The bell rings and another day starts. Yesterday went by so quickly after I gave Aisha her coppers from the quest the night before. I also went along with her to get her registered. I had initially hoped to gather more information on the new systems that a few students spoke about in here yesterday but no luck.
The lines were decently long and it took us quite a bit to get to the front. Being the good big brother that I was, I let Aisha wander off to look at the request boards while I sat in line shifting my weight around.
After getting her registered we went to the restaurant Anne works in. Honestly, it wasn’t a good idea to bring my little sister somewhere where someone who knew my identity was but I trusted Anne.
Anne, as I expected, was there. She waited on our table.
“Who’s this?” She asked, after giving taking our orders.
“Sister.” Aisha answered, tilting her head. “How do you know my brother?”
“Ah, he’s just a regular here.” She lied. “Have you been here before?”
She shook her head, “No, I only recently arrived.”
“Anne.” I interrupted, “Any news on Garret?”
“Eh, I think it’s a little too early for a message don’t you think Rainen?” She shifted to her other foot. “He should be back soon anyways so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Anne glanced back at the kitchen and fingered the notepad in her hands. “I’ll go get your orders for you guys.”
And like that she left. I preferred this outcome. She didn’t know anything about Aisha other than she was my sister and Aisha didn’t know anything more about my relationship with Anne. However, Aisha, for some odd reason, frowned as Anne left.
Afterwords, we said our goodbyes to Anne and I took Aisha somewhere a bit special in a sense. I’d promised Maia and Aron I’d bring Aisha to meet them. So, treading through the calm and serene streets just recently recovered from a large attack, we met up with the two orphans. I haven’t really thought about it up until that point but Aisha and I were also orphans…
First thing that caught those two’s attention was my sister’s hair. Unlike Dylan’s whose resembled more of a rusted metal or a bronze, her’s was crimson. Like the blood that stained battlefields.
Luckily, both Maia and Aron enjoyed her company. In a peculiar way, it reminded me, it gave me, the feeling of those days with my family, my whole family. Those days where the five of us, my sister, brother, mom, and dad would simply have fun together.
It was a pleasant day overall. Nothing big happened and I didn’t go to the warehouse that day either. Ever since Carlyle and I had what I’d barely call an argument, I haven’t felt the desire to return or the need to. I can also attribute that to wanting to spend some time with my sister and friends. Not that I didn’t enjoy the company of Anne and the others like Hannah, but it’s better if I let the tension die a little bit.
Unconsciously, during Miss Ein’s lecture, I sweep my eyes over to see what Blue Hair’s doing. Like usual, she’s playing around with Iris and Elis… I wonder what she was like on her first day of school, when she didn’t know them as well.
“...nen.” A faint voice pierces my thoughts. “Rainen!”
“Yes?” I turn around, slightly startled by her firm voice. Miss Ein, along with the rest of the class, stares at me.
“It’s not in my nature to call a student out like this but seeing as how you’ve always had an interest in these topics, I thought it would be nice of me to catch your attention.” She sends a passing glance to where I was just looking.
Some of my classmates giggle at my expense. It’s no real issue for me. Rather, I’m glad she did me that favor. Despite their soft lofty laughter, even to what may be considered as my own humiliation, if it’s a possible clue as how to get rid of this demon inside of me then I’m willing to do almost anything.
“This will be a quick lesson before the matches start again. Any questions before I continue?”
A student raised his hand.
“I’ll be telling you what the lesson is so don’t ask what the lesson is going to be about.” She stated.
The dwarven boy lowered his arm and his partner elbowed him, chuckling.
“Since there are no questions, I’ll begin.” Walking over to the chalkboard, she quickly drew a basic seal, a simple circle with a pentagram in the middle. “This one here isn’t very intricate thus it’s low level. It’d only be able to contain very weak spirits, or demons, and wouldn’t restrict very much of the person’s abilities.”
Miss Ein proceeded to lift off a book resting on her podium.
“This is a book with a spirit sealed inside. We have these to show as demonstrations for class.” Putting her hand on the book, she fueled it with mana and muttered inaudible words. A second later, an ethereal being sprouted from the leather cover and slowly began to take the form of a wisp.
Many of those in the class, everyone except for the elves, watched on, their interests piqued.
I raised my hand.
“I was waiting,” she said, nodding for me to continue.
“Does releasing a seal affect exorcisms?” Although I had studied seals as they related to the demon, I never actually thought about releasing it. I only read them because I wanted to measure the strength of the seal so I could get a grasp of the demon’s actual power. Seeing as how it still is able to influence me at times even with this tier 9 seal, it’s considerably dangerous… Not that I was unaware.
“Yes.” she answered. “It does.”
My ears perked up and I sat straighter than I already was.
“But!”
Her voice killed my enthusiasm.
“Once released, it’s unknown what the demon’s going to do. The chances of destroying the demon or spirit, if they’re even sealed within the person, does go up if the seal is rid of. However, it’ll still be a difficult task to take the possessor outside of the victim.”
She took a breath, “If a demon were to be sealed in a person, then exorcism would become more difficult. Think of it like shooting an arrow at someone behind cover. Although you may hit them, it’s going to take longer and many of the shots will be blocked.”
Krolu, a human following the teachings of the Yassthal Church, asks, “The what are the point of seals if it only makes an exorcist’s job harder?
“It’s because they’d rather have to do an exorcism with the seal despite both being dangerous. What this means is that the demon is far too strong to be released. They’d rather do it the long way than have to have a confrontation with such a powerful being.”
Miss Ein continues, “A seal forcibly holds back their powers but also prevents them from taking their own physical form if they do overwhelm the host. Though there aren’t many benefits to taking their own forms.”
Looking at the time, Miss Ein claps her hands, asks for any questions, and leads us out when there are none.
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With the new information gained in class today, I leave for the library as soon as school ends. I’ve already looked into exorcisms and seals, but now I need to check how to undo them. If possible, once my master comes back I’ll ask him to take me to an exorcist or I’ll find one myself.
Carefully I ask Mr. Reader at the front desk to retrieve all the books on seals that I’ve check out before. He raises an eyebrow at my request but brings them all to me. A large stack of ten different books. I don’t dislike reading but if I had to go through all of these I’d lose my legs from sitting on this chair for too long.
Luckily, as soon as I read the sections on unsealing I realize how short it all is. Each book only has three to five pages dedicated to it along with historic examples of famous releases like the one about an ancient demonic goddess.
As I’m about to move to the last book in the pile, a hand rests itself upon my shoulder. I turn around to see a young third year teacher smiling. He holds up his free arm in a greeting.
“Hello. Rainen was it?”
“Yes. Mr…” I should know him, he’s the one that refs those matches in the gym. I guess I haven’t really paid much attention to him.
“Mr. Rune. Third year teacher. I’m the one that refereed your match on Friday.” He bows his head slightly as he moves to take the chair across from me. “I do apologize for allowing your partner, Ellar, to get beaten up as she did. However, I didn’t think it would be fair for you if I stopped the match.”
I shake my head, “No. I think you did the right thing. Blu- my partner didn’t seem keen on giving up that match.” Think badly of me but I’m also glad you didn’t stop the match… she was different on that day. I saw something unexpected.
“All's well that ends well.” Mr. Rune taps his hand while scouring the spines of the books scattered on the table. “Interested in sealing? Perhaps you’re looking to work as a tamer of some sort in the future?”
“Not exactly. It’s just caught my interest,” I say while neatly tidying them up into a stack. I wouldn’t want Mr. Reader to be bothered by my laziness. “Why are you here today?”
“Oh, no real reason. It’s just that something… caught my attention as well.” Casually, he leans forward in his seat, eyes trained on me. “I’m new to this city so I don’t quite know any hotspots as one might say. Could you perhaps recommend me some of your favorite places?”
Hmm? It’s quite bizarre of him to ask me this question. Never mind the fact that I’m a first year and do not know it as well as others of a higher grade, but he’s asking someone in another class. I’d understand if I were in his but I’m not and we hardly know each other.
Something’s off.
“Sounds good!” I reply enthusiastically. “I like to go to the Adventurer’s Guild often. There’s a ton of things to do there. I don’t know how adventuring sounds to you teachers but that’s somewhere I often go. My rank is also pretty high, see?”
I pull out my adventurer’s card to show him my measly D-rank. How’s he going to respond to this?
“Impressive.” He nods, leaning back into his chair and crossing his arms. “They may not be the most dangerous of quests but there are bound to be dangerous encounters on D-rank quests if taken on alone correct?”
Is he interested in my abilities? Did the Headmaster send him? He’s only been here for about a week and he’s already investigating me or do I hope it’s all coincidence?
“Ahaha…” I play it off. “I’ve only done two D-ranked ones. Both times I was also accompanied by someone I knew. The rest are E and below.”
“Who were these people who went with you?” He asks.
“Just friends from school.” I lie.
His gaze lingers on me for a moment, trying to analyze me most likely. Once satisfied, he places both hands on the table and slides out of his chair.
“I’ll see you around Rainen,” He says, as he leaves to go browse other books in the library.
“And I’ll help you with your wish. Let me not see you, for both our sakes.” I mutter under my breath.
As night grows and overtakes the day, I finish up my library activities and return to my room. I walk over and read the glowing blue message as soon as I enter.
Wanna do something today? The message asks.
Sorry Aisha. I’ve got plans. I write back.
D: That’s too bad. Hope to see you tomorrow then.
D: ? Is this supposed to be some sort of face? It’s a very… exceptional way of expressing feelings through these written messages.
I throw off my school uniform and replace it with my clothing as the “Thirteenth.” Lately, due to rumors about me coming back to the dorm so late, starting since the attack on the city a few weeks ago, I’ve just been leaving my room through the window by way of my ability.
I use my ability to place me in an area far enough away so as to make it impossible to guess I started from the large boys’ dorm.
I start bounding towards the warehouse. Upon reaching it, I meet Carlyle, Hannah, Adrian, and the Twelfth in there. Carlyle gives me a weary nod and tells me to go on patrol with the Twelfth. He’s brief about it.
I didn’t want to talk to you either.
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Garret led the two Yurfrays by hand and followed the fleeing crowd so as to blend in.
The air knight followed in a frenzied pursuit. He hastily pushed away citizens, men, women, and children alike.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Stop those three!” He shouted upon spotting a pair of city watchmen.
They quickly acted to the knight’s order and turned on Garret. Unable to draw their weapons as they were surrounded by too many people, Garret kicked low, causing one guard to tumble over while he threw the other one to be swept away by the crowd.
He lifted both of their clothes over their heads, “Cover your hair!”
They both held it in place and Garret sunk low bringing them along. Upon seeing an open alleyway he pulled them through and continued to run.
“Who are you?” The boy asked.
“I’m Garret. Just some bystander if you’re wondering about my role. Your names,” he quickly said though harsh, cold, breaths.
“I’m Dylan and this is my mother, Millicent,” he said.
“Where are we going?” Millicent asked, huffing and puffing along. She was only able to keep up because he kept dragging her. “Why’d you help us?”
“I’ll tell you why when we get there. It’s a place I know well.” Garret hauled them out of the alleyway and pushed back against the crowd, increasing his grip on the two nobles so as not to lose them.
The first place he thought of was his home, however, as he was planning to ask about the girl the knights were looking for, he didn’t want his mother to get involved with his work. No doubt his father would probably be there as well.
So, he took them to a place he had just been the day before. A place he always felt comfortable in.
He pounded on the door, “Wous! It’s me, Garret! Let us in!”
A second later, the door opened.
The inside was filled with twenty plus people. He nodded as he looked around. “Wow Wous,” Garret said in genuine amazement. “This is the fullest I’ve seen your bar in years.”
“Oh shut it kid. It’s been getting this many customers every now and then ever since I fixed it up.” Wous locked the door, went behind the counter, and started putting drinks away.
Millicent and Dylan sat down in seats near the door. Oddly enough, almost everyone was standing.
“Do you know what’s going on out there?” Garret asked.
“What? You don’t know?” Wous stuck his head out from the backroom door.
He shook his head.
“Well,” Wous began. “From what I’ve been told by these good folks here,” he gestured towards the people in the room. “We’re being attacked. Not sure who or what is attacking but they said it’s not people.”
“Monsters then?” Millicent asked. “We’re being attacked by monsters and the city is in such a panic?”
“Heh.” A man holding a young child, most likely his daughter, spoke up. “Oh they’re monsters, but not those wild beasts adventurers and kingdoms call monsters. These guys are far more savage and way stronger.”
“Strong enough to breach the walls?” Dylan cocked sideways. “Are giants among them?”
“No.” he shook his head. “Think regular monsters you’d encounter anywhere but bigger. A bear variant, the Tera, a tree-like beast but instead of it having only leaves growing from its body, add in chunks of wood as some sort of armor.”
“Where could they all be coming from?” Garret asked. From what he last remembered, there weren’t many areas around the city that would hold enough monsters to attack a city seeing as how they were cleared out.
“Most likely Lake Patha just East of the gate” an adventurer answered. “That’s the only place I can think of. We’ve also been getting more quests to go there.”
Lake Patha? Too many things changed since Garret was last here. The last memory he had of the lake were only of nice calm walks. Any quests he’d do there were to pick berries and herbs for potions.
He glanced over to the two nobles.
“I’ll tell you the reason I helped you now. Come over here.”
He waved them over into an empty corner while some stared and others minded their own business. The kids looked out the windows in terror.
“Who was that girl you were talking about?” Garret asked. “Where is she?”
Looking into Millicent’s eyes, he saw her hesitation. She was unsure whether or not to back away and berate him or to tell him. He saved her but he also wanted the same thing those knights did.
He tried to calm her. “I need to know. I swear I won’t hurt her.”
“Why do you need to know about her?” Millicent asked, wary of him.
He explained himself and the both of them listened. He kept his occupation secret and his overall involvement with the empire through the Twelve, instead telling them he was an adventurer who lived in Aurora City. He told them of his friend’s death and his desire to seek out the perpetrators.
“I won’t tell anyone,” he said.
“Not a single soul?” Dylan asked in confirmation.
“Not a single soul.” Garret repeated.
Dylan and his mother exchanged looks.
“She’s in Aurora City right now.” He answered.
Right as Garret was about to respond, the door flew open.
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Mr. Rune, paced back and forth through the library aisles annoyed at the lack of progress. It was apparent to him that Mr. Reader, despite his immense knowledge of all things in the library, had no idea that an item was hidden here.
If only Krestfall had not failed in their mission to raid the library, he would not have to be there. They succeeded in one aspect, ridding the city of many guards, but they failed in the most important one.
He questioned the judgement of the leader of the order to his superior. He was immediately threatened.
“The Headmaster of that academy is stronger than you know,” he said to Rune. “Even if Krestfall was able to restrain him in air with their abilities and magic, he certainly had a trick or two still hidden.”
Before Rune came he was warned, “Be wary around the Headmaster. He’s a sharp one.”
Rune didn’t doubt this. The warm smile the old man gave him was unsettling. It was like talking to a serial killer who acted friendly.
Upon reaching his home and taking out the scroll he readied himself to report the situation.
“Nothing has happened so far sir.”
“All right. Any new leads to the item?”
“There’s nothing. I can only confirm that it is there.”
“So just as we had expected?”
“Yes.” Rune looked out his window. It’d only be another day or two before members of the Nine Wings arrived.
“How are we supposed to retrieve the item if the Headmaster is here?” Rune asked.
“He shall be summoned right before we make our move.” The superior answered.
Rune didn’t bother to ask how. He had always suspected they had friends in high places. Very powerful people were involved in this already.
“And the Oddity?”
“Not much on him either.” Rune hurried to speak when he heard an angry snort. “I’ve only managed to pick up that he’s around a D-rank as an adventurer. I’ll head there after this to see if I can gather anything. Other than adventuring more than what I’d think of as normal for a student, he seems to act in accordance to everything else. He’s a bit of a social outcast like his partner.”
“Outcast?”
“Yes.” Rune continued. “He isn’t well received by his classmates. Many believe him to be more suited for a swordsmanship class as his magic is subpar.”
“Are you saying that this Oddity has subpar magic? They’re Oddities because of their magic.” The superior’s voice was strangely calm. “Does the boy have good control over his magic?”
“Yes. Unlike his partner, I haven’t heard of his magic going wild.”
“Hmph. This boy sounds like an Oddity among Oddities. You know what to do. Also, keep an eye out on his partner from here on.”
“Understood sir.”
Rune rolled up the scroll and placed it behind the magically created wall inside of his closet. First thing’s first, he left his house and started towards the Adventurer’s Guild. The day was dark despite it being only 6.
“It’s him!” A young child on the street yelled, pointing at a figure on top of a building.
Rune followed his finger to catch a glimpse of a darkly dressed man, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He lost him a second later.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Yeah, stop lying.” The boy’s friends said to him.
“The vigliante huh?” Rune muttered quietly. “Is he named that because he’s just a vigliante or does he do more than the other Twelve?”
Rune contemplated this question as he continued towards the guild. However, as he passed by the dorms, he was struck by the sudden urge to go inside. He hadn’t yet seen it and he didn’t know where Rainen lived. It’d be useful once the operation started.
He entered the building and waved over the attention of the clerk at the front.
“Where is Rainen Weaver’s room?”
She frowned, “I’ll check quickly.” She placed her hands over a few scrolled and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she said, “Room 288. He’s on the second floor. Do you need a key?”
“It’d be helpful, yes.”
Despite it only being the second floor, Rune could already see the tops of many roofs.
Finding the room, he knocked. No response came. He knocked again. No answer. Slowly, he turned the handle only to find out it was locked. He scanned the area for any students before inserting the key and turning the handle.
He peeked inside and found the room empty. Everything was clean and tidy. Searching the room as he found no signs of Rainen, his gaze fell upon two parchments of papers resting atop his nightstand.
He grabbed both and rolled them open.
“Notes.” He shook his head. “Researching demons?”
Rune was certainly intrigued by what he found in the notes, but returned them to their place as he realized Rainen could be back any time. He had to look around for more.
His first instincts were to search in the closet but he looked under the bed and between the mattress and frame. Nothing.
Afterwords, he looked at the small desk and pulled out the drawers. All of them were filled with papers of badly written notes. He wondered how the boy could even read some of them. Eventually reaching the bottom, he saw two scrolls.
By now he had grown tired of looking through for any relevant information but he pushed himself onward. He opened it up and read the writing.
“Hope to see you tomorrow?” He read it aloud. Switching his attention to the other paper, he found it blank. Understanding how the scrolls worked, he sent mana through them. The blank one remained blank, however, the other one started showing other messages.
“Brother?” He said to himself. “The Oddity has a sister, and she’s in this city?”
His lips curled into a grin as he carefully put the scrolls back into the bottom drawer. Despite the boy being an Oddity, his sister shouldn’t be abnormal. That’s why people like him were called Oddities. Because they were out of place.
Rune started to scheme as he felt everything falling into place. The boy wasn’t someone to confront head on because if he was an Oddity like they suspect, then he could easily wreak havoc if they made a mistake. However, with a useful tool like his sister, the boy would be hard pressed to use his magic.
Rune threw his attention to the last thing in the room not yet checked. The closet. He calmly strode over but as he drew closer, he felt a lurking dread. He uncharacteristically hesitated to open the closet.
As he mustered the courage to open it, a chill ran through him. He shuddered and turned around as the blinds rattled.
“Boy left his window open?” Acting the role of a teacher, Mr. Rune went over and closed the window. He returned his attention to the closet be he heard a yell.
“Rainen!” A muffled voice called out. “Are you there?”
Rune frowned but he had already gathered enough Intel to start manipulating the boy. Happy with his findings, he left the room before the one who called out could make it there. The foreboding closet was untouched.
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Author's Note: The chapter is a day late but it's a bit longer than usual. If you enjoy this fiction please comment or leave a review for me to read. An advanced review would be very helpful.
Hope this chapter was enjoyable.