In an open field close to the Mansion. A child stood before a large wooden figure. Her little feet trembled, as she cried. Her eyes had grown dark and sunken.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Seraveth said bluntly.
The child staggered forward, and stretched out her hand. She strained, as if trying to get something to come out of the hand she had just stretched out. Black veins appeared on her forehead, as black tears began rolling down her eyes.
A mysterious set of symbols appeared on the hand she stretched out, all connecting till they reached her palm. She strained harder, and a black mist began to form.
Seraveth watched in silence, a book and pen in hand, jotting the process of this experiment she was carrying out.
The child screamed, and out of the mist, a hand with claws shot out, bolting straight for the wooden figure. But it stopped abruptly, then faded into the air.
Thud.
The child collapsed, and convulsed. Her eyes were completely gone, leaving nothing but an empty socket.
Seraveth walked up slowly to her. Then kicked her body slightly.
"Tsk. Another one fails yet again." She muttered.
The child stretched out her hand, and whispered. "P-Please, let me see my m-mother."
Seraveth smiled. "Sure."
Crack.
Then silence,
"Dispose of this one too..."
She thought for a moment.
"Actually keep her, I can't let her runic ability go to waste just like that. Let's see if Devorakh can revive her. She'd be a great pair up with Fifteen."
A pair of two oddly looking children carried the child's body into the mansion. Seraveth remained outside, staring at her notes.
"But what am I actually doing wrong?" She whispered.
She paced around the empty field, whispering to herself.
"Runic abilities are a rewiring of the body's natural order. A chance for it to manifest the wielder's fears and nightmares and make them a reality and fight alongside them. Completely destroying their weakness."
She paused.
"The best way to get it done is with Cursed Runes and I have many of those, so why?"
She stopped and sat on the grass.
"It becomes more powerful if the wielder had already awakened a blessing. Just like Fourteen, her brother and some few others. But why was this child different?"
She laid down, then sighed.
"A lot of the children didn't pass the experiment phase, and some that did died shortly after. I need to meet the quota before the day of the attack, but right now it's a bit hard thanks to this many failures, and Fourteen who's now gone rogue and hunting my children— her siblings."
Seraveth stood up and walked towards a hill.
She grabbed a piece of clothing from her side and covered her nose as she got to the edge.
She looked down.
At the bottom of the hill was a mountain of bodies, made up entirely of children or young adults. Their bodies released an odor so strong it could possibly kill someone. Dark forest monsters feasted on the bodies, getting stronger from the runic energy the bodies had.
"I hope to get this over with. I'm starting to feel bad for the amount of children I've killed." She murmured.
She turned to leave. "Let's recall the children before Fourteen kills more of them."
"Yes mistress." Voices answered her.
As Seraveth made her way to the mansion, clones of herself separated from her body. All manifesting four sets of wings, placed weirdly on the bodies, before flying off to do their mistress's bidding.
—-
"Arrghh, I'm hungry..."
I clutched my stomach as I laid on my bed.
It had been two weeks since the weapon selection event and the qualification matches.
Wryo and I both managed to qualify but unfortunately Zahir didn't. He was pitted against someone more nimble than him and that made it difficult to win.
He was pretty bummed by the loss and had to take a leave from school to return back to his county for a short break.
I sighed. "I kinda miss the dude. He would have asked me to go eat with him right now. And since Wryo is busy training I can't ask him. So I guess I have to go alone."
I grabbed my clothes and walked out.
The tournament was postponed until further notice and I'm going to be taking things easy today.
I had been training with her and the others for two weeks at her house and occasionally with Aurelle since she had experience with using gauntlets.
Thanks to all their efforts, I felt that I could actually take on anything.
As I made my way to the food court, I admired how beautiful the nature around the academy was. The air felt so fresh, thanks to the trees. And the abundance of wildlife made it even more lively.
On the way to the food court, there was a little naturally formed garden, filled with many beautiful flowers. It was Eimira's favourite spot to come sit and recharge. And honestly it's about to become my favourite too.
Beep beep.
My arcstone rang out. I took it out from my pocket and a message popped up.
"There have been more reports of missing children all over Terraka, and it's honestly becoming a bit too much. All missing children were linked to the attacks performed over a large number of villages and counties, mainly near the first wall, dangerously too close to our beloved Academy. Please spread this message and urge everyone to protect the future of our Nation."
"Hmm, come to think of it. The tournament was delayed because of this issue." I said, putting my arcstone away.
Since the Vanguards that protect the nation all originate from the academy, they are usually stationed here, and each have how and when they are deployed, to ensure that the academy remains safe.
But since this issue started, a lot of vanguards have been mobilised, leaving the Academy a little bit too vulnerable since it's very close to the Dark forest.
"I hope this issue gets resolved quickly. But the fact it is happening internally is a bit concerning." I muttered.
An opening came into view, and I could hear marches coming from there.
"Hmm, must be a vanguard setting out to leave." I said, turning towards the direction of the sound.
"It's been decades since we've been attacked this much. And joked with even.." A female voice yelled.
"And that's because we the Terrakans refuse to let abominations into our land. But it seems they've gotten here either way."
I moved closer to see who was speaking, and a familiar frame came into view.
Aurelle.
She spoke with pride. "For five decades we've been both the shield and the spear for the entirety of Caramien, and we must make the enemies know that."
"Yes, Captain!" Her vanguard rang out.
Aurelle stood tall, her massive frame towering over most of the members in her vanguards, enhanced by her heavy armour and large weapon. Her dark hair tied, and her eyes reflecting the determination in them. Her familiar laying right behind her.
"The Shield and the First captain, Yunok, have already been mobilised. Now it's our turn, we won't wait until they bring the fight to us."
As her vanguard got riled up, she dropped her shield and large sword, and spread her arms wide.
"We the Imperiums, backed by the family of Saeon, won't fall to pesky kidnappers, even if they are Veils.."
Aurelle continued. "We march from now till dusk, make sure you have all the necessities you would need because we aren't stopping for anyone."
Her vanguard members cheered with determination, as they raised their weapons into the air.
Aurelle nodded her head in satisfaction. "Good, good. Now let's go."
I watched in amazement, as I've never actually seen Aurelle talk that way. She really seemed like a good leader.
I exhaled. "I wish them the best, and I hope they find the bastards kidnapping children and killing villagers."
I turned around to continue on my way to the cafeteria.
"Where do you think you are going?" A familiar voice came from right behind me.
I turned around, and it was Aurelle.
"How did you get behind me so fast?" I asked.
She frowned. "You didn't even stop by to wish me good luck."
"You are the second captain, I'm some random student. It'd be rude for me to walk up at that moment in the middle of all that." I replied.
She chuckled. "A random student that happens to be dating the third captain, and also the most popular."
I turned. "What do you want?"
"How cute." She leaned in, playfully. "He's blushing."
I sighed. "Well, good luck. If you have nothing to say, I'll be taking my leave, I'm hungry."
Her eyes brightened. "Should we go together?"
My brows furrowed. "What? No. You have somewhere to be now."
"Ah yes... Next time then." She answered, a bit disappointed. "Anyways, I'll be back in time for the tournament."
"Oh. You are allowed to do that?" I asked
She folded her arms."Yeah. All captains can. That's why we have a vice, in case we need to attend to other matters."
I nodded "Well I look forward to you being there."
"How's your training with Eimira going?." She asked.
"It's going fine, since Eimira isn't getting deployed, she still helps me train." I answered, turning my head slightly.
When I turned back. Aurelle's face was close.
Too close.
She smirked. "She better put up a fight for you if you perform well. Because I'm not holding back."
She took a step back, then tapped my nose with a finger.
She smiled. "Boop."
"I'll be taking my leave now." She whistled, and her familiar answered her call. She mounted its back. "Ok then Zandren, see you soon."
She winked at me, and then waved before leaving.
I stood there.
Frozen.
"What the—"
"Didn't know you were that close to Aurelle."
"Ahhhh!!"
I turned around to see who it was, and my heart sank.
"Oh, C-chichi... Hi..."