Chapter 40: The Past
"Hm. What makes you think I didn't do it for myself?" Cassian's voice was as flat as ever. "Maybe I only wanted to clear a path so I could escape alone."
"Pfft. Don't make me laugh."
Cassian lifted his head, surprised, and met Calhoun's gaze across the cramped, dusty space.
"I saw what you did back there," Calhoun said. "That wide-range strike should have been impossible. If you had that much mana left, you could have left us all to die long before the ceiling came down." He let his head rest against the stone. "When I saw her shove you into the rubble, I couldn't let it happen. You'd saved me once already. I owed you. I had to at least try. And then you went and saved me again."
"You jumped in to rescue me, and in my half-dead state I ended up saving us both," Cassian said. "You're crazy."
"Crazy?" A grin spread across Calhoun's tired face. "Thank you."
A quiet chuckle escaped Cassian before he could stop it.
The card in his hand glowed a steady violet, throwing long shadows across the walls of their stone prison. Dust still drifted through the air, and somewhere beyond the rubble the dungeon groaned. They were sealed in together for a while longer, and Cassian found that the stranger across from him was an interesting fellow. He might as well push the conversation further.
"You seem like a decent guy," he said. "What's your story? What is someone like you doing putting his neck on the line for this trial?"
Calhoun went quiet.
Cassian felt a flicker of unease, wondering if he had gone too far. But Calhoun only looked amused. He stroked his chin.
"My story, huh?"
"Don't worry about it if you don't want to tell me," Cassian said, waving it off.
"No, no. We're going to be stuck here a while. We might as well get to know each other." Calhoun straightened and cleared his throat with mock ceremony. "My name is Calhoun Denaryeas. Attacker, spear user, fire and air attributes, though I'm more at home with flame. I mix in a little air now and then. A-rank. I live near Green Maze Hill, and I enjoy the company of other people."
Cassian blinked. "You sound like you're at a job interview."
"And you?"
Cassian hesitated. He didn't like handing his name to a stranger, and he hadn't yet decided whether this one could be trusted. But Calhoun had offered so much that it would be rude to give nothing back. He would keep it short.
"Cassian. B-rank mage. I prefer to be alone, and I don't stay anywhere in particular because I move around a lot."
"Short and simple." Calhoun nodded. "Not much there, but I won't push."
"I held back because I think you left something out of your introduction too," Cassian said.
"Oh?" Calhoun smiled. "And what's that?"
Cassian studied him for a moment, the way he might study a card before playing it.
"You aren't fully human, are you?"
The smile slid off Calhoun's face. His eyes widened, and the shock that crossed his features was all the confirmation Cassian needed.
Calhoun recovered quickly and laughed, a little too loudly. "What makes you say that? My wonderful human strength? My gorgeous flexibility? Or my monstrous speed? Which one is it?"
Cassian already had his answer. Watching Calhoun deny it was almost the best part, because it was such a human thing to do. A devilish grin curved his lips and then vanished.
"All three, actually."
Calhoun's laugh died.
"For a start, there's no such place as Green Maze Hill," Cassian said. "I move around a lot, so I make a habit of studying maps. The world is big, and a place like that might exist, but you didn't say where it was. Most people don't ask. They assume it's somewhere they've never heard of because the world is vast." He tilted his head. "Unless the map changed between yesterday and today, Green Maze Hill doesn't exist."
"Uh..." Calhoun opened his mouth and nothing came out.
"Second, your body. A normal adventurer who trains hard is usually lacking in one or two things. That's why the Guild has classes. Brute strength without speed makes a tank. Speed without strength makes a thief. But you have strength, speed, and agility all on the same absurd level, and you do it without mana, like a perfectly built killing machine. That isn't a human limit."
Calhoun stared at him. " How does he know so much?"
"I'll take your silence as a yes," Cassian said, and Calhoun realized too late that by saying nothing he had handed over the upper hand.
"I..."
"So from what I've seen, you're one of three things." Cassian held up a finger. "A demon."
Calhoun's eyes flew wide, but Cassian kept going before he could answer.
"If you were, the imperial priest who addressed us at the entrance would have spotted you instantly. A spirit? Also unlikely. Spirits are far above humans, but when they inhabit a body they can't use active skills like fire or wind, and I've watched you use both."
He lowered his hand.
"That leaves the last option. A creature with superhuman strength and speed that doesn't rely on mana, with none of a human's limits, and one that isolates itself from the world. Others see them as a sin, a mistake. They have the form of a human and the strength of a demon."
He lifted his eyes and met Calhoun's gaze.
"You're a demi-human."
Calhoun looked into those steady purple eyes and understood how remarkable the mage in front of him was. There was no point in denying it any longer.
He let out a long sigh.
"Yes," he said. "I'm a demi-human."