Aftermath Of The Battle

The flames that previously formed a prison suddenly altered their course to encircle Requiem. They rapidly engulfed the black silhouette with the intent of turning him into a pile of ash.

The crowd of mages stood rigidly together and waited with bated breath. They watched the gathered flames rise upwards before slowly flickering away into the atmosphere, its heat permeating through the surrounding air, leaving behind a large patch of burnt stone in its wake. But other than some dark soot, there was not a sign of anything else that remained.

"Is... is the person dead?" one mage asked hesitantly.

"You idiot!" another responded. "Where do you think that Astral Dial is?!"

Out of desperation, everyone turned their attention towards Wyman, hoping to get some kind of confirmation. The strongest mage amongst them was breathing heavily and did not waste time on placating the worries of those behind him. Instead, he chose to close off his gaze and focus on circulating mana within himself.

'He must still be here somewhere.' Wyman concentrated his senses as he tried locating Requiem. 'That bastard couldn't have gotten far.'

After extending his senses beyond the perimeter of the tower, he suddenly opened his eyes in disbelief.

There wasn't a single trace of that mysterious individual... which means that Requiem likely got away. This was the last thought going through Wyman's mind before he suddenly collapsed into unconsciousness.

----------

After the events that transpired, the mages of the tower spiraled increasingly into hysterics. News of Requiem's robbery of one of the most heavily secured items within the guild quickly traveled to each member. In addition, other branches of the guild that were situated in Bavalon also received this news, generating great astonishment from all the upper echelons.

Hours passed into the night, and it was during this time that Wyman, having previously lost consciousness as a result of his injuries, finally awoke.

Stirring under a blanket while lying on top a white bed, the senior mage slowly opened his eyes and quickly assessed his surroundings. The features of the place he was being held in resembled that of the tower's medical center.

"Ah! You're awake!" a young voice cried out in delight.

Turning to the source of the voice, Wyman spotted his young apprentice who was currently resting on a chair. Beside Austin, there was also a priest dressed in white robes standing nearby. Both of them developed mixed looks of worry and relief upon seeing Wyman recover.

"We are glad to still have you with us, Master Brionne," the standing priest said.

Pressing a hand to his aching forehead, Wyman steadily asked his apprentice, "Give me the details of the aftermath."

"Yes, sir!"

Austin immediately stood up and began reporting on the events that occurred after the battle.

After Requiem escaped, the entire tower made several attempts to track down the thief. However, no matter how many divination and detection spells they used, there was not a hint of Requiem's whereabouts, as if the individual was completely obscured by some unforeseen power. It was deduced by some experts that there may be some sort of magical curse that prevented anyone from peering into his true identity.

"When you fell unconscious, we quickly had some mages transport you here," Austin concluded his report. "The priests have managed to stabilize your condition. But you still need to take some time to recover your mental strength."

"Argh," Wyman groaned as he slowly tried lifting his body into a sitting position. Before the others could stop him, he raised a hand to warn them off. After successfully righting himself, Wyman asked another question, "Were there any casualties?"

"No," the priest looking after him answered swiftly. "Other than some serious wounds, no one was killed."

"I see."

For the next couple minutes, Wyman did not say another word and simply sat on his bed to contemplate on his recent battle. Austin and the priest simply waited aside in silence as they knew better than to interrupt this person's thoughts.

'That strange being...' Wyman's mind flashed back to when he first encountered Requiem. 'He possessed an aura I've never felt before. It almost didn't seem alive. An undead hybrid perhaps?'

But while the origins of this mysterious individual posed some form of significance to ponder about, there were more pressing matters at hand.

'The tower's defenses should've prevented any form of infiltration. Yet this Requiem was able to come and go as he pleased. It seems the rumors really weren't exaggerated.

'Could this event be a prelude to a future calamity? The world seems to be on the verge of gradually changing again. I should get the mages to make another divination.'

Wyman sighed as he felt his aching mind and body begging for rest. It seemed that this was as far as he could push himself for tonight.

To think that, just a couple days ago, he was having a relaxing dinner at an esteemed restaurant in Victoria City. Not even a week had passed when he arrived in the capital and he was already forced into a confrontation with a new emerging threat.

"Apprentice," Wyman murmured, his voice growing faint.

"Yes master?" Austin sat down closer to him.

"I'll be sleeping for a few more hours." Wyman slowly set his body back down again and covered his eyes with his forearm. "Let me know if any other developments occur."

For now, it was best to use the time to conserve some strength.

----------

The end of the current month was arriving with notable changes in the climate. Right now, the vendors and shopkeepers of Victoria City were going through their usual daily routine, whilst dealing with the warmth of the sun blaring down on where they stood.

On the streets, nearly everywhere that can be observed, people were dressed in much lighter clothing. All except for one individual.

Leo was walking around with barely a change in his usual attire. Thanks to the phoenix feather which he had been constantly keeping at his side, his body was feeling quite comfortable in this blazing heat. It was gradually becoming a habit for him to never travel outside without it.

Despite the warm air that was seeping through people's clothes, Leo couldn't have felt more refreshed. Not a single drop of sweat appeared on his skin, and he even felt a little cool.

'Having your body temperature regulated sure is nice,' Leo thought in blissful joy as he looked around at all the people who were struggling to endure these seasonal changes.

Although he couldn't feel it, Leo guessed that a heat wave had likely swept through the inner cities of Bavalon. Furthermore, he could hear several vendors complaining about the growing humidity, allowing him to make further assumptions that this was not a usual day in the city of guilds.

Whistling a random tune, Leo cheerfully stepped through several streets as he journeyed back to his residence, attracting looks of disdain from working individuals whose irritation levels were constantly rising thanks to the surrounding temperature.

But Leo barely took notice of those who were getting busy with their own activities. At the moment, he was simply enjoying his good mood. Yesterday he had managed to negotiate a workspace where he could do his construction, and even successfully bought a portion of the necessary tools and materials that were required. In addition, he recently made some progress in building his invention, having just come back from the area he worked at.

Unexpectedly, as Leo was singing a tune, he suddenly spotted an elder appearing in his early eighties stumble onto the ground. Just a second ago, this old man was swaying around in a daze and showed signs that he was about to faint.

Onlookers noticed the commotion, but most chose to maintain their distance away. Only Leo and a few others rushed forward to check on the person's condition.

"Is this man alright?" one of them said in concern.

"This isn't good. He's going through a stroke," exclaimed a woman who was crouching down. She was currently placing her hand on the person's forehead. "We need to take him somewhere with some shade."

"Here, let me." Leo conjured a flat board made of mana just an inch above the ground.

With the support of the others who came to help, he gently lifted the elder onto the platform and moved him under a building's overhanging rooftop.

"Thank you," said the woman who previously made the diagnosis.

"No problem," Leo humbly replied.

Reaching into his pocket, Leo then took out his phoenix feather and quickly put it on the old man's chest. This act confused the woman, along with the rest of the people who came along.

"Don't worry. It's just a magic item that can help resist the heat," Leo assured them, doing his best not to show his lightheadedness.

Now that possession of the feather was temporarily passed on, the force of the heat wave was finally able to have its due. Unfortunately, being in the shade was unable to offset the humidity that was around him.