"Oh wow, a guy from an organisation that hates magi betrayed me. This has to be the plot twist of the century." I spoke with a deadpan. "My heart seriously can't handle this level of shock."
Mark seemed oddly surprised when his sword barely went half an inch deep before it struck something hard. I honestly wondered why. It'd take a great idiot to think I wouldn't have countermeasures against a shady man from an even shadier group.
Admittedly, this was not my original plan, just a highly controlled application of Heine's alchemy that turned everything in the blade's trajectory into stone. But still...
"Tsk."
"Eh?"
It was not, however, within my expectations that Heine would move too. I expected him to help the priest. He didn't. The knighted magus struck Mark instead, fist wrapped in a gauntlet of stone, and sent the old man tumbling away. His coiled spear took shape in that hand long before the priest even stopped.
"Must you make me an accomplice to such an underhanded farce?" Heine cast a dry glare at his 'companion', a hand over his heart and a lance held out to the side. "I told you I did not approve of this. Are you alright, Henry?"
"You... You're a magus, right?" I couldn't help but ask.
No magi alive would choose to butt heads with a priest over someone that was barely even an acquaintance. It was counter-productive, and certainly not worth the scrutiny of the Holy Church.
He offered a barebones smile, still focused on Mark. "They've tried to take me down already. And they have failed. If they try once more, they will fail again."
"You really knocked the air out of me there." The priest heaved, taking long haggard breaths. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to intervene."
I rubbed my neck and felt the blood on my fingers before rising to my feet. By then, the small wound was already healed. Really, I truly believed that Heine would come to regret his decision to heal me, if he wasn't doing so already by the hint of surprise that flashed through his eyes.
"I'm not mad, y'know?" I turned to Mark. "With how much shit I give people, it'd be weird if I was quick to anger... even though you did stab me in the neck right there. Still, this situation isn't really looking all that good for you."
I'd already processed Heine's 'Living Stone' alchemy, even Mark's own 'rites', and broken them down to do with as I pleased. Then, there was the fact that Heine himself was more than willing to help me. Yeah, it really didn't look too optimistic for the good old priest.
"Am I about to look like a japanese woman in one of those videos...?"
I snorted. "You're about to get juju-jumped, lil bro."
It was then that Mark betrayed my expectations. He just slumped down against the wall Heine had thrown him at and raised his hands. "Welp, I surrender. I tried my hardest but the heretic overpowered me and made his escape. Truly, there was nothing I could do. A man of the cloth wouldn't dare lie and anyone who says otherwise is a dirty blasphemer."
Ah...
"So, that was your intention from the very start..." Heine murmured. He shook his head and the armour dissipated away.
Mark grinned, and shrugged his raised hands.
"If I were more of an honorable man, it would be stupid of my superiors to tell me to murder someone whose aid we enlisted. That'd be the act of a coward. Maybe I'd miss my killing blow purposefully, and act like I lost when in truth, I surrendered. Maybe I knew Sir Knight would strike me. But, alas! I work for the Church, I wouldn't dare betray my commands. Why, fie upon you for even considering it!"
Honestly, I respected that.
"Bold of you to assume you could have killed me if you tried." I smiled, dusting off my clothes.
"Magi do tend to think so highly of themselves." He made a gun with his fingers, and pointed it past my shoulder. Curious, I cast a glance behind me. There were half a dozen of those key-like swords buried in the ground... in the shape of a cross.
The priest flicked his wrist and they shot past me, back into his grip.
"I bet you missed me tossing those out. Well, I did it while fighting the daemon." He kept his perverse grin as he spoke. "Why, you even-"
"You mean I missed the swords you buried underground..." I held up my thumb, "And the one hanging there in the air as well as the spell formation under me? Oh yeah, I definitely missed all of it."
Who did he think I was?
So long as I didn't wear my Mystic Eye Killers, there was nothing these eyes of mine could possibly miss even if I wanted to. William was suicidal in his search of excitement, not stupid. Attentiveness could never be bad for you.
He went silent at that.
"Truly, you must join us. Think on it." He gave a respectful but overly theatrical bow before turning to leave. I felt his magic circuits turn off.
I really had no intention of giving chase but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth to get stabbed and give nothing for it. I was a petty bitch like that. In the same way, he made a gun with his hand, I did too.
"Cast off explosiveness and size for piercing power and speed."
A tiny line of fire shot out, at a speed that far exceeded any projectile I'd ever used. To his credit, Mark did react, just not fast enough. It burnt through his ear, turning the skin charred and black and disgusting.
"Now, we're even."
As though he'd heard me, he didn't even turn around, just waved his hand and kept walking.
Aside from the fact that I wasn't a damn murder hobo, killing him was going to be far more trouble than it was worth when the only upside was just satiating my ego. My decision was an easy one.
When he was well and gone, I looked to Heine who was still standing beside me.
"Thanks for the help."
"I left the Church for my little sister." He started without looking my way, still staring off into the sky, hands behind his back. "When I abandoned my family, they implanted the crest onto her."
I wanted to say... 'who asked' but evidently, this wasn't the time.
"The reaction was... adverse. It began draining her of her life force. So, I betrayed my comrades and returned. To save her."
I stroked my chin, considering his words. To my knowledge, Magic Crests were a kind of extra organ made by all magi at some point in their life with their own circuits. The important bit here was the 'extra organ' part.
Since it was a part of one's body, it stood to reason that only members of the family could have it transplanted into them without issue... but, like with kidneys and whatnot, there were the rare issues where the implanted organ reacted adversely. That was apparently what happened here.
"I don't see where this is going..." I confessed.
"You mentioned your adoration for your younger sister." Heine smiled faintly. "If yours adores you half as much as mine does me, I could not find it within me to let her experience that kind of loss."
"So... you saved me cause you're a massive siscon and it'd feel bad if a fellow siscon died?"
"Perhaps."
"I respect that."
I held out a hand. He gave it a firm shake.
"Be wary, Henry. The Church is sure to send someone else."
-
"Incantations of general use spells are pre-established, they are part of a process. So, they are generally the same." Waver lectured calmly, the words 'Thaumaturgy' written across the board behind him.
"However, as I taught last time, incantations are a form of self-hypnosis, for effective manipulation of one's magic circuits. This is why even though a spell's effects are the same, the chants will differ between magi. For personal magecraft, the chants and effects are wholly different... The effectiveness is largely dictated by the 'meaning' of the words themselves and how cleanly a magus can manipulate his circuits to achieve an effect using those words. For us practitioners of modern magecraft, who splice bits from all thaumaturgies, personal chants are integral towards a proper spell."
This whole lecture was completely useless to me because of my unique proclivity towards all things related to mana.
I cleared my throat and raised my hand.
"What, Henry?"
"Professor, chants are corny as hell. Why can't everyone just be like m-"
The motherfucker hit me square in the forehead with a duster, splattering chalk dust all over my hair. Flat keeled over laughing and even Caules averted his gaze, trying to hide his mouth.
"I know where you live." I threatened.
I'd walked straight from a fight with a literal daemon to class just so I could be a perfect A student and THIS was the respect I was given? It was totally unfair. Totally unfair.
"This is tyranny. Down with the tyrant!"
"Not everyone is talented like you are!" Waver shouted indignantly.
"Woah, way to encourage your students."
"Professor! Professor! I don't need chants either!" Flat shouted at the top of his lungs, flailing his hand in the air as he leaned forward on his desk.
"Quiet now! Both of you! Or I'll make you clean up the dining area!"
"Tyran-"
He threw a duster at me again. This time, I ducked. It hit Yvette behind me instead. She'd just been sighing and groaning while resting her head on the desk, bored out of her mind but the hit seemed to flip her 'on' switch.
"He hit me! Hal~! Defend your concubine's honor! Only you get to do it!"
"Oh my GOD! Every single time one of you opens your mouth!" Waver cried like a little bitch, burying his face in his hands. "Why must talent always lie with fools?!"
"You know, maybe you don't have it cause... ya boring."
"Out!"
-
Hope you enjoyed.
The chapters following this are extra chonky boys.
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