Round 2

『...Very well. I'll have to ask for your help in this matter.』[Edwin]

『I'll accept, of course.』[Sarena]

Nova, still being shaken around by Freyana, started to try to convince her to change her mind.

『Wait! Sarena, they're really dangerous!』[Nova]

『Trust me Nova, I can handle myself.』[Sarena]

『But..!』[Nova]

『Hmm… She can control blood energy, Nova. I think she'll be fine.』[Mune]

『...Can I at least come along?』[Nova]

『N-!』[Freyana]

『Absolutely n-』[Sarena]

『Sure. Why not?』[Edwin]

The girls both looked over to the old man.

『Have you gone senile?! Why would you-?!』[Sarena]

『The young man is a hero! I have absolute faith in his abilities!』[Edwin]

『That's right. Me and Nova beat them up once before. If we can replicate the same situation, but with more people… We should be able to completely subdue them.』[Mune]

『You're joining too?!』[Sarena]

『Of course. This is round two.』[Mune]

He turned to Nova and smiled.

Nova grinned and nodded back.

『You two… are both idiots!』[Sarena]

『Sarena! Please convince them otherwise!』[Freyana]

『I won't take part in this plan if-』[Sarena]

『I'm afraid not.』[Edwin]

He pulled out a slip of paper with an image on it.

When he showed it to them, Nova was struck by a strong feeling of repulsion.

It was Nova's name drawn onto a wall in blood.

『Dear god, what is that?!』[Mune]

『Looks like our culprit has a bit of a crush on Nova.』[Edwin]

Nova couldn't even laugh at that.

『...This is… repulsive.』[Nova]

『...Let me come along too.』[Freyana]

This was where Edwin drew the line.

『Nope.』[Edwin]

『What?! Why?!』[Freyana]

『You're Frey's daughter, right?』[Edwin]

『I am. What about it?!』[Freyana]

『I've known her since she was a little girl. She would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you.』[Edwin]

『But..!』[Freyana]

『No. Nothing you say will change my mind. If Kikhia is like my grand daughter, so are you. I wll not put my family at risk.』[Edwin]

He quietly opened the door saying one last thing before closing it.

『...The mission will start when we find her exact location and you all get some rest. I know you are all tired.』[Edwin]

They all stayed in that room for a bit before they returned to their respective rooms.

.....

『Right. Game plan, Nova! We're gonna take her down! For sure!』[Mune]

『Right!』[Nova]

Mune was extremely excited.

『Does the holy element work on blood energy?』[Nova]

Reischneid answered out loud for both of them to answer.

『Blood is not evil. It's the usage of it in that situation that is evil, if that's what made you believe that holy might have worked. Holy is more of a counter against "unholy" things.』[Reischneid]

『Well, there goes that plan...』[Nova]

『Wait, Nova. Didn't you get a new spell from your dad recently?』[Mune]

『Fluxoria? I still haven't memorized the chant for-』[Nova]

『No, not that. I'm talking about the nature energy wisp.』[Mune]

『Oh! Let me check it out!』[Nova]

He reached into his necklace and pulled out the card.

『...Wait. You have a storage tool already? Did you need my bag, then?』[Mune]

『Uhm.. I have it in the space, if you want it!』[Nova]

He took it out and put it out for Mune to take.

『Is it empty?』[Mune]

『I, uh… put the things in my storage space.』[Nova]

『Alright, then I'll be taking it back. Thanks for holding onto it for me.』[Mune]

He grabbed it before slipping it into his pocket.

『Lucifius. Do you know how nature energy reacts to blood energy?』[Mune]

This time, it was Lucifius who spoke out loud.

『...Ask Reischneid.』[Lucifius]

『Nature energy is filled to the brim with life. Blood is also a sort of life. Though, if it's draining your energy, it's going to be a "negative" blood energy. By mixing the two together, you should be able to cancel it out.』[Reischneid]

Reischneid then told Nova something directly, without the others hearing.

「...The ability Asmodasiah controls is associated with death, decay, and destruction. As such, she throws the blood energy's essence into disarray and destruction. It's a simple power, but...」[Reischneid]

He trailed off before finishing his sentence.

「...It's an absolute one.」[Reischneid]

『Well. I suppose you should learn how to control nature energy, Nova.』[Mune]

『What about you, Mune?』[Nova]

『I'm learning a different kind of energy. If I wanted to pick up nature energy, it would take way too long to learn- I'm way too used to my energy.』[Mune]

『Oh… What kind of energy is it?』[Nova]

『It's… kind of like an attributeless mana. It's called "Aura". It's a bit complicated to learn though...』[Mune]

『Did Cif teach you that?』[Reischneid]

『No. My grandfather did.』[Mune]

Lucifius spoke with a tinge of embarrassment in his voice.

『I'm… not a great teacher.』[Lucifius]

『...Aura is definitely a great energy to learn. If Nova was more developed in his martial arts, I would have taught it to him already.』[Reischneid]

『Reischneid… You haven't even got me started on the second technique...』[Nova]

『Well, what am I to do? You haven't mastered squat.』[Reischneid]

『...I feel that you hold unrealistic standards for your student.』[Lucifius]

『What?! In my day, created my own style and became one of the strongest warriors in the land!』[Reischneid]

『...That's you. You were… twent-』[Lucifius]

『SHU SHU ShuuUUUT UP!』[Reischneid]

『...Speaking of which, have you managed to break many of your seals? I want to know what happened in the later years of your life.』[Lucifius]

『...I've only broken two, but that's much faster than I expected. I can remember most of my early life. Any details are a bit difficult for me.』[Reischneid]

『I'm about the same. We'll have to see more later.』[Lucifius]

『Alright. I'll guide Nova on learning this spell. Mune, are your injuries alright?』[Reischneid]

『They healed me when they arrived on the scene. I'll sleep the rest of it off.』[Mune]

He laid down on the bed next to Nova's and drifted off to sleep.

The two of them stopped talking as Nova started to do the same, hoping to memorize the spell in his dreamscape.