Under the moonlight, by the light of the flickering campfire, I saw the Zalek burst out of his tent and look wildly around. Then he raised his head to look up at me in the sky.
"Who are you? What do you want with my Sona troupe?! I swear by the Inkblack Emperor that I will not let you off!"
I smirked.
"Capture her!" He yelled at the remaining warriors.
I laughed. It was a hollow laugh that surprised me. Ever since I had killed the Lion-Ant King, something had changed about me, and I dreaded to admit it to myself.
"If they could capture me, why are they lying lifeless on the ground?"
He seemed to have not notice the dead ones.
"You!!"
Without warning, a thick fog of poison enveloped me.
Silly tricks.
I estinguished it with a thought. I had really overestimated this guy.
"Go and join your wife!" I ran my hands through multiple hand seals, the air around me rippling. I wanted to end him with just one blow.
"Take that if you can!" My hand seals finally stabled, "Seven Poison Glare!"
It was the first time I'd used a duelling technique in a fight. Years of hiding my identity of a mage had it's toll.
Seven jets of deep black auras shot out of my fingers and went for the Zalek. He did not hesitate.
"Poison Coagulating Shield! Sky Consuming Seal!" He changed the seal a tad too early and tried to absorb the attack to reinforce his own power. Laughable.
"Earth Shaking Tremor!" I ignnored him as he unsuccessfully tried to absorb the poison glare and instead directed my seal at the ground. It started to shake and rumble. I wanted to bury this place, so no trace of it could be found ever again. It was a hundred times the seal I had used back at the Valencian Palace when I'd wanted to escape with Iria.
"Guest mage, sir! Please lend a hand!" The Zalek staggered back forty feet as the backlash of his unsuccessful seal hit him. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and called to the guest mage Thanos had warned me about.
"I'm sorry. You don't deserve to live,"
I hadn't even noticed him appear at the Zalek's back, his hands running through seals like water.
"Guest mage, sir! No! I saved your life--!"
"Estinguish!" the guest mage shouted. The quivering Zalek fell to the floor in a heap. Patting his hands, the guest mage muttered.
"Yes, saving my life was the only good you ever did,"
Then those brilliant blue eyes found me.
"Neiman, it's been a while,"
A crooked grin slid onto his face.
"Do you know me?" I was guarded, "who are you?"
He chuckled darkly, and kicked at the corpse of the Valek.
"I assumed you wanted to bury this place? I'd suggest you do it now,"
He flew up into the air. I levitated Thanos and he hovered near me, far enough to not be affected by the massive earthquake that followed.
"Wonderful," the stranger patted his hands. "Now, you might want to find a nice safe place we can spend the night,"
I ignnored him and instead flew off in the direction I had left Aranya. Both Thanos and the mage followed.
Aranya looked up at me with huge watery eyes.
"Where's my father? You... Why did you come?? What did you do to my father?!"
"Shut up," I growled.
She started to wail.
"Father!!! Where are youuuu?!! Come and take meee!!"
Icovered my ears and sent her into a daze. The wailing stopped.
I glanced at Thanos, then at the mage, who was warming himself by a conjured fire.
"Ahhh," he sighed, "we might have taken down one Sona troupe, but there are still seventeen,"
"You know about the war going on?" I asked him at once.
"Who in these plains doesn't?" he replied darkly, "the lesser mage clans thought it was time for them to finally be delivered from this slavery. Turns out their hopes are dashed,"
"What do you mean?" I countered, "the war is not over yet. No one knows what the outcome will be,"
"Heh, even a blind cripple knows that the safrohi are done for. Seventeen Sona troupes! Is it not only Hakorhi and Savitro Zhan? And there's still the Valencian army,"
I tensed.
"Everyone is saying Hakorhi have bitten off more than they could chew. Instead of slowly rebuilding their dying clan and regaining their lost prestige...no, they had to start a war," he chuckled, "I heard their leader is only a young girl. Now she's gotten herself sealed with a Fhakir's poison bolt,"
I sank to the floor.
"What?!!" Then I doubted. Iria's imprint was still very much active. "Where did you hear this from?"
"Heh," he chuckled, "it's everywhere. The news has reached all magic user clans. Even crossed the border. I'm surprised you don't know."
Could it be that Iria had told us nothing so we wouldn't be worried? Was she a fool? Wasn't I an alchemist? I could surely undo this whatever Poison Bolt.
"But you--" I regained my composure and turned to him. "You know my name. Who are you?"
"Of course I know your name," he smirked, "everyone in Canolita knows your name. And as to how I recognized you-- it's your aura. I wondered how the unique aura of our Imperial City could be found wandering here."
"What? What are you talking about?" I was confused. My aura? In the Imperial City?
He smirked again.
"Legend has it that our Princess unknowingly left an imprint on our Imperial City. But wait ... You certainly understand what I'm saying. You're just pretending. Why didn't you rebuff the claim,"
I frowned.
"I have never been to this Imperial City,"
He looked away.
"The one who jeopardized our Princess' safety," a dangerous gleam came into his eyes, as he said, as if quoting a decree, "shall be killed!"