Everything was on fire. Not even the most experienced mages could contain it. It happened so suddenly that no one was prepared for it, especially since their concerns lay with the cannibal in front of them. This fire wasn’t magically created, nor casted. It was natural and raw. The citizens of Yulin-dai had been too irresponsible and dependent on magitech that the flames within the airport were condemning them. In a blink of an eye, half of the peaceful routine people lived had been destroyed. The port fell into disarray as its beautiful structure crumbled into dust. Bodies were strewn across the destruction, chunky rocks and unsettled walls painted with ill prepared blood. Through the smoke and haze, survivors gathered up the injured and dispersed to safety before they were caught in the fire’s fury, no longer worried about the lone monster that had appeared.

But it was too late. After their first tragedy of the explosion ended, the second one started with utmost cruelty. More monsters appeared through the smoke, laying claim to the survivors impaired by the explosion. In a hungry rage, they drained some victims of their life force, sucking everything they could into their grotesque bodies. Hysteria followed them throughout the half burned airport.

Elanya couldn’t continue to watch the hysteria engulf the people in the airport. Looking from side to side, she saw her friends dusting themselves off from the ash and rubble. Orantal was quick on her feet when the ceiling came down, providing a shield for everyone nearby. Elanya and Nemedion helped to add more coverage after Orantal shielded the initial burst of explosion that came their way. While they were protected, the monsters blocked their exit. There weren’t many of them, less than a dozen, but no one knew what those monsters could do. Some security guards undeterred by the damage stood surrounding the monsters in the cafeteria as they went forward on the offensive. One of them shot out with his pistol, the metal bullet slugging straight into one of the monsters’ chests. The monster continued forward, unfazed from coming under fire. Another guard conjured up some magic, circling one of the bodies with hot flames, but the monster walked through it, almost like it was magic immuned. The magical attacks didn’t seem to discourage the monsters from their predatory stalking into the receding crowds. Their skin, still flapping around with rot, revealed that their abominable carcasses were indeed immune to all magical attacks being used against them.

The inhuman monsters ran rampant through the blockade of guards protecting the citizens trying to escape. Everything they tried was utterly useless. Realizing that he could probably do a little more damage than the guards, Nemedion launched forward with the sword at his side, pivoting to avoid a clawed attack and struck one monster in the neck. His sword sliced cleanly through its neck, black blood spurting outward like a water fountain. The attack only angered the monster who became more aggressive after forcibly removing the sword from his neck. A small green light pulsed on its finger tips. It touched the wound upon his neck, healing the damage slowly. Onlookers could only watch in shock as the monster used his own magic after being unaffected by others’ magic. Looking a bit closer, Nemedion noticed that the monster appeared more like a human inflicted with a curse than an overall monster. There was no question that the enemy was a human cannibal--a monster with a human heart.

“Nothing seems to be working on these monsters!” Nemedion yelled in frustration as he stepped back in line with his friends.

Orantal looked back toward the injured people, concerned about the casualties that bypassed her barrier. “A lot of people are injured. There is only so much that our magic can do here.”

Despite there being quite a few people left, not everyone had the potential to fight or heal with their magic. Only thirty percent of the human population can wield their magic at will with the utmost control. Even less than that were official Meisters and Mages. Besides the three of them, who are Senior students at the well renowned Laoshin Magic University, there weren’t many who could help. The security at the airport were either dead or trying their best to defend against the monsters.

Elanya breathed through the fear crawling up her spine, thinking of an idea that would put her confidence with her sword, Valla, to the test.

“Orantal, cast another defensive barrier made of Earth and start healing some of the injured people behind us.” She turned to Nemedion who greeted her with a wary stare. “I need you to cover me. I’m going to cause a distraction with Valla so more people can escape.”

“But you know the cost of using Valla with your Moon Magic for an extended time!” Nemedion exclaimed.

She nodded and licked her lips, tasting a bit of copper and dirt. “That’s why when my limitations arise, you’re going to defend me until the sickness wears off.”

Nemedion shook his head rapidly, brown dust falling from his dreads and tangling into more. “There is no way that I can agree to such an idiotic plan like that.”

“This isn’t about you, Nem! We are trapped inside an airport with no way out unless we get through those indestructible freaks chasing us for food.” She turned her body to face toward the monsters as they were finishing up a meal of a dead guard, his guts protruded from him like wilted weeds. With a steady breath, she channelled some of her Moon Magic from her fingers into the magic stones embedded in her sword.

“Ellie, we don’t know if your Moon Magic will even be enough to hold them off,” Nemedion gripped her shoulders and locked hard eyes with her, “we could be risking our lives for nothing.”

Elanya slapped his hand away from her shoulder, then turned her back to him. “I came from nothing and I’ll always remember that. Let me fight for something besides grades and awards. I am risking my life for something!”

She rushed into the grey haze without another word. Without another thought. The fear had melted away and bloomed into a courageous need to fight and protect. This city was her home and she would do anything to protect it. If elemental magic couldn’t pierce into the cannibals’ dead flesh, then she would rely on the raw power of her Moon Magic.

She jumped to strike down on a monster closest to the group. Her rapier flashed with purple aura as she swung it across her enemy’s chest. The monster stepped back to heal his wound but black blood kept flowing, gushing onto the rubble covered floor. He cried out in pain as his rotten flesh began to deteriorate and fall off his bones.

So Moon Magic does work on these guys, she thought as she scanned the room for the next opponent. There must be some sort of blood magic at play here.

Before she saw the shadow of bodies, she noticed the brightness of their eyes. Bright yellow reminding her of the color of a sick person’s teeth. Unclean, without any warmth despite the intent of the color.

Ten of them remained. Not too many but an unfair advantage with their resistant bodies playing a huge factor. If she planned everything right, she could take down at least three of them before her limit then have Nemedion cover her until she regained her strength back. Enduring her limit would allow the people they protected to escape.

Elanya stepped to the right, chanting a shadow spell to act as a temporary shield. She hoped she wouldn’t need it, it drained a lot from her sword, but she couldn’t be sure of how many she would be fighting at a time. Nemedion’s Fire shield should be enough to cover her when she becomes exposed, but it was still a risky gamble. With an upward motion, she slashed through a monster, ignoring his pains of anguish. However, she could feel her own anguish as the shadows that coated her blade pulsed with powerful magic. Much to her agitation, she could feel everything draining out of her. When the three of them erected a combined shield to direct the flow of fire away from them and the people behind them, they used up a good portion of their magic. The fire was too intense for one person, and the three of them were barely enough to hold back one explosion. They were thinking about the disabled people behind them, which made them strain themselves even more.

Two of the monsters charged forward, claws slashing uncontrollably and venom spewing from their ragged mouths. One of them was too impatient to look for an opening, so Elanya drove her rapier right through its mouth, then using her enhanced Moon Magic, she jerked it to her left, cutting its head in half. Blood gushed out from his throat through the decapitated head, splattering blood everywhere like a spilled glass of water. The other monster recoiled at the sight of the blood of his kin.

The agitated monster let out a distressed wail, garnering the attention of his other kin. They didn’t seem to be ignorant of battle tactics and morale. They moved to surround her and Nemedion, who cast a Fire shield in front of him.

“This was a bad idea. It won’t be long until we get overwhelmed,” he said, pushing his almost translucent, orange shield against the two oncoming enemies with Elanya striking out to protect her flank, “we need to make an opening.”

“I’m on it,” she breathed deeply.

With little effort, she twirled her rapier and cast a spell to stop her enemies from approaching. Shadows spiked from the tip of her rapier and struck three monsters coming toward her, holding them bound to the very spot they stood. A gap was opened in their ranks. Nemedion pushed away his opponents and started to run to her side, but it was too late.

One cannibal broke away from his ground, landing in between Nemedion and Elanya, with her being pinned against the monsters. He slashed toward her with his claws, hoping to get a chunk of her flesh, but Elanya blocked with her rapier. Another one followed behind his brethren and punched at her, hitting her in the middle of her back. Staggering, she gripped her rapier and threw it through the chest of one of the cannibals. His flesh fell down her rapier in disgusting slabs. The sickness from using her Moon Magic with Valla longer than she should have was beginning to overtake her. Her whole body stiffened, a cool freeze permeating itself onto her joints. It would take her five minutes to recover, but that would be too long. She was too far in front of Nemedion and opened to all attacks. No other elemental magic could dent their morale. Closing her eyes with regret, she resigned herself to her fate as one reached out to bite her.

Suddenly a shot rang out, loud and daunting. The head of Elanya’s attacker spurted blood from a gaping wound and exploded with a bright pink light. The cannibals looked in awe as one of their own went down headless from a bullet--a magical bullet strong enough to penetrate through their cursed bodies. As Elanya struggled to see where the shot came from, all she could see was a blur of green as it ran toward them had no intention of stopping.

Holy shit, Rigesh thought as he aimed his pistol and shot again. He couldn’t believe that it was working! What exactly had he created?

After the explosion, the ceiling came down in the break room, a flash of fire had pushed him, Morio and Yahna to the side in the nearby hallway. Yahna had been quick to shield them with her Earth Magic, but she wasn’t enough. Rigesh and Morio had covered her body with theirs as flames licked at them. The back of his shirt burned and he lost both of his shoes. Yahna had not been affected by the fire, her clothes were just dirtied by all the rubble and dust, but her head had hit the wall when she was thrown back by the force of the flames. She laid unconscious beneath Morio and Rigesh. Morio didn’t seem to be hurt, however his pants had been badly burned by the flames and there were red welts on his legs. But that didn’t seem to matter to him.

The casual and silly face Morio always wore was replaced with pain and sadness as he peered back to the breakroom. Immediately, it was engulfed in flames. The door had still been opened when the explosion started and they could see the dead bodies of their coworkers--his longtime friends burning. He wouldn’t be able to bring them home to their families. For once, he was at a loss for words. What could he say after experiencing what happened in the last few minutes?

Rigesh knew how it felt to lose comrades in battle, but he had no time to dwell on it. He rushed Morio out of his pained trance and held Yahna in his arms as they navigated through the parts of the hall that held up against the blow. With his adrenaline pumping, he almost missed the cannibalistic humans attacking some of the people in the cafeteria, their skin seemingly immune to all elemental attacks being thrown at them as the guards went down as their breakfast. The scene reminded him of what they saw in the breakroom where their friends were killed. No wonder Mazet had nearly burned the whole break room to cinders, he stood no chance against those things. If nothing were to work on these creatures, Rigesh thought it would be best to get Yahna and Morio out of there as soon as possible.

However, he knew in his gut that he should put aside his personal feelings and help the people in need. As a former Knight, a code was upheld to put your body in the line of fire for the good of the people. But there wasn’t much he could do if the guards were going down too. The monsters changed all that.

When one came toward him in a bloody frenzy, Morio failed to push it away from them. The rejection angered it more, reaching for both him and Yahna with gnarled claws caked with brown blood. Rigesh’s body reacted naturally like it did in a battle and he stepped forward, adjusting his slides on his weapon and fired. The bullet ripped a massive hole in the monster’s chest and it fell, disintegrating into a bloody, black puddle until it fizzled into the air. Despite his urge to brag about his successful efforts with his pistol to Morio, he needed to focus on getting them out of the port.

When some of the smoke cleared from the end of the hallway into the cafeteria, he had seen two people fighting a bunch of monsters at once. A group of survivors were being healed in a far corner then hurried along to find another exit without alarming the monsters of their escape. A master with her rapier, the young woman pivoted against her opponent with grace, letting her coiled, red hair loose with every movement. Was she using a soul sword? Her attacks seemed to be working against the cursed enemies. He narrowed his eyes and caught her using Moon Magic, but her fighting faltered with each step. She needed help. All that her partner--the dreaded man--could do was provide her cover while she fought. When she finally staggered to the ground and stopped moving, despair flooding into her strange but familiar hazel eyes, he did not hesitate to pull the trigger.

One went down to the floor. Time felt like it had stopped, but Rigesh kept moving forward, sprinting without a further thought.

“I’m going to help cause a distraction, go help the others behind that shield!” Rigesh yelled to Morio as he jumped down a broken ledge, pointing his pistol at another one. He chanted an incantation to put more speed into his next bullet. A spell wasn’t needed to shoot powerful bullets--the runes would do that for him--but if he wanted to create an explosion, he casted. To avoid casualties, he opted for just the raw strength of his slides to enhance the magic in his bullets.

Tumbling into a roll, he lurched forward, tackling a monster onto the ground. Quickly, he ignited a shot into its head, blood condensing his face in the aftermath. The dreaded man managed to make his way over to his stoic-looking, female companion whose heavy breathing seemed labored. The younger man swung his sword, casting another Water shield became overwhelmed by the smoke and fire smothering his senses. They had all been in the cafeteria inhaling poisonous gas and haze. Rigesh twisted away from an oncoming attack and pointed his gun toward the ceiling, changing his slides to only one--water. Casting a Water spell, a circle appeared on the ceiling and created a sprinkle, fighting off the surrounding flames. It would not be enough, but it would improve their fighting situation by a bit.

With improved breathing and clearer vision, Rigesh watched the dreaded man change his magic to Earth and cast a few more rocks to push back the monsters. He was beginning to see the previous strain on the young woman’s face increase as she clenched her rapier tighter. The monsters were becoming more frantic, putting more power and movement into their attacks. The humans had only one chance to defeat the monsters and escape in one piece.

The red headed woman regained her strength and lunged forward with her male friend acting as a shield in front of her. Rigesh hurried to their right, shooting one more cannibal to the ground. The young woman pivoted once more and spun a circle, creating a large casting field. Rigesh had seen a Magus and some Meisters make such a circle when demonstrating their power to the young mages in training who joined the military. How could this woman have so much power? A single person conjuring Moon Magic was rare in itself, but now he was watching her cast a huge incantation circle. She turned to give him a knowing look, the despair that was once in her hazel eyes were replaced with a blazing fire. It reminded him of a warm hearth, inviting and strong.

The circle went up with shadows striking down like lightning, trapping the remaining cannibals in place. The dreaded man grunted as he created a large, rock wall. Rigesh used it as a shield and a stepping stone as he leapt up and aligned his shot with the purple magic circle. As the four elemental slides came together as one on his pistol, he willed a strong attack and shot a bullet with a pink blinding light through the incantation circle. In between the waves of white, pink and purple lights, they could see the remaining cannibals crying out as their skin fell off their brittle bones. Once the lights faded, all that was left were dusty bones and pools of rancid black blood, their skin dispersing into the air.

Rigesh wiped sweat and grime from his forehead feeling exhausted but exhilarated. It had been a couple of years since he had experienced a true battle--the blood pumping, heat rising from his neck and the taste of hot air. What made this fight much more exciting for him was that he felt stronger, more powerful with the completion of the pistol. He had been more useful than the guards and their pathetic attempt to defeat the cannibals. There may not have been too much internal magic that Rigesh possessed, but now he had something that was omnipotent compared to the magic weapons he had handled before.

Behind him, the red headed, hazel eyed woman fell to her knees again, this time having more control over her body than before. A small trickle of blood slid down her forehead, but she ignored it. She turned her attention to her male partner who reached out to hold her steady, intimately holding her close. Rigesh faced the small group of people that was being healed by a young, blonde woman. Morio and Yahna had joined them, Morio ignoring his injuries to make sure Yahna was okay. Despite their group’s tumultuous relationship, he doubted that Morio wanted to see her hurt, especially after watching two of his friends’ bodies burn in the aftermath of the explosion. He walked over to greet his friend with a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Morio looked up with solemn eyes. “Is it over?” he asked, keeping his voice as calm as possible.

Rigesh nodded. “Yeah,” he replied looking down at his pistol, wanting to be thankful that they were useful for something, but he caught himself. Everyone that survived the ordeal witnessed a tragedy and possibly an enemy that seemed virtually indestructible. Right now was not the time to be celebrating with so much uncertainty around them. “Are you both okay?”

Yahna placed a hand on her head and grimaced. “I have a small cut on the back of my head that needs medical attention, but the swelling isn’t too bad right now.”

Morio dipped his head slightly in silence, still absorbing everything as best as he could. The other citizens in the airport had been healed while he and the other two fighters battled against the monsters, but judging by their fatigue and some of their other injuries, they needed immediate medical treatment.

“The monsters are done for. It doesn’t seem like there are more of them right now, let’s try to get everyone out of here before the airport collapses on us,” Rigesh said, leaning down to help his friends up. He felt dizziness in his head, the same feeling when he expelled most of his magic the first time he had used his pistols in the park. Without anything to steady him, he fell on his right knee then landed on his side, starting to go in and out of consciousness. Morio and Yahna hovered over him frantically, tapping his face and shaking his shoulders to wake him up. Through the small slits of his eyes, he caught faint, blurry movements of several people handling him. The last thing he saw was the blonde woman shoving the rest of the people away and touching his chest with a glowing yellow hand.

Rigesh must have been dreaming because he found himself burning next to a large, glowing orb, the airport nowhere in sight. It looked like the sun. Was he floating next to the sun? Why was it so hot? How was he still alive if his whole body was on fire?

Looking down to his brown skin, he found that a layer of blazing flames had coated itself around his body, but he was not on fire. His skin wasn’t melting off, nor was it charred black. His insides surely felt like he was burning, bubbling into a heated soup like a kettle cooking on a hot stovetop.

Suddenly, he floated closer to the sun even as he tried his best to fight back against the gravitational pull. Behind him lay darkness, cool and harsh, but he wanted to be there. He wanted to be safe and comfortable. Fighting against the mighty sun, he found himself in a losing battle. As he succumbed to the light, he woke up.

The room Rigesh woke up in was not one he was familiar with. The ceiling was an off-white color, the walls were painted blue. Next to him was an open window, a long velvet curtain slung to the side so that he could peek out. The bed was much smaller than his king sized one back in his apartment, so he knew that he wasn’t at home. Also, Targesh would never allow him to sleep as long as he thought he had been out.

The last thing he remembered was asking Morio and Yahna if they had been injured, then darkness. Inhaling and exhaling slowly to calm himself, he went over the past events in his head. He had been tardy to work. Mazet and Sopon had been missing. He found them in the breakroom half eaten. An explosion happened, then he fought alongside two other people. He rubbed his rough palms over his eyes and groaned. He would have rather stayed asleep than deal with the shit that just happened. What the fuck is going on?

“I see you are awake.” An unfamiliar voice came from the doorway. There was a tall man, slender and exuding snobbiness. Folding his hands behind his back, he walked stiffly toward the small bed. His greying head had streaks of black in them, slicked back to the nape of his neck. With piercing blue eyes and a defined frown, he gave Rigesh a look of disapproval. Following behind him was a local authority, judging from the black, grey and green of his uniform and the crest of a protector on his chest. He was a stout man, bald with a blonde mustache and binoculars on the bridge of his nose. While he didn’t show obvious disapproval outright, he seemed a little irritated.

Rigesh rose up from his pillow, a hand on his head, and kept himself from swaying. He was exhausted. “How long was I out?” his voice hoarse and dry.

The stiff looking man signalled behind him for an attendant to bring the younger man water. “You have been sleeping for a whole day now. It is the morning after.”

With an exasperated gasp, nearly choking on a gulp of water, Rigesh looked at both of the men in the room. How could he have been out for a whole day? He needed to know what happened to the other people at the airport. And about the woman using Moon Magic.

“What’s going on? What happened at the airport with those monsters? Did everyone get out safe?”

The stout man held his hand up to pause Rigesh’s stream of questions. “We have taken care of the airport. We’re here to ask you a couple of questions regarding what you saw at the airport.”

Clenching his fists in the sheet, Rigesh nodded, anxious to wrap his head about what happened. Taking a deep breath, he explained how his day went until his fateful battle with those cursed monsters. With a pained expression, he mentioned how he found the dead bodies of his two coworkers before the explosion went off. Later, he joined the two people protecting some citizens in a corner and fended off the creatures.

“And you thought it was okay to engage in battle with an unregistered weapon?” The stout man pushed up his glasses with a haughty sigh. “Where did you get such a weapon? And how is it possible that you have something that can blend elements?”

It was then that Rigesh noticed that none of his belongings were on him. He searched around but the room was empty save for their three bodies. Rigesh knew what would happen if the authorities caught wind of him using an unregistered magical weapon, but he didn’t think it would happen so soon.

“We have your little pistol locked away.” The stiff man sniffed. “Will you tell us how you came by such a weapon?”

“Why does it matter about the weapon? I saved people in that airport! You won’t even update me on what’s going on.” Rigesh huffed.

“You have broken the law and you must be punished, regardless of the circumstance. That weapon is dangerous. You were careless in using it--it could have drained you of all your magic!”

Rigesh rose up from the bed, steadying himself with a hand to the nearby wall. Outraged with defiant eyes, he glared at both of the old men. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The door opened behind them. Walking in with grace was the blonde woman who healed survivors at the airport, though she looked irritated at the men in the room. She was a lot cleaner than when he saw her before. Her hair was properly braided down her back with a pink bow tied at the bottom of it. Even on the small side, she presented herself with a large, hardened aura, the daughter of a lord, perhaps?

Rubbing her petite hands down her pink dress, passing across her family crest on her left hip, she turned her face to the authorities with a cool anger. “You shouldn’t interrogate a patient when he hasn’t fully recovered.”

“We don’t have all day for him to recover, we need answers,” the stout man argued. A nervous sweat falling down his nose, he added, “my lady.”

Casually, she waved her hand toward Rigesh and grimaced. “He can hardly stand up. How can you stand to treat a hero in such a manner? This man saved our lives in that airport and I won’t have for you interrogating him about such a silly law.”

The other man glanced at the small woman. “Ms. Kain, do you have something urgent to discuss or are you willing to let your arrogance cloud your judgement?”

She walked past him to the bed, patting her hand down motioning Rigesh to sit back down. He hesitated, but found it harder to stand any longer. Without turning to her superior, she replied, “I heard that he was awake, so I wanted to check on him. You can’t use power like that and expect to just be perfectly normal afterward.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “Your friend does.”

Irritation flashed in her eyes as she started to check Rigesh’s forehead and neck, but she held calm. Rigesh could only give her a sympathetic but confused look. He didn’t know what they were talking about or referring to, but he assumed it was about the woman using Moon Magic.

The man turned on his heel, hands still locked behind his back, and made his way to the exit. The man in uniform followed behind him, looking like he wanted to ask more questions, but too nervous to ask about with a Lady in the room. The stiff man stopped at the door, his hand on the knob and peeked a glance over his shoulder. “Make sure that he is coherent enough to stand with the other survivors in the Ceremony Hall. The Mayor Meister is here to discuss our next options.” He did not wait for a response. The other man followed compliantly, leaving the young woman in the room with Rigesh.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke softly, “the Dean can be rather stuffy when it comes to others.”

Rigesh chuckled. “Others? You mean commoners?”

She smiled, but it didn’t seem to reach her eyes as she nodded. “Yes. It’s rare seeing a commoner with so much power.”

It may have dawned on Rigesh way too late at what exactly he created. Not only did his pistols give him tremendous casting power, but it could be on a par with the wealthy and royalty in terms of magical capability.

“Do you happen to know where they could have locked up my pistol?” he asked, part curious, part nervous.

She shook her head. “I have no idea. I’m sure they will give your weapon back to you after the public hears about how courageous you were in saving the people in the airport.” Her small smile turned into a large grin. “I was so nervous when my friends went into that fight thinking that they weren’t going to make it and then you came in. I will be forever thankful.”

Rigesh couldn’t help himself and returned her grin with one of his silliest, lopsided grins. Before he could accept her thanks, someone knocked on the door, then a moment later two people walked in. Judging from the sudden shift in the young woman’s demeanor--she went from professional and understanding to childish and simple minded--it was her friends she was speaking of earlier. His comrades who fought with him at the airport--the young woman with the red hair and hazel eyes and the dreaded hair man with glasses. A flash of recognition went off as he and the woman looked at each other.

Instead of the mean glare she gave him after he bumped into her in the street when Yahna was drunk, she gave him a small smile. Her more relaxed features, she was pleasant to look at. The first time she had been dressed up in fancier clothing, showing off her melanin skin and loving curves. Now she stood in the room with a tan crop top a few sizes too big, a green jacket sprinkled with scratches and dark forest green baggy pants. Even in a normal look, he still found her very attractive. Her brown skin, slightly darker than his own, was a lovely shade of milk chocolate. Like him, she had slanted eyes, which meant that she was probably from the Gong-dai area, despite the strange mix of colors in her eyes. Her sanguine-red hair was pulled back into a small knot on the nape of her neck, short, wavy curls escaping through the sides in a struggle to become free. As Rigesh looked her up and down, he found her not nearly as frightening as the first time he came across her.

“Is there something wrong with your eyes?” The dread man scoffed, crossing his arms and putting himself slightly in front of his friend. “You can stop ogling her.”

A slight blush crept on Rigesh’s face. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to stare. It’s just that I feel very bad about inconveniencing you the other night.”

Her face still held the tiny smile, but the light in her eyes shifted into something different. Embarrassment? As soon as the light faded, her eyes returned to neutral again as she spoke. Rigesh liked the lowness of her voice, a soft but dominating tone at the same time. It was unlike the high pitch voices he was used to hearing, like Yahna. “It’s my fault for being so rude to you. I had been drinking and I shouldn’t have lashed out like I did.”

The dreaded man huffed, looking between the two in annoyance. “We came to thank you for lending a hand at the airport. Elanya’s foolishness almost got us killed.”

She stared daggers at her friend, gripping the soul sword by her side. “We had to do something. Now we know how to prepare if it happens again.”

“Happens again? No one will ever be prepared against that monstrosity unless they have Moon magic or,” he flailed his arms toward Rigesh, “whatever this man used.”

A commotion sounded outside the door and, without prompt, the door opened to reveal two airport survivors. Rigesh was relieved to see that Morio and Yahna were alright. Morio’s head was bandaged and he limped a bit, but he seemed to not be in any major pain. Yahna ran up to Rigesh’s bed and threw her arms around him. Despite how dramatic she could be, Rigesh didn’t mind her actions.

“Rigesh! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Yahna made a face to cry, but no tears came from her eyes. She probably didn’t want to ruin her theatrical makeup. Or she just never showed true emotions.

“I still have a bit of recovering to do, but it shouldn’t be too long thanks to…” Rigesh looked up at the blonde woman.

She bowed her head. “Orantal Kain, daughter of Lord Olein and Marla Kain, and Meister of Healing Arts.”

Yahna tilted her head to examine the girl, analyzing to see if she would be a threat. Her eyes narrowed once she caught sight of the red head woman. Rigesh inwardly groaned, trying his best to push Yahna off his aching body. Instead, she leaned closely into him, placing a delicate hand on his chest and leaning her head on his. “I appreciate you taking the time to heal my little ole Rigesh, he’s fragile, you see?”

Morio watched as his friend struggled to break free of the witch’s grasp. As he reached out to remove her from his friend’s person, the red headed woman sat down on the bed on the other side of Rigesh and dug in her pocket. Yahna opened her mouth to object but she was promptly ignored as the woman handed Rigesh a small pack of powder.

“My father makes something like smelling salts and other boosters that he sells across Vaikoln,” she held it out to him, then pointed to the glass of water on the desk next to his bed, “take this whole pack then drink some water. You’ll be good as new for the meeting later on tonight. I heard they were going to give you an earful about that pistol you had.”

Rigesh took the pack and nodded his head in thanks. “I’ll take this now, thanks.”

Morio took the slight distraction to finally pull Yahna back from Rigesh’s bedside. It wasn’t a smooth transition, Rigesh yelped in pain, but at least he didn’t have any pressure on his side anymore. Rigesh took the powder with water, scrunching up his nose in disgust. What was in this powder to make it taste like dirty armpit?

“What’s your name?” the redhead asked.

“Rigesh Altren, a normal everyday worker of the Transit Bureau,” he scratched his head nervously. He was certain they all wondered about his pistol and where it came from. He couldn’t admit that he made it just yet.

“I’m Elanya Shunra, Meister of Moon,” She turned to the dreaded man and raised an eyebrow, amused. “and this is my friend, Nemedion Salche, son of Lord Markus and Akana Salche, and Meister of Combat Arms.”

Rigesh didn’t comment on why she left out her own family name. Maybe she was just too humble to flaunt herself in front of obvious commoners.

“I’m sure you want to know what happened since our fight at the airport.” She paused, waiting for Rigesh to nod for her to continue. “Right then, well after you fell unconscious, we and your friends were able to get the remaining of the people out of the airport before the rest of the cafeteria caved in on us. Judging from the surrounding area, it was rigged with bombs strong enough to blow up two blocks and then some, all untraceable. An emergency lockdown was announced throughout the city and many of the survivors are stationed here at Laoshin for more questioning when the Magus and Royal Inquisitors arrive.”

“Ah, we’re at Laoshin?” Rigesh pondered, correct in his initial assumption when the healer mentioned the Dean.

Nemedion nodded. “Not only is the school a safe distance from the destruction and any other possible bomb threats, but the students are trained for disastrous situations like this,” then he added smugly, “since we hold the most magical talent here.”

The last thing Rigesh wanted to do was be inside one of the most snobby establishments in Yulin-dai, but until he fully recovered his magic, he was a sitting duck. Elanya gave him a sympathetic look as she lifted herself from the bed. After a few more instructions about the side effects of the powder she gave him, she and her friend left to attend their duties. Yahna quickly made her way to the hospital bed and sat on Rigesh’s lap, ignoring his yelp of pain.

“Rigesh, hurry and heal so we can get out of this place. I feel like a prisoner.” She complained.

Morio rolled his eyes. “You are ridiculous. It’s not like we have anything better to do, we’re out of a job right now.”

“Could we not do some work at the water port?” Rigesh asked.

“No,” Morio shook his head in anguish, “I got a report that the water port was also attacked. I’m not sure if any of the Transit Bureau made it out alive.”

So that would mean that he and Morio may be the only Transit Bureau employees that went out on the field yesterday to survive. Anyone who had incurred the wrath of their Director and punished with desk duty had been lucky.

The older man sighed, showing a relieved but conflicted expression. “I was so scared for you, Rig. When you passed out after doing all that fighting, I thought I would be losing another friend. It’s been hard trying to convince myself that Mazet and Sopon are dead.”

Rigesh sombered as he gave a moment of silence for his deceased coworkers. They were much more than people who worked with, they were his precious friends. Friends who he hadn’t gotten enough time with.

“Last night, when we went to the water port, do you think those monsters were there waiting and biding their time?” Rigesh wondered, remembering the disappearance of the love birds. “The love birds never came back, did they?’

Morio blanched. “I got a call from the Dockmaster saying that nothing was done and that he never saw them leave last night. You don’t mean to say that they were attacked?”

“Yes. This isn’t some sporadic attack with monsters coming out to eat us, this was carefully planned. Someone bombed the airport so we couldn’t get away.”

Yahna crossed her arms, annoyed that they were thinking too seriously. “Those monsters couldn’t possibly be the ones that planted those bombs. They looked like they could hardly think straight with all of our flesh out in about.”

Taking one last gulp of his water, Rigesh moved his body to the side of the bed and stretched his legs. “I’m not sure what could have been planned but I think those men who came here earlier would have a better idea on what’s going on.”

“Shouldn’t you rest, Rigesh?” asked Yahna, looking up at his tall form with worry.

“My mind is racing too much for me to rest. Besides, I need to find my pistol and get out of here. Can’t really afford to get fined for it after losing my job.”

The Dean of Laoshin Magic University stood in front of a small group of people waiting in the Ceremony Hall. Nearly a week before, it had been filled with tons of University students, many of them walking across the broad stage behind him as they accepted their diplomas. He closed his eyes and prayed silently to Karnov, the God of Magic, hoping that the students who lost their lives at the airport would have a restful journey to the heavens. Though it was selfish of him, he was almost resentful that his top student, Elanya Shunra, had survived and again showed the rest of the aristocrats up with her magic. Her Moon Magic had proven to be a necessity in defeating the monsters at the airport, but it didn’t make him proud. He will always have respect for her father, another commoner who had a large talent in magic, but he could not respect her.

Elanya was different from her father, Brune. Brune was a happy man who held the ideals of Vaikoln to his heart. It wasn’t until he met his wife where his ideals and dedication to Vaikoln faltered, something that displeased the Dean greatly. Elanya was a child that shouldn’t have been born, nor should she have inherited Valla. The child didn’t understand the responsibilities with that sword, especially after hearing about her temper around campus. If he were to have Valla in his grasp, he would be deemed one of the most powerful people in Yulin-dai, but he was unaware if the sword would want to part from its second master. It was a soul sword, after all.

He watched more people fill in the floor seats in front of the arena stage. Some people had lost their homes and buildings within the block of the explosions, so the Mayor had instructed the Dean to hold refuge for them since most of the students had left for the summer. While he had been bothered by the Mayor’s inconvenience, he did not decline, trusting that the people here would be able to provide an accurate account of what transpired at the airport. A feeling that was unfamiliar had been gnawing at his spine as some of the people shuffled around words about “cannibals” and “grey-skinned monsters”. Surely these people could have been mistaken by what they saw or even heard? These were only myths that the people had repeated. Nothing more.

As people finished settling down into their seats, he adjusted the tie around his neck and scanned the room. The three students, Nemedion, Elanya and Orantal, were present in the back right corner.

Nemedion didn’t like being so far away, his ego wanting to be credited with stopping further bloodshed, but his friends looked less inclined. The two women were not interested in garnering attention from the people, nor being showered in false praises by someone they disliked. The back, left corner held the three airport employees also involved in protecting the citizens. The Dean had a bad feeling about that Rigesh man. That man had to have been a thief, stealing such an important weapon. The Dean had no prior knowledge about a magical pistol like that being created. He didn’t understand the meaning of the slides or the runic scribes on the side of the pistol, but he knew that it was a complex weapon, much too advanced for a commoner such as himself. The man hardly had any magic, but was able to expel enough to destroy creatures whose bodies were indestructible by normal magic? It was preposterous.

“I am sorry to have housed most of you under such circumstances, but welcome to Laoshin Magic University,” the Dean started, “and I hope that the staff and students will do everything in their power to accommodate you.” He would rather not deal with commoners and the like in his esteemed facility, but he pushed his disturbed feelings away. “The Mayor Meister Hun Rei has arrived to investigate and needs everyone’s cooperation. Once we have enough information, we will send out the appropriate people to deal with the situation.”

The Mayor Meister stood up from the front row, a grim expression on his chubby face. The rumors around the city was that he was a big and jolly man, usually one to brag about his success in evolving Yulin-dai into the city it has become today. Many of the people enjoyed his leadership as he was a native of the area--he held brown skin and dark green, slanted eyes--and he loved a good celebration, but was quick to show seriousness in a bad situation. From the look on his face and the Dean’s, this was not a common occurrence.

Hun Rei bowed deeply in front of the people. In turn, they bowed deeply back as a sign of respect. “I thank you all for working together with us while we settle through this tragedy. I hope that the University will be able to provide emotional and physical support throughout your time of need.” He grimaced, taking in the small group of ragged people. “Yesterday, both of our ports were bombed, destroying most of the buildings within two to three blocks and killing many people. We have estimated that over a hundred people have lost their lives, most of them being from the water port. We have been reported that there were no survivors at the water port.”

Some people let out anguished cries at the news of the water port. Because of Rigesh and Elanya, multiple people had been given an opportunity to escape, but the people at the water port had not been so lucky.

“I do not want to sugar coat any of this, because I do not want my people living in fear and denial, but we are unsure of why this attack happened. The monsters that you all witnessed yesterday are unknown to us, all we have is speculation as to what they were and where they came from. We believe that they may be “Flesh Hoarders”--dead humans who actively look for flesh to help preserve their bodies. There is so much information we lack pertaining to these monsters and we are currently establishing some safety precautions to deal with the problem at hand.”

“Is this an attack from Titaneous?” a woman asked, unable to contain the skepticism in her voice.

The Meister shook his head. “No, our intel reports that Titaneous is unaware of the monsters and now doing everything in their power to make sure no one from Vaikoln is allowed inside for fear that we will trail them there.”

Elanya snorted at the thought. No one seemed to hear it but Nemedion glared at her for being so rude.

“So what are these safety precautions that you’re going to take?” An older man asked gruffly.

The Dean spoke up this time, giving the older man a pointed stare. “As you know, the students here spend several years studying to become proper Mages, Meisters and Knights to serve dutifully to our King. They are equipped with magical weapons and tools to deal with a situation like this. We hope to send a group of students to the source of the problem for a reconnaissance mission. They will then provide information to our strongest Magus to yield a proper solution.”

Some of the people looked between each other warily. They weren’t sure about sending a group of young adults into danger, much less putting their lives in the kids’ hands. Others were confused about what the source of the problem was, since they didn’t know where these creatures came from. It was obvious that they weren’t being told the whole truth, but no one spoke. The normal citizens lacked power, so their voices of concern were irrelevant.

“I’m sure that many of you are thankful for the students that helped protect you in the airport, so there shouldn’t be so much objection to such a plan,” The Dean smirked when the crowd simmered down, unable to make claims against the idea, “and so, I propose that one of the students that risked their lives for you, do so again, as she had the power to defeat the monsters.”

The Dean and Elanya locked eyes in an intense battle. This is certainly something that the Dean had been waiting for since her admission into the University. An honorable way for her to die. She would never understand why the man hated her so, even though he claimed to have the utmost respect for her father. He wanted her to give her life to prove herself to him. What disrespect he was showing her father after proclaiming his sheer admiration for him!

In front of a crowd filled with despair and fear, she could not deny her duty to the people of Vaikoln. She had been sworn in as a Meister last year, and as one of the top students at the University, it would be embarrassing for her to refuse. It would be selfish of her to deny his request because she disliked the man, and was eager to disobey anything he demanded of her. But her father would be disappointed in her if she left this opportunity. The power to destroy the monsters lay at the points of her fingertips and in the tip of her blade. Valla sat on her hip, humming with indignation, almost pleading with her to take this mission.

“Elanya Shunra, do you answer the quest of a Mayor Meister?” The Dean asked, smugness twinkling in his cold, calculating eyes.

Elanya stood up to face the crowd turning toward her and her superiors. Mayor Meister Hun Rei knew nothing about her, so he looked genuinely curious as to whether she would accept. Nemedion gripped her wrist, astonishment on his face.

“You really can’t be thinking about accepting this? It sounds like a death trap.” He said.

Orantal nodded, clenching her hand to her chest. “I don’t like that he specifically picked you out for this. He’s plotting something.”

Elanya gave her friends a small smile, but her eyes shook with uncertainty. “I am a Meister. I can’t really say no when a Magus or a Mayor Meister ask a mission of me.” She fully turned herself to everyone and bowed respectfully. To hide her anxiety, she placed her shaking hands behind her back and spoke with fake conviction. “I, Elanya Shunra, Meister of Moon, gladly accept any task that my Mayor Meister requests of me. I am ready by your leave.”

Orantal and Nemedion immediately stood up next to her, both bowing toward the crowd as she had. Before she spoke to them about how her duty was to the people of Vaikoln, they both shocked her with their pleas.

“I, Nemedion Salche, son of Lord Markus and Lady Akana Salche, Meister of Combat Arms, will also accept this task that my Mayor Meister requests of Elanya.”

“And I, Orantal Kain, daughter of Olein and Marla Kain, Meister of Healing, will also accept this task that my Mayor Meister requests of Elanya,” she looked up with pleading eyes toward Hun Rei instead of the Dean, “she cannot do this task alone.”

The mask the Dean wore did not crack, but a slight twitch occurred beneath his eye as he watched the display. He would lose his best student in Nemedion if that boy decided to go on this journey. His magic would be virtually useless against those creatures and the school would be losing a powerful ally in his family if he were to never return alive. Orantal would also be a great loss as there are not many healers with the potential that she possessed. He had hoped to convince them to reconsider, but Mayor Meister Hun Rei returned their bow with a shaky and grateful smile. “You honor me greatly by doing this,” he said with emotion, “your duty to the Magus is a tough one, but your reward in the future will increase in trifold.”

The Dean cleared his throat and nodded weakly. “Yes, this is something we can expect from our top students. We will debrief you on everything after this meeting.”

As the crowd started to dissipate, wanting to busy their minds from the looming threat on the horizon, Rigesh also stood up, and the Dean almost used his magic to restrain himself from rolling his eyes to the back of his head.

“Mayor Meister Hun Rei, I would also like to help! I want to offer my services.” He blurted out like a stupid child.

Mayor Meister Hun Rei leaned over to the Dean. “Who is that young man?”

“The troublemaker from the airport. He has in his possession a magical pistol.”

He nodded. “Ah, the pistol that was able to destroy those monsters. The boy has something dangerous.”

“We locked away his pistol when he was being treated in the clinic.”

Hun Rei turned away, waving an accepting hand toward Rigesh. “Give the boy his pistol and allow him to be debriefed. We can deal with his punishment later, but right now we need everyone we can get.”

The Dean turned away to follow the Mayor Meister, but he made sure to show the chosen group a scowl. He hoped that if they were going on a dangerous mission that they would come back so he wouldn’t be losing two valuable assets to the University and earning the ire of the other aristocrats by the deaths of heirs. Elanya didn’t return the scowl, but in a rare move of disobedience, she showed the leaving Dean a smug grin of her own.

Curious about her new comrade, she made her way over to Rigesh and his group, hoping to have a better assessment of him. It was hard to see his character when the only time they personally interacted was in the throes of partying downtown and in his room in the clinic. Though their fight together didn’t last long with their combined power, she could tell that he was a fighter, at least had been one before. She wasn’t sure of the extent of his abilities, but maybe he had been in a few scuffs around town. As long as he had his pistol, he wouldn’t be a total burden, she supposed.

As she got closer to his group, she could hear his friends yelling objections at him. The two of his friends had different priorities in their friendship, it seems.

“Did your mother drop you on the head as a kid? You couldn’t possibly have allowed yourself to be apart of a death trap!” The girl was the most vocal.

“For once I agree with Yahna, you can’t just sign up for something without thinking it through, Rig. This isn’t some game.”

Elanya interrupted their argument with a wave of her hand. She didn’t show a smile, but there was amusement in her eyes. “I appreciate you offering yourself to this, even though we aren’t sure of what we’ll be doing.”

Rigesh shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself. If I have the power to help, then I just can’t sit back and do nothing.”

Nemedion squinted his eyes at the man. “We have studied our whole lives for something like this. I’m not sure if a commoner such as yourself knows what you would be losing.”

“He would be losing enough,” Rigesh’s male friend argued, “and just because he’s a commoner, doesn’t mean that he hasn’t done his duty to Vaikoln like you say you have.”

Rigesh gripped the older man’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Morio, I know that I will have to prove myself.”

“You shouldn’t have to prove yourself to these people.”

“What do you mean these people? We have noble blood and you should treat us as such,” Nemedion growled.

Orantal pushed Nemedion back, shaking her head in embarrassment. “Please ignore this fool, he thinks he’s better than everyone because he is so used to everyone in his shadow.”

Elanya held back a chuckle. “Our friend doesn’t like being shown up by people that aren’t me.”

Nemedion kept his mouth shut as he sulked behind his two female friends. Elanya took this time to put her hand on Orantal’s shoulder and show another small smile as before, this time with less fear. “I’m thankful that you want to help out, but we won’t blame you if you get cold feet and decide to back out now.” She said with a knowing look. “We enrolled in this University knowing that we would be called on a dangerous mission like this, and it’s against our honor to decline.”

Rigesh shook his head and placed his hand on his chest. “I want to do this. Besides, it would be better to have two people that can actually destroy those things instead of one.”

“Well, I’m coming too!” Yahna blurted out, staring daggers at Elanya. In a childish manner, she put her hands on her small waist and huffed. “Wherever Rigesh goes, I go.”

Morio rolled his eyes and rubbed his palm down his face in agitation. “Holy Raylith--if you’re going to cause trouble, then I’m going to make sure you don’t.”

The two stared at each other in an aggravated battle. Orantal tilted her head in honest confusion, hoping not to sound as though she were speaking down to the both of them. “We’ve all seen Rigesh’s marksmanship at the airport, but I would like to ask what you can contribute to our party?”

Yahna crossed her arms and smirked at the younger woman. It was obvious from the six of them that Yahna was the oldest among the three women, despite the heavy pains of covering her face with makeup. A couple of years older than Elanya and Orantal, she took pride in telling of her education.

“I was one of the best nurses and first responders at the airport. I have medical training spanning over the last decade, along with several certifications allowing me to tend on anyone injured.” Leaning forward to show her true height over the short Orantal, she showed teeth in a vicious grin. “Is that good enough for you?”

However, Orantal wasn’t phased by Yahna’s bragging. Instead she showed a small smile and turned her head to face Elanya, who in turn gave her a knowing grin. “I see,” Orantal replied, her voice steady, “You will probably be very beneficial on the trip if we need to use a first aid kit.”

Rigesh held his breath to control his laughter, but the three students were not so nice. Yahna underestimated Orantal’s title of Meister of Healing. It wasn’t just something that could be earned by certifications--blood, sweat and tears made Orantal into the mage-in-training that she is today.

“And you?” They turned to Morio.

The man was less inclined to show off, and more into presenting himself as a laid back man. With a nervous hand, he scratched the brown stubble beneath his chin and chuckled. “Well, I dibble and dabble into magitech mostly. If you need an above average navigator who can give you some info about the terrain, then I’m your man.”

Elanya nodded and stuck her hand out for him to shake. “I think you will be very valuable to our team.”

“I think we should make our way over to the Dean’s office so that we can be debriefed,” Nemedion says, turning to make his way out of the Ceremony Hall. “the faster, the better.”

When the Dean watched six people instead of the four that had initially volunteered walk into his office, he almost lost his composure. It was explained briefly that the two extra volunteers, a Senior Rune Specialist from the Transit Bureau named Morio Galiss, and a flight attendant who had medical experience named Yahna Trudo, would be accompanying them to provide backup. The last thing that the Dean wanted was for three more naive, but innocent citizens to lose their lives over something they didn’t quite understand. The two were adamant in joining, and Mayor Meister Hun Rei was moved by their determination to put their lives on the line for the citizens of their city. He accepted their admission into the small group, ignoring the Dean’s obvious objections.

Once the six people settled down in the office, Mayor Meister Hun Rei thought it was time to fully explain the situation at hand. It pained him to admit the origin of the creatures but the attack left no more room for leniency or error.

“The monsters you saw yesterday are called Flesh Hoarders,” he started with a grimace, “and they used to be humans who held magical powers. Until now, they had not been seen for over three hundred years, stuck in their hostile environment in the middle of Vaikoln.”

“You mean that they come from the wasteland?” Orantal asked, surprised that any living, or dead, thing could possible leave that area.

He nodded. “Yes, because of the wasteland and the fact that the Flesh Hoarders live there, we have been unable to establish ground transportation that will let us travel across the continent. We aren’t really sure of how they came to be, only rumors that a witch cursed the once thriving city of Sogara-dai and that the surrounding area suffered around it. From what we have gathered about the Flesh Hoarders is that they are not able to die by normal means--no weapon can stop their movement and no magic can cease their life. That is, until Elanya showed us that Moon and possibly Sun Magic will defeat them.” He turned a confused look to Rigesh. “And whatever you use can defeat them. I won’t pester you with questions about how that pistol came to be, as we have priorities to see this mission through, but I hope you will do the right thing in the end and relinquish that pistol.”

Rigesh hesitated. He had been working on his pistol for nearly four years. In that moment, he wanted to tell them about his escapades with the Knights and how this pistol was his life. However, he simply held his tongue and nodded reluctantly. If he had to ditch town as soon as they returned, then he would do that.

“Based on what we have learned from their birth three hundred years ago,” Hun Rei continued as he opened a large, dusty book. “the Flesh Hoarders need to eat the flesh of living humans to gather strength and magic. Because of their supposed curse, they lost all ability to cast magic and in order for them to use magic, they must eat other people with strong magic potential. On occasion, they will also harvest human organs within their bodies to replace the dead ones from the curse as it helps prolong their lives. Even though they will not be defeated in normal combat, we do believe that they do perish after an extended time without flesh or magic, but it could range from decades to centuries possibly.”

“What is it that you wish for us to do, Mayor Meister?” Elanya asked.

“Your mission is reconnaissance. We want you to go to the heart of Sogara-dai and report back to us their numbers, any other weaknesses and their reason for coming so far to Yulin-dai. It has taken them three hundred years to cross their threshold, so there must be a reason for their sudden arrival,” Hun Rei answered.

The three students bowed to the Mayor Meister. “Leave it to us.”

He nodded thankfully, though a slight frown ruined his face. “I heard that two of you were going to the Capital to study for a future project. I am sorry that you have to spend the start of your summer this way.”

They were looking forward to indulging themselves in the Capital, but they knew that any threat to their city would come first. Disappointment was an emotion not allowed while devoting themselves to becoming Meisters.

“Right then,” the Dean closed the book and walked over to a rune covered chest, “since you have been debriefed on your mission, you are leaving as soon as possible tomorrow. I am thankful that this Senior Rune Specialist is going with you, because I do not know of any way to help you navigational wise. No one really travels toward Sogara-dai so I can only assume that the travel time to that wasteland will be almost two weeks, but I advise you to rest your magic when you can.”

After chanting a spell, the lock on the chest turned from left to right then fell into his open palm. He reached in to procure Rigesh’s pistol, disgust and judgement emanated in his aura. Grudgingly, he turned to the young man and handed his pistol to him. “I am sure that you will be needing this. Do not try anything to escape from the Magus, you will not succeed. Carry out this mission and return to us with haste,” he narrowed his eyes to tiny slits, “so you can receive proper punishment.”

Rigesh gulped, nodded his head and hastily took his pistol. “Yes, sir.”

“You are all dismissed.”

Without missing a beat, the six of them left the Dean’s office. Unable to contain himself, Rigesh felt a strong shiver go down his spine. He didn’t like the Dean and the man did not like him either. If the man could have his way, there is no doubt that Rigesh would be thrown into jail, or even killed. The punishment for an unregistered weapon was a large fine, sometimes short jail time if the weapon was stolen or in the hands of an inexperienced wielder, but Rigesh surmised that his weapon would land him into more trouble than he expected.

“Rigesh,” Morio called to him, tearing him away from his troubles, “I think I’m going to head over to Ma’s and tell her what’s going on. Thinking about possibly making a will for her and the rest of my family.”

Rigesh winced. “Let’s not talk like that.”

“We just signed our death certificate, I think it’s only fair I think like that,” Morio turned to say his goodbyes to the students, “I’ll be modifying the truck to serve our purpose on the trip. I’ll see you lot in the morning.”

Orantal waved her hand with excitement. “Thank you so much, Mr. Galiss.”

Yahna turned to Rigesh, looping her arm with his. Showing all her perfect, white teeth, she allowed herself a big grin. “If we really are going on a death trap, Rig, we should have fun tonight. It could be our last night.”

Elanya, Orantal and Nemedion took the moment to show Rigesh a thankful bow and depart to their rooms. Inwardly cursing, he hated that they left him with the woman, knowing that he treated her as a nuisance, or rather a lunatic. Forcing herself into a dangerous mission because he had volunteered was idiotic. He didn’t doubt her medical knowledge nor her healing magic, renowned in the airport for fixing up even the worst of wounds, but her selfish nature had led to her stalling in life. She would never work herself up to a doctor, like her parents wanted for her, both successful doctors in Yulin-dai and distinguished in Gong-dai overall. However, she chastised her parents for working so hard when she could just marry well and depend on others. And so she stuck to Rigesh, a younger, more ambitious man who made more money than she did being a flight attendant.

“Look, it’s pretty brave, or stupid, that you want to come with us, but you need to be rational. This isn’t just some game. We’re risking our lives by going out there and you’re just throwing yours away because you want to torture me.”

Yahna leaned into Rigesh’s chest and frowned. “Oh, come on, Rigesh, I can be helpful too. Don’t underestimate me.”

He finally managed to shake her off, rolling his eyes as he started to make his way outside. “I’m not underestimating your skill, but you don’t know what’s out there. You aren’t trained for combat and you’ll only be a hindrance considering that only me and that Moon Meister are the only ones who can do damage.”

She caught up with him quickly, stepping in front of him with frustration. Waving her hands with anger, she said, “I can do this too! I’ll prove to you that I’m more useful than that red harlot and that small child of a woman! Think about all the credit that we can take from them after all this is done, and they’ll be too pleased with us to take your toy away.”

Rigesh had always wanted recognition for his skills and weaponry, but this wasn’t the way to go. He wasn’t going on this mission for glory or really anything. The tugging feeling in his heart told him that this issue was something that wasn’t to be ignored. The other three were Meisters and if they came back successful, they would be celebrated regardless. It would be an honor, but he couldn’t bring himself to deflect away from people that worked hard for their titles.

“Do whatever you want, Yahna, just don’t get in my way,” he pushed past her to walk through the big grassland in the middle of the University. “If you want to help, try being here on time in the morning.”

When he walked out of Yahna’s sight, Rigesh released a harsh sigh. Exhaustion set into his heavy shoulders, heavily affected from dealing with the Dean and information about those monsters. All he really wanted to do was put his head to his pillow and fall into an endless slumber. Tonight would be the last night for such a thing, after all, tomorrow will be the start of a long journey that he might not return from. The letter he wrote to his parents would arrive in their small village in a couple of days, along with news of what happened in Yulin-dai. There wasn’t a point in sending them another letter informing them that their only son volunteered to do something way over his head and could probably become food for magical cannibals. His choice was made six years ago when he decided to leave to do bigger and better things. When he joined the military, he knew that his life would always be in danger. This situation was no different.

Sniffing himself, he realized that he smelled of sulfur and sweat. Remaining in the clinic would only further make him feel like an outsider and wasn’t an option to rely on. The University was definitely a long walk from his apartment despite being able to see it from far away, the perks of living in such a tall building named The Tower. His motorcycle had no chance of survival after the explosion at the airport, pity that he would have to save up for another one. The long walk back home would clear his head enough to really analyze the mission that he volunteered for. Targesh would need someone to look after him while his master was out. The cat would cause trouble if he were left alone, though Rigesh knew he would cause trouble for anyone else too. So much needed to be dealt with before he left tomorrow. His anxiety nearly eclipsed his eagerness to fight again in battle after being out of commission for so long. Of course there were risks of him dying, but he longed to feel the exhilaration flow through his fingertips again. It was awkward to admit but he was getting bored, and now that he had perfected his pistol, he was ready to experience some real entertainment.