Hello everyone! It's Fenikkusumaru here giving you another chapter of Wizard of Zero! I've decided to skip episode 4 of the first season, why? Two reasons. One: Kurogasa already saved Siesta from her Inner Phantom, so why should I need her to be saved a second time? And two: Well, I'll admit episode 4 is kinda really useless if you ask me. So with that being said, let's get on with this chapter!
Disclaimer: Same thing.
It was another beautiful day in the country of Tristain. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the people of Tristain carried on their day with smiles and happiness. However, there was a bit of commotion over at Castle Tristain.
A soldier was running through the hallways of the castle, heading towards the Throne Room. When he arrived, he pushed the doors open, surprising two people who were sitting on their thrones. One was a mature in her 40's. She was the Queen of Tristain having purple hair tied in a bun, wearing a queenly crown and a gown fit for a queen.
Next to her was a woman much younger than her as she was seventeen years of age. She was slim and curvy in all the right ways unlike a certain character who flaunts it out all the time. She wore a white dress which looked perfect in every way and was accented by the purple cloak that hung from her shoulders. Her hair was purple and seemed naturally full too as it fell to her shoulders, having a similar shade to her cloak. Her face was gentle and soft, revealing that she was a kind and caring person.
"Your Majesty!" the soldier panted, only absently remembering decorum by bowing in the face of royalty.
"Yes?" The Queen asked. "What seems to be the matter?"
"I bring urgent news! It's one that you need to hear!"
"What news is this?" the queen asked, growing serious.
"A horse like monster attacked one of the commoner's shops, but a strange mage defeated the horse like monster."
"A strange mage you say? In what way is he strange?"
"Well… how should I say this?" The soldier said, thinking on his next words. "He used some sort of strange belt with a hand on it and he used rings on that belt to use his magic."
"Aside from how he cast his spells, what makes him so strange?" asked the Queen.
"He used a ruby ring on that belt and this magic seal appeared going through him to don him in this strange armor made out of jewelry. And if I heard right, it said something like, "FLAME! PLEASE!" I'm assuming it's some sort of Fire ring. There is also a sapphire, emerald, and topaz as well which I assume are the other elements Water, Wind, and Earth."
"He can use all four elements?" The queen blinked, now understanding why the unknown man was considered so strange. "Now surely that is not possible."
"I find that baffling as well. There are very few Square Mages in all of Halkeginia that can use all four elements, Your Highness."
"So he stopped the creature which appeared in the city?" asked the Princess suddenly. "How was the creature able to get past the city walls without any of the soldiers on patrol noticing it until it attacked?"
"That I'm not sure. We are still investigating that, Princess."
"What exactly was the creature aiming to accomplish?" asked the Queen. "Was it merely wild or was it intelligent?"
"It was intelligent and it said something about wanting to bring one of the commoners into despair."
Now the Queen and Princess both were getting concerned, "Do we know where this unknown noble went? Was he with anyone we could follow? Is he staying in Tristain or was he passing through?"
"He was with a pink haired girl. She wears the student uniform of Tristain Academy."
"Louise Françoise?" the Princess gasped.
"I believe so." The soldier answered.
"I see." The Princess said, as she pondered on this.
"Well, you were going to the Familiar Exhibition Festival at the Academy are you not?" The queen asked of her daughter who nodded. "Then this may be your chance to ask about this strange noble yourself rather than sending agents."
"Yes, this is a good chance." The Princess said, before standing up saying to the soldier, "Ready my coach then. I'm heading to Tristain Academy."
"At once Princess," The soldier saluted.
(Cue Kamen Rider Wizard OST: Pulse of Fate)
The magical Wizard Rings: It contains the power of the four elements: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.
(The magic seal appears with the Flame, Water, Hurricane, and Land Style rings float out from it.
From the Sands of Despair, a familiar with modern magic is unearthed.
(A silhouette of a hand appears as the Flame Style ring slides into his left middle finger and the Driver On ring slides into the right middle finger.)
He is known as the Jewel of Hope: Kamen Rider Wizard.
(The figure Kurogasa Kururugi hovers in front of the magic circle and looks at the screen, before turning into Kamen Rider Wizard.)
(Cue in Life is SHOW TIME!)
(Maji ka?! Maji de?! Maji da! Show Time~!) The montage starts with Kurogasa as Kamen Rider Wizard with the entrance of Tristain Magic Academy behind him. He scans the Dragorise Ring and raises his arm in the air before a big magic circle appears from above and WizarDragon comes out of the magic circle, flying into the sky. Kamen Rider Wizard then jumps onto WizarDragon's before the latter spew out flames, making the title: The Wizard of Zero appear before WizarDragon flew away, made a u–turn, and flew towards the screen before shifting to the next scene.
(Maru de tsuki to taiyou) In the classroom, Louise tried to do a spell, but it backfired, causing her to make an explosion, and it showed her dirty with her clothes messed up after the smoke cleared.
(Kasanaru toki no shougeki!) The scene then changed to outside with Siesta serving food, to one of the students, before she looked up and noticed Kurogasa who was walking around the courtyard.
(Dare datte kiseki wo shinjitemitai) Kurogasa looked at his Style Rings in one hand before clenching them and looked up in the sky as a solar eclipse happened and the scene suddenly shatters to pieces.
(Kitto hitsuyou~ fukaketsu no) Kirche was surrounded by a bunch of men who were enamored by her while Tabitha sat quietly on the bench while reading her book.
(ENAJII~ kokoro tame) Guiche tried to woo another girl, but Montmorency wouldn't have any of it, as she pinched his ear, making Guiche flail in pain.
(Yume to yosou ii ima de uragitte kureru mono~) The scene then changes to a quick montage of the other characters show starting with Osmond, Colbert, Longueville (Fouquet), Jessica, Scarron, Princess Henrietta with Prince Wales, Wardes wielding his sword wand, Cromwell smiling evilly wearing the Ring of Andavari, and finally a silhouette of a Phantom before light shone on it to reveal Wiseman, before the camera shows Kurogasa, ready to transform.
(3! 2! 1! Show Time!) On "3" He flips his Hand Author to the left. At "2" Kurogasa slips on his Flame Style ring. At "1" he places the Flame Style ring in front of the Hand Author. And at "Show Time" a bright white light engulfs the entire screen before fading to the next screen.
(Magic time~! trick janai!) Kurogasa transforms into Kamen Rider Wizard and twirled around before showing his Flame Style ring.
(Mahou wo hero hanpa nee zo [Mahaluto Hallelujah!]) Garuda, Unicorn, Kraken, and Golem jump towards the screen before showing Wizard stuck his arm out to the side as the elements of fire, water, wind and earth spread out behind him.
(Kioku no ROOTS moguri–konde) The spell circles slide over Kurogasa, changing him into Water Style, Hurricane Style, and Land Style.
(Kibou wo tsukui dasou~) In Land Style, Kurogasa uses the Drill ring to drill down into the ground, disappearing.
(Show Time!) Siesta, Jessica, Scarron, Henrietta, Colbert, and Osmond pop out of nowhere and shout, "Show Time!" before popping down to reveal the next scene.
(Life is Show Time! tobikkiri no) The next scene shows Kurogasa riding on the Machine Winger with Louise sitting behind him as WizarDragon flew beside them before Kurogasa revved up his Rider Machine and jumped on WizarDragon's back, letting the wheels of the machine become the wings.
(Unmei DORAIVU mucha shitemo [Mahaluto Hallelujah!]) WizarDragon then flies through a magic circle, appearing on the other side flying over the top of the Tristain Academy.
(Kinou, kyou, ashita, mirai) Louise smiled seeing the sight, but the joy was cut short when Kirche somehow got through the magic circle too and landed between Kurogasa and Louise and Kirche hugged Kurogasa from behind much to his dismay and Louise suddenly gets ticked off.
(Subete no namida wo~!) As they pass a tower, though, a silhouette is seen of a young man with a newsboy cap and a giant winged lion against it.
(Show Time!) Derflinger in the WizarSwordGun pops out of nowhere and shouts "Show Time!" before popping back down to the next scene.
(Houseki ni kaette yaru ze) Four versions of Wizard, each one in a different style, converge on one another, merging into one in a big flash of light.
(Maji ka?! Maji de?! Maji da! Show Time~!) Louise holds up her wand and winks at the camera as Kurogasa smirks as puts on the Flame Style ring and transforms into Wizard one more time as he and Louise freeze, the show logo appearing.
Chapter 4: The Princess of Tristain
It's been a couple of days since the Sleipnir Phantom incident and during those two days, I've been practicing for the Familiar Exhibition Festival. I mean sure, it's important for Louise, since the Princess is coming to the Academy and all, but she was being a drill sergeant about it, ever since we got back from town, making me practice for hours on end and it's driving me nuts!
She had me try out all sorts of stupid tricks that I would consider only useful in entertaining kids. My powers were meant to fight Phantoms and protect people, not make fireworks! Besides, that Phantom alone should've brought concern to everyone. There had been two of them now and no one seemed to care. Unless it directly affected a noble or their standing, no one who could do anything about it cared to even try!
"Man, all of this better be worth it by the time we're done…" I grumbled as I fell on my back on the grass to relax with Derf lying next to me.
"Hey don't worry partner. You just gotta endure a bit more and this whole circus act will be out of your hair in no time." Derflinger assured, as he talked to me via Hand Author on the WizarSwordGun.
"That's easier said than done Derf…" I deadpanned.
Louise was going nonstop, wanting to make sure everyone knew she had a worthwhile Familiar. I think that was taken care of when the faculty saw me take down that Anansi Phantom. Still, Louise had a real chip on her shoulder and seemed convinced people still saw her as a Zero. If she made me try to pull flowers out of a hat again, I was going to do something violent and explosive.
Violent and explosive… there's a thought for a possible trick.
"Oh, Kurogasa," A voice said. I looked up to see Siesta staring down at me. I think my day just got a little bit better.
"Hi Siesta," I greeted with a smile before I got back up to my feet to face her picking up Derf too.
"What were you doing on the ground?"
"Resting; Louise was being a drill sergeant about me doing tricks for the Exhibition." I sighed.
"Oh, that's right." Siesta smiled. "That's coming up isn't it? All of us maids had been so busy getting the castle ready for the Princess we hadn't had much time to think about it. What kind of tricks are you going to be doing?"
"If Louise had her way, kid stuff…" I sighed. "My magic is made to fight Phantoms, not make party tricks."
"I see." Siesta nodded, before thinking about something. "What if you did both?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked confused, raising an eyebrow.
"What if you used your fighting skills as your trick? You just need a few golems right? All you have to do is make it look flashy as you fight."
There was an idea. I did have my Copy Ring so maybe I could make a few clones and have them transform into the other three Styles and we could have an elemental smackdown or something. It would garner some attention I suppose.
"You know… I think it might just work!" I grinned before suddenly hugging Siesta. "Thanks Siesta! You gave me the best idea yet!"
Siesta beamed, "I'm happy to help!"
"Kurogasa," A voice snapped.
I flinched as I turned around to see… Louise?! Oh crap and she came at the worst possible time!
Worse still, she didn't look happy. If I had to guess, she and Kirche got in another fight or something. It was generally the reason why Louise got so ticked off. Kirche was one of the loudest voiced proclaiming Louise as the Zero.
"What in Founder's name are you doing, hugging that maid?!" Louise demanded.
"Uh…" I blinked. "It's really not what it looks like."
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say since Louise began clutching her wand tighter than before and it was starting to glow with destructive electric power that the world was just not capable of withstanding. Just looking at it filled me with a sense of hopelessness and fear that no Phantom could compete with.
"N–N–N–Not what it looks like huh?" Louise stuttered as her eye twitched and I think I heard a vessel pop in her head.
What was she getting so upset about? I mean, I made it clear that Siesta was a friend of mine and it wasn't like I was being Guiche and two–timing girls as much as I could. Granted Siesta could be a little clingy, even after explaining what the Engage Ring was about, but she knew we were just friends too.
"I told you not to get any funny ideas with that maid!" Louise shrieked, before pointing her wand at me.
Thinking quick; I got the ring to use and placed it in front of the Hand Author buckle.
DEFEND! PLEASE!
A flash came and my magic circle appeared in front of me and Siesta, forming a magic barrier between us and Louise. The explosion that followed was impressive, sending black smoke in all directions. Louise must've been really cheesed off since that kind of explosion looked like it really would've hurt. I was so glad I could cast magic myself for protection.
When the smoke cleared, Louise was sprawled on the ground, her hair was messed up, some parts of her clothes were torn, there were smudges all over her, and she had swirly eyes.
"Didn't know my Defend spell could do that," I blinked. A reflect effect?
"Whoa, that's one big explosion." Derflinger commented.
"And here I thought White Wizard's Explosion spell was lethal…" I muttered to myself.
"I–Is she okay?" Siesta stuttered. Louise groaned and rolled over.
"Yeah, she's fine." I nodded.
And so for the rest of the day, Louise got herself cleaned up while Siesta had other duties to attend to, and I practiced the idea that Siesta thought of. Sure, it was all last minute and everything, but I got everything down in a flash. And after explaining to and showing Louise my routine of how we're gonna win the Exhibition Festival, Louise was more than happy to know that maybe people won't look down on her as Zero ever again.
The sun began to set and Louise and I were standing in ceremony on the sides of the cobblestone pathway that led to the main entrance of the school with the rest of the students while the teachers stood at the base of the stairs leading into the building. Why? That's because the princess had arrived. The princess herself had arrived in an escorted carriage pulled by unicorns! They were pulled by unicorns of all things! I thought those never existed but I'm seeing it now.
The carriage finally came to a stop and the driver opened up the door. When she finally exited, a blush crept on my face as I was star struck and enamored by her beauty.
She was slim and curvy in all the right ways unlike a certain someone who flaunts it out all the time. She wore a white dress which looked perfect in every way and was accented by the purple cloak that hung from her shoulders. Her hair was purple and seemed naturally full too as it fell to her shoulders, having a similar shade to her cloak and eyes. Her face was gentle and soft, revealing that she was a kind and caring person.
I'm not one to drool over a girl no matter how pretty she was, but the princess just had me gaping like a loon, at her. She was just that beautiful in my eyes.
"I think I'm in love…" I said a bit dreamily.
"Take your perverted eyes off the princess!" Louise hissed at me, breaking the mood.
"Hey, I'm not a pervert. I'm just a normal guy admiring her beauty."
"I could see that look in your eyes!" Louise snapped back. "Keep your perverted urges to yourself! Keep them for Kirche or that maid but the princess is off limits!"
Didn't you hear what I said?! I'm not a pervert! But instead, what came out of my mouth was, "Grr… hai, hai, wakatta…" I grumbled.
"What was that?" Louise growled.
"Yes, yes, I get it…" I translated.
Meanwhile, the staff all knelt down on one knee and bowed as the princess and her escorts came up to them.
"I'm sorry to request such a thing Headmaster Osmond." The princess apologized.
"Do not be. The students and staff have all been preparing and waiting for you, Princess Henrietta." Osmond said, as he looked back up at her.
Henrietta… so that's her name.
The princess gave a downright angelic smile as she accepted the headmaster's welcome, "Thank you for such a warm welcome Headmaster. I'm so pleased to be here."
Oh my, gosh… and her voice sounds so heavenly too.
Louise then elbowed me in the gut, "Stop that!"
"Ite," I cringed. "Fine…" I grumbled. Seriously, why does Louise always have to be such a buzzkill? Just then, something caught my eye. I saw the princess… eyeing on me?
Okay, was she really looking at me? No way, she couldn't be. Why would she be looking over in my direction anyway? I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things and when I opened my eyes back up, she wasn't looking at me anymore.
Huh… weird…
It was now late at night and Louise and I were going over the plan for tomorrow Exhibition. However... some of that discussion was delayed because Louise kept on ranting about me keeping my eyes on the princess.
"I can't believe you did nothing but drool over her during the entire time she was arriving!" she ranted. "She even looked over at us and saw you gaping! I'll never be able to live it down!"
"Okay, first of all I wasn't drooling, because I never felt drool coming out of my mouth. Second, when she eyed on me, I wasn't gawking, I was still recovering from you elbowing my gut."
"It was written across your face!" Louise snapped. "The perversion was coming off of you in waves!"
"You're really not gonna let this go are ya…" I groaned.
"Not when you were ogling my best friend like a–" Louise ranted, but then flushed and shut her mouth. "L–L–Look, just… D–D–Don't think about doing it again or I'll punish you!"
"Huh?" I blinked confused. What did she say? "Could you repeat that?" I asked. "Did you just say that the Princess was your best friend?"
"U–Um u–uh…" Louise stuttered.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*
Our conversation stopped when he both heard a knock on the door. Who would want to visit us this late?
I walked to the door and opened it, only to almost be pushed aside by someone in a cloak. I stumbled slightly, but quickly got myself back to my feet. Closing the door, I turned to see who it was. The figure was slightly hunched over, looking like they were recovering from a bout of nerves.
"W–Who are you?!" Louise demanded, pointing her wand at the cloak person.
The figure reached to their hood, pulling it back to reveal a kind face and purple hair, "It has been a long time Louise Françoise."
Louise gasped out, her jaw dropping in surprise, "Your Highness!"
WAIT, WHAT?!
That was when she bowed on her knee. "What are you doing here? You shan't bother yourself coming to a place like this on your own."
"Louise Françoise," Henrietta frowned. "Can you not treat me as Henrietta? We are childhood friends after all."
So I wasn't hearing things! "You two know each other?" I asked.
"Y–Yes," Louise nodded. "I was given the honor of being a royal playmate for Her Majesty in our youth!"
"Can you not say we were childhood friends?" asked Henrietta again with a sad smile, before looking at Louise with her eyes watering up. "I… I missed you so very much."
"Princess…" Louise murmured, stepping closer to her.
"I'm sorry…" Henrietta apologized, wiping her tears, "It's just ever since my father passed away I have not had anyone I can talk openly with."
My eyes widened a bit in surprise hearing that. Then I looked down sadly. I know what she's going through. I lost both my parents when I was very young. I'll tell that story another time, but not now, because it's too painful to even think about it.
"Princess…" I murmured looking at her and she looked at me. "I'd like to give my condolences about your father…" I then bowed my head down as it slightly turned away, and my hollow eyes looked away sadly too. "I… I know what it's like to lose family…"
"Thank you," Henrietta smiled. She was probably used to hearing people offer sympathies, but I hoped that she could tell that I really meant it. Losing a parent was never pleasant. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
I shook my head, to fight off my past before I looked back at Henrietta. "I'm sorry, I…"
"No, it's okay." Henrietta smiled gently. "I know your words have meaning and you sincerely meant it."
"R–Really? You can tell?" I asked.
"Yes, I can tell by the look of your eyes. You've been through what I'm going through."
Louise, for the first time looked seriously surprised when she saw my hollow sad expression on my face.
"So," I smiled weakly. "What do we owe to the honor of your appearance, Your Highness?"
"I simply wish to visit a dear friend." Henrietta smiled.
"A–Ah," Louise began to blush, taken aback by Henrietta's simple answer which may have been compounded by how she was smiling at the pinkette. "I–I–I–I'm unworthy of such a thing!"
"Please, Louise, why not call me by my old childhood nickname?"
"Alright, Anne…" Louise answered, blushing. I have to admit, Louise looked cute like that.
"I also wanted to meet you." Henrietta said, turning to… me…
…wait… what?
"Y–You wanted to meet m–me?" I blinked, pointing at myself.
"Yes. I've heard a report about a strange mage who used a belt with a hand on it and that he used a ring to transform into a jewel armored warrior and defeat a horse like monster trying to harm a commoner in town."
Oh boy. She heard about that? "Oh, uh, I guess I can explain that."
"I believe so. I'd like to hear it from the man himself."
So I took a seat and decided to explain myself and the Phantoms. Henrietta seemed downright shocked that I wasn't a noble and magic had nothing to do with nobility where I came from. In fact, it shocked her more that magic was non–existent there. What really made her concerned was the fact of how Phantoms were born and how I gained my magic. She seemed to be really concerned at the idea of a race of magic creatures that would mimic people they were born from and were eager to hunt down anyone capable of magic themselves.
But I assured her that with me around I can stop these Phantoms and that I could give hope to those who have none. After all, it's my duty as a Kamen Rider.
"I'm glad that someone is capable of battling these creatures." Henrietta nodded. "Despite certain officers trying to claim praise for the defeat of the creature, I know that they did nothing in the face of its attack."
"I'm glad to hear that." I smiled before Henrietta stood up.
"Well then, I've stayed too long. I must return to my guest quarters." She said. Louise and I then showed her out the door. "Oh, I never caught your name, sir."
"Kurogasa," I said. "Kurogasa Kururugi."
"Kurogasa… what an odd name," Henrietta pondered as she tilted her head, with a finger to her lips while looking up.
That look, screams adorable!
No, I can't go fanboy on her! Not when our first meeting is going so well!
"And Louise," Henrietta said, turning to her. "I'm glad to see that you have summoned a fine Familiar to look after you. It puts my mind at ease to know you have someone to be at your side."
"Y–Yes, of course Princess," Louise said before the two hugged each other.
After breaking the embrace, Henrietta said, "I wish you both luck at tomorrow's exhibition then, Louise and Kurogasa."
"Thank you." I said, as I closed my eyes and flashed her, a Jushiro Ukitake smile.
I think it made an impression since she blushed slightly at my smile. What can I say? The Ukitake smile works every time on the girls. With a quick nod, she left and Louise closed the door.
"Well, that went well," I smiled. "She's nice." But Louise looked at me with a stink eye. "What?"
"You were flirting with the princess weren't you?" Louise frowned.
"Now why would I do such a thing?" I smiled innocently.
Louise began to growl, her wand somehow appearing in her hand, "You… you… YOU DOG!"
*WAPISH!*
"Ow!" I cringed before dodging another whip lash. "What was that for?! I didn't flirt with the princess!"
"Yes you did! I can tell! How dare you embarrass me like that?!" she snapped, aiming for another whipping.
"She didn't seem to mind!" I cried back.
*WAPISH!*
"OW! That hurt!"
"It was supposed to! It's punishment!"
"Okay, that's it!" I said as I suddenly grabbed her arm and placed a ring on her finger.
"What are you–" Louise began, but I didn't answer her as I placed her hand that had ring, in front of the Hand Author buckle.
SLEEP! PLEASE!
Louise suddenly stopped her rampage and made a noise that sounded like 'fuuuu' before she collapsed into my arms, sleeping soundly. Hefting her up in my arms, I brought her to her bed before I set her down and tucked her in. She mumbled slightly and turned over, sleeping soundly.
"She's cuter when she's asleep." I sighed. "Still… this girl is troublesome. Mattaku…"
The day of the Festival had arrived and all of the second year students were preparing for their exhibition. All of the students wanted to win and gain praise from the Princess. Some of them looked like they were ready to have a nervous breakdown while others had lost hope, being saddled with 'average' familiars like dogs and cats.
And Louise well…
"Oh my, gosh, this is so nerve–wracking! What do I do? What do I do?!"
…she's panicking over nothing.
Still, we were on the end of the line so we had plenty of time to scope out the competition. Montmorency made a duet with her frog Robin, the animal croaking along with the violin its master was playing. Guiche actually modeled with Verdandy, a huge brown mole, on a bed of roses, driving the girls to squeals. Kirche had Flame do tricks by blowing complicated patterns of fire. Tabitha may have been the toughest to beat since she did aerial tricks on the back of her dragon.
And finally, it was our turn.
"Last up is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." Colbert announced.
Louise looked ready to collapse in a fit of nerves, but she stood tall and walked onto the stage with me following behind her.
"Relax. As long as I do the trick right and not screw up, you'll be fine…" I whispered.
"Ok…" Louise trembled as we stepped onto the stage.
I could already see several of them snickering, wanting to laugh at Louise. Well, I'm about to shut them up for good with what I got in store.
Louise stopped at the middle of the stage to face the audience. "M–My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." Louise announced before gesturing to me. "T–This is my familiar Kurogasa Kururugi."
Geez, talk about a case of major stage fright.
"Look, it's the commoner Familiar of Louise the Zero!" I heard someone yell from the audience, bringing rounds of chuckles from the other students. I just frowned at the heckler. Obviously he hadn't heard of the things I had been doing since I arrived or he refused to believe it since he never saw it happen.
Heck, I even saw Henrietta from the VIP box frown at the heckler too. This was her best friend they were insulting. Of course, if people knew Louise was Henrietta's best friend they might have changed their tune about her. Still, I wasn't got to let some brat who probably hid at the first sign of trouble try to mouth off at Louise like that.
"I–I will now have Kurogasa demonstrate for you all of what he can do!" Louise said before quickly going down the stage, leaving me all alone on it.
"Okay," I sighed. Raising my hand with the Driver on Ring, I passed it over the Hand Author.
DRIVER ON! PLEASE!
The WizarDriver materialized on my belt making Henrietta look at me curiously. After that, I flipped the Hand Author to my left to make it sing.
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
I took my Flame Style ring and placed it on my left middle finger, flipping the visor down before declaring, "Henshin!" and passed the Flame Style Ring over the Driver.
FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
The magic seal appeared in the air and went through me before finally donning me in my armor. Henrietta had a mix of surprise and impression on her face. Yes, so far, so good.
"For my next trick," I announced, slipping on another Ring. I flipped the Hand Author and passed the ring over it.
COPY! PLEASE!
A magic seal appeared before it went up and made a clone. My clone and I repeated the process again.
COPY! PLEASE!
Now there were four Wizards on the stage, each one doing something different like rotating a shoulder or flexing a wrist. Everyone was gaping, shocked to see three perfect copies alongside the original.
"Next!" the three clones spoke, each donning a different Style Ring.
WATER! PLEASE! SUI! SUI! SUI! SUI!
HURRICANE! PLEASE! FU! FU! FU, FU! FU, FU!
LAND! PLEASE! DO! DO! DO! DODODON! DO! DODODON!
My clones changed to their other styles, the gemstones catching in the light. Once the change was complete, we separated to face off against one another.
"Oh my… so it is true." Henrietta blinked in surprise. "He can use all four elements."
The four of us, me and the clones, then all moved in synchronized form and donned our Connect Ring. Setting the Hand Author, we passed the Ring over it and four voices spoke out.
CONNECT! PLEASE!
Four magic circles, each one a different color thanks to being in our different forms opened up. Reaching in, we each took our iconic weapons and pulled it back out. Derflinger seemed to be in fine form and adjusting to the change in his physical body, but what happened next I didn't expect.
"Whoa! Do I look like that? Cool!" spoke the sword I held.
"Hey, looking shiny Derflinger!" admired the one Water Style held.
"Can't have too much of a good thing! Good thinking partner!" laughed Land Style's Derflinger.
"We're ready for action Partner! Use us! Use us!" eagerly proclaimed Hurricane Style's sword.
"Are you ready to do this aibou?" I asked.
"Are you kidding me? I was born ready!" Derflinger said.
"Then let's go!" I said. With that, the Water, Hurricane, and Land Style Wizards charged at me.
Our four swords clashed against one another in sparks of red, yellow, green, and blue. Our elements clashed against one another too. It was Fire against Water, Earth against Wind, before we all leaped back to get a bead on each other. Hurricane Style was the first to move, kicking up a fierce breeze around him, before he took to the air above the rest of us.
I looked up to see that Hurricane Style was going for me as I came down with hid Derflinger ready to slash me until I blocked the attack with mine.
Land and Water both saw the opportunity and charged at me. Knowing that I was going to be overwhelmed if I didn't move, I pushed Hurricane away and leaped to the side to avoid being struck. The green version of me was going to be a pest and a constant distraction if I didn't do something about him quickly. Seeing the three gunning for me again, I decided to distract them by slipping on another ring and using it.
DEFEND! PLEASE!
I pointed at the three and a wall of flames kicked up, stopping the trio in their tracks. Distracted, and the audience stunned, I slipped on another ring.
BIG! PLEASE!
A magic seal and I stuck my arm out through the circle so that my hand enlarged to the size of a tree log, surprising the audience before I smacked Hurricane Style away.
"I got an opening!" Water Style said, before switching rings and flipped his Hand Author.
EXTEND! PLEASE!
His blue magic circle lit up and he stuck his own arm through with Derflinger in hand, unlike growing a big like mine did, his arm extended like a piece of taffy. Going around my wall of fire, he slashed at me with his sword. I had to dodge, ending my flames and allowing them to charge at me again. I quickly recovered and moved to slash at him, but he had slipped on another ring without me noticing.
LIQUID! PLEASE!
It was too late when I slashed at Water Style that he suddenly collapsed into water and reformed back, catching me off guard.
HURRICANE! SHOOTING STRIKE! FU, FU, FU! FU, FU, FU!
That was another thing that caught me off guard. I was so focused on battling Water Style that I didn't notice Hurricane Style firing off green air bullets at me and it hit me dead on, by the sparks that were flying off my armor.
"Ow!" I cried, falling onto my back. Grunting, I got up, "That hurt you jerk!"
"All's fair in war!" Hurricane laughed back.
DRILL! PLEASE!
The ground suddenly exploded as Land came bursting out, punching me in the chin as he came up. I was launched clean off of my feet and I landed on my back once again. I groaned, trying to shake the stars from my head.
"Oooh, suddenly this doesn't seem like a good idea…" I groaned to myself.
"Are you kidding me?! This is the best fight ever and the audience, are looking pretty impressed! Even the princess herself is looking impressed!" Derflinger said.
"Is she really?" I perked up. Glancing to the Princess, I saw that she was sitting rigidly in her seat and looking transfixed by what was going on. Was she concerned for me, or was she just that entranced by someone who could use all four elements?
Man I hope I looked cool. At least give me that.
BIG! PLEASE!
"HUH?" I said startled as I turned to see Land Style's big arm, slam me hard on the stage floor.
"Ooooooh!" the audience groaned in sympathy.
"…Ow," Derflinger and I groaned in pain.
"Give up?" Land Style demanded.
"Gah…" I groaned as I staggered back up. "Sorry… it's not in my dictionary."
I needed space to make my moves and the three weren't going to give it to me. So I quickly swapped out another ring and passed it over the Hand Author.
LIGHT! PLEASE!
My ring suddenly shined bright and Water, Hurricane, and Land Style had to shield their eyes from the brightness of the light. Heck, even the audience had to shield their eyes. It was that bright. But at least it's given me the time I needed to bring this show to a finale. So taking out another ring and replacing the Light Ring, I flipped the Hand Author twice before placing the ring in front of the Hand Author.
BIND! PLEASE!
Six circles from the ground appeared and metal chains came out to bind Hurricane and Land Style, but...
LIQUID! PLEASE!
Water Style was able to get away with it.
"Alright Derf, let's do this!" I said.
"You got it Partner!" Derf said, before opening up the Hand Author or in this case, Derf's mouth.
C'MON AND SLASH, SHAKE HANDS! C'MON AND SLASH, SHAKE HANDS!
I placed the Flame Style ring near Derf's mouth. "Eat some magic up!"
FLAME! SLASH STRIKE! HII, HII, HII! HII, HII, HII!
The blade ignited with magic fire before I slashed at the pair. The flaming blades flew through the air and struck home. Explosions of sparks came from both of my clones and they both collapsed to the ground. The pair flashed yellow and green before vanished.
"Two down, one to go."
"Wow! That was some firepower you gave me!" Derf exclaimed. "I was literally fired up!"
"Yeah, but stay frosty. There's one more," I warned my weapon.
"So it's just you and me huh?" Water Style asked as he and I circled each other.
"Sure looks that way." I said. "Let's give the audience a grand finale."
We both took out a ring and donned them, swiping them over our Hand Authors, both magic items calling out the same spell.
VERY NICE! KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS!
A red and blue magic circle appeared below our feet. Energy converted to Fire and Water respectively as it engulfed our kicking feet.
The audience looked in worry, wondering what happened and who won the fight.
We both cartwheeled towards each other before leaping up into the air and aimed a corkscrew kick at one another. We collided in the air with a massive slam. My fire and his water collided, creating a massive cloud of steam which concealed us as the force of the blows knocked us away.
"Can anyone see in there?" One asked.
"I don't know. I can't see in all that steam!" Another answered.
"Who won?" A third student questioned.
I pulled myself up from where I landed and looked over to where I was sure Water Style had fallen. My leg was numb from the recoil of the attack so I felt myself walking with a slight limp. Walking through the steam, I saw Water Style on the ground. He wasn't moving and when I tried to see if he was still moving but he flashed blue and vanished.
"Well, I win I guess." I grinned, stepping toward the edge of the stage as the steam cleared, revealing myself in my ruby glory.
The audience gasped, seeing that I won.
"Fin." I sighed, taking a bow.
The audience was silent at first. I was sure most of them saw my duel with Guiche but I hadn't showed off the full extent of my elemental abilities. Showing them off so blatantly likely made people realize I really did have control over the four classic elements rather than just in name like one may have assumed. The princess seemed to be taken back by the sight, shocked at seeing what I showed myself to be capable of.
And then… I heard one clap. It was from Princess Henrietta. After that, there was another clap, followed by a couple more, then a few, then several, and it built up more and more until the whole crowd gave me a standing ovation.
I nodded and waved at the crowd, taking in their applause.
"That was amazing!" One praised.
"It was incredible!" Another complimented.
"He's so dreamy!"
Whoa… didn't expect that last one.
"Bravo Darling!"
Okay, I was expecting Kirche.
"Hehehehe… nice job Partner, everyone loves ya." Derf snickered.
"Yeah… it was worth a few lumps." I grinned.
I looked to the side of the stage and Louise looked really happy that I did really well. Maybe we can win this competition after all.
So with our performance done, I went back to civilian and the Princess announced that she and the judges will talk amongst themselves to decide who the winner of the Familiar Exhibition is. So while everyone, Louise and I decided to walk around the campus a little. To be honest, Louise looked a little too excited to actually be standing around.
"That was so impressive!" she all but squealed. "The princess and the judges were so impressed! We're sure to win!"
"Calm down Louise. We won't know until Princess Henrietta is done conferring with the judges. It's anyone's game at this point." I reminded.
"Oh who could compare to actual magic attacks?" Louise scoffed.
"Look, all I'm saying is don't count your chickens before they hatch." I said.
"What?" Louise blinked. "What do chickens have to do with this?"
"It's an expression…" I deadpanned. "I'm saying to wait until a good thing we're expecting actually happens before you make any plans about it."
"Oh. Well, whatever." Louise shrugged. "Anyway, walk with me while we wait for the judges to declare the winner."
"Now you act like I'm a good Familiar…" I muttered under my breath as I walked alongside Louise.
We continued to walk on for a while longer until I noticed something from afar near the school. "Uh Louise… what's that brown thing up ahead?" I asked pointing to it.
As we walked through the courtyard, I had spotted something really big and brown sticking out from around the corner and partially hidden by one of the towers of the school. It kind of looked like it was made out of rock or dirt or something. Were some of the earth mages in the school making a big statue to honor the princess or something?
"What in Founder's–" Louise asked shocked. I looked closer to see some person on its shoulder. It looked female and she noticed us.
"Tch… I've been discovered. Golem! Crush them!" The woman ordered.
The brown thing, what I thought was a mount, of dirt shuddered, revealing it to be a humanoid figure made out of a huge pile of dirt. Its blank face stared down at us before it reared back its fist in preparation to smash us both.
"Whoa!" I said surprised as I grabbed Louise and jumped out of the way before the fist, missed us. I held Louise close as I rolled to a stop.
"What the heck is that thing?!" I cried, pulling Louise to her feet.
"I–I–It's a golem… but I've never seen one so big!" Louise sputtered. "She must be Triangle Class to make one so big!"
"Great…" I groaned before I took out the PlaMonster rings.
GARUDA! PLEASE!
KRAKEN! PLEASE!
The two PlaMonsters formed in front me and I attached the rings to their bodies. "Go get help! Tell the Headmaster that a Triangle Class Golem is attacking the Academy! Go!"
The two PlaMonsters squeaked and took off. I then turned my attention back to the massive golem which towered above us. Since it was made of dirt, maybe wetting it down would help save our hides.
"Now… onto you…" I said before switching rings.
DRIVER ON! PLEASE!
The cloaked woman said as the WizarDriver formed around my waist, "Hm?"
I flipped the Hand Author to my left.
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
The ringtone repeated as I slipped on the Water Style ring. I then shouted, "Henshin!" before placing the ring in front of the Hand Author.
WATER! PLEASE! SUI! SUI! SUI! SUI!
The blue magic circle passed over me, forming my Water Style armor. I gently pushed Louise back as I approached the golem. I had a bit of an idea to wet the golem down and I just had to hope this woman couldn't control water like she could soil.
"What's this: a jeweled armored warrior? How interesting…" The cloaked woman mused.
"Who are you?!" I demanded. "And what are you doing?!"
"Hm… They call me Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt." the woman snickered, obviously finding me a novelty rather than any kind of true threat.
"Well you're about to become Crumbling Dirt once I beat that Golem of yours!" I shot back.
"Hmph, just who do you think you are?"
"I'm the Diamond of Justice in the Rough of Oppression! The Jewel of Hope unearthed from the Sands of Despair! I am Kamen Rider Wizard!"
"Oh spare me nobles and their flowery speech." Fouquet snorted. "Golem, crush him!"
"Heh, who said I was a noble?" I smirked as I flipped the Hand Author and switched rings on my right hand.
LIQUID! PLEASE!
My body collapsed into a body of water and I surged at the golem's fist, soaking it with water before I traveled up the golem's arm and towards its torso. Despite soaking into the dirt, I didn't lose any mass myself as the golem's arm turned to mud. I hit the torso and splashed through it as well, soaking it into mud before surging up at Fouquet herself.
"What in the–" Fouquet gasped as I reformed to my solid form.
CONNECT! PLEASE!
The magic circle appeared and I grabbed Derf out of the circle. "Take this!" I shouted, swinging him on Fouquet.
Fouquet gritted her teeth and suddenly a wall of dirty came up from the golem to block my attack, but the wall was squishy and didn't form very well. Derflinger tore through her cloak, revealing a shapely body in a tight uniform, but I still couldn't see her face. It did confirm my guess though. She could control Earth itself just fine, but when it got mixed with something else she lost control of it and couldn't manipulate it as well as she could have.
"Heh… you're not so good with water huh?" I scoffed.
"Enough for something blunt!" Fouquet snapped, causing a pillar to erupt at me. Even if it was mud, it would still hurt if it hit me with the speed it was coming at me. I blocked with Derf, but the pillar was still coming strong.
"Whoa! What the heck?" Derf cried out.
"Gnnn…" I grunted, my feet sliding through the surface of the muddy golem. Okay, so she didn't have fine control over mud, but she had enough to do something blunt like this! Well, I was just going to have to make it more water than mud!
WATER! SLASH STRIKE! SUI, SUI, SUI! SUI, SUI, SUI!
Swirls of water formed around the blade as it built up, getting larger and larger. "You need to cool off!" I shouted before swinging, sending a huge torrent of water at Fouquet.
The attack tore through the muddy pillar like a hot knife through butter. Fouquet seemed to have the experience and instinct to dodge out of the way. Still, the attack tore a huge gouge through the golem's shoulder we stood on and on one big blast which sent mud flying in all directions, obliterated its soaked head. Fouquet clung near the edge of the shoulder and I was standing tall, but then the golem shuddered which really was a bad sign if you asked me.
"Partner, this thing is going to fall apart! Move it!" Derflinger cried out.
Apparently, with Fouquet's fine control being compromised by the golem's muddy body and now with its head gone, the thing couldn't stay composed anymore and was about to fall apart. That was all I needed to know before I took a running leap off of the thing's shoulder.
"Geez, where's the Headmaster, when you need him?" I groaned. That was when Garuda came back to me and looked panicked for some reason.
An explosion suddenly rocked the ground, almost knocking me off balance. I looked around and saw smoke rising from another portion of the courtyard. My face paled when I realized that it was the area in which the exhibition was being held. Frowning, I looked to where Fouquet was getting up, covered in mud.
"Okay, just what were you planning?" I demanded, walking up to her and grabbing her cloak. Amazingly, I still couldn't see her face. The thing must have been enchanted somehow to hide her identity. "Was this all a distraction?"
"Don't look at me! I was trying to break into the treasury!" Fouquet snapped, surprisingly irate for being blamed for another crime. "I don't know who is doing that! I'm a thief, not a soldier!"
"But then that would mean–!" Louise realized. That was when Garuda flew over to me, chirping in a panic.
"Garuda, please tell me a Phantom isn't attacking the exhibition." I groaned.
The sad chirp and shaking head told me all I needed to know. Why oh, why couldn't it have been an assassin or revolutionary or something? That would have been easier to deal with!
"Grrr…" I growled before turning to Fouquet. "I'll have a Copy of me deal with you for the time being." I said, before switching rings and flipping the Hand Author twice.
COPY! PLEASE!
A second version of me appeared and looked to me for orders.
"Deal with her until I get back!" I said, before I ran off with Louise following me.
"Right," My clone said, before turning to Fouquet. "Let's dance."
Was using a clone to keep Fouquet captured a good idea? Well, for any other situation probably not but with a Phantom I had to have all of my power ready to go and a clone just didn't have the staying power for it. They dispel too easily and I didn't have the Drago Timer to create a perfect copy.
"Do you think there's a Gate there?" Louise asked as she ran beside me.
"Are you kidding? This school is filled to the brim with magic users! I'm surprised it isn't attacked daily!" I retorted.
We continued running until we reached the courtyard and to my dismay, we have Ghoul Phantoms running amok causing havoc amongst the students too. The teacher and staff along with the Princess's guard were doing everything they can to stop them. Wait a minute… the Princess!
She was up at the judge's table with the teachers. At first they all looked fine, but then I saw something approaching them through the chaos and was batting aside the trained guards like they were flies in the air.
The Phantom this time was white and covered in feathers. It was female too, judging by the body shape. It wore a steel torso armor which covered only the breasts and nothing else, leaving the soft down feathers to reveal the rest of her. Her arms looked like wings, but had black hands at the end of them, making the wings look more like sleeves. She wore silver thigh armor, but her feet ended in golden boots that looked a little like talons. Her face looked like a porcelain mask with black eyes and red lips, but it was partially concealed by the ornate falcon head helmet she wore, the brow encrusted with an emerald, her status as a Phantom.
"Harpy…" I frowned.
"Another one of those things eh Partner?" asked Derflinger. "Let's take it down!"
"Right,"
"W–Who are you?" Henrietta demanded.
"I am the one that will lead you to despair, Gate."
WHAT?! HENRIETTA IS A GATE?!
Well, it made sense. Henrietta was royalty so obviously she would be able to use magic like the other students. Also, since she was royalty one might assume she was stronger than the average magic user as well, which meant that if a Phantom was born from her then it would be considerably stronger than the others. Maybe even at Executive level.
"Princess," Louise cried out, making her and the Phantom notice Louise and I.
"Louise, Kurogasa!" Henrietta said.
Harpy gasped when she saw me, "Yubiwa no Mahōtsukai?"
"Surprise," I called, slashing at the enemy Phantom.
The Harpy Phantom shrieked in pain as she was sent flying back. I then rushed next to the Princess.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Y–Yes, I'm fine." Henrietta stuttered.
"Good." I nodded. "Louise, get your best friend out of here. I'll deal with the Phantom."
"R–Right," Louise nodded, running to Henrietta's side. "This way Princess," She added. Henrietta nodded before she went away with Louise to a safe place and I faced the Harpy Phantom.
"Grrr… you'll pay for interfering in Wiseman's mission!" Harpy growled.
Hearing the Harpy Phantom say that; concerned me. Anansi said the same thing. Somehow, the Phantoms here believed in Wiseman. How? Was a Phantom brought to Halkeginia like I was? No… it's impossible… there's no way. The only way I'd believe that Wiseman is here is if Phoenix, Medusa, and Gremlin were here too. Shaking off the thought, I prepared to fight the Harpy Phantom as well as the Ghouls she brought with her.
"Ghouls, attack the Yubiwa no Mahōtsukai!" The Harpy Phantom ordered before the said Ghouls charged at me.
"Partner, here they come!" Derf cried out.
"I'm on it!" I replied. No time to mess around. Hit hard and fast!
WATER! SLASH STRIKE! SUI, SUI, SUI! SUI, SUI, SUI!
Water formed around the blade before I charged at them and slashed them. Some try to stab me with their lances, but I blocked their attacks and slashed their lances before slashing them.
I tore through them like wet tissue paper, causing them to explode as I ran through their ranks.
"Are you ready to dance?"
"Sorry, but you're not my type!" Harpy screeched before charging at me.
Metal claws slipped from her sleeves as she swiped at me. Sparks erupted from where her weapon met mine. She was stronger than she looked, my knees almost buckling from the force behind the blow. Still, the suit enhanced me enough to keep the fight going. I couldn't directly block her anymore or she'd win in the battle of stamina.
"I'm gonna have to do this." I said, before opening up Derf's mouth and scanned the Ring I wanted.
COPY! PLEASE!
A small magic circle appeared and a copy of my WizarSwordGun appeared, so I can dual wield.
"Alright, see how you like this!" I said as I charged at the Harpy Phantom and used my two WizarSwordGuns to slash at her.
The Harpy Phantom parried the blows, but now with the both of us having a pair of weapons she was having a harder time of it. I tried to steer the fight away from the exhibition grounds since Henrietta was still nearby and a few of the students lacked the survival instinct of even lemmings and were still there, gawking at the fight. I didn't want the Phantom to decide to cut her losses and try to drop them into despair if she couldn't get the princess.
"Let's see if you can fly drenched!" I said before switching the copy WizarSwordGun to gun mode. I opened up both Hand Authors.
C'MON AND SLASH, SHAKE HANDS! C'MON AND SLASH, SHAKE HANDS!
COME ON A SHOOTING, SHAKE HANDS! C'MON A SHOOTING, SHAKE HANDS!
WATER! SHOOTING/SLASH STRIKE! SUI, SUI, SUI! SUI, SUI, SUI!
I took aim with my gun and fired several blasts of enchanted water before following them up with slashes from my sword. Each of the waves from the slashes connected with the bullets, causing the mass of water to shine like blue crystal before surging even faster at the Phantom. In hindsight, I'd later recall it to be like the finisher the Gokaigers would use with their guns and swords.
And as expected, the water bullets and slash hit dead on, completely drenching the Harpy Phantom while it writhed in pain.
"My feathers, you've ruined them! You ruined my beautiful feathers!" The Harpy Phantom shrieked.
"Shouldn't she have exploded?" asked Derflinger.
"Yeah, the other ones do when you hit them like that!" his copy insisted.
"If I actually hit her," I replied. I was a little surprised to see how precise my vision was while in my armored form, but I had gotten used to it. I hadn't aimed to kill the Phantom. Not yet anyway since she was having a habit of leaping all over the place while we fought, fluttering like a bird and making it hard to keep up. My last attack was used to clip her wings and keep her on the ground.
"Okay then, let's actually finish her off!" I said before switching rings and flipping the Hand Author twice.
VERY NICE! KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS!
I flipped through the air and aimed for the downed Harpy Phantom. It should've been a clean strike, but my rotten luck decided I had been having it too good lately and decided to do something about it. This time, it came in the form of a fire back blasting me out of the air. It hurt and were, I in any other form aside from Flame Style, it may have dropped me for good. As it was, I crashed to the ground with smoking armor as Harpy stumbled to her feet.
"Gah– what in the–" I cringed, trying to figure out what's going on. Where the heck did that blast come from anyway?
"You okay Partner?" Derf asked worriedly.
"Peachy…" I groaned as I tried to get up.
Harpy looked panicked, looking around for my attacker. Seeing that she couldn't find him, she turned to me, "You're lucky today! I've got more important things than just killing you! I'll be back for the princess and next time I'll turn her into a Phantom!" And with that, she staggered away, before somehow being able to fly off.
"Wait!" I shouted, trying to go after but then cringed in pain, falling to one knee before I went back to civilian form. That blast really hurt.
"Kurogasa," Louise called out, as I turned and noticed her and Henrietta running towards me.
"Yo…" I muttered weakly. "Are you two okay?"
"I should be asking you that!" Louise retorted.
"Are you well?" Henrietta asked, kneeling next to me, searching for wounds. "That fireball spell looked especially strong and that creature could not have been an easy opponent either."
"Yeah, it was." I said, as I tried to stand up, but…, "Ergh!" I cringed again, closing one eye while panting before staying back down. "Dang it, that fireball must be a lot stronger than I thought."
"Lay down please." Henrietta gently pressed me down to the ground on my back. "I am a Water Mage and I know a number of healing spells."
"Ok…" I sighed, trying to relax myself.
Henrietta lifted her staff and spoke words in what I think was Latin before the head began to shine. Streams of water materialized from the air and wrapped around my burns and cuts. The cooling sensation was downright wonderful and before my eyes, the wounds vanished.
"Wow… my wounds… they're all gone." I said as I slowly sat up to look at myself for any cuts and burns and there were none.
"Thank goodness." Henrietta smiled.
"No, thank you." I smiled back.
It was a nice moment that I had with the princess, but it was abruptly ended when I felt something pinch my ear. It really hurt. I mean, way more than the cuts and burns I suffered. How could such a small portion of my head hurt so much?
"Don't go flirting with the princess!" Louise hissed angrily in my ear.
"Ow, ow, ow, okay already." I cringed before she let go. But then, I remembered something. "Oh no… Fouquet! I completely forgot about her!"
Louise gasped, realizing the same thing. "She's still on the other side of the courtyard! Your clone still has her detained, right?!"
"What?" Henrietta gasped. "Fouquet? As in: Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?"
"She was using the exhibition as a distraction to break into the treasury." I grunted, standing up. "Louise and I stumbled onto her using a golem to break down the treasury walls. We fought and I destroyed the golem, but the Phantom appeared so I left a clone to keep her detained. I don't know if it's still there though."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,"
And there's my answer…
The out wall of the Academy exploded as a new massive golem smashed through it. On its shoulder was Fouquet holding some kind of case. She looked over at us and waved mockingly, "You came, close boy! But you failed in the final sprint! Better luck next time!"
"Get back here!" I shouted, about to run after her, but she used her Earth magic to put up dirt walls to prevent me from getting to her.
With that, the last thing Fouquet said was, "We'll meet again Gandalfr!"
"Crap!" I snapped, slamming my fist against the dirt wall. But… what did she say to me? I was Gan–what? Bah, whatever it is, I don't have time to think about it now. Right now, I have other things to deal with.
The sun set and everything was settling down after the whole incident today and Louise and I were questioned by the Princess's guards about what happened earlier today and why she was targeted.
"She's a massive reservoir of magic." I sighed, explaining to the irate captain. "A Phantom born from her would be exceptionally powerful and an asset to whatever the Phantoms are working towards."
"Do you really expect me to believe that?" The captain snapped.
"Believing it or not is your decision, but the fact of the matter, is that your Princess is a target to these Phantoms and is in grave danger."
The captain was having difficulty believing me, obviously. Since the Phantoms had never reared their heads before now and no one had ever heard of monsters born from people's inborn magic mixed with despair, naturally many thought it was impossible. I noticed a lot that nobles tended to actively deny things that happened outside their comfort zones. Add the fact that the knights were completely useless against the Harpy Phantom and I bet the captain's ego was downright nil at the moment. Failing to protect the princess and some no–rank magic–user managed to do better and he could even be holding a grudge against me. I just hoped he wasn't one of those petty noble types.
"That is quite enough, Captain." Henrietta said, approaching us. "Like it or not, this man has saved my life. I owe him that much."
"Your Majesty… his tale is too farfetched to be true!" The captain tried to… reason? Argue? It was too close to tell. "You are to believe that these Monsters born from our despair which can mimic us exist? It's ridiculous. Such a thing surely can't be possible."
"And yet it almost happened to me." Henrietta frowned. "This man was able to hold his own against such a creature to protect me; something that you failed to do Captain."
The man flinched like he had been struck, but Henrietta continued, "Although considering our lack of knowledge over these creatures, I can't fault you too much about it. However, this is to gain information on Fouquet as well as these creatures, not to pin blame on someone hoping to receive praise. Now please let this young man continue explaining these Phantoms."
"Y–Yes… Your Majesty…" The Captain stuttered.
"Thank you." I said. And with that, I explained everything I knew about the Phantoms, Gates, etc. Heck, one of the soldiers even wrote this down on a piece of paper to make sure he got all the information down. There was a lot I had to tell and I'm not leaving out any details.
"How can these Phantoms drop someone into despair so easily?" asked Henrietta. "Surely it is not as simple as you described."
"A person's hope can usually be tied to one specific thing, person, or even a facet of their personality." I answered. Although the Phantoms in the T.V. show did seem to have an easy time of dropping humans into despair sometimes, I did have a theory. "What the Phantoms do is root out what that is. Say a person's hope lies in the inspiration they received from another person. The Phantom would kill that person or something that reminds the victim of them and that would be enough, or someone who thrived to be social. If the Phantom drove away everyone who would even talk to them, they would fall into despair. The Phantoms are viciously good at what they do."
"And when that person falls into despair long enough…" Henrietta began.
"…Then the person dies and a new Phantom is born. There are two ways that a Gate can survive. One is by me, entering the subconscious of that person to destroy the Phantom there. The Gate will live, but they'll no longer have that magic in them because it's all from the Phantom. The other way is something that rarely happens. The person falling into despair has to hold onto their hope. But then again, how could they when they are in so much despair? If they're able to hold onto their hope, they can suppress their Phantom within and can use magic in exchange for that."
"So… with the first method a noble could lose their magic and with the second, a commoner could gain magic?" asked Henrietta.
"Well, maybe with the first. That or they just run out of mana and need to rest to regain it before they can cast spells again." I shrugged. All the people in the series weren't trained to use magic so I was never sure if they lost the potential or just their mana was temporarily drained. "The second, well, for the Phantom to be born the potential for magic has to already be there."
"So even the illegitimate children of nobles could be made victims," Henrietta nodded. "And with so many pretending they don't exist, no one would notice."
"Exactly," I nodded. "Princess, I think that it would be best that you stay with me for the time being until the Harpy Phantom is no more. With her out there, there's no telling what would happen while you're returning to the palace."
Louise and the captain cried out, "What?!"
"Let me finish!" I snapped at them. "My magic is specifically tuned to destroying Phantoms while yours seems to be rather hit or miss at even hurting them. At least with the Princess here, we can predict the paths the Harpy Phantom might take in trying to get to her. At the castle, with so many ways in or out, can you say the same?"
Louise and the captain flinched at my question as both of them looked at each other in worry. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing, and I'm not going to let Princess Henrietta fall into despair. You have my word."
"Then I will be in your care." Henrietta nodded.
"A–Are you sure Princess?" Louise asked worriedly.
"This threat must be dealt with, even if were caught unaware." Henrietta replied. "Now all we can do is make our plans and do our best to make sure these Phantoms cannot do any more damage."
"I…" Louise began, before nodding, "I understand."
So with that, we relayed all the information to Headmaster Osmond and Colbert. They were glad that Princess Henrietta is alright and that they're happy to have her as their guest for the time being. They in turn, told us about Fouquet the Crumbing Dirt and that she stole something from the treasury, called the Staff of Destruction or something like that. Whatever was in that case, they had to get it back.
With a name like that, it was definitely something which was going to be dangerous in the wrong hands. It didn't help our situation with the Harpy Phantom and whoever was helping her breathing down our necks. Still, Osmond agreed that Henrietta took priority over the Staff. He reassured us saying that using the Staff was quite complicated and he had never figured it out himself. We had time to strategize in that regard.
It was now late at night and I escorted Princess Henrietta back to her guest room to turn in for the night.
"I'm sorry about bringing so much upheaval with this new threat Your Majesty." I apologized.
"No it's okay." Henrietta smiled. "To be honest, I haven't had this much excitement in a long time."
"Well, that's an optimistic way of looking at it." I smiled.
"I suppose." Henrietta said before we stopped at my door. "Well, here we are. This is my room. Thank you for escorting me."
"Oh, it's no problem." I waved off.
"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Good night."
"Good night." I replied. Henrietta was about to go into her room until she forgot something. "Oh I almost forgot." She said turning around to face me.
"Huh?"
"I forgot to tell you the winner of the festival." She said before whispering to my ear, "It's you."
"Huh? I won?" I blinked.
"Yes, you were really impressive out there. And here's your reward for that performance and saving me." Henrietta smiled before she came up close to me and… kissed me on the cheek.
Oh wow… a kiss from a princess. This would never have happened to me at home.
"Well then, good night." Henrietta said with a slight blush before going in her room and closing the door.
"Yeah… good night…" I said, holding the cheek where Henrietta kissed. She kissed me… She kissed me! SHE KISSED ME! YATTAAAAAAAAAAA!
In Louise's room, Louise woke up from a violent, ice cold chill running down her spine.
"Brrrr… wh–what was that just now?" Louise said to herself, as she held herself instinctively to stay warm. It was like something in her heart told her that the world as she knew it had just shifted in some strange, unpleasant way.
LINE BREAK
"So… the Yubiwa no Mahōtsukai is here…" A figure said in the darkness
"Yes Master. He has slain two of our own: Anansi and Sleipnir. If it weren't for me saving Harpy, she would not have lived. Perhaps I should pay him a visit and show him what happens when he slays one of our own."
"Hm," the Master frowned. "Keep an eye on Harpy and tell her she is still expected to fulfill her mission. Henrietta outside of her castle is too much of a target to simply give up. Watch for the Mahōtsukai and observe how he thinks and fights. I suspect that he is not the one I know, and thus I cannot predict him like the one I knew in the old world."
"But of course… Wiseman…"
And there you have it people! And what a surprise we have here. Wiseman is in the Zero no Tsukaima world! But is it the one from the series? Or a different one? You'll have to find out next chapter! So until then, see ya!