Chapter Six: Magic and Magecraft
I
Elsphere, capital of the Holy Land of Mekia
After putting Leticia Castle behind him, Joshua boarded a carriage waiting in the square. The driver lit the lanterns and then flicked his reins, setting the two horses trundling steadily away from the castle gates.
I didn’t expect Fis to be so peaceful, Joshua thought. Are they imposing strict controls on the people, or is it just that no one is worried...? If you cut out this scene, you’d never know the kingdom is on the verge of ruin.
They passed a man and woman walking arm in arm, and another man drunk and swaying, all vanishing from his sight as quickly as they appeared. At last, when Leticia Castle was no more than a speck in the distance, he heard a soft knock on the outside of the coach. Without delay, the door opened, and a man slipped inside.
No sooner had he sat down to face Joshua than the man asked, “I trust you didn’t run into any difficulties?” His false eye glittered.
“No, you set the stage beautifully. My hat’s off to the owls, as usual.”
Fernest might be weakened, but its defenses were not so lax that a person of unknown circumstances could stroll in unchallenged. Especially not at a banquet attended by the marshal, not to mention other high-ranking officers and powerful nobles. He’d only gotten in thanks to the owls’ proficiency in manipulating the facts.
“You’re too kind. Senior Thousand-Wing Johann—”
“Whoa there. I’m not Johann Strider right now, I’m Joshua Rikhart, provincial Fernest noble,” Johann said with a grin.
Zephyr gave him a strained smile. “I beg your pardon. I hope you’ll excuse me, given our location. Now, what did you make of the target?”
“Olivia Valedstorm...” Johann said thoughtfully. “Well, they were quite right to call her divinely beautiful. You won’t find loveliness like hers, even in Mekia. I don’t think anyone’s set my heart aflutter like that before.”
As Johann reminisced on Olivia, the apparent embodiment of beauty itself, Zephyr waited, long-suffering. “Yes, I share your opinion on her appearance,” he said at last. “With the exception of the seraph, that is. But that’s not what I was asking about.”
Johann laughed. “Yes, I know. To be succinct, she’s a monster. It’s no wonder the empire is struggling so badly. Though to ordinary folks, we mages probably look like monsters too.”
His invitation to Olivia to dance hadn’t been made on a whim, nor to show off. He’d thought that, even if it were only a dance, he could take stock of her abilities if he saw how she moved. He’d planned to make a pass at her when she let her guard down, but in the end, it had been all he could do just to keep up with her. Her physical power was just that exceptional.
“I knew you’d feel it too, Lord Johann. The girl seems to exist far beyond the usual limits of humanity.”
“They weren’t exaggerating when they called her a Death God.”
“Indeed.” Zephyr agreed wholeheartedly. Now and then, the coach bounced. They must have left the paved roads. Johann gazed out over the plains, illuminated by silver moonlight.
“I think your assessment was right on the mark,” he said to Zephyr. “If I really want to know the extent of her powers, I’ll have to put my life on the line and face her.” He rubbed his head and laughed to lighten the mood. Zephyr’s face, reflected in the glass, looked like he’d swallowed something unpleasant.
“Lord Johann, the Holy Land of Mekia cannot afford to lose you. Be sure you do not forget the seraph’s instructions to you.”
“Don’t worry about that. Forget the seraph. If I die, Amelia will come and kick my headstone in. And more importantly, there are the women who’d grieve for me—I’d need more fingers than I possess to count them all. I could never inflict such cruelty upon them.” Turning back to Zephyr, Johann jokingly pretended to count off on his fingers. In truth, he could include his toes and still perhaps come up short. He was a philanthropist—no one loved people more than Johann.
“That is reassuring to hear,” Zephyr replied. “Should you need us, however, know that the owls are your shield.” His face was set with determination.
Johann sighed, then looked Zephyr dead in the eye. “Let’s get one thing straight. You owls are just as indispensable to Mekia. You’d get an earful from the seraph if she heard what you just said, so make sure I never hear you talk like that again.”
“The owls thank you,” Zephyr said at length, bowing his head low. Just then, they heard the horses neigh as the coach came to an abrupt stop. Both Johann and Zephyr pitched forward, each holding onto the other to keep their seats. The little window in the front of the compartment opened and the driver’s face appeared.
“What happened?” Johann demanded.
“Terribly sorry, m’lords. Looks like we’ve been surrounded by bandits.”
“Bandits? How many?”
“About fifty, by my reckoning,” the driver said. He sounded quite calm.
Johann scoffed. “Did you hear that? A whole platoon’s worth of bandits for a single coach. Aren’t we popular?”
“I’ll clear the way,” said Zephyr, already reaching for the door. Johann placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll do it.”
“You, my lord?” Zephyr’s momentary surprise was immediately replaced by apprehension, and he implored Johann to reconsider. “They’re only bandits. Kill their leader, and they’ll scatter. I don’t see any need for you to fight them yourself...”
“Oh, hush. This is just what I need to limber up before I test out Olivia. I haven’t done this in a long time.” He smiled, holding up the back of his hand, into which was tattooed the Blazelight mage circle.
Bernard and his band formed a tight ring around the black coach with its intricate engraving. Gazing at it, he licked his lips.
If whoever’s in there can afford to travel around in a ride like that, we can squeeze as much cash out of them as we like. Tonight’s our lucky night.
Bernard’s band of outlaws prowled the Summ Plains to the south of the royal capital. Lately, not a single prize had fallen into their clutches. They’d gotten careless in doing their work here too many times, and word had spread.
Bernard had just been thinking that maybe it was time they looked for new hunting grounds when this expensive coach without any guards appeared, its wheels clattering loudly as though they wanted to be noticed. It was easy money.
The other bandits heckled the coach, waving their weapons at the windows.
“Hey! You want to hurry up and get out of there, or we’ll burn your pretty coach!”
“Maybe they’re too afwaid to come out!”
“Hey! Mister half-wit coachman! Yeah, I’m talking to you! Tell your half-wit master to get out here already!”
They were a bunch of idiots, but they knew the coach would fetch a high price, so they wouldn’t damage it. The occupants at last seemed to resign themselves to their fate, and the gold-edged door swung slowly open.
Bernard was delighted with what he saw. Some hoity-toity noble kid, just as I thought. He licked his lips again, looking at the delicate young man with handsome features who emerged. He looked like he was on the way home from a party. He was dressed in pure white, embroidered lavishly with gold and silver thread. That would fetch a pretty penny too. A man with a false eye in a gray cloak followed, taking his time. Bernard thought he was very oddly dressed for a servant, but then he caught a glimpse of a large coin purse hidden under the cloak and the thought was driven from his mind.
“Finally,” he said, peering into the coach and humming as he asked, “Just you two, is it? No women, hmm?”
The delicate young man looked perplexed. “There are no women. As you can well see.”
With a hiss of frustration, Bernard said, “Too bad, then. Can’t be getting greedy now. Anyway, hand over everything you’ve got on you. Then we can talk.” Bernard stuck out his hand, but the young man only stared and didn’t say a word. The man with the false eye didn’t move either.
“Hey! You think you can both just clam up? Or are you so scared you lost your tongues?”
Crass laughter rose up from the other bandits. The young man spread his arms foolishly.
“I beg your pardon. This is a little novel to me. I found myself quite enchanted for a moment there. But don’t worry, I don’t mean it like that,” he added. “Are bandits always so rough around the edges?”
“With bandits, you can do a lot worse, Lord Joshua. These ones are relatively well groomed.”
“Looking like that?” asked the man called Joshua, looking incredulously at the bandits. The man with the false eye smirked.
“There are some who give off such a stench it’ll turn your stomach. In fact, that’s normal for bandits. They are creatures unacquainted with hygiene.”
“So that’s what bandits are like.”
“It is indeed.” The pair of them laughed breezily, undeterred by the fifty-odd bandits who surrounded them. It was a show of disrespect, and Bernard felt the stirrings of anger within him, accompanied by faint doubt.
“What’s with the cool guy act? You’re not thinking you can take on all of us with only three of you, are you?” Bernard raised his right hand. At once, the bandits all raised their weapons, eyes glinting. An ordinary person faced with that would be weeping and begging for their life.
But the two men were unfazed. Usually, the drivers made a run for it, but theirs hadn’t moved an inch from his box. He watched them expressionlessly. Bernard’s impression was that, rather than being too scared to move, he didn’t see any need to.
“For future reference, what would you have done if there were a woman with us?”
“Huh?!” one of the bandits exclaimed in a harsh voice. “Obviously we’d throw her down and all have a turn with her! Quit changing the subject!”
At once, Joshua’s smile vanished, and his eyes narrowed. “What a disgusting thing to say,” he said. “Were you raised by beasts? Any man who so despises women doesn’t deserve to live.”
He flicked a finger and Bernard heard an earsplitting scream from behind him. He turned and was met with the horrifying sight of a man with his right arm engulfed in flame.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah! Why’s my arm burning?!”
“H-Hell if I know!”
“Someone...someone put him out already!”
“I don’t just have water on me!”
The flaming bandit rolled desperately on the ground trying to extinguish the flames, but they burned bright as ever. While the others ran around in a panic, the click of the man’s fingers rang out through the night. The prone bandit’s left arm burst into flames, followed by his right leg, then his left leg. Finally, his head was engulfed in a ball of fire, and he went still.
The other bandits all stared in silence at the smoldering corpse. Bernard’s mouth had gone dry as a bone. He gulped, desperately trying to restore some moisture, then turned to Joshua, fighting back fear as he asked, “Did...did you do that?”
“You don’t have anyone who can do the same sort of thing, do you?” Joshua replied with a thin smile. “If you do, the Winged Crusaders would be only too happy to recruit them.”
From that, Bernard understood he must belong to an army, but that was all. It didn’t explain how he’d conjured up fire.
I could see it if he’d sprayed them with oil and then set them alight. But he didn’t do anything like that, just clicked his fingers and the man was burning. No one can do a trick like that! As sweat poured off him, Bernard was gripped by unspeakable terror. At the same time, he had a realization. Whatever this man in front of him was, he was higher up the food chain than Bernard. There was only one thing to do against such a foe.
“Run!” he screamed. The other bandits, seeing Bernard take off like a rabbit sprung from a snare, all began scrambling to get away first. But it was too late.
“You can’t think I’d just let you go,” said Joshua. A great wall of flame sprang up in front of Bernard and the others, blocking their way.
What the hell is going on here?! Bernard’s thoughts were muddled. None of what was happening seemed real. He tried running right, then left, but every time, flames sprang up to deny his retreat until at last he and most of the other bandits were penned up in a ring of fire. Even those who escaped the flames ran into the coach driver, who had climbed down while no one was looking. He beat them all to death.
“Please, let us go!”
“We’d never have attacked you if we knew you could do miracles like this!”
Joshua gazed coldly at the bandits as they begged for their lives. It was only a matter of time before the flames reached them.
“Joshua—Mister Joshua, we can negotiate.”
“Negotiate?”
“That’s right! I can make you a deal that’ll be to your advantage!”
Joshua rubbed his chin, then said, “All right. You have my curiosity. Now speak.”
“Now we’re talking! Okay, if you let us go, I’ll give you the riches we’ve got at our hideout! And women, we’ve got a few fine specimens we keep there! I’ll throw all of them in for you too!”
“Fine specimens, you say?”
“Yeah! They all sing real pretty. Only thing is, we sliced their heels to stop them running away, but that’s no big deal, right? There’s no downside for you, Mister Joshua. In fact, there’s only upsides! So, how about it?” Bernard rushed to make his case. They could steal more gold. There were more women to kidnap. The only thing he couldn’t replace was his life, which looked very close to being snuffed out at the moment. Please, please accept the offer!
His desperate wishes were in vain, however. Joshua looked at him as though he were a worm.
“Blazelight Vortex. Hear me, o ones who meet my flames. I shall purge thee and leave no trace.” As Joshua closed his left hand, there was a surge of red light. The ring of flames writhed, then rapidly contracted. The bandits closest to the edge began to burn, letting out screams of agony as they crumbled into dust.
Bernard cackled. “This is insane! It can’t be really happening! Yes, that’s it! This is a dream! It’s just a bad dream!” The scene before him was the stuff of nightmares. He just gazed up at the sky as laughter bubbled up from his parched throat.
“Very well done, my lord. It was a pleasure to see magecraft in its very essence.”
Joshua looked at Zephyr. “Leave one alive. They’ll take us to their hideout.”
“Understood!” Zephyr, who had a struggling bandit locked in a grapple, took out a dagger and held it to the man’s throat as he replied. A sudden gust of wind swept through, throwing up great clouds of ash that had once been the bandits into the night air. Johann and the others watched in silence.
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