Chapter 66: Hope

It has already been eleven years since I was reincarnated in this foreign magic world but I didn’t encounter many people I could trust.

With the exception of my family, I could count the people who didn’t try to take advantage of me, in one way or another, with one hand.

Maybe I was unlucky or maybe that's just the way things have always been in this world.

However, even among this shortlist of benefactors, Jazor truly stood out.

He saved my life and brought me safely to this town whereas nothing compelled him to do so.

He risked his life, gave me money and continued to look after me in this town.

That’s why I couldn’t understand his action.

“Why… Jazor!?!”

I continued to scream until another wave of foreign dizziness assaulted my head and prevented me from talking anymore.

The magic he was using on me rendered me completely powerless and prevented me from rescuing Aliannelle who was taken away among her sobs and Paul’s desperate pleadings.

The memories of our days together in this small farm assaulted my mind.

These happy memories of a peaceful time spent with the four of us together seemed like a lie.

All seemed to shatter when I recognized the man who attacked me and prevented me from rescuing my friend.

The distant noises and screams around finally disappeared until nothing but silence remained.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pressure of the large hand above my head lessened and the magic disturbing my thoughts and senses finally ended.

“Aaaah!!!”

I screamed in anger as I finally triggered my magic.

I used a violent gust of wind under me to project me several meters away. My feet landed heavily but steadily on the ground after I backflip to fix my posture in the air.

I ignored the blood flowing from my forehead and covering the right side of my face.

With eyes that could kill alone, I watched with unrestrained anger the man I considered as my friend.

A single glance around me was enough to notice that the vast majority of the people previously gathered were already gone. The few guards that were posted near the gate already returned to their usual post, oblivious to the fate of the young girl.

A desolate place tainted by the cruel event that just unfolded was all that was left along with Paul crying on his knees not too far away from Jazor.

I felt a new wave of anger threatening to drown me.

The inhabitants who returned home as if nothing ever happened.

Paul who already seemed to have given up on his beloved daughter.

And Jazor who prevented me from intervening.

“Why are you acting as if she’s already dead Paul?” I screamed while releasing the rage that was threatening to overwhelm me.

Paul slowly raised his head in disbelief after my words, but he stayed on his knees nonetheless.

I took another glance at Jazor before quickly turning heels to walk toward the door behind me. He gave up on Paul and assisted in Aliannelle’s kidnapping. He betrayed me and the trust I had placed in him but I had more important things to do than to confront him.

It had probably been less than ten minutes since they left the town.

It wasn’t too late to save her.

I could still make it.

I started to run toward the large gate shut tight fifty meters in front of me. I didn't plan to wait for it to open. I prepared a burst of wind magic under my feet to simply jump above when a familiar voice resonated behind me, much closer than it should be.

“I can’t let you go, Sillath!”

Immediately after, I felt a wave of mana directed at me followed by a large earthball.

I used my wind magic to jump away and avoid the attack directed at my back.

“What are you doing?” I screamed in indignation after landing several meters away.

His merciless magic would have violently hit me from behind without my ability to sense the mana around me.

The angry glare I was directing toward him didn’t seem to perturb Jazor who still had his hand raised a few meters away after his previous surprised attack.

His bearded face was devoid of his usual smile making him look like a completely different person.

“You can’t attack a member of the Ryunno clan or their representative. That’s the law.”

“Screw your law! I’m going to save her!” I immediately answered while readying myself.

Jazor finally lost his temper after my violent outburst who seemed to have attracted some of the nearby guards’ attention.

“You ignorant brat! I’m not talking about some half-assed law. I’m talking about the only law transcending the species and binding all of us.”

“...”

“The only racial law of this world!!!”

For the first time in a long time, I felt like a foreigner confronted with this unknown but apparently important term.

Ignorant of the truth of this world so different from my old one.

I truly felt like an ignorant child.

However, if being ignorant meant that I could save my friend then so be it.

“I won’t give up on her.”

“You…”

“I never asked for your help so if you’re too scared to act, if you’re too afraid to save an innocent young girl from a gruesome fate then go away.”

“You don’t understand!” He screamed from the top of his lungs. His powerful voice hammered at my ears and finally gathered everyone’s attention on us.

However, I didn’t care.

I already lost too much time.

“Don’t get in my way…” I slowly declared while a powerful wave of cold air started to spread from me. The ground under my feet started to freeze in front of Jazor’s incredulous eyes.

I didn’t completely release my magic but my words immediately seemed a lot more believable to everyone around us.

None of the guards or the inhabitants left laughed at the threat of a child against such a strong mercenary.

The powerful waves of mana and the violent burst of cold were enough to prevent that.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Sillath.” Finally declared Jazor with a heavy voice not hiding his true meaning in the slightest.

“I don’t want to hurt you either. So let me save her.” I answered with the same heavy voice completely different from my childish appearance.

“It’s already too late. This is a sad truth but it’s the reality. You have to accept it.”

“Accept this?”

“Yes. Accept it and move forward.”

I clenched my hands in anger.

Accept this?

Accept that a few words from this unknown man sealed Aliannelle’s fate.

He wanted me to forget everything that had happened today.

He probably also meant to forget Aliannelle’s very existence to continue my life without guilt or shame.

I had only known her for a month, she should not be worth the kind of risk that would make a mage as strong as Jazor so obedient and fearful.

Maybe I could have done it a few years earlier when I desperately wanted to live a peaceful life even if it meant obeying to my grandfather.

I probably would have chosen to follow his wise advice and silently swallow this bitter truth to continue living in peace.

However, I wasn’t the same anymore.

I spent four years lying to myself to achieve an illusory peace. I already realized that this kind of peaceful life based on unfair sacrifices and lies told to oneself would only bring me more bitter truth to swallow until I couldn’t bear it anymore.

I knew it the moment I heard Jazor’s words.

It wasn’t possible for me to pretend anymore.

I couldn’t pretend that Paul and Aliannelle never helped me when I desperately needed support.

I couldn’t pretend that this kind and innocent young girl wasn’t taken away just in front of me.

I fought too much without gaining anything in my previous life but this time I was sure.

I didn’t fight enough in this new world.

Not yet.

With a violent tap of my left foot on the ground, a strong wave of cold was propelled toward Jazor. The ground in front of me froze at high speed ready to engulf Jazor’s feet in a few seconds.

The last few weeks allowed me to greatly develop my sacred magic. By carefully controlling the amount of mana I used, I gained more control over it. To prevent this dangerous and violent magic to hurt me, I had no other choice but to sacrifice its lethality.

Less power but more control.

My magic was thus faster to form and easier to manipulate.

Moreover, less dangerous didn’t mean harmless either.

Jazor’s face changed when he saw my sudden attack but he didn’t let it perturb his reaction. He clenched his fist and directly punched the ground at his feet.

A long crack immediately spread in front of him and confronted my incoming magic. The wave of ice on the ground seemed to have hit an invisible barrier that immediately stopped its progress.

I wasn’t surprised that he simply overpowered my magic.

I knew that I wasn’t a match against him. I couldn’t hope to confront a man who defeated a hundred meters tall monster with a single blow, but that was never my intent.

My surprise attack gave me just enough time to create my true magic.

I didn’t launch the large fireball that I had created in the palm of my hand. Instead, I focused to make it disappear. Once created, a magic couldn’t be canceled. I learned this sad truth with Amanda and my sacred magic. However, this also opened other possibilities for me.

I couldn’t make it simply disappear but I could transform it.

Along with its forced disappearance, the fireball emitted a dense dark smoke all around me, masking my figure from Jazor.

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“Wind arrow.”

When my fire magic accomplished its goal, I simply released the dense cloud of smoke toward Jazor who could only put his hands in front of him.

This was Jazor’s weakness.

He was overwhelmingly stronger than me in a direct confrontation and only my sacred magic at full power was dangerous for him.

However, I didn’t want to risk killing him despite his will to stop me. Even if I felt like he had betrayed me, I realized that I didn’t have clear thoughts. My judgment was blinded by my emotions and more importantly, I seemed to ignore an important truth concerning this racial law.

That’s why I had never intended to confront him directly with my sacred magic at full strength. Instead, I prepared this magic against which even his overwhelmingly powerful magic couldn’t do anything.

Ironically, it was Jazor’s explanations during one of my trainings that allowed me to understand.

Each element has its own characteristics, its own secrets.

A mage had to explore these secrets to unravel and create new magic based on these aspects.

The way I used wind magic to move around was a way to use an aspect of this element. To create a bright flame, an explosion or smoke, as I just did, were all different aspects of the fire element.

I knew that Jazor could only use the earth element. Moreover, although I didn’t know if he was proficient in several aspects of this element, I still knew about the true nature of his strongest magic.

Jazor could create earthquakes.

He developed this aspect of the earth element and was able to propagate strong vibrations to inflict colossal damage from the inside. However, there was one drawback to this powerful magic. He couldn’t propagate vibrations in the air, meaning he had to directly touch his opponent with his hands or his weapon.

This also meant that he couldn’t directly get rid of the dense smoke screen I had just created.

I didn’t waste any time after his short but muscular figure was engulfed by the dense smoke I had just created.

I used my wind magic to propel myself toward the door at high speed.

By the time the smoke disperses, I'll be far from the town.

I used a massive burst of wind magic to fly away into the sky. This was enough to propel me above the door. Another burst of wind allowed me to continue to advance in the sky, as if I was walking on the wind.

It only took me ten seconds to find myself on the other side of the door. My frantic run didn’t stop though. My little trick wouldn’t be able to stall Jazor for a long time.

I didn’t find any trace of the carriage that brought this member of the Ryunno clan to the town but that was to be expected.

My hope and will to bring Aliannelle back wasn’t based on such a baseless assumption.

Even inside the town, I could still feel it.

The foreign mana that accompanied their small party when they passed in front of me for the second time. I spent too much time trying to sense the mana around to be able to ignore this kind of peculiar magical presence after I had noticed it.

Therefore, I didn’t blindly run in a random direction.

The trail of dense mana left behind was easy to follow but it was dispersing quickly.

My wind magic was used at maximum output to follow this disappearing trail.

I crossed the vast plain in front of the town and bypassed a large forest when I finally stopped in my tracks.

A foreign mana suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t have the time to wonder what it was when the short figure of a man materialized in front of me as if it was directly coming out of the ground.

“I can’t let you continue this madness, Sillath”

The familiar figure of Jazor became recognizable immediately after he came out of the ground and his words reached me before his feet had the time to separate from the earth.

“Another aspect of the earth element, is that right?” I asked without hiding the irritation in my voice.

“Yes, it is. I can only use a single element, but I developed several of its aspects. This magic doesn’t have any offensive capacity but its ability to move at high speed and to hide inside the ground saved my life many times. Again today, this magic will save a life, except that it will be yours.”

“Thanks for the lesson, I will be sure to treasure it. Now move out of my way.” I ordered while concentrating on not losing track of the trail of mana.

“Sorry, kid. I can’t let you do it.”

Without any other word, Jazor bent his short but muscular legs. I only had the time to feel the mana rushing from the earth toward his legs before he released his magic.

*Bam*

His legs and the magic powering him shattered the ground and propelled him at high speed toward me. He was too fast for my eyes to see, but I didn’t need my eyes.

A strong burst of wind, that I triggered immediately after feeling the release of his pent-up magic, allowed me to avoid his punch and fly away from him. However, Jazor didn’t lose any time and immediately triggered the same magic.

He took less time to accumulate his magic so his burst of speed was less impressive than before but it still allowed him to immediately join me a few meters above the ground.

His strong punch was destined to rob me of my consciousness and of my only chance to rescue my friend if it hit. However, another much softer burst of wind allowed me to avoid.

His punch bypassed me in front of his surprised face.

While gravity took hold of his body and dragged him back toward the ground, I used the same wind magic to move around him and to kick him in his back with my leg covered with the densest earth I could produce.

*Bam*

Even with my small body, the various magics I used to power up my strike were enough to send Jazor back toward the ground head first much faster than what he initially wanted.

The impact was impressive but I knew this wouldn’t be enough to stop him. I was also painfully aware that I was running out of options to confront him without risking killing him with my sacred magic.

The quickly disappearing trail of mana was enough proof that I was also running out of time.

A feeling of anxiety started to assault me while I was desperately trying to figure a way out when the simple solution hit me.

My entire being was screaming me that it wasn’t possible but I still didn’t let my body fall back toward the ground. Another burst of wind helped my body rise higher. I continued several times until I was dozens of meters above the ground.

I couldn’t confront him on the ground, but he couldn’t join me in the sky.

This simple truth appeared as the only solution out of this predicament, but as the distance with the ground started to rise, my heartbeat also accelerated. Fear took a hold of me but I didn’t let it influence my movements.

I carefully controlled my body, to allow it to stay in the sky, but I had troubles moving away.

The ability to move around with my wind magic was something I had created to make use of this offensively useless element. It allowed me to accelerate and to quickly avoid but this magic was created with the ground as a support. Moving around in the sky a couple of times was completely different from what I was attempting.

I knew that the ability to fly freely in the sky was still beyond my reach but I just needed to fly for a bit. If I could fly out of Jazor’s sight, even he wouldn’t be able to find me. I already checked with him but the ability I had to feel the surrounding mana was well beyond what most mages, him included, could do. Even I had trouble to follow the trail of mana left by whatever was taken away from the town. As long as I could disappear from his sight, Jazor wouldn’t be able to stop me anymore.

I tried various positions but I quickly lost altitude when I tried to simply fly away with my body lying parallel to the ground. I fixed my posture in panic and continued to frantically experiment.

A few more fruitless attempts, that nearly made me fall completely, allowed me to realize that the only position I was truly comfortable with was while I was standing with my wind magic powering my steps in the sky.

It wasn’t a comfortable or an elegant flight but I was moving nonetheless.

With my feet walking on the air itself, I flew away from Jazor.

*Whoosh*

A small pebble of condensed earth missed me by a hair’s breadth. I was too focused on my flight to spare any energy to look out for Jazor. I thought that I was too far away for him to intervene but the numerous other projectiles flying toward me to stop my escape were enough proof that I was wrong.

I tried to go higher beyond his reach, but it quickly became evident that the wind was becoming increasingly difficult to tame the higher I went.

Without any other choice, I used my wind magic to avoid.

The strange dance in the sky continued for several minutes until one of the projectiles hit me in my leg and completely disrupted my control.

Even if the dull projectile would only leave a mark, its purpose was completed. My balance was broken while my body couldn’t stay high in the sky anymore.

I free-fall for long seconds while I saw Jazor on the ground at the corner of my eyes running where I was going to fall, probably to prevent me from falling to my death. However, even his help wouldn’t be enough to prevent a serious or even a fatal injury after such a fall.

“Ahhh!”

With a scream to stimulate my potential, I released as much mana as I could to slow my fall and fix my posture. My fall immediately slew down but I couldn’t regain the lost altitude anymore.

I immediately rolled on the ground when my feet violently touched the ground to cushion my fall.

It only took me a few seconds to stand on my feet without any wound despite my impressive fall, but Jazor was already only a few steps away.

Without any other choice, I released a powerful burst of cold to prevent him from immediately attacking.

He was only a few meters away and could close the distance in the blink of an eye with his magic, but even if I could see the irritation and frustration on his face, it was apparent that he was also relieved to see me uninjured.

After our short confrontation that could have easily resulted in a grievous injury, especially after my fall, he probably realized that it wouldn’t be so easy to stop me by force without hurting me.

“You should have just let me leave...” I exclaimed with a sigh.

Jazor ignored my words and simply started to slowly walk toward me with his weapon on his back and his arms down.

“You knew almost nothing about the various aspects of the elements just a few weeks ago, but you already started to master several of them from different elements on your own. Honestly, I never saw someone young or old with nearly as much potential as you do.”

“So what?”

“You just started to touch upon your real potential. With a little more time, you could stand at the apex of the magical world. You will be able to do anything you want under the banner of the King, a Great noble house or just with your own strength. So don’t ruin everything. Don’t risk your life and your future for a desperate cause.”

“It’s not up to you to decide if this is desperate. There is still hope. And if there is none, then I will create it.”

“It’s still too soon for you for that. If you try, if you continue with your crazy plan, then you will die a meaningless death.”

“I don’t need your help. I told you already to leave me alone. I won’t ask for your help so why do you care so much?”

“That’s why I said you are an ignorant brat!” He exclaimed with the same irritation as before.

He didn’t seem willing to engage in a direct confrontation anymore but his sudden shout of anger made me reinforce the magic I was ready to unleash at a moment’s notice.

“Do you think you will be the only one to bear the wrath of the Ryunno clan if you transgress the only racial law of this world?”

“What do you mean?” I asked while Jazor stopped his steps a few meters away from me.

“Exactly what I just said. They are the rulers of this world. Every other race has to serve them in one way or another. In exchange for their protection, we have to follow their orders and above all, we have to respect this only unbreakable law that they created after the end of the Great war. To attack a Ryunno clan member is a sin punishable by death. But you would be underestimating them if you thought that your death would be enough to satisfy them.”

“Then…” I muttered after realizing what he was trying to say.

“Yes. The whole town would have to bear their wrath.”

I exhaled a breath of air after his heavy words and stopped the wave of cold I kept emitting from my body.

I finally understood why Jazor so desperately tried to stop me. He wanted to save my life, but it was also to protect all the inhabitants of the town. He wanted to prevent me from doing something irreparable in a screw-up situation created by a screwed up world.

A heavy silence settled between us while his words continued to resonate in my head.

This truth changed everything.

I wasn’t just risking my life, I was risking the lives of hundreds of people. If I was caught, I will die a horrible death and if I attack a Ryunno clan member, then everyone living inside the town will be targeted as retaliation.

I took a deep breath to calm down. The hesitation in my heart after his words only lasted for a few seconds because I knew what I had to do.

“You’re right, Jazor. I am an ignorant brat. I never imagined that to confront them would have this kind of consequence. The wise choice is more than obvious.” I declared with my head slightly lowered.

Jazor’s large back seemed to straighten a little after my words while his beard face relaxed even if nothing in this situation was worth a smile.

“However, wise doesn’t mean that it’s the right choice.” I added while raising my head and my gaze to meet his dark eyes filled with incomprehension.

“If I attack a Ryunno clan member, the other inhabitants will suffer their retaliation. This is what forced you to stop me earlier and I understand that. However, this doesn’t change what I have to do. This just means that I have to save Aliannelle without hurting this Ryunno clan member.”

“You…” Mumbled Jazor, clearly taken aback by my sudden declaration especially after he thought I had finally listened to reason.

I didn’t let him the time to gather his thoughts and continued.

“This man took her with him probably on a whim. I don’t think he will employ too much energy and time to retrieve her if she disappears as long as I don’t attack him. Moreover, I think they came to this town to retrieve an extremely valuable object. Even now, I can still feel the trace of its mana. I don’t think even this Ryunno clan member would risk it to track down an insignificant girl across the wilderness.”

“Well, that may be true.” Admitted Jazor after a few seconds of thinking.

“However, as long as they recognize you, the result will still be terrible. You and your entire family will be implicated. You have a family you care about, right? If not, you would not have risked your life as you did to send them a letter. Are you sure you want to risk their lives for this girl?”

His words were like a bucket of cold water, but I didn’t let it dim down my determination.

Reason was on my side this time.

“Nobody knows who I am. I’m just a lost child who probably escaped from slavers and who got rescued by a powerful mercenary. That’s the only story they will find about me as long as they don’t catch me.”

This time, Jazor didn’t know what to say to convince me anymore.

I was ready to risk my life and if I didn’t attack the Ryunno clan member or their representative then they wouldn’t bother to track me down or to take revenge on the Advanced town.

Of course, saving her with this condition would be much more difficult than what I initially planned.

That’s why I didn’t immediately leave Jazor behind even if the trail of mana was almost gone by now.

“You can try to stop me but I won’t give up no matter what. I won’t live with shame or regrets and I certainly won’t let fear dictate my acts anymore. You can choose the wise and easy path, but you know just as I do, that this isn’t the right one. You know what had happened earlier wasn’t right.”

His silence was more than enough proof that I was right about him.

Our respective situation seemed to have reversed. He pursued me to stop the folly of an ignorant child, but in the end, this cruel situation was too much to bear for this overly good man. My words filled with determination and hopes for another future deeply pierced at his conviction.

“I know you agree with me, if you were the kind of man to so easily turn your gaze away from someone in need then you would have never saved my life back then.”

Jazor stayed completely motionless with a shocked face while I finally reached out with my hand.

“So, help me. Let’s save her together.”

Our respective bodies still bear the traces of our previous confrontation and we lost so much time that saving Aliannelle was almost beyond reach.

However, when Jazor finally took hold of my small hand with his own, none of that seemed to matter anymore.

His dark gaze betraying his worries and frustration in this absurd and cruel situation was now filled with determination.

A small smiled formed at the corner of my lips when I saw this, because I knew.

This is how hope is created.