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"Saito" -Talking

'Louise' -Thinking/ Human-Human Telepathy

"Explosion!" -Spell

:Master: -Master/Familiar Telepathy

Chapter 17: The Power of Gandálfr

Headmaster's Office, Tristain Academy of Magic

"Mr Saito! No!" Henrietta gasped in horror. She had watched in trepidation as Saito had attempted to block the powerful ice spell and failed, becoming engulfed in ice, leaving an enormous crystal of ice, surrounded by a field of ice and snow.

"To think that Jewel Sorcerer had such a spell in reserve…" Osmond shook his head, "He should have depleted quite a bit of his willpower with that spell."

"Headmaster! Professor Saito was just frozen to death!" the Princess said, appalled at his callousness, "What are you thinking?!"

"That if this Johan character gets you, Mr Saito's sacrifice will have been in vain." The Headmaster replied as he gripped his stave tightly, "Once we have driven this man off, we can worry about Mr Saito. It is how he would want it, I am sure."

An explosion of magical energy made the three in the room stiffen and Henrietta let out a gasp.

"Louise…!?"

With Johan

"What the…?!" the Jewel Sorcerer spun around to face the wood golem, which had halted with the death of its summoner. It glowed with magic, as if it was receiving a fresh infusion of magic from its controller. Which was patently impossible, as the Onmyōji had just been dealt with…unless….

"That tricky brat!" he snarled, "He prepared a succession technique for if anything happened to him! Just how many tricks did he have up his sleeve?!"

This very much jibbed with what Johan knew about Japanese Onmyōji. They were highly moral and very good at preparing for an enemy. Hiraga Saito…even in death, he was giving Johan a headache!

"Schlag!" he snarled. At his command, the ruby golem redoubled its assault on the wood golem. First, he'd take care of the irritant, and then he'd take his time defeating the primitive mages infesting the Academy before retrieving the blasted sceptre that he had been seeking this entire time.

Abruptly, a wave of magic blasted out from the wood golem, sending his own golem stumbling back. Its form as a samurai started to shift and change, which made sense. The form of a golem was entirely dependent on the will and imagination of the primary controller, which was usually the one who created it. In this case, the creator has passed control to whoever this was and the shape of the golem was changing according to that person's will.

The armoured head shifted, changing into feminine contours and a long head of hair, while the samurai-style armour change into European plate mail. The katana shimmered and changed into a swordwand and a long cape flapped in the wind. The face looked very familiar to Johan for some reason…

"Karin of the Heavy Wind!" he exclaimed once the pieces clicked together.

Indeed. A wood golem in the shape of the strongest Mage-Knight of Tristain stood in the place of the samurai for a moment before it charged forwards and crossed blades with the ruby golem, pushing it back, away from the school.

Johan had to admit, the shape made sense. Anyone from Tristain would know of the heroic exploits of the Duchess de Vallière. Even foreigners feared her strength. Unfortunately, it didn't narrow down the identity of the controller by much. Anyone born in Tristain would likely use this figure.

'Strange…the swordsmanship of the golem is uncannily like that of the Heavy Wind herself.' Johan thought as he directed the ruby golem.

As the two golems locked blades, the wood golem released one hand from its swordwand and drew it back, unleashing a powerful punch that struck the ruby golem square in the jaw, which caused a spider web of cracks to crisscross its head, which was also reflected on Johan's jewel.

"Impossible!"

The wood golem wasted no time in charging in while the ruby golem was staggered and helpless. Raising the swordwand, the Karin-lookalike brought it down, bisecting the ruby golem from crown to groin. The construct collapsed in a flash of red light, vanishing from the world at the same time as the jewel on Johan's glove split in half and shattered.

The German magic user was furious. On this day, he had had six of his precious jewels destroyed; four by Karin of the Heavy Wind, one by the Onmyōji and now one by whoever was now controlling this thrice-bedamned golem.

He was left with a meagre two jewels, not including his last resort, which was unsettling. Never before had he used up so many jewels in such a short period of time. The other six jewels he had used up had been over a period of a year, so this was very disquieting for the Thief of Legacies. For a moment, he debated about whether he should retreat before dismissing the notion. He was a superior magic user and would not be put to flight by these knuckle-dragging Neanderthals!

"I know you're out there, mage!" Johan shouted, "I'll deal with you presently, before I go and take what I seek from the Princess!"

The wood golem instantly leapt to the attack, stabbing at him with the large swordwand. The Crystal Sorcerer leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding the attack. He countered by invoking a spell in one of his last two jewels.

"Kristallgefängnis!" he shouted. In a flash, a blue aura surrounded the wood golem before coalescing into a crystal shell that imprisoned the construct. It couldn't even move a millimetre.

Landing with a thump, Johan had to pant a bit. Crafting a Kristallgefängnis large and strong enough to seal a wood golem of such power was very tiring, even for a mage of his skill and power. Glancing up, he spotted a flash of pink hair on the battlements of the curtain wall.

'As I recall, Karin of the Heavy Wind has three daughters, two of whom are in their early twenties.' Johan recalled, 'The youngest is said to resemble her mother greatly and attends the Academy. So then, it must be her youngest daughter who stands in my way. Tch. Like mother, like daughter.'

Honestly, the de Vallière women were seemingly determined to get in his way, and he couldn't even kill or maim them to remove them from the picture! Johan muttered dozens of curses as he stomped towards the Tristain Academy for Magic.

With Louise

"Damn!" the pinkette cursed as she fled down the steps and towards the Academy proper. She had managed to defeat the Ruby Golem, but that bastard of a sorcerer had pulled that oversized crystallisation spell out from nowhere!

'If he could have done that in the first place, why not use it immediately instead of summoning his own golem?!' she thought as she ran. Then she recalled how winded he had looked after casting the spell. It must have been very draining on his reserves and he hadn't wanted to use it as he had other, far less draining, spells available to him. That he had run through those spells AND used the crystallisation spell meant that he had used a LOT of magic in a relatively short timeframe.

There again, what was most dangerous about magic users from Saito's world was not their magical reserves, it was their refined systems of magic and magic-efficient spells. While Saito himself was half as strong as the average student in Halkaginia, he used far less magic per ten or twenty spells than any Halkaginian used in a single spell. Not only that, Saito's reserves had been growing with each day that he spent in Halkaginia, so long as he continued to use spells to keep the magic build-up from poisoning him.

If that was true for Saito, who hadn't been here long, it must also be the case for Johan, who had likely been in Halkaginia for far longer.

Skidding to a halt in front of her and Saito's suite, she tore open the door and dashed in. Racing to the bed, she pulled out a box from underneath it and opened it. Inside was a single blank talisman and some stored blood ink.

Forcing herself to calm down, she brought the box to the desk, sat down and picked up her brush. This was a very stupid thing she was planning on doing, but her Master was dead. She would avenge him no matter what it took.

She thought back to when Saito had explained something about talisman magic to her, just the previous day.

Flashback

"Why aren't there any Void-style talismans?" Louise asked in consternation.

The two were seated at their table in their suite, working on Louise's calligraphy.

Saito laughed. "Funnily enough, that's what I asked my teachers when I learned that there weren't any. The answer I received was more than slightly frustrating."

"Oh?" Louise was surprised at this; Saito was a very smart person, and was rarely frustrated by any problem.

"Yes. Apparently, only a Void Mage can write a Void-style talisman." The Onmyōji replied, "It has something to do with the mentality required to use the magic."

"Mentality?" the pinkette parroted curiously.

"Yes." Saito nodded, "Take fire magic for example. Most would think that to use it you have to be destructive, but that isn't the case. Destruction is certainly a part of fire, but it symbolises much more than that; rebirth and purification. The best mentality for someone who uses fire is passion. That allows the caster to wield both the destructive and beneficial sides of fire equally. For a water user, you must be flexible, for wind, you must be changeable, for earth, stubbornness. It even applies to the combined elements as well. Ice must be calm and in control, metal users must be hard and unyielding, Lightning users are hard to pin down, but they're usually intense and serious and Wood users must have a nurturing nature."

"Wow. So…why is it you're so bad with fire?" the pinkette wondered.

"Part of the reason is unknown to me, but a good part of it is due to my lack of passion." The Japanese Magic User said with a sigh, "In order to be passionate, you have to find something to be passionate about. I…never have. I mean, I wanted to do my duty, but…I never really thought of anything or anyone to be passionate about. I'm too focussed on the mission of the Onmyōji, I suppose."

Louise nodded. "What did your teachers say about the mind-set of a Void Mage?"

This made him smile crookedly. "What is a void? It is an absence of all the other elements. That is what most believe. A void has nothing inside of it, so how can one assign a mind set to it?"

"Oh…" the pinkette slumped down at that.

"I have a different theory." Saito continued, "In my world, there is a saying; nature abhors a void. It means that a sudden absence will cause nature to fill it. Nature can mean the ecosystem or people, depending on what kind of void it is and how it was caused. My theory, based on this, is that the correct mind set for a Void Mage…is one who desires something."

"Huh?"

"If you desire something strongly, then you're trying to fill the void inside of you." Saito explained, "What you have to do is allow yourself to desire something, to want something deeply and purely from the bottom of your heart. That, I suspect, will allow you to break through and let you use your void magic properly. In the case of a void talisman, it might also help you form the specifics of the unique formula that a void talisman uses. It would be fascinating to see one. I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Flashback End

A tear fell from Louise's eye as she remembered the wistful smile on Saito's face when he had talked about it. Now he'd never see it.

"I won't forgive you…!" she growled.

Abruptly, her eyes went glassy and she dipped her brush into the inkpot before starting to write the talisman out.

With Osmond

"Professor Colbert, you are our best hope of holding this man off." The old headmaster told the bespectacled professor, "Although I would ask you to be careful. This man shows no mercy to his male opponents, as what happened with Professor Saito demonstrated."

Colbert nodded grimly. "I shall do my best. He shall pay for what he did to Saito."

As the younger man turned away, Osmond saw the shadow of the ruthless man who had once been a member of the Tristainian Special Forces, with the appellation of 'Enjya the Flame Serpent'. Evidently, he was more than slightly upset with the Jewel Sorcerer for Saito being killed.

Jean Colbert had once been in charge of the Purification Unit, in charge of removing disease from villages that have been turned into necropolises by plague and disease, but after a certain incident, he had quit and become a teacher. Even Osmond himself didn't know the exact details of the incident, but he could tell, when the man thought no one was looking, that whatever had happened still weighed heavily on Colbert's soul. He gave his all for the students under his tutelage and was a splendid teacher, so Osmond had kept quiet over the years.

"Jean…you may have to use it." Osmond said quietly.

Colbert paused. "Should it come to that, then I shall use it."

With that he left the room. Osmond sighed and tapped the wall, opening up a secret passage that took him to his study, where the Dowager Queen and Princess Henrietta were waiting.

"I have moved the students to the far side of the building," he informed the two royals, "I have also assigned most of the teachers guard them. The one I have sent to intercept the intruder is Professor Colbert."

"Ah." The Dowager-Queen nodded in understanding, but Henrietta looked puzzled.

"Aside from myself, Professor Colbert is the strongest Magic user in the Academy, as well as the only one with combat experience." Osmond explained to her, "Out of all of the other teachers, he is the one most likely to slow down and impair this Johan character enough for us to drive him off or defeat him."

"But…Professor Colbert has been a teacher here since before I was born…" Henrietta frowned.

"I had hoped to keep this knowledge a secret until much later, but…" her mother worried her lip for a moment before continuing, "…there are several elite squads of mages, some of them made entirely of mercenaries, that Tristain uses for…less palatable jobs than would be given to the army. Jean Colbert was the Captain of one such squad for two years before retiring the year before you were born. In respect of his years of faithful service, we have not called upon him for such a duty since, much to the benefit of alchemy and the students of the Academy."

"But…what could he hav-?" Henrietta started to ask.

"Until you're Queen, you cannot know the details." The Dowager stated smoothly, "The incident that caused him to retire occurred when nobles performed Lèse-majesté and usurped the authority of the Crown, co-opting Colbert's unit to perform an atrocity. And, thanks to the nobles closing ranks, we cannot prove it."

Anything the Princess would have said was drowned out by the shockwave of an explosion that rocked the room, staggering her and making the Queen-Dowager's eyes widen.

"It has begun."

With Colbert

The man standing in front of the main door into the Academy was not Jean Colbert. He may have looked like him, but the aura he gave off was completely different. Where Colbert was a very calm and peaceful man, this person was radiating bloodthirst like a fountain.

Even Johan stopped cold when confronted with him.

"Who the hell are you?" the German Mage demanded.

"My name is Jean Colbert, a Professor at this Academy." Colbert replied coldly as he adjusted his glasses with one hand, the other raising his stave to point at Johan threateningly, "Leave this place at once, and never darken our door again. This is your only warning."

Johan burst into laughter at this. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I just defeated the Mage from my own world, the only person who could have defeated me! You primitive magicians are like children launching fireworks at me by comparison! What on earth makes you think that you stand any chance whatsoever?!"

The balding Professor smiled icily at the arrogant man. "Up until now, you have only faced regular members of the nobility from this world, correct? Do not mistake your power by that standard, Jewel Sorcerer. While they are powerful, they are nothing compared to a well-trained member of the army…you might have come to that conclusion against Lady de Vallière, no?"

The Thief of Legacies scowled at the reminder. Infernal woman.

"So what? You are a teacher, not a member of the Tristainian Army!"

"You're right, I'm not…I was the Captain of a certain unit of elite mages, however, so I believe I will be far more…entertaining for you than you might think."

Johan tensed at this. Even if the skills of this world were trash, an elite would be a bit more on the same level as Karin of the Heavy Wind. The only reason he had beaten her so quickly was likely because she had just been involved in a duel with that idiot Wardes. This man was likely fresh as a daisy and seemed to have an axe to grind given the amount of bloodthirst pouring off of him.

"Well now…this ought to be amusing." Johan said with a savage grin, "Sadly, I have business with Princess Henrietta, so this will have to be a short fight, I am afraid."

"We shall see about that." Colbert retorted and unleashed his Spirit of Fire spell at him.

"Shild!" the Jewel Mage snarled, blocking the fire bolt with an azure shield. The flames crashed against it and Johan's eyes widened in shock. While not up to the standard of Karin of the Heavy Wind, the strength of the flames was far stronger than any other mage barring her that he had faced that was from this world.

Reluctantly, Johan brought out his last jewel and placed it in the free slot in his other glove. Sapphire was not a jewel suited for offensive magic, despite the cage he had used to immobilise the wood golem; it specialised in support and defensive magic. He had lost his malachite, black diamond, diamond, chrysocolla, ruby and alexandrite jewels on this day, leaving him with his sapphire jewel and his emerald jewel.

"Laden: Komm! Erchiene, mein Juwelenritter!" He chanted. In front of him, a larger than normal Jewel Knight appeared, broadsword the size of an average human male clasped in one armoured fist.

"Spirit of Fire!" Colbert sent his favourite spell out again, but it washed over the golem like water, utterly ineffective.

"Sadly, my Emerald jewel is enchanted to be highly resistant to externally applied magic." Johan sneered, "That trait is passed on to any Knights I form out of it. Give it up. Juwelenritter, schlag!"

Leaping forwards, the Emerald Knight attempted to bisect Colbert, but was blown back by a compressed wind bullet that the Tristainian Mage fired. As it crashed to the ground, Johan stared in shock.

"While your construct is indeed highly resistant to magic, that doesn't mean that it is absolutely resistant to it." The bespectacled mage said coolly, "Also, magic resistance has little to nothing to do with natural forces. When in the air, a strong enough blast can send it flying, as I just demonstrated. Class is in session…and you just earned a failing grade."

Levelling his stave at the Jewel Knight, Colbert declared, "Fire Prominence!"

With a roar, a large pillar of flames erupted around the Jewel Knight, engulfing it. The Jewel Sorcerer winced as the jewel on his glove heated up in pace with the heat being generated on the surface of his golem.

"Verstärken!" Johan growled, his blue gem glowing before another blue aura appeared around the Jewel Knight, increasing its magic resistance. He could have chosen to raise all of its abilities with that spell, but focussing on a single attribute was more efficient in this instance. "Schlag!"

The Emerald Jewel Knight charged out of the pillar and swiped at Colbert, who blocked it with his stave, being thrown back through the doors of the Academy. Spitting out some blood, the man staggered to his feet and mused that he was getting old. He would have been able to dodge that back in his days with the elites.

'Time to get serious.' He thought. Standing up, he muttered the words of the spell that had earned him his moniker all those years ago. He had sworn to never use it again after he dedicated his life anew to teaching, but this was not a normal situation.

"Flame Serpent!" he shouted, the thin stream of bluebell flames snaking out from the tip of his stave and snaking towards the golem. Being a seasoned mage, he repeated the spell three more times until the golem was covered in the flaming serpents, eating away at the Jewel Knight.

'He has enough control over his magic and enough understanding of thermodynamics to create blue flames?!' Johan gaped. This was somewhat of a shock to him, as no mage here had ever used anything other than the standard orange-red flames against him. It was, even in his world, very hard to conjure true blue flames. Most were just coloured differently for effect, but actual blue flames were hard to create due to most mages being weak, relatively speaking, and it took a lot of magic to generate the heat of pure blue flames.

Ice magic was far easier, as it cost less magic to create the cold needed than it was to generate heat.

'Of course…he's throwing a lot of magic into those spells, and mages around here brute force through things, so a high magic requirement isn't a hurdle.' Johan realised as he ground his teeth together, 'And as a teacher, he would have ample, if not plentiful, time to conduct research into thermodynamics, especially as a fire mage! He must be separating oxygen from the air around the flames and pouring it into the core of the fire in order to increase the heat! Pure oxygen is perfect for fire fuel!'

"Erneuern!" he ordered, feeding his magic into renewing the Jewel Knight's armour, "Schlag!"

Still burning, the Jewel Knight sped towards Colbert, who unleashed a very powerful Spirit of Fire blast at it, slowing it down but not damaging it.

Colbert grimace. This was not going to be easy.

Training Ground, Onidōrō the Hidden Village of Mixed Oni, Japan, Earth

Urajirosatoukaede parried a blow from her father's tetsubō with her own and lashed out with her foot, striking him in the belly and making him stagger back unsteadily. That, unfortunately left her open to the punch from her mother that sent her flying into a tree.

"What's the matter, Kaede?" Byakuren asked. The former princess of the White Oni was a tall, statuesque woman with crimson red eyes. She wore a Chinese-style dress and had bandages wrapped around her hands. Her long and silky white hair, pierced by a single horn above her forehead, was drawn back into a ponytail held in place by a red ribbon. As all Oni, she was barefoot.

Her husband, the one who had fallen in love with her and inspired her to flee with him once she became pregnant with Kaede, Kurotama, was larger than even most Oni, standing at eight feet tall. His skin was as black as pitch and his silver eyes were quick at assessing people. All he wore was a raggedy hakama on his lower half. A single silver horn emerged from his head of long red hair.

"I…have been feeling…odd, Haha-ue." Kaede replied as she pried herself out of the wreckage of the tree, "Nervous…as if something is happening and I should be doing something to stop it."

Her parents exchanged a look. "Have you tried asking your fellow Familiar what it might be?" her father asked in his deep rumble of a voice.

"I have not contacted Emereldas for a while." The silver Oni said in a small voice, "I…"

"You're jealous because she will almost certainly bed your Master first." Byakuren finished for her, making the younger female Oni flush in embarrassment.

"I'm still wanting to meet this Saito before it goes that far." Kurotama growled.

"Enough with the protective father routine, Anata." His wife scolded him, "Kaede is over two-hundred years old now and is almost an adult. That she managed to become a Familiar is an immense honour for our family. We are fairly unusual among the people here and our daughter's achievement has raised our status by quite a bit."

Grumbling, the Black Oni subsided. It was true. As most Pureblooded Oni discriminated against Halfblooded Oni, the discriminated Metallic Oni generally made their home well away from the Purebloods. That was what the village of Onidōrō was, one of the few places where Metallic Oni could live without the fear of discrimination. There were only about a thousand Oni living there, with over three quarters of them Metallic Oni. The remaining population were Pureblood Oni who were either parents of Metallic Oni or were the rare sort that had no bias against them.

If they were humans, the Purebloods would have been on the receiving end of the Boot Being on The Other Foot, but the Metallic Oni were usually more tolerant than that. When it came to Byakuren and Kurotama, however, there was one thing against them and Kaede; pure, unadulterated jealousy. It wasn't rare that the mother of a metallic Oni flees with her unborn child. More uncommon was the mother birthing then killing the child, which led to the even rarer situation of the father breaking into the birthing chamber, grabbing the child and fleeing with it.

Only a handful of times in history had both parents fled with their child, and never before had one abandoned such a prominent position in their Clan as Byakuren had. This had led to some minor harassment and the like over the two centuries that they had been living in Onidōrō, but no outright discrimination. With Kaede contracted as a Familiar to an Onmyōji, their status would rise and even the holdouts would have to let up on them.

"Well dear, I think you should use your connection to Emereldas and find out if she's felt anything odd on her end." Byakuren said to her daughter, "If she has, I think some concern is warranted."

"Then by your leave, haha-ue, chichi-ue." Kaede sheathed her tetsubō over her shoulder and bowed to her parents before heading back to their house so she could meditate and contact Emereldas.

"I still don't like it." Kurotama muttered sullenly, "Couldn't she have been contracted to a female Onmyōji, at least?"

"The Familiar Locator Spell doesn't work like that." his wife reminded him, "It seeks out a Familiar who is compatible to the Mage and likewise ensures that the Mage is compatible with the Familiar. That our daughter was most compatible with him as his Prime Superior Demon is a tremendous honour and I will not have you sour things between them because you want to play the protective father. Am I understood?"

"Yes dear." The Black Oni replied meekly.

With Kaede

Entering her home, Kaede padded to her room and sat down on her futon. Crossing her legs into the lotus position, she closed her eyes and concentrated. The unique magical gift granted to the first two Familiars of an Onmyōji, often referred to as the Primes or the Alphas, was the ability to link telepathically to any of their master's other Familiars, no matter where they were.

Sadly, the strength of the gift depended on the number of Familiars that the master possessed, so right now it was hard for Kaede to even brush the mind of Emereldas. It was doubly hard, as Kaede was a Silver Oni, with a strong physical body and skills inherited from her father and excellent magic resistance inherited from her mother, the latter making it hard to connect to her Prime magic.

Emereldas, a succubus, had her own skills with telepathy, so she had it easy. Hopefully, she would notice Kaede struggling to connect to her and use her abilities to connect with her instead.

:Emereldas! Emereldas, can you hear me?: Kaede sent.

No response.

:Emereldas! Answer me! I know you are listening!:

Still nothing.

:EMERELDAS!:

:OK, OK! What is it, Kaede?: the succubus groused as she easily connected to the Oni, allowing Kaede to cease her attempts at telepathy.

The Ginki got the impression that Emereldas was slightly irked with her. :Emereldas, what took you so long to answer me?:

:I was busy filling out my paperwork for my elevation to the Ninth Circle.: the succubus snapped, :Something that is ever so slightly important to me, if you will recall.:

:I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have contacted you without sufficient reason.: Kaede replied, :Have you been feeling…uneasy at all today?:

Silence.

:Well…yes…I have.: Emereldas said slowly, :You as well?:

:Yes. I can't concentrate on anything, not even sparring.: the prideful Oni admitted begrudgingly, :What of you?:

:I have had more trouble focussing on my paperwork, more than I should be.: the succubus said slowly, :…Kaede, when was the last time you were summoned by our Master?:

:It's Urajirosatoukaede to you.: the Oni huffed, :And I spoke to him seven days ago, when that louse of a Mage attempted to attack him from behind again.:

:And I have not spoken to Master since a few days before that.: Emereldas' mental voice 'sounded' worried, :I think I have heard of this before. When a Familiar's Master is in peril, they are made uneasy and worried by the bond. I have no idea how Master Saito being in that odd world would affect the bond though…:

:That makes sense.: Kaede said with a slow nod, :I was taken by surprise when Aruji informed me of that louse attacking him from behind; I felt nothing through our bond at the time.:

:But…that means that if we are actually feeling something…:the succubus said in growing horror.

:…then Aruji is in grave danger!: the Ginki yelped in horror, :Can you take me to him?:

:Sadly no. When I become an Avanta, yes, but right now I can only go to him by myself.: Emereldas replied in frustration, :I'll go myself and get him to properly summon me and you. Then we shall discover exactly what is assailing our master.:

:Please hurry, Emereldas.: Kaede thought worriedly before breaking her connection to her. Opening her eyes, she saw her mother kneeling in the seiza position in front of her.

"So it is as I feared." Byakuren said softly as she watched her daughter's face, "Your master is in danger."

"Why wouldn't Aruji summon me?" Kaede asked in frustration, "Why didn't he at least summon Emereldas?"

"I see three possibilities." The former Princess of the White Oni Clan said after a moment, "Either he was arrogant enough to believe he did not need your help, he was prevented from summoning you both or you being there would have been detrimental for some reason."

"Aruji is well aware of his limitations and is a most humble man." The Ginki protested instantly.

"Then he is either constrained from summoning you or to do so would make his danger greater." Byakuren stated, "Neither situation is palatable to think about, but the former means he is being held against his will, while the second implies that you going to him will place him in jeopardy."

This made Kaede grind her teeth at the thought that her going to her master's side would be bad for him!

"Emereldas can summon herself to his side." She whispered through her grinding teeth, "She'll be able to tell what's going on with him."

As a Protective Demon, and the Prime to boot, Emereldas had the privilege to be able to summon herself to her Master's side at will. Unlike when Saito summoned her, however, she was severely limited in what she could do and how much power she possessed. Hopefully, she would find their master and report in soon; Kaede didn't think she could take the suspense.

SLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSLSL

Colbert's Perspective

Pain.

Jean Colbert cracked an eye open and peered around. He was leaning against the badly damaged doorway leading into the Academy and he was alone. The last thing he remembered was a flash of green and then a blaze of pain so strong he had blacked out. It had also been that pain that had woken him up just now.

'Damn…he got by me…' the man thought as he tried and failed to stand. Judging by the pain in his chest, he had at least one fractured rib and his arms weren't exactly happy with him at the moment. Looking in front of him, Colbert winced as he saw his stave shattered into pieces. It wasn't his original stave, but it had been his teaching stave ever since he retired from his old occupation and took up teaching, so its destruction was something of a blow to him.

A pair of feet appeared in his vision and Colbert looked up, his eyes widening as he beheld the owner of those feet.

"You're…!"

With Johan

Storming through the corridors of the Academy, Johan von Leopold was not happy. He had been delayed inexplicably by that fire mage. Granted, the man had been the most advanced user of magic in this world aside from the onmyōji that the Jewel Master had ever faced and granted, he had taken an inordinate amount of time to adjust to that fact, but for a crude and primitive mage to have held him off for more than ten minutes was an outrage!

He had shattered the man's stave in a fit of pique once his Jewel Knight had finally overcome the man, which he felt a bit guilty about for the lack of control that involved. He prided himself on maintaining his affability at all times, but this day had been truly testing for his self-control.

His emerald was currently undergoing repairs for the damage dealt to it by Colbert. The accursed fire mage had managed to reduce it to the very cusp of being destroyed by feedback with those fiery serpents of his! This left him with only his sapphire until he was satisfied with its regeneration.

Sadly, he would have to discard the jewel after this venture ended. It had been too badly damaged to recover to even a third of its previous strength. It was a shame, as emeralds were one of his favourite jewels.

"Now then…where is the Princess…?" he muttered, "The highest point in the Academy is the Headmaster's office if I am not mistaken…so it's likely she is there."

From there, he made his way up stairs, cursing the primitives for not inventing the escalator or elevator as he did so. Eventually, he found the door he was looking for, guarded by an old man carrying a shepherd's crook and with a rather impressive beard.

"Ah, you must be the headmaster of the Academy, Osmond." Johan guessed.

"Hm. Indeed I am." The old man said with narrowed eyes, "You've been causing a great deal of trouble here, Thief of Legacies."

"So that Onmyōji told you of my history." Johan snorted, "For all the good it will do you. Stand aside and I will let you live."

"I think not." The old man replied, "Gale Force!"

The massive blast of wind almost threw Johan down the corridor, but he quickly summoned his sapphire Jewel Knight to protect him. Wielding a spear and shield, the Knight acted as a bulwark against the wind for him.

"Schlag!" he ordered and the Jewel Knight advanced on the old man, slowly due to the wind spell. Abruptly the wind stopped and a bolt of lightning struck the jewel golem, making it stagger. Johan wasn't worried though. While the offensive abilities of a Sapphire Jewel Knight was sub-par, the defensive abilities were greater than any other Jewel Knight.

Sure enough, the Knight steadied itself, remnants of lightning crackling over its body, and continued its advance, swiping Osmond through the doors to his office and onto his back with an almost careless ease. Revealed by the shattered and open doors were the Princess and her mother, making Johan smirk.

"At last, we meet." The Jewel Master said as he advanced, his Jewel Knight looming next to him, "You know, this is entirely your fault, Princess. Had you simply handed over your Sceptre, this could have been avoided."

"That's it? That's why you stormed my castle, attacked my subjects and invaded the Academy?" Henrietta asked in enraged disbelief, "For a stupid sceptre?!"

"Primitive mages such as yourselves have no right to declare yourselves the strongest when one such as I exist in this world." Johan stated haughtily.

Before anything else could be said, a female voice from behind him shrieked, "Rem Car Ol!"

Johan's cloak, miraculously intact after all of the fire spells that had been flung in his general direction, rose up and wound around his head, wrapping it up tight. As the German Mage yelled in anger and clawed at it, a presence moved past him and his Jewel Knight, interposing itself between him and the Princess.

"Louise!" Henrietta cried in distress. As he wrenched his cloak off his head, Johan beheld a petite pinkette that was like a miniature version of Karin of the Heavy Wind. Wearing the Academy uniform and a cloak of Nobility, she was glaring at him with such hatred it was practically palpable. It was even raising hairs on the back of his neck!

He didn't show that, however. "Humph. You primitive mages come out of the woodwork, one after the other. It's like dealing with cockroaches!"

"Miss Vallière, what are you doing here?" Osmond croaked as he forced himself back into a sitting position, aided by the Dowager-Queen.

"My duty as the Princess' sworn liege woman." Louise replied in a growl.

"Stand aside, you foolish little girl." Johan sneered, "I have a finite amount of patience that you are rapidly exhausting."

"You attack my best friend, hurt my mother, kill my Familiar and assault my home and you expect me to simply back down?" the pinkette snarled, "I think not!"

"Your Familiar?" Johan was puzzled for a moment before it clicked, "Oh, so the Onmyōji was a Familiar? How fitting for him to be a mere slave. What could you possibly do to me? I defeated the Onmyōji, that fire user and this old wreck of a mage with ease. You are a mere student!"

"I am also a Void Mage, you boor!" Louise snarled as she withdrew a talisman from her pocket, "Allow me to demonstrate! Talisman of the Void, come to my aid!"

Johan's eyes widened in shock as he beheld the talisman. It was superficially the same as regular talismans, except the position of the Yin and Yang and the element symbol were reversed, as well as possessing the kanji for Oni surrounding them both.

"Shild!" he yelled, making the Jewel Knight interpose itself and encompass him within its defensive aura.

"Explosion!" Louise shrieked as she hurled the talisman at the Jewel Knight. It turned utterly black, with purple edging the outline. Upon coming into contact with the Sapphire Jewel Knight, it very literally exploded.

The shockwave threw Louise back into the Princess and then both of them to the ground. The entire form of the Jewel Knight was engulfed in a pillar of darkness and gold light. There was no heat, no flames; just pure destruction concentrated in one area. When the pillar vanished, so too had the Jewel Knight.

"Im…impossible…a Void Mage?!" the Jewel Sorcerer stammered out with his jaw dangling somewhere on the floor, "I don't believe it!"

"Believe it." Louise said as she stood up and drew her wand this time, "So are you going to surrender or do I have to hit you again?"

This jarred Johan out of his daze and made him snarl, his handsome face distorting into an ugly expression. "Surrender?! Don't make me laugh. If you were serious about hitting me again with one of those Void Spells, you would have pulled out another talisman. Was the Onmyōji teaching you his craft? A shame that you are so determined to go against me; you would make an excellent test subject to see if you primitives can rise above your crude and wasteful magic arts."

Inside, Johan was not nearly so calm. He was now down to his badly damaged emerald jewel, plus his last resort jewel. Even if his opponents were two children, an old man and a middle-aged woman, fighting using a single damaged jewel was not optimal in any way, shape or form. Should his Emerald Jewel Knight be defeated, he would have to retreat, which he was loath to do.

"Laden: Komm! Erchiene, mein Juwelenritter!" The Thief of Legacies chanted as he channelled his magic into the jewel. Once again, the green form of his Emerald Jewel Knight appeared. Unlike before, there were still severe score marks in the Knight's body from its battle with Colbert. The sword had thankfully regenerated, but it was still far from what Johan would call combat ready. Therefore, a different strategy was required.

"Klinge Juwel!" he ordered. The Jewel Knight shimmered before seeming to melt and flow towards his outstretched hand, becoming a European hand-and-a half longsword that he swished through the air with finesse and familiarity.

"We shall see how well you cope against my swordsmanship, whelp." Johan declared.

"Oh good. I was hoping you'd do that." a familiar and unexpected voice said from behind him, making the entire room go pale.

Slowly turning his head around, Johan's jaw dropped when he saw the battered, bruised and ragged figure of Hiraga Saito standing in the middle of the hall with his sword drawn and held in his left hand. He was, needless to say, still alive.

"Saito…?" Louise asked in a trembling voice.

"I'm no ghost." The young Onmyōji replied, "Good to see you in one piece, Louise."

"How!?" Johan snarled, "The Primeval Ice Spell is completely inescapable once cast!"

"That's because Derflinger here has an ability that he never told me about." The Japanese boy stated, "Right, Der?"

"Yup." The sword spoke, shocking Johan, "I can teleport my wielder away from an attack that would kill them. Usually just wide-area attacks like that overgrown blizzard."

"Although I didn't avoid your spell completely." Saito admitted as he exposed his right arm, which was frozen in ice from the tips of his fingers, up to just below his elbow. "Still, one arm is better than my entire body."

"Tch. Just how many times will you interfere in my affairs before you are satisfied, Onmyōji?!" the Jewel Sorcerer bellowed as he turned around to fully confront his enemy, "These trash-like magicians are beneath us! We are better than they are!"

"I disagree."

"You would, considering you're that pink-haired brat's Familiar, her Sklavenritter." Johan sneered, "It wouldn't surprise me if you are being sublimated into being her faithful knight as we speak!"

"You really are good at talking." Saito remarked indifferently, "Let's see how good you are talking with a blade."

Johan's right eye twitched. This whelp was challenging him to a contest of blades? Johan hadn't exactly studied swordplay extensively, but he had learned enough to be more than competent with one, whereas this boy was just a greenhorn mage with no knowledge of swordplay at all from what he could gather. More than that, one of his arms, his dominant hand to boot, was frozen solid. Did the arrogant brat really expect to defeat him?

Preposterous.

"I have had just about enough from you, whelp." The Thief of Legacies snarled, "The geas that that thrice-accursed witch has me under may bar me from doing more than defeat females, but you are a different story. Prepare for pain."

"Less talking, more fighting." Saito said mildly, his grip tightening on Derflinger as his runes started to glow.

Johan charged at him, attempting to bring his jewel sword down in a swipe that would shatter Saito's frozen arm into pieces. The Emerald Jewel granted his body extra physical speed and strength when moulded into a weapon, so he was confident he would swiftly overwhelm the Onmyōji who he faced.

He should have known better.

Swinging Derflinger faster than Johan could see, Saito smashed Johan's attack to one side before stabbing at him. Stunned, Johan was forced to make an undignified leap backwards to avoid it. His eyes focussed on the glowing runes as his mind deciphered the situation.

"So your runes are more than a mere shackle, boy?" he growled, "How fortunate for you to have such a crutch!"

Saito was unperturbed. "My runes are about as much of a crutch as that jewel sword of yours is."

Stung by that, Johan recommenced attacking Saito. As much as he tried though, he wasn't able to break through Saito's defence. He couldn't understand it. Even if the runes increased the boy's speed and strength, Johan's greater experience with a blade should have allowed him to slice and dice the Onmyōji into sliced wurst thanks to his own enhancements.

'Of course…not only does the damned runic shackle increase his speed and strength, it also grants him some kind of pseudo-skill with the blade as well!' he realised with a chilling jolt. It certainly explained the boy's confidence.

Crack!

Johan watched in horror as the multiple physical strikes wrought havoc on the already weakened emerald sword, causing a spider's web of cracks to appear on the areas where Derflinger had struck the magic blade, focussed on three areas; the tip, the middle and just above the hilt.

"Erneuern!" Johan shouted in a slight panic. The blade glowed slightly and some of the cracks sealed themselves, but most of them remained.

"It looks like Professor Colbert did more damage to your jewel than you let on." Saito smiled grimly.

"Why you-!" Johan roared in fury. He slashed at Saito one last time and, as expected, the Onmyōji parried the blow and shattered his last jewel to pieces. The Jewel master let out a gasp of disbelief as it vanished into motes of light from its place on the back of his hand.

Well, this was a turn up for the books. Time for Plan B; he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.

Johan turned and dashed into the headmaster's office, taking Saito off guard. He pulled a pouch on a cord around his neck out of his shirt and ripped it apart, releasing a clear jewel from it.

"Laden: Komm!" he chanted as he sped towards the window, "Erchiene, mein Juwelenadler!"

As he smashed through the window, a giant winged beast made of quartz appeared beneath him and took him to the skies. Saito and the others went to the window and looked out to see Johan glaring at them.

"I have never been so humiliated in my life!" he shouted, "Mark my words; I shall be back for what is mine! And you, Hiraga Saito, shall feel my wrath when I do!"

With that, the eagle that Johan sat upon flapped its wings and sped off into the distance.

Saito, finally able to say his Master/Student was safe from attack, let go of Derflinger and collapsed onto the floor with a quiet thump.

"Saito!" Louise shouted and knelt by his side, Princess Henrietta on his other side.

"We have to do something about his arm." Osmond said grimly, "If we do not, it will likely need to be amputated."

Suddenly, a pentagram appeared next to Saito's body and, in a flash of light, Emereldas appeared. She looked around, spotted her comatose master and his frozen arm and promptly entered hyper-protection mode.

"What in the name of the Nine Circles has happened to my master?!" she shrieked, "Get away from him this instant!"

Throwing the two girls away from her master, she clicked her fingers several times, making numerous magic circles appear around his arm that glowed red. As the ice started melting, the succubus turned to glare at Louise.

"Tell me what happened to my master or I swear that I will make you regret being born female."

Louise gulped. This was not going to be pretty.

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Next Chapter: Recovery, Recriminations and Relaxation

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