Chapter 27: My true magic

Arthur hears Alora's footsteps inch closer to him. He turns around to look at her but is greeted with a sword to the chest. Arthur manages to dodge the initial surprise attack and avoid a death blow but he was not fast enough to dodge the entire attack. The sword plunges into his shoulder. Alora presses down with all her weight, pinning him to the ground.

Arthur grits his teeth and looks at the blade lodged into his shoulder. On the edge of the blade, he sees a purple liquid drip into his wound. Poison? Arthur tries pulling the sword from his body but Alora manages to overpower him. What's with her strength? "Alora!" he yells. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me?" Alora stares into Arthur's eyes like a maniac and says, "Nothing. I've always wanted to kill you."

Something's wrong. Alora has never once acted like this. The Alora I came to know is kind and thoughtful. She likes to tease others but is one of the friendliest people I know. Arthur pushes with all his might and soon enough raises the sword enough for him to push Alora back.

She jumps back, landing gracefully. As for Arthur, he stands up on wobbly legs and uses his right hand to hold onto his wound. "That poison," says Alora, "is made from wiefern extract. Wiefern is a poisonous plant that acts in three stages. First," she says, raising her index finger, "it will course through your body and paralyse you. Once your body cannot move, the poison will devour your mana rapidly. And when you lose your mana, as your body lies there, unable to move, you will experience a hell you've never experienced before until your final breath. So, I hope you en—"

Arthur charges forward but his sluggish movements make his straightforward attack an easy one to dodge. Alora turns to the side, thinking nothing of his desperate attempt at an attack. Her underestimation of Arthur's desperate charge allows Arthur to press a card against her abdomen and yell, "Open, Jack of Spades!" The card turns white and morphs into matal chains that wrap around her body. Alora, surprised by the sudden attack, does not react in time and is caught in the chain, unable to get out. Arthur falls to his knees, panting heavily. "You... are not Alora," he says. "Tell me... who are you? What did you do... with my friend?"

Alora smirks, "Who am I? Why, I am your dear friend Alora Dream—"

"Cut the crap! Alora would never attack me. Also, if you are going to impose as someone else, you should hide your mana." Now that I've somewhat calmed down, I can sense that this person is wrapped in a mana different to Alora's. "It's all too obvious. As an assassin, you fail at masking your presence."

"You sound so smug but I can see you barely holding on to your consciousness. Just a little more and I will allow this girl to witness another one of her friends die before her. How do you think she'll react then?"

"I guess we will never find out."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur reaches for his pocket, taking out a Queen of Hearts card. Alora bursts into laughter, "I know your magic is Probability Magic but do you really think you can—" It finally hits her, she looks at the card, then she turns her gaze to the chains around her. "Hahaha, it seems our insider didn't divulge this piece of information. I never would have guessed you'd be lying about what magic you possess."

That's right. My true magic is not Probability Magic. I first showed it in my fight with the angel in the Dungeon of Creation. The 'Joker' conceals the Spirit of Probability. The 'Jack' conceals various legendary weapons such as swords that could cut through steel like a knife through butter, or chains made from matal that won't break no matter how strong you are physically or magically. And the other cards within this deck conceal all sorts of mysteries. That is my true magic, Sealing Magic.

After teaching Arthur about the basics of mana, Azrael and Arthur registered as adventurers in Chasrol's adventurer's guild. They raided dungeons to aid in Arthur's understanding of magic and to stock up on catalysts for Azrael's nether energy. It was here, in the many dungeon raids, where Arthur found his magical attribute and the various weapons and spirits he had sealed within his deck of cards.

One such object he found in a large dungeon, he and Azrael raided, is sealed within the Queen of Hearts card in his hand. "Do you know the story behind the Goddess of Health?"

"The Goddess of... Health?"

"Legend has it that when a plague spread throughout the Mortal Realm, the Goddess of Health, Laeh, ripped out her heart and placed it on Gaia. The aether energy released from Lady Laeh's heart spread over the Mortal Realm and purged the plague."

"That sounds like a myth."

Arthur laughs. "It might just be a myth, as you say. But what's not mythical is the healing properties of Lady Laeh's heart. Open, Queen of Hearts." The details on the card morph into the outlining of a cage. Within the cage, a heart sits in the centre. The heart glows momentarily then disappears. In its place, another heart reappears within the centre of the cage. This heart is dyed purple and appears dried out. Arthur takes a deep breath and green energy bursts forth from his body. His pained expression fills with relief and the wound he received heals. "And like that," he says, standing on his feet, "you are the one who is cornered."

Alora bursts into laughter. "Me? You won't have to concern yourself over the poison I injected into your body—so what? You still have no way of saving your friend—"

"I think it's about time for the chain to work," he interjects. Alora looks down at the chain, which has turned matte purple.

"W-what is this?"

"You see, matal is highly resistant to magic; however, it also acts as a sponge, syphoning the mana of the object it touches. That matal chain is of the highest quality. It can absorb quite a large amount of mana. More than what you have, I believe."

"Hahaha, All you're doing is hurting your friend. Even if the matal absorbs mana, it will kill your friend before it kills me."

"No, it won't. As I said, if you wanted to impersonate my friend, it would have been best if you masked your own mana. Your mana has enveloped Alora's like a suit of armour. As that is the mana the matal first touched, that will be the mana the matal syphons first."

The foreign mana surrounding Alora weakens and the person controlling her makes her laugh. "You won this battle, Arthur Pendragon," she says before her mana disappears from Alora's body. When it does, Alora falls to the ground, faint. Arthur quickly releases his spell and the chains return to the Jack of Spades card. "Alora!?" he says, checking on her. He sighs, relieved as Alora starts breathing normally. "Good, she's okay." But that was a close call. And I had to reveal my ability to an unknown enemy. Then there's the matter of the insider. Someone else within the class has betrayed us.