Chapter 100. Transference
Was… Was Levi truly dead this time?
She didn’t want to believe it, but… not even he could regenerate from that. Next to her, Selene’s eyes were wide with a disbelieving horror.
The three Ascendants certainly believed that he’d died. They finally stopped their attacks, a distinct air of triumph over them. They briefly turned to the remaining three. Anastasia tensed up as their gazes landed on her, but they looked away a moment later. For some reason, they didn’t seem to care about the three. After another few seconds, during which the archmage cast several spells to confirm Levi’s death, they finally left, disappearing in a blur of speed.
“W-What?” Selene breathed.
Miraculously, they located their rowboat. It had somehow survived the battle unscathed. They landed on it, shell-shocked and dazed. For several minutes, none of them spoke.
“He’s… dead?” Anastasia said, her voice barely a whisper.
It was the Huntsman who replied.
“He’s dead. No way he could’ve survived that final blow. He put up a good fight, but in the end, I suppose even he isn’t good enough to–”
A splash sounded from next to them, and a hand landed on the rowboat’s edge. Levi pulled himself out of the water onto the rowboat, his form fully drenched but completely unharmed.
“That,” Levi declared, his face completely serious, “fucking sucked.”
Levi had faked his death so many times before, it was practically second nature for him by now. Enemies he couldn’t defeat? Dead. Tax collectors after him? Dead. Being proposed to in the middle of an evening ball? Dead. Admittedly, that last one might have been a bit uncalled for. He didn’t think the poor girl ever recovered from having brain matter splatter onto her… but hey, it was still better than rejection.
Probably.
The point was, the moment Levi realized that no, he couldn’t cast to kill against the Ascendants, and that no, he couldn’t feasibly escape from them, and that yes, he could indeed feel magical overburn prickling at his nerves and threatening to shove a red hot iron up the metaphysical anus of his soul, he decided to just default to old habits and ‘die’.
Which was a lot harder than it sounded, considering how he had to fool three seasoned Ascendants. Fortunately, with the tried-and-tested combination of pinpoint precise timing, illusionary magic, stealth and teleportation, and him getting shish kebab’d a dozen or so times, he was able to convince the Ascendants of his death. After that, it was just a matter of waiting several thousand meters under the sea for the Ascendants to leave before finally resurfacing.
Levi had no idea how the rowboat survived the fight, but he wasn’t complaining. Yukihasan craftsmanship was definitely something else.
“You’re alive,” Anastasia said, her voice filled with relief.
“Tch,” the Huntsman said, sounding distinctly disappointed. “You’re alive.”
Levi narrowed his eyes.
They resumed course for their destination. Selene, Levi, and Anastasia sat in a circle while the Huntsman was tied to the back of the boat, his head shoved underneath the water. Bubbles gurgled to the surface as his body flailed around.
“You had her,” Selene said. “I saw it; the archmage was as good as dead.” Her dark eyes pierced into Levi, accusing. “Why did you hesitate? Don’t tell me you’re going soft.”
“Not every battle needs to end with death,” Anastasia countered.
Selene stared at her contemptuously. “You are aware that Levi used to be Death’s personal hitman, right?”
Levi coughed. “I prefer the term servant... And no, while I may be slightly rusty, I don’t make it a habit to thoughtlessly spare my enemies.” He’d very much learned his lesson in that regard.
“Then why let her live?” Selene demanded.
Levi looked back at her, his face grave. “They were being controlled by the Chorus.”
Selene blinked, then flinched. “Truly?”
Levi nodded. “It spoke to me through them, the same way it spoke to me through Montague a few weeks ago. They're being mind controlled. Or is it possessed? ” He shook his head. “I don’t know the exact mechanism, but you know what I mean.”
Off to the side, Anastasia watched them with a confused look. “What are you two talking about?”
Levi and Selene exchanged a look. It appeared the anti-perception effect was still as strong as ever. Anastasia had heard their conversation, but she was unable to process or retain any of it.
“The Ascendants are under the influence of one of the two entities we're up against,” Levi told her, being deliberately vague to bypass the memetic effects. “It somehow discovered that I’d come to Yukihasa, presumably to locate the Source, and as such sent the Ascendants to stop me.”
“Ah,” Anastasia said in understanding. She seemed a bit frustrated that she was still being affected by the anti-perception field, but that turned into worry a moment later. “But how did it even know that you came to Yukihasa?”
“... that is a very good question.”
Levi’s expression became pensive. Though the Chorus and Devourer were extra-dimensional entities, that didn’t always mean omnipotence. The Chorus hadn’t known that Levi had survived the Last Order’s assassination attempt until he showed up at Montague Castle, for example. Nor had it sensed that Levi had faked his own death, judging by how the three Ascendants had left. Yet, it had somehow known about Levi entering Yukihasa and was even able to track down his precise location.
Rather disturbing, but at least Levi now knew to prepare for it.
“I don’t like this,” Anastasia said. “This whole thing… If the entity is capable of even controlling Ascendants – and three of them, at that…” She swallowed. “What if it controls the Emperor next? What if it decides to send an entire army after us?”
Levi shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll be able to manage–”
“We can’t,” Anastasia said, cutting him off. “We’re not strong enough for that, Levi. This isn’t a game. You had the element of surprise against the Ascendants earlier, but now that you no longer have that advantage…” She pursed her lips in worry. “ You were losing up there at the end, Levi, don’t deny it. Your body can’t keep up with your strength. Even now, you’re in agony, aren’t you?”
Stolen novel; please report.
Levi blinked. He thought he’d hidden the symptoms of his magical overburn perfectly. He glanced down at his hands, but they were completely still. How did Anastasia know?
“If the battle went on any longer, you might have died for real,” Anastasia said. “What happens when they find out that you survived? I know for a fact there’s no way you’re able to lay low for long, especially in this country. That’s the sort of person you are. What if they bring more allies next time?”
Levi was silent for a few moments. Then, he smiled. “Well. That’s what I have you and Selene for.”
“You think we’ll be able to help?”
“Yeah,” Levi nodded, not a shred of doubt in his voice. “I do.”
Anastasia paused, taken aback by his sheer faith. “You’ve never seen me in a proper fight before,” she said, sounding like she couldn’t comprehend him. “You don’t know how strong I actually am. How can you trust me so much?”
“Because I know that you’ll do everything in your power to keep your allies alive,” Levi said simply. “Because I know that you’ll never run away, that you’ll never stop fighting, that you’ll give it your all no matter the odds. That’s the sort of person you are. For me, that’s good enough.”
Anastasia stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide.
Then, she steeled herself.
“Hold out your hand.”
Levi blinked. “What?”
“Just–”
She grabbed his hand by his side and closed her eyes. Before Levi could say anything, her entire form lit up in a golden glow, causing Selene to hiss and pull back.
Levi blinked in confusion before he drew in a sharp breath.
This entire time, he had been in abject agony. The terrible, nigh-unbearable, sadly-familiar pain of magical overburn that felt as though he were being stabbed and boiled and frozen all at the same time. He’d suppressed it as he conversed, but though he didn’t outwardly show it, it still hurt like living hell.
But now, it hurt less.
And less.
And less.
Until it went from excruciating suffering to a manageable ache.
Levi stared at Anastasia with wide eyes. Magical overburn, unlike normal injuries, could not be healed by magic. It was an effect, or more accurately punishment, of the line that separated the body and soul. Physical anesthesia wouldn’t work. Magical anesthesia definitely wouldn’t work. The pain was supposed to be undiminishable, implacable, inescapable.
So how was Anastasia doing this…?
Oh.
Levi didn’t even need his True Sight to figure it out. It was clear as day in how Anastasia suddenly sucked in her breath, her entire body going tense as minute convulsions began rippling through her body.
Wound transference.
The pain couldn’t be reduced or lessened. But it could certainly be transferred. That was what Anastasia was doing right now: sharing his pain between the two of them.
Except unlike him, she wasn’t even used to it. Evidently, this was the first time she’d ever experienced magical overburn, and it was hitting her like a sledgehammer. Yet, she didn’t stop, her form glowing bright as she maintained the connection.
Levi felt an odd lump form in his throat. A strange mixture of gratefulness, bewilderment, and awe overcame him. “Anastasia…”
“Shh,” she said. “We’ll reach the island soon. You need to rest.” She paused. “Also, can you let the Huntsman back up? I think he might actually drown at this rate.”
They reached the island of Hoka an hour later. It was relatively small and remote, located in the northern region of the Yukihasa archipelago. They had taken this roundabout route to avoid getting detected – though obviously, with the Ascendants finding them earlier, that hadn’t worked very well. They docked at the tiny harbor, reapplied their disguises, and stepped into the village.
The Huntsman asked for directions from a local and then led them to a nearby tavern that was still open. The village of Hoka was extremely antiquated. The houses were small and constructed of wood, with sloped thatch roofs. The streets were little more than paved dirt, with deep grooves running along them from where carts had been pulled. There weren’t many people outside, but the ones that were there stared at them with no small amount of trepidation. They probably weren’t very used to outsiders, much less a group led by a Huntsman.
As they went deeper into the village, Levi frowned. The houses here looked much more damaged; some of the roofs were singed, a door was caved in, windows were shattered. It was as though a battle of sorts had taken place, and recently at that.
The Huntsman, for his part, seemed mildly confused as well.
“I thought you wanted to avoid areas affected by the war?” Levi asked.
“I did,” the Huntsman replied. “I don’t recall hearing of any conflicts that occurred on this island. The damage must be due to a monster attack.”
Levi nodded, accepting it. They continued through the village.
Selene’s expression was clouded. She’d looked like that ever since Levi had told her that the three Ascendants were possessed by the Chorus. Levi didn’t blame her. She’d lost an entire world to the foul creature, after all.
Anastasia’s form still trembled slightly every now and then as an aftereffect of the magical overburn, but she seemed to have mostly recovered. She looked around the village curiously. Oroppo had been in the center of the region that the imperial government controlled, and that was reflected in its harsh, oppressive atmosphere. Hoka felt different; lighter, almost, though the people were still thin and gaunt.
They reached the tavern. It wasn’t very crowded, with the people scattered around. They ordered their food, and before long they dug into dinner: steamed fish, rice, and stir-fried vegetables. It was delicious; the fish was covered with a fragrant rich sauce, and virtually melted in Levi’s mouth as he chewed.
“We should hurry to the Source,” Selene said. She didn’t touch any of the food. Demons generally preferred the taste of human flesh, though they could subsist on ambient mana as well. “Even if the Chorus thinks that you’re dead, we don’t know if or when it’ll find out the truth. It’ll be hard enough to locate the Source, much less if the Chorus increases its defenses.”
Levi nodded, seeing the logic. “I agree.”
The last thing he wanted was for the Chorus to discover that he’d survived and then send an entire squad of Ascendants and Mythmakers to defend the Source. Despite his speech to Anastasia earlier, Levi knew that she had a point. He wasn’t strong enough, or rather his body wasn’t, to deal with a sustained fight. His main weakness was his stamina; prolonged battles of attrition were his biggest weakness.
“We should reach the eastern islands by tomorrow,” Anastasia said. “After that, we can start investigating local folklore and–”
They froze.
Everyone in the tavern was looking at them. From the bartender to the waiters to the patrons. They had turned in their seats and swiveled their heads to stare at them, unblinking.
Levi tensed up. Did the Chorus find them? Already?
The Huntsman snapped to his feet. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Coming here was a mistake,” the bartender said. Then he raised his hand, and then the room exploded into action.
In total, there were nine enemies. Weapons materialized in their hands, and they surged at them with blinding speed, far faster than what civilians should be capable of–
Levi blinked. Three of them forced him, Selene, and Anastasia back with sword thrusts. The other six, however, strangely ganged up on the Huntsman. He tried to fight back, but they quickly overwhelmed him, disarming him and wrenching his arms behind his back.
And then the room went absolutely still.
On one side, Levi, Anastasia, and Selene stood in mild confusion. Levi’s magic thrummed under his skin, Anastasia’s eyes had begun to glow, and Selene’s shadows had come to life.
On the other side, the nine enemies circled out to surround them. They held the Huntsman before them, forced to his knees with his arms behind his back, with no less than three separate knives held at his throat.
“How did the imperial government find out?” the bartender demanded.
Levi frowned. “Find out what?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” the bartender gestured at the Huntsman. “Why else would a Huntsman come to our village? Now, answer me! Or your friend here is going to get it.”
“One, he’s not my friend,” Levi said. “Two – wait, so you’re not the Chorus?”
The bartender frowned. “The… what did you just say?”
Levi stared at him. “Who are you guys, exactly?”
“We’re the Resistance.” The bartender said. He narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”