Aghanim's Rubick Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The Princess was terrified. A Majin had arrived in their village, offering a name for one of their greatest warriors, but her father had turned him away due to his untrustworthy nature. The Majin had been furious, leaving while vowing revenge upon the Ogres, but he was still allowed to leave in peace as was custom to guests.

That appeared to have been a mistake. The Majin had returned, leading a large force of Orcs directly towards their village. Her father, the Chief, believed that there was the possibility of an Orc Lord somewhere in the host.

The prospect was terrifying, but their spymaster could not get close enough to confirm without risking himself. Therefore, they had to act carefully. They would stand and fight for the village, but her father had created a core of their strongest fighters to extract her should the battle turn against them.

She had disagreed vehemently, but was overruled. It would happen, regardless of whether she wanted it or not. Still, she would do her best, contributing as much of her magical ability as she could to ensure that her people would win the day.

Of course, the Ogres were not animals that merely attacked those who entered their territory. They would attempt to negotiate with the Majin, to confirm his intentions. The only thing worse than a bloody battle, was an unnecessary one.

That brought them to where they were now, facing the massive ranks of the bestial Orcs while Gelmud the Majin preened in front of them. Crowing about how the Ogres would regret their defiance.

Having gained confirmation of the hostile intentions, the Ogres grimly prepared to fight for their homes. The barrier that the Princess had erected to allow for them to hold back the army for the negotiations would soon break, and then it would turn into a brutal fight for survival. The Princess could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, breathing picking up as she stared down the army they would be facing.

“Ah. This looks complicated.” The words came from above, all heads on the soon to be battlefield snapping up to behold a figure in white floating in the air.

The figure was another Majin, in a poorly tailored hooded white cloak that was made out of silk. The fact that such a valuable material was used for such a poorly made garment stuck her as uncanny. But the thing that stole her attention was the staff he held within his hands.

It was made entirely from Magisteel, the metal forged in such a way that ripples and patterns crossed all over the weapon and at the head was the largest emerald she had ever seen in her life. It was a weapon fit for a King, something that would be used as a station of office for a Demon King’s officer, such was the value of the metal that made up the staff.

“Who are you?!” Cried out Gelmud, “Are you here to interfere with my plans?”

“Rude.” Came the flippant response, the Majin descending and nonchalantly landing in front of the army of Orcs, “Generally it’s good manners to give your name first before asking for other’s. Still, I will answer; My name is Rubick Maelstrom. And no, it appears you lot are about to be very busy, so if you’ll kindly just point me in the direction of the nearest City I will get out of your hair.

He had a name. Not only that, he had two names, something that was almost unheard of for Majin. Unease filled her and she quickly figured out why. Someone who was named should have been able to be sensed sensed, their magicules indicating their status to all monsters in the area. However, this new Majin did not leak a single iota of them. To her Magical Sense, he didn’t even exist.

Such a level of control of one’s internal magicules… It told her that this Majin was extremely dangerous.

“I am Gelmud. You truly did not come to aid the Ogres?” Gelmud spoke, quickly rallying.

“No. It looks like you are attacking this village, but for all I know they are bandits in your lands or something. I’m not going to get involved.” Came the response, causing the Ogres to bristle.

“We are not Bandits.” Her father spoke to the newcomer, “We are just defending ourselves from the army you see before you.”

“If you were a bandit, you would say that anyway, wouldn’t you?” Rubick responded, causing her father to gape at his flippancy, “Anyway, just tell me where to find the nearest city and I will let you two get on with it.”

“You are a rather competent Majin, to be capable of flight like that. Would you enter my service? Gelmud ignored his words, making an offer that caused the Princess’ breath catch in her throat.

This new Majin was dangerous, her intuition told her. They gave her a feeling of menace that Gelmud, as strong as he was, entirely lacked. If he joined the attackers…

“No thanks.” Came the relieving response, “Don’t feel like serving anyone right now. Besides, your group doesn’t seem like they can provide me what I want at the moment.”

“How dare you! I will make you pay for your insolence! Apprehend him!” Gelmud ordered the Orc closest to Rubick to grab him, Causing the other Majin to hold up a hand.

“Ah, wait, you don’t want to do…” Unheeding his words, the Orc reached out his hand to grab the white cloaked figure, only to turn translucent as a loud thrum and the smell of cooked flesh filled the air.

The Orc’s hand started to turn to ash as Rubick calmly removed his arm from it’s grasp, sighing as the lumbering creature collapsed, “I tried to warn you. I have a deterrent for that sort of thing. Having it on passively saves a lot of time.”

“What…” Gelmud was in shock at the casual display of power.

The passive ward faded from her senses, but she was able to somewhat dissect it while it was active. He had turned his magicules into lightning, passed it through the Orc and turned it back into his magicules again in a large circle. All at once. The energy and focus required to do something like that… In a ward that was always active? She could understand his shock.

“Look, I’m not in the mood to fight anyone. I have just spent the last couple of months wandering around a dark, dank cave system with no company, eating monsters to survive. What do you think I want to do right now?”

The sheer insanity of the situation caused the Princess’ mouth to move before her brain did, attempting a joke to lighten the tension, “Have a warm meal and a bath?”

Time stopped.

A snap echoed over the silence, the silence of the shock following her words broken by Rubick clicking his fingers and pointing directly at her.

“Exactly!” He called out, happily.

“You’re insane. You came into the middle of a battlefield to ask directions because you wanted a bath?!” Gelmud was incredulous.

“Well that was one of my goals. Bathing is the basis for civilization, you know?” The absurdity of the situation washed off of the strange Majin like water off a duck's back.

“You’re insulting me with this display. Obviously stalling for the Ogres… If you will not join, then you can die with them, all of you!” Gelmud turned to the Orcs behind him, “Kill him!”

The orcs started to march forward, maws salivating, causing Rubick to sigh.

“We shall fight too!” Her father called out, but was stopped by a raised white robed hand, a stifling presence filling the field.

Rubick, who was the source of the intense feeling of danger, called out the advancing horde, “This is your one, singular, warning. Any who remain hostile will forfeit their lives.”

The Orcs ignored him, of course, gathering speed as they bore down on his solitary figure. She prepared to create a barrier to protect him, the rest of her people moving to assist while expecting the battle to be long and bloody, but was stunned as the Majin clapped his hands.

The almost lackadaisical action produced a titanic sound, a wall of force being produced that rushed towards the charging army. The wave slammed into the armoured brutes, bowling them over, slamming them into the ones marching behind them, pulping organs and breaking bones. The charge faltered, the Orcs behind the front line having to slow to not trip over their fallen brethren.

Their advance, although slowed, was brought to a complete halt by Rubick separating his clapped hands, thrusting out his palms and summoning forth a crackling, roiling tide of lightning. The wave of power washed over the armoured orcs, arcing between them and frying flesh, their bodies jerking and spasming as the electricity rushed through them.

Their armour was turned into a liability, the metal allowing the lightning to path between them more easily. In a matter of moments, the two thousand strong army was reduced to just under half that size, in a display of strength that was almost inconceivable.

She had heard of Demon Lords before, of course. The existences whose titanic strength defied all reason. The power she saw displayed before her certainly gave credence to those stories. However, she was taught the names of all the current Demon Lords in existence. Rubick was not one of them. The implications of that sent shivers down her spine.

Were Demon Lords even stronger than this? This titanic, unreasonable strength, even with it he didn’t qualify for the title? It made her realise just how small she, their whole village, really was. This army of orcs would have been a tough, uphill battle for them, even discounting the magical aid from Gelmud. Yet someone who she had never heard of dispatched most of them with ease.

It was a sobering realisation.

“You! How dare you!” Gelmud was not taking the revelation well, shaking in rage, “You will pay for this!”

He was behind a barrier that he had conjured to block the lightning. After the tide of electricity faded, he dropped the barrier and threw out powerful Mana Bullets towards the robed Majin.

Rubick merely cackled, true mirth entering his voice, “Interesting! I suppose I will get something out of this after all! Come, show me more!”

The sudden shift in demeanour took her by surprise, but not as much as what Rubick did next. He matched Gelmud, shooting out his own Mana Bullets at the ones the other Majin had fired, causing them to collide and explode in mid air. She strained her magic sense, realising that although Gelmud’s bullets were uniform and practised, Rubick’s were varying in consistency, denseness and intensity.

Was he experimenting in the middle of a deadly fight? Who did that?!

“Enough! I will not be mocked!” Gelmud shouted, Drawing back behind shield spells of considerable strength, “You upstart! Lament your foolishness and despair!”

Gelmud moved his arms in a purposeful, sweeping manner, causing Rubick to tilt his head curiously as he aptly watched. Then, stabbing the limbs forward, Gelmud intoned the name of his attack.

“Death Man March!”

Dozens of magical bullets formed in an instant, the mystical barrage aimed unerringly at Rubick, who laughed uproariously and raised his own shield.

“I see! I see! So that’s how you form them quickly!” He then copied the movements that Gelmud had done, but his flowed much faster and more fluidly, “Death Man March.”

When he thrust his hands towards Gelmud, intoning the name of his own spell back at him, the Majin yelled in surprise when his barrage was overwhelmed by a return volley that was not only denser and faster, but much more numerous.

It was over in an instant, Gelmud lying defeated as Rubick’s spell tore into the Majin, his right leg removed at the knee, his left at the thigh and his right arm severed completely. He likely would not have escaped alive, had Rubick not directed several volleys into the recovering Orc ranks, decimating them entirely.

“How…” Gelmud rasped, lying in a growing pool of his own blood, “Who are you…”

“Rubick Maelstrom.” The victorious one replied, “The Grand Magus.”

For some reason, despite the fact that the Princess had never heard such a title before, she did not doubt its veracity. After all, someone who could copy and modify magic instantly, even improving on personal spells like she had just seen, would certainly deserve that title.

“Ah… I see it now… The Ogres had a protector… That’s why they refused me…” Gulmud laughed, rasping and coughing.

“You are entirely mistaken. Not that it matters, thank you for the demonstration of your magic, goodbye.” Rubick raised his staff and shot off a blindingly fast Magical Bullet that never reached its target.

Instead, it slammed into the stocky form of a different Majin, who had interposed himself between the two. Wearing an angry clown mask, of all things, he chuckled to himself as he threw his arms out, waving away the smoke from the Magic Bullet and dropping into an elaborate bow.

“Oh-ho-ho-ho, what a glorious performance! What a show! I must apologise for interrupting, but my client would be rather angry at me if I let this one die.” He raised his head from the bow, staring at the white robed Majin, “My client has not paid me to fight someone on your level, oh good Rubick sir, but should you prevent me from carrying out my duty… Oh-ho-ho!”

The princess and the Ogre’s that had been denied participation in the previous fight tensed. This clown was strong, they could all feel it. They would not let their saviour fight him alone, even if the majority of them would die in the attempt.

Their tension was diffused by Rubick’s response, “Sure, take him.”

“He attacked us! He attacked you and you are just letting him go?” Her brother asked incredulously, causing her father and her to glare at him.

Questioning a Majin so strong never ended well. The powerful did what they wanted and the weak hoped to not be noticed. That was the way of the world.

“I was never in any danger.” Rubick shrugged, “But if you want to fight this fine gentleman for him, you may be my guest.”

“Oh-ho-ho!” The clown chuckled, “A most wise person indeed! Thank you for going easy on this poor Footman. As repayment, let me give you a warning; Our client has plans for this Forest. I would recommend against opposing them.”

Rubick merely nodded at the words, “Thank you for the advice.”

“Of course! Of course! Well, I will be taking my leave!” With that, he lifted up the ravaged form of Gelmud, before pausing as he looked at the arrayed ogres.

When none of them moved to stop him, despite the Princess’ brother grinding his teeth to dust, he vanished just as fast as he had arrived, a lingering chuckle being the only indication of his presence. Soon, that too faded away.

The silence was broken by the sound of a loud clap, the only remaining Majin present being the source as he turned cheerfully to the watching Ogres, “Right then! That was a fun diversion. Could you kindly direct me to the nearest town?”

The princess recovered from her surprise the quickest out of all of them, “Please pardon my presumption! You wished for a warm bath and meal, correct? Please allow us to give you hospitality in return for saving us!”

“Well. I wasn’t really acting for any reward… but I shall gladly accept such an offer!” The Majin once again clapped his hands, staff disappearing as he walked towards the gathered Ogres, causing most of them to flinch and shuffle backwards.

The Princess slipped under the arms of her guards, walking to meet Rubick and bowing respectfully before him, “Thank you! Please, allow me to show you to the hot springs.”

“Hot springs?” The joy was clear in his tone, “Most excellent! Lead on!”

---XXX---

“Daughter.” The calm, low voice ofher father rumbled through the Chief’s room, “You do have a plan, yes?”

“Of course, Father.” She knelt before her sire, red eyes resolute, unwavering, “The Majin wearing the clown mask stated that his client, whoever that may be, has plans for our forest. If that is the case and his client is even stronger than he is, we need to ensure that he gain the protection of someone equally strong.”

“You noticed something in the fight. Something that leads you to believe that Rubick is the strong force you speak of.” It was not a question, her father was sure of his deduction.

“The first time he cast a Magic Bullet was in the fight with Gelmud.” The princess responded, causing her Father, Brother and the Clan Instructor to adopt thoughtful expressions, “He was modifying it throughout the battle, playing with it and learning it like a new toy. That’s not to mention, we all saw how he mimicked Gelmud’s last spell.”

“It was not Mimicry.” The Instructor spoke, backing her up, “It was a marked improvement. If I did not see it for myself, I would have sworn that Gelmud’s was the copy, an inferior one at that.”

“This is all meaningless.” Her brother was the next to speak, “Rubick stated multiple times he does not care what happens to us, or to our forest. Unless we have something to entice him, then he will soon leave regardless.”

“Correct, my child.” The Chief spoke, before turning to the Princess, “That will be your task, Daughter. You will speak to Rubick tonight and convince him to protect us. If he agrees, he is more than powerful enough to rule over the entirety of Jura. Us being his first vassals will be much to our advantage.”

“Father?!” Her brother was shocked.

“Don’t be so surprised, my son. Pride is only useful when you are alive to feel it. Vast powers have converged on our village, times have changed. To survive, we need to change with them.”

Left unsaid was the possible implications of what sending a young female to entreat with a male at night. The Princess was undaunted however. If it was for her village, she would gladly make that sacrifice should it come to that.