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CHAPTER START---
Standing atop a small cliff overlooking the beach, Prince Osiam Moyer, dressed in his full gunslinger combat gear with two additional bandoliers, carefully observes the swarm of men and women below.
His young and deathly serious face grimaces at the sight, seeing the men and women loading tons of resources and weapons onto their three massive wooden ships. They carefully load the ship by walking across the magically frozen water in the shallows, preparing for an expedition like no other.
He looks up at the moon that's fresh in the sky and sighs, seeing the small dirt road leading to this hidden coven along the northern shore of Seven, not seeing anyone else rushing to join them.
"They must have reconsidered and backed out," he mutters. He then sees some of the men preparing to move a carriage-sized Lacrima that's built into a metal device. Before he needs to step in, some of the high-ranking Rune Knights who are out of uniform, wearing more ordinary combat equipment, rush over and stop them from moving the delicate device.
They quickly explain how sensitive the device is and ask the Fex Kingdom soldiers to leave the loading of it to them. The soldiers turn and look up at their prince, and Osian gives a simple nod, completely understanding the situation.
Everyone then continues loading the ships and preparing for the voyage, breaking down tents and double-checking everything in the process.
"Quite the turnout for this," Wizard Saint, King Rixian Moyer's deep voice beams with pride while approaching his son, standing beside the prince to overlook the gathering. The man was now wearing bright white samurai armor to match his katana, making his deep black hair stand out even more.
Rixian removes his cowboy hat and runs a hand through his hair before taking out a cigarette. "This is less than half the numbers for our last expedition, and our power is cut by 80% without God Serena here." He snaps his fingers, using a small flame to ignite the cigarette in his mouth.
"Well, for one of our expeditions it isn't much, but for a voluntary suicide mission, not bad."
They both share a bitter laugh at that.
"As for our usual allies not helping as much, it couldn't be helped. This is the only time of year the waters around that island are sailable. But the winds still rage as strong as ever above the sea, so we'll have to be wary of that."
"God Serena being on Guiltina at his former Alchemist Guild is one thing, but the Magic Council pulling support is another story."
"True, they've put themselves in quite the predicament. But they aren't entirely wrong for wanting nothing to do with this. I'll explain the full truth to the men when we're ready to go. For now we should plan around the people we do have. I'm a Wizard Saint, and uniquely qualified to deal with this situation. We will make do."
"Too bad Wizard Saint Etis isn't well, he would have surely joined. Having him and God Serena with us would have made this easier, Master Makarov too."
"They have their own responsibilities. And you should really let go of this expectation that others will help us when needed," Osian turns to his son. "I am a king, you are a prince. These expeditions we undergo to help troubled lands are noble, but that's all they are. Because the only other word that can be used to describe them is 'foolish'."
Rixian frowns, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "People should help people."
"True. But a king must take care of his own people first. Risking our lives in this endeavor is foolish. We can't expect others to do the same when it truly doesn't involve them. Helping the people of Hacot is the right thing to do, but so is surviving to protect your own people. If not for your mastery of Teleportation Magic, you'd be safely back home instead of joining me on these expeditions."
Rixian chuckles. "If my children can't master my Magic, that may very well be their fate."
"Oh! Am I going to be a grandpa soon?"
Rixian rolls his eyes. "We're both too young for that. I'm not even thirty yet."
"I was younger than you are now when we had you. Would have had a lot more children too if things went differently."
Rixian finishes his cigarette in one breath and incinerates it with orange flames in his palm before exhaling. "I really wish I could have met her…"
"You have her Magic. Her love still protects you," Osian turns to walk back down to the beach. "Let's go finish the preparations."
After nearly an hour of preparing the ships, everyone is gathering on the beach. Over one hundred men and women split into three separate groups, all sitting on Earth Magic-made steps to see Osian and Rixian in front of them.
Osian looks around at their courageous and somewhat anxious faces, taking a moment to steady his nerves before addressing them. He allows people to murmur and whisper to each other for a moment, appreciating how people from the different factions are mingling.
Then, he clears his throat, which is enough to silence everyone and pull all attention to him.
"Before I start the official briefing. I'd like to thank you all for volunteering for this. It is an extremely noble thing to sail into the unknown, even more so to venture into a land swarming with unknown deathly phenomenon.
Now, you've all been briefed on most of the situation, however, we'd like to go over everything once more before boarding the ships. And explain what each of you has been assigned to do in the plan. This is the final makeup of our force, so we've now made a plan to best utilize every bit of talent and resources we have."
Some of the people nod anxiously, while others excitedly smile at the thought of fighting alongside their king.
King Osian uses Light Illusion Magic to create the large still image of a map behind him. On it is a single island. Wide at the top, hosting one mountain range toward the middle, narrowing into a point that connects to a much smaller southern region with small villages littered about both regions, and one large city on the mountain.
"This is the last update we have to Hacot, from thirteen years ago. Our intelligence said around that time a strange deadly plague rapidly spread across the island. It ravaged the capital and the mountain region in a matter of days, killing everyone before spreading out.
Hacot is an isolationist kingdom, and even when it did finally request help. The powerful currents make the surrounding waters sailable for only a short time each year. The raging winds surrounding it also make airships too unstable to send aid. The people were locked in a death box without help.
News of this was spread through the continents, and since Hacot is not a province of the Magic Council, after the first two attempts to help led to no-one returning, the Magic Council decided to simply declare a quarantine for the island. That's the official story, and until recently, that was the truth.
However, we recently learned there is more to it. Weeks ago, a Mage from Hacot made it to the mainland. Before succumbing to Magic Deficiency Disease, he gave us more accurate and up-to-date information."
He snaps his fingers, and a line appears just above the southernmost settlements on the map, separating it from the north.
"We now know the 'Death Plague', is some kind of evil Magic. It withers and kills any living thing it touches, it is carried on the winds and through the waters in and around the island. And the sphere of influence is slowly extending to the southern shores of the island.
The source is likely a Magic Artifact somewhere in the mountain region around the capital. This plague exterminates all life it touches, and over time even seeps through solid rock and other inorganic material.
The survivors number in the tens of thousands and are in massive underground chambers on the southern edge of the island. We're going there to get all the information we can, set up a base, deliver aid, and then launch the land section of the expedition.
I can't protect the ships too close to the source, so we'll be moving on foot from the launching point. Now, Aid Team?"
A man wearing monk robes stands in the crowd, drawing all eyes onto himself. "I'm from the Ishgar Archive main monastery, and I'll be heading the Aid Team. We'll be tending to the survivors as best we can while the main forces are dealing with the threat."
"Thank you," Osian says, and the man sits down. "Intel and Communication Team?"
One of the Rune Knights stands in another part of the crowd. "We'll also be staying behind. We'll collect intel from the people and establish communication with the Magic Council via the large Communication Lacrima we brought. We'll also keep the main expedition force updated on anything happening."
Osian nods, and the man sits down. "Right. The last team is the Combat Team. You'll be led by me and go on to journey through the land and put a stop to whatever is causing this plague. Now, this expedition force is much smaller than what I usually lead, because quite frankly, this is the limit of what I can protect from the plague while we sail to the island.
We may not have the power or numbers we normally boast, but I'm confident we'll be able to help the people and figure out what's going on there, if not outright solve the situation. Now, you'll all be assigned to your teams before we board the ships. We'll be at sea for three days, so get acquainted with each other.
After we get to Hacot, we'll have one month to solve the problem and sail back to Ishgar before the winds and tide become impassable."
Prince Rixian then takes over to assign people to their teams. All the while, people are quietly discussing the relatively small force gathered for this large task. This doesn't surprise Osian or Rixian, but their areas of concern are alleviated when multiple thundering booms echo through the sky.
Everyone on the beach turns to the sky, seeing a small shadow growing in the distance, approaching from above, silhouetted by the pale moonlight.
Some of the men move to grip their weapons, but Rixian simply slides on his full-face mask, and uses the lenses to zoom in on the figure.
"Seems we've got more firepower than we thought," he says in a pleased voice, raising a hand for everyone to stand down.
Seconds later, Oberon is close enough for everyone to see him clearly, and they breathe a sigh of relief at the presence of what is effectively a second Wizard Saint.
The boy's forehead is drenched in sweat, and he's breathing heavily, kneeling in the sand.
"That was close," Oberon says through ragged breaths, noticing some of the men already boarding the ships. "I thought I missed it, but I got here just in time…"
CHAPTER END---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
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