Chapter 28: Broom attack!
"Come on, move that lazy ass!" Croix screams at me while I keep running through the obstacle course she made before hand; jumping over lava pits, escalating walls that literally crumble as I pass, and evading rock columns that suddenly rise from the ground. Just the usual warm up.
I'm not gonna lie and say it's easy and totally pleasant; it's still dangerous and a real pain in the ass, but… I guess I'm getting used to it. More so now that I train almost daily, only taking two days off each week. Croix seems to be pleased by my efforts though, so it's been worth it so far. Oh! And now I can sustain Vega varulus for almost ten minutes without passing away! So, yeah, I'm getting better now.
Finally, after kicking away a rock that Croix threw at me (kicking rocks still hurt, although Croix says it shouldn't at this point, so I don't say anything), I arrive to the New Moon tower, which was our destination today. Usually we'd train at the clearing just a bit further into the forest, but Croix insisted a change of scenery would keep me from falling into a rut, so here we are.
However, I only get a few seconds to regain my breath and drink some water before Croix is yelling at me again.
"Come on, what are you? A turtle? We don't have all day, you slowpoke!"
"Jeez, Croix! Chill out, will you? We're just starting!" I protest, glaring up at my friend who is hovering on her broom.
"I need to be strict if you're going to survive today's training." She answers with a rather sinister smirk. I can only gulp in response.
"… Survive?" I end up asking fearfully.
"Oh, yes. This one will be tougher than usual." She continues, still wearing an amused and evil expression. "Basically, you're going to climb the New Moon tower all the way to the Sorcerer's stone."
"Uh… okay?" I mean, it's not like I've ever done something like that, since we usually use our brooms, and sure, the New Moon tower has a lot of stairs, but I was expecting something a little more extreme.
"Without using the stairs." She finishes, smiling maliciously.
"What?!"
"Oh, and while a dozen of brooms carrying guns attack you."
"WHAT?!"
"And also crows, oh! And the bombs falling from the windows."
"T-that's… that's crazy!" I protest, though I already know it's futile.
"Yeah, I thought so too." She shrugs. "But hey, it's in the books. Can't argue with that."
"I'm starting to think you just want to see me dead." I pout.
"Now, why would I want that?" She asks innocently. "After all, we are best friends, right?" I don't know why even as she says that, I can't help thinking she's taking revenge for something. But at the same time I know she's just trying to help me. In her own weird manner.
"Please don't let me die." I end up saying.
"I make no promises." She smirks.
Climbing up the New Moon tower isn't as bad as I feared, all thanks to my increased muscle mass. I just have to reach out with my arms and pull, and steady myself with my legs. Well… I also have to be mindful of how small the handholds actually are. But thankfully they're quite abundant.
At first, it's all about getting used to climbing, so Croix just hovers above me not making any movements. But as soon as I am higher off the ground than the surrounding trees, all hell breaks loose. Quite literally.
The first attack comes from a broom zooming towards me at light speed with the clear intention of knocking me off. Thankfully I've been working on my speed and reflexes lately, because I'm certain a month ago I wouldn't have been able to evade that! But after I jump out of the way I don't have time to breathe at all, because suddenly about ten crows come from above and start attacking me with their beaks and claws. I manage to evade them for a while, jumping around the tower, kicking them away and even punching them while supporting my whole weight with my other hand, but… they're robotic crows. Of course they're robotic crows! And so, they aren't even fazed by my counterattacks.
And you know what's even worse? I tried to ascend faster, hoping to end this nightmare sooner, but instead now I also have to avoid the explosive flasks falling from above! Damn. I need to get rid of these stupid crows!
Quickly, I get out my wand. I was hoping to be able to save Vega varulus for later, to be honest, since I still can't last very long with that spell, but I don't see another option here. I won't be able to get rid of those mechanical crows with only my natural strength, so a spell is a must. Plus, with the power of strengthening magic I should be able to ascend faster and easier… right?
Well, I hope so.
"Vega varulus!" I quickly cast the spell as I continue to avoid all the attacks being thrown at me, and thankfully this time I'm able to react a lot faster and avoid quite a few pecks from those stupid birds and explosions from the flasks.
I keep jumping and jumping, up, then left, then right, then left again, trying to get a break in order to prepare a proper attack against those crows, but they keep coming at me, apparently out of nowhere, and even with Vega varulus there's just so much I can do. And let me tell you, being hit repeatedly with metal claws and beaks is no fun at all. Actually, my clothes already look like rags and there's even a few stains of blood coming from the cuts they gave me. Thankfully, nothing too deep of cripplingly painful… yet.
Well… time to throw strategy out of the window, I guess!
And so, I start flailing my arms and legs like crazy with all the strength I have, just trying to end this fight as soon as possible. Thankfully, I do manage a few hits, hearing the satisfying crunch of metal being absolutely destroyed under my enhanced strength. But… uh… wow, it hurts! Who would have thought that hitting metal would hurt so much?
But at least I do get rid of some of those annoying robots, and soon enough I'm able to ascend more consistently, only having to defend myself a couple of times every minute. Actually, I'm getting near the middle of the tower! But now I face a new dilemma: should I cancel the spell or keep going like this? Like, I know I'm already near my limit with Vega varulus. I can feel it within my limbs, which are trembling more the more time passes. But I also know… I've already used too much energy. As soon as I end the spell I'll collapse, and that's not an option when you're so high off the ground! But then again, if I keep going the spell will probably end itself once I'm almost out of energy, and I won't have control of when that will happen. Ugh! What to do?!
As if wanting to make things worse, seven small brooms suddenly come flying down from above, and they… they have guns? And they're firing powerful blasts of magic at me!
I try getting out of the way, but they're faster than the crows, and too many for me to take on. Not to mention, they aren't getting close enough for me to hit them, and they keep firing like they have infinite ammo! It doesn't even seem like they need to recharge!
I'll need to have a serious talk to Croix if I survive! I wasn't anywhere near prepared enough for this!
Just then, I'm not fast enough while evading one of the blasts being fired at me, and I end up taking a direct hit to my shoulder. The force of the impact combined with the burning pain quickly spreading through the zone, unsurprisingly makes me let go of the ledge I was holding on to, though I manage to keep my grip with my other hand… for all of two seconds, because the other brooms take this moment of weakness to attack me, effectively blasting me off the tower.
I take several hits to my other arm, my face and chest, and soon I'm falling towards the ground. Everything hurts. My body is on fire. And I can barely keep my eyes open. Has the spell wore off? I try grabbing into something to stop my fall, but it's like my fingers are made of butter. All I can see above me is the blue sky and the brooms following me even as I fall. And then… nothing.
I wake up to someone calling my name, but I wished I had stayed asleep! Everything hurts and I'm trembling, from pain or exhaustion? Probably both. I don't feel like I could lift a finger if I tried, but I doubt the pain would let me do it anyway.
"Chariot, answer me! Can you talk?" I hear Croix's panicked voice. Wait… Croix? Oh! That's right. I was so disoriented I didn't recognize her at first, but she's here, looking down at me with a worried expression.
"C-Croix." I manage to rasp out just one word. My throat is too dry.
"Okay, good. How do you feel?" She keeps asking apprehensively.
"I'm… sore." I know that's the underestimation of the century, but I don't have the energy to say I'm extremely tired and with crippling pain that feels more like thousands of fire red needles are imbedded in every inch of my body.
"I'm sorry." She says, wearing a truly regretful expression. "I know it was too much for you, but that's how the training goes. Honestly, I didn't expect you to make it halfway to the top on your first time." She gives me a tiny smile, and I try to mirror it. But I would have felt better if I had actually made it to the top.
"Did you save me?" I ask.
"I had implemented a spell beforehand to cushion your fall when it inevitably happened." She nods. "And I cured your wounds… as much as I could anyways. Like I said, I'm not an expert on healing magic."
"I see." I smile. Croix, always so thoughtful. Honestly, if it was the other way around, I probably wouldn't have even thought to implement safety measures beforehand. "Thank you." I say, moving my hand, despite the pain, to grab Croix's. She seems surprised at first, but then goes to grip me tightly as well.
"I'm truly sorry, Chariot. I wished the training wasn't so hard."
"Yeah… but I guess to achieve something I really do have to give it my all, huh?" I chuckle, remembering the meaning of the second word. I feel like I have to honor it, now that I've unlocked it, otherwise I'd feel unworthy of the rod. But yeah, I too wish the training wasn't so hard.
"You did well." Croix says, raising a hand like she wants to touch my face, but hesitates for a moment, until I give her a nod and an encouraging smile, and she finally places her hand on my cheek as she keeps staring at me intently. Still with worry, but also… something else. Something more tender that I can't really decipher.
"Do you think next time I could do it? Get to the top?" I find myself asking.
"Honestly? No." I pout at her mean answer, but she just chuckles. "You still need more training, but I have no doubt one day you'll manage."
"If I do, will you give me a prize?" I joke.
"Make it to the top first, and then we'll talk." She answers, rolling her eyes. "But for now, I think we should really get you to your room. You need rest and you thankfully have the whole weekend to do just that."
"How will we explain this to Amelia and Karen?" I ask, pointing to my clothes, full of cuts and blood stains.
"Uh… okay, maybe we should get you cleaned up and with new clothes, and then go to your room. We don't want them to have a heart attack."
"… Yeah, I still think today's training was too harsh." Akko complained, pouting at her teacher, who had even told her a whole story trying to get her on a good mood again while she kept trying to heal her wounds… which was proving to be quite a task since apparently Akko had one broken leg. And Ursula had no idea how to cure that.
"B-but… there weren't crazy mechanical crows, or brooms with guns." The teacher argued, not wanting to feel even worse about the incident then she already was.
"Yeah, but… moving trees? Seriously? How was I supposed to deal with that?!" The girl kept complaining, having to bite down a scream when her teacher applied some potion on a particularly nasty scratch she had on her forearm.
"I'm sorry, Akko." She answered, truly regretful. "I thought after yesterday session you'd be able to handle this a little better."
"I almost died yesterday!" She retorted, remembering those stupid rock golems that kept chasing her around. And sure, they were small, slow and clumsy, but against ten of them? She'd barely escaped alive! Those things hit hard.
"You managed to smash three of them." Ursula gently reminded her. "And you barely had more than a few bruises at the end."
"Yeah, whatever." She pouted grumpily. "At least the training is paying off. Yesterday I almost beat Amanda in arm wrestling."
"Oh?" Ursula paused her cleaning of the girl's wounds and looked at her with a surprised expression. "That's good news, Akko!" After all, Amanda might not be the strongest by any stretch, but she was still quite strong when compared to most girls.
"Well… almost might be too strong of a word." She then admitted sheepishly. "She… okay, she still destroyed me. But I lasted five more seconds than last time!"
"Ah, I see." She laughed. Yeah, that sounded more accurate. "Still, progress is progress, and I'm sure you'll be beating her in no time."
"Of course! I'll be as strong as my sensei!" Akko exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air… only to wince a second later when she felt her muscles hurting. "Ow, ow, ow!"
"Take it easy, Akko!" But Ursula didn't have time to panic too much because just then someone knocked at the door, making her deviate her attention from the Japanese student. "Oh… I see the expert has arrived." She smiled mysteriously.
"Expert?" Akko asked, but instead of answering Ursula got up and went to open the door, revealing on the other side… Diana? What was she doing here?
"Good morning, Professor." Diana greeted her, as formal and proper as ever.
"Ah, Diana." She smiled. "Thanks for coming. Please come in."
Once Ursula stepped aside and let the young prodigy enter. The girl's eyes immediately landed on Akko… and all the wounds that were on her body.
"Akko!" She exclaimed, rushing to get to her friend's side. "What happened?" She asked as she took one of her arms and started examining it, her eyes staying on her bruises and scratches a bit longer than necessary.
"Uh… hi." Akko laughed awkwardly. Seriously, sometimes Diana got more apprehensive whenever she got hurt than her sensei herself. "Don't worry, it looks worse than it is." She tried to reassure her, only to receive a killer glare that made her swallow loudly.
"I'll be the one to decide that." She pretty much snarled. "Now I ask again: what happened?"
"I… got in fight with a tree?" Akko ended up saying, though it sounded more like a question. "And it won."
"Akko!" Diana chastised her. Now, she still wasn't sure how one could fight with a tree, but if someone was to be the first to do it, it certainly seemed fitting to be Akko.
"Oh, don't worry Diana." Ursula finally interfered. "I already cured most of her wounds, but her broken leg is giving me trouble, and I was hoping you could help me with that."
"Of course." The Cavendish heir easily replied. "But I will need some ingredients. Repairing broken bones requires a rather advanced potion."
"I see. Why don't you give me a list and I go get them while you keep an eye on Akko?" Okay, so maybe she was kinda playing matchmaker. But so what? It was true that Akko needed the help. And she wasn't about to leave the reckless girl alone with a broken leg.
"Yes. That would be perfect. Thank you, professor." The Cavendish girl answered before getting up and going to write a surprisingly long list of ingredients. Ugh. She'd have to ask Lukić for most of them and… yeah. She had never been on the best of terms with the old hag. The things she did for her students!
And so, without wasting a second longer, the teacher got out running from the Astronomy tower, leaving the two teenagers alone.
A few moments of awkward silence passed with Akko just sitting there and Diana staring at the door, but then the blonde girl finally turned around and gave Akko a stern look that instantly made her know she was in trouble.
"Will you please tell me exactly what happened? I know you're reckless but I doubt you'd manage to get that hurt just from hitting a tree." She said coldly.
"I wasn't being reckless, okay?!" Akko defended herself, puffing out her cheeks. "I-… I was just…" She mumbled the last part, purposely being too quiet for Diana to actually hear her.
"What was that?" She asked again, clearly unamused, as she placed her hands on her hips in an intimidating posture.
"Nothing!" She ended up saying. Yeah, she wasn't telling Diana of all people that she was practicing a forbidden form of magic. "Why does it matter anyways? You'll just give me a potion and I'll be as good as new."
"Because this isn't the first time, is it?" She pretty much spat, positively radiating anger. "Don't think I haven't noticed the scratches, the bruises, the… the little limp you sometimes have." She paused, looking to the side with a sad expression. "I just… I'm afraid something will happen and I'll lose you, like…" She left that phrase hanging, unwilling to finish. Unshed tears shone in her eyes and the sight made Akko's heart clench painfully once she realized the implication.
Diana… she didn't want to lose her like she'd lost her mother. Why hadn't she seen it sooner? She thought she was just being a worrywart, overly cautious and dramatic, but… yeah. Now she could see clearly.
"I'm sorry." Akko said with a small voice. But in response, Diana simply took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating like she wanted to literally will her own tears away. Finally, after a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and have Akko a sad look.
"I… I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just…"
"Yeah, I know." She cut her off. "Don't worry, it's fine."
"I just want to help, I promise. I'd feel better knowing what you've got yourself into this time, so that I can assist you if you need me."
Akko bit her lip. She didn't want to lie, but then again, she didn't want to tell the truth either. Would Diana stop her from practicing strengthening magic? Yeah, probably. But she didn't want to keep hurting her, and honestly? Diana's friendship was more important to her than becoming as strong as Chariot, so…
"Okay, sit down." She sighed, patting the spot next to her on the couch. "I'm afraid I'll have to tell you everything."
"Everything?" She asked confused, but still obeyed and took a seat next to Akko.
"Yep. Everything about strengthening magic and how freaking awesome Chariot is!"
"Strengthening magic?!" She shrieked. "Akko, don't tell me you're…?"
"Yep! And by the end of my story I bet you'll want to learn it yourself!"
"I doubt it, but please go on." She answered, her face appearing even paler than usual. "I should have asked the Professor to get me a calming herb as well. Something tells me I'll need it after this."
But Akko only giggled in response and started telling her everything about how Chariot had learned strengthening magic, as well as her own reasons to learn it herself and how the training had gone so far.
And yes, by the end of if, Diana was almost having a panic attack.
A/N: Sorry for the late update. I have been having writer's block lately, so the chapters might start coming a bit slow :P. On the bright side, however, next arc is gonna be BIG and AWESOME, if I do say so myself XD. Anyways, thanks for reading and see you soon :)
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.
