As time continued to march forward, Isabella and Louise continued to remain missing. Present word had it she was finally on her way, recovering from injuries that had apparently been inflicted upon her by none other than Karin of the Heavy Wind. Yeah, that sure made the campus explode. While there were a few sceptics, the rumor of Isabella fighting her still was a boost to her reputation.
They were set to arrive by week's end, the Princess had found, before they would both be requested to join the front. Leo was aware of these, working overtime on the Zero Fighter, getting it armed and prepared, alongside finding extra supplies, and rarely, spare parts. Jacob remained unaware of this, however. Isabella and Leo were both of age to enlist in their nation's military, but Jacob would only be allowed under special circumstances.
As such, he remained unaware, quite blissfully at that, but even he couldn't ignore the clear signs of preparing for war. Part of him was worried that Isabella had already run off and joined the conflict. She was impulsive enough to do so, even more so if Louise tried to talk her into it.
Louise was protective of her friends and her country, and Isabella was protective of her friends, her family, and of course, Louise. Things would turn south for the enemy force the moment one or the other entered the battlefield. Jacob was aware his sister's short temper and self defense record, excluding the Wardes incident.
All the while, Agnes's training had become more and more intense, not just for him or Leo, but for the Musketeers under her command. Day in, day out, drills were the word of the day. The crack of firearms, the cutting of swords through all objects, noise was the name of the game.
Though Agnes seemed to be in a foul mood, she was clearly doing her best to not take it out on others. Something had happened, and it clearly hadn't gone over as well as she had hoped. Jacob knew better than to pry. Agnes's business was her business, and she would talk about when she wanted to.
But that did not mean he was spared, far from it. Between Agnes's training and Leo's desire to learn more about their abilities, his activity was maximized, with little chance to rest and recover. He had been increasingly tempted to use one of his newfound talents to slip away for a few hours to rest, but he would have to go to that place. And seeing as he was still creeped out by the dolls, or what at least what looked like and passed off as moving dolls.
Leo still had ideas about it. Summoning them as support, or dragging an opponent with him. Jacob was far less certain. Their blank eyes held a killing intent, like that he hadn't seen before. So, not only was their aid unreliable, it could easily become lethal. He desired to avoid such a thing.
Still, he desired to return home as soon as possible. His parents were worried, as parents were supposed to be, but Isabella had fallen off the radar. He didn't know anything about this "Karen of the Heavy Wind" she had apparently fought against, but that seemed to be the reason behind her delay. Each passing day made him worry more and more, and each passing day made it harder to ignore the increased militarization.
He was becoming increasingly worried that someone would launch a counter attack. No matter how one tried to spin it, that was a simple matter of time. The school was much to great and vulnerable of a target to not risk attacking. Even with the Zero fighter kept under wraps, the place had to many students to be ignored. Taking hostages would be far too easy.
He didn't sign up to be a part of this mess, and he most certainly didn't want to be here. His sister may have had no issues being a part of this insanity, but he did. All he could hope for was her swift return.
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Things, however, never went according to plan. Anyone's plan, really. It appeared Jacob's prediction for the future was correct. Very correct. That night, a group of mages had stormed the school, attacking the Musketeers and herding most of the student's and faculty into the dining hall. What they hadn't counted on were two unknown and very much annoyed variables, angry that another night to rest had just gone up in smoke.
Hit and run allowed for more about two dozen students escape to safety, while Leo and Jacob simply couldn't be pinned down by the intruders. Overextension in their pursuit allow Agnes's musketeers to pick off more enemy soldiers.
Still, with dozens of students remaining hostage, something need to be done. While Agnes rushed in to avenge the death of her guards, and provide a distraction for those under her command to extract the hostages, it was Colbert, Tabitha, and Kirche, alongside the plan of Jacob and Leo, that truly won that battle.
Kirche's magic allow one of the new devices that Leo and Colbert had been working on, an airlie flashbang grenade, so to speak, to not only take to the sky, but to detonate. Jacob knew an advantage when he saw one, and took it. Shadow classed with light, as pools of darkness formed insight of the shining light.
One for each student, and they were gone. Their eyes only had moments to adjust before they were spit back out. Going from one blinding light to complete darkness prevented any of them from seeing a thing. The only thing they did know was that their binding were cut, allowing them to run away, as Jacob leaned on his massive blade for support.
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"Agnes, catch!" Leo managed to find one of the swords on the ground, tossing it into the air.
"Everyone's out! We should pull back!" Colbert shouted, only as Tabitha and Kirche were knocked back. Leo grit his teeth, pushing the attack immediately. Spinning gears crashed into the man's guard, but he held. Leo glared, uncertain how the man was still capable to seeing. Blind?
Leo lept backwards, as flame scorched the stone where he stood. Was he seeing based on heat? Clever. The skill required to perform such a feat. He would be impressed, if it wasn't for the fact this nut was actively trying to kill them. That, and he wasn't in the mood to see if his healing abilities worked through burns. He assumed it would, but it would simply be a slower and much more painful process.
Leo was caught off guard, as the man's 'sword' wand, which would be more accurately called a mace, impacted his hammer while in midair. The blow reverated up his arms, knocking him back. Crimson flame launched in pursuit, attempting to incinerate him.
Pure blue flame, launched past Leo, intercepting the attack. As magic as both attacks were, they were still flame, and they had to obey its rules. Blue overcame red with ease, it's raw power more than enough to overwhelm it.
Leo knew exactly the source. He hadn't preved into Colbert's past, but he knew the fire mage was on a whole other level compared to his contemporaries. The fact he could generate blue flame, on top of his square class statis, only drove this home.
"Step away from my students," normally, Colbert's voice would be warm, full of kindness and compassion. Now, it full of cold, brutal rage. Even Leo felt a chill go up his spine due to his tone. Leo pushed backwards, taking advantage of the fact he was no longer under concentrated assault.
Thankfully, Jacob had extracted the hostages, and almost everyone else had vacated the area. The man seemed annoyed that someone else had stepped in, before a look realization washed over his face.
"It's you!" he shouted, grinning like a maniac, "This is the temperature I've been searching for! Captain!" Leo paused. Captain? What exactly did he mean by that? If he meant what he thought it meant, then this was bad, in more ways than one. He didn't have the full picture, but his faith in Colbert felt rocked to the core.
And all of that was said in front of the very worst person to say it in front of. Agnes became enraged. In a single moment, all reason was lost to the screaming flame of vengeance. As they dueled, Agnes approached, in spite of intensity of the crimson and blue fire being fired between both combatants.
"Agnes, don't!" Leo shouted, trying to warn her of the attack she had just opened herself up to. It wasn't until the fire was upon her that she realized her error. Colbert attempt to intercept the attack, to knock her aside and off of the spell's path. This time, shadow knocked him aside, as Agnes was swallowed. Jacob took her place.
Flames slammed into his body, igniting hair and burning flame. His screams of agony echoed across the courtyard, before the fire finally fell away. He was alive, if for no other reason than his regeneration, but his skin was darkened and burned. Leo knelt beside him, unsure to what to do. He needed to get Jacob out of here, but how? He was in no shape to move. And the burns were everywhere, his body nothing more than a third degree at least. Even now, Jacob's flesh struggled to stitch itself together.
"Now, die," the man shouted, leveling his weapon, only for the flame at the tip to sputter and fade. It was only then did Leo sense heat's retreat, as ice began form on the walls. The temperature was dropping, and in some parts of the room, had already dropped below freezing. Heavy metal boots clanked against the floor as a familiar, if distorted voice spoke.
"No. It is you that is about to die."
Isabella had returned.
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Sorry for such a short chapter guys. I promise that the next one will be longer. I hope everyone enjoyed, and ideally I'll see you next time!
