Oliver and the twins got on their feet and started to walk towards the exit again. Before they got out Ouroboros called them, the God gave Oliver a staff. It was not bladed and was light in weight.
"Since there is no need for you to kill, there is no need for the staff to have a blade." It grumbled like always. "As to make your search easier, the book is most likely in the capital of that place." Added the God. It always seemed dissatisfied and unhappy. But spending so much time in its presence Oliver knew now that the God just didn't know how to express itself any other way.
With a simple bow Oliver took the staff and was sent on his way to his destination. Now that they were out and made the necessary preparations, they turned towards the unforgiving land that is Wielguard. They went towards the Steel Forest. It was quite the spectacle. As well as regular trees there were weapons hilted on the ground and the trees around, swords, spears, even some bows and a lot of arrows.
"So, this is the reason they call this place 'Steel Forest'" Oliver thought.
"This was where the Calamity Battle happened 10000 years ago…" Baran spoke out.
Oliver gave Baran a confused look, he never heard about something like that. "The Calamity Battle?" He asked.
It seemed as Bora never heard of that even as well so they both turned their attention towards Baran for an explanation.
Baran let out a sigh, "I read about it before I perished in the library, it's been a long time, so I don't remember all of it. But That was the supposed reason why Archacia split into four to begin with."
Oliver and Bora looked at Baran with both confusion and wonder. This implies that the continent was unified once.
"How?? You mean all of Archacia was unified under one banner before?!" Oliver spoke up, confused.
"I'll tell you guys more when we are done with this mission." Baran said.
Oliver and Bora, who lost interest and was daydreaming, just nodded.
While they were moving through the forest, Oliver felt strangely uncomfortable. There was a feeling of cold. He untied the cloth covering his cursed eye to look around, just like what he saw while in Taitri, he saw another magic mass deep under his feet. Since this was the second time, he saw something like this, he made note of himself to ask Ouroboros about these masses of magic.
They continue forward for a few days and finally reach a residential area that belongs to Wielguard. Now that they have arrived, it was time to go to the capital. Ouroboros said that most likely place for that book to be in was in the capital. The sights they encountered along the way was less than nice however, people in chains getting ordered around by warriors, getting treated like slaves because they are perceived as weak. At least children and elderly people were spared.
"We will gather a lot of attention if we remain out in the open, the clothes I salvaged from the library makes us stand out." Oliver whispered into his jacket.
"We have to retreat into the forest then, there are no solid buildings here." Baran proposed, Bora agreed.
With Baran's suggestion they went back into the forest. But still made sure they could see the settlements. They went along the forest's border until they saw the capital.
Weilguard was a weird place to Oliver, unlike Valhß the settlements were not in order. Especially near the border where they were, the villages, or cities if they looked that way, were a jumbled mess of houses and farms.
"Looks like they just put houses wherever they want." Oliver grunted, dissatisfied.
"It's only like this near the borders. The capital and its surroundings look way better." Bora said.
They continued their conversations until they finally saw the grand building where the most powerful people in the continent live, or so the rumours tell. Now that the city was in sight. Oliver descended from the treetops and instead climbed the rooftops.
"You were right Bora. This part of the country looks way better." Oliver looked around with interest.
"Expect nothing less." Bora gave Oliver a smug look.
The city was big, way bigger that they imagined. It would take days even maybe a month to find clues about the book Ouroboros desired. And while Oliver's bodily functions are sustained with its magic and the twins are inanimate objects, they needed to be fast. If Oliver's mana expires, he would suffer grim withdrawal symptoms. And the twins would most likely wannish since Oliver could not act as a catalyst for them.
"I think splitting the city in tree and investigating those parts individually is our best option." Oliver proposed. "And since you guys are small and nimble, it would be easy to infiltrate more cramped parts." He added.
"Ok! I call dibs on the black tower!" Bore jumped excitedly.
The other two just gave him a weird look. He never seemed this enthusiastic before.
"What are those looks for? I just feel a weird familiarity there so it would be best if I go that way!" Bora whined.
"Fine, suit yourself. I'll take the more crowded open areas near the tower then." Oliver shrugged.
"I guess that leaves me with the training grounds and Colosseums around town." Baran said with a moody tone.
And with that settled the three of them split up to cover more ground.
Oliver jumped down to an alleyway to search between the crowds. There were always some kind of human clusters around, everyone gathered in one place to see a duel. As he delves into those clusters someone grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him to the side.
"Hey hey little man! You look like you have some valuable stuff. Why don't you hand it over to me, for safe keeping of course!" The imposing man gave him a glare.
"And why would I do that. My stuff is safe with me." Oliver gave the man a confused look.
The man in armour did not take that well, He did a hand gesture and, what seemed like his party appeared. They were all riddled with scars, dark red bandages. Their armours looked like they have been in a lot of battles.
"C'mon little man we promise we'll take good care of you." "Tourists like you needs a bodyguard." The man added, pointed at himself.
"I can handle myself there is no need to inconvenience yourself. But thanks for the kind gesture." Oliver replied smugly.
The group became more and more angry as the time went on, and a crowd started to form around them waiting for a confrontation to happen between the parties. "Jackpot" Thought Oliver, he was bound to find (or see in his case) some leads if the crowd is big enough. So, he complied and drew his staff and pointed it towards the group.
"HAH! You think you can take us all on little man!" The man shouted. Then he signalled his party, and with that all of them took up their weapons and surrounded Oliver.
With a cheeky grin Oliver started his part of the search.
---
Bora went towards the great black tower at the centre of the capital, along the way he searched some interesting looking houses. One house in particular emanated strong magic aura, gleefully thinking his search was over he went over there and started to investigate. But, instead of finding what he was looking for he just found a bunch of enchanted weapons and armours stored away in a locked iron cabin.
He felt disappointed, but he felt one of the weapons calling out to him. It was a small sickle; it was now dull and covered in rust. He didn't remember much of his past after possessing this low-quality cloth doll. But something about that sickle was familiar.
Just as he was about to open the closet and take a better look, he was zapped by what seemed to be an anti-magic barrier. He let out some curses as since he is no longer counted as a human but instead counted as a magic tool, barriers like that were dangerous for him.
"Shit! That hurt like hell!" He jumped around in anger. "What is an anti-magic barrier doing here?!" as he continued to vent, he sensed someone was coming this way, he quickly retreated to the dark alleys by phasing trough the wall he came in from. He waited around for that presence to disappear but got bored after a while and left for the tower. He was sure something was there, if it's not the book then it is something related to him.
When he arrived at the black tower, he immediately noticed the guards around had enchanted armour and weapons, "This is weird, those kinds of tools should be a taboo here…" Bora thought to himself. Something was up, so he started his thorough search of the black tower, starting from the very bottom prison chambers.
What he saw was a huge surprise for him. The so-called prison chambers were redesigned to something akin to a workshop. There were a lot of mages in chains, and they were being forced to enchant whatever the guards brought to them. And they were shown no mercy as well, some collapse and fall unconscious or even die from exhaustion. The ones that die are replaced with new ones, and the ones who fall unconscious were locked up in cells until they are ready for their work again.
Bora was disgusted by the sight before him. "Ouroboros was right." He thought. Weilguard really forgot the meaning of strength. He wanted to save the mages from their torment but alas, he cannot give away his position or else the whole tower would be harder to navigate. So, he just left for the upper levels promising to himself he would return and help them after he is done.
---
Most of the training grounds were empty and was a waste of time. Baran, now annoyed decided to skip them entirely and focus on where a lot of people might be. As he was floating above the city, he heard loud cheering and clapping in a coliseum. He took a deep sigh and wished that this one would be more interesting than the rest.
And to his surprise it was. The coliseum was bustling with activity, and it seemed like some important people were present based on the decorations on one of the balconies. He finally felt happy, after the dull and boring hall of the rest, this place was lively. He started his search by first looking through the back where the warriors wait to enter the arena. As he was snooping around a large hand grabbed his head and squeezed tight.
"What a strange construct…" The person spoke out. Just as they were about to crush Baran, he fought back with a magic blast.
"You nearly killed me! How rude!" he angrily responded.
The person holding him hot thrown back but did not fall. After Baran calmed from his shock he took a close look at the one who nearly killed him. They had a towering build and grey armour; a giant axe was strapped behind their back.
"So, you are sentient huh… Little thing tell me, why are you here?" They spoke in a sinister tone.
"That does not concern you!" Baran barked back.
"Oh, but it does now. Since I captured you." They replied in a weird shooting tone this time.
"Captured me? You whi-" As he was speaking a sharp gust of wind stopped right in front of his face. He couldn't even see them draw their huge axe.
At that moment Baran had no choice to stand down and reveal why he was here, still he left out details about Oliver and Bora just to be safe.
"Okay okay! I'll speak! Just be careful with the cloth." As he said that he started to hover lower to the ground to show he was defeated.
"Good choice." They spoke and put their axe to the side and removed their helmet. As they removed their helmet red locks of hair fell.
"Now let's start with introductions, shall we?" they sit down to a nearby bench. "I am Maria, a gladiator as you can see…" Then she gave Baran a glare, urging the doll to do the same.
"I… am Baran. I am a dead human that is possessing this doll you see." He spoke with an uneasy voice.
Maria gave Baran a condescending look, then looked behind her. The current deathmatch was finished so people were coming to the back to boast about their victory and or treat their wounds. With an annoyed grunt Maria grabbed Baran and moved somewhere quieter.
"Now then, what brings you here." She spoke with a raspy tone, people from Weilguard were raised with values that discredit magic, but eventually it turned to hate. "Your kind is not welcomed in these lands; I suggest you leave immediately. Others, if they find you, will not be as lenient as me." She crossed her bulky arms.
"It's not like I want to be here. Someone here is using a stolen ancient artifact, and my master wants it back." Baran replied.
Maria's stoic face changed, and it was not a positive change.
"Who dares to use magic to substitute their lack of strength." She was mad, Baran could feel an ominous aura about her, but this was different. She possessed no magic, yet she emanated such hostile aura.
"I am trying to find out who that is as well." Baran took advantage of her mood. "Would you help me find that foul imposter?" He added.
"I know what you are trying to do, doll." She reached out to grab Baran. "Even if what you're saying is truth, why should I partner up with a weakling?" She gave him a light squeeze.
"Wait! Wait! I can see magic I know it's someone from here!" Baran replied in a panic. "Just give me some time and I'll find them!" he added pleading for his life.
Hearing this Maria loosened her grip in hesitation, and that gave Baran the chance he needed to escape her grip. He couldn't go far though as Maria threw her heavy axe towards him to stop his escape. The axe hit Baran's underside and tuck him to the wall.
"If you are lying to me construct, there will be a hefty price to pay." She snarled at him.
"I am telling the truth! Our missions intertwine, we need to help each other to get this done!" He spoke with a shaky voice.
As she reached for him again, a loud voice came from the back calling Maria to the battlefield. So instead of crushing Baran, she decides to believe his words.
"You better find whoever that uses magic. If you let me down, I'll crush you." She spoke as she stuffed Baran in her chest plate. "Stay there and do what you have to do." She added with a stern voice.
Baran just complied as he would be useless if he died. And the possibility of getting a new ally as strong as her was worth the risk. As he positioned himself inside her chest plate, Maria was escorted to the colosseum's centre. As she took her place several horns went out, and with them a loud voice spoke out:
"AAAANNDD HERE SHE TAKES HER PLACE IN THE CHALLENGE!!! OUR UNDEFEATED CHAMPION THE BLOOD-SOAKED BUTCHER!!!!!" As the man spoke out loudly the crowd started to cheer and chant her name. "TODAY IS AN EXTRA SPECIAL DAY LADIES AND GENTELMAN! OUR BELOVED BUTCHER ACCEPTED A SPECIAL MADE CHALLENGE! AND THAAT IS…!" He paused to build up the anticipation of the crowd.
The crowd was wild, there were so many people from different places that this place was highly likely to find someone who is using magic. Baran knew that Wielguardians were not born with magic, and they never learn anything related to it, it would be easy to find what he was looking for. As he was about to concentrate the announcer spoke again.
"HAVE YOU NOTICED IT!? OUR BELOVED BUTCHER IS NOT WEARING HER SIGNATURE ARMOUR! THAT'S RIGHT! FOR TODAYS CHALLENGE SHE WILL FIGHT FIFTEEN WAVES OF CHALLANGERS WITH A BONE ALLOY ARMOUR SET!" As the crowd heard the challenge, they went ecstatic. Some even started to throw in golden coins to show their support for the challenger.
The crowd was especially not on the Maria's side today, since bone alloy is known to be fragile and lightweight, it breaks easy with enough hits. Maria was not particularly happy about this challenge either, she would hate to lose her undefeated title in a stupid challenge like this. And there was another reason for her to win as well. The Black Tower's guardian was among the audience, meaning if she succeeds, she will have a chance to join among them in the tower. This change enough to get her going. She is going to best anyone who stands in her glory.
As she searched the crowd for the guardian the first wave of warriors was released, there were a lot of them, more than usual. The warriors in the coliseum often wear the same armour. But there were always ones who wear different looking ones. And those ones are always the strongest ones around.
As four of the warriors lunged towards her, she drew her heavy axe and slashed in a circular pattern throwing them away and damaging most parts of their armour as well. Seeing how they failed she chuckled to herself.
"You're gonna make it this easy for me by attacking in small groups, come on come at me all at once!" She loudly spoke. And with that all of the warriors started to rush her.
While Maria fought on, Baran inside her chest plate was trying to concentrate enough to locate the source of the magic in the area. Before the match started Baran sensed a magic aura. But trying to focus on it proved to be really difficult, as he cannot concentrate with the sounds of battle and being rattled every second in Maria's bosom. Even though he cannot pinpoint who emanates the magic aura, he believes that whoever it is, is the culprit was connected to the book they were searching. So, despite all odds he tried to concentrate to see who it was.
While Baran was trying his best in the battlefield, Bora was having a nice and easy investigation. He steadily has been searching every floor and room in the tower, making sure he misses nothing. While continuing onward he finds a hall full of portraits of old people. With a bored sigh he passes through them one by one, until one of them catches his eye. Its a painting of an old man with blonde hair and sapphire like eyes, who seems to be some kind of commander. He fells awfully familiar. And then something clicks in his mind.
The Black Tower, home to the continents strongest people. He was once among them leading them to glory and victory. The man in that portrait was him in his prime. As he remembered more of the past, his past frustrations surfaced as well. He remembered how he was betrayed. After discovering some higher ups possessed magic enhanced weaponry he was sent on a mission to "hunt" a deserter inside a magic library. At that moment he wanted to destroy the whole place and make it turn to dust just like how he wanted those annoying memories of betrayal.
His trance was broken by Baran's telepathy:
"Bora! I got something useful for you." He spoke out. "What we are searching is definitely in that tower, get Oliver and start to investigate the upper chambers! I'll join up with you as soon as I am done here." He added then the connection was cut off.
Now everything was clear as day. He contacted Oliver and notified him of what is happening. And after that he felt a weird happiness, as today the hypocrisy of Wielguard would be revealed. For now, he found a secluded spot to think things over and wait for Oliver to arrive.
Oliver however was a bit busy, the crowd gathering thing that he thought of got out of hand, and now he was fighting real battle hardened warriors. He was also very annoyed by the fact that he didn't get any useful intel except the fact that the upper-level warriors all use magical items. Which was common knowledge to all three of them already. So, with an annoyed expression he withdrew his staff.
"Sorry, that's all the time I have for today." He spoke out. Much to the crowd's dismay and disappointed grunts.
The crowd slowly but surely started to disappear, however the warriors still remained. So, Oliver, again, told them to leave.
"WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR AGES TO FIGHT YOU, WE ARE GOING NOWHERE UNTIL WE GET WHAT WE WANT!" A man screamed from the back. Other men agreed.
"Consider yourselves lucky, you fund each other." Oliver shrugged, then quickly moved inside the crowd he gathered to use them as a cover to escape.
After he made his escape and made sure he wasn't followed he started his advance towards the tower. Since Baran told them that the book was in the tower, he ignored every other thing along his way to reach it quicker. After he arrived at the tower, with Bora's instructions he reached him. Seeing him without his usual demeanour he grew a bit concerned.
"You ok? You don't look so good." He asked with a soft voice.
"Well, I learned who I was before I died so I'm fine. Mostly." Bora responded with a stained voice.
Just as he was about to ask for more context some patrolling guards rolled up. They seemed to be in a panic.
"The guardian finally chosen a successor! MOVE! We have to prepare for their arrival." The one in the black armour issued the orders.
After they are gone Oliver turned his attention to Bora again.
"Do you think you can tell me? I'm curious about it." He asks, trying to not be forceful.
"We don't have the time here; I'll talk about it when we are all together." Bora floated high again. "We need to go higher." He added.
Oliver nodded in response and opened up his jacket to let Bora in. But the guards have increased drastically over so little time. Guess this successor deal was more important than they thought.
Albeit at a slower pace Oliver and Bora started to investigate the upper towers. While they were at that Maria nearly finished her challenge. The announcer screamed in excitement:
"DEAR AUDIENCE CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! OUR BELOVED BUTCHER HAS NOW BESTED THIRTEEN WAVES WITHOUT EVEN ONE SCRATCH!!"
Only two waves left for Maria to beat, but weirdly the ones after wave ten were weirdly tougher. They all had the same armour but some of them didn't break with her attacks while some did. Still, she did not have time to think on that matter. What matters right now is that she survives and wins. Baran on the other hand finally got enough focus to locate the source of the ancient magic he felt. It came from the big balcony where the "Guardian" was. He relayed his findings to Oliver and Bora, now that he was done, he just had to wait for Maria to finish her part so he could leave.
Oliver and Bora after getting the message, thought to abduct a guard to know the location of this Guardian's chambers. Though this proved to be difficult as all of them were in groups and never alone. After searching for a lone guard, they finally found one.
"Bora make sure to keep watch, this might take some time." Oliver whispered inside his jacket.
Bora nodded and jumped out and positioned himself in a corner that let him see most of the corridor. After Bora signalled that no one was present Oliver made his move. He was still not that great with magic, but thanks to Ouroboros' blessing he was able to cast simple spells without any risk of backfiring.
He quickly lunged at the armoured guard and knocked them down. Before the guard could do anything, Oliver opened his mouth.
"S̶̰̾L̸̘͗E̷̫̅E̷̬̓P̶̲̃" He ordered in a distorted voice.
The guard immediately fell into a deep slumber. Before he continued his plan Oliver dragged the now sleeping guard behind a dragon statue that are littered around every corridor.
"Ugh, I hope this works like in the book." He grunts with a raspy voice. Spell of that type had a drawback that limited the speech of the caster after use for a short while.
He joins his palms together to focus a small energy ball then directs it to the guard's head. Then puts a finger on his own forehead. The spell thankfully worked, and Oliver was able to see the memories and experiences of the guard. After he is done, he did some hand gestures towards Bora to get his attention.
"He… won't wake up… for a while." He gestured towards the guard then towards the dragon statue.
Bora quickly descended from his corner and with Oliver's help they squeeze him behind the dragon statue.
"Now that this is done, we can go to the guardian's chamber. Finally, we are close." Bora excitedly jumped around; Oliver took a deep sigh of relaxation.
"I feel like we've been here for YEARS" Bora further added, whining.
As they made their way towards the Guardian's chamber, they were greeted with rows and rows of guards keeping watch by the door. "This important successor thing might ruin this for us" Oliver thought. Bora however has grown sick of this place, and with his past now remembered he was about to just get out there and knock them all out. But thankfully Oliver stopped him and convinced him to be patient. He agreed to remain quiet, at least for a while until Oliver thought of a way to get past the guards.
"Let's see…" He muttered as he removed the cover on his right eye and looked around.
Annoyingly enough the chamber was inside what it seemed like an anti-magic barrier, at least that's what the glowing lines in the barrier made him think that. "Wielguard sure loves their anti-magic barriers." He murmured. While Oliver and Bora were sitting around for an opportunity, Baran contacted them.
"I have some good news, and bad ones." Baran started talking. "The good news is I can see the book, and the bad news is: Its in the hands of the Guardian." He added with a disappointed tone.
"No matter, where are you right now?" Bore replied, Oliver quickly got ready to go.
"I'm currently on my way to the Black Tower, you probably saw the massive number of guards. Those guards are here to escort both the guardian and successor." Baran replied. "Just hod tight for a little longer." He added then cut the connection.
"Looks like… he had all the… fun." Oliver sighed with a raspy voice.
"Yea and look at us. All we can do right now is just wait." Bora let out an angry growl.
---
Maria was done with her challenge, she was injured and nearly lost one of her eyes but the persevered. And because Baran was inside her armour she took extra care to make the damage minimal. Since bone-alloy was really fragile. As the crowd cheered their lungs out the announcer screamed again:
"CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!?! OUR BUTCHER HAS DONE IT AGAIN FOLKS, SHE BESTED FIFTEEN WAVES OF CHALLANGERS IN ONE GO!!" The man enthusiastically screamed.
"That was a good workout, haven't had one this great in a while." Maria spoke trying to catch her breath.
After she was done, they allowed her to rest in the back for a while. She complied and laid down in a secluded corner.
"Found anything?" Maria questioned Baran with a stern voice.
"Yea… But I don't think you'll like the results." Baran replied with a bit of fear in his voice.
"If you don't get to the point and tell me, you will be the one who won't like the results." She spoke in a threatening voice.
Although hesitant, Baran caved in "The source of the magic is related to that Guardian of yours." He was ready to flee if she got violent hearing that.
Weirdly enough Maria was unresponsive. She covered her face with his arm and just laid there, silently. Taking a closer look at her, Baran notices she was not well. It seemed as if the magic weapons that were used had some kind of weakening spell, but it only starting to show now was what made Baran impressed. She took quite a lot of hits from those weapons, yet their side effects were only showing now. Her resilience to magic was nearly on par with Oliver it seems.
"I can break the spell. If you permit me to do so of course." Baran scooted a bit closer.
Maria was not in a state to talk so she just nodded. If the guardian saw her in this state after her victory, she thought he would be dissatisfied with her.
"Alright, I'll make this quick." Baran replied. And started to chant a quick cleansing spell.
The spell proved to be effective as Maria got up few seconds later. Feeling much better she turned to Baran.
"I can't believe I accepted this." She scoffed. "But thank you anyways. If it weren't for you, I might be in a worse shape." She softened.
"Don't mention it, my pleasure!" Baran replied cheekily. "Soo… The one using magic is the Guardian. What will you do now? With your age you might not stand a chance." he added.
"My age is what makes me strong little thing. I've fought with mages before, and not just your typical ones. Even the Arthu's King's magic couldn't penetrate me. I will best him in combat." "Though doing this here is not good, I'll challenge him in his chamber." She added.
As she finished her sentence footsteps could be heard, Baran panicked and was about to hide in a corner, but Maria grabbed him. Since she had quite the large hands, she was able to cover him up completely. After she took on a sitting posture the man had arrived.
"Ahh the Bloody Butcher Maria, it is an honour to meet you." The Guardian spoke in a weird tone of voice. "I've heard a lot about your present and past exploits. Especially during the battle with the king of the frost lands." It continued.
"The honour is mine, The Guardian of the Black Tower." She replied in a calm demeanour. "I'm guessing todays challenge was your proposal. If so, I thank you for the exercise." She added.
"Indeed, I was worried that your age would finally catch up with you. But how delightfully wrong I was." "You are shining just as brightly as you shined in your prime days." The Guardian spoke in a delightful tone.
"I'll not waste your time any longer, let's get straight to the point." The Guardian straighten himself. "I want you to join us in the tower. I recognise your strength and offer a seat." He lowered his head.
Maria got up and locked her hands behind her. In a soldier like stance, she towered over the Guardian. "I accept your proposal." She spoke out as she lowered her head.
With this, Maria achieved her dream, or every Wielguardian's dream of joining the Tower. But still if Baran's words were true sooner or later she will have to fight with the guardian.
"That's great to hear, with you now joining us the future of Wielguard will be bright." The Guardian spoke in a happy tone. "Now, let's get on our way." He added.
"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to change into my usual armour." Maria asked.
The Guardian just nodded. Since their armour is the most important thing to a Wielguardian, this was a reasonable request. And that bone-alloy was an uncomfortable material to wear because of its fragile nature. She waited until the Guardian completely left. After she made sure of that she started to take off her crack-filled armour. Revealing her scars, some old some still yet to be healed.
"You are still coming with me." Maria ordered with a stern voice.
"Sure… I need to anyways." Baran looks away.
"You know I wear normal clothing under all that armour, right?" Maria let out a small chuckle.
"Of course! I'm just trying to be respectful!" Baran exclaimed.
After she changed to her usual armour, she grabbed Baran and put him in her chest plate again. Maria then moved towards the coliseum's exit, to where the Guardian waited for her in his carriage.
"Ahhh, to behold the Dragon Slayer's armour. Always reminds me of good memories." The Guardian sighed at the sight of Maria's armour.
"Of course it would…" Maria just gave him an awkward chuckle. "Why would the Guardian need me, why now, I'm curious." She then added with a serious tone.
"First please get in the carriage. No one can hear us inside." He gestured towards the carriage door.
Maria complied and got in. The inside of the carriage was too intricately decorated, she wasn't a fan of it. After the Guardian sat in front of her, he signalled the driver to move. With the sounds of hooves on stone the carriage started to move towards its destination.
"Why don't you tell me the real reason you want me, we are alone here after all 'Guardian'." Maria broke the silence with an angry tone.
"Indeed, we are alone here so why don't you call me by my name, there is no reason to be so formal now." He replied.
"In your dreams." Maria snarled. "Speak or I'll learn the truth myself." She added.
The Guardian let out a deep sigh. "Why can't you just let go Maria." He mumbled. "The reason is that we are losing manpower and we are losing it quick. Nearly every veteran started to leave our ranks and some even leaving the country after that Frost-Valley War." He added with a concerned voice.
"Sound like the Black Tower is losing their influence." She shrugged. "And what am I supposed to do in this situation. Drag them back to the tower?" She added.
"You are the legendary dragon slayer, if you join us, we might have a chance of persuading them to come back." He explained.
"So, you want me not for my strength, but for my influence." Maria spoke in an agitated tone.
"Don't say it like that Maria." He sighed. "You'll change your mind when we get to the tower." He added.
After that they were silent for the rest of the road. Even inside her armour Bora could feel the hostile air between them. Since he was closer to the Guardian now, thanks to Maria, he now was certain that he was the one wo has the book. Out of all the magic attributes a person has, he possessed something that closely resembled the magic that Oliver is imprinted with. However, since he was inside Maria's armour, he still hasn't gotten a good look at this Guardian. This made him a bit anxious as he couldn't assess his abilities in an accurate manner if he cannot establish a clear line of sight. He contacted Oliver and Bora again. And told them about what happened in the coliseum.
"You made an ally? How can you trust this person fully?" Oliver questioned him.
"Yea what if they stab us in the back!" Bora added.
Despite their protest Baran held his ground and assured them that everything was fine. And then the carriage stopped. He went silent after telling them that the Guardian has arrived.
"Please this way." The guardian gestured towards the entrance of the tower.
Maria replied with a grunt and complied, following the guardian.
The atmosphere surrounding them is as tense as ever. Maria follows the Guardian trough the cold grey halls. Only colour that comes from those halls being the black dragon statues occasionally put in place as a decoration.
"I expected better, this place looks dreadful." Maria finally broke the silence. "No wonder everyone left."
The Guardian just let out an annoyed sigh but didn't say anything in response and just kept walking. After some time, they finally arrived before his chambers. Now that they are in Oliver and Bora's sight, Baran established connection again.
"The person we are after is the one in the front." He said with a stern voice.
"Be careful the door seems to be protected by an anti-magic barrier." Oliver warned Baran.
After hearing that Baran panicked, "What should I do then I might die if I pass it!" he exclaimed.
As the Guardian and Maria moved towards the door, Bora hopped into action and sent a strong invisible force to disrupt the barrier. Taking advantage of that Oliver then casted an invisible barrier inside the now disrupted barrier to nullify its effects. This last-ditch effort proved to be effective, though it was risky. They nearly revealed their positions to the people below.
"Did you feel that." The Guardian took on his guard and started to look around.
Since they arrived at the entrance of his chambers, he ordered the rows of guards to leave them alone beforehand, "Was it one of them?" He wondered to himself.
"I felt nothing, what are you afraid about all of a sudden." Maria replied, obviously lying.
She already spotted Oliver and Bora, but since Bora has the same appearance as the construct she is with, she paid no mind to them. In her mind Baran is more trustworthy than that scum so anyone associated with him she would trust.
Maria's reply put the Guardian's mind at ease it seems, he lowered his guard after her reply.
"Stop wasting my time!" Maria exclaimed. Ushering him inside.
Using Marias large frame as cover Oliver was able to quickly sneak in. Maria gave Oliver a glare as he passed trough her. With a shiver down his spine, he quickly went past her and moved towards the ceiling columns to hide.
The chamber was dark, far darker than the halls. One side of the room was littered with books and the other side is filled with antique artifacts and possibly a skull of a dragon. He carefully looked around for the book he needed. "Aaand of course he carries the book on him!" He thought, annoyed. He gestured to Baran to move to the other side so if a confrontation happens, he can attack from behind.
"Nice room, I see you still haven't learned how to tidy up." Maria spoke in a condescending tone. "So, what is this thing that will change my mind." She added.
The Guardian opened his long black cloak, revealing a slick grey armour. Then takes out a grimoire from the bag attached to his side.
"This. I found it in the treasury. It grants its user unspeakable power. And if you join me, join the tower, you will obtain a part of this." He held the grimoire high.
Maria just gave the man in front of him a disgusted look.
"All those years and you still look to augment yourself with external forces." She said in a disappointed tone. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time someone tried to do that?"
"You mean the dragon?" He pointed at the skull. "That was the last of its kind nothing like that will ever happen again." He exclaimed, so sure of himself.
"All of our comrades died protecting Wielguard! And now you're taking the same risk because of some book?!" Maria snarled.
"They died because they were weak, Maria!" He shouted back. "But we ca-"
His words were cut short as Maria drew her axe and swung it towards him, stopping in the last moment.
"They died they were weak huh?" She seemed to be bubbling with rage. "If the weak is destined to die, why are you still ALIVE!" She wound back and swung again, this time with no intention to stop.
The Guardian dodged the swipe with the skin of his teeth and jumped back creating distance. The guard then opened the grimoire, as the pages turned a sword started to manifest before the Guardian.
"Don't do this Maria. I would hate to kill you." He spoke in a belittling tone.
"A weakling like you should know his place." Maria replied. Then pointed her axe towards the ceiling. "If you dare interrupt me, I'll kill you as well." Then she knocked her chest plate. "That goes for you too. Get out." She added in an angry voice.
Since they were already discovered, Oliver jumped down from the ceiling column and sat down, Bora following him down. At the same time Baran left his place in Maria's armour and moved back towards Oliver to join them.
"As you wish. We will not interrupt you no matter what." Oliver replied, now recovering from the spell he casted to that one guard. "But we will do so as long as he only attacks you." He added.
Maria just nodded, and the Guardian seemed to be in a shock to do anything against them.
After she got her conformation, she lunged at the Guardian with lethal force. He was able to dodge most of the attack, Maria continued her relentless attacks as the guardian barely dodges or parries them, not being able to find an opening to attack her. Oliver and the twins just watched Maria in admiration as she pushed the guardian in a corner. She was blown away as she was about to slice the Guardian's head off.
"Just know that I don't take pleasure in this." He spoke with a sad tone.
With his long sword now pointed to her, he was in the offensive, his sword slashes were being followed up by magic bolts. It looked easy for Maria to block the slashes but the bolts that came after them hit her pretty hard. Oliver and the twins were still in the side lines since they could see that Maria was not done nor even close to losing her balance. Oliver closed his normal eye to look into her, since she didn't possess any magic powers, he was interested in how she manages to resist the damage even though she was being hit badly.
As he tried to make sense of the unnatural aura around her, a familiar cold washed over him. Since the God was able to see through his cursed eye as well, it took an interest in the fight.
"So, this is where one of my books of dark magic had been." It spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry we have to wait in the side and not get it and leave. That woman is really strong and threatened us with death if we intervene." Oliver lowered his head.
"She indeed is strong. You made the right call on obeying her." The God responded. "Even though I hate to admit, compared to her your blessing is far weaker." It added.
'She was a blessed individual.' That explained the strange aura around her. Oliver and Ouroboros' conversation was cut short as the Guardian started to gain upper hand. The black lightning that came out of his sword with each slash started to ware down Maria.
The commotion was too loud that some guards made their way into the chamber.
"Guardian! What's happening here!" A guard spoke out, readied his weapon.
"Seize this traitor right now!" The Guardian ordered.
With his order the waves of guards started to approach Maria from behind, locking her in an unfavourable position. Since she was now surrounded, she scanned the room, trying to find anything that can assist her. Then she locked eyes with Oliver. Even in this situation her eyes did not reflect any kind of fear or desperation. Oliver jumped to his feet, with Bora and Baran's help he expanded the barrier spell, this time to keep the guards out.
"There you go Ma'am, please fight to your hearts content." Oliver spoke in a playful tone.
Maria in turn just rolled her eyes and turned her full attention to the Guardian, who was eyeing Oliver intensely. All the damage she suffered seemed to disappear as she found her balance again. Guardian, surprised by this, launched a ranged assault trying to get the advantage again. He seemed more desperate than ever now that his guards were locked outside. Unfortunately for the Guardian, every bolt now seemed to bounce off of Maria. In a state of panic, he opened the grimoire again.
The pages turning in incredible speeds, high concentrations of magic appeared all around the room. If this attack hits, Maria would be finished.
"Getting desperate?" Maria lets out a sarcastic remark.
The Guardian does not respond and keeps casting his spell.
"Yo! Runt! Can you do something about this?" Mara looked back at Oliver, who was holding the barrier.
"How long can you delay his cast?!" Oliver caching the sight of the spell panicked.
"Not long, be quick!" Maria responded as she broke her axe and threw the bladed edge like a disc. Aiming for the neck.
The Guardian dodged the attack but lost his footing in the process, giving enough time to Oliver to shrink the second barrier and moving it so the twins and he was under it instead of everyone in the room. Since this magic barrier what kept the outer anti-magic barriers effects in check, relocating it so the Guardian was not inside would stop the cast.
It did not stop the cast. Oliver let out a curse under his breath, then he felt a flow of information to his brain. "The barrier on top of you is a magic dampener." The voice spoke.
"Bora! Baran! Amplify the barriers affect from the outside! GO!" He ordered them in a stern and panicked voice.
They complied and left immediately. The dampener was not strong enough to weaken the spell. He then expended the barrier forward with great force, knocking the guards at the entrance back to the corridors.
"G̶̚ͅR̸̹͋O̸̞̐W̵̠͐" He ordered and stabbed his staff to the ground.
The staff instantly grew roots and with a flick of his finger they lunged forward to bock the entrance.
"Ma…am. Get… Ready…" He tried speaking up with a broken voice. Then he put a barrier on himself.
Maria barely hearing Oliver's warnings tried to brace herself with what little she had. The Guard finished his cast, and with a loud scream released the blasts to ravage the room. The black balls of magic bounced around the room destroying everything they touched. Oliver's barrier was able to protect him for a while, but Maria was not as lucky. She was barely dodging the blasts, there were simply too much. Her armour started to crack and fall apart from the force.
"THIS WILL BE YOUR END!" The Guardian screamed and with a swipe of his hand redirected all the blasts towards Maria.
There was no way to dodge all of them, just as she accepted her death the orange glow outside the window turned to an eerie red. Bora and Baran was successful. All the blasts that were going towards Maria sizzled out like candlelight before her eyes. And the grimoire closed and fell to the ground. And with that the Guardian's sword also disappeared since it was a magical construct. Maria fell to her knees from exhaustion and was trying to catch her breath, and the Guardian was panicking out of his mind.
"NO! HOW COULD THIS BE?!" He was furious.
He jolted down to the grimoire trying to harness its power again. But to no avail, the magic in the book was sealed by the barrier outside.
"It seems Bora and Baran went overboard with this barrier." Oliver spoke out, his voice still not fully recovered.
The barrier was so strong that the growing spell Oliver cast to his staff was being slowly reverted. As the roots turned smaller and smaller the guards outside were slowly able to see what was happening inside.
The Guardian in the meantime was so obsessed with the book that he was not aware of Maria in her weakened state. He was turning the pages, trying to cite the incantations. As he lingered in his obsessive states Maria finally got to her feet again, slowly but surely, she was regenerating. She slowly walked towards the Guardian, dragging her feet.
"What were you saying about killing me?" Maria snarled, grabbing the Guardian by the neck.
The Guardian struggled to free himself, but Maria was stronger than him. She kept him in place, not strangling him, at least not yet.
"Well? What happened to your confidence?" She raised him up. "The power you so relied on left you to die." She added, angry.
Oliver watched on inside his barrier, but then he was distracted by the sounds of steel crashing. The roots were all gone, and the guards now flooded the chamber.
"Unhand the Guardian this instant, traitor!" A guard who seemed to be the leader spoke out.
"I'm the traitor!? HAH!" She let out a loud laugh. "He is the traitor you are looking for." She threw the Guardian towards them.
The guards were in disbelief, and still was ready to attack Maria. She then grabbed the book from the ground. Oliver's eyes were now fixated on her, waiting for what will she do with it.
"He is the one who made contact with dark magic. Without that mage he would have blown up this portion of the tower." She calmly explained then pointed at Oliver. "He was here because our 'beloved' Guardian stole this artifact from him."
Murmurs and whispers began to rise among the guards, 'Was she telling the truth?', 'Even if she was, she still worked together with a mage.' These were some of the voices Oliver heard among the guards. Then the head guard moved forward.
"Butcher Maria, all of Weilguard knows your strength and has great respect for you. But what you're saying is hard to believe and prove." The leader spoke out.
Maria's status as the esteemed gladiator and dragon slayer was widely know in the nation, so everyone with some mind would know to not challenge her. And the lead guard knew this.
Maria slowly walked towards the guards. The damage she suffered fully recovered by now. She put one of her broad hands to the leader's shoulder.
"He stands defeated before you and the mage you worry about cannot leave his little bubble. And do you really think I would accept a mage's help." She gave the leader a light squeeze. "Since I beat the Guardian in combat, I guess that makes me the new Guardian." She shrugs.
"B- But he is still alive. The laws states that one must die." Some guard from the back spoke up with a shaky voice.
"Oh, he will die, but not before he atones for his sins." Maria replied glaring towards the crowd.
Then she slammed what remained of her axe to the ground with a loud thud.
"LISTEN UP! THIS GUARDIAN HAVE BEEN TAINTED WITH MAGIC! AND HE GOT DEFEATED BY ME, MARIA THE DRAGON-SLAYER. BY THE NATURAL LAWS OF WEILGUARD, I HEREBY TAKE THE GUARDIAN STATUS!" She shouted as loud as she can. "IF ANY OF YOU OPPOSE THIS YOU ARE WELCOME TO CHALLENGE ME RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!" She added.
The guards fell silent. And some of them even fell to their knees. No one dared oppose her, the guard captain then turned around and raised their weapon.
"From this day onward Maria, the Butcher is our new guardian!" she started to hit her spear to the ground repeatedly. "What are your first orders Guardian?" They bowed.
"Get this filthy traitor out of my sight" Maria replied with a resentful tone.
"And the mage?" They pointed at Oliver, and in turn he gave them an awkward wave back.
"Leave him here. I have business with him." She spoke with a sinister tone.
After bowing some guards from the back row came forward and dragged the previous Guardian out of the room. And every guard started to leave with the old Guardian. After a few seconds Maria and Oliver are left alone in the room.
Oliver was eyeing the grimoire Maria was holding intensely inside his bubble. Sadly, he couldn't get out since Bora and Baran were still outside and keeping the barrier up. 'When will they stop?' he thought annoyed. He was brought back to the present by a knock on the bubble.
"Hey kid, how long are you gonna stay in there?" She raised a brow. "Don't you want this?" she was waving the book around.
"Of course!" He jolted up. "But I can't leave this bubble until the barrier outside is gone." He sat back again, rocking his body side to side.
Maria rolled her eyes and moved towards the window. After opening it, she looked around and saw two small shadows lingering outside. And she shouted at them to break the filthy barrier. After a few seconds the barrier outside was gone. Bora and Baran then started to make their way towards the window.
When they were close enough Maria grabbed them both and threw them inside, they collided with the barrier with a loud thump. Making Oliver burst into laughter.
"Now you can get out." Maria spoke in a stoic voice.
Oliver then nodded and lowered the barrier. He was nervous, Weilguard hates magic and sees it as a substitute for true strength. As maria drew close he braced himself for a violent confrontation. But to his surprise she reached her hand out to him.
"Just like those constructs, you can see magic right?" Maria asked with a serious voice.
"Yea that is in my skillset." Oliver replied.
"Then I have some jobs for you here before you leave." She waved around the book. "And the reward is this." She added smugly.
"What is I refuse." Oliver asked with a cold look.
"Then I'm afraid this book will be torn apart." She hovered her other hand on the pages.
"OK! OK! I'll do your bidding for a while! Just don't damage the book." Oliver pleaded in a desperate tone.
"Perfect." She chuckled to herself. "I need some time for myself now, I'll call you in tomorrow." She added.
"Where am I going to stay in the meantime?" Oliver asks as he reaches down to grab the still unconscious bodies of Bora and Baran.
"Don't care." Maria shrugged. "Just survive until tomorrow."
With a grunt Oliver complied. He was annoyed since he couldn't oppose her, just as Ouroboros said, she was just way stronger than him. With the book just out of reach he left the chamber. He stayed inside the tower though he made sure he was hidden so no one could see him. 'Next time I'll have to learn some kind of invisibility spell' He talked to himself as he waited for Maria's call.