal chain of command. So we actually do personality checks and give plenty of our staff vacation days to make sure nothing like that ever happens."


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    What a charade, Danton thought. If anyone gets stressed out or mad enough, they may indirectly invoke dark magic and hurt someone, and by doing that, they could also learn how to control it and become worse. The whole dark magic lure makes sense, but it''s best to know about this ahead of time. "And when used, is there any other identifying factor to distinguish dark magic from Leray magic as it gets used?"


    "Of course there is. To most people, it''s hard to tell. Even to us experts, detecting the use of dark magic isn''t always easy. If someone were to use an unofficial Leray spell, something very specific only to dark magic, then it would be obvious."


    "There are spells specific to dark magic?"


    Mainne winced a little, finally speaking up since this was becoming more confusing. "Why? You thought differently?"


    Danton felt that he remembered Sirus explaining that dark magic spells are dressed up like ordinary Leray spells. But now there are also official dark magic spells?


    Sirus continued his explanations, hoping they would only help all three of them. "Luckily, such spells are so rare, nobody knows about them. So the use of them in the field would send off red flags everywhere. It''s the other method of dark magic we have to watch out for, people who take a well-known, ordinary Leray spell and shift its energy mid-invocation to negate the Leray veil. They take a spell that uses Leray magic, and power the spell with dark magic to increase its power level. Not every single official spell can be manipulated this way, but normally when it happens, there are a few giveaways."


    "Tell us what they are," Danton begged.


    "Well, you can tell if a target is hit with dark magic, mainly because in that moment, their body will suffer real time damage. When that happens, the energy scope is automatically programmed to report back that biometrical data to the user, and turn the energy scope red with a warning."


    "Don''t they turn red with a vital drain?"


    "They do, but vital drain is different than real time damage. The energy scopes are not intelligent enough systems to know whether the user is being attacked with dark magic, or if they''re scraping damage from something else. Since you''re still technically under the ordinary protection the veil provides, the only way the scope can report this to you is by turning red, and reporting the status of an unknown recovery error, in the form of a message that shows up in the energy scope. That message won''t go away until real time damage heals completely... But..."


    "But what?"


    "It''s not the best way to find out if someone is using dark magic. By the time they''re hit, too much physical damage could have already been done. It''s as I said. The invisible digital matrix system flowing through the veil still isn''t as intelligent as we want it to be. Sometimes even after taking real time damage, the energy scope won''t register what is going on, and the warning won''t appear until the second or third time they are hit with dark magic. On top of that, they have to take damage in the first place to be aware. So it''s inefficient. We instead prefer to use our eyes."


    "So there is a visual difference," Danton guessed. There would have to be. If not, then this is already too dangerous.


    "Yes. Most spells that have official projectiles of magic, or some kind of effect in which a spell creates an attack aura moving from point A to point B have a generally assigned color to them. Just like how a Fire Bolt looks like a ball of fire, and has this orange-yellow glow of fiery essence. Or like how a Lightning Strike sends a blue arc of electric energy that simulates the same visual effect as you would see with a real thunder storm. Even non-elemental bolts of energy have a cyan glow to their lighting effect. But when you turn those same spells into versions that invoke dark magic, their lights all change to contain this red radiance of light instead. The color of a blood red aura will take over the original color of the spell instead. When shooting a bolt of ice using dark magic, the bolt is red in color as it travels. When shooting an arc of electricity using the same dark magic, the color of the arc is completely red. Even those pure white lines of Splice generated by the magic of a sword would seem darker and redder in comparison."


    "That''s actually convenient." Mainne had to admit, it sounds like a great way of distinguishing the difference.


    "The veil was created with such rules to change the visual effects of all dark magic. The creators of the crystal core knew what they were doing, and they installed this automatic system into magic projection as an intentional way of making those who would dare use dark magic stand out easier."


    We may have been worrying for nothing. If you can tell who is using dark magic with simple colors, then anyone would always stand out.


    "But they also have another easy tell. The mages who installed that rule also knew that a few rare spells based on the Leray magic system actually looked too much like dark magic, even though they weren''t spells that used dark magic. So on top of spells changing their auric color to a deep red, so would the user¡¯s eyes change in response to negating the effects of the veil during spell invocation."


    "Their eyes?"


    "Yes," Sirus agreed. "You''ve surely noticed before how a person''s eyes, their corneas change color temporarily to a bright cyan glow during magical invocation. It only happens to those invoking a ton of energy based on their maximum proportion. So stronger warriors like yourselves probably don''t have that happening to you anymore. Anyway, regardless of energy proportions, the slightest invocation of dark magic will cause your eye color to change to the same red color with a glow effect. If you see someone with glowing red eyes, and it seems to be glimmering with a normally impossible contrast, then they would be invoking dark magic. It won''t matter if their spell uses up no energy. The slightest invocation of dark magic will cause this effect one hundred percent of the time. So anyone trying to use dark magic cannot just get away with it unnoticed. They would be discovered fairly quickly."


    "But if the veil can naturally detect the use of dark magic, so can other electronic equipment, right?"


    "Um... I suppose it might be possible. Oh, right." Sirus didn''t understand the sudden attitude shift until he was reminded before. "You want to increase the security of Eldora Tower while changing its infrastructure. I never got to ask why you were too interested in redesigning Eldora Tower."


    "Just saying," Danton crossed his arms. "An automatic dark magic detection system that constantly runs inside of Eldora Tower wouldn''t hurt. I know we haven''t had a problem worse before, but we should be making the security of the crystal core our top priority."


    "I''ll look into it for you," Sirus decided. "I''ll have to admit though. At first I was worried that you might be trying to involve yourself with dark magic."


    "Of course not. I would never do something like that!"


    "I know you wouldn''t Danton."


    "We just need to know how dangerous this really is. And that''s why I have one more question for you."


    "Another? Okay, but one more. I don''t like talking about this in the open."


    "No one can hear us. I''ve made sure to cut all feed to this room, and all while making sure the security teams don''t freak out over it. As long as I''m conscious and don''t press this safety button on my belt, nobody will be allowed to come up here, unless they''re authorized."


    "Get to the point," Sirus begged.


    "Lunar magic. You said that nobody could use it. If they try, it would involve bypassing the veil entirely, and their attempt would destroy their own life."


    "I did say that."


    "But why is it toxic for humans to try and use lunar magic? You said something about our ME levels being far too low to successfully use lunar magic."


    "I said that as well. There is no need to worry. The estimated ME level a person would need to have is so far off the chart of growth possibility, I don''t even think about it anymore."


    "But hear me out." Danton pressed on with his potential what-if scenarios. "If a person well-trained with Leray magic trained for long and hard enough¡ª"


    "It can''t happen," Sirus repeated. Somehow, Mainne looked more comfortable knowing this information too. "The highest ME level we''ve ever recorded in a single individual with such practice came to a level around 70,000 points."


    "That''s so high!"


    "Yes, but the estimated level needed to generate the complete use of lunar magic is somewhere around 120,000 points. And I emphasize estimated only because even at this level, the user would still suffer catastrophic side effects per use of the lowest level of pure lunar invocation. We''ve never tested these claims because the experiments would both be highly illegal or immoral. The only reason mages of the past could invoke any lunar magic was from the special arrangements and use of lunar crystals, which can only store enough for a single invocation per ability, something we''ve also confiscated long ago."


    "But, what if someone were to try experimenting on ways to improve their ME levels unnaturally?"


    "You''re what-ifs are getting exhausting. But I''ll put your fears of this to rest once and for all. We''ve determined that the process of forcing your ME levels to go higher using technology or other infusion tactics would in theory kill the very target in question. It''s the same tactic or process we discussed before, part of the very first experiments on lunar magic, where subjects were forced to take in a ton of pure lunar energy. It did increase their ME outright to a small degree, but the shock to their system also caused their organs to immediately shut down, or seizers to occur followed by multiple aneurisms. You can''t force anyone''s ME levels to go up without causing problems. And even if you could, bringing them all the way up to a level that might support any safer usage of lunar magic would indefinitely kill the subject just by having too much magical essence introduced into their system. Creating a stable support system for lunar energy control within a human is physically impossible. So all you really have to worry about is everything I told you while we were stuck in that room for half an hour."


    "That''s good news." Mainne finally let herself sigh, which also brought visual comfort to Sirus. "If both dark magic and lunar magic can''t be used without some kind of problem for each subject, then no random person is just going to try it. If they did, they would either get themself killed, or caught by the surveillance."


    "That''s what I was trying to express to Danton earlier, but I guess knowing more about this situation may help you both understand why we keep this information secret. As I said before, we shouldn''t have anything to worry about. I''d rather not give any bad guys any ideas to try experimenting given the secrets of our crystal core. If they invent a new veil in another part of the world, it would be bad news."


    Danton still felt uneasy about all of this, but knowing that it can''t be possible to stabilize lunar magic, or to hide the more accessible dark magic brought further peace to his mind. So all there is left to do is help lead Sprawn Valley. That means examining documents and signing paperwork to make sure all of the infrastructure runs correctly, and all while practicing how to properly use Leray magic to defend his own title from some sleaze head. Nobody else can take this kind of secret and be okay with it.


    "I''m glad I was able to help. Sir Danton?" As Sirus brought to himself Danton''s attention, he thought of something that would help keep his mind away from such dark thoughts. "I don''t need to remind you that normal Eldora Tower functions will resume in only one day. Then, you and all of your elites will be challenged by various Leray wielders who all want a taste of being the strongest Leray wielder."


    "They don''t even know what they''re getting themselves into." Even Mainne didn''t argue that it wasn''t true, but Danton looked back to her side, sensing that she was still as eager as ever to get her practice in battling styles down for such fights. Even with all of this going on, she still loves Leray magic so much. It''s more than fun for her; it''s a life style that she wants to share with other people. This means shutting down the veil, the source of all magic isn''t a good idea after all. "But now we have to fight a bunch of amateurs while making sure this tower is kept safe at all times."


    "Why so dramatic," Sirus interrupted. "Our security teams are very dedicated to the task. When your updates come into play, I''ll actually feel safer knowing that Eldora Tower won''t ever be able to hide any dark magic users, and I get to experience a long needed remodeling."


    "You want to practice more with me?" Mainne awaited an answer, staring into Danton''s silver eyes while his expression became lighter from the lifted load of stress.


    Danton hesitated in his answer, mostly out of inner surprise. Training with Mainne would be an excellent opportunity to master her battling style of speed and reflex... But there was something about the way she was standing there asking him. Danton felt like it would hurt to even consider declining the offer, and with a sudden loss of words and nervousness that only lasted for a second, Danton tried to clear his throat and sound as normal as possible. "It will allow me to pick up on your speed. But afterwards, I''m going to practice more with Gleeon and Vanoss. Even if I did overtake them now, it''s never too late to learn something new."


    Sirus saw them both off, as they were both heading down the lift going down to the fourth arena room. Mainne must be taking him back to her official arena spot for practice. At least they''re behaving and following the rules as they need to be. Danton needs as much physical practice as he can get. Plus, doing these normal things will bring him to good health, all while preventing anyone from getting suspicious. After all, Danton wasn''t the first person this week to ask about dark magic the way he did. If people suspect that there is a secret in this tower, and should they seek out the crystal core, everything could collapse and fall apart.

 Chapter 37: Red Aura

    <hr>


    <12/30/1962 ¨C 20:01 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    There is only one thing that must never change in Eldora Tower, one important piece of sacred structures within the champion chambers. Danton made sure to add upgrades around this area over the following week, but not to remove the only thing creating a sense of serenity and peace; the tall water fountain splashing fresh fluid into several tiers of well-crafted basins. The constant noise it generates up close is soothing to the ears and to the mind, and that''s just the noise. The visual attraction of this small waterfall allowed Danton to easily get lost in thought.


    This kind of serenity felt needed after all that''s happened in the past seven days. Everybody continued fighting bravely as the Eldora Tower events resumed into the next weekend, giving everybody the chance to train rigorously by themselves, and today, felt like any other despite the knowledge of last week drilling deeper into Danton''s skull. The sun should already be setting outside at this hour, and all of the upkeeping tasks have been completed for now, but so much still felt wrong. Danton couldn''t shake the feeling of imminent dread everywhere he went. The most likely cause must be the truth about the crystal core, and the dangers of lunar magic if ever used on the general public. How much more does Sirus know? It''s hard to trust that guy given how long he''s been employed here at Eldora Tower.


    Twenty-seven years! Mage Sirus has his entire identity shielded as well. Full name is classified in the official records, as is much of his past, but there are still traces and crumbs indicating what schools he graduated from, and where his previous residence used to reside. How could a man who knows this much have stayed so sane for nearly three decades? Something just doesn''t feel right, but on any day, Danton felt comfort knowing that Mainne was on his side with this situation. He could trust Mainne far more than Sirus. Gleeon, Kite, and Vanoss are still blissfully unaware. Is there even a good moment to give them this kind of clarity? Is it even the right thing to do?


    Those three must love Leray magic just as much as the rest of the wielders in Sprawn Valley do. Maybe it would be best if... No! I can''t make that choice for them! Danton had to be brave. Withholding such important information from a single one of them just isn''t right. It wouldn''t be fair!


    "There you are."


    Danton twitched as he shifted to turn around, taken surprise since his focus was all in his thoughts. Kite''s sudden entrance broke a total silence and peace he already had. Shouldn''t a person at least make some noise before getting this close?!


    "Sorry, didn''t mean to spook you."


    This is just Kite, and he''s either here for one of two reasons. He wants another sparring match, or he wants more information on whatever secrets Eldora Tower is hiding from him. If it''s the sparring match, that''s too bad. Danton already exhausted a lot of his energy today on Mainne. He had plans earlier to train with everyone in the same night, but Mainne really gets into it sometimes, and she is developing a new strategy based on ice and wind elements. The results: highly effective.


    Then again, Kite has been uptight about making sure everyone here in Eldora Tower is safe from government conspiracies. The truth is, nobody is safe anymore. "It''s fine Kite. I''ve exhausted much of my energy today in training."


    "Yeah," Kite easily agreed. "I did hear that normal tower operations resume again tomorrow, though they''ve postponed the battle events to the afternoon."


    "I don''t suppose I''d have to worry about your ability to keep your position here in the elite chain. We''ve already proven this from last week''s results." In those battles, very few challengers managed to get past Vanoss, and nobody scored any victories in the Catalyst Grove.


    "True... But I''ve just discovered a way to make my magical abilities and myself far more powerful. In fact, this neat trick isn''t limited just to myself. Anyone can do it with practice."


    With a slightly delayed surprise on Danton''s face, he speculated. "Make your abilities more powerful? What exactly do you mean?" It can''t mean the worst possible scenario, right? Kite would never resort to using lunar magic! No, that can''t be true. If he practiced that at all, he wouldn''t even be alive right now to have this discussion. Maybe he''s just figured out some new trick with Molecular Boost, or something similar. It has to be a new spell combo. "Okay. I''m curious Kite."


    "Ha!" he grunted. "I knew you would be. I''m going to show you a demonstration of course. Enable your Siriean dome."


    "What?" A Siriean dome now? He can''t be serious. "I''m not having a full Leray match to test this, man."


    "I wasn''t asking you to." Danton can be so foolish sometimes. "I want to make sure that I can properly demonstrate this new power to you. When you see it for yourself, I know you''ll agree that we can all become powerful protectors of Eldora Tower."


    "Protectors?"


    "Well, mainly of the people we''re technically supporting. I still don''t trust that idiot mage you''ve been talking to."


    Danton sighed slightly, ashamed that he felt a secondary disposition for nothing. "That makes two of us." What did mage Sirus even tell Kite if anything?


    "That''s why I''m a bit more excited today. I know that we''re defiantly onto something here." Kite paused for a second, making sure Danton was still awake in there. "Danton? Do you remember the promise that you and I made a while ago?"


    "A promise..." Danton had to try harder to remember. He and Kite have been through a lot in just two months, but it was mostly rivalry. "Yeah. Course I remember. I want to become a Leray master, and you want to become the strongest Leray wielder in Sprawn Valley. Side by side, they''re technically the same goals."


    "Then you do understand what it means to be strong."


    "Of course I do Kite. Technically, I''ve already become the strongest Leray wielder in Sprawn Valley, if you count this championship thing to be a win."


    "Maybe. After all, I was once a champion just over a month ago."


    "That is true. Okay, so we''ve both accomplished our goals. You did prevent having me the chance and honor of defeating Lawrence Citrin, but then I was able to make up for that by defeating you instead, somebody far more powerful than Lawrence ever was. Even in our last match, your ability to self-improve proved astonishing."


    "Training hard to learn new spells and find better combinations, and improve reaction time is the typical way a man improves on the battlefield. But that also takes a lot of time. With what I''m talking about, this is both a time-saver and a breakthrough for all Leray battles."


    A breakthrough for all Leray battles? What sort of new trick did Kite really discover that can be so epic? "And now I''m skeptical. Okay, fine. I''ll give you a chance to show me, but I really just want you to spit it out." Danton immediately invoked the energy needed to create an artificial Siriean dome, the kind used for area protection instead of official Leray battles. There was no visual difference whatsoever. "Go ahead and get this great new power a test."


    "On you? Yeah right. I need a bigger more powerful target first."


    Danton nearly clenched at that half-insult. How much power is he putting into a single spell? "Level with me here Kite. What sort of thing are you trying to do? And where are you going to find a target stronger than me?"


    Kite kept his swords holstered, since he would only need his hands for the job. "It''s better if I show you. Just bring out your special summon and we''ll both be able to demonstrate just how powerful this energy spell is."


    Entiene?! He wants to use Entiene as a test target for some new spell? Kite actually has a good idea for one instance though. Entiene is incredibly powerful on his own, and highly resistant to a lot of damage types, except for spiritual elements. So Kite must really be trying to learn what Entiene is weak against. That''s fair, since Danton still feels overpowered by his own summon Entiene. Might as well be good practice for finding out how to properly tame Entiene completely.


    "Okay." Danton nodded in approval, blinking to Kite in his serious test. "I''ll summon Entiene. He''ll have a ton of HP endurance, so you should be able to get away with whatever you want here."


    "Excellent."


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    Danton watched Kite wait for approval, then whipped out his Mega-Staff, charging MP energy into the device. It would be interesting to find out what other new spells are out there which could potentially knock Entiene out for the fight. Kite must think that it''s possible to one-shot this summon and be done with it. He couldn''t be more wrong. But let''s find out! "The shadows of your past is your essence, and the truth in my magic will light your spirit! Earth and fire be my blade. The spirits of us all be our eyes. Synchronize with me into this world! Entiene!"


    Kite momentarily felt a cringy vibe from such a long chant. Does it have to be so dramatic to summon Entiene?


    In moments, the massive yellow glyphring Danton created appeared at the top of the room, reminding Kite that he better step back as far as possible, less he be stomped on by a giant ghostly dragon by accident, but the timing was good enough for both of them. Danton''s Mega-Staff lit up at the crystal sphere with a bright radiance, bringing millions of tiny luminescent particles together at its center. When all of the particles merged, the light blasted everywhere, following the sudden formation and appearance of the mighty Entiene.


    Kite needed another moment to reset himself. Entiene is so big and massive! This has to be the largest summon anyone has ever seen! That summon alone is extra-powerful... But Entiene is still based on the same thing. "Okay Danton. Hold your pet still while I concentrate!"


    It was annoying hearing Kite shout to Danton about Entiene being just a house pet. Entiene is far greater than any domesticated animal... But Danton was still too curious to disobey. He synchronized his thoughts with Entiene again, which was getting easier each time he tried it. With his eye color shifting to yellow, Danton held the flooding mental command in his thoughts, Take no action.


    Kite found his chance, and he already started charging MP energy into his right hand and wrist. He chose to aim at Entiene first, since this could take a long time due to incredible need for focus this involved. This skill worked before. It should work again. "It''s time to invoke, Divine Wrath." Kite kept his voice low for now, needing no more than his complete attention on the spell in front of him. Quickly after his invocation began, Kite''s right wrist became surrounded in a familiar disk. A glyphring, all dark grey in color surrounded his wrist in its rotational spin while the magic buildup continued to grow throughout Kite''s personal aura, which was invisible to the eyes.


    A frequency embellished while a phasing hissing sound began to surge from the glyphring itself for several more seconds. This spell was taking Kite a long time to invoke. He had to get the energy signature and the pattern of dispersal just right. When the MP energy was charged to the peak level for this spell, Kite finally unleashed the payload.


    Danton was ready for anything, except for the interesting spell cast that happened with Kite''s glyphring. At first, it seemed as if nothing was happening at all, but Danton could hear a special sound above him. The noise imitated a breeze of wind blasting by one''s ear at light speed though distant and muffled. Danton glanced behind him, turning his head up with an altering expression. Several additional dark colored glyphrings began to surround the air space where Entiene was stationed. First there were a few of them, then there were just over thirty glyphrings, mainly from Entiene''s left and right sides, all high up in the air though angled separately towards the center of their target, which is Danton''s active summon.


    Danton didn''t hear Kite chant the name of this spell, but it was already impressive and surprising. But come on Kite! This power level would have to far exceed Entiene''s endurance to... Wait, swords?


    Danton noticed phantom images, see-through objects coming from all of the glyphrings, all of which resembled the same kind of blade. The material was however non-existent. The shape was a sword, but the weapons themselves were nothing but impressive glows of light, all crimson in color while they drifted out from the glyphring. Then, they went from drifting to shooting! Each and every glyphring surrounding Entiene shot their magic swords out as if they were incredible energy projectiles. The phantom swords became red beams of light with the speed they shot to, instantly drilling through Entiene''s essence. There was defiantly a reaction for Entiene, a reaction from getting impaled with the dozens of magic blades. The dragon roared in a fury of pain, confused for why it was allowed to take such punishment. When Danton read the energy scope, he too was surprised by the results.


    It did that much damage?! What kind of spell can knock down this much of Entiene''s health in one mode? There has to be a reason, a catch! Was that spell infused with spirit elemental energy? That''s the only thing that could explain this. Wait, Kite doesn''t have his energy scope engaged. How much did he use on MP to make this work?


    "Excellent!" Kite jumped. "Such amazing results! What power to put behind a spell. I knew this wasn''t all smoke and mirrors!"


    So excited over one spell? Each and every Leray spell is usually ineffective against something. "How much energy did that use?"


    Kite could hear Danton calling out to him, and it was a valid question. If that used double the amount of MP energy, it wouldn''t have been worth the damage ratio at all. "I only used thirty-nine percent MP." The same as last time. There is no need to check the scope for that.


    Danton knew there was a reason Kite wanted to try this. Well, Entiene was calming down a bit now, but that spell didn''t one-shot Entiene. On top of that, Kite spent a heavy price to make that spell work. It''s a good skill, but ultimately useless on its own for those reasons.


    "Now throw one at me!"


    "Is he serious?!" Danton could tell Kite was becoming more excited. This wasn''t about showing off just one spell. He actually believes he can single handedly defeat Entiene, possibly without taking damage, but almost nothing is effective in blocking Entiene''s special attacks. What can Kite really do from over there? An attack? Okay, "Let''s go with Stinger!"


    Entiene''s reaction to Danton''s command only had a 1.5 second delay, proving to them both that their synchronicity has much more room for improvement, but that much time wasn''t a lot for Kite to disable Entiene''s effective spell. The last time Kite faced off against this specific attack from Entiene, he used both of his steel blades to block, and it didn''t work.


    "Raaaaagh!" Requiring a lot more concentration than before, due to the speed at which Kite needed to invoke his next spell, he managed to charge the energy and disperse it before being hit with the traveling voltage of high-tier electrical energy. Kite''s invocation lifted an artificial boulder of rock from the ground, towering to the size of five meters with sharp jagged edges pointed forward. It''s the same spell as Earth Glave, only Kite managed to slow down its rate of advance to a near crawl, preventing its movement to act as a type of shield between himself and this imminent thunderbolt.


    Danton figured this easily calculated attempt to make a rocky defensive wall would fail. Normally, Earth Glave is a good defensive spell against a lot of things. Even when using pure electrical elemental magic, Entiene''s attack power levels could easily break holes through solid metal.


    Kite noticed the sudden flash of light striking against the rock he generated, fading shortly after. The concentration on this Earth Glave was also effectively high, but the spell uses so much less energy in return. And it worked!


    "It worked?!" Danton calculated otherwise, that the Stinger coming from Entiene would have defiantly broken through the rocky Earth Glave and sap Kite''s energy down. Could that have been an ordinary Earth Glave? Wait, what is that thin red aura around the boulder? Danton didn''t understand what was going on. He defiantly heard Kite scream, likely for concentration. But he didn''t actually chant the word Earth Glave. Plus, Earth Glaves don''t come with their own personal auras! Was that a combo performed so quickly and at the exact same time?


    Kite dropped the Earth Glave, causing it to disappear, but he felt a little drained from before. Using these kinds of spells were not new to him, not today anyway, but this is still hard to master effectively. It gets twice as hard when he has to conduct these spells with such speed and precision. "I''m getting all of this from the same source Danton. And now it''s time I defeat your Entiene with one more spell."


    "One more spell?" Danton crossed his arms in disbelief. Kite is sure to go ahead and try. But his last attack spell didn''t bring Entiene''s health down to fifty percent exactly, and that means there shouldn''t be anything else... Unless he isn''t using one spell at a time. Didn''t Kite say that this was all thanks to one single new trick? It has to be a trick! This is something beyond simple spell casting. He''s up to some kind of (outside of the box) thinking, but what exactly is going on? He''s charging more energy right now.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I''m going to finish this with Photon Wave!"


    Photon Wave? If Kite is really relying on Photon Wave, even when combined with a Molecular Boost glyphring, it won''t work. Non-elemental magic appears to be one of Entiene''s many natural resistances for damage. He must really just be grasping at straws, and getting lucky while doing it.


    Kite held his wrist out strong, creating the blue glyphring around him while energy charged into the spell. But as Kite increased his focus and concentration on the energy signature, he managed to get the process going correctly. Suddenly, the glyphring in front of him shifted in color from blue to a pulsing blood red color, and with the MP charging now complete, Kite fired the payload. Sixteen medium sized photons of red light condensing while shooting through the air all shifted in direction, homing in on the large target in front of them.


    Danton felt confused and defeated again! He knew what spell Photon Wave is, and this isn''t it. It''s a close imitation, but something is still going on. Photon Wave shoots out small dark colored photons of energy, kind of like the ones traveling now. Except, that energy is nearly transparent and hard to see. There are sixteen in total, the same as this spell, but every photon traveling towards Entiene isn''t dark or transparent. They''re all bright red in color, and very easy to see. Not only that, but the glyphring color doesn''t match either. Is that a fire element?


    In another moment, Entiene was bombarded by all sixteen energy spheres, each bringing Entiene''s HP down by a huge level. The phantom dragon wailed in the pain it was suffering from the severe damages, while Danton was too stunned and shocked to do anything about it. It was over in two more seconds, when the last photon dropped Entiene''s HP all the way down to zero percent, causing the summon to suddenly collapse into millions of tiny bright particles of light, the same material it formed out of. The particles of light were all sucked back into the Mega-Staff Danton was holding, Entiene''s energy scope already faded from view. And then, there was silence.


    It felt to Danton like his whole world just turned upside down. How was Kite already this powerful? What would have been the difference if he took the damage for Entiene instead?


    Kite leveled his breathing while the Siriean dome faded away. He knew that at least half of his MP reserves were exhausted, but there was more than this reason for feeling a bit winded. Still, such a wonderful demonstration turned out to be true and effective, one hundred percent of the time. "It looks like it worked."


    "What on Earth was that Kite? I don''t have any idea what that was."


    "It''s not too complicated to understand," he explained. "I''ve learned of a way to amplify my powers. You can use this trick to increase the power level of all Leray spells. And I mean, all of them."


    So it was power amplification? Even so, Photon Wave barely has a power level of nine, and only when you''ve mastered it for more than a year. This isn''t some cheap secret that everyone would know.


    "This proved to be far more effective than Leray magic. I was right after all!"


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    Even with Kite''s excitement, Danton''s heart sank with just the few words in that sentence. More effective than Leray magic? What does he mean by that? Is Kite not using normal Leray magic? No, he couldn''t have used pure lunar energy. That would have destroyed this entire room, and killed him in the process. But there''s only... Wait, the red aura around the boulder, and the red coloration to Photon Wave... Kite said those were amplifications made to ordinary Leray spells, and all without using Leray magic. There''s only one other form of magic that can be this kind of derivative! Danton thought fast, lifting his Mega-Staff and expelling magic all around him. In the process, he created four connective Fire Walls that each entrapped him in a protective field of fire, all without the magic moving from position. Danton could see a confused reaction from Kite all the way from here, but could the fool really go this far?! "You complete idiot! You were using dark magic!"


    What? Danton figured it out that fast? How does he know what dark magic looks like? "I was using dark magic," Kite admitted, "and I''m not a fool for doing so."


    Danton took aim with his staff at Kite, uncertain of what was happening, but this situation is critical! "It''s illegal to use that kind of magic! And Sirus warned me just how dangerous it could be." Why Kite? Why step so deep into the box of evil?


    Sirus told him? So then, all of this time... "Then you knew!" That cheating rotten liar! "You knew this entire time what kind of secrets they were hiding in Eldora Tower, and you kept it from me?! I had to learn about this the hard way!"


    "Who taught you how to invoke such an evil format of magic like that?" Danton demanded an answer, but his threat didn''t seem to lessen Kite as a potential threat.


    "I taught myself, you fool!" How is he surprised by this? If Danton knew about dark magic this whole time, and learned how it could be invoked by one of Eldora Tower''s top officials, then why hide it from everyone?! The cap that has been placed on the Leray veil, Danton and the others knew about it this whole time! Such an unnatural modification to magic should not be limited to the wielders of Sprawn Valley. "Only now did I prove to you that this wasn''t just an old rumor. And I didn''t die from using it!"


    What? Is the man completely confused? "There is nobody in this entire city who uses dark magic, not ever!" Of course he didn''t die. Kite must be confusing two rumors into one, believing that the use of dark magic is the one that kills the user. But he''s wrong. He''s very wrong!


    "Even if that is true, that just makes all of them weak and pitiful!" Kite knew this was true all along. Dark magic is far more powerful than Leray magic, but the ban on this energy signature is completely worthless.


    This is bad! This is bad! Kite now thinks it''s okay to use dark magic, all because he confused it with lunar energy. Is there even enough time to tell him the truth? Is that even safe?!


    Danton''s demeanor is so useless right now. With a single pinch, Kite could easily stop him. "What did you think I meant when I kept my promise to become the most powerful Leray warrior in Sprawn Valley?"


    "Did you forget about the fact that dark magic kills the people you use it on? The energy signature rejects the immediate effects of the veil per target! You can''t use that magic on people Kite!"


    "And why not?"


    Danton gasped, repeating the question in his head to double-check that he heard Kite correctly. What does he mean why not? Is this man not even troubled by the documented fact that dark magic kills people? Does he not care about the lives around him? He can''t seriously care only about becoming all mighty and powerful. "Listen to me Kite. There''s more to this tower than you''ve looked into. You don''t understand what you''re getting involved with here!"


    "Go ahead then. Indulge me with the rest of the tower''s secrets." Kite crossed his arms, ready for an explanation.


    Danton was about to tell Kite about the crystal core, and the link between normal magic and pure lunar magic. But instead, he froze, and a lump entered his throat before he could say anything else. Kite yelled from across the room again to coax this special truth out of Danton, but the situation was already different from before. Danton knew what lunar energy is, and how much more powerful it is. Sirus said himself that lunar magic is completely dominant over both Leray magic and dark magic power levels, combined! If there is even a remote chance that Kite would take the truth of information, and use it only to his advantage to try and become even more powerful as a mage, it would be disastrous. Kite would end up destroying himself with his own magic, the same destructive lunar energy that really does kill the user involved. "First, I want you to never invoke that kind of energy ever again."


    What is he, stalling? Kite wisped his arms behind him while shouting a rebuttal through the quiet air of the room. "That''s never going to happen Danton!" Kite tried to calm himself down a little, attempting to bring the truth to his eyes. "You can stall all you''d like, but using dark magic as a threat to kill people is exactly the point! It''s the meaning behind being strong!"


    "What?!" This is utter nonsense. "Has using dark magic already twisted that screwed up head of yours?"


    He can''t even grasp the concept behind such a vision. "Think about it. In a normal Leray match where both contestants know they are safe from harm, nothing amazing ever happens. I''ve realized that there are certain exceptions to the rule, exceptions like yourself. You become stronger in battle by training, but you fight as if you would die should you fail!"


    "I fight because I want to win that badly."


    "What''s the difference? Look around you, look to everybody else who conducts their battles in Sprawn Valley, and then think back to all of those times you''ve had the most underwhelming, most pitiful matchups of all time. You''ve got idiots waving around lights in their hands thinking they''re special, but their lack of fear to lose gives them an excuse never to try their best. I couldn''t have been more disappointed in this week''s contestants. Less than half of them are brave, and even then are they unwilling to grow stronger since you''ve allowed the veil to be topped off with an inhibitor."


    Danton suddenly felt a heavy burden of guilt. So long has he tried to understand what kind of a person Kite is... But he never once asked about Kite''s personal background. Where is he from? What messed up things did he go through to become so tough in the first place? Kite did try and learn how to increase his skills the hard way, but before Danton met the guy, he refused to behave in such that way. His history is as dark as his heart is right now. There''s no telling what Kite has been feeling this whole time, and defiantly no way to sense what kind of dark thoughts are looming in his mind. "Not everyone wants to become the best Kite. That''s just the way things are."


    "Then those people shouldn''t get the right to choose Leray wielding as their careers! Magic battling should be about dominance, about proving which one of the other is stronger! And what better motivator to fight at your absolute best, a test more worthy than a battle to the death?"


    "So you would have people running around, killing each other just to prove which one of them is stronger?" Danton couldn''t hear any more of this. His head was going to explode trying to justify a single word coming out of this mad man''s mouth. "Are you listening to yourself Kite? You''ve completely lost your mind! I''m going to use force if you don''t shut up right now and surrender yourself!"


    So Danton is still threatening him... "You realize, the only reason I asked to test these powers on Entiene is because I didn''t want to do you the dishonor of killing you. If you and I had a battle to the death, it would have to be on even open terms of full informed consent. Is it really so evil for people to kill each other when they know the risks?!"


    "It''s far worse than that. We already have a safe system that prevents people from being blown to bits by their own spells! And you want to take it away from everyone!" No, Kite''s mind is defiantly twisted, but he is still in there somewhere. The man is far craftier than he looks. There is no way that using Entiene as a guinea pig had just that one advantage. Kite doesn''t understand the value of human life at all.


    On the surface, Kite is completely innocent right now. After all, all magic summons including Entiene are immune from death. They live on through the veil of magic. No matter how you deplete their HP, they still exist, and even with dark magic, perhaps even with lunar magic, it would still be impossible to permanently destroy an entity without a tie to life and death. But there''s also one more thing about summons, something that Kite knows, but won''t mention because it might expose his evil agenda. It''s the constant rule that all summons whose HP drops to zero percent will be unreachable for two whole hours, no exceptions. Kite was smart about this, because now, Danton doesn''t have any personal protection. No guards are in this room if Kite wants to make another move with dark magic. Using Entiene won''t be possible either, not for another two hours, but is Kite trying to kill him, or convert him?


    "The very idea of being killed when your HP drops to zero, all while having no pain absorber from the veil instills fear into those who don''t know what it''s like to be a leader, and it brings out only the toughest opponents who don''t fear death at all. Such a system would make for the ultimate filter. Facing such bravery is what it takes to be a true warrior. It''s the meaning behind real strength!"


    "No!" Danton retorted. "Punishing or killing people for failing in a single magic battle? How can people grow to better themselves if they don''t live long enough to try? You''re not arching for some new anti-Leray system of magic fights. You just want to separate the strong from the weak, and rule with absolute power and fear. That''s not the way of a Leray wielder. And I beckon; it''s hardly capable of possessing the title of warrior, strong or otherwise."


    "So then you don''t understand the meaning behind dark magic?"


    Why would he ever think that? This guy is far worse in the head than Danton could ever realize. The way he fights with his blades instead of magic should have been one red flag. The guy battles with such animosity, Danton mistook it for a will to win. No, Kite never wanted that. He wants battles between everyone to be far too intense and real for ordinary people to handle. He wants everyone to feel like their life is on the line the moment they enter a magic battle. "But that''s not what this nation is built on. We''ve come a long way to further the advance of magic, to use it in a safe environment, to create a Leray energy veil that prevents people from paying their ultimate price for their fun, and their freedom to use magic however they want. And I do understand that it is possible for just about anyone to pick up on dark magic, given enough practice." Something Kite must have been getting for himself for at least a week in secret, perhaps less time than that. "But the invocation of dark magic, even if used for good intentions is highly illegal and immoral! As a real protector of Eldora Tower, no, of all Leray magic in this country, I will not tolerate this coming from you! Kite!" He''s just standing there, like a little kid who doesn''t know how to cry or pout. "This is not the promise I made with you! Understand that right now!"


    The moron is stressed and upset. "We both made the same promise, but now we have different methods of reaching our new heights. Which one of us do you think would be stronger in a real magic battle? You want to give these new powers a shot?"


    "You will swear an oath to me right now." Please Kite, please still be in there. Don''t let the temptation of this new power eat you whole! "From this moment forward, you are going to stop using dark magic. I want you never to invoke its energy signature again! You will stick to Leray magic only, because that is what works in this world. I am your friend," Danton retried. "And this is the only last offer I can give to you. I won''t charge you with anything if you simply stop this madness right now. We can even forget this ever happened."


    "Let me think about that." Kite''s tone was mildly sarcastic, and his real decision had long already come to be. "Let''s try to have a dark magic battle instead? If you win, I''m no longer your problem!"


    That does it then. That man is no longer Kite Fargenst. Danton quickly reached for a small pocket button hidden in the side pocket of his pants, and applied pressure from the outside to trigger the tiny device. In an instant, the lights coming from the very top of the room all shifted color to red, flashing at intervals every two seconds. At the same time, the tower''s alarm system blasted the noise to every single floor. Kite probably wasn''t expecting this, and now, it should only be seconds before the entire security team shows up to this chamber. Danton is powerless against dark magic, especially without Entiene here to help him. Kite must now be detained because he wishes to become a threat to society.


    Kite however thought this was funny, and he laughed for a brief moment. "So you do want to provide me with tonight''s entertainment. I''ll start off small then. Sylph Wave!"


    It didn''t take long for Kite to create another dark magic spell. This time, Danton didn''t even recognize the language. How far gone did Kite throw himself to this new force of evil energy? The advancing wave itself was dark in color, almost black though surrounded by a red aura, and shaped to seem like a near 2-D warped triangle, if viewed from the sides. To Danton, it appeared to look more like a black and red line getting closer, appearing larger as time went by. The advancing wave of energy didn''t move along the ground, only in the air. With this speed, Danton only had the time to try and deflect the dangerous dark magic spell using his Mega-Staff. He simply swiped it in front of himself, as though the device would shield him from danger. Against a dark magic spell, he knew he would have no chance.


    But then the spell dispersed and faded away quickly, the moment Danton''s Mega-Staff wisped into the dark aura. With a surprise following the both of them, Danton realized that his staff, all on its own did actually deflect the dark magic spell sent to destroy him. Either Kite''s power level was slipping, or dark magic has at least one weakness. Even so, the force this created knocked Danton off his feet and onto the floor, a sensation similar to experiencing a Push Wave.


    Kite felt disappointed that he must have missed, since that blast didn''t appear to hurt Danton that much at all. Maybe the adjustment to dark magic was off... Despite all of the alarm lights and sirens going off in the tower, Kite expected to have a little bit more time before anyone would intervene, but the distraction soon ruined his chances to prove to Danton just how powerful dark magic really is.


    About thirty meters away from both Danton and Kite to an area within the arena circle, a large decorated holographic symbol suddenly drew itself on the floor of the room. Shortly after, a surge of light formed in the center, dying down to reveal the culprit of the magic. That''s teleportation magic, unique only to mages with special access and a few trusted Leray agents.


    Danton had never seen actual teleportation like this so close, but it was suddenly so easy and willing to accept this sight before him now with all of the circumstances changed. Danton stood back up, beaconing the mage to his location as quickly as he could. "Mage Sirus!"


    Mage Sirus left the teleportation symbol, causing it to shut and collapse, now awake to the interesting situation in the room. Danton and Kite. They appear to be at an average distance for battling or training, but they must know something about this alarm. It''s coming from Danton''s personal safety switch, and is likely just an accidental trigger. "We received your page Sir Danton. Might this be a false alarm?"


    As if... Good, Kite is still too confused to figure out how Danton was able to call security up to this room. He probably wasn''t expecting such a fast response, one made from direct teleportation. Danton pointed in Kite''s direction, summarizing the situation as best as he could. "Kite Fargenst is a dark magic user! Detain him!"


    What?! Sirus reacted immediately, even without understanding the situation. It takes too long to get the full story, and with dark magic, people can end up dead in seconds. "Very well. Don''t move Kite Fargenst!"


    "Oh, you''ve got to be kidding me." Kite crossed his arms, unwilling to fight such low class scum. "You''re the cavalry that was sent up here?" Kite''s words betrayed him only two seconds later, when smaller teleportation symbols suddenly appeared all over the floor of the room. Men with metallic armor and special oracle wands all appeared and surrounded Kite''s position.


    Sirus blocked, "Me, and the army of Danton''s personal security team. Danton has just accused you of a serious crime, and I''m taking you in for questioning on behalf of the mage council. Kite Fargenst? You are under arrest. Surrender immediately, or I will be forced to kill you."


    "You what?! You don''t have to use lethal force!" Danton could barely hold it together. Sirus and his men might actually be serious about killing Kite if he breathes the wrong way. Can Leray magic be used to kill? It''s not likely!


    They can''t be serious, right? Kite felt uneasy all the sudden. It''s only natural that Danton wouldn''t want to kill one of his lost sheep friends... But then these guys may actually be no stranger to dark magic themselves. Danton did say the tower was full of surprises... "It seems I''m left with no choice. I surrender."


    Sirus almost dropped sweat from the tension this situation created. "Take him to the isolation chamber, room 950-F!"


    Danton watched in question as Sirus''s henchmen captured Kite''s wrists, and installed some kind of luminescent device on him. They appeared to be some kind of bright, energized handcuffs. The other part of the team moved Kite while the rest surrounded him from a distance, making sure there was no room for error. "Nine fifty-F?" The meaning of the isolation chamber soon became clear, as the team made their way to the west end of the room, activating a hidden sliding door at the edge of the wall that opened up into a large cubical space, containing nothing but a standard chair. It was hard to make out from this distance Danton stood at, but it was obviously an isolation room designed specifically for special council interrogation, hidden right inside of the champion chambers... How many secrets does this tower really have?


    Mage Sirus approached Danton to make sure he was okay physically, but he seemed to be taking this harshly, on a psychological level. The man was dazed, trapped in his own mental prison of thoughts. He must be feeling a great amount of betrayal. "Sir Danton? Are you alright?"


    Danton threw the Mega-Staff to the ground, finally coming to his senses, but he had every right to be angry about this. Contrary to his destructive mood, the Mega-Staff bounced off the floor using its own kind of magic repulsion. "Damn this Sirus! Kite already figured out how to use dark magic! He did it all on his own!"


    "It isn''t possible to learn dark magic that quickly all on your own."


    Danton sank to the ground, keeping close to the indestructible staff that belongs to him now. "He was investigating the tower''s secrets, right around the same time I started to."


    Sirus nearly panicked on the spot, pressing Danton for details. "He doesn''t know about the core, does he?"


    "Of course not. But he ended up mistaking our secret lunar magic for dark magic in the process anyway, and now I can''t get him back. Kite isn''t Kite anymore Sirus! I thought you told me dark magic doesn''t twist people''s mind so easily!"


    "It depends on the person."


    Sirus spoke in such a casual way, Danton wanted to stand up and punch him, but he had two mysteries he was solving in his head at the same time, blocking his immediate rage.


    "We know nothing about Kite or his background. Normally, people have some sort of background, especially if they''ve graduated from a Leray school. However, we don''t know the extent to Kite''s personal experience with Leray magic, and now have reason to believe he may have been troubled in the past."


    "What do you mean, now?" If Sirus kept more information from him¡ª


    "I mean stuff we literally learned an hour ago. I never saw this as important since the guy appeared to be so focused on demonstrating such raw skill, but as it turns out, his Leray license was revoked several years ago."


    Danton suddenly looked up towards Sirus, confused and disoriented. "That can''t be possible. I''ve seen his license working in action. He wouldn''t make it to Eldora Tower without one."


    "He does indeed have one. The revocation was removed six months after... But removing a temporary ban on your license is something very rare. When it happens, all of those processes are channeled strictly through the mage council and other connected legal parties. Then, that action is archived in our records for filing. However, we show no such archives, time stamps, or valid entries made to remove this ban. Despite that, the license functions just fine."


    "What?"


    "I''m sure there is at least one error in this story, but there may be reason to believe that Kite is not fit for Leray battling. Somebody reset his license, and they didn''t do it legally. Despite that, the license system has no way of understanding that a fraudulent wielder is back into play."


    "So the man I knew was never someone I knew at all."


    "At least his name is real. Social identities check out. Even with all of that, we could never charge him without more to add to a thorough investigation... But this..."


    "He used dark magic against me."


    "You should have been on guard, and used Entiene to help you."


    "The hell did you think happened? Kite disabled Entiene for two hours! The man knew what he was doing."


    "This is very bad news Danton. I don''t like learning that one of our own newest elite members is a dark magic convert!"


    "What, you think this is my fault?!" Danton stood up, aggravated as before and with the staff back in his arms. "And what the hell is the deal with this staff? It completely deflected one of his dark magic attacks without any infusion from my aura. I mean, this is dark magic! These weapons are supposed to break on contact!"


    It''s another proven fact about dark magic, one Danton already assumed to be true since it makes logical sense. Even ordinary Leray magic has the power to destroy inanimate objects. You could break open a tree in the wild, or collapse an entire building with any form of magic. But these days, important material objects are designed specially with Leray infused properties. During the crafting process, all weapons, clothing, shields, and structures are imbued with a magical essence, an aura of energy invisible to the eye, and provided a constant source solely by the existence of the Leray veil. In return, Leray magic cannot break, damage, or destroy these special objects, but dark magic is different. It rejects the effects of the veil for anything it strikes as a target, including rejecting the item synthesis protection. For people, this means damage to their bodies, and possible death. For objects, even those imbued with protective Leray energy, it means this protection becomes effectively useless. If you use dark magic on an object, it should break, or at least take some damage. You could even destroy a person''s best sword in their hands, or blast holes into the tops of their shoes. It doesn''t matter; nothing that is hit with dark magic survives.


    Danton remembered blocking Kite''s last dark magic attack with pure instinct. At the very least, the Mega-Staff should have taken the damage and shattered. Sirus understood Danton''s current mentality, and tried to refresh his memory from before. "I told you before. That is no ordinary Leray weapon. It wasn''t crafted using the binding energy of Leray magic, but by lunar magic itself."


    "Lunar magic?"


    "Yes. The inventors ended up dying of cancer just to finish the generation of that staff, which is the reason that your Mega-Staff is unique, in that it can store lunar energy within its core if need be, but this also means that your Mega-Staff is not protected by the power source of the Leray veil. Rather, it is protected by the chronic existence of lunar energy cast down from the moon, a cosmic ray that penetrates this building during nightfall, and other buildings like it. You cannot break or damage the Mega-Staff. It might as well be indestructible." Danton was finally stopping himself. He held his head in distress, showing how shaken he was by all of this. Sirus had to take over from here. Danton could have simply been lying about Kite using dark magic, but it isn''t likely at all. "I told you, you would be better protected wielding that Mega-Staff at all times."


    "So what happens now? I didn''t even know we had a room like this."


    "Convenient for emergency criminal holding protocols. But I''m still disturbed to see that room open."


    "Room 950-F? Will they torture him to learn more?"


    "No, that''s actually the job of an official mage. I''m going to go bring one here to properly observe the situation. I want you to wait until I return in a few minutes before you set foot into that room."


    "How long?"


    "What was that?"


    Danton repeated with clarity. "How long has it been since that room has been accessed?"


    "It hasn''t been opened in over fifty years."


    Fifty years? So stuff like this really doesn''t happen every day. Danton did as he was instructed, waiting on Mage Sirus to use his teleportation trick to exit from the champion chamber of the room. In a moment, he would bring back another mage. For what, nobody really knows, but Kite is an enemy now. Even if he swears never to use dark magic again, that oath means nothing to these people, nor should it. Kite has always wanted raw power, raw dominance over other people. He just never understood what worse things there could be... No, Kite still believes he''s right somehow. That''s the real scare.

 Chapter 38: Blind Spot

    <hr>


    <12/30/1962 ¨C 20:49 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950-F, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    The rules for interrogating prisoners was more straightforward and simple than Danton initially realized. At first, only mage Sirus and a few other security members and detectives were allowed to question Kite, but it wasn''t long before Danton was requested into the small room of 950-F. Sirus escorted Danton inside, being careful to remind Danton that his Mega-Staff can be a serious weapon. Danton knew he didn''t need to be reminded. The only reason Sirus would invite him towards Kite is because he must be refusing to talk or give them any answers.


    Being difficult is probably not Kite''s objective. The guy is strange, and he has an altered sense of what the concept of fairness means to the world. Danton figured that the moment he enters that room, Kite will suddenly become cooperative, at least to a degree of knowledge. Kite won''t go as far to drop the subject of dark magic. If he did, this would be over by now. But Kite just tried to use dark magic against Danton personally, a threat to harm or kill a member of Eldora Tower. More importantly, Kite just tried to harm a member of the Trujima gang, a friend, an ally, a training partner. Did dark magic really twist his mind that far? Or has Kite always been this way inside?


    Danton had to be patient. There were questions he had himself. Upon entering the interrogation room, he noticed those holographic disks around Kite''s wrists, as they were tied to the back of a chair he was forced to sit down on. Sirus summarized that the blue disks were Leray magic''s form of handcuffs. They work just like any other ordinary handcuffs, but these Light Lock disks are not commonly known to the public, nor should it be. The spell specially targets all possible magic transition that leaves the body. That means that the subject under a Light Lock spell is still protected by the veil, though they cannot produce or invoke any magical power, whether it be Leray format or otherwise. If Kite cannot use any magic because of those cuffs, he isn''t much of a threat anymore.


    The man seemed smug and confident in his expression as he sat calmly in the chair, unable to move his arms shoved behind him. There were a couple of other mages in the same room, surrounding Kite with special staffs aimed at their prisoner. They must be here in case something does go wrong, and that means that those Light Lock disks must have some sort of potential weakness or failure mechanism.


    "So I''m your prisoner now?" Kite asked his question with a happy tone rolling off his tongue. He wasn''t the least bit worried or displeased.


    Danton felt disgusted again, just by seeing what state Kite Fargenst is in right now. The guy isn''t even remotely worried or guilty for what he knew he was getting involved with. Danton knew he didn''t need to spell it out either, but for the purpose of this meeting, he still stuck to protocol. "You''ve been teaching yourself how to use and invoke the forbidden teachings of dark magic, and a moment ago, you tried to harm me with that same magic format. So of course you are a prisoner right now. Letting you out would be a serious danger to society."


    Of course Danton would be disturbed by all of this. He''s been spending too much time with these top government officials lately. "All I wanted to do was let the people of Sprawn Valley realize what potentials they were missing out on."


    Danton clipped the Mega-Staff to the back holster strapped around his clothes, and slammed both of his hands down on the empty floor-mounted table between him and Kite. "You will listen to me while I''m taking to you!" Danton could feel Kite far beyond reach, but he still might be there somewhere. Wake up Kite! "You have any idea how stupid you sound right now? Nobody will ever accept magic that can kill others who get targeted!"


    Sirus added into detail and perspective the severity of Kite''s general situation. "Trying to trifle with us is useless. We know that you''re Leray license was illegally revalidated some time ago. That creates a large gap in time where nobody knew what you were up to, or who you were. You could be anybody for all I know."


    Kite only continued to argue that his claims were correct, even assuming nobody would accept him for it. "You honestly think I used to be a user of dark magic then? I would have never wasted my time with these idiots if I were capable of such things." Kite''s eyes were directed towards Danton, and his disenchantment towards all of Danton''s friends. "Leray magic is a joke. Magic of any kind should only be reserved for those who are brave enough to use the best skills, the best power levels, and endure the worst attacks possible."


    "This isn''t some dark battle royale nonsense Kite. You''re talking about derailing a society that already functions just fine the way it is."


    "How na?ve must you be Danton? Dark magic might be a well-known secret for now, but just imagine what would happen if a criminal group discovered how to invoke dark magic for their own purposes. It didn''t take me that long to figure it out myself."


    Na?ve? Looks who''s talking with that attitude. "We''re here to stop thugs like that, to imprison people who dare threaten the lives of other people and their freedoms."


    "And yet," Kite argued, "just imagine if everybody knew how to use it instead. Forget criminals. The people would be able to use dark magic and fend for themselves. There wouldn''t be any reliance on credit values and other material things. Giving everyone the truth and perspective to choose a more powerful magic level would toughen everyone up. There would be no need for further suffering!"


    Further suffering? What is he talking about? That gap in time where Kite became a ghost, it was a new moment for Danton to contemplate. Any minute now, Kite will be processed and sent to prison on some remote island within the country. But if something horrible actually happened to him back then, this is his only chance to speak up about it. Is that why Kite is so warped? Did the Leray agents monitoring and protecting everyone miss a spot? Kite could have easily gotten involved in a situation where others must have used dark magic to bully him, or something like that... Or Kite could just be completely insane. What''s worse is that he believes he is right to give everyone the sudden power-up of easily murdering other people. It''s like giving an entire town of paranoid people guns and bullets. People who don''t like their neighbor will get carried away. They might even find other more harmful ways of using dark magic, such in the fact that it could break the natural barriers of objects imbued with protective Leray magic. This is nothing short of one large mess.


    Danton still isn''t budging. "You might think that it causes problems now, but just imagine if all of us, you and me included stopped bad situations using our own dark magic. It''s not as complicated as you make it sound."


    "And you sound completely crazy," Danton retorted. "You really think things are that simple? All I hear are excuses you''re using to justify doing something so horrible. Magic is not a tool used to kill!"


    "But it should be!" Kite argued again. "We''re supposed to be getting stronger with magic. Yet you and your cohorts have put a limiter on how powerful magic can be. If only you would just stop relying on that stupid veil, it might even be possible to further advance dark magic into a new artificial veil. If we could do that, think about the applications. People could soon learn to live forever!"


    Without even shouting or chanting, Danton lifted his left arm, already complete and charged with an electrical glyphring around his wrist, aimed directly for the moron in front of him. Kite almost looked surprised for a split second. What was he expecting anyway? That idiot really believes in killing people, while vouching for immortality in the same sentence? He''s contradicting himself with his lunacy... But he''s not crazy enough to be irrational. If Kite is getting ideas to generate artificial veils using dark magic that negate the natural veil of Leray magic, then it only makes him far more dangerous than he previously thought. Sorry Kite, but this friendship has been stretched to the limits, and you''ve crossed a very dangerous line. "I already know that whatever happens to you is more up to the council association than myself, but let me be clear, Kite Fargenst. This idea of ultimate power you crave inside of your head is flawed and broken. You will not be leaving here today as a free man. You will not be represented by a lawyer whom will only try to buy yourself time to develop some sinister plan of action to save yourself. I''ve declared you to be a danger to society the moment I stepped into this room. You''ve lost your way, and I don''t know when that happened, or if I had anything to do with it, but you will be imprisoned for your actions, expelled from Eldora Tower, and ejected from this Trujima gang you''ve built up."


    Sirus held a grin of confidence that Danton had the strength to put away the people he''s worked with before. Yes, the mage council does handle these things, but executive decisions made from the champion that happens to align with the council association only speeds up the process. Putting Kite behind bars now is the safest choice to make, no matter how difficult.


    Failing to hold in his laughter, Kite let it out in front of all of them. The fools don''t even understand what influences they can and can''t control. He had Danton and the others asking what was so funny, but Kite had to return to his old confidence in order to explain it. Thirty minutes has already gone by since his capture. "You don''t have any influence over the Trujima gang. They follow my lead, my orders, my influence. It doesn''t matter if you are the champion or not. You can''t control everyone you want to."


    What is he talking about? Mainne, Gleeon, and Vanoss would never put up with this crap. "Whatever man. Sirus, make sure that he can''t¡ª" Danton couldn''t finish his request, because a loud bang sound stole the attention from everyone in the room. Shortly after, a massive crash shaking the entire room for a brief moment nearly penetrated the area outside of the sealed section. Danton didn''t know what was going on - to the other side of this door, but after hearing a couple of screams, cries of terror that could only come from the additional guards of security, it didn''t take much to realize that something bad was happening just outside of room 950-F... That''s why Kite is so smug!


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Duel ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


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    Danton reached for his Mega-Staff, but it was already too late. He meant to aim the device towards Kite, but the sliding door opened up behind him, revealing a tall figure that Danton only saw as a blur before his body was lifted off the ground and thrown to the other side of the door. Sirus tried to react, but a strange dark symbol opened up underneath him, sapping mage Sirus of all his stamina and energy in an instant. Sirus collapsed to the floor unconscious, teleported away from the same external symbol. Danton landed on the hard ground back in the champion''s chambers after literally being thrown out of the cubical space.


    It wasn''t clear what was happening yet, but Danton was certain he and the others were all in immediate danger. Danton helped himself back up, turning around to discover who was behind that, an attempt obviously made to free Kite from his magic cuffs... "Gleeon?!" There''s no mistaking that build. Gleeon is a tall strong guy with plenty of muscle to show, even with excellent armor. Gleeon glanced behind him to Danton, confirming his facial identity to the champion further, as Danton suddenly froze. Gleeon is helping Kite? That can''t be! Kite was bluffing earlier about having the Trujima members on his side, right? Gleeon would never resort to killing people with dark magic! "Gleeon! What are you doing?!" Danton hollered despite the moderate distance between his position and the now broken doorframe of room 950-F.


    Gleeon wasn''t happy to talk to Danton at all. He instead generated a small aura around his right hand, and slammed his fist into the ground aiming for Danton. The actions generated a Shadow Wave moving across the floor. Only this Shadow Wave was more luminescent, glowing with a strong red radiance of color and rage. It''s the aura of dark magic, sent straight to Danton.


    Danton had no choice but to immediately react to the situation, using his Mega-Staff to create a Firesurge spell in front of him, hopefully strong enough to intercept the incoming Shadow Wave, but the waves of energy each clashed with each other. Firesurge was consumed immediately, while the dark magic Shadow Wave continued on unhindered. Danton immediately enforced the telekinetic rules he learned earlier, using the magic force on himself to lift his own body into the air, just high enough to dodge that Shadow Wave. Luckily for him, Danton''s actions were quick and precise, as the Shadow Wave moved on to hit a useless piece of flooring tile curving upward.


    Gleeon wasn''t trying to kill Danton, something made very clear as Danton sank back to the ground. Gleeon instead made it to the back of room 950-F, using some sort of unfamiliar magic on the back of Kite''s wrists, breaking the seal on those magic cuffs immediately. So now Kite is free too. Two dark magic users are suddenly loose in the tower. All of the security guards and soldiers from earlier were knocked out and unconscious... Hopefully they are only unconscious.


    Kite and Gleeon walked each other out of that secure room, proving once again to Danton how much more efficient dark energy is against the forces of the veil users. Gleeon figured that Kite had enough of his ranting earlier, so he spoke to Danton instead while Kite hung back, prepared to fight. "Allow me to introduce our backup plan, in the event that you would try and defy us."


    "So you''re in on this too!" Danton pointed. "Gleeon! What the hell are you doing?! Dark magic is dangerous and illegal. It kills the people afflicted by the damage with just a couple of hits!"


    "And that is precisely the reason why I have resigned myself to this pure set of rules," he replied. "I was indeed impressed with your ability to self-improve through such analytic training methods... But not every person is like you Danton. Other Leray wielders like us only strive to become the most powerful, to never once show a single sign of weakness. If you cannot stomach the idea that this new power is necessary though dangerous, then I cannot accept you in the group anymore."


    "Forget about that stupid group and your ideas of becoming powerful! This is treason, Kite and Gleeon! You''ve abandoned the very principles we promised to protect!"


    "I never made such a promise. Meanwhile," Gleeon pointed to Danton with a heavy gesture of rage, "all you''ve done is buddy up with the same people keeping this secret from the whole world! You''re the one who''s abandoned the principles of becoming the stronger warrior, and your own actions are so dishonorable too. It sickens me to look at you now!"


    "I''m stronger and better than you''ll ever be, because I''ve never once been tempted to resort to a form of magic that could ever harm another person. I would never twist my own morals like you''ve done so today!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Fatal ~ Critical Mass [Out of the Ashes]</a>


    <center><iframe title="Fatal" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Moc1GvjjT4k" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    Gleeon''s eyes suddenly began to change in color to red, while his hands began to lighten with a red aura. "You think you''re stronger than dark magic? I suppose Kite didn''t provide a very good demonstration then."


    Kite turned to Gleeon and gave him the detailed report. Not every moment went as planned. "I''ve disabled his most powerful summon. He can''t use it for another hour."


    "Summon or not," Gleeon stated, "I will eliminate those who think they can stand in the way of this raw power. Everyone calls it dark magic, but that''s just a deviant twist of nomenclature. If this magic is possible because of the existence of the Leray veil, then it should also be allowed. After all, I''ve learned it in just a few days! Fire Blast!"


    Danton watched Gleeon launch another attack towards him, again converting an ordinary Leray spell into a dark magic energy burst. Four separate spheres of red fiery magic shot through the air towards Danton. The Mega-Staff can absorb a lot of the damage, and he knew this by now. So Danton performed his staff twirling technique, causing all four spheres to dissipate upon impacting the staff, but the force against Danton pushed back on his legs, causing his feet to slide back on the floor.


    "You idiots!" Danton insulted. "What do you ever hope to accomplish by ruining Leray magic for everyone? You would have everyone killing each other for dominance?!"


    Gleeon wasn''t having any of Danton''s flawed logic. Even he can barely hold up against dark magic. He is a champion no longer. "Kite''s ideals do sound extreme, but that is the way nature works. The weak must succumb to the strong! Dark energy is but another freedom that you and your council have sealed away from the world. It''s not as if we''re asking everyone to run around murdering innocent people. Magic is a choice after all, but in a magic battle, a fight to the death will always yield a battle worthy of praise and honor, no matter what the odds are."


    How? How could Gleeon have become so twisted by this? It isn''t possible for Kite to have brainwashed Gleeon like that. Gleeon cares so much about honor, and that doesn''t exist in a world where magic kills everyone on impact! Just look at this carnage! Those guards should have come back by now, but they aren''t sleeping! They won''t wake up because they can''t wake up anymore. Hypocrite! Absolute Hypocrite! And what happened to mage Sirus? Why isn''t he here to help?


    Danton''s heart was pounding in his chest. Here stood two strong warriors ready to kill him. Working together, they could easily kill Danton. What about Vanoss? What about Mainne? Where the hell are they?! "What did you do with Mainne and Vanoss?"


    Gleeon almost chuckled in his response. "Vanoss is involved too now. Don''t you see how many people feel betrayed by your weak Leray veil? I''ve got him on standby right now, unless you want to have him test his dark powers on you too."


    "No!" Danton felt gravity around him intensify as it became harder to stand and breathe. Not Vanoss too! Even him? Such a young swordsman just dedicated to becoming a strong and honest Leray warrior. There''s no way he would ever be converted! Kite did something to him, and probably did something to Gleeon as well.


    "But as for Mainne," Gleeon continued, "she refused to accept this arrangement."


    "I swear to god, if you did anything to hurt her..." Danton lifted his staff to aim at Gleeon despite the increase in artificial gravity pushing him down, while charging a glyphring without releasing its magic. "I will kill both of you!"


    Gleeon''s eyes opened wider, and even Kite''s brows rose from the reaction. Danton would suddenly cross the line of murder over something so simple as hurting somebody else? "Of course I didn''t hurt her... But maybe I should have. That look in your eyes right now, you care even more about protecting other people than you do for protecting your ideas of Leray magic. That said, you''re no different from the rest of the swine working in this building."


    Danton made it clear to repeat himself only once more. "Where - is - Mainne?"


    "I''ve surrounded her entire training room in a modified anti-energy field. She''s trapped inside of there for the next few hours, without any ability to use her magic, as it constantly gets drained to zero percent. She will not escape that place until I''ve deemed it safe to do so. But at least now, you and her will get to die together."


    "So that''s your plan now? Kill me and take over Eldora Tower? Rule the world like some tyrant?!" This is bad. If they couldn''t convert Mainne, then Vanoss and Gleeon really are on Kite''s evil side.


    "Ha! We''ve thought this out more than you think we did. Kite and I both know you''re hiding something within this tower, presumably somewhere near the top floor."


    Dammit! They know about the crystal core!


    "Fun fact of the day," Kite switched. "Did you know that it is possible to transform the energy signature of the veil being transmitted from this tower, and change it to constantly send out a dark energy signature instead? The result would forcibly convert all Leray energy to dark magic energy without as much as a stress on the wielders using it. All of Sprawn Valley could become one full dark zone!"


    "It is?" Danton wasn''t sure about that. Sirus never said anything about that kind of potential. But what would happen if it were used this way?


    "I see... So your buddy didn''t tell you everything. Basically, it would automatically make it easier for everyone in Sprawn Valley to use dark magic at their own command. We can finally unlock the true power of the veil, giving everyone the destructive power they want to have, and all without blocking the consequences of their own mistakes. This is the way magic is supposed to be!"


    They''ve both gone crazy. Danton knew it by now. There was no possibility of turning either of them around. They''re both a serious threat to Eldora Tower. Shutting down the veil would have been the right choice after all, but it''s too late for that now. Unless Danton could somehow destroy the both of them, at least disable their powers for a good moment of time... But how? How did those soldiers use the Light Lock spell?


    Gleeon took a step closer, totally fearless in front of Danton''s non-threatening staff, using nothing but false magic. "This is your very last chance to change your mind and join us. Leray magic is just a simulation Danton. But behind that vault door you have somewhere - lies the real magic, unlocked with all the potentials. We are going to find it with or without your help."


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Danton exhaled through his nose and stiffened his focus. He''s all alone here. Fighting two against one without taking a single shot of damage isn''t going to be easy, but there is no choice. Eldora Tower is the heart of Leray magic. These losers want to take away the magic that everyone loves, and control it for their own selfishness. "I''m not going to let that happen!"


    Danton unleashed his Quantum Beam from the staff, but as fast as the blue flash of light was, Gleeon and Kite were both out of harm''s way, evading something so quickly and easily. Danton missed with his threat, but at least any Leray magic he does use won''t kill either one of them.


    Kite summoned his supply sphere, containing both Dire Sabers which he now held in both of his hands. The supply sphere usually fades away into a phased dimensional pocket of space, but Kite instantly slashed the device intentionally, causing it to fall apart from the air it floated into. Why would he disable his own supply sphere? It''s simple enough. Those things can be used as tracking devices. Another trade secret the government was keeping from people. With both blades now ready and aimed at Danton, Kite prepared himself for real combat. "Gleeon? Back me up. It''s time we take out the new master of our simulations."


    "Must I really need to help you with this?"


    Kite knew Gleeon was just being rhetorical, and he charged off on foot, faster in speed than before from clinical practice. Danton wasn''t capable of figuring out what to do in time. Kite slashed his swords into Danton, and even though he partially blocked the hits with his staff, using a one handed weapon to block dual wielding was ineffective. Of course, every time Kite struck Danton, they both knew that only ordinary Leray damage was being done. So Kite backed off to momentarily charge dark energy auras into both of his sabers, causing them to glow red with auras. Danton now realized where this all ends.


    Danton thought fast, shooting a Power Blast from the end of his staff towards Kite''s feet. The shockwave is powerful, but also directional. It sent Kite and Danton flying back and away from each other, though both managed to get back on their feet quickly. As Kite attempted to get close with his new blades of death, Danton managed to summon the Luminous Artemus in his other hand, causing the device to transform into a phased sword in the same moment. Danton would need both of these to stand a chance against Kite, but he is hardly the biggest concern.


    "Ragh!" Kite shifted hand and hand, striking towards Danton with another sprinting charge, but Danton was at the edge of his nerves, blocking or dodging every single strike. How he became so fast wasn''t clear to Kite right away, but just a single strike on Danton would be all it takes. Kite sped himself up, becoming reckless in knowing that Danton won''t ever use dark magic himself, and after several attempts at dodging, Kite finally landed the end of his right blade through Danton''s left leg.


    Danton winced in agony, sinking to the floor with a sudden drop in stamina. He nearly lost all breath from that painful stab alone, but Danton fought back even while sinking. He invoked more magical energy from his staff and locked Kite in place. His entire body and all movement were suddenly frozen, the magic of telekinesis. Danton knew he should have just used that earlier, but even this power has limits, both on time and number of targets per invocation. Kite just needs to be far away, so Danton supercharged the kinetic force from the front of the aura surrounding Kite, and then let go. The results catapulted his entire body far away from Danton like a slingshot, and his swords dropped to the ground from the unexpected force.


    Gleeon watched in humiliation as Kite made a fool of himself, being shoved into the side of the metal wall several meters above the ground. "I knew you would slip up eventually. I''ll take care of this myself." Gleeon knew Danton could hear him from their distance, but it wouldn''t matter. Danton might be able to control the flow of a few atoms and molecules with that staff, but he can''t control more than his own weight. "Maelstrom!" Gleeon unleashed a ton of energy at once, causing his eyes to glow red while the floor under Danton was blasted with a surge of red energy, some of which were vertical beams of light.


    Danton was caught up in all of it, forcing real time damage to penetrate his body and cause great harm. The sudden blast of energy to him immediately weakened Danton, causing him to stumble in place. Nobody had their energy scopes running, but Danton didn''t bother. It doesn''t matter if he monitors his health or not. Another couple of stray hits is all it takes to die here. All that thing will tell him is a report of unknown response error. Forget holding the building together. This has to end right now! "Rush Assault!"


    Danton created an aura of speed around him, using this speed and reaction time booster to instantly throw projectile spells towards Kite, while running in to beat up Gleeon, but despite Danton''s initial hits to Gleeon''s body with his sword, Gleeon barely had any reaction at all. He soon reacted by creating his personal Void Edge around him while fighting back with his bare fists. The close fight soon changed direction, as Gleeon caught Danton''s left wrist, twisting it until he dropped the sword staff. Danton tried to fight back by punching Gleeon, but the man was a brute, taking any kind of punishment.


    Gleeon had a hard time blocking or intercepting Danton''s worthwhile speed, blaming Kite for teaching him how to move so quickly, but it wasn''t a problem. Gleeon continued to passively drain Danton''s MP energy for each and every moment of physical contact that was made. Gleeon eventually drove his fist into Danton''s face hard enough to knock him back into the air. Gleeon also took advantage of the moment with his other free hand, grabbing Danton''s Mega-Staff and claiming it for himself.


    Danton knew as well as Gleeon that items cannot be transferred this way, and he had to ignore the bruising pain in his right cheek to stand back up and reclaim his Mega-Staff. He did so by activating a hidden magical function on the device, a Leray-based signal that causes the holder of the Mega-Staff to receive a powerful electric shock with a power level of eight.


    The trick worked. Gleeon was suddenly zapped with magic electricity coming from the end of the Mega-Staff, forcing him to drop the device to the ground. Danton used that opportunity again to invoke kinetic magic, shooting the Mega-Staff through the air and catching it back into his hand, but just as Danton succeeded, Kite came out of nowhere, and used a Flash Kick on Danton''s abdomen. That time, the Flash Kick was Leray damage only, but Danton was quickly losing the fight before him, now stuck on the ground again in excruciating pain. Even in between dark magic and Leray magic attacks, the existence of real time damage can multiply the pain level of ordinary Leray attacks received. Right now, Danton could barely move at all. Now Kite and Gleeon were standing together again. Both of them held their arms and hands out and open, aimed at Danton while their personal auras of red evil energy built up around them. The process wasn''t quick this time, a tell that Danton was about to be done for.


    "Let''s just blast him with a double Dark Beam and call it a day."


    Gleeon nodded in agreement to Kite''s simplicity. It''s what they both should have done the first time. Even Danton cannot fight the raw power of dark magic. This alone is proof of the difference in power levels, and it will soon be unlocked for everyone!


    "I think you''ve proven your point Kite!"


    Danton couldn''t move from the pain in his chest, but he knew that voice wasn''t from himself, Kite, nor Gleeon. Standing a distance to his left was the man making his appearance, Vanoss Highdrow. He doesn''t look too happy, but him being here right now really proves that he is also for team dark magic as well. How could they do this to the world?


    "We don''t need you for this!" Kite yelled from his distance. Neither he nor Gleeon stopped the durational charge of their ultimate dark magic spell. It takes a lot of time and concentration to execute, but can also break through any shield barrier and beyond. "Back away Vanoss!"


    Vanoss could clearly see who was winning this fight, but what is this all really worth in the end? It was only a few hours ago when Vanoss learned the truth, straight from Gleeon and Kite. Their ability to use dark magic so easily is impressive, and it really does suck that the top leaders of the nation, including Danton himself subjected everyone to the lies regarding dark magic. It''s the more powerful source, the better choice if they''re aiming to become the best.


    But even now, Danton isn''t using dark magic for any reason. He isn''t fighting back with that kind of raw power. Even if he doesn''t know how to, he would have learned to himself if he were really interested. This isn''t about defending the right for people to use dark magic. No, what Kite and Gleeon are doing is far simpler than that. They''re about to kill Brash Danton, and they don''t need to! "I said that''s enough!" Vanoss screamed at both of his teammates, and dashed forward to stand himself directly in front of Danton. Gleeon and Kite naturally did not approve.


    "Get out of the way Vanoss!"


    "What are you doing?!"


    Vanoss T-posed in front of Danton, vouching to protect him from any harm. He would be the new fighter from this moment on. "There are people who want Leray magic to be their only option, even after learning the truth. You can''t force me and Danton to use dark magic for the rest of our lives. I won''t let you!"


    "Move fool!" Kite kept his aura charging, as did Gleeon, but Kite wasn''t going to let Vanoss suddenly stop them just because he changed his mind a second time.


    Vanoss... You weren''t swayed by their lies. Still, get out of the way! "Vanoss!" Danton coughed afterwards, evidence that his previous encounter must have damaged some of his internal body structures to a small degree. His stomach felt like it was doing backflips in his place. "Don''t let that blast hit you!"


    Vanoss held his position. One single burst of dark magic won''t enough to kill him, and Danton needs to be safe for just a little longer. "I''m defending Leray magic to my last breath! You are not going to take Leray magic away from us!"


    "Have it your way!" Kite ignored that warning. He knew all of the energy would be wasted if they stopped their charged spell just to prevent Vanoss from taking the injury. Either way, Danton looks like he is in bad shape already, and this spell is therefore overkill, but Vanoss will make for a worthy lightening rod. He''ll eat his own words. Synchronized with Gleeon, they chanted the spell name while releasing their ultimate spell. "Dark Beam!" Their auras combined together, forming one large red beam of energy. For a spell charging that long of a time, one would think a beam of dark magic would be underwhelming. However, this beam of dark magic has a power level of 15 on the scale, and carries three times the deadly force of a bullet to any vital organ when used in the outside world, comparatively speaking.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Resolution [Reprisal] ~ Borislav Slavov [Crysis 2 OST]</a>


    <center><iframe title="Resolution" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UjOSdznzcbw" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    Danton flinched; afterwards it felt like time had stopped. He couldn''t bring himself to believe it. It wasn''t possible, yet the situation in front of him declared otherwise. The large red beam of energy traveled from one end of the room to the other side, drilling a large hole straight through Vanoss''s chest. Blood drops splattered everywhere on top of Danton''s arms and face, as Danton quit breathing.


    The pain felt so intense, Vanoss knew he couldn''t stand up much longer. After looking below him to the damage, his eyes began to spin at the sight. A three-inch hole replaced a chunk of his upper chest, his flesh mangled and bloody. The impact hit one of his lungs, causing him to cough and spit up blood while collapsing to the ground trembling.


    Danton wanted to scream, to stop time where those murderers stood, but he couldn''t do much of anything. His movement abilities were slowly returning to him, but the shock of watching Vanoss dying right in front of him was too much, and Danton''s natural instincts took over. He waved his hand aiming at Vanoss, causing his energy scope to appear. Danton already thought the worst was to reveal itself. Vanoss just got hit by a powerful dark magic spell.


    The health value wasn''t zero! But Danton could see it ticking down at an alarming rate while his body rested on the floor, blood seeping into both sides of his shirt. Twenty-five, twenty-four, twenty-three... It''s dropping so fast. Vanoss is still going to die without medical attention. Where are the rest of the guards?


    Kite lashed out at the moron on the floor. It doesn''t matter how impressive it is that Vanoss wasn''t somehow incinerated. "You idiot! That''s what you get for rejecting the power of dark magic! You stand in our way, and you''ll die a slow and painful death!"


    "Forget it," Gleeon refreshed. "Vanoss made his choice, and Danton made his choice, each independently of each other. Let''s just get this over with. Booooof!" Gleeon was suddenly shoved into Kite, blunted by a bright force of glacier and stone from the side. Both him and Kite were knocked into the ground, but the damage was minor. "Who the¡ª"


    "You''re through, you sick, disgusting vermin!"


    Gleeon reset his stance quickly, forcing himself to try and get over the confusion. What is Mainne doing up here? "Didn''t I lock you several floors below?"


    Vanoss was barely keeping it together, but he was still conscious for all of it. He couldn''t speak though due to his inability to breathe properly, and it caused his coughing to escalate.


    "You would dare kill all of our own people, our friend just because you want to become more powerful? I think I can see enough in front of me to get the picture. The two of you really are evil, and that warped magic you''ve both been using has also fried your brains." Mainne felt so relieved she got up here in time. Danton was sill okay. He''s hurt, but Vanoss actually looks much worse. From this distance, it wasn''t easy to confirm.


    Danton gasped from the epiphany. This was Vanoss''s idea! He wasn''t just protecting Danton from imminent doom; he was buying time! That anti-energy field Mainne was trapped in must have been constantly powered by Gleeon''s energy reserves, but having him participate in that last energy blast drained his MP levels too low to keep that field going. Vanoss knew that Mainne would be set free just as soon as Gleeon used that large spell. But he shouldn''t have to die over this! "Stop them Mainne! They''re after the veil. They want to make all magic dark magic!"


    Kite didn''t even speak or hesitate to waste any time. He jumped in front of Gleeon, and activated another Sylph Wave. The airborne shockwave of dark magic zooned through the air at a high speed, but Mainne was even faster than all three of their spells. She held out her sword, and immediately used the iceberg she created earlier as fuel to intensify her blade with ice elemental magic. The ice surrounding her sword changed the entire shape and size of the blade, causing it to become larger and stronger as a single weapon. She then shoved it downward into the incoming Sylph Wave as hard as she could. Ultimately, her plan worked to disrupt Kite''s attack. Despite Sylph Wave using dark magic, its power level is lower, and a powerful ice blade is one of Mainne''s specialties. Ice abilities familiar to her generate a higher power level when Mainne uses them, because she''s had them invoked over a decade of experience. That''s how she gets stronger with Leray magic, with hard work and practice. But this, this is another dimension in the wrong direction.


    Kite stopped, assessing the situation besides Gleeon. Mainne was almost an equal fighter against Danton, putting Entiene aside, and Danton isn''t really out of the fight yet either.


    Alarms sounded through the entire building again. Danton hit his personal alarm switch a second time, assuming that security must not all be fully aware of the situation in this room. Part of this is Danton''s fault for disabling the active monitoring in the first place. But with Danton beginning to recover, and Mainne already at full stamina, this fight will finally be fair! "I''ll handle Gleeon! Mainne! You take Kite Fargenst!"


    "You''ve got it!" Mainne held her fists tight, waiting for either of them to make a move... But they were standing still, almost backing up in hesitation. Is a fair fight really that threatening to them?


    Kite glanced around quickly, realizing the situation and the timing of their impact. The vault at the top of Eldora Tower can''t have solid security. But in this case, a full building lock-down will make this impossible. Kite only escaped custody last time because of Gleeon, and that fool Vanoss switched sides a second time... "We''ve wasted too much time!" Kite tried to talk through his teeth so that only Gleeon would hear him through the sound of the alarm system.


    "I thought the plan stated we could easily take them both."


    "Something''s wrong," Kite warned. "They should be backing down even with Mainne here."


    "Hey assholes!" Danton called both of them from over here, holding his Mega-Staff high in the air while releasing magic. In the process, he slowly generated a large yellow glyphring above him. "I think my pet wants to see if you''re still on the menu!"


    Gleeon turned around, sure enough to blast Kite with his own dark magic. "I thought you said Entiene was disabled!"


    Danton stretched his voice to reach them again. "I have a spell that cuts summon recharge time to nothing, and I used it during your interrogation while nobody was looking." Unfortunately, Danton knew this was all an elaborate bluff. Summons are always disabled after they fail for two hours, no exceptions. But Kite and Gleeon don''t know anything about it. They only know what they think they know in magic. If they were really focused on Leray magic just like everyone else, then this bluff would immediately fail. Oh, and this light show? It''s just a light show. Entiene takes a ton of MP energy and duration to summon. I''ve bought you a moment of time Mainne. Use it now!


    "It''s too late!" Kite put away one of his sabers, keeping the other in his left hand. "We can''t fight all three of them that quickly. If we get captured by the guards, it''s all over!"


    "Then what do you propose we do? This was your dumb idea!" Gleeon nearly punched Kite in the gut, but it was only an aggressive nudge.


    Kite took all of his surroundings in a panic. From here, it looked like Mainne was charging some sort of powerful spell, one that would be effective at any range. Her hand is glowing so brightly that it hurts to look at. "Time! We can live to fight another day. Outside Maneuver!" Kite took off in speed, causing Gleeon to follow him, but their direction took them away from Danton and Mainne, practically towards the edge of the cylindrical metal wall in the side of the room.


    Mainne unleashed her powerful spell towards her enemies, but Kite intercepted the attack in time using a dark magic powered Earth Glave. Mainne used a horizontal whirlwind attack combined with a standard Earth Glave, but even with that, she only put a crack in the protective Earth Glave Kite set up using a stronger form of magic. Evading more damage, Kite and Gleeon both continued towards the edge of the wall, as if they were going to phase through the corner and escape that way. What are they doing?


    Danton canceled the fake summon, mostly to conserve what remaining energy he had left, but also to figure out what those two were up to. Mainne began to follow them.


    "Stand clear," Kite ordered. He aimed his arm at the end of the wall, charging powerful dark magic energy at the structure. It took a few more seconds than either of them were comfortable with, but Kite finally unleashed a magical blast of energy, powerful enough to blast through the solid wall of the building. The blast displaced metal fragments from the area with the deafening sound of the outward explosion, while launching the broken piece of wall away from the tower. This hole was at least thirteen meters forward, leading all the way outside of the tower itself. Dark magic ignored the rules of protective material, which is what this tower was made of. Doing this much drained a lot of Kite''s energy while depressurizing the room. Gleeon was running low too, but they needed to move now. Those mysterious Light Lock disks are more powerful than they look.


    "You want to jump out of here from this height?" Gleeon wasn''t stupid enough to jump to his death. The Leray veil protects people from falling off structures, but that rule only works for about 800 feet in altitude acceleration. After that threshold, real time damage can set in. After 1,000 feet, it''s most likely instant death. And this tower is far higher than 1,000 feet at this level.


    "No you idiot! We jump, then teleport before hitting the ground." Mainne was about to catch them on foot! "Move!" Kite dashed for the new exit he created, assuming Gleeon to follow behind him.


    As Mainne nearly caught up to them, she watched in confusion as they both jumped through the exit of the hole, leaping into the air, the high altitude off this tower at which none should survive, but Mainne got closer to the edge. Surely they had some way of not being killed by their own jump?


    Teleportation via personal symbol and aura transference isn''t an easy thing to accomplish, but Kite managed to figure it out by studying one of the mages in secret. He showed Gleeon how it works, but he was still a rookie at teleportation. Either way, Kite knew that he would at least survive this, and that''s because he isn''t going to hit the ground. Again, teleportation isn''t easy, but teleportation usage while in mid-air is practically unheard of. In theory, there isn''t any reason why it shouldn''t work. All you have to do is focus, and block any fear that you might come to harm. Concentrate! Concentrate on the energy displacement and geographical location. "Teleport now!"


    "What?!" Mainne saw another disbelieving solution to her enemy''s problem. Gleeon and Kite both became surrounded in this bubble aura, with a large teleportation symbol opening up beneath each of their bodies. They''re teleporting away in mid-air, free falling to a different destination entirely!


    "Mainne! Get over here!"


    Mainne could hear Danton''s call, but she couldn''t divert her eyes until the impossible was confirmed in front of her. About halfway to the ground, both Kite and Gleeon disappeared in their bright auras of light... They''re really gone!


    "Get a healing orb now!"


    Mainne''s attention shifted immediately. Danton wouldn''t call for a healing orb without reason... "Vanoss!" Mainne rushed back to the center of the room, where Danton was holding Vanoss up slightly, checking his vitals that were still rapidly depleting over time. The health signature only continued to drop as the poor man slowly bled out all over the floor, and on Danton''s clothes. Mainne reached in her pocket for the spare healing orb she knew she had, and handed it to Danton.


    Danton powered the orb over Vanoss, trying to get the device to heal him, even a little, just enough to buy time for the medical teams on their way up here. "Vanoss! Hang in there! You''re not dying on us!"


    The man was beyond weak from blood loss and rapid organ failure. The Leray veil was doing nothing to heal Vanoss in the slightest, and his eyes were barely staying open.


    But he was still awake, able to see the two people towering over him. Everything he saw was fuzzy with light displacement, but Vanoss knew that Danton was holding him, Mainne desperately trying to help. If Kite and Gleeon aren''t here, it must mean they won. Danton and Mainne proved it, that Leray magic is still better than dark magic, if they can just use it right. They protected all of this with their lives. Even Vanoss did. He protected Danton successfully. "Le-ray, magic..." Vanoss struggled to speak. He was amazed at himself for being able to do so, but exhaustion was kicking in fast, and he suffered lightheadedness from hell.


    "Don''t speak," Danton commanded. "You''re not dying Vanoss! You''re not dying!" It was no use fighting back the tears. That fleeting look in his eyes, Vanoss was quickly slipping away. Blood continued to float up through the sides of his mouth, and now into the white spots in his eyes.


    "You saved, it... Thank - you." Vanoss felt heavier by the second, until the weight of everything suddenly smothered him and his senses. It felt like drowning, his entire body''s blood drowning every nerve. Everything became dark and heavy. But this isn''t the end.


    Danton couldn''t do anything! Vanoss just continued to weaken, until his last trembling moment. His eyes shut by themselves, and through the grip Danton was holding him up by, the pulse suddenly stopped.


    Mainne lost all her strength in her legs, watching Vanoss die, despite the medical orb failing to do its job. Vanoss''s energy scope turned grey, a deadly sign that the owner isn''t biologically active anymore. Tears streamed down Danton''s face, leaking into Vanoss''s corpse, but Mainne felt the shock too, covering her mouth and forgetting how to breathe. Vanoss can''t die! He can''t die!


    The sound of both doors to all emergency lifts were suddenly forced opened by security teams and other members, all rushing towards the center of the field for Danton''s personal protection after the alarm was triggered for the second time today. It almost felt like a clich¨¦ to both of them, the timing of their late arrival after the commotion had settled down. If the medical team were just a minute sooner, Vanoss wouldn''t have to die! Maybe they could still save him.


    Mage Sirus showed up too, using a teleportation symbol to get back into the room. Whatever Gleeon did to him forced Sirus to sleep, simultaneously warping him into a very dark space with no light. That''s particularly bad, because if you don''t know where you are on a map, you cannot teleport to another destination. Turns out it was one of the unused rooms of Eldora Tower on the lower levels... But Sirus couldn''t be proud of himself for getting back up here, because this scene looks like a colossal mess, a failure! That''s Vanoss over there, and that energy scope...


    "Move over! Let us through!" The medic teams already had a stretcher on wheels, and mobile medical tools used for severe injuries unrelated to ordinary Leray magic incidents. In this situation, they would treat a dying patient as if they were shot with a bullet in a vital organ, since that is practically the similar of this situation.


    Danton forced himself away, putting faith in the slightest chance the medical team could save Vanoss and revive him, but it didn''t feel possible at this point. Mainne held on to Danton''s left shoulder for closure, but she was now in tears, worse than Danton was a second ago.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: SF Track 12 ~ Malfador Machinations - Space Empires OST</a>


    <hr>


    Everything fell silent. That''s what it felt like anyway. He simply didn''t care to process any of the noise around him. That image of his best friend dying in front of him, bleeding out into his arms, he can''t wipe it from his mind, not even for a single second. Danton held his face in with his hands, unable to do anything else.


    As a minute ticked on, Vanoss was injected with something and moved onto the stretcher. The team proceeded to try and restart his heart with battery operated electric paddles. They must have hit the man seven times on full power, but even with all of those spasms, nothing worked. Vanoss wasn''t coming back, and it didn''t take long for his energy scope to fully fade away from existence. That''s usually another sign that it really is too late no matter what they do.


    Sirus wanted to push Danton or Mainne for information, but he couldn''t even think to say a single word in front of them right now. They don''t look like they want anyone to speak to them. Vanoss is dead, and somebody had to kill him. It was Gleeon who Sirus remembered seeing, at least a blur of him. It had to be Gleeon. The surveillance will prove it anyway, but Kite was there too. They must have been together using dark magic, but to think they would actually use it on their own friends...


    Danton found a nerve to move again, but only towards the stretcher. The medical team had already given up and declared the time of death minutes later, but Danton refused to leave Vanoss''s side, same with Mainne.


    "They both found out about dark magic, even teleportation through such indirect means..." Sirus glanced at the massive hole in the wall, something that could only be caused by dark magic or lunar magic. Since those two are presumably alive, it was most likely dark magic, but they must have escaped by teleporting away in mid-air. Why would they jump off the tower to teleport? Sure, it buys them a good consumption of seconds to concentrate, but¡ª


    "Sir?"


    Sirus snapped out of his thoughts. One of the surveillance workers and head of security was here to see him. He would deliver the statement good enough for Sirus to pick up the pieces from here. "Yes? Did you get a fix on where they went?"


    "No sir. That''s the problem. Their teleportation symbol cannot be traced."


    "But that''s impossible. Every teleportation symbol can be traced, no matter what. The only way to bury that trail is with time."


    "But there''s more," he explained. "Gleeon Miao and Kite Fargenst used their teleportation powers while in free-fall. We trace the linked paths of teleportation symbols by picking up precise readings on the residual energy levels left on the floor of each location, but..."


    "But this time, there was no floor." Sirus came to the conclusion only after that explanation. Those two are sharper than they look. "This isn''t good. Kite and Gleeon are now considered to be high priority public enemies. I''ve already made that declaration to the council in secret, but they''re still a major threat to the public. And I need to have an idea of where they might have ended up. I can''t lose them!"


    "It''s no use sir. If we can''t trace their symbols, then we can''t figure out where they went."


    "Hm..." Sirus had a harder time thinking right now. It''s not easy trying to solve a tiny clue filled mystery after somebody important just died. The morale in Danton and Mainne just flatlined alongside of Vanoss, and while they might want to find Kite and Gleeon to exact their revenge, nothing good will ever come of it. That''s the problem with dark magic. When it gets out of hand, only dark magic itself can push it back. Wait, the free-fall... "Get me a line to the council chairman."


    "You figured it out?"


    "Yes, but this information isn''t for everyone."


    "Yes sir!"


    Maybe he feels insulted? It doesn''t matter. Kite and Gleeon ended up in the middle of the ocean. It''s the only possible explanation. If they were in free-fall from that height, teleportation or not, they can''t change the rules of gravity and acceleration of velocity due to gravity. If they teleport above anything, they''re still going to impact with the same force, which from this initial height is deadly. But those two are crafty, and they must have planned this back-up strategy if things go wrong. Teleporting above a large body of water would save them. Their impact would still hurt like hell, and likely cause an injury or two, but Gleeon and Kite could have survived that drop by teleporting to the ocean, somewhere close to shore.


    A teleportation symbol suddenly opened up close by to mage Sirus, revealing a man who recognized him immediately. It''s one of Sirus''s old friends, apparently dropping by to investigate why a large chunk of metal was blasted outward from the tower. Surely people would have seen that if they were anywhere on that side of Eldora City. "What the hell happened here? Sirus?" The man took a long moment to collect his thoughts and reply, something alone that was a bad sign. Sirus never needs a moment to think or talk about something. Begging the question, Sirus was still going to explain it all, again.


    "Damn this day Kalvin. Right now, I think I''m going to put in my request for time off."


    "It''s that bad?"


    "Actually," Sirus soon changed his mind. "I think I know a pair of people that may need it more than I will." Sirus had to let the victims be for now. The only thing they can do right now is work things out with Kalvin''s assistance.

 Chapter 39: Sprawn Memorial Service

    <hr>


    <12/31/1962 ¨C 16:44 | SMS Graveyard, Eldora City, Sprawn Valley Capital>


    Of all the rare days in Eldora City, it had to be this one chosen for a light rainstorm, the morning after the incident damaging Eldora Tower. Danton and Sirus had to prepare everything after the exhausting night before them. Right now, he couldn''t think of anything to say.


    Sprawn Memorial Service; the acronym people don''t often name because of its dreadful affiliation with this massive national graveyard. The SMS is both the service and location to where those citizens of Sprawn Valley go for funeral and burial processes. There are gravestones everywhere, all about five meters apart stretched over a large segment of land north of Eldora City. With the endless stormy clouds everywhere in all directions, the rain came down much lighter than you''d expect by the sight and noise from the thunderstorm.


    Danton however never figured he would end up standing here again. Kyle Danton, Brash''s father is a long walk north of here, but today, Danton isn''t in attendance to visit that tombstone. Yesterday during the sunset, a massive wall was punched through Eldora Tower''s champion chamber room, dragging the largest chunk of mangled metal to the ground and causing a small amount of damage. Luckily, nobody was injured, and if they were hit by that metal, the veil would have protected them anyway, to a degree. The reports still made public headlines everywhere, their story still uncertain.


    Destructive incident in Eldora Tower causes damage, and panic from rumors regarding the possibility of rouge mages. One elite member killed in questionable accident. Whoever did the scoop had a good way of guessing events, but nobody else knew anything about dark magic, or if there was really an attack conducted by two traitors. Whatever they want to call it, Danton couldn''t stop thinking about that moment over and over again in his head. The scene played back in his memory, the moment Vanoss was blasted by that glaring red beam of energy, drilling a hole all the way through his chest. Under normal circumstances, the beam would have phased through Vanoss, making no such mark afterwards. But instead, the hole was visible from either side all the way through, and it hit his left lung, damaging his internal organs on the spot.


    What''s more infuriating is that Kite or Gleeon both could have stopped what they were doing. Nobody needed to die yesterday, even if they were interested in the Crystal Core. Why did they not stop their attack with all of that time to charge it up? Why did Vanoss jump in front of Danton to let himself be killed?


    Danton wanted answers to all of this, but he wasn''t getting any of them right now. Instead, he listened to the eulogist standing closest to the casket. Several other people were all gathered around, including Vanoss''s family who were still broken down into tears. Many of the council member official representatives were here as well, but mostly for investigation purposes. Despite the mild rain, nobody was out of character for this sad moment.


    "And after those many graduations and achievements, Vanoss Highdrow had the honor of becoming a high member of the elite chain of Eldora structures. However, what set this young man apart from us was not his accomplishments, but rather his will of good heart. Today, we send off a man who protected the values and virtues he chose, and who protected the people and friends around him from harm. We send Vanoss with love and honor, a praise that others reach only with the reflection of the friends they''ve made. And to his family, we will always cherish and hold the memories that helped brighten the world around us..."


    It was all very sentimental. Danton knew that this expedited funeral was essential for Vanoss. There would never be a way to repay a debt weighing such a value of life. He should have never taken that kind of risk, and yet he did. Vanoss protected his friends all while knowing what dark magic was, and even after being tempted by Kite to join him in using it. He was pure; free of the weight of the world''s knowledge, to the effect it could have had on him. No matter what, Vanoss died knowing that his love for Leray magic would forever live on through other people... That kind of faith, is it right to trust in Leray magic that far?


    As the minutes went by, Vanoss and his coffin were buried ten feet under the ground, already excavated in advance. People eventually began leaving, filling the area with a chilling sound of silence. The light rain filled in that void, but the sound of the storm became a kind of silence itself in the backdrop of this shared slumber. Danton watched mage Sirus go and talk to the immediate family. For this, Danton considered himself and Sirus to be even. Having to speak to the family about how he failed to protect Vanoss would only make things worse. Danton knew he couldn''t possibly accept his own explanations...


    Five minutes after Danton was standing above the customized tombstone of Vanoss Highdrow, his solitude was intruded. He knew it was from the sound of the footsteps in the soft damp grass, but Danton didn''t turn around or look up. There wasn''t anything else to say about Vanoss, though there were plenty of questions left to answer. When Kite and Gleeon are found again, they''ll pay with their lives. The question is; will she allow it?


    "I wish things didn''t turn out this way." Mainne sounded regretful and raspy in her voice. She already sat sobbing into her hands earlier. Danton was sad about losing Vanoss too, but the guy didn''t hang out with Vanoss for as long as Mainne had. In retrospect, there was only a short period of time difference. In the process of joining the Trujima gang, Vanoss, Gleeon, and Kite were already there. Despite Mainne having slightly better skills, Vanoss seemed more like the rookie.


    But no matter how adamant he was about Leray magic, Vanoss was the guy who always knew when to take a break from it all, the kind of guy who absorbed knowledge in a careful and considerate way, and also the kind of guy who never kept his past from anyone. Everybody really knew him. For the rest of the gang, everyone kept their personal secrets, and yet the man who has never lied to anyone must be the one who pays the ultimate price? Why did he have to die?


    Danton thought back again to something Kite said earlier. Actually, Gleeon was the one who pointed it out, but Kite wasn''t studying dark magic by himself. He involved Gleeon, who then tried to involve Vanoss. There was absolutely no way for Kite or Gleeon to realize that Mainne knew about the tower''s secrets. They were never expecting that. So shouldn''t she have been approached by them earlier? "Tell me something Mainne. How much did you know about the situation of our own teammates, prior to last night''s incident?"


    Why does he think I would know that? "I didn''t know anything about it."


    "Are you sure about that?" Danton faced Mainne, eager to scope her expression for any possible lies. Surely, she would have to know something, even a tiny giveaway detail. "There weren''t any signs that our teammates were going crazy? No red flags? No suspicious questions?"


    Mainne nodded her head again to get Danton to drop the subject. "I would have told you if I thought it was suspicious, especially after all of this." Danton didn''t look like he was satisfied, but why blame anyone? "I''m serious! I offered everyone to train with me. It wasn''t just with you."


    "And?"


    "And Kite rarely accepted that invitation. About six days ago, he didn''t have any contact with me at all. I barely spoke to Gleeon, but he wouldn''t train with me either. Nothing he said was out of the ordinary or strange."


    "And Vanoss?" Danton clamped the front of his forehead just above his eyes and shifted his feet. "I''m sorry Mainne. I still needed to check every angle. And you don''t have to tell me. I know Vanoss was probably training with you every chance you offered him."


    "Every chance," she confirmed. "He really stayed true to himself all the way. I wish he didn''t have to take that shot."


    Danton''s fist balled up in rage as he thought about the scene again, only reinforcing the memory to the best detail. "Yeah. And that bastard shifted his aim directly at Vanoss when he made his decision to protect me. I was still slanted on the ground, when that beam penetrated through all living flesh. If their aim were still locked onto me, I would have been killed too alongside of Vanoss. But instead, they changed their aim even higher to lessen the chances that Vanoss might dodge."


    "How could you possible know they did that?"


    "Because I was there Mainne!" Danton didn''t mean to shout, but the details were irrefutable. Those cowards wanted to ensure that Vanoss would die, all because he wouldn''t turn to the dark side of magic, all because he would never allow himself to betray his moral principles.


    Danton really pays that much attention to the dynamics of a single moment? No, he must be obsessing over watching Vanoss getting shot. Mainne didn''t make it up to the champion chambers in time to stop it. In fact, Danton told her that the impenetrable shield of ice Gleeon trapped her inside of, weakened the moment Gleeon and Kite shot that deadly blast of dark magic. The connective link in that spell was weakened when Gleeon''s MP energy took a dive. Oddly, Danton never planned for that to happen, nor did he realize it in the moment, but Danton said that Vanoss did know about it. He knew that taking that shot would set Mainne free and allow the both of them to have a fighting chance. But did he really know he would die from that deadly beam of penetrating energy?


    Danton sighed, and placed both of his hands on Mainne''s shoulders, his eyes drying with sorrow. "I didn''t mean to make it seem like you weren''t trustworthy Mainne. This is just getting to me, more than anything else has before."


    Mainne shifted herself in closer, giving Danton the hug he needed right now, one she knew made her feel better as well. She sniffed the residual fluid stuck in her nose, and tried to take away any reason for Danton to blame himself for this somehow. "None of us knew what was going on. We couldn''t have known about this in advance." When Mainne let go of the embrace, Danton''s slumped posture let Mainne know that he wasn''t feeling any better than before.


    "This is only proof that dark magic is as bad as it gets. And to think I was worried about lunar magic instead..." Danton nodded, reassessing what he learned from the material he absorbed from Sirus. "Dark magic is powerful enough to kill an elite Leray warrior with a single shot, and as we''ve now seen, harmful enough to twist the minds of those who crave it solely for power. Those two want to use it to control our world and warp our very way of life. Even now, they''re so confused on the concept of justice and moral principles."


    "You think it''s possible to convince them to turn themselves in?"


    It was something Mainne was hoping for. Naturally, nobody wants to kill anyone for any reason. Danton knew it himself. Even after everything they''ve done, killing Kite or Gleeon by his own hands, dark magic or not isn''t something that would ever be easy, but they killed Vanoss in cold blood, and they must now realize that murder is a different kind of charge here than the use of dark magic. "I think that ship sank when they brought physical harm to Vanoss. They know that it isn''t possible to make up for what they''ve done. I wonder if they''ll ever even be capable of changing the way they see the world for what it should be, to see why people embrace Leray magic while knowing the truth. If they''re out there in hiding, they''re going to remain radicalized by their own hatred for us."


    Mainne let out a slight sad hum from her throat, pondering what this means for everyone. "I don''t know anymore. Maybe we should shut down the veil."


    Danton stared at Mainne with a focused expression of interest. Shutting down the veil was entirely against Mainne''s core principles and thoughts on the matter. Whether Vanoss knew about lunar and dark magic or not, even he believed all the way through in Leray magic and its benefits. In fact, he wasn''t the only one who did. "That''s no longer an option," Danton argued. "I already had this argument once with Sirus, but I''ll just give you the short version this time." With Mainne paying him more attention, Danton described what he felt was the whole purpose of magic for everyone involved. "A lot of research and hard work was done to invent Leray magic. People had to make magic safe to use and all without harming those who are affected by it. The founders of this system put a cap over magical energy, and sent it out to everyone for their own benefit. Despite the potential for dark magic in the same field, a larger majority of people are willing to protect the values of Leray magic and its sport with their lives. At first, I thought that using Leray magic was just something of a kind of addiction. But oddly, it''s used more often to help people in our country. People don''t love Leray magic because of all the skills or power levels, or even the dynamics of battle. They love Leray magic for the great potentials that it carries everywhere else, inside and outside of battle practices. It''s changed our very way of life, and these days it affects people as young children while we''re so impressionable."


    "But what''s the point if dark magic can undo all of it?"


    Danton knew Mainne would be subject to change her mind, but she was after all following Leray magic for a different reason, at least initially. "You grew curious about Leray magic, about why your only family hated it so much without any solid evidence that there was anything wrong with the system. But then the concept of magic''s potential grew on you, and you became a more skilled fighter. Now I didn''t guess this when I first met you out there on Route 96, but even so, I saw that suffocating spark in your eyes!"


    What is he...? Mainne couldn''t help but show her surprise. Is he just saying these things randomly? Mainne didn''t remember having a strong involvement to Leray magic back then. She was just an initiate, a gang member without any real purpose or guidance. During that time, her only job was to make money for the team, and all without making too big of an impression. Kite wanted to control the way she battled, her fighting style included.


    "You wanted to show off your magic skills more than anything. I could feel it from the distance we stood, the moment that Siriean dome first triggered around us, but I also felt you holding back. It was like you were exhausted of trying so hard to prove something. I thought at the time, that you had mixed up your concerns of winning with having fun. That''s why I said those words to you that day."


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Mainne thought back to the day, and she remembered every single word. It was weird at that time, meeting someone who wasn''t battling for money or recognition. "Whatever it is you''re doing, however you''re doing it, just remember that Leray battles are about bringing out the best of your Leray skills. All of that is supposed to be for fun. I want us both to have a good time, regardless of who wins." Those were his words. He thought the only important thing about Leray magic is to have fun while testing their own skills. Fighting Danton was hard too, and she lost, but the very last time she and Danton actually fought, just before he became the champion, Mainne actually won. Still, Danton didn''t care about the victory. He only wanted to have fun using magic. And he wasn''t the only one.


    "I wasn''t the only one either," Danton stated. "I didn''t read the others very well. It took me this long to realize how much fun Vanoss was having with Leray magic. Maybe you noticed it back that day long before I would. It seems that all everyone wants to do it play with magic in a fun, safe kind of way, while using it to improve everyone''s life style. In theory, that actually sounds like a real dream to me."


    He''s just as perceptive and sharp even after losing a team member. Still, "I don''t know." Nothing is certain anymore.


    "But Vanoss knew. He may not have known about the core, but I don''t think anyone needs knowledge of the core to grasp the concept of Leray magic. It didn''t matter to him that there was a wound in the man''s body. He still swore to me to protect Leray magic, and we all know that he was made aware of dark magic and the destructive power associated with it and Leray magic''s veil."


    "What are you saying?"


    Danton reiterated his point to Mainne. "I''m saying that our knowledge of all of this doesn''t change who we are. I think that somehow, the entire nation of people are fully aware of dark magic and its existence linked with the veil. And yet, we rarely if ever have any crime at all. People don''t want to spoil something good just because they realize that they''re suddenly capable of doing that. Still, we have hundreds of guards and agents working all over the country. They work as police officers and detectives on the clock, but also watch for any suspicious activity related to dark magic. Everyone knows that both types of magic exist, and they probably even know that just anyone is capable of using it. Yet, they resist it."


    "But Kite and Gleeon didn''t know about dark magic before now."


    "Yes they did," Danton corrected. "I remember having a conversation with Kite about it once. It wasn''t very intuitive, and I know neither of us learned anything about the concept, but everyone knows about dark magic. They know - because the law can extend immediately to a full life sentence in prison just for using it at all. I have to accept the possibility that Kite and Gleeon were rotten to the core before they knew how to use dark magic. They''ve always wanted a taste of its power; they just didn''t have the chance to experiment until they realized how many additional privileges a person receives working as an elite in Eldora Tower."


    "You really think they were bad people to begin with?"


    "I don''t know for sure..." Vanoss never changed. Maybe Kite and Gleeon were tempted by something they tried to give up on a long time ago. If that is true, what difference would the progress they made so far have been in the long run? "But I do know how certain Vanoss was about keeping Leray magic alive. Not too long ago, you wanted to keep it going too despite knowing the dangerous secrets of the crystal core. I don''t know if you really wanted to do that just to prove a point to your family, or if you wanted to protect something that other people loved instead, but I have made up my mind on this. I don''t care how difficult it will be going forward. Vanoss had a vision that we could all see from miles away. He wore it like some sort of aura, an appreciation for Leray magic that most of us see on excited young kids who are mastering magic in their early ages. Dark magic did kill him... But it couldn''t kill his ideas, his morals, not even what has always been in his heart."


    "So then, you want to protect Leray magic at all times? What happens if we get another dark magic user coming to the tower?"


    "We''ll be ready for it." Danton didn''t mean to make it sound like he had an answer for everything, but even right now, there are reconstruction teams in Eldora Tower working out the blueprints for the new design plans Danton put forward before the council. Among many changes, security and automatic detection and new security protocols designed for dark magic users are now included in this upgrade. So that just leaves Kite and Gleeon. "The only thing is, no matter how many people you have, dark magic is still far more powerful on wave levels than ordinary magic. That''s a bad thing for those who might try to take them in."


    "But that''s what I''m saying," Mainne argued. "How do you even defend against something like that?"


    "I may already have an idea... But first, we need to know where those two went. Sirus informed me earlier that Kite and Gleeon could have only teleported to a location above the Hollifax Ocean. Though it narrows stuff down, I''m still waiting to hear about the reports of the findings on search teams."


    "Okay..."


    "I don''t think there is anything to worry about."


    "Still, we should probably keep the news about their involvement with dark magic away from the public, at least until they are captured. If we don''t, it could cause a mass panic."


    "Don''t worry," Danton reassured. "We''ll securely disclose the information only after we capture those murderers. Though to be fair, I probably won''t be doing any of the hard parts. But I do have to give a speech soon on behalf of the council to the media outlets. I''ll be sure to mention the involvement in forbidden research on symbols."


    "Symbols?"


    "I didn''t let you know already? I was pressing Sirus for information about symbols the other day, trying to see why anyone would want them, but it turns out that there are more reasons than one for why symbols are highly banned in Sprawn Valley. While their effects are usually harmful to the host, they apparently operate on magic that separates from the frequencies put out by the veil. This means that symbol users could more easily use dark magic, or other techniques that would disrupt the effects of the veil towards other people. That means they can also be weaponized. I don''t think the idiots that left us realize that, but I''m going to make it public anyway. Unlike dark magic, our people know almost nothing about symbols."


    "Maybe don''t reveal it in the same speech then? Hey!" Mainne realized. "We don''t need Kite or Gleeon to know anything about being marked!"


    "Don''t worry," he repeated. "Symbols are so much harder to come by than learning dark magic, and since they often harm the hosts, it won''t be an attractive looking option for anyone. Still, from a situation Sirus described, it seems clear to me that public knowledge of what symbols might look like on skin could support the capture of anyone who might try and use them."


    "Is that wise?"


    "I say, take away the one thing that the worst criminals here have. They may have knowledge of material classified away from the public, and that could cause serious problems. In this case, it''s the same concept of people learning the horrible truth about dark magic."


    "And what about lunar magic?"


    "No!" Danton quickly shook his hands in disapproval. "Lunar magic isn''t the same kind of danger. If Kite and Gleeon learn about its existence, and how to harness that kind of power, they could easily create their own artificial magic veil anywhere they want to in the world. That veil wouldn''t have to follow the same protective rules like the one set up here."


    "That would be utter chaos."


    "Not only that, but a couple of killers desiring only power wouldn''t think twice about researching some kind of way to make use of lunar magic safer, without suffering the harmful side effects of it. If that happens, dark magic is the least of anyone''s problems. Even then, shutting down the veil would do no good."


    "So that part has to stay hush?" What a horrifying construct. How could something so delicate to the world even be allowed to continue existing? Something so fun and attractive to people could also get everyone killed in the wrong hands. "No wonder you almost lost it that day. It must have been right after Sirus told you everything. You could barely lift your own staff."


    "Yes, I remember well. But at least things are clearer than before." Danton inched closer to Mainne, inhaling her unique breath escaping her nearly shut mouth. "And after everything you''ve learned, you still stayed loyal to me, and loyal to what we stand for."


    Why so close?! Mainne wanted to instinctively bend away, but Danton''s rain soaked face was nearly too captivating to focus her thoughts. "Yes, well team Leray magic has to stand for something."


    "I want to make sure we establish something together Mainne, something that only you and I can share."


    Mainne then felt her throat tighten, her heart racing, and her thoughts all scrambling around. Danton couldn''t really be confessing to her right now? He is isn''t he?!


    "A promise between us."


    "Wait, what?"


    "I want to make sure that you and I never lie to each other about anything." Danton kept his focus on her, but also let Mainne take a step back for her personal space. "I need to know that we can trust each other as partners in this. Right now, only you and I know the truth about all magic. And I still don''t trust Sirus with the information yet. That''s why I know I''ll need your help."


    Mainne felt like her face could just sink in and dry out. Why did Danton have to say it like that?! It almost felt like a confession of love. Man is he confusing! "Yeah, fine!" Mainne turned slightly and crossed her arms.


    Why so hostile? "Okay? I guess I can take that as a yes. Didn''t mean to upset you over it."


    "I''m not upset!" Mainne only realized now that the frustration in her voice contradicted her own claim, but she soon didn''t care about it. Why does he mess around like that?


    "If you say so..." Danton couldn''t take his eyes off Mainne for long. Keeping her beauty out of his sights was difficult. She must be thinking that there aren''t any feelings like that here. Mainne couldn''t be more wrong, but that''s for the best. In this line of profession, love can also be dangerous, not to mention a complicated conflict of interest in the eyes of the mage council. Still, she''s overreacting a little. Danton couldn''t help but notice feeling a different mood coming on over this. "Thank you Mainne."


    Mainne tried to relax, and she tried to get back into her previous mood while addressing Danton. "Of course. You can trust me to keep magic or business related secrets."


    "I''ll thank Vanoss too. He''s the one who at least made all of this possible. Still..." Danton gave Mainne a curious look and pressed her one more time. "What about personal secrets?"


    Mainne could see mage Sirus casually approaching them from behind Danton, and her reply was swift and simple. "Those are going to cost you." Mainne cracked a smile and walked right by Danton, causing him to turn around.


    Danton noticed Sirus walking up to him, but his thoughts were still on Mainne. She really will play impossible to get, but that''s also for the best.


    "It really is a shame that this had to happen to such a young and pure spirited wielder."


    Danton lost the energy in his face. It always sounds like Sirus might be saying something other than the literal words coming out of his mouth. At least when Shadler did it, it was far more obvious. "Do you want to be punched?"


    "Whoa now! I''m not insinuating whatever you think I am." Sirus glanced back at Mainne, continuing to walk away, and he got closer to Danton so that his words wouldn''t be heard easily. Danton hasn''t been as stable as before, not since the incident. "Nobody blames you for what happened to Vanoss. Kite and Gleeon got involved in something deadly, and then everything just happened too fast."


    "You must realize it can''t ever happen again. I need to see action taken from you over this problem."


    "Well," Sirus explained, "I''m already getting my hands dirty with questions flying at me from the mage council. Plenty more are eager to speak to you, but this is all going to sway heavily on what you say during your speech and how you give it tomorrow morning. I''ve already made sure that ProCom makes the announcement official, that Eldora Tower''s champion events are currently postponed until such estimations can be made to fix the damages. So don''t worry about training or any of that other stuff."


    He isn''t thinking about the future. "I mean it Sirus. We can''t have anyone using dark magic enter Eldora Tower, ever!"


    "Well I''d say that you specifically have that already taken care of." Danton looked at him like he was speaking nonsense. The man has already forgotten all that he''s accomplished so far as a leader. "Those technology firms that you''ve invested in, they''re working on the plans right now for all sorts of new security features that will make sure the crystal core is untouchable, which includes the generator system and other underground facilities. I was surprised to learn that such technologies today were advanced enough to cover these specs even in theory... But you''ve got to pull yourself together and get your confidence back."


    "I''ll have my confidence back when you bring me Kite and Gleeon from the waters."


    "I need you back on your feet far sooner than that Danton. There has been a development in the search for the two suspects."


    A development? Why didn''t Sirus start with that sooner?! "Where are they?!"


    "Our search teams have combed out the entire ocean with helicopters. We''ve even sent search parties to all of the neighboring islands, searched the border edges of the barrier, and put out an APB to all local facilities in all areas. But unfortunately, neither suspect has been located. There''s no trace of them."


    They''re still missing? "But that''s impossible! You said they would have to be somewhere in the ocean, and I don''t think they would have drowned."


    "I won''t assume they went down at sea. Gleeon is too smart for that. But the fact that they''ve disappeared is highly threatening. We''ve went ahead and declared Kite Fargenst and Gleeon Miao to be public enemies, priority one. The agents are literally searching all areas for those two, even unpopulated zones where nobody else searches."


    "But you can''t find them, and if they think they want to target our vault, they might actually make it in, at least before the installments are complete."


    "I''ve put our tower on high alert for critically secure sections. On top of that, I''ve developed a shortcut method of shutting down the veil by an underground terminal linked to the generator. We are planning for disaster Danton. But even so, I''m not expecting it."


    "Well maybe you should be! They''re dangerous out there alive!" How could this happen? How do they teleport in mid-air, fall into the ocean, and live without being discovered by the authorities? Something has to be missing here.


    "I think Kite and Gleeon know how ready we are for them, and how eager we are to take them into custody. They won''t attack Eldora Tower, not right away at least. If they do later, it will be too late. We''ll be ready for them instead."


    "But why can''t we just find them now before they try?"


    "Investigative searches can only take us so far Danton. You can''t find two intelligent criminals who don''t want to be found."


    Not good enough. "You know Sirus? I can accept the possibility that Kite or Gleeon had a bit of knowledge on teleportation beforehand, and that it''s how they were able to use it while falling down from a lethal height. But dark magic shouldn''t be this easy to learn. I was with them before all of this, and they had no idea how to invoke it!"


    "Even so, dark magic still requires practice in order to master. As I said before, the invocation of dark magic is linked to heavy negative emotions, but even then does it still require the strong raw power of higher ME levels, combined with a compelling emotion of the craving for that kind of power, not to mention the concentration that would need to go into it. Kite and Gleeon were practicing to use dark magic while in Eldora Tower behind our backs. We were played by both of them!"


    Danton aggressively kicked the dirt below him, aiming though missing for a small rock. Kite and Gleeon need to be brought to justice; else their knowledge on dark magic will become a dangerous threat to society. "Yeah, and that system you bragged about before, the same one that would flawlessly watch out for dark magic users, can''t even keep the most important structure in all Sprawn history safe! Heh!" Danton exhaled, suddenly surging a new rationalization. "But you better not get used to the way things are old man. I''m still the leader of the General Army, and sub-leader to the entire infrastructure of Sprawn Valley. I''m going to make sure from now on that we live in a world free of terror. There won''t be anywhere for those losers to hide. And if they ever step foot in our tower ever again, their plans will be over before they ever realized what happened!"


    He''s so blunt and agitating... But it''s Danton all the way. It''s good to have him back after all this time. "I can help you with whatever changes you push through, including advisory work to maximize the effectiveness of any newly submitted proposal." Sirus felt with his own words he was vouching for a different title working under Danton, but it wasn''t the vibe he intended to send out. "But as hard as it is to hear now, I need your focus and attention on that speech you are giving tomorrow morning. You''ll be addressing not just Sprawn Valley, but also the whole world. Or at least, other countries that accept the outsource version of ProCom''s channels. Everyone is curious about their new leader, and also what he''s going to do about the suspected attack on Eldora Tower. So I need you to tell the public what they need to hear. Nothing more, and nothing less."


    "I''d worry about yourself if I were you," Danton reminded. "Or did you forget that a single simple spell rendered you blind and disabled for five entire minutes?"


    "I wouldn''t forget something as shameful as that."


    "It could have happened to me, or anyone! If we are put away or cast aside, you better be ready for the day should it come - to enter your secure code and shut down the veil."


    "I will work harder then, on becoming a better tower guard. I realize that I am also involved in all of this. You don''t need to remind me."


    Danton clenched his teeth in anger, and he made sure Sirus remembers what is at stake this time. "Don''t tell me. Tell my friend behind me, buried ten feet into the ground without any future in this world. And in time, tell the entire world what new safety measures we will install into our construct of Leray magic."


    Sirus couldn''t say anything, not after Danton brought up the dead guy card, but Vanoss''s death is also something everyone is partially responsible for, and he can''t deny it. Danton began to walk away, brushing Sirus''s shoulder on purpose as if it would send the message through more efficiently. Then Sirus was left alone here with his thoughts...


    What say the rest of the world? The people inside of Sprawn Valley might become sick with disgust to learn how unsafe magic really could be. The other part of the world mostly hates magic just out of superstitious fears. Give them a reason to hate Leray magic, and everything will fall apart. If there ever were a time to stop using Leray magic and burry the secrets away forever, it would be right now. Whatever happens later on will forever be uncertain. If anyone does discover the secrets of lunar magic on their own, will it be too late to stop them from corrupting everything at once? The demise of this world may already be set in stone, inevitable if things go the wrong way. If it does, everyone would either have to fight to survive, or fight to protect what''s already under threat. It would divide people, destroy nations, and wreck societal cultures. This isn''t a game. There are no retries for failure. Danton better realize that by now.


    And Vanoss? Your sacrifice meant something. Even if magic fails to help people, there are those who will never stop believing in its constructive abilities. Those are the people we should trust. Those are the people we should rely on.

 Chapter 40: Installations

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    <1/1/1963 ¨C 11:01 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    It didn''t take long after the funeral service for the media to continue pressing the council for answers, and everyone was only looking to one man to answer all of them. Brash Danton, newest champion for Leray magic and leader in Eldora Tower was scheduled to give a public speech that he could no longer ignore. The speech of course was going to regard all of the questionable incidents around Eldora Tower lately. Even now, he would have to keep the secrets of the crystal core and the source of Leray magic. But for the safety of himself, Danton was locked inside of the champion chambers, surrounded from all angles by stationary camera systems and a crew running the equipment. The feed was still live, but Sirus insisted that Danton not leave the tower during a critical moment of the investigation. On this, he had no say in the matter.


    With the feed already running, Danton had only been speaking for less than a minute, talking to all of the people in Sprawn Valley. If ProCom news shares this headline with the world, then this news will reach beyond the confines of this nation too. "As you all heard, Eldora Tower''s primary chamber was damaged yesterday in an unscheduled battle involving two people of interest. We have reason to believe they are now involved with criminal activities, and are considered to be extremely dangerous."


    Danton paused, for the camera crew to display two professionally made portraits of the two suspects in front of the cameras. If Gleeon and Kite want to hide from society, then they shall have no part in this world any longer. "Gleeon Miao, and Kite Fargenst. These two suspects are both public enemy number one. All civilians should stay safe and clear of these suspects at all times. If you have any information on their whereabouts, please don''t hesitate to call the local law enforcement. And to all Leray agents out there, proceed with caution in their capture, and never approach them without backup. That is all I have to report on last night''s incident."


    Danton exhaled, finally getting just enough off his chest. The people deserve to know who their enemy is. This may help the search for those monsters, but that was only the report on the incident. Danton knew his speech was more detailed than this. He didn''t have a paper script to read from, only lines to remember if he couldn''t get any words out, though this part is just as important.


    "I know many of us out there are wondering who I am and what I''m here for. I''ve only been Leray champion for more than a month, but right now, there are important issues regarding the system of Leray magic that must be resolved, which includes our current investigations. So as your new leader of Leray magic, I will do everything in my power to allow Sprawn Valley to advance forward with prosperity and safety in the coming days. There will be laws pending to fix any little inconsistency regarding the rules of Leray battles and engagement, doctrines for agents and scouts to better patrol all locations and paths in and around Sprawn Valley for unwanted activity, and regulations to equalize the methods of executive government decisions."


    Danton could feel the buzz growing outside. The words he was saying were intelligent, but anyone could smell the fear in the air. People have a right to the truth, at least the amount they need to hear to feel safe. "Funding to the General Army will be doubled, as will their numbers and capacity for better national defense. This funding will also affect all Leray agents and investigation teams too. They will be enforcing greater restrictions out in the field on magic that is used. They will also protect us from any threat hiding in our society, so trust them as best as you can."


    The cameraman, equipped with a broadcasting earpiece held the device cupped to better listen to some of the most popular active questions coming from outside the building. His job was to inform Danton that such tough questions were making it through. "Sir Danton? Plenty of people are curious about these new changes. They''re asking, what are we all getting so afraid of?"


    A fair question indeed. Luckily, Danton was allowed to go as far on the reports of dark magic as he needed to. "It is my personal belief that withholding vital information to the public can be dangerous, and I don''t want to cause alarm or panic. After all, there are currently only two people of interest, thought to be in hiding right now. The threat here is not just with people. You may have all heard of the dangerous rumors regarding dark magic, that term or phrase we don''t ever use in public." Danton could hear the cameraman nearly choke in surprise, but he continued. "It appears there is a rather loose system in place to stop people from using dark magic. These extra patrols and regulations are going to change that. It''s no news that the use of dark magic is highly illegal and prohibited. Since this source comes from the very same veil that we enact over the continent, countermeasures against dark magic are evermore paramount. But I want everyone to be involved in our communities to ensure that such a deadly version of magic is never used in society, never practiced, and never researched. That is why, under executive order 5583, all authorized agents and militants who discover someone using or researching dark magic will arrest suspects on site, and they will be held without any trial until investigations can be made properly. Suspects thought to be using dark magic who also fail to cooperate with their arrest may be prosecuted and put down on sight. Consider this a heavy crack down on any suspicious activity with dark magic users or researchers." Danton paused for a good moment, allowing that doctrine to wash over everyone. It wasn''t easy to say, but this is necessary. Dark magic is deadly and dangerous, so it should be met with the appropriate responses.


    After reminding himself of the alternative danger, Danton expanded his proposal. "In addition to this executive order, those involved with, using, or researching illegal symbols or markings will also be prosecuted in the same manner. The use of symbols can be just as dangerous as dark magic. As for now, we will be upgrading the security and infrastructure of Eldora Tower, as well as all other essential government and public facilities all around Sprawn Valley. This will ensure public safety in all civil societies in and around Sprawn Valley, under any public setting. We will also be making updates to all of the Leray battle parameters to make sure any impurities are corrected. We will not allow anyone to potentially cheat the Leray battle system in any open setting. Realize that from here onward, we must progress the growth of Leray magic without conflict, all while leaving no hint of danger to those who are involved with magic activities."


    After another break of breath, Danton considered the weight of his words. All of this really is true. Kite and Gleeon already know dark magic, so he didn''t give away anything too dramatic or dangerous. Now there is only one more thing to announce. "It will also be the announcement of myself and the mage council to suspend all public activities involving Eldora Tower and champion battle events until we resolve some internal issues and bring everything back up to speed. Estimates for this duration range between one and two months. That is all I have to say for now. Thank you."


    On cue, the cameraman cut the feed to the cameras, but that didn''t stop the two-sided roaring of the crowd watching or listening to that broadcast from outside. Large displays coated Eldora City like billboards, and they relayed the message to those on the streets, and to those in their homes with the news turned on.


    Mage Sirus, the current assistant for Brash Danton stood far behind all of the systems in the same room. He kept quiet all this time, all until now. Approaching Danton with the news of the public opinion in his ears, Sirus felt uncertain about everything Danton blasted into that camera. "This is the first time I believe that any champion has ever mentioned the words dark magic in such a critical speech. Not only that, you you''ve just indirectly chanted the connection between dark magic and our veil. Are you sure you want to worry everyone outside?"


    Worry everyone? The people should be worried. Danton couldn''t help but feel completely responsible for part of this. Kite and Gleeon both used to be his friends... It''s too difficult to believe that they were always like this. Dark magic must have some amount of effect on the mind, even if only minor addiction. But they have the power to kill people, and right now, they''re out there somewhere, hiding among the people. Who knows if they''ll ever be found? What happens if people die before that?


    But it''s far worse. Danton could feel the emptiness still strong in himself, and in Mainne''s heart. Vanoss is dead, and there is nothing that can ever change that. Sirus doesn''t know what to do anymore, but that''s to be expected, considering Eldora Tower has never had an elite member killed before by dark magic, let alone coming from their own trusted staff. The disaster could have been worse, but it is already bad enough. "There are two dangerous criminals on the loose that you''ve failed to find or capture. I think the people living here have a right to watch out for themselves."


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    "In any case," Sirus rephrased, "reports from the council of poll executives are coming in through my earpiece. It seems as if you''ve become highly popular in the last few seconds. It seems public polling has risen to seventy-six percent in favor of your proposals."


    Danton winced and squinted his eyes. When did this polling begin? And they''re really more in favor of him after this incident? "That was fast." People can send public polls to either the current leader of Sprawn Valley, or council executives. However, only council members can be booted out or elected in, depending on where they stand to support or protest the champion. This means that council members will have their hands tied if they don''t follow through with Danton''s new laws and regulations. That can only be a good thing. "I guess all the people want is the cold truth, no matter how horrible it might sound."


    "I guess..." Sirus continued to listen to the device as he spoke with Danton. "However, you also have a few people sending in angry letters of disapproval. They claim that nobody has any right to try and place restrictions on Leray magic or the rules of battle. We''re sure to receive more when people find out that dark magic exists in tangent with the Leray veil."


    It''s a sad thing to hear, but there are bound to be people that don''t like the sound of more regulations. Danton however had to accept the gravity of the situation, and weigh it over the people. "If everyone before me would have just paid more attention to the little flaws with Leray magic, maybe this wouldn''t have to happen. But I''m not turning back Sirus. The worst those angry letters can do is make my job harder, not impossible. I''ll trust you to handle public relations for now, while I try and bring this place back up to operational capacity. Just don''t blow it."


    Before Sirus could shake off the mild insult, the primary lift doors opened, prompting Sirus and Danton to suddenly aim their weapons in that direction. The feeling of being on edge hadn''t disappeared. Danton kept his Mega-Staff equipped on him at all times now for quick preparations...


    But it only turned out to be Jarvis. Jarvis has a leading role in the mage council as head of security for Sprawn Valley infrastructure, which includes this tower. The man walked up to Danton casually to express his opinion on his speech. "I see you are all going to keep my department very busy with all of these security upgrades. The firms you''ve requested technology from have been granted by an overturn in a council decision earlier this morning."


    Jarvis is going to make sure the installations proceed smoothly. Danton thus lowered his weapon, realizing there is nothing here to worry about. "Jarvis. You and I should talk about how these installations will take effect, specific to the tower."


    "I agree. The tower needs to have top-level security after what happened yesterday. That is why I''ve been promoted, only temporary, as your new security advisor. We should get right to the discussions tonight, since the materials are being shipped as we speak."


    "Not so fast," Danton warned. "As you should already know, just about anyone can step foot into this tower and impersonate people. So I want to see some identification and orders of approval, as well as passes to this tower and access to all files on our security matrix before we can discuss anything. Sirus? I trust you can escort our guest downstairs so he can go fetch those documents."


    Jarvis held back a wince, but agreed willingly. "I''ll accommodate your wishes Danton. I have to say I''m impressed that you''ve already started trusting nobody without proof of authorized clearance. Let''s go mage Sirus."


    Sirus sighed, nearly sounding like a whine. "What fun we''ve had today. I wonder if this will be my job from here on."


    "Sirus?"


    "I know, I''m going. Come on Jarvis."


    "Sirus?" Danton got the man''s attention, causing him to freeze in place. "Be sure to page Mainne up to the chambers. I need to have a word with her."


    "As you wish. Come on." Sirus escorted Jarvis back down the way he came. It was rather annoying running the smaller errands for Danton, but at least his mind if finally in the right place. He knows what needs to be done, something that could never be said only days ago.


    Danton waited patiently in silence. The camera crew worked on packing up all of their primitive equipment, taking it away downstairs. Danton was soon alone with his thoughts, waiting on Mainne to come up here. Who knows what she''s thinking? The world has suddenly become so much more dangerous though, with those murders out there somewhere. They could be up to anything. Never has being a guardian of Eldora Tower meant so much before now. Any leaked knowledge of lunar magic, or the physical operations of the crystal core could be fatal to this nation. At this point, it might be worthwhile to take bits and pieces of knowledge on lunar magic, whether truthful or not and implicate that into the school system of basic core magic studies. If Kite and Gleeon learn that lunar magic is unusable no matter what, they may not pursue its secrets or the core. But that has to be a careful decision to make. Right now, the only person who can help fix this mess is her.


    "You summoned me already?" Mainne stood as the lift doors were opened, and she walked to the center of the room where Danton stood. He might not realize it yet, but Mainne heard every word sent from that speech. She could hear the hidden fear in his heart, and surely, some of the people in Sprawn Valley would hear it as well. He just declared war on dark magic, something only two missing people are known to use. It''s crazy, but at least now it''s also central in the media.


    With Mainne walking up to him after a few minute''s wait, Danton considered his earlier plan of action, and gave Mainne the proposal. "Mainne. I trust that you can be of best assistance maintaining your role here to safeguard this tower''s ultimate secrets, and all while maintaining the vital role you play as a guard of this tower."


    "I know..." People keep on saying that they''re guardians now, but there have been so many moments now, moments where Mainne missed the days before. Fighting in Leray battles with some of the best magic fighters; it''s so much fun! And now she can never go back to that.


    "What we need right now is a nearly permanent and impenetrable team, including you, me, and other elite members that will have to take the place of those we lost."


    "Permanent members?"


    "Yes. You see, nobody here gets a set term on how long they stay for their important roles. Anyone with the correct skills can come and defeat me, replacing me as leader when they know nothing about the importance of this tower''s security. Or, elites can be replaced, making the new ones weak against the two that might try to attack us."


    No way! Danton really believes that''s their goal? "You think Gleeon and Kite are going to come back?"


    "Don''t panic right now Mainne. I need you here for this."


    "R-right!"


    "Try to think about this logically. If I or other elite members are replaced by those who don''t have a clue about the dangers of dark magic and people who use it, they won''t be able to properly protect us or the tower. And I can''t assume that our employee list will remain secret. After all, champion events are always recorded and broadcast live for entertainment. Just about anyone can see who is powerful here, and I bet those two are just waiting for a moment of weakness to attack this tower again."


    "But... What if somebody does defeat us one day, replacing you and me, and the rest?"


    "It won''t happen," Danton promised. "I don''t have any say in the matter, but words and orders are irrelevant for what is now expected of us. Raw skill and strength have the points in this. If you and I become stronger warriors, we won''t be booted out of the tower as easily, but I also need our replacement elites to be in the same condition."


    Her eyes opened a little wider after processing the words enough times. Mainne stood with one hand on her hip to guess the plan. "You want me to go out into the world, and find the strongest people fit to be elites? Is that even allowed?"


    "Of course it is," Danton pressured. "Anyone is allowed to be imported as an elite member of Eldora Tower with time-based restricted access to any normally classified material. People will assume that any new elite members we recruit will get their asses handed to them when the tower reopens for business, but you and I won''t let that happen. We''re going to personally train the new elite squad. You''re task is to find five potential candidates, inform them of why you''re gathering them, and bring them all to this tower''s training room. And I''m giving you one week to complete this task."


    "A week?" Mainne felt her heart pounding in her chest. Only having a week isn''t what made this challenge difficult. It''s the note of how important this mission is. Danton is right. If Mainne fails to find able candidates for the task of defending Eldora Tower''s reputation, Kite and Gleeon will be back. This mission is very important!


    "Don''t look for people with muscles, skills, or power."


    "Huh?" What does Danton mean by that? "But you just told me to find the best, most suitable people."


    "Listen to me very carefully Mainne." Danton held every memory to his eyes as he spoke, and he had Mainne''s undivided attention. "We can''t afford to have any more Kites. So I don''t want you to focus on how strong they are. You find only candidates who have unbelievably great morals and principles. I want you to find people of honor, people who have strong hearts, people who have a genuine love for Leray magic. I don''t care if the only skill they can use is Radial Stars. You and I will be training this squad to represent their roles. So we won''t fail to beef up any of their stats as the need passes us."


    "So even if they look like they can''t hurt a fly..."


    Danton held Mainne''s shoulders, emphasizing his earlier claim. "Only bring me good people who have what it takes to protect Eldora and our friends with their lives. And be sure to explain the difficulty of their jobs here as you go. Promise them that we will train them to be the best, most amazing elite team the world has ever seen. And make sure they will never have any potential sway to the dark side of magic."


    So that''s what he wants. Skills are taught easy, but morals are not. Mainne waited for Danton to let go of the rims of her shoulders before accepting this challenge. "You want me to find five people, able candidates of Leray wielders who only know goodness in their hearts, and who all have what it takes to enjoy Leray magic to the fullest... I think I can manage that in a week. But where should I start my search?"


    "You can start here in Eldora if you''d like. I''m having Sirus hand me a supply of teleportation crystals. I''m giving them all to you so that you can get around easily."


    He really is serious about all of this. "Okay Danton." Mainne happily agreed. This felt good, to finally have something so important to do, something that would help everyone and prevent another disaster. "I''ll leave as soon as you hand me everything. I''ll need to get started immediately."


    "Good. I''ll cover for your absence in the meantime Mainne. For now, prepare yourself for a long travel, and always remain wary when you are outside of the tower. Understand? I can''t have anything bad happen to you."


    "Uh¡ª Don''t worry," Mainne promised. "I''ve got this."


    There it was at last. Danton had not seen that look on Mainne for such a long time now. She''s so confident and focused now. That''s the way things should be. Mainne is right. We''ve got this! With a new team built to replace the old, there is no doubt that they can all pull this off and protect everyone. Just believing in that was already enough to make Danton smile again as well.

 Chapter 41: Yuel Biion

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    <03/16/1972 ¨C 03:25 | Queens, New York, United States>


    "We''re almost there. How is she feeling?" Nyar had to project his voice in the car to overrun the noise of the elevated engine cruising him through the highway. Focused only on driving, he left her care up to Jane''s friends. Not much time had passed since their departure, but in another moment, the three of them will be out of sight.


    Taylor checked Jane''s hands in the darkness to see if they were still glowing, but the black fingerless gloves she wore were dampening all available light from the spark show in her hands earlier. It was possible that Jane was already healing.


    Danny checked Jane for a fever holding her forehead. She was still warm, though not as much as before. The sweat all around her skin was drying up. Somehow, Jane was getting better already, and she was more conscious than before. "A little better for now."


    Nyar held the wheel while turning to the exit leading to the airport entrance. "Good. I need her to be able to walk on her own without much support. If people suspect that Jane is sick, they won''t let her on the flight."


    Nyar really does think of everything when he needs to. Danny prepared Jane to move, making sure she would be capable, but while waiting for Nyar to pass the checkpoint leading into the parking lot, Nyar dropped the full gravity of their situation right there.


    "Don''t forget one thing," he reminded. Making sure all three of them were listening, Nyar counted the remaining balance in his pocket before paying for any tickets. "I''m sending all three of you to Sprawn Valley, but after that, I won''t even have enough to send myself anywhere."


    "I know," Danny recalled. Nyar did hint at it earlier. It''s not the best of situations, but it will have to do.


    "This also means that I can''t pay for any other trips off of Sprawn Valley for a long time. Once you''re in, you''re in to stay, understand?"


    With her energy slightly restored, Jane sat up straight, affirming her rehabilitation despite the stinging sensation on both her hands. "I''ll be sure to keep you posted on everything that happens out there Nyar."


    Danny remembered Nyar''s number by heart, and luckily, Sprawn Valley doesn''t charge for any external calls. "I''ll call you too Nyar, every moment I get the chance to. I''m not leaving anyone in the dark while we''re there."


    At least he finally understands that magic can be a dangerous weapon... Maybe this is for the best... "Danny? I know you don''t want to hear this right now, but I must apologize for any trouble I caused you and your friends earlier."


    "Don''t worry about it Nyar." Danny figured he might feel bad about it, but Nyar is at least ordinary in feeling fear from such a powerful tool. "If magic can be dangerous, it makes sense to why some people would reject it. But we''ll fight to make it safer to use. We''ll stop anyone who tries to take advantage of magic in that way."


    "And you will do so without taking any harm or dying." Nyar had to affirm one thing. Failure or injury is not an option for anyone. "No matter what, you stay alive in there no matter what it cost you. Even if you want to fight for something noble, don''t put yourself at any risk. Don''t fight for what you think is right unless it directly protects yourself and the people you actually care about."


    Danny agreed before Nyar could continue, as they were now parking in one of the lots. "Alright! I won''t die or do anything stupid, and the others won''t either."


    "Good to hear." Nyar and the others hopped out of the car as he locked the vehicle to prevent theft. He then made sure that Jane could walk on her own power. She was capable, but slower moving than the rest of them. Nyar made the three of them promise their own safety while heading all the way to the flight terminal. He purchased the three tickets with the credit he had available, and entered the boarding plane to seat everyone. The flight attendant checks passes and tickets before initiating the take-off procedure, but Nyar knew he wasn''t coming with them. He only needed to make sure that they would be seated in areas without appearing to be suspicious. Right now, only this plane is scheduled to head to Junon Airport.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Frost Maiden ~ Derek & Brandon Fiechter [Winter Wonderland]</a>


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    Once the three of them were getting seated up, Danny realized that several more minutes would need to pass before the ticket checks would even begin based on the current time and estimated time of departure. Nyar was about to leave them alone, but he stopped him first. "Nyar!"


    Nyar turned around nervously, wondering what the problem was... Jane didn''t look different from before, but something in Danny''s expression seemed too curious to pass up. "What is it?"


    Danny knew he should have asked this question before, but Nyar would have probably dodged it up until now. There has to be a more specific reason for all of his recent behavior. "What happened between you and Leray magic? I get the sense that you used to be accepting of the whole thing for some time."


    Danny is still as sharp as ever, and Nyar could only stand there with a blank expression on his face... It was so long ago from now, but why does he want to know? Everyone usually has a reason for distrusting in the magic system... With a long sigh, Nyar accepted the invitation, assuming he wouldn''t be booted off the flight before he could finish his story. It should be fine, since passengers are still boarding at this time.


    Danny tried again to bring Nyar''s personal story out. If there is any real reason that they should be concerned about Leray magic, it should be heard. "Come on Nyar. It''s best if we know what we''re going back into."


    "Fine, but only the short version." Nyar could see all their faces light up. They really were curious to know what happened all those years ago. Nyar held on to both seats'' opposite ends of him to relax part of his body. He felt like he was about to dive into a long flashback, but it probably can''t be helped here.


    "Her name was Yuel Biion," Nyar announced. Immediately, dread painted new expressions on Danny and Taylor''s faces. They already went to their assumptions, but Nyar continued to tell the story. "When I came to America, I wasn''t all by myself. I brought Yuel with me, and for some time after we arrived in New York, we both got married to each other."


    "What happened to her?" Taylor couldn''t help but ask, and there was much worry in her voice. She made it sound like Yuel must have died somehow in a tragic event, but given Yuel''s current absence and never any mention of her, that must be the case, right?


    Sadly, Nyar didn''t try to correct or reassure Taylor''s assumptions. "Yuel Biion quickly got into the concept of Leray magic, a lot more than I did. I was never really into that stuff at any point in time, but if she loved it, I couldn''t hate the idea that much of letting her practice magic. I still had to stay in New York and finish my training as a lawyer. Yuel on the other hand wanted to train being a Leray wielder in Sprawn Valley. So we technically had to split up in order to make that work. I don''t mean split up as in leaving each other alone."


    None of them were asking anymore questions, though they were totally engaged so far. Nyar felt he had to keep going, further bringing back the memory of his wife. He could imagine the beautiful way she saw the world back then. "We never changed our last names of course. Yuel wanted it that way in respect to her family name, and I agreed. But she would study Leray magic, occasionally drop in to New York to see me, and then head back to continue her training and research."


    "Yuel held herself down in the prestigious city of Eldora, though I have no idea what her real skills or capabilities were. She didn''t look like much of a fighter, more of a worshiper of magic. She was so happy with the ability to practice all sorts of amazing spells and skills."


    Jane could partially relate to that feeling... But perhaps it was more than that. She could see a sudden glow in Nyar''s face, like he was a totally different person right now. "I wish I could have met her."


    "But about seven years ago, something was off. She called me one night. I''ve never heard her sound so distressed before. That spark she had in her voice wasn''t there anymore. She sounded so depressed and nervous. When I asked her what was going on, all she could tell me was that she was poking around in her research one day; must have been the wrong time or place. She just kept telling me that magic wasn''t what it seemed, and it could be far more dangerous for everyone than what we realized. She said that some kind of government conspiracy was involved with the mage council. I didn''t understand what she meant at the time, and she was trying to be quick, so Yuel wouldn''t provide me with any details. I of course freaked out and urged her to come home where it would be safe."


    "I''m guessing this was about dark magic," Danny translated.


    "It would have to be. Two nights after that, I kept calling the agent department in Eldora City to get in touch with Yuel... And they told me that she had been killed in an accident." The shock and gasps came then to the kids, but Nyar couldn''t let this go. "The bastards wouldn''t tell me what was going on, so I flew myself to Sprawn Valley myself to check it out. I learned that on that night, Yuel Biion was killed, apparently by the use of magic. And that got me thinking very quickly. According to what most people know, magic cannot be used to cause physical harm to or kill other people. That was the specified norm of Sprawn Valley society. When I dug around more to learn the truth about dark magic, I understood what happened. The only thing I was missing was why it happened."


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    Nyar could feel tears about to flood into his eyes, but he put that energy instead to his balled fists, ready to punch whoever was responsible. "Yuel was killed with dark magic, and it was likely linked to the fact that she was investigating what that cover-up was all about. She also said it was centered on the mage council." They still don''t understand. "I''ll spell it out for you three. Whoever killed Yuel used dark magic, and I''m betting on the fact that her killer is part of the existing government of Sprawn Valley."


    "No way!" Danny kept his voice to a minimal whisper, but what Nyar was claiming is dangerous news if it''s true.


    "Well they were covering up the existence of dark magic only to a low level, but maybe this lunar magic was something a lot more secret. Either way, Yuel''s death was kept on a low radar as well, and it never made any headlines. Care to bet which person was in charge of Sprawn Valley that day? His name is Brash Danton, and I bet he sounds familiar to all of you."


    Jane had to sit up and defend the claim. "No Nyar! Brash Danton would never be capable of something like that!"


    "You know him that well?" Nyar waited for her response, but even Danny and Taylor were silent in the matter... Even they can''t fully trust Danton. Yet they are willing to work for him. "I don''t know the man myself either. Apparently, civilians or immigrants have no rights to speak to the higher-ups. I continued trying to investigate this so much, that it brought dangerous attention to myself. I had no choice but to fly back to New York, but I swore that I''d be able to prove it one day."


    Danny nodded his head in disapproval. "I won''t believe that Danton is capable of murdering someone to cover something up Nyar. I just can''t do that. I have met him at least, and he seems to be honorable enough to never use dark magic. He''s completely opposed to it."


    "And how can you be so sure?"


    "Well," Danny started, "I''ll ask the man myself when we get back to the tower. I am going to make sure I run this down with everyone."


    "You better be careful how you do that. Because if I''m right and you ask that question to a killer, your body will float up in the ocean, and then I''ll kill everyone in the Sprawn Valley government."


    So he lost someone important to him over dark magic... Danny could sympathize easier now with the sense this made from before. Nyar doesn''t want to lose Danny or anyone else to magic. But that won''t happen. "I won''t die Nyar. I promise."


    "That-a-boy!" Nyar rubbed Danny''s hair a few times, as if to quickly pet a dog.


    "Nyar?" Jane called. "I''m sorry that this happened to you. Let me be the one to ask Danton instead. If anything happens, I can use my symbol to stop them, if they really are traitors. I know they''re not, but I have to be sure after hearing that. Danton has been leader for almost ten years now. A lot could have happened."


    "Then I expect you to follow the same rules of caution Jane. Do not take these people lightly. You can''t trust anybody but yourselves these days."


    "I''ll remember that," Danny promised.


    Nyar was momentarily distracted by the high voice of a flight attendant a few meters behind him, going around asking people for their passes. It''s finally time to leave them. "I have to go now. You all make sure Jane doesn''t get stopped by any TSA agents in Junon... Oh, who am I kidding? They''d probably be okay with people walking around with guns over there. I have to go now."


    Danny didn''t want Nyar to leave them now, after everything that''s happened... But he really can''t afford the ride here, and Jane''s currency is locked only to Sprawn Valley right now. "Yeah. Take care Nyar!"


    "Oh, sir? Can you please be seated?"


    Nyar faced the lady with his small suitcase in one hand. He already gave another case of supplies to Danny for safekeeping, but this is where he gets off. "No ma''am. I''m only here as a temporary escort. It''s time I leave the flight."


    "You don''t have a pass?"


    "Nope. I''ll be going now." Nyar squeezed himself past the lady through the narrow isle, and proceeded to walk to the exit of the plane connector. After everyone''s passes have been confirmed, that connector will disengage, and the flight will be capable of taking off after taxying to the runway. Nyar knew they couldn''t hear him anymore, but he glanced back slightly, and whispered good luck to those brave kids. "Stay safe out there."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Aerial Drift ~ Tigerforest</a>


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    After another five minutes passed, the plane was already beginning to take off from the ground as everyone was seated with their safety belts firmly buckled, but everything Nyar just told them left Danny in deep thought about it all. In another moment when the plane flew higher, a groaning sound snapped him to attention.


    Jane was sweating again, her eyes locked shut and her entire body shivering. Taylor noticed just as soon as Danny did. Jane''s fever was returning, and without those gloves, her hands were probably sparking up again. There shouldn''t be any possible magic involvement happening. Maybe even with that symbol, the use of lunar magic has devastating consequences on the body. All Danny knew is that this was a troublesome situation.


    "Here." Taylor offered Jane one of her fresh icepacks, given to her by Nyar who anticipated this possibility. "Just take it easy for now Jane."


    "I''ll try." Jane managed to understand everything and speak back to her friends, being fully conscious this time for this return of hell on her body. She felt warm herself, yet unable to stop shivering as if she were locked in a freezer. Her skin felt like it had pins and needles poking at her every nerve, though the sensation was still more intense towards her hands.


    Danny nervously glanced around to make sure they weren''t drawing attention to themselves. "Just try to keep it down Jane. I know it hurts, but we can''t look like you have a serious problem." He kept his voice down too in case anyone was listening to him. He didn''t need to explain that the panic of noticing a sick passenger on board would be enough to turn the plane back around. There isn''t time for that. They would never let them proceed if they realized that Jane or her friends don''t have a legal guardian escorting them back home. Danny at least knew what to do once they land in Sprawn Valley. In fact, Jane should begin to feel better again the moment her body enters that veil... Then again, that''s just a hunch from Danton. Can he really be trusted?


    "Danny? Taylor?" Jane had to struggle just to speak at this point, her voice already weak and hoarse. Even with Taylor trying to get her to relax, Jane didn''t want to sleep or slip away to unconsciousness. She had to know the truth. "Is it all true what happened before? Did I really use magic on those horrible people?"


    Danny thought they had cleared that up already, but Jane wasn''t able to return to herself all at once in the living room, so maybe she forgot some of it. "You invoked your symbol before you did, and I don''t think you were fully conscious of what was happening during that moment. If you ask me, the only thing that makes any sense is that you invoked pure lunar magic. According to Danton, lunar magic can be used without a veil anywhere in the world, usually only once and at the cost of that person''s life."


    "So I''m dying?"


    "No," Danny reassured. "We both think that your symbol has something to do with the way you were able to use it so often. It''s probably keeping you alive right now. Then again, we could be completely wrong. These are just guesses until they find out what your symbol is really for."


    "Oh..." Jane felt uncomfortable still. "Still... those bandits wanted to cut me up and torture me. I can remember everything before I attacked anything. But I don''t know why they were targeting me."


    "I can''t answer that." Danny was left in the dark about some things too. Right now, nobody is sure of anything anymore. "We know they were a unit of the Scarlet Cult, operating without magic as some sort of spy or research unit in New York City, but they knew your face. It''s possible they knew it from that publicity reveal you pulled on national television. Or it could be that they recognize you only as a person of interest, brought about by Stanley Marx, or that Heather chick who took Geiger. Truth is, I don''t know."


    "We shouldn''t worry about it until you get better." Taylor knew she would have to be the one to try and get Jane to relax, but it''s understandable as to why she won''t want to. Even back home, there are probably a few ordinary people who won''t accept Jane knowing that she is marked.


    "I''m more concerned about Nyar''s story, and Yuel''s murder." Danny couldn''t stop thinking about it. Sure, it''s one of those mysteries he can''t get anything out of, but something doesn''t feel right about the whole thing. It''s not the story that''s suspicious, but the things Nyar couldn''t find out on his own. "She was killed with dark magic, and that obviously points to some kind of criminal... I don''t think that it was someone from inside the mage council or within Eldora Tower. It just doesn''t make sense."


    Taylor and Danny began arguing back and forth the same concept; what made more or less sense in the end, and it kept Jane quiet for a while. "But she was killed right after finding out that dark magic exists."


    "But here''s the thing. I know that a lot of Sprawn Valley people don''t like talking about dark magic, yet Jane knew about that concept during her enrollment in school. Eliza was able to confirm its existence as well... I know this happened seven years ago, but I think the people already knew about dark magic to begin with. It doesn''t make sense that Yuel would be upset to learn something the public might have already known. At least that''s what it feels like. The secrets she probably was about to uncover could have been something bigger than dark magic."


    "But Nyar specifically thinks it is dark magic. I mean, what else would have put Yuel away?"


    "No," Danny corrected. "I''m not saying that Yuel was killed by anything other than dark magic. What I am saying is that she must have been onto something deeper; a secret far more valuable than dark magic. I can only think of three possible scenarios that make sense in that. I don''t like the first one, but I also think it''s unlikely."


    "What is it then?" Taylor begged.


    Danny narrated through all of them reluctantly. "Scenario one. Nyar is right about all of it. There is some kind of internal cover-up involving the murder of Yuel Biion. Somebody killed her because she learned something that the government didn''t want her to know, and she became a liability. Whether it was Danton or someone else, it means that everything we''re trying to do is already compromised by the existence of a double agent working in the higher government, which means the secrets are already compromised to the parties we are supposed to be fighting against."


    "And what''s number two and three?"


    "I find it far more likely that Yuel was killed by a different party, some kind of criminal that, at that exact time and place was trying to gather information illegally on the same secrets she was going for. It still would make Yuel a liability to that party, because she could - no, she actually did panic and call Nyar to give him as many details as she could. Whoever was spying on Eldora''s staff or infrastructure to learn these secrets must have noticed Yuel in the way during their operation, and they silenced her to make their job more covert."


    "But who is they?"


    "It could be anyone. A member of the Scarlet Cult, a rouge military unit who got too involved with dark magic, or even an ex-member of the government. Scenario two and three are the same except for the target of secrets they were looking for. Yuel either learned something specific about the origin of Leray magic, possibly something about Eldora''s crystal core. Or, if scenario three is correct, they learned instead that lunar magic is possibly more powerful than dark magic and Leray magic combined."


    "Lunar magic? But I thought people can''t actually use it."


    "That''s the official story we hear. Everyone in Sprawn Valley is taught that lunar magic isn''t possible to use, otherwise everyone would be using it. And I think that''s how it works... Except, if that''s true, it makes Jane the anomaly in that claim. I know that her symbol is responsible for unlocking her ability to use lunar magic, but I don''t know why or how. Maybe there is something about lunar magic that we don''t know, something that Danton''s team does understand better than we do. And as of recently, I heard Danton claim that the use of lunar magic is possible outside of the veil, though it would still kill the same people trying to use it. So that claim coming from him means the information taught to everyone in Sprawn Valley is a lie. The question then becomes, how do you use lunar magic, lethal or not outside of the veil? I bet that has something big to do with how Jane is able to use that symbol to invoke lunar magic."


    "Danny..." Jane couldn''t believe the route he was taking to try and figure this all out... And he was already saying some interesting things so quickly... His deduction powers are amazing!


    Danny glanced at Jane for a moment with brief concern. "That symbol you have was meant for the Scarlet Cult. Geiger ruined their plans and gave it to you instead, but if you try to think about this with all malicious intent, I bet they were researching symbols and lunar magic together, trying to merge the substances into some kind of stable method that would allow them to use lunar magic anywhere in the world for whatever they want to, all without having to face the obvious side effect of death during invocations. That must have been their plan all along, to get the upper hand on a destructive kind of magic. What worse than something requiring no veil?"


    What a horrible and disturbing thought! Jane couldn''t believe it if it were true. Is this symbol really all that powerful? That all this time, it wasn''t designed for MP conservation or power shields, but something as horrible as world destruction? No, that''s too big, too ambitious even for the Scarlets. They would never use harmful magic on innocent unarmed people. What would they ever achieve by doing that?


    "I don''t want to alarm anyone," Danny added. "I''m just thinking out loud for now. When I face Danton again, I need to know what questions to ask him."


    "And if you''re wrong," Jane reminded, "there would have to be a double agent in the mage council."


    "Wrong? I said one of three scenarios. One of them has to be right."


    Taylor nearly chuckled and replied, "That''s cheating. To say any of them is possible and just go with whatever is the truth."


    "Fine," he answered. "It could be anything, and I just don''t know."


    "We''re going to find out, as soon as we land in Sprawn Valley." Taylor felt so sharp knowing what was going on around that place, but her thoughts were everywhere at once too. She also reminded herself that their special JDT suits were all waiting for them back in secure storage, as well as their supply spheres and currency cards. Everything that is a part of them and their lives in Sprawn Valley are right in Eldora City, near the south exit. It would feel so good to be able to invoke magical powers again. But then this flight is going to take hours long in the air. Hopefully Jane doesn''t get any sicker or draw any attention to anyone else.

 Chapter 42: A Fresh Beginning

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    <1/7/1963 ¨C 08:00 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Sprawn Valley Capital>


    In a flash of days, January 7<sup>th</sup> rushed in from around the corner, and brought with it a freezing climate that everyone thought to be forgotten. Two hours from now, the second wave of the New Year celebration for Sprawn Valley will begin outside, at the outskirts of Eldora City. It is already 1963, but everybody can''t get enough of the start of a new year. As expected, the usual excitement is already replacing the diminishing news and announcement involving Brash Danton last week.


    But as of right now, there is no time for the top officials of Eldora Tower to celebrate. All while Mainne was away, Danton helped security advisor Jarvis with the many installations to Eldora Tower''s security system... Though they are still far from complete. There are a lot of new components to be installed. Special dark magic scanning systems were embedded into a new internal layer structured all around the tower, a layer that also provides a new and unique lighting system, connected by a series of LED panels. Security doubled down on the crystal core vault, where Sirus assisted on the imposed improvements. New camera systems were coming in as well, though they were nothing extra special. Ebon Eye did promise a new revision of their latest prototype technology in aerial drone cameras, all functioning without any wires, but Danton thought it sounded too farfetched to be anything that serious.


    Meanwhile, each arena room was still being outfitted with new support systems, including the Antigrade Inc. ventilation systems. This might sound cool, but it''s a headache to try and move, let alone implement to the tower. Additionally, none of it will be usable until all external overhauls are affixed to the tall structure. They''re coating the entire exterior of the tower with a stronger grade of magic-resistant metal. Wonder if it will actually work though. On top of that, Danton had to carefully read and sign all new documents and articles for laws to be passed, including updates to be carried out to the Leray system via the veil starting in February.


    It''s been a long week, but Danton wasn''t working alone towards these goals. Mainne checked in over the first floor telephone system downstairs, summoning Danton for her reports. She sounded a bit disturbed for a few moments, but not in a serious way... It must be fun hunting down random people of cordial background, but in the week that passed, Mainne finally came back to Eldora Tower.


    It was difficult at first to bring in the new contestants, thanks to Danton''s newest security protocols and handles, though a quick visit to the first floor shortened any further issues. The time for installations would now have to continue without Danton''s support, at least for right now. Mainne looked exhausted though, based on her posture. Her eyes were still just as bright and focused on the other hand...


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Premonition ~ Vampire Knights OST</a>


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    Who are these people? Danton knew he wouldn''t recognize anyone coming in, but this troupe defiantly stands out in a crowd. He had to examine all of them as they went up the primary lift system together, stopping only at the second arena. Two guys, and two women. One of the chicks seemed a little young, but not in a cute way. The amount of make-up she''s wearing could easily scare off a clown, and her hair has at least four different colors of highlights, pink, bright blond, even a bright strand of green. She isn''t dressed all that appropriately either. What kind of dress sphere is that? Aren''t all dress spheres with skirts supposed to have a full overskirt with extra under-layers?


    And what the hell is with Mr. Muscles? That taller guy is more ripped than Gleeon is. The orange sleeveless shirt he''s wearing right now is just there to let him show off. Physical strength is nice, but this is overkill, not to mention his scary face. The man could easily pose as a security guard and do the job without ever moving.


    Then there''s the other guy, who''s almost as tall as the strong one, just without all the muscle mass... He actually seems a bit more normal, all until you get to his avid hairstyle. Did he dye it this far orange? The point is that his hair is made out of points and edges. Why spike it up like that? The dude somehow pulled off a hairstyle only found in Japanese anime.


    Then there''s the other girl, who is exactly as tall as the weirdo... This one''s normal though. She dresses nice, has an average appeal... Talk about outliers. Danton tried to shrug off his thoughts, reminding himself that first impressions are not everything. When Mainne led everyone into the center of the arena room, Danton made sure it was empty except for themselves, and lined everyone up single file. Then he and Mainne stood on the opposite end. But when Danton counted the numbers again, the pressing thought came to mind, and he turned to Mainne for answers. "Why are there only four candidates here? Didn''t I ask for five?"


    Mainne tried not to look bashful. It was hard to feel guilty about it after what happened on this gathering. "Well I had one guy who seemed to be well talented, and everything else like you said, but..." Mainne knew she wasn''t getting off without completing that answer, her pause only brief. "The guy was a total cupcake! He was scared of everything! I couldn''t get him to control himself. You should have seem the way he handled a hive of bugs!" Unable to stop her ranting, Mainne''s new recruits burst into the laughter, triggered by the many memories they all made in the short time. It was about the bug thing though, and the fact that one of the candidates also freaked him out. Danton glared demandingly at the laughing idiots, and they all shut down quickly in response. Mainne exhaled and told Danton only the part he needed to understand. "So yeah... I only have four of them. It wasn''t easy to find people like this."


    I''ll bet. These folk look like they belong in some science fiction manga. Work will have to be done to correct that. "Very well Mainne." Danton held his hands behind his back, and stood firmly in front of the new team to assert his dominance over all of them. Right now is the time, the moment to drop the heavy news onto all of them.


    Danton cleared his throat before speaking, and he stood still to judge all of their character while it mattered. "Alright. Introduce yourselves at once." At first, nobody answered Danton''s command. They all paused and glanced at each other in confusion. It''s to be expected though, because Mainne probably said absolutely anything to bring them here.


    But at last, the normal looking girl went first. She held her shut hand to her neck and gave only her name. Hopefully the others would take a hint. "Um, my name is Aimesta Dune."


    "Rank?" Danton questioned. Seconds passed, and Aimesta wasn''t saying anything else. Danton had to reassure her that this wasn''t an important part of any test. "Don''t worry. Even if you''re basic, this will work out for you. I just need to know for legitimacy reasons."


    "Okay." Aimesta tried not to sound nervous. It wasn''t clear why Mainne brought them all here, and this guy looks like he''s so refined. "Level 2 training, intermediate."


    "Good," Danton accepted. "Next." How long would it take for these people to catch on? They obviously have no sense of formality. It''s not that important either, but it will be later on. They''re going to show up a lot on the cameras for god''s sakes! Have some confidence!


    Enough screwing around then. The guy higher in muscle mass stepped forward just slightly, and introduced himself next. "Cleo Yumihato. I''m actually sort of a Leray specialist. I have dabbled experience as a referee, and my level is advanced, level 3."


    When Danton only nodded downward, the other guy knew to follow up next, less he be interrupted again. "I''m Brock Henderson, level four training. And I think being a Leray wielder is the best sport anyone could play in!"


    Why so passionate? Danton didn''t discourage it though. It''s actually very healthy to have such a strong position towards Leray magic. And next comes the strange girl with all that make-up... Why is she just standing there looking board? "Hey you?"


    She glanced up at Danton with her brows unchanged, slanted downwards to show off her constant irritation. "What? I don''t know what''s going on here. Aren''t we all here for a photo shoot? You don''t look like an impatient producer."


    At that, Brock turned at the woman and shouted at her for being so unbelievably wrong, his true colors already showing. "That''s not what we''re here for Krysta! Why the hell would the champion himself drag us all up here if he wanted to take pictures?" Brock immediately realized that he was speaking out of permission, and blessed his hands together bowing an apology towards Danton. "I''m sorry sir! Krysta can be kind of a handful."


    Krysta was already agitated that these strangers think of her so lowly, but it was also irritating seeing Danton''s face when one brow went up without the other. Who is he to judge? "I''m guessing that''s what you say to all the lovely women you meet?"


    Danton peeked at Mainne, who looked back at him with a blushing face of nervousness. She had one simple task. Bring five people who have good hearts. So what on earth is going on here?


    "Hey government guy?"


    Brock corrected Krysta on the spot before any more offence could be delivered. "His name''s Danton, and he''s the champion. Have some respect!"


    Krysta studied Danton''s stature more than before, but she kept her distance in place. "You don''t look like a champion to me. I guess we''ll see which one of us is more skilled when we have a battle later."


    Danton nearly broke into laughter, laughter of pity and reprisal. "Oh, that can be arranged. But before I dropkick everyone here, I want full names and ranks. So your name is Crysta?"


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "It''s Krysta, with a K... Krysta Beckar if anyone cares. And I have basic, but I got that like, years ago, so... Totally stronger than I look."


    And high on her ego as well, but it can''t be helped until the tournament of judgment comes into place. Danton thus proceeded to introduce himself and his partner to the four of them. "My name is Brash Danton. I''m current standing champion of this tower. And here is Mainne Gelica. She''s a level four elite, but her rank will change soon, as will all of yours."


    "Wait," Brock beckoned. "Elites? You''re going to give us ranks on elites of Eldora Tower?"


    "Of course I am, but not without the proper guidelines and training exercises."


    It felt strange for the group that Krysta had to be the one to announce the obvious issue with this plan. "Aren''t elites supposed to earn their rank by defeating other elites?"


    "Special situation," Danton replied. He turned his voice and eyes serious, making sure all of them understand their full circumstance. "There isn''t any clear protocol involving replacement for elites who either drop off the grid, or who get killed." His last word in that sentence, it drove everyone silent, though focused and respective. Talking about death is a powerful motivator for those who aren''t taking anything seriously enough. "I''m sure you all heard what happened over the news, but if you haven''t, I''ll remind you that bad things sometimes happen to people. I lost three of mine in that explosion last week."


    Mainne almost blurted out instinctively, but she held her tongue not to correct him. The plan was supposed to be Danton telling these people the entire truth about Eldora Tower, but Gleeon and Kite weren''t killed in any explosion. They''re enemies! Doesn''t Danton understand how dangerous it is to keep the truth from everyone? What is he thinking right now?


    Danton continued, walking side to side in front of everyone''s faces to make sure his voice was clear. "And since then, I''ve been working very hard to acquire the best of the best back into this tower, so that we can all have an elite team to run things again. I understand that this is sudden to all of you, but the least you can do now is honor this gathering with some respect!" Danton calmed himself down. He can''t go too difficult on these people right now. It wouldn''t be right. "This is serious. I''m going to be testing you and improving your existing skills faster than any teacher has ever trained you before. But I also cannot force anyone''s hand to do something they don''t care for. So if anyone here has any objections to becoming an Eldora elite, or doesn''t want this for themselves, then please do not hesitate to walk out of here right now. I can''t afford to try and train people who aren''t into Leray magic. I need people who are willing to give this everything they''ve got. Do you understand me?"


    The four of them, well, the four excluding Krysta all hyped up their stance as if they were soldiers, and blurted, "Yes sir!" in synchronicity.


    Danton didn''t immediately notice Krysta''s lack of respective behavior in the moment, but he marched back in front of the new team to make sure they were following this order. After ten seconds of silence, nobody said a word. Nobody left the room, and that was the only answer Danton needed from here. All of them are committed to this; all of them are consenting to becoming the newest team of elites, and with any luck, the new guardians of this tower. "There will be a twelve day course, starting tomorrow. But tonight, Mainne will test your styles on stationary targets to get a sense of your battling methods. In this twelve-day course, Mainne and myself with both be training all of you rigorously. You will not have a lot of breaks to sit down or whine. You will not have the luxuries of honorable battles or fairness, and you will most certainly not be allowed to travel outside of this tower during this course. If you leave Eldora Tower before training sessions are complete, you will automatically be disqualified and expelled. Neither of us are going to be going easy on you during this training. I need strength, skills, styles, and brains on all of you to be refined to their absolute limits on such short notice. Because in about a month from now, this tower will come back online, and you will probably be bombarded with battling activity. I want to keep all of you as elites for as long as possible. Permanent settlement here would be suitable for the situation."


    Danton wasn''t stopped by any of Mainne''s concerns. These people were no longer asking questions. They are probably scared to death right now of what they''re hearing, but all of this is necessary. "As you may have already noticed, or not... Four of you stand here right now. Mainne already has a slot used up in her elite chain status. So naturally, that means we have one too many in the group compatible for the role. I only have three open slots available. I asked Mainne to bring me five contestants in order to help broaden the variety we would be getting today. So, in order to clear this issue up, we will hold a private tournament on the last day of your twelve-tier training. This tournament will be used between the four of you to determine the ranks of which you belong in, but that also means that the person in last place will have to be cut from the Eldora chain. I want no one to take such a thing personally. There can only be three new elites. In this case, you won''t be judged on the strength you have now, but rather how much you can learn in such a short period of time. Once all ranks are decided, you''re elite status will be made official, and you will be allowed to travel outside of Eldora Tower again. For now, that is all I have to say to you people. Are there any questions?"


    Nobody wanted to say anything for a moment, but naturally, all of them had questions, which they asked one at a time starting with Cleo. "Yes, is training to become an elite always like this?"


    "Technically, no. There are reasons we''re doing things differently this month, but we won''t get into those details until your elite statuses are made official. Once you''re in the program, you can always opt out afterwards, but once you get a feel for what it means to be a real elite soldier, I don''t think you''ll want to leave."


    "Sir Danton," Brock started. "It''s really an honor that we''ve been chosen for this, and I know my skills are way up where they should be. But..." Brock glanced around everywhere, like a person lost in a new hotel suite. "Where are we going to stay, since we''re bound to this tower for the next twelve days?"


    "Eldora Tower has plenty of recreational stations inside for suitable living quarters, and our chefs make some of the best food in the cafeteria on the first floor. But for now, I''m going to have Mainne show you around the tower and get you situated with everything you''re going to need."


    "Me?" Mainne pointed to herself cluelessly, and her reaction made Krysta smirk in response.


    Mainne will have to watch over them just a little longer. "One more solo favor today Mainne. But not right this second."


    "Ha!" Krysta pointed to Mainne, down talking her from where she stood. "You''ve got babysitting duty! I''m also vegan by the way." Her last statement was directed towards Danton, but her attempt to make Mainne seem more frustrated could be working. She hides her emotions well enough, yet speaks like a valley girl.


    "Hey?" Aimesta raised her hand for Danton''s attention, which she already had at the call. "Are we getting paid for this?"


    At that, Danton nearly lost his expression of stature. "You will be compensated basic amounts during the course of your training. But if you become an elite, your annual salary will always be in the upper six-figures." Everyone''s eyes lit up with the news. Danton knew better than to use money as a persuasive tactic to get them on board with the plan, but they all need some motivation to their souls. "Mainne? A moment?"


    Mainne followed Danton, who turned around and walked away for a few seconds to get out of hearing range of the other four elites. They however weren''t even curious about it, instead conversing with themselves about the new pay raise they were going to be getting. But what does Danton want?


    "I know you did your best, but tell me in your own words whether or not I should be concerned about the personalities of our new recruits. Krysta for example seems to enjoy down talking people. It seems a little too familiar to me."


    Mainne had to process what he said a little longer than she meant to, but still answered Danton with reassurance that everything was fine. "Yeah, but they''re all good people inside. I interviewed all of them. Promise!"


    "I know Mainne. It''s just that I don''t know about them. Being a good mage helps, but only if their hearts are in the right place."


    "Yeah? Well I didn''t tell a single one of them what they would really be doing, not in an elaborate way that left any detail for the imagination. And I did need extra motivation for Krysta. God, she is annoying..." Mainne quickly corrected her own behavior before giving Danton the wrong idea. "But I also asked Krysta if she would come into this group if it meant helping people, in an indirect way."


    "What? And she bought that?"


    "She agreed to come with me on that premise."


    "Yeah, or she has a different motive. She thought she was doing a photo shoot here."


    "No, she didn''t. She''s just testy is all. She likes to screw with people''s heads or something. Worked on me for a few days."


    "Aaaah," Danton exhaled excitingly. "So that''s why you were so grumpy over the phone. And here I thought you were just missing the usual brunch and tea you seem to love."


    Mainne pushed Danton away in a playful gesture. "If I missed it that much, I would have teleported in for a break, but I was out there instead putting up with all of them. So now you have to put up with them too."


    "Ouch," Danton breathed sarcastically. "Next time I''ll go on the annoying adventure. You can stay here and do all of the heavy - but also very boring lifting of the materials."


    Mainne couldn''t stay annoyed anymore, but it was hard to gauge what she felt in the moment. She almost laughed while feeling frustrated that Danton couldn''t have been through the same. "You would leave me in charge of heavy lifting? I''d be fine, because I would have thought to remember that telekinetic magic would make that part of the job so much easier."


    "Oh, I would have missed out on the fun if I cheated and relied solely on magic to put in a good day''s work."


    "Don''t pretend to be all noble about installing security."


    "That reminds me." Danton''s tone returned to normal, and he had to get serious again. "I''m not messing around with these nuggets, and I know that you know that. However, even when they''re ready, they won''t really be ready."


    "I thought it would be hard to train such people in a month." Mainne crossed her arms, ready to hear Danton''s next brilliant plan for securing the new team if they aren''t ready. It might just be easier at this point to let them all lose and take the next bunch of people that come by.


    "Here''s my temporary solution to that problem. You''re going to be bumped down to a level one elite."


    "What?!" Mainne didn''t mean to be loud, but she nearly jumped at hearing such a demoralizing decision.


    Danton had to wave his hand down to chill Mainne out and let him continue. "I''ll pull strings so that it doesn''t affect your pay, but I need you to be on defense when this tower reopens. Even in a month, the nuggets will have only questionable experience. I don''t want to get them knocked out, and the more new challengers they fight early, the more likely it will happen. But you have a lot more experience than any of them, and will continue to even after we begin whipping them into shape. I know that you can prevent every contestant from breaking through your personal arena, and that''s exactly what I need you to do."


    "Are you crazy?" Mainne still couldn''t believe the news, or the logic behind it all. "Think about all the people I''d have to fight every day five days a week! That will completely exhaust me." Mainne knew this was true, because she got to see how much stress the championship events placed on Vanoss when he was the level-one elite.


    "Well, I''ll make it up to you after it''s all over someday. Still, I know you can handle it. Not every opponent you face is going to be much of a threat. Just wipe out the weaklings in a matter of two moves. Make it fast, and draw out that list as quick as you can. It will be over before you know it."


    "You''re going to owe me a lot more than one for this kind of favor. When do we even decide when I get to stop playing defense?"


    "When we have a second tournament with you and myself included. I haven''t decided yet on when that will be. They all have to be trained in the background even after they''ve been hired. Don''t forget that I need their powers on a level capable of defending themselves against dark magic."


    "I really hope you don''t ever plan to put them in that kind of danger."


    "I don''t plan to, but Kite and Gleeon won''t care who gets in their way. I don''t like the thought of depending on people who aren''t ready to fight. If they actually come back to this tower and break into the crystal core vault, we''re done for."


    "Yeah, I know. But when do we tell them that?" Mainne turned her neck to see all of them. They''re still excited right now about their promotions and opportunities. It will be a big shame to wreck their heightened morale.


    "When the timing is better. I may just tell them once four is condensed into three. But I want you there with me when I do."


    "Oh no, I''m not telling them anything."


    "You don''t have to," Danton promised. "I just want someone I trust the most by my side, in case something goes horribly wrong in translation. You know how they''re going to take the news."


    "The news that their whole belief in Leray magic isn''t what they thought it was? I''ve been hit by that bus before, and it''s still a solid bruise to my heart."


    "You aren''t alone there. But that is precisely why I wanted to emphasize good hearts over good skills... Anyway," Danton turned to Mainne directly to give her the cue. "I''ll have you give them the tour now. I have to head to the mage council and ask for their assistance."


    "You do? What''s happening?"


    "Don''t stress," Danton reminded. "It''s just that, with all of this going on, I want to keep extra eyes on our new recruits, while keeping part of the council involved in what we''re doing. So I''m going to ask them to hand over four referees for the new buddy system I''ve implemented in one of the articles."


    "Does that mean I''m getting a buddy too?"


    She sounds so annoyed by that. "It probably does. Their boundaries are made clear already, but I still need to meet them for myself and assign each referee to our elites. Having an official referee will give us one extra eye in the battles that take place. They''ll be trained specifically to watch out for any funny business during combat, such as dark magic, or unauthorized passive abilities that rely on specific items. But they''ll also be keeping their eyes on our new team. I want to make sure that their mental behavior isn''t compromised during anytime of their stay here.


    "I''m not going to be watched like I¡¯m someone''s homework project. So don''t assign me any creeps."


    "I''ll do my best."


    "Do better," Mainne retorted.


    Danton stood fixed on Mainne, who twirled around and headed back towards the group to give them that promised tour. With her helping out, things are getting done. So there shouldn''t be anything to worry about... Danton felt unsure of himself, but he shrugged off the doubts in his mind for now. It''s time to go find referees, poached directly from the council listings. With any luck, they''re not any more wacko looking than the new elite chain.

 Chapter 43: Best of the Best

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    <01/18/1963 ¨C 15:00 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Sprawn Valley Capital>


    The twelve days of training were rough on everybody, but in only five days, all four of the contestants began to toughen up and show a psychological level of resilience in the challenges to come. Danton and Mainne pushed all of them to their limits as often as they could, and on the twelfth day, January 18, 1963 on a Friday, the preliminary tournament set up privately was nearly at its conclusion. Brock and Cleo were tested well, their skills excellent for the task. Mainne managed to bring out their best-fit fighting styles and train them on using the skills in battle.


    Interestingly, Brock appeared to be a worthy mage with all sorts of Leray spells, and only the spells he used consisting of fire elements appeared to be well refined. He likes to work out as much as possible, but he also likes to battle using spells involving fire and heat, almost a direct opposite of Mainne. His style isn''t too bad either.


    Cleo was even more of an interest however. His style of battle usually involved specializing only in spells that inflict and maximize a person''s pain. He debilitates his opponent by making them suffer slowly until their patience runs thin, and somehow, the man has a rather high tolerance to pain himself. It actually feels like a cruel tactic to use on other people, but the system is perfectly legal. Both of their minds are also in the right place at this point in time. All they want to do is serve their elite roles as best as they can.


    In the final match between Krysta and Aimesta, the winner would take the last open slot available for becoming an official Leray elite. Danton and Mainne were both watching them battle together for the past five minutes. Both women were almost equally skilled despite their differences in styles and approach. Krysta did surprisingly well in physical close combat, but then Aimesta had her outclassed on magic spells. The two of them went at it for a while now, both draining the HP on their energy scopes. They also argued back and forth during their battle often, which didn''t seem very usual.


    Krysta tried to wrap it up once more by firing three large frozen boulders towards Aimesta as if they were unguided elemental bolts, but Aimesta was also fast and light on her feet. She dodged the first two spheres, and invoked a powerful Fire Bolt to destroy the third one before it got too close to her face. Then they were standing thirty meters apart again at another stalemate.


    Aimesta was ready for anything, and her guard was always up. It''s a smart way to battle, but Krysta developed a smirk in her expression while carefully studying Aimesta''s position and stance. She put one foot forward, hoping to project her voice from a distance. "You fight good enough Aimesta, but you should really consider giving that slot to me instead." Her voice came out condescending at the same time.


    Aimesta kept her place and replied, "Why would I do that? You''re just afraid of losing!"


    "Oh, I wouldn''t say that. It''s just that elite members have to battle on national TV all the time. Sorry honey, but your figure is a bit uneven to pull any of that off, and that style you''re using is simply a disgrace to society. It''s best not to give such important roles to ugly little girls. Ha-ha-ha-ha!"


    Danton twitched, the insult catching even him off guard. What is Krysta doing?! Aimesta isn''t ugly or little, and the insult only works if it''s true. They''re wasting time!


    She''s calling me ugly? I have uneven curves? Aimesta couldn''t help but feel so tense right now. Her muscles contracted at her will, and her teeth were clenched just tightly enough for her not to lose her mind... But this bitch knows nothing about Leray battling. She has nothing to give to such a high honor. She''ll eat those words! "Dual Shuriken!" Aimesta quickly invoked her next spell, spawning two large circlets in her hands with special handles, the rest of the wheel sharp with destructive edges. She then jumped off her left foot, driving her body ever closer to Krysta for one final blow! How dare she call me ugly! I''ll show her!


    Krysta sensed it, the perfect moment to strike. She had been charging MP energy all this time in secret, and she began to unleash both of her powers, controlling two spells at once. It wasn''t an easy thing to do, but Danton proved it was possible with enough concentration. Now is the time! Krysta lifted up her slightly glowing hands - keeping them as fists, and controlling the flow of her own magical spells without the need to chant their names. In another instant, a wall - made purely out of ice ten feet tall, two meters thick, and twenty meters in length shot up from the ground faster than a bullet. All of the edges facing Aimesta were postulated with long sharp spikes, icicles sturdy enough to puncture through solid metal.


    The sudden appearance of this dangerous spiked ice wall nearly freaked Aimesta out. She nearly ran into the spikes, but she slid on her shoes to stop herself in time. Krysta tricked her!


    Aimesta probably couldn''t see it, but Krysta invoked another spell simultaneous to this one, a distant Shadow Wave already on approach from behind. Wielders can control where Shadow Waves crop up at, and even reduce their noise level for the cost of additional MP energy.


    The idea worked well enough. Aimesta managed to stop herself from running into a painful spiky wall of icicles, but her focus was forward only as a result. From behind, a sudden force shoved her whole body forward, pushing her straight into multiple spikes that punctured through the other side of her body. The sudden force of these needle edge spikes brought an incredible pain to Aimesta that she never expected to feel in any match, and there wasn''t even time to think about what behind her might have shoved her forward like that. But due to the special protection of the Leray veil, the spikes all created glowing circles at each puncture site, coming out the other end without actually being driven into Aimesta''s internal bodily organs. A lack of blood followed as well, but when the wall disappeared from the expended magic, Aimesta was still trapped in the vice of pain as she slumped to the ground, falling down on her side and unable to move. The front and back of her body was full of open holes of azure light with a low glow, and they remained there for a period afterwards to further prove that her actual life wasn''t in any danger. All in light of the Leray match, the balance defiantly shifted.


    With only a shred of HP left, Aimesta was drained and disoriented on the ground, practically unable or unwilling to move anymore. Krysta could easily finish her right now, but that wouldn''t even be necessary at this point. Danton had a hard time thinking through what just happened. In one moment, Krysta seemed to be screwing around. Yet she easily defeated Aimesta anyway, and in doing so made it look easy. That was a tough blow too. Aimesta''s HP was still elevated to begin with, but the added force of being shoved into that ice wall increased the damage two-fold. On top of that, this kind of ice wall invokes from a special spell of high power levels. It causes great pain and damage at the same time, and isn''t easy to learn. Krysta doesn''t specialize in ice spells, or any spells for that matter, but perhaps there is more here than he realized before.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Mine 24 [A+B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST</a>


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    "That''s enough!" Danton called. Without the existence of a Siriean dome, his words reached Krysta easily, and his command was followed instantly. Krysta lowered her guard and put her arms back to her sides, while Aimesta could only lay there in panic or pain. He tossed a healing orb to Mainne, instructing her by gesture to head over there and heal Aimesta''s temporary wounds. "I''ve decided on this match, but I need a word with you, Krysta Beckar."


    Mainne healed Aimesta before Krysta went anywhere near Danton. He was supposed to decide on the winner based on their skills and battling style, regardless of who''s HP hit zero first. This didn''t feel right though, the results unannounced thus far. When Krysta and Aimesta walked to present in position in front of Danton, the questions were on.


    "Krysta," he started to ask. "This adamant behavior of yours doesn''t slow down even during a battle. I don''t have to be the one to say that you can''t win a Leray battle with words or arguments alone... So I must ask why you talk down to people during a Leray match. And specifically, why were you insulting Aimesta earlier?"


    Aimesta formed a curve on her lips, but she kept quiet for now. Finally, that bitch will get what she deserves! She''s always insulting others. Krysta doesn''t deserve to be an elite!


    Krysta didn''t feel nervous at all, but rather confident when she spoke. "Wasn''t it obvious enough?" Grabbing everyone''s attention further, she elaborated on the results. "That''s my battling style. I know it''s a risk that won''t work on everyone, but by calling Aimesta fat and unworthy, I was hoping to get a reaction out of her. Did you know Danton, that people fight differently in battles when they become angry or upset? They''re more focused, but they lower their peripheral guard in doing so."


    "Huh? What are you talking about?" Aimesta demanded to know why Krysta was making stuff up, but Danton didn''t stop her from speaking.


    "Aimesta rushed towards me knowing I had a slight advantage in close combat, but more importantly, the anger that I caused her made it less likely that my opponent would check behind them for silent rear attacks. That Shadow Wave was all it took to nail her to my sharp wall."


    Aimesta turned to Krysta with animosity that she fell for such a cheap trick. "Hey! That''s not even fair!"


    By the inflection in her tone, Danton could swear that Krysta enjoyed every minute, every second of that battle, including Aimesta''s pain when the plan worked. It''s defiantly a brilliant strategy now that it''s been brought to attention. She''s right about another thing. It would only work well on people who don''t know her as well, or for those who don''t have a lot of patience. Learning how to be a better fighter in general with a more solid strategy would be a requirement if Krysta stays... But there is just one more problem.


    Even if Aimesta is weaker than Krysta because of this, it''s still too unclear where their principles lie. "Do you enjoy other people''s pain?"


    "What kind of question is that?" Krysta had to draw the line here and demand that she sound threatening. She won the battle fair and square, but more importantly, how could Danton ever assume such crazy things? "My battling style is just the way it is!"


    Danton waved his arm, almost as if to slap Krysta clear across the face. "Do you think that this is some kind of joke?! I need you to be honest with me right now Krysta. I need to know that your resolve to protect the ideals of Leray magic are as strong as this tower''s defenses."


    Why is he so angry all the sudden? And why isn''t Mainne stepping in to calm him down? Who the hell are these people? "Wha¡ª" Krysta couldn''t free any more words, now genuinely afraid of what this is supposed to be about.


    "I''ll give you each a scenario then, a test to Krysta and Aimesta, and I want both of you to answer this honestly. Don''t be politically correct, and don''t try to lie about what you would really do in this situation." Luckily for now, Brock and Cleo were keeping quiet to hear all of this, likely due to curiosity. They shouldn''t interrupt from here on in. "Intruders break into Eldora Tower. They have intention of hurting people, hurting us, yet you see an opportunity to escape with your lives and inform the police. You could also fight them, but they''re wicked strong, as well as dangerous. The reason they''ve come here to fight is because they want to take advantage of Leray magic, to change the ways it works to only benefit themselves, to rob everyone of the very magic that they love, which includes everyone in this room. Aimesta? Krysta? Which of the three actions do you take? Fight? Flight? Or maybe you join them because you know you might have to..." He watched both of their faces, currently struck with total shock that such a specific example was used. In no time flat, Krysta was the first and quickest person to react, stepping forward to state her virtual opinion.


    "I don''t know what kind of test you think you''re doing Danton, but if anyone ever comes to this tower will ill intentions, especially if that means causing trouble for those who love to practice Leray magic, they''ll have to answer to me! I would never let that happen!"


    "Even if they had dark magic on their side?" When Danton added that last detail, he could hear Krysta gasp just slightly, the fear in her eyes pulsating with her elevated heart rate. But that''s the structure of reality Krysta. What will you do if that situation occurs?


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Krysta felt frozen for a good two seconds. Dark magic? What kind of scenario is this? Is he hinting that this might actually happen in real life? It can''t be! People aren''t supposed to use deadly magic to get their way... But he did say they were dangerous. Maybe that''s what he meant. He''s using fear as a test to see who can outlast the situation. But would I really fight knowing that, or run away? Krysta couldn''t speak anymore, the lump in her throat stopping her while repeating the dark thoughts over and over.


    Danton could both see it and sense it, genuine fear in Krysta''s face. It was prevalent in Aimesta too, but she was even more silent than Krysta was. So she might have a problem with the fear of dying. At last, genuine emotion! Now Krysta, show us what you do with that fear!


    Krysta gasped a second time, her thoughts finally settling on something. It was already hard enough to think about. It''s a tricky situation. Be the idiot and get yourself killed? If you run, you''re also a coward, and if you join people like that, you''re no better than they are. But Danton isn''t asking the right question. If it were to protect these people in the same room, Krysta knew she would just run, but if the circumstances were a little different... What if the lives in danger are people she actually cares about, the lives of her friends or family? What if they''re the ones in danger if she doesn''t do anything, even if it means risking her own life in such a dangerous way?


    Huh? Danton wasn''t surprised that they couldn''t answer... But Krysta stopped trembling. He could see them shaking in the fear of that thought earlier, but right now, Krysta''s face was twisting with shame.


    Krysta had to be brave, and decide on what was right. "I don''t know if this makes me selfish or not. Personally, I would most likely run in a situation like that to save myself, but the only reason I can even think that way is because I don''t really care that much about all of you. I don''t want you to die or anything like that, but..."


    "I see..."


    Aimesta finally jumped in and saved herself any argument. "Well I would jump in and save everyone!"


    Krysta watched Danton raise a hand in front of Aimesta, as if he knew Krysta wasn''t done getting it all out, thus she continued. "But let''s say it were the people I care about in mortal danger. What if they''re the ones under threat? Whether it be because of something as scary as dark magic, or as simple as having their futures on the line because a couple of idiots want to change or destroy the Leray system, I can''t just run away from that. Even if it''s dangerous, I''ll protect the people that I care about no matter what. If I were a tower guard, that means I would prioritize who to save based on who I feel I want to save more." Her throat felt tense just from talking, the scenario playing out in her mind stressing her whole body out. That was probably the wrong answer all along, but that''s just how it is, and Danton said to answer honestly.


    "You''re right," Danton responded calmly. "That is selfish of you." Krysta looked so emotional right now. That was genuine fear that just coursed through her body, but she handled it differently in her mind than Aimesta did. "However, it''s only rational to choose which people we want to save more than another, while prioritizing potential hot spots and danger zones. That kind of rational thinking... I can see the sweat accumulating around your eyes. I know that must have been tough to answer, but you did so honestly."


    "Wh¡ª, what about me?"


    Danton glared at Aimesta, pointing to herself and begging for his personal thoughts on her reactions. Aimesta was the most normal kind of person he could think of. Her reaction to the situation was both expected and easily calculated. Not only that, but... "You only agreed to protect everyone the moment Krysta gave a questionable response, and you sounded more excited than serious when you answered. Sorry, but I warned you not to try and be politically correct in your response."


    "But I¡ª"


    Danton cut her off immediately. "You didn''t imagine the situation as realistically as possible, nor were you honest with yourself long enough to feel the pressure of the situation at full." He faced Krysta next, who had a curious look on her face. "I want everyone here to be rational, and to be able to decide things for yourselves. That''s what it takes to maintain mental preparation for a tough situation. Krysta, I get the sense that you aren''t really the kind of person you projected yourself to be earlier."


    "Eh," Krysta paused in response that somebody would even notice. Danton and Mainne, they''re both more intelligent than they look. "No, I''m not like that at all." Her reply of truth made Brock and Cleo gasp and whisper to themselves afterwards, but she ignored them for now. "I put on that kind of act because I don''t like being predictable."


    "You don''t like being read," Danton paraphrased. "But this is actually music to my ears. Mainne was right about you all along. Deep down, you are a good person."


    "But," Aimesta argued, "she just said she wouldn''t save everyone."


    "No," Danton denied. "What Krysta said is that she would be selective in those she chooses to save knowing she has to choose in the first place. It''s a mixture of common sense and realism. Perhaps it''s also selfish; selfishness however doesn''t always exist in the realm of morality. Besides, somebody who behaves like that will always be more committed to doing what needs to be done. Because you see, it''s harder to try your very best to do something you might not like. Being honest about that means you already know what kind of person you are..."


    Danton held out his hand in front of Krysta, hoping she would agree and shake his. "Krysta Beckar? I''ve made my decision, and will ask you to join our elite team, taking up the last slot. I will be honest before you make this choice. There may realistically come a day when you might have to make a rough choice like that in this tower, similar to my example. Consider that before you agree to anything." Danton kept his hand there, knowing it was going to be a moment for Krysta to think it through. Meanwhile, Aimesta''s face dampened with despair. It''s only natural that she didn''t make the cut. She''s too normal and conditioned, and that means she could potentially change or become influenced into someone unworthy of such great secrets. Krysta is at least truthful towards herself, and that will make it harder for criminal mages to twist her heart and mind.


    She inhaled three times while weighing everything that has ever led to this moment. Then finally, Krysta took Danton''s hand, shook it up and down twice, and gave her statement of consent. "I''ll do my best to be on this team, whatever it''s really for." With Krysta''s decision made, she found it oddly surprising and also satisfying that Brock and Cleo suddenly clapped their hands together, almost a kind of cheer celebrating the news that Krysta was on board with the team. They really want her after she pretended to be someone else?


    "All will be explained in due time. Welcome to the team, Krysta." Danton raised his voice to reach the others who were still standing a distance behind him. "And welcome to the team, Brock and Cleo. The three of us are going to have a lot of work ahead of us, so make sure you''re prepared."


    Brock and Cleo felt a comfort that wasn''t there before. At first, this all seemed shady and mysterious. In some ways, it still has that kind of vibe, but Danton sounded kind of happy just now, something neither of them have felt since meeting the guy. Are champions really like this? They must fight with a lot of honor.


    Danton knew he had to address the situation here with Aimesta. It''s not an easy thing to accept, training for this moment only to be denied. "Aimesta? You fought well out there today, but as I said before, I only have three slots available. As promised, you will be paid for your cooperation here during that training course. Mainne? Please prepare Aimesta''s things, and then kindly escort her from the building."


    "I''ll send that referee guy to do it."


    Referee guy? "You already have one of them doing your bidding? Must be nice that you arranged that."


    "Like I said before. I''m not going to be bossed around by a creep. Don''t worry Aimesta. You''ll get better in your training outside."


    The matter of escorting Aimesta away didn''t take long, but it was kind of sad to watch. Rules are rules however. If Danton could have an extra elite on the team, he would allow Aimesta to stay, but now that the real team was ready and excited, it was time to give them their next report. Danton stood firmly in front of all of them to head up the news after Aimesta left the arena. "Mainne, pay attention. This might be news to you as well. In about two weeks, this tower will reopen for business. I''ve tried to stall this opening for as long as possible, but the council is pushing back on that clause. I''ve presently determined that the three of you newbies are still not ready for the combat that will be brought to you. Even though training will continue under less strict exercises, you still won''t be ready in two weeks."


    What is he talking about? Brock had to raise his concern with the guy. "Come on Danton. We''re supposed to battle people and get better with experience. Why should it matter whether or not we''re here for a longer time?"


    Danton ignored his comment entirely, planning to answer it later. "As a result of this situation, Mainne will be automatically moved to rank level one, that is, elite level one. She''ll be the first, and hopefully the last to battle every single contestant that tries to work their way above her. The idea is to make sure that the challengers don''t make it past her. When I''ve determined that you''re all ready for the field, we will change that so that you all have more field experience. Also, the Catalyst Grove will be suspended for a slightly longer duration as it is undergoing some technical changes in the set of rules, rules I''ve set there to make it a lot harder for our elites to be replaced."


    "So Mainne is going to be doing all of the fighting for now? That''s not very fun if you ask me."


    Nobody did ask you Cleo. Danton shrugged off the complaint. "As the new team of Eldora Tower, you all need a team name. People usually refer to us as the elite chain, but I''m dumping that moniker. We won''t be calling ourselves Trujima either."


    Krysta repeated in curiosity, "Trujima?"


    "From now on, you four will be known as the League of Elites. People will have to call us by that term from now on. I don''t know if it will stick, but it''s worth a shot. It''s only right. But make no mistake," he assured. "While you will all be known to many as the League of Elites, your real roles are going to be guardians of Sprawn Valley."


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Seymour''s Theme ~ Final Fantasy X OST (Remaster)</a>


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    They all seemed confused, and suddenly, Mainne held Danton''s arm turning him around with deep concerns. "You still think that now is the best time to tell them?"


    Danton whispered to Mainne too, though his answer wasn''t going to change anytime soon. "They need to know what they''re all fighting for. And right now, they really are carrying on that role, including you and me. We are guardians of Sprawn Valley and this tower, and we will soon act like it."


    Mainne knew he was really going to do it, but that still leaves troubling questions. "And what about the two traitors we''ve been hunting? Where are they? When are we going to arrest them and put this madness behind us?"


    It was a tough and fair question, but Danton already understood the way of things regarding this weeks ago. "They''re in hiding Mainne. We aren''t going to find them, but I know what they want, and they have to come here in Eldora Tower to get it. So instead, we''re going to let them come to us."


    "You can''t be serious! You''re sure they''re going to attack us? You''re that certain of it?"


    "Either now or years from now, it will happen," Danton answered. "But this time, when it does, we''ll all be ready for them."


    "This is dangerous..." Mainne couldn''t look at anyone right now. The thought of imagining them dying could pop into her head if she does.


    "In time," Danton planned, "I will have more of the people on my side. Laws restricting the use of potentially unsafe or questionable magic practices will only add to the security of Leray magic, and that will also increase trust in this department. With people watching out for those with such descriptions, Kite and Gleeon can''t hide among them. If that weren''t enough, we now have some reinforcements to help us oppose them, people with noticeable resistances to the temptations of dark magic. That is why we will only resort to the use of Leray magic in moderation, which includes ourselves in this little skirmish that they''ve started. I won''t resort to using dark magic to defeat them, no matter how dangerous things get. I''m teaching my new team the same restraint, but first, they need to know what they''re going up against, or at least have a feel of it. So I''m going to go talk to them one more time before we end tonight. I urge you not to stand in the way of that."


    Mainne let Danton move away from her. She didn''t like the feeling of the situation in whole, but this must be the kind of risk necessary to stop such dangerous people. Not to mention how tough it must be, going up against their own former friends. But they killed Vanoss, and they''ve spent all of their sympathy on something nobody wants. Danton won''t even use dark magic as a means of defense against opposing dark magic... It''s so honorable... Mainne could only respect his behavior.


    "Right now, I''m going to escort all of you to the champion chambers." Brock and Cleo seemed excited about getting the honor of the tour. "We''re not here to sight see however. We''ll be talking in a secure room on floor 950-F. There are things we all need to discuss. Consider this your last class needed for you to take before you can all work with us."


    Danton did as he said he would, taking the new team to that room where nobody could monitor them, and when he began his explanations, Danton reminded himself of all the important topics that needed to be discussed. Talking about dark magic was a little bit easier today since his last announcement raised awareness to its common knowledge. Everyone agreed never to think about using it, less they lose who they are in response, and then the bigger picture came up. "For legal security reasons, I can''t show you what the crystal core looks like. I''m not even supposed to talk about it to anyone. However, as a team, there must not be any secret between us. This is the reason I''m so keen on keeping a more permanent team, and why I called all of you guardians earlier. You won''t like this explanation, so just bear with me for as long as you can, because now, I''m going to tell you all about the concept of lunar magic, and the origins of its existence."


    <hr>


    <03/16/1972 ¨C 02:02 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Sprawn Valley Capital>


    <hr>


    Danton held his breath, exhaling as slowly as humanly possible as he again got lost in his thoughts of memory. He thought about that moment again, bringing his team onboard to fight people so deadly and dangerous. Of course, they all had similar reactions when they realized that lunar magic was really the source of all existing forms of magic, and that while its raw usage is deadly, can be executed outside of the veil. He shared every classified secret with all of them, and in an unexpected way, they handled it through their own training and future battles. After Brock, Cleo, and Krysta realized how important their roles here were to Eldora Tower, they became stronger with a faster learning curve.


    All of that was nearly ten years ago...


    "So when were you planning on telling us about these traitors that used to be your allies?" The sharp question came from Krysta. Danton had been reciting all of the details of his past in front of the still available League of Elites, but in all this time, only he and Mainne knew the truth about Gleeon and Kite''s conditions. Until now, the others believed they died in that unexpected explosion along with Vanoss in this very room. The truth is, Kite and Gleeon both escaped. Given the timing of their departure, and the sudden perseverance of the Scarlet Syndicate, it''s only obvious right now that those two are the current leaders of the criminal organization. They''re using dark magic as a lure to gain followers and disorganize Sprawn Valley from within.


    Danton held his head as if he had a headache, but he could only feel shame right now in front of all his teammates. "It''s a past that I wish I could just throw away, a past that I''m not proud of. But they are out there. Gleeon Miao and Kite Fargenst, likely the leaders of the Scarlet Syndicate. They''re the ones pulling all of their strings, and I hired all of you to help us take them out."


    Cleo nodded his head in disapproval. "By not telling us anything about them, we''ve been at a serious disadvantage."


    "I know, and I can''t apologize enough for being too much of a coward to speak up about it, but I still refuse the idea of heading out to try and find them. They''re after the tower''s secrets. I know they are! That''s why we can''t leave the tower all at once, as it would expose the vault. I think the only reason they''ve never hit this tower in an entire decade is simply because at least one of us has always remained in Eldora Tower on guard, but when we left to infiltrate Alpha Zero, I was taking a very big risk to save Lennith City. We''re very lucky that nothing happened while we were in the dark zone, but just thinking about it brought everything back."


    Mainne couldn''t hold her head high either, since she assisted Danton in lying to her own team about this, for years no less. This really is a deadly game. One slip up, and the world could suddenly belong to Kite or Gleeon. What''s worse now is that those two killers have been assembling their own private army of Scarlet Cult members to improve their odds of success. However... Their most recent activity doesn''t actually match up to the things Danton feared before, and that''s a bigger concern.


    Krysta and Brock were understandably still upset at Danton for lying his pants off about this, but they at least understood the dire circumstances. "We''re all on your side Danton, and we want to help protect Sprawn Valley from these people." Krysta knew what had to be done. "And I also know you forbid us from using dark magic in order to eliminate the targets. I can accept those conditions and keep going. But you will never lie to us again. Understand?"


    "Of course I understand. It''s been a very long mistake, and things have been happening that I haven''t been prepared for. That one''s on me, for trying to ignore and forget my past."


    "Okay, so let''s get back to the situation with Jane. What''s her status right now?"


    Answering Brock''s question, Danton only had limited information to go on, but it was becoming clear already what kind of role she is playing in this situation. "Well you see, Jane is..." There won''t be an easy way to say this, but it has to be said.

 Chapter 44: Protectors of the World

    <hr>


    <03/16/1972 ¨C 06:29 | Gross City, Gulop, Sprawn Valley>


    The sound of distant explosions bombarded everyone''s ears, and the smell of broken rubble swirled into the upper air with the smoke leaving the scene of destruction. Sirens in the city soon followed, leaving behind an area of wide spread panic. People trampled each other in the streets, and mothers tried to drag their children by the arms to their dwellings. At the center of it all, at a large square of cement that used to be a crosswalk in the roads between buildings, comets of light and bursts of energy flew in multiple directions from various angles.


    Fire Bolts, Lightning Strikes, Firesurges, Tornado Strikes, randomized explosions, and blasts of Icy Winds with Fiery Plumes dominated the site of the situation. Due to the need for public safety and concern, the news crews were still far from the area. The sun was soon to rise, but the sky was now blocked off by an invisible mist of bog, generated by the warfare.


    Without the use or need for energy scopes, Krysta, Brock, and Cleo were all spread apart in slightly different equidistant angles from the center of the square, and in their opposition stood three dangerous men, two of them completely masked by their red and white robes. The taller one wearing a large metallic gauntlet carried a sharp jagged, bladed lance in his other hand. His face was unveiled before them, though unfamiliar to anyone in the area, with his hair as tall as his forehead width, styled straight up like a patch of brown grass. With a face aged to forty, and a beard freshly shaven, the man in charge of the attack on the city continued to try and torment his victims, but these three fighters which he mocked earlier had certain skills. They all belong to the League of Elites, even though Mainne is missing from their group.


    Lance. That is the name this crooked man designated to himself. He wasn''t saying very much right now. Brock had a hard time staying safe against all of their attacks. These are members of the Scarlet Syndicate. What they''re doing here in Gross City isn''t understood, but they''ve been using dark magic to target buildings and structures at random, which is effective on structures since dark magic ignores many properties of Leray-damage resistant materials, but they also targeted innocent people and civilians. The casualty count is currently unknown.


    Lance laughed once more, revealing his deep manly voice to the elite members of Eldora Tower. "And here I thought we would be left with no entertainment tonight. Killing the three of you will be fun."


    That threat is as meaningless as his funky hairstyle. Cleo began to charge Leray magic into his body, preparing an aura. "Where''s your partner in crime, Lance?"


    "Partner?" Lance genuinely allowed himself to sound clueless. Whatever these fools are talking about is of no great import. "I work alone," Lance claimed, "as leader of the Scarlet Cult you all fear so much."


    Krysta wanted to blast Lance with another Mega-Bolt, but it did such little damage last time... Leader of the Scarlet Cult? How intoxicated must this lunatic be to try and sell such a cheap lie? Danton said it himself. Gleeon and Kite are the leaders of the Scarlet Cult, and that makes this guy some lower grunt. Krysta held her tongue. If Lance were trying to test them to see what they might know, it wouldn''t be worth giving away free information to the enemy.


    "Dampen Field!" Cleo had been concentrating this whole time, trying desperately to deplete his MP reserves in secret to generate the auras he needed to, but unlike his usual invocation to Dampen Field, Cleo targeted himself and his teammates at the same time. All three of them became surrounded with a swirling blue glow that would protect them from all magical damage.


    Lance smirked with his crooked smile revealing a part of his teeth, and he decided to play their game by charging energy into the red and black gauntlet weapon he wore on his hand. "It''s a good try, but you will all learn your place as slaves!" Lance shouted as he drove the metal gauntlet into the concrete below him, smashing the device down as it released a toxic form of magic in all forward directions. A concave wall of red light slid forward from the ground up, quickly affecting the elites Lance was targeting.


    Despite their Dampen Fields, Krysta, Brock, and Cleo were all blasted off their feet and smashed backwards into the damaged buildings behind them. All while receiving an unknown amount of real time damage; all three auras for Dampen Field were immediately shut down, leaving the three of them stunned. Lance seemed to be unfazed from the amount of energy and magic he exerted.


    "You fools can''t even grasp the concept of dark magic. It will overpower any Leray spell that tries to get in the way. I can shut down any generated aura you create with a snap of my finger, and I can destroy any structure I feel ill-suited for our new kingdom." Lance took slow steps forward, watching the pitiful humans struggle to shake off the pain and damage of that last attack. "You will learn your place as loyal subjects, or you will die for disobeying your rightful ruler."


    This guy is a complete clich¨¦ dictator. Cleo managed to recover just enough to stand on his legs, but he held back attacking for now. Earlier, Brock and Krysta both got their butts handed to them by Lance alone. The bladed lance weapon he was carrying doesn''t appear to be anything special, but the man himself is overqualified to use the device. He can swing that pole around anyway he wants to; nobody can touch him in a close combat situation. Apparently, the same could be said for magic too. This isn''t good!


    Krysta tried to stop coughing, but the dust mixed with a small amount of toxic particles from the destroyed rubble entered her lungs when she collapsed onto the floor a second ago... This guy is too strong to be using dark magic, and his other two helpers aren''t even doing anything right now. Danton... Why did he send us out here without any backup? The distress call came in only twenty-five minutes ago, and then Danton sent the three of them to Gross City via teleportation. But this is absolutely crazy! The entire General Army should be here right now, helping everyone!


    Brock helped himself back up. It would be nice if Danton could send his reinforcements... But it''s clear as to why he won''t do it. This madness all must be a diversion, a trick used by Danton''s enemies to weaken the defenses of Eldora Tower and break into the crystal core. But Danton isn''t stupid, and that trick won''t work on anyone here. It''s best not to reveal what everyone might know right now.


    Lance lifted his gauntlet again, glowing red with a pulsating energy of evil just before he smashed it into the ground again. The shockwaves generated additional Crush Wave spells, three of them all heading to the elites with glowing red auras as further indication of their extra destructive and lethal powers. Lance wanted to watch them all take the hit, three at once for dark magic Crush Waves that may even kill one of them upon impact.


    Right before anyone could get hurt or take any damage from the Crush Waves, bright blue glowing transparent walls of shields suddenly appeared out of thin air, all at such angles to block the path between each elite and the Crush Waves coming at them. It was unexpected, and though Lance wondered who would have sent that unknown shielding spell out, he was distracted by a result more shocking to him. For each of the shield walls that were suddenly made available, the dark magic Crush Wave collided into the bottom of the shield wall, populating that section of the flat shield with tiny hexagons. In just another second, the shield wall collapsed, but so did the Crush Wave trying to break through. Perfectly calculated to completely resist the impact and power level of the Crush Wave, all three power shields managed to protect everyone from the attacks, just barely anyway. This gauntlet works in conjunction with extra magical power to further amplify existing dark magic infusions. In order to block out that much energy... Who the hell?


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: The Eternal Struggle ~ FFXIII-2 OST</a>


    <center><iframe title="Eternal Struggle" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eRMqz-0BX4k" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    The sudden appearance of shield walls forming by themselves also caught the attention of Krysta, Cleo, and Brock, but the source made themselves aware shortly afterwards. Disabling their temporary invisibility spell used from easily obtained spell bombs, Jane, Taylor, and Danny all revealed themselves, coming from the north side Gross City''s exit where nobody would surround them. A sudden breath of surprise escaped Krysta just seeing them. It was just like before, Jane Venn and that special JDT outfit she wore during her champion tournament, and that was defiantly Danny and Taylor by her side. But they''re supposed to be in New York! What are they doing here?


    Jane pointed to the unidentified male, already deducing from the robes of his helpers that they were all part of the Scarlet Cult. "So I come here to find you idiots bullying more of my friends." Jane knew the confusion might buy the three of them some more time, but she rehearsed the attack strategy as planned, charging energy with her team. "Why don''t you pick on someone your own size?"


    Danny and Taylor both launched their versions of Shadow Wave, each quite large in size, but when combined closely and tightly compact together increased the wave size and chances to hit all three targets. The speed of their Shadow Waves from this distance is what felt more impressive. There wasn''t any time to blink before attempting to dodge.


    Jane unleashed her own spell shortly after, activating a Photon Burst to land on all three Scarlet targets just after they''ve been hit with the double Shadow Wave attack. The effects were impressively explosive, and the combined powers of each spell created a shockwave of wind blowing back everyone''s hair and shooting dust into their eyes.


    "Nagh!" Lance bolstered himself back up to stance, but the pain from that random attack was more than he was expecting. No, the very power level of each spell was more than it should have been for ordinary Leray magic! "Stupid kids! Now you''re all gonna die!" Lance powered up the gauntlet around his hand again, causing each of the four power crystals to glow brightly in response.


    Krysta noticed the glowing light too, but she also recognized the nature of that essence. "What''s that thing on his hand? Are those crystals on the gauntlet?"


    Brock had to agree with her on this. Those glowing crystals, they''re incredibly rare. The gemstones powering that gauntlet are complete gems, and the Scarlet Cult must have compounded them using all of the crystal shards they''ve been stealing over the past few months. That''s how full gemstones are made. But in this case, unlike Leray-based gemstones that can only store and release magical power related to Leray type energy fields, Lance must be powering that gauntlet using pure gemstones instead. With pure gemstones, he can store and release any form of magic; Leray, dark, or pure lunar. If he is doubling the power of his dark magic through that gauntlet, it means a single stray hit from him can be deadly.


    "All units!" Lance commanded. His gauntlet hand was already forming a large red sphere at the center, quickly growing in size as electrical arcs of the same color spread from its core. "Black Thunder, north side!" Lance and his team all launched the same exact kind of spell, sending off a modified version of Shock Wave while infused with dark magic, generating a much larger size sphere of electrical energy. Black Thunder spheres aren''t difficult to create, and the spell type itself ins''t all that unique, but the power level is strong enough to allow the electrical shock to bypass veil restrictions and increase the maximum voltage of input to human targets. This should effectively fry their brains on impact.


    "Get behind me!" Jane didn''t even check to see if her team was keeping themselves safe, she only had enough time to trust them while she generated the necessary magical energy before her. Jane held out both of her arms and hands, and released the energy as it was already familiar to her. "Far-Shield!" Another shield wall formed right in front of Jane, only protecting them from the frontal area. Even with the large size of each dark energy sphere, the attack form was still projectile, meaning they were safe to use a one-sided wall as a shield. In this case, Jane was allowed to conserve some of her energy.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    But when the bolts all slammed into the shield wall, the combined collisions caused them all to explode outward, creating strong shockwaves and making it nearly impossible for Jane to keep up her concentration on the power shield. Danny and Taylor can''t fight back really well right now, since they''ve only been back in Sprawn Valley for less than a day. Jane figured that even she would be struggling to hold her own against this guy.


    Lance lost his excited expression once he noticed just how strong the enemy power shield was, as it still remained after dispelling the blast from all three Dark Thunderbolts sent to kill each target. How could such a young group even exert that much energy in the first place? No, the girl must be using a form of dark magic in order to defend herself so well... But this one in particular...


    Jane dropped the shield after it was finally safe, and she gave the command for her friends to switch with her. "Switch!" Jane needed a few seconds to recharge, and Lance was obviously dangerous. With Danny''s special sword, the HT-T2 Mark 55 back in his hands, and Taylor''s Marine Eagle bow in her grasp, these two should be able to do something incredible.


    "Sonic Arrow!" "Crimson Blade!" Taylor pulled back on her bow and arrow with a sharp aim, shooting a tip that would be infused with the magic of a special spell. Sonic Arrow works nearly the same way with Power Blast, which means its impact would cause minimal damage, but extremely high pushback. Danny needed slightly more time with his spell, since the spell Summon Hell only works with T2 Seeker type swords, and only when those swords have a fire-element aura activated. With Crimson Blade enabled, Danny swung his sword shortly after Lance''s team was blasted by Taylor''s powerful weapon, and his Summon Hell shot three orange colored photons forward, dealing an explosive kind of magical damage to their team.


    Lance could feel the scrapes and cuts inflicted by the concrete below him as the seemingly futile Leray attacks sent by the others caused his body to bounce and slide across the streets, himself and his assistants. Lance growled under his breath as he tried to get back up, and demanded at his helpers do a better job fighting.


    Jane inhaled deeply, preparing for anything. She calculated that this Lance character wouldn''t go down easily, and now that he was pissed off, this could suddenly end badly. On top of that, she was already feeling dizzy seconds ago. Trying to assimilate magic back into her system after leaving Sprawn Valley isn''t as easy as it sounds. She will run out of power quicker if she dosen''t drop out first, and right now, Jane needed more power.


    She held out her wrist in front of her, trying desperately to channel as much magical energy as she could to that area. In a few more seconds after Danny and Taylor completed their counterattacks, Jane''s top right hand suddenly lit up with a burst of light. Shinning right through the fabric material of her special dress sphere''s fingerless battle gloves, the symbol Jane knew and remembered flashed in the air like a hologram, and instantly powered up her immediate parameters. Jane suddenly felt alert and alive again. She felt as if every possible wound and battle scar she had ever had faded away, leaving her new and reborn. Now that she felt alive again, Lance would be going down.


    That surge of brightness... That energy... Lance prepared his gauntlet again, shining magic into the crystals while he relied on his other teammates to defend his general area from the other three elites that might be trying to blind-side them. "Quantum Bolt!" Lance shot off his Quantum Bolt, red with dark energy even though the default color is a cyan blue. Even a single Quantum Bolt mixed with dark magic has the power to drill through human flesh as if it were a bullet surrounded in plasma, which would also leave a burn behind. When combined with dark magic and this gauntlet, the bolt itself became three times larger in size, and twice as fast to travel in the air. But while Lance was launching his attack, he could suddenly make out the appearance of a special symbol holographically projecting from Jane''s right hand.


    "Return!" Using the combined energy aura from her own symbol, Jane reached out and took a telekinetic hold of the enemy Quantum Bolt, swinging herself around to spin the bolt around her vicinity just once, and when she sent the bolt back, the speed and power including the infusion of dark magic would be doubled. Lance surely wouldn''t be expecting this. Her action was quick and easy, the symbol providing Jane with the ability to overpower and even control the flow of spells infused with dark magic. Without this symbol activated, Return would have failed to control any dark magical projectile of any kind, since Return relies on Leray type energy in the first place.


    Lance didn''t have any time to dodge or escape this situation, only curse at himself for not being more careful before now. When the Quantum Bolt smashed into the ground before him, the resulting explosion encased Lance, his men, and the entire square in a fiery dome of energy. Burns were immediately gashed into his skin, and the same obviously happened to his team with their screams of pain. Lance fell to the floor in a panic, unable to see anything around him from the black smoke his own spell caused.


    "Incredible!" Krysta had no choice this time but to admire Jane''s incredible power over that symbol, but also her intelligent battling style. Using dark magic for any reason runs the risk of becoming addicted to that form of magic, something that can twist the mind according to Danton, but Jane didn''t have to fight with dark magic. She simply used the dark magic that her enemy provided, and used Leray magic to send it back. Even for a teenager, Jane isn''t afraid to kill anyone in the process of defending herself. How much damage did that do to Lance?


    When the smoke and dust finally became thin, Lance could still make out the distant glowing light coming from Jane''s symbol. "Damn!" he coughed. "So the rumors about her are true."


    Danny felt concerned for a moment, not about Lance, but about Jane''s choice to invoke her own symbol to fight the Scarlet Cult directly. If they didn''t know about her powers then, they certainly know it now. Hopefully, they don''t try to find some way to cut that hologram out of her.


    "Get down!" Jane carried her daggers in front of her as a means of defending herself. Her breath was wildly fast; using that Return spell even with the symbol was taking a lot out of her. Another power shield right now won''t be possible.


    Lance had other ideas. This time, he shoved his lance into the ground, exerting a magical force of energy that created a line of light, a perfect circle about ten meters in diameter. He made sure that his own teammates were inside before the others could figure it out. "I wouldn''t celebrate if I were you."


    Krysta thought back in her memories, the familiarity with this kind of light and this circle motivating her thoughts... "He''s trying to teleport!"


    "I''ll trace it!" Brock responded.


    "Trace it? Let''s follow this bastard back to his hideout!"


    Lance felt more relaxed, seeing as the infamous elites of Eldora Tower know so little. They''re far less capable than that symbol Jane is attached to, and now, there will be a way of using her. With a few loud laughs breaking over the sound of the noisy spell that would take a long time to get himself and his team out of here, Lance decided to entertain his guests for a few moments longer. "You can''t trace teleportation that relies only on dark magic to function." Lance knew this was no bluff, since the magic enabling the tracing of illegal teleportation also relies on that teleportation magic to consist of Leray magic as a result. "And you should think twice about jumping back with me. You''d find our hideout, no doubt about that. But I have some powerful friends back home with a dampening field against Leray magic. I don''t mind taking volunteer hostages."


    Krysta could barely control herself, and she wanted to destroy Lance right now before he could get the chance to teleport, but he''s resistant to Leray damage. "You sick little¡ª"


    "Ahp¡ª" he cut off, "there''s no need for name calling. Our team has already accomplished our goal here at Gross City. I really like what we''ve done with the place."


    "Why are you destroying Sprawn Valley?!" Jane didn''t mind walking closer to the edge of that red teleportation circle. She and her friends were far away from Lance to begin with. But this is all nonsense! "What good is dark magic to you if all you want is to blow up the whole nation?!" Jane figured Lance wouldn''t answer her, but it''s worth a shot, any hint could lead to their capture later on. "What''s your plan, Lance?!"


    "Dark magic is only worthy to those who are brave enough to use it. The weak who rely on restricted magic will bend to its will in time. But silly girl, you''re missing the bigger picture. Our eyes are set on places far bigger than Sprawn Valley."


    Krysta gasped while Cleo growled behind his teeth. That bold statement about going to places other than Sprawn Valley, combined with Danton''s recent report that the Scarlet Cult were found in New York... It has to be true. They know! They know the secrets of all magic!


    Lance continued his praise, since his teleportation would take more time. "Just you all wait. Once we resurrect the divine powers in Zantos, your entire world will perish! You''ll be all have to pay for your sins against magic, and all the dishonor you''ve brought to it." Lance let up for a second, but nobody was arguing back to him... Were they confused?


    "Who''s Zantos?" Taylor had to try and bring herself back up to speed, even if her timing didn''t match the mood of the situation, but the elites huddling closer to Jane''s team didn''t seem like they knew either.


    "How pitiful. You all don''t even recognize the name of your own god! But it won''t matter. Sprawn Valley will burn to rust under the flames of Zantos. His judgment will bring righteousness to all you lost sheep! You can bet on that. That is what I and the Scarlet team have been working for all these years!"


    What an absolute nutcase. Krysta couldn''t fear Lance in the same revered manner as before, not after hearing that. It''s obviously not true. That rubbish is too far away from what Kite and Gleeon might believe, but it''s incredible how far their followers will go just by hearing such extreme religious nonsense. They know nothing about Sprawn Valley''s history, but it''s relieving at the same time to know that they have no idea what the secrets are regarding the crystal core.


    "Nobody will stand against god in the coming of days. You''ll all pay for your sins!" Lance knew what he was talking about, and these morons would likely never believe him anyway. Still, it was nice to leave them with their edge of craziness. Have fun cleaning up your retched city.


    The elites and Jane''s team couldn''t do anything about the current situation. Lance and his only team were teleporting away with untraceable magic, back to a highly secured hide out. If only Danton and Mainne were here as well, they could have all jumped in and fought the bad guys together. With a final flash of light, the Scarlet enemies all vanished away leaving nothing else behind.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Into The Mist ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    Jane''s symbol deactivated and the light from her hand disappeared. As a result, Jane let herself fall intentionally to her butt, relaxing her whole body with the threat now removed from the picture. Lance only ran away because that trick Jane used caused too much real time damage for him to continue battling. He''s actually smart for leaving the scene.


    "So they just got away? I''m not responsible for this mission''s failure!" Cleo felt he had the right to be angry, angry at Danton for losing his edge. Ten years ago, he might have had what it took to battle these insane people, but now he''s just playing it safe all the time.


    "No, it''s not." Brock denied any notion that they failed. "Danton sent us here to control the situation and protect the city from any further damage, including the civvies. As far as that goes, we didn''t let them have their way."


    Cleo directly argued with Brock, insisting that he had the wrong idea. "Our mission is to kill those in charge of the Scarlet Syndicate. Find and eliminate the targets we''ve been informed about. And just now, our only chance of finding their hideout has just slipped away from us."


    Danny look at the ground riddled of the damaged roads, assessing what happened here. Gross City as a whole wasn''t like this. All of the damage is just concentrated to and around this specific square, and of course, lanes of which magic was used on... Something is wrong here.


    "What about that dampening field Lance mentioned? That should at least be traceable."


    Krysta''s ideas weren''t always the worst ones, but she never seems to figure things out for herself. Cleo had to remind her too how far off they all were. "If it were that easy to detect a dampening field, or a second source of a dark zone in our back yard, we would have done it already."


    If that''s really true, then Lance was bluffing about the dampening field. Danny drew the scenario out in his head silently, as if to draw a mental blueprint for the possibility of following Lance back to the Scarlet hideout. Without a dampening field, there would be no disadvantage with power, especially with Jane... But even if Lance is their leader, who knows how many Scarlet members they have who can all use dark magic? They have strength in numbers, and no other Scarlet soldiers came here to cause harm. Either Lance''s warning not to follow him back was a trap of reverse psychology, which obviously affected everyone here, or something else is wrong. "Why did they come here?" Danny spoke out loud just now, but he didn''t want to attract the attention of the elites arguing in front of him.


    Brock nearly forgot that their special JDT team was here in the flesh, though they should be in New York. "Danny..." His question is valid, perhaps more important than why they are here now. "Who told you to help us out here?"


    Jane felt more comfortable without any danger around, and she tried to summarize for all of them. "We arrived back in Sprawn Valley today. What happened to me in New York made me sick somehow, but bringing me back here fixed it."


    "Yeah," Taylor continued. "But when we got back to Eldora Tower to meet Danton again, he asked all three of us to be sent to Gross City, saying something about an emergency."


    Cleo crossed his arms and presented himself firm. "That''s incredibly stupid of you. You''ve all just arrived in Sprawn Valley, which means your ability to use magic like you used to will be weakened for a while. And you chose to come here fighting deadly criminals? You know what? Forget it! Danton is the real idiot for letting it happen! I''ll deal with him when we all get back."


    "But Eldora Tower is so far away from here!"


    Krysta always had to point out the obvious. Danny answered back in an insulting kind of tone. "We teleported here. The General Army assisted us and used their powers to send us all here."


    "Hang on a minute," Brock interrupted. His thoughts were rampant after all that happened. After trying to figure out what the short term goal was of this destruction here in Gross City, it got him thinking even more. Danny is the one who asked the question first, and according to Danton, Danny Mason has some interesting skills of his own. "We would have heard back from Danton by now if the tower was under any kind of threat. The damage to Gross City is limited; they didn''t steal anything that valuable. The casualty count is low, probably non-existent... Why did they come here to do this?"


    Finally, somebody is asking the right questions. "That''s what I want to know." Brock deserves a little more respect than others give him credit for. "It could be a diversion for something else. There''s no way people like that would risk their lives or their mission to warp into a protected city and cause a panic, only to leave after Jane did a number on them."


    Krysta didn''t think of it too much until now, but if the tower is safe, what was all this a diversion for in the first place? "We need to get back to Danton, as soon as possible."


    "Sorry I wasn''t more help." Jane wondered if she made things harder by coming here. She felt weak after that encounter. "I guess I overestimated myself. When I arrived back into the veil, my hands stopped backfiring their magic circuits. Then I felt better, renewed like everything was going to be okay."


    "It''s not a problem Jane. Just take it easy for a day, at least." Cleo knew he shouldn''t have to remind any three of them how to relax. Jane is probably a handful even without her magical powers... Or so we all thought. "Still, I would like to ask you some questions about your reported incident in America. Nobody should be allowed to use any form of magic outside of Sprawn Valley."


    Krysta brushed Cleo''s shoulder, a signal to focus on a more pressing subject. "Danton already told us about this. Besides, we need to get back to the tower as soon as possible. Jane? Prepare yourself for another teleportation."


    "Fine," Cleo allowed. "But I might hit him when we return." With nobody objecting to Cleo''s growing disposition towards Danton''s respectability, the team huddled closer together, the elites preparing another teleportation sphere to send all of them and Jane''s team back to Eldora Tower. Due to the new security rules, teleportation can only occur outside of the tower these days, which means another long walk will ensue.

 Chapter 45: Reunions

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    <03/16/1972 ¨C 08:15 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    "You all did a very brave thing going out there to calm the situation."


    Those were Danton''s words, and they showed almost no signs of regret. Cleo felt his body become tenser, his frustration growing inside him, but there was no reason to hold anything back now. Danton put himself and other elites, including Jane''s team in grave danger. "You should have sent members of the General Army instead. Jane is far too important to risk in front of the Scarlet leaders!"


    Danton turned around, noticing the tension in his allies. After having not been there himself, it was understandable that he was left away from the stress of the horrible attack on Gross City. However... "Lance is not the leader of the Scarlet Cult, even if he thinks he is."


    "And what proof do we have that Kite and Gleeon are behind all this?"


    Cleo made his question valid given the details. Nobody had ever sighted Gleeon or Kite in the flesh since they fled Eldora Tower a decade ago. Still, this is the kind of stunt they would pull, a well thought-out plan. "Because this is exactly the sort of thing they would do. As I just heard from the report, there were only two injuries to random civilians in the area, whom of which are being treated for non-life threatening wounds. In all of this, no other damage was done. Doesn''t that seem suspicious enough to prove that Eldora Tower is the real target?"


    Danton might be right on one thing, but putting other people in danger doesn''t justify any means!


    Danny wasn''t surprised that the attack on Gross City seemed too random and lightly orchestrated, but there were obviously details that were left out by Danton. This was his first time hearing about Gleeon and Kite. So, Danton and Mainne had to yet again break the explanation down further, as shortly summarized as it could be. The time this took was long enough to calm the others down. By the time Danny and his friends understood the explanation, Danny went ahead to continue guessing why the Scarlet Syndicate would target Gross City at such a random time.


    "So then, it really was a test."


    "A test?" Danton didn''t fully understand why the Scarlets would need to test his own personal response to a dire situation. Gleeon and Kite already know the potential security of Eldora Tower. "No, they were only attempting to unevenly divide our military powers during the attack. If I sent the entire General Army out to Gross City in a panic, it would have left this tower''s crystal core nearly defenseless. Gleeon and Kite are people that Mainne and I can handle alone, just barely. But after all this time, they''d likely bring additional reinforcements to help them break into the tower. I can''t take the risk of leaving this place vulnerable."


    "So you sent children to fight them instead?" Cleo wasn''t accepting this kind of outcome. Even if his life was in danger without team JDT, they''re still too young to be involved with this.


    "Children," Danton repeated. "I do believe that Jane and her friends are of legal age to live on their own in Sprawn Valley. Isn''t that right?"


    While Danton was looking to Jane to answer that question, her face suddenly displayed minor shame to her reply. "Well... In a few months they will be."


    "You see?" Cleo adjusted. "If they get injured or killed out there fighting your own battle for you, I might have to think about having you removed from this situation altogether. Don''t think I won''t take something like this personally."


    "Cleo, I fully understand the situation. You''re not the first person to threaten my life on behalf of Danny and Taylor, believe it or not."


    "Danton!" Danny had to project his voice louder, as he tried to get them to stop arguing and stay on topic for the sake of their investigations. "The fact that Eldora Tower wasn''t hit because you played things safe doesn''t mean that the Scarlet Cult isn''t testing our defenses. The last time we all left Eldora Tower, it was to stop Alpha Zero from destroying everything. The Scarlets didn''t learn about it until much later, but I bet they were rather surprised by your decision to evacuate the tower. If I were them, I would have used the attack on Gross City to double check and confirm what your reaction and decision to the situation would have been, and then act on that decision if it played into their favor." Danny expected validation from Danton, but suddenly, everyone was silent... What''s so farfetched about the idea?


    Mainne had to be the one to give him the compliment by the benefit of the doubt. "I have to say. For people Cleo calls children, you''re rather smart to think of that on your own."


    Taylor smiled and nudged Danny while explaining to Mainne that this happens more often than not. "Danny''s doing that thing again."


    "What thing?" Danny turned around, noticing that Jane and Taylor had this look on their faces, like they''re impressed that he thought of anything. How low did they think of him before now?


    "I''ll at least agree that I''m interested," Danton added. He floated his thoughts back to the primary subject, trying to make sure everyone is on the same page. "But let''s not get ahead of ourselves. Test or not, these Scarlets will just continue to create chaos and panic in the streets. They''ve stepped up their game over the last year, and that can only mean that Kite has made his decision to put the pressure on all of us until a vulnerability is revealed. It also means that he has some kind of plan up his sleeve, thinking he can outsmart me."


    "I wouldn''t put it past him," Cleo stated. "They almost outsmarted you before, and they can do it again."


    Enough with the insults Cleo! "Look, the point is that we need to find their hideout as soon as possible and arrest all of their leaders. If we don''t, we''re only going to end up with more losses in the near future."


    Mainne took over Danton''s next decree, as it had already been made twenty-four hours before now without an official announcement. "That''s why effective right now, Danton has the council''s permission to suspend all public activity to the tower for forty days. We don''t have to worry about having our time consumed by our regular duties. All we have to do is hunt the Scarlet scum down before that time passes."


    With the acknowledgement of the team, Danton brought their conversation back to the same circle. "Okay, you all gave me a summary of your report, but I have to ask this at least once. Lance. We don''t know much about him or his real name. He could be anyone from the woodworks of criminal dark magic activists that Kite hired to do work for him. But seeing as you three all had trouble against him and his men, it leaves me to believe that this target is either highly skilled, or has been given special equipment that might be unusual to our knowledge. We know that Kite and Gleeon both have post-elite level skills that would easily enable them to train their own units over time even in the arts of dark magic. But, I need to hear it from you."


    Brock thought back to that moment. Surely, there were a lot of weird things about that guy. He held a bladed lance, probably to add luster to his call sign. "Lance was using a special kind of gauntlet for a weapon instead of the bladed lance he held back. The gauntlet is special because we were able to confirm that he could use it to amplify his magic powers using the machine as it had active pure crystals attached. This enabled him with the ability to amplify all magic including dark magic, which he used against us. He wouldn''t go down easy even after Jane arrived."


    "That does speak a lot about his activities, and that for the rest of the group."


    Krysta figured she understood the connection by now, and wanted to test to see if she was right. "So then, all of these thefts of crystal shards from the vaults were used to create those pure crystals?"


    "Yes," Danton confirmed. "But we don''t have a clear idea why."


    "Danton?" Danny questioned. "How much is the public allowed to know regarding these kinds of crystals?"


    "Limited data only." Danton knew where these crystals really come from, but it wouldn''t matter in the current situation. He''s jumping to conclusions now. "While it''s certain that everyone can easily find out that the crystal shards we produce are turned into Leray gems or crystals used to store large amounts of Leray energy from the veil, it isn''t public knowledge that these same shards can be assembled into pure crystals or dark crystals. If you assemble the crystal shards using special magical mage skills, you can make a crystal unique only to dark magic essence, meaning it would only hold and contain dark magic energy, and thus be capable of projecting that power outwards in the form of a field, also known as an artificial dark zone. The crystal we destroyed in Alpha Zero is a unique example of what we''re talking about here."


    "So then, there''s no other way for Kite to know about this?"


    Danton nodded his head at Danny, yielding to him the real scenario. "Not true. While Kite and Gleeon were here trying to find out the tower''s secrets, they would have held exclusive access as elites to read archived data on our network about the assembly of crystal shards, since it''s something all official council mages are supposed to know how to do. They would have been able to learn that - assembling crystal fragments could be done in one of three ways. Leray stones, dark energy stones, and pure stones. Now, Kite and Gleeon were completely blind to the fact that lunar energy can technically be used by individuals at the cost of user''s lives, as well as the fact that the crystal core processes pure lunar energy as it converts it into a safe Leray kind of environment. The existence of the Alpha Zero for example wasn''t the generation of an artificial veil using dark magic based off the design of our crystal core, but rather a primitive gem stone set up to project with a long range by using a rare, high quality stone with the best powers of a mage, Brightworth. This means that while pure lunar crystals do have an extra advantage, it''s impossible that Kite and Gleeon would actually understand this advantage."


    Now it makes sense. So either those stones Lance was using are unique to dark magic stones, allowing him to amplify his powers, or Danton is wrong about what his enemies know. "So then, the stones Lance used were dark magic crystals?"


    "That isn''t true." Krysta was certain of what she said. No matter how similar these stones look, they all have a distinctive hue, shape, and luster to them, shining or not. "I was there, and I got a close look at those stones. Lance was using pure lunar crystals with dark magic whether he knew it or not."


    "Okay," Danton processed. "So that means the Scarlet Cult does have the skill-set and materials needed to make pure lunar crystals, but you said that Lance was still using dark magic through the crystals. It still means they don''t know about the potential use of pure lunar magic."


    "How can you be so sure?" Taylor tested.


    "Because with pure lunar crystals, you can actually store and project any energy type you want, hints the name pure energy crystal. These crystals when assembled are rare, and that''s because you can store Leray energy or dark energy into them. Only one form at a time will fit, but all you have to do is drain the magic of whichever type has been stored, and store a different kind of magic into the gem instead. These crystals can also store and project pure lunar magic as well, which is highly destructive if released from that same form."


    "Can a person convert stored lunar energy into Leray or dark magic energy on the fly using a charged lunar gem as a source?"


    "Of course they can, but not just anyone can do it. Only well-trained mages who understand such conversion are capable of this trick. Kite and Gleeon were never even informed that this was ever a possibility, thus they and their subordinates are not trained on this special practice. That means that it''s only likely that Lance was using pure lunar crystals, while only storing and using dark magic energy from their power source."


    "Okay, I''ve got a question for you," Danny presented. By now, talking about the same thing over and over was surely going to annoy some of the elites in this room, but there is a huge flaw in Danton''s thinking. "You claim that Kite and Gleeon have no knowledge of harnessing lunar magic in a way that would be safe for the user and controllable on some level, and that''s probably the case during the time they betrayed you... But then, explain this symbol on Jane''s hand. We know that some branch of the Scarlet Cult created that thing in their experiments, and that Geiger took their only chance to test it away from them. I''m convinced that Jane is using pure lunar magic with the assistance of her symbol. After all, you were the one who said that only lunar magic could be used outside of a Leray veil in another country. If that''s true, it means that Jane''s symbol gives her the ability to use lunar magic without causing harm to herself."


    Though Cleo and Brock were gasping for guesses, Danton soon shut down Danny''s notion, even though that deduction only made it seem more possible. "But you also reported over the phone that Jane was having problems afterwards, that she became sick or ill, and that her hands were sparking up an electrical storm. Frankly, I''m surprised she''s even still alive."


    "But Jane''s back to normal now! She even got to use her symbol again in Gross City!" Mainne had to vouch for Danny and Jane on this one, and that''s because Danny is telling the truth this time. Jane''s symbol gives her the power to safely use lunar magic!


    "It''s true," Jane confide. "I did get sick earlier, but the moment I felt the veil hit me again, it was like I got better all at once. It felt amazing to be back in Sprawn Valley again."


    "Then that would..." Danton cut himself off, immediately debunking his next explanation... Danny is right; this is a weird situation. Coming back to Sprawn Valley for a Leray veil wouldn''t cure somebody of a disease or damage caused by using lunar magic in the first place. That symbol might have made it easier for Jane, perhaps given her more of an endurance when using lunar magic, but she should still be sick right now, if that''s the case.


    Danny noticed the hesitation in Danton, and pressed his idea further. "See? Isn''t it strange that the Scarlet Cult would invent something that would enable them to use lunar magic outside of the veil and still survive? I don''t think you gave any secrets away to Kite and Gleeon. But after ten years, they''ve probably figured out what lunar magic is and what it''s really for."


    "But that''s impossible!" he denied. "They would only have mere speculation to go on. Nobody was ever allowed into the crystal core for non-essential purposes over all this time. We''ve updated our security, and there wouldn''t be a way of spying on our vault system without the same person being noticed."


    "I think they were noticed," Danny reminded. "I think that''s exactly the point. Or did you seriously forget about Yuel Biion?"


    "What?!" "What is he talking about?" Taylor and Jane weren''t given any hints that Danny would even try to go there. In fact, the matter with Nyar''s sorrows were thought to be put on hold. But right now, Danton''s current clueless reaction told him that Danny must be tugging at random strings.


    "I don''t recognize the name or your intension bringing up such a name."


    Danny figured as much. "It was seven years ago. She lived in Eldora City, and died on your own property." Danny was close to yelling, pointing at Danton''s face as if to accuse him of violent crimes. "Don''t tell me you don''t remember covering up the reports. Nyar was well acquainted with her, and one day, Yuel found out the secrets of your tower on her own."


    What is the young man going on about? Danton did vaguely recall covering up the death of a young maiden found killed by dark magic just outside of Eldora Tower. That was the whole reason for covering it up, but what would that name have to do with lunar magic? "There is no way for an outsider especially to learn the secrets about Eldora Tower. Our government covered up the investigation temporarily as a means of giving the unknown suspect no ability to keep up with us."


    "So you do remember!"


    "I won''t repeat myself again Danny. Even though the crystal core obtains light from outside at the very top of this tower, the outer layers of the building are especially designed with materials using separately stored magic that render all view into the tower from the outside invisible. From the crystal core vault, you can see the sky and the stars. But from the outside, you wouldn''t know what''s on the other side, nor would anything seem suspicious, even if you got up there and bumped into the camouflage system."


    "Well one way or another, Yuel figured it out somehow." Danton is too stubborn to understand where any of this is going, but Danny didn''t give up. The camouflage system must not be entirely perfect if Yuel discovered the truth. "And you''re lucky that I didn''t accuse you of being her murderer. Naturally, Nyar doesn''t trust you at all."


    "Well I can''t give him much assurance. I mean, it''s not as if we ever found out the identity of the suspect anyway. He left no trace to follow."


    "So then chew on this," Danny offered. "What if the killer was there at the same time and place, attempting to learn the exact same thing that Yuel had already figured out? Collateral damage might be of concern to that suspect, but not if he could use that situation to his own advantage. I wouldn''t put it past Yuel''s killer to try and force her to give up what she knew and how she found out what she learned, just before taking her life."


    "We have no evidence of that happening one way or another."


    Cleo shouted an interruption, already impressed enough to let Danny continue his what-if scenario. "Danton! Shut up and let Danny speak his mind. You might actually learn something."


    Danny continued despite Danton''s inability to understand the situation. At least there were others in the room listening to it all. "If what I''m thinking is true, and the murderer also happened to be working with the Scarlet Cult, or became a member later with the secrets kept in memory, that would mean that Kite and Gleeon already knew all about the secrets of lunar magic, since seven years ago. And while you already know that Yuel was murdered by someone with dark magic, this situation became the perfect diversion to cover for the murderer''s real intentions. After all, he had just learned the secrets of lunar magic, without having to infiltrate your security as you say. You might suspect Yuel of doing the same, but since she was killed, that would automatically clear her as that suspect. At the same time this guy learned about the secrets of lunar magic, the murder he made also covered for what he had learned. This means that you wouldn''t have known that your secrets were already compromised, as you so proudly claimed earlier."


    Danton needed more time to process it all visually in his head. It was hard enough getting over the shock that the case that was left cold seven years ago had anything to do with Nyar or people linked to him in any particular way. These kids have some natural misfortune that keeps throwing them in the path of the Scarlet Syndicate, one way or another. But to think that Danny would even come to such an elaborate conclusion based on so little amount of data... Is this what Mainne meant earlier, when she said that Danny has his own special skills? No, it''s more like, Danny has this complex manner of thinking that allows him to make deductions normally thought to be impossible by normal people, but his logic in itself is somehow familiar.


    Without that explanation, events that happen over all these years seem so random, but what if every single thing the Scarlet Syndicate has ever done was done for a purpose? Every single thing has a reason one way or another. If by the impossible chance that Danny is right about Kite and Gleeon already knowing about lunar magic, then it would automatically validate their attempt to utilize such power, like in the experiment that accidentally ended up on Jane... Does that mean it works? Is Jane capable of using lunar magic at will without costing herself? If that is true, why did she get sick after using it? What else does this kid know? After standing with his head down to contemplate everything twice, Danton finally gave Danny additional credibility. "Alright... Maybe I have been several steps behind these guys for more than seven years. I''m willing to accept the possibility, even though it makes our situation far worse than I would have ever feared." Danton noticed Krysta, Cleo, and Brock all exhale, their bodies easing up from stiffness. They must be okay with the answer even knowing how bad the results are. "We need to prioritize finding and stopping Kite and Gleeon before they hatch whatever plan they''re going for. I''m still going to assume full protection of this tower either way. Those two are not getting to the core."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Stay With Me ~ Pika [feat. Nickie Minshall] (Jeremy Vancaulart)</a>


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    "There''s one more thing you should know about Lance," Krysta spoke up. All eyes were on her, and with Danton''s permission to submit any potentially helpful detail, she brought up Lance''s odd beliefs from before. "When Lance was starting to escape, he kept going off about how his plan had something to do with becoming, no - summoning the god of the world. It was all a bunch of religious nonsense, but he adamantly seemed to believe that this Zantos would grant them what they wanted. I don''t know if that''s significant, but..."


    A god of magic? Danny held back the urge to laugh. The only thing that news proves is that Lance is either crazy, or he wants everyone to believe that he is crazy.


    "Zantos?" Danton firmly repeated. Even in his voice, it soon felt like he was going to make a joke about it too. "Come on. How can that be of any significance? This only means that Lance probably doesn''t realize the secrets that Kite and Gleeon do. They''re probably still planning to try what they''re planning by themselves. For them, these Scarlet followers are just disposable pawns to them. Think nothing of it Krysta. Zantos has been dead for over eight hundred years. Nothing is going to change that."


    A moment passed, to which everyone else in the room shouted their outbursts of surprise. Danton was initially confused, but Jane soon let him know why.


    "Zantos is a real - thing?"


    Looking around, everyone had the same kind of expression, but Danton became defensive and quickly cast away any doubt towards him. "Okay, this one''s not on me! Information pertaining to the legend of Zantos is on the public domain. The legend of Zantos was never kept from disclosure all those years ago, so there''s no reason to hide a currently insignificant story."


    "So what was it about?"


    Naturally, even Danny would be curious. Danton answered as lax as he wanted to. "Even I don''t know if the legend is true, but eight hundred years ago, it was said that a creature of unimaginable power, born from the dispersion of pure energy crystals that were improperly destroyed in an accidental chain reaction, yielded the results of a magical mutation. Call it what you want. Zantos is said to be the very first creature either affected by or generated by magic. We all know what these are today as summons. But without a master, Zantos brought destruction and terror to the lands of Sprawn Valley. So a bunch of elite mages trying to prove their worth and further validate the use for magic - went to fight the creature using magic of their own. Zantos was then slain, and buried in a special temple constructed only to seal away the magical essence of Zantos for all eternity."


    Cleo, calm from Danton''s earlier understanding of their current situation commented on the summary, and if Danton really learned this from the public domain, then nobody was trying to hide it. That only makes it less plausible. "Sounds like lunacy to me. Of course, the common knowledge doesn''t know anything about lunar magic and its power to kill those who use it. They''ve all forgotten their long history."


    "Precisely," Danton revealed. "There''s so many holes in the story of Zantos, I''d rather call it a conspiracy theory and leave it at that. For that long time ago, the people didn''t have access to Leray magic or knowledge of conversion methods. So any group of people who went to slay a summon would only get a couple of invocations to do anything before falling dead. If that''s not enough, we all know that summons disappear from the physical dimension we can see when their HP drops to zero. Even if you to actually kill a summon, there wouldn''t be a need to bury the summon''s body or essence afterwards in a long abandoned temple. And thirdly, in all the years we''ve lived in Sprawn Valley, nobody has ever reported any ancient temple anywhere on our known map. We have - after all explored just about everywhere in the country."


    Danny felt a sense of appraisal after debunking the ridiculous claim. Danton is right. There are too many holes for that to make sense and be real.


    Danton was glad nobody argued with him this time. Even Danny seemed to be on the same level. "I guess that means on top of having to face Kite and Gleeon, we also have to deal with the lunacy of their subjugates as well."


    "Now that that''s out of the way," Cleo channeled, "I think we should all try and figure out what this symbol on Jane is really capable of. I''m particularly interested in the idea that Jane unlike others can use dark magic at will without feeling the effects of the lure."


    "The lure?"


    Is he serious?! Why would Cleo suspect that Jane can use dark magic with... That''s right, Jane was using dark magic in Alpha Zero. Every elite used it at least once or twice, except for Danton himself. He had never to this day experienced the lure of dark magic. But Cleo, Krysta, even Mainne came to him shortly after Jane''s departure from Junon airport about the matter. "Cleo is talking about the powerful lure of dark magic. If an ordinary person uses dark magic, even by accident, it can create this powerful mental fog in your mind, sort of a withdraw effect. We think it has something to do with the chemistry of the human body, and that dark magic can sort of act like a drug, something that increases the power of our hidden magical circuits to create a conduit for dark magical usage after a first or second use. As you know, some of us had to resort to using dark magic in Alpha Zero, and we were all examined afterwards to make sure we were okay. Kite and Gleeon I would surmise did their initial dark magic experiments in secret. It could be that they lost their minds after becoming addicted to dark magic, following the lure. Or perhaps they really were evil to begin with. But we never did ask Jane how she felt after it, beyond just asking."


    "That''s not what I meant," Cleo suggested. "I mean, sure, Jane used dark magic too in Alpha Zero, but she also used it by accident during our match. I believe the spell was Dark Lite. She claimed that outside of a general practice for the spell, that invocation was her first time using it on another person. Danton? I imagine you at least heard about it."


    "I don''t believe so..."


    "Hang on a sec," Danny intruded. "What about Star of Darkness? I thought that spell used dark magic."


    "It uses a controlled form of dark magic that has no lure, no harmful effects, and no risks. The only reason it falls into the category is because the spell in question is still a force negating the veil, while also remaining harmless. If somebody used that spell trying to cause harm, they would be unable to do so, even without the protective effects of the veil. It only drains energy and stamina."


    "Oh." So Star of Darkness really is benign.


    "As I was saying," Cleo returned, "Don''t you think it''s rather odd that Jane must have used dark magic at least three times as often and suffered no harmful effects, not even from a lure?"


    "I guess so..." Cleo can''t be serious! "You think that Jane''s symbol is protecting her from the lure."


    Cleo couldn''t disagree, since that is the conclusion he was going for. "On the off chance that Danny did jump to a rash conclusion, it might be possible that the E-7 spell bomb was specifically designed to filter dark magic in a different way that would allow users bearing the symbol to use dark magic without suffering themselves."


    "That literally makes no sense." Danton denied the claim immediately. "I watched their minds become twisted before me. Kite and Gleeon had a scattered worldview after messing with the stuff. Any of their subjects following them use dark magic as well, people they gained long before this symbol was invented as an untested prototype. If becoming addicted to dark magic only makes the resolve of that person align closer to Kite and Gleeon, there would be no reason to construct a symbol for that exact purpose. We can say that Jane may be immune to the side effects of dark magic and possibly lunar magic simply as a benign result, some way the symbol helps her process all forms of magic, but that''s all we can say." Cleo didn''t seem happy getting shut down like that, but at least now he understood the feeling. "I don''t like to be wrong either, especially after all this time, but the more I think about the considerations, the more I find Danny''s theory to bear more sense than anything we knew before now."


    Jane glanced down at her hand. "So I can use dark magic any time I want and never suffer the side effects from it?"


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Danton quickly interjected to help Jane figure this out properly, but Danny did so before he could get more than one word out. "Even if you can Jane, you should try to avoid doing so as much as possible. There''s still too much about that symbol that we don''t know. I''d rather trust Leray magic to get us through this far more than anything else."


    "Yes, and on that note," Mainne stood between everyone holding her opposing upper arms. Jane in particular should pay the most attention to this news, but everyone else still seems to be clueless. "You said that your hands were sparking magic after your magic usage in New York?"


    Why return back to the same thing? Jane answered Mainne humbly anyway, figuring it may lead somewhere. "Yes, they were. I felt horrible and couldn''t use magic more during that time. It was only when I returned to Sprawn Valley when I went back to normal. It wasn''t instant, but it still happened fast."


    "Right," Mainne conceded. "And shortly after you used the E-7 mark 64 spell bomb on yourself, did similar symptoms occur?"


    Danny and Taylor both winced that Mainne figured that out without Jane telling her, but Taylor still confirmed the details with a swift response. "Yes! How did you know?"


    "It''s just as I thought. Jane was in fact using lunar energy during her incident in America, but that isn''t the reason she got sick shortly afterwards."


    "Mainne? What are you saying?"


    Answering Danton''s dull understanding of what''s going on with Jane, Mainne stepped in to recap and break it all down again. "The results on Jane''s symbol regarding the genetic scan have been fully complete and analyzed thoroughly."


    Following the gasps of shock from everyone other than Mainne and Danton, Brock threw out a sharp question. "When did this happen?"


    "It was shortly after Jane''s last phone call with Danton ended with her still residing in America. It was hard for me to understand at first, and I have reason to believe that Danton didn''t get it at all."


    "Please tell us what it is," Danny begged.


    "I really need to know!"


    Jane and her friends are desperate for answers. They should know the whole truth at this point. "The reason I asked if Jane had sickening symptoms of unusual matters shortly after you said she was blasted by moonlight, is because I needed to test a theory of how this symbol works. We now know what it is, but there is still a lot of data undiscovered on the entry. The reason that blast of moonlight didn''t outright kill Jane is still a mystery to me."


    They were quiet, patiently waiting to hear as many details as possible. Mainne needed a short breath, since trying to organize her words wasn''t going to be easy. There''s so much to this that everyone missed before. "There is a reason why lunar magic kills the people who uses it shortly after. It''s all a matter of vessel capacity, and the limits of human beings. Everyone in here knows that lunar magic kills, but we never thought to ask why."


    Danton cleared his throat to interject, admitting to the possibility of omitting information he obtained earlier. "Sirus told me a long time ago that it had something to do with ME levels per person, and that nobody has the amount needed to properly use or filter lunar magic through their body."


    Mainne simply picked up where Danton left off. "Before the very first moment you enter the Sprawn Valley veil, your natural ME levels are estimated to be somewhere between one and twenty-five. That alone isn''t enough to use even the easiest Leray spells without the assistance of some kind of energizing veil, nor is it safe and healthy. But when you try, even upon failure, ME levels in that person slowly rise above the previously recorded maximum level. Eventually, as long as you have a magic source, you can make at least something happen. But when you enter the source of our veil, all of that changes."


    With another breath, Mainne continued. "Your ME levels, no matter how low quickly shoot up over the first several hours you first enter the veil, ranging between four hundred and eleven hundred. Even then, it''s not enough for people to use any spell they want, but the veil''s process does this in order to protect their bodies on a constant level, giving them the protection from unnatural causes of death. Such people as a result of rising ME levels experience side effects such as the forced capacity to stay awake for longer periods of time without slower accumulations of fatigue."


    "I still don''t get what any of this has to do with my symbol." Jane knew she was sounding impatient, but after everything that has ever happened to her, what does ME have to do with the symbol? The symbol increased her ME capacity fairly high, but so what?


    "I''m getting to that part. Without doing anything extra from that moment on, the magic assimilation in a person entering Sprawn Valley eventually stops at their minimum level. From that moment on, your ME levels can''t go any higher unless you begin to practice and succeed in channeling a form of magical energy through your body. In doing so, the ME from there slowly goes up over time. The higher it gets, the longer your MP reserves will last. The MP cost for spells doesn''t change very much over time, and it can only be slightly reduced when you''ve used the same spell for hundreds or thousands of times. The reason the same spell seems to use less energy as you get stronger isn''t because the cost is different, it''s because your magical essence capacity gets higher; you have a lot more to spend from the start. MP is represented in energy scopes as a proportionate capacity, not as a numerical value, and HP sort of works the same way."


    "Mainne," Danton called. "This is basic stuff that every wielder should know, but I''m to assume you''re going somewhere with this, so please continue."


    "We don''t know much about dark magic to this day. It''s hard to study what''s too unethical to use. But we''ve estimated that having a value between the ranges of 21,000 and 35,000 ME points in a person''s capacity, makes the use and integration with dark magic become possible. With that much magical essence in your control, you could virtually shift the energy pattern before and after it flows through you from the veil. Of course, as that number gets even higher, so does your handle on dark magic and its subjective power level."


    "Does..." Jane didn''t understand one of the smaller details. Maybe it isn''t important, but just to be sure... "Does channeling more and more ME into a particular spell, either Leray or dark magic change its power level?"


    "You only get about 10% wiggle room for common spells in doing that. Try to go even higher, then you overcharge the spell and everything backfires. Nothing can change that equation. But just as Leray magic and dark magic all require a minimum level of ME capacity to be used, it also suggests that pure lunar magic needs a minimum level of ME to be used properly as well."


    So that''s where she''s going with this. Danton felt stupid for not noticing it earlier. That must be why Mainne wanted to explain it in person.


    "We''ve always thought that, in order to use lunar magic anyway you want without any side effects, the ME capacity per person should be somewhere right up at 100,000 ME. If you fall short of that value and try to use lunar magic, you suffer the side effects of its harm. Because our bodies don''t have the necessary energy to support what we''re channeling through our magic circuits, the most natural thing that could result from trying is serious damage to our internal organs and biological structure. Leray and dark magic invocation attempts are exempt from these specific side effects because of the natural protective effects from the veil."


    "A hundred thousand ME?" It sounds high in Danny''s ears... But what if it''s not? "Wait, what if someone were to simply just practice until reaching that point?"


    Having figured most of this out, Danton finally assisted Mainne in her argument, answering Danny''s question. The rest had no choice but to listen carefully. "Even if that were possible, if you train yourself to get to that ME level, then the use of lunar magic safely should be child''s play. However, such a thing has never happened before. As Mainne suggested earlier, humans are fragile beings, and can only handle a certain amount of ME levels before it can become dangerous to the body. The use of lunar energy is quite like channeling an electric current through your body outside the safety of the veil. Just instead of electricity, think ionizing radiation instead. Victims of lunar magic tend to present symptoms quite similar in their structural damage, causes of death tending to be severe genetic mutations and cancer in seventy percent of the cases from the report so long ago. What Mainne is saying is that while that level may seem obtainable if you try hard enough, it simply is not. For example, I checked my own ME levels recently using deep scan equipment which is now widely available in Sprawn Valley..." Don''t all speak up at once to ask... "My ME capacity is 59,700 points, roughly."


    Danny couldn''t draw the reference for comparison. Danton is the champion of Leray magic, so it makes sense that his would be high. The elites in the room all sounded so impressed, but aren''t their levels close to the same? What would Danny''s ME levels read out to, even by an estimate?


    "It''s a very high value," Mainne iterated. "The average Leray wielder for the experience level that people like Danny and Taylor would have, (and I''m choosing close to level-five training), would be around nineteen or twenty thousand ME points. Danton only has his as high as he does because he''s had so many years of training. Even if you are more skilled in combining spells or contain better fighting skills, ME levels would still differ as they only rely and focus on how often and how long you use and rely on magical abilities to train and fight. In addition to this, it becomes exponentially more difficult to raise your maximum ME levels the higher they rise in us."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Moments of Silence ~ Sean Hayman</a>


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    "Mainne!" Jane felt she could understand what Mainne was getting at now. She understood one of the side effects of this spell bomb, something Jane never actually told Mainne before now, nor Danton for the matter. "Days after I first arrived in Lennith City, I took advantage of a deep scanner myself. I was curious about something I needed to check, and found out that my symbol dramatically boosted my ME levels. At the time, they were in the lower fifty thousands."


    "Bullshit," Krysta denied. "Fifty thousand ME points? After all this time, that would make you stronger than Danton. It isn''t possible."


    Jane retorted Krysta''s blasted remark, "Are you forgetting that I defeated Danton all by myself earlier?"


    "With the cheating assistance of your symbol!"


    "The symbol, guys!" Mainne couldn''t believe they would still be willing to argue even now. "It is completely unnatural for someone of Jane''s short term training to be able to invoke such powerful spells and skills. I''m willing to bet she didn''t have to train very long to learn such spells after obtaining her symbol. Whatever that blast did to Jane, the entire main purpose of this spell bomb was always to forcefully increase the target''s base ME levels far above what should be normal for a human. And I bet from the moment of the symbol''s activation, the ME levels continue to rise on a gradual, though much faster than normal pace."


    "So then that''s all it does?" Jane was only putting it together right now... But if her ME levels are that high, they could have already risen up to 100,000 points. If that''s true, Jane would be able to handle the flow of lunar magic... Jane felt dizzy just considering it, that the symbol on her hand literally pushes the weight of everything on her shoulders. The color began to drain from her face after hearing Mainne''s explanation.


    "Aren''t we missing something?" Danton knew he at least told Mainne what happens to those unfortunate enough to try and boost their ME levels. Sirus said it wasn''t possible to do, but he was obviously wrong. Still, Sirus argued that, "Whenever you forcefully increase a person''s ME levels over a short period dramatically, they''re supposed to suffer serious side effects and critical damage, quite the same in nature to just using lunar magic. It would have killed Jane outright."


    "But that''s precisely what happened." Everyone went quiet, forcing Mainne to immediately elaborate her memory. "No, Jane didn''t die, but she did get sick shortly after being afflicted with the symbol. Her friends confirmed it with us. She passed out and had trouble staying conscious. When time passed, she wasn''t feeling well, presented by sparking symptoms on her hands, and was unable to invoke any magical power of any kind for a period of time."


    That''s right! So all of that getting sick was a process of Jane''s ME shooting up way too high too fast. But Jane didn''t die? To think the spell bomb could have killed her...


    "Initially, Jane''s symptoms were caused by a sudden overload of magic forcefully shoved and channeled through her body. Whether she was aware of it or not, the initial steps to having that symbol fused to her hand must have involved a process requiring pure lunar infusion. And what kind of weather did we see reported in Blue Port Town on that same date and time?"


    Danton couldn''t forget. Shortly after seeing that report, he thought the people there must have been afflicted by a spell of hallucination. "The day turned into night, then shifted to a strange weather pattern resembling a thunderstorm."


    "It wasn''t just an illusion of magic that hit Jane that night. It was literally a concentrated form of moonlight, a direct source of lunar energy unusable to anyone else. But after Jane''s overload subsided, the massive draw to power the rest of the process, despite her growing ME levels must have left her entire MP levels drained past their normal points..." Do they not comprehend? "Jane wasn''t able to use magic because she was being drained of her energy faster than the veil here was capable of regenerating it passively. When that happens, it causes your magical circuits to become unstable."


    "I didn''t know any of that could happen in Sprawn Valley."


    Mainne knew she was speaking to everyone and not just Cleo when she tried to paraphrase in every way she could. "The ME that people have is a maximum capacity, and the MP is their current potential level out of that capacity usable. The veil that encases this entire country regenerates lost MP levels over time. That regeneration speed is specifically set by defined rules to increase for those with higher ME levels. But even then, there is a cutoff point. The veil is only powerful enough to regenerate used ME at a certain maximum level. After that, the regenerative rate doesn''t go any higher."


    "Okay?"


    "So imagine for a moment, someone''s ME points suddenly surge through the roof. At first, she''s overcharged because the blast of moonlight that hit Jane jacked up the charged ME levels along with the ME capacity, making it dangerous on its own. But then the ME rate of progression slows down, though still far elevated above an average level, and at this point already far beyond the set regeneration rate''s maximum potential. Now imagine a large battery pack slowly increasing in both size and capacity. As it sits in a charger, the charge rate or time doesn''t change, but because the capacity is changing and growing constantly, you''re still accumulating energy. However, the energy proportion is decreasing because the charge rate is too slow. During the time of her illness, Jane''s MP percentage would have slowly been going down instead of going up."


    It''s a loaded way to try and imagine it, but at last, Danny figured out the use of each analogy and combined them together for a general understanding. "I see. Jane was suffering even after we thought she would recover, all because her energy was being drained by proportion instead of capacity."


    "Yes," she answered. "Based on the preset rules we have in the veil set up for fair battling practices, the amount of stamina drain a person will experience is always based on their capacity by proportion, not by ME capacity. This means that if you have one person with a low ME, and another with a high ME, both of them suffer the same exact sensation of a stamina drain when both of their MP levels are at say, five percent. But with HP, we don''t define those rules because life energy isn''t set by the veil. That is set by nature. Two people with differing HP endurance levels with the same proportion may still behave differently."


    "I get it then. I understand what Mainne is talking about."


    But Mainne was hardly finished, and she continued to explain it for them anyway. "Intrusive rejection, that symptom you see when Jane''s hands seem to glow while preventing her from using magic isn''t actually unheard of. It occurs in one of two situations. In Jane''s initial situation, her magical rejection was triggered by the noticeable decline in her magical capacity. Her MP was slowly draining, failing to increase where it should have, and the veil can only try its best to regenerate her powers. Even with ME ignored in that scenario, if you''re MP is already low in proportion, and it isn''t able to climb, you experience this phenomenon, regardless of whether or not you have a symbol. At some point, I imagine that Jane''s ME growth rate slowly declined due to the factor of negative exponential expansion, eventually slowing down just enough for the veil to properly affect her again. As a result, her symptoms subsided and she was able to use magic again. It may not have worked as she was used to it, but that''s why it went away."


    Naturally, Brock asked, "And the other scenario?"


    "When Jane was in New York and used lunar magic, that event must have quickly drained all of her magical points. We do know for certain that the use of lunar magic compared to Leray magic will without a doubt drain your MP so much faster than normal spells, even with a really high ME level. In this case, there wasn''t a veil in place to regenerate Jane''s lost energy. Magic or not, people all have an ME, even just a small amount to live. When you use magic, you drain this ME very quickly. Leaving Sprawn Valley doesn''t shorten or change you ME, but in exiting from a veil, your ME levels stop climbing and charging, and so does your MP capacity. You don''t regenerate any energy from your expended ME points."


    To try and prevent improper speculation, Mainne reworded her statement. "It isn''t said to be possible to use lunar magic outside of a veil, and normally, it''s not. The only reason the initial researchers of magic got anywhere is because they forced dangerous amounts of magic through their systems, and shot up their ME levels in dangerous ways with no control in such experiments. It''s the same reason they died. You can actually use lunar magic successfully if you force it with the aid of a power source. If your ME is around 100 when you try it, it will kill you instantly. If your ME is around 2000 when you try it, it will kill you a little slower through an illness; assuming jacking up the ME that fast doesn''t do it already. But Jane''s situation is unique. She had a lot of ME points to channel magic without any side effects because the symbol integrated with her binded with her DNA successfully. Even still, when you use magic, you have to recharge it afterwards. In New York without a power source, Jane ended up with no growing or shrinking ME capacity, though a completely drained MP level. Your fatigue wasn''t induced by a veil. It was caused because when you arrived in New York, you already had a complete charge to your energy, and then during your incident, you shorted everything out."


    Mainne can be a real nerd sometimes... Though everything here is still speculation and science. It''s still believable too, and she seems to understand it well. "I''m surprised you''re suddenly an expert in the subject. But am I to believe in part of this explanation, that Jane was very close to dying in New York, not because she used magic, but because she drained herself doing it?"


    "No," Mainne shook her head. "Jane was never in danger of being killed by using lunar magic, and that''s because her ME levels now support it. When you drain your MP energy in a veil, you only suffer a certain amount of fatigue, but if somehow you''re able to do it outside of a veil, you suffer all kinds of horrible side effects and even a few temporary illnesses. Because you''re not being recharged, you''d quickly enter a state of intrusive rejection from the sudden drain, but that alone can''t kill you. It sounds unique to Jane, but that''s only because without a veil or power source, it isn''t normally possible to drain any points from your preset ME level. When you use lunar magic, you do just that; you drain all of your ME and suffer the consequences if you don''t have a veil to help you recover or pass off those effects. We just don''t notice this in other people, because they would first be killed by the very usage of lunar magic and the toxic after effects. So now, mix that with the harmful part of using lunar energy without a proper ME level, and it creates a very painful and nasty moment before dying. But in Jane''s case, she only got the non-lethal side effects. Needless to say, she would have only recovered slightly if Jane had not returned to Sprawn Valley''s veil. Calling her back here was the right decision to make."


    So all that time, Jane wasn''t dying? She was just drained of her energy and her body had trouble keeping up? Still, Taylor knew she was trying not to make it sound bad in her mind. Jane wasn''t having any fun at all during those symptoms. If she never returned to Sprawn Valley, she would have stayed sick forever!


    Jane knew everyone was building questions, but she had some of her own, urgent for Mainne. "You said genetic binding to my DNA? I think Danton used the same term before you took a sample."


    "You give me too much credit," Danton replied. "I told you we were going to analyze a sample of your blood and scan your body on a molecular DNA level to make sure we don''t miss anything. Nobody was expecting to find out that in the process of increasing your cell''s ME levels, that symbol on your hand created a genetic mutation, one very slight and almost unnoticeable, but a mutation all the same."


    Mainne picked up where Danton left off. "This kind of mutation is probably what''s allowing your body to handle all of the ME you''re storing up right now. I think that this symbol was designed with a lot of intelligence. The scientist who developed it knew what would happen to a user of the spell bomb if ME levels simply were driven past their normal level. But if you can simultaneously mutate a person''s DNA to a specific sub-set of alterations, it might then be possible for the bio-mechanism to handle different amounts of ME bursts, a burst being what happened to you in Blue Port Town. That bio-mechanism is now you."


    Jane lost all her breath trying to understand, shortening her vocal intensity. "Are you trying to tell me that I''m no longer human?"


    "I wouldn''t put it like that." Jane is being too literal about this. She doesn''t understand what a wonderful opportunity has been given to her! "You''re just different now. You''re able to channel pure lunar energy through your body without sustaining any damage to yourself. I believe in this case, the mutation more specifically allows the symbol on your hand to fully assimilate all of its energy through each and every new cell made inside of your body. I bet the reason it can disappear from view has to do with an advanced hibernation mode that also only works because of the adaption to your cells the symbol has developed."


    "You sound a little too excited about this news."


    Excited? Does Danton not understand what this means? "Excited? I know the inventor would be anyway. You realize how much went into developing this one prototype? Every calculation would have to be precise and perfect. The understanding of human biology would have to be deeper than anything! Because Jane hijacked the thing, she has the power to go anywhere in the world she wants to and use a type of magic fatal to anyone else! And if that weren''t enough, just by being here in Sprawn Valley under a veil, relying on only Leray energy, Jane''s MP levels can last longer than anyone else, and even manipulate patterns of conservation to give her other powers from Leray magic, like those power shields we''ve all seen her use." Mainne tried to listen to herself... Danton was right. It is exciting! "The potentials of Jane and that symbol are limitless Danton."


    Jane certainly doesn''t feel your passion. Mainne won''t even look at her right now and realize how worse she''s making everyone feel. To have all of this happen at the age of sixteen? No wonder Jane took off on a suicide mission to the dark zone without her friends. No wonder she challenged the champion to try and reach the Den of Purity. Mage Brightworth, now criminal in lockdown was said to have been able to use his powers to remove permanent spell bombs, even symbols people attach to themselves. No wonder Jane went crazy trying to remove that thing from her arm! "Perhaps." Danton knew that now is not the time to indulge them. If what Mainne is saying is true, it''s horrible news. The only good thing that ever came of it is one idea: better Jane than some crook who would have and could have used it for something bad. "But Jane never asked to be branded. She never wanted to be that powerful."


    "Huh?" Mainne glanced at Jane, who was still staring into her hand. Her face was sunk and her eyes were drained of their usual luster. It was only now when Mainne realized how much of a choice Jane never had in this... She doesn''t want that symbol on her hand. "Oh. I''m sorry Jane. I didn''t mean to..." She didn''t know how to finish that sentence. She couldn''t just praise what happened. This kind of science might be amazing, but it''s also highly illegal as well.


    "We all know you didn''t mean to," Danton progressed with his agitated voice. "But next time try and think of other people''s feeling before you project heavy subjects onto them like that."


    "But¡ª"


    "Try to imagine how she feels!" Danton bellowed. "From day one of this incident, she had to hide that symbol from the others, less she be imprisoned falsely for being marked, or perhaps destroyed in an act of fear. She probably prayed a thank you to God upon discovery that she could just hide her symbol from complete and total view. If that weren''t enough, Jane likely suffered all sorts of unusual effects trying to desperately figure it out; her one and only hope, the Den of Purity. Little did she know upon arrival to Lennith City what the state became of the precious Outback, and the rouge agent who was the only one capable of removing her cursed powers."


    "I..." Mainne never thought about it through Jane''s eyes, but the way Danton was describing it was both accurate and horrifying.


    Danton calmed his tone as he continued. His anger wasn''t directed towards Mainne, even if she''s the one who failed to understand. Nobody is quick to pick up on these things. "And that''s just one way of looking at it. Even if Jane''s symbol is hidden from view, the obvious rise to her ME levels won''t ever change. That means she will always have a serious unfair advantage over any opponent she chooses to battle. It''s the reason she defeated me, and the reason I was immediately suspicious of Jane cheating the system in one way or another. Hell, she even tried at least once to leave her friends behind for their safety, but also in fear they would despise her upon discovering she was marked."


    He summed it up well somehow, though Jane did tell him everything about it, bits and pieces over the time before and after fixing the Outback. "Danton..."


    Danton addressed Jane immediately, who was probably about to tell him that he doesn''t need to be getting upset about something that happened only to her, but she couldn''t be more wrong. "I know now Jane. Before I knew who you were, I was no better than the rest of the world who judged those that were marked. I assumed something was off when I lost to someone younger than any contestant. On top of that, I didn''t want to step down as champion given that I still have a war to fight against Kite and Gleeon. But during that time, I never once considered how messed up things were for you. I never stopped to think whether or not I was thinking the right way, or too broken by my past to make any functional decisions. Consider this my apology, and not just to Jane." Danton paused, zoning his view towards Krysta, Brock, and especially Cleo. "But to all of you. You honestly think word doesn''t fly to my ears Cleo? Of course I understand the risks we''re all taking. Even though I''m in charge, I have to second guess every decision I make, because one wrong move will kill us all!"


    Jane shied away from Danton a little, never expecting him to be so dramatic about everything... But he''s suffering too. Kite and Gleeon, they must really be dangerous. Danton is never this upset about anything, but to say everyone would be dead... Kite and Gleeon must be worse than any nightmare Jane alone ever faced. After all, they proved their own threat by killing Vanoss Highdrow.


    "Danton." Cleo needed a minute to recompose his words. After everything that''s happened... Danton is really this scared? He''s never shown any hint of fear over what''s been going on for years, not ever since the incident happened ten years ago. He''s been burying himself ever since. Now that the threat of dying is evermore real, he''s finally showing who he really is. And all I''ve done was mock his decisions. "Danton, I know it must not be easy staying in charge of decisions like this, even the split-second moments, like how you sent the vulnerable JDT unit straight to a hot zone without even informing us."


    "There wasn''t time to inform you¡ª"


    Cleo cut the man off quickly. "That''s not the point! We''re all in this mess together. The least you can do is include us in everything. Instead of keeping bits of information to yourself, share a little with the group. Instead of sharing such a dangerous responsibility to yourself, let us make group decisions from now on. At least ask us what we think of our next options!"


    Cleo... He''s right. Danton never felt so ashamed of himself then now. Cleo, Brock, and Krysta have all change so much over all the years; they''ve become very refined individuals. After finally realizing the additional mistakes he could have made, even right now, his entire team is still willing to trust him. They were literally brought here to fight this war alongside Danton, not for him. "Very well. Moving forward, every decision, situation, and tactical briefing will be shared among the five of us." Danton peered to his right, where Jane, Danny, and Taylor stood, their faces wary. "Or eight of us."


    "Thank you." Cleo tried to think back to all his years of training, and all of that time he spent in front of Danton. This might be the first time he''s ever thanked Danton for anything.


    "Where is Sirus? Isn''t he involved too?"


    Answering Brock''s concern, Danton revealed another decision he already made earlier today. "I sent him on an errand for now. But while he''s here, Sirus is the official gatekeeper of the core. He''ll be here in any event that we all have to leave the tower, just in case."


    "And that errand is?"


    Right, they want no more secrets. Danton replied hesitantly with no choice but to oblige. "He''s gathering a bit of intelligence for me on a potential lead that could be used to point in the direction of the Scarlet Cult''s hide out."


    Cleo tsked his teeth, a small mist of spit shooting out. "At least now, you''re playing your chess game without any intention to keep us in the dark. When will this lead prove anything useful?"


    "Patience is what we need for this one Cleo." Danton shouldn''t have to remind him how critical it is that the Scarlet Cult are not scared into believing the team is onto them. If they move their secret base, this will all be for nothing, but it makes sense that everyone is getting restless. Nobody wants to live in fear of being attacked for so many years. It''s not natural.


    "And Mainne," Danton shifted. "I wasn''t expecting you to be such an expert in symbol analysis. I''m impressed."


    Mainne lifted her left foot up behind her right leg, uncertain of how to respond to Danton''s compliment; it''s too much credit. "No, it was easy once I compared Jane''s symbol situation to the symbol that the ancients tried to use a few times during the war of mages."


    What is she talking about now? "Are you referring to the war of symbols? We also consider that the Avion Wars to avoid confusion. I have to ask since the very first magic war had nothing to do with symbols."


    "Yes, I am referring to that. It turns out we''re not really the first of our kind to figure out that lunastasis is possible."


    "Lunastasis?" Danton had to repeat that term carefully. It was new to him. The more interesting question is, would Sirus know?


    "Lunastasis. It''s a symbol design that is virtually the same one on Jane''s body. The symbol appearance, shape, size, it''s all the same, but the data is in old scriptures that are only held in the tower''s book of archives. That was the reason the data wasn''t digitally archived. It wasn''t easy to read either."


    "You''re saying that this symbol I have actually does exist? It has a name?"


    It was normal for Jane to get excited about that, but Mainne had to deliver the only truth that makes sense. "Sort of. During the time of the war, some of the most intelligent mages got together and designed a symbol that would inherently allow its wielders to maintain much higher levels of ME. As a result of this, and their existing knowledge that lunar magic is only usable by those who can wield higher ME levels, they tried to get everything the same way. The symbol design matched what they wanted, and the idea behind it was lunastasis. A person with lunastasis would have the capacity to store, channel, and release lunar energy through their magic circuits without any harmful side effects."


    "Well it never lasted, and nobody heard about it," Danton pointed out. "So something went wrong."


    "Yeah, they never got it to work. The symbol infusion went as well as any ordinary symbol needed to, but during their experiments, while they did manage to get people''s ME levels much higher like Jane has hers, the result ended up killing or disabling their subjects. For those who weren''t disabled immediately, they tried to test the symbols by using lunar magic. They didn''t last long either. The idea was eventually dropped and abandoned as the war needed more reliable symbols. Lunastasis became nothing but a pipe dream, and I guess our mages didn''t fully understand what the scriptures were about. After all, the council still knows nothing about lunar magic or the crystal core."


    "I guess that makes sense," Danton concluded. "We keep the council in the dark, which inherently means that all knowledge related to lunastasis was kept secret as well by coincidental accident. Still, the Scarlet Cult must have in one way or another learned about the previous experiments involving lunastasis, and got some interesting ideas on how to make it work. In their favor, they''d become unstoppable if they could use lunar magic whenever and wherever they wanted to without side effects, but they needed some way of merging that symbol with active genetic material in order to bypass the factor of death from the ME burst. That must be why in all unlikelihood, Jane didn''t die."


    "So then," Jane presented her hand, despite having the symbol inert, "what I have here isn''t just a fancy prototype? It''s exactly the same as lunastasis?"


    Danton corrected the girl again. "No, the symbol has been modified to better use the process of lunastasis. To be more exact, your passive ability from your symbol is perfect lunastasis. However, the symbol itself still isn''t exactly the same. It''s running on a different process; your body the host."


    "Lunastasis." Jane had to repeat to herself at least a thousand times. She searched so hard just to name this stupid thing, and it had a name all this time. Everyone keeping secrets from everyone made it much harder to figure out what was really going on. "Lunastasis," she repeated, looking down at her right wrist below her face.


    "Jane." Danton had to get her attention for this. "I know this has been rough on you. I promise that we''re still looking into methods of symbol removal as best as we can, but right now, these Scarlet scum are focusing our resources and attentions to what''s most important here. It would normally go against everything in my honor to even consider letting someone of your age get involved in this situation, but if I''m able to get a sense for how you feel, I bet you consider yourself far too involved in this to ever take yourself off of it."


    What? Cleo ingested what Danton was about to ask before he could ask again. "You''re going to try and recruit them again?"


    "They''re already on our team," Danton clarified. "Jane? I know that if you were to continue assisting me in capturing these criminals, your friends would never allow you to do it without their specific support, since you three all care for each other and everything. Now that we understand what this symbol is, I would like to formally request that you assist us in our current investigation and mission, even if that means using your power of lunastasis to get the upper hand on our targets." Jane has already been doing that all this time, but Danton figured it must hurt Jane each time she uses that symbol. Every time that thing activates and lights up, it''s just another painful reminder of the past mistakes she has made. Nobody can force her to relive that for the sake of the greater good. "At the same time, you should know that you and your friends have absolute choice in your involvement with us. You don''t have to fight anyone or endanger your friends while we work things out. I''ve already pardoned you for being marked officially. I''m also prepared to offer you protective care for the duration this investigation lasts."


    Danton is so considerate. Jane could feel Danny and Taylor eyeing her from behind, trying to read her thoughts, but this decision is easy to make. A safe house of high-class furniture and food might sound nice to an average person, but if Jane doesn''t offer any help, Danton''s team will do this themselves. The fact that Danton is asking for Jane to lend them the support of herself and her lunastasis, only proves their fear and lack of confidence that things will somehow work out, and that''s not fair to leave alone. "I''m assisting you all the way."


    "Don''t make that choice without thinking it through."


    Jane expected Danton to say that before Cleo did, but she answered the same anyway. "I''ve had a long time to think it through. I made up my mind the same day I decided to recruit the champion for help that day I got back to Lennith City. Even if things are more dangerous now, it won''t change how I feel. I don''t wish the man ill will, but Geiger put a weapon of mass destruction into my hands without telling me what it was or what it was for. I can''t completely blame him for that; after all, I''m the one who used it on myself to test it, but all of this misery has been caused one way or another by the same enemies. The Scarlet Syndicate want to change the world for the worst. They want to take the very magic I''ve been living for, and turn it inside out. They ruined my life, they ruined my reputation, threatened to kill my family, succeeded in killing a distant relative of Danny''s family, they attacked my friends, they killed your friend, and turned their backs on Leray magic."


    "So I take that to mean, there''s no chance in hell you''re getting yourself out of this until I''ve arrested Kite and Gleeon?"


    Jane answered Danton''s question with a simple remark. "Anyone who considers themself to be a member of the Scarlet Cult, or who embraces dark magic, or turns their back on Leray magic and our ways of life here in Sprawn Valley, they''ve not seen the last of me. I''m going to make sure all of them pay with due justice, me and my friends, and I won''t let them die in the process. It''s a promise I already made to them and to myself. We all protect each other. Wherever I go, they go, or the other way around. If I work with you on this, Danny and Taylor are never to be separated from me on any mission you assign us. If that is okay with you, then I''m ready to start helping immediately."


    "Very well." Danton couldn''t feel any sense of accomplishment. Cleo has a good heart, but Jane won''t stop fighting these enemies even if she were kicked off the team and forced into that safe house. It''s probably not even safe anyway, considering that failure will also result in an evil change in Sprawn Valley, one the world would never recover from. After all, this is war. The time to fight fairly has long since been over... It''s like Jane said. Those murderers killed Vanoss, whom wanted nothing more than the same thing Jane wants now. She and her friends can be trusted. As for Kite and Gleeon, those two are finished. They may have done a lot of damage to this world in the last ten years, but they''ve also just given Jane a key to the weapon they needed to succeed, as well as a motive for Jane to oppose the purpose of its original use. "Your first assignment will be simple and easy, but consider reconnaissance in the back of your minds while you work on this quest. In the meantime, we''ll be gathering more intelligence and developing a plan to find the Scarlet hideout."


    Jane and her friends got themselves prepared on the spot with their supply spheres and equipment gathering, while Danton continued to psych himself up for this pending showdown. It might be as simple as showing up to the enemy doorstep and using teargas to achieve the desired results. Or those blokes might be more intelligent than originally perceived. This all proves that any outcome is possible. Kite and Gleeon better not oppose or resist their arrest this time. Because if they do... I''ll kill them myself. They''ve already killed Vanoss, and what''s one eye for another? They can try and outsmart Danton, but there are eight great minds and wonderful people in this elite unit. The outcome might as well already be decided!


    "Something wrong?" Mainne could see that look on Danton''s face. He''s serious about this, worried perhaps? Did something get overlooked?


    "Nothing is wrong," Danton reported. "We are Sprawn Valley''s guardians. I know I must have said this before, but this time I know what I mean. We represent the people in Sprawn Valley who know how to properly use magic, and the will of the people is far stronger than anything Kite or Gleeon would ever hope to achieve. They''re not going to win, because we''re not going to let them win. They think they know how powerful magic can be, but they''ve obviously overlooked what we''re all fighting for, and how powerful our resolves are combined. I just want everyone to know that I have no problem fighting against any former acquaintance or friend who has been forever lost to the dark side of magic. If you ever find yourself cornered by them, you are fully authorized to use lethal force for defense. That includes the use of dark magic if need be."


    "Are you sure that''s safe?"


    "No doubt the lure could be an issue afterwards, but we all know ways of resisting that at least a couple of times. I am not losing another friend to these freaks. So you better make sure you''re prepared to do what needs to be done, if the circumstances call for it."


    Brock huddled in with everyone else, as JDT pressed their distance to prepare their gear for their next outing, as Danton already gave them their mission, but Brock''s focus was on their newest recruits. "Are you sure they''ll be safe?"


    Danton had to make sure he felt as realistic as he could while answering Brock''s concern. "I''m sure enough. Jane is safe because of her lunastasis. Taylor and Danny have both been personally trained by Jane, so they''re tough even without the power of symbols, and Danny seems to have his wits about him." Danton raised his voice over them though, after considering a small yet important detail. "That is, after all three of you get one good night''s rest!" The teens grumbled when hearing that, but they had to be tired deep down. There cannot be any room for error.


    "Yes," Brock remembered. "You know, Danny kind of reminds me more of yourself. Kind of..." There isn''t much of a visual resemblance Brock saw between Danny and Danton, but the way Danny was talking about things earlier, it''s like he was completely logical and his sentences well thought out. Hard to believe a boy that age is so smart, but according to the personal stories he''s heard from Danton''s late childhood, they''re almost one and the same. Danton doesn''t have the same mindset for deductive reasoning like Danny does... But sometimes, Danton will still talk the same way, trying not to show any emotion though still making complete sense in a logical manner. Wonder which one is smarter?


    "Come on," Danton argued. "He isn''t that much like me."


    Mainne couldn''t be sure herself after hearing Brock say it at least once. Everyone is really in danger, not just Jane or her team. If the Scarlet Cult successfully invented lunastasis, it won''t be long before they come looking for their precious experiment. They can''t use it now that it''s attached to Jane, but it does mean they might still try to come after her. It''s fine now since Mainne knew she would be warping in near them to check-in every so often, but surely lunastasis isn''t the only secret Kite is hiding. Kite and Danton have been rivals for years, and there is bound to be countermeasures set up for finding their hide out. Danton''s right to be careful. One false move could end everything.


    The passive danger wasn''t new for anyone, and Mainne felt like standing here planning out their next move could also be her very last moment alive. The importance of it all, the significance only makes time feel like it''s completely stopped. Mainne could still hear it inside her head; the orchestra of silence trapped in considerations synchronized with her worries, unlimited to perpetual infinity. This moment can''t last forever. Magic might have the potential to cut two ways, but Kite is going to be against the will of the people and everyone who wants to use magic for good. Either way, that balance is going to have to shift one way or another, and it won''t be long now until the real powers of Leray magic are demonstrated for all the world to see. This is war, a war between the broken minds of a power struggle, and those who have strong hearts and minds. And as always, every war will have a heavy cost.


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    To be continued...


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    > We have released a new mini-series! Hit the next chapter button to continue (after the next weekly-release). Don''t forget to like, bookmark, and support</a>.

 Missing Link (Part 1): High Talents

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    <03/22/1965 - 15:45 | Section 8, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    (Seven Years ago...)


    Embracing the warm rush of wind amidst the cloudy sky of beauty, the young and excited mage grinned for her appreciation of the world, facing off against another young challenger. "Rise your spirits to our adoring fans! Let nothing ever go to waste!"


    "Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me know when you are ready." Zack rubbed the back of his hair in disillusion, having not expected such energy from the maiden. Though it wasn''t too atypical from most wielders, this character seemed a bit out of place. Yuel was her name?


    After finishing her quick setup of recording equipment, Yuel ensured a safe distance from the machines as to not have them caught up in the future Siriean dome. With at least three different video-capture cameras set up on advanced tri-pods, she would be able to record the entire battle to be, accumulating more of a following and fan base. "I, Yuel Biion will raise the steaks and raise you thirty-three thousand credits! What say you?"


    "Hmph!" Should have known! All he did was find the most suitable-looking wielder on the streets of Eldora to battle near the west section of the royal square, but there were too many signs that Yuel was more to look at than mere appearance. Her outfit was incredible, combining the theme of a noblewoman and an elite guard, and her strange weaponry left questions as well. She is no pushover; that much should have been clear from the start. "I will match this request," Zack agreed. Even if she has skill, Zack had training, and the certificate of the elite school to back him up.


    After a minute of setup, Yuel and Zack prepared themselves for standard magical combat, taking most care of her unique staff. "Let''s get this match underway and make it as fun as possible."


    "If I may ask before we begin, what kind of staff is that you are holding?" Zack had good reason to ask. He studied many unique weapons and staffs during his classes, and this one in particular has too much of a resemblance to something only spoken of in legends and drawings; the Rapunzel staff. The edge of the staff splinters off in six different directional arcs, each acting as a glowing claw of circuitry pathways, rounded off with additional crystal shards, though hers appears slightly different. The edges glow, but without any direct crystal to prove its magical charge. While the staff has the same basic shape as the Rapunzel Staff, the claw element seems a bit smaller and more modern. It can only be some kind of imitation attempt of a replica, seeing as there is only one Rapunzel staff in the world, which in itself is just a rumor.


    "You mean this thing?" Yuel pointed to her own staff, agreeing to show off her shiny toy. "This is my greatest asset, Nyar''s Blaze. It was merely an imitation of the Rapunzel staff at first, but I''ve since modified it and endowed its essence with the love and blazing passion of my husband. We got as far as we did together, and I''m going to show you all it has to offer."


    In other words, it''s just a cheap imitation. Nothing to worry about then. Zack knew enough about the Rapunzel staff to be intrigued by its beauty. Even though the item is considered lost and legendary, the story behind it is anything but bland. The weapon once belonged to a maiden who fought countless times to protect humanity and our greatest values, but had also seen enough death and devastation to be broken by the time the Avion Wars was over. The staff, and its wielder, Rapunzel, were both buried in a sacred shrine under lock and key, and the staff itself kept its alluring reputation for its unique ability to generate various elements of magic through a single circuit via splitting. If Yuel knows even this much, she is no joke.


    "I''m ready to proceed then." As soon as Zack spoke those words, the Siriean dome formed around him and his contestant, initiating the official battle.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Yana ~ Dracovallis</a>


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    Wasting no time, Yuel bounced her left foot behind her twice, alternating to her right, generating her own silent rhythm of metronome, beginning the mental concert inside her mind. With MP already charging to the edge of the staff, lighting up all of the edges of the claws and the central crystal, Yuel unleashed a potent attack her opponent was not expecting. "Electric Bane!"


    Even though he heard the chant of spells, Zack was powerless to do anything about the swift action of Yuel, as she aimed her Nyar''s Blaze staff in his direction. Electric Bane is supposed to be a defensive spell only, blasting various arcs of lightning in a circular spiral to blast down incoming projectiles. However, Yuel used it offensively instead, aiming down at Zack and sending several electrical surges of elemental energy through Zack''s body, inflicting painful damage to him.


    Yuel spun herself around in a most exhilarating and excited twirl, spinning her staff with one hand at the same time. Not only did she deliver Zack a devastating attack spell, she ensured her movements were elegant and inspiring. She was on camera after all, and four people have already shown up outside the dome shield to watch. "Everyone gather around for Yuel''s famous concert! Music and magic must always coexist together!"


    What is she talking about? Zack didn''t hear any music, nor were there any bands playing nearby. Whatever. There isn''t time to focus on anything else. Her elemental resistances are still unknown, so it''s best to hold back on area-spells, just enough to not be wasted. "Plume!" After releasing his stored magic into the ground forward, the ground shifted and quaked, blasting up chunks of rock and steaming spits of hot air generated by the simulated magic, all nearby Yuel.


    Yuel jumped backwards, dodging one of many spurts of the Plume, but was throughout singed by the heat of an additional Plume burst, the activation areas randomized to make total evasion harder.


    Despite the painful burns to her skin through her protective outfit, the damage overall was not too bad for her to handle. After all, things were only starting, the music getting louder, getting faster and more refined! "Flame Beam!"


    Though it took longer to invoke this skill, Yuel managed to trigger the spell in time, generating a blazing vortex of Fire Balls and heat all traveling towards Zack. At the same time, thanks to the passive effect of her rod, Yuel knew her MP energy usage was partially conversed.


    The massive fiery vortex of wind and magic was soon upon Zack, threatening to deal devastating heat damage and reduce his ability to continue. How easy does she think this is? After releasing a white aura of speed into his body, Zack made sure to prove his lessons worthy. "Rush Assault!" Spiriting on his feet, Zack dashed to the side, narrowly evading the pathway of the vortex, and shifting direction to charge head-first to his opponent. Without the use of any weapons, Zack knew he could score some serious damage in close combat, not merely with the assistance of Rush Assault, but with the additional certainty of magical damage, through "Power Attack!"


    In an instant, Yuel found herself preoccupied with brutal punches and kicks from the glowing aura around Zack''s body, and she had to use her staff to deflect as many of the impacts as possible. Unfortunately for Yuel, she was nowhere near a match for the speedy reaction of Zack''s relentless assault. She was soon consumed by dozens of punches, kicks, and facial blows from Zack''s Power Attack combination, proving the benefit of unarmed combat.


    Before Zack could land his final blow, Yuel swooshed her hand to the side just in front of her, sending Zack flying away with the support of an easy Push Wave. The kinetic blast separated the two of them at last, giving Yuel the chance to catch her breath, though Zack seemed equally satisfied with his ability to gain the first advantage of combat. Too bad his confidence is mistaken.


    "You looked like an elite maiden when I approached you earlier. It''s too bad you don''t have the skills of a Tower Guard."


    "Hahaha! You misclassify me, Zack. As soon as you hear my music, you won''t last much longer."


    "What music are you speaking of? Are you really crazy?" On the off chance that she was a lunatic, Zack didn''t want to risk offending her too swiftly.


    In their short conversation, Yuel had been charging lots of magical energy through her staff, now glowing with adornment and promise before the two of them. "Allow me to turn up the volume for all to hear the glory of our two hearts! Phoenix Rellicaton!" Making use of a customized variant of a lost spell, Yuel released magic into the air around her, creating various strings of swirling lights expanding and flattening into gasses of glowing mist.


    While Zack stood stone still, uncertain what to expect from this unusual magic, he was further shocked while watching the transformation of those whirling lights. Before long, Yuel elevated herself and stood proudly on top of a three-meter tall stage, the generated structure materialized entirely out of transparent lights and shapes of magical energy, glowing with beautiful colors of artificial simulated LED lights. Without understanding how, Zack was forced to witness a large stage construct itself and maintain its luminescence and transparency, as Yuel stood on the pseudo-solid material, facing him down with confidence.


    Having successfully used her spell to craft this artificial stage, Yuel knew the spell had an additional hidden purpose, which was now powering up her unique staff, modified with the hidden crystal shards on the inside of the rode uniquely designed to resonate this noise! The once dimmed LED lights at the end base of the rod section of the staff were now lit up with different warm-coded colors, and Yuel laid her fingers onto them with specific patterns, bobbing her head and body up and down while activating the hidden keys.


    Sharing her secrets with the growing crowd around her, Yuel''s actions generated amazing music from the end of her rod, the sound waves amplified and sent out in powerful bass-heavy ripples. The music she was generated matched the sound profile for that of an electric guitar plugged into an electric amplifier with Reverb, even though the generation of such filter was entirely left up to the staff''s interior design. Without interruption, Yuel''s key shifting played an impressive guitar-made song of epic symphonic metal. Even though none of this generated any attack spells, Zack was in just enough awe to stand there in wonder and amazement.


    Sudden whistles and cheers rang out from the crowd outside the dome, the numbers attracted by the sudden solo concert. "That''s her! That''s Yuel Biion! I told you she plays her concerts around here!" Having already caught onto some growing popularity for the mysterious musician, the watcher became evermore restless while waiting for an epic showdown of magical combat merged with music of the ages!


    Yuel kept playing her music, becoming louder with the noise and more in tune with her inner voice and heart. She worried not about the possibility of attacks coming from Zack, which were expected to happen sooner or later. The music alone was impressive, and its energy only maximized the heart-pounding excitement of action.


    "That is impressive," Zack admitted. "Still, we are in a battle after all, not a musical concert." The cheering crowd outside the dome was of mild distraction. Zack assumed Yuel must be a growing celebrity by pulling this stunt with such praise and accuracy. Honorable as it were, there are too many credits on the line to risk losing this fight. "I unleash upon thee! Meteor Strike!" The sky above them opened up with a dark red radiance, glowing rocks of light and stone shooting down from above angled towards Yuel''s makeshift stage.


    "Take my hands ~ you''ll never control me!"


    "Take my feet, but ~ I''ll never fall!"


    "Blind my eyes, and ~ yet I will still see!"


    "I will never ~ crawl!"


    Yuel''s vocal chants to the music didn''t reach anyone but herself, but as she twirled with the glowing staff on stage, playing its guitar and releasing magic at the same time, she generated multiple auras of energy into herself and around herself. The first spell generated a Dampen Field aura around her body, while the rest of the spell created three massive glyphrings of energy above her tilted 23 degrees towards the falling meteor shower, the spell known as Sacred Absorption, another lost spell.


    Zack watched in confusion as Yuel made short work of half his entire attack spell, the large unidentified glyphring absorbing some of the falling meteors while shrinking or reducing the power of the other rocks. Some of the meteors still managed to pillage and pierce through the tough defenses Yuel created, landing on top of her and the ghost-like stage she created. The rocks didn''t affect the superstructure, instead phasing through its entire existence. Despite all of this, Yuel did suffer from some damage, though it was limited in effect by her Dampen Field.


    Despite the heavy damage dealt to her, Yuel didn''t cease her intense playing of music, the resonance of epic metal whipping the audience into a near-frenzy of support. Zack found it quite inspiring, despite the fact that it was leaving her vulnerable to all attacks. Still, just who does she think she is?


    "Let''s keep it going! Show us your music valiant mage!" Yuel cheered Zack on as best as she could, growing bored of his lack of potency and challenge.


    "Oh I''ll give you a challenge. Charging Quantum Beam..." Trying not to let her hear the name of his spell, Zack successfully generated the aura needed to launch another distant attack, one that would save him some MP should it fail.


    However, Yuel didn''t seem the least bit disturbed by the glowing warning of light around her opponent. The appearance of another magic attack was her cue to kick things into the next stage of overdrive. "Dual Harmony!" After lifting her staff up high and releasing more energy, two spells activated at once, the first creating a strange thin aura around Yuel which took the mental music from her mind and projected its noise out and around the entire battlefield. The musical guitar notes she had been playing before were now on an epic and smooth loop, despite her no longer touching the keys of her staff to manually generate the noise. Using the power of mental recording and aura-projection of noise, Yuel now made it possible to hear her own music while taking more direct action to the battlefield.


    The second spell which activated unbeknownst to Zack, populated the entire floor of the grassy field below them with various horizontal laser beams each neon-green in color. These beams while thin and harmless crossed at 180<sup>o</sup> angles each about a meter apart, and it delivered numeric sequences into Yuel''s mind, sequences she could sense and feel through the translation. Dual Harmony, while heavily modified from an existing lost spell, enabled her the ability to populate the battlefield with tactical grids of data, and subsequently use them as shortcut points to warp via matter transference.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Just before the Quantum Beam could slam into Yuel from the side, she warped away from its path, reappearing on top of a green laser adjacent to Zack''s position. However, Zack knew this might happen, and prepared a swift magical counterattack for such an occasion, despite not understanding the nature of the green gridlines below them both. "Mega Bolt!" Wasting no time, Zack launched a bolt of Light-elemental magic in Yuel''s direction, but the maiden easily warped away just as she did before, with an additional twist.


    After reappearing from the warp space a second time, Yuel left eight shadow copies of herself on different equidistant gridlines, annoying and confusing Zack who now had to deal with the tactical advantage Yuel made for herself. Before delivering her own counterattack, Yuel put her hands back on the keys of her staff, singing and creating an additional guitar solo merging in with the background music from the noise-aura.


    "Steal my strength ~ but I keep on fighting!"


    "Break my will ~ but I won''t obey!"


    "Tear me down, but I''ll keep on rising!"


    "I will find my way!"


    Without another word, Yuel sent all of the musical energy from her guitar solo to the edge of the staff''s core, and aimed her unique guitar directly towards Zack. "Amp 4 Blast!" With the settings merged to release Light-elemental magic of her own, Yuel blasted a narrow beam of pure energy into Zack''s body, sending him back and off his feet, the impact clearly painful as it was successful and elegant. With her guitar solo, only the background ambience of the previous guitar strumming was evident again, but Zack had his work cut out for him, clearly underestimating the situation. Yuel''s shadow copies all faded shortly after, though she waited patiently for her next trick, best used to counter an existing attack.


    Zack knew he still had the stat advantage over Yuel, but this musical concert was getting ridiculous. Who the heck plays with music while fighting? Who is this mage? "Such strange tactics. I must meet them head on! Octoslash!" Having already generated two temporary short blades in his hands, Zack charged forward with the intention to best Yuel in close combat once more, keeping in mind she isn''t so good at physical fighting.


    Before Zack could reach her, Yuel launched her second best skill, synchronizing her rhythm with the music and the pulsations of magical energy all around her. "Concert Hyperion!" Before she released her energy, Yuel warped away from danger yet again, making easy work of evasion through matter transference, and she reappeared back on the stage she generated before. Poor Zack doesn''t realize that the grid field on the ground speeds up her matter transference while conserving energy used on it at the same time, a webbed nexus of endpoints. Now he must face the harmony of her concert brought to full life, for all magic is also in the simulation of the senses.


    After unleashing a surge of magic in his direction, Yuel generated three separate Shadow Waves coming from the same general direction on approach of convergence, a separate area attack spell of Meteor Strike aimed at Zack''s current position, and a large Rotation attack from the alternate direction; three attacks all at once.


    Of course Zack froze up on the appearance of his imminent doom. It''s beyond rare for any mage to generate three amazing attack spells all simultaneously. In fact, it shouldn''t even be possible without some kind of Blitz aura. Yet the evidence to the contrary was coming to swallow him whole, and Zack could stand there doing nothing.


    Before waiting for the impact, Yuel stroke the keys again, generating another short yet amazing solo, shifting her fingers expertly through various keys from all the practice she had before. When the staff''s core began glowing again with an orange hue, she released the skill again. "Amp 3 Blast!"


    Before Zack could face the blinding passionate power of Yuel''s music-fueled beam attack, he witnessed all of the other attack spells suddenly transform into swirls of magical light and fog, fading away in power. Those weren''t attack spells at all; they were just simulated light shows! Yuel managed to create smoke and mirrors complete with artificial sound for each spell, all to conserve her own MP while tricking him!


    It was too late to do anything about it, for Yuel blasted him with another beam attack, Amp 3 Blast. It is the same exact formation as Amp 4 Blast, through the elemental properties shift to potent fire-elemental magic instead of light-elemental magic. The results of damage were good enough, since Zack took the beam to the face by surprise, his HP dropping yet again amidst the pain of first-degree burns.


    Relenting not to the pity of time-based combat, Yuel lit up a glowing artificial ring on the front of her rod, a holographic nob acting as a noise amplifier, and turned up the volume ever further. With another solo in progress, Yuel''s sudden playback began creating powerful rumbles and ripples of loud quaking bass through the air and through the ground. The musical strums were potent enough to beat on Zack''s chest like a soft drum, though the ripples entering the ground shook the earth more powerfully than any ordinary Quake spell ever could, disrupting the balance of everybody in the vicinity, except for the musician who expected all of this and more.


    The crowd of hundreds outside started cheering even louder, immersing themselves in the powerful blasts of sonic emotion! With each pulsation of ripples through the air, the ground shook strongly inside the Siriean dome, causing Zack to stumble and fall. Even though no direct damage was delivered, it was clear who the popular candidate of battle was. Even if Zack managed to defeat Yuel now, the crowd outside might transform into an angry mob for robbing them of their new idol.


    "Not my problem," Zack whispered alone. "I''m not going to lose this battle! Try Litmus!" Unleashing a powerful disorientation field attack onto his foe, Zack succeeded in creating powerful blue hues of wind, slamming into Yuel, who for the moment seemed unaffected and undeterred in her musical solo. It doesn''t matter if she loves her music; no mage can easily make sense of the battle when under hallucination from Litmus. Within seconds, Zack was certain his tactic was successful.


    As expected, Yuel was suddenly unable to distinguish various elements on the battlefield. In addition, the glowing green laser grid on the battlefield became most dimmed down and diminished without fading entirely. Zack also vanished from all view, a side-effect from the Litmus hallucination. If he thinks it will be that easy, I''ve already won. "Blind my eyes ~ and, yet I will still see!" Music is her magic! It compasses everything. "Eyes of Lysander. Show me what cannot be seen! Reveal to us your mirrors of light!"


    After chanting the familiar words of the Lost Mirror spell, Yuel sacrificed more of her MP to the cause, generating 36 separate floating mirrors of magic randomly placed and angled all across the battlefield. Each mirror was held in a holographic frame 26 by 52 inch glass screen with an auric glow of light around the edges, and through each angle, gave Yuel the ability to see various spots of the field and the sky from her single position and the forward mirror. She even generated an extra one near the recording camera setup, ensuring it may capture additional valor of the match.


    Within two seconds, Zack''s careful-walking body was visible to Yuel through the mirrors. Regardless of how Litmus works, the lost spell of Lysander''s mirrors negate general tricks such as this. These mirrors cannot lie nor hallucinate, so Zack has already lost the one edge he had. If that weren''t enough, each mirrors also perfectly reflects non-elemental magic. With all angles accounted for, Yuel quickly clicked more keys for another glowing musical solo, reacting the rod''s core with radiant light, its brilliance blinding and freezing Zack in his tracks.


    "Amp 6 Blast!" Upon dispersion of the rod''s directed energy, the glowing white beam of special non-elemental magic beamed directly into the mirror Yuel was using, which then reflected the beam to the next mirror, and so on. The brilliant white line of light zipped around the air reflecting on all of the mirrors, its show holding Zack still with defensive anticipation. After hitting the nineteenth mirror, the beam made impact with the ground just in front of Zack, igniting the magical explosion, the intended payload of Amp 6 Blast. Despite unleashing as a beam, any impact made with the ground, walls, or persons generates this potent explosion, and Zack was helplessly consumed by its damage.


    Taking the time given to herself with another successful blow to the foe, Yuel shifted her fingers once more to the keys, going berserk on the notes with an amazingly fast concert of guitar-powered music. While she was using another hidden skill with her music, this one would take a bit more time and one hell of a solo, requiring utmost concentration. The music coming out was beyond powerful, the softened ripples of bass filling the space around everyone.


    Just as Zack got back to his feet in recovery, the end-result of the spell began to manifest itself. The sky high above them both quickly began to swirl with dark clouds as black as death, thunderbolts surging through and through with the coming storm. Additionally, the dimmed green laser grid on the battlefield suddenly surged with its brightness all restored. Though its function would be slightly impaired compared to before, Yuel relied on another neat trick to maximize the potential of this amazing laser grid. As soon as the Storm Build comes into full effect, she will have a combination of magic just as effective as the lost skill of Trace.


    Showing no signs of submission, Zack tried once more to interrupt this performance with another close combat attack. Even now, Litmus was in full effect. Those magical floating mirrors might help her see in this blue mist, but not if he''s too fast to track! "Power Attack!" Zack generated powerful metal gauntlets on both arms before infusing each steel fist with magical damaging auras. As soon as he was ready, he charged directly for Yuel, preparing to jump right on top of that glowing podium and show her up.


    With one more move from her staff, Yuel pulled down as many static electrons from the sky to the ground as she could. Zack couldn''t see these harmless electrons, but within nanoseconds, the entire battlefield became coated with the invisible static, stimulating the laser grid below and resonating with Yuel''s aura. At the same time, each laser reacted to Zack''s feet as he trotted through them without realizing the significance. With the artificial Trace set up, Yuel warped to an area just in front of Zack, wishing to take this desired combat to an area off the stage. "Keep the fighting down here please."


    "How the hell do you keep finding me?" Is she immune to Litmus? The spell definitely worked!


    Yuel started swinging her staff around like the weapon it was, cornering Zack into using those gauntlets to deflect and attack at the same time. "Show me your own concert! Play the music of your resolve now! It''s your turn!"


    "You asked for it!" Zack made use of his gauntlets, smashing the end metal into Yuel''s left shoulder, though his next hit was deflected by Yuel''s strange moves of the staff. Despite all the banter, Zack soon proved his method more successful, draining Yuel of her stamina and her HP. Despite taking some blunt hits himself from the staff, and a few low-powered Electro-Balls from Yuel''s swift aim, Zack managed to wear the maiden down, just before both gauntlets faded away back into the yellow generation glyphring pair.


    Zack backstepped at an angle, charging energy into his hands while ensuring he was safe to fire from this short distance. "This contest ends now! Power Drain!" Zack sent the potent blue sphere forward as planned, and the dispersion was so quick that Yuel had no chance to dodge the attack. Forsooth, the energy sphere drilled through her body like phasic fire, ripping through her magical circuits and draining every last hint of energy.


    "I don''t need MP to finish this anymore, for music is our magic!"


    What is she on? She can''t fight with music alone! "I won''t be intimidated by your jests!"


    Without another word, Yuel slammed on the keys again, playing another powerful solo through the air. Zack began to move, but stopped himself upon noticing the glowing staff''s core. Zack may have drained Yuel of all remaining MP, but prior to doing so, Nyar''s Blaze still had some charged magic inside of the core already, merely lying dormant in wait for the final act! "Behold the finale of all rock and roll!"


    Now backing away in fear, Zack failed to comprehend how this was possible. She must have charged energy into the staff as a conduit before having her energy drained, but it can''t be much. What can she possibly do with that small amount of magic?


    On cue, Yuel lifted her glowing staff up high, summoning the barrage of thunderous lightning bolts down from above. Instead of coming down directly onto her staff, she targeted the various mirrors of magic around the battlefield, causing most of the lightning arcs to reflect and drill into the core of her staff. Since the mirrors are not immune to elemental damage, many of them began to shatter after the twentieth bolt reached Yuel''s rod.


    After having enough of an electro-static charge prepared, Yuel twirled around with her glowing staff, stunning everyone with her elegant dance while unleashed all of this energy in a forward blast. Zack''s entire vicinity was bombarded with incredible surges of electrical energy, which further became amplified by the surrounding electro-static field merging with the electrical energy. Yuel didn''t relent her concentration of this special attack even after hearing Zack''s manly yell of pain and screams. Within seconds, it was finally over.


    The discharge of all remaining energy on the field eliminated the tactical laser grid, removed the electro-static particles, and disrupted the Litmus air all at the same time, ending any potential hallucination. With Yuel''s energy fully drained, it was all she could do for her final attack, though she was satisfied with the end results. Since the resonance aura attached to her also shutdown at the end of battle, this also ceased all noise of music from her mind, though the timing was obviously perfect.


    Just as the Siriean dome collapsed as expected, an unplanned surge of electric magic from the storm above struck another mirror, reflecting back to a random location upwards, shattering the last few mirrors. Despite being a small unexpected scare, the battle and chaos was finally over, though the storm above would remain for a while longer, since Yuel used indirect amplification to bring it into existence.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi („M) {Alt Version}</a>


    <hr>


    Before Yuel could wind herself down and recover with a healing orb, the crowd of fans abroad rushed inward like invading ants, many holding empty pages with pens in their chipper attitude of meeting a celebrity. Most of them wanted autographs, and others merely wished to congratulate her in person for combining such an amazing show with a victorious battle.


    "Give her some space!" "Guess she has no agent?" "You have any big performances coming up?"


    There were just enough polite bodies holding separation between Yuel and the fans, and Yuel used what little time she could to ease her nerves stressed with combat. The calm aftermath of battle laid all around her, with an unconscious Zack and the earth lacking any evidence of destruction. There was also inner silence, an exhaustion to all thought trailed with the euphoria of epic enjoyment.


    While holding the flashing light of a healing orb, Yuel decided to give the people here at most two minutes for speech. "You are all too kind. I will need to take time to train and improve. After all, Zack was not a pushover in combat. He nearly bested me. It deserves some praise."


    "How were you using all of those amazing abilities? I''ve never seen any wielder combine music with magic before, let alone those light shows."


    Yuel knew people would eventually become suspicious. Funnily enough, Leray magic gives rise to hundreds of registered skills and spells, while it turns out that unregistered magic such as lost spells and personal manifestations of emotional energy are also free to be shaped by the wielder. All of these light shows are never to be taken lightly; they are bits of reflections of her own life and memory, something Yuel knew, though felt squeamish to speak on. "Then let my display be proof that all forms of magic are possible... If you will all excuse me, I must collect my belongings and recover." Though some resisted Yuel''s request, more forced the crowd to obey.


    Without even trying to, Yuel became something of an idol to the region, using magic to display inspiration rather than raw power, and for some reason, the people loved every second of it. All of her studying of the past and ancient scriptures left behind were clearly paying off. It''s not as if Yuel was world famous or on the level of a real celebrity, but it could happen before long at this pace.


    Yuel could care less about such fames. The only thoughts swirling in her mind were that of the same source of inspiration; Nyar. After packing up her recording equipment and waiting for the storm to die down, Yuel made a phone call to her husband''s residence abroad, revealing her true self to one she could entrust forever.


    "You should have seen what I was able to do Nyar! The lost spells worked better than I would have ever expected them to. I don''t know why it went so well this time, but combining that music with magic just made everything flow so easily. I really felt like I was in control of every moment."


    "Haha! Some things never change. I am happy that you''re mastering this magic thing so well."


    "Well duh. I have to keep growing stronger and more elegant."


    "I don''t think tossing around poor mages with spells is the thing most noblewomen do there, but what do I know? As long as you are having fun."


    Yuel twirled the curled wire around her fingers, eager to feel his presence again. "Hey Nyar? Do¡ª" Yuel cut herself off, suffocating under the weight of this question''s possible answers. "When do you think you will be able to move here?"


    "Don''t fret my love. It won''t be long now. I''d say in about four months, I''ll be ready."


    With an excited gasp, Yuel celebrated the news instantly. "You mean it? I can''t wait! All this time I''ve been wondering when I''d get a straight answer."


    "Sorry about that." Nyar knew he had become too comfortable in New York with his career and status. Living a life there is easy for him, but without Yuel there, it just isn''t worth it anymore. "I know it has taken longer than we''ve wanted it to, but soon, I can finally make it happen."


    "It won''t be that hard living here."


    "You know as well as I that I''m no fighter. Making an income there would be a different level of difficult."


    "I already told you Nyar. Your skills as a lawyer oddly come in handy here under the job scope of a nobleman. They act as a go-between for council members and other domestic politicians."


    "It''s not as though there would be any lawsuits there though, of the personal variety anyway. Sprawn Valley isn''t the kind of place where bad things like that would happen, even after that stark announcement three years ago."


    "Yeah, you''re probably right. But hey, they still have growing businesses here and in Gross City. Plenty of corporate competition if being a nobleman doesn''t work out for you."


    "Of course."


    "Anyway, I''m beat after all that hard work I did today. Is it okay if I contact you tomorrow? I have a lot of footage to go over as well."


    "Sure. Just remember to do it just after eight P.M. my time. That''s when I won''t have any work to do here."


    "Alright. I will see you then... I love you."


    "I love you too Yuel."


    "See you later okay?"


    "Right."


    After hanging up the phone, Yuel made way to her private room of the dorms, and unpacked the three separate cameras from her personal belongings. Expensive as these cameras were, the output would not be as impressive post-conversion to VCR film playback. Even so, they serve as precious memories, and hopefully a shortcut to future stardom. Thankfully, the software managed to catch her every movement and every spell, visually revealing all that she had done. The music unfortunately did not make it all through, since the resonance aura is not detected by electronic devices; only her guitar solos were captured.


    Watching the battle unfold on such the small display, Yuel spent the next twenty minutes reviewing it all, using the other two cameras for different potential viewing angles. It was right as the battle was wrapping up that she noticed something most peculiar.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Mirror of the Night ~ Adrian Von Ziegler</a>


    <hr>


    "Huh?" Trying to rewind the footage to see once more, Yuel noticed the sudden anomaly, even though it was too hard to study on such a small screen. The very last bolt of lightning appeared to generate some sort of distortion or artifact in the distance, though Yuel couldn''t be too sure, not until hooking up the main monitor.


    It was a bit much to edit anything tonight, but in studying the curiosity for which part of the footage would need editing or repair, she traced the moment back after having a much larger screen resolution to work with. The feedback shouldn''t be too grainy, since the loaded format is still RAW video.


    Before long, Yuel noticed it, something that only created more questions than answers. Because of the location and angle from which she battled, most of the upper-segment of Eldora Tower was set in the background of the frame. Right as the battle ended, there were only a few remaining mirrors of light, mirrors generated by the lost mirror spell of Lysander. Even from here, because of the angle, one mirror gave a very close view of the very top of Eldora Tower, through reflection of two other mirrors.


    The top of the tower glows with a few more LED system than normal, though nothing appeared out of the ordinary, until that final lightning bolt struck. Yuel remembered it too well, a bolt zipping through such randomness, striking the mirrors and landing against something. Yuel never would have figured that the bolt would be reflected through the mirror only to strike the very top of the tower. The glitch she noticed was so fast, she had to rewind and pause several times to get it right, since the bolt also shattered all of the remaining mirrors about one second afterwards post-impact.


    This is what caught her eye. What she assumed was a digital artifact appeared much bigger up close. When the bolt of lightning struck the top of the tower, it was naturally deflected by the protective metal material of the tower''s armor, but it also altered the entire appearance of the top of the dome, revealing a glitchy bubbly mess. Clear, transparent hexagons of energy, made visible by the disturbance revealed something most strange through its view; some sort of massive machinery combined with glowing pillars of magical light...


    Could this be just an artifact or a video glitch? Yuel was certain that she was pushing herself into artificial paranoia. After all, it''s no secret that Eldora Tower is an intricate vessel, kept secret for security and everything else. They probably don''t want the masses to know which mages are responsible for refreshing the Leray veil every other day.


    Still, it was no good. The blip moment of unusual machinery she saw took hold of her thirsty mind. One moment, the tower''s top dome appeared as ordinary and uninteresting as the rest of the armor, and then suddenly it becomes partially see-through? It normally isn''t possible to get such an angle in this direction of the tower, but the mirrors of light can be turned and used this way...


    Eldora Tower... What secret are you hiding up there? Maybe none of this is real. It might be best to simply get some rest and check out the theory later... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

 Mising Link (Part 2): Fractured Truth

    <hr>


    <03/25/1965 - 17:55 | Section 8, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    After resting well and sleeping in the next day, Yuel decided to kill some time in the evening sunset of Eldora''s clearest day. She had been staring in wonder for an hour now, eyes locked to the impressive height of Eldora Tower. Perhaps it was nothing more than a glitch in the video footage, her mind playing tricks on her. It would be easy to put such imagination to rest.


    Though, when faced with the distance before her, Yuel realized the intricacy of such a mechanism. "May you have reason to veil your secrets? May you fool all who gaze to your heart?" Yuel whispered softly to herself, standing alone in a place she wouldn''t be bothered. All this time, she, along with many others assumed magic was converted from pure lunar light, and perhaps that is still the case. However, it''s a strange anomaly.


    Every single Leray school and academy emphasizes the role of conversion mages; their combined work and operation the very definition to the eating heart and soul of the Leray energy veil. No machines and turning gears are mentioned. No magic crystals are hinted. It wouldn''t be a big deal if machines were involved in the conversion of lunar light to Leray energy, Yuel thought. But then why go through so much trouble to hide it?


    In the event that what she witnessed yesterday was no fluke, then it means whoever built this tower went through an extraordinary amount of trouble to hide the mere idea behind how the conversion process takes place. Tower security makes all the sense in the world, but downright secrecy too? Ancient magic with the ability to generate a one-way cloaking bubble should not exist in this world, tis too advanced for something which has existed for so long as Leray magic...


    But trying to ignore the haunting claw on her mind was futile. Yuel felt something was wrong through her gut, and the very idea of proving one way or the other should not be denied her... Still... "How the heck am I supposed to get up there?" Reaching such a vast height would be impossible for most. Getting a line-of-sight to the very top of the tower''s roof structure was next to impossible. Yuel looked into possible means of doing so only hours ago, and learned some pretty interesting facts.


    Fact #1: During the event of both the Catalyst Grove and Championship Tournament events, a few special tower guards are dispatched to the basic perimeter of this tower on the outside, monitoring for any suspicious activity, but they don''t monitor the outer area when these events are not in play. The reason is an interesting one.


    A modified nullification field is enabled whenever championship events are suspended. This field only spans outward to the perimeter outside of the tower, excluding the interior of the tower and all of its floors. The nullification field is specifically set in the veil to disable summoning and even reverse any active summons that suddenly enter this field.


    Yuel thought up the idea earlier this morning to ask for a wielder to help her fly up to the tower''s roof using one of the drakes or dragons, but to her dismay, it wasn''t allowed. This nullification field in itself is not a secret, hints the reason why many people know about it. The elites publish the information about it publicly, so as to advise people to never fly anywhere near Eldora Tower on a summon, less it lead to a deadly fall. The field is not very wide-spread, but the general purpose is achieved. Nobody can fly near the core of the tower and get too close.


    Fact #2: A separate and more potent nullification field expands both inside and outside of the tower, to a slightly larger radius of the first field. This stronger field merely blocks any and all long-range teleportation magic, and this too is public knowledge.


    It wasn''t too hard to imagine why. Not that long ago, Yuel remembered hearing something of rumor, coming from people reading the local paper, an incident where Leray wielders tried to infiltrate and break into restricted areas of Eldora Tower. Yuel wasn''t able to look into the specific details of it even now, but the anti-teleportation field makes total sense. Wouldn''t want just anybody teleporting inside of rooms meant to stay secret.


    Fact #3: With exception to the further south side of Eldora City, all passenger aircraft have special restrictions on maximum altitude, angle of approach and exit towards the distant airport runway (if executed from Eldora''s airspace), and strict video-recording restrictions for the entire city of Eldora. In addition to this, any and all unsanctioned aircraft, such as civilian helicopters and aerial drones, including certain unmentioned FMCI vehicles are completely banned from usage inside the limits of the city airspace, a law punishable with the strictest enforcement.


    Right... Why would such laws be this paranoid about getting a good close-up view of the top of Eldora Tower? The viewing angle from outside the tower''s core room shouldn''t be visible in the first place, yet these few factors treat the situation as though it were visible.


    It''s suspicious enough for Yuel to second guess her earlier dismissal, and to try once more to see if she can recreate the glitch she saw on camera, only this time using her eyes instead of a digital lens. Using a similar trick to before isn''t going to be easy, and doing it out here in the open is also quite risky, but surely, there must be some good reason for all of this. If the government is lying to Yuel and everyone else about the conversion process of magic, then there has to be a reason why. If they aren''t lying about anything, then she must know whether the failure was in her camera, or her eyes.


    "Eyes of Lysander. Show me what cannot be seen. Reveal to me your mirrors of light. Please, show me the truth." After generating the dozens of mirrors through her invocation of magic, taking nearly a minute to manifest, Yuel double-checked her mental calculations. She could already see the top of the tower nice and close through the view of her ground-level magic mirror, through all the reflective angles of reflecting many reflections. However, pinpointing exactly where to aim this payload is going to be more difficult.


    A simple Lightning Strike should suffice. Electric magic reflects off these mirrors so easily and seamlessly. The power-level might not be enough though. Yesterday, the bolt of lightning that hit the metal was naturally formed from the magic storm, thus carrying a higher destructive stat than a mere Lightning Strike spell. Nevertheless, Yuel decided to try the lower-power spell first. After taking her sweet time to aim her glyphring will, she unleashed the spell, zapping this bolt of energy into the ground mirror.


    With the potent boom of noise in the spell, the lightning beam did exactly as it had before, bouncing from one mirror to the next, quickly gaining altitude with each reflection sending it up at specific angles. The glowing beam was a moving sight, zigzagging enough to create a stunning display of moving art. After 47 reflections, contact was made with the same general location Yuel targeted, at last.


    However, unlike before, the bolt was merely absorbed into the metal material, displacing and disturbing nothing. It was over in an instant, the energy faded with nothing left to show. It was the same kind of reaction a wielder would expect when hitting the walls, floor, or ceiling of a standard academy dark room. The fact that nothing at all was observed should mean the paranoia was going straight to her head...


    "Although, it was such a weak attack. Maybe only stronger spells can reveal to me what I suspect was there." With plenty of MP to spare, Yuel tried this once more. Before unleashing another bolt of lightning in the same direction, she generated a disjointed glyphring in front of her; Molecular Boost.


    The wielder normally cannot use Molecular Boost to benefit their own attack spells, but it turns out this is only really the rule when targeting auras. Wielders can enhance their own spell mid-battle; they simply choose not to, because the extra added time it takes to create a Molecular Boost glyphring is far too long to make proper use of its advantage. Out here, Yuel had all the time in the world.


    "And now, Lightning Strike!" Keeping her voice to a whisper, Yuel unleashed her Lightning Bolt again, sending the surge of power zigzagging upwards while bouncing through each reflection. This bolt of lightning was visibly more powerful, its glowing light more intense to stare at, its essence stressing the entire mirror spell''s defense to its limits. The payoff was well worth it, though the end result sank everything Yuel had been secretly hoping for.


    It''s not as if she wanted to be right. There was no way to deny it a second time, with seeing the immediate glitchy disturbance with enhanced detail through the large ground-mirror. As soon as this lightning bolt hit the same location as before, the massive clear-colored hexagonal energy shield revealed itself, all while carrying the energy distortion to the same view. As this happened, the display of the other side was rendered fully visible, showing a large and impressive room vacant of people, but not of glowing orbs and moving machinery.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Area H ~ Nikke OST</a>


    <hr>


    The glitching visualization intensified some more, expanding the field of view Yuel was able to witness, though her jaw was already to her knees. "Wha¡ª" The one-way cloaking field, actually exists! "What is this?" Did they really go through all of this to hide the core of magic conversion?


    With a panicked sigh, Yuel started to shiver amidst the faint dying light, coming to many possible conclusions before the fear could fully set in. What if it''s not conversion, but magic generation instead? The historians keep saying that Sprawn Valley is the only place in the world capable of making use of lunar magic conversion, but how do they actually know that? How many other places of the world have dared to try it in the first place, when there is only mention of one tower as impressive as this one?


    "No, it can''t be!" It wasn''t possible to be certain which conspiracy was the right one, but Yuel had a horrible feeling the worst was the reality. Maybe the truth about magic generation and conversion is kept a secret because they don''t want it to exist anywhere else. Maybe all people have to do is copy the interior tower design specs somewhere else, and wind up with the same magic field! Wonderful as that could be, the officials in charge chose to prevent magical expansion. Question is, why?


    Just calm down! You don''t know anything yet. All Yuel can be sure of, is that the process of conversion is a lie, either a total fabrication of reality, or a twisted variant of partial truth. In either case, who would she even have to ask about it in the first place?


    "It doesn''t matter," she referred. "I have to know the truth. I''ve been using Leray magic for a long time now, and yet the tower elites wish to hide something from me, after all the hard work I''ve put in." Of all the things people could do in this world, lying to other people is the worst sin of all, for Yuel''s own sake at least.


    Despite knowing the target it might place onto her, Yuel went through with her questioning, applying a basic cloak to not be recognized by too many other people, and going straight for nearby Leray agents and gradyents to see how far the conspiracy goes. For hours without end, Yuel went person to person, gauging reactions and poking hint at the actual true source of magic.


    "I don''t understand what kind of answer you are expecting young miss. It''s not as if it''s a secret or¡ª"


    "Stop lying to me!" Yuel stomped in frustration. This is the forty-eighth person she''s asked tonight, and even this gradyent keeps repeating the same damn lines! "I''m asking you where our magic comes from, where it''s sourced from. I know that the moonlight is the initial variable, but there''s more to it than that."


    "Look, miss..." Gradyent Juzahl tried to put natural pressure on her, assuming she would identify herself, but instead, she clenched her fists tighter as if he had stepped on her dog. "I don''t know what you''re so hung up on. They teach all of this stuff in the academies."


    "All that tells me is that you don''t know the answer either. Everyone keeps telling me the same thing."


    "What is it you are trying to learn exactly?"


    Yuel avoided mentioning the core of Eldora Tower in particular, less she become suspicious of intruding into such a place. Asking the people who work inside the tower is too risky. "The heart of our Leray veil works off massive machines, designed to convert whatever comes before Leray magic into Leray magic. And yet, nobody ever stops to ask, how this process was invented in the first place. Such a perfect and intricate machine would not have worked in the past, before Eldora Tower was built."


    "I don''t understand what you''re saying. The mages who are experts in crystalosis are the ones who generate Leray magic by converting it from direct moonlight, combining their own magic with crystals."


    "If that''s true, where is this initial magic coming from?"


    "Uh¡ª" It sure was an interesting way to trip up his imagery of it all. If this lunatic wasn''t such a smart ass, it might be interesting to contemplate it more, but, "I''m sure the people who work in Eldora Tower understand how it works. You should try mailing them. Normal people including gradyents like myself are not allowed to meet them."


    So the lie is spread even to their own guards? How few people know about this process? Yuel had to admit that she herself didn''t understand it either, but her last question seemed to be the most important one.


    Even though it is assumed so, none of the course curriculum ever tries to explain where the initial source of magic came from. They just claim that Agies Fardran found out the correct mirror angles and concentration factors to turn moonlight into the first stage of magical energy, but they gloss over the process in how this energy is converted to Leray format. It would have to be the same for Eldora mages in crystalosis, no? How then do they invoke magic to start the conversion process in the first place? Maybe there is a valid explanation, but nobody here seems to understand any part of it; that''s what''s suspicious, especially given how desperate the tower mages are to hide this specific core room. It isn''t the room they want to hide; it''s the direct process in how Leray magic is generated in the first place.


    "You seem to be calming down now," Juzahl observed. "I don''t know everything either. I''m not a tower mage after all. I''m just a gradyent. My specialty is combat, and law enforcement if needed."


    "I don''t know what it is, or why this is happening, but for some reason, our own government here is lying to the people about something involving the conversion process of magic."


    "Maybe it''s dangerous." His simple guess peaked her attention rather fast, and so Juzahl elaborated. "Sometimes secrets are secrets for all good reason. It could be that trying to enact magical conversion without properly understanding how to do it and training for it proves harmful or even fatal. It similar enough to the reason why most people are banned from attempting to learn long-range teleportation. It''s not just for security. One false move could end in someone''s disaster."


    "Hm, hm..." Uncertain whether Yuel could ever be satisfied with such an answer, it was the cleverest response she''s heard all night... Is it really that simple? Is it because people have died before just trying to convert Leray magic? If that is the case however, what exactly is the price of magic? Is it right to engage in spells if the people who invented it had to give up their own lives and those of future generations? "I don''t know..."


    "Regardless of whether I''ve satisfied your curiosity, I really don''t know that much... However, I might suggest that you avoid those kinds of questions in the future. We don''t need to understand how or why our magic works, so long as everyone is happy in the end. I''m just fine with not asking those questions, especially if I stop to think that I might not want to know the answer."


    "Juzahl..."


    "Hm?"


    "... You really are useless."


    <10:51>


    "Honey, please. I need you to slow down for me."


    "I don''t know how else to explain it Nyar. All I know for certain is that the government of Sprawn Valley is lying to their own people on a daily basis, and whatever it is has something to do with magic, or maybe something about the past, I don''t know!" The late night phone call sure went differently in her mind than Yuel imagined, but just hearing Nyar''s voice was enough to soothe her passive panic.


    "If you don''t know, then there isn''t anything you can do from that point... Look, I don''t know what has you so spooked, but you can''t just assume the government are these big bad people in dark shades trying to plot for world domination, at least not without evidence, which by the way I forbid you from looking into."


    "But why not? If there''s a horrible secret about our magic system, isn''t it up to us to find out and tell everyone?"


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "At what cost exactly Yuel? Say this is all far from lunacy and it actually turns out to be true, that the government has been sitting on something big. You really want to piss them off by exposing their secret? If what you say turns out to be true, then it''s dangerous."


    "Thanks Nyar, but you don''t have to worry about me."


    "Hard not to when you sound this paranoid."


    Yuel didn''t say everything she witnessed today, only giving summary of the situation at whole, in how she felt. "I just want answers."


    "What happened to you Yuel? Yesterday, you were ecstatic about your performance. I was hoping you would keep practicing and getting better at your music magic, so that it would blow me away when I come there and see it for myself."


    With a heavy exhale, Yuel found herself speechless for a few seconds... He''s right though. This is only as crazy as Yuel has made it out to be. For countless years, people have been enjoying magic worry free. If the secret in question really is evil, wouldn''t there be more evidence of it, like a lot more missing people? On the contrary, crime in Sprawn Valley is at an all-time low. Even what Juzahl said earlier is making more sense now; it could be dangerous in that the very true action of magical conversion itself is potentially lethal to those who don''t understand it, when monkey-see monkey-do goes horribly wrong.


    "Whatever you heard or saw today, just forget about it. Unless you have proof of someone committing a heinous crime against humanity, you shouldn''t let anything over there bother you, even if the government has a secret they would rather not share. I don''t care about that Yuel, only you."


    "Yeah..." Yuel''s body felt softer, the gravity from before lifting. "You''re right... I don''t know why I got this way."


    "Any new lost spells you come up with would also be exciting to hear about."


    "I don''t know if I''m in the mood to look for more information about spells, but thanks for the gesture."


    "The stronger you become with your magic, the better. I''m already proud of you for surpassing our expectations. Also, I wanna hear you sing again."


    "You should come visit me more often."


    "I know, I know. I''ve been trying to save for the big move over there, which is why I''ve paused my visitations... Maybe one more couldn''t hurt though."


    "I knew I would be too irresistible for you to stay there too long." Her self-compliment had Nyar laughing, and the nervousness from before was already washed away.


    "Yeah. Hey, I''ll have some more time tomorrow. Call me when you can; let me know your plans. It''s a bit late for me, so I''m gonna call it a night. You probably should too."


    Uncertain if she would be able to sleep so soon, Yuel gave such a promise anyway. "Tomorrow then. Maybe we can go on a date over the phone."


    "Okay, but I''ll be using the one at home, as to not seem like a weirdo."


    "Hey!"


    "I''m just teasing. I''ll be sure to break out the suit and the wine."


    "Maybe I''ll play some music too, set the mood and all."


    "Alright, it''s a date then."


    Before long, Yuel and Nyar traded farewells over the phone, and some time passed as Yuel let his words of love sink in. It was more than enough to calm her down, but not quite enough to sleep on. Instead of tossing and turning in bed as she had before, Yuel decided to act on her energy, leaving the dwelling for a near-might-night stroll.


    <11:54>


    With everything weighing on her mind, Yuel struggled to settle her thoughts completely, despite deciding it would be best to ignore the problem altogether. As most of her night-walks were uneventful, Yuel kept trying to imagine a better future for herself, something that would always help ease her closer to a calm and sleepy mind.


    "Are you alright?" Yuel nearly jumped in reaction, realizing that some man was already trying to converse with her a second ago, something she tuned out as to not hear.


    "Huh? Oh, yes. I''m sorry."


    "Just checking. You were spacing out I think."


    "Right..." Who is this guy?


    Realizing it was already becoming awkward to just stand around with so few others in the vicinity, the stranger revealed his manners to the woman, hoping for a tiny favor. "My name is Krim, but never mind that. If you don''t mind me asking, do you think you remember seeing someone in the city in a dark cloak? I know many people probably wear this stuff, but I''m trying to find someone."


    "Lots of people wear lots of things." It is a silly question. Even dark cloaks are common.


    "Yeah, I know. The person I''m searching for was asking all around the city today, something to do with some secret about magic, or something like that?"


    Without being too obvious, Yuel let herself gulp and breathe deeper... The culprit is clearly her, but why is this stranger searching for her? Is he a secret tower guard meant to silence people with those kinds of questions? No, it couldn''t be. "Secrets of magic?"


    "Yeah, I didn''t quite get it either. A buddy I work with mentioned it to me today. Sounds shady as hell, like he was just pulling my leg."


    You don''t mention something as strange as that if you think someone is pulling your leg. "I''m not sure I could help with that. Why exactly are you searching for her anyway, if you think it''s just a ruse?"


    "Well, I was hoping they meant, secrets in general. Maybe lost spells or something. I have an interest in the origins of Leray magic. It''s something I study in my past time."


    "Wait, you mean like, where magic comes from and all of that? Sorry to tell you, but the schools and others already have that info on blast." Still, what are the chances? This random guy has the same basic interest, though not for the same motivation it seems.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Oswald ~ Nikke OST</a>


    <hr>


    "Yeah, but something tells me most of that is a load of drake turds. Then again, I go around saying such things only to be called an idiot. Either way, it''s important to understand how magic is generated in the first place. That''s what I keep preaching anyway. Not like it gets me anywhere."


    He sure does ramble on a lot... But maybe this is fate! "Hey, you said your name was Krim? I think I actually stumbled onto something not long ago."


    "Hm?"


    "I don''t know what to make of it anymore. You sound like an expert in magic though, enough to smell the lies when they are sold so cheap."


    "A strange thing to say... But you do have my attention. I am willing to listen, but I must inform you, I am someone who merely wishes to become an expert in understanding magic. I''m not quite there yet. There are still some missing links and all."


    Yuel couldn''t figure out what was compelling her now. This person is the exact type of individual she has been meaning to find. He''s no detective, but Krim is curious enough to chase anything down in the mere pursuit of knowledge... Nyar said to leave it alone, but maybe Krim can pick up where she had left off. "I was the person you were probably told about. I don''t understand what exactly is being kept secret or why; I just know it was something to do with the core."


    "The core?" Krim tilted his torso a bit in confusion.


    "Well, I don''t know if it''s really a core. It''s whatever is inside that room on the top of the tower."


    "You mean, Eldora Tower? How would you know anything about it?"


    "What do you know of it?" Yuel played this one care carefully. If Krim is a tower guard, this could get dangerous in an instant. "I mean, until today, I didn''t even know the tower had a room like that."


    "It is a tight-lip secret. After all, if the identities of the tower mages were ever made public to even one single outsider, it could in theory be used for terrorism. All I know about the vault room in Eldora Tower is that it is the most secure aspect of the super structure itself; though, most people who dare to look into it learn the same basic principle."


    "There are so many theories as to why they would cloak it from view."


    "Cloak?"


    "Well yeah. What you just said makes the most sense, but I''ve realized that they probably have to have the room''s walls fully transparent to allow pure moonlight to flow inwards. However, as you said, they need to keep it a secret. So, they''ve cloaked the room, one-way, so that you cannot see inside from the outside."


    "..."


    Maybe that was too much information to lose. Yuel couldn''t ignore the strange stare Krim was giving her now, one inciting fear into her body. "Sorry, I probably shouldn''t have said that, but I''ve been trying to learn the reason why, all night it seems."


    "So, they have cloaking technology? And they use this technology to hide the entire existence and inner workings of the core? This begs one question. How did you find out?"


    "An accidental spell," she admitted. "It hit the cloaking bubble, just long enough for me to see it."


    "Fascinating." It was too hard to ignore the potential gold mine of information this woman was spewing out. And to think I didn''t have to risk my neck for such info... "Did you manage to understand what was inside of this vault room? What I mean is, was there anything out of the ordinary that stood out from you, besides any particular person?"


    "I..." What is this? The sinking feeling in her stomach is only getting worse. Something isn''t right with the order of questions here. "I don''t know."


    "Ah come on. No need to hold out on me now. It''s not like I''m going to be sharing with the world."


    "But, isn''t it dangerous to share that with anyone? What if it''s not just the identities of the mages at stake?"


    "Young miss, if you''ve already seen the inside of the vault room, then their cloaking tech is clearly not perfect. People will find out anyway, one day."


    "That''s what I''m saying. Maybe it actually is for the best, for them to cloak it anyway." What Nyar mentioned earlier was most interesting. All this time, Yuel has been having so much fun, but if this one secret could undo it all, wouldn''t it be best to let sleeping doom lie? "If anything, I should probably just confess what I''ve seen to the tower guards, and hope that they fix whatever is glitched in their system. If my own spell warped the cloak bubble without anyone being aware of it, surely it could happen with someone else too!"


    Then it''s exactly as Krim thought a second ago... This is perfect! "How exactly do you think that will go? There is a very high chance that the tower guards will make you disappear to keep the same secrets." Yuel gasped before him, indicating that he hit the right note just now. "Yes, they would eventually improve their secrecy and cloaking tech, but they would also need to tie up loose ends too."


    Even though his words were terrifying, Yuel quickly thought of another workaround. "I don''t have to tell them in person." You could simply mail them instead. "Seeing tower guards is usually difficult anyway. If I simply send letters or something, I think the situation would resolve itself quickly."


    "Now, why in the world would you want to close the lid on a massive government conspiracy, instead of exposing it?"


    Hm? "But, I thought you argued it was too dangerous for others to know... You aren''t making any sense. Not only that, but I never mentioned the phrase ''government conspiracy'' to you specifically..." No, something is definitely wrong here. "Answer me! You already knew exactly who I was the moment you approached this area with me in it, didn''t you? You don''t care about the sanctity of Leray magic or its secrets. You''re after something else."


    "..." Welp, guess the cat''s out of the bag. "I really do hate know-it-all little punks."


    "What?" I was right? Who is he then?


    "Guess I should bring this moment to a close anyway then, before I lose what little progress I''ve made here." While Yuel panned around confused by his meaning, Krim continued to charge energy before releasing his spell, using the assistance of a Leray crystal he held hidden. "This isn''t exactly what I planned on stumbling into, but I must secure any victory that I can. I am sorry about this, young wielder. Keeping you alive is far too dangerous for us now."


    By the mere words alone, Yuel reacted on instinct instead of thought, turning around and sprinting as fast as she could. Before she could get far, Krim unleashed his charged spell, sending a strange, nearly invisible energy pulse outwards in all directions, phasing through all matter and material. A secondary pulse followed this, which generated an invisible hexagonal domical shield around the both of them, spanning 100 meters. Only when Yuel ran far enough did the shield reveal itself, emanating with the rejection of force trapping her inside. With the transparency set so high and glow effects so low, in the darkness of the night, Krim and Yuel were out here alone, attracting no attention whatsoever.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Seymour''s Ambition ~ Final Fantasy X (Remaster)</a>


    <center><iframe title="Seymour''s Ambition" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-JXdwkMhh3Q?loop=1&fs=0&playlist=-JXdwkMhh3Q" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    "No! No! Let me out of here!" Yuel helplessly pounded on the energy field trapping her, causing it to warp and glow, but any force she applied was returned, showing no signs of weakness. It was only now that Krim''s words were able to be processed deeper. "I can''t believe this! You really are a tower guard." Is he really going to kill her right here, denying her the ability to keep a secret under house arrest? Are the leaders of Sprawn Valley really this evil?


    "I have not lied to you quite yet, though I will admit to misleading anybody I speak to. This is business after all. I have nothing against you personally."


    "Then let me go. I promise I won''t tell anyone! It''s too dangerous anyway, just like you said!" Nyar! Why did I not listen? Why did I trust this lunatic? Yuel kept her back and elbows pressed up against the dense shield around her, her trembling eyes fixated on this unknown.


    "There is too much risk for that. Now that we know which method is used to conceal the core room, and how to pry into the unknown, we cannot alert the same people who run the place, less they restore the vulnerability and lock us out of it."


    "Wait... You''re not, you''re not with Eldora?"


    "Silly girl. The people in charge of this world are twisted and deceitful, but I''ve yet to see a day where they would threaten death upon any human being, seeing as it would require a touch of dark magic, the true nature of the veil they fear too much."


    Some kind of criminal? Maybe he''s trying to be a terrorist of some kind? Yuel didn''t understand it at all. The only clarity here is that Krim is bad news, and whoever he is working for must be interested in the secrets of the core room... And I just gave them the answer they were looking for.


    "So you see, in order to hone this advantage we now have, I must tie up my own loose ends."


    How could I have been so stupid?! Yuel clenched her fists, angry at herself for not having a clearer head. All this time, she could have just kept quiet and things actually would have been bliss! "I shouldn''t have said anything."


    "Now, don''t be all down about it," Krim granted. "I am going to kill you, but you shouldn''t blame yourself for letting this secret loose. Today was a day I was supposed to look for the same vulnerability. I would have ran magical testing to the same area just like you. All you''ve merely done is save us a lot of time and trouble in the process."


    "And I''m supposed to be thankful? Screw this. I''m not going to just stand here and let myself be a victim of dark magic." Yuel put some money to her claim, by expending her own energy into a crystal she revealed only now; an Escape Crystal. It works the same way as teleportation crystals, though its destination is particularly locked to a certain zone. As a noblewoman, Yuel was recommended to have at least one for any council-related emergency.


    However, a few seconds after activating the crystal, Krim stood there smug with his arms crossed, the light from the shard fading to nothing. The teleportation didn''t activate!


    "I''ve combined the shield holding us in with a nullification field. Technically I am running two nullification fields at the same time, but the general purpose prevents people like yourself from teleporting out of here. Short distance matter transference to the outside of the dome shield will fail too. When I know I need to kill someone, I don''t allow any mistakes to be made."


    "And if I scream really loud?!" Yuel was already screaming her own question, hoping anyone would hear her. Before even waiting for any response, she swiftly unleashed an attack spell of her own, a potent Shadow Wave sliding to Krim.


    With no expression or mental reaction, Krim side-stepped the Shadow Wave, dodging with ease by reflex alone. "Our shield blocks out a high amount of noise and light. You could unleash a Mega-Flare inside of here and it wouldn''t draw an eye, unless someone was already close to begin with. I see nobody in sight."


    "If it''s a battle you want, I will grant you that request!" Yuel brought out her sacred weapon, holding Nyar''s Blaze while powering up the device. It would be a lot harder to use without the musical concentration in her mind, but maybe she could bring her headspace under control before long.


    "No," he denied, "you won''t." Before allowing Yuel to fight back honorably, he began unleashing more charged energy, this discharge taking longer to manifest, though it was a scary sight for Yuel to behold.


    Krim''s eyes began glowing blood red in hue, while strange swirling mists of light and wind congregated around his fist, transferring over to Yuel''s physical location. Bracing herself for the unknown, Yuel quickly found herself trapped and surrounded in yet another energy dome. This new energy dome was only twice her own physical body size, barely allowing her any room for movement, and the texture of the entire energy field retained a cloudy, dark red mist of appearance. As Yuel tried to move and escape from this entrapment, she proved it impossible to break free. The shield trapping her inside absorbed various attack spells she hurled at it, tough it did not block out noise between herself and Krim.


    It''s a rare dark magic spell, one he had to learn on his own, the inventor an enigma. Using this dark magic, Krim can trap people inside of these tiny red energy fields, link the signature to his own personal aura (extending the duration), and even control the flow of particles and ions in and out of the shield, down to the molecular level. "You don''t actually expect me to fight you fairly now, do you?"


    Pounding away at the shield in disgust, Yuel tried to talk this out more, buying as much time as she could, hoping that anybody nearby might see this setup and know something is wrong here! "You idiot! Even if you kill me here and now, people are going to find out what happened and track you down. You have any idea how many Leray agents are in Sprawn Valley?"


    Playing her little game of speech, Krim indulged in the revelry, knowing he had quite a long time to burn. "The number is quite high, I will admit. Danton and his band of idiots actually believes that sheer numbers can overturn our day of reckoning. They could not be more wrong. A Leray Agent is highly trained to tackle criminals, even people who use dark magic, but with what we have planned, an army of millions would be as meaningless as a single pawn of a chess piece." With additional magical expenditure, Krim tightly shut his right fist, causing the energy field around Yuel to glow a bit brighter, intensifying its internal gravity, which already pushed down on Yuel, affecting her stamina.


    "Why would you even want to do something like this? Leray magic has done nothing but give everybody better lives!"


    "Do not anger me with you insolence! I can make this experience more painful than it already is. Leray magic is nothing but a filtered version of something else. Dark magic is the natural state of the world and its people, yet those in charge want to twist it and pretend like it''s all safe, sugar and rainbows."


    "You can''t understand what you are talking about. Dark magic kills anything it touches, defying the very purpose of our veil!"


    "The Sentinels of the Avion Wars didn''t want your magic then, and we don''t want your magic now. Honestly, I''m not impressed with dark magic either. I have no interest in ruling the world or fighting people to the death."


    "Then what do you explain by all of this?" Yuel kept it going, though her interest in Krim''s plight only grew ever stronger, hoping to understand why.


    "If the entire Leray veil were to be turned into a dark magic veil instead, it would only lead to chaos and ruin. Magic would probably never be tested ever again, at least not to this level. That is exactly what I''m hoping to achieve. I want to erase all magic from this rotten world, but I''m not beneath using it to achieve my end goals. The Scarlets want to find out what makes Eldora Tower tick and shift the veil''s energy signature to that of dark magic. Even though I''m sure it won''t last forever, that is precisely the reason why I''m going to help them achieve it!"


    "And you wish to kill me for a few days of silence? Do you know that I have family abroad? How are you going to live with yourself if you deprive life from my loved ones as well, when they aren''t even involved in magic? You are sick, whoever you really are."


    "Maybe I am sick. As many times as I''ve seen Leray magic enhance lives, I''ve also seen just as many lives ruined or twisted by the delusions we all tell ourselves when given too much power. I''m through waiting around to find out what more sick twisted experiments will one day come from the acceleration of magical energy..." How long as it been now? The dark energy field should be ready. "Enough stalling. The tower mages must not know what has transpired today, and they will not understand the circumstances of your death."


    "How can you be so sure? The only way to kill people in Sprawn Valley is by using dark magic. They''ll know exactly what happened to me."


    "Don''t be so sure," he smiled with creepy promise. Krim tightened his grasp once more, activating the final phase of the red energy dome. As it activated, the texture phase of the shield solidified, revealing the tiniest little hexagons at every ending of the shield. Yuel had some time to react to the unknown, and looked around wondering what she would be in for next.


    What she didn''t expect was Krim''s ability to manipulate the membrane properties of this dangerous energy shield. After a few seconds of nothing, Yuel coughed some more, finding her very next breath lacking more than her previous one did. Her coughing quickly intensified, her breathing more shallow and careful.


    "If I were to rip your body to pieces or fry your brain with destructive energy, it would prove that your murder has a clear motive. Even if I haul your body away from here, I am ill equipped to clean up any evidence of foul play. So... I''ll suffocate you where you stand."


    Oh crap! Yuel desperately tried to speed up her thoughts, desperate to come up with any fancy idea out of this mess, but she was too preoccupied trying to get air into her lungs, sinking to her knees and going lower to suck up what little still remained near the grassy floor. "I can''t... I can''t breathe!" Her voice was inert, every exhale without sound.


    "That shield I have you trapped in can block oxygen and nitrogen particles at my own will. Asphyxiation following a loss of consciousness, and later life, will be the cause of your death. It can happen naturally, often from a brain aneurism. Those idiots will medically conclude that the clot must have broken up after it was already too late. The Leray veil doesn''t really protect people from all that much harm, when you factor in health issues."


    Yuel was already clawing at her neck as her vision turned dark and her coordination was lost. No matter what she tried to do, she just couldn''t breathe! All of the air in her cage was nearly depleted by now, and Krim was standing in wait, watching her die!


    "The despair this will bring to your family is unfortunate, but I have bigger fish to fry, and I am forbidden to allow you to live, given what I know about this situation. Don''t worry though. I will make good on my promise and destroy the Leray veil, when the timing is right, when the League of Elites least suspect it, even should it take years."


    Just before Yuel was about to lose consciousness, she stored in one last breath, and tightened her nerves. You expect me to just sit here and let myself be killed? No, Krim. I am not as weak as you think I am! I''m not going to let this be my final moment! Despite having her powers weakened, Yuel''s body started to light up with Leray energy, powering her aura and her magical staff in hand. She could barely stand with her wobbling legs, though her pulsing eyes were locked-on to the Scarlet criminal before her. Yuel pressed several of her musical note keys on the staff, unleashing a barrage of beam attacks against the shield. Even though they never broke through, the sudden strain Krim was forced to endure from it was measurable even at a distance.


    "Ugh! You''re stronger than I gave you credit for... Most people would have fainted long ago. You can struggle all you like, but the body cannot live without air for long. Nevertheless..." There was something incredible and inspiring by this girl''s strength and will to keep fighting, something rarely seen in most people. It deserves some kind of reward. "I will examine your belongings when you die, to ensure some part your memory lives on. If people around here know you, it will be my own payment to give them accuracy in how you lived before this tragic night."


    Yuel ignored his worlds, blasting magic against the shield again and again... But with a few more passing seconds, it was the most she could accomplish. The doubled vision and faintness quickly caught back up and intensified, forcing Yuel to succumb to what all natural humans undergo when starved of oxygen.


    Having used this method many times before, Krim kept the energy field alive for a few more minutes, ensuring Yuel would cease all functioning. It wasn''t until the energy scope of death made its appearance did he have his confirmation that it was truly over.


    "Yuel Biion. So that is your name. If your performance in life was of any real value, the people here will remember you by that name for as long as they may live. Our work here is now done." Krim knew there was a bit more to it. With this name alone, he would need to locate Yuel''s nearby dwelling and search it for any lingering evidence of recent activity. She could have recorded her findings after all, so there is still work that must be done. "May your soul rest in peace, knowing you still tried your very best. Farewell, Yuel Biion."

 Missing Link (Part 3): The FMCI

    <hr>


    <03/26/1965 - 08:02 | Section 8, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Despite the beautiful sunrise weather of the sacred capital of Sprawn Valley, the gentle breezes dancing under the pretty sky wept with the collective sadness. Trapped inside the massive perimeter used by crime-scene investigators, Danton and many other associates held their breath with heavy grief.


    "Hm, no sign of laceration either. If there are any injuries on this one, they would have to be internal." Agent Milo of the sixth Pathology division finished up his examinations. The poor woman lying lifeless on the ground has been in this state for nearly twelve hours, with nobody noticing her death for so long.


    Tightening the grip on his mega-staff, Danton swallowed the grim news while hoping to figure more out. "How long has she been dead?"


    Milo replied, "Between eight to twelve hours. Hard to say for certain. Seems like the cause of death is some sort of internal failure, but until we perform an autopsy, we won''t know for certain."


    "So obscene!" Brock held his fingers to his forehead, drained by the same grim atmosphere dragging everyone else down. "How in the world does someone suddenly drop dead without a sound?"


    "I''m not so sure myself." Danton was only being real with his answer. It was only now as he and many others realized, that critical organ failure caused by complex poor health is never something the Leray veil is capable of assisting with. Be it a stroke, heart attack, or cancer, the veil is powerless to protect people from these natural causes of death... But she looks so young. The randomness of this moment is just too surreal.


    "I''ve located some of her belongings, including the supply sphere, and have already requested a decryption for the tool. Yuel Biion didn''t hide her license card inside the sphere, so we already have an idea on who she was."


    It doesn''t make this any easier, Danton thought. "Run a general search of her last name and see if any family members exist inside our boarders. We should also secure any other belongings from her residence, wherever it be registered."


    "I still can''t believe this could happen." Brock seemed hypnotized by the prospect before him, and Danton couldn''t feel too different.


    In Sprawn Valley, the young never have to carry the idea of death in their mind. Countless forms of damage from injuries and attack spells are deflected and mitigated by the veil, but even the healthiest and strongest of all could be slain by a blood clot. Milo already explained that the primary cause of death was non-traumatic asphyxiation; basically, her lungs stopped processing oxygen, likely due to a pulmonary embolism. The autopsy would need to be conducted to be fully certain, but the fact that this is possible even here, it''s as Brock said; obscene.


    Naturally, a few more people began showing up outside the outer edges of the police perimeter, curious about what could be the story here. The press would be most pestering once they realize what has happened, since deaths here are so rare and all. It doesn''t help that Yuel was a bit more popular with the masses than any average wielder.


    Zack, a wielder who was already tracked down and questioned about their previous combat had nothing incriminating to add, but it was an eye-opener of Yuel''s true capabilities as a magic wielder, and capabilities of becoming well-liked by the people here. This tragedy is not going to be forgotten anytime soon.


    "Just make sure to assist the transports once their people arrive. I''ve already requested for all normal operations to be suspended for the day." Danton was certain he would need to. Dealing with these situations is never easy, not that they are common in the first place. After preparing to leave the area, Danton, Brock, and another senior member of the tower almost made it towards the exit section of the perimeter, but they didn''t get the chance to leave yet.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Ashsmoke ~ Nikke OST</a>


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    <hr>


    "Let us through!" Pushing past some of the curious folk and two of the agent guards, three unknown men entered, cornering Danton and his personal company.


    "Hold on now!" Danton blocked with his hand out to halt the intruders. "This is a restricted forensic zone. You can''t just¡ª"


    Before Danton could finish his warning, the man walking up to him held up a large and impressive identification badge, with crimson metal letters emboldened at the center. He clearly recognized the acronym, silencing himself immediately while this agent took the floor. "I''m special agent Fraiser, and my partner behind me is special agent Tyrone. We''re with the Unit of Forensic Magic and Criminal Investigations, and have reason to visit your victim."


    Murmurs and whispered echoed out, proof of their stature. Even Danton was shocked stone still. "The FMCI." Everyone knows the phrase and the acronym, but the secret service themselves are one of the most mysterious in the entire nation. Unlike the standard Leray Agency and the council, almost all details and operation regarding the FMCI are highly classified, even from the rank of the champion. All Danton knew for certain, was that the FMCI operates in the restricted town of Cheyenne just south of Eldora, and that they only involve themselves in matters of national security risks, often involving foreign entities to the country. It certainly begs the question for what they are doing here!


    Agent Tyrone followed the procedure, explaining their situation here, confident in using a normal volume, as all FMCI agents use official aliases on all badges, through registered with the Cheyenne database for proper authorization. "When we caught wind of the situation here in Eldora, Fraiser and I considered this reason enough to get involved. The reason should be obvious, Sir Danton. That girl lying over there is too close to the perimeter of Eldora Tower. Even if most believe this death is not suspicious of any malicious foul play, we are required to follow up a proper investigation into the matter."


    "I understand." Danton kept his mind as calm as he could. FMCI agents are scary for a number of reasons. One interesting enigma is that the FMCI head office actually knows about the crystal core, enough to realize how dangerous any related information leak could be on its subject matter. Mage Sirus didn''t seem to understand how they knew, however. "The local team and I have already conducted an analysis. After checking your authorization status, we would be happy to hand those details over to you."


    "How disappointing," Fraiser spat, his mood foul. "You already touched the body? You have any idea how much evidence might be contaminated?"


    "Excuse me? The agents we put on the case are perfectly capable¡ª"


    "Don''t make me laugh! You and the Leray Agency are too green to understand the weight of your unintentional tampering. I expected better of you, Brash Danton." Still, there should be more than enough to work with. "Champions playing detective. Give me a break. Larrs!" The third agent accompanying the two in silence approached, standing beside his superior.


    Larrs was an agent in training, so he was made to do most of the tedious work and tasks. "Give Agent Milo and Brash Danton our FRID chips. They have every right to scan them and confirm their validity with our agency. I want no further resistance."


    "Yes sir." Larrs did as he was told, though without much enthusiasm. It was a mystery as to why Fraiser was in such a mood today, though Tyrone''s indifference made it all seem the normal. After giving Danton the FRID chips for scanning, he returned to the area behind Tyrone, waiting for further instruction.


    In the meantime, Fraiser decided to get started with the body examination, while instructing Larrs to clear out the general vicinity of the populous surrounding the barrier. He waited to get inches close to Yuel before beginning his examination, as trained by proper FMCI agents.


    Agent Milo chimed in, trying to cut down the time and pettiness of this intrusion. "As far as what I''ve examined for myself here, the main cause of death was non-traumatic asphyxiation. Somehow, her oxygen supply was cut off for far too long." Tiny hints of detail supported his theory, such as the blue coloration of skin near the finger tips and small patches of her face. The lack of any physical damage to the external body means this is very unlikely to be a homicidal or accidental self-inflicted death.


    "I''m assuming you''ve already figured out her identity and located her external belongings?"


    "Yes sir."


    "Hm..." Fraiser couldn''t lash out at Milo; given the circumstances, all of this was being treated with perfect procedure and by the book, minus one little annoyance.


    "Everything checks out," he spoke while standing close to Fraiser, handing him back the FRID chips, though Fraiser didn''t take them back, pointing to Larrs for retrieval. Instead, Fraiser put on his gloves, poking and prodding at the corpse. "I know what you were thinking earlier, that being this close to the tower raises some concern, but we have no reason to believe that this death was inflicted with any intentional will."


    "Danton, was it? If you make the same suggestion to me one more time, I will ask you to leave the area. You''re bothering the investigation."


    "What? I''m only trying to help¡ª"


    "You are a Leray wielder; champion or not, your pathology skill is laughably weak. I''ve already identified two specific variable details that you and your team failed to take into any consideration."


    "Oh, this outta be good. Enlighten me then." What a brat! How can a hotshot like Fraiser think he knows everything so soon?


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    "... Very well, I shall indulge. After all, a champion who doesn''t understand the stakes is useless as a tower guardian." Fraiser went out of order for a moment, collecting the small and dull crystal lying near the body, while exerting his own magical energy to bring up Yuel''s energy Scope. It was quite impressive, since revealing Yuel''s energy scope was supposed to be physically impossible given her deceased status. "Energy Scan Alpha-C engaged. Authorization code: PMX1C8-549. Commence full logging playback. Time-frame, twenty four hours."


    Though Danton meant to talk down to the arrogant agent, he was soon silenced by the amazing sight before him. Seeing a process he had never witnessed before, Danton watched as the energy scan of Yuel Biion came back to life, expanding in size to display additional lines and codes, codes which only Fraiser seemed to understand as he read it intensely.


    "How did you do that? What is all this?" Danton was dumbfounded, simply by the sheer fact that this unknown Energy Scope logging was a possibility to begin with.


    He must realize by now how useless he is to the rest of the investigation. Poor Danton, so far out of his league. "It''s called an Energy Scan Logging System. One of the few things Lawrence Citrin did right in his life was giving us a means to investigate and analyze the last few moments of anyone''s particular death, using the very same magic which failed to prevent that death."


    After having long enough of a silence to read the messages, Fraiser came to a swift conclusion about the massages. "This doesn''t seem to paint the full picture, but it shows us quite a lot."


    "What do the messages say?" Danton requested, having no choice but to suck up to the superior agent before him.


    "The logging stamps indicate that whatever happened to Yuel Biion, occurred between the time of 00:02 hundred hours and 00:13 hundred hours. Within only 11 minutes of some sort of conflict, she was killed."


    "K¡ªkilled? You''re scan can determine all of that?"


    "You fool, of course it can. Each log segment activates from the very moment MP energy is discharged, or HP energy is deducted without prior expectation. The log continues the same segment, separating and closing the segment upon full energy stat recycling by the veil. Only, the final logs indicate her energy did not cycle upwards, but downwards. Yuel Biion was exerting quite a bit of magic at random intervals right in this spot last night."


    "I don''t see how that proves she was murdered though. What if she was merely conducting standard training?"


    "With most of this data, training solo would be a realistic possibility, but there are numerous discrepancies which say otherwise. After unleashing a low-powered unknown spell, the logs indicate that Yuel activated her supply sphere link and brought out some kind of weapon. I''ll bet the unknown weapon is currently locked in the supply sphere. Not long after this, a code Green status of the energy scan was tripped."


    "Code Green?"


    "Yes. Code Orange 1 indicates all stats and health are normal. Code Red 1 indicates that Vital Drain or real time damage is inflicted. However, there is an area in between these values, referred to as Code Green, where the veil of protection suddenly suffers a partial connection error between the person of interest and their energy circuits. It''s usually indicative of a serious health issue which classifies as anything not related to real time damage. I surmise that, this is the moment where Yuel suddenly struggled to breathe, though it isn''t nearly enough to be fatal at the current state. Based on the wait timers between here and the moment of death, asphyxiation was certainly the cause, but it was slower than a standard death caused by a lack of oxygen, almost as if something trapped her inside a boxed room with no air."


    That''s incredible! FMCI agents can determine far more than Danton ever realized. Fraiser isn''t arrogant; he''s decades out of the league of other agents; that''s why he can have such an attitude. "I will apologize now for my previous insolence. I am most curious about what happened though, whatever indicating this wasn''t really a natural death."


    Finally, he realizes his place. "Between the Code Green and Code Black, Yuel was trying to use more and more magic at random, indicating one of two possibilities. She was either exerting light magic to get the attention of anyone nearby, which, arguably should have worked. The other possibility was that she could have been unleashing magic to break free from an unknown attacker. It is possible that someone exerted a kind of magic barrier around Yuel to deprive her of oxygen."


    "Is that even possible? That''s one hell of a jump to make." Even Brock was interested in this now, though it didn''t stop Fraiser from explaining it all.


    "Normally, the Leray veil ensures that every single form of magical barrier and shield allows most molecules vital to the human body in and out, so people can breathe and be affected by thermal sources too. However, we have concluded since a few years ago, that the porous properties of any shield can be altered to shut out all external sources of air and water, particularly by rejecting the rule of the veil mid-invocation. This process would of course be indicative of dark magic." It''s actually the perfect crime. The logging would have detected sustained injuries from dark magic, but not from suffocation by such indirect methods. It nearly had Danton fooled.


    "I get what you''re saying." It''s actually quite harrowing in itself; dark magic? Right outside of the tower? Why would Yuel have been targeted by such a spell? "But, I don''t see how this proves she was murdered. Where is that missing link?"


    "Right here." Fraiser held up his prize, the second and most important clue everyone here has overlooked.


    "An Escape Crystal?"


    "A most insignificant item on its own. Not just any person has such crystals, but I can easily confirm that it is genuine. Yuel must have been in a position granting her the right to carry one for emergency use. However, what do you see when you look at this glass?"


    Fraiser didn''t have to wait for Danton''s answer. It was already looking grim. "The crystal seems to have been discharged."


    "Precisely. All Teleportation Crystals and Escape Crystals are charged with Leray magic in its quartz-like storage before they are ever handed out to people. It would make no sense for people to walk around with a crystal that never underwent a charging cycle. However, when they are charged, they emit a very faint yet distinguishable amount of light. The fact that this crystal lacks its luster means, it was previously charged, but is now discharged."


    "I thought these crystals decay and crumble to dust when they get fully used like that."


    So Brock does have some sense. "Precisely. The fact of the matter is, this crystal is still in its perfect shape and form. Warping crystals disappear and fade away after they are used just once. However, this only happens as an unknown process during full teleportation, creating an expansion warp that essentially breaks the crystal apart by means of coordinate stretching. The only manner in which a crystal of this nature can be discharged and remain perfectly intact, is if magic entered the circuits of the crystal, yet failed to undergo proper teleportation. Since this is an Escape Crystal, the warp coordinates would not need to be imagined for it to properly work, and therefore, there should be no reason for why Yuel was unable to teleport with it, even if her mind was stressed."


    Danton and Brock were dead silent, while Tryone walked up to finish the explanation he already understood was unfolding. "Since it is clear that Yuel Biion activated her only Escape Crystal, yet failed to undergo teleportation by any standard, it means that her ability to make use of long-range teleportation was totally blocked and canceled."


    "You''re saying someone was out here last night, and they blocked Yuel''s only means of escape?"


    "There are very few methods which can be used to prevent a nearby person from teleporting away. Danton should already know of one; a Nullification Field, similar to the teleportation blocking field which coats the entire inside of Eldora Tower."


    No way! Danton couldn''t believe what he was hearing. There''s just no way Yuel was murdered by some dark-magic scum right outside the safest place here.


    "Indeed," Fraiser concluded. "A short-range nullification field blocked the use of Yuel''s one and only Escape Crystal. She didn''t realize this, since nullification fields are nearly impossible to detect in the first place. By trying to warp away, she discharged the crystal, and failed to leave, preventing the crystal from breaking or disappearing, since it had not undergone any stress from warping. Based on the timing of the logs, this was likely the very first thing she attempted to do."


    "Yuel realized that she was in danger, and likely tried to escape someone who wanted to see her dead. Whoever she ran into was powerful enough with dark magic, and intelligent enough to remove her life all in manners that would fool most agents into thinking she died of natural causes. The only reasons anyone would want to cover up a death like this, is so prevent information from leaking in the first place. I''m convinced that Yuel must have stumbled onto something dangerous, and before she could do anything with that information, someone trying to keep it a secret removed her life, hiding what evidence they could to forestall an illusion of data leak."


    Danton''s head was spinning with questions. The implications of Fraiser''s words were far more disturbing than anything he has had to deal with for more than three quiet years. "This is the first time I''ve ever heard or seen this person, so I''m not sure what information she could have come across."


    "Can you really be that stupid?" Now annoyed with Sir Danton, Fraiser glared at him with disdain, until Danton was forced to reconsider what he should have had on mind the moment this body was found. "You act as though this nation is fully free from all crime and peril, yet it was you who failed to capture the two rouge mages who caused such indecent three years ago."


    Holding his stomach, Danton denied it so. "Are they really involved in this though?" Kite. Gleeon. Was three years enough for you two to plan some kind of desperate espionage against us? Are they really responsible for this one death?


    "It isn''t possible to know that. Nevertheless, you should be wary. It may, for example, have something to do with the tower break-in two months prior."


    Danton didn''t ignore such a detail either, but the circumstances were different. Two months ago, two private mages infiltrated the 700<sup>th</sup> floor of Eldora Tower undetected. To achieve this, they made use of rare symbological markings, imbuing these magic tattoos on their skin. The markings in question gave the mages the ability to render each other fully invisible for a higher length of time than any standard MoonShadow spell. With their random activation of the lift system however, it soon got them caught, and the tower was put on lockdown, forcing them to give up. They were later sent to prison and held there.


    There was also another similar incident about a year ago, where a lone mage infiltrated the tower without symbological markings, making full use of the Zero Zone spell. He managed to get all the way to the exterior vault room, the zone sealed with a metal door and an impressive credential checkpoint. How was he foiled? Simple. Sirus installed a very powerful device in the same vault room, one which renders the Zero Zone spell fully inert, preventing its invocation, which also saps all MP energy from the attempted user in an instant. A routine security check found the wielder, and the rest was history.


    For some time now, Kite and Gleeon have been recruiting some daring people to stress-test the security of Eldora Tower. They want to get inside of that core room, and they want to understand exactly how the conversion process works between Lunar magic and Leray magic. If they learn of this truth, then the only way to stop them would be to shut down the Leray veil forever, before those two can act on it. However, they''ve yet to achieve their infiltration into the tower... Was Yuel a victim of something related to this? Did she learn something about her killer''s plans to make another infiltration? It''s too risky to ignore, so extra security will have to monitor the area of the tower and the core room itself. Additionally, based on Fraiser''s own words, the man is totally convinced this was in fact a homicide. If the general public found out it was possible to kill inside Sprawn Valley without even leaving a trace of evidence, it would lead to mass mayhem!


    Damn it all! Fraiser is right. All this time, Danton has never located Kite or Gleeon, and from an invisible distance, they have proven to be so dangerous!


    "Sir Danton, you look pale. Are you alright?" Brock wasn''t sure what gave him such a grim expression, but he knew he would be here to support Danton in any time of need.


    It seems Danton does understand the weight of many possibilities. Maybe he isn''t such a fool after all. "Now that you seemed to have snapped out of your slumber, champion, I will finish up the rest here, and ensure forwarding of all relevant details back to Cheyenne."


    "Hold on just a sec. If you are taking over the whole investigation, wouldn''t that mean that we won''t learn of any new details?"


    "That''s kind of the point," he so sternly told him. "It''s not you I''m trying to protect the information from. Nevertheless, this has about a 40% chance of domestic terrorism written all over it. As I said before, it is likely an attempt to learn some secret regarding the tower or magic, an attempt gone a bit wrong, but an attempt made nevertheless. Do you realize what will happen if the public suddenly begins to suspect that Yuel was murdered?"


    "I do."


    "Then, you have a few more important tasks to handle. First, you''re going to have to carefully filter information which is released and to whom it is released to. I would suggest sticking with Agent Milo''s initial conclusion, that Yuel Biion suffered a very rare yet very possible stroke of the lungs, and perished before she could call for medical assistance under the cover of nightfall. As for what really went down, you must keep this a secret from any outsider, and allow the FMCI to conduct further investigation."


    So we get to lie to the people even more. "This job just gets better and better." Danton sighed in defeat, knowing he had no choice.


    "All must appear to be normal in only a few days, but you must come up with a better plan to locate any target of interest instigating this kind of violence. The people already know that dark magic can be used by criminals to kill. The fact that you openly admitted as much during part of your inauguration was a brilliant display, because people accepted this risk and are now wary of what kind of activity to report."


    Danton wasn''t sure whether to be flattered or offended. It wasn''t exactly something he was proud to share. "I feel like I''m trapped here. All I can do is beef up our defenses and conduct wild random searches for our most wanted."


    "Well, you did make a decision to keep this job when you became champion three years ago. To be honest, I thought you were going to resign your position the very day after Vanoss Highdrow was killed. And yet, here you are. It''s too late to complain about shouldering the responsibilities now. Even if you did step down and let someone replace you, we both know they would be grossly underqualified for the situation."


    "As if I don''t already know that." Even the loss of Vanoss was too much, but now we have another life lost, and this time with insufficient details to locate the killer. There is no way Gleeon or Kite did this directly; they would first get someone else''s hands dirty to hide their intentions. No matter how much time may pass however, Kite, Gleeon, all of you dark magic scum! You believe you''re going to turn Leray magic into your own play thing. I won''t let you.

 Missing Link (Part 4): Trace Finding

    <hr>


    <03/27/1965 - 13:31 | Delta Camp, (Unknown Region) Sprawn Valley>


    Despite having expectations of such a successful reconnaissance report, the return home was anything but welcome. "You were supposed to complete your job and leave no trace!" The handler for this important mission slammed the stack of paper against the table separating himself and Krim, who deserved all the mess he wrought upon himself. "Tell me once more why you decided that killing a bystander was the path you chose, when we explicitly stressed recon only."


    Krim cleared his throat with strong hesitation. It wasn''t clear whether this handler just had a stick up his bone, or if the higher-ups would really see it the same way. "Unlike all your other teams, I accomplished the goal I was sent out for. That bystander was more involved than you realize. Had I left her alive, she would have blabbed about the same vulnerability to the tower mages, who would have taken steps to beef up the security even more."


    "Tch! Well it''s not me you''ll have to convince. If the boss doesn''t like your answer, it will be your ass on a stick."


    "You can finish your berating, Monarch. The boss already knows about this." Monarch and Krim both nervously turned to face him, as Lance cautiously crept forwards, his mind a maze of information from the recent shake-up. At the very least, they had black coffee available at this very table, and Lance wasn''t shy about sharing a long sip.


    "Lance," Monarch greeted with an annoyed tone. "I''m not sure what you expect to come from all of this, but having a murder in the capital city will make our investigation of the report much harder."


    If only they would learn to relax ever so slightly. Lance pitied almost every single soldier in this growing group. Everyone has been through so much already, yet they still don''t realize the significance of it all. After another coffee sip, he glared at Krim for a moment before interrogating the intentions. "Soldier Krim. Presently, your actions have yet to be judged for punishment, since we are still weighing the total benefit of your discovery. Tell me in your own words, what exactly you learned out there."


    Having been put on the spot, Krim took some deep breaths before answering. Lance could have just read the report like anybody else, but maybe there was something Lance thought he could learn by hearing it from his own mouth. "It''s not as though I hid anything. The footage I brought back should speak for itself. As far as testing, we will need to wait until they forget about security for a while."


    Lance crimped the mug tighter, visibly tense at a reply he did not want to hear. "I have better things to do than watch an idiot drown herself in false magic. I asked you to explain it to me in your own words. Do not make me repeat myself!" After cringing his last words through his teeth, Krim nervously answered appropriately.


    "Yes sir. The stray magic that made impact with the exterior bubble of the tower''s core proved three elemental facts. The first was that, the crystal core room of Eldora Tower is actually exposed to the outdoors at all times. Though it does appear to have a security feature in place to seal the room with magic-resistant plates capable of retracting, these plates are only ever utilized during a lock-down emergency. Otherwise, the core room is exposed to the sky. The reason should be obvious; the same room must house crystal technology to absorb pure lunar light."


    "And the other two elemental factors are?"


    "The very same area is protected by a highly advanced shield bubble which likely draws direct energy from the tower''s auxiliary power system. This bubble shield serves two purposes. The first and obvious is to provide an extensive amount of protection from any externally sourced magic attacks or infiltration attempts. Even if you could see it and unleash an attack, that shield bubble will likely have the same general strength of a Siriean dome. However, in addition to being protected, the shield bubble is modified to run a most impressive kind of cloaking technology. From the outside looking in, you would never notice anything out of the ordinary; just metal frames part of the tower''s roofing structure. If enough energy disrupts the shield however, this cloaking temporarily fails without alerting anybody of its failure, after which it refreshes every minute or so."


    With a crooked smile of curiosity, Lance made his own personal deduction from those facts. "That means they likely hold all the most valuable secrets right at the core room. The boss''s instincts are quite impressive."


    "The third elemental factor is what was observed during a temporary failure in this cloaking system. An array of crystal spheres, obelisks, and other various gear-based machines running in unison. Perhaps there is frequent human involvement, and perhaps there is not. What is clear to me is, the machines inside of that core room are responsible for the conversion and projection of magic from pure lunar energy to a Leray veil."


    "It isn''t shocking that they would need impressive machinery to extend the range of their Leray veil to meet the entire continent. No, what''s most impressive is how far they''re willing to go to cover up its design. Why would a rag-tag team of mages go through all the trouble? One possible reason would be that, previous indications that Sprawn Valley is uniquely suited for Leray magic is a bold-faced lie, though I can''t imagine our adversaries wanting to suppress that. Their twisted magic rejects all realism of magic, and any copycat would likely do the same, so why hide it all? If you ask me, I''m ready to put money into the idea that the same technology can be copied and dispersed elsewhere without requiring a direct conversion to Leray magic. It probably would not take very much at all to alter the projection signature to match what magic should be. Somewhere in all of this, the conversion process houses all the answers."


    "All interesting," Krim admitted, "but you should know that Yuel discovered this secret all on her own, and quickly found herself disturbed by it. Her very next intention was to write anonymous letters of warning to the tower mages regarding this vulnerability... You see now why I decided she had to die."


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    "..." Does he really expect to be praised for this? Krim did figure out the correct location of interest, but his field work was still sloppy and messy. "When we need to disappear a body prematurely, we ensure that the person disappears from all existence. It doesn''t matter that you staged her death to appear more natural; she died a little too close to home, and you left the body there to be discovered, putting the guards on high alert in the first place. Impressive as your skills detail you were, our leadership will not dismiss this single oversight. Since you brought both good and bad to the table, your fate will not be up for me to decide."


    Krim exhaled, visibly stressed at the situation as it were. In truth, he could have easily taken away Yuel''s dead body and hid the evidence of any complication. Still, at the time, it felt like the right thing to do.


    "Depriving someone of oxygen without so much as a scratch is still an impressive ability, one they would like to study. You''re lucky, soldier Krim. So long as you prove yourself to be useful in other ways, I doubt you will be severely punished for anything."


    "You sound disappointed to say as much to me."


    "Nay. I merely wish to exact our divine punishment upon the worms crawling around our world. The disgusting monstrosity that is Leray magic has twisted nature far beyond recognition. Danton is no pioneer of this world, only a warden, like all the others before him. I won''t stop until all forms of magic are unlocked and given back to mankind."


    "If you don''t mind me asking," Monarch interjected with anticipation, "do you already have a plan in mind?"


    "Itching for some action already I see. However, I must warn you that our next phase will likely see no combat."


    Monarch adjusted his stance and faced Lance himself, pointing out the misjudgment. "I''m not here to play games. I have a job to do, a duty to fulfill. Whatever task needs to be completed to perfection is something I am more than ready to help carry out."


    Is he bored of his current duties? Perhaps Monarch simply wishes to redeem himself of any association with this brute he was supposed to handle. "If you are volunteering, I won''t deny you this. It''s already obvious what will need to be done next, based on all newly acquired intelligence."


    "You mean, you don''t even have any new orders yet?"


    "There are two types of soldiers in this group, Monarch. You are either a lackey who follows all orders to the exact letter, or you are something more, an agent capable of predicting what our masters would want before being told about it to begin with. I seek out whatever we need, for the good of the Scarlets. If you can''t figure out what comes next, then you are only a lap dog, and should avoid asking those kinds of questions in the future."


    "Hm..." What else could he say to that? Predicting and completing the next mission before it is ever assigned is impressive and all, but if one guesses wrong and makes a mistake, they are taken for a free agent instead, and are promptly disposed of. Lance either has some impressive intelligence, or balls of steel.


    "Like I said before. The conversion process of moonlight into Leray magic holds some kind of valuable information, something the government deems classified at Level S. The way I see it, the government might lie all they want, but history never conceals itself. There might be unrecovered relics and artifacts, legends and fables, textual documents lost to time. If we could scrounge up even one, it would point us in the right direction, or perhaps confirm something we already suspect."


    "Forgive my bluntness, but, wouldn''t it make a lot more sense to track down the people who used to be employed at the tower?"


    "It seems you have half a brain, but fail to understand how to use it. How tragic. Of course past-employees are the best lead we have, but we don''t yet have a well-documented list of those people. Compiling enough information to launch that kind of investigation is going to take some time. Therefore, I deem it best to capitalize on the moment and trace down any findings that our false overlord decided to bury."


    "I understand... But where would one even begin? Aren''t the official archives off limits since that too is inside of Eldora Tower?"


    "How do you think all of those archives got into the tower to begin with? The moment they decided to hide the truth from all of us, was the same day they began hunting down these documents for cold storage. I shall first begin at the Museum of History. I doubt I can find anything here useful to us, but perhaps a certain individual there may be acquainted with a courier. If that doesn''t work out, I will explore some of the off-limit zones for any strange rumors. Assuming you tag along to assist me, I estimate this will take no more than five days."


    "I understand."


    "What am I supposed to do though?" Krim pointed to himself as he was being left out of the loop here.


    Lance let a soft smirk show, imagining how angry the boss would be at the technical incompetence. "If I were you, I''d standby and look pretty. If you have any sense at all, you would demonstrate your ability''s usefulness just before volunteering to undergo retraining for our dogma. If you really wish to ask a superior ever again for any favors, you better be prepared to deliver one in return."


    "I still can''t believe he''s getting off as easy as that."


    Monarch still doesn''t realize the significance of the mission status. "Despite a small oversight mistake, Krim did successfully bring back information which has allowed us the option to move forward, when we''ve been stuck in stasis for so long. Before the year''s end, I''m willing to bet our recruitment methods will become overhauled and accelerated, just as soon as we learn what makes that tower tick. Now, Monarch, will you accompany me on my next task? I am more than capable without your support. The choice is yours."


    Working directly with Lance? It should be an honor, even if it is a frightening opportunity. The leader of the Scarlet Syndicate is a ruthless one, a man who shows no mercy to anybody, ever. There is a reason why very few elite warriors exist with such a high rank like Lance does; you either have to be impossibly skilled in combat and trustworthy at the same time, or have enough screws loose that you fit right in with terror itself. Despite all he''s heard, Lance is so calm and docile, mayhap because of the recent good news.


    Even so, it''s not like things will change without moving this train along... Magic was once destined to become part of the world, more than just this set of isolated islands. If breaking the veil can give everyone the freedom they deserve to have, then there is no reason to hesitate any further with this. "Relics and fables you say? It''s not the typical thing I venture to hunt for, but I too trust that this is the correct path to take. I will follow your lead Lance. And before you insinuate so, I will not need personal protection, or assistance on how to inquire my intelligence."


    "Fine. If that''s how it is, then whoever finds a relic first claims all the glory for it."


    "Our end goal shall motivate me more."


    As expected, orders from the top came down just as Lance predicted. A new assignment was posted to seek out and locate any potential lost relic of the past, be it an object or a document. Even though two teams were slated for assignment, Lance and Monarch obtained the best head start, checking off every potential lead and details they could in a five-day span. A separate mission to investigate specific persons of interests related to employment in or around Eldora Tower was also in preparation, pending further coagulation.


    It only took five days for Lance''s team to search high and low, looking through every region explored and unexplored for the answers. However, on day six, both teams returned to Delta Outpost, reporting a full mission failure in finding any relevant information. Those who hunted down information about the past did too well of a job; not one single source of intelligence was available relating to the true process of magical conversion, outside of the archive room in the tower itself; a room where many have already dared to explore, and failed to go undetected in the process.


    Again, as predicted, a new mission was being launched; one to track down as many previous elites as possible, though the buildup of the briefing was instigated by a new character, one the leader himself introduced. Apparently, they had recruited someone who somehow had intelligence and ties to an unknown source of information inside of Verlith Prison. Most of the details were vague on purpose, though it went without saying that things were quickly being shaken up for everyone involved here.

 Missing Link (Part 5): Montemeitrev Nyar

    <hr>


    <03/29/1965 - 12:30 | Section 8, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    Nothing could hide the fears pinching at every nerve. Nothing could lift the dread from this heavy air, an atmosphere of peace, but an atmosphere of death no less. Despite all attempts to learn what has been happening here, everyone seemed to know too little. Despite all attempts to believe that she was still alive, the sinking black hole of gravity tethered Nyar to reality.


    Arriving in Eldora City after so long... It isn''t what he expected. There is always excitement when traveling to such an unfamiliar place, though what was once journey is now nervousness. This place sure has changed since he last visited some years ago... The bigger question is, where is Yuel?


    Having no other friends and no other contacts in this entire foreign nation, Nyar only had one choice. The authorities are the only place to start from. Luckily, the Leray Agency has a secondary HQ office here in Eldora City. If she turns out to be missing, then there must be a way to search for her. Best to start there...


    "Thanks so very much."


    "No problem. Best of times to ya."


    As Nyar entered the busy facility of the Leray Agency building, the smell of old leather filled the air, something between an old outfit and the interior smell of a new automobile. It was only now that he remembered that people wear such strange and animated fabrics here. Anyway, it was time to ask the clerk some questions.


    "Hello! What can I do for ya sir?"


    Nyar already had second thoughts on whether this young guy could ever be useful. Even though it''s rude to judge by appearances alone, the officer doesn''t look all too seasoned. That''s okay. If he doesn''t turn up any useful information, he''ll just ask for a higher person of rank instead. After reaching the sectioned clerk counter, Nyar took a moment to collect his thoughts and words, his mind jumbled from the flooding memories of him and Yuel. "Yes, uhm... I''m looking for someone." Nyar knew he needed to provide more detail, but began first by reaching for the small photograph he held in his wallet.


    "Gonna have to be more specific with that one. By the way, unless someone is reported missing or deceased, there isn''t much we can do. It''s actually normal for wielders to go missing for training for a couple of days before turning up again; lots don''t like to be bothered."


    "..." Nyar started at him for a few awkward seconds, his exhausted expression making the clerk officer uncomfortable, before finally handing over the photo. "Her name is Yuel Biion, with two I''s. She''s my wife, and since she''s never missed a single scheduled call with me, I have plenty of right to demand for help finding her."


    The officer looked like he was about to protest, but studied the photo for a while first, while shifting his fingers to the desk terminal in front of him. "Let me see if I can digitally search the name here. Can you spell the name for me?"


    As Nyar spelled out the name, he curiously watched the officer typing data into the terminal, curious, as the technology seemed a bit advanced for today''s standards.


    After a few more keys, the officer kept reading data off the screen. "Let''s see... Hm... It''s referencing file AD432."


    "What?"


    "Give me one moment... Also I need your personal ID if you have it with you. It should help with document upkeep later." The officer was doing three things at once now, no longer too concerned with keeping everyone happy and chill. The very visit of this stranger had some dark vibes, and the manner in which the file was sorted was also abnormal. The record was reference only, which means it points to a print-file in the locked cabinets. Anything code AD means some sort of report was already filed, the nature of which not entirely clear. So, he took some time searching for it. Before long, the officer picked up the paper folder in the cabinet, and began reading the details. "Tell me please, how long has she been missing?"


    "It''s been three days, maybe more. I knew something wasn''t right from our last phone call we had, so when she missed the next one, I decided to board the first flight here."


    "Montemeitrev Nyar... There''s no record of you in the digital system... Oh..."


    "What? What is it?" Did he learn something? Maybe she fell ill and visited a medical center? Which one is it then? "Please tell me where she is."


    He glanced up at the poor man, clearly exhausted from his worry, and yet he came all this way... "Give me one moment. I''ll be right back with my deputy." He snapped the folder shut, closing his eyes with a regrettable exhale, certain he would need help explaining this.


    "Just tell me what''s going on!" Nyar''s words went unanswered, though he stood still at this desk, determined not to be moved until somebody can explain where Yuel is.


    In only a minute, the officer returned, with an executive deputy behind him looking serious and concerned. By the time the two of them met, the deputy held his hand out for a formal shake. "Greetings Mr. Nyar. I am Executive Deputy Gardner of the Leray Agency. Is it true? Are you really the husband of Yuel Biion?"


    "Yes, I am. I know we don''t have the same last name, but we both wanted to keep our names unchanged. Anyway, why does it take two people to tell me what''s in that folder?"


    With a heavy sigh, Gardner held his hand on Nyar''s left shoulder before giving him the worst news of his life. "I''m so sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this. The wielder once known as Yuel Biion is no longer alive. She''s been deceased for about three days." With just those words alone, all of the life, spirit, and color had drained out of Nyar, and it was up to Gardner to ensure he doesn''t collapse from shock. It was too much to remain objective after the sadness slammed into the guy, his eyes flooding with tears.


    "My Yuel!" Sobbing into his hands, Nyar let himself sink to the ground, though Gardner and his assistant prevented Nyar from going any lower, and they escorted him into the back room to calm down.


    It was a full twelve minutes of crying and sipping on warm water before the deputy made a case of it. "Go ahead and man the desk. I''ll handle this." After he and Nyar were left alone for another silent minute, Gardner tried to be as sympathetic as possible, which wasn''t hard seeing the mess this news has made. "I won''t ask if you are okay, since it''s clear as day that you are not. Just, let me know if I can get you anything."


    "How?!" He sobbed in desperation to understand. "How could this happen? She was healthy and strong."


    "I know. Something like this rarely ever happens, but here in Sprawn Valley, even the veil cannot prevent someone from having an aneurism."


    "Wh¡ª What? An aneurism? That can''t be right."


    "I''m afraid that is the listed cause of death, and the coroner has the data to back it all up. Oxygen was cut off to every part of the body equally, even though she was standing in a well-lit outdoor area. There was no blood clot in the pulmonary area, so the most likely area where a stroke occurred would be the brain."


    Is he really lying to him right now? Or maybe this deputy really believes that''s all that happened. "Who discovered the body?"


    "Pardon?"


    "I want to know who found the body first."


    "That would be one of the tower guards who found her after getting an anonymous report of someone sleeping in a strange place. I''m sorry about all this Nyar. It would have been my wish to contact you the moment this happened, but nothing we found on her personal belongings had any family information that we could have used... As soon as we get the returned fax about your ID and marriage paperwork, you will be free to collect all of these belongings..."


    The world only became so much darker, impaled by a pain that never ended. Nyar didn''t say anymore. He held the photo in front of him, using the treasured relic as his only means to remember everything about her, all the way down to the very last words spoken.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Own Places ~ Nikke OST</a>


    <hr>


    "Yuel..." It''s been twenty amazing years... So many memories... So many moments, all of them only to lead up to this... "I love you..."


    The countless times they went to the beach, the memorable moments of laughter and delicious meals, so many resonating moments filled his heart and mind, and were now being sucked through the void of endless misery. Nyar didn''t understand the reason, but right now, every single moment he''s ever lived with her flashed in his peripherals more strongly than it ever had before, choosing zero moments to ever let go.


    Time might as well have stood still, for the world was now at full stop. I should have come here much sooner Yuel. I should have seen your amazing concerts in person. It was too unbearable before, thinking of deviating from the long term plan to work as hard as possible to move here, with Yuel. Nyar worked as hard as he could, but it was the wrong thing to do... If I would have been here for you, you might have even survived... This is my fault.


    In the end, Yuel chose the life she wanted, heading full speed for everything she enjoyed. My beloved, you threw yourself so deep into your magic, and even though it didn''t save you, I bet you''d still make all the same choices again if you were still alive to try. Nyar was different though. Of all the things he could have ever done, trying to make a life for himself in New York was just a stupid mistake. If ever he had the ability to do everything over again, he too would have come here and practiced magic together... But life doesn''t give us do-overs, and it''s too late to embrace magic now.


    Besides... Yuel... You said that you were scared of something, didn''t you? If even part of what she said is true, then...


    "I''ll let you have the room for twenty more minutes. After that, I''ll have to have it empty for others to be questioned. Here." Gardner handed over two separate business cards to Nyar, one with Gardner''s work contact number, and another with directions and the contact for a nearby therapy clinic. The man will clearly need one. "After I give you the slip to collect belongings, I want you to try the therapy center, whenever you are ready."


    "C..." Nyar struggled to muster the words, since it was impossible hearing himself say them aloud, unbelievable as this moment was. "Can I see her body?"


    "I don''t recommend it, in your state of mind... But I also won''t forbid you from it either. It is your right. However, you will have to wait about two more hours first. The body is still in transient from Cheyenne."


    "What the hell is she doing there?"


    "Take it easy now. The FMCI is responsible for that. They took over the case, to triple check that this wasn''t a homicide. The fact that they''re sending her body back means they have no conclusion of such a cause."


    The FMCI? What the hell! Why would they check for homicide if everyone was so sure it was a freak accident? Yuel''s words hung in Nyar''s mind over and over, the night she sounded so freaked out about learning something she shouldn''t have...


    "Anyway, I want you to take some personal time to yourself for a bit. I know this is no easy thing."


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Yeah... I''ll try to keep that in mind."


    "Oh, and have this as well." After ripping out a piece of specially signed paper, Gardner gave Nyar one more parting gift. "A voucher for Greene Hotel. It''s only good for one night, but whenever you need to take a rest, it''s on the house... Please take care of yourself."


    "... Yeah." Nyar stood up from the chair, his eyes too dry for further emotion. "I''m going to sort it all out." Everything will be taken care of, one little step at a time. But first, Yuel''s things are piled up into a locker near the place she was staying. It''s time to collect them. After that, there is some unfinished business to attend to!


    <hr><hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Drifting [Extended] ~ (Ferquitous) Nikke OST</a>


    <center><iframe title="Drifting [Extended]" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ykF33xragLE" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


    <hr>


    <15:03>


    As the day grew older, Security Agent Charlie took the next shift rotation for the front entrance of the tower. All was boring and ordinary until two of the lower-ranked guards further ahead were blasted through the air, landing and rolling just in front of agent Charlie. "What the?!"


    "I won''t take no for an answer any longer. Take me to see the person in charge of this tower!" The madman aiming his next spell forward unleashed the charged energy from the glowing red crystal, generating another shockwave which sent the two guards flying again like before, though Charlie held his stance against the tough winds blowing him back.


    "Cease your attacks at once!" Charlie prepared for combat, but also freed up one hand to use his radio, in the event he needed to call for backup. He managed to get a better look at the attacker as he got closer, holding one more red crystal. The material was easily identifiable; an attack crystal. Their power is not that strong; they are most similar to the elements which make up attack spell bombs, though without regulation, can be used outside of Siriean domes. The older man approaching seemed fixated on him, ready to unleash another shockwave while the other two guards managed to pull themselves up, winded and dejected. "This is Agent Charlie to security detail. We have a code yellow at the entrance..."


    As soon was Nyar lowered the crystal, placing it into his pocket, he noticed the stronger guard before him relaxed just slightly, and so, he got as close as he could before being threatened not to move. "I''m not here to fight any one of you, but if you don''t take me to see the person in charge, I will do everything I can to force my way in."


    "You must be stupid!" Charlie spat. "The leaders and elites of Sprawn Valley don''t have time to talk to just anybody. Besides, you think I''d help you after you just attacked the three of us?"


    "If you considered that to be an actual attack, then I have to question the true strength of those you call elites."


    What is this? Usually, people like this march in and continue fighting until subdued, but this stranger is a little too confident for having done no real harm. It''s what he said that was suspicious. Indeed, his attacks didn''t leave any permanent damage at all. In fact, they were only shockwaves, the weakest forms of Leray magic. "I can''t decide if you''re a complete idiot, or if you actually have a wish to go to prison."


    "Funny, hearing that from you. Your entire existence is based on the idea that you protect the heart of Leray magic, as well as the good of the law. How ironic it is that you stand here and defy justice."


    "What is this brat going on about?" he whispered.


    "I won''t ask again!" Nyar chanted in rage. "I demand to speak to somebody of higher authority, to ask them what secret they could possibly believe is worth killing over."


    "Now you lost me, but it doesn''t change the fact that you''re not getting in here."


    Though idiotic, this Charlie character is still talking... Maybe he can be reasoned with. "If you know that the very people you are guarding were directly involved in murder of the innocent, would you really keep standing here blocking my path?"


    "How dare you insinuate such nonsense! The elites of our nation don''t sully their hands with such heinous crimes. If somebody you know actually did commit a murder, you should be bothering the Leray Agency instead of us."


    "Oh, believe me, I''ve already been to the agency. They''ve swallowed the same lie selling them down the river, but I''m not going to fall for it. Somebody in that tower killed my wife, and then covered up the circumstances of her death, all just to cover their own asses when she cropped up on a damning secret!" Carrying the weight of his words, Nyar unleashed the last red attack crystal he had, pushing around Charlie with another shockwave.


    Though it was annoying to be thrown around once more, Charlie kept himself calm without giving in. It was one hell of a lie to listen to though. Does this manic actually believe the government would burn their own people? "Since you''re clearly delusional, I''ll give you one more chance to vacate the premises before I take you in for detainment."


    "Oh, of course I wouldn''t expect you to understand. I get what''s happening now. You''re just another low level grunt, so the leaders wouldn''t bother cluing you into what''s been going on around here."


    "You got some kind of proof for these outrageous claims? Like I said, the Leray Agency¡ª"


    "¡ªare full of a bunch of hacks!" Nyar finished, seething with every breath. "They don''t investigate anything around here; they just do what their told and accept it. But I''m not going to accept that her death was an accident."


    Where are the other agents? The backup should be here by now, so what''s keeping them? Charlie knew this was a problem, but even so, Nyar seemed more interested in getting some kind of genuine justice rather than breaking into the tower. "Care to fill me in on who you are even talking about? You can''t possibly mean the girl who died from a brain stroke the other day."


    "Don''t lie about the conditions of her death!" Unleashing a Push Wave from his own magical circuits, Nyar intensified his resolve, though it was painfully clear that he didn''t know any good attack spells. "Yuel contacted me on the night she died, and she was freaked out to have learned of some horrible cover-up and conspiracy that your government was involved in. You''re telling me that the timing of her death was merely a coincidence?"


    Wait, is this really true? "I don''t know what you''re talking about. Why would the people working to make magic safe kill someone to cover up a secret?"


    "Why don''t you find the champion and ask him yourself?"


    Charlie cringed, finding the offer quite tempting... Still, he can''t be correct. The people running the tower would never resort to such violence. They can''t; it''s just not in them.


    Such hesitation... Maybe this guard is open to reason after all. "Not convinced yet? How about the dealings with the FMCI? I don''t know much about those guys, but they''re supposedly the secret service of this nation, are they not? If her death was just an accident, why in the world would the most notorious agency take any interest in Yuel''s death?"


    "Probably just a precaution to make sure. It means nothing, unless the FMCI are still holding her, which I doubt is the case. You realize how seriously we take incidences of dark magic deaths?"


    "Oh yeah? What about the cameras?"


    "Cameras?"


    "Don''t play dumb with me. The reports all mentioned that nothing of value was stolen off of her, but when I went to gather her belongings, only two of the three video capture cameras were available. I know Yuel; she used three of them at once to record her battles. One of them is missing, and the agency is treating it as a mistake in memory. Like I said, they don''t investigate anything, so I''m forced to do it myself."


    All of this is starting to sound more suspicious, but Charlie knew he had to stick to protocol. "Look, I understand now why you are here, but I can assure you none of our elites are responsible for this incident. If you want, I can rely your message to¡ª"


    "Not good enough!" Nyar interrupted. "I want to ensure they hear my warning in person. I know that one of them is covering up a major secret, and for that, they had Yuel killed and her death covered up. I won''t accept you telling me that I''m not allowed to see them, any one of them."


    "You misunderstand the situation," Charlie expressed, holding up a glyphring ready to subdue Nyar should he get any closer. "No matter the circumstances, our job as security guards is to protect the tower mages. Even if it weren''t, there are strict policies in place preventing the most important members of the nation from leaving the tower unguarded unless it is official business. You would need some kind of appointment made in advance to see them, which only the mage council or FMCI can grant. It''s actually for their own protection."


    "Protection?! Protection from what?" Charlie didn''t answer Nyar''s question, and it only served to prove him right. "You see, that''s the problem I have with people like you, people who lie and claim magic to be this safe and fun sport. If magic were really safe, then there wouldn''t be a need to use protection as an excuse for hiding away in a cylindrical cellar. I bet you know at least this much, don''t you? Leray magic isn''t actually safe to use; that''s the lie the government wants to cover up. Once Yuel learned of it, you all killed her in cold blood!"


    Instead of hearing any more, Charlie unleashed a Shadow Wave spell, pushing Nyar back and shoving him into the ground with minor damages. "We aren''t the enemy you make us out to be. Our people despise the use of dark magic, which can be the only element of magic left unsafe. If you think somebody killed your wife, you need more proof than a sob story like that. Furthermore, I won''t allow you to stand here and trash talk the very people I know would never resort to dark magic."


    "Just another lapdog I see..." This isn''t getting anyone anywhere; Nyar could see that much. It''s clear as day that Danton nor any other elite are coming down here to confront him in person... "Okay then... I see what''s going on. If you''re going to keep covering for them, that''s your risk to take. I''ll give you this one final warning."


    "I can have you thrown into our prison just for the stunt you''ve already pulled, and now you are threatening me?"


    "I wouldn''t be so smug if I were you. If the people in charge think they are untouchable, then I''ll use a different method. Twisted as this place may be, you people clearly place high value on law and order. So, this is my final warning to you. If you do not get the elites down here right now, then I will leave this place. After I do, I will hire the nation''s top lawyer, and sue the living shit out of everyone involved. It''s one hell of a thing to legally accuse one of murder in a place where people aren''t supposed to die, but I swear I will gather the evidence needed and put them in their place, and you will personally be roped in once I prove you are helping them conceal evidence. So, you all have a choice now. What''s it gonna be?"


    He can''t be serious! Nobody has ever threatened to sue the Elite Five before, but can that even be done? "Since I know none of them actually killed anyone, I know everything will be alright. We will hire a lawyer to defend ourselves."


    "Naturally, I figured you would choose that answer. Alright then. Consider your days as a guard numbered. It won''t be long before you are out of a job. If you have any family at home, you better make damn sure you have an alternate method to provide for them, cause I''m not going to let this slide."


    "So that''s it then? You''re just going to waltz away and sue the government?" It was the strangest encounter he''s ever had yet, though Charlie watched as Nyar kept up his promise, walking away with his hands in his coat pockets as though nothing wrong as ever done...


    <hr>


    <03/30/1965 ¨C 17:41 | Law firm Office, Gross City, Gulop, Sprawn Valley>


    "I''m sorry Mr. Nyar, but it''s just not good enough."


    "How can you sit here and tell me that? I thought you said you were the best. I want these scum locked away, and the truth revealed."


    Harris, the lawyer Nyar tried to hire explained the reason why Nyar was asking the impossible. "Putting aside the status of these people you wish to drag into court, the problem stems from the fact that the evidence you have is anything but concrete. At best, it proves that this death was more homicide than accident, but it doesn''t do a thing to point to any actual killer. You say they covered up the circumstances of the death? You need to prove this much too."


    "The missing camera wasn''t enough? How about the phone call she had shortly before everything ended? You can''t seriously believe this was all coincidence."


    "I''m sorry Nyar, but unless wire taps are set up in advance, international phone calls among civilians are never recorded and monitored. Sprawn Valley wouldn''t have the infrastructure to set that up anyway."


    "You expect me to believe that, after the fancy new technology I''ve been seeing around here lately?"


    "There is a bit of growth in technology, but it''s entirely motivated by corporate financing right here in this city. Like I said again, you cannot sue the Eldora governor or the Elite Five for conspiracy of homicide when there isn''t enough evidence to launch a case to begin with. The court would throw it out just from the title alone."


    "The report that the agency received was updated and altered by the FMCI, wasn''t it? How about I target them instead? I don''t believe that the FMCI would be honest about the circumstances anyway. They aren''t exactly keen on sharing information; so I wouldn''t put it past them to be the ones covering the details of her death."


    "The FMCI?! Surely you jest Nyar."


    "No, I don''t jest! Somebody killed my precious Yuel, and somebody is going to pay for it! I''m not going to let them get away with this! If I fail to bring these clowns to justice, then I''ll work as hard as I can to bring down their false reputation." Nyar was shaking by now, though with every memory dancing in his brain, it was all he could do to stay sane. "I should have listened to her that night, when she said magic wasn''t what the people thought it was. I should have consoled her better, and told her to keep hidden until I could come here in person to protect her... But it''s too late for that now."


    "I''m sorry to hear that." Poor guy. Unfortunately, there are certain people in this world who are untouchable by the law. "However, the chances of bringing suit against the FMCI are exceptionally lower than it would be to target the Elite Five."


    "Why, cause they''re the CIA equivalent?"


    "I''m not joking Nyar. The FMCI are a restricted organization, and not just to the public. Even their main town of Cheyenne doesn''t allow any access to the highest Echelon members of society to enter its boarders, and the same goes for anyone in the elite chain or the mage council."


    "So, you''re saying that you won''t help me."


    With a long sigh, Harris released his condolences. "I''m saying, I can''t help you, even if I want to, even if I believe you. You''re a lawyer yourself, are you not? Surely you understand what the main issue is. You have good instincts Nyar, I''m not knocking any of them; but you don''t have enough evidence to tie any particular individual to anyone."


    "I already told you. The missing camera is the key to all of this. It''s the reason it went missing."


    "Whether you need one missing link or another, you don''t possess this camera or its footage on you, and so, this puts everyone in an impossible position."


    "Then we sue the governor for peddling the lie that magic is safe. We were promised that people under the veil would be protected from magic-related deaths!"


    "That won''t work either."


    "Why the hell not?!"


    "Because everyone here already knows that magic is not a perfect force of security. Not only would you need to prove that Yuel was murdered with dark magic with court-approved evidence, but the very basis of the claim is already a fact which was revealed to the world about five years ago..." Did he really not know? "In 1960, the current leader of our nation spoke about it on national broadcasts, that Leray magic and dark magic co-exist together at the same time, and so are sourced from the very same veil. People might parrot the idea that magic is 100% safe, but the publicly available fine-print says otherwise. Therefore, nobody can be sued based on this fallacy, since it was a publicly available statement for more than five years."


    The very paragraph shut Nyar down in his place for a good moment, long enough for Harris to give up and pack up his suitcase.


    "The most I can do for you right now, is create a case of concern, and submit it to the Leray Agency. However, I don''t have to tell you how dangerous that could be, if, as you surmised, the FMCI had any involvement in altering the details of her death. It could paint a target on your back."


    "How dare you." Nyar tensed more at the warning. With tears in his eyes once more, he inhaled deeply through his pain, and gave his final declaration. "How dare anybody! Every single person in this place of lunacy speaks so highly about Leray magic, lying about its protection, lying about its safety. All this time, the people knew about the dangers of dark magic? I think not. This is clearly a situation where people don''t read that fine-print you mentioned, because they don''t know there is a need to go looking for it."


    "Perhaps. Though directing people to that has never once been a job detail of mine."


    "Even people like you make me sick!" he cursed violently, making Harris wince. "You know all about the lies of magic, yet you trout around going about business as usual, ignoring the problem all around you. I can''t believe Yuel and I were ever tricked into trusting the people of this place. I wonder just how many more lies there are, such as the grand lie Yuel gave her life trying to find out."


    "Don''t make me get security involved. Our business is done here anyway."


    "Oh yeah, just pretend like it''s another day at the office. I curse you! I curse all of you for feeding the system that has blinded you for so long!"


    "You''re acting irrational Nyar. I can''t help you with this case. I already told you that!"


    "Yuel Biion was murdered right on Danton''s front doorstep! Yet everyone keeps denying that she was killed, like it never even happened! But I''m not going to be fooled! Magic isn''t safe or glorious, yet the agents encourage people to get involved with it, as if this is all some grand sick twisted experiment! Yet I''m the irrational one here?"


    "Leave my office, now."


    "Don''t worry, I''m going. But mark my words, Harris. The government is lying to cover up a grand conspiracy, something far bigger than dark magic being a force of resistance to the supposed safety system. It''s something bigger than all of us, and I''m not going to stick around waiting to find out what happens when that massive trigger is pulled. I''m going to tell everyone. I''m going to make sure that the people outside know why they need to stay the hell away from this place. I''ll hire the best journalist if I have to."


    "I''m not the enemy here." After pressing another switch, Harris began to leave the room, ignoring the threat of Nyar handing around. "Maybe you are right, about all of it. But us lawyers, we can''t do a damn thing about it unless the puzzle pieces all fall into place, even if it is too late by then. I wish I could help you Nyar, but you are too plagued with grief to help yourself as you are... So, I''m leaving. I suggest you do the same. I''ve called security up to the office. So, even though I''ll walking out now, if they find anybody like yourself here by the time they get up here, they will shake you down and escort you from the building, and I don''t want anyone to see that."


    "As if I care," he retorted. "Stay asleep then. The entire nation here can perish and rot for all I care. The way I see it, this nation is responsible for Yuel''s death, for crushing her hopes and dreams, and nobody wants to own up to it. I''ll be sure to keep my distance from this wretched hellhole, myself and everybody I personally know. When that final hammer falls and this place is overrun with magic-wielding maniacs going on a murder spree, I''ll be sitting back to watch. Sprawn Valley and magic, they''re both evil, both twisted, all of it baked in lies and infinite misconceptions... I will never forget that."

 Missing Link (Part 6): Phantom Hunting

    <hr>


    <04/03/1965 - 13:00 | Isolated Wildlands, Iktal Region, Sprawn Valley>


    "Man," Monarch sighed with regret. "How many dead-ends are there gonna be on this trip?"


    "Tch!" If Lance knew Monarch would be this annoying, it would have been better to do this alone. "We''re only on our third lead. If you were gonna complain this much, you should have said so up front. Would have brought a book to read or music to listen to."


    "Scout, what music are you going to listen to? It''s not like they make pocket-sized record players, and you can''t possibly think the music radio network out here is any better."


    He never does quit, this one. Lance ignored the bickering for now, reflecting back to the briefing earlier this morning. There was a lot more information packed into Lance''s current mission than what anyone would have expected. The Scarlet leaders must have some clever minds at work to uncover so much so fast.


    There is still the large mystery of the tower''s core function to uncover. Even with the ability to see directly into the core room at will, seeing machines and gears turning doesn''t quite explain the process at work, which was perfectly understandable to most. No man can pop the front hood of a car for the first time and suddenly have full understanding of how to disassemble and reassemble engine components. In this case, the tower''s core room converts pure lunar light from above into usable Leray energy in a balanced fashion. This implies one particular format (between Leray and Dark magic) can have an altered difference in projection ratio, though none of this explains why or how the tower''s core only projects to Sprawn Valley.


    Lance figured he would leave the experts to that one prospect, though there was much more. The key ingredients to this mystery lies mostly within ex-tower elites and ex-champions. Anyone who had merely worked inside of Eldora Tower in the past would know a thing or two about the classified operations inside that superstructure. Even those who didn''t know anything about the core might know how others conduct specific and certain protocols, such as updates to security detail and inner functions of the tower''s electronic system.


    One electrician was apparently open-lip about one interesting fact. If a power-blackout in Eldora City were to occur, Eldora Tower would be entirely unaffected. Leray magic has the ability to be converted into non-magic electrical energy, the kind of power people use for light bulbs and air conditioners, but Leray magic on its own cannot be a direct substitute, even with the elemental magic form of electric Leray energy. This begs the question: How can Eldora Tower stay lit during a power outage of an entire city?


    One way or another, the answer to this question is of great importance. Others are convinced that lunar energy is also a key factor of importance, before it is converted in the first place, though testing this possibility requires a lot more to work with than a concrete bunker slapped together with more walls and a makeshift power grid. Again; this is for the higher ups to figure out, but Lance found it all equally intriguing.


    Coming all the way out here to Iktal has nothing to do with any of this info. The whole purpose of coming out here is to follow up on potential leads, people who may be linked in one way or another to ex-elites of Eldora Tower. If even one can be found and captured, they can be motivated to talk. The problem is, these ex-elites are invisible. Even with most of them having a past record digitally available, anything which can be used to locate them is outdated. Some records have been scrubbed too, though not for every person. It doesn''t change the fact that somebody in that tower is going through incredible trouble just to keep these people hidden, as if Danton somehow anticipated the very possibility that Lance would go looking for them.


    With all of this in mind, Lance kept Monarch on subject. "We''re not out here for a picnic. We''re literally chasing phantoms. It isn''t going to be easy finding anybody."


    "But why out here in the middle of nowhere, in Iktal?"


    "..." Lance didn''t need too long to answer, for it only needed a bit of thought. "It''s the most logical place for ex-elites to hide. They wouldn''t return to a public-facing job unless their records were totally screwed with. They might be hiding in Cheyenne, but this only makes it much harder to access them if it is true, though I doubt those dogs would dare let outsiders into their precious town for any reason. They wouldn''t be sent to Brunus, because even though the restriction against magical usage there would hide talent, it is much too small of a place to hide, and suspicious as a place to retreat to. Gulop and Junon are already quite developed, though two other search parties are already combing those areas as we speak. Speaking in order of significance, that just leaves Iktal. It''s the largest piece of land that has the lowest structural development by comparison to proportion size. Even though most people live by the water, nothing forbids others from living further from the shore, and there isn''t quite enough activity to bring people buzzing here with tourism, so it stays quiet and often under the radar."


    "Here we go with all that logic again. There''s no way you thought of all that on the spot. The masters have known this long before either of us have."


    "I grow tired of your talk. If you don''t want a lesson and don''t want to speak of anything, don''t flap your tongue about the reason you are out here."


    Lance sure is something, though not at all how Monarch expected him to be. "That reminds me. What music were you planning on playing without having anything to bring? Don''t tell me you''ve taken up violin."


    With a sudden smash embewed with rocky magical dispersion, Monarch was forced to jump back from a ground-wave attack initiated from the bottom of Lance''s bladed pole. "I had the wrong idea about you. I thought you came out here to prove your worth to the Scarlets, but now I think all you really want is to find out how many different ways I can kill you!" Instead of emitting anger, Lance sounded insane with a laughing smirk, as if he couldn''t wait to get some action underway.


    Having misjudged Lance once again, Monarch bowed and pleaded with apology. "Only joking! I meant nothing by it."


    "Tch! Joke like that again, and I''ll return the favor. Have to admit, it would be pretty funny if I detached that head from your shoulders; at least then I might miss all the useless chatter."


    Monarch didn''t talk back, for his own safety. It was strange only until now how relaxed Lance seemed, but this was his true face. Unlike with Krim and 99% of other subordinates, nobody would bat an eye if Lance killed someone on his own team; it''s in his exact character profile to do so, just for fun. So much for proving it was a made up description...


    "If you would spent half as much time being more inquisitive about the world around you, instead of talking trash, you would be far ahead of the other Scarlets." Lance knew where he was going with this, finding the last question interesting for a good reason. "Like for instance, that girl Krim hunted down, turns out she was versed in a number of lost spells, one of which includes an aura with the power to link internal mental noise with the external dispersion rate of the energy aura. Even though I am unaware of its invocation pattern, it actually is possible to generate an aura and play music directly from the brain''s memory. The aura becomes a well-amplified speaker all running on magic alone."


    Wait, so there actually was a way to play music this whole time on the go? "I never knew that. Sure makes me wonder why everyone else isn''t doing it."


    "Curious indeed. Lost spells are called lost spells because they dropped off in popularity, but there is always a reason when this happens, and a majority of the time, it is because at once moment, a local or national governor put a ban on such abilities." Lance kept walking while easing his own boredom, lining up another uncharted house in the distance, his next target. "Do you want to know why they banned the music aura in Junon?"


    "I... Yeah. Why would they want to restrict something so innocent sounding?"


    "It''s rather simple. Enough noise complaints came in when every delinquent in town found it humorous to wake people in residential zones from their sleep, bass-boosting whatever loud trash they could find. Not gonna lie, I would find it quite humorous too, if times were the way they were back then."


    So then, if Yuel was using this special aura, they must have lifted the ban, or perhaps extended exception to authorized individuals with that digital abomination they integrated into the current veil.


    "Other times, lost spells are simply abandoned because not enough people find it useful in battle, though there is always at least one idiot lugging it around, too stubborn to drop it. The point is, if the government has the ability to manually make changes to the veil and disable specific spells, then there may be useful applications for these spells, for Scarlets anyway."


    "You mean, if you knew how to invoke the spell, and used dark magic to rely on its invocation, thus preventing the blocker sequence code from executing?"


    "Unfortunately, dark magic amplifies all abilities, even when doing so ruins the intended nature of the spell. For combat, that isn''t usually a problem, but for non-combat spells, trying to twist dark magic to its form more or less corrupts the spell before it can be executed. However, I''m more than willing to bet there are lost spells which have not been discovered by the tower mages, spells which should prove most useful to us. The question becomes learning where to find these unique spells. So far, you''ve only thought to learn whether our targets could be ex-elites, but my chain of questioning is more complex. I wish to find out if there are other lost spells that these exiled mages may know about. Even someone from outside of Eldora Tower can be useful to us, if we play our cards right."


    "I don''t doubt our skills, only our rotten luck. We''re not going to randomly bump into ex-elites from Eldora just by walking door to door, even with your ability to snuff out lies made out of fear."


    "It''s an easy life skill, not an ability. And don''t rope me in with your reliance on luck. The reason things have not gone our way for so long, is that our enemy has always been one step ahead of us. Whatever they are hiding on that top floor must be something so obvious, that nobody in their right mind would correctly guess and put together its mannerism of truth. So, we have to gather more data for now."


    "Say we do manage to find an ex-elite, and prove they have involvement with the tower, and are happy to talk about it with a routine interrogation. What if all they know is¡ª"


    "Shut it Monarch!"


    "But¡ª"


    "I don''t deal in ''what-if''s.'' If you flood your mind with scenario after scenario, then you will only be knowledgeable about what might be, instead of what is."


    "I didn''t realize you were so poetic," Monarch murmured.


    "Philosophical, you moron. It really is too bad that Kite Fargenst couldn''t win the championship and remain in power. The world would have been a very different place. So many things remain untouched by scientific research. But, he didn''t, and all we can do about it now is take that veil by force and return the natural state of magic back to the people."


    "The natural state of magic..."


    "Oh come on!" Lance rolled his eyes without turning around. "You forgot the most basic teachings of the Scarlets. Leray magic is not natural. If it were really so simple that only Leray and Dark magic existed as the primary coefficients of the entire magical conversion process, then there wouldn''t be a need to hide so much about it. I want to know why a charged Leray magic crystal or a dark magic crystal cannot be discharged in areas outside of the veil. Back before Eldora Tower existed, this used to be possible. It was how magic was invoked during the Avion War of Mages."


    "Right, I thought about that once. Wasn''t it miniature veils of magic projected from the person, or something?"


    "You''re close, but not quite right. Mages produced tiny versions of Leray veils, so that their Leray magic crystals would discharge, allowing people within the same field to use magic and spells. Even inside of such a field, dark energy from dark magic crystals could also be discharged. According the not-so-public records, magical discharge from Leray crystals without this personalized veil was impossible, however, during that war, reports of dark magic crystal usage was documented without the same of any veil, which violates the current laws of magic in this world. Like I said before, if you or I went to another continent and tried to use either Leray magic or dark magic, even with charged crystals, we would not be able to. Before Eldora Tower existed, it was possible inside of this continent, and without a nearby personal veil."


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "... Hey yeah." Is this why Lance is so infatuated with the hidden mysteries of the past? Monarch couldn''t lie to himself, even he wanted to know what was up with this one hiccup in the records. "I assume you already know?"


    "There can only be two possibilities," he answered. "Either, the history books are not telling the whole truth. Maybe the people who reported seeing unsupported dark magic dispersion were too stupid to see that some other veil was powering those crystals. Or, more than likely, they lied about what they saw, in order to protect a greater secret. Even this is something I find unlikely, since we would be talking about a collective of individuals with no ties to the government or to each other. It isn''t that this is impossible, just unlikely."


    "And the other possibility?"


    Lance traded himself a long and deep breath before stressing himself with the other alternative answer. "The only other lie, is that magical dispersion is not isolated only to Sprawn Valley, that using magic in any part of the world is actually possible; we just don''t know how to do it. The entire crystal configuration might have to be constructed in a different manner or charged up in a different way. It would have something to do with energy conversion, which deals directly with the heart of the current Leray veil. Something within that process might innately explain how it could be possible to use magic outside of an existing veil, and that the reason mages hide the conversion process is to prevent this knowledge from leaking out. It is a more likely scenario, but one much harder to prove without a leap in evidence."


    "..." Monarch didn''t say it, but the idea of using any spell outside of the safety zone was beyond tempting.


    "Now do you realize why it''s important to cover every single aspect of detail? While you''re out here complaining about sore feet, you could be learning the secrets that may one day make you the god of any world of your choosing. You could plunder any country with your unique magic, provided you kept competition away from you, and rule as the king you''ve always wanted to be." Lance knew he was hitting more nerve than thought, as Monarch didn''t have too mysterious of a background. Once the king of a tiny country of his own upbringing, Monarch left to come here, hoping to rule with magic as it would be more fun. Little did he realize how many rules and restrictions there were barring people from reaching the top of the food chain, and the intense competition did him no good.


    "I doubt it could ever be that easy... However, I cannot hide my temptation to such an offer. Like I said to you before. I will help you in this task, not for the immediate glory of impressing our boss, but for the long term greater good."


    "It sure is good to have ambition, and unlike other gangs, as a Scarlet, you are allowed to be selfish, so long as you don''t stab your master in the back. You can leave whenever you please." There was the additional stipulation of being sworn to secrecy, though Lance knew Monarch didn''t need to hear about it again, since Monarch isn''t the person who cares about that stuff... Well, at least he''s quiet and serious again.


    "I wonder if we should try pretending to be current tower elites ourselves, maybe a branch of a secret society within the tower."


    "Just don''t get too carried away. There is no room for error."


    With them both now at the next house, Monarch quickly imagined manners of speech he could use to trick any ex-elite in hiding to fess up. "Of course." It would be his turn to speak after all, and with such newfound steaks, no ex-elite will ever hide from him.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Investigation ~ Artem Grebenshchikov (Pandemic)</a>


    <hr>


    <04/06/1965 - 16:00 | Delta Camp, (Unknown Region), Sprawn Valley>


    Days and nights marched on, testing the skill and wits of those most trusted to the task of phantom hunting. However, when Lance and Monarch returned to the main base of operations, the debriefing was lacking all inspiration. Out of the hundreds of people that were spoken to, not a single resident of Iktal or other regions were associated with Eldora Tower in any manner. Even for those who might have simply hid their past, Lance ensured he used methods to trip up any potential mage. Alas, Iktal was only filled with people living the countryside dream, and even though it was possible some areas were missed in the search, the boss wasn''t allowing for any time extension to the task.


    After deliberations, it was very clear that someone in Eldora Tower was taking drastic and careful steps to conceal any and all identities of people who used to live or work inside of the tower, including the small fry; cooks, cleaners, security guards, any position was fair game. They keep their credentials just as secretive as the FMCI does to their own agents.


    They don''t seem to care about covering the tracks as much with current Eldora staff and elites, which poses the interesting question for how they make the old ones disappear. Lawrence Citrin is nowhere to be found, not him or his family. Several of the previous elites that came before Trujima are either missing, have moved out of the country, or have had their entire identity data wiped or altered, and it''s been this way since long before Lawrence was even born. The only exceptions are made to those who have previously challenged elites or champions and failed to succeed in their intended challenge. This clearly means that, during event days, nothing inside most arena floors of the tower can possibly stand out as suspicious in any way.


    How many employees of that tower know the whole truth? It would be risky to kidnap any random smuck and ask around, since this would raise the alarm on what the Scarlets already know; it''s too soon. Danton doesn''t even know that the Scarlet Syndicate exists beyond anything more than ten troublesome gang members who might have kicked a window once or twice in their life, and until more can be learned, it''s best to play each card carefully. This is the reason why Krim was nearly on the hook for enacting such force when he did. Anything that deviates from the intended mission objective can have devastating consequences, and Lance knew he of all people wanted to succeed more than anything.


    Oddly enough, the disgraceful news that nothing could be learned about the mages of the past didn''t bother the masters too much, though it was because of a new face who showed up unannounced to the unimportant security personnel of this base. Nevertheless, this ex-prisoner who was somehow allowed to exist here today, making himself known and well-introduced, though Lance kept a safe distance until he could learn more...


    They can''t have seriously bought that, right? There is no such thing as an ex-prisoner for Verlith. The small-time criminals who don''t go to jail here are deported instead, as to not risk the security of the isolated facility. So, there is no such thing as ''being released for good behavior.'' Furthermore, it''s too impressive of a prison to escape from, with zero successful escape attempts on record. Being isolated to a remote island within the nation is what makes it so difficult. Having information about the prison is believable at best, but being inside and let out later is not. The boss has to know this, though is accepting the man''s lie for a different reason.


    This Nadiezer, he''s an unknown variable, so Lance concluded. Even if he is a skilled warrior, he may also wind up behaving like a serpent. Being deceitful appears to be one of many talents, and apparently high enough in charisma to get all the positive attention from the rookies.


    "No, no. Trust me on this, my fellow friends." Nadiezer, who was already getting along with everyone just started explaining why it was a bad idea to risk a prison heist for potential allies. "Most of the people there are all washed up. The very few you might find useful, would only stab us in the back to serve their own twisted desires, which greatly differ from what I hear this syndicate is about."


    "Still, I doubt they just let you out on good behavior. Wouldn''t that risk an intel leak of their own facility?" Lance had not asked the question himself, but silently praised the soldier who did, and listened closer for a reply.


    "Jeeze, you make it sound as if I killed a bunch of people. I''m more than happy to break bones and smash heads, but I was most behaved in front of the guards and staff."


    "Still, wouldn''t leaving you alone give you purpose to talk about the prison to others?"


    "You really believe the guards are worried about that?" Nadiezer''s rhetorical question gave him enough peace to fill in more blanks. "It''s like I already said. The worst that could happen in the event that prisoners are liberated are a bunch of washed up farts with no talent wandering around, and that means they would be pretty easy to recapture. I''m not saying it isn''t a bit risky on their part, but for our goal, it isn''t worth the trouble or the attention."


    Impressive! Lance wasn''t bothered that all the idiots in the room swallowed that pile of garbage so easily. Even garbage can taste good when tricked into believing it is a high-class meal. Lance knew the truth; Nadiezer is an expert manipulator, a liar who can fool the hardiest of minds. It takes having a screw loose to see it so easily. Wonder what his ulterior motive could be then. Best to say nothing for now.


    "Well then, what did you go to prison for? Did you egg a cop''s house or something?"


    Letting them have their chuckles, Nadiezer gave them their first sliver of truth. "Nothing too exiting. They charted me away for domestic animal abuse."


    "Eh?!" The shocked expressions echoed out through the whole room, and even Lance''s eyebrows rose two centimeters. There''s no way he heard that wrong. Even among the Scarlet Syndicate, animal abuse is generally frowned upon, at least Lance assumed so. Still, what animals was he referring to?


    "You see," he explained, "I took the time in my youth to master summoning skills, even though I could only get three of them done right. Before all of that though, I was raised outside of this nation, and I had different pets too."


    "No way dude! Did you like, snap necks of dogs and cats before coming here? That''s sick!"


    "Yeah man, what the hell is wrong with you? Even dogs out here deserve more respect than that."


    ... Well, it sure is tense now, Lance thought. It makes no sense for Nadiezer to pull out fabrications making himself seem so monstrous, not unless he really is hardcore and wants to test their metal. No, something feels off here, as if this isn''t a grand lie.


    Strange as it was, Nadiezer answered their questions with his own backstory. "You do have one thing correct; the animals that live here deserve far better than what they receive..." Silence endured, demanding elaboration. "Your initial assumption is correct. Before coming here, I did unspeakable things to many animals, whether wild or adopted as a house slave. However, when I took things too far, some of those creatures took their own lives into their hands and ran away never to return, at least, the ones who survived managed to escape."


    After realizing he was about to be beaten to a pulp if his explanations ended there, Nadiezer kept going. "It was actually a simple desire; I wanted to see how intelligent the creatures were; whether or not they had any power, whether or not they had any free-will, and the experience provided interesting enough results to satisfy my curiosity for a while... But then I stepped foot into Sprawn Valley, and learned about the immortality system."


    "Why are you looking at me for? I''m not buying him a drink." After deflecting the expectant stares from his peers, Sergio waited for Nadiezer to continue the awkward confession.


    "The veil of magic stops people from dying, by limiting the amount of damage any and all spells are capable of inflicting. But it does a lot more than that. The veil also makes a potent connection between the space here and the magical dimension, while amplifying specific summoning spells. The natural order of creatures from the magical dimension is supposed to be developed by willful contract, but mastering the glyph variant of Massife is enough to bind a human soul to a Flare Drake for life, without having any expressed permission from the drake."


    "And you know this because..."


    "Dude, isn''t it obvious?" Sergio gently shoved his friend aside, trying to jog his brain. "Once Nadiezer realized there were magical animals here, he didn''t stop with just cats and dogs."


    "Correct," he admitted with such a misfitting soothing voice. "At first, all I tried to do was use an endurance test to see if the drakes fall asleep when their health stat zeroes out. Though the reaction and symptom is similar for us humans, the drakes return to the magical dimension, something that would happen with or without this stupid veil. Unlike us humans, it would take a hell of a lot more than dark magic spells to kill a magical creature; so much that I''m not even sure if slaying one is possible."


    "So, the summons can''t ever die? I bet you''re happy about that."


    "Hear what I have to say before making that dangerous implication again. If there is a way to kill a summon, I know not of one, nor do I care to know. However, I have learned that it is nearly impossible to break the link that binds a summon to its human master, once that link is made. Again, even without making a contract, the right spell invocation can bind an unwilling creature to the designated human, and in such a way where the creature would be incapable of running away or leaving on their own. The Leray veil, and only the Leray veil forces this doctrine. I know this, because I have stress-tested the system to ensure I was not wrong. Why do you think we never see the other elemental drakes of Tarzuse, Whicked Whyrl, and Aquamarine? They exist in other geographic locations of the magical dimension outside of the Leray Veil, and require willful contracts of strength in the first place."


    By now, mouths hung wide and open, for the realization of his words began to click without much need for thought... Nadiezer... He tortured them. He tortured every summon that he had, probably for enjoyment, yet unlike with ordinary house pets...


    "Precisely. Unlike ordinary house pets, the summons were held under a strict and most unnatural contract to continue serving us as our masters, slaves for the entire duration of our human lives. Even should that human die, another can later claim the same summon and repeat the cycle. Under a secret experiment using a small dark magic field, I proved that - under the right circumstances, the drakes and other creatures could easily break this link if they so desired to of their own volition, as few were freed given what I put them through."


    With one loud clap of emotion, Nadiezer made his point nice and clear. "So, let''s recap. This Leray veil of magic that pretends to coat the land with sugar and rainbows, gives a son of a bitch like myself the capability of owning any magical creature I want as a slave. I can then abuse this slave as much and as often as I want, and unlike in the outside world, that same creature cannot sever the invisible chains added to the dominion, nor are they granted the ability to die. The mere existence of magic itself is not what makes this so, but rather the rules installed into the Leray veil, something unique though not for too long a time. Now tell me, which is more cruel? Allowing a system where an animal may suffer while eventually facing relief, or a system where an animal may suffer endlessly without end, for eternity with no free-will to break itself from its own master?"


    After several mild gasps of epiphany, the entire atmosphere shifted in revelation, though only slightly. "I... I didn''t know that."


    "Seriously? The drakes have their own free-will, if only not for the veil?"


    "There are also many additional creatures from the magical dimension who are incapable of being allowed to communicate, evolve, or link with other humans, though the existence of the Leray veil blocks them from ever spawning into our world naturally. If that weren''t cruel enough, though I''d need more time to confirm it, I have a theory that the summons linked by the Leray veil undergo unnatural changes, both in physiology and direct parameters, to fit in with the whole, ''non-lethal'' magic thing the lunes have going on around here. If I''m right, it means elements such as Flare Drakes are naturally weakened before we ever get to see them, their true form a mystery, and the alteration permanent."


    "Hey now! That''s all interesting, but do you think I''m going to pair up with a psychopath that gets off on murdering dogs and slapping drakes around for boredom? Humans deserve that kind of crap, and one day, all will be bathed in the light of our creator, to be purified or torn asunder. That said, I don''t think people who love hurting non-human creatures will sit very well with the divine."


    Nadiezer had to pause, not expecting actual believers of this strange cult, though it fits perfectly well all the same. "That''s fine with me. I don''t need a team to operate, and I already have the blessing of our master, directly from the man himself. If it''s any consolation at all, I don''t bully my drakes anymore. I''m not against doing it again to further any additional research, though I doubt it will be necessary going forward."


    "I''m starting to wonder why our master brought you on. You must be wicked strong with magic."


    "I''m simply one hell of a master with summons. What else can I say?"


    "You can cut the crap, new-stuff." At last, Lance figured he had enough just listening arms-crossed. It''s time to see how real his resolve is. "I''ll admit it''s all an interesting story, but it''s sad if you really expect me to believe that your entire sole purpose for being here relies on ''freeing'' the summons from the clutches of the government."


    "I don''t care what you believe."


    "That''s too damn bad!" Who does he think he is? This man is looking for a beat down! There are only two in this whole world with enough power and balls to speak to Lance with such confidence, and Nadiezer is sure to lack one of the two.


    "I get that it''s a bit ironic, me trying to bring salvation to the same creatures I tortured for as long as I have. But you see, it''s not because I really love them or anything. I''m doing this out of respect; that''s the difference. There is no respect or honor whatsoever in removing the free-will from the creatures that inhabit the area. This is the reason I believe humans to be more evil between species. Humans do possess free-will, and yet they use it to remove it from others they think are different from them. All I did was try to learn more about these creatures. So, since our goals are one and the same, uninstalling the Leray veil over this pathetic false utopia, I suggest you fall in line, Lance."


    How... How does he know my name? Did master speak it?


    Lance is really shocked by this? How cute. "Don''t underestimate what I learned in my own background. I am a criminal. I am a villain. I already know that I''m trash, that when I die there won''t be a single tear wept for me. That said, I don''t need to play the role of hero to free the souls I wish to liberate. No matter which side of the war I am on, I will free those who have been bound by these man-made magical chains. That means the veil has to die!"


    Spoken with such vigor, Nadiezer already had the others completely won over, the moment a bit surreal with such choice words. With exception to Lance, others were motivated by this additional plight.


    "The Scarlets will free the people from the chains holding them back from pain and death, as dark magic should be, but we will also smash the shackles that dictate how summons should behave from within their own dominion. Only then may we have the right to sit beside God when this is all over."


    "That may well be all and good, but we still don''t have a plan to destroy the veil. Even if we just flattened the core without replacing it, the drakes will lose their connection to this entire world."


    "If that is what you really believe, then you are not well informed."


    Lance wanted to smite his weapon through the man''s face, but was shaken by the very idea that it could be true. Is Nadiezer right? Does he really know more than Lance, as much as master? Who is this guy?


    "Don''t lose hope, my fellow maniac. Our masters still have some leads they wish to pursue, all in due time. Plus, I caught rumor of a new project in the making, something big. All that is required of us now, is patience, and loyalty."

 Missing Link (Part 7): Approval Code U-QCR-001

    <hr>


    <04/11/1965 - 08:45 | Blue Port Forest, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>


    Despite the silence in the soft wind, tension higher than molten soot stalled every breath. All noisy wildlife already vacated from the area, as if they somehow had a sense for what was to come... Or, perhaps Lance found himself nervous for the first time since joining these freaks. Having Nadiezer as a new member sure didn''t put many at ease, but the man was knowledgeable. Sure enough, it only took days for a big decision to be made, evident for having most of the higher elite teams meeting up in the open like this.


    The deeper parts of Blue Port Forest were unmonitored by the Leray agents, but showing up in person like this was still a risk, one the masters were willing to take. In fact, it was so important that the leader of the Scarlet Syndicate showed up in person, bewildering Lance with a heart-pounding anxiety that this was too important to hide from, as if the world would shift and move on his command, no matter what.


    "Two others are supposed to show up soon, but they will be briefed anyway... Lance."


    Lance tightened every muscle in his presence, uncertain why master seemed so untrustworthy of Lance''s presence. Perhaps it had something to do with Lance putting no faith in Nadiezer; the grunts sure do like to talk. Still, Lance knew he had done no wrong. "Master." He bowed carefully, daring not to speak of his real identity. It was one of the many important rules on this team. Even if people know of his actual name, none shall speak it aloud in any setting, not until the day of reckoning arrives. There are actually two masters though, a second rank paired with the first, who is absent for this specific meeting today under the rising sun.


    "Allow me to introduce the fourth ranked, Kronos." As master introduced Kronos, the soldier didn''t move or shift for any handshakes. All he did was cock his railgun rifle, showing off an impressive innovation to Leray-related technology. Eventually, those guns will be able to do more damage than the veil would allow, in due time.


    "I am full of questions," Lance openly admitted without shame, "but I don''t believe they will all be answered today."


    "Then you have good instinct," Master praised. "We are too short on time for sharing too much at once. We have amended our build-up plan, and require a much stronger level of execution before we can strike out against the core of the veil."


    This really is important; no doubt about it. Still, Lance wondered where the others were. He assumed the ranks entrusted with this mission would be higher in number, but there were only sixty-two individuals present, most of them wearing leather masks or tactical helmets. Day by day, these members are looking more like soldiers and less like mages. "Awaiting intelligence, sir."


    He glanced around once more, raising his voice and ensuring everyone was huddled closely without breaking their tactical formation. "Before we begin, I dare ask for promise that nobody has been followed out this way."


    "Sir! No Sir!" Everyone replied at once, cautious enough not to raise their voices too high, at the risk anyone might overhear. At the same time, Kronos turned and adjusted a setting on some strange headgear set he wore, as if to patrol the surroundings without leaving the general zone too far. After it was confirmed, the Scarlet leader got to work with the briefing.


    "As of this moment, Outpost Delta will no longer be a valid rendezvous for any Scarlet member, with exception to our moving team. We will use Outpost Epsilon to develop and transfer the raw materials and equipment needed for our upcoming construction project. I won''t disclose the location of this future structure until later."


    "Construction project?" Lance couldn''t make heads or tails of it. The fact that they were abandoning site Delta must mean an enemy is onto the location of its whereabouts; or it means that the plan is moving into a new stage. Outpost Epsilon is nearly, on a smaller delta the locals have not yet explored. Based on the practicality of location, the only means of transferring these materials easily would be dark magic teleportation glyphs.


    "That is correct. I weighed our options with my second in command, and have come to this decision. Authorization for project U-QCR-001 has been approved. As such, we will take on the long-term goal to construct this facility for the sake of experimental magical research."


    "Project U-QCR?" Lance felt a familiarity with the term, though not with enough depth to explain it to himself.


    Luckily, master was here to explain it all, to everybody here. "We will be building, and later migrating our entire force into this facility. In short, the acronym stands for ''Underground Quantum Catalyst Reactor.'' Even I don''t know exactly what energy we will be producing at the very beginning, but the overall goal is quite simple. If it is too impossible to break into Eldora Tower secretly to discover the secrets of pure magical conversion, then we will work to reverse engineer the process ourselves, until we finally unlock the secrets of magic. Basically, the facility will allow us to test countless varying possible vectors of magic and non-magic energy conversion. Eventually, we shall learn just where Leray magic really comes from, down to the building blocks of light."


    "That''s some plan! Won''t that take several years?"


    "It will only take months to excavate a mining site, and one total year to expand operational levels throughout the quarry. After the construction is complete and the system is setup, we will spend years if necessary conducting rapid-pace experiments and testing. Make no mistake; this plan will work. I will find out what makes our magic tick, but I''m also going to be hiring scientists to launch several side-projects as well, to help us develop additional technology that will put us ahead of those government lapdogs."


    It''s like someone lit a fire under the boss''s ass! He makes it sound so simple, but each day they spend out in the open constructing something so massive is another day they risk being caught by authorities. "Not that I''m against the idea or anything, but how do you intend to hide our operations mid-construction?"


    "We have our ways Lance. Let the pros deal with those details." Even if Site Epsilon is sieged, Outpost Sigma will serve the same purpose without issue, being that it is located deep under the ocean and all. One contingency plan backed by ten more; that is the only way to stay ahead of Brash Danton.


    "As I was saying," he continued, "We''re going to make proper use of this underground base. Our location will ensure that authorities never find us. I''ll unlock it all! Illegal symbols, lost spells, dark magic signets, genetic mutation of exotic animals, nothing will be off limits to us. As for our conversion matrix, it will be simple enough to start off small. We need to begin with using the veil to power a basic electrical system and sub-generator, so that we may use that power to conduct the real tests."


    "Tch! I thought the plan was to destroy the crystal core and smash the veil to pieces. That''s what most of us joined the syndicate for in the first place."


    "And we will achieve that goal, but only after we understand how such a core functions. I will have that power in the palm of my hands. There is something in this world even stronger than dark magic, and I''m going to find out what it is, even if I must produce it on my own. After we learn how to generate this energy and project it out into our own artificial veil, then I will unleash my master plan to remove Leray magic from the equation, and bring about purity to this rotten world. If that doesn''t align with your interests, Lance, then face me no longer." Lance has a choice to make right now. Everybody is either all in on this plan, or all out. None are allowed to leave the Scarlets and live to tell about it.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "Very well sir. It wasn''t my intention to doubt the work you have set out."


    "Ironic as it may seem, nobody here seems to understand loyalty better than Nadiezer and Kronos. You would do well to absorb all you can from them, but back to the purpose of our shared mission..."


    "Our future reactor will be more than capable of creating miracles of science, because I''m going to make sure I use every ounce of energy produced to exceed all limitations imposed by the veil. No longer will I allow for a single spell or condition to dictate what our energy system can do. As for recruiting additional members into the team, we will have to change our tactics on what will be promised. Understand me Lance; I will need you to hunt down and seek out human beings willing to become living test subjects. I don''t intend to have these test-subjects killed, but their survival with what I have in mind may not be guaranteed."


    "If these experiments are what I think they are, the end result could make them far more powerful than any sitting champion. Something tells me you won''t stop at existing symbols."


    "No. I will make my own magical signets. I will lead the charge to enter new technology that will merge other research products together. I can already feel it now; spell bombs that embew magical symbols for us, electronic jammers capable of negating specific protocols within the safety system of the veil, and crystals capable of turning Leray magic inside out with the flick of a switch. With all the electrical energy we could ever harness with such a reactor, t''would not be a challenge of time."


    It sure is one quick way to explain a master plan in the making, but Lance was still speechless and shocked, for the grand epic level of such a lofty idea was impressive, as was master''s confidence in pulling it off. "Recruiting people is what I shall do, as you have asked it. However, I''m not the best people person, as you already know."


    "I am well aware. Do not fret. In time, I will use the newest recruits you find to inherit the same job I give you now. Before long, you will personally be capable of looking into the crystal shard research project we have prepared."


    "So you were paying attention to the thesis papers I wrote."


    Lance does in fact have a fascination with magic crystals, and it''s important to make full use of such ambition in return. "The core of Leray magic must be powered by a series of magical crystals. Though we do not have these devices to study personally, it won''t be that hard to conduct tests and reconfigurations to determine what will and won''t work."


    "In that case, I will be of even greater assistance than before."


    "Motivation always brings out the best in people. Never forget that."


    Indeed. If Lance can learn the secret of the true source of all magic, and condense it down into a crystal, charging such energy to be released anywhere in the world, it puts him towards any status he wants. He could rule over an entire country this way.


    "One day, I intend to conduct mass theft of the crystal shards they have lying around in the schools'' vaults, but that won''t happen until we are desperate enough to amass a heavy amount of material to work with, and until we can step out of our own shadows often enough to do as we need to. When our new base is complete, even if we destroyed an entire town, Danton would never be able to find us."


    "So then, guerrilla warfare tactics are the way to go?"


    "It is only but one single tactic out of many. I''m not playing a simple game of chess with these scum. I plan to take it all the way to ascendancy."


    Wonder if Kite wishes to be a god as well. "Is there any method of attaining these crystal shards besides breaking and entering?"


    "But of course. The idiots of Eldora have let their guard down, and revealed the significance of the Eupharus Region. Unlike the Skar Mountains, which has thoroughly been mined into a husk of its former self, Eupharus Island is packed and loaded with magic-compatible crystals embedded in ore fragments. Since the region is monitored regularly, we will have to mine these crystals with caution, and that means it will take a while to amass anything useful. That being the case, I have plenty who are up for the task. So, my dear Lance, you will have your chance to play with our toys the moment our facility ignites its first breath."


    He couldn''t ask for a better outcome then. This ambition, this long-term plan... It''s all inspiring! It''s too tempting to resist! No wonder this man is the leader of such a deadly organization. He might look like a freak, but the guy has some spunk. "If that is all in the disclosure of the plan, then I ask to be put through the training of recruitment... I don''t know if I can pull it off without better guidance."


    "On the contrary. You seem to have already made a better member of Monarch. Granted, he was already part of the team to begin with, but until now, I had that man pegged as some pathetic doormat waiting for the next paycheck. Loyalty and ambition are equally significant, even though they often directly oppose each other. You must learn how to balance yourself. You do exceptionally well with combat, but you must now master the skill of speech and persuasion. Since you already have some idea already, I will pair you with the proper team to make it happen."


    "Please don''t tell me it''s that guy!" Lance''s teeth raged with a hiss to the soulless human he despised most.


    "Ah, so you will have the luxury of learning two lessons at one, mastering the ability to work with people you cannot stand."


    Does he find this amusing?!


    "Nadiezer is already the best for the task. His manipulation skills are highly ranked. He''s an expert at lying, and a lot of that comes from his confidence. While his background of treating animals like garbage is a truth I checked into, he already has most of us sold on another grand lie."


    "Y¡ªyou mean, you knew? You knew about Nadiezer''s fib with the prison story he told?"


    "Insult my intellect one more time, and I will strip you of your rightful role in crystal research."


    "My apologies, master." So it really is true. Lance knew it so, but it''s most peculiar that master knew he was lying as well, and let Nadiezer into the syndicate regardless.


    "The best liars embed truth in their deceptions. The man wasn''t lying to claim that most who are currently in Verlith Prison would be useless to us, and so, attempting to break in or out would only paint too big a target against us, and at a time far too soon. Though, anyone with half a brain knows that those strict bot brains never release prisoners for good behavior, nor do they allow any of their prey to escape their walls. The most logical explanation is that Nadiezer somehow has a mole inside the facility. I don''t care about this one bit. I would know if any member of mine was ever planning to betray our cause, even someone as well-versed as that lunatic."


    Still, if what master says is true, it begs the question for why Nadiezer would lie about something this important, all the way from the beginning. Does Nadiezer know that master knows of this grand tale?


    "Screw loose or no, Nadiezer is telling the truth about wanting to free all summons from the veil controlling their binding protocols. Thus, he has plenty of motivation to see that we achieve every single goal. If you spend enough time with him, I''m sure you will become far more of an expert in the recruiting process. Therefore, you will be working together with him, even if the thought turns your stomach into a whirlpool of hatred."


    Lance couldn''t protest, for if he tried to now, his insides would be liquefied right here, by the boss''s own hand. There is no choice in the matter. "Fine. Let''s just start this already. The sooner we start, the faster I can do it on my own."


    "We will soon run out of likely candidates in the local area. Thus, some external travel to other neighboring countries will be required. As you and Nadiezer both are not from around here, that shouldn''t be a challenge. However, I''m afraid your sacred task is still going to have to wait a few more days. There is still the matter of material transperation to be undertaken."


    "You mean you don''t already have enough people for that? The mover team getting lax on you?"


    "The moving team is only responsible for switching between Outpost Delta and Outpost Epsilon. I need more people to handle the raw material transfer between Epsilon and the designated facility location, which is still unknown until my land-surveyors finish their task."


    He really is managing a lot... Lance let a hefty sigh escape him, one that relaxed his whole body, since this would be such a chore. "Fine. I know all these puzzle pieces are important to you. I''ll get straight to work then."


    The boss nodded, then turned to face the rest of his team. "The rest of you will have similar duties of material transperation, and installation. I will personally designate all of you on which materials you will need to procure, how much of each, and when it must be made."


    "May I inquire about a possible flaw in the early stages of material transportation?"


    "No Kronos, you may not inquire. I already know what you are thinking. If we keep transporting tons and tons of material day in and day out, eventually, some idiot walking the outside zone will notice our presence. However, we only need to construct the very first underground floor, and install warp-stabilizers to handle and auto-correct incoming and outgoing teleportation glyphs. Once we have done this, we can make much larger shipments from Epsilon to Sigma using a submarine I have purchased. This way, we can teleport the rest from Sigma to the interior first floor of the room, the one with the stabilizers, but we still have to build structural supports underneath it, to ensure we don''t have a collapse or cave-in. It will take a lot of time... Do your job right, and you won''t have anything to deal with later."


    "Yes Sir." It was a more well-thought out plan than Kronos expected, and he had no further reason to question it. Basically, Kronos will have guard duty, ensuring that plenty of alarm is silently reached to all Scarlets conducting operations should any suspicious person come too close to the survey site, wherever it may end up.


    With all things decided and understood, the boss enhanced his own promise. "One way or another, we will learn of the primary fuel source for all magical conversion. If these fools mocking us wish to hide the one and only missing link between magic and reality from our eyes, then we will simply construct our own missing link, or perhaps something even stronger. When our promised day of reckoning arrives, it will be us who stands in the light of truth, holding the true power of nature in the palm of our hands. As for Brash Danton and that idiot Mainne, they will be finished before they even realize the mistake they made all those years ago! Mark my words. This is far from over."