Tales of magic: grimoire of transmogrification

Chapter 31

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Arc 2 - "The hunter and the beast"

Chapter 15- "Separation"

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"What is it?"

"That's quite the nice question. What does it look like? I'll spell it out for you; You've been cornered. No way out."

He held his want tightly, pointing it at her dauntlessly. The mages behind him were trembling in fear, he had to show bravery as their leader.

"The witches of the Heated Cauldron have violated the orders of the Mages' Union. You shall be punished for your crimes, Theresa."

"Little child. You really believe that stick of yours can do anything to me? You must be mistaken. In my days as a witch, I have fought beings far greater than you. No sorcery you bring forth would hold a candle to mine."

"That might be true. But your friends appeared to have run away."

The Mage turned back, noticing that his associates were gone. He scratched his head, blinking multiple times.

"At least they have the wisdom to know they are no match for a real witch."

~ Witches' guide to malicious magic.

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1st May, 1886.

Screaming woods.

Pridon.

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As the flames burning the woods continued to spread, a relatively small flame lit up. It was actually quite big, but small compared to the forest fire. This flame consumed a large patch of bushes and leaves, and managed to damage that area thoroughly before winking out of existence as though it was never there.

However, about three feet above the flames within huge clouds of smoke enveloping the area, Jordan had a good view of the destruction caused by his enhanced explosion spell. It was far greater than he had imagined.

"So this is how much power I can produce? I mean, I just diverted energy from a different spell, but still...I did this..."

"Stop f*cking around, numbskull. We have shit to do." Lancaster's voice travelled from somewhere in the clouds of smoke to Jordan's ears.

'Lancaster you asshole. Calling me a numbskull. Yeah, you just saved my life, but come on. You don't have to be cocky about it.'

Jordan was still floating in the air, and he could barely move. If not for those conditions, he would have marched to Lancaster and gave him a piece of his mind. Or rather, stare at him with threatening eyes from a distance and then scurry away meekly.

The smoke cleared away now that the fire was gone and the explosion was done. Of course the flames lighting up the entire forest were still burning bright and smoke was billowing away from it. However, the small barrier casted by Quill earlier was more than enough to keep the flames and smoke from Hunter's spell away from Jordan and Lancaster.

So the young man got the privilege of seeing Lancaster again. He was surprised at what he saw. His cousin was a shell of himself, his flesh appeared to have shrunk down so he looked far older than he actually was. He had gotten so thin that the outline of his skeleton was clearly visible through his burnt clothes. His hands were still just bones too.

Yet he still smiled. Jordan shied away from him. The smile wasn't only creepy, it was terrifying.

'How did he get like this? I thought he had Body replacement too. His chest wound is still there, but for some reason it's not bleeding. I hope he'll survive this. Damn, he got this injured for my sake...'

Yes, Journal. I know I'm wrong. He didn't do it for my sake. He did it for himself....but he still protected me. Now, now, I know we're eventually supposed to kill each other; assuming I'm keeping my end of the bargain with demon. But, right now he's my comrade. And I can't not feel sad about him being this hurt.

What was that, journal? You agree with me? Yeah, I agree with you too. I shouldn't be ashamed of the fact that I feel sorry for him. I mean, I'm human, aren't I? Yes, stupid Knowledge says I'm not, but who gives a damn?

"Are you .. okay?" Jordan whispered, still looking away from him.

"That's not our real problem here. The question is, is she okay?"

'What the heck is he saying? There's no way she's still alive... I mean, I'm not proud of killing anyone, but I'm sure I killed her. That explosion must've incinerated her. Did she frigging teleport away?'

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Jordan turned his head towards the place Valkyrie was when he let out the super explosion spell. He was even more shocked when he saw her.

The smoke had almost entirely cleared away. Valkyrie could clearly be seen, standing still and staring at Jordan with a deadpan expression. She had no injuries whatsoever, and her armour looked as pristine as it always had. There wasn't even a spec of dust or ash anywhere on her body, as far as Jordan could see.

"Lancaster! What do we.."

Valkyrie didn't let him finish that question. She suddenly grew a pair of white wings from her back, leaving Jordan speechless. Then, without warning she took to the skies, her eyes set on Quill.

The woman was furious.

It took only a moment for the armoured lady to barrel right into Jordan's airborne body.

'Shit.'

Jordan took a direct hit to the chest before he had time to process what had happened. He found himself flying across the air as the world swirled around him. The wind howled and he felt unimaginable pain. The sickening crunch of his bones fracturing ringed in his ears over and over again. It was only a moment but it felt like an eternity to Jordan. He felt the blood pumping through his body, tasted iron in his lips. His heart beat faster than ever as it dawned on him that he could die. After all, he hadn't casted any protective barriers around his body. He was hit with the full force of this goddess's wrath. Lancaster couldn't save him anymore - he was barely hanging on as it is.

The moment ended. Eventually, he landed on the ground with a thud. The sheer force of his landing produced a deafening sound, but Jordan couldn't hear it with his burst eardrums. He couldn't see it, but there was a crater where he landed. Apparently, his body had cracked open the earth's surface.

Speaking of which, the ground he lay on wasn't the grass and bushed of the woods. It was solid rock.

'How...am I still alive?'

Who are you asking? Yourself?

Jordan couldn't move. He couldn't see either. He felt completely numb and he wasn't capable of lifting a finger. He desperately tried, but not a single muscle in his body responded to him.

He wondered if he could hear. If the voice he thought he heard was real or not. Then he remembered whose voice it was.

'Demon?'

You never call me by anything else nowadays. I am not a demon. I'm an incarnation. Get it right next time.

'I don't care? See, I don't know what you're doing to me, but please, don't let me die. I'm begging you. You can take whatever you want but let me live. I have so much I haven't done yet.. and my family, they'll be broken if they don't see me again..'

Quill, I believe you have said enough. You know nothing of your current situation. It's best if you don't jump into conclusions. You are not going to die. A little advice; don't ever beg spirits again. If you show weakness, they will take everything away from you. Don't get me wrong; I want to take everything from you. But due to certain circumstances, my hands are tied.

'What's going on?'

You're not dead yet, because someone protected you.

'Lancaster?'

Open your eyes, you'll see for yourself.

The voice trailed away.

Jordan's eyes opened up. As he regained control over his body, the pain came crashing down. He screamed.

"Finally. The little shit's awake." The wrinkled face of a decrepit old man was first thing he saw. He was ugly, his face contorted in some kind of horrible cross between a scowl, a sneer and an expression of intense anger.

"What the...who are.."

"Too many questions." The old man got up, with the same permanent goblin face, and turned his back on Jordan.

"What did you do to me?"

The man turned back and winked. Jordan shivered. He suddenly realised that the sudden pain was gone. He felt no pain whatsoever. No doubt it was this man's handwork.

In a moment, the man disappeared into thin air. However, Jordan didn't have the time to ponder about who-or what-saved his life. He was simply glad that he was still in one piece.

"Quill, we don't have time to waste, get up and spring into action. Follow my orders to the best of your ability. While you're doing that, think up a plan to get us out of this mess." Lancaster said to him, grinning. He still looked shriveled up.

The Middlesworth boy got up and stared at his chest. No blood and no wound. But his clothes were torn to shreds. He took the shirt off.

Journal, my life officially doesn't make sense anymore. But I'm not trying to make sense of things. I'm trying to survive.

The two mages stood in front of the burning forest, but outside of it. The crator made by Jordan's fall was right next to them; proof to Jordan that it couldn't possibly have been some kind of hallucination.

Above the burning forest, a feminine figure could be seen, standing on mid air as though it was solid ground. Her cape fluttered in the wind as she scanned the area with her eyes until they landed on the two mages. Suddenly, she started to descend.

"Split up. Take right, and I'll take left, get as far away from the woods as possible."

Jordan nodded. And then he turned and ran as fast as he possibly could.

'Valkyrie could only come after one of us. And she has to be scared to enter the town. Lancaster is running out of town, towards the Topis river. She'll probably go after him instead of me. Is he giving himself up for me? Is that it? He's out of Power. He has to be after using Flight for so long and casting that many curses and wind scythes. He has no chance of beating her, or coming out alive.'

Jordan continued to run. He heard a loud crash from behind him, but he didn't stop. The populous part of town was still about a kilometre away. He wasn't safe yet.

'I should go back and save him. He has so many tricks up his sleeve, but for him to start looking like that all of a sudden, something tells me he's run out.'

Jordan continued to sprint forward. He didn't hear footfalls behind him, so he was sure Valkyrie wasn't chasing.

'Is Lancaster really giving himself up for me?'

Jordan kicked a rock and lost his footing. He stumbled head first into the ground. He managed to put his hands infront of him and break his fall.

'Damn it.'

Looking at his wristwatch under the light of the burning trees to his right, he saw what time it was.

4:35

He almost jumped when he heard Lancaster's voice.'

I bet you thought I was dead, right? New instructions, run back into the woods. We still have a chance of killing Hunter tonight, don't forget our original purpose.

"You need to teach me this spell."

Do I? You have secrets you're hiding from me too, don't you? For one, who the hell was that wierd man?

"No clue. Are you flying?"

Running actually. Completely out of Power. Curse rebound. Spirits won't leave me alone- the usual for you, am I right? Valkyrie's on my neck, but I'm managing. When we meet agin, you'll transfer me some Power to pay back some of my debts. I'm leaving the battle to you now. Get back to the campsite and re-draw the symbol. Go now, before it's too late.

"You're hiding things from me."

My specialty. Now...

Jordan felt the connection dissipate. He didn't hear anything else from Lancaster.

"Now he really is out of Power." He turned to look at the raging flame. It looked rather strange to him- how the forest still wasn't burnt to ash. But he didn't have time to ponder about that. He got up and dusted himself.

"Valkyrie is Lancaster's problem now. Come to think of it; I did absolutely nothing that worked against her. I just hope Mr.Crow comes back alive."

'I still have about 80 percent of my Power left. More than enough to cast my flame barrier. Now, how the heck do I kill Hunter?'

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