The Arrogance of Humility 13

The next morning while the sun barely appeared, Lucy, wearing her usual without her robe, and Lance, wearing a black top and breeches with a sling bag, were walking around the campus.

Lance carried Lucy’s left arm on his shoulder to help her walk around.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“It’s painful…” she said as she endured the pain. “But I think I’m getting better at this.”

“Don’t force yourself.”

“Don’t worry about me. I won’t stop until I drop.”

“All right. We will walk for ten minutes more.”

They walked around, circling the academy’s field until Lucy couldn’t move anymore. They rested on the spectator's seat, sitting next to each other.

“My legs feel numb,” Lucy said as she stretched her legs.

“Do I need to call Professor Carolus?”

“No need for that…”

Lance opened his sling bag and gave Lucy a glass flask containing a yellow oily liquid.

“Drink up,” he said, and Lucy looked at the tonic.

“Is this urine?”

Lance went silent with an unimpressed face as she looked at her; he knew she was joking. Lucy giggled as she opened the flask, but before she drank it, she smelled fishy odor from the liquid.

“Ewww!” She shut her nose with a disgusted face. “What is this?”

“Just drink it. It’ll help your recovery.”

“Can you make it smell better? It smells like fish!”

“It is from fish.”

“Aww! I don’t like it!” she huffed as she pouted.

Lance pinched her cheeks the way she did to him for a second.

“Ouch! Lance—!”

“If you don’t drink that, I will give you a smooch.”

“I’d rather get that than—!” She abruptly stopped, surprised, as she covered her mouth.

“W-What?”

“N-Nothing” Lucy said with her face red and drank it all in one big gulp.

She closed the now empty flask and gave it to Lance.

“Doesn’t really taste that bad,” Lucy said. “But my mouth tastes fishy!”

Lance gave her another flask with drinking water to clear her mouth from the fishy aftertaste.

“Tell me when you’re ready to walk again,” Lance said as he collected the empty flask.

Ten minutes later, they walked again, circling the academy. This time, Lucy tried walking without support, but she could only walk for ten seconds; it was a major improvement. He supported her again, and they walked for 12 minutes before she got tired.

“I didn’t expect her to improve this much in such a short time,” Lance thought as he looked at her.

“Anything’s wrong with my face?” she asked as she wiped sweats from her face.

“Nothing,” he said with a subtle, proud smile.

They returned to their room to prepare for the upcoming class. On her way to the class, Claris helped her to reach the class. When she arrived, she saw her usual seat occupied by Malus.

“Eh?” she said as she looked at him. “Since when you’re here?”

Malus stood without a word and moved to another seat farther from her.

“Hm, antisocial as ever,” she thought as she sat down.

Professor Vennefer entered the class as usual to teach. In the middle of the lecture, Lucy seemed unconscious as she was facing down with her arms crossed on the table.

Fearing she might be unconscious, Professor Vennefer abruptly stopped as he got closer to her, checking her condition by joggling her; she gave no response, causing Professor Vennefer to worry.

“Don’t tell me she—!” he thought as he flipped her head to the side.

He heard a loud snore and small chatters from her; she was sleep-talking, rambling nonsense.

“This damned girl,” he thought as he borrowed a note from a student and bonked Lucy’s head with it, waking her up.

She jumped from her seat, surprised.

“Hey!” she said aloud. “I was getting on the good part—!”

“Don’t sleep during my class.” His face was serious and bitter

“Cut me some slack! I just recovered recently, hmph!”

He bonked her head again.

Although he looked angry from the outside, Professor Vennefer was happy; Lucy was in her usual mood, meaning she had recovered mentally as he got worried from what he heard from Carolus regarding her physical and mental health.

After the class ended an hour before afternoon, Lance picked her up for another training, but this time, he wasn’t training her alone. Ignatius and Celina came along to help her. They borrowed the practice ground to train her.

Since Lucy always used her magic almost subconsciously with little to no effort during her prime, she would have to relearn it, using Iggy and Celina’s magic as the comparisons.

They all practiced some basic level 3 and lower Elementums first before going to harmful Vitaes.

Lucy could keep up with them after failing all the first try, impressing them both. In case Lucy ran out of energy, Lance prepared some tonics for her.

After seeing some magic, Lance took an interest as he tried it himself, but being a pure alchemist since the day he enrolled, he had a hard time mastering even the simplest of magic: Projecting a level one sigil.

After the learning, they noticed the only thing Lucy lacked was the energy to project and maintain her magic. She could use high-level magic without problem at all since she could memorize the sigil with her strong memory and concentration.

This was the problem magi couldn’t solve, as it was a genetic-related matter, meaning it’s the time for alchemists and technicians to shine.

During the evening, the students were forced to be in their room whatever happened. The security inside the academy got increased to prevent such an incident like the assault on Lucy and Gina from ever happening.

Professors and imperial guards (sent by General Draco) would patrol the area at night. The security inside the infirmary and Gina’s recovery room also got increased with some traps set by Professor Glewan Arias and Headmaster Arcus.

The case of two missing students (killed by the four) was still in an investigation held by General Draco along with imperial soldiers.

The next day, the morning routine was the same. This time, Lucy could move for 20 seconds on her own and 15 to 17 minutes with support. For her after class training, Lance trained her, teaching how metallic ingredients, preferably irons, could substitute the cost for magic.

Once, when she attempted to turn iron sands into magic cost, she instead reconstructed it, forming a solid iron block. Lance was surprised; she subconsciously applied magic to it, reconstructing it instead to another form.

From what Lance read after his defeat against Malus, only those born from the Celzan and Draco family could do such a thing: Transmutation through magic. But how could Lucy do such a thing? An idea appeared inside Lance’s head the moment he saw Lucy with that power.

They both went to the now crowded rooftops, looking for the descendant of the Draco family: Malus, to help Lucy master that power. Malus’ answer was obvious; No. But when Lucy showed her ability to him, Malus was beyond surprised; it was the first time for a person outside his family (and Celzan) to use Magic Transmutation. Impressed by it, Malus agreed and taught her the basics.

Secretly, Lance asked Malus to train him magic, hoping Lance could support Lucy. Since Elementum wasn’t necessary for him, he taught him Vitae and a bit of Maleficium to make Lance understand about the Black Azoth.

Malus taught Lucy (and Lance) for two days, and she mastered it. She transformed rocks into swords akin to Titan Swords; iron pipes to spears; and raw azoth into an azoth blade. From her muscle training and with the help of the bitter tonics, she could walk for a minute by herself.

After the training with Malus, Professor Sheila Arias took an interest in Lucy’s training, wanting to make her use and endorse her recent invention: Rune Iron Spear Wand.

While magic wand seemed useless because magi usually use their pointing fingers and hand to concentrate, a spear could help them in close to mid-range combat, complete with power-enhancing runes to overpower the enemy.

Since she desired a guinea pig for her automaton, she made Lucy battle her automatons to collect battle data. Lance agreed, since Lucy needed to train her strength and agility (Lance couldn’t train her himself that way because he couldn’t hit her while Malus would always go all out on her, giving her no chance).

She admired Lucy’s creativity in transmuting the iron spear into another object like batons, daggers, a sword, etc against different automata, prompting her to improve the iron spear into retractable with complex runes written by Professor Arkana to avoid the runes breaking from transmutation processes. She trained with Professor Sheila’s automaton for three days.

In total, she trained for a week. Thanks to all of those training, she could walk like normal again. Her magic ability returned to normal, albeit having only 1/4 of energy from her prime. Her body was no longer stiff as she became more agile in dodging and attacking. With her recently discovered the power of Transmutation, she became more versatile in combat.

While Lucy trained for a week, the four exiled families were desperate to remove the cursed sigil placed by Vennefer on their back. They used Maleficium to remove the curse, but even the strongest of djinn couldn’t remove it. Dyson destroyed his own body, but the sigil reappeared as soon as the body regenerated.

Emmeroloth tried creating more clones, but those clones possessed the same painful sigils and died after a single day. Mithra and Claudia communicated with his ancestors through Necromantiae, but found no answer. Each day passed, they felt their soul and life drained by the sigil. They experienced chronic insomnia and hallucination every night. Sometimes, they would get attacked by vengeful spirits and even low demons, as if the sigils attracted them.

Emmeroloth asked General Draco, and General Draco asked Vennefer pertaining to the curse. They learned the only way to dispel the curse was with Vennefer’s death. So the four, with General Draco’s help, plotted the way to kill Vennefer, absorb Lucy’s remaining power, and kill the next head, Arkana so General Draco could take over the academy.

To make everything go smoothly, General Draco tasked Malus to monitor Lucy, their prime target to get Vennefer down since Vennefer, with the power of the perfect Philosopher’s Stone and powerful demon like Belial, could defeat them.

The day after the training week, the afternoon at the arena.

Lucy and Malus, both mildly injured and exhausted, were in the middle of a sparring to test Lucy’s overall ability while Lance and other students watched.

Lucy charged at Malus with her spear ready, aiming at his face.

Malus, receiving his fixed scepter, prepared to deflect the attack, but Lucy transmuted the spear into two daggers before impact. Malus knew it since he got fooled before, as he placed level six sigil directly under her before she transmuted the spear.

“Abyssal Anchor,” he muttered, and the sigil summoned black rusted chains, anchoring her to the ground as he jumped back.

Malus pointed forward with his scepter and said, “Dark Matter, Amaymon, Gaap.”

The black ball appeared from the glowing tip and turned into a sword speeding towards her, but before impact, a dimensional rift appeared in front of her and behind Malus for a second, sending the black sword directly behind him instead. The sword wounded Malus’ shoulder, but before piercing through, he controlled and forced the sword out.

He lost his concentration with the anchor, freeing Lucy. But because the portal magic took her 2/3 of her total energy, Lucy wouldn’t be able to use any magic. She dashed towards Malus with the daggers, wounding Malus’ chest, but he could move and jump back before receiving more.

She turned the daggers into a spear back and threw it towards Malus while she also ran towards him far beside the thrown spear. Malus aimed his hands to the spear and Lucy, and two level five sigils appeared.

Lucy threw an iron knife towards Malus’ face, surprising him.

“Since when did she—?!” he thought as the black sword transmuted into a barrier in front of him, protecting him, but hindering his sight.

Before she threw the spear, Lucy didn’t transmute all her iron daggers into the spear, taking a chunk to create a hidden throwing knife.

The sigils summoned two black raging cyclones towards the spear and Lucy, knocking them back while the thrown dagger stopped at the black barrier.

Before Malus deconstructed the black barrier, Lucy, with a light and dark enhanced iron sword on her right hand and withered iron sands in her left hand, appeared behind him, catching him off guard.

“I win!” Lucy said with an eager smile.

She swung the sword diagonally on his back. While she could severely damage him, she only made a shallow cut. The speed-enhancing sigils on her legs disappeared along with the enhancements on her iron sword.

At that moment, Malus transmuted the black liquid into two sharp wedges and launched them on Lucy’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground.

“Ouch!” Lucy writhed in pain as she felt the area on her shoulders rotting from the dark matter wedge.

“You should have cut me into two.”

“Are you crazy? Why would I kill you?”

“You talk as if you could kill me. Never show pity in battle, Luxianne. The moment you show it, you dig your own grave.”

He stopped the wedge, returning it to the scepter, and healed his wound.

Lance ran to Lucy, casting a low-level magic to stop the decomposition and seal the wound.

“Wow,” she said as she looked at Lance’s magic. “I don’t know you learned this.”

“I need to improve too. Since you learned alchemy, I learned magic to support you.”

Lance opened his pocket and gave her a tonic.

“Here,” he said. “Drink.”

Lucy drank the tonic in one gulp.

“Sorry,” Lucy said. “I used all the iron sands.”

“I’ll make more, don’t worry.”

He took another tonic and offered it to Malus.

“Here—”

“No,” Malus refused as he turned back, leaving the arena.

“He’s always like that,” Lance thought as he looked at him leaving. “His inclusive, loner nature reminds me of my past self.”

From afar, Arkana and Vennefer watched their sparring from the second-floor hallway.

“That ability,” Arkana said as she saw Lucy’s transmutation. “How could she possess that?”

“I don’t know. It’s the first time seeing her using that.”

“Isn’t that ability exclusive to those from the Draco family?”

“Maybe it’s not exclusive after all.”

“It’s genetic from what I’ve read. She must be related to the Draco family somehow to acquire that ability. Come to think of it, you never tell anyone about her origin. We thought she’s yours and Luciana’s child.”

“Luciana passed away, leaving no child. I just happened to find her in the front of the academy’s gate while patrolling at night.”

“That’s a strange reason to adopt a baby.”

“And how about you? Are you planning to start a family?”

“I should be, but I found no proper man for me yet.” She said as she looked down. “Am I not that attractive?”

“You are beautiful enough. I think you should soften your attitude, and men will be pouring in front of your door.”

“Really?” She subtly smirked as she raised her head. “Then I’ll try.”

“Anyway, tomorrow, you’ll be the next head of the academy. Who will replace you as the professor for the lower class?”

“if I chose your daughter, do you mind?”

“I don’t, but why her?”

“Yesterday, she approached me, asking me to choose her as the next professor. Albeit I hate her careless attitude, I admire her compassion and enthusiasm in learning magic. I bet she will be a good professor.”

“I think she will be busy though.”

“Why is that?”

“She will start a family soon.”

“Oh? How fortunate of her!”

“Yesterday, Lancelot approached me, asking for permission to marry Luxianne.”

“Oh? What a bold man. Wait, does that mean he will void his nobility for marrying a common-born?”

“I asked him regarding that; he doesn’t mind.”

“I envy your daughter. She has a bright future coming ahead… Even though she suffered such a tragic fate.”

“Thanks to all support from the others, she recovered.” Vennefer smiled, looking at his daughter and Lance.

During the evening, when the students were asleep in their rooms.

In the special laboratory in the middle of the academy building, Carolus was observing and maintaining Gina’s condition.

Outside the room, two heavy-armored imperial soldiers guarded the room.

Gina was lying unconscious on a bed. Her body was full of syringes and tubes to keep her body stable and speed up her recovery.

Carolus checked and compared the current data about her to the data yesterday,

“She’s doing well,” he thought. “Her brainwave is normal even though only 3/4 of her brain remains.”

He moved and bumped a desk, scattering the data he held. Before he wanted to pick it up, someone collected it for him and gave it to Carolus back.

“Here!” the sound of an enthusiastic boy said as he handed the papers.

“Thank y—What the—?!” Carolus moved back, seeing Mithra in front of him.

“Hi!” Mithra said with a twisted smile. “I’m Mithra Ascer, and you?”

“G—!” Carolus tried to shout but black rusted chains, called by Emmeroloth, anchored him to the ground and covered his mouth.

Two more sigils appeared, projected by Mithra, summoning Claudia and Dyson.

Most of their appearances changed after that night. The curse from the sigil tormenting them physically and mentally drained half of their sanity.

Mithra’s hair was partially whitened by the stress and ruffled; his eyes looked empty and wide, complete with a wide creepy grin, giving an impression of a crazy, bewildered person.

Claudia’s hair was messy and tangled. There were self-inflicted scars on her arms and face because of the stress and pain she couldn’t endure. There were bags under her eyes from being unable to sleep peacefully for a week.

Dyson’s hair was wilder, reaching his back. He suffered the most as his hair whitened completely from the stress and desperation to remove the curse by cutting his own body, only it to be regenerated with the same sigil, thus unending the circle of pain.

Emmeroloth’s appearance remained the same except for some permanent scars on his neck and chest inflicted by Lucy.

“Dyson,” Emmeroloth ordered. “Take that girl.”

“Bastards!” Carolus thought as he tried to move and scream, but the chains prevented him.

Dyson touched Gina, but several sigils appeared on his left arm, spreading to his body.

“Dyson!” Emmeroloth said aloud. “Move back—!”

Carolus smirked as he thought, “From what I’ve heard from Lucy, one of them has the power to absorb and regenerate. But, let’s see if you can withstand this!”

The sigil spread like wildfire, petrifying everything it touched.

“Mithra!” Emmeroloth commanded. “Remove the curse!”

“As if!” Carolus thought.

The moment Mithra tried to remove it, the sigil spread into his body too. Now both of them turned into stone statues.

“Bastard!” Emmeroloth lowered the chains covering Carolus' lips and stomped on Carolus’ body. “Turn them back, now!”

“I just need to buy time,” he thought. “The moment the sigil is active, Alphonse should be alarmed by now.”

“I don’t know!” Carolus replied aloud so the two imperial soldiers outside would hear his voice.

“Don’t you lie to me!” Emmeroloth asked again, but his answer was still the same.

“What’s taking those soldiers too long?!” Carolus thought as he held the pain in his chest.

“Claudia!” he called. “Make him speak!”

Claudia attached her wires through Carolus’ neck.

“Claudia, isn’t it? What a beautiful name,” Carolus teased with a forced smile. “If I get out of here alive, want to have dinner with me? I’m paying.”

“I would like to,” Claudia replied with an evil smirk as she moved her fingers to test her control. It was a success. “You are my type, to be honest.”

“H-Hey! Don’t just move my fingers like that, sweety!” Cold sweat drenched his grimace face, and his body trembled.

“As long as you tell us how to return them back, your death will be painless.” She forced and bent Carolus’ fingers, almost snapping them. “So, how is it, dear? Tell us how to return them.”

“I don’t know—”

“Wrong answer, dear.”

Claudia broke Carolus’ fingers one by one, causing him to scream in agony.w

“Argh!!!”

“Damn it…” he thought as he held the pain. “Why is no one coming?!”

Meanwhile, outside the room. Both guards were on the ground; one was killed while the other was dying.

“Why…?” the dying guard asked as he reached his hand for the attacker. “Why, Lord Draco—?”

General Draco moved aside and took the sheathed sword from the dead guard and killed the dying guard.

“You’ve fulfilled your duty,” he replied calmly with his friendly face intact.

General Draco threw the sword away and opened the door to the laboratory, giving Carolus hope. Both Emmeroloth and Claudia became defensive and readied themselves.

“Alphonse!” Carolus said aloud, relieved. “You’ve arrived!”

Strangely, both of them lowered their guard after seeing General Draco, surprising Carolus. None of them were hostile towards each other.

“H-Hey—!” Carolus called, but General Draco ignored him.

“Sorry,” General Draco said to them both. “I forgot to inform you about the traps.”

General Draco removed the curse on Mithra and Dyson and disarmed the remaining traps around Gina’s body.

“What the…” Carolus muttered in horror; he couldn’t believe what he just saw.

General Draco walked past them, standing in front of Carolus. Carolus’ hope and relief faded as he noticed the blood on his clothes and saw the dead guards lying in front of the door.

“Alphonse!” Carolus gasped as his eyes opened wide. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

Dyson resumed his job, absorbing Gina into his body.

“Regina—!!!” He tried desperately moving his body, but the chains prevented him.

Dyson absorbed Gina completely, leaving only clothes and disconnected tubes there. He went outside and absorbed the dead guards’ bodies.

“Alphonse, you traitor!” Carolus yelled in rage. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I’m doing what I think is the best for the academy.”

“By siding with those bastards?! Have you forsaken the late Headmaster Velfern’s Draco words?!”

“Why would I listen to words from a coward of a man?” he said, bitter as he raised his face, looking down on Carolus.

“You dare to say that?! Why?! I thought you admired your father—!”

“He didn’t choose me to be the head…” Alphonse clenched his fists in rage, but his voice remained calm and bitter. “He trusted his friend, Mesdoram Arcus, more than me… Just because I desire to relearn the forbidden knowledge!”

“Why would you relearn them?!”

“Think Carolus, think! We strive for Gnosis, but what’s the point of the imperfectness?”

“Maleficium, Dark Alchemy, and Thanatech… They are evil! They drive people mad!”

“I see no downside from that, I’m afraid.”

“You traitor!!!”

General Draco just smiled coldly and turned back.

“Don’t turn your back on me—!”

Claudia moved her fingers, breaking both Carolus’ arms and almost tearing his fingers.

“Agh!!!” he shouted in extreme pain.

“Now,” Emmeroloth said. “Where’s that damned descendant of Harvey?”

“Harvey…?” Carolus thought. “He’s targeting Vennefer?!”

“It’s too soon,” General Draco said. “We’ll launch our attack tomorrow.”

“During the ceremony?”

“Yes. Now, wound me.”

Black liquid oozed from Emmeroloth’s sleeve, forming a sword as he muttered, “Gaap.”

“I…” Carolus thought. “I have to tell everyone about Alphonse’s betrayal or—!”

The sword wounded General Draco’s chest to make it as if he and Carolus got attacked.

The wound was deep as the black azoth entered his bloodstream. Before going unconscious, General Draco activated the alarm, alerting the others.

“Let’s waste no time then,” Emmeroloth said. “Dyson, take care of that professor!”

Carolus managed to leave a clue with his blood without them noticing. But before Dyson could absorb him, Arkana and more imperial guards appeared, storming the hallway.

“Damn it!” Emmeroloth said. “We’re leaving now!”

Claudia killed Carolus by controlling and snapping his neck while Mithra placed teleportation sigils on their bodies.

Arkana and the soldiers pointed forward, calling an array of attacks, but Emmeroloth summoned formed black azoth wall, deflecting and minimizing the damage.

Before they could get closer, Mithra successfully transported them all.

“Curses!” Arkana muttered in rage.

The soldiers helped the unconscious General Draco and checked on Carolus’ condition; Carolus was dead.

“Carolus…” Arkana muttered, sad and angry.

She noticed Gina’s body was nowhere, presumably taken.

“How could I let this happen…” Arkana thought, disappointed in herself.

Vennefer arrived, running from the dorm rooftops to the laboratory after hearing the alarm from afar. He was panting, exhausted, but still ready to fight.

“What happened…?” he said, out of breath.

“Ms.!” a soldier said near Carolus’ body. “We’ve found something!”

They both stood near the body. There was a letter there, left by Carolus before his death. He used his broken, bloodied fingers to write it.

“It’s—” Arkana knelt to inspect it. “—A letter ‘B’?”

It looked like a letter ‘B’, but differently written, probably from the difficulty he went through to write it.

“What does that mean?” Vennefer thought. “Could this letter be important? What was he trying to say?”

“Got any idea, Vennefer?” Arkana asked.

“Sadly, no.”

The soldiers healed General Draco, returning his consciousness. He coughed blood as he tried his best to move his body.

“Alphonse!” Vennefer said as he stood next to him.

“Damn it…” General Draco muttered in pain. “They are dangerous…!”

“Don’t force yourself—!”

“I’m a fool!” he said, regretting as he punched the floor. “I should have sent more soldiers—Agh!” He coughed blood from the black azoth effect.

“Prepare the special alkahest!” Vennefer said to the soldiers, and they brought it.

Vennefer gave the special alkahest to General Draco and extracted the black azoth out.

“I’m sorry…” General Draco said as he writhed in pain. “I couldn’t help Carolus or that poor girl…! I thought they were going after either you or Luxianne, but somehow they took that girl instead.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“We should suspend the ceremony and inform everyone—!” Arkana suggested.

“No!” General Draco said. “It will cause chaos so they could take Luxianne easily. I will send more imperial guards tomorrow. We can’t afford to play into their hands!”

They covered up what happened during that night, tightened their security, and prepared for the ceremony the next day, just like what General Draco desired.