The acid shot towards him, corrosive and toxic thoughts emanating from the strands of liquid. Liam huffed as he filled his limbs with energy to dodge.
The assault didn't stop this time. New branches sprung from the flowing liquid, pursuing him.
'That might be a little difficult.' He thought to himself as he ran down closer to the entrance of the storage layer, kicking off the rusted and rocky wall to his right. Since he was quite literally a new mage without a bloodline to support his magecrafts, most of his spells required at least more than a one-count incantation. If he tried to abridge anything, he would risk ruining the spell-and judging by the apparition, he wouldn't get more than a second. Liam's frown worsened as he continued to dodge the tendrils of acid.
Abruptly, he leapt towards the main body of the ghost, crossing three meters in less than a second. With an outstretched arm, he attempted-
"Collect (Bind), con-"
The puddle beneath the ghost jumped towards Liam in an instant. It concentrates its liquid into a single point, aiming for his head. He couldn't risk any damage to his head-even if it was just a graze. Instead, he swung his arm up while ducking.
The acid penetrated straight through his palm, and he realized it wasn't a liquid. It was a Curse.
"FUCK!" Liam cried out as the spell invaded his body and mind, seeping into his invisible nerves. It was a curse born of the ghosts' death. It was excruciating, as Liam had learned. The image of being sent into the cave to gather materials for his master. Of stumbling into a inch-deep puddle of acid, which burnt through his face and arms down to the bones. The sheer pain and anguish filled Liam's thoughts, till they were all he could focus on. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It-
Kite flew straight into Liam, carrying him away from the now circling acid. The sudden movement shocked Liam out of his trance, enough that he could being spinning his circuits, a meager attempt to resist the incoming curse. The pain slowly began to retreat from his mind.
He continued moving, fueling his reinforcement with his Od, albeit also with Kite's assistance. The tendrils of pure curse continued to pursue them. He stumbled over another puddle of the "acid", rolling over his shoulder before getting swept up by Kite again. The acid had leapt and crashed where he had fell just a second ago.
'No way.' Liam thought to himself, once he had filtered out the spell from his system. There was no conceivable way that he could use any spell on this ghost-at least, not without dying first. He swerved his head, dodging another stream of liquid curse. His frown solidified on his face with the realization.
He switched his tactics immediately as he charged towards the ghost's main body. His flared his reinforcement, pushing his body farther and farther beyond its normal capabilities. His steps almost cracked the rock beneath him. The air rushed past him as he jumped to his right, leaving him almost deaf. The cursed liquid coiled around Liam, threatening to pierce him from all sides.
With his body pushed against the upper wall, he shot forward through the one opening he could see. The liquid scraped against his torso from several angles, but he resisted it. It was nothing compared to a direct attack.
Ignoring the burning sensation that was creeping in, he turned and brought his heel down on the ghost.
The magically enforced limb crushed the apparition's immaterial body into paste. It's form quivered. The stability that kept it looking like something akin to a human had shattered. It's body melted and mashed with its different parts, like paint being stirred together, until Liam brought his fist down onto it.
The spirit scattered in an instant, dissipating into nothingness, where it belonged. The cursed liquid which had remained frozen in the air disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence.
Liam remained crouched on the rocky floor, although that itself was beginning to retreat. The curses effects hadn't vanished with its caster. The boy sat there with his eyes squeezed shut. In. Out. In. Out. He focused on his breathing, working his circuits to get rid of the remnants of the curse.
"Nice work. Though, I didn't expect that you'd destroy it."
The familiar voice called out from behind him as she entered the cargo level. Rins’ shoes clicked against the now metal floor, but Liam hadn't even noticed. His mind was absorbed in his circuits at the moment. He cracked open on eye once he finished, letting out a loud sigh. Keeping the image of his magic circuits for so long felt like holding his breath-as wrong as that may seem.
"It was just too fast." He mumbled. He was fairly disappointed he couldn't use that ghost for a familiar, but it was just the way it was. He was just too weak.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Although, looking back to the memory the apparition’s curse was born of, he wasn’t sure he’d want to use something that horrible for himself anyways.
- -
“I’m surprised you’ve decided to implant the Mystic Eye.”
Liam gave a glance up at his tall teacher, with his monotonous and baritone voice. He hadn’t seen the man for so long he almost thought he was a stranger, and having wandering thoughts and daydreams during that moment surely didn’t help.
El-Melloi, Liam, and Gray walked side by side down a concrete sidewalk. The Lord wore a simple black dress-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and his signature red jacket folded over his right arm. Gray had offered to carry it, but he has refused. The concept of even having a jacket with you during this summer weather baffled Liam-though seeing Gray still wearing her cloak and jacket was even more confusing.
The summer heat wave hit like a truck. The brilliant sun hung directly above them, shining and bringing horrible light and heat down to the citizens of London. Liam had arrived just a couple hours ago to discover the Lord and Gray waiting for him. He had almost forgot about the whole Mystic Eye ordeal over his trip back.
“Y-Yeah, me too honestly. Just figured it’d be good to have some more firepower.” He explained while adjusting the large strap from his duffel bag on his shoulder.
“It sounds like you’re planning on making more enemies.”
Liam gave another glance to his teacher, but he shook his head.
“I was joking. Though, that isn’t very avoidable with our lifestyles.” El-Melloi explained. His brown and hard shoes clicked against the ground obnoxiously-as if they were made solely for the purpose of announcing the wearers excellence. Arguably, they suited the well-groomed professor. “However, there is one glaring issue with your decision.”
“Money.” Gray spoke up. It was only the second time she had spoken, aside from when she greeted Liam when he returned. Her head had been perpetually angled downwards, as if she meant to apologize to them for her very being there.
Liam grimaced at the mention of money. As of currently, he was completely and utterly broke. While he wasn’t opposed at all to getting a mundane job, he had a twisting feeling a minimum wage job wouldn’t be enough to save for the transplant in his life time. Of course, there was always going to work for some Magus as another hand but… being a first generation mage, it would basically be begging to be taken advantage of.
“Frankly, the only reasonable option left is-“
“The Spiritual Tomb of Albion.” His teacher finished his thought. He spoke in an almost hushed voice, as if merely mentioning the place would bring upon a fate worst than death. Liam wouldn’t doubt such a superstition.
It was practically the only reliable way for magi of young families to make money, or any sort of name for themselves. An underground cavern dug out beneath the Clock Tower by an old dragon.
“Shit, if I go down there, I might not ever be able to come back up for the transplant. If I survive.” Liam’s face contorted in a horrible combination of anger and other emotions he was too angry to identify. People who worked down in the Tomb rarely every came back up. Hell, there was even a city built under there for the workers. The only way to exit were to either complete the duration of your contract, or bribe your way out. Neither seemed exactly efficient to Liam-not to mention the probability was so small he didn’t even want to think about it.
“Seeing who your teacher is, I’m sure you’d find a way.”
A voice he had never heard spoke from behind them. As if on cue, the three people turned towards the woman.
The mage stood behind them with a warm smile. She was several inches shorter than Liam, although her black heels helped a fair amount. She wore a large, black shirt with green sleeves. The thin green fabric stretched down and reached a couple inches below her small black skirt. The woman herself wore large, oval shaped glass with brown rims. Her scarlet hair cascaded down her shoulders in elegant ribbons, some dispersing across to her torso and the rest falling behind her.
Lord El-Melloi made a noise Liam had never heard before-one that almost made him think the teacher was experiencing a heart attack. Looking over, he could see even Gray’s expression had changed to shock. The three magi remained silent, so the woman took the reins.
“I apologize for eavesdropping like that. Bad habit of mine.” She explained, taking a few steps forward. The passing strangers gave sideways glares at the four people standing still in the middle of the sidewalk, but the energy emanating from the standoff kept their annoyance to simply stares.
“Ms. Aozaki… wonderful to see you again.” El-Melloi spoke, through gritted teeth, Liam had noticed. The woman’s smile grew more, yet never losing that warm and gentle image. It felt wrong to him. As if she should’ve been reveling in the animosity. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well, I was hoping I might steal you and your apprentice away for a moment. There is something that I’d like to run through your head.” She explained, specifying only one apprentice. Though there was really no need for it, Liam knew he was only a student, while Gray was truly the Lord’s apprentice. Yet, for some reason, El-Melloi looked back to him, his eyes moving millimeters as it formulated a sort of plan within his brain. His mouth opened up to speak, but Liam had beat him to it.
“Yeah, I have to go unpack anyways. I’ll leave you guys to your… stuff.” Liam spoke, taking more and more steps backwards away. While he thought he had made the correct move, El-Melloi’s face told him otherwise. It was as if he had ripped his heart from his chest, or more specifically, destroyed his escape plan.
Liam fought the urge to smile once he realized he was abandoning his teacher, but he wasn’t strong enough. He turned to the woman with a grin and nodded before speaking again,
“It was nice to meet you, Ms. Aozaki.”
“I’ll look forward to seeing your new eye.” She replied. The words carried meanings that Liam struggled to uncover at the moment, so he instead nodded again and fled from the scene.
The boy sighed as he rubbed his head, taking a turn onto the street which lead to the Norwich Department, and the Modern Magecraft dormitory. One problem solved, and another shoved right into his lap. The urge to just sell the damn eye pulled at Liam’s heart, tugging at the strings which moved his mind and body, but something else was stronger. The fear of being in that situation again. A fight-one which decides who lives and who dies. He couldn’t risk getting into another one of those without some tools at his disposal.
Mentally, he went over the process of applying for the Tomb.