Aetherios System: Whirlwind

Chapter 57: Magus of the Wake

A brief flash of blue-mana appeared in front of Alex just as Holly’s sword whipped toward his chest. The weapon broke through the barrier, but was sent wide as Alex shifted to the side and jumped.

As his feet left the ground, bringing him into the air, Kate came sliding in underneath him, her own sword stabbing at the space he had occupied.

“Henry, now!” He shouted even before landing again.

Kate’s face scrunched into a tight line, and flames rippled down her arm in time to clash with the jet-blast of water that came careening into her from the side.

The spell took Kate off her feet, throwing her off into the distance.

At the same moment, stone walls began forming around Holly thanks to Tom-Tom, but the speedy air mage slipped free before he could fully enclose her in his trap.

Alex attempted to chase after her, his weapon hilt projecting a long spear as he went, but a new torrent of flames cut him off, forcing him back again and rejoin with Henry, and Akus.

“Not so easy today, is it?” Garret grinned at Alex once his fire died down, Holly having made her escape, and Kate rebounding back up to stand beside him.

“Well, I don’t know, we got Zach out pretty quick today.” Alex's eyes flickered to the dark mage that was sitting near the wall of the vast raining chamber.

Zach rolled his eyes and leaned back on the small chair where he sat. But as usually, he stayed silent.

“That’s because Henry and you ganged up on him right when we started,” Kate yelled back.

Alex shrugged and patted Henry on his meaty bicep. “What can I say, I know how to use my teammate’s strengths. And, of course, how to take out yours.”

“Are we training, or are we chatting? I could have found a nice man to spend this time with instead, you know. Aren’t any good ones left among our group after Kate and Holly had their picks.” Cole leaned his hammer against his shoulder exaggeratedly. “Can we get back to—“

There was a sudden flash of light, and a deafening, Pop!

In a blink, and a flash of yellow mana, Cole was suddenly gone, tumbling over the hard stone tiles and out of the marked-off section of the “arena” they had made.

He came to a stop a few feet out and struggled to his knees. “Damn Allie, I thought we were friends, girl.”

“As you said,” Allie’s called out from behind Holly, “we’re training, not hanging out.”

“Avenge friend shorty-tall!” Tom-Tom screeched before initiating the next brawl by jumping directly at Allie.

She took a full smack to the face from a ladle before Alex even managed to rush back in.

Tom-Tom screeched again as Garret kicked him away.

The training was back in full swing.

***

“You all have very strange notions of friendship,” Akus said as they settled down after the training match.

“What do you mean?” Garret asked.

Akus pointed at Garret, and then Henry. “You called him a 'tall glass of stupid’, during the match. Most disrespectful.”

Garret chuckled. “You see this man?” He pointed at Henry, who stood still next to him. “He’s the tallest one out of all of us. And please, he said I was the ugliest one on the training floor, and you all had Tom-Tom on your team.”

“I stand by my previous statement,” Henry said evenly.

“Okay, one-on-one, let's go.” Garret shouted at Henry before pretending to attempt to wrestle the man, who merely shook his head before pushing Garret away at arm’s length.

“I still don’t understand,” Akus insisted.

“Don’t worry about them, they’ll kiss and make up fine.” Cole sat down beside Akus, offering him a wooden cup filled with tea.

Alex couldn’t stop himself from laughing a bit. The group was still working on fighting together and bolstering each other’s strengths. But it looked like morale remained high even with the anxiety of the looming hour coming closer and closer.

Two more days, then the Inheritance Dungeon would finally open, and everything in the last few months leading up to that moment would reach fruition.

Thanks to Akus’ extra treatment a couple of days ago Alex was feeling much better about their chances. The second round hadn’t been as intense as the first. Alex didn’t pass out at the very least. Though that also meant it wasn’t as effective, shortening Alex peak recovery time by about a week.

Stolen story; please report.

All said and done, Alex would still be going into the Dungeon being unable to use his martial arts, constitution, and his new [Technique]. They would have to play it safe in the beginning, or Alex would. Everyone else was still in top condition, better even.

“Thirty minutes, then we shuffle teams and go at it again. I’m thinking three more rounds, then we call it a day, rest tomorrow,” Alex said.

“Sounds like a wise course of action,” Akus agreed.

The others nodded or voiced a short yes, and they got to resting.

“Mr. Pierce,” a voice suddenly sounded next to Alex, making him jump.

He turned to find that Mr. Kim had entered the training hall and was standing at the entrance, yet he seemed to have the strange ability to make his voice sound like it was right in your ear. Alex had also learned he could whisper back, and Mr. Kim would be able to hear him just fine in return.

The idea that he wasn’t just an “assistant” was starting to creep into his mind. Everything about the man told Alex he was a spy, or an assassin. A secret ninja-type.

“Yes, Mr. Kim?”

“There are two people here to see you. Should I let them in?”

“Who is it?”

“One of them is the Prince of the minor Kingdom whom you fought in the tournament,” Mr. Kim’s voice remained starkly neutral.

The Aeralith Prince? And he’s come to see me? Why?

“Maybe he feels bad about being a jerk? Or maybe he wants a rematch? I bet rematch,” Obby added.

“Who’s the second person?” Alex asked.

“The second person has insisted I call her Celeste.”

“Celeste?!”

***

“You know how hard it is to track you down? Barely anything to go on. You just up and vanished, you did!” Celeste yelled at him from her seat on the couch as Tom-Tom served them all tea.

After learning Celeste, through some miracle, was visiting them in the Urhara Capitol—with the Aeralith prince no less—Alex cut the training day short.

They all gathered back in the large reception room of the villa.

“Apologies Celeste, truly. There has simply been so much that happened,” Alex said, futilely.

“So much happened, he says,” Celeste turned to the prince, who still wore his armor and mask. “Must have been strung up by his fingers for nine months straight. Couldn’t even have written a letter, surely.”

“Celeste,” Holly leaned forward now. “We should have written, I’m sorry. You must feel rejected and hurt, and that's understandable. I can’t imagine the worry you’ve gone through.”

“Worry? Bah. Hurt? Hardly. I had to sit out in Vrung’s Quarry waiting the days away, while you all were here in the seat of the continent’s luxury. Could have invited me.” Celeste picked up her tea with a scoff.

“Wow, rude,” Holly whispered next to me.

“What was that, dear?” Celeste asked, reaching with a hand for the sugar cubes. Garret flinched where he stood behind the couch.

“Nothing, nothing. Just again, our deepest apologies.”

Celeste dropped the sugar cube into the tea and began to stir. “Fine, apology accepted. Luckily, while heading out towards Terraxum’s border, I ran into the fine people of Aeralith. This prince here said he knew you all, actually.”

Alex’s eyes went to Prince Ireith. The man still hadn’t moved or said a word, but now everyone seemed to have set their attention on him.

“Yes, she was found wandering around at the—“

Celeste shifted in her seat.

“Was formal received while traveling alone at the border in the middle of a war.” Ireith continued. “She was seen to the command tent, and we learned she knew you all, and was trying to reach you.”

“And you brought her here out of the kindness of your heart?” Alex asked derisively.

“No, of course not. The truth is that I felt I owed it to you, Alexander Pierce, after what you did for me and my people.”

Everyone froze at that, including Alex.

What I did? What did I do?

“Beat some sense into him, perhaps?” Obby added.

“I… don’t understand,” Alex said.

“After our fight, you told me that the Terraxum Kingdom had used a leyline to turn Prince Kailan into an aether-bomb. That I should pull back our army,” the Prince said. Which was true, Alex did remember managing to get that out before he collapsed. “As much as I hated the idea of thinking I had been tricked, or that I couldn’t see what was right in front of me, I couldn’t help but think you were sincere in your words.”

“So you pulled back?” Kate asked.

Prince Ireith nodded. "I did. I kept the forward base construction up and pulled all my people back. I figured they would release another attack once they thought my entire force was gathered at the city for a siege. And I was right. I used illusion magic to make them think my forces were there and that I had arrived to prepare the initial assault.”

“And they sent another token sacrifice,” Alex said.

The prince merely nodded.

“How big?”

“It was smaller than the first; it's hard to find a vessel like Kailan, I’m sure. But it was enough to wipe my forward encampment out entirely. If not for you, I would possibly be dead, along with eight thousand of my soldiers.” Kailan looked at Alex pointedly, then stood up from his chair and bowed, his head nearly reaching parallel with the floor. “Thank you, Alexander Pierce.”

“Hey, I was mostly just clearing my own name. Now you know that first bomb wasn’t us.”

“Very true. Still, I apologize for having thought so ill of you in the first place.” The Prince stopped bowing, but he didn’t retake his seat. “After your reputation on the battlefield, I was swayed into a predetermined idea of what kind of man you are. After fighting you twice, I should have known better. Fighting with someone reveals more about that person than anything else. You fought passionately and ferociously, but not maliciously. You had honor. You have honor. I should have seen it sooner.”

“Bah, sit down. All this emotion talk is making my teeth hurt,” Celeste said. “Your people are saved, Alex is a good person, blah blah. You think I’d teach kids that are the unsavory kind Prince Ireith?”

“No, of course not, apologies.” The prince finally sat once more.

“Apology this, apology that. Just don’t be foolish and you won’t be making mistakes like that.” Celeste finished her cup and set it down, with Tom-Tom wading forward at that exact moment to refill it, as if she’d trained him to do so.

“Magus of the Wake, I ap— I thank you for your wisdom,” the prince corrected himself quickly.

“Hold on,” Alex held up a hand and waved Tom-Tom away. “Do you know Celeste? Who is the Magus of the Wake?”

The prince cocked his head slightly at Alex, his mask still hiding any features besides his eyes, which narrowed into a squint.

“Do you really not know?” he asked.

“Know what?” Alex and almost everyone else in the room asked in unison.

“Celeste Briung, Magus of the Wake, and Commander at Arms of the Urhara Western Army. She’s one of the most accomplished and well-known Magus Tier mages of the Empire.” The prince turned to Celeste then. “Before your retirement, of course. Commander Bran Vaunt. now leads the Western Army”

“Bran, yes, he was a good soldier. He should be doing well.”

“Nope, time out, you can’t just gloss over that.” It was Alex’s turn to stand now. “Are you some war hero of the Urhara Empire?”

“No.”

“No? Yet you’re famous, apparently, and didn’t say anything. You told me you were a Magus who was trying to heal from a wound.” Alex remained vague, not wanting to reveal Celeste’s condition. “What is going on, really?”

Celeste lowered her newly filled teacup with a sigh. “I’m not a war hero, Alex.”

“And…” He didn’t let up.

“I’m not a hero. I’m the Empire’s most recent embarrassment.”