Foreword: I apologize for the long delay. First week at my new job had been tiring rather than stressful. It left me tired once I got home, it didn't help that it a little far from where I live. But I've been working on this chapter piece by piece.

The lent helped give me more time to rest and finally work on this more. And I finally finished it.

I hope you had good and enjoy this new chapter. A surprise awaits at the end.

Zeroes of Two Worlds

Chapter 18

His surroundings looked duller as soon as he incrementally infused aura into his eyes, activating a kind of aura vision. But there were faint lines of aura that are interconnected like webs at each of the trees and the bushes within his vision. He could also sense the emanations of the mages beside him even when he's not looking at them.

He focused his attention on the cabin before him and scanned it for anyone inside. The wooden wall wasn't a barrier for him to see through it, and didn't find anyone inside. But he did see an object emanating magic by the corner of the cabin. He deduced that it could be the artifact that was stolen from the academy, since it's the only magical item inside.

"I didn't see any aura inside. It seems empty." He informed the other as his eyes lost its glow from under his hands. "I'll check the window, just to be sure."

He quietly moved towards the cabin while crouching, and then checked a nearby window. The window is dusty from being exposed to the elements, but it was clear enough for him to look in. He could see old crates that are stacked along the back wall, and a table near the door. But he saw no one inside, or even a sign of anyone having been inside.

He gave the all-clear sign and they congregated at the front area. Tabitha used her staff to scan for any magic traps, and she found none.

"Louise. Kirche." He called the two mages. "You two stay here and guard the cabin. Tabitha and I will go inside."

Louise agreed, so did Kirche, and replied. "Just be quick."

He nodded.

Tabitha was the first to go in, having found the door unlocked, and he followed in after her. They only found the old crates and the table near the door, and everything is covered in dust. There were no signs of anyone having been here. But he knew that's not true since he had seen the artifact through his aura sight.

Tabitha was looking around when he came in, and was checking one side. He headed directly towards where he had seen the artifact was, and searched that side. He quickly found a wooden box that was cleaner than the rest of the cabin.

"I found it." He called out to Tabitha as he set the case on the table. Tabitha nodded at him, and joined him by the table.

The red wooden case had black leather straps that kept it bound tightly. There's also a metallic panel on the top with something written on it. He ignored that and worked on getting the case opened. It was easy since there were no locks and the latches were removed. He opened it and was surprised to see a more ornate interior.

The interior was covered with velvet silky padding and there were decorative bronze ornaments attached over the padding. There was a bronze plaque with something written engraved into it, but the real prize was the object embedded within a velvet cushion. He reached in and picked it before examining it.

It was a polished bronze mace-like scepter, or was it the other way, with a very ornate head and a solid shaft, and was quite hefty but he could still wave it around if he wanted to. He could guess that Tabitha's staff is about as heavy as the artifact he was holding. It was also half as long as her magic staff as well.

The bronze shaft has two large rings wrapped around the shaft - one at the middle, and another located just under the head. There were engravings over the entire shaft which displayed symbols and patterns.

The head was far more elaborate which has a mixture of gold and bronze flanges and decorations around a small crystal ball at its core. The crystal also has a golden grill-like cup around its bottom half and a spindle at its top.

It was a curious thing and he could feel the emanations from, or more specifically at the mace head. The whole thing seemed solid in his hand but it didn't quite feel... powerful as he thought it was. It looked expensive for sure, and there was power, unlike the Kirche's gift to him, so it wasn't a fake.

He turned to Tabitha, and showed it to her. "What do you think? Does it look special to you?"

Tabitha merely glanced it with a dull look before she shrugged at him. Jaune sweatdropped at her response, or lack thereof, and confused by her apparent apathy.

Searching for clues, he examined the bronze plaque under the top cover. The writings on it didn't look the same as the one on the case cover, so he assumed that it could be key to what the staff was about.

"Hey, Tabitha. Can you read this for me?" He gestured to the plaque, and gave her an apologetic look. "I couldn't read what was written on it."

Tabitha just gave him a glance and a small nod before she checked the plaque and started reading.

"The Armature of Might. To access the power within, one must answer the riddle of the name." She read out the inscriptions across the top portions. She then focused main portions and read out the poem.

From the Black Monks of Salerno

A cure for many ills and pains

Claimed by Sylvius from the Juniper

One gains Valiance from its pot of brew

Jaune scrunched his face in concentration as he tried to think of what the poem was referring to. It felt that it was something he might have heard before back home, but nothing came to mind.

He turned to Tabitha and asked. "Did that mean anything to you?"

Tabitha shook her head, and he sighed internally as that left them with nothing. Well at least they had a name to guess what the artifact was about. But nothing about how it worked or functioned.

As he looked at the artifact in his hand, turning it around to check for hidden switches or buttons, a curious thought came to him as he remembered his own experiment in that weapon shop back in the capital. If his aura could be used to at least reveal any enchantments by empowering them, he could also use his aura to power any hidden mechanism or enchantments on it.

Maybe that would help them learn how it works.

He tapped into his still latent aura, as he haven't found a way to awaken it yet, and started pouring his aura into the artifact. The artifact began to shimmer as it seemed to accept his aura, and then the crystal in the mace head started to glow brightly.

He felt the emanation growing from the crystal which is very different from the magical effects he had witnessed in this kingdom, even when compared to Tabitha before him. It was strange as if he had roused something from its slumber but he couldn't figure out what and why. But he was sure that this artifact is more than just a powerful magic staff.

Tabitha also felt the emanation from the crystal and became wary about it. She was unsure what it is but it felt similar to the spirits of the land she had met before. It felt foreign but calming, inviting even. She reached the conclusion as Jaune, and was certain that there's more to the artifact.

The two were disturbed from their ruminations when the ground suddenly shook, and they heard Louise and Kirche casting spells outside the cabin.

"Go help them! I'll secure the artifact!" Jaune urged the blue-haired mage.

Tabitha nodded and rushed out the door. Jaune, meanwhile, placed the scepter back into its case, and worked on securing the case for extraction.

Kirche's flame blast was effective in stalling the golem and keeping it at length from the cabin. Louise's explosions were also a hindrance to its ability to react as she targeted its joints and eyes. These kept the golem off balance and blind as the affinity of Louise's spells caused disruptions to its spell nodes. Though she was unaware of that fact and was just doing her part as she had been coached by Jaune.

They were holding it back, but it was clear that it's still coming for them as it slowly lumbered towards them. The flame being as troubling as the wind and it was capable of taking the heat. The damages caused by Louise's spells were easily repaired by collecting earth from the ground and fallen debris.

Kirche was feeling the strain on her willpower as she continued to feed more into her fire spell. She soon got some reprieve when a whirlwind wrapped around her flames. This strengthen her flames, and the rush of fire and wind pushed the golem back, causing it to stumble from the sudden force.

One of Louise's explosions struck its knees, already weakened by her earlier attempts, and damaged it even further. The weight of the golem pressed against it as it was pushed back by Kirche's flame spell, and it broke underneath it. The golem stumbled as it was pushed by the fiery torrent and fell over its back. The ground shook from the impact and this gave the mages a few moments to breath.

"Where's Jaune?" Louise asked Tabitha, confused as to where he is.

"Here!" Jaune shouted as he ran out of the cabin. The case is tied on his back with a makeshift cloth rope over his shoulders and around his waist. He saw the golem starting to reform and told them. "Come on! We gotta go!"

"But what about the golem?" Louise asked back.

"Leave it." Jaune shook his head. "We got the artifact. Let's make a run for it while it's still down." He urged them.

Both Kirche and Louise were hesitant to leave as they felt that they could still do more, especially for Louise who still wished to prove herself to her peers. Tabitha was the only one who agreed with Jaune which was enough for Kirche to accept the idea of retreating. Louise clearly disagreed but she kept her silence as Tabitha called out to her familiar.

The bespectacled wind mage whistled loudly into the air and they heard a high-pitched roar from the sky as a response. A blue-scaled dragon then appeared and tried to fly down towards them. It suddenly turned its head minutely to its right and cried out as it banked into a sharp turn. A small barrage of stone shards flew through where it was, entirely missing the dragon and leaving them without an easy means of escape.

"Damn it!" Jaune cursed as he took his Derflinger from its scabbard, and searched around where they came from.

"I don't think Fouquet is going to let us go that easy." Kirche remarked unnecessarily.

"Obviously!" Louise quipped as she too looked around. "Where's Miss Longueville? Wasn't she supposed to give us a warning?"

"Maybe Fouquet got her to her first." Jaune suggested, and it's the only reason that made sense. Which didn't bode well for their own survival. "Did anyone saw where it came from?"

No one saw where it came from but it distracted them long enough for the golem to recover its limbs. It stood up and lumbered towards them with a menacing glare on its stoic face.

"Scatter! Attack it from all sides!" Jaune shouted as the golem reared its fist, intending to crush him. He infused his aura into Derflinger, and started charging the blade for an attack he's preparing for.

The others quickly complied and ran around the golem while Jaune jumped to the side as the earthen fist slammed into the ground beside him. He swung his sword at the exposed wrist, and the blade left deep gashes on it. He then jumped away when the golem dragged its fist across the ground, swiping at him.

Jaune switched targets and had gone for the legs, intending to immobilize and distract it. He continued charging his aura into the blade as he made his attacks, leaving cuts and gashes across its legs. The gashes he made were also being filled up and repaired as fast as he left it alone. This irritated him but he continued to attack its limbs in order to keep it distracted, and also to hinder its movements.

He could attempt climbing the golem, and plunge his magic sword into the golem to detonate his aura. But he couldn't risk it especially since it could create spikes on its body. And he didn't want to tempt the thief by giving her a clear and stationary target.

The others got to a safe distance and started to preparing to cast their spells.

Louise started chanting an aria to empower her explosion spell that she based on other spells she had studied before. She looked at the gashes that Jaune were leaving behind but were also being repaired just as fast. She knew that targeting the wrists would be a waste so she waited to target the legs instead.

She waited until Jaune made another gash on the golem's left leg, and she quickly casted an explosive spell at it. Her spell detonated at the gash and shattered the leg entirely.

Jaune quickly moved away as the golem stumbled forward when it lost its leg. It prevented itself from falling to the ground by supporting itself with one of its arms. Before it could start repairing itself, it was struck with stream of spiraling bright flame on the chest.

"Flame Blast!" Kirche's voice echoed in the air.

"Whirling Tempest." Tabitha loudly uttered with a soft tone.

Kirche and Tabitha had finished chanting their spells and casted a twin spell of swirling fire and wind. The twisting flame rushed forward as tightly as Kirche could manage, and the raging whirlwind wrapped and coiled around the flame, compressing it even further into a corkscrew. The flame stream glowed from dull orange to bright yellow as it burned hotter, hot enough to melt the rock it touched.

It was the torch spell that they modified from a two existing spells based on Jaune's earlier suggestion. They weren't able to do it earlier when the golem first appeared since it required more powerful spells from both of them. And those required longer arias to be casted properly with the power needed for their combined spell.

The torch spell was worth the effort with the golem struggling as the flame was burrowing into its earthen shell. This was something Kirche haven't been able to achieve before against earth constructs, even back in her homeland of Germania.

It was common knowledge that earth spells were very resistant to fire spells of similar parity. A fire mage would need to have greater skill and better proficiency to overcome this resistance.

So this was a thrilling experience for Kirche, seeing her flame burning into hardened earth like dragonfire. She never managed to get her flames burn that hot despite her own efforts, and certainly never managed to begin burning through solid rock.

"Are you seeing this, Tabitha?" Kirche called out to her partner and friend, who was casting the whirlwind spell beside her. "We're really burning through its shell." She told her with excitement in her voice.

Tabitha simply nodded in response while she kept her staff brandished forward, feeding her willpower into her spell and keeping a tight grip on Kirche's flame.

The golem raised its free arm to block the spell and to take the brunt of the flames. This revealed a hole on its chest which showed the rocky interior that was glowing red hot from the spell. The golem also struggled to keep the flame spell back as it started burning into its hand.

"Explosion!"

Louise struck the golem with another one of her explosive spells, more potent than the one she casted earlier, on the head. The explosion knocked it back with enough force to push it over and fell on its back.

This allowed Jaune to jump on it and climb up to its chest as fast as he could manage. He quickly reached the hole on its chest, raised his sentient sword, and then plunged the blade into the semi-molten rock. His aura protected him from being burned but he definitely felt the uncomfortable heat.

Hot. Hot.

Pressing through the heat, he hoped that his sword is deep enough to reach the golem's core. He infused a small charge of aura into Derflinger and detonated the accumulated aura that he had been storing into the sword.

A flash of light surged down the length of the blade and the hot earth cracked as it erupted beneath him. He was then thrown into the air when the golem's torso exploded with a bright white flare.

Jaune let out a high-pitched cry of fright as he tumbled across the air, and he was still reeling from the blast that which is why he wasn't able to stabilize himself. Not that he could. He didn't even have a landing strategy. His eyes widened when he saw the ground fast approaching and covered himself with his aura to absorb his fall. He felt the air rapidly coalescing under him, and he found himself landing in a cushion of air that softened his fall.

He was dropped to the ground and did a three-point roll to further soften his fall, something he learned from his training. Well attempted to. He grunted as he rolled across the ground before he came to stop, with his face lying flat on the ground.

"Ugh... That had gone well." Jaune groaned loudly before he pushed himself off the ground. He dusted some of the dirt clothes, but it was clear his clothes needed cleaning once they got back at the academy.

He turned to the others and called out to them. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're fine, Jaune." Louise answered back as she and the others came around. She then looked him over, checking him for any injuries but finding none. "I should be the one asking that, Jaune. But you don't seem injured."

"That was impressive, Jaune." Kirche jumped on him and held him in a tight embrace, much to Louise's irritation and scowling. "You managed to blow up that golem with your magic. That flare was just spectacular!" She excitedly remarked as she tightened her embrace around him. "You should definitely come with me this summer to our estate. You'd fit right in!"

Jaune squirmed and felt stiff from the closeness with Kirche, especially with her mounds pressing against him. He pushed through his own embarassment, and gently got out of her embrace.

"It's not magic... At least as something that is recognized as magic here. It's my aura." Jaune told her, sounding a little flustered. He tried to control the blush on his face.

"What's the difference?" Kirche asked, looking at him curiously.

"Well I can't cast any elements for one. It's more something that I could use to boost my body and enhance my weapon." Jaune told her before saying. "I'll explain more once we got back."

"I'll hold you on to that." Kirche replied with an alluring smile.

Jaune nodded at her before he turned to Tabitha.

"Thanks for the catch, Tabitha." He graciously thanked her, and she simply nodded back at him.

They approached the fallen golem which had crumbled to pieces since Jaune blew up its torso. The golem remained immobile and they could see a gaping crater where its upper body used to be. Pieces of rock and piles of dirt were left behind that looked a little singed from the auric explosion.

Curious, there were also small shards of orange crystals which caught Jaune's attention. He picked the biggest piece nearby and the crystal looked familiar. So he examined the orange shard more closely.

The orange glow looked and felt similar to the elemental glow of Dust Crystals back home. The shard also looked more glassy like a piece of a shiny gem, unlike Dust which looked more dull in comparison.

"What is this? I don't think i've seen this before." He asked the resident mages.

Louise looked at it for a moment before answering. "Judging by its color, that's an Ord Lacrima. It's used as a focus for spellcasting and binding spells for earth-based spells."

"Nice." Jaune is delighted by it and pocketed it. He planned to do so some dust-casting and experiment with it later. He would likely need it to improve his chances of surviving in this world.

"Where's Fouquet?" Tabitha spoke up.

"You're right. If the golem is here, that means that she's close by." Kirche commented, suddenly alarmed as her head swiveled to look around.

Jaune did the same and activated his aura sight to look around. He then did a double take when he saw a human shaped aura walking towards them.

"Over there! Someone's approaching!" Jaune shouted and pointed towards that direction. He held his sword at the ready, and the others did the same with their wands, and a staff, held out.

They were surprised to see the headmaster's secretary rounding around the golem's body, looking at it with fascination on her face.

"Miss Longueville!" Kirche and Louise shouted with relief as they lowered their wands.

"It's good to see that you're alright, Miss Longueville." Jaune greeted the secretary. "We thought something happened to you."

"I'm fine. Thank you for you concern." Longueville turned to them and congratulated them. "Good job, everyone. I was surprised that you managed to win that fight."

"You were here?" Jaune looked surprised by that, and he then frowned. "Why didn't you help us earlier?"

"I was preoccupied with Fouquet while in the forest." Longueville answered. They accepted her words, and she then inquired. "Do you still have the artifact with you?"

"Yeah, here." Jaune nodded and removed the case from his back. He then passed the case to Miss Longueville who accepted it.

"Thank you." The secretary nodded, sounding relieved with the case in her hand. "This makes things easier." She said before walking away from the group.

"Miss Longueville?" Jaune asked, puzzled by what she meant.

Miss Longueville stopped a short distance from them with her back turned them. "I was disappointed that none of you tried to use the artifact when fighting the golem."

"What are you talking about?" A confused Louise asked, starting to feel nervous.

"I'm just saying that none of you even tried to figure out how it works, and stick with your plan." Longueville sighed as she untied her hair from its bun and let her hair down. "But it was my mistake of underestimating your skills. Or rather..." She glanced meaningfully at Jaune. "I underestimated your understanding of the elements despite being none of this world."

"What is the meaning of this?" Kirche shouted.

"I must commend you all for defeating my golem despite the improvements that I've applied." She turned around to face them before she removed her glasses. Her hair then changed from darker shade of tan to brighter hue of green, and gone was the gentle lady of a secretary earlier. She regarded them with a hard stare and menacing smile on her face.

They were stunned by her less than subtle admission, especially for Jaune and Louise who recognized her hair color from the thief yesterday. They couldn't believe that the old headmaster's secretary could be this menacing, especially for the students who had interacted with her before.

Jaune didn't wait for any more confirmation, and was the first to take action. He charged at her with an angry scowl on his face, and quickly closed the distance by pumping aura into his legs. He then swung his sword at her as soon as he got close to measure.

Longueville was quick to react as she brandished her wand and summoned a pillar of earth between herself and Jaune. It blocked Jaune's sword mid-swing but the aura-infused blade allowed it to cut through the pillar. She then blasted him with sand as she jumped back.

Jaune shut his eyes to keep the sand from his eyes. He rushed through the sand and was greeted by a pillar rising up the ground towards him. He was quick to cross his arms, pumping aura into his arms as he did so, and blocked the pillar. His aura blunted the impact against his arms, protecting him, but it made his arms numb.

He was launched back into the air and through the sands. He then crashed back down with a cry and tumbled across the ground.

"Oof! Ack!"

"Jaune!" Louise cried out as she ran towards him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fi-" He was interrupted when an earth spike crashed into the ground between them. He shielded his eyes with his arm while Louise fell back in shock. Jaune gripped his sword tightly as anger raged in him with how Louise was almost killed there. He turned to face the secretary and was about to rush her. "You-!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Familiar." Longueville calmly told him with a malicious tone. "Unless you wish for your master to suffer the consequences." She had her wand pointed forward, but not at his direction, as she said that. "You as well Miss Tabitha." She warned.

Jaune turned to his head to see what she meant, and he scowled when he saw that there were floating earth spikes threatening Louise, Kirche and Tabitha. He also saw that there were earth spikes around Tabitha that are either crashed into the ground or trapped in ice. He could see Tabitha glaring at the secretary despite her stoic face as she kept a grip of her staff.

"If two don't want either of your friends to be harmed, I suggest that drop your wands and yours weapons." Longueville commanded with a stern warning.

Jaune gritted his teeth but complied despite his desire not to. But Longueville had basically taken Louise and Kirche hostage with those floating spikes. He stabbed Derlinger into the ground and backed away from his only weapon.

Tabitha dropped her staff to the ground with much hesitation, but she continued to stare at Miss Longueville.

"You two as well. Drop your wands." Longueville ordered the two other remaining mages.

Louise glared at her and shouted. "If you think I'll myself be unwanded by someone like you! You're sorely mistaken! If anything happens to me, my family wil-"

"You'll still be dead... or maimed. Whichever you prefer." Longueville bluntly interrupted. "The choice is yours."

Louise pursed her lips as she didn't want to do so, clearly apprehensive about losing her wand. But with the earth spike floating above her, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

"Do what she says, Louise." Louise heard Jaune calling to her, and turned her head to him.

"But I..."

"We'll be fine... We'll get out of here. I promise." He told her sincerely as he looked to her eyes. He motioned for her to drop her wand on the ground.

"Fine." Louise replied apprehensively after a few moments. She then let go of her wand and let it drop to the ground. Kirche followed her actions and threw her wand to the ground with a disapproving huff.

Longueville smiled at seeing them entirely disarmed and incapable of casting any spells. They're no threat to her, and she held all the cards. She used a levitation spell to collect their wands, staff and sword before she dumped them out of their reach.

"So you're Fouquet. All this time." Jaune said to her.

"Good deduction, Mister Familiar." Longueville snarked at him, but she answered anyway. "But yes, I am Fouquet. Fouquet the Crumbling Sands."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you betraying the academy?"

She snorted at his questions.

"I betrayed no one, boy. Besides, the old man just hired me without even checking my background. It's his fault for giving me easy access into the academy." Longueville, or rather Fouquet, responded a little heatedly. "But I'd give it to him that his security is top notch, and it took me a while to make a plan."

"Why did you bring us here anyway? We were trying to get it back to the academy. That didn't seem to be a good plan." Jaune remarked.

"Then allow me to repeat what I've said earlier. I was hoping that one of you would try to destroy my golem, and show me how it works. I tried to use it after I stole from the academy but nothing worked." She told him before scoffing. "And that frustrated me."

"And you failed because we destroyed your golem without using it."

Fouquet narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes... That was unexpected." She said testingly. "I listened to your plans and made revisions to my own. But I still failed nonetheless." She then sighed. "I was hoping you would be able to know its secret. Being the Lifthrasir and all."

"The what now?" Jaune was confused by what she meant by that.

"No one told you about those runes on you

"So what do you plan to do now." Kirche asked.

"Normally I would crush you all with my golem, and bring in the next group here." Fouquet simply answered and they blanched.

"What! But we did what you want!" Louise protested and alarmed that she'd be killed.

"Shut up!" Fouquet shouted at them and moved the earth spikes closer to them, reminding them of their presence. "I would have done so if I want to. But I'm sure that one of you would surely survive." She looked straight back at Jaune. "Especially you, outsider. Your aura makes you too resilient to killed off with one strike."

"So we're at an impasse." Jaune stated. He noticed a movement in the air behind Fouquet.

"Quite."

"What do you plan to do with us? Hold us for ransom?" Jaune asked as he started charging aura into his arms in preparation.

"Mmm... Maybe." Fouquet hummed in thought. "But the problem with that is that you all know my identity." She retorted. "And I can't let you all get away that."

"You can't get all of us." Jaune quipped.

"Maybe, but you'll live with knowing you let everyone else die."

"We'll survive."

"Oh?" Fouquet raised an eyebrow at him, confused by what he meant. "And how do you plan to do that?"

Jaune simply replied as he glanced to her side. "On your left."

"What?!" Fouquet suddenly turned around and took her eyes off them to see what he was referring to. She quickly recognized that she'd been tricked, and was about to turn back to them.

A shadow then loomed over her.

Sylphid dove towards her with both claws extended towards her. Fouquet ducked under her claws as the dragon familiar flew over. She then rolled away as the dragon pulled up from its dive and began to go into the air. Fouquet tried to hit the dragon with one of her spell when a ball of raging blue and white light came at her.

Jaune quickly capitalized on the distraction made by Sylphid's attack and brought both of his hands to his side as though he was holding a ball. He then started charging the aura from his arms and out of his hands. A ball of bright light started appearing and growing.

He had been training to use this for a while under Derflinger's coaching and guidance. He was also pretty sure this is not something an aura could do, at least not from read books and online anyway. This would be the first time he would be using it.

A raging sphere of aura formed between his hands and then thrusted his hands forward, firing it towards Fouquet. It shot across the air and struck the distracted mage on her chest. She is quickly knocked back hard by the impact as it exploded at her.

The earth spikes started to fall as Fouquet lost control over them, and they crumbled upon hitting the ground.

Tabitha was the first to react and rushed towards where her staff was thrown, trusting her familiar to distract Fouquet. Kirche reached into her cleavage and drew out a hidden wand which she then used to cast fire spells at the hostile mage. Louise was the only one who wasn't sure what to do as Jaune rushed at Fouquet.

"Tsk!" Fouquet grunted as she dodged a fire spell aimed at her. Her chest still ached from being hit by that strange ball of light that the human familiar had casted. She then dodged an icicle that was casted the young chevalier.

"Damn it!" She cursed loudly as the planned had failed. She should have killed the brats when she had the chance. The problem was that the Valliere matriarch would hunt her down if she killed her daughter, and that's a fight she didn't want to be in.

She also didn't want to be known as a murderer as that kind of notoriety would bring unwanted attention to her activities, especially in the underground. People could be quite vindictive especially nobles and mages. It was better that they're angry and frustrated with her thievery, rather than vengeful.

She saw Miss Valliere's familiar took out something from his pocket and recognized it to be a shard of the Ord Lacrima she used for her golem. He gripped in his hands and his entire body glowed with a shimmer of light before it turned from bluish white to a hue of orange. He then charged at her once again and she summoned a wall of earth in his path.

She is surprised when the wall crumbled as Jaune punched through it, with the Ord crystal giving him strength and resilience of the earth. She summoned rocks from the ground and hurled them at him. Jaune raised his arms to block them, and the rocks either bounced or cracked against his earth-infused aura.

Jaune quickly reached her and tried to punch her. But Fouquet, unwilling to test how strong he really is, dodged and tried to put distance between them. But Jaune didn't relent and refused to let her get away. He lunged at her once again and tried to hit her with a hook.

"You're persistent!" Fouquet shouted.

"You're the one who tried to kill us!" Jaune retorted as he threw a jab which Fouquet dodged again. "I'll make sure that you'd be punished for your crimes."

"Hmph! You're not the first one to say that to me, and you won't be the last." She countered as she dodged another hook from him.

She saw a fireball coming towards her and jumped to the side towards its landing point. Jaune followed after her and didn't notice fireball until it hit him.

"Gah!"

"Jaune!" Louise cried out when the flame engulfed Jaune. She angrily turned to Kirche and shouted. "What did you do!?"

"I didn't mean to hit him!" Kirche responded distressfully as she wasn't aiming for him. But Fouquet had baited Jaune after her, and used her own spell against him.

"He's fine." Tabitha stated as she pointed at the fire. They looked back at the fire and saw Jaune running out of it, looking unaffected by the fire.

Louise sighed in relief that her familiar didn't suffer her classmate's mistake, and Kirche did the same.

Jaune is thankful that his elementally infused aura protected him from being burned by the fire, and also made it more resilient than his normal aura. It was still hot but his aura was already working to help his body recover from the heat.

He also saw that Fouquet is getting away from him, which angered him. He won't let her get away, and they won't fail their mission.

With fury raging in his heart, he charged the elemental aura into his fist. The runes under his doublet and shirt also glowed which boosted the power of the elemental aura. His fist glowed with a blaze of bright orange, and slammed it into the ground.

The earth violently erupted as it surged towards Fouquet who noticed it. She turned around and summoned a wall of earth to block it which Jaune's surge broke through. Fouquet was knocked back and lost grip of the case which was then thrown into the air.

"No!" Fouquet was about to reach for it when she saw Jaune coming at him. She abandoned the case, and focused her attention no him, resolving to end the threat that he represents.

She chanted a short aria and brandished her wand at him. Shards of stones erupted from the ground around her and shot them towards him. Jaune either dodged them or blocked them with orange aura. Some of the shards bounced off pieces of his armor under his aura.

Seeing this, she summoned a boulder of earth and launched it at him. Jaune pumped more of the elemental aura across his body with gritted determination, hoping that his enhanced strength and sturdy resilience would help him take it. His familiar runes also help boost his elemental aura as he unconsciously tapped into it.

He shoulder checked the boulder and his body held strong against it. He was pushed back and slid across the ground before he managed to pushed it aside. The boulder bounced off the ground before it rolled away. He then raised his arms to block the rocks that were telekinetically hurled by Fouquet.

He was saved from further bombardment when bolts of fire and icicles rained on and around. Fouquet is forced to protect herself and gave Jaune time to breath.

Frustrated at her incapability to help, she looked around for what she could use to help Jaune. She saw the case where it had fallen after Fouquet lost hold of it. She ran to it and quickly opened the case. She momentarily marvelled at the elaborately made mace inside it along with the crystal glowing inside the head.

She grabbed it by the shaft and tried to lift it with one hand before she nearly lost grip of it. She quickly held it with her two hands and was able to hold it properly.

She turned towards Fouquet who was fighting off Jaune while defending herself from Kirche's and Tabitha's spells. She aimed the mace towards the former secretary and pointed the glowing crystal at her. She then started chanting an aria for a more powerful spell.

Dagaz Donum Kaunaz Iter

Ehwaz Tera Sigel Lagu

She felt her magic pouring into the artifact and mixing with what felt like Jaune's aura. It concentrated at the crystals and glowed brightly.

Fouquet noticed what she is doing and her eyes widened with alarm when she saw the artifact glowing.

"NO!"

She redirected one of the spikes around her and hurled it towards her.

"Louise!" Jaune shouted at Louise, shocked at the earth spike heading towards her. He rushed towards her. Fear froze his heart when he realized that he might not even be fast enough to save her.

She saw the spike of earth heading towards her, intending to skewer her. But she pushed on and finished her spell.

Ira Uruz Opus Tyr

Power surged through the artifact as it shook in her hands. The crystal glowed brightly before it exploded.

And everything turned white.

"What have you done?"

A/N: I made this into a two staged boss fight, and Team AVZT (Avoset) did well in the golem fight. And Longueville is revealed as the mysterious thief - Fouquet. Suddenly her actions and appearances in certain chapters made sense now to everyone. It was sabotage, but the ancient fortifications still held despite it, at least until Louise's spell hit it.

I hope the fight with Fouquet was enjoyable for you, and established the threat she posed. I based her fighting skills on earthbenders actually since it fit rather closely, minus the somatic martial arts of course.

Sylphid for the rescue!

Jaune was only able to overcome her spells because of his aura, the runes, and the ord.

Speaking of runes, it will be handled in the following chapter after Fouquet especially now that Jaune is aware what it is.

I wonder if anyone can make any guess what the Armature of Might is. Or rather, what it contained. I've made sure to describe the actual artifact as close as possible. The riddle is also a clue since once you learned the name, you'd know what it is.

See you next chapter. Hopefully I can finish it faster, now that I have less fight scenes to deal with.