Mirabella looked at the girl with narrowed eyes. Amaury stood silently, her blade sheathed at her side by her hip. The tension was thick, and Mirabella seemed ready to spring into action at any time. Mirabella studied the girl with caution, briefly taking note of the scorch mark that tainted her clothing and the various slight bruises and marks littering her form.
It seemed she had been in a battle not long ago. Though Mirabella would have liked to know who could have put up such a fight, her thoughts were currently more preoccupied with something else.
("Fuck!") She could not help but mentally curse as she gazed at the blank-faced girl. ("Why the hell is it her of all people!?") she mentally questioned.
"Calm yourself, Mirabella," Amaury smirked in slight amusement as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've not come to seek battle," she clarified. Mirabella scoffed.
"You expect me to believe that?" Mirabella gestured to the chained cultist members. "These are your buddies, right? Vel'ryrians all of 'em. Words all around that the Vel'ryr empire is involved here with the Dra'lua- whatever cult."
"Indeed," Amaury admitted without pause. Mirabella could not help but look at her incredulously. "Come now, Mirabella, what is with that look? We've known each other for quite some time; you know I am not one to lie."
"So what?" Mirabella grimaced. "Come to kill me?" Amaury rolled her eyes.
"Please, I knew you since you were a babe," granted she herself was five at the time. "And besides, I'd rather not incur Astrid's wrath."
"Huh!? Then why the hell are you here!?" Mirabella demanded. "You and your buddies have been eradicating village after village! And for what exactly!?" Amaury sighed.
"To be honest with you, I never wanted it to go this far," Amaury stated, her fine lips curling into a snarl. "Alas, I am not in charge of this operation. And I've come to warn you."
"Warn me?"
"Chaosmaw's are involved." Mirabella's eyes widened at the statement as Amaury continued. "They'll be targeting more villages all around Verdantis. And they will be going after much larger towns now," Amaury stated coldly.
"Seriously? Chaosmaw's and Vel'ryr?" Mirabella scratched her head in frustration. "Seriously, what the hell is going on!?"
"I would like to answer you, alas I cannot directly intervene and take action against my own country," Amaury stated, a deep sigh left Mirabella's lips. "However, I will not be participating in this operation anymore. Farewell for now, Mirabella."
"Hold on-"
Mirabella's words fell on deaf ears as Amaury's form vanished in a burst of speed. The spawn of Aragorn sighed.
"At least give some more information," Mirabella shook her head. ("But seriously? First these cultist bastards and now Chaosmaw's? What the hell is the Vel'ryr empire up to? Are they really planning to resurrect a dragon like Professor Eugene thought?") Her train of thought could not continue as she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped as she swiftly backed away, turning on her heel to face the bastard that nearly gave her a heart attack.
"Figures you two would know each other," immediately her eyes had zeroed in on the eerie grinning face of a mask. "The both of you are royalty," Mikoto mused. Mirabella blinked in confusion momentarily before her lips curled into a scowl.
"Bastard! Where the hell were you this whole time!?" She demanded, more annoyed than angry that he had ditched her. Mikoto had the gall to shrug.
"I saw some suspicious guys and investigated," he jabbed a thumb at the restrained cultist way. "They were cultists like those guys."
"And you couldn't have just told me you were going after them?" She questioned annoyed.
"Eh, it would have been quicker for me to handle alone," he stated before getting back on track. "Anyway, from that conversation with you and that Amaury chick, I'm guessing you're up to speed with everything." Mirabella resisted the urge to click her tongue for what seemed like the hundredth time at Mikoto's lack of tact.
"Yeah, yeah. The Vel'ryr empire was in bed with the cultists," she stated with a deep frown tugging at her lips. "And what Amaury said, about the Chaosmaw's...." Her words trailed off as she just now registered something. "But hold on, you mentioned her name, you already met her?" The girl questioned. Mikoto nodded his head in confirmation.
"Yeah, I fought her briefly," he stated. Mirabella looked at him in confusion.
"You fought her? And you're still alive?" She did not seem to believe that even when gazing at the various cuts on his uniform he had yet to repair. Mikoto just shrugged.
"I'm pretty strong, and she wasn't that much trouble once I got through that pesky negation of hers," he murmured thoughtfully. Poor Mirabella only grew more and more confused.
"You ain't making any sense; the only person who can affect Vel'ryr royalty like Amaury is that hag Guinevere," Mirabella stated. "You expect me to believe you went up against someone like Amaury and came out unscathed?"
("Well, I did lose an arm.")
"Eh, it doesn't really matter if you believe me or not," Mikoto shook his head as he felt a slight stinging sensation from his mark. "Though you should, see I am pretty strong."
"Right..." She dryly commented. Him stating he was strong seemed to be something he liked to point out. Truly few were as cocky as Mikoto Yukio, but maybe he could back all of that up.
"But I guess now is not the time for this kind of talk; where is the professor at?" Mikoto asked, changing the subject.
"He went to Emberreach, one of Verdantis' large cities," Mirabella started. "It's home to their knights' main headquarters apparently. Him, the Solkari, and the other blondie went there to request reinforcements for this operation."
"Makes sense," Mikoto murmured. "With Vel'ryr involved, this has gotten a lot bigger."
"Which is why we should cut the chit-chat and get moving to put down more of these cultist bastards," she spoke with a scowl directed at the restrained cultist members.
"Sure, guess you're right. The south is pretty much unexplored; shall we try our luck there?" Mirabella nodded at his words, but then something struck Mikoto. "Are you able to use teleportation magic?" he suddenly asked. "It's just when we were heading to that large explosion some time ago, you preferred to move on foot." Mirabella gave an audible and annoyed click of her tongue.
"No, I can't," she easily admitted, folding her arms under her chest. "I can't for the life of me manage complex magic, teleportation, or healing. I had some people tutor me on it, but that hag Guinevere made things too complicated, and Lucinda was too good at using magic that it came naturally to her, and she hardly had to train. Made it hard teaching me anything."
"Make sense," Mikoto noted. ("As a spawn of Octavia, magic should be like second nature; however, how I and Lucinda perceive and learn magic might be different. She might be able to use different magic types without fully understanding the fundamentals; I, however, first dissect the spell. My eyes take in how a spell exactly functions to the most minute details. With that being said.")
"I'd like a hand in teaching you the fundamentals of teleportation and maybe other complex magic's," Mikoto offered. Mirabella sent him a questioning glance.
"Huh? Why would you even want to waste your time with me?" She questioned.
"We'll be a team when the festival comes around," Mikoto stated. "And besides, it's no skin off my back." Mirabella just continued looking at him with an unreadable expression, her evaluation of him steadily changing. "We can leave the cultists to Lucinda and Agatha for now; it would be beneficial for you to learn teleportation magic."
"Right, you sure you wanna be wasting time with me?" She asked. "I barely absorbed any information, according to all my other instructors." Mikoto merely waved her off.
"Worry not, princess, I will be implementing something else into this lesson," Mikoto stated.
"Something else?" Mirabella questioned.
"A little thing called science; now pay attention because class is in session," Mikoto cleared his throat as he continued. "First, we will be looking at the Theoretical Framework. Teleportation, as described typically, involves the instantaneous transportation of an object or individual from one location to another without traversing the space in between. To provide a semblance of scientific grounding, we can draw from concepts in theoretical physics, particularly those related to quantum mechanics and space-time manipulation."
"Huh?" Mirabella blurted out in confusion. "Theoretical physics? Quantum mechanics?" She questioned in confusion as Mikoto obliged with an answer.
"Quantum mechanics is the field of physics that explains how extremely small objects simultaneously have the characteristics of both particles - their tiny pieces of matter - and waves - a disturbance or variation that transfers energy. Physicists call this the 'wave-particle duality,'" Mirabella still looked utterly confused, but some semblance of understanding passed her fair features as Mikoto continued. "Now we'll move onto Quantum Entanglement. One potential mechanism for teleportation magic would involve harnessing the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. In quantum physics, entanglement occurs when two particles become correlated in such a way that the state of one particle is dependent on the state of the other, regardless of the distance between them. By establishing and manipulating entangled particles, a teleportation spell could theoretically exploit this connection to transmit information instantaneously between two distant points." Mirabella said nothing as she tried to absorb as much information as possible. But with so many new words being thrown around, it was kind of hard, yet Mikoto still explained everything in such extreme detail that she felt as though she should have been taking notes.
"Now onto Space-Time Warping, another aspect to consider is the manipulation of space-time itself. In Einstein's theory of general relativity, massive objects warp the fabric of space-time, causing curvature that affects the paths of objects moving through it. Teleportation magic might involve bending or folding space-time in a controlled manner to create a shortcut between two points, effectively allowing instantaneous travel across vast distances." Mirabella raised a hand to ask a question. "Yes?"
"Who's Einstein?" She questioned, she received a chop on the head.
"Not important."
"Oi! What was that for!?" She exclaimed.
"Have you absorbed some of what I said?" Mikoto ignored her exclamation and posed his own question.
"Uuh, I got about half of what you said," she admitted in what seemed to be a sheepish tone, she felt him give her a questioning gaze. "Fine, less than half."
"It can't be helped; I'll finish my explanation, and then we'll review everything until you can craft your theory on teleportation," Mikoto spoke with a hum, and Mirabella saw the logic behind his words. While his way of speaking was extremely complex, he was not exactly speaking gibberish; some words were confusing, but he explained their meaning well enough. She attentively perked up as he continued his lecture.
"Now Spatial Coordinates and Destination Lock, to ensure accuracy and prevent catastrophic errors, teleportation spells would need precise spatial coordinates for both the departure and destination points. This would involve complex calculations to account for factors such as the rotation and movement of celestial bodies, gravitational anomalies, and the relative velocities of the two locations. Additionally, the spell may require a 'destination lock,' a method for ensuring that the teleportation occurs only at the intended endpoint and not elsewhere. You getting this?" Mirabella nodded in slight understanding. She could discern his words clearly now without the extensive science crap.
"Good, now onto Quantum Uncertainty and Error Correction, teleportation magic would likely be subject to inherent uncertainties and potential errors. Quantum uncertainty, a fundamental principle in quantum mechanics, dictates that certain properties of particles cannot be precisely determined simultaneously. Teleportation spells might need built-in error correction mechanisms to compensate for these uncertainties and ensure that the teleportation process is as reliable and stable as possible." Mirabella nodded in understanding, her view of the fundamentals of teleportation becoming all the more clearer.
"Now we conclude with Psychological and Physiological Considerations, teleportation can be a disorienting experience for the individual being teleported. From a magical perspective, teleportation spells might include enchantments or protective measures to mitigate the psychological and physiological effects of instantaneous displacement. These could include mental safeguards to prevent panic or confusion, as well as physical stabilizers to counteract sensations of motion sickness or vertigo. Of course, if you're built different like me, you don't have to worry about stuff like that," Mikoto shamelessly gloated. "But how did you find my explanation? Of course, this is just the fundamentals of my teleportation. Others might differ; some might be using the 14th dimension."
"You... you're not a half-bad teacher," she admitted, glancing away. She was not one who liked to give away compliments. "I don't think even that hag went into such detail. But I felt like I could understand the last parts. Though I still have no idea how this quantum physics crap functions."
"Don't worry, you'll have it down in no time at all," Mikoto confidently stated. Mirabella looked at him with slightly wide eyes. "You've got quite the mana quantity and Familial Arts, and talent too. I've got some high expectations. Maybe we won't have to stop at teleportation; I can teach you all kinds of magic."
Expectations? Expectations for her? Expectations that did not involve her talent for destruction?
("How foreign.") She mused as she stared at the strange masked boy. ("But nice.") She smiled.