August 1, 2025

If there was no sparring partner for her, Niji spent her time in a gym of M.A.G.E. residence. It wasn’t a particularly spacious room stuffed with apparatus, mostly improvised ones. The Elementalist saw Sunny who was squatting with a bar in a corner. The girls didn’t go along particularly well, as the Amber was still sulky with Niji about her defeat.

“Hello, Sunny.”

“Oi,” she replied, seeing Niji in the mirror.

“I wanted to see how you train… and ask for your advice.”

“Jeez, you care for my opinion.”

“I wonder where I can train to stop sucking at melee.”

“Did Dasnor break it to you?” Sunny set the bar down. “Forget about that. Nobody can ever match up with high standards of his. Just in case, if he says something like ‘okay’ or ‘fine by me,’” she mimicked his apathetic voice. “That actually equals A+ in this own system of grades.”

“Wonderful to know.”

Niji felt a bit encouraged as those were exact words she heard from him. Well, apart from “What the hell is wrong with your hands,” “That’s a disaster” and “Is this trash taught in the Academy?”

“Dasnor is not the thick-skinned bastard that he seems to be at first. As well as his father. The latter even saved me from the streets. My parents were shot as Violets, and I ran away.”

“Oh, I am sorry.”

“Don’t be. They wouldn’t last long anyway. The Viols rarely survive to their thirties. Their cursed spectrum cells spoil blood too much, that’s why they go crazy in their prime with two options left; wait for a specialized mage to kill you or die from energy overdose.”

“Yeah, they told us a bit about that in the Academy… more or less. How long ago did you join M.A.G.E.?”

Sunny kept silent for a moment and continued,

“Fire years or so. I’d just started to get my own colour. Fiber-sama pushed the black-n-whites to leave me alone as a special cause. According to official policy I should have completed my basic education, blah blah… but I was lucky to get away. I wouldn’t imagine the life among those who killed my parents.”

Well, that explained how she ended up in such a motley crew. Sunny finished with her squats and moved on to do wide-grip pull-ups. After a dozen of reps she jumped off and asked, “Has Dasnor given you the cash?”

“What cash?”

“For the raid. Fiber-sama takes the money from black-n-whities and splits it among the members,” Sunny shrugged. “Haven’t anyone told you?”

“I didn’t ask. My first raid has come too soon.”

“How soon? Two months? Three? Nah, it’s fine. They say when Sacred joined us he hunted the Violets on his first day. By the way, he’s right there.”

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The object of their talk, an exorcist Niji rarely has seen before, rose from his seat. The mage girl mused that he was indeed in need of some training: Sacred was pale and skinny, especially in comparison with a cupboard-like Viktor. Even Dammit, being quite well-built and muscular, looked more imposing, though his height was at disadvantage. New Tokyo could be proud of tall Asian people, and Sacred was one of them.

The mage noticed that he was being discussed and brushed off his long fringe. His hair had a pale blue artificial colour to match with his eyes. Sacred reached his hand to Niji who had walked closer.

“Bright day to you, Murasaki-san. Pleased to meet you. How are you?”

Someone could compare his voice to a winter breeze, his intonations were insinuating, but not too sweet.

“Fine, I guess… and you, mister… um…” Niji blushed because she forgot his real name.

“Jun Miyano. Everything’s fine, thank you. Is your search for Freyja going all right?”

“No, not a single hint.”

“What does Haydee say?”

“Ummm… I’ve heard so much about your Haydee woman, but I’ve never actually seen her.”

“Why am I not surprised,” the shorty chuckled. “She doesn’t poke her nose out of her basement. Normal folks have already forgotten this mad creature.”

“She is our archives keeper,” specified Jun. “She is a Veridian, ex-thaumaturge.”

“They told me only the Sisters have that type…”

“An ‘ex.’ You can treat her as a Lackluster now.”

Niji expressed her thoughts aloud, “If you want to find someone with thaumaturgy, you’ll need a part of them. Or a personal item, at the very least.”

“You are lucky,” Sacred half-smiled. “Two days ago I sorted out my bookshelves and found her Enchantment book. But do we really want to try? I believe Haydee has become even more crazy… and she has a certain issue with Freyja as well.”

~~~

Of course she wanted to try, and ASAP. This was ridiculous: the solution was right before them, but nobody gave a thought to tell her! She waited for Sacred to change his sports suit to his usual white long-sleeved shirt and light gray trousers. A weightless cloak with a high collar embraced his shoulders, and Jun Miyano’s image became far more royal-like.

The designated room was also below the ground, but on the other side of the mansion. Sunny, Sacred and Niji went down the stairs, built around a century ago. With great effort the Celestial pushed a massive door, and three of them got inside. There was a strong scent of kerosene and something truly weird. Niji’s eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the darkness, faintly lit by old lamps, so she was slow to figure out the surroundings.

“Hello? Are you here, Haydee?” called Sacred, but silence was the only answer.

Sunny, who was reluctant to go there first, but succumbed to her curiosity, turned around to walk away. However, they heard a menacing rustle, and a woman’s head came up from a pile of scrolls. This head was decorated with a bandage, round spectacles and two small pieces of yellowish paper, stuck in the tail of thick dark red hair.

“Oh, my Goddess of the Light! I have guests!” she shrieked in an embarrassing soprano. “Of course I am here, where else would I be?”

“They say she sleeps here. And eats mice,” Sunny whispered to Niji. “And she honestly believes that magic destroys modern tech.”

Haydee swam through her papers to the visitors. She spoke, stretching the words and changing the tone as if she was singing in a musical.

“Sooooooo, who do we have here?” the Viridian squinted, pulling a corner of her eye with her finger.

“I am Niji Murasaki, nice to meet you. I graduated from the Academy and joined M.A.G.E.”

“Aaaaaand what is your color, my sweet Child of Light?”

“Crimson, ma’am.”

“Ooooooow. Well, that’s fine too. How can I be of assistance? I rarely have guests these days. That’s so sad.”

Sacred explained, “We’d like to ask you once more to find a person. Believe it or not, it’s about Freyja.”

“Merciful Mother! Again?! Why do you all need that whore?”

“Haydee,” Sacred pronounced reproachfully.

“What’s wrong? She seduced our Fiber, set him against his own wife and vanished like it was nothing! Elveit, poor girl Elveit… maybe you’re looking for her to destroy? Then I’ll be more than glad to help!”

“We need her expertise in amplifiers. Niji, show her, please.”

The mage girl reluctantly reached her right hand. Haydee grasped her firmly and dove her nose almost to the skin.

“Oooooooh…. oooooooh! Oh!” she gasped in excitement. “This cannot be!”