Chapter 20 - Mommy's here!

Momm-, I mean, Maestro Lauren is here!

There are beads of sweat dripping from her forehead and she is slightly panting. She probably ran here as soon as she got my signal. Even if she does not always show it, she truly cares about her students.

Indeed, this whole outcome was part of my plan. This whole time, I was trying to get as far away from Calvin as possible, not the man. I hoped with my whole heart that the machine he was using to jam my communications had some sort of range, and my prayers were answered! Master Lauren leans down to my level and speaks to me in a calm, but strangely frightening voice.

"Did the bad man over there do that to you?"

"Identify yourself! Who are you?!"

The man lunges at my teacher with his fists, but when his attack is about to connect, he backs away. 

"What? Did I scare you?"

"You and your tricks! It won't work if I focus pure flow to my sensory organs!"

Maestro Lauren stands up, looks away from me and the man falls straight on his ass. She laughs.

"Pfft, what's wrong?"

"Petty tricks!!"

He rushes at her once more, but this time he closes his eyes. While she cannot affect him with her illusion for long periods of time, even a second might spell his doom. He probably thinks that she won't be able to use her ability if his eyes are closed. His theory seems correct, Maestro Lauren draws a very strange instrument. On her left hand, she is holding a a violin bow, mounted into her right hand lies 4 strings which go from her elbow to her wrist. She raises the violin bow and plays the strings on her forearm. The melody she plays weaves a tapestry of intrigue and uncertainty, its delicate notes hang in the air like the fog on a moonless night. Each time she bows her violin, a whisper of secrets tries to insert itself into my head, each pause results in indescribable suspense. It is a melody that crawls on the edge of your ears, inviting the listener into a world where reality blurs and illusions take shape. 

"You! You're playing?? T-that's presentation! are you already at the 3rd stage?!"

For the first time since I've encountered him, the man fully loses his composure. He is in a genuine state of panic. He makes an expression of pure fear, something I would never even imagine to be possible from him. If it had not been for his pride as a second stage, I do not doubt that he would have fallen to his knees and begged for mercy. Maestro Lauren does not bother to answer him. she simply keeps playing.

I do not see any change, but the man, still with his eyes closed, is acting strangely. One moment he is sweating profusely, the next he seems to be freezing. Then, he is having a hard time standing upright. He looks to be living a multitude of experiences. I know that my teacher's first ability allows her to create illusions and manipulate the 5 senses of those who look at her. It looks like her second stage allows her to manipulate even more, cold, heat, proprioception and who knows what else. It allows her to dominate her enemies' brains!

'but the 3rd stage huh? I thought Maestro Lauren was only at the peak of the second stage...?'

The man performs a desperate attack. It seems he does not wish to go down without some semblance of a fight. With a shout, he spreads a field of ice all around him.

"E-Even if I can't see you, it doesn't matter if I attack everywhere all at once!!"

When the ice is on the verge of hitting Maestro Lauren, she jumps into a tree and keeps playing. This causes the man to suffer even more from her from her attack. Tears drop from his eyes, foam from his mouth and blood from his nose. While the assault may be purely mental, it is taking its toll on his body. After more than a minute of Maestro Lauren's performance. The man, beaten and defeated, drops to his knees and begs.

"P-please, just... please stop..."

Regardless of his plea, she plays and she plays, never stopping. The man, unable to endure the torture and unable to defend himself pierces his eardrums, rendering himself deaf. His hands fall to the floor, and he remains on his knees, catatonically.

It is at this moment, that Maestro Lauren finally stops playing. 

"Did you think destroying your ears would stop this? How pathetic. How are you supposed to play without them? I'll stop anyways as a show of respect for the drastic measure you took"

She approaches him slowly. Each step carries indescribable weight with it. The man feels the vibrations of the ground from her steps and backs away. He does not even have the strength to get up. He drags his body away as fast as it will allow. Still in a state of distress, he yells.

"D-don't get any closer! stop!! STOP!!!!"

Eventually, Maestro Lauren reaches the man. She towers over him at the humble stature of 5'4. She grabs his head and forces his eye open. She looks into them and his eyes lose their glint. If before they had a spark of life, now they are completely dead. I do not know what she showed him and I do not think that I will ever want to know. She drops his body on the ground and turns back to me.

"If you train hard you'll be able to do this someday too! At the end there he wasn't even able to resist a basic illusion because he was so exhausted from our fight, what a weakling!"

'I think you're the one who's just too strong...'

"Alright, now that he's taken care of can you explain how in the hell you got into this situation? I see that you've beaten two first stages which is to be expected of a DaiKar student but how did you run into two second stages?"

"Well I wa- Wait, what do you mean 'two' second stages?!"

"I sensed another guy a bit further from here, but his presence disappeared when I got close."

'No! Did Calvin escape?!'

With newfound strength, I stand up and run towards the abandoned warehouse. Maestro Lauren curiously follows behind me. 

"What's got you so excited?"

I ignore her and continue towards my destination. When I arrive, as I had expected, Calvin has left. Even the two other [enlightened] I defeated are gone, their bodies nowhere to be seen. I cannot say for sure if they perished or not

"SH*T!"

"Ah, did your target escape? That's okay, you should still be able to pass the assignment if your information report is adequate. I can vouch for your inability to subjugate him."

'I let the bastard escape! more people will be hurt because I was weak, AGAIN!'

"I can tell what you're thinking, but there's only one solution, become stronger and beat him up next time!"

Her words are simple, yet true. We live in a world where strength is the most respected thing. If I to protect others, then I must have the necessary power to do so. With my head held down, my teeth clenched and my fists closed so tight my nails draw blood from my palm, I answer her.

"...Yes"

"Plus, a little birdie tells me you were at least able to save one person right?"

"How did yo- You know what, nevermind. I would like to go somewhere before we return to DaiKar if you allow it Maestro Lauren."

"Take your time! Your mission as of now is over, the target is way above your capacities anyways, so you have about 5 days of free time in the beautiful Golden Gate District!"

'harsh'

With this, I return to my motel on foot. When I get there, the sun has already began rising into the sky. There I meet once more with Calliope, she notices my poor condition and asks me what happened. I tell her that I just beat up some really bad guys. She asks me if I won and I wink. She laughs and so do I. Calliope then returns the musical trinket and asks me what will happen to her now. 

"Well, I heard that the Golden Gate District also has great restaurants and that there's even a theme park in a district not too far from here. How about checking those out after I return from the hospital?"

Her eyes light up and she nods excitedly.