once again, with the new colour scheme, I just wanted to remind you that yellow dialogues are thoughts not actual speech.

“You! Who are you?! And what do you want!?” one of the highly decorated officers tried to stand up and point at Kiefer, but failed to do so. Looking down, he was horrified to see that his arms and legs have been tied down to the chair , as was everyone else.

“Aslan! Dukar! Do something!” He then turned to look at the 2 mages, hoping they could undo this unknown magic somehow.

“Mmmmffpp….” (both mages)

“Now now, don’t be rash. You didn’t think I would be so dumb as to let the mages open their mouths do you? As for who I am… Well let’s just say you don’t need to know, and you will never know.” Kiefer replied calmly, feeling a sense of dejavu.

“Guards! Someone! Come here no- AAAARRRGGGHHH!!” Another officer tried to call the guards but ended up screaming in agony as Kiefer tightened the threads binding his wrists and ankles to his chair.

Lifting the chair along with the man up to the middle of the room, in clear view of the others, Kiefer showed the dislocated and awkwardly bent hands and feet of the last officer while muffling his cries with more mana threads over his mouth. “You will all listen to me carefully and give me what I want, unless you want to end up in a worse situation than this guy already is in.” Kiefer warned.

Bringing the 2 mages forward above the conference table after returning the crying man back to his position, Kiefer proceeded to question them. “Now then, who should I use first?” He asked, looking at the 2 mages. One was staring daggers at him while the other seemed like she was about cry, desperately holding back her tears. Bringing the one who was calmer forward, Kiefer gleefully said, “I guess you’ll be the first huh?”

“I am going to untie the bindings around your mouth so you can speak ok?” Kiefer asked first, then watched as he nodded firmly. “All you need to do is answer my questions.” And once again, he nodded.

Releasing the mana threads around his mouth, Kiefer saw him muttering something under his breath. Enhancing his sense of hearing, Kiefer found that the man was actually chanting a rather impressively long spell without anyone hearing it. With a thought, Kiefer willed his red orihalcom metal into 2 spikes and lodged it deep within the man’s shoulders, protruding out from the back. The man stopped his chant mid-way and yelled in agony, only to be shut up by Kiefer again.

“Why is it that most of my interrogations always seem to start out this way? No one seems to want to cooperate with me. The guys back at the tent were about the only exceptions.” (Kiefer)

“Really now? I trust you and you try to execute a darkness spell against me? Not the wisest decision I might say. Guess I’ll come back to you later.” Kiefer said out loud, making sure everyone in the room saw and heard what the mage had tried to do.

“Now it’s your turn. Aslan was it?” Kiefer asked the female mage, and she nodded fervently, already visibly crying.

“Are you a necromancer?” Kiefer asked again, to which she nodded once more. “Great. See now wasn’t that easy and painless?”

Untying the mana threads, Aslan started to sob, sniffling and tilting her head to wipe her tears on her shoulders. She had auburn hair with freckles on her cheeks. Bright blue eyes and a neat set of pearly whites gave her an innocent childish looks, especially with tears rolling down her cheeks. No one would be able to guess at first glance that she would be a necromancer.

Towing her chair along in the air behind him like he was dragging a helium balloon, he shut all the other people in the room up with his mana threads and brought Aslan to the next room, shutting the door behind him. Aslan had been quiet this whole time, worrying about her life and expecting it to end within the next 10 minutes or so, once the masked man had no more use for her.

“Now first off, I only wish to ask you questions, and then you can go. I do not wish to harm anyone for I already have too much blood on my hands. I may be ruthless and cruel, but only to my enemies, and anyone who stands in my way, is my enemy. Are you my enemy?” (Kiefer)

“N-no…I’m not” Aslan replied meekly, still sorely afraid.

“Good. My name is Kii. But it’d be best you don’t reveal it to anyone else. I just need you to teach me about necromancy.” Kiefer declared his intentions, while removing his mask to reveal his face in an attempt to calm her down.

“Maybe she’ll be more open and forthcoming with information if I give her a face to talk to. Knowing I am also human should calm her down.” (Kiefer)

“So let me begin. It shouldn’t take too long, and then you can go. Where did you learn necromancy?” (Kiefer)

“There’s a large academy within the palace in Diantes. There is only one teacher there, but he is a very powerful mage. He teaches all the students the art of necromancy solely for the purpose of supplementing the war.” (Aslan)

“I see. And what do you know about this ‘teacher’ of yours?” (Kiefer)

“I don’t have any concrete proof, but that’s only because we never see him outside of class. There are rumours floating inside the student populace. Some say he is the direct pupil of Titan Drigor. Others even say he is secretly controlling the King and the country from behind the shadows. No one has actually seen him use magic, but the theories he taught us are always true and works all the time.” (Aslan)

“Does he teach you anything other than necromancy?” (Kiefer)

“No he doesn’t. But we are already accomplished mages in our own elements before being selected to join his academy. He only chooses mages with a large pool of mana because it is necessary for summoning the undead.” (Aslan)

“And just how big is your mana pool?” (Kiefer)

“I’m still new, just graduated from the academy and posted here last here last week. I probably have the smallest mana pool compared to other necromancers from the other bases who have been fighting for decades. I can summon maybe about 200 to 250 undead units depending on the type and strength.” (Aslan)

“You say that like you have no control over what you summon. Is that true?” (Kiefer)

“Yes that’s true. The spell master taught us only involves opening a portal into the nether world and sending a random contract sequence into the portal to control the souls of the recently dead. Who or what comes out the portal is beyond our control. For example, last night, I only managed to summon one unit, which was the soul of a Giant that died near Luna.” (Aslan)

“I see… so it’s like throwing your money into a jackpot machine and praying you win something, only difference is how much you win id directly proportional to how much you put in.” (Kiefer)

“There were at least thousands of undead last night alone. How many necromancers take part in battle each night?” (Kiefer)

“No more than 20. We have about 10 necromancers on each base, and 4 bases that are in direct combat with Fiora. We need at least a full day and night to recover our mana. Practicing necromancy come with a downside that our mana recovers very slowly, and given our huge capacities, its take quite a while to be full.” (Aslan)

“Thank you very much Aslan. I just have a few more questions. What is the name of your teacher?” (Kiefer)

“I don’t know. No one does actually. Rumours say even the King is kept in the dark. Everyone just calls him master.” (Aslan)

“And where in the city of Diantes is the academy located?” (Kiefer)

“It’s in the palace. We call it an academy, but it’s really just one room being used within the palace. The palace is in the northern quadrant of the city where the nobles live. If you are going to look for him for more answers, I suggest you don’t though.” (Aslan)

“And why is that?” (Kiefer)

“Because it is known that he chooses his own students. There isn’t even an application process to get selected. The first time we see him would be in our own respective mage academies where he comes to pick us out. No one knows where or how to find him.” (Aslan)

“Sounds like he’s an enigma. Ok that should be all. Just be warned, if I have any more questions, I will come and find you again and I do hope that in the future, you would be just as accommodating.” Kiefer finally ended his Q&A session with Aslan, returning to the conference room while dragging Aslan behind him.

Opening the door, he could see that the male mage was on the verge of fainting while the others were visibly terrified of him. They did not even know if he was going to return to free them, but seeing him return only made them more terrified.

“Well gentlemen, and lady, I have already acquired what I came here to get. I will release you now. I assure you that I am a human and not your enemy. I will leave this camp alone until the need arises again. You will do nothing to stop me. Understood?” (Kiefer)

At that everyone simply nodded as Kiefer retrieved his orihalcom spikes still embedded in the mage’s shoulders. Before leaving, Kiefer turned around again and spoke. “Oh before I forget, do any of you know a soldier named Scott?”

One of the officers nodded slowly, unsure if Scott had offended this mage and if he was going to have to pay the price for it.

“Well, I apologise for any inconveniences cause, but I may have accidentally crushed his bed, so you might want to get it replaced.” Kiefer fetched a single gold coin and tossed it on the table as recompense for the bed, before leaving the building. Once he was out the window, Kiefer undid the bindings on all the people in the conference room and could immediately hear the agonising screams of the mage.

Looking up at the dark sky and clearing drizzle, he teleported into the air multiple times before he started sprinting back to Feni’s base, eager to relay what he has learnt to Isana.

As he was soaring trough the skies back towards the mountains, Kiefer could sense Isana and Sher waiting for him high up in the air. It would seem that she had been eagerly awaiting his return ever since he left and the moment she saw him, she began flying towards him.

“You know, I did say I was going to be away for a day or 2. Even though it took me less than half a day, were you actually planning on waiting for me for the whole duration?” (Kiefer)

“Yes of course. I had nothing to do and it felt disgusting standing on the ground, so what else to do but wait for you?” (Isana)

“Well, I learnt a lot of things from this trip and I may have some leads on Drigor, but you are probably not going to like my plan.” (Kiefer)

“Ok. But are we going to stay up here and discuss it, or head back down to camp and then discuss with Feni?” (Isana)

Thinking it through, Kiefer decided to have the discussion in the air accounting for the fact that isana might just have a fit of rage hearing his idea. He still had no idea why Isana felt so uncomfortable in Fiora alone, but his plan included them separating for a long time.

“Sana, do you trust my judgement?” (Kiefer)

“Yes of course.” (Sana)

“Even if my plans will involve you doing something you will not like?” (Kiefer)

“I think as long as it does not kill me, I will be fine… I think… probably… why?” (Isana)

“That’s because I need you to visit the 3 avian titans and possibly form an alliance with them in preparation of the battle with Drigor.” (Kiefer)

“Why only me? Where are you going? Why can’t we do this together?” Isana starts panicking at his idea. Just having been left alone for half a day was already enough to make her impatient, if its for longer, she didn’t know what she would do.

“I have to follow the lead on Drigor and its in Diantes. It will take some time, maybe even a few months, but that will be enough time for you to go around and convince the avian titans. After that, we can meet back up in Arigan when the frigate returns to possibly get the high elves’ help also. Maybe if you told me what was bugging you, I could solve it for you and you will be more comfortable with the separation.” (Kiefer)

“I… I don’t like your plan at all… If you accompany me to meet Fiora, then I am willing to follow your plan the rest of the way. I won’t tell you the reason, but you will find out when you meet her. She’s annoying and relentless and I have no way of dealing with her. But maybe you can, so I need you to follow me.” Isana proposed a counter plan, forcing Kiefer to compromise.

Agreeing to the plan, Kiefer began making preparations for the his grand plan to defeat Drigor. His first step was to ensure that the battle along Fiora’s borders attracted the most attention from the Diantes army. As such he began working on a special set of runes. Going to Feni, he had an outrageous request for her.

“Feni, I have a proposal that will protect your province from the undead, at least until they find out the problem, which will take a few months at least. If you can hold them back, then the undead will pose no threats to you for an even longer period of time. However, I’m going to need resources.” (Kiefer)

“Ok, let me hear the plan first, and then the request and I will have to discuss it with the general.” (Feni)

“The undead get sent back to the nether world if their spell is cut off with an overload of foreign mana enveloping them. So I’m going to lay an array of unique runes along the chasm that will trigger and flood the ground above them with mana, hence preventing the undead from ever reaching the chasm. However, im going to need at least 100kg of raw un processed orihalcom metals. I know that your province is the only one in Aioa that produces that metal, so it should be a problem, even if its 100kg.” (Kiefer)

“That’s a lot of capital going into this venture. 100kg of orihalcom is basically 5 years’ worth of our annual income for the country’s treasury. Do you know for sure if your plan will work?” (Feni)

“I can show you a display of what the rune will do with my own orihalcom, but the rest will have to be provided by your country. Get your general and any other superiors who you might think would be necessary in the approval process to meet me at the chasm just before dusk tonight. I will show you a demonstration of my plan and hopefully, if they see how effective it is, the plan will be produced.” (Kiefer)

With that, an agreement was struck and Feni immediately called one of the catmen scouts to relay the message. Kiefer then began drawing a runic design on a piece of parchment. The rune circle involved multiple steps.

The first and largest circle was transcribed with a rune that gathers and converts mana at an enhanced rate. The next smaller circle inside, took up most of the space of the circle’s interior, and was designed to store the converted mana within the rune. The thried smaller circle was transcribed with a rune that forces a fixed amount of mana in a flooded pulse directly above the rune when triggered. Finally, right at the center of the rune circle was the trigger sequence and activated the rune when movement was detected above it.

Kiefer took the rest of the day tweaking the balance of the rune he had drawn and was finally satisfied with his work, proceeding to the chasm to meet Feni’s superiors.

“Sorry I’m late gentlemen. I will now demonstrate for you what I intend to do to protect this province.” Kiefer loudly announced as he took out the parchment with the rune to show the 6 highly decorated foxmen and lamias standing before him.

“This is a rune that I have designed myself. As you must have already heard from Feni, I am an accomplished mage and I have a personal issue to settle with Drigor, hence I’m here to help you win the battles and save manpower.” Kiefer said as he passed the parchment around the 6 demihumans.

“The rune inscribed on that piece of parchment will be made out of orihalcom as it is necessary to use a metal that can conduct and store mana. The rune will gather and store mana throughout the day, and will release a pulse to flood the ground and air above it with mana it has gathered when an undead steps above it. The flood will cut off the spell controlling the undead and send it back to the nether realm. Your men will not even need to lift a finger to defend this chasm once I have lined the entire stretch with an array of such runes buried underground.” (Kiefer)

As he poured out his mana into his shield, Kiefer slowly threaded the orihalcom and shaped it into the rune he had drawn on the paper, following which, he buried it under ground on the other side of the chasm. The rune circle itself was almost 10m wide, meaning it would be able to remove multiple undead at once.

“For this demonstration, I have used my own orihalcom, but it is not enough to cover the chasm, so you will have to provide the rest once you’ve seen its effectiveness.” (Kiefer)

Night came sooner than later and as expected, zombies started to flood towards the chasm. With soldiers in defensive formations around their respective bridge pillars, the 6 demihumans watched as zombies stepped over the ground where Kiefer had buried his orihalcom rune, only to be surrounded by a burst of silver light from the ground and disappear.

“Imagine! The entire chasm lined with this. No zombies will ever make it through and you will have peace of heart and your civilians will be able to live their lives without worry, not only for their homes, but also for their loved ones in the army. If you accept my proposal right now, I can begin work immediately and have the chasm lined with these runes within 2 days.” Kiefer paused to inspect the expressions of the generals. They seemed to be interested and were discussing amongst themselves.

“There is however, one small problem.” At this, the generals all looked back up at Kiefer, eyes frowning.

“This is only effective for as long as the runes are there. Should the enemies discover your tactics and manage to dig up the runes, it will be your loss. So it is necessary to move your defensive lines forward and protect the runes during the day. You may want to do this discreetly with small tactical forces to prevent arousing the suspicion of the humans.” (Kiefer)

Looking at the general’s faces, Kiefer smiled, knowing hes got them right where he needed.

“Ahh.. hook line and sinker. It feels best after all when I can manipulate everything around me. And I get a profit of 100kg of orihalcom all fixed with my mana. How lucrative.” (Kiefer)

By morning, the ingots were delivered to the camp, emptying out half the country’s supply of orihalcom for the year. Kiefer got to work immediately, stacking the completed red orihalcom runes at the side in neat piles of 20s. He estimated that he would need at least 100 such runes to line the chasm twice to cover up any loopholes.

Working for one and a half days straight, Kiefer finally completed 100 sets of runes, with 4 hours to spare before nightfall. He immediately flew over to the chasm, carrying with him the runes and began burying them underground in 2 neat rows of circles. With the last rune buried, Kiefer watched as the sun finally set and went back across the other side of the chasm to admire his work with Isana, Sher, Feni and the generals.

As expected, the undead came pouring in, but never reaching the chasm as the far side of the chasm was lit up with a wall of beautiful sparkling silver light. The generals and soldiers looked pleased, just waiting the entire night out to make sure that none of the undead manage to squeeze past the runes. It helped that the undead moved in a straight line, allowing Kiefer to place each rune far apart, only overlapping with the rune from the adjacent layer by 20cm.

With the first step of his revenge plan done, he took Isana’s hand and bid farewell to Feni and the soldiers as they began their trip towards the smouldering volcano in the south.

I managed to pump out one more chapter for today. hope you enjoy.