[Melas] Chapter 107: Triple Threat

News of the obliteration of the Abominations spread around the city fast. I heard murmurings— rumors of the earthquake that rocked Jahar’taw in the middle of the night— reach even the outer city. There was nothing I could say about what actually happened to anyone.

Everyone whom I knew was informed about it by Gennady. We did not have to keep it discreet, but we saw no reason to spread the information around. An inferior, scaled-down version of the mana bomb was tested underground, and it proved to be effective. An entire lair of Abominations was wiped out in a single night, and all the Monsters battling them gone too.

I found my bunker in a bit of a ruined state when I got there. I had to check on it, because I knew it would have been hit hard by the earthquake. It was not incredibly sturdy. There were enchantments in place to keep it from collapsing. But I was not worried about its ceiling caving in. My worries lay in the furniture and decorations I put up.

“No!” I gasped as I saw the broken shards lying on the floor. I picked up the expensive vase I had bought— the flowers it had carried within it— and I sobbed. “My flowers… my vase…”

“Oh, shut it, will you?” Elda snorted, glancing at me from the target practice range. She flipped a knife and tossed it straight at a stone dummy. “It was only 15 silver, wasn’t it?”

“15 silver is a lot of money,” I retorted. Spinning around to face others in the room, I let out a heavy sigh. “If you’re going to visit my hideout, could you at least not make a mess?”

Sevin glanced over at me from his seat. He lowered the sandwich back into the plate. “Oh, uh, sorry.”

“Not you.” I shook my head and pointed at Gennady. “Him.”

The Dwarf was seated across from the young man— he had his legs kicked up onto the table as he leaned back against the chair. He was munching on his own sandwich, while downing a mug of ale. He slammed the cup against the table, spilling his drink. I glared at him as he faced me. “C’mon lassie, I’ve been ‘ere enough times, haven’t I? It’s practically my second home!”

“It is not,” I said crossing my arms. “For one thing, you don’t even pay rent.”

“Neither do you!” He grinned back at me.

“...point.”

I sighed once more, cleaning up the broken vase before dragging my feet towards a door. This was supposed to be my safe space. Or something like that. But it had been invaded by these interlopers. So, I escaped to the only place I had left: my room.

As much as I liked to jest, the three of them were in my bunker for a reason. I had requested that they come, simply because I would rather not be alone these days. There were multiple threats to my life at the moment. The first and the most obvious one being Lilith— she was the most direct threat because she was absolutely insane.

I felt a shudder run through my spine, just thinking about her crazed face. The insane eyes she would direct towards me made me shiver. Even if she was not actively trying to murder me because of whatever reason— other than the fact that I almost killed her, but she was trying to kill me even before that— I did not want to be around or even near her. Can I get a cease and desist against her? Would that work?

Probably not.

The second threat to my life was Didar. The Dwarf crime lord was not as much of a problem to me, as he was to Jack and Lisa. However, the two were not here, so it was less of an issue since he would go after them instead. Although, I was sure they were fine. They were used to living that kind of a life.

Today was just a day for me to rest, lay low, while all the politicking of the real world went on above. I picked up a spell book, and the third issue arose in my mind.

My life was not actually endangered by this one. Or— by her. Regardless, I was concerned about her and what she would try to do to me while I was alone. Elara. The Demon who saved my life from Lilith.

She had never shown herself to me before. Not when others were around. The first time I had seen her was in the Free City of Bys. She destroyed its walls and let the Abominations in to swarm the city. Was she there, the entire time? Watching over me?

I was hungry. I was hurt. My entire life was miserable, and she never once helped me. No. Even though she claimed she was trying to help me— despite saving me from Lilith— she could not possibly have had good intentions. If she did, she would not have just watched me suffer.

That was not to mention that she was probably affiliated with those three strangers in the woods. The ones who ostensibly saved my life initially, before I woke up as a literal slave— again, I was seeing a pattern. If they really did worship that false god, I wanted no part of them.

I made that decision as I leafed through the tome. This was a book about the theories regarding Thaumaturgy. It was not detailed regarding the actual practical applications of it— not like the Thauma— however, it was meant for advanced spellcasters. Those who could perform an adequate amount of spells and were hoping to experiment more.

That was exactly what I was doing. I believed that was the level my magic abilities were at. Gennady had appraised me once before. He believed I was a capable B Rank Hunter, or even an A Rank. I had been around him for so long I was starting to understand what all those ranks meant. And that meant I was good.

I continued my studies, occasionally raising my hand to cast a spell. I manipulated a Magic Missiles so that it would change shapes into spikes instead of a ball. There was a lot I could do— the book posited that Thaumaturgy was the most diverse school of magic. And I certainly could see that.

Can this be applied to Tinkering? It was something to consider. Mana crystals were limited in their physical form— the amount of inscriptions I would have to spend hours laboring over was too much for me to become a master at it overnight. If I spoke to Gennady however, I was certain we could conjure up something useful out of this.

Perhaps we could repurpose old mana tech tools into something useful. Some kind of way to recycle. I mused about it for a moment, before realizing I had been engrossed into my reading for a few hours. The noises I had heard from the main room— the clamor of my friends— had died down.

I pushed the door open, only to see a dark room. The mana lamps had been dimmed. Sevin was soundly asleep on a chair, head resting on the table. Gennady was passed out on the floor, drunk and  with his belly showing. Elda had made herself extra comfortable. She pulled some sheets I had stored away and laid it out for a makeshift bed for herself. I must have been reading for longer than I thought, because it was night now.

A small smile crept across my face as I looked at my friends. You could’ve just gone back, I thought, shaking my head. But no— they stayed because they were worried about me. And knowing that made me happy.

“I still don’t get how you were able to make all this with magic,” Sevin said, stretching as we stood above the bunker.

I shrugged. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Not as much as with yer Tinkering, lassie,” Gennady scoffed, arms crossed.

Elda rubbed at her forehead. “Can we just go? I had such an uncomfortable sleep last night.”

“You’re not the one who slept on the floor!” the Dwarf sputtered.

She ignored him and started back in the direction of Jahar’taw. We were just out of sight of the city. Once we were past the forest, we could see the tall buildings poking out. A light buzzing sound made itself audible just as we got close.

I saw a speck make its way from the inner city, exiting the side of the volcano, before coming our way. I blinked as an aircraft flew overhead, much to my surprise. It was headed away from the city, past the undulating hills rather than the sea. I raised a brow.

“First time I’ve seen one go this way,” I remarked.

A few more aircrafts soared past as Gennady shrugged. “Probably due to the stirring tensions in the border with the Purer Kingdom.”

We arrived at the edge of the outer city. Farmlands made themselves visible to us— the crops were growing again now, after the recent winter storm, thanks to mana tech. Large mana tech plows harvested grains and other foodstuff. Animals were oinks, honks, and crows in the distance, as they were herded by their farmers.

It did not take us long to return to the warehouse. I absently adjusted my hood over my mask as Sevin pestered Gennady with questions. “But Master Gennady, if war really is brewing in the horizon, shouldn’t we prepare?”

“Why should we?” the Dwarf scoffed. “We aren’t involved in the military.”

“Captain Ginah said—”

“Oi, brat, call her Ginah now. She doesn’t want to be called Captain no more.” Elda elbowed the young man. He rubbed at his side, hurt.

“I’m literally an adult.”

“You act like a child to me.” She laughed as he scowled. Gennady just threw up his arms.

“Regardless, this doesn’t affect us. It may affect trade, which would put a damper into Ginah’s mood— but it’s not a problem unless war really is declared.”

“Do you think there will be war?” I asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

Gennady sighed. He rubbed his hands against his temples, before turning to face me with a grave look. “If you want my honest opinion, lass?” He waited for me to nod before continuing. “Yes. I believe war with the Puer Kingdom is inevitable.”

“I… see.” I had nothing else to say. The others continued their chatter. They discussed what it meant to them if the Taw Kingdom did go to war. For me— it would not have mattered much. I just wanted to live a simple life. Perhaps it was too much to ask, but I did not want to deal with issues beyond the scope of a normal person.

I certainly did not care for things such as war or politics when I was 12 years old back on Earth. A creeping feeling ran through me. The offer I had been given. I shook my head and shook away the thoughts.

I made a few sounds of agreement as Gennady addressed me a few times.

“Mhm. Mhm. Sure.”

We reached the warehouse soon after. The ex-pirates filled the room, milling about without anyone to supervise them. A few of them seemed like they came back from a busy tavern the night before. I waved at them and greeted them, before asking about Lisa.

“Have any of you seen Lisa or Jack?” I settled my bag of books down. I was finished with quite a few of them, and I could probably have them resell it for me.

“They left for the city this mornin’,” one of them answered.

“Do you know where they went?”

“Yeah. They actually told us to send for you. To meet ‘em at the Snowy Stew’s restaurant.”

I narrowed my eyes. That was the den for spellcasters— the restaurant serving authentic Goblin food. “Do you know why they need to speak with me?”

A brawny man shrugged. He played with his long blond hair tied into braids. “Dunno. Said something about the Dark Crusaders— they need to speak with you guys or something.”

“Oh.” I felt my heart jump in my chest. One thing I had completely omitted in the considerations of what was a threat to my life— it slipped my mind entirely. The fact that I was still wanted by the Dark Crusaders. Even if I was in disguise right now. It was always possible that…

Did they find out about who I really am?

Author's Note:

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