It's been a long wait however I hope to make this worth the read and that your words will bring back my passion into this fanfiction. Every word, and I mean every word of positivity means so much to me. So as for the reason it's been since October, I have been losing myself in my Job and the Gym. I got promoted to Sales Manager and am continuing gradual training to gain that position. As for the gym I got to 405LBS on Deadlift woohooo! And finally the main reason why it has taken me so long is because I lost allot of my drive and I didn't know how to write this chapter to honor the characters while adding new content, so I hope this chapter does them justice.
Now onto the comments.
To Warfstache14: I am happy to give you another chapter and yes I will keep up with the references haha!
To Guest: Sorry no upload schedule, but my goal as of this chapter is two chapters per month.
To Illya Emiya: Rudeus didn't exist in the plague world that Elizabeth took him to. Rudeus is a very rare coincidence in the multiverse. And yeah Rudeus might have some compassion for the other character I am having Rudeus meet if I choose to show him what Perseus's world looks like and where he comes from. Maybe in the form of peering into his memories, might be worth a future chapter.
To suckstobeacritic: Sorry you see them that way, I won't have them flex their powers too much which should help, I hope you will begin to like them as I go more in depth with explaining their backround and the mechanics of their abilities, especially Perseus. And with this chapter no the story has not been dropped.
To Guest 1: Are you winning son? Rudeus suffers from panic attack due to stress haha.
To Guest 2: Nope not abandoned.
To Dragoon109: I know he isn't responsible for the teleportation event, but I will explain later why in fact he is a symptom of the event.
To grimmouse197: You are right it does make it awkward to switch from 3rd to 1rst person. I will ask at the end for a poll to see If I should go first or third person from now on after this chapter.
To Oechsner: You ready to read a little bit more haha.
To Guest: I'm not finished yet, not by a long shot, enjoy this chapter : )
To dmitrijbuchholz: Yeah they are pretty powerful, if not outright godlike. There is a barrier that keeps them from altering the cosmos though. Their bodies are the output to which their souls and their supply of mana is connected, if they pore too much mana through their bodies then their bodies will be destroyed in the process, they have adapted to release an incredible amount but they cannot destroy planets. I will also acknowledge this point later on in the story.
To LuluViBritania: The only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed -Zero. Rudeus will use his powers responsibly but with allot of versatility like before. Also thanks for pointing out the misspell, I will proof read twice as much.
To A cultured man: A cant wait to give you more epic fights to read.
To guest 3: Thanks for the compliment. I hate it when magic or certain abilities are not explained and it doesn't provide depth whenever a magician pulls whatever kinds of magic out their ass and their only explanation is because magic, duh! I hope I can make the usage of the spells and magic work as well as explaining them.
To guest 4: I hope you enjoy plenty of binges to come from my chapters.
To C21dark Knight: Glad you love the direction this is going.
To Nevarus: I agree, it has controlled me for a large portion of my life but no more.
To Fellbane: Sorry you see him as being edgy, my reason is he wants events to play out in relatively the same way but make the outcome better through unnoticed actions. Too much display of his powers would get him the wrong type of attention. You have my word though that when he decides to show his power he will be epic and monstrous in his might.
To SSj3gohan007: Sorry that you have been dying for so long due to lack of story and content, and thanks for the spelling corrections.
To Aaron-Maron: Glad you love the story.
To JkingSniper: I plan on writing smut and lemon in the future but I don't see Ghislaine as being apart of Rudeus's harem, Eris would be disgusted by it I believe. Like a man that fucking his girlfriends sister.
To HyperspaceGamer: Accidental one but it can still be in the story as it doesn't affect major plans, it will also get Rudeus to realize his lack of resolve, which will be explained later.
To AndrewF35: It's taken a long time but now the fun is about to really get started.
To Bustnjust9: Wow two days! Glad your addicted, have some more content! Glad you like it.
To Trujillangel3: It's not just your imagination haha XD prepare to be amazed!
To Mattroxursoul: I want Perguis and Rudeus to get off on the wrong foot at first like before, only this time Rudeus might have to fight the Dragon King. And to address your concerns all the characters will have flaws wither internal or external which will be address in the slow quite moments of the upcoming chapters.
To MarsUltor45: Glad you love the story and the build up!
To Krkovichsa: The miko of time is still responsible for the teleportation event which I intend for Perseus to reveal to Rudeus.
To Druss the Legend: You should read the light novels! They are so good! I have read everything I can get my hands on for Jobless Reincarnation. Many of the main characters of many steps ahead of their canon counterparts. And you have my word Rudeus will cut loose. As for coherent chapter I intend to keep things progressing with the reader in mind, I wont leave you or anyone in the dust with my imagination, or at least that is the hope.
With that being said, here is the next installment! Enjoy!
Sylphy ran through the field to her favorite spot that she and Rudeus would spend their days studying or playing, those days had been years ago but she still held them close to her heart. Running up to their tree that overlooked the country side Hollow was there sitting like an ever watching guardian, overtime he had become less creepy and was very gentle with his behavior around the green haired girl. He didn't allow himself to be seen with Sylphy by the other children in the village if they were nearby for fear that they would bully her believing she was coercing with another Superd or some rumor like that.
He came by normally once or twice a month to deliver a letter from Rudeus or take a letter from Sylphy and send it off to the boy.
"Good morning Hollow." Sylphy said smiling at the skinny wraith like creature wrapped in bandages.
"Good morning Ms. Sylphy." Hollow smiled and high fived her when she offered her hand to him.
"Yay!" She beamed at him, he wasn't such a bad person once people got to know him but lately things seemed to be bothering the creature for some unknown reason. When she tried to press him he just responded with. "It's something Rudeus and I will have to deal with soon."
Hollow pulled out a letter showing it to Sylphy for her to open. She accepted it and quickly realized this wasn't Rudeus's handwriting. It was a letter from a person named Philip Boreas Greyrat, mayor of Roa.
"I've never gotten a letter from someone so important." Sylphy said as she carefully took off the wax seal reading the contents.
To Sylphiette
I, Philip Boreas Greyrat, esteemed mayor of Roa
Invite you to Rudeus's surprise birthday party. Please dress in formal attire and hold high standards when attending. Rudeus has mentioned you once or twice as a longtime friend of his and he expressed he would like to see you in the near future. As his birthday is approaching and will be happening within two months I felt it would be proper to invite you in secret unbenounced to him. I have also sent out an invitation to Rudeus's father Paul and the rest of his family. Preparations for travel have already been arranged and a carriage will be arriving at Paul's house one week before Rudeus's birthday party.
Sincerely the Boreas Family.
"Well Sylphy?" Hollow said peering over the young girls shoulder.
She smiled gleefully. Words themselves could not express the excitement and anxiety that she held within herself at the prospect of meeting Rudeus again after so long.
Sylphy herself did agree with the idea that Paul wanted to separate her and Rudeus in order for them to grow, she would have relied on him too much and not done anything to develop her own magic. Speaking of which her mana capacity had increased dramatically since the last time Rudeus and her had practiced. Hollow would practice with her sometime and help her with flying lessons, giving advice on occasion. She could fly high above the clouds with a combination of wind and fire magic, condensing the air around her to keep herself from freezing at the high altitude while at the same time preventing her from losing consciousness from the lack of air at that level of atmospheric pressure.
She clutched the letter as she shot up in the air concentrating balls of fire and rock into the palms of her hands. When she went above the cloud line she fired the magic from her hands as dozens of fireworks exploded around her.
"I'm going to see Rudeus!" She screamed out.
Sylphy then released all the magic and she entered into a free fall back toward the earth stopping herself from falling to her demise a good distance from the ground as to not worry Hollow.
"You seem to be excited." Hollow said cracking a smile behind her.
"I am Hollow, I am very happy. Thank you for the letter, thank you." She reached out her arms and embraced his leg as he towered above her. He patted her head and then picked her up in his boney hands.
She did not fear him and she knew he would be gentle with her as he embraced her fully.
"I will see you soon Sylphy." Hollow whispered. He let her down and before he flew off he looked back at her. "And remember this is Rudeus's birthday party so please be on your best behavior and do not get jealous!" Hollow yelled leaving Sylphy confused. 'What does he mean by me being jealous?' She thought.
The days were far to slow at that point as she waited in anticipation for Rudeus's birthday. The only times where time went by faster was when she was working on her present for Rudeus with her father. A pendant that Rudeus could wear that was a symbol of protection in the tradition of the elves.
Her father looked sadly at the pendent as he continued to carve and shape the design. Despite him being an outcast among the elves because of Sylphy's unknown Grandmother he still held a level of longing and therefore carried parts of the culture along with him. This was his way of remembering his childhood in a way before he was banished from the great forest.
According to her father Elves were incredibly secluded from the rest of the world. Whenever anyone saw an elf their ears stood out immediately and they lived incredibly long lives, in fact Sylphy wondered if they even aged at all.
Rudeus was a human, and Sylphy was part elf. If they did end up together she doubted she would ever get over the fact that Rudeus would pass on before her but she knew it was a reality if the two of them developed a stable safe life.
"Are you alright Sylphy? You're not as passionate as I normally see you when you want to spar?" Paul said. Sylphy was sparing with Rudeus's father Paul that day using a wooden sword provided by the Greyrat. Sylphy's father watched from the distance wanting to make sure Paul would not injure her too much in the sparring. Sylphy originally was met with resistance from her parents when it came to the request of sparring lessons with Paul but they did know Paul well and that he could be trusted, the concern was that Sylphy would be hurt or worse develop a cocky attitude. However they knew deep down Sylphy would never become someone like that, she was meek, mild, and never spoiled because of her financial situation at home, even if she had become more confident and bold lately. She wouldn't be the type of person that looked down on others when she grew up.
"I'm fine Mr. Greyrat, just thinking." She said as she swung her sword again followed by a quick side step as she evaded a quick slash from Paul's practice sword.
"Thinking can get you killed in a life or death situation. You should make your resolve before the fight starts so you carry through with it like it is natural to you to commit to an action. Pause for a second." Paul backed away and Sylphy got an opportunity to catch her breath.
"Close your eyes."
She did as instructed.
"Clear your thoughts and focus on what you want. You want to beat me in this fight. You need to in order to make it out alive, I am your enemy. Now find your resolve, picture what you want to see most and that picture will never become reality if you are killed. Do you see what makes you want to live?"
She nodded. As she saw was Rudeus laughing with her as they both studied magic together or ran through the fields of wheat, the most wholesome memories she could think of that made her stomach fill with butterflies and her heart beat with strength.
"Now, you know who I am, you know how I fight. I use Sword god style to strike, water god to evade, deflect, and counter, and I finally use North God to become unpredictable. I can use dangerous combinations in order to win this fight. Now, what do you have to use against me to your advantage?" Paul said as Sylphy still kept her eyes closed. She knew the answer, her advantage was her magic. She could use it to destroy Paul by summoning a huge ball of fire and dropping it on his head but she didn't want to do that.
Rudeus was smart and he used his magic tactically, offering unique ways to provide an outcome of the fight that he desired. If Paul was given enough time to react then he would come up with a counter, so her plan was to continue throwing surprises at him.
She opened her eyes knowing what she was going to do. She was going to beat Paul.
Sylphy ran forward and Paul swung aiming to the girls shoulder. But she knew that was what he would do.
The ground dissipated underneath her feet as she fell down a hole where her whole body disappeared. Paul on instinct alone leapt to the side and his instincts proved correct as the area he was standing on shot up into the air as a huge chunk of the earth was propelled far into the sky. Paul at that point would have had no leverage or advantage since his feet would not be firmly planted on the ground but would be in a freefall instead.
He tried to move again but he was stuck, both of his feet were an ankle deep in mud and he couldn't turn or twist to evade a strike from the back properly. A classic move from Rudeus to gain the advantage in mobility.
"That's where you will strike." Paul whispered. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up and he felt the killing intent along with where it was aimed.
He didn't have the ability to turn but he still had the ability to duck forward or backward and twist his upper body with his spine.
He made a split second decision to learn backward as a wooden sword slashed in the space that was occupied by his body a second ago. He saw Sylphy as she leapt over her him but before she could get out of his radius of attack he grabbed her ankle with his hand and pulled her down into the mud that she created using her own spell to trap her.
He swung with his sword intending to tap the back of her head with the pummel to demonstrate a clear indication of victory.
Then he saw something he had never seen from another mage. She cast magic out of her foot in a stream of air that ripped her ankle out of the man's grip while simultaneously launching Paul out of the mud and skipping along the solid ground.
"Dammit her combinations make her hard to predict." Paul grumbled as he shook his head. The pain from rolling on the ground wasn't sever but it did hurt his head a little as he tried to regain his focus.
He stood up and looked around but Sylphy was nowhere to be seen. He looked over at Rawls, Sylphy's father, to cheat a little bit and try and find where Sylphy had gone to. But Rawls was looking up into the sky oddly enough, his mouth agape as if he was looking at a weirdly shaped cloud. Paul looked up too and saw a single black speck floating just underneath the line of clouds. Four jets of blue fire, two on either side, were around the speck. Then it shot down with tremendous speed.
Large blades of ice formed in front of the black speck. Soon they looked like arrows that darkened the sky. Then they developed to such a point that several layers of the ice formed. The area around the Greyrat house was covered by the dark shadow of the blades of ice. Paul ran over and grabbed his sword, jumping on top of his house with the mindset to break as many of the ice spears as he could to protect his family inside.
"AHHHHH!" Paul screamed rooting his stance as he was ready to swing with all his might. Then, just as spontaneously as the ice spears formed they dissipated back into water, then steam erupted from the particles of water coving the ground in a thick layer of white mist. Paul couldn't even see in front of his hand. His blade felt heavy, then his entire body felt cold as the steam soaked his clothes, then freezing in a think layer of ice as Paul's entire body excluding his head was mummified in the solidified water.
He tried to budge but to no avail. Then a wooden blade thrust forward, tapping his throat. The steam was cast away as Sylphy stood in front of Paul panting but not to a point where she couldn't control the pace of her breathing.
Sylphy, for the first time had won against Paul.
The young girl placed her hand on the ice and it melted instantly back into water.
"Thank you for the sparring Mr. Greyrat." Sylphy bowed and turned around hopping back into the ground from the top of the roof.
"Sylphy wait!" Paul said snapping out of his daze. She turned around to face the man as he hoped down in front of her.
"Yes sir?"
"Where did you learn to fly?" Paul asked desperately.
"Oh yeah. Rudeus taught me to, he taught me to control fire and air to propel me into the air, after some time I got really good at it when I kept practicing. I promised him I wouldn't do this in front of other people but I slipped up when you were about to hit me with your sword back there in the mud. I wanted to win." She beamed at the man and then caught herself before her pride got any bigger, it wasn't every day that a 9 year old beat a veteran adventurer, no less one skilled in all three of the sword styles.
"Mr. Greyrat." Sylphy said.
"Yes Sylphiette?" Paul said, still looking glum from his defeat.
"I wouldn't have been able to win with the sword alone, you are strong, allot stronger than me when it comes to that. I hope you can see that and still have pride in that regard." Sylphy beamed her brightest smile to try and cheer the man. She then leapt into his arms to whisper some final words into his ears.
"Rudeus owes allot of the things he does to you, for providing him a teacher, and for supporting his growth. And because of that Rudeus had the ability to give me the knowledge and courage that I used to win this duel. In other words Mr. Greyrat, I owe all my strength and abilities to you. Without you I would still be that meek, defenseless little girl. Thank you." She let go of him leaving the man to contemplate when she had just said.
"Bye Mr. Greyrat!" Sylphy said waving as her father lifted her up onto his shoulders. She would have some explaining to do about her abilities to both her father and mother thought when they got back home.
Paul sat down on the ground twiddling a few strands of grass between his fingers, feeling the texture and the fluttering sound they made. He was deep in his thoughts as to what Sylphy had just told him, but the biggest thing that wrapped around his mind was the curiosity at how powerful Rudeus actually was.
His thoughts were interrupted when Zenith walked next to him and patted his back to support him, if not to aid in the embarrassment that he lost to a child.
"Thank you for taking it easy on Sylphy." Zenith smiled at her husband kissing his cheek.
Paul looked down and saw their young daughter had her arms wrapped around her mothers neck as she was dozing off and on between consciousness. Norn and Aisha spent the better part of the day running around with vigor so they were both exhausted from the extended exercise, playing things such as climbing trees or tag.
Lilia had originally wanted to raise Aisha to be a main but Zenith reminded Lilia that both of their daughters were to be raised equally under Rudeus's instruction. Lilia protested a little bit but ultimately yielded. Paul looked back and saw Lilia and Aisha studying inside. Aisha looked up and waved at her father before returning to the lesson.
"You have raised such fine children, I cannot wait to see what Aisha and Norn become if they take after their brother." Zenith said.
"And get beaten by children two more times? Fat chance." Paul sulked.
"It is our job as parents to raise our children to be better than we once were, to not repeat our mistakes and be stronger because of it. You are doing a fantastic job honey, your children respect and love you."
She said the words that were obvious to Paul but his self image still got in the way of accepting it.
Zenith took notice of it as he wasn't smiling or acknowledging her words, so she let out a deep sigh of resolve and leaned up to Paul's ear.
"Now put your stubborn pride aside before I take it and you up to the bedroom tonight and make you my bitch until dawn." Zenith than grabbed Paul's rear end gripping it with her nails just enough to hurt before turning briskly around and resuming her wholesome composure.
Paul turned back to the woman stunned at her behavior.
"Now come inside honey. Lunch is ready, then we have much to pack for Rudeus's birthday next week. Do you already have his gift ready?"
Paul scratched the back of his cheek as he walked inside to have his fill of food.
Ghislaine was practicing with Eris out in the yard like usual however they didn't have Rudeus to watch the fight. He had been absent for the most part during the past few months and was only seen during Eris's lessons.
"So what do you think Rudeus has been up to recently? His birthday is tomorrow, I hope he doesn't forget about something so important." Eris said as she launched herself again at her mentor, despite having been given several bruises from the warrior she would not yield and continued to get up.
"Focus first on your strategy Eris, do not shift attention off of me and instead fill your head with things you cannot control. I will explain later." Ghislaine spoke in a calm soothing voice, only a few beads of sweat showing on her brow. Eris was continuing to press Ghislaine for several hours now as their sparring became more and more intense.
A moment later they were interrupted by one of the beast maids.
"Lady Eris, Lady Ghislaine. If you will please prepare yourselves we have much to do for our projects tomorrow." The maid said smiling at them.
Both the redhaired girl and the beast woman knew what she was referring to. Rudeus's surprise birthday party, they would need to bathe first before they went to the kitchen otherwise the place would reek of sweet. Eris would of course insist that it was not a big deal but Ghislaine was the voice of reason in that the other maids and head chef would not be able to focus on their duties if the place smelled like a pig stall.
"I do not smell like a pig stall! Rudeus's sniffs me all the time." Eris pouted putting her foot down.
"The reason why Rudeus sniffs you despite your lack of hygiene is because he likes you." Ghislaine said calmly.
"li…li..li.. likes me?! What makes you think that?" Eris said flustered.
"Oh I don't know. Maybe because he is always patient with you, he smiles sweetly at you when you are mad and he accepts your punches when you are really mad. Or the fact that he has formatted your education in such a manner that puts your feelings and desires first. Even though you don't realize it Rudeus has prevented me or that etiquette teacher of yours from filling up every spec of daylight with tutoring."
"That's just because he is a good teacher Ghislaine." Eris refuted, her cheeks puffed out as she denied the obvious.
"No, it's more than that. Until a few months ago he spent some of his free time with you too remember? He would go out shopping with you and me, introduce you to foods that had never before been heard of or tasted like these things called brownies or donuts. He even gave you flowers one day because they reminded him of you. Philip is taking notice of it too however his motives are not factoring in your feelings and yet Rudeus isn't allowing Philip to enact any plans for right now that involve you. There is more to Rudeus than you realize." Ghislaine was firm in her understanding of Rudeus, that being said Rudeus had unveiled allot more to anyone else because he knew she could be trusted to keep quiet.
Eris herself saw Rudeus as a person that could be anything or do anything, however she always felt insecure around him despite being two years older than the soon to be ten years old. She also knew Rudeus had secret projects going on but hoped that someday Rudeus would trust her enough with his plans.
A few hours later Ghislaine pored hot water over the girl as they both sat together in the wooden tub. Eris had heated up the water successfully using her incantationless magic. Over the past two years her development had grown rather well in terms of her abilities, even her mana capacity had grown if only slightly. She asked Rudeus about it and he told her that mana growth slowed down after most people reached the age of ten, but she could still steadily grow it even after going past that age barrier.
"Ghislaine, what do you think about me and Rudeus being together in the future." Eris suddenly blurted out.
The beast woman stopped and looked down at the girl, her eyes were focused on the ripples of the water, it was a semi serious question it would seem.
"Why do you say that Eris?"
"Father, and later on mother were promoting me to be more promiscuous around Rudeus, saying he likes me and things like that. And me being with him would make the family stronger."
Ghislaine then reached out and patted the soaking wet hair of the young girl. Then, gently with her fingertips, reached down to tilt her line of sight directly into Ghislaine's view.
"I don't care what your family wants, I don't care what would make this city stronger. I only care what would make you happy. If you can picture yourself being happy, holding hands with Rudeus and doing all that lovey dovey stuff that you have heard about in those old fairy tales of the adventurer and the princess. Then I think you should go for it. But if you can't picture yourself being happy and only being insecure around Rudeus, then I think you shouldn't. However the choice is yours and yours alone."
"It also has to be Rudeus's choice too right? If he will have me and he really likes me." Eris was doubting that a person like Rudeus would actually like her despite Ghislaine's points. Time would need to mitigate those feelings of insecurity not words of encouragement.
Their thoughts were interrupted by one of the maids fetching them some towels to dry off and help with preparations for tomorrow, Eris could hardly wait as her heart bubbled in a mixture on anticipation and anxiety.
The next day was the big day. Eris was responsible for decorations along with her mother, her father Philip was responsible for the guest list and maintaining discretion as to not raise Rudeus's suspicion that anything was out of the ordinary. That of course was failing miserably as Rudeus looked out his window seeing the maids in the courtyard and rooms running around to get everything perfect.
He sighed knowing if his attempts failed then all of this would be gone.
"You are worried about tomorrow aren't you, this mana calamity?" Ghislaine said tapping her foot from across the table that was adjacent to the window.
"Yes I am, I have spend almost 6 years in direct preparation for tomorrow and better yet my entire life here growing my mana for this very moment. I am worried that much like before, my life, and every one else here, will face a turning point tomorrow."
"And if it does? You mentioned you had plans if things were going to go bad, can you tell me?" Ghislaine asked, she wanted to encourage Rudeus but she needed reassurance that he had a backup plan, and her knowing would allow her to help the people or find Eris's family.
"The original teleportation calamity removed anything living on the surface level or any man made structures. Houses, trees, crops, castles, cobblestone roads, everything was taken and all that remained was just grass."
"And your backup plan?"
"I have constructed a giant magical circle underneath the city, it's purpose over the past year was to make a copy of the area and then activate should the original structure be destroyed or go missing. I did this starting with an apple, making a molecular copy of it contained within the magical circle the apple was placed on and then I removed the apple from the space it was occupying, just like I planned the circle activated and I now had two identical apples in my hands. I then kept increasing the scale until I was sure the process was full proof. However when I tried it on a living animal, like a rat, the copy was identical to the already living rat however it had no soul. I cannot make a perfect living copy if it's something that has a soul, it will just be an empty vessel."
Rudeus took a pause to sip on a cup of wine that he had previously lade on the table.
"I used the same type of circle and made it so it will only copy inanimate objects such as buildings, then I put them underneath every town in the Fittoa region."
"And the people themselves?"
"That is more complicated obviously, I had to recall from memory where people were displaced and I only know of a few people. If we are teleported to the same locations in my previous life Philip and Hilda will be teleported to a warzone near where you will be teleported, they die before you find them. My solution to this originally was to eliminate the people on both sides of the conflict however that might interfere with future plans, not to mention that I hate killing. Therefore I made this."
Rudeus pulled a ring out of his pocket.
"I made it using the inspiration from one of the princesses of Asura. She uses a pair of enchanted rings given to her followers to communicate to them secretly, when twisted the ring and its matching pair will turn a different shade of color but it has a limited range. This ring will flash red and increase in its speed when you are close to it's matching pair, the range is unlimited. I have already given the others to Philip and Hilda telling them they are enchanted to protect them from various poisons and provide protection, I put several magical circles engraved into the rings to provide that, it should convince them to wear the rings on a daily basis."
He passed the ring to Ghislaine and she put it on, examining the details of the magical circles etched into the metal surface. The ring itself was silver and the top of it had a singular ruby.
"Twist the ring upside down when you want to activate it and the ring will begin to flash red, turn in every direction until the ring flashes green, that will be the direction you should run in to find the rings copies."
The beast woman looked back up and Rudeus out of curiosity.
"Why don't you just give us teleportation circles? We would instantly be able to teleport everyone back to where they were original and avoid this catastrophe."
Her reasoning to this was a solid solution, Rudeus would have tried this option himself however he had previous knowledge that told him that failsafe wouldn't work.
"In my previous life the Dragon God Orsted investigated the ground zero or the area that the mana calamity affected and found that all teleportation circles set up by the dragon race no longer worked, despite the circles still being drawn correctly and everything. I didn't want to risk that failsafe not working if I placed similar circles onto every civilian and authority."
Rudeus looked at Ghislaine with seriousness written all over his face.
"Philip is the primary goal to save, I have made dozens of contingences with him to keep the people well fed and to make multiple sources of income abroad. If he lives thousands will survive. I promise to take care of Eris as well as the most people I can using Hollow."
They nodded together solidifying the plan.
"Anything else you want to mention before your not so secret birthday party?"
"There is an unforeseen person that's on his way here, I don't know if he will be here before the teleportation event but I cannot win against him, he is stronger than me, but if I have to fight him I made something to stall him. Let me take care of him Ghislaine if it comes to that and do not let anyone else get involved, I would hate for you or my family to get hurt as collateral."
"Someone more powerful, I can hardly believe it haha." Ghislaine chuckled to herself trying to cheer up the mood. No later had she said that then had one of the maids knocked on the door from outside the hallway.
"Lord Rudeus, Milady Ghislaine, dinner is served, would you please come down to the main hall." Rudeus got up taking the lead.
"Let's go Ghislaine, we have food to eat and memories to make." Rudeus smiled softly at his friend as she got up to walk behind him.
Rudeus entered the dining hall to a burst of applause. He had previously met every person gathered in the room at least once or twice. His family wasn't here or Sylphy but he suspected it was because they were waiting to be a follow up surprise.
The food, the environment was not as extravagant or pretentious but it had the same warmth to it that Rudeus experienced last time. Then he felt something, something he had forgotten a long time ago, the feeling of being loved. It was heart wrenching and so sudden he was struggling to keep himself composed.
"Rudeus, happy birthday!" Eris yelled out. She wore a bright red dress and she handed the boy a bouquet of flowers in her arms.
Then she noticed something odd.
"Rudeus, you're making a weird face, it's all twisted and your eyes are squinted. Is something not to your liking?"
Eris leaned in closer to look at the boy and he could smell her perfume, but the faint smell of sweat never truly went away from Eris's aroma.
In that moment he remembered his entire life being alongside Eris, how they shared a night together after such a long journey. Then their separation and later reunion. All their adventure and time together culminated and he could no longer contain his emotions.
"Thank you. Thank you Eris." Rudeus whispered, he embraced her and held her tightly. Tears flowed heavily down his cheeks as he didn't let go of Eris for a good moment.
"Alphonse, is Rudeus alright? Alphonse explain!"
"I never thought all of you would celebrate like this for me, I'm sorry for crying but I was so worried about messing up, I have been under such stress and I thought many of you hated me at first. But to do all this really makes me happy, thank you, thank you everyone." Rudeus went into a little bit of theatrics to give reason to his tears but his emotions and joy were real, this was one of the most memorable moments of his life.
Eris was rather gobsmacked at this point. Rudeus looked around and saw that much like the first time around all the others in the room had ceased clapping and instead some of them stood with their mouths agape, yup, Rudeus's acting and words were too good it would seem.
"N-no big deal! You are our family now and we wanted to make you feel welcome." Eris said smiling sweetly at Rudeus. "Right? Father? Grandfather? Help me out here."
Sauros rose up and barked out notions of war just like before, speaking of putting Rudeus at the head of the house. No later had he gotten a few words of his opinion had he been tackled by Philip asking for him to restrain his fiery temper.
"PHiliiip! Why do you stand in my way! My own son? Surely Rudeus would be better suited than anyone to be a head of the household than that bastard Philemon!" Sauros's words faded off into the distance as he was dragged away by two guards where he would be forced to listen to reason by his son.
Rudeus tried as hard as he could to restrain a snicker of laughter at the sight he had just witnessed, it was rather comical observing the intense drama of the Boreas family.
"Grandfathers drama aside are you ready to see your birthday presents?"
"Presents." Rudeus could guess what some of these things were, the staff Aqua Heartia but he did know his family was hear and he could only wonder what his father and mother had in store for him.
Eris clapped her hands and the doors on the opposite end of the room opened. A small child in a white coat ran forward and Rudeus could hardly contain his joy at seeing his beloved friend.
"Sylphy? Is that you?" Rudeus's voice began to crack as his joy overflowed. Behind Sylphy was Rudeus's father Paul along with Zenith, Lilia, who held both Norn and Aisha. Paul and Zenith were both carrying boxes finely wrapped in brightly colored paper.
Rudeus ran forward to greet them.
"Rudi!" Sylphy jumped into Rudeus's arms as she laughed with joy.
"It's good to see you too Sylphy." Rudeus smiled as he remembered all the hugs they exchanged over the ages and the joy he felt whenever he saw her. The memories of her at the university of magic, and later on her as a wife and mother to their children, those moments flashed by his mind in quick succession and he felt at peace.
"Who is this?" A voice behind them said, it was irritated and angry, but controlled.
Rudeus looked over to see Eris with her arms folded, her foot tapped heavily on the floor of the room like a drum of war.
"Eris… this is Sylphiette, my childhood friend." Rudeus said.
He then looked around the room and saw many people were trying to keep their whispers unheard or their glances unseen involving the girls green hair.
Rudeus decided to end that gossip before it had time to bloom.
"I met Sylphiette when I was exploring my home village Eris, I found her own the road being beaten by some bullies for her hair color. I leapt in fought them. Please don't worry about her hair color, she isn't a Superd, she is part elf and human and she is really nice."
"Nice to meet you Eris, I'm Sylphiette." Sylphy extended her hand to shake Eris's but she huffed and with a quick motion threw her head to the side in a complete display of rejection at the greeting.
'Eris?' Rudeus thought, and then he realized. 'Eris is jealous!'
This would be a prime opportunity to tease the young girl but Rudeus restrained from saying anything. Instead he walked over to her and hugged her. In their previous life together Rudeus recalled the death stare he would receive if he was kissing either Sylphy or Roxy and Eris felt left out. It was a concern to Rudeus though in this life that Eris would develop a grudge or minor hatred towards Sylphy, seeing her as a rival.
"Thank you for surprising me, it means allot that you went through all this to make this party happy."
"Of..of course Rudeus." It was a smug reply like she was bragging that she did a better job at giving Rudeus a birthday party than Sylphy ever could.
Rudeus looked over to Sylphy and she looked a little disappointed and downtrodden. He recalled at how disappointed she was when he didn't see right through her disguise as Fitz the silent but she didn't respond with anger when she was sad like Eris. So for the time being Rudeus would appease Eris but talk to Sylphy in private after the party in an attempt to ease her nerves.
"Well son I see you are moving fast at getting all the girls attention hahaha!" A familiar voice laughed out.
"Good to see you too dad!" Instead of indulging in his fathers jest Rudeus hopped up and hugged the man, his arms wrapped around in a tight embrace like their tender moment of reconciliation in Millis.
Paul took a moment before he returned the hug smiling back at this son. "Yeah, good to see you too son."
It didn't take long after that point to shake hands or hug the various people that made time to see Rudeus. And then he got to his two sisters.
"Hello Norn, hello Aisha. I'm your big brother Rudeus."
"It's a pleasure to meet you big brother." Aisha said making a graceful bow. Rudeus immediately looked at Lilia with a sharp glare, the dark haired red head knew what that look was. 'Did you forget your promise to not raise your daughter to serve me?' His looked seemed to tell her.
"I raised her properly Lord Rudeus in manners, I will keep my promise to you though." Lilia bowed.
"No need for formality Lilia, you are family." He said giving her a hug.
When Rudeus got to Norn she seemed incredibly nervous and hid behind Zenith. Zenith just smiled understanding that Norn wasn't much of a people person and this was certainly the largest group of people that the child had ever been around before. So Zenith just kissed Rudeus's forehead.
"I'm proud of you Rudeus, I love you so much." Tears were evident at breaking on the young woman's face but she didn't want to make a scene so she held them back.
"I love you too mother."
With tender reunions had and a few tears shed the next thing was presents.
"Originally we thought we should have gotten you a magical staff but Paul's letters insisted that your magic would destroy any staff, it's crazy how strong you are Rudeus if that is true. Anyway we decided on a robe for you instead made from the hide of a rare type of rat. Originally I was disgusted by the idea but Alphonse approved of the gift."
Eris passed a good sized box over to Rudeus, it was grey and wrapped in a red ribbon. When Rudeus opened it he recognized the robe and the fabric. It was the same type of robe granted to him when he began working for Orsted, a robe that decreased the users weight by 1/2 making them feel as light as a feather and it also emitted an aura of mana around the user similar to the affects of a touki. How Eris got her hands on this magical item must have cost a fortune but he wouldn't hold it past her given her grandfathers various connections.
"Well Rudeus! What do you think?" Eris said smiling smugly knowing her gift was great.
"It fits perfectly thank you Eris!" Rudeus embraced the red head once again and she hugged him back.
Next was Paul's gift which was a small dagger that he himself forged alongside a blacksmith, on the side of the blade was engraved the words "my son I am always with you." Which was so sweet and heartwarming that Rudeus began to sniffle and then cry, he remembered the feeling of helplessness in the labyrinth when Paul died and all those visits to Paul's grave in those moments, he didn't want to remember them but regardless they were apart of him and his past.
Then Zeniths gift was an advanced book of alchemy, Rudeus would deposit the book into his library after the party had concluded, Lilia's was a small wooden box with a lid on top, she just winked and Rudeus knew what was inside of the box instantly, Roxy's panties, his goddesses holy cloth.
And last but not lease came Sylphy's present, a small hand carved pendant that could go around Rudeus's neck. It was carved in the style of the elves representing luck and good fortune, a truly heartfelt gift. Rudeus's thoughts were interrupted though.
"You call that a good present? Ha! My present is 100 times better than yours." Eris said smirking at Sylphy, she even had her legs planted shoulder width apart and her arms crossed with her head slightly tilted up to appear taller.
Rudeus was going to scold Eris but that would be unbecoming of him since she was hosting his birthday, maybe Philip or Paul would get involved since they were both the adult figures in the group.
"The price of the present isn't what matters, what matters is we just put our all into showing our appreciation to Rudeus, I am grateful for what everyone has done to show their appreciation." Sylphy stood firm and didn't shrink away from Eris, instead she tried to change the topic while showing gratitude to everyone else. She then looked at everyone in attendance and did a nobles curtsy, her form was perfect and everything.
'Sylphy has certainly grown more confident since I have ever seen her.' Rudeus though with a warm smile.
But Eris wasn't done trying to one up Sylphy.
"It was my idea to plan this whole thing, I asked father for the present and the guests, I asked Alphonse to organize the food, I asked Ghislaine to distract Rudeus today to make this a surprise, I did all of this for him."
"You are taking credit for the actions of others, I am thanking them first since they are the ones that put in the effort, the most you ever did it seems was ask for favors."
Sylphy wasn't backing down either, this was going to get bad knowing Eris if her old habits took hold of her.
As if to immediately address Rudeus's fears Eris reached near one of the tables and grabbed a cream topped cupcake, she then threw the cupcake with perfect aim for Sylphy's face.
The cupcake landed on it's intended target and Sylphy just stood there, then she slowly raised her hand above her head and warm water spewed from her hand with her spell, the flakes of bakery were rinsed off her face as it collected into a ball. It looked like she was about to throw the wet ball of cupcake back at Eris or throw it outside to ease the rising tensions, but she was hesitating.
"ERIS!" Rudeus roared out, he wasn't going to stand idly by and wait for the scene to escalate and the adults to intervene. The young redhead froze instantly and gave him a look. 'What's with that look? I haven't seen her give me that look before.' Then Rudeus realized the look Eris was giving him was one of the same looks that Ars, Eris's and Rudeus's son had given them, shame. It was a culmination of fear, embarrassment and shame and it was one Rudeus had never truly seen from Eris before. Sure there were tears of regret and hardship but nothing to this level.
"I'm sorry I raised my voice Eris, but please, I don't want this party to end and all of your presents mean so much to me. I hope you and Sylphy can get along instead of fighting." Rudeus held Eris's hands to let her know he was truly sorry for not intervening sooner and having to resolve the issue himself. He then turned to Sylphy. Not only that but in Eris's point of view she was in the right as of this moment, it would take time for her to realize her mistake.
"Sylphy I will talk to you later, okay?" Rudeus said, he didn't want to scold her in front of everyone else, that would only bring more drama and gossip, more importantly if he gave her more attention Eris's rage might return. While she hadn't done anything directly wrong like Eris had she still didn't realize that she wasn't trying to resolve Eris's anger, only helping to fan the flames with harsh truth.
Sylphy nodded still looking at Eris with caution in case she decided to throw another cupcake at the green haired girl, but no more cupcakes were launched, instead Eris just looked dejected.
Philip and Hilda got up and tried to ease the tensions that had risen, clearly not wanting the party to continue on such a sour note and instead tried to lift everyone's spirits up. They weren't that successful until Sauros started drinking, after that the mood improved as his buzzed bombastic behavior encouraged everyone to get a bit tipsy, even the maids indulged themselves a little bit as this was more of a bonding event and not that formal.
Rudeus spent most of his time with Paul and the rest of his family, laughing and eating with them. He checked up on Sylphy and Eris, of which they had their own groups that they were bonding with. Eris was naturally enjoying her grandfathers company as he radiated joy and merry when he was tipsy or for that matter drunk. His mood though could turn to unbridled rage on the flip of a dime when he was drunk though if something provoked him which was why the maids were giving him constant attention and care. Speaking of maids Sylphy was enjoying her time with some of the beast folk as she found a small amount of relation with them due to the fact that she was part beast on her mothers side even though it never showed.
Tensions continued to ease as the night progressed until everyone was merry once more despite the beginning fiasco. Soon all the food was eaten and all the wine drunk.
Paul and Zenith would be given their own personal room whereas Lilia and Sylphy along with Norn and Aisha would be placed in a separate room. Rudeus in the meantime was talking with Philip, or rather, Philip was the one talking the most. Trying to convince Rudeus to indulge in Eris.
"I have to say your attempt at this is rather pitiful Philip, I mean seriously, you're treating Eris as if she is some sort of puppet to be used for your own political gain. What kind of father do you call yourself if you cannot support your own daughter and her decisions." Rudeus truthfully was getting fed up with Philips jests at tying his own daughter to Rudeus's bed so he could have his way with her. She was no object or leverage to ever use, Rudeus loved her too much to see her as anything less than a goddess despite her flaws.
"But." Philip was about to retort with the benefits of being apart of the Boreas branch permanently.
"I will be honest here, I love Eris, I find her magnificent in many ways, but I would never take advantage of her. When she comes to my bedside it will be because of her own will and not the pressure of family or duty. Wither it be tonight or three years from now, the choice is hers."
Philip bit his lip, it was clear that Rudeus could not be manipulated. He just got up and nodded silently.
"Philip, one last thing." Rudeus said.
"I owe you a great debt for allowing me to tutor Eris despite denying your wishes, so I will give you my word here and now should we both be alive in the years to come and the trials to be had. I will reunite you and Hilda with your other children, politics be damned." Rudeus said.
Philip looked back at Rudeus bewildered that the child would ever make such a promise, but hope gleamed in the mayors eyes.
"Thank you Rudeus, I will hold you to those words." Philip said as he excused himself.
When Rudeus returned to his room, Eris, who should have been asleep was unsurprisingly sitting on the young boys bed.
"Oh, w-welcome back." Eris was wearing a red dress, meant for sleep but also an attempt at seduction was clear based on the quality of fabric and the revealing nature. She would never wear anything like this before, Rudeus already knew that this was Hilda's doing.
"What are you doing here at this hour?" Rudeus asked, acting dumb.
With that question alone her cheeks burned a bright red and she averted her eyes. "I, I thought you would be lonely by yourself, so I came to be with you tonight." Before Rudeus could respond Eris looked up at him instead of looking away. "And I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier, they were inexcusable, especially on your big day."
Her apology was sincere, although Rudeus suspected she wasn't sorry about her outburst but instead was sorry at the fact that she made Rudeus lose his temper for a split second. Rudeus chose to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"It's okay Eris, thank you. You did put in allot of work and it really was a great party."
Eris nodded and the air of awkwardness returned. In Rudeus's previous life he mistook her silence for acceptance to his advances but he knew she was nervous as hell right now, and besides this was not a choice of her own making so he would not press himself onto her.
"Eris." Rudeus sat down and he placed his hand on hers making her stiffen. "I know what is going on, your mother put you up to this didn't she?"
Eris looked at Rudeus surprised. "How did you know?"
"Your father Philip offered you to me, I told him that he was being a horrible father for not allowing you to make a choice. I hate to tell you this Eris but your parents are using you to try and get to me."
"What? Why would they do that?" Eris's voice was nervous now, as if the people closest to her were stabbing her in the back. In a sense that was true, they were just using her as a pawn or at least trying to. Her concept of her parents loving her was being questioned now.
"Politics Eris, it destroys friends, and family. It's dirty and your parents have been in it so long that it has become apart of their lives."
"And Grandfather? What about Ghislaine?" Eris was now beginning to question their love as well, as if it had all been a lie.
"They love you, Sauros got out of the political life a long, long time ago, he allowed himself to enjoy the small things in life. Ghislaine never got involved in Philips plots and instead focused on you, she loved you like a big sister." Rudeus said softly reassuring her that everything was going to be alright.
Eris then stood up. "Then what should I do? Tell me Rudeus, you have been honest with me from the beginning. Give me an answer!"
Rudeus just shook his head. "You need to do what you want to do, I can't decide what you want for you. Let this." Rudeus grabbed her hand and placed it over her chest where her heart was. "Guide you, and let it be sharpened and tempered by this." He pointed up at her head telling her to use it more often instead of just her heart and her will.
"So lets start now Eris." Rudeus pushed himself off the bed to meet the girl face to face, she was slightly taller than him but he didn't mind, he wanted to show her he was serious. "What do you want Eris."
"I… I don't know, I know what I like and what I don't like." She eyed him nervously. "But I hadn't expected this to come so soon."
"In that case I have an option to propose. A promise to look forward to." Rudeus held Eris's hands in his, she stiffened again but less so than before.
"I propose we wait until you are fifteen and then I will ask you what you want again, if you agree then I will give myself to you. If you want to speed things up just let me know, I will be beside you I promise."
It was true that Rudeus wanted to be intimate with Eris but she hadn't truly matured yet, it would be wrong to take advantage of her ignorance and indecision, so this would give her some time to get her thoughts in order. Wither the teleportation event was successful in being stopped or if it happened like before would also be a factor in determining the course of their relationship.
Eris after a brief moment of silence quietly excused herself and then looked back. "It's a promise Rudeus, I will let you know what I want. Goodnight." Rudeus smiled and then laid down in his bed. It would be difficult to sleep tonight but it had to be done in order for him to be awake enough for tomorrow.
A few restless hours Rudeus finally attained sleep.
The next morning he snapped awake looking down at his hands, today was the day. Rudeus quickly ran to look out of his balcony window and saw the floating orb in the sky, It was early morning and Rudeus knew he had little time to execute his plans. He ran downstairs after dressing himself and saw his father along with Ghislaine by a large carriage, there Rudeus would show them his best, most powerful spell yet, at least that was what he asked Ghislaine to tell his family and Eris to come along and witness.
"So are we almost ready?" Rudeus asked, he had asked Ghislaine to arrange this, if the teleportation event could not be stopped this was the final contingency, so he was going to hold onto his family and ensure everyone would be alright. There were some exceptions, Ghislaine chose to not be in contact and just be near the teleportation event like before in order to have a chance at saving Philip and Hilda, Sylphy would also not be in contact and if events played out like before she would inadvertently save the princess of Asura, Ariel. The critical part was being in contact with Lilia, Aisha, Norn, and especially Zenith so she wouldn't be trapped in that damn labyrinth.
"Excuse me then, I need to do something really quickly." Rudeus turned around and ran back to his room.
Ghislaine felt it, even through her now modified eyepatch to block mana Rudeus was so close to her she could still feel it, then just like that his concentration of mana disappeared, she knew he teleported to his lair near Buena village. Then she saw Rudeus run back down the stairs.
'Strange.' She thought to herself, she was looking at Rudeus but yet it didn't feel like Rudeus. She put her hand on the side of his neck and her eyes widened, luckily her back was turned so Paul didn't notice her reaction. He was cold to the touch, his eyes looked like they had life in him but when she looked closer at him his eyes didn't have the same gleam to them. She hesitated for a moment but chose to briefly lift her eyepatch, there was a small amount of mana in him, still large compared to the average mage but far less than the original Rudeus.
Then she felt something else, like a soft but noticeable wave of mana, it was Rudeus, the real Rudeus. He was intentionally spreading out his mana to make him harder to find.
"This is all part of the plan Ghislaine." Rudeus, or at least the person that looked like Rudeus said.
'So then this is something like Hollow isn't it?' She thought but didn't say out loud. She was a little irritated that Rudeus didn't say anything to her but he had his reasons she supposed.
Rudeus then looked and saw Eris come running down the stairs, soon everyone was here including Zenith, Lilia, Norn, and Aisha.
"Wait for me!" A voice cried out. It was Sylphy. "Lilia told me what you were doing Rudeus, I want to come to."
Rudeus looked at Sylphy, pausing for a moment then he nodded.
"Alright Sylphy you can come." He gave a soft smile but it seemed to lack allot of emotion, it was like the smile from a puppet.
They all got in but little words were spoken, if anyone asked Rudeus a question he would give a reply and then go back to being silent. Paul was a little annoyed by this and told Rudeus to be a better host but his son, or at least the person who he thought was his son just told him that he had allot on his mind.
A few miles outside of the city later the horses suddenly cried out and then stopped, seemingly irritated. The carriage driver knocked on the cart to alert the passengers.
"Someone is blocking the way up ahead, it may be bandits, but there is just one person." The driver shouted out.
Ghislaine got up to get out, Paul accompanied her.
"Rudeus stay inside." Paul said knowing his son would want to see.
They looked into the distance ahead and saw a lone man with black pants and a white button shirt in the middle of the road. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, numerous scars could be seen along his forearms which looked self inflicted. Then the man began to walk slowly toward the cart. He looked allot like Paul, he even had the same placement of mole underneath his left eye, the very noticeable difference was that the man had dark red hair like Lilia.
Ghislaine remembered Rudeus's words and she knew this was the man he had warned her about. He was radiating energy and mana even with her eyepatch over her eye, it felt like the exact same amount of raw power as Rudeus.
Paul was about to draw his sword to threaten the man and tell him not to come one more step forward but Ghislaine put her hand on the mans sword arm shaking her head, he looked at her bewildered but he quickly understood that what she was really telling him was that this man was more dangerous than what they were capable of dealing with.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere Rudeus stepped past Paul and started walking forward toward the unknown figure.
"Rudy get back in the carriage!" Zenith cried out, concern clearly showing on her face.
"It's alright mother. I have been waiting for this." Rudy said calmly.
"You have been waiting for me? Well it's no surprise there, after all you did see me in my astral form where I promised you I would reach you Rudeus." The man said, his pace not slowing down. "And now the moment has final come, after years of traveling the cosmos I have come to this point of seemly impossible odds to find the one variable that should never have existed, you, Rudeus."
"Who are you?" Rudeus asked still looking coldly at the man.
"Not sure really, that's why I need you." The man chuckled to himself. "But if you want a name I go by Perseus."
"Are you here to kill me?"
"Straight to the point eh?" Perseus stopped, he was now two steps away from being toe to toe with the boy as they both sized each other up.
"Do not fear death, death is always at our side. When we show fear it jumps at us faster than light. But if we do not show fear it casts its eye upon us gently, and then it guides us into infinity." Perseus said softly.
Rudeus took a pause but he snapped his finger as if he realized something. "Cowboy bebop!"
Perseus smiled happy that the boy got the reference and then he launched himself forward plunging his hands into the boys abdomen. No blood was spilled onto the gravel road and no damage was shown on the outside, it was as if Perseus was trying to grasp the boys soul instead of his body. Then his eyes widened.
"You are not Rudeus!" He roared with anger.
"No, gotcha bitch!" The boy extended both his hands and a torrent of fire hot enough to melt metal erupted from his hands engulfing Perseus in fire. A split second later a spear like hand plunged through the flames as it stabbed itself through the head of the boy but the flames did not stop. Then with Perseus's second hand he slashed the torso of the child, cleaving through the boy.
Only then did the flames stop and Ghislaine saw that the person that she had rode with in the carriage was composed of gears, cogs, and finely engraved magical circles, it was a doll.
"Where is Rudeus!" Perseus cried out.
"I'm right here." A voice behind the man proclaimed.
Perseus spun around and saw a perfectly identical Rudeus to the one he had just cut in half.
"Well more precisely I am here and I am not here, just controlling this puppet through my mana which is spread out so far that it will be pretty much damn near impossible to find me. Now then." Rudeus, or at least the doll that looked like Rudeus said cracking his knuckles. "We will be tonight's entertainment."
"We?" Perseus asked confused.
As if on cue the dirt shifted in dozens of locations along the surrounding fields of grass and numerous Rudeus like dolls revealed themselves. Some began to float above the ground while others got in a battle stance, planting their feet.
Perseus stood as if in both a mixture of anger and bewilderment. Then he grinned, a sadistic grin at that. "Orsteds notes mentioned your invention of these dolls, so you allow the majority of them to go on autopilot while you selectively control whichever one you choose with your soul as the pilot…..Alright then, bring it."
And thus the fight began.
Leave your reviews and I will be happy to address all concerns. Please be positive! It is my fuel to continue. And should I go first person or stay third person from now on, let me know by Private messaging me or by posting it in the reviews. Love you all and I will see you all very soon.