Fun Fact: Although spellcrafts were originally created as a way to record mortal pacts with deities, Magis soon found other purposes for these simple storage devices. Some were innocent enough; a simple recording of spells to tidy up one's house. Others were a little sinister; a means to get euphoric with the slight drawback of severe addiction.
Most spellcrafts come in the form of books/tomes, although a rare few are magically carved into the ground and mountain walls.
~ ~ ~
Sirius City burned, and Felix watched from the skies. Wind rippled his hair as he flew at the comfortable speed of an average airship, closing in on his target location. He had dropped off the wounded constable at a makeshift refugee shelter, but he quickly left the place after. He needed to get to her.
The boy silently increased his speed.
His friends should be able to take care of themselves, but not her. She was still a child, and her parents were Magis. He could only pray that they had not employed any magic yet.
Felix examined the strange tear-shaped object in his hands again to keep his mind away from spiralling thoughts. The ground had been littered with these objects when he killed all the Abominations, but he had no idea what they were.
It was an almost transparent, light purple crystal that seemed to be made of an unknown material. Its simplistic shape was not giving him any clues either. He had never learnt about anything even remotely related to his phenomenon back in school.
Felix kept the strange object in his clothes as he tilted his body into a nosedive, closing in rapidly on the lonely house that sat on the outskirts of the city. There would be plenty of time to ponder once he was safe in the Guardian Council Headquarters. Clear and present was getting his protégé there safely.
Rats scampered away from the shadow looming over them. A small breeze swept the fallen leaves as a pair of feet swished towards them, hovering for a moment before touching the ground gently.
Felix walked towards the house in front of him, trying to stay as quiet as possible. For better or for worse, he was on the outskirts of the city. It was far enough from other humans to be safe from the transformed monsters. But if this transformation ‘plague’ had reached this part of Sirius City as well, help would never reach on time.
“Aglaia, are you in?” He tapped the door lightly.
There was no answer.
His heart rate spiked as he raised his hand to knock again, but it opened slightly this time. A pair of eyes peeked upwards at him.
“Oh, Felix. It’s you! Thank the heavens you’re alright.” Aglaia let him in. “There are monsters everywhere. What is happening?”
“I have no clue either,” Felix admitted helplessly.
He shifted his gaze to the couple in the house. They looked in their early forties, and were dressed in worn-out Magi robes that did not indicate their specialised magic class. The couple gripped themselves nervously, although they did not seem to be hostile for now. Felix raised a placating hand just in case.
“Hi, you must be Mister and Missus Helenus.” The boy gave his best smile. “I’m Guardian Felix Pagonis, Aglaia’s mentor. Nice to meet you.”
“You’re a Guardian?” Mrs. Helenus’ voice sounded surprisingly frail for someone who looked her age. “Does that mean you know what’s going on? Why are we suddenly being attacked by these ugly monsters?”
“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what’s happening either,” Felix chuckled nervously. “From what I’ve observed, Magis get transformed into these monsters when they attempt to use magic. I suspect that the Arcani in our air has been corrupted somehow. So please, under any circumstances, do not use magic for now.”
“Fellow Magis?” Mr. Helenus croaked in fear as his wife gripped his hand. “Oh dear, how are we to protect ourselves if we can’t use magic?”
“It seems that only magic in the air has been poisoned,” the Guardian replied. “Storages of Arcani, such as wands, technomagick weapons, and even Metas, appear to still be able to dispense magic.”
Felix produced a wand from his coat pocket and gave it to them.
“Unfortunately, I only have one teleportation wand here,” he continued. “Fighting these monsters is not an option for either of you, so I’ll need you to cast the teleportation spell at the first sign of trouble.”
“We can’t accept this, lad.” The man refused firmly. “What if you need it as well?”
“It’s alright, sir.” Felix flashed a confident and relaxed smile this time. “I’m a Meta. I can take care of myself.”
The couple received the wand before promptly passing it to Aglaia.
“I’ll contact the Guardian Council for instructions.” Felix took out his phone. “Until they arrive, I’ll protect you.”
“D— Do I have to come along?” Aglaia asked. Felix’s eyes flitted over to her parents before kneeling to pat her head.
“Only if you want to,” he replied kindly. “This situation may be too dangerous, especially for someone as young as you. It may be best for you to keep your parents company.”
“We have faith in the Guardian Council,” Mrs. Helenus spoke up. “Go if you wish, Aglaia. It is your dream to help others, isn’t it?”
Movement from outside the house door caught Felix’s telekinetic attention before he could say anything else. He quickly turned around to warn them, but the couple had also noticed the shadows covering the seeping light from under the door.
The Guardian motioned them to stay behind him as his power coated his fists in preparation for battle.
~ ~ ~
“Guh!”
The metallic railing rang like a bell as a body struck it with an enormous force.
Gaius swung his legs over his head and kicked up, landing back on his feet just before a spiked tail could land the finishing blow. Adrenaline kicked his reflexes into overdrive as he leapt around like a hyperactive acrobat, dodging the flurry of tentacles flung in his direction.
Energy balls exited his hands and pelted the beast relentlessly, but its toughened hide only seemed to render it impervious to his attacks. It roared at the Sorcerer once more as Gaius flipped backwards, putting more distance between them.
“Bloody hell, Maximus. Even as a monster, you’re still one tough son of a bitch,” he panted, glaring at what was once a wrestling champion and his dormitory neighbour.
“Magic missile!” Gaius roared, throwing his hand forward.
The monster screeched in response and charged towards the boy, who was now holding a slimy tentacle in place of his right hand.
“What the hell is this?!” Gaius yelled as the tentacle suckers began spreading up his arm.
He looked up again; the monster was getting closer. Gaius shut his eyes, bracing himself for what he was about to do. A blade shot out from the gauntlet on his other hand.
“Ah shit!” he bellowed, slicing the tentacle off in one clean strike. Pain exploded through his entire body, but there was no time to flinch just yet.
Searing light filled the corridor as energy pooled in his other hand. He pointed it at the monster leaping towards him and released the concentrated ball of energy.
The ground shuddered as the beast toppled in front of him with a gaping hole in its torso. Gaius fell to one knee. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and the pain was already numbing his entire body rapidly.
He squinted his eyes, vision blurring as shock threatened to shut his senses down. Although he no longer bled, missing an arm in this situation was also certainly not ideal. So he reached for his coat pocket.
The Sorcerer dropped the emptied bottle of healing potion to the ground, allowing it to crash dramatically as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Magic coursed through his Arcani channels quickly, supercharging his healing as he focused his regeneration on his missing arm.
The stump on his right arm shuddered violently as bones and flesh made of light re-grew themselves within seconds, several times faster than what it normally would have taken him. He picked up the gauntlet from the floor and reattached it to his right arm.
There was a dull whirring as the technomagick device re-attuned with his Arcani channels. A dagger blade shot out and retracted as Gaius tested the weapon’s functions. His arm seemed as good as new. Thank the gods for Kleopatra’s healing potion.
He exhaled slowly, but a strange shiver shot up his spine. Gaius groaned, falling to one knee again as orange light blurred his vision. It felt as though something had shifted from deep within his body, as though he had suffered some sort of internal injury.
But there was no time to waste now. His regeneration should be able to take care of anything that wounds him anyway.
Arcani shot into his eyes as True Vision showed him the optimal path out of campus. The orange light extinguished itself with a flicker, revealing a set of hardened green eyes.
Gaius leapt off the balcony.
~ ~ ~
A shadow scaled the building wall and launched itself into the second-floor corridor without a sound. The groaning monsters below continued shuffling around mindlessly, still oblivious to the human darting around within their midst.
Gaius sprinted along the dark corridor as silently as he could, taking care to watch his footing. He had always excelled in stealth operations, and thankfully, the campus blackout was working to his advantage.
Still, he took care not to draw any attention to himself. He couldn’t afford a drawn-out fight, since any commotion would probably alert hundreds of monsters to his location. And if his dorm neighbour was any indication of the strength of these beasts, they were as durable as a landship. He would be overwhelmed in no more than a few seconds.
After all, unlike a very notable member of the Guardian Council, Gaius was no one-man army.
He found himself in the girls’ dormitory after a quadruple backflip across the courtyard. The boy’s conscience stung him, but he quickly pushed it down. This was no time to be a gentleman, especially not when even the building’s security charms had been dispelled.
The only security measure still functional was an anti-warp charm that prevented people from teleporting in and out of the school. Unfortunately, it only turned the entire campus into a death trap.
Gaius glanced at a nearby wall; the gate was just behind it. Just a few more steps and he would be out of this place—
The magic within him prodded him gently, turning his attention to a familiar presence behind one of the doors. Gaius strained his power, stretching his future vision from a few seconds to several minutes as he peeked at what all the possible futures had in store for him.
He clenched his fists in frustration. Of all the people trapped behind the door, it just had to be her.
Parthena.
There were two best possible paths he could take. The first one was to ignore Parthena, who was still trapped in her room and make for the exit without much mishap. The second option was to save Parthena and make for the exit together, but a strong monster would turn in at a very unfortunate time, forcing him to fight it.
Gaius sighed. He had grown to hate the title of ‘Guardian’, and the lofty responsibilities bestowed upon him. He had grown weary of the false speeches and promises to protect the citizens of Sirius City when most of his colleagues were only there to fight for their personal glory.
The Sorcerer unclenched his fists. No longer will he be bound by the Guardian Council’s code of honour and conduct. Guardian Deusdedit shall save people no more.
Gaius will.
The boy reached for the door knob.216Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYnfuPJ0e2
