[Chapter 40 part 2] Light – Shine Balladeer

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Four weapons lay atop purple velvet. They felt different. “What’d you do?”

“Sorry for not explaining the other day. I got carried away.” Agata smiled. “It’s not often that I get the chance to work high sorcery.”

High sorcery… That’s supreme magic. “I didn’t know they were that extraordinary…” Sure, his cursed blades were cool, but the stuff of legends?

“While they and their wielders were nothing special, the Field of Graves is different. That curse is capable of felling immortals, and these weapons basked in it for millennia. When you removed them, power came with them, raw and unfocused. It took time to discover how to focus it.”

Took time… “Did you experienced the dreams too?”

“I did. It was necessary. No, human can directly control high sorcery. It’s beyond us. What skilled enchanters can do is guide it. To accomplish this, I had to understand the shape of the vessel, in this case the lives of the previous owners.”

Agata handed him a ninjato, “Here’s ‘Mockery’.”

“You named it?” Light took the blade, disappointed.

“Enchanter’s privilege.” She responded smugly. “Here’s the scabbard.”

The new sheath had a spotted pattern of amber and black. Light slipped the tip in, letting the blade slide to the bottom. The handle had been restored, providing a satisfying grip.

“That’s genuine rayskin with a manticore mane covering.” Agata offered.

Light drew a few inches and admired the orange glint reflecting playfully from the polished steel. I suppose Mockery is fitting. Its prior owner had possessed an affinity for clay, molding her summoned earth with talent rivaling the finest artists. On the day she died, she’d sculpted a wounded sirk and lured twenty of its comrades over a precipice before dispelling the false floor. The furious survivors hunted her down. Despite their numbers, she eluded them for a while, hiding behind fake walls and throwing them off with clones. What did her in was their keen sense of smell.

“So Mockery contains high sorcery?” He asked.

“Objects become mythical through enduring fame or prolonged exposure to other high sorcery. If there’s a suitable ‘core of awe’, an Illusory Grace will coalesce, same as Sublime Vagaries. The difference is enchanters can call these forth, which is what I did.”

“As a byproduct, it’s also become a catalyst.” She continued. “I substituted sand for clay. I hope you appreciate.”

Light summoned a mountain of sand and forced it to flow upwards in a helix. The control is wonderful. Mockery was smoother than any catalyst he’d tested. He vanished the sand. “What’s its ability?”

“‘Sands of Deception’,” When Agata explained, Light realized it suited him perfectly. Not surprising considering its former wielder.

“This was a real treat.” She concluded. “It’s so rare to come across unshaped high sorcery…”

“Why is that?”

Agata sighed, “Because of the prerequisites: a sufficiently mythical object with a suitable history. Before the dark age, hundreds were enchanted each year. Family heirlooms passed down over generations. Sadly, virtually everything with potential was sacrificed to the Pillar of Enera.”

“Nowadays, anything which meets the criteria is in the hands of immortals. Which one would bring their cherished prize to a Saint?” She shook her head.

Light held up the amber ninjato. The windfalls were greater than I’d dreamed. There was only one last concern.

“Is it still cursed?” Light waited apprehensively.

“Nope, no need for concern.” Agata declared proudly. With great resolve, Light hid the pain. Considering what I’ve obtained, I can’t complain.

“As to what I owe you…” Light glanced towards the velvet. What he’d given wouldn’t even cover Mockery.

“Consider it an investment on my part.” Agata reassured him. “The fame of an enchanter’s creations feeds their renown. Make these weapons legendary and we’ll call it even.” That’s easier said than done…

Agata laughed at his uncertainty, “If it bothers you, consider it a loan and pay me back once you’ve achieved greatness. Don’t worry, I’m not suffering. Your sister’s stones are proving quite profitable.”

“Thank you very much.” Light bowed and left.

The day flew by as he trained with Emelia and Mockery. Before he knew it, he was in the Stone Coliseum, waiting to be called. In evening matches, the arena morphed into different environments. This time it was filled with broken walls and columns. The setting is ‘ruins’.

“IN THE WEST CORNER, KAITO MAEDASA OF HARAKOUNE. THIS WATER NINJA IS A MEMBER OF MINSTREL, THE A-RANKED TEAM LEAD BY SHINE BALLADEER. THEY ARE ON THE ISLE FOR THIS SINGLE NIGHT, SO ENJOY THE TREAT.”

A man in a dark blue outfit stepped out, and cheers reverberated. He had short black hair and a determined look behind his mask. Reaching the center, he stopped and crossed his arm, exuding confidence. Nice poise.

“FACING HIM IN THE EAST CORNER, LIGHT FROM TIMBAKU. A MYSTERIOUS SAND NINJA RUMORED TO BE THE CLONE OF BARSAL FARRAN. IS THIS TRUE? WHO KNOWS! WHO CARES! IN THE RING, ALL ARE EQUAL.”

Emelia wished him luck as he exited. Around him the crowd roared, and he felt stage fright grip him for the first time. The ambiance, together with this opponent, was intimidating. Focus, calm yourself.

“WE HAVE A TRUE SHINOBI SHOWDOWN IN THE CARDS! ARE BOTH PARTICIPANTS READY?”

Light crossed his arms in response. I aim to win.

“BEGIN!”

Light opened with three shurikens. Dodging, Kaito performed the hand signals and shouted, “Storm Eels.” Three snaking outlines materialized, floating and crackling with electricity. Can’t let those near.

Light finished his own spell as the transparent emerald creatures slithered towards him, “Sand cyclone!” He let loose a vortex which shredded the eels.

As the whirling winds barreled down on Kaito, his foe cried out, “Sea snail.” What? Sure enough, a fifteen-foot shell appeared. His cyclone obliterated itself against it.

Water began gushing out of the mollusk, covering the arena. Kaito marched onto the growing puddle, and trickles rose up around him. They formed into sharp spikes and darted forward. I see freezing is unnecessary for him. As Hope could liquefy metal, Kaito could harden water.

Light jumped sideways while unsummoning a pocket of air created earlier. The projectiles were blown off course by the collapsing vacuum.

His manipulation of air had improved vastly thanks to Emelia. I’d never fully grasped its potential. By controlling the pressure around him through summoning and telekinesis in tandem, he could generate gusts which could flatten buildings. Light dropped one on Kaito, forcing all liquids away.

The ninja responded by reaching one arm to the snail and the other towards him. The water pouring out accelerated and tightened into a beam. Light dashed aside, throwing shurikens, but the water laser swerved to deflected them. It chased him through the ruins, slicing columns and walls. Time for Mockery.

Light unsheathed his ninjato and sent a mass of sand at his rival. With the catalyst’s boost, his tumbling attack plowed forwards, forcing Kaito to move. Gust-accelerated sand blocks came crashing down on him, but were deflected by waves of water. The next minute of back and forth gradually transformed the arena into a stormy beach.

Suddenly switching strategies, a wall of water splashed up around Kaito, and three blue shinobis raced forwards, each covered with half an inch of liquid. All look equally fake…

Two can play at that game. Under the cover of a blast of sand, Light fashioned two more of himself. They were so perfect even he was impressed. This was Mockery’s Illusionary Grace: Sands of Deception. When employing sand for subterfuge, the effects would be vastly enhanced. Light’s duplicates were now just as indistinguishable as Kaito’s.

Six figures collided, four dissipating into nothing. What followed was a close quarter clone battle. Every time Kaito moved, he’d divide in two. Light did the same. They exchanged a whirlwind of blows, half landing on fakes.

I’m losing this clash. Kaito’s strength was slightly above his own. More importantly, the ninja’s hand to hand skills were superb. His extra decades of training really show. On top of this, that thin coating of water had strong protective properties. If he hadn’t learned ‘rock flesh’ from Emelia two days prior, he would’ve gone down already. Unfortunately, the technique is still incomplete.

When Light winced from a vicious kick, Kaito split again, one copy dashing away. Striking down the nearby clone, Light threw a shuriken at the fleeing figure, only to see it collapse into a puddle as well. Drat, he got me. The real Kaito was crouched besides him and had just complete a hand signal.

“Aquatic Prison.” Kaito barked. Water leaped up around him, tumbling him about. He found himself upside down in a murky sphere. This resembles my sand tomb. I have to break out!

Throwing caution aside, Light completed hand signals and shouted with his last breath, “Air explosion.”

This spell summoned two roomfuls of air in the space of a few inches. This will hurt. A powerful shockwave smashed into him, breaking him free and sending him skidding across the flooded floor.

Dragging himself up, Light found Kaito standing behind a large circle of glowing blue symbols. Wait, ninjas use regular magecraft too? The shinobi completed eight hand signals in the blink of an eye and roared, “water dragon.” A combination spell?

As the circle flared, a tidal wave exploded upwards, taking the shape of a dragon and diving at him. I’m not escaping this… Several tons of water crashed into him at lightning speed.

(continued in part 3)