Dragmas and Oaths

Two gunshots were heard in the air in the next instant.

However, one was clearly heard faster than the other.

BOOM! BOOM!

Time slowed down for Mikhail as it normally would in such fast-moving instances.

And it was easily known to him that he was faster in pulling and shooting than Morlo.

He had even reacted to Modric faster.

Which led to..

THUD!

Mikhail's shot tore through Morlo's gun, sending the pieces flying in the air.

Meanwhile Mikhail simply tilted his shoulder to the side, letting the incoming bullet pass cleanly by.

Shock was etched on everyone's faces except his squadron.

Even the onlookers who had turned to look because of the noise looked with widened eyes.

Morlo's body started shivering from what just had happened.

But Mikhail didn't just stop at that.

Click. Clank. BOOM!

With effortless precision, he reloaded his gun and shot once more with the bullet cleanly breaking his second gun as well.

At this point, Morlo's soul had just left him as he dropped to his knees.

Click. Clank.

Mikhail reloaded again, pointing the gun at Morlo's arm now.

The latter's pupils started trembling with fear as he quickly shook his head.

"No. No. Please no. I forfeit."

Mikhail turned to look at Modric who gave him a nod.

"The match has been won by Mikhail Hendrix, Commander of the 21st Squadron."

The young black-haired boy released a large exhale as he stored his guns back in their holsters.

'Just performing a single oath takes such a toll on me.'

He opened and closed his arms. This body was still weak.

At most, he could handle 2 consecutive oaths at once. Any more and his soul would start to break.

Mikhail returned to his squadron, where Icarus was waiting.

"You're up next."

Icarus nodded with an excited smile, stretching his arms out.

"Yup, it's been days since I had a real challenge."

Mikhail's eyes went to the opposing squadron, who seemed as if they had just lost their will to fight as well.

They were still trying to tend to Morlo, who couldn't understand what happened.

"Hey, fatty." Icarus called the large guy out, his smile spreading wider.

"It's our turn now."

***

[An Hour Later]

Mikhail looked at the figures sprawled out on the ground before them.

'That was quick.'

"Not gonna lie, but for a squadron of 5, they are pretty weak. And here I thought I'd finally be able to push myself." Icarus released a disappointed sigh.

"It's not that they were weak," Modric interrupted.

"We are just stronger compared to the other squadrons here." Amariel completed his sentence.

Raviel nodded.

"Yeah, their faces say it all." She looked around the surprised faces of the onlookers.

Mikhail nodded.

"It's true. We are stronger than the other squadrons. However, don't let this get to your head. We are trying to survive the monsters inside, not these people."

He gave a few words to them as always to keep them grounded.

He did not want what happened in his previous life to happen again. 

Even if he had to push his whole squadron to their limits.

"Back to our regular training," Mikhail spoke up once more, concluding the topic.

***

"Umbral Phase." 

Mikhail's body suddenly turned into a wisp of black smoke, making Modric's leg cleanly phase through.

Turning his momentum on him, he grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground.

"You conserve yourself too much with your predictions and calculations." Mikhail instructed him.

He let go of him, allowing him to stand up.

"Those calculations can turn into a risky life-or-death gamble if the opponent hits you with something very unexpected. Expand your thought process more Modric."

Modric nodded, trying to grasp what he had just said.

Mikhail tapped his shoulder, giving a light smile.

"You are doing good either way, you just need to retouch your foundations more."

Modric returned the smiling gesture.

"Yeah, I get it. It's difficult for me to face opponents like you who have so many hidden cards up their sleeve."

Mikhail nodded.

"That's what I'm trying to say. In fights, my Dragma and oath powers can turn the tide in an instant."

It was also why he didn't use them much, keeping them as surprise cards.

Cards that he could use and the person still wouldn't understand what he did.

"Is it also why you chose to make an oath over using your Dragma there?" Modric asked.

Mikhail nodded.

"I'm surprised you picked that up."

Indeed, he had intentionally chosen to not use his Dragma there.

As explained before, the Dragma was an ability granted to a mage from the moment they awakened their Essentia.

It was something extremely unique to the mage, almost never being the same.

At the same time, the ability granted could range from absolute trash to absolute destruction.

There was still no confirmation on what factors it depended on, with most believing it to just be random.

Fortunately enough, for Mikhail, his Dragma was an ability never heard of.

An ability to do magic spells without doing incantations for the nodes.

Basically, incantation-less casting. But at the same time, not completely.

Basically, what his Dragma, also called Flawlëss, allowed him to do was label each node with a hand sign.

To explain with an example, when forming an Aqualis spell, rather than saying "Aqualis" out loud for the first node, he could do a hand symbol.

Not only did this save him time, but it also gave him the element of surprise.

For each node, there was a different hand symbol. And by chaining several of them in quick succession, he could perform a whole spell within an instant.

Basically, a spell with the casting speed of a pre-spell.

This was why most people hid their Dragma, as it was something only known to them in battles.

Just a moment's surprise could change the whole tide of the battle, especially if the Dragma was really good.

It was the same for Mikhail, who did not want to show his Dragma there and chose to go with an oath.

Dragmas were directly tied to the respective person's soul tree.

So this meant that as a person grew stronger and advanced ranks, the more his Dragma evolved as well.

It remained with them their whole life.

Done with the training, Mikhail turned to Modric.

"You go ahead and take the squad home, I'll return in a while."

Modric nodded but as Mikhail turned, he called him out.

"Mika," he called, using his family nickname.

Modric only used this when he wanted to convey a personal message, as a brother to brother.

Mikhail turned, an inquisitive expression on his face.

"Yeah Mord?" He called him by his nickname as well.

"Is everything alright?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Mikhail asked, already knowing inside what he meant.

"You've been a little different lately. Like, you seem out of it."

Mikhail gave him a light smile.

"I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about." He tapped his shoulder.

Modric's golden eyes bore deep into his blue ones, searching if he was trying to hide something.

After a few seconds, Modric released a deep sigh before nodding.

"Alright, that's good to hear. Though if you ever need anything to discuss, you know we are here for you."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it." He reassured him.

"Good. I'll get going then." He waved his hand and Mikhail nodded.

As he left, Mikhail turned and also started heading to his destination.

'I'm sorry but I can't get you all involved in this again.'

Tomorrow was the day. The day for Dominique's arrival and the attack.

He needed to make sure he was thoroughly prepared.

_______________