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A voice spoke right beside Russell, close enough to make him turn quickly. The gold-level commander who'd been leading their battle group stood there, having materialized without Russell noticing.
Damn, that's unsettling, Russell thought, keeping his face neutral. Gold-level cardmakers are on a completely different level.
"Sir, you're giving me too much credit," Russell said with a respectful smile, careful to sound neither cocky nor overly humble. "If you hadn't trapped that demon, I never would have had a shot at it."
"Hayes. Commander Hayes," the man corrected, though not unkindly. There was genuine respect in his eyes as he looked at Russell. "And don't be modest, young man. Even with the demon trapped, why couldn't any of the other silver-level cardmakers here pull off what you just did?"
Russell stayed quiet. Anything he said to that would probably piss off the other silver-levels within earshot. Better to just keep his mouth shut and let the commander think whatever he wanted.
"By the way," Hayes continued, curiosity obvious in his voice, "what card is that?" He gestured toward Artoria, who was standing quietly nearby. "She shouted something when she attacked, but I couldn't hear it clearly from that distance. And when I compare her to known cards in my database, nothing quite matches."
Since he was just asking for a name, Russell didn't see the harm. "Commander, she's King Arthur."
Hayes blinked. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"
"King Arthur," Russell said again, meeting the commander's confused stare.
Hayes turned to look at Artoria with obvious bewilderment written across his face. "But... your King Arthur is completely different from the one I remember seeing."
Russell laughed awkwardly and didn't reply. What was he supposed to say? Yeah, I made her a cute girl instead of a dude?
Commander Hayes caught himself quickly and shook his head. "Just pretend I didn't ask." He knew better than to pry into specific card details - that was a major taboo between cardmakers. And he wasn't about to alienate a talented teenager just to satisfy his curiosity, especially one who clearly had a bright future ahead.
Though he had to admit, it felt bizarre. The only thing this card seemed to share with the King Arthur from the World Mythology Atlas was the word "Knight." The traditional version that had appeared in past conflicts was more of a legion commander type - good at tactics and leading troops, not firing giant laser beams that carved canyons into the landscape.
"By the way, what's your name?" Hayes asked, changing the subject.
"Russell, sir," he answered promptly.
Hayes froze mid-breath. "Are you... Master Blake's disciple?"
Cold sweat immediately broke out on the commander's back as he mentally reviewed his behavior over the past few minutes. Thank god I kept things professional, he thought, pulse quickening. If he'd tried to force Russell to reveal card secrets or gotten aggressive, Blake Whitmore would probably show up at his door tomorrow morning. And that was a visit nobody wanted.
Russell wasn't surprised the commander knew who he was. Gold-level cardmakers were basically middle management in any organization - they had access to information about promising students. "Yes sir," he confirmed with a nod.
Hayes looked Russell up and down with new appreciation, relief evident in his expression. "As expected - a good teacher produces a good student." He clapped Russell on the shoulder. "I'll report everything that happened here. The reward will depend on how the Association arranges it, but don't worry. Should be substantial."
Russell felt tension he didn't know he'd been holding drain away. He'd been worried the commander might try to claim credit for killing the flesh giant, but that clearly wasn't happening now. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't risk pissing off Blake Whitmore for what amounted to pocket change.
"The demon's dead, and this attack is probably winding down," Hayes said, squeezing Russell's shoulder once more before stepping back. "Take a rest. You've earned it."
Then he vanished, disappearing like he'd never been there at all.
Nolan stood a few feet away, still looking dazed. Anyone who'd witnessed that golden apocalypse would need time to process. Luke seemed more composed, but then again, he'd seen Caliburn once before during their earlier mission.
"Hisssss..."
The sharp intake of breath made Russell turn. Nolan was staring at him with an expression that looked almost painful - eyes wide, face twisted like he was trying to solve an impossible math problem.
"Nolan, you okay?" Russell asked with genuine concern. "Did you get hurt?"
Nolan's face was distorted because his entire worldview had just been violently rearranged. I'm so stupid, he was thinking, internally berating himself. Really, genuinely stupid. I knew she was a melee card like mine. I had no idea a melee card could have THAT kind of attack method...
His brain helpfully replayed Russell's words from before entering the pocket dimension: "As for me, I'm better at long-range support, and I also have some medical skills."
Long-range support, Nolan thought hysterically. LONG-RANGE SUPPORT. Sure, if you kill all the monsters from a distance before they can reach your teammates, that technically counts as supporting melee fighters, right? RIGHT?
Then he remembered Russell was a Master Cardmaker's disciple and couldn't help but laugh - a slightly unhinged sound that made Russell take a step back. "The gap between people really is bigger than the gap between people and dogs," Nolan muttered.
Russell shot him a weird look. Is he having some kind of breakdown?
Luke, standing nearby, had just learned Russell's full identity from the conversation with Hayes. But unlike Nolan's focus on power levels and teacher credentials, Luke was fixated on Artoria. Specifically, on the fact that this petite girl in armor was supposedly King Arthur.
As someone from an academic background, Luke had studied various mythological systems. He knew the King Arthur legend inside and out. Which made the current situation completely impossible to process.
King Arthur should be eight feet tall, his brain insisted. Covered in muscles. Radiating masculine warrior energy. Not... not a cute teenage girl who blushes when her Master pats her head.
It didn't compute. His worldview was making concerning cracking sounds.
Russell watched the demons in the distance begin retreating, their organized assault falling apart now that their gold-level commander was dead. He turned back to Nolan, figuring the guy might know what happened next.
"So what do we do now?" Russell asked. "This is my first time doing one of these missions. I'm not clear on the process."
Nolan snapped out of his internal crisis and plopped down on the ground without caring about dirt or decorum. "Next? We wait for the handoff signal. Other units will take over security, and we head back for debriefing."
Luke sat down cross-legged nearby, not even bothering to brush away the dust and debris. Everything that had happened today - the fighting, the near-death experience, watching a silver-level cardmaker delete a gold-level demon - it was too much. Physical and mental exhaustion hit him like a truck.
Russell, unlike his two teammates, had better options available. Under Nolan and Luke's dull, envious stares, an ornate chair emerged from shadows behind him. He settled into the plush seat like it was the most natural thing in the world.
His Shadowkhan immediately got to work, pulling camping supplies from shadow storage and setting up a small fire. Within minutes, they had water boiling for tea, the civilized little scene wildly at odds with the devastated battlefield surrounding them.
Russell looked over at his exhausted teammates sprawled in the dirt. "Want some?"
(End of this chapter)
PLZ throw powerstones