Rize froze in her tracks, trying desperately to think of some way they could get out of this situation unscathed. She didn't have to think for long, however, as Gowther put his arm across her chest, pushing her backwards and into King, who stumbled backwards and floated up.
"I will take care of this." Gowther assured them, though Rize got the feeling he was mainly talking to her, as King actually seemed vaguely amused. "King, please help Rize back over the wall. I will meet up with you in just a moment."
"Alright, but don't hurt them too bad, okay?"
The Knight in front burst into heavy, gross laughter. "You? Defeat us? Do you know who we are, little girl?"
"I do know who you are, and I am not a girl." Gowther said calmly, stepping towards them. The Knights brandished their weapons at him, but Gowther simply raised his hands and called, "Blackout Arrow,"
Instantly, five arrows made of glowing dark magenta light appeared and fired all at once, each easily passing through the Knights' armor and hitting them, but it didn't seem to do anything at all. Rize opened her mouth to say something when, suddenly, all five of the Knights collapsed to the ground, snoring like chainsaws.
"Whoa..." Rize gaped at the sight. "What did you do to them?"
"I rendered them unconscious." Gowther said matter-of-factly. "Are we ready to go now?"
Rize tried to shake off the shock at seeing Gowther's power. King reached down to help her over the wall before helping Gowther over as well. They weren't sure if the Knights had told any other people about what they were doing, but they didn't want to take the chance and draw any more attention.
It was only when they reached the edge of the treeline that Rize realized she had no idea where she was meant to go next. For the amount of new information about her mother she'd gotten from visiting Liones, she'd gotten nothing that could possibly relate to her current whereabouts. King seemed to be the first one to notice her change in emotions, and held up his hand to stop them.
"What's wrong, Rize?"
She shook her head. "It's just...I don't know what to do next."
King drifted down to land on the ground, his pillow tucked underneath his arm. "We'll figure out how to find your mom. And in the meantime," He smirked. "You need training."
"Alright, so first thing's first; exactly what is your magic type?"
Rize huffed, blowing a stray strand of dark hair out of her face. Arms crossed, she was standing in a small, barren field along the path she and Gowther had originally taken to get to Liones across from King, who had shed his hoodie and was now only wearing the navy blue undershirt underneath.
"You can't expect me to help you improve your magic if I don't know its type!" King shouted. "Come on, there's nothing to be embarrassed about!"
"But it would still be absolutely useless even if it were more powerful!" She snapped back. She didn't notice Gowther walking over from his spot where he'd been reading in the shade of a nearby tree.
He stopped beside her and lifted one finger that began lighting up with white energy that hit her like a tiny bee. She froze, unsure what exactly he was doing. Finally, he put down his hand and turned to King.
"Rize uses the magic known as 'Sound Wave,'" He said. "It is a relatively unheard of magical ability that allows its user to wield the power of sound waves traveling through the air."
"Hey!" Rize balled her fists, glaring at him. "How the hell did you know that?"
Gowther met her eyes, tilting his head as if in confusion. He raised his hand and gave a tiny smile. "I used my power to read your mind."
"Excuse me?" She demanded, ready to draw back her fist and sock him in the nose. "Stay the hell out of my head, okay?!"
"If you wish." He said calmly, turning around and going back to his spot under the tree. Rize relaxed, trying to calm herself down. When she faced King again, he had walked closer to her and was smiling.
"Don't be too hard on Gowther. He means well, he's just not very good at showing it."
"Yeah, well, if he keeps meaning so well, I'm gonna knock his teeth in." She sighed, crossing her arms again. "Anyway, you know my magic type now, so you probably know this is a lost cause."
"It's true, I don't think I've ever heard of Sound Wave magic, but that doesn't mean it's useless. There's lots of ways to use magic other than in battle."
"What am I supposed to do with sound waves?" She asked. Her magic had always been a touchy subject. She she could have gotten some sort of power from her mom. She already had her mom's hair, her dad had once told her. Couldn't she have gotten some of her magic, too?
"There's lots of things." King tapped his chin in thought. "Can you give me a more detailed description of what you can do with your magic?"
She turned her face up to the sky, watching a flock of birds fly above them. "I can make them go away, basically turning someone deaf to the sounds around them. I can make them vibrate faster than normal, which could damage a person's hearing if I do it for a long time. And I've never tried it, but I know my dad used it once to make a flock of sheep that belonged to a villager come back to their shepherd."
To her surprise, King's reaction turned to one of shock. "He...He did? But doesn't that mean Sound Wave would have the power to control the actions of living beings?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, to be completely honest. I know my dad could do that with animals, but I'm not sure if it would work on a human. And even if it did, I'm not powerful enough to do it."
"That's exactly why you train." King sighed, as if exasperated by her stubbornness. "I'm sure if your father could use Sound Wave to control the actions of animals, it'll work on humans, too, and maybe even other creatures. After all, they're all living beings."
She sighed. "I guess you're right." She turned back to face him, a newfound resolve settling over her. "Alright, then. Let's get to training!"