"Hah... hah... hah..."
Shoulders so broad they were like mountain slopes were bobbing up and down. Although they were unaligned, they spoke of both might and magic. These were shoulders of an Ogre Magus, and one who had just had a brief encounter with death itself.
Lou'both's ears were badly ringing as he knelt at the very centre of devastation.
He craned his neck as he glanced around him. Mangled corpses of High Orcs and shards of iron littered the ruined square. Vaporized blood lingered in the air, creating a pungent humidity.
Across from Lou'both was Hilvar, who was staring at him in surprise. With the [Seed of Emotion] already in his mind and fuelling his rage, it spoke madly of how surprised he truly was.
It was like all of Hilvar's rage had been quelled by the peculiarity that had just occurred.
Hundreds of High Orcs exhausted themselves to death just to make a single attack. To Hilvar, the loss of that many High Orcs was beyond imagination.
These were beings capable of rivalling normal Ogres in strength. The total number of Ogres in the entire [First Kingdom] didn't even cross a thousand as far as Hilvar knew.
With such an army, Hilvar could have achieved so much.
But now, such an army was now crippled.
What gave Hilvar chills was the voice that had roused his army into committing wholeheartedly to that kamikaze-like strike.
He could swear he recognized it.
For a few days already had he been hearing the laughter of a child echoing with every foe he slew. With every victory he grasped for his race, a certain gaze never left his back.
It was an eerie experience, to say the least.
He even doubted his own sanity at times when the gaze would suddenly disappear. As if it found something more interesting for the time being and then eventually coming back.
When he heard the voice speak for the first time ever, it sounded more devilish than the demons who were said to be their benefactors.
Hilvar had been unimaginably close to throwing his life away as well.
The only thing that had allowed him to keep his life was the intent behind the voice;
He knew those devilish words were not meant for him.
"Gggrrrrrhhhhhhh!" A deep groan came out of Lou'both's throat at this moment.
A pulse of Mystical Energy erupted from within him. Sparks of white light danced around his mountainous form.
Something was happening to the Ogre Magus.
Something bad.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk~ So are these the effects of Mana Disarray?" A curious yet somehow mocking sentence rang out from thin air.
The voice was high-pitched, a voice that would normally originate from the small, young, and dainty.
"It's you..." Lou'both glared at a certain part in the sky, looming just beyond the range of his explosions. His eyes were eerily calm as they hid the insanity that was brewing within.
"Who are you? What are you?"
Hilvar followed the Ogre Magus' gaze, but he truly believed that nothing was there. All he saw was air, but such an action gifted him with a happy revelation.
'I wasn't going crazy after all.'
"Hahaha~" The sky let out a few breaths of playful laughter. "I am Seeker. As for what I am, that is beyond your knowledge, my dear Lou'both."
Another vein on Lou'both's head ruptured as those words descended upon his ears. To him, such a tone was filled with condescension. His eyes twitched as he spoke through gritted teeth,
"What do you want from me, you bastard?"
Silence descended for a few moments. Only the sound of Lou'both's teeth cracking could be heard.
Just when Lou'both was about to snap, 'Seeker' spoke.
"Hehe~ What do you think I want? I do wonder about that sometimes, so why don't you give it some thought, hm?"
Confusion clouded Lou'both's eyes at that moment, as he inadvertently echoed out 'Seeker's' words, "What do I think...?"
It was the first time he was asked such a question. With his teacher, whom he had lived with since birth, it was always choices, options, and chores.
And whenever he made a mistake, he was always reprimanded, scolded, and punished. He was never given an opportunity to voice out his thoughts.
'What do I think?' Lou'both thought as the entire battle replayed in his mind without him realising it.
Meanwhile, Athelei was about to continue speaking. He wanted to induce whatever was making Lou'both so unstable to create chaos. But when he saw the sudden blank look in Lou'both's eyes, his instincts told him to pause.
And so he did, as he shifted his attention to the particles of his fog. Tiny Mystic Patterns were constantly being drawn using the uniqueness of his Tangible Will.
Sway had been active on each particle that had spoken into the ears of the High Orcs. And it was still active now, as barely any time had passed. Such a simple pattern was the most likely culprit with regards to Lou'both's current state.
'How curious,' Athelei was plunged into his thoughts as he scrutinized Lou'both's state from a distance. He also scanned the numerous High Orc corpses below him and thought,
'This [Seed of Emotion]... Could it have been created with the Sway pattern in mind? Could Sway be one of the main patterns involved in creating such an effect? The synergy between them is uncanny... I need to see what kind of Mystic Pattern Circle Lou'both's teacher has. I have a feeling that Lou'both was planted with a [Seed of Emotion] as well.'
He then looked at the still-active Cosmic Interface floating just at the corner of his view.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Lou'both
- Ogre Magus (Equivalent to a Rank 2 Artist of Circles)
- In a state of severe Mana Disarray.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
'Lou'both's condition has worsened... Things are going the way I want them to, at least...' He thought as he focused on the fluctuations in the energy that Lou'both was emitting.
Even without Inspect, Athelei could vaguely sense that something was indeed going wrong with Lou'both. His muscles were spasming despite him staying completely still. Splotches of internal bleeding could be seen, and some weird substance apart from blood was leaking out of his wounds.
On top of that, Athelei noticed how some powerful beast's Tangible Will was being emitted from the extra brain on Lou'both's head.
'This entire event is definitely the fault of all the foreign entities in Lou'both's body.' Athelei thought as he continued his observations.
Suddenly, Lou'both's body flashed with a milky, white light several times in a row.
"Hm?" Athelei was wrenched out of his thoughts.
As if replying to the white flashes, energy churned within Athelei himself. This energy was one he found familiar, but this marked only the second time it was acting out.
"The tattoo..." He couldn't help but mutter as he commanded his fog to coalesce into a vaguely human form that only had skin.
No facial features, hair, or anything else could be seen on his figure.
Only snow-white skin could be seen lingering in the air. While on his wrist, a tattoo of a giant-horned ram could vaguely be seen.
I say vaguely because a nasty liquid seemed to be pouring out of it without end. Droves of writhing tentacles of liquid darkness were birthed in the blink of an eye, crawling towards Lou'both who had yet to snap out of his reveries.
'There seems to be something within Lou'both that the tattoo wants... I wonder what it is?' Athelei then decided to take the risk and approach the dazed Ogre Magus.
Whatever was inside the Ogre needed to be extracted up close.
Thus, like a ghost, the human-shaped bag of skin and fog drifted forward.
On the side, Hilvar was witnessing all of this occur. He couldn't help but shiver. His fear of the unknown was being fuelled by his [Seed of Emotion].
It was a situation he couldn't control, and so he backed off, or else his mind would simply fall apart.
As he disappeared behind the ruins of a structure, Athelei arrived in front of Lou'both.
He then stretched his hand out like before.
The tendrils of darkness that grew from his wrist went crazy as it erupted forward.
But then, an inexplicable feeling descended upon Athelei at this moment. His nonexistent pupils dilated as he recalled someone;
'Lou'both's teacher!' He inwardly exclaimed.
Athelei expected immense pain to bombard all his senses at that moment... but after a few seconds, there was only silence.
Warily, Athelei used his wisps to sense the area.
Nothing.
Everything was normal. The corpses, the ruined kingdom-city, and the many shattered weapons.
Not a single change occurred within Athelei's vicinity.
"What...?"
It was only when he felt the hunger and confusion present in the tendrils of darkness that he realised what happened.
"Lou'both... disappeared..? Oh my," Surprise laced Athelei's tone at this moment. "Just how did that happen?"
In fact, as Athelei realised the sheer absence of noise within his surroundings did he feel a chill run through his spine.
'Curious... curious...'
All of the High Orcs who survived seemed to have fallen asleep. Even Hilvar, who had backed away in fear was slumped against a wall. Though not much time had passed, since the dust that had been kicked up by the battle had yet to fully settle.
Athelei then felt something off about his mind. There was something that kept poking at his thoughts, messing with his emotions and senses.
He closed his eyes and dived deep into the recesses of his consciousness. He walked past the bookcases in his mental library and arrived before unfamiliar concentric circles of Mystic Patterns.
'This...'
Athelei's lips curled upwards in delight as he thought,
'A wonderful specimen...'