Magic's Dark Side

Everything happened so fast that the girls were still standing, their mouths open in shock when Jack turned and asked them while shrugging :

"What, is there something wrong ?"

Evelyn was the first one to answer, happily saying that her master was the best and that he could erase a powerful magician like this one in a matter of seconds. The skeleton was about to correct her on the situation but Laena reacted faster by blurting out :

"There are many things wrong ! Usually, a battle of magicians is indeed a battle of speed but nobody would be foolish enough to dare to chant his spell in front of his enemy ! Furthermore, how did you see through his invisibility when even I couldn't smell or hear him with my elven senses?"

"Laena is unfortunately right Evelyn, if this guy was a real and powerful magician he would have been a bit more troublesome to eliminate but there are some details that you don't know since you can't see them. Through our fight, this old magician confirmed my suspicions : The mana density climbed up through the roof recently and I guess it's related to the earthquake.

As you know, the magic heart is a pump and a container for mana alongside the circuits. Let's apply this to a well with sticky water, you need to pull hard to get your bucket out of the slimy substance and back to you. This was before, now the water is true water : easy to pull and get back to you. But for an older magician like this, the difference is the same as between earth and heaven, it's unimaginable. His mana circulation was as chaotic as a raging storm since his heart was pumping way too much of it in his system, causing him having troubles to control himself.

I guess this is partially why he decided to flee as all the magicians of the world will get through a hard time. You, the new generation, will have an edge against them and new magicians will be popping like mushrooms believe me, but I digress. In order to cast correctly his spell, he had to chant it slowly to control his output of mana. I guess that's why he tried to speak this politely to an undead and even tried to overpay me for you."

Seeing their deadly glare, he quickly corrected himself and said :

"Your lives are priceless for sure, but one platinum coin is enough to buy a whole manor and have some leeway. As for why I could see him... Well, it's not like I could see without eyes you know ? I'm simply sensing the mana around me and translating what I sense into odors, sounds and sight. It's the same with my voice, it is simply a pulse of mind mana carrying my intentions and being translated into words by your brain unconsciously. A few centuries of training and you'll be as good as me." Concluded the undead with a grin.

It took a few seconds for his students to process what he said, trying to digest so much information in one swoop. Laena asked gingerly, trying to guess what the world was going to become :

"So you are telling us that thanks to the mana density, all magicians are sitting ducks while there is a horde of Thunder Komodos running amok?"

"Indeed, and I am pretty sure that the monster density is going to go through the roof too or went through already. Since they also have a natural mana heart, their activity and energy is related to the world's mana. I guess you don't need me to explain what's going to happens next." Said the skeleton while looking through the dead mage's researches.

Those were utterly useless as they were pretty basics compared to what he achieved alone in his cave but at least it reassured Jack as he knew that all his frenzied work wasn't done for nothing. He wanted to give himself an edge against all his enemies when he came back and thus tried to expend his knowledge in order to ready himself to counter anything. However, he couldn't go truly far into the subjects all alone and without any mana and quickly became bored to death.

The interesting part was that this magician was filthy rich : There were 2 platinum coins, a few dozen golden ones and many of silver and copper. After having asked Laena, Jack knew that with a silver he could eat and sleep for one night in an inn and that every category of metal was worth ten of the lower one, expect for the platinum one. It was a special coins made for merchants and politics for big transactions and thus was worth 100 golds coins.

'For this mage to have so much money with him... He must have sold everything he could before fleeing. I'm wondering who would dare to buy something before such a catastrophe though.'

He then proceeded to burn the body, blowing his ashes in the air before turning back and telling the girls what he earned. They seemed quite uneasy with so much money but the fact that it came from a corpse didn't bother them in the slightest. In their mind, the magician deserved what he got and even worse.

After this event, they continued their travel for one more day, washing themselves with summoned water, eating a few pieces of hard bread, dried meat and vegetables with their usual training. Evelyn finally managed to make enough wind to move her hairs and became truly happy, even more when Jack felicitated her. Now, her new exercise was way harder : She had to be able to make an air flow dance between her hands before being able to go further.

Yet, having a new exercise before learning to create spells simply motivated her further as she knew that her teacher simply wanted her to have the best base to work with. Laena was struggling a little, trying to picture herself a flame on top of her finger like a candle. For now she didn't manage to create anything but didn't give up as Jack usually gave her pointers whenever she had troubles.

Finally, they reached the outskirts of the city. They were hungry, tired and had no hope for what had happened to it. This town had been build on a hill and was surrounded by small walls in order to repel bandits and smaller monsters. Since it was in the outskirt of the Toorun Kingdom, there was no need to fear for enemies. Nobody would dare to go through the sea to attack someone in his back as travels were always extremely dangerous thanks to sea monsters. It was also a small town, only around six thousand inhabitants.

From their viewpoint, everybody could see that there was no small wall anymore, there were only pieces of broken rocks laying around with scorched marks on them. Jack gently patted the two girls who seemed to have seen the apocalypse as their guess was correct. He then told them, giving them his cloak,sword and backpack :

"I will go and see if these monsters are still rampaging up there. Don't take any risk and hide before I come back. If anything come up, flee and don't turn back, I'll always find you." Evelyn pushed back her tears, nodding while Laena wanted to retort and come with him.

However, Jack already had disappeared before she could say anything. Sighing, the two of them found a quiet place under a bush nearby and waited, praying that nothing would happens to their benefactor and teacher.

Quickly crossing the five hundred meters that separated him from the broken wall, Jack thought about the situation, finding it truly odd. The missing bodies, the ruthlessness of the attacks and the timing of the whole thing created a weird situation in the eyes of the undead. When he finally reached the top of the hill, all the pieces linked themselves together, unveiling an even more disturbing truth.

In front of him was a field of broken houses, burnt buildings and smashed walls. Yet, there wasn't a single body nor a single Thunder Komodos lingering in the place. The part that amazed him was hidden as a form of lingering mana.

"Necromancy... But who... Who would be strong enough to manipulate such an army in this period ? There should be no mage with-"

Then he turned pale, even for a skeleton. He felt a resonance, a familiar energy in the lingering mana while walking around in the city. It was like somebody was calling him, calling his very soul...

"You are kidding me... Something managed to fuse with a part of my mana circuits ?"He muttered in disbelief.

However, the feeling didn't leave any room for doubt : It was truly a part of himself that was feeling trapped and used against its will. Then, his surprise left and he found himself seething in anger. Somebody dared to touch and steal his own body, fusing with it using occult magic to gain Jack's power.

"And this bastard is also a necromancer, that's probably why he took in my mana circuits. I have no idea how he manage to survive without any rejection occurring but it doesn't matter. I will end him myself."

Slowly, a plan formed itself in the undead's head while he took around some food in the ruins. He also found a battered but fully closed iron helmet and put it on, finding it useful to conceal himself. He was still looking like a red walking lamp, but at least if he calmed himself his face would be hidden.

Jack then easily found the two girls hiding, scaring them in the process before explaining the situation. Despair, fear, determination and frustration appeared on their faces when they heard what happened to the citizen, who did this, what the skeleton was going to do and what could they do.

They then scavenged the city, feeling their heart heavy. Evelyn found herself a small dagger that she would use in case of emergency while Laena grabbed a bow and some arrow, hoping to be able to give some support from the distance.

Then, at the exit of the city where the footprints lead them, Jack confirmed that the necromancer was using the Thunder Komodos as a cover for his traces : As the beasts were heavier, their footprints washed away those of his undead army on the dirt roads of this backwater region.

He then sighed at the stubbornness of his students and asked them one last time :

"Are you sure you wish to follow me on this road where a crazy necromancer roam? You could go to other cities and live like princesses with the money you have-"

"I don't want to flee again !" Evelyn said.

"And even if you are immortal, you could be sealed again. My help might not be worth a lot but I shall do everything I can." Laena pledged.

"I will have to run day and night to catch him, if you can't follow don't hesitate to take pauses." Jack said, giving up. Having such companions made him feel a bit nostalgic and a sad smile appeared on his bony face. He then gave them more magic exercises, telling those in an cold and authoritarian voice :

"Since we will fight, we will have to speed up your lessons a bit. Laena, you will have to learn how to trigger your sword's abilities before we arrive. Evelyn, try to form a Wind Blade by weaving strands of mana like a blade then swing it. If you can't manage this, don't even think about fighting as you will only be a liability. Furthermore, you will follow my orders and obey me without any questions as I will not be able to protect you in the middle of the fight."

They all had a fire lightening in their eyes, ready to set their enemy ablaze with their burning determination.