Gaius spent the whole week poring over the endless tomes in President Benedictus’s personal library. Given normal circumstances, he would be completely beside himself with delight to devour the buffet of arcane knowledge displayed so enticingly in front of him.
But not this time.
The Sorcerer visited the library every day with only urgency in his eyes, intent to finish the previous day’s book and move on to the next. He was being unusually worried for a little girl that he had never met before, to the point where he was neglecting his main mission for her instead. Still, wasn’t that why he joined the Guardian Council in the first place? To save those in need?
According to what he had heard from Cleric Nerva, the Angelo Syndicate had been recently obsessed with conducting some sort of experiment to grant Metas the ability to wield magic. Not only that, but the President had ordered Warlock Vulcan to eliminate the syndicate for some reason.
Gaius’s suspicion of his leader deepened upon hearing that. If it were true, Vulcan was being oddly passive about this mission. Hell, the only person who seemed to be doing anything about the Angelo syndicate was Felix, and it was only because his sister had been taken by them.
So why doesn’t Vulcan seem to care about his direct orders from the President? Why doesn’t Vulcan seem to care about an innocent girl in danger? Was it because he was secretly in cahoots with Titus Angelo? Or did he have other things planned that didn’t involve the Guardian Council?
Gaius snapped another book shut and focused his magic. Flipping books and musing pointlessly was taking him nowhere. He needed a more direct approach.
Can’t believe I’m using True Vision for something like this.
Arcani filled Gaius’s eyes as he scanned the library, searching for the book that would most probably help his cause. The magic guided his vision and landed on a thick book that read ‘History of Arcani’.
Confusion flooded the boy. Why would a history book be relevant to his situation? Gaius shrugged, putting common sense aside as usual and flipped the tome open.
He squinted. Not even True Vision could decipher the numerous scrawlings and strikethroughs over the printed text. Whoever vandalised this book clearly did not agree with the author. A familiar name caught his eye.
“General Theodore Faustus, the first Warlock and… original Magi?” Gaius muttered to himself.
Years of Social Studies lessons had taught him that General Theodore was merely a heroic figure who led a vastly undersized army to a one-sided battle and still won.
But Arcani was discovered years before his rise to power. Why did the handwritten scribbles claim that he was the founder of magic?
The boy flipped the pages, hastily reading through an extremely abridged version of history about how the General’s betrayal of his Meta friend gave rise to Magi-kind via a demonic being named ‘Abaddon’. Gaius reached the end of the printed text quickly, and found himself reading an entirely handwritten continuation of the story.
“—Abaddon, growing ever more powerful, continued to demand more and more inhumane sacrifices from him. The general knew that he would not be able to meet its demands, and Magi-kind would eventually be crushed under the weight of his sins. Working secretly with the most powerful Magis in Surone, they inscribed a counter spell drawing on the collective power of the world’s Magi to seal away the demon permanently. The lengthy spell was embedded in three tomes—”
The word ‘three’ was underlined.
“—and sealed behind a wall of Arcani embedded into the books. Fortunately, General Theodore and his advisors managed to complete the incantation right before Abaddon found out about their contingencies. A fierce battle ensued, and the demon was finally banished from the plane of the world, but not before separating the tomes and scattering them. Should the three tomes be united once more, the final spell can be completed, and Abaddon’s gateway to Earth will be destroyed permanently.”
“What?” Gaius sputtered out loud in the empty library.
He shook his head in confusion. Either the vandalizer had an extremely vivid imagination, or social studies class had been one big lie all along. He could not decide which was more implausible.
But this was the President’s personal library, which meant only he should have had access to the books in it. Gaius’s suspicion was starting to shift to Benedictus now.
What exactly were the President’s intentions with the spellcraft? Could the three tomes in that story be the same three tomes that he was seeking? And what have these spellcrafts got to do with Titus?
Gaius slammed the book shut before the multitude of questions building up in his mind crushed him. He checked his phone once more; Benedictus had not yet contacted him. He still had time to clarify his doubts.
Perhaps it was time to pay a direct visit to the Guardian Council leader.
~ ~ ~
A loud wail echoed along the empty corridors, making it sound more like a continuous, pulsating wall of sound rather than the intermittent ringing alarm it was supposed to be. Commotion muttered in the distance, though it was too far away to make anyone behind the steel doors budge.
Men lazed around on their hard wooden beds, fanning themselves with their hands. Summer was beginning to start up, and their poorly ventilated accommodation only made the heat worse.
“Probably just another attempted gaol break,” they thought in irritation.
Some of them had covered their ears with stolen wads of toilet paper, hoping that the sound would stop quickly enough for them to enjoy what was left of their afternoon nap. Others stared into space, either ignoring the noise pollution through supreme force of will, or because they had plain lost all ability to give a shit anymore.
The alarm ceased soon enough, and peace blanketed their gaol cells once more as the Magi prisoners rolled over on their beds in relief. The familiar sound of footsteps drifted to their ears once more, indicating the resumption of the guards’ patrol.
A loud clang from outside their cells jolted them awake instead.
The prisoners backed away from their cell door warily as the protection spell shimmered and dispersed into the air. They collectively flinched as something crumpled the door and ripped it off its hinge.
“Greetings, fellow Magis. Great day to be free once more, isn’t it?”
The criminals stepped out of the cells, looking curiously at the Magi in pure white robes standing in front of them. He was accompanied by a group of red-hooded Necromancers carrying charmed briefcases.
“Ain’t those people ‘The Ruby Skulls’?” one of the criminals commented.
“Necromancers? In the presence of a Cleric?” another sniggered. “I must’ve been locked up for too long; this world’s gone to shit.”
“Very astute of you, but not all who wear white are Clerics.” The White Locust’s staff flashed, and the power nullifiers on their necks transmuted into water. “Look alive, gentlemen. There is a war coming. A war that threatens to destroy the very foundations of our society. But none of you care about that now, do you? What you care about is doing what you want once you get out of this shithole.”
The criminals stared at the man intently.
“All of you are here for one reason,” he continued. “Because societal rules have suffocated and punished you for daring to struggle against the chains around your necks. But I say ‘No more!’. No longer will they suppress our incredible magic! Society rejects us. We form our own. And when the revolution crumbles its false walls, we will watch them fall from the safety of our own airship!”
“Says the one who came from outside these walls. If you really are one of us, you’d be in here as well.”
“This place is but a prison for your flesh. But are we not all prisoners of this decaying society?” The White Locust gestured for a Necromancer to open his briefcase.
Murmuring spread through the criminals, fascinated by the array of wands in front of them. The White Locust gave them a moment to admire the weapons.
“I come not as your saviour. I come as a brother,” he continued. “Join us, and I will provide you with the tools for your true freedom.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” A man stood up. “What’s in it for you?”
“Camaraderie, my fellow Magi.” The White Locust held out a wand to him. “By myself, I am but a mere mortal, too weak to fan the flames of revolution. But together, we can break down these stifling walls for good.”
“Now, you can choose to join me,” he turned back, signalling for The Ruby Skulls to place their briefcases on the floor. “Or you can wait for the government to finish mopping up the blood of your gaolers and send more to incarcerate you again. Your choice, comrades.”
The empty corridor filled up rapidly.
~ ~ ~
“Hey. Hey you! Apprentice Sorcerer Gaius Deusdedit, wait up!”
Gaius stopped and turned around, glaring at the blue-haired boy calling out his full name and title in public. The boy was a schoolmate, judging from the unflattering green robes that hung loosely off his lanky frame, and he looked slightly familiar.
The Sorcerer waited impatiently for him to catch his breath. After all, he would rather not let anyone see him heading to Warlock Vulcan’s place.
“My name’s… Orpheus Caesar, Felix’s friend.” The boy panted. “Have you seen Felix around in school?”
“Ah, the Apprentice Necromancer,” Gaius emphasised the word ‘apprentice’ with a generous amount of petty vindictiveness. “Glad to see Cleric Nerva healed you up so well. No, I haven’t seen Felix around. I never did anyway. He’s in Meta classes, remember?”
“Felix has been missing school, and I haven’t seen him come home in days!” Orpheus wailed.
“What are you, his boyfriend or something?” Gaius smirked. Orpheus blushed as his mouth slammed shut.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised.” Gaius sighed. “After all that’s happened, he probably just needs a break from everything.”
“I wouldn’t be so worried if that were the case! Have you seen the news lately? There’s a Meta vigilante going around targeting Meta street criminals.”
Gaius raised an eyebrow as the boy conjured a podcast recording from his phone.
“— Pointing to this fresh new vigilante on the scene— I mean, it’s hard to miss him, isn’t it? Pink cape, white pantalone mask. Fashion school reject, maybe?”
“You know, some sources had some—let’s call them ‘creative’—nicknames floating around. Phantom Thief, Night Sentinel, Rouge Phantom, Psychic Demon… Pretty scary names, really.”
“Totally. I think it just tells how terrifyingly effective this person is. Sources are thinking he’s some sort of psychic-based Meta with pink-coloured powers.”
“Tier Five, perhaps?”
“Wouldn’t be surprised; I saw the footage. I mean, stopping a thirty-tonne carriage just by staring at it? Tearing a hole in titanium with a flick of his wrist? That guy’s got mad skills. He flies too, apparently. And up to several hundred times the speed of sound, might I add. Nobody knows who this guy is; even the criminals he targets are scrambling to make sense of it all.”
“Well, whatever the case is, this mystery… Uh— ‘Rouge Phantom’, I’m going with that— is cleaning up crime around the neighbourhood faster than constables can even respond to a call.”
“The big question for all of us now is what happens next? Will our law enforcers step up their game? Will the criminals get bolder? I mean, for the safety of Sirius City, there’s just so much to consider.”
“Yeah, I think it’s pretty interesting to see how this all unfolds. Thanks for bringing this to light, loyal listeners. A lot to chew on this week. Till next time!”
The podcast ended with a buzz of static.
“It’s so obvious who that is!” Orpheus exclaimed. “What’s Felix trying to do, man?”
“He’s taking down criminals one at a time? What good will that even do?” Gaius muttered to himself before looking at the fretting boy again. “Look, Orpheus. Even if that really is Felix, I’m sure he can take care of himself. He’s a Tier Five Meta after all.”
“How can you say that? Felix is willingly putting himself in harm’s way!” Orpheus cried out. “It’s only a matter of time before he picks a fight he can’t win!”
“Well, what do you want us to do about that?” Gaius rolled his eyes. “We’re just students. Neither of us has any idea where and when he will strike next.”
“You’re in the Guardian Council, aren’t you? Can’t you ask your leader to do something about this?”
“You want me to mobilise an entire team of Council members? It’s not like I have a direct line to the president—” He stopped himself before the hypocrisy of the whole situation overwhelmed him.
Gaius sighed again. There was no point lying to himself. As much as he had on his plate now, he couldn’t deny that he had already made this problem his priority, whether he liked it or not. He might as well just see this all the way through. Gaius gave a reassuring nod to the anxious boy.
“I’ll see what I can do, Orpheus.”270Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSElR4nL1vy
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