Days passed, and nothing much happened. Compared to the usual hectic mess that was Glenn's life, it could even be qualified as "peaceful."
Glenn did manage to make some "lesser" spells of different attributes, namely Earthquake, Flamebane Zone, and a lesser version of Solar Ray, Solar Laser. He just changed the name for that last one, for he only decreased Solar's Flare power by a huge margin, and made it so that it would go as straight as possible.
Earthquake would, well, create a small earthquake, while Flamebane Zone would flood an area with CO2. At first, Glenn wanted to create a Vacuum which would create an absolute empty place, to try and make his opponents unable to breathe and make them pass out without harming them further. But, a true vacuum wouldn't have those effects, so instead he changed it to Flamebane zone. By flooding an area with CO2, he would displace the oxygen and knock people out, while still keeping the fire-extinguishing ability. Diamanes and Nelg did come up with a nice theory that Flamebane Zone could maybe cancel most if not every fire spell. Since, if there's no oxygen, there can't be a fire. But then, does a magical fire need oxygen to exist? Or is it purely fueled by Mana?
So of course, Glenn had to test that theory. He lit up a magical fire using a Solar Laser (which he conveniently made just before the test) on a dummy and cast Flamebane Zone on it. And...It worked! The fire died out, lacking the necessary oxygen to keep on burning. But then, it kind of made sense, since the fire was lit using magic, but wasn't kept alit with magic.
Glenn, naturally, had to test this another way. So he made another spell. Well, he repurposed an old one. He based himself on the Infernal Blackhole, took away the Blackhole part, and made the remaining Infernal stationary. It had for effect of creating an immobile zone of hell where fire devoured everything, which was pretty cool. After making up the Hell Zone, as Diamanes accurately named it, Glenn used the Flamebane Zone spell on it. And, surprise, surprise, this time it failed!
The fire did weaken visibly, but it didn't go out, which confirmed two things for Glenn. First, the magical fire did depend on oxygen, even though it could survive without it. And secondly, the reason for that survival was that Mana could be supplied to the spell to make up for the lack of oxygen, which was very interesting. Without fueling more Mana to the Hell Zone, it just died out like a normal, non-magical fire. What that meant was that Glenn could potentially make another caster exhaust themselves on their fire spells by using Flamebane Zone. Tactically, this was great, but Glenn didn't think of himself as being great at tactics, so he wasn't that excited by it. But he would always welcome another tool to help him fight his enemies. And at least that was one non-deadly spell in his arsenal!
All in all, Glenn ended up with an additional spell, Hell Zone, and a better understanding of magic.
On another subject, the number of required souls for Nelg's First Circle kept on decreasing as Glenn slaughtered more and more monsters. Sadly—no, that was for the better—he didn't get the chance to fight another ghost or a Corrupted One. These two were pretty rare and usually taken care of by the Church of Onnea or the Cleaners. Contracts for those would be proposed only if there were too many of them for the two official entities to take care of.
Which for the moment, wasn't the case. The Northern Town was only afflicted with the common, weak-ass monsters that didn't even deserve screen time. They were interesting, for sure, but weak as hell. Was it even a fight if a single spell was enough to exterminate the opponent?
Glenn kept on pondering silently, leaning down on a roof, his eyes lost in the cloudy sky. Today's weather wasn't great, and the bounties weren't very exciting.
A lame day, all in all. But Glenn was fine with that. It was almost relaxing, you know, killing monsters for gold, creating deadly spells, healing from mental scars...
'...I'm sure something is going to happen that will ruin my day...' Glenn cursed, unable to truly relax. This damned city had the gift to get on his nerves and make him see the bad where there was none.
'Hah! For once, I'm not the one who jinx it! Haha!' Diamanes shouted triumphally, making his host laugh a little. Nelg sighed and added, "At this rate, we might be done leveling me up in two or three months."
Glenn groaned and pushed himself up, before rubbing his eyes.
"That's good to hear."
With a lazy step, Glenn jumped down the roof down to the street, before pulling his Exan-Egg out. It was three and a half P.M., and Glenn was already done with his day's "hard" work. All the bounties were in the same district, making it much more convenient and faster for him to take care of all of them. Kevin was absolutely flabbergasted, being forced back home so early, but well, they could only get rid of so many monsters in one day. Glenn was pretty sure there were more creatures out there to slay, but the Workshop refused to give him the bounties to leave some for the other Fixers.
Which he could understand, of course. It sucked, but he understood. And for once, he didn't feel like spending his time in the trippy Savant Room of the Magi Brotherhood.
"Maybe you could go visit Redan?" Nelg suggested. Glenn paused, before nodding.
"Good idea. Maybe the old man woke up, who knows?" He muttered, changing directions to the Northern Town's Church of Onnea. It didn't take him long to arrive, and the clerks recognized him once he entered the Church.
"Hello, Sir Glenn," A pretty clerk in a white priestess garment smiled at him, "Do you wish to visit Sir Redan?"
Glenn smiled back at her, "You read my mind."
The clerk bowed slightly and left the room, off to get the necessary authorization. Glenn glanced around in the meantime, frowning slightly. The Church seemed less populated than usual, for some reason. But then, he wasn't exactly a regular there. The only reason the clerk recognized him was that his face had been shared around for being an ally to the Church, so he could be treated as such. It felt a bit like special treatment, but Glenn wasn't against it.
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On the contrary. He was a great enthusiast of privilege!
The clerk came back with a sad face and shook her head, "I apologize, but it seems like the patient won't wake up for another week at the very least."
Glenn hid his disappointment and moistened his lips.
"Can I still see him?"
The clerk nodded and motioned at the hallway behind her. Glenn followed her silently, wondering whether he should use C.P.R. to try and help Redan, but decided against it again. It was a thought he inevitably had every time he went to see the old man. From what Redan's healer explained, general healing magics might create complications where specialized personnel wouldn't. What he got from that was that C.P.R. was a first-aid magic on crack, since it could heal deeper wounds.
The thick scent of medical herbs assaulted his nose when he entered the room. It was a simple room, with a simple, one-place bed. There was an opened window letting fresh air in the room, but not much light, due to the grim, cloudy weather. Glenn slowly went up to the bed, taking a seat on a rustic chair.
'...He doesn't look too good,' Diamanes silently commented. Redan was breathing laboriously, his skin pale and sticking to his bones. His hairline had receded quite a bit, and his beard had gotten thinner, with less luster. If before it was a flamboyant white, now it was a sickly one. Glenn didn't need to look under the cover to know of the scars covering his first teacher's body.
"...I'll leave you to it, then." The clerk gently said before leaving and closing the door behind her. The window creaked open as a small gust of wind pushed it open. Redan's chest rose and fell weakly, without the strength it once possessed. Glenn sighed.
"What, already thinking about burying him?"
Glenn jumped to his feet, his longsword half-pulled and his Mana swirling violently around him as the Saturn Rings activated, searching for the charming voice's source. But before he could do anything, a shadow moved and Mary, his sadistic second teacher, came out of it, a sad smile on her face. The young man looked at her for a second, before dropping his spell and putting his sword back in its sheath. He crumbled down on his chair, looking away from Mary.
"It's been a while," He muttered while Mary leaned against the wall on the other side of the room. The lady pressed her lips together, her arms crossed.
"Indeed. I heard you became a little stronger?" She said, cheerless. Glenn sneered and looked at the floor.
"Not strong enough, it seems."
A long silence settled over the room, each one unwilling to say another word. They didn't need to speak, for there was nothing to say. Only the sound of Redan's ragged breathing echoed in the simple room, unsteady. Glenn had failed to notice, but Mary had moved from the wall to be next to him, her hand on his shoulder.
They both watched Redan, waiting.
Glenn closed his eyes and shook his head. He finally mustered the strength to speak again, his eyes fleeing away from the sight of the old man.
"The priest taking care of Redan, Valentin, told me a week ago that his treatment was going well. The old man just needs a lot, lot of rest."
Mary breathed out before softly replying, "...That's good to hear."
Glenn nodded, "It is." The void that had suddenly been carved in his heart filled back up as he took back control of his emotions. Worrying about Redan wasn't going to help in the slightest. Mary gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, before turning away and heading for the door.
"We should give him some space. We wouldn't want to wake him up, would we?" She joked without a smile. The corner of Glenn's lips trembled but didn't curve upward. He stood up and gave Redan one last glance, before leaving the room. He walked with Mary to the Church's garden, a small place filled with herbal medicine and benches for the patients to sit on.
"How have you been doing, Ms. Mary?" Glenn asked as he sat down. Mary didn't follow his example and paced in front of him, her arms still crossed.
"As usual. Not the greatest, not the worst," She replied honestly, before adding, "I'm bored without my living punching back."
Glenn chuckled, "I'm sure you'd be able to find another one without too much work if you wanted to."
Mary nodded before smacking her lips, "I doubt they'd be as resilient as you, though." To that Glenn couldn't reply. The young man rubbed his hands together, before looking up at the charming Cleaner. Strangely, today she wasn't adorning her Cleaner's uniform, the white leather armor with red crosses over it. Instead, she was clothed in dark blue, almost black pants and shirt, a rapier, and two daggers hanging off her belt.
"You've met with the Occult Wanderers, right?" Mary suddenly said. Glenn froze and his heart missed a beat. He forced his lips open to reply.
"...I did. Why do you ask?" He articulated with difficulty with the feeling of something being stuck in the back of his throat. Mary stopped pacing and looked at the cloudy sky, her eyes lost in the distance. She breathed in deeply and sat next to Glenn.
"I gave my resignation."
Glenn's anxiety disappeared entirely, replaced by utter confusion. Uh? What?
"—You did what?" He blurted out, his eyes widening.
Mary nodded as she leaned on her closed fist, "Due to my job as a Cleaner, I couldn't implicate myself in some matters. So I quit."
Glenn almost repeated himself, but shook his head instead, "...But why?" He frowned, "—No, I understand that you needed to quit to get your freedom of action back, but what do you need it for?"
The now ex-Cleaner moistened her lips as she passed her finger on one of her daggers, all traces of her previous sadness gone.
"I'm going to go after them. The Occult Wanderers."
The young man's jaw almost dropped, but then he realized it made some kind of sense. Mary was someone close enough to Redan for him to entrust Glenn to her. He trusted her, despite her sadistic nature, so that meant they shared a special bond, maybe similar to the one he shared with the old man.
"I see. And why did you tell me?" Glenn asked, more out of curiosity than actual need for an answer. Mary looked at him for a second, before smiling coldly.
"Because I'm pretty sure you want them dead almost as much as me."
Glenn's face darkened and his fingers twitched. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself; When he reopened his eyes, they were filled with pure, evil hatred.
"Death is too kind of a fate for them." He spat dryly as he clenched his fists tightly, unable to contain his feelings. Mary looked at him with a little surprise, before shaking her head.
"Anyway," Her speaking seemed to wake Glenn from his trance, "...I'm going in solo. I'll be visiting from time to time to share my discoveries, or maybe your help in taking them down. I'll expect you to do the same if you encounter them again."
Glenn nodded, his rage melting away, "You can count on me."
Mary smiled once more, before standing up and stretching out her hand. Glenn shook it without a second of hesitation. The more allies he would have against these sick bastards, the better.
...Wasn't that a little comical, though? Each of his enemies were twisted, fucking insane organizations playing with the lives of innocent people like cattle. And even cattle were probably treated better than the victims of the Thorn's Cult, the Occult Wanderer, Baron Howard, and the Fallen Mother. Little by little, the conviction that he needed to erase this group of trash from this planet's surface grew.
A bit stronger every day, like a rising tide. For now, it was only a small wave, barely strong enough to erode the rocks making up these sick bastards' foundations.
But he knew that one day, the tide would eventually grow strong enough to crush them all, like a natural disaster.
Huh.
A natural disaster.
Perhaps that was what he should aspire to.