Level 2 Spell: Lightning.
Even though he cast the spell without an incantation, Zousi Ayler fixed his gaze on the distance ahead.
A moment later, two of his subordinates approached with unsteady steps, sweat soaking their faces.
The two stared blankly at their commander, their minds still reeling after the lightning had nearly shocked their hearts out of rhythm.
Zousi Ayler let out a quiet chuckle.
"Sorry for startling you," he said softly as he crouched down.
Judging from the situation around them, they knew Kusen would soon wake from unconsciousness, and that Karl Vairanz had not died from that devastating attack.
Zousi knew it. At the very least, Queen Seon Arzen realized it from the worried look on her commander's face.
"...That man didn't die so easily, did he, Commander?" Queen asked, merely seeking confirmation.
Zousi nodded hesitantly.
"I'll admit he's formidable, and that spell was only a third of its original power. Yet somehow, I managed to cast it without an incantation at all," Zousi explained, forcing a smile despite being half beaten to pieces.
Once again, their attention turned toward the raging flames rapidly devouring the surrounding buildings as the morning wind only fed the inferno.
The Commander and the Captain exchanged glances before each of them walked away from the spot.
Naturally, Karl, who had just emerged from the blaze with his body scorched and the illusion-infused coat full of holes and in tatters, had no intention of letting that slide.
Even without his illusions for the moment, he recklessly launched a surprise attack.
But the instant ten playing cards sliced through the air toward him, Zousi Ayler drew the sword without unsheathing it, shattering eight of the cards in an instant while the remaining two split into scraps of paper.
The road before them was almost completely covered with paper fragments. Karl stepped out from them, drew out his wand, and unleashed a magic orb.
A dark violet sphere of magic streaked toward them.
As Karl shifted positions, the three of them were forced into a difficult situation as he set his sights on Lyliya.
"Watch out..."
Sring!
BOOM!
The Magician was no longer holding back.
Hovering in the air while deftly rolling cards from one finger to another, Karl stared at the cloud of dust swirling around where they stood.
Naturally, he wasn't expecting them to die. Instead, this was the only idea he had to defeat them.
Pushing against the air, Karl shifted to another location. Repeating the same card flourish, he showered the brown dust below with dozens of playing cards.
Snap.
As Karl snapped his fingers, the remaining twenty-five playing cards instantly doubled.
Karl pushed against the air again, sending himself elsewhere. There was no response from below, making the suspicion in his mind grow even stronger.
The tattered, filthy hem of his coat fluttered in the wind as his attention remained fixed beneath him.
The fact that there was still no counterattack whatsoever prompted Karl to drift a little farther away.
He knew all about that artifact sword capable of killing him in a single strike if he failed to prepare a substitute body in time.
Only then did memories that should never have reached him suddenly surface in his mind, memories sent from the avatar that had been unable to return to him for the past two months.
Karl understood that his "Avatar" possessed free will, especially because he had given it memories of the past he himself wished to bury forever.
A naïve child who helped people he knew, no matter how strange their requests were.
'You idiot! How could you tell him that information?'
The person he meant was Zavi, and Karl felt as though he were scolding himself.
Yes, he had no idea that the information he had revealed, something no one should ever have learned, had so easily fallen into the hands of the younger sibling of someone closest to him.
Even so, he wasn't angry. Instead, he was amazed at how "he" had managed to carry out that plan.
As for the search for Zavi, who had become a fugitive, there was no need for him to think about it anymore after telling the truth to his older brother, Ren Actitus.
'What about those memories?'
At the very least, an avatar created within a two-month period could transmit its memories back to the original body, even if those memories weren't particularly important.
'Strange... did I overlook something?'
Even while thinking, his focus never left the dust still filling the air.
Continuing his assault while several playing cards circled around him, Karl sank deeper into thought.
'Wait, who is that? It feels like someone's talking to me. Is that... Ren, Michelle, Narissa? Who is it?'
Karl tapped his upper lip with his index finger while keeping his other hand clenched into a fist, his gaze slowly lowering.
That strange sensation caused the "Magician" to falter for a moment, making him lose the support that kept him suspended in the air.
Tap!
Karl landed back on the ground, and as the dust gradually settled, only fresh crimson blood remained pooled where they had been standing.
Not only blood, but also a thumb and a ring finger lay right in the middle of that pool.
Karl fell silent for a moment, scanning his surroundings before his knees finally gave out.
Thud.
'So they ran away, huh? That was the right choice, damn it. If they'd attacked me again, well...'
Karl adjusted his glasses, blinking repeatedly as the way he perceived the world became different from before.
With soot covering both his face and clothes, Karl wiped himself clean with his still-clean sleeve. His blue eyes shimmered faintly beneath the morning sunlight.
A few seconds later, he collapsed, lying helplessly on the ground. His gaze drifted toward the birds flying overhead and the bright sky as the sun slowly climbed higher.
The birds' chirping briefly emptied his mind.
'What a pain...'
Creak! Creak! Creak!
The building to his right suddenly collapsed as a violent gust swept away everything in its path, the impact jolting Karl's thoughts while he remained sprawled across the scattered paving stones.
Realizing they had no intention of giving up, Karl forced himself to stand despite his trembling knees.
'What a nuisance. They really don't know when to quit, do they?'
Karl had to take back his earlier assumption. He kicked the air in front of him and floated into the sky once more.
There was no one else around Chapena District, near the one-mile marker on Cosdever Road.
The oddness of the situation suddenly dawned on him: that building had been destroyed by his own actions.
Mistakenly believing his opponents still hadn't given up, he nearly lost consciousness while hovering in the air.
Karl's perception of the world began shifting erratically. Right was still right, yet he suddenly perceived it as left.
Left remained left, up remained up, down remained down, and behind remained behind.
It was rather strange, but the truth was that when he had been on the verge of advancing from Trickster to Sorcerer, Karl had been forced to wear glasses, choosing a thin frame that suited the proportions of his face.
Unexpectedly, he had grown very fond of them. Narissa had even complimented his appearance after he returned from the incident in which eleven people had been kidnapped from the city square by an emissary of the Finiscya Sect.
Remembering that incident as he fell, he smiled warmly to himself, and to someone else as well.
Even so, he enjoyed his current life. Deep down, being a wandering "Magician" was actually quite enjoyable.
Tezny District, Senggong Street, three hours after the battle.
Their arrival was met not with relief, but with panic as they rushed toward a pitiful woman who had lost her thumb and little finger. Eleven playing cards, each bearing a red diamond suit, were embedded one by one throughout her body.
A tragic sight greeted them. A woman who should never have been there now lay on the brink of death after stubbornly insisting on following them.
Naturally, when facing supernatural powers, especially intelligent ones, none of the officers dared confront them with firearms alone.
They were willing to serve as the rear guard against supernatural entities, creatures that were clearly not human, but this case was entirely different.
Worse still, they were in a city they had never wanted to set foot in. Yet because of orders from their superiors, they had no choice but to obey.
"Damn it, is this really how my life ends?"
"I don't even own a house yet."
"You idiots! Do you want the Commander to punish you?" another officer barked sternly.
"Forget punishment. What if that thing is strong enough to wipe all of us out?"
"That's true, but we can't give up. We have to make it home alive."
"Have you all forgotten about your families?"
Their attention shifted to the officer who had removed his cap.
"Stay strong!" he added firmly.
The officers whispered among themselves, though the two of them could hear every word.
Kusen remained unconscious, prompting Commander Zousi Ayler to run a frustrated hand through his hair.
Meanwhile, inside the tent, Queen laid Lyliya down. Ever since arriving at the plaza, her expression had remained indifferent despite the girl being on the verge of death.
"Hang in there."
After silence swallowed the air inside the tent, Queen's jaw tightened as she added,
"Why... why did you save us?"
It was obvious that both Queen and Zousi could have avoided that attack, even knowing that two or three playing cards would have pierced one of their limbs.
But why Lyliya?
That question made her heart tremble as she continued encouraging Lyliya to survive for just a few more minutes.
Her medicine and medical supplies had been left far away from the plaza because Lyliya had brought them earlier in preparation.
All that remained inside the main tent were sutures, even though the wounds left by the playing cards embedded in several parts of her body still gaped open despite being stitched.
Playing cards, though ordinary objects easily found in any shop, had become deadly weapons capable of killing a person with just one or two cards.
Queen knew that truth, but fate had taken a different course now that the situation had changed beyond what she had expected.
Several minutes later, Queen nearly lost consciousness herself. Yet with trembling fingers, Lyliya gently wiped away the dried tears on her Captain's cheeks.
Queen flinched, then leaned forward and clasped the pale hand while slightly knitting her brows.
Lyliya smiled, struggling to speak.
"C-Captain... I told you, didn't I? I... cough, cough."
Drip.
Queen rose from her chair, then carefully pressed Lyliya's pale left hand against her own chest.
Beneath the blanket, Lyliya's right hand moved slowly as she continued, "I'd support you from behind, remember?"
Drip.
Queen smiled and replied, "Yes, but please... hold on just a little longer. Otherwise, I..."
Lyliya let out a soft chuckle.
"What are you talking about, Captain? I don't understand."
Despite the pain growing worse with every passing second, Lyliya still tried to ease her captain's worries.
Drip.
As time passed, more and more blood left her body.
Lyliya realized it, but Queen kept talking, hoping she could help Lyliya forget the pain, even if only for a moment.
Even though she had received proper treatment and the equipment had stitched her wounds correctly, it still wasn't enough.
Several hours passed quickly as the two remained together, pouring out everything in their hearts.
But no longer able to endure it, Lyliya gathered the last of her strength and whispered hoarsely, "Captain, please give my regards to my younger siblings... tell them their foolish older sister will be gone for a very long time before she can come home."
Queen pressed her lips together tightly. Her story came to an abrupt end.
She was startled by how fluently Lyliya had spoken, yet the problem was that she couldn't understand those words.
Queen nearly leaped from her chair, releasing Lyliya's hand as she called for the others.
Commander Zousi Ayler, Deputy Commander Kusen Zacuesia, Captain Harvert Hosiki, Lieutenant Faselens, Lieutenant Harrowi, and Lieutenant Yosikeres arrived after receiving what they believed was good news.
But reality struck them as Queen unconsciously pointed toward Lyliya, who had already died with a smile still on her face and tears still trailing down her cheeks.
"Captain? What exactly are you doing?" Kusen asked, his eyes barely open.
Naturally, after witnessing that scene, they were stunned. Yet their commander understood what lay behind it all.
"You two, call the others. The rest of you... please wake Captain Queen Seon Arzen from her nightmare."
Death will always come, no matter how far one tries to hide. Accept that fate has long been waiting for your return.
After the funeral ended that afternoon, Queen Seon Arzen still could not believe that her subordinate had left her behind.
An hour had passed since the brief funeral ceremony concluded.
One by one, they tidied up the modest burial site, cleared away the remaining belongings, and disposed of the trash before leaving Queen Seon Arzen alone to surrender herself to the emptiness consuming her heart.
Amid the ruins of the plaza that had become Lyliya's final resting place, Queen collapsed helplessly beside the grave, bathed in the warm golden-orange glow of the afternoon sun.
"Do you remember when I asked for your help?"
She gently stroked the gravestone before continuing, "It feels like it was only two weeks ago, but somehow, remembering it makes me want to apologize for asking Vaetan to escort you home."
Unaware that her words had begun to lose coherence, she continued, "About that... Vaetan actually cared about you very much, you know... Lyliya Nesteivin."
There was no reply, because the truth was that the Goddess had wanted someone as kind as her and had taken that kindness to remain by Her side.
That warmth could not melt Queen Seon Arzen's heart. It shattered into countless pieces with every passing moment as she clung to the gravestone, weeping uncontrollably.