My eyes were fixed on the infirmary door as apprehension continued to raise in my heart with every passing second. Celeste and Philemon had come out nearly 10 minutes ago, with the boy's wounds perfectly healed. The two had gone to round up the others for an emergency meeting of our alliance. Because me and Sophia had won our duel, they were forced to let a majority vote decide our strategy in this game, whether they liked it or not. But while Philemon looked irritated, Celeste had seemed rather serene to me, even though I knew how pissy she could get after a loss.
I had stayed behind to wait for Sophia to be patched up by the healers, but she still had not come out. I had avoided entering the room with her as a sort of a punishment for brushing off my concerns about her health, but this petty idea of mine had only backfired. Now that things were taking longer than I thought they would, I could hardly resist rushing into the infirmary. But, of course, I didn’t want to distract the healers in the middle of a procedure.
But why was it taking so long? She looked terrible of course, but little wounds like hers should’ve taken just a couple of minutes to heal up under the expert wands of the Academy healers. Could it be that using her power to teleport had caused some internal issues like it had during the first time she had used it? My heart sunk when I remembered her talking about her lungs getting almost squashed by some kind of heavy pressure the moment she had slashed through space.
«You told me it wouldn’t hurt you this time… please please please be fine you giant idiot,» I murmured while fidgeting nervously with my hands.
I was about to phase my head through the door to take a look inside when it finally opened. A wave of relief washed over me as I saw Sophia emerge from the infirmary on her own two feet. Her uniform was still in tatters, but she looked unharmed. I had to steel myself to not run to her and hug her. I felt that if I didn't keep giving her the cold shoulder, it would have been like enabling her crazy behaviour.
«A-are you okay?» I asked in as neutral a tone as I could muster, but I couldn't help but let my voice shake with worry.
«I'm fine. They just wanted to make sure that everything was all right inside my body too... It's not the first time I've visited them after using this new power, after all,» Sophia said in a strangely docile tone.
I had imagined that she would try to dismiss my worries as she had before and after the duel, but the defiant smile that had been on her face before was nowhere to be found.
«Is there something wrong with your body?» I asked, dropping my detached facade and taking a step towards her.
Sophia smiled, but for some reason I could see a kind of sadness in her eyes.
«Don't worry Elizabeth, physically I'm fine. I'm just... an idiot. Can we talk? I need to apologise to you,» she replied, lowering her eyes.
In a second, I felt myself mellowing. It seemed like an eternity ago, but in this very corridor we had screamed at each other after our last duel with Celeste and Philemon. It looked like we weren't going to get there this time.
"Some things never change, while others do..." I thought as I sat down on the hard marble and patted the floor at my side, "we're still the same stupid girls, but I think we've matured a bit."
Sophia sat down close to me with her back against the wall, but still leaving some distance between us. She probably wanted me to be the one to touch her first, since I was the one who was angry.
«Elizabeth, I'm sorry,» she sighed, looking down, «now that the adrenaline has worn off, I can see why you're mad at me. I always tell you that you make me worry and here I am doing the same.»
«Well, I guess it's okay if you're the irresponsible one every now and then,» I commented, sliding my hand over hers.
«Elizabeth...» Sophia said, turning to me. I did my best to avoid her puppy eyes.
«But I'm still angry! How could you tell me never to use my new power and then go practice yours in secret!» I scoffed as I squeezed her hand tightly.
«Ouch!... I... I'm sorry! I wasn't really thinking about that!» Sophia said with a grimace.
«You... didn't think about it?!»
«You see... it's true this particular part of my power is dangerous, but as long as I can get to a healer in time, I'll be fine! That's why I practised in the courtyard, because it's so close to the infirmary! I had to use it quite a few times before my body got used to it. Yours mana release thing is different. If Skylark was telling the truth, you will never recover from it. So... I thought... if I can get stronger, you'll never have to use it!» she explained animatedly.
«You... did you really make yourself cough up blood repeatedly? Just so you could teleport a few feet?» I asked, stunned. Perhaps I had underestimated how reckless my girlfriend could be. «Sophia, have you gone completely mad?»
«Maybe I have,» Sophia said with a slight smile, «and it's your fault...»
Looking into her loving eyes, my heart skipped a beat, but I couldn't let her win me over so easily,
«My fault? Nice way to apologise, girl,» I commented frigidly, raising an eyebrow.
It seemed that manipulating me with her cuteness wasn't what Sophia had in mind. She shook her head in horror and quickly explained:
«That's not what I meant! I'm sorry, I really am. I just... I love you so much I think I'm going crazy! So... I want to protect you, Elizabeth! But I should have talked to you about this... it's just that I didn't want to worry you, since you've been so depressed lately.»
I sighed at her words. After all, I couldn't really blame her. I could relate to keeping things hidden so as not to worry her.
«Fine... I forgive you. Let's say we're even now,» I sighed, but after seeing her relieved expression I added: «but no more crazy stunts, ok? We are a team, remember? I don't want you to destroy your body to protect me, Sophia. Just like you don't want me to vanish because I've used up all my mana. When you do something, try to think about how it would make me feel, please. I know it's rich coming from me...»
«Elizabeth!»
As if I had given her a signal, Sophia quickly wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled me towards her. She buried her head in my shoulder:
«Thank you, thank you! I promise I'll get better at this,» she said, her voice shaking.
My heart couldn't take it anymore. I took her in my arms and caressed her hair:
«You dummy... you almost sound like a nice girl now... remember the last time we fought in this corridor, you threatened to cut off my arm!»
I heard Sophia's muffled giggle:
«I wasn't actually going to, you know?... But I guess... the other day and today... I found out that I really can't stand you being cold to me... I can't stand it, Elizabeth!»
«Who's the big baby now?» I asked with a chuckle.
I pushed Sophia away from me and climbed onto her lap, putting my arms around her neck.
«Do you remember this position? I confessed my love to you like this back then... but I bet you didn't even realise it,» I whispered into her ear, «It's ok Sophia. I'm sure we'll have many more quarrels... but like I said back then, you'll always be the most special person to me and that will never change.»
Like a dessert after a cup of black coffee, our kiss was one of the sweetest we had ever shared, so much so that by the time we got up I felt almost drunk on it.
It was Sophia's words that brought me out of this almost trance-like state:
«I guess I didn't have to try so hard... you've gotten so strong Elizabeth. If we fought right now... I'm not sure I'd be able to beat you anymore,» she said with a slightly annoyed voice.
«What are you talking about...» I muttered dismissively.
«You completely overpowered Philemon! I know you went more on the offensive compared to our last duel with them, but still... you made it look super easy! Remember, Celeste herself has trouble beating him!»
"Now that I think about it..."
Philemon had looked like an impenetrable wall to me in the past. But today? It wasn't even a challenge. If it hadn't been for Celeste's intervention, I would have easily pierced him with my sword without even needing Sophia's help. What had changed since the last time we fought?
"I suddenly got better at doublecasting, and I can use buff spells pretty well now... even though I always struggled with them."
Suddenly was the key word here. And the second part was particularly egregious. I had constantly employed doublecasting during my fights so it would make sense that I would get better at it. But buffing spells? I had pretty much given up on them before my fight with Owen Finch.
Earlier this morning, when we had gone up to the second floor, I had chalked up this strange ease of casting spells to being in good shape, but...
"It definitely goes beyond that."
But then... why had I become stronger out of the blue?
There could only be one answer. An event that had changed something inside me.
"The mana release incident."
I stopped in the middle of the corridor. Even now, I could feel my magical power flowing inside me like an unbridled torrent. Every ounce of it was ready to burst forth at my command, effortlessly.
"How could I not have noticed..."
Perhaps it was because I had never been in danger after our dungeon adventure. But now there was no doubt in my mind, my already proficient mana control had improved to an incredible level. Like a river that once ran along a single course, but had opened up new branches into which it could flow.
«Elizabeth, what's wrong?» asked Sophia, confused by my sudden halt.
«Sophia... I may have actually powered up,» I said excitedly, looking down at my hands as if I thought light was about to shine out of them.
After I explained what I had realised, Sophia seemed convinced:
«Based on what you taught me about mana during Chloe's affair... I think you might be right. If mana is your life force, shooting it out might have more consequences than just draining it. I guess being on the brink of death... made you more aware of what it means to be alive. I heard that people can get pretty messed up from near-death experiences.»
«If being messed up enhances my magic... I'll take it!» I chirped.
It may not have been an innate power, but I suddenly felt a bit special. But behind my elation, a shadow suddenly appeared.
«Sophia... do you think this is what they were studying up there?» I asked slowly.
«What do you mean?»
«If they were experimenting on mana release... maybe it's to find a way to increase magical power!»
It was horrible to think about, but all those people who'd died on that horrible operating table on the third floor might have been sacrificed on the altar of magic casting advancement.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
«It could be... but isn't it a stupid research? Who would risk death to improve their spellcasting? Apart from messed up people like you, I mean?» Sophia added with a slight smirk.
«Hey, it's not like I wanted to risk getting stabbed by your copy! It just happened that way. Besides, mad scientists don't really stick to reason, Sophia!»
We both fell silent for a moment. I thought about the implications of my realisation.
«Anyway, let's think about this later,» Sophia spoke up, «let me get a fresh uniform and let's go to Celeste's room. Remember, we have a vote to win right now.»
"Crap!"
In the midst of my concern for her, I had completely forgotten that winning the duel wasn't the end of anything. A sense of foreboding immediately took hold of my mind. When we finally knocked on Celeste's door and opened it, my worst fears immediately appeared to be realised.
It was almost as if a dark mist was hovering over the table, dampening the spirits of our allies. Penny in particular looked shocked.
«Took you long enough,» Celeste said, «since we're kind of pressed for time, we've already explained everything to the others.»
"I was naive," I thought as I looked at Philemon's impassive face.
The boy had probably used my absence to convince Penny, Nicole and Wilhelm of his plan, without having to worry about me objecting.
"I can't really blame him for playing dirty... after all, we did drag him into a stupid duel."
As much as we clashed, I couldn't bring myself to dislike Philemon the way I once did Wilhelm. I knew from my one-on-one with him that there was no malice behind his actions, only a desire to protect Celeste.
"But even so... I can't let this happen. Sophia told me I'm her hero, so I should act like one!"
«So... what do you guys think? You don't want to attack our classmates unprovoked and kidnap them, do you?» I asked, immediately going on the offensive.
Nicole looked at me with a contrite expression on her pretty face:
«It sounds terrible when you say it like that, Liz! But... we can save Penny! And it's not like we can avoid anyone dying in the first place!»
That was Philemon's argument and, as before, I really had no logical reasoning to counter it.
«You're right! But there must be a way to avoid doing what Skylark wants! Remember, he's the enemy, not our classmates. Don't you agree, Whilelm?» I asked, turning to him.
I knew the boy was righteous to a fault, and in the past he had been a great advocate of cooperation. I'd hoped that appealing to his sense of justice would bring him to my side. But the look he gave me quickly dashed my hopes:
«I completely agree with you... but in a test like this, what can we do?» he blurted out, clenching his fists as he looked down, «Celeste has the curse, we can't leave it to her. We can't even pass it without care, or it might fall on the owner of the Demon card. Unfortunately, I think Philemon is right. Attacking them and getting their cards is the only way out of this.»
Discouraged, my eyes went to Penny. The girl had started to cry:
«I d-don't want to do this...» she murmured.
But I could tell from her trembling voice that she was wavering. Penny's eyes met mine:
«Liz... is there another way?»
In the end, that was the question I had to answer.
"Another way... a way not to resort to violence while still ensuring that none of our allies are in danger... I have to find one."
But at that moment Philemon spoke:
«I think we can proceed with the vote,» he said.
"He doesn't want to give me time to think."
I had to prolong the discussion to find a way out.
«Wait... fighting Sam's group could be dangerous! He can use dark magic!»
Until now, I had never told that to anyone. Even though it might help me, I was afraid it could actually backfire on me. But I had to postpone the vote as long as possible.
«Dark magic? That's impossible. Humans can't use that!» Philemon replied with a raised eyebrow.
«It's true, when I fought against him, he used a spell called 'Dark Lash'. There's no doubt about it, it was dark magic. It ate all the light in the entrance hall, and when I asked him, he confirmed it. I think it might be his innate power or-»
«Is Sam Rover... a demon?!» Nicole cut me off with a look of horror on her face.
Silence fell over the room. Apparently, demons were a bigger deal to people who didn't live in the boonies like I did.
"Maybe this will work..."
But I was about to go on the offensive again when Celeste spoke up:
«If that's true, Liz... I think it's important that we strike first. Having a dark magic user roaming around the school ready to pounce on us is too dangerous. We can use this test to take him out and save ourselves some headaches in the future. If we ambush them and attack Sam together, we should be able to pacify him before he can activate whatever power he has. We'll get the Demon card and Penny will mark him as the victim.»
This was exactly what I was worried about. Dark magic had such a stigma attached to it that it made Sam extremely untrustworthy. Everyone except Penny and Sophia nodded at Celeste's words.
"I don't think Sam is the type to attack us with dark magic unprovoked... but I can't really say that as a counter-argument. After all, his group tried to capture Nicole and me..."
I had my back to the wall. I saw Philemon ready to speak again. I was out of time.
«Wait a minute. I think your plan may have one major flaw.»
"Sophia!"
I watched my girlfriend rise from her chair, almost like a queen rising from her throne.
"I can always count on you!"
«A flaw?» Philemon repeated confused.
Sophia gave me a smile before answering:
«So your idea is to attack first and secure two targets. You'll give the curse to one of them and, if Penny doesn't want to be the one to choose the victim, you'll trade the Demon card to the other.»
«Correct,» Philemon replied, on alert, waiting to see where Sophia was going.
«Well. The curse part will work for sure... but it could backfire on us.»
«What do you mean?» the boy asked, clearly impatient.
I could tell that Sophia was talking in a roundabout way just to give me time to come up with an alternative plan.
"Come on Elizabeth... use your tiny brain!"
«The person you curse could be the Demon or the King. In which case we're screwed.»
Philemon scoffed:
«Of course that's not possible. We are going to steal all their cards, remember? One of us will take the Demon and trade it to either Penny or the other hostage. Of course, there's a chance that the lone student who's not in either of our groups is actually the Demon. In that case, they'll be the one who comes to us to avoid the 1000 point penalty.»
"He's right... if that's the case, that student will try to get rid of his card. If they found out we have the curse, they'll probably come and hand it to us. In exchange they'll ask us to not choose them as a victim..."
But Sophia was still smiling. She moved close to the door of the room and put her hand on one of Celeste's grimoires, which lay in a pile almost as tall as she was.
«This has nothing to do with the lone student... I'm saying that you might not be able to get Sam's group's cards.»
Saying that, she opened the cover of the book and moved to the side to let us look at the first page. On top of it was...
«My card.»
Sophia picked it up and showed it to us:
«Of course, you can't see what role is on it because of Skylark's rule. But it's definitely my card. You probably didn't notice, because you were busy shouting at each other, but I slipped it in here before, when I came into the room. You see... I wanted to test something.»
"Testing something by leaving your card here... not being able to get the cards from Sam's group...! Sophia, you wonderful bastard!"
I watched Philemon's face go blank. He had probably understood as well.
«What do you mean?»
It was Wilhelm who had asked that with a confused expression.
«Will, could you put your card on the table and leave it there?»
«Sure.»
The boy obliged.
«As you can all see, the card remains blank for everyone except Wilhelm. That's because even if he doesn't touch it, he's still considered the owner.»
«You mean... you don't have to keep the card with you?» Nicole asked in surprise.
«Exactly. Remember what Skylark said? If you want to take someone's card, you have to leave your own behind. But how does that work in practice? Nicole, give your card to Wilhelm. But don't touch the one on the table.»
Nicole followed my girlfriend’s instructions. Wilhelm looked at the card she had handed it to him:
«Nothing. I can’t see anything on it,» he said.
«Same here. The one on the table is still blank,» Nicole echoed.
«Alright pick it up now.»
I could see the eyes of Nicole widen when she obeyed.
«They swapped!» she exclaimed.
«That about does it then. For cards to swap owners they phisically need to change hands,» Sophia explained.
«This means…» Penny murmured with a little bit of hope in her face.
«That if Sam’s group realized this, attacking them may not help us at all. If they hid their cards somewhere, we won’t be able to steal them from them. That way we can’t really pass the curse to any of them… we would risk cursing the King or the Demon.»
A new silence fell into the table.
"Hiding their cards. If they did that we won’t be able to find them easily. In this huge building, filled with rooms, finding a tiny piece of paper, probably occulted with magic is going to be a challenge."
«It’s just an if,» Philemon broke the impasse, «you are the only one that realized that you could leave your card somewhere and still keep your role, aren’t you? There’s no guarantee they thought about it.»
«You are right… but are you willing to risk it? If we attack them, we won’t be able to reason with them. Do you want to risk cursing the King and killing half of us? Or are you thinking about making them hand over their cards willingly? As if. They'll never accept a duel, so you'll have to torture to do that. Do you want to do that?» Sophia's pressed him.
Faced with her sharp tongue, Philemon could only scoff:
«Of course we are not going to do that.»
«But... the Seer will talk, won't they? If we curse the King, they'll say so!» Nicole chimed in.
But Celeste replied immediately:
«I don't know about that. The Seer is the most dangerous role. If you reveal that you are one, you will be the best target for a curse.»
She was right. In this game, revealing yourself as a Seer would be tantamount to declaring that you were neither King nor Demon, making you an easy prey.
«Then what's the alternative? What do we do?» asked Wilhelm again.
We were back at square one.
"But... maybe there is a way!"
Listening to our conversation, I had an idea.
"Thank you Sophia for giving me time... now it's my turn to change the tide!"
«We could talk to them,» I said firmly.
«Talk to them?» Philemon repeated, looking at me as if I had gone mad for the umpteenth time this day.
«Yes, talk with them. You said it yourself, Philemon: one of us has to die. I’m sure Sam and his friends understand that as well. So, if we want to get out of this, we should just reach a consensus.»
«You mean… vote who is going to get cursed?!» Penny exclaimed.
Morally, it was not much better than Philemon’s plan, but at least it was going to avoid us fighting between each others.
«I think it could work. Just like we are doing right now, a majority vote sometimes is the best way to solve a disagreement inside a group of people. And… it would work to our advantage. We are 7. Sam’s group has 6 people. They’ll never outvote us.»
«But why would they agree on sitting down with us?» asked Nicole.
«Because the alternative is us overpowering them. At least, this way, they are going to be free to push their agendas. Honestly they’ll probably agree to vote for the lone student. It's not nice and I hate it, but If that’s the case, that will make them our accomplices. We'd solve the game while keeping our relationship with them amicable at the very least. But even if something happens and the discussion breaks down, talking to them doesn't cost us anything. If they really hid they cards, we may also be able to find out something about their roles too.»
I saw Sophia beaming at me and uncertainty in the eyes of my other friends.
"Alright... just one last push."
But of course, Philemon wasn't going to stay silent:
«I see...» the boy said, adjusting his glasses, «I see your point. But I don't think things will work out the way you think. In the first place, as I said, I still doubt they thought to hide their cards. Secondly, if your plan is to vote out the lone student, they'll just say they have the King card. How are you going to challenge them without forcibly checking their card? As Celeste said, I doubt the Seer would help. Thirdly, you said that Rover can use dark magic. Do we really want to sit at a table with someone so dangerous? And finally, your plan gives us no guarantee that we'll be able to get the Demon card and save Penny.»
They were all good points. For my part, I could only say:
«You're right... but I still think it's worth trying to resolve this peacefully. Talking won't cost us anything and we'll probably get some useful information.»
«We'll lose the element of surprise if we go to them now!» Philemon objected.
Before I could reply, Celeste interrupted our discussion:
«Alright. I think that's enough,» she said, looking at all of us, «We've talked enough. If Liz's idea wins the vote, we'll need time to organise everything with Sam's group and the other student. So... let's vote.»
It was the moment of truth. Celeste turned to Sophia first:
«I guess I don't have to ask you,» she said with a grin.
«I vote for Elizabeth's plan,» Sophia declared, giving me a wink.
"I love you so much, partner."
But my enthusiasm was soon cut short.
«I... I'm sorry Liz,» Nicole said when her name was called by Celeste, «but as Phil said, your plan won't help us save Penny. And I really want to, especially since she's nice and will vote against it.»
"Will she though?" I thought as I turned to her.
Sure, Penny, even if she was caustic at times, was kind-hearted. I had understood that much during our time through the dungeon But here we were talking about a life and death situation. But when my eyes met Penny's, the tiny girl gave me a nervous smile:
«I vote for Liz's plan. I want to thank you, Nicole, and all the others for thinking of my safety, but... I don't think I can go on living knowing that I turned my first friends into murderers. So... maybe it's going to come down to fighting anyway, but if there's a chance we can get out of this situation diplomatically, I think we should take it,» she said with a shaky but still determined voice.
«You're so brave, Penny...» I muttered.
«What are you talking about?! Besides, I should survive this week, shouldn't I? We have a whole other week to find a way out before I'm eliminated!»
«You're right!» I exclaimed.
«Very well, I guess I can count Philemon and Liz's votes out. That makes us 3-2. Wilhelm, what are you going to do?» Celeste asked.
We all turned to the boy with trepidation. His vote was going to be crucial, as Celeste had by now made it clear that she would vote for Philemon. Wilhelm seemed to understand the weight of the decision he was about to make and stood silent for a few minutes, staring at the table. Then...
«I am sorry. I understand this is not what you want, Penelope, but I think Philemon's plan is our best chance. I fully support the idea of trying to settle things peacefully, but I think we should put Penelope's safety first. Besides... if Sam's Rover really does have dark magic, he's far too dangerous to deal with. I live in a town close to the old demons' territory I know the havoc they can wreak.»
"You're letting prejudice cloud your judgement again..."
That's what I wanted to say to him. But I remained silent as a bitter taste spread through my mouth. I couldn't really vouch for Sam Rover like I could for Sophia, and besides, getting angry with Wilhelm wouldn't help and would just make me look like a sour loser.
I lowered my eyes. I knew Philemon's would have his usual neutral expression, but I still didn't want to look at him.
«Looks like I'll be the one to decide,» Celeste said after a bit, «I...»
For some reason, her tone betrayed uncertainty.
"...there's no way."
I raised my eyes. An apologetic smile had spread across Celeste's lips.
«Sorry Phil, we're going with Liz's plan.»