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"Godō" - Regular Speech

'My Everyday life…!' - Thoughts

"God Slayer!" - Heretic God/Powered Up Campione speech

"Fire!" - Magic/Authority Use

Beta'd By BigCC

Chapter 24: A Scottish Campione in Mongolia

Same Time

VIP Suite, The Blue Sky Hotel and Tower, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

"Your Majesty?" the Mongolian Mage from the local Mage's Association asked worriedly. "Is there anything the matter?"

"Nothing here, I left an Authority behind with my subordinates just in case something happened. It just activated." Jean responded simply. It wasn't the entire truth, but the young lady across from her wasn't entitled to the entire story, so a white lie was the better option. "I'll have to look into what exactly happened when I return, but that's for later. Back to the matter at hand, you have my thanks for booking me this excellent suite, particularly on such short notice."

"Ah, think nothing of it, Your Majesty." Khulan Rinchen, the pretty young representative offered back with a slight bow of her head. "It is to my understanding that this is one of the better-received hotels among the local tourists. To offer anything less to a Godslayer would be a dishonour to the hospitality of the Golden Ones."

The Golden Ones were the Mage Association that controlled the magical side of modern day Mongolia. They were a fairly small and quiet group, with almost all of their higher-ranking members claiming some form of lineal descent from Genghis Khan, who had apparently been an extremely powerful mage in addition to his other, more historically renowned, accomplishments, with a small handful of the higher-ups being rare non-lineal mages who had either married into the families or been adopted into them. Khulan, for example, was a descendent of Byambyn Rinchen, the father of modern Mongolian literature, and a direct descendent of Genghis Khan himself on both his maternal and paternal sides.

She was a pretty thing, somewhere between eighteen and twenty with light brown hair and eyes, a pert nose, and dimples that showed when she smiled, which was quite often. She was also approaching the level of a high-ranking Knight in terms of magical power and ability; definitely stronger than either Rebecca (outside her Hearth anyway) or Yue.

She briefly recalled Rebecca mentioning that there was only a single Great Knight in the Golden Ones when they'd been preparing for her departure, so Khulan was likely a rising star within the Mage Association to have gotten so far at such a young age, either through talent, dedication or a mix of both.

Granted she was not on the same level as Erica Blandelli and Liliana Kranjcar, who had both becomes Great Knights at a younger age, but that did not diminish the girl's own accomplishments.

A golden ring may be more valuable than a silver one, but that didn't diminish the silver's value.

"Your Majesty, might I ask where you are planning on having your duel with Her Eminence Luo Hao?" Khulan asked nervously, finally getting to the reason behind their meeting.

"I was planning on having it in the centre of the Gobi Desert." Jean replied easily. "I believe that would be in the Ömnögovi aimag (South Gobi Province), correct?"

"That…that would be an excellent location…" the local mage agreed, swallowing nervously. Making requests of Campione was never something wise people did foolishly, even one as seemingly even-tempered as the Eighth was rumoured to be. "If we could make a request; would it be possible for you and Her Eminence to avoid approaching the Bayanzag (Flaming Cliffs), Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park and the Khongoryn Els (Singing Sands)?"

Jean thought for a moment. "The Cliffs are located in the northern area of the Ömnögovi correct? And both the Park and the Sands are located to the west?" she asked calmly, getting a nod from the young woman. "That should be easy enough then, we can simply move our starting point a bit farther to the south and east." Jean then offered the girl a smile. "I am quite proud of holding the title of 'Campione who has caused the least property damage', and I hope to keep it for as long as possible."

Khulan let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. "You have our deepest appreciations, Your Majesty." she offered with another bow. "Not only are the Bayanzag and Khongoryn Els of great cultural importance to our people, but the National Park is actually where my revered ancestor's grave was hidden. Not many outside of the Magical Community is aware of it, but Genghis Khan was in possession of a powerful Grimoire during his life, and ensuring its safety and security has been one of our humble association's primary duties."

Jean blinked at that, before grinning inquisitively. "The location of Genghis Khan's grave is one of the biggest archaeological mysteries of the modern day. Which of the rumours ended up being true?"

Khulan rolled her eyes slightly at that, remembering some of the ludicrous rumours foreigners had come up with regarding her ancestor's burial site. "The one regarding several herds of horses being stampeded over it before trees were planted over it? That one's a complete fantasy. The same for the one that claims he was buried on Burkhan Khaldun. He was simply buried deep into ground on the lands where he and his family lived during their time as exiles when he was but a boy, per his last request, and then a river was redirected over his grave. Moving a bit of water and earth isn't that much of an obstacle for a Mage, and especially not for several working in concert."

"Makes sense." the Scottish girl nodded absently. "Do you know when Luo Hao is due to arrive?"

"Trying to predict a Campione is usually an exercise in futility, begging Your Majesty's pardon." Khulan answered dryly. "However, The Ruler of the Martial Realm tends to take her requests for spars quite seriously. With the promise for yours to occur on the day after Chinese New Year, she will likely arrive three days from now at the latest."

"Better a bit early than a bit late then." Jean shrugged absently, "Until she arrives, I believe I'll simply do the tourist thing; see the sights, go to fancy restaurants, work out in the hotel's gym, that kinda thing. I take that your Paladin has assigned you to act as my guide and minder during my stay in Mongolia?"

"Correct, Your Majesty." the Mage replied politely. Another point in the Golden Ones' favour in Jean's point-of-view, they had been quite up-front, while still polite, about their concerns with her since her arrival. "Fortunately, I was born and raised in Ulaanbaatar, so I am pretty knowledgeable regarding all of the tourist spots, and this hotel happens to be perfectly positioned to take advantage of a lot of them. If you would like, I can show you around?"

"Well, I've never been one to turn down a date with a cute girl." the redhead replied with a laugh. "For now though, I believe its about teatime back home, so let's stop and get a quick bite before I start getting settled in. We can go gadding about the city tomorrow. I'm honestly a bit curious what kind of food a five-star hotel has to offer…"

Later

Council Chamber, Ulaanbaatar Headquarters of the Golden Ones

Khulan Rinchen stood demurely in the centre of the room, just before the feet of a slightly raised portion of the floor holding a semicircle of twelve ornately carved desks. Behind each was an elderly mage, a member of the High Council of the Golden Ones, each a seasoned mage of many years of service.

At the centre sat the desk of the Paladin, inseparable from the others save for the golden symbol of the Association embedded on the desk's front. Directly to its right was the seat revered for the sole Great Knight of the Golden Ones.

"Shamaness Khulan, report." Paladin Gonchigiin Khangal ordered, his voice reedy even as it echoed in the silent room and his eyes locked onto his grand-niece. He was approaching his hundred-and-ninety-seventh year, and was due to retire inside of the next six months to enjoy what little time he had left. He was dwarfed by his large chair, having shrunk and wrinkled as his magic had begun to have less and less effect on preserving his dwindling life-force. His eyes, however, showed that, while time and age had withered his body, his mind was still as strong and keen as ever.

"My Lords and Ladies, the Eight Godslayer has been…surprisingly cooperative regarding our requests when it comes to her appointed duel with Empress Luo Hao." the young Mage offered carefully. "The site of their battle has been agreed to be at the centre of the Gobi Desert, and she has even agreed to move their starting position slightly to the south and east to avoid risking the Flaming Cliffs or Singing Sands. Since both have claimed this to be nothing more than a 'friendly spar' I am hopeful that damage will be minimal. At worse, we may have to send teams to repair or restructure some of the oases should they be destroyed or buried during their confrontation, but that is a small price to pay in this one's humble opinion."

"I find that hard to believe." the Golden Ones' sole Great Knight, Luvsannorovyn Hadaa, put in with a snort of breath. Her hair was cut short in a tight, severe cut that was far shorter than most women would tolerate. She wore her symbol of office as the Declared Heir to the Paladin, the Sword of Genghis Khan, constantly at her side and even now clutched its hilt in a single hand. It was a scimitar, enchanted by both a Great Shaman and Divine Ancestor in the twilight years of the Great Khan's reign, and he had wielded it until his death, where it had been appropriated by one of his children, the original founder of the Golden One's Mage Association, leaving an exact physical copy buried in its place.

The Great Knight was a hard and harsh woman of a particular rare breed, one that despised her own gender for whatever reason. Hadaa, in particular, despised women who held more magical or martial power than her, as rare as they were. Thus, Paladin Khangal had done his best to ensure that whenever the Ruler of the Marital Realm passed through their territory, she was kept as far away from her as possible. Entire Mage Associations had been crushed underfoot for merely irritating Luo Hao, and he doubted Hadaa would be able to hold in her venom when dealing with a woman who so far surpassed her.

Privately, the reason Khulan had been putting off his retirement was his firm belief that the sharp-tongued woman would be the end of the seven-hundred-plus year history of the Golden Ones due to her inability to hold her temper around a woman who'd manage to conquer a Heretic God.

A part of him simply wished to name a new successor, but the next best choice was his own grand-niece. Many would see such a move as simply hoarding power within his own family line, despite the younger Shamaness' obvious talent and growing skill.

So, for now, he simply had to bite his tongue and ignore the storm that was slowly building on the horizon.

"This is a Campione we are dealing with." Luvsannorovyn went on, a sneer on her face. "A Rakshata Raja, a Devil King, a Daughter of Epimetheus. We can't honestly believe that she will keep to her word once the battle begins, if she even has intentions of doing so at all."

"…Chief Archivist Damdinsüren, what have you been able to gather on the Eighth Campione, if you please." the Paladin requested neutrally.

"My Lord Paladin." stated a one-eyed man as he rose from one of the desk's to the far left. He was one of the newest members of the High Council, the previous Chief Archivist having retired a mere five years ago. In addition to their more traditional duties, the Chief Archivist also acted as the chief spymaster for the Golden Ones, adding more weight to the position and the need to keep a strong, capable Mage in it. "I have studied the reports that our agents and allies have gathered and the ones we gained from the Greenwich Witenagemot. Everything I've found agrees with Princess Alice's own assessment, that Jean Campbell is the most unusual Child of Epimetheus to walk the land in recorded history, to the point I'd call her a true Child of Pandora rather than the Titan of Afterthought. She has made it a point to keep the collateral damage she causes in her conflicts with Heretic Gods to a minimum and even her brief clash with Lord Salvatore Doni did no more damage than a conflict between two Knights. The worst damage was done, not by her, but by Lord Alec of the Royal Arsenal when they fought together against a pair of Heretic Gods, and that was merely a large tract of land being devoured by his [Wandering Avarice] Authority, which was quickly corrected by a team of several mages."

Great Knight Hadaa's darkened considerably as the report went on, basically substantiating Khulan's own report and conclusions.

As the report ended, Paladin Khangal nodded his head. "I believe our best choice now is to follow the ancient wisdom and hope for the best while preparing for the worst." the wizened mage said firmly. "We shall have several teams of mages stationed a few miles from the borders of the three sites in question in order to warn the Campione should their spar approach the boundaries of their declared 'arena.' I will personally be on standby on the border of the National Park with the Grimoire of the Sky-Father should one or both Campione decide to do as they please."

"Lord Paladin, using the Grimoire will surely kill you!" one Councilman exclaimed amongst the gasps and muttered oaths that echoed across the room. "The burden of using it…!"

"Far too much for this half-dead carcass of mine to bear, I am aware. Or at least, too much for me to bear and come out alive." a twitch to one side of the old man's mouth showed how amused he was by his own declaration. "It is better to go out accomplishing something than simply withering away on the vine. My own magical power may be dwindling, but I have been keeping it in reserve, refraining from using all but a few spells in the past year. I should have enough reserved power and remaining skill to activate and direct the Authority of the Sky-Father should our honoured guests go against their promises or should some fool try and disrupt or divert their battle."

Luvsannorovyn stiffened slightly as the still-bright eyes of her leader locked onto her briefly at the end of his statement. 'He…he's actually threatening me!? He'd kill me himself using the Authority of Tengri if I were to interfere with the Campione!'

"Shamaness Khulan, you are to return to the Eight Campione at first light tomorrow and are to remain as her guide and companion until the duel with Luo Hao begins." the Paladin continued on without so much as a pause, readdressing the girl standing at the foot of their council. "Treat her as an honoured guest and show her the city. Keep her interest, but do try to keep her from our centres of magic if possible."

"As you say, My Lord." Khulan bowed.

"What if the Campione attempts to seduce Khulan?" another councilwoman put in, making the girl flush in a mix of anger, embarrassment, and ever so slight arousal. Jean Campbell was an attractive woman, and quite close to Khulan's own type if she was being completely honest.

"I shall leave that up entirely to Khulan's discretion." Khangal responded with a negligent shrug, though his face was stony. "One of our members, one so close to obtaining the title of Great Knight to boot, having the favour of a Campione would be an advantageous state of affairs, but I, as will everyone else here, shall leave her personal affairs up to her own will. It is your decision, Young Khulan, and no one else's."

"Thank you, uncle." Khulan replied with a small smile.

"With that decided, I declare us adjourned for the night." the old man declared. "You are each to start selecting your best subordinates to head to the Gobi Desert within the next three days, the sooner the better. We cannot afford to make any mistakes when dealing with the Godslayers!"

A Short While Later

Luvsannorovyn Hadaa's Private Chambers

A blistering stream of verbal curses in Mongolian burned in the air of the small suite of rooms as the Great Knight paced along its length like a caged tiger. As was her habit, she had her sword drawn and in hand as she vented her spleen.

Despite the heat of her words, a cold sweat still trickled across her forehead as she contemplated the Paladin's threat against her, and what it could mean for her future plans.

Luvsannorovyn was of the opinion that the Campione were not nearly as unkillable as legend and rumour made them out to be. If Heretic Gods could be slain by mortal hands, then surely their slayers were just as vulnerable. All that was required was the proper plan and circumstances to make it a reality. The upcoming duel, with two Godslayers fighting each other, was just such a circumstance. She had, in fact, been preparing what amounted to an assassination plan ever since she'd discovered that the Ruler of the Martial Realm and the Campione of the Raging Tides were to duel in her homeland.

However, the threat of having the Grimoire used against was a most unexpected factor. The Authority held within the Grimoire of the Sky Father belonged to the Mongol Tengric God, Tengri, held power over the god's domain as Sky God and granted power over light, water and winds. [Sphere of Creation] was its name. When invoked, it allowed its user complete control over all three of those elements within a set area under the open sky, allowing its master to unleash a ferocious attack on anything under the heavens. Sadly, mortals could not wield that kind of power without Pandora's adoption, and invoking it put a terrible strain on any normal Mage's life force.

For Khangal to promise to use the sacred treasure of their Mage Association should anyone attempt to interfere with the Campione's duel was basically him promising to buy her life with his should she try anything. It was a frustrating inconvenience, but she couldn't help but respect the old man's resolve.

'I've already set everything in motion, and the final phase has already started. I couldn't stop this now even if I tried!' Luvsannorovyn mentally howled, her knuckles whitening around the grip of her trusted weapon and the symbol of everything she'd managed to obtain. 'Damn that old man, how did he know?! Too damned tenacious for even time itself to take him, he'll fight me to the end for what I have earned! I should have been made Paladin over a decade ago!'

Out of all highest-ranking members of Golden Ones, she was one of only two that could not claim blood ties to Genghis Khan. That fact had been the source of a distinct sense of inferiority for Hadaa since she'd joined the Association, and even as she pushed herself higher through the ranks, she'd always felt as if her lack of a 'proper lineage' was being used to hold her back. Even after obtaining the rank of Great Knight at the age of thirty, a not insignificant achievement considering that most didn't achieve a position of that until they were past fifty, she'd still felt she could have stood on the same grounds as the likes of the Great Knights of the Copper Black Cross and the Bronze Black Cross if only she'd had the proper blood ties.

It had been what had given birth to her own ambition. More than simply becoming the leader of the Golden Ones, she wished to expand and empower the organization until it engulfed all of what was once the Mongol Empire. To become as Genghis Khan himself so that others would seek to tie their names to her bloodline as they did his.

But to do that she needed more than power, she needed prestige and fame. And what better way to do that than to do what no mortal mage had ever accomplished in all of history.

To slay a Godslayer, to defeat a Rakshata Raja.

All of the recorded Campione, whether recorded on scrolls, engraved into walls or passed down through oral tradition, had either fallen in battle to Heretic Gods or their fellow Godslayers. A few had even lived long enough for even their near-immortal life force to run out, but these were few and far between. No mortal, Mage or not, had ever managed to kill a Campione. Inconvenience and injure yes, push back perhaps, but never slay.

"I can't doubt myself now." The Great Knight bit out, her grip still white-knuckled around her sword's handle. "I will succeed, even if the old fool interferes, my plan accounts for everything. Nothing will go wrong!"

Sadly, Luvsannorovyn had never heard of Murphy, nor of his famous law; and in her panic, she'd forgotten the fallacy of tempting fate in a world where the gods were very real.

The Next Day

Outside the National Library of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

"So that's Byambyn Rinchen, your great grandfather?" Jean looked up at the bronze statue in front of the library. It was of a distinguished-looking man wearing an ankle-length robe, cinched at the waist by a belt, as well as a pair of pointed boots. He had a large forehead, with most of his hair swept back, as well as a very impressive moustache. In his left hand, he had an object, a book, most likely, while his right was held straight at his side.

"Great, great Grandfather to be precise, but yes. He passed away just over forty years ago, but this statue was only erected in 2005." Khulan answered, looking up at her ancestor's statue with a small, proud smile. "Before that there was a statue of Josef Stalin in its place for just over forty years. However, when the Mongolian People's Republic began to collapse in…I believe it was the early nineties, the statue of Stalin was taken down. I believe it occurred just a month before the Politburo was officially dissolved. It took the government fifteen years to replace it."

"To be fair, considering the economic straits they were in, I'm not that surprised." the Campione replied dryly. Her knowledge of the MPR wasn't large by any means, but she did know that most, if not all, of the countries under the aegis of the USSR had been economically unsound during the eighties and early nineties. "Getting a statue of solid bronze crafted and set up isn't going to be cheap by anyone's measure; let alone when your government's going through such a big changeover. I'd say they were being fairly sensible to decide to wait for things to settle down and stabilize, though I'll grant you that fifteen years was a bit much."

"A fair point, I suppose." Khulan agreed with an absent nod. "It took two years just to hash out the constitutional amendments that made the People's Republic a thing of the past, after all. Then again, the Golden Ones have never been much affected by who controls Mongolia itself; whether it was the Great Qing Dynasty, communists or simply modern politicians…though I honestly can't say which is the worst of that particular line-up."

"Ha!" Jean snorted out a laugh, nodding in amused agreement and inadvertently causing the Mongolian Mage to relax a bit more. She had quickly taken notice of the Eighth Campione's preference towards more 'straightforward' interactions. She seemed to appreciate sarcasm, straightforwardness and even bluntness in her companions, not to mention a bit of sass or cattiness for those of the feminine persuasion. Any excess formality or outright submissiveness seemed to make her twitch like an unhappy cat.

She also, very interestingly, preferred her fairer company to be willing to stand up to her, to treat her like an equal. Much like Prince Alec and Kusanagi Godō, Jean Campbell did not seem to put herself automatically above those around her. However, unlike the two more…passive Campione, the Campione of Raging Tides at least had the self-awareness to admit she was, in fact, a tyrant. That aspect of her personality was kept under an iron grasp, but whenever someone she didn't like or respect challenged or disrespected her, her eyes would flash with something that sent a (not unpleasant for the most part) shiver down Khulan's spine.

She'd seen it herself last night while they'd dined together in the hotel restaurant before she'd left to pass her report to the Golden Ones. A particularly smarmy would-be 'ladies man' hadn't seemed willing to take no for an answer and had, unfortunately for him, set his sights on the female Campione.

The man had needed an icepack for his groin after he'd attempted to lay a hand where it hadn't been invited, along with a quick dose of hypnotism from Khulan to remove any risks of an awkward visit from the mortal authorities.

Some people had no survival instincts. Even most mundane humans could sense that Campione's were not ones to be messed with.

The air pollution in Ulaanbaatar was a bit of a problem for most tourists, but the Golden Ones had long-since developed a spell, Tengri's Blessed Sky, to create a protective 'bubble' around the target's head to filter out any pollutants. And since the spell was anchored into the air around her rather than Jean herself, the Campione's infamous magical resistance didn't affect it.

Jean had been a bit disappointed when Khulan had requested that they avoid the Choijin Lama Temple, but had acquiesced when it was explained that there were numerous wards and spells layered around the ancient monastery, along with countless artefacts stored within that might be destroyed if they so much as touch a Campione's innate resistance to magic.

"So what's next on the agenda? We've still got a bit of time before lunch." Khulan asked calmly as they continued their tour.

"Hm." Jean paused for a moment to consider before deciding. "Let's head over to Sükhbaatar Square for now. We can look around and then decide on what to have for lunch. While we're on our way though, I was hoping to ask about the magic system here…"

Considering that the basic idea behind the magics used by the Golden Ones were fairly common knowledge, Khulan was more than happy to share it with the Campione.

"Well, we use a different system from the Hermetic Magic you see in most of Europe." she offered. "Instead, our magic is based around shamanism and animism."

"Isn't shamanism communicating with spirits and gods?" the Scottish girl asked with a blink of surprise. "Never heard of animism though."

"Animism is centred around the idea that all things possess some form of soul." Khulan explained. "Things like vegetation deities, forest spirits, water sprites, fire demons and the like, are all considered manifestations of particular powerful souls or even gatherings of multiple smaller souls. The basis of most of our magic is drawing on an and manipulating the 'soul' of things around us in order to call forth a specific effect. Shamanism, on the other hand, draws on the power of particular spirits in order to utilize various magical workings; using runes or bones to scry and divine, healing spiritual or magical illnesses and abnormalities, or banishing dangerous spirits and curses."

"Huh, so spirits are actually a thing?" Jean asked, trying to take everything in.

"Indeed, they are an existence that lies between humans and gods." the Mongolian mage agreed, before sighing. "They…are fundamentally different from humans, and see the world in an entirely different way than we do. For instance, time has no meaning to spirits, they simply do not understand the concept. A year and a second are indistinguishable to them. Human laws and customs are likewise utterly meaningless to them. They can be benevolent or malevolent forces, but their concepts of good and evil are so vastly different from humans that it can seemingly change in an instant."

Khulan let out a tired sigh. "Truthfully, I've always found dealing with spirits to be more trouble than its worth most of the times, and so I tend to focus my training on Animism Magic instead."

"Interesting…" Jean looked thoughtful at that. "So do you follow the same ranking system as the European Associations or is that different as well?"

"We follow the same basic framework of the Apprentice/Knight/Great Knight/Paladin system that most foreign Mage Associations practice, for the sake of avoiding confusion, but we do have a few variations once one moves past Apprentice level." Khulan offered, looking thoughtful as she absently weaved and manoeuvred through the crowds around them, Jean following easily behind her. "Among the European and American systems, magic users are differentiated based on whether they are a form of Witch, a Hime Miko, a Mage, or Knight. Witches practice a specialized school of magic usually passed down along family lines or through apprenticeships. Hime Miko draw on their ancestral link and inherited divine blood to the Divine Ancestors to perform miracles, Mages tend to refer to those who learn non-combative forms of spellcraft and Knights are those who practice mostly combat magic. Here, all practitioners are called a Shaman or Shamaness regardless of what form of magic they practice, with varying titles based around their specialities. Great Shamans are the equivalent of European Great Knights, and our Paladins are referred to as Khans."

"So there's no equivalent of a Great Knight or Great Shaman for non-combatants?" Jean asked curiously.

"Not really. Particularly powerful Mages are sometimes called Great Mages, but those worthy of such a title are few and far between." the Shamaness replied with a shrug. "Most Mages don't tend to grow very powerful in general, non-combatant magic isn't exactly seen as the path of the ambitious in most of the magical world. Most attention and power seems to follow those who can fight, the Knights."

"Hm." Jean wasn't particularly pleased with that, though she could at least understand the reasons and logic behind it. With the destruction regularly caused by Divine Beasts, Heretic Gods and Sorcerers, focusing most of the accolades on the ones who could at least resist them to some degree made some degree of sense.

Their conversation came to a halt as they finally reached Sükhbaatar Square. It was an impressive sight, Jean could admit; a massive open square with a single bronze statue of a man on horseback standing atop a monument in the centre, with a multitude of other statues visible along its outer edge. On the north side was the Government Palace, or Saaral Ordon in Mongolian, while on the western side, there were numerous banking and administration buildings. The eastern side had a shopping mall, as well as a large theatre of the arts and opera house, while Jean's own hotel was located in the commercial district to the south.

"The statue on the central monument is of Damdin Sükhbaatar, the Father of Mongolia's Revolution, while the statues in front of the Saaral Ordon are of Genghis Khan, Ögedei Khan and Kublai Khan." Khulan informed Jean. "The more famous statues around the edge are of Sambuu Jamsrangiin, the former President of the Mongolian People's Republic for twenty years. His statue is in the north-western corner, while another famous one is across the street from the Post Office in the south-western corner, a statue of Zorig Sanjaasurengiin, who was assassinated three days before he would have been sworn in as Prime Minister in 1998. He was known as the Golden Swallow of Democracy due to his efforts in turning Mongolia's governing body into a multi-party political system."

"You sure know your stuff." Jean offered with a grin.

"My family has always believed in the importance of knowing our history." the Shamaness replied. "I was brought here often since I was a little girl, to help me put a face to the names I was learning about. It helped, I think."

"I'm sure it did." the redhead agreed, before both she twitched and Khulan visibly flinched, both magical women reacting to a sudden wave of magic washing over them and everyone else in the square and surrounding buildings. The magic felt different than any Jean had encountered before; it felt foul, diseased even, and tainted with a deep and unnatural malevolence. Jean felt herself instinctively starting to growl as she began to search for the source of that vile sensation.

Suddenly, as if they were puppets whose strings had all been cut at once, every non-magical being in the square collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The same thing occurred in the surrounding buildings, including the centre of the Mongolian Government.

"What the fucking hell was that!?" Jean snarled out, her mind already reaching toward her Authorities. The magical pressure around her was already starting to build to a dangerous level due to her agitation.

"That…that was Sorcery, Your Majesty!" Khulan choked out, practically gagging on the air from the feel of that awful power, even as her eyes darted across the square. A Sorcerer, in her home country, in her city, was not something she had ever imagined to be possible. It was a nightmare to contemplate, and she had no idea what to do! Looking toward the clearly agitated Godslayer, she quickly decided what needed to be done.

"I…what are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Placate the clearly angry tyrant before she decided to level her home.

"Contact your superiors as quickly as possible and inform them of what his happening." Jean barked out, eyes still darting across the square. "Have them dispatch Shamans to counter whatever magic caused this as quickly as possible. Modify the memories and erase any camera footage of what happened to make sure no ordinary people realize what happened."

Her eyes hardened. "Meanwhile, I'm going to hunt down this Sorcerer and…"

"No need for that Godslayer, I am already here." a man stated calmly as he suddenly appeared in front of the two women. He wore a white hooded robe emblazoned with over a dozen black swastika symbols across the chest, legs, arms and hood, with a uniquely circular version surrounded by a black circle resting over his heart. The top half of his face was concealed by a carved wooden mask with numerous small swastikas engraved across it. The only visible flesh on the man was on his lower face, which was visibly discoloured, wrinkled and covered with several dark liver spots. Pinned to his robes at the base of his throat was a small, diamond-shaped ruby.

"And who are you, little man?" the Campione asked, voice calm but eyes dark as she stared down the Sorcerer opposite her.

"I am known as Helmut Brandt, Campione." the man sneered, his voice creaky, like a rusty door hinge, but tainted with an audible venom. "I will offer you only one warning, leave these lands or the people of this mewling country shall suffer for it!"

Jean simply regarded the man with icy eyes before calmly raising a single hand towards him. "Disciples of Artemis, bestow upon me worthy arrows with which to hunt my foe!"

In an instant, dozens of silver arrows formed and flew through the air before quickly riddling the form of the man who'd called himself Helmut Brandt. With a small detonation of darkness, he vanished along with the arrows.

"Y-Your Majesty?!" Khulan asked in shock.

"That was not a man, just some sort of decoy or clone." the Scottish Campione responded shortly. "I will not waste my time talking to a man who does not have the courage to speak to me face to face. Still, we know we're hunting a cautious one now, to use a spell of that kind. He's well aware what would happen should he face me head on, so he's likely to try and play silly buggers and hide in Ulaanbaatar. Even with that gaudy robe of his, finding one man amongst one-point-three million people isn't going to be easy."

Ulaanbaatar was home to nearly half of the population of Mongolia, which meant finding one specific person amongst them was nigh-impossible unless you knew exactly where to look, made even worse considering how many people lived in yurts (gers in Mongolian) just outside of the city.

"We…the Golden Ones shall aid you in your hunt, Your Majesty. I know we have several artefacts that should be of use in tracking a practitioner of foul sorcery." the Shamaness gulped. She suddenly realized why Campione were truly 'tyrants' by nature. Now that Jean had let it slip its leash, her nature was all too apparent. This was a being that DEMANDED respect, that commanded her attention with her presence alone. She couldn't even think of disobeying the Campione at the moment.

Still, she pressed on. "Ah…was that a spell of the Hermetic School you just used?" she asked, trying to divert the Godslayer's attention away from her mounting anger before she did something…drastic.

"Eh? Oh, yes. I had Rebecca, my Hearth Witch, teach me some basic Hermetic spells for when my Authorities are very literal overkill." Jean replied distractedly. "Now, how about you start contacting your superiors and start getting them involved in tracking down this sorcerer, hm?"

"At once!" Khulan quickly drew an old flip-phone (she couldn't stand smartphones because they were battery hogs and too delicate) from her pocket and opened it, hitting a number and then call, so she quickly connected to the personal phone of her organization's leader.

"My Lord, we have a situation here…!"

Hovering above the peak of one of Ulaanbaatar's four mountains, the Bogd Khan Mountain, Guinevere smiled thinly as one of her puppets made his move. Next to her, the form of Lancelot shifted uneasily, unhappy with the actions his charge was taking.

"Now then, Godslayer, thou shalt indeed display all you are capable of to Guinevere and Sir Knight." the Divine Ancestor whispered. "And once you do, the Ceremony shall begin."

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Next Chapter: Sorcerer Encirclement in Ulaanbaatar

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