Sagittarius

Lieren's heart froze over at those words, his entire body permeated by a bolt of merciless lightning. His arms and appendages were bound to the wall, with more wound, bruises and injuries that he cared for. Even now, he could barely lift a finger, even with the help of Augmentation.

In terms of mana, as well… he was more than tapped out. Keeping the infinitesimal amount of mana he still had circulating his entire body to keep himself awake and amply lucid to observe his surroundings, he couldn't spare any more or relent his concentration, lest he falls unconscious on the spot instantly.

And so, whatever happened next was outside of his jurisdiction and area of control and influence. It reminded him of his looping fate to always remain powerless especially in the face of great danger.

Lieren scowled visibly, annoyed and frustrated that he could let himself be tied down like this.

…Still, he wasn't willing to give it all up. Not yet, at least.

He tried to eke out a few words, his voice hoarse a d strained as if he had just ran a marathon:

"What…  what dwo yu… meahn…" That was all he heard as his mind and body failed to translate any conceivable thoughts or actions to the uptight attendant: Mysta.

Through his hazy gaze, he barely managed to see a fog of remorse on her pristine face… there was a hint of reluctance and far tinted into it, as well, as if her face was the canvas of a surrealist artist, drawn over and replaced to achieve the desire effect, eventually reaching an inevitable breaking point. An eruption of bided feelings and reluctant facial expressions tinted her pristine face preserved for all eternity in his hippocampus.

Mysta clearly wasn't too onboard with the plan. At least, not yet.

With a crafted resolute expression, her hazel gaze fell on Lieren like some a gavel handing its judgement.

"Contestant Aries, representative of the Main Exousia house and chosen competitor of Lady Alice herself, I request a wish from you.

"Please, leave the rest to us and be captured by Sagittarius, also known as the Mad Hatter, and infiltrate his hidden base of operations from the inside, as well as destroy it."

She bowed sincerely.

"I beg of you, venerable Aries."

'…Huh?'

Lieren was more than a little lost.

◇◆◇◆◇

The heavens cried as if it was being torn apart. The tempestuous raging winds — the hurricane cyclones surrounding Bian spun faster and faster clockwise, then suddenly burst apart in a shower of sapphire and yellow sparks.

Soon enough, the beak of the Legend peeked from the heavens, piercing the clouds and let out an ear-piercing shriek, just like it had done minutes ago when Harita had done some sizeable damage to it.

And then, she saw it.

Bian's eyes opened wide.

The creature was well over three kilometers long, from its long noble beak to the elongated frills of seven feathers trailing behind it like thin, glamorous whips. Its eyes were of a golden color, more lustrous and intelligent than the renowned mage. Spreading its wings elegantly and without much care and remorse, it easily blocked out the sun from view for the whole godforsaken city. It was as though it did not accept any other brilliant being other than it, rejecting every other divine being in the whole wide world.

Bian felt her face drain of any and all color as her heartbeat palpitated faster than rabbit's. It felt as though she was going to regurgitate her own heart from her mouth from how present the chaotic cacophony of mad beatings reverberated in her head, mind, and body.

She could not take her eyes off the creature even if she wanted.

…And maybe because of that, she noticed the familiar lean figure falling from the air like a bedraggled ragdoll. Like a puppet that had lost its strings.

It was the man she had made a Vow with, Harita Sezukumu, a Paladin with a somewhat ridiculous Oath of selected servitude. His body fell lifelessly from the heavens above, falling down without any way to stop, continuously picking up even more speed as he went.

'At this rate, he's going to turn into a splatter of blood and flesh! He hasn't even fulfilled his Vow with me yet! That bastard!' Cursing her luck and less than fortuitous encounters, Bian summoned for the power of Shifting Winds: Blessing of Wind and made her way over to where the lean man's was going to fall based on some quick calculations she had done on the spot. It wasn't very accurate, but it was enough to eyeball where the general vicinity of the godforsaken city the lean man was going to fall.

With the raging cyclone and hurricanes made out of the tempestuous winds the Legend had summoned to protect its chrysalis and reincarnations vessel, Bian's control over the wind became more and more prominent by the second, her gale-force wind abilities recovering at an astonishing speed, especially now that she had activated her main and most favored spell.

She activated her speed enhancing spell, too, making her even faster than before.

…Soon enough, she reached the approximated landing spot she had calculated would be. Kneeling down, she dismissed her silver rapier and closed her eyes, opening herself to ambushes and sneak attacks.

A sly grin crept up the side of her face.

"It would really suck if somebody was to try and knock me down right now." She muttered the truth nervously.

It was definitely a losing position she had put herself in, dismissing her own weapon and greatly reducing her mobility and perception. But if she hadn't the she never would have been able to display her full power — or, at least, the maximum possible mana output she could produce.

After twenty or so seconds of projecting the desired result in her head and the steps to do it, Bian held her head high and placed both hand on the ground, to the point that she was crouching. She whispered like the wind flowing in a grassy field:

"Shifting Winds: Aria's Gale." Her voice was as soft and the gentle as the wind.

At he behest, a gentle breeze flowed around her like a weak cyclone, making her lustrous silver hair fly in all directions.

Opening her eyes, she gazed high above, where Harita was falling, dangerously close to completely falling down and turning into a splatter of red paste.

Bian's luminous black eyes turned somber, as if it was becoming the night itself.

And then, the wind shot forth, flying towards the falling lean man like a released arrow.

◇◆◇◆◇

Harita's mind was enshrouded by a thick fog, blinding his thoughts and rational thinking.

The wind felt cool on his skin as he plummeted to the ground, without seemingly being able to stop. His limbs felt languid and his bones reminded him of jelly, his soul dispirited as if he had just become a gloomy ghost. His eyes, however, were still glowing bright green as he desperately tried to stay lucid.

If he was right, and his expectations hadn't been dashed, then the following moves would require his help also.

*Whoosh!*

The wind blew powerfully around him, encircling his figure with a soothing embrace. It was as if he was a child of the wind, blessed and boosted by the spirits of the world of sky.

Closing his eyes and turning his languid thoughts inward, he willed his body to follow the flowing trails the wind left in its wake, letting it envelop him like a warm hug.

He circulated Augmentation throughout his entire body.

Though he couldn't see it, his descent had considerably slowed down, putting him out of harm's way.

…But only for a second.

*Screeeeech!*

Beside him, muffled by the gale-force winds, a monstrous scream pierced his eardrums.

The Legend he had injured glared at him with its golden eyes, hate and nascent intelligence permeating its existence. It bared its malevolence at Harita without biding any further.

By the time he was able to process these thoughts, he was already well on his way down, just a few meters above ground. At that moment, the gale-force winds surrounding him seemingly burst like a bubble, letting him fall to the ground unceremoniously.

However, by that time, he had already awakened his thoughts and waved off some of the thick fog clouding his thoughts.

Twisting in midair, he landed on his feet with a solid thud, his arms spread to the side to balance himself. He looked like an experienced gymnast for a second until he summoned his watersteel dagger, turning him into a cold-blooded killer.

Opening his eyes, he glanced at Bian — who was summoning her own weapon. The two both looked up to see the Legend of the Dead Sea looming overhead.

The dark clouds and rumbling cyclone of tempestuous winds had dispersed, and the Legend clouded the skies, its wide wingspan blocking out the sun.

Its features were majestic and wonderful… except for a large cut at its neck, where a truly exuberant quantity of sapphire and yellow sparks glinted powerfully. Between the myriad of sparks was a bloody and mutilated wound — the same wound Harita had dealt to the Legend before it had fully realized its reincarnation.

The distant ravings and mad wails of the residents of the godforsaken city of New Mireton permeated their ears.

"Help! Somebody help!"

"The end has come!"

"Mom… Dad…"

"Get out of my way!"

"The church was right! God has befallen its divine judgement upon us!"

"Waaaaa… Waaaaa…"

"My daughter… Has anybody seen my daughter?!"

"Quickly, me must escape! This city is done for!"

"Hope is lost!"

"Please… help…"

"..."

…Harita brandished his dagger silently, glancing at Bian meaningfully. He asked after a few seconds, his voice almost drowned by the ongoing cacophony of curses and mad ravings:

"What do we do?"

She lingered for a while, in thought, processing the situation.

After a while, she said with a determined expression:

"This is our chance.

"If we can use the Legend of the Dead Sea that Leo has summoned in our advantage and let it rampage for a while, the we can raid and maybe even assassinate a great number of Han Li, Mercuri and Krafa high-ranking officials, as well as significantly weaken their inner workings.

"I suggest that we deal as much damage to them as soon as possible, while the Legend is still healing itself. That is our best choice at the moment… Unless you don't want to fulfill your Vow and suffer the consequences, of course.

"In that case, feel free to suffer a dire and horrible fate.

"When your soul perishes, our Vow will be considered invalid and annulled, after all."

Harita thought for long while before he answered, thinking about the people and the mundane residents in the godforsaken city that would suffer a dire and horrible fate should they abandon them.

But, the again, they weren't the only people with powers in New Mireton, there were still the other contestants, the sorcerers and wizards of the Council of Manas, the Knight's Order, as well as the mundane guards and hired adventurer's present in the city. If they pool their strength, then just maybe they'll be able to defeat the injured Legend.

Even if he and Bian did nothing, other surely would. And his Oath as a Paladin didn't strictly bind him to serve those he didn't want to, only that he would get accumulated power should he do so. This was one of the reasons he agreed to make a Vow with Bian in the first place.

Nevertheless, his decision and been made.

"Got it. We'll back out and head straight for the Mercuri Alliance's main hideout and wreak havoc there."

◇◆◇◆◇

Aquarius looked up at the unfathomable sky. Usually, the boundless blue expanse of the endless blue filled his vision, holding beauty unlike any other. Now, however, that beauty had been shunned away from him, replaced by the sapphire and yellow sparks and feathers surrounding a titanic avian creature with a majestic beak and intelligent golden eyes.

There were the mad ravings of the mundane masses, scrambling amongst the chaos the avian creature invoked with its majestic presence, but he cared none for it and simply minded his own business. Besides, what would the masses know about the current situation? Surely, the problem would resolve itself sooner or later.

'Hmm… then again. That creature that does look quite the specimen.'

Even from a distance of five kilometers, his vision did not fail to discern the bare details enlisting the titanic creature… which would be a good thing under normal circumstances, but now that he was faced with the titanic creature, he slowly felt that reality and aspect of his nature fade and crumble into dust.

The avian creature inspired awe and horror to all those that laid bare to its majestic form.

'Who the hell summoned that? …Was it that bastard, Chimera Exousia — the candidate that took the position of Leo, or is it some other manic lunatic. It could be the Charme and the Wizjo, too, though recent reports of those desecrated old farts lay more in the demonic realm and realm of the Fey… then again, it could be a joint effort, though the possibility is very unlikely. That guy, Chimera Exousia, can be quite loyal and upholding when he wants to be.

'Then again, only a manic lunatic would even try to comprehend what goes on in the mind of that damn commoner.'

It was at moments like these, filled with horror and unknown horrors, did Aquarius wish that he was blind again... Almost.

No matter what, he never wanted to suffer that horrid and dark hell ever again, for as long as he lived.

"Yeah. I should focus more on the future than the past. To do that, I would need to pay more attention on the present and do my best to pick the right path."

Finding his resolve suddenly steeled, and his determination solidified, Aquarius turned around and took in a deep breath and exhaled exaggeratedly. Doing this for a dozen more times, he opened the door to a seemingly inconspicuous building with a yellow roof and red chimney. There was a sign in front of the windows that said:

"James and Holmes Detective Agency."

*Ring!*

As the sound of a silver bell filled the space inside the building, Aquarius found himself suddenly dizzy. A frown bore on his face.

He scoffed.

'Hmph. What a cheap trick. Do they really think that a simple trick like that would be enough to take care of me? How offensive. I'll give them a piece of my mind the moment the transaction falls off.'

With a blast of Emission, Aquarius sent a wave of mana to detach from his body, expelling the negative effects the artifact seemed to have on all those that heard it. Then again, maybe it was the building and the doorframe itself that exuded the negative aura, while the silver bell was just a distraction.

A deeper investigation would tell him the answer almost immediately, but he didn't have the time nor interest for such a trivial thing right now.

…Right, what he was here for was not a simple, not-so-ordinary silver bell, but a transaction that would spell the winner and losers of this bloody and somewhat childish competition.

Looking forward with a crafted stern expression, he greeted the two men who was to be his business partners with a curt bow.

"Good evening gentlemen. My name is Naruse Silata. I have come here to offer you a business you lot simply cannot refuse."

The two men just looked silently at the blue-haired man, their empty eyes judging his every move.