FIC LORE INCOMING. Questions will be anwser here.
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A few hours earlier, the Same day. Cube's Training Room.
Shiki P.o.v
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"Relax your muscles and spread your hand... ease your senses and breathe..."
"Yes, Teacher..... Huuu...haaaa..."
"Now close your eyes and hold it in... Don't answer, just do."
"..."
"Release your mana, feel the flow of it in the air... embrace it, let it course through your body."
"..."
I'm currently in the middle of training Rachel how to feel the mana in the air. By doing so, it will increase her mana sensitivity which will allow Rachel to later learn to differentiate local spirits and natural mana.
Now, Rachel is expelling her mana reserve to let her body intake more mana from nature. Continuous mana drainage will force her body to develop an instinctual mana absorption, which increases her mana pool as well as gets her used to the surroundings' mana.
"Now stop. Let your mana die down slowly."
As I told her, Rachel ceased her mana release. The towering forces of magic also dropped.
"Good, we'll take five and then switch to a different training."
"Got it, Teacher."
We sat down and took a breather. Teaching her had been a nice feeling until then. Getting to teach a genius is both fun and exciting at the same time.
Seeing Rachel follow my lesson flawlessly and sometimes exceed my expectations is somewhat fulfilling.
We had a small talk about our daily lives in the past week.
"Now that we've got you used to the flow of mana. It's time for you to learned to detect it."
"Yes, teacher."
"I like the enthusiasm, but try not to force yourself, ok?"
"I understand."
"Great, cause the next thing we're gonna do may cause some stress to your body...
We're gonna have you feel my mana pressure directly."
"Teacher, are you gonna release your mana?"
"Exactly. By staying in the vicinity of a much denser mana area, your body will have to adapt to it, or else, your body will go under a mana lock. You won't be able to use mana if that happened."
"I see... By having my own mana nearly emptied earlier, I can now get a sense of it by trying to absorb your mana in return."
"The main point is to train your body to automatically recognise magic power. But if you can also absorb it, then that's good for you."
"Enough saying, let's begin."
Rachel nodded, took a few breaths to ready herself.
"I'm ready." Rachel said.
"Here it comes."
I stood up, slowed down my perception and tapped into my soul. Thanks to Heaven's Feel, my soul had been materialised, capable of generating limitless mana to use. I kept pumping more mana into my body, overloading it in the process. And then...
*Shussshhhhhh*
The dam was opened, my Od blew off. Under the sheer amount of Od I accumulated, the space around the room distorted like static on a TV screen.
Rachel felt like a metal net had sprung over, holding her down to the ground.
"So heavy...Grr..." She lightly groans.
Her breath started to get heavier with every second that passed. Her limp felt gradually weaker with every breath she took.
Soon, Rachel got down to her knees, tried not to collapse.
'I might have gone a little overboard. Let's stop here.'
I stopped the mana flow and the static began to clear out. The atmosphere started to get more breathable for Rachel. Relief showed on her face as she steadied her breathing.
"Good work withstanding all that pressure. Lesson's over. Lie down for a bit before going back and get some rest."
"Yes, thank you very much."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
I said goodbye and left the room. On my way back, I passed by a few cadets. One of them was going toward the Cube's portal.
'The demonic mana he gave off is getting stronger. Wasn't Hajin supposed to have a club activity in Gwandondo today? That's the only place he could go to. Something amiss, I should follow him.'
Thus I changed my schedule and followed the offsetting cadet from afar.
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Back to presence
Still Shiki P.o.v
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'So they split up. Hajin's moving in one direction and Chae Nayun and that cadet are moving in another.'
Here I am, stalking cadets from a tree a mile away. The demonic mana kept getting more potent as time went on. Eventually...
The cadet started extruding deep red tentacles from his back to hunt. Sooner or later, he will go through an irreversible transformation.
"For now, I must know where that power came from. I will interfere when things get dicey."
With that being said, I kept my pursuit.
The situation started to escalate. Starting with Chae Nayun and the cadet regrouped and had an argument. Then he tried to attack Nayun with the tentacles, but was stopped by Hajin's timely arrival.
Nayun then killed the cadet by bringing down a mana sword. Things seemed to die down when suddenly...
*Crack* *Crack* *Shattered*
Mana where the cadet was erupted breaking the space, dark fluid started spewing out. A figure shrouded in dark cloud appeared out of the crack.
Hajin stood in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening. Nayun was unconscious, as all her strength had gone into one strike.
Sensing an ominous feeling, I rushed to their location. On my way, mana particles started forming creating multiple dots of light in the air. My eyes widened in sudden realisation.
"Mana detonation? This is bad. I have to get there in time."
'Should I remove it with Fourth? No, it's too many and too unpredictable. Get them out and run? Too late.
I must intercept it head-on.'
I placed myself in front of Hajin and created an ether barrier covering all of us except the abomination. Explosions occurred from all sides hitting my shield all at once.
Cracks formed everywhere. With my limitless mana, the barrier started self-repairing immediately.
Yet, numerous cracks resulted in the rebound of my spell. The blunt force of it swept through me. My hand started bleeding and my forehead started dripping blood.
"Teacher? Why are you here?"
"Hello there, Hajin. I got a bad feeling about that guy, so I came to watch. Didn't think it would come to this."
"What are we looking at, Teacher? I have never written about him."
Looking at the humanoid creature before me. My mind started flipping through the knowledge of the Root. What I found was astounding.
"There's good news and bad news. Good news is I know what it is."
"And the bad news?"
"I know WHAT it is."
Seeing the seriousness in Shiki's eyes, Kim Hajin couldn't even imagine what had just descended upon this world.
"Get her out of here, Hajin. I can't protect you and fight it at the same time."
Looking back at my student, I told him one last thing.
"And Hajin.... Don't tell anyone I was here, ok?"
"Right. Stay safe, Teacher."
I gave Hajin a thumbs-up while facing toward the creature.
With Chae Nayun lying on his back, Kim Hajin ran toward the Gwangdong Province's entrance. I shot a Gandr to catch the creature's attention.
'Looks like he doesn't like that at all.'
"Now it's just you and me. Sorry, but I can't let you leave here alive. My comfortable life depends on it. Enough said, let's go."
I dashed straight into my deathmatch. Knowing the identity of the being before me. Cheap trick won't work on him. Not in front of the demon king Asmodeus, even as a shadow servant.
Throughout the battle, flashes of red and mutiple colors clashed, wreaking havoc on the forest. Tentacles and magic spells shot off with killing intent. We exchanged blows for blows, the battlefield became more devastated.
Yet, a question lingered in my head.
'How could he be able to be summoned here?'
Independent manifestation does allow someone to call upon themself as a servant. But this world's Mystery has died down a lot since the first enlightenment. Even a shadow servant couldn't be summon.
The best option is possession, but a host is needed to do so.
Thus, there is nothing they can do by themselves.
Unless...
"Gaia, it was you all along. It was so simple yet I had not even thought of it until now.
If one's own Mystery isn't enough then add another's. And for why is it Gaia? That's easy to explain."
Humanity has always corrupted the planet in one way or another. As the will of the planet does not want to go extinct, Gaia has pleaded to the other celestial bodies for help.
But, in the history of this world, there was no Brunstud, no True Ancestor, nor even a vampire. There was no one to answer Gaia's plea, or was it?
When no one helped, Gaia opted for the final gambit: contact the demons and devils. They are still technically planetary beings.
By allowing them to exist in this world, they will purge the humans returning the planet to its original state, before the corruption caused by humans.
"It all made sense now. The dungeons, the monsters and even the Djinns. They are all byproducts of the contract between Gaia and the demons.
By tempting human with power, they create vessels to later possess and become Pseudo-Servants.
And just like True Ancestor, Alaya don't view them as targets since they are now mediators of nature. Evil at that, but still the extensions of the planet nonetheless."
Fortunately, in this case, the possession is incomplete as the original host is destroyed. Subsequently, the servant lost half of its power to make up for the lack of a vessel. Becoming a shadow servant is proof of the faulty summoning.
Furthermore, he won't last long unless there is an external mana source to maintain his summoning.
"If only I could stall him long enough. My body won't last that long.
And if I lose here, then it means that I just gift myself to a demon."
'Fight dirty it is then.'
As our clashes went on, more and more injuries appeared on my body. Blood started painting on the wildlife. The fight was getting harder for me.
I had to watch for my wounds, not to let it get serious, while preparing for a big surprise.
My chance arrived when I successfully broke our deadlock, knocking the demon back, and got away with Displacement. It wouldn't be long until he could find me.
'Is it done? I have to get there first before he catches up.'
A few miles away, there was a golem sketching a large diagram with chalk. The golem was secretly created with Runes, doing its bidding while I fought.
The length of this spell was the reason I set it far away from battle. I wouldn't get a chance to cast it while fighting.
"O rune of divine protection, cast myself away from heaven's sight."
A rune manifested, Tiwaz (ᛏ). Soon, my location was blurred from the outside.
'It should buy me some time, let's start.'
I stepped into the circle drawn for me and invoked the magic within myself. This is my own Mystery, my own power gained from the journey I walked. I started my own Aria(chant).
[
For red blood and white chalk,
Foundation magic of the magus of record.
And for my origin as the successor of the all-knowing library.
Open our paths.
Cometh forth, legend from afar, follow the road leading to the Akasha.
*
Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill.
Let it be read five times, allow the story to become truth.
Record.
Heed my claims, your blade shall create new Heroes, your will shall set off new legends.
If thou desire to do so, answer this summoning.
Under the law of contract, all exchanges are equal.
My might is yours, your might is mine.
Hereby I swear to fulfil your wish, if you answer my own.
Cometh forth, leave your mark here and create a new record in the Root, O Guardian of the Scale.
]
A white flash of light shot up, illuminating the scene. It was like the descendant of a higher being. A red mark appeared on the back of my hand signalling my success.
The demon servant noticed the pillar of light, frantically made its way to destroy it.
There, it made eye contact with the being who had run from it earlier.
"Finally here, huh. Well... you're a little too late."
I sneered at him.
"I'll confess. This vessel haven't grow enough to fight any kind of planetary level being yet, even if it was a half-hearted battle.
But I never said i have to fight alone."
"Just because this world can't summon a Servant doesn't mean that I can't.
The Root exists outside of time, thus making it independent of any Mystery besides its own. And as the inheritor of the Root, I am no exception."
"You, Asmodesu, the demon king of lust. Your existence and many others have nurtured this world. By being a conceptual myth, you have shaped human belief to a certain degree creating many Mysteries for them to use.
However, I can't let you stay in this world. Your legend depicts that you will bring troubles to humanity in the guise of a wish-granter."
"So the demon god of lust, Amodeus, look behind me and bear witness to the goddess of the dead."
A slender figure revealed herself. A stunning, curvaceous warrior queen with long purple hair and red eyes. She wears a dark, reinforced bodysuit with prominent metallic shoulder pads and a mask covering the lower half of her face.
Giving off an alluring yet cold vibe, she said.
"Looked like I had been summoned by an interesting individual. I came from the Land of Shadow. My name is Scáthach. I guess I should call you, Master?"
That figure was none other than Witch of Dún Scáith herself, Scáthach. She who has achieved immortality and later ascended to godhood had answered my call.
"Yes, I am your Master. Surprisingly, I was hoping for the great mentor of Heroes, Chiron."
With chalk and my divine blood as medium along with the chant, I was aiming for the centuar to come. But it seemed fate had another plan for me.
"Ara, is that a complaint I hear?"
"No no... I didn't know that I had a better option at the time. Never expected that bathing in god's blood counted too."
"Your mouth is good, boy. Let's hope your strength is the same."
"I certainly hope so, Lancer."
"We'll see. Back to business, is that my opponent this time?" She pointed toward the demon.
"Yes, he is Lancer. We should kill him quickly before anyone arrives."
"Got it. Let's see if you can fulfil my long-cherished wish."
Scáthach summoned her two red-tinted spears, Gae Bolg Alternatives, and went in to have a duel with Asmodeus.
Physically exhausted, I stayed behind and supported her with enhancement and covering magic spells.
The cursed spears strike true as Scáthach fiercely fought. True to her legend, she was skilled with the spears. Slashes and thrusts came at the speed of sound, leaving no gap for the demon to act.
The demon fought back, using its tentacles to deflect the incoming barrage of attacks. At one point, it manipulated its body, creating a spear to try to make some distance. But that was a major mistake.
Having trained the great hero Cú Chulainn, the worst thing you could do is to fight Scáthach with a spear.
Scáthach quickly pinned down the shadow servant with one of her spears, while the other went straight for its heart.
*Stab*
The demon was stabbed. In retaliation, its body shot out long spikes trying to impale anything nearby.
"Fool."
Scáthach jumped back, avoided it completely.
Not only did it fail to hit its target, some of the spikes also embedded into nearby trees. The demon was momentarily stuck.
"Lancer, step aside!"
Receiving her order, Scáthach moved, allowing me to finish the job.
"Ether cannon!"
With enough time and an opening created, I obliterated the demonic servant with an overcharged magic cannon. My circuits screeched showing signs of overextension. Luckily, they weren't damaged.
"So it too could not kill me." Scáthach watched the demon disintegrate in the white beam.
"Phew, that was tiring." I sighed in relief.
"So the demon is dead. What else do you wish for me to do, Master?"
Our contract is nearly completed, I have no reason to keep her here. Maintaining her existence would eat a lot of my Od, not that I worry about that.
The important thing was if she could acustom to this new world. There are similarities but in essence, this is a different world from our Earth.
Having her here would totally help with my lesson. Her knowledge and experience in teaching are valuable assets. Being a woman also helps with training Rachel.
That is only if she wanted to stay. Per our contract, I cannot deny her wish as she has fulfilled mine.
With some thoughts, I asked her.
"Lancer, do you wish to stay here? I know that you wish to die in combat. But I can't do that just yet. Even so, I will still try to heed whatever you demand. That is our contract in the first place."
"My wish? I didn't have a particular wish when I answered your summoning. Yes, I did wish to die a warrior's death, but that was not why I am here. You had summoned me, and I merely replied.
Please give me a few days and I will give you my answer."
"If that's what you wanted then I have no objection. Have as much time as you want, it won't hurt me in any way. Just don't materialise in front of the citizen."
"Very well, I will see you soon, Master."
Scáthach vanished, leaving me to clean up the scene. The once vibrant forest has now been reduced to a desolate landscape, filled with craters, scorch marks, and tree trunks.
"I should patch this up. Or else Hajin wouldn't be able to explain all this destruction."
I touched the ground below and evoked my Magic.
"And the final Fifth had long since lost its significance...
Reverse the irreversible."
As magic poured out from my hands, everything froze. Everything started going in reverse, like time was turning back.
Soon the desolate forest became anew like nothing had ever happened. Everything returned to its original state. Seeing nature breathe green once more, I left for home.
.
.
.
"I'm back."
I called out to the empty room. Maybe in the future, someone will welcome me back at the door. But that future has to be set aside for now.
'Speaking of, I wonder where Lancer would go for the next few days. She can't go here via the portal. Either I pick her up or recall her with a Command Seal.'
'In any case, if she wants to see this place, I would happily oblige. There are a lot of talents here that she could train like Cú.'
'I'll ask her tomorrow. Now, I just want to sleep.'
Letting exhaustion hit, I crashed into the bed and went to sleep.
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The next day. After class.
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Just like the saying, 'nothing travels faster than words', last night's matter was already widespread.
Chae Nayun was attacked by a Djinn, and the Djinn was a cadet named Sven. Chae Nayun came out victorious, but she was seriously injured...
I wasn't mentioned anywhere in the rumour, Good.
Friday's classes are all on theory. So in the meantime, I talked to Lancer with our mind-link. A perk of being a Master is that you can talk to them anytime with telepathy installed in our Master-Servant contract.
Lancer was strolling around Gwandondo for the day. Seeing the medieval province with a modern twist, sparked some interest in her.
After talking for a while, I asked if she would like to come to Cube. She accepted.
It seemed ike she wanted to see the cadet, hoping to scout some potential like in her story.
I told her to meet up in the evening in front of the portal. We would walk for a while before coming back to avoid suspicion.
Enough said. We cut our communication and went on with our day.
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Class was over, and I had some free time before our meeting. But before I decided to do anything, Hajin walked up to me and said.
"Teacher, do you have some free time now?"
"For a few hours, why?"
"There is a meet-up today, and Suho wanted you and me to attend."
"Is it important?"
"I don't know. He didn't tell me."
"I'll spare a few moments, lead the way."
"Okay, Teacher. But before that, I have something so talk to you about. I'll take you to my room first, then we can go to the metting later."
I agreed, and we made our way to Hajin's dorm.
But while we were talking down the hallway...
"...What?" Hajin exclaimed.
It felt like someone was following him. Hajin turned around, but no one was there.
'The presence was too calm to be a Djinn. Then was it an assassin? Why would an assassin be following?'
"Hm? What's wrong, Hajin?"
"I don't know teach. It feels like someone is following us."
"Well... You would be correct."
"What? You know who they are?"
"Yes, and it's your fellow student, Rachel. And she is mostly following you."
"Huh? Why would she do that? Why is it not you but me?"
"That's what only you can answer. Let's get to your room quickly."
"Okay..."
We continued to walk and Rachel tenaciously chased after us. She didn't stop until we entered Hajin dorm.
After entering the room, I went straight to business.
"So what do you need to talk about?"
"Please sit down, teach. I'll tell you in a minute."
Pulling out the chair, Hajin prompted me to take a seat.
After we settled down, Hajin pulled out a seed from his wrist. The crest on his wrist also acted as an inventory. Interesting. I wondered how it works.
Anyway, the seed in his hand was as big as a doorknob. There are markings as well as mana inside of it. But above all else...
A soul was residing in the seed.
"So, what do do you want me to do with this seed?" I asked.
"Well I...
I want you to feed it with your blood."
"Feed it with my blood?"
"Yes."
"Can I ask why?"
"Well... You see..."
Hajin began to tell me about his dungeon raid, how he obtained a new weapon along with the seed. He also told me about the nature of the seed. That a witch would be born after drinking a bit of blood.
"So you wanted to have this witch take over my trait?"
"Yes, out of everyone I know, you're the strongest option."
"So after being born, Evandel will take after my personality and potential, right?"
"That's right."
"I see... Having a witch that inherits my magecraft sounds like a no-brainer."
"But I refuse."
"Huh? Why?" Hajin asked in confusion.
'Why wouldn't he give his blood to her?'
"I'll answer that
Firstly, giving my blood to her meant that she would be a carbon copy of me, right? Which means I will technically be her father.
To be honest, I don't mind being a father. However, I wouldn't like for my child to grow up to be like me. I'm not a good person. All I have done is to satisfy my own desires.
Secondly, inheriting my magics also means inheriting a heavy burden. I could tell you the details but it will take a long time. You and Rachel are at least more mature than others, I wouldn't mind teaching you two everything I know. But Evandel is still too young to understand that. I can't let my child handle all that.
Do you understand?"
I couldn't tell him the third reason. If Lancer stays and finds out about Evandel, who knows what she will do to the poor child? I'm sure she won't harm her but the bottom line is very steep. Cú Chulainn and her own daughter Uathach are the proof.
Hajin froze, trying to interpret my message.
"I... understand..."
"Don't worry, I won't let you handle her all alone. I'll spare a few drops. Like i said, Evandel is still too young. So having just a bit of my blood would help her along the way.
Besides, I can't imagine you being a good father to her. So leave her to me, I'll take care of her instead."
I held out my hand.
Hajin looked at me, thought about the future for a while and then...
He placed Evandel onto my hand.
"I trusted you, Teacher. It has not been a long time since we have known each other. But I know that you will take care of her better than me."
"I'll do my best to raise her to be a good person."
My voice softened as I looked at the seed that Hajin entrusted to me.
'I might have to deal with Lancer once she found out. But that is for the future.'
'You're my responsibility now, I will care for you the way that I can, the best that I can.'
The seed seemed to understand my thought, as it trembled slightly.
"Hajin, get me a gauge. I'll drip some blood on it to feed her."
"Right away."
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Editor note: well shit, Gaia pissed. Anyway, Scáthach's here, permanently hopefully. Yay for shishou.