Two hours before Leith and Donar escaped from a pack of masked foreign wizards, Alicia, and her friends were still struggling with the same party in different places.
"I'm not a bastard! Stop calling me a bastard!" barked Alicia to Spencer, her cousin.
Nadine joined in shouting at the young lad. "Say she's a bastard one more time, I'll punch a hole in your brain with pure Arcane, as you wish!"
"The descendants of the Crimsonmane are the descendants of pure magicians. Only paired with the best practitioner as well. An anomaly like you shouldn't have happened!" Spencer replied.
"That's not fair! It's not my fault that I was born that way," the bespectacled girl uttered again. "You once loathed me because I am 'defective', and now you hate me more because I don't want to join you? Or are you jealous because wizards like you weren't chosen by Arcane?"
"You should know your place! Just because you have Arcane might now, doesn't mean you can act arrogant! Magic never runs through your veins, you shouldn't hold onto that power, you magic blasphemer!"
"What did ye say? She's arrogant?" The Big Yin named Gilmore defended his little friend. "You fucking wrench. Ye can spend yer dosh gawin` the world, but cannae afford a wee mirror fur each of you?"
"Who made those rules? I don't understand the hatred you have for me. I don't even remember putting you in harm." Alicia then walked closer to Spencer behind the shield. "But at least I can appreciate your honesty, for I've had enough of all your charades back at the villa. You'll never use me to fulfill your greed. I need neither your pity nor acknowledgment anymore! Arcane will do what it's supposed to do—saving the world from the might of Khaos."
Spencer became furious as he gritted his teeth. He turned back and forth in a huff, then darted back to the cousin he did not want. "No problem, bastard. We'll take that Orb by force and kill all of you. You won't be able to stay in your dome long enough. Not when we shower you with pain from black magic."
Spencer waved his wand which was filled with the dense essence of Protos particles.
"Superstitio Lupi."
From the tip of his wand came a number of purple projections in the shape of a wolf's head, dozens of them. The heads fell off and flew through the air, before crashing into the protective dome like the barrages of a machine gun.
The other wizards were unwilling to be outdone. They directly rained down the Arcane dome with black magic fires! Spikes of acid slime, blue flames, and even a pair of black hurricane storms clad in purple sheen attempted to crush the Arcane force field from all sides! How merciless all those wizards were. They were not the same as Agosh Grendi, who wanted to kill Alica for fun. To them, Alicia was the sole blemish that made the world imperfect in their eyes!
The protective dome was still firmly held up. Alicia was already prepared to endure the pain of the magic reaction that came in a row. Nadine and Gilmore were clueless about how to aid their friend. Inside her magic dome, they were actually helpless. Alicia was their only patron here and now.
"Nadine, Gilmore! I need your help," asked Alicia, who gritted her teeth to hold back her soreness.
"Anything!" they both shouted in unison.
"My bag. Quick!"
Gilmore who understood searched her small backpack at once. He found nothing but a medium-sized brown bar with golden-plated spells written on it.
"This?"
"Yes—Ahh…!" Alicia groaned as more and more black magic wanted to penetrate the Arcane shield. She murmured to herself, "Come on, Alicia, you are stronger than this! You defeated a necromancer once, this is nothing!"
"Alicia! Are you all right?" Gilmore panicked as she grimaced.
"Don't mind me now! Listen, what you're holding is a magic road beacon, a gift from Grand Magus to me. Turn the side of it until you find the words ''𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘩𝘪 𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘮!'"
Gilmore hastily turned the beacon to the side. right. "Found it!" he said.
"Good! That road beacon will shoot light aimed at all the Magisterium's personnel, replacing some of your strength. You know, like a magic spell 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢 𝘝𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵, where—"
Nadine cut her off at once, shouting, "For the sake of Silent Divine, Alicia! Just get to the point!"
"AHHH! Sorry, sorry!" said the glasses girl. She had lost focus due to being overwrought, and several magic projectiles almost penetrated the Arcane dome.
"The sentence earlier, Gilmore. Read it to the end, then continue the next sentence on the right side. After that, turn it to the right again, until you return to the first sentence. When you do, say the first one again while aiming the flare upwards!"
"I understand!" replied Gilmore who caught Alicia's frantic. If one could be honest, only a lunatic would stand still in the midst of the Khaos' magical blows without feeling his guts shrivel.
"Do it carefully, Gilmore!" Alicia tried to turn her head back, looking at The Big Yin. "We only have one shot. If it fails, we'll have to wait for thirty minutes. I cannae last less than twenty without a mana recovery potion!"
"I can dae it! Juist focus on yer dome so we dinnae a' get killed!" Gilmore replied. "Awright, here it goes. 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘩𝘪 𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘮!"
The first sentence on the flare lit up like a lamp.
"It worked—no, nae yit! Just a few more sentences! Don't worry, Liz, we're getting out of here." Gilmore turned the beacon and found the second sentence. "𝘖 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴!" The second sentence shone as well.
Gilmore turned to the third sentence. Meanwhile, Spencer began to fall headlong, showing signs of desperation. His eyes bulged with wrath to see Alicia, who still did not submit even though her sense were akin to being stabbed multiple times by the power of Khaos. Spencer might be a true Crimsonmane magus, but Alicia once faced a necromancer from Demon Continent. Spencer's black magic was nothing compared to Agosh Grendi's. Screaming in ire, he then replaced his spell with a purple flame outburst that covered almost the front surface of Alicia's dome.
Back to Gilmore, he echoed the third sentence right away. The inscription on the beacon was long enough that Gilmore had to read it more slowly as he took a closer look at the inscription. "𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦… 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘶𝘮… 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯!"
The third sentence managed to radiate. One last round. One more sentence before reverting to the first words. "𝘌𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘰!"
All the sentences in the flare were lit, and the base also displayed a red glow, an indication that the flare was ready to be fired.
"All done!" said Nadine, "Aim up, say the first spell."
Gilmore was about to tilt his right hand so he could read. "Hold on, I forgot what the first spell was. 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘴—"
"Oi, you idiot!" Nadine punched the man's arm. "Don't read it like that! You want to shoot Alicia with that?"
"Awrigt, awright, I remember now!" Gilmore aimed the beacon at the sky. Reinforcement, accept your call!
"𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘩𝘪 𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘮!"
A crimson flare burst through the Arcane shield and prepared to explode amidst the crimson twilight horizon. A slight languid struck Gilmore. After this, maybe he should celebrate with a meat feast, considering this was his first experience of doing "magic". If, he and his friends survived this.
They saw a flare that keep rising through layers of sky. But there was something strange. Alicia, Nadine, and Gilmore heard a loud hum, no less loud than the barrages of black magic raining upon them.
Countless swarms of insects burst out from various corners of the district, provoked by the presence of a flying beacon. The insects gathered at one point, forming a black cloud with a clamant noise. The cloud swiftly raced toward the flare before exploding. A thousand bad luck for the triplets, the flare was devoured by a cloud of insects, consuming the erubescent beam until it vanished!
"NO! WHAT IS THAT?" Gilmore went languid for real. Alicia also witnessed the flare's disappearance with a look of dashed hope. The black magic attacks kept coming. The numbing sensation was starting to feel.
"Alicia, I'm sorry," Gilmore regretted.
"No, Gilmore." Alicia calmed her best friend. "Y-you're doing well. I'll try to hold on a little longer until the beacon can be used again. We're not going to die here."
"Alicia...." The word Nadine could only utter. Upset she was, indeed. After all, where did the insect swarms ever come from?
The black cloud full of disorganized pests slowly descended and landed, creating a boundary between Spencer and Alicia. Thousands of frantically flying insects. Alicia had thought of the figure of David Whistlehoff—the gloomy, pale-faced prison warden, who happened to be able to control insects too.
Like Whistlehoff, the insects then formed a human figure. A magus, carrying a long, jagged staff, almost like insect legs. The tip of the wand was a gear with a moth symbol stuck in the middle, and three small candles were lit under its base. His clothes were even scarier than the magicians present there. His body was only covered by a cloak patterned with an insect abdomen and the wings of a moth with a mixture of brown, white, black, and gray colours. Fur covered his chest. A modified gasmask was his head—a mask with a mouth protruding a long, spiral-folded tongue. Several small thorns adorned the sides of the mask, as well as long protruding horns. One did not forget that his stature was colossal and tall. The wizards were no match for him, moreover, Gilmore, who was considered a giant.
The insect mage walked slowly towards the triumvirate. His head tilted left and right; a giant moth that saw the three as flowers. Eager he was, to suck their blood dry like sweet nectar. All the magic attacks earlier had stopped after his arrival. Break time for Alicia? Yes, please. Please take a breath for a moment while being watched closely by the Mothman who terrorises the soul! Everything came with a price.
"Dozens of you with Protos particles, yet this brat's defense is still unbreakable?" cried the Mothman in a deep, striding voice, startling Alicia behind the dome. He turned to Spencer. "As I thought, you Crimsonmanes were just talking rubbish."
Spencer tried to refute him politely. "But, sir. We would have almost destroyed the protective dome if you had given us time—"
"Especially you!" The Mothman was immediately furious, his hand pointed directly at the man's chest. "Rough, spoiled brat! Thinking you're the mad champion, huh? You're even weaker than that magicless girl. If the Inner Circle hadn't accepted you, my bugs might have raked you to the bone!"
Spencer just looked down, full of shame, compared to Alicia, his cousin. Wrathful as he was, Spencer's teeth pressed against each other behind his sealed lips. The insect mage then turned back to Alicia, who was taking a breath.
"I probably don't need to mince words anymore. They've made their point," he said, "Are you going to give up that Arcane might? Since I couldn't care less about your family's internal feuds, I shall spare your life if you just hand me the orb."
No mages should frighten her now. Alicia stood firm. "I've already said my answer."
The Mothman pulled his head back, looking down on the Crimsonmane girl. "Speaking without thinking. Another foolish brat…."