Chapter 13: Blood, Bones, Fire and Madness (1)

Medicity Hospital, Trade City East, South Wing

As soon as Roselyne left the irritating man's apartment with a list of questions that needed further answers, she had drop her pride and take a taxi. Nevertheless, she needed her bodyguard back to full functionality and so she brought him to a hospital for treatment. Suffice to say some of the doctors were absolutely baffled with Gustave's throat injury. It seemed to the doctors that checked on him, that his throat was grabbed from the inside by a hand that wore gloves made out of sandpaper and then the innards were repeatedly sanded. Such an injury was something they had never seen and something they considered an impossibility. The doctors first conclusion was fire related accidents or heat related accidents, perhaps the man had drunk hot water, if that was the case the man shouldn't be conscious, let alone standing and move on his own two feet. Nevertheless soon afterwards the doctors received a call from their superior that the case had been transferred higher up the chain. In a well put out office, one that looked both homely and extremely clean at the same time sat a doctor with a head full of gray hair, wearing large glasses. He also had a shortly maintained beard and his entire disposition screamed a certain eccentricity though he looked all normal. The man was in his fifties but he looked slightly younger and he had an approachable quality about him. He had put down the files he was examining as soon as he heard the knock on the door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and in came the beautiful duchess Roselyne Agnes Magnier and her bodyguard Gustave. Roselyne managed a weary smile at the good doctor's calm one.

"Hello Weaver," she said.

"Duchess Magnier," he stood up went over and kissed her hand a gesture at which Roselyne rolled her eyes, but something she did not stop.

He then turned to Gustave who offered him a weak smile.

"Gustave, my friend," he said as he led the both of them to their seats. "Please have your seats."

He went back to his own, rather expansive and comfortable seating in which he proceeded to relax.

"So," he said lazily. "Tell me, what has happened?"

Roselyne motioned to Gustave, "My bodyguard can't use his voice properly."

"I heard…and saw," said doctor Weaver Wellington. "I want to know what happened to turn his fine throat into a sieve."

Roselyne looked directly at Weaver, "Someone shot him."

"Shot?" asked Weaver. "Pardon my confusion, how does that do damage to his throat, even if he was shot there."

"He was short, some, fifteen, sixteen times with 9mm, Glock 17," said Roselyne.

Weaver winced at that, "A glock 17 and 9mm, that sounds like a police pistol, did you get into a tussle with law enforcement?"

"It was a police officer, he was acting outside the law in the matter," said Roselyne. "Don't worry, there will be no case."

Weaver nodded at that, "Very well, but still I must confess, I find it a little hard to believe that an officer can do that damage with a handgun and 9mms."

Gustave just then kicked the desk, more as a reflex of anger than anything, he then proceeded to rasp, "He shoved the gun down my throat and unloaded."

Weaver rubbed his own throat as he looked thoughtfully at Gustave, outwardly there was no injury, the carnomancer had all but made sure of that, but the inside was a mess.

"Care to explain how you go into the tussle," said Weaver. "I'm thinking about how to treat this but I'd also like to hear your story duchess."

Roselyne sighed and then took a deep breath before starting from Hector and finally ending with both her and her bodyguard being soundly defeated by a foe they thoroughly underestimated. Weaver made for a brilliant audience, he knew how to act shocked, laugh and comment all in the right places, regardless, this story didn't have the happiest of endings for Roselyne.

"So…Jerome Elliot Hall," said Weaver. "The man sounds more than interesting, he wields carnomancy and electromancy and you suspect him of wielding necromancy."

Roselyne and Gustave nodded.

"He's not a binary mage?" he asked, more as a question to himself.

"How did he bring himself back?" Roselyne asked pointing it out.

"You're right, both electromancy and carnomancy can't do that," Weaver said with a light smile. "But if he's a carnomancer he could have faked his own death."

Gustave looked thoughtful whilst Roselyne's eyes lit up.

"How hard is it for a carnomancer to take several blows from a c-grade magical weapon and still remain standing, especially from the way you've explained him, he seems like a highly competent carnomancer," Weaver continued as he got up from his lazy.

Roselyne and Gustave shared a look of slight relief and knowing. If it was as Weaver had said then the boogeyman in their minds had taken a slightly more corporeal and non-frightening form. As Weaver was about to come around to examine Gustave up close, the phone on his desk suddenly rang. He quickly picked it up.

"Yes. Dr Wellington speaking," he said and the reply from the other side caused him to pause.

"Yes, I understand," Weaver continued. "I will be right down there…how did such a thing happen?"

Weaver paused as he waited for the person at the other end to reply, all with while Roselyne and Gustave were throwing him curious looks.

"No, you're right, that's not important," Weaver said knowing and then finally put down the phone.

He then proceeded to take in a deep breath slowly releasing it and then he looked at both Roselyne and Gustave with a somewhat grave expression.

"What?" asked Roselyne apprehensively. "What is it?"

"Hector Bishop just came in," said Weaver and both Roselyne's and Gustave's eyes widened as their brains spun trying to figure out the implications.

"In what state?" she asked.

"Nearly dead," said Weaver with a wry smile. "They say and I quote this, 'he has so many injuries and broken bones that at this point he is just a bag of blood and bones inside human skin'."

Roselyne mentally winced at the imagined sight.

"That's him," said Roselyne. "That's the constable, he went after Hector."

"Well whatever problem you've got into, I need to get down, I've been called," said Weaver and he quickly put on his white coat before rushing out of the room.

Shortly after, Roselyne and Gustave followed, there was no point in waiting here and they also wanted to see Hector Bishop's state. Weaver rushed to the ER of Medicity, one of the busiest places around. There patients both bloody and otherwise being rushed round on stretchers and wheel chairs. As soon as he saw one of the doctors motioning he rushed over and as soon as his eyes landed on the person on the stretcher he stepped back a little, shocked. He had seen accidents, he had seen some of the bloodiest goriest things possible but this man it looked like had been put through a blender that had the bluntest blades.

"He was thrown out of his own building," said a doctor. "Some, eighteen or nineteen feet up."

"These can't all have came from that," said another doctor. "For god's sake he looks like someone took a sledgehammer to every part of his body."

It did indeed look like that to Weaver's eyes as well but he was sure this was not the work of a sledgehammer but, the work of a ridiculously powerful human being, a carnomancer able to match Gustave Dremont in power but to think this had happened to Hector Bishop in such a one sided way was almost unthinkable.

"We need to run all sorts of scans," said another doctor. "We don't know the extent of the damage but if the exterior indication is anything to go by then I believe in miracles and I'm going to start praying from now on."

"What do you think Dr. Wellington?" asked a doctor. "He's been stabilized and that's a miracle in and of itself, but the fact is despite the damage his body is still functioning."

Weaver nodded, as expected of an electromancer that had reached the master rank. He was not in any state of critical emergency but still. He looked back at both Roselyne and Gustave, Roselyne stood there with a somewhat grave look on her face whilst Gustave's face was white, perhaps he was imagining what Jerome Hall could have done to him, if he did this to Hector Bishop. Weaver soon assumed command and control of the situation and asked the personnel at hand usher Hector for scanning and then report back to him. He turned and walked towards Roselyne and Gustave.

"Jesus Christ," said Roselyne as Hector's stretcher passed her. "The man's insane."

"I don't believe he has any consideration for life apart from his own," said Weaver thoughtfully. "Though admittedly I am no psychologist but Constable Jerome Elliot Hall is an extremely dangerous man."

"He's in the police," Gustave rasped with a wry smile.

"That just makes him more dangerous," Roselyne replied.

"He's in a position for power over the normal people and he also himself has power over the normal people, perhaps we need to think of preventive measures for this man," Weaver said thoughtfully.

"We infuriated him," said Roselyne with a thoughtful look. "Until yesterday I'm pretty sure none of us had any idea that there was such a man in the city, let alone him living right under out noses."

"He chooses to come out and then makes short work of you, Gustave and Hector," Weaver said, continuing from where Roselyne left and she nodded at his statement.

"Hector's assassination attempt must have triggered him," said Roselyne. "He should calm down now…maybe."

***

Random Alleyway, Trade City East, East Wing

Jerome and Roy face off and as Jerome was about to move forward to put an end to this snake like man's existence, Roy pulls out his gun. Jerome sneers as Roy points it at him.

"Is that supposed to do something?" Jerome asked with a cold smile.

"You're not afraid?" asked Roy with a light smile.

"It's just a gun," Jerome snorted.

"It is," Roy agreed. "In the right hands thought, this is a very powerful weapon."

Saying that Roy pointed the gun at Jerome's legs and there was flash as he felt his left leg sear and he fell to his knees with a gasp from the pain.

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"What the hell," Jerome loudly cursed out as he looked at his now very badly burnt legs that appeared to be healing but not as quickly as they should.

"Eckhard, what happened?" Jerome asked quickly.

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Suddenly Jerome felt a cooling sensation in his legs and he unknowingly let out sigh before standing again.

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Suddenly Jerome felt energy coursing through his body and immediately saw a red beam coming straight for his other leg, the so called prediction line. He pulled his right foot out of the way as the blast of whatever it was that came from the gun hit the ground and left a smoking hole.

"Eckhard, what the hell is he firing at me?" asked Jerome.

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Jerome dodged another shot thanks to his prediction lines as he rolled forward. He watched then as Roy step back and snap his finger where a flame sprang to life that rested in the air on top of his index finger. He waved it in a wild swing and the flame spread out, shooting out like a whip from his hand. Jerome ducked under it but he could still feel his scalp getting singed. With that swing, half of the things in the alleyway was on fire and in that orange glow he caught the madness and superiority on Roy's face. Jerome's hands suddenly sparked and when Roy fired another blast of thermal

energy, he rolled sideways came up and blasted at Roy with electricity, waving it around like a whip.

Caught off guard Roy staggered back but the whip hadn't hit him. Roy looked at him somewhat

shocked.

"Electromancy?" he asked quietly and Jerome gave him a grin as he tried whip Roy again.

Roy looked over Jerome carefully whilst still slipping away from the lightning whip, "You aren't a telemancer?"

Jerome didn't bother giving an answer to it as he flashed right in front of Roy who barely had the time to pull his gun back before his hand was swiftly grabbed by Jerome who proceeded to judo flip him over his head onto the ground. The gun scattered out of his hand as Roy's eyes widened when he landed. It appeared he had winded him when he felt a sudden searing pain on his leg and he let out a roar. He saw Roy holding his left leg again heating it up. Using his immense strength he pulled his leg back and as he planted it on the ground, his ankle snapped due to the immense heat on the bone and he fell to his knees again. He had just enough time to see Roy come down on him before he felt a flurry of burning blows. He leaned back and covered up as he felt the burns on his hand and body. He called out to Eckhard mentally.

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Even as it happened, as it burned, it cooled down again rapidly in quick succession as his AI worked overtime to keep him from being killed. He surged up his power again and lightning and fire clashed in the little alleyway before he was hit in the chest by something. Both Jerome and Roy flew back, with Roy managing to land back on his feet after sliding back a few centimeters. Jerome landed on his back with a loud cough.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Roy as he noticed Jerome's injuries healing at a visible rate. "You're an electromancer…yet I see carnomancy."

Suddenly Roy had a light bulb moment, "You're a binary mage."

Jerome sat up coughing again from heat and the smoke, the fire had spread in the alleyway something Roy too had noticed because in the next moment it was all put out as Roy tapped his foot on the ground.

"I'm a what?" asked Jerome, hearing a term he hadn't yet heard of before.

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Jerome nodded at the sudden understanding before looking up at Roy again who simply stood there with a calm look on his face. If all this time, it was him being underestimated by his enemies then Jerome at this point could safely tell that this time around he had severely underestimated Roy Sharpe. He saw Roy's eyes going towards his gun, something Jerome couldn't let him have. He had thought all this while that he was exceptionally powerful he had after all defeated the master rank Hector Bishop but now he had realized the true powers at play.

"Help me Eckhard," he said as he got up and his mind and body at this point went into overdrive as he utilized both telemancy and carnomancy.

He felt a sharp headache as he winced but regardless of the pain this needed to be done.

Roy stood there still before finally speaking, "You have carnomancy, electromancy and there is some suspicion on telemancy, I also theorize that you're a binary mage, how did you hide from us all this while Constable Hall."

Jerome looked at him with a lovely smile even as he cursed the living daylights out of the man in his heart.

"What can I say," he said. "I've become a new man."

Roy's eyes narrowed before he stepped forward waving a large burst of fire that suddenly formed, straight at him. Jerome in turned arced lightning through his hand shooting it through the fire even as he ducked under it and with the extreme heat, his jacket caught on fire. He quickly threw of his jacket as he stood back up to see his electricity hadn't damaged Roy either. What happened next was a clash of martial arts as both the pyromancer and Jerome struggled to gain dominance. Both flares of lightning and fire jolted out of the fight, hitting the road and bricks on the wall, charring and denting them. Even as he fought Jerome felt the temperature of Roy's fire increasing as it took longer and longer for his injuries to heal up. In his mind Eckhard was like a broken record repeating.

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Jerome cursed as he sensed himself being overpowered. He was pushed half a foot back and soon a full foot back. 'Eckhard' he called out in his mind.

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Jerome wholeheartedly agreed and he tasked Eckhard with creating a safe passage. Suddenly he felt the surge of electricity and it appeared Roy felt it as well as he stopped the onslaught and retreated back. Suddenly there was an bang akin to grenade going off as Jerome fired out lightning bolts in all directions in a blinding flash, destroying the trash cans and bunkers, damaging the walls and the road and also hitting Roy with a charge flinging out from the alley onto the road. After the blast Jerome knelt down, his head hurt and so did the rest of his body, his entire body felt like it was unable to resist the gravity and he could no longer sense his own strength.

"Eckhard?" he wheezed out.

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And that was all the AI said before Jerome staggered to his feet and half limped and half jogged out of

the alleyway not waiting to see the results of his blast on Roy. He had severely underestimated these people and overestimated himself. As he ran out, his thoughts ran back that time several weeks ago when he was arrested, it was the same feeling then as it is now, one of powerlessness. As he hit the main road he let out a loud scream followed by some incessant swearing. He was uncaring of how the bystanders felt or looked at him because he felt weak once again.