Despair I

"Now that we've confirmed that we are still on the same side," Germo continued. "Let's discuss what information we gathered while you were busy swindling the map maker."

His relaxed facial muscles hardened as he began to narrate, "All teams that have attempted to capture the blood mage have been slaughtered without exception. Avan, a Lesser mage and the leader of a purist guild of the earthen mages, Divine earth, and a team of guildless adepts were the blood mage's latest victims. Most of the scouts that survived refused to get into the battle specifics, charging as much as 50 gold coins just for a meeting. It took a bit of effort and a great deal of threats, but Ren managed to find a communication crystal that captured scenes from Avan's battle with the mage."

"The bronze giant himself?" Seth asked, surprised at hearing at learning of the demise of an intermediate magic knight.

"That was the name he went by when he was still one of the emperor's dogs," Germo answered. "He left Alpheus five years ago and created a guild in the lower ring."

"I...didn't know," Seth said more to himself than to Germo. A lot had changed while he was away at the borderlands.

Germo produced a small bluish crystal from a gaudy ornate dimensional ring from his robe and set it on the table before the team. It replayed a frightful scene of a bloody massacre.

"Heavenly turtle formation," A loud baritone voice roared in command. It belonged to a burly man clad head to toe in a scraped and chipped Golden armour with a winding Rock insignia pressed on its chest plate. The shine no longer present on his armor, he bled from a large gash on his forehead, but his eyes remained fierce and resolute. He and his fifty other men, stood stalwart against the black pulsing silhouette before them.

"Hap," they answered with an unwavering fury. Their eyes burned with emotion and they chanted as a unit and executed the corresponding gestures. Large boulders dripping with sand, and blood rose from the ground around the fifty men, closely set beside their gold armored captain. The large boulders nearly blurred as they sped towards the men.

Meters from their summoners, they stopped, as though slammed into an invisble shield. Subsequent boulders followed and merged with the older ones to form a jagged earthen dome. Hundreds of spikes formed as large rocks grated, and crumpled to form large spears, thrumming with elemental energy. They floated above the spear ready to fire.

Across from them stood a dark hooded figure. His cloak writhed slightly as miasma danced. Crimson liquid dripped from both his bare hands and he stood in the centre of a field of limbs, viscera and blood. He raised his hooded face to reveal a wide grin.

"Full Discharge," the golden captain man ordered. Hundreds of vibrating spikes shot outwards in all direction. Dozen pierced the mangled body spread across the fields and sprayed blood and tissue. A few shattered trees with their sheer kinetic force as they travelled, while hundreds aimed at the blood mage, at break neck speed.

Nearly every mage watching shifted in their seat, blinked, or displayed some nervous outward gesture. The might of Divine Earth was humbling. Yet they knew the blood mage was even more impressive.

With a deafening crack, the blood mage whipped forward. His figure disappeared from sight as he crossed the battle field, and with an overlapping crack he appeared in front of the dome.

Hundreds of earthen spikes still travelled the battlefield when he arrived. They eviscerated one of the many little hideouts the scouting teams set up. One of the spears pierced the scout wielding the recording crystal, and the resulting explosion flung the crystal into the air. It still dutifully captured the battle raging below as it tumbled.

A solid dome of darkness exploded from the dark mage's body, as a second volley of earthen spears fired at him from the dome. The dome was rearing to fire its third volley, when the mage lunged at it. A thin blade of blood and darkness swirled around his hand and elongated as it travelled in a horizontal arc.

It met the dome with a near metallic clang and sheered through the stone and men inside. Blood fountained as the dome caved in on itself. The world faded to darkness as the crystal dipped into a puddle of blood at the edge of the bloody field. Only a fraction of a tenth of the crystal edged above the pond. The crystal went dark as blood blotched its view and drowned it in darkness.

How…What…When' Partial thoughts formed as cold sweat dripped from Seth brow. After several moments of running errant, his mind settled into clear understandings. 'These mages were no match for him,' he thought as he scanned the room.

'I was so desperate I convinced myself they were.' Anger replaced the fear that once crippled him. His heart filled with rage. Towards himself for being so weak. Towards the red hornet, because despite all their posturing, they too were but ants before a greater mage of the darkness element.

He balled his fists and squeezed harder than he'd ever done before. Blood pooled out as his knuckles whitened even more. Yet, before his anger bubbled over, despair swallowed it. 'If it were sister, she wouldn't make the mistakes I have. She would have anticipated this'.

For most of his life, Seth had been compared to his sister, and in his earlier years, he tried his hardest to prove he wasn't just the son who was also lucky enough to receive Uvu's blessing. Holy knights were as exceptional as they were rare.

There were only a hundred thousand holy knights in an empire of billions. And each of them started out with far more developed conduits, and mana core than Seth. He started out a core no different from every other magic knight in training.

He remembered snickers from Alto whenever he'd fail an exercise, or perform just as well as everyone else. Alto was a fifteen year old in his year, so was every fresh lordling and lady at the imperial academy. The other nobles were very particularly hard on him because he was the youngest holy mage in the academy since his sister. He was scarcely ten when the teases started.

"Looks like our lord Uvu only planned to bless one Ryall, Seth got whatever talent was left after Tessa's blessing." He'd grit his teeth whenever he'd hear them talk. He knew those words were nothing but lies from jealous nobles, but they hurt him nonetheless. After all he was but a boy. Yet as wicked as they were, the words of the lordings did not break him.

He worked harder than every person in his year, and even learned a Tier three spell at the age of fifteen, something virtually unheard of in the history of holy mages. Even Tessa didn't learn a tier 3 spell till she was 17.

He only gave up his mission to prove himself to his sister and every single noble in Brightmont when his let his ambition and greed for strength cloud his judgement and hurt his family. He committed a blunder so unforgiveable, his sister and father would never forgive him if they ever found out.

After that he stopped seeing life as one long competition. He no longer desired to be the most powerful holy knight who ever lived. He just settled for helping his sister and fix his mistakes, if he could. Yet he failed her, and the family by extension again, when fear overtook him in battle and he called out to her.

His weakness and selfishness cost her the battle, and led to her capture. And now he'd failed for what felt like third and last time. 'I underestimated the blood mage too much. Weighed down by the academy's dampening field and holy magic, of course, of course, Tessa was strong enough to take them. I am such a fool.'

"How did you survive?" Brick's clear voice punctured the silence that gripped the wooden and textile walls of meeting halls. Germo raised an eyebrow at the question, and every other eye shifted to the annoyed giant.

Seth was pulled from thought when he felt the heat of Brick's eyes on him. He gave the question some thought, and said in a weak voice, "He wanted me to. It is as simple as that."

With narrowed eyes, Brick questioned further, "Doesn't that mean that he knows you'll be coming?"

"I…suppose it does," he answered as his mind fit the pieces. He hadn't even considered of the possibility.

Brick scrunched his forehead in thought, "He's waiting for you isn't he?"

At those words, Seth's face darkened, "I. I don't think…" It all made sense. Why else would the blood mage be waiting in the forest, exposing himself, constantly attacking lesser mages?

Brick's face reddened. He couldn't believe he'd be blinded by greed for so long the kid's plan slipped his notice. "You little shit. You could have been the death of us."

Every other member in the group wordlessly watched as he roared. He climbed up to his feet and lunged at Seth, "Do you know how much gold we lost chasing this suicidal lead of yours. You're going to pay…"

"Sit down," Germo's aura burst, and caused the room to slightly tremble. The maps clattered on the table, the floorboard groaned in complaint, and Germo eyes bore an intense light. Brick opened his mouth to protest, but a sharp look from Germo was all it took to force him back into his chair. Seth heart raced as the aura washed over him. The giant anger was justified. He was stupid for not thinking about it sooner. The blood mage could have been halfway out of Mormon if he chose, but he'd stayed. Maybe it was for him?

"I think it's fair to say we all suspected that he was waiting for a second Ryall. Even now, it's nothing more than a suspicion. The mage could have taken them both if he needed to. And Seth record of the fight revealed that his Sister, and not him was the primary target."

"So why is the mage still here then?" Brick growled as he eyes Seth.

As Brick's eyes bore down on him, he felt it in his heart, it was true. 'Is the mage here for me?' he asked the system. [Possibly] it replied. Seth heart sunk even further.

"That is why it still remains a suspicion. Seth could be the reason, or perhaps it was recovering or digging for lost treasure in the cave system, it matters very little."

"What do you mean by that?" Brick yelled incredulously. "It took a single swing. There were lesser mages and adept in that group, all earthen mages. He sliced through their formation like it was nothing. We don't stand a chance. This little stain almost fucking doomed us all." He pointed at Seth, his forehead veins bulging.

"Restrain yourself!" Germo commanded. "I am your leader, didn't you think I accounted for this eventuality."

Germo's words quieted the giant once more, but he still seemed unsatisfied, "I think…he"

"NO, you didn't think, You never do." Germo glowered, as he clutched the edge of the table. "You will sit down and listen or so help me Uvu, you are done. Do you understand me?"

Brick glared at the captain, gritting his teeth, but he settled down without as much as a pip. Germo nodded, then began, "The blood mage is powerful, but not invincible. We're the first to get our hands on this crystal, which means most of the mages in the city don't know how powerful the blood mage really is.

"My plan is simple, recruit a few teams with fire mages and wind mages. Fire produces light, and might not be pure or as effective as holy magic, it should still sufficiently weaken the mage. Most of them will perish, but it'll give us the opening we need," he said with a brusque voice. Noting that no one except a wide eyed Seth so much as bat an eye as he explained, he pressed on. "I've put out the word and have reached out to five other mage groups. Whichever group survives will share the rewards among themselves. What do you all think?"