Oryin grumbled as the upstart forced everyone into the city at a breakneck speed. He had no empathy for those under his command, pushing them until they were on the brink of collapse. Then, as soon as they made it inside the city, he dismissed the untrained youths from his responsibility as fast as he possibly could. It was a shameful display.
Oryin ground his teeth at the dismissal of his idea to swiftly and efficiently disperse the enemies. How dangerous could they be? There was only four of them.
I have no idea what that girl sees in a coward like him, Oryin snorted. What kind of a military commander flees from four people with an entire battalion at their back? He also had access to our Mage Academy Honor Graduates. Then he had the audacity to order the princess about like she was some common underling.
I just have to bide my time until we get to Wispan. Then that fool won't have a leg to stand on with his "under my command" nonsense. We'll see who has the last laugh.
Oryin smirked as he thought about the humiliation he was going to return to the fop. He was clearly in his position due to nepotism or something. He hadn't shown a speck of leadership or tactical proficiency whatsoever.
"So, umm.. Ory... What's going on with the princess and that mercenary?" One of the Mages eyed him sideways as they rode on their horses. "She looks mighty chummy sitting on that horse with him at the moment."
Oryin glanced at the Mage and rolled his eyes.
"It's politics above your level," Oryin commented. "Word is that he's some sort of envoy from another Imperial Family trying to make connections with our Septimus. He stalked her on her Life Experience excursion and pulled the wool over her eyes. I can't afford to offend a scion of an Imperial Family face to face, so I have to play the long game."
Oryin patted himself on the back for coming up with this story over the past several months' investigation into the background of Reivyn. There were far too many peculiarities behind him, and he knew he was on the right track working to uncover his deception. He seriously doubted he was some prince of another empire, but he definitely had some connections.
The presence of his bodyguard, the man known as Refix, all but confirmed Oryin's suspicions. There was no way that somebody without a powerful background had access to a personal bodyguard of that Level. Not even the crown prince of Wispan had a personal bodyguard at high-Tier 5. One would have to search the ranks of the Elders to even find someone of mid-Tier 5.
The accumulation of a tremendous amount of Mana arrested Oryin's attention. He and all the other Mages simultaneously looked back at the city gate where the Mana was being gathered. Oryin had a frown on his face and was about to open his mouth to comment on the strange phenomenon.
Suddenly, a huge explosion knocked the city gates completely off the wall. The reinforced steel was partially melted from the brief impact of the heat of a giant Plasma Beam slicing through the wall into the city. Soldiers and civilians alike were torched into a crisp instantly, hundreds losing their lives in a flash.
Oryin's eyes widened, but his body froze. He sat in the saddle in terror. He had never seen such a display of destruction from a single Spell before. The deaths of so many and the overwhelming might of the one Spell allowed a dread to settle over him that he couldn't shake off.
"What was that?!" One of the other Mages screamed in terror.
"We have to escape!" Another one shouted.
The Mages were looking around with wild eyes, not knowing what course of action to take. Several eyes settled on Oryin, seeking his counsel. He sat frozen, though, uncomprehending of the situation.
Suddenly, Princess Kefira was galloping past the Mages with two female attendants close to her side. The Imperial bodyguards were moving to protect her.
"Follow the princess!" One of the Mages shouted.
Oryin sat still on his saddle in a daze. He finally came out of his stupor as he felt his collar get grabbed in a tight grip, yanking his face away from the carnage.
"Come on!" The same Mage who questioned him earlier screamed in his face.
Oryin shook himself from his fog and cast one last glance behind him. The last thing he saw before turning to flee was Reivyn, Refix, and two unknown mercenaries standing between them and the four demons, ready to engage them in combat alone
Hahahahaha, the fool's going to get killed, and I won't have to lift a finger, Oryin shouted to himself in his mind. He had a manic grin on his face as he kicked his horse into a gallop.
The group charged through the city, only occasionally slowing down to allow for the civilian foot traffic further in the city who didn't know what was going on a chance to get out of the way unharmed by the galloping horses. Oryin rolled his eyes at the people of this city just casually strolling through the streets at a time like this, much less in front of a huge crowd of mounted soldiers and Mages.
It never occurred to him that the vast majority of people were still either below Tier 4 or too low Level within the Tier to have mastered enough about Mana to have sensed the Spell. This far into the city, the ambient noise cancelled out the sound of the explosion, and those that could have sounded the alarm were dead. He only glared ahead at the slow moving traffic, willing them to move faster so he wouldn't be left behind.
I need to get up there with the princess in her protective bubble, he thought to himself. They've obviously somehow learned of my exploits and that I've arrived in this backwater empire to help put a stop to their tyranny. Why else would they show up out of nowhere right when I got here?
I bet it was that cowardly Reivyn, selling secrets to the enemy for profit. He might even be one of them! Why else would he appear so calm when facing those demons?! They're in this together!
Oryin's mind was filled with thoughts of the utter betrayal from someone who supposedly sought the hand of their princess. From the rumors on the street, the entire idea of coming to these war-torn hellholes had been his idea in the first place.
Didn't the princess have a run-in with a similar situation in Drallo? That's way too many coincidences! That duplicitous charlatan was never after Kefira's hand! He led the entire empire by the nose, step by step, to this point where their Septimus and most promising young wizard could be captured in one fell swoop, thus snipping the most major opposition to their plundering before they ever set foot in Wispan!
So convinced of his conjecture, Oryin never even considered that it made no sense that two low Level Tier 4's would be in any way considered strategic targets. Even his Master, the Court Magus, the person most responsible for Oryin's current status, never entered his mind as someone who would definitely be targeted before he was.
Oryin stewed in his own imagination as they raced through the city toward the teleport circle. They were too far away to hear the sounds of fighting, but he could definitely feel the powerful Spells being wielded by that lunatic demon in the distance. The trajectory of where the Mana was coming from indicated that he was running through the city somewhere off to the side, but he wasn't chasing directly after them, and that was all Oryin cared about.
It looks like at least one of them is useful for something, Oryin thought. The longer they lead them through the city, the higher chance Kefira and I have of getting away... But wait, what if it's part of their ruse? We can't trust them. If they show up at the teleport circle, it'll be definitive proof of their guilt.
Oryin rationalized his own internal accusations. Never mind the fact that the plan was for them to meet up at the teleport circle so they could all escape together. That didn't matter. As long as Reivyn and his dastardly allies brought the demons with them, that was all Oryin needed to see.
They raced through the gate leading to the inner city, the Imperial bodyguards getting the local captain to wave them through with no questions. Oryin though he spotted a familiar face talking to the captain as they rushed by, but he didn't get a good look at the man. He seemed to have been someone among the delegation that had met them when they arrived, but he couldn't place his finger on who.
No time! We have to get out of here!
The Spells were already getting to close to the inner city for Oryin's comfort as they rounded the bend that would lead them to the teleport circle. Luckily, they made it to the familiar square without Reivyn and his traitors cutting them off, and there were several more high-Level Imperial bodyguards waiting for their arrival.
Oryin didn't pay attention to what Kefira said to one of the mercenary lieutenants, but the man ordered the rest of the company to continue into the teleport corridor ahead of them. Oryin was upset at first as a large portion of those who could assist them in their defense seemingly abandoned them, but then he remembered who they were.
Stolen story; please report.
Does Kefira suspect Reivyn, too? He thought, hope blooming in his chest. Is that why she's sending his soldiers away? This is the perfect chance!
Oryin kicked his horse into trotting over to where the princess was inspecting the teleport circle. She was lost in deep concentration, but that didn't stop him from approaching. If he didn't tell her now, then it would be too late. Already he could feel the other Mana signature of another demon closing in on them from the way they had just come.
"Brilliant move with sending the mercenaries ahead of us," Oryin opened up with praise. "They won't be in a position to hear Reivyn's orders, but we'll have to quickly follow them if we're to escape that traitor."
Kefira's attention was pulled away from the teleport corridor to focus on Oryin. He felt a tingle run through his spine as her ruby eyes met with his. He could never get over the feeling after all these years' interaction with her.
"What?" She asked, perplexed.
"We have to escape that traitor!" Oryin repeated. "He's obviously one of them! The signs are so clear."
"Are you talking about Reivyn?" Kefira was taken aback, too lost in the web of lies that man had her wrapped in to see the truth.
"Who else? Think about it! He's led us all here by the nose. Some unknown person with an unknown affiliation infiltrates the Imperial Court, convinces them to disperse their military across multiple fronts, gets in close with their most talented daughter so that she'll follow him into danger, and everywhere he goes, these invaders keep popping up! What more evidence do you need?"
Kefira just stared at him for several long seconds. Suddenly, Serilla burst out laughing. She bent over double in her saddle, gasping for air. Kefira glanced at her maid - someone she was far too lenient with in Oryin's opinion - before looking back to him.
"You don't have to worry about that," she said, full of false confidence. "I know exactly who Reivyn is."
Oryin shook his head. Aside from his burning love and passion for the woman, he felt pity for her as well.
"He's got you all wrapped around his finger. You don't even question all of the suspicious points."
The other maid, a girl he had never seen before who was clad in medium armor with a spear, gave him a strange look.
"Did your mother drop you on your head as a child?" She questioned.
Oryin frowned and was about to reprimand the girl who didn't know her place, but Kefira held up her hand to silence everyone.
"Enough!" She Commanded. "I need to focus. That means you, Oryin, need to go back over to the other Mages. You all should go ahead of us and make your way to the other side. There's no reason for you to linger here."
Oryin's mouth drew into a line.
Just wait until I've made you my wife, he thought as he turned his horse around. We'll see if you talk back to me, then.
Oryin shook his head as joined the other Mages and indicated for them all to cross the teleport corridor. He had miscalculated. Kefira was still caught up in Reivyn's web. He needed to let the spider bare his fangs before he rescued her, or she would never know the true danger she was in.
He took his rightful position at the head of the Mages, leading them. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was the position furthest away from the pursuing demons. He was a leader.
---
Kefira put the idiot out of her mind. She could vaguely hear Serilla and Kimberly whispering and scoffing at the ludicrous statement the Mage had made. She couldn't focus on that, though, as she put all of her concentration into the teleport corridor.
There had been something with Reivyn's Mana that had allowed her to easily access the System assistance when she had flooded the highway with more Space. He had told her that it would be there, but she hadn't understood exactly what he had meant at the time. She was having a hard time getting back to a similar state where the Space Mana seemed to jump to obey her every wish.
Now that she didn't have access to nearly as much System assistance - if that is what it was - Kefira found that she didn't have as much command over the Affinity as she had thought. She concentrated on inspecting the Mana infused into the teleport Spell like she had done many times before, but she was looking at it from a completely different angle.
It seemed so simple in theory: Traveling with Space Mana was cutting a hole through Space and using it as a shortcut, and impeding with Space Mana was just adding more Space. How hard could it be?
Apparently, it was really hard.
The additional Space, compacted and compressed into a smaller geographical space, had to come from somewhere. She had assumed it was just from her immediate surroundings, but that hadn't been the case. The ambient Mana in the area had reacted to what she and Reivyn had done, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a reaction to the Mana Manipulation and not the cause of the phenomenon.
Some of that Space was pulled from the veil, Kefira thought. It looks like what's surrounding the Space corridor on the inside is the outside of the Realm, but it's not. That is the veil... It was an epiphany.
Long hours researching more efficient ways to use her Space Mana and with penetrating the veil itself had finally opened her eyes to the truth. It looked like it did - empty Space - because that's what it was. Kefira frowned and shook her head at the thought.
No, that's not right, either, she thought. It's not empty Space. It's pure Space. Of course it would visually represent the Affinity.
With that new understanding, Kefira inspected the edge between the corridor and the nothingness beyond. She seeped her Mana into the barrier, and the deeper she went, the more sure she was of her conjecture.
It wasn't a big empty space of nothingness on the other side of the Space corridor, it was a wall of Pure Space Mana that seemed to go on infinitely.
She already knew from her experiments with penetrating the veil that it wasn't the case. The nature of the Space Affinity only made it appear so when one was within the veil. She felt like she could poke a whole through the partition to the outside of the Realm if she so wished, but that's not what she was trying to accomplish.
Maybe one day.
She was only vaguely aware of a body leaping up onto the horse behind her and spurring it on. She was so engrossed in the Space Affinity all around them that she didn't realize she and her group were already galloping down the corridor. She felt the ripples of Mana from powerful Spells behind them, but she paid it no heed.
I need to impede this end of the corridor without cutting it off, she thought to herself. If I just flood the entire radius of the corridor with more Space Affinity, it might cause a backlash and do just that... What if I just... pinch it?
She put thought to action. She sent out her Mana to anchor into the walls of the Space corridor all around them. She was slightly surprised that it seemed to move further away from her on its own, but her subconscious didn't warn her that it was out of the ordinary, so she ignored it.
She anchored the Mana to the veil and grabbed a firm hold on the partition. Just pulled as hard as she could, trying to pinch the corridor down to an impassable size, but it seemed as heavy as a mountain. It actively resisted her interference. She pumped more Mana into it, but she only saw marginal success.
She was about to rethink her approach when she was flooded with foreign Mana once more. She once again felt that closer connection to the System Assistance, and the Space Mana seemed to want to aid her instead of resist her all of a sudden.
Without warning, the Space corridor behind them collapsed until only a tiny pinprick remain open to keep the connection open. It was far more than she had intended.
The surprise of the foreign Mana, the shift in the Space Mana, and the over compensation of her desire combined with the warmth of a body pressing against her back with an arm around her waist causing Kefira to lose her concentration for a split second.
She opened her eyes and looked up and back into Reivyn's face.
"Reivyn!" She exclaimed in surprise.
It was all she had time for before all hell broke loose.
The loss of her concentration caused her Mana anchors to lose their grip on the veil. As soon as the pressure she was exerting on the partition disappeared, the edges snapped back in place, but it was like a rubber band. On top of that, when a bottleneck is created, pressure builds up. This was something Kefira might have made note of if she hadn't been so absorbed in the pure Space affinity all around her, but it was overlooked in her experiment.
The corridor hadn't been pinched for very long, but one must not underestimate the amount of energy flowing between the two end points of the teleport corridor. Keeping it open wasn't just about manipulating the veil to create the corridor, but pressure had to be supplied to keep it steady. That pressure had been disrupted in a magnificent way.
These realizations flashed through her mind, and Kefira only had time to see the corridor's edge expand much further than it had any right to before it snapped. One of the cloaked figures had been trying to force his way through the pinch, and his body had been half-way through, reaching forward like he could grasp the fleeing people.
That had been a fatal mistake.
It wasn't just the Space inside the corridor that was compressed into the tiny pinprick. Everything inside of it was compressed as well. The cloaked figure had reached inside of it after it had been formed, though, so it didn't have an initial impact on him. Once the Space occupying the area violently expanded, though, he was now part of it.
His body expanded with the Space corridor to fill the same relative area. The cloaked figure exploded into a blood mist.
That wasn't the end of it. It wasn't just the perimeter of the corridor that acted like a rubber band stretched too far. When the partition snapped, the corridor flung its occupants violently in the opposite direction. Kefira didn't see what happened to the other three cloaked figures, but she did turn to see what happened to their people.
The mercenaries had raced ahead of everyone else and had almost reached the other side. When the corridor snapped, they were flung forward and launched through the open end of the teleport circle at a tremendous speed. The Mages between the mercenaries and Kefira's group had been pretty close to the mercenary company. They had chased after them on horseback whereas the mercenaries had been on foot. They quickly followed the mercenaries and were flung safely, if violently, out of the corridor.
Kefira, though, felt despair as the partition began to dissolve all around them as they were launched forward at the fastest speed of anyone inside. The corridor, though, disappeared faster, and moments before they would have been flung out of teleport corridor, the opening winked out of existence.
They tumbled through the Pure Space Mana of the veil separating the Realm from the rest of the universe. Kefira's body rolled end-over-end, and she could vaguely sense that the others shared a similar fate.
A rope of strong, dense Mana enveloped her, and she Sensed it do the same with everyone else, including the horses. She didn't have to look to see that it was Reivyn, and he managed to anchor everyone in their group together. With how Space worked in a Pure Space environment, if they were allowed to separate for even a few seconds more, there was no telling how far apart they would actually end up.
"Please tell me you have a solution to this," Teilon said. Kefira looked over expecting to see Reivyn's friend either frightened or panicked, but he just had an amused look on his face as he took in their situation.
"She's a Space/Time Esper... or, well, she was," Reivyn answered. "That was her Tier 3 Class. She's advanced to Tier 4, so I'm sure she does." She looked down at her where they she was impossibly still wrapped in his embrace. "Right?"
"Honestly?" She looked at everyone in turn. "I was literally just thinking I felt like I could easily pierce a hole in the veil if I wanted to."
"See? No big deal," Reivyn said. Everyone relaxed a little at the words.
"Yeah, there's just one problem," Kefira said. Everyone once more looked to her. "Which way leads to the Realm, and which way leads Outside?"