July 8th, 875
Summoning Chamber, Metirine Castle
Empire of Sedina
High Mage Taneria had high hopes for this summoning. Everything was planned out and prepared. First, she would summon the otherworlders and greet them. Then she would feed them some rubbish about needing their help as the nation was under attack by vicious enemies. If they agreed, which they would since she would also be using Charm magic, then the Binding spell would activate, binding them to their promise to serve. Then she would treat them to a lavish meal, laced with a slow acting sedative, and after they fell asleep they would be bound, chained, and have any powers/abilities sealed. When they awoke, the brainwashing magics would already be in effect, as well as the Slave Seal, Magic Seal and Power Seal.
Prior to this, they had always tried to forcibly suppress the otherworlders and immediately force various binding spells on them the moment they arrived. However, it wasn’t a very efficient as some otherworlders had powers that enhanced their ability to fight, forcing the knights to either kill or seriously harm the individuals and thus wasting or ruining the efforts to summon them. A maimed person would be useless on the battlefield as a slave soldier. Otherworlders were usually gifted with the ability to learn techniques, styles, magic and spells very quickly. This made them very effective on the battlefield and the Empire of Sedina had grown strong and vast by harnessing and using these otherworlders effectively.
Now it was time to put the new method of enslaving otherworlders to the test and judging by the amount of mana that the summoning was pulling from her, Taneria knew that she was summoning one of two things. Either a large number of people or multiple individuals with strong potential. One of these would appear and once the process was complete, she would be promoted to Arch-Mage! With a flash and a WHUMP sound, in the center of the summoning circle stood… an old man in strange clothes with a sword drawn and a look of anger on his face?!
Taneria stood there in shock trying to understand why so much mana was required for ONE OLD MAN and WHY WAS HE ARMED?! The knights in the room however were veterans of previous summonings and of numerous battlefields; upon seeing this man appear, they drew their swords and formed a line between the otherworlder and her. Just as she was about to try to calm the old man down and get him to put his sword away, he roared at her in an angry voice, “So YOU’RE the pervert that uses those revolting tentacles on children!!” The anger and disgust in his voice was so pronounced that she was taken aback by it and even one of the knights turned his head to look at her. That however presented an opening the old man instantly took advantage of. With a flash he closed the distance with the knight and took off his head with a single swipe of the sword as he went past. As she saw him coming towards her, Taneria raised her hands, palms out to cast. The old man spun to the side and away from her, dodging a sword swing from one of the 3 remaining knights coming after him.
However when he spun away she saw a flash of steel and watched in horror when her fingers flew off and away. She just stared at the bloody stumps that once were her fingers and screamed in horror and pain, which drowned out the clashing of steel from the fighting. “MY FINGERS!!” She knew that she needed to help and stop the otherworlder but… HOW CAN SHE DO THAT WITH NO FINGERS?!?! “My fingers… he cut off my fingers! That BASTARD!” She spun around, finally remembered that there are some basic spells that she knew that don't need gestures. Except she discovered that old man stood there before her. She staggered backward in surprise and she noticed the knights, they lay in slow expanding pools of blood. She stared at the knights, and wondered to herself how he killed them and did so in such a short amount of time? What kind of monster had she summoned?!
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Why did you target my family?”, he asks “Why?”
Why? Why she could work with. The story she planned to tell, she could use now. Yes, if she could get him to agree to help in exchange for not trying to summon his family then the binding would trigger! She could still win! She gathered her mana internally, projecting it into her voice.
“We sought peo-GGGUUUUAAAAHHH!!” She shrieked as he stabbed her in the left shoulder.
“Try telling me without using your mana in your voice. I don’t know if you planned to activate something or trick me but doing so is foolish. I know, how about a different question?”
This isn’t a man but some kind of demon in human guise! How else could an otherworlder detect the mana in her voice?! Only a Spiritualist could have detected it. She also began to suspect that this man wouldn’t let her lie, she might not even be able to leave here alive.
“Is this the Empire of Sedina?”
With him asking that question, her eyes grew wide in horror. HE KNOWS!! He knows where he is and who we are. He probably even knew why the summoning was done. He has to be destroyed, she began to gather her mana. She would take him with her to prevent this demon from walking the world free! She saw that flash of steel once more and lost control of the mana she had, felt it start to disperse like dust in the wind! Then she felt a strange sensation as her view of things tilted and her head hit the ground with a thud. She witnessed her body, slowly falling over with the head missing and things went dark.
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Ichiro looked for a clean patch of floor away from the slowly expanding pools of blood. After finding an empty place he sat down in a zazen posture. It had been a long time since he had lost himself in anger. He needed to recenter himself, calm down and begin to gather mana again for the first time in decades. If he was calm, he could think. If he could think, he could plan. If he could plan, then he could act in an efficient manner.
As he sat there, he didn’t think. He just focused on posture, breathing and centering himself. As he focused, he could begin to feel the mana in his body begin to move faster. Accelerating from the slow trickle that it normally was on Earth to a flowing creek. As the mana began to circulate and gather he felt his aches begin to soothe. At 54 he wasn’t the young man he once was, age had taken a toll on him. However that didn’t do much more than slightly slow him down and annoy him. Once he could gather enough of his mana he could use it to strengthen his body and then he could move like he used to, then he could make his escape.
As he sat there, slowly breathing in and out, in and out, in and- Noise! His breathing stilled as he listened. The rasp of leather on stone, boots, coming closer. Time for meditation had run out. His eyes opened and he silently stood. He quietly moved towards the door as the footsteps drew closer. As they drew near he readied himself. He relaxed slightly as the owner of the boots walked past the door and kept going.
I need to get moving, the longer I stay in this spot the sooner people will come to check on the summoner. Once her death is discovered they will be sure to raise the alarm.
He quietly opened the door and slipped out into the hallway, quietly closing the door behind him. Then he turned and moved silently down the hallway following the sound of footsteps. They would either lead him to a way out or to someone who would know the way out.