(25 years ago in a world which isn't earth...)
The fire was slowly closing in. Clouds of smoke puffed out, blocking all vision both outside it and inside it.
That same black and grey scenery was spreading, proof that the fire will spare nobody.
Meanwhile inside the encirclement of fire...
"HAVE ALL THE SURVIVORS GATHERED HERE?"
A booming loud voice could be heard. That booming voice belonged to Mac. He was using ,
Naturally, it is not limited to air. Any medium sound travels through, can benefit from this spell. Of course the effects of the spell will be a bit different because the matter the sound waves are travelling through is different. Mac could use the [Wind Magic] version of it very well. And he was using it to its full extent right now.
"Seems like it. Everyone has gathered here. We have to prepare for the final phase of the plan!"
A young boy's sound resounded.
"Oh Ford!! Can your sister manage it alone?"
"Don't underestimate Fiel! She my sister after all... hehe. Also, it's not like she's alone. Lea's helping her out!"
That certainly was true. The fire let out intense heat waves. Mac , Lea, Ford and Fiel could withstand the heat to a certain extent since they were high ranked. However this was not the case for the low ranked ones and the common people won't stand a chance at all. They needed to be sheltered from the heat till everybody could be gathered. And that job was given to Ford, Fiel and Lea, while Mac was guiding everyone to the safe house they had created.
At Lea And Fiel's side...
"Haa...huuu...haaa...huuu"
Wheezing, the girl sat down, unable to bear the fatigue.
"Fiel! Are you okay! Here have some water!"
Summoning water the same way she did for Mac, Lea once again offered the pot to Fiel.
*Glug glug glug glug*
"Thanks sis Lea, you are a lifesaver..."
Chugging down the water in an instant, the girl called Fiel wiped her mouth and used her wet hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead. She had an ambiguous face. Even though it was covered in bloody cuts and scratched and blackened by soot, it had a charm to it.
"Well then, let's resume. We need to perform our assigned duty, or else we are proving we are dead weight."
"After all you twins did for us, no one will call you dead weights."
Smiling wryly, Lea offered her reply. She took a good look at the girl standing in front of her with a resolute face.
[Such an indomitable spirit. These two are something else... Well that's young blood for you...]
The girl in front of her was Fiel. Her twin brother Ford had been helping them all this time. She sent him to fetch Mac to execute the final stage of their plan. Both of them being homozygous twins, shared all characteristics, even their magic affinity.
Both of them were talented wielders of [Earth Magic]. They had been tasked with keeping the people safe from the extreme heat. It was enough to induce heatstroke. They were using a effective method to counter the heat. The twins first made a dome covering the entire town hall leaving a hole at the top for ventilation. Then they plastered the walls of the dome with mud. Mud was a very effective insulator, this shielding the people inside the dome from the extreme heat.
Lea used [Water Magic]
This particular trick was quite effective, but sadly it won't work in their final plan.
"Sis Lea, how many survivors are there in the dome?"
Hearing this question, Lea couldn't help but grimace.
"About a hundred or so..." She said it in a painful voice.
"Oh...I see... What a disaster..."
Fiel's voice was choked, apparently she was crying. Lea looked at her kindly. One couldn't help but cry looking at the sorry state of this town. Just a day before, it was a lively place, boasting a population of more than ten thousand. And now...
"Fiel! Miss Lea! It's time! Let's prepare!"
The shouting voice prevented her from losing focus.
[Yes, I have no time to waste. What am I doing here... trying to wallow in sorrow...]
Turning her face towards the direction of the voice, she spotted two figures wrapped in [Wind Magic]
Unmistakably, it was her husband Mac accompanied by Ford, Fiel's twin brother.
"Let's go in! Now we have to prepare. We only have about one and a half linn [a measure of time]."
All of them gathered at the center of the town hall enclosed in the dome, took a deep breath, closed their eyes for a moment and reopened them.
They were filled with determination and declared at the same time with a firm voice.
"We must do, we shall do."
*************
Aomuri, western side.
A flat in the fourth floor of an apartment. It is a modest one, with a single bedroom. The walls are beautifully coloured, reflecting the fine taste of the occupant.
However there was no one in the bedroom or the living room.
A silhouette could be seen on the balcony, standing in a relaxed manner. A woman was smoking a cigarette.
"Fwuh...Fwuh...Fwuh"
She puffed out three smoke rings and focused on them. As they slowly mingled with the air, carried away by the evening breeze, she took in another puff.
"Fwoo....fwuh..."
This woman is Mira Marsell, also known as 'Miss-Match', nicknamed by her students.
She looked quite worried, her eyebrows were furrowed.
After all she couldn't decide her next step of action. The discussion with a certain someone had really made her curious. But to sate that, she needed to take a risk, a big gamble.
The discussion from earlier...
School Teacher's room.
Mira was checking the literature copies of her students while somebody called out to her.
"Ma'am, may I come in?"
A boy was standing outside the room. As long as a student obtained the permission from any teacher present inside the room, they could enter the room.
"Oh Royo... what makes you come here?"
"Err...about that... Yes. Mr. Rein said he wanted to have a talk with you."
"Mr. Rein? Oh I see, Mr. Reinard. Did he specify any reason?"
Royo made a face as if he was trying to remember something. Then he looked down and shook his head and said,
"He said to come right now...and asked you to postpone your class to the next period."
"I see."
"Errr...Ummm..."
"Yes?"
"May I leave now?"
"Suit yourself."
Royo walked out of the room at once, even stumbling a bit along the way. He appeared to be relieved.
"Seriously... Am I that scary to you... damn..."
she let out a helpless sigh and tried to focus on his words.
[Come right now? Let's see what you have to say.]
Stacking the checked copies and separating that pile from the unchecked one, she got up.
With a bottle of water on one hand and her bag slung over the other, she walked towards the infirmary.
As she was about to knock, it opened by itself.
"Ah Mira. I was expecting you. Please come in."
Reinard was standing there.
She went inside the infirmary and took a seat on the swivel chair placed on one side of the small worktable.
"Ugh that's my place... so very Mira-like."
"Rein just tell me what you want to. Don't waste time."
Reinard took the chair opposite to her. After keeping silent for some time, he finally opened his mouth.
"One of our students has had an interaction with
"Wha...!..."
Mira gasped and spoke out some words, only to regret it.
"H...hu...hunters?"
"Uh-hmm"
A sound of confirmation accompanied by a nod. Reinard was not joking there. He was dead serious
.
"But who?"
"Mino."
"How do you... know?"
"He was brought here by his friend Ashu. After telling Ashu to leave, I immediately tried to locate his wound so that I could tend to it, at least provide some first aid. His entire face was covered in blood and it was trickling down to his neck. Even his nasal cavity had blood in it. It looked as if he had encountered a dreadful accident. But..."
He abruptly stopped.
"But...?"
Mira urged him to continue.
"He didn't have any wounds..."
"What...in...the...real...hell..."
She couldn't stop these words from leaving her throat.
"Is it true? A healing type conjuration of light or plant element?"
"I'm afraid that is exactly the case. My appraisal has detected faint slivers of energy. My guess is that its [Light conjuration]."
"Why so? It can be plant too."
"I am not sure."
"Care to explain?"
"........"
"What's with this rigid silence?"
"The energy I detected was Astra."
"Astra huh... that explains it."
"Malay uses Astra doesn't she?"
"Yeah..."
She thought about the three people who were together called the hunters. They were strong enough to fight three or four of them at once, if they were going all out. It would be difficult to face them with only half their team. They needed to regroup as fast as possible.
A sudden thought appeared in her mind and she unhesitatingly spoke it out.
"Hey Rein?"
"Hm?"
"What if they are from the other part of
"That... can be true... why didn't I consider that?"
He rested his head by using his palm as support, his eyebrows knit together. There was a strange glint in his green eyes. Mira was sure they would glow if the lights go out.
Her nervousness made her gulp audibly. However, she spoke out her true intentions.
"Well then... perhaps I can investigate."
"Are you serious? You might die you know?"
He looked surprised but once again his face turned serious.
"At least I am skilled in stealth... you people don't even stand a chance of masking your presence from them or escaping from them."
"Hnnn... sadly that's true. I'll communicate your thoughts to Marcun. You will get to know the leader's decision by tomorrow.
Now...."
His voice was interrupted by the sharp ringing of the bell.
He smiled at Mira and said, "That's all I had to say. Okay then go to your class now."
Back to the present.
She had already received permission to investigate. Her normally calm heart was thumping loudly. She was just waiting for nighttime to come. All her equipments were ready to be used. The only thing left was to prepare herself mentally. She took deep breaths to calm herself down.
"I'll start investigating the sewers first... I have a hunch that someone like Jeryl would surely use that place as a hideout."