Vol 5 Chapter 32: Mage vs Mage

The Starswept Observatorium. One of the so-called World Dungeons and one of the main attractions of the city of Arborea.

These days, however, no one came to visit. The reason? The place had grown to be inhospitable to its main visitors, that being adventurers. Not only that it no longer gave treasure chests with valuables inside, any adventurers that entered them recently never returned, thanks to the teleporters shutting down. The city's Adventurer's Guild had issued an official S-rank quest to investigate this problem but after the top guilds disappeared taking it, no one else dared to do the same.

In short, it was becoming a giant headache for the House of Relfatia, the de-facto ruler of the city.

ᅠ

Marlene Fey Relfatia rubbed her forehead, her gaze resting on the book she was reading.

Urgh, I need to take more of that medicine. This headache is just not going away.

And these numbers... This is bad... Without a new source of revenue, our budget would be at deficit again... And we still have to pay the tithe...

The blonde-haired woman was sitting on her desk in her bedroom, still wearing her nightgown. It was early in the morning and sunlight was barely creeping into her room from the window.

And I end up working all night again...

Heavy bags could be seen weighing her eyes. Along with her messy hair and her sickly pale skin, she definitely looked like she had seen better days.

Ever since she became the ruling regent of the city, she had been a lot more busy than she had expected. Her father, unfortunately, had been suffering from poor health lately, and so it was up to her as his daughter to take up his mantle as regent. She wouldn't want to anger their demon overlords after all.

Yawning, she stretched her arms upwards and backwards. I really should get some sleep soon... I can't concentrate like this...

Wiggle.

Hmm?

Wiggle. Wiggle.

She saw movement on her bed, right out of the corner of her eyes.

She turned around and saw that there was now a...

...What is that?

It was a round, white, furry, and fluffy thing with no arms or legs, just a spherical abdomen that it stood(?) on. That, and the rabbit ears it had. The abdomen itself was also its face and it was looking at her with its eyes, smiling as it did.

It reminds me of a slime... But it's made out of flesh and fur... Like a legless rabbit...

And then, it began to speak.

"Hello!" Its voice was squeaky and high-pitched. "You're Marlene, aren't you?"

...W-w-what? Am I hallucinating? Why is this... thing talking to me?!

Slowly, she stood up from her chair, walking towards her wand that she stored at the corner of the room beside her wardrobe while keeping her eye on it.

"Miss Marlene! I'm here to deliver you a message! From the mother of your little sister. Her real mother, that is!"

What? Victoria's real mother? What is this creature talking about? I really am hallucinating!

"She wanted you to know that she despised what you did to her. And not just you! You and your father and mother as well! And so, she asked me to give you your just and deserving punishment!"

Marlene grabbed her wand, aiming it towards the creature with a triumphant smirk. "I don't know whether you're a hallucination or some demon creature that's trying to deceive me but if you want to live, I suggest you leave right now. The demons might rule this city now but I still have authority as the ruling regent."

Normally, she wouldn't be afraid of a creature that tiny and weak-looking. But, for some odd reason, she felt something terribly wrong emanating from the creature. How did it sneak in anyway? I have guards and servants all over the place! Not to mention it snuck into my room without me noticing! Did I just miss it pushing the door open? She glanced towards said door at the other end of the room. No. It doesn't look open. Then how did it get in? Did it just squeeze itself in through the small opening underneath?

"You really are as bad as they say, huh? Very well! I think I know just what to do with you!"

A surge of magic emanated from the creature. Noticing this, Marlene fired a blade of wind towards it, fully intending to cut it into two before it could cast its spell.

Unfortunately, the spell did nothing to the creature whatsoever. It only cut through her bed and floor, and nothing else.

W-w-what?! But ho-

The light blinded her vision, coming out from the crimson gem on its forehead.

And then, darkness.

ᅠ

Felicia

"You're saying that... Not only she's the daughter of the Fey Queen herself but she's also the daughter of the Legendary Hero Arthur?"

"I know. I didn't believe it at first but it's the truth. According to my research, she definitely is of his lineage."

Defeated, Adele told Felicia everything she wanted—what their plans were and what they wanted from Victoria.

And the answer Felicia received took her off guard, to put it mildly.

"So, let me get this straight." Felicia tapped her staff to the floor. "Your husband, the Demon Lord of Wisdom, suddenly decided he wanted to be the next Demon God one day. And to do that, he declared that he needed to be the strongest Demon Lord, believing it would make him be 'chosen' to be one.  And by chosen, he meant Gaia."

The black-haired elf nodded. "The sealed Goddess, yes. I presume you're already familiar with the true history of the world then. Hmm, how peculiar..." She eyed her up and down. "I thought all memories regarding that information are forbidden by the Heavenly Dragon."

"And how do you know about this information in the first place?" Felicia asked, a look of suspicion drawn on her face. "For us, we have been granted permission to remember. But you... how could you retain that information?"

"Because I was born a long, long time ago, at the previous Cycle of the world. Before this Fifth Cycle."

Felicia fell silent, standing in place in disbelief at what she just heard.

"W-what?"  Felicia's eyes went wide. "The previous Cycle? You mean... before the Demon God was defeated?"

"Correct." The black-haired elf stood up. "I was born in the Fourth Cycle. I assume you are already aware of what a Cycle is?"

Felicia nodded. Four Cycles had passed. Four heroes putting an end to a Demon God. And now, they were in the Fifth Cycle.

"Good. Then you should know that I was born around a hundred years or so before the Legendary Hero began his fight with the Demon God. And, before you accuse me of lying, I was born to a family of high elves. I possessed part of their long lives, even though I myself couldn't be considered part of them. In fact, they kicked me out because of my short ears. Those close-minded fools..."

Her face warped in a flash of hurt for a few moments before returning back to her usual neutral face.

"If... If you really came from that age, then tell me everything about it." Felicia's eyes glinted with interest. There were no history books reaching that far back. No doubt the Dragon had erased that history from the current Cycle.

"Read it yourself. There are books here from the Fourth Cycle. You can't take them though. They're mine."

"Oh, don't be stingy." Felicia smiled. "I'm the victor here. I deserve the spoils. And you said you didn't care about your books because you already memorized them all."

"I'm a book collector. I'm not giving them to anyone, let alone my enemy." She glared at her.

"Big talk coming from someone who begged me to spare her life. Unless, you want round 2?"

The elf couldn't respond. She just looked away with an annoyed expression on her face.

How could she have lost to this arrogant human woman?

"Now, show me where they are, would you kindly?." Felicia smiled.

ᅠ

Adele then led her to a certain section of the library, enlarging her book once more so she could ride on it. Of course, she didn't offer Felicia a ride-along, forcing her to walk under her as she flew above.

The place she guided her to was the heart of the great library. Felicia didn't notice immediately that it was the direction the elf would've led her to if she were to mindlessly chase after her like she wanted. Only once she sensed the growing magic concentration in the air that she realized where they were.

"This is where I placed my anti-magic trap. Though knowing you, you should already know that fact." The elf glanced at the human.

"I'm surprised you decided to deactivate them. Don't you want to kill me for your dear husband?" Felicia smirked.

"No. What I want is for you to tell me the secrets of your soul magic. Though, of course, dispose of you afterwards. But, after you displayed that you were more adept than me in magic, I decided that I should show you proper respect as a fellow mage."

"Really now? I still remember you calling me 'a filthy human' and all that in our fight?"

"You have proven yourself. You're a step up to all the humans and demons I had to deal with in the past."

A slight curiosity grew in Felicia's mind. Perhaps she had some terrible experience with humans at some time during her past lives.

But It's not really my place to ask.

"Here it is. The history bookshelf of the Fourth Cycle."

They stopped in front of a tall bookshelf that stood all the way up to the far ceiling.

Felicia's eyes immediately scanned the books on the ground floor. Let's see here... The Dark History of Wizards and Witches... The Legend of The Crimson Bard... The Compendium of The History of The World... Yep, I think I'm taking all of them!

Felicia took out the books one by one, storing them inside her Dimensional Storage. Adele looked with an expression of annoyance but decided not to say anything.

"How did you get your books anyway? These are books written by humans, no?" Felicia asked as she ransacked the elf's collection.

"I have my ways. I'm not telling them to you. Unless, of course, you teach me your Soul Magic."

"No. I don't think you're the kind of person who's trustworthy enough to receive that knowledge. I've promised, you see, not to share that knowledge with just anyone."

"In what way am I not trustworthy? If you think I aspire to be some Necromancer Demon Lord that wants to conquer the world, your brain is dimmer than I thought."

Felicia chuckled. "You'll do it for your dear husband though."

"Won't you do the same for yours?"

The redheaded woman stopped, turning to glance at the elf with a cold expression that made her flinch.

"My Lord Hugo will never be like your husband. Don't even mention them under the same breath."

"..."

At that moment, Adele knew she loved the man named Hugo Greenwood a lot.

Even more than she loved Balthazar.

ᅠ

After about ten minutes or so, Felicia finally finished her ransacking. She pretty much took every single book that she could reach.

"I'd take more but I'm afraid my Dimensional Storage is getting full." She smiled at Adele, giving an exaggerated sigh as she drooped her shoulders.

The elf raised an eyebrow. She knew the spell herself and she was sure it could hold pretty much an infinite amount of stuff, or at least close to it. Perhaps the spell known to her is an incomplete version of it... It made sense.  By her knowledge, spatial magic was rarely practiced in the two human continents.

"I propose to you an exchange, human." She spoke. "Give me your knowledge of soul magic and in exchange I'll teach you my spatial magic. As you might have noticed, I did this in the middle of our fight before." She poofed out of existence, only to reappear behind the redheaded mage. "It's a spell called Blink. Surely, this could be a big boon for you and your dear Hugo Greenwood."

For a short moment, a curious look flashed on Felicia's face. But, she quickly returned to her neutral expression.

"...No. I'd have to refuse. I'm not breaking my promise. Not even for that."

Truth be told, she wanted that spell. If she could use something like it, she would be a lot more maneuverable in combat. She wasn't like her dear Hugo who could move faster than sound. She was just a slow and frail mage who had to rely on deception and trickery to triumph.

But, she had made a promise to those two skeletons. The book asked her to not share its secrets to anyone at the very first page. And she had agreed to comply.

"Suit yourself then." The elf gave her an annoyed glare. "Now, leave my library at once."

"Oh, I'm not finished." Felicia smirked. "Turn off the defense systems of this place. Oh, and tell the floating fortress to descend as well. You can do that, right?"

"..."

Adele cursed inside her mind. She had hoped she would have forgotten about them. Letting her go to die at her husband's hands was one thing but actively sabotaging her husband's efforts in warding these intruders off, that would've crossed the line.

"It's you who maintained them all, right? Turn them off. Every single one of them."

"That is a request I cannot abide with."

"It's not a request." Felicia's smirk grew as tendrils of shadows began to surround her. "Do it. Or I'll kill you for real this time."

The elf locked her gaze at her. She knew what she had to do.

The foolish woman was arrogant. She had fallen right into her trap. She might have disabled the anti-magic field but enabling it was a matter of sending a command to her familiar whom she kept safe in the hidden floor below them. There, the entire magic system of the fortress resided, including the anti-fey field she had invented.

And she could send that command with a simple thought.

"I know I'm asking you to betray your beloved Lord Balthazar," Felicia continued. "And, if you're a good wife, you'll never do that. But I'm also a good wife to Lord Hugo and he needs all the help he can get. And so, if I have to kill you to help him, I'll do it in a heartbeat."

Activate the field, now!

Aye-aye, Mistress!

Her familiar was, at first, a simple, common imp. But after hundreds of years together, she taught it the ability to clone itself. It was how she collected all the books in her library. She ordered them to go out and collect them all from the human world.

And now, they were under her, operating the crystals necessary to achieve mana nullification. It was one of her greatest creations. Using the vibrations caused by mana crystals, one could create a field where all attempts to focus mana into spells would be impossible.

And the moment the field was erected, she would use the confusion it caused to strike her down on the spot, not letting her retreat away from its range.

"Now, answer. Do you want me to take your life or would you be a good girl and dismantle all your tricks so I would let you live?"

Now!

The moment she saw the shadow tendrils vanish, she lunged forward.

She took out a dagger from her pocket and brought it down towards Felicia's heart.

...

Huh?

What... What happened?

I was running for one second and then I'm... I'm...

She was now on the floor, blood pouring out of her nose.

She... she hit me...

She slammed that staff of hers right at my face, breaking my nose...

What... what kind of a mage would fight in such a way? She must have trained herself to do it... I couldn't see her movement at all...

"You think I'll be fooled by your little acting? You really do think of me as a fool, don't you?"

She could see her feet approaching from the corner of her eyes. Walking on high heels... no wonder she has to rely on that shadow magic of hers to move around...

Turning her body so she rested on her back, she looked up to see Felicia's smirking face.

"That staff movement... you trained that, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Her annoying smirk grew. "A good friend of mine could use her staff in that way so I figured I should learn how to do it as well."

"A mage that fights physically with her staff... how shameful..."

Our kind are no warriors. We win through our wit and intelligence, not our brawn.

...But, that is certainly one despicable way to triumph over an anti-magic field...

"Shameful? Where did you get that idea from? I think it's more shameful trying to stab someone with a dagger. Though, I give it to you, you did do it from the front... I suppose I have to applaud you for that..."

She knocked her dagger  away with her heels. There went her plan to stab her in the foot when she was busy bragging.

"In the end, I have to kill you. And then resurrect you as a zombie. Just so you know, I do have the capability to extract the memories of a corpse."

Adele glared at her. Another spell I don't know about...

"Do it," the elf said to her. "Kill me. My Lord Balthazar will kill you all in the end."

"Oh, that would never happen. After all..."

She never heard the end of her sentence as Felicia stabbed the small end of her staff into her left eye, killing her instantly.

"My Lord Hugo will never be defeated."

ᅠ

And that takes care of her...

What a shame... I was hoping I could settle this peacefully...

Felicia looked at the elven corpse with a somber expression on her face. She thought she would be more reasonable. But she thought wrong. In love, there's nothing reasonable about it. She'd die over sabotaging her husband. And I'd do the same if it were Hugo.

As she was an elf, she knew that she didn't possess the durability of those demons that could still fight even after sustaining grave injuries. A simple grotesque stab to the eye was enough to damage her brain, killing her instantly.

Still, she hoped she didn't damage it too much. She needed the brain to be in fresh condition in order to dig up her memories.

"O Lord of Souls, hear my plea! Call this vessel back from the world of the dead and grant it a second chance in life!"

A chant, just to focus her thoughts on the spell she desired to cast.

Like the book said, it didn't mean anything.

"Pristine Resurrection!"

A magic circle appeared around Adele's dead body, followed by a sliver of bluish mist coming out from Felicia's chest and going into said corpse. Unlike the usual necromancy spell however, the bluish mist didn't disappear from the air. Instead, it formed a link from Felicia's body to the corpse.

And then, once the magic circle disappeared...

The corpse opened her eyes.

"You... brought me back."

Slowly, she stood up. Strangely enough, the bloody gory hole that was her right eye was nowhere to be found.

A pristine corpse. Just like the spell promised.

"You know what I want." Felicia smirked.

"I do. And I cannot disobey your command, no matter how much I wish to."

"How nice of you to understand. Now, tell me, where is the control system of this flying fortress?"