The Doll Maker

by Arrixam

Slowly slipping into madness like his father, spending days and nights endlessly crafting his armies, facing forces not meant to be seen by mortal men, he was called upon by one most desperate of his abilities. Now in a new world, will this be for the better for Tristain? Or will it implode on itself? Contains OC Archmage/Sorcerer

3. Artemis the Left Hand

AN: Did not make my deadline... Sorry about that. Anyways, for those who read this and not my other works and haven't seen the latest author notes of those, allow me to share something. I will be working next on BSWR, then the Throne of Shirou, and then returning to this story. Expect the next chapter of this one up within another 3-6 weeks. Thank you for your patience. I reward you with an exceptionally long chapter and the entirety of the Foquet arc.

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"Artemis, listen, there's something you should know. There exists a creature out there not even I can defeat, and this is coming from someone who has defeated an Original being. This creature has been able to exist since BEFORE the dawn of man, has been able out outsmart any of the other beings, and, fuck, has been able to bring one of the Original-kind to extinction. No matter how powerful a being you may be become, I GUARANTEE you will NEVER be able to defeat it.

"They're called Women. Just learn to deal with them."

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Chapter 3

I am the Gandalfr

"Do you by chance have some kind of beef with Kirche?" I asked Louise as I was using her desk and my new graph to mark pieces of linen and cotton to cut with some chalk. I decided to start with making essential things like socks and boxers. Louise nearly threw the chair at me for making something so 'simplistic' but I countered with asking her if it was better to be without clothes or to be without underwear. She didn't respond.

That, and I've been wearing the same pair of boxers since the day before I got here. Doesn't matter what godly materials the Tailor family used to make them and doesn't matter what weave I used to clean them. A man needs fresh underclothes.

The sun was setting by the time we had returned to the academy. However, it was dark by the time I decided to get to work. I had wasted a good hour just sprawled out on Louise's floor when we got back while she read from her textbook. She reminded me when I was her age; constantly studying even when it wasn't needed. Now why was I being like this and wasting valuable time?

Because dear Dantes took his revenge on me for previously mounting Mercedes and was twice as merciless as the female horse had been. Edmund, Louise corrected me. But I knew what I said. Too bad she didn't get the reference.

"…How does a butcher…?" Louise looked up from her knitting. Seeing as I was crafting some clothes for myself, Louise fell into a mood to practice her knitting. She wasn't very good at it, however… Her face was perplexed as she was trying to make sense of my question.

My theory that the translation spell in fact translates lingo was corrected. Louise didn't understand what I was saying and had taken it upon a completely different route. It didn't make sense how people were using words and phrases so similar to that from modern-day Earth, though.

"Over and under, Louise," I corrected her pattern. I've no idea what she was doing to turn a sweater into a… whatever that thing was. "And it's a figure of speech I accidently let slip. I'm asking if you don't like Kirche for something she's done to you in the past."

"I am going over-under… stupid familiar…" Louise grumbled as she continued to expand what was becoming an oddly-shaped ball. "Kirche is nothing but a harlot who uses her b-b-b-b-b— assets to charm the boys of the academy. And she's a Zerbst! They breed such sl-sl-sl— thieving children. They're all a pack of fiancé-stealing succubae. Kirche is proof of that!"

I watched with fascination at how her knitting was turning from a sweater, to a giant wad of yarn, to some sort of beast ready to consume her. I memorized her patterns and would later see if I wove such a knot I could produce something just as fearsome.

"I already figured she's that kind of girl," I shrugged and went back to my work, cutting sections of linen. "But I'm asking if she's done anything to you, Louise. Did she steal a boy from you in the past?"

Naturally, she responded by yelling at me and denying having any sort of relationship with a boy with everything that she had. She even winded herself out. I let out a chuckle at her behavior.

"Alright, alright," I tried to calm her back down with a pleading hand. "So it's evident Kirche never went out of her way to do anything against you. I'm not asking you to be friends with her, but it wouldn't hurt to—"

"Do not finish that sentence," Louise growled as her wand was suddenly in her hand. The scent of ozone lingered in the air as sparks of her power lit at the tip. "As if I, a Vallière, could ever get along with a Zerbst. Besides, Kirche makes fun of me every day. She's the one who declared war."

Materials were folded, pins were placed to keep them set, and I attached some thread to the appropriate needle. I was excited about this.

"By the way," something I recalled caught my attention. "There's something I want to ask. Of all the names I've heard so far, Kirche's has different roots. I mean, Vallière, Gramont, Montmerency, Springfield— if you look at all of them you'd find Zerbst doesn't belong. Is there a reason for that?"

"Hmph," Louise something equivalent to a girly snort. "Of course she doesn't belong. She's a Germanium. I've no idea what one of those barbarians is doing here in the heart of Tristain."

"…Huh." I've nothing further to say about that. Louise might just be a racist. I don't know how long I'll be staying in this world. Hopefully not long. At the same time I hope I can stay here long enough to change her opinion about people. She really is a brilliant girl and strives to be the best in her studies. But I fear once we figure out what her problem is with her magic she'll become something of a monster.

It was how the Sun King started out, after all.

Well, when we get to that bridge we'll cross it. For now, I dropped the topic and went back to my project. The Gift of Craft came alive as I picked up my first set of fabrics and needle. Louise picked up her head to watch as the geometric wings sprouted off of my skin in the same way they had during the duel against Guiche. I smiled as the feelings of doubt for my sewing skills just vanished.

Perfect underwear, here I come!

"Darling!" a dreadful, dreadful, dreadful voice I had prayed to God Almighty that I would never have to hear had, unfortunately, been heard. The subject of our topic had all but kicked open the door with her appearance with something large and cylindrical in her arms. Following behind in her shadow was the same blue-haired glassed girl, Tabitha, still reading out of her book with a dull expression.

"Speak of the devil," Louise grounded out in extreme irritation.

…Alright, what the hell? 'Speak of the devil' is definitely a modern-Earth saying. Unless the same expression was uttered in this obscure time-period, then I must not know how old the saying is. Or, certain circumstances occurred and the saying was found much earlier. I don't know.

"Ms. Zerbst," I sighed, placed my utensils down, and spun on the chair to face Kirche, who was anxiously hopping on her heels like a small child. The Gift of Craft had returned to sitting idly on the surface of my skin. "Knocking would have been preferred. And I'm to assume you've found the article I requested so soon?"

"I did!" A bright smile which rivaled the brightness of the breaking dawn appeared. It made me want to look away. "I've scoured all of the capital, going through every shop that sells weapons of any kind until I found it! And it fit all of your requirements!"

Uh huh…

My eyes immediately went towards the item in question. In her arms was a sword shut in a scabbard made of iron. But I couldn't examine anything about the weapon other than the hilt, and there was nothing special about that. Wanting my appreciation more than anything, Kirche shoved the weapon into my hands. It was decently heavy, that much was a good sign for a weapon at least. But I didn't ask for a decent weapon. I asked for one with intelligence.

"Kirche!" Louise began shouting again. Thank God I kept up those silencing wards. It wasn't late, but it was still a decent hour a handful of the students would go to bed for. "You can't just barge in here…"

I blanked her out after that, already knowing what she was going to say and how Kirche would respond. So as the two girls began to fight in what was considered a female version of who has the bigger schtick, I pulled out the sword from its scabbard.

It was a single-edged straight sword. But it was so rusty I couldn't tell what kind of metal it was made of right off the bat. And its design was something I wasn't familiar with. However, it was well-forged, balanced, comfortable to grip despite the aged leather, and had a sort of personal touch with the way the pummel and quillon were placed together. Strangely, despite its rust, there were no nicks or scratches on the blade itself. It remained as sharp as ever, as though it had never been used in battle.

My eyes shifted over into the perspective of the String World as I examined the properties of the blade. Slowly… my eyes began to widen.

I… have seen the metal on both Earth and in Mystic King Vyrn's territory on Ilyvander. It was the ever-immaculate steel the Fae guarded with a passion almost as much as they worshiped Sir Rolan. What was beautiful about this metal was not its proficiency in battle— no, the Djinn metals I use with my Sentinels were far better— but its potential compatibility in their mysteries. And if such mystic metal was rusty, it meant there was truly something potent eating away at its physical vessel. Such a process wasn't immediate either. It was something that took ages.

The Fae, their entire species, were practitioners in Phenomena. It was a Defiant Work on par with my Sorcery. While Sorcery directly defies the direct world, Phenomenon directly defies the indirect world. Now what did this mean? It means they can craft tools, instruments, technologies with the machinations to fulfill the tasks that go against the laws of the world.

Learning of its base metal, I dove in deeper and began analyzing the patterns of strings which made up this weapon.

"Heh… heh heh heh…" I couldn't hold it in. "Hehehehe… heheh… hehehahaha… ha ha ha ha… ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAA HAAA HAA HAAAAAAA!"

My hands were shaking as my grip tightened around the hilt. This… this blade was a creation of the Fae and contained a byproduct of one of their astounding Phenomena. My eyes picked up the convoluted legion of weaves that made up its function. There were far too many for me to memorize and some of the patterns were so beyond me I couldn't replicate them at my level. But it was there! This was it! This was the formula I needed! The one both my father and I failed to solve!

Within this blade was not just sentience and intelligence. This blade had feelings, had ideas, had dreams, had wishes. This rusty piece of junk contained a soul. It was recognized by the world to have its own identity!

I know Kirche and Louise were calling my name. Tabitha had put down her book to stare at me. But I was hardly paying attention to them. My mind was lost in this intricacy. This was a puzzle I needed to solve.

"Book to bathroom…" I said to them as I stood and went straight for the door. "Library to fish and kitchen bring toilet… Heh heh heh heh…" By now at this point I was drooling.

They said something, but I was already out of the door and running for an isolated space as though I had just stolen something not meant for me.

*Scene*

Within the nameless garden in which I usually slept under the nice oak tree, I wandered around with my eyes glued to the silent sword refusing to cooperate with me. I don't know who it was trying to fool. My eyes could pick up the patterns in its design that told me what it was capable of doing. This single-edged sword could not only talk and learn cognitive thought, but it also had a few features placed that made it a suitable weapon.

It had the ability to break down any means of energy and store it away into its core. It was something of an anti-mage weapon in which its Fae metal could block against the toughest of spells, undo their commands, and then absorb the planetary energy used in crafting the spell. In theory, this could apply to the natural planetary forces such as hurricanes and lightning bolts. But the blade itself needed to willingly activate this ability— however a decent weave from me could trigger this function, but that would depend if the sword would like that or not.

Then there was the secondary effect in which what to do with said energy. It could be transferred over to the wielder to empower either their casting (if the wielder was a mage to begin with) or some minor physical prowess. As the blade had a will of its own, it had the function to 'guide' the wielder by expending some of this energy. Perhaps as a method to sync both sword and wielder during battle or as a training method? It could also be used to amplify the strength of swings.

Of course, these were all just theories of mine. It would be better to just outright ask the conversational sword, right? Well, the problem would have to begin with getting it to talk to begin with. And it was being stubborn. I know it can hear me!

"Come oooonnnnnnnn," I whined as I shook it gently. "Can't you say something? I'm your friend. You can trust me."

More silence.

"Why won't you talk to me?!" I shook it a little harder until it clattered and some rust dusted off. I had thought that was the sign that it was growing tired of me and was about to give in. But, no, it was just me. "I'm quite the swell guy. I'm sure you and I can get along swimmingly!"

Still, nothing.

My Sentinel approached and took a seat at my side, removing its sword from its back to place it on its lap. I never commanded it to. It had just sensed I was within the area and decided on its own to come see whatever aid it could give me. Once again, like a puppy seeking attention from its master. A puppy without any feelings, but still. It even turned its blank face my way to let me know I had its full attention.

Shit. As it was surrounded by humans, it was beginning to study their behavior. It could never truly learn their personalities, but it could learn to mimic them in due time. Looking through its memories right now, a few number of students had already approached it when I wasn't around and tried talking to it. While I was distracted dealing with Louise, it took it upon itself to try to react with them. The best it could do was replicate their gestures and movements. But eventually it will start to learn to make noise, and from that it will learn to speak, and from that it will learn to engage in conversation.

Granted, being able to hold a conversation like how I would with Louise during our moments alone would take an exponentially large amount of time. It would have to learn words, grammar, sentences, phrases, appropriate responses, and tone before it could fake human intelligence. But, seeing as though there were a few hundred students gossiping constantly, its learning was more than likely being accelerated at a large rate.

Because it had this inner desire to appease me. It wanted to be acknowledged by me. It wanted my love. And it wanted to imitate me as much as possible.

I remembered a time when I had allowed this. Hell, I remember a time when I would teach them. However, I learned quickly how horrendous of a mistake this was. It was cruel to refuse their wishes, but it was for the better.

Lacking intelligence wasn't the flaw of Doll Maker. This glitch of wanting my love wasn't even the flaw. It was when a Jinni fades away that was Doll Maker's greatest flaw, and my ultimate weakness.

It was why my father went mad.

I shook my head and just let the overgrown doll have its moment. Regardless, I was too occupied with one of the keys to solving the impurities with the Doll Maker Sorcery. In my hands was the blade made by Fae hands with the Phenomenon of soul emulation. I needed to look at this in a different direction.

Somehow Kirche had found out this blade could talk. She couldn't have been told by the clerk; what right-minded salesman would throw something like this away to a simple pretty face? I could only suspect the sword had talked to only her. Perhaps it had a personal interest in only women?

Yeah, well, like hell I'm using that spell to change my gender again.

"Familiar!" the sound of my ever so sweet summoner broke me out of my musing.

With a heavy sigh and a hand going through my hair, I turned my body just enough to look at the approaching group of girls. It was sad how even though I was sitting down Louise was only a few inches taller than me. That is to say, her little attempt to intimidate me had the exact opposite effect. A deep scowl plastered her face as she was holding a long lasso of rope.

Behind her, Kirche had a displeasing look on her face though it was nowhere near as… irate as Louise's. Her normal stature was different, but it didn't excuse her from trying to get my attention with the way she displayed her figure. Both hands on her hips, her weight adjusted to one leg, and her back arched to put emphasis on her chest.

And beside her, almost hidden in her shadow, was the blue-haired girl Tabitha. The majority of her attention was still locked on her small book with just enough given to the background to follow the two wherever they went. A large, crooked wooden staff was hanging around her arm as she walked. I could only assume it to be her choice of catalyst for her spells, but at the same time I had never seen her with it. She either always carried it with her and I never noticed or she had went to fetch it while I was out here.

If she went to go fetch it… My eyes went back to the rope in Louise's hands.

"Louise," I began in a dry tone, "you might want to think about what you're about to do. I don't know what's going on, but I can give a good guess."

"Familiar," she grounded out the word with some bite. "Hold still and be a good dog while I tie you down."

All enthusiasm going into my problem getting the sword to talk just vanished. A thin line crossed my lips as I adjusted my position to fully face her. "And why, dare I ask, would you do such a thing?"

So began a long explanation of the past thirty minutes I missed while I slipped out of her room. I had been right about the two arguing over who was better than the other. Louise and Kirche didn't personally get along with each other— no, a Vallière and a Zerbst couldn't get along. There was bad blood between the families but I didn't have enough information to determine why. It was just clear Kirche made fun of Louise because she was a Vallière rather than being 'the Zero' and it was just the same with the way Louise treated Kirche.

Regardless, my behavior this evening had added fuel to their petty rivalry. Kirche had an inflated ego, saying her gift far surpassed what Louise gave me. Louise, already at the bottom of her self-esteem to begin with, couldn't take such a blow to her pride and argued with the importance of the things she bought for me. It went on for a while until they both had enough of another and began physically fighting with another. And then after a while of that nonsense, they decided to settle their differences once and for all and have me involved.

No, they weren't going to ask me which of their gifts was better. They had something else in mind. Louise was going to tie me with the rope, hang me from the top of the tallest tower, and the two were going to cast fireball spells until they could cut the rope to 'save' me. Never mind that they could easily miss and strike my face or could use too much power and completely incinerate me. And there was the fact that Louise couldn't cast fireball to begin with. Her anti-magic bricks would probably hurt much more than a concussive burst of flames.

So, as Louise and Kirche finished their tale and began to approach me, I provided with an alternative.

Five minutes later, Louise and Kirche were hanging from said tower as I sat back to admire my work. Kirche I left hanging in a comfortable knot that would use most of her body to evenly spread the tension. That way, she could just hang there as though she was being levitated. I even dressed her in a cloak to warm her from the cold night air and to prevent any rope marks from forming.

Louise, however, I was not kind with. Her ankles and wrists were tied together and I stripped her down to her underwear. She didn't wear a bra, so I took a few strips of the woven cotton fabric to cover some of her modesty. But those two things alone would do nothing to protect her from the cold. Naturally, she would try to struggle to break free. And she would learn quickly the more she squirmed the worse her rope burns would get. Oh, and she was upside-down so the blood would go straight to her head.

It didn't stop her from cursing up a storm and threatening me to untie her 'or else'. At first it was no food for the next few days, then to sleeping outdoors, and then to actually thinking she could punish me with the horsewhip she kept in her drawer.

"I'll let you both down until you learn your lesson," I said to the two of them. "Honestly, what made you think I would have allowed either of you to do this? And especially you, Louise. I warned you about treating me like some pet, yet you didn't listen."

Louise's response was more shouting.

"But Darling~" whined Kirche. "I thought we had a deal!"

My frown deepened as my eyes shifted over to the rusty sword in the care of my Sentinel. It came back to me that— shit!— I had made a promise to Kirche should she bring me the very thing I never expected her to find. I mean, seriously, of all the mystical items found throughout every mythology on both Earth and Ilyvander, a weapon with intelligence was unheard of. Now there were stories about gods being suppressed into blades, and vice-versa with swords ascending into the ranks of godhood. But such weapons had sentience, not intelligence. There's a distinction.

Yet, probably because it was me, the grand forces that made up the Laws of the omniverse made it happen. Not only had there been the only unheard of weapon in existence placed onto this world, but Kirche had to be the one to find it. Conveniently on the same day I asked. Conveniently in a store conveniently inside the city where I made the request.

Oh, I remember my promise alright. I promised I would learn to love her. It was the same promise I had made to each of my girls and I had kept that promise no matter what. But still, if they were ever to find out about this, not only will Kirche be skinned alive, but terrible atrocities will befall upon me.

Especially if Reaper ever caught wind of this.

"I'm a man of my word, Ms. Zerbst," I called out to her. "But that doesn't excuse you from treating me the same way Ms. Vallière had."

Granted, I've never done something like this to any of my girls. And not just because they'll beat the living shit out of me for doing it even after they've learned their lesson. I wouldn't do it to them because there was never a need. If I ever told them to stop or warned them they were about to step over the line, they would listen and work with me on a mature level until things were settled.

That included the girls who still had the mentality of a teenager. Therefore, the behavior coming from both Louise and Kirche was inexcusable. However, I don't know why they were acting this way. I would have blamed their noble heritage, but that doesn't seem just. I mean, Alyse was raised as a noble and as the heir to her family practice. Her entire existence screams 'arrogance' even to this day. Hell, she calls herself 'Princess Alyse' because she considers herself to be my first-wife and thinks I love her the most (though I really do but wouldn't dare say it out loud in front of the other girls). Yet she's always been capable of being mature, unlike these two.

The sound of a crinkly page being turned brought my attention down to the small girl sitting beside my Sentinel. Tabitha had not stopped me from tying the two and leaving them as is. In fact, she didn't react other than to look up from her book every now and then. I don't know what she wanted out of all of this. I would have said she didn't care, but if so then she would have returned to her room. She was probably just observing the series of events for her private interest.

"And what do you think about all of this?" I asked her.

She looked up from her book to stare at me, then to look at the dangling girls, and then back at me. "Fair," her voice had been quiet and emotionless. She had stated a fact rather than an opinion.

I gave her a smile and a nod before turning back to admiring my work. However, I couldn't suppress the shiver she gave me. Tabitha reminds me too much like the freshly-made Djinn produced from my workshop. Constantly observant, absorbing every bit of information like a vacuum, and absolutely mechanical in their responses.

No human should revert to such a state of mind. If Louise thought she had problems, Tabitha had some demons, without a doubt.

"So ladies, have you learned your lesson or do you need a few more minutes up there?"

Once again, Louise said some unspeakable things to me. I should either tighten the grip of the ropes or weave a spell to have her spit taste like soap. However, her ranting forced her to squeal and flinch in pain as the ropes began to rub against her skin. Her punishment was self-inflicted, so I chose to stay idle.

"But Darling!" Kirche whined again. "You have to admit that my gift was much better than some base supplies. And the Zero is making you tailor your own outfits? That's just so mean! If it were me I would have bought you a whole wardrobe of Germanium attire!"

"Neither of you are better!" my voice was raised in annoyance. "The both of you purchased exactly what I asked for. Louise gave me something of essential need while you, Kirche, gave me something to advance my research. Both articles are of importance to me. But you can't see that because this isn't about me; this is about you two and your petty differences. I don't care if you two aren't friends, but I'm not letting either of you down until you two are no longer enemies."

With that said, I took a seat beside Tabitha and made myself comfortable. The blue-haired girl looked up once again as I chose to sit probably a little too close to her. There was about a foot of space between us, an amount that was seen as comfortable back on Earth. However, mannerisms were different in this world— especially in this stuck-up era. I might be breaking some code of etiquette. Tabitha didn't react any further and returned to her book, so I can't tell if she wasn't bothered or if her stare was her way of telling me to move away.

"Mao~" Kirch pouted. She continued to hang there with her cheeks inflated. "Tabi, you can't agree with this now, can you?"

The crinkling of another page being turned was the girl's response. She didn't even bother looking up at her friend.

"Y-You can't be serious!" Louise was quickly learning how to shout without having to move her body. Not that it was difficult to begin with, but it meant it would take longer for her to learn her lesson. "You can't expect me to get along with a Zerbst!"

"I don't expect you to," I said at a decent volume. But it was probably too low for her to hear me. "You just have to learn to tolerate each other. Until then, stay up there. Take all the time in the world for all I care."

I then lied down on the grass and put my arm over my eyes. Mentally, I told my Sentinel to wake me once either one of the girls learned the lesson. It even gave me a nod. Cute. With a few flicks of my fingers, a silencing barrier was put up so I wouldn't have to hear Louise anymore. The sensation of being watched wasn't missed; in fact I felt it coming from Tabitha. She hadn't moved as far as I could tell and I didn't detect any magic within the area. What an interesting girl she was to be able to observe my spellcraft without having to direct her eyes my way.

And very sharp. It made me wonder what sort of hell she had to go through to have such a skill.

Regardless, she didn't move away from her spot. She remained as still as a statue with the occasional turning of a page. It was amusing trying to come up with theories on how she was able to read in the dark as my mind began to unwind. She could be a Fire mage and could channel the element into some sort of optic light, but that was stretching the affinity a little bit. Or, she could just have such sharp eyes that all she needed was the faintest of details to pick up the entire deal.

Either way, her presence was… welcomed. She could have moved away or she could have returned to her room. Instead, she chose to remain.

It couldn't have possibly been more than a half of an hour when my senses kicked off. A sharp twinge of metaphysical strings snapping and coming together rattled my consciousness. Someone was casting an intricate spell and draining a lot of planetary fuel from the area around us.

I sat up and channeled Spirit through my veins. Tabitha had put down her book as she felt the disturbance as well. Had the faculty finally decided to send a powerful mage to deal with me? Had they waited for the right moment when I was away from the majority of the students and staff? But if so, did they not care if three of their students would get mixed in the crossfire? Then what would be the point of waiting this long? Or was such a potent mage unavailable until now?

Through the String World, my eyes sought out where this magic was coming from. All the way on the opposite side of the courtyard, a magician was gathering as much energy as they could into one area. This magician was shrouded in a dark cloak with the hood drawn to mask most of their features. Even in the String World the darkness of the night did well to hide them.

With a wave of their wand, the ground came alive at their feet. The magician rose up as rocks and dirt formed into a large hill and continued to rise. The rocks melded in with another, reshaping even to fit certain holes in its design, and started to take form. I watched as the form of a humanoid rock-monster towered over us at fifty feet in height with the caster standing on top.

It waddled as it walked as it lacked the finesse and flexibility of a real creature. However, it did not excuse that it was drawing closer to us. No, the magician didn't seem to actually see us. Did that mean this mage wasn't targeting me? It was heading straight towards the tower.

My eyes widened in horror as the rock monster raised one of its massive arms and began to prepare to swing it around. It didn't seem to bother the mage that a pair of girls was right in front of its path. They were screaming more than loud enough to get anyone's attention. This magician didn't care!

"Burst, Five!"

I bit my lip and drew blood to counter the pain as my body overexerted itself in a flash. Metaphorical gates within my core were forced open to grant me speed, strength, focus, and magic potential up to six times my natural limit. Spirit flared far too hot and channeled far too thick throughout my veins, too intense that my body was being cooked from the inside. Had I not my regenerative properties, I'd be dead.

It didn't matter. I'd bear the pain and the repercussions after. The Gift of Craft came alive as I threw my hands in front of me, my fingers spinning a web so fast and fierce that forced some to dislocate. And if I hadn't the Gift of Craft, Louise and Kirche would be dead.

The rock automaton brought its stub of a fist down in front of it. A thunderous boom echoed throughout the entirety of the school, hopefully waking the faculty and guards. Though, seeing as how useless they've been the past few days, I doubt they'd come to our rescue.

Between the girls and the magic construct appeared a high-grade ethereal wall with cycling energy. It was one of my strongest barriers, and the only one I could use instantly… even if I had to use extreme measures. Made of my Spirit, it was a golden shield twenty-five feet in diameter that could absorb the shock of artillery capable of bringing down a fortress. It continuously spun energy in hundreds of patterns at high-speed cycles to dampen any blow— be it physical or mystical.

Spirit cycling so fast, not only was the automaton bounced back, but a large chunk of its 'hand' had been blown off. The magician riding on top had to frantically wave their wand to stabilize the creature. It nearly fell back by the sudden rejecting force.

The barrier collapsed immediately after.

I fell to my knees and clutched my chest as the pain intensified. Using a 'Burst' command forced multiple layers of my abilities to combine instantaneously. Rather than doing one layer at a time at a steady pace for my body to adapt or reinforce myself with magic to prepare like I had in the duel with Guiche, I had thrown away such precautions and jumped several stages for this emergency. Even if it was just for a second, that one second nearly killed me. If I was a few years younger, doing a Burst of Three would have killed me— as it had when my heart burst open and I was bleeding internally on that night long ago.

But I had done a Burst of Five— two more multitudes since that time. Right now my insides were cooked, my body was numb in some places and screaming in others, and my heart was racing fast enough to warrant a cardiac arrest. I had broken out in a flash sweat that drenched my clothes and panting like a dog. My vision was going dark and I could barely hear anything. My magic was overclocking to heal me. And at the moment I couldn't move.

Tabitha and my Sentinel were moving for me. The girl was muttering things under her breath— incantations for her spells— and waved her staff around as she dashed towards the rock puppet. Windy Icicle, the name of her spell, fired off several pikes of ice at speeds matching arrows of a longbow. She knew she couldn't do anything against the creature, so her attacks were aimed at the magician on top.

But the mage saw through this and commanded his mount to put up its arms to defend. The ice attack shattered upon impact.

My Sentinel, meanwhile, had thrown both its blade and the rusty sword towards the still-hanging girls. Despite how they were squirming, both weapons were able to cut into the ropes and free them. But before either one could begin to drop down, the Sentinel had leapt up to grab onto them. With one girl in each arm, it planted its feet onto the wall of the tower and from there slid down using its own source of Spirit to keep its balance.

I saw as Jinni and Fae blades bounced off a sleek surface as they had continued to fly towards the tower after achieving their intended purpose. The tower was protected by a grand barrier, but I was far too exhausted to make out its properties despite my eyes still tuned into the String World.

The magician was growing annoyed with Tabitha and had tried to swat her away. But the mageling was nimble and used some sort of Wind spell to have her moving across the field to dodge. For a second, her eyes locked with the saved Louise and Kirche. Manipulating her Wind spell once more, she flickered away to gain as much distance as possible. Far enough, she put two fingers to her lips and gave a sharp whistle.

A high-pitch howl came from above, already flying towards our direction after sensing the danger of its master. The blue and white dragon I had seen on the first day swooped down beside Tabitha and rose back up into the air without having to land. The blue-haired mageling had quickly jumped atop as though the two had practiced this for years. She did not pause for a second as she now fired off her spears of ice at the assaulting magician from her advantageous altitude.

But it was a fruitless battle as the rock monster did well to protect its master.

"Hold on Tabitha!" Kirche came to my side only to fetch her wand before running off towards her impending demise. "I'm coming!"

I couldn't stop her. I didn't even have it in me to command my Sentinel to grab her. I felt the Jinni become… confused, for lack of a word. It knew I wanted her out of harm's way but wasn't sure if it was to initiate without a command. In its confusion, it could only stand-by.

I was too busy puking my dinner to argue. I had grown dehydrated so quickly.

Louise too grabbed her wand. There was a look of determination in her eyes as she examined the magician her classmates were trying to fend off. She barely paid me any mind. "It's Foquet the Crumbling Dirt. She must be after what's inside the school treasury."

I had to fight off passing out just to hear what she was saying. My skin was drinking in lunar rays to fuel my recovery. However, only one-tenth as potent as sunlight, moonlight could only grant me so much energy to spend.

I didn't hear what else she had to say. Honestly, when I blinked, she was no longer by my side. In fact, my Sentinel was now assisting me to my feet before I knew it. It hurt to move, but that was a good sign. Parts here and there were no longer numb, which meant they were no longer dead and had rejuvenated tissue. I was about halfway done.

But that second of a blackout cost me the chance to stop Louise. She stood beside Kirche as the red-haired mageling was casing fireball spells in conjecture to Tabitha's Windy Icicle. But the magician, Foquet, had erected a dome of rock around itself and ignored them. The rock puppet didn't need its master's sight to move as it went back to the tower, or the magician had a means to see. Louise raised her wand, took a deep breath, and began a long-winded incantation.

'Stop her!' I commanded my Sentinel.

It hesitated, bowing its head in replication of an expression it had seen from one of the students to signify when they were thinking hard. I felt it calculating what was more important; staying by my side or listening to my command.

Foquet's monster brought its arm back around and started to swing at the tower's wall.

"Fireball!" Louise finished her incantation and flicked her wand towards the dome Foquet hid beneath.

However, as the titan's fist collided with the barrier of the tower, it sent a ripple that shook the ground. Louise and Kirche lost their balance and fell to their knees. And in doing so, Louise's aim had been thrown off.

The result was a concussive force exploding nowhere near Foquet. Louise's anti-magic nature had sent an invisible 'fireball' at the wall of the tower. The blast was strong enough not only to bring the entirety of the barrier down like a layer of shattered glass, but it had also the force to open a gaping hole into the interior of the tower.

Only taking a second to gather himself, Foquet used this to his advantage. The automaton extended its arm for the magician to use as a bridge to enter the treasury. Less than a minute after, as everyone was starting to recover from the sight of Louise's spell, Foquet was already exiting with a large rectangular box in his arms. He had already known what to take and where exactly it was placed.

The dome sprouted back up as Tabitha tried to shoot him down but to no avail.

Louise gritted her teeth, stood back up, and began another incantation of a fireball spell.

Except Foquet wouldn't let her. The rock creature had turned to face her and was already bringing its fist down to crush her. Kirche shouted in alarm and was running to push her out of the way. And Louise stopped her incantation as she froze knowing she was about to die.

'Go!' I commanded as Godking Dalang.

My Sentinel was nothing more than a blurring wind as it flew across the field, kicking up dirt in its launch and whistling as it traveled. Before the fist was brought, the Jinni appeared before both girls, planted its front foot hard into the ground enough to dig a six-inch deep hole, and brought its own fist around as it threw its whole weight into the blow.

Fist met fist.

A thunderous roar transcending when rock met my barrier woke the dead. An eruption of dirt blew both Kirche and Louise off their feet and no doubt bruising them. But it was nothing compared to the opposing side.

The counter-attack from the Jinni was mighty enough to obliterate the magic construct's entire arm and with remaining force left over to knock it off balance. The titan was helpless as the sudden shift in weight sent it falling back. It wasn't over as the blow had destabilized the magic binding the formation together, making the creature crumble apart.

And my Sentinel remained unharmed. Its pearly armor unscratched and glistening red and blue in the moonlight, completely immaculate despite the cloud of dirt wrapping it. As it should, for the Djinn Sentinel were built to face the divine beasts of the Storm King.

Its task not complete, the Sentinel charged forward, leaping over mounds of dirt and soil to reach Foquet in all haste. However, it could not complete its mission. Where the head once was on the rock monster, where Foquet once stood upon, was nothing more than a mass of dirt sealing a tunnel that dug deep into the earth. My Sentinel would have blown open the entrance and pursued, but I could sense a large series of tunnels underground. And each tunnel was layered with his magic, so trying to track him down with his magic signature was impossible. This escape route had already been planned long in advance— who knows which path Foquet took?

I grunted in annoyance more than pain, and that was saying something. The entire engagement lasted fifteen to twenty minutes. Yet nothing more than a few students and some of the help had come out to see what the commotion was. Thankfully, none of them were stupid enough to try to take on Foquet like three certain someones and kept their distance.

But the only professional magician to come to the field was the professor guiding the students from the Springtime Familiar Ritual. The bald man was questioning students with a worried look on his face. He told them to return to their dorms before starting to head towards us.

"Oh Darling~" Kirche came running towards me and tackled me to the ground. I was unable to resist her and landed hard onto my back. She didn't seem to care I was drenched in sweat as she rubbed her cheek against mine. "You were most noble the way you used all of your willpower to save us from being crushed. I saw you create that magnificent defense spell. Oh Darling, I know just the way to reward you~"

Thankfully, before being molested any further, my Sentinel grabbed her by the collar of her cloak and lifted her off of me. The eight-foot tall giant let her down softly on her feet before reaching a hand to pull me back up.

Behind it, Louise was using its large stature to hide herself from her peers. She was dressed in nothing but her underwear after all. She threw me a look that resembled more of a frenzied kitten than a pissed-off girl.

I sighed, "Kirche, please report everything that happened tonight to the professor heading this way. If possible, I would like to know why he's the only one present during such a situation. But if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with Louise."

Tabitha and her dragon landed just then. The petite girl slid down and walked towards us with the same blank expression as before. When she was at a good enough distance, she pulled out the book from the inside of her cloak and continued her reading.

"Um… certainly," Kirche said after looking between Louise and I. "Are you sure you do not need any assistance? I wouldn't mind nursing you back to health~"

"Kirche quit trying to s-s-seduce my familiar!" Louise barked as she peeked around one of the legs of my Sentinel like a small child would… which, hilariously, wasn't far off.

The look I gave Kirche said I wasn't in the mood. My body was still in pain and there was no way I could channel any Spirit. I was defenseless and could only rely on my Sentinel should the approaching professor see my state of weakness and decide to attack. I hate using the Burst command, especially over something as taxing as activating five Gears simultaneously. And I was stupid enough to do it without amplifying myself with Craven magic first. Yes, I was glad everyone was safe, but even the most mundane of methods could kill me at the moment.

However, if push comes to shove, I could use the magic of the Carnage family. But that was the last resort after the actual last resort. I wouldn't inflict any of those curses even on the most atrocious of villains. They were far too inhumane and I enjoy sleeping soundly at night.

Kirche gave a huff and walked off to meet with the professor with Tabitha in tow. The blue-haired mageling never looked up from her book. And her dragon followed obediently.

That left me alone with Louise and the Sentinel.

"I'm not going to wear that!" was the first thing Louise declared when I handed her my sweaty, stinky sweater.

"Then stay naked for all I care," I retorted but continued to hold out my sweater for her. My eyes narrowed and brows creased. The weight of the fabric was making my arm shake. Bottom line, I was tired and wasn't in the mood to deal with her childishness. "Let everyone see you in your underwear as I drag you back to the room by your hair."

"You wouldn't…" Louise raised her wand at me in warning but the words fell short. Her face scrunched in thought as she no doubt recalled the last few times she challenged me.

With a huff much like the one Kirche gave me, she snatched the sweatshirt out of my hand and began to put it on. She complained about how gross it was, which was understandable.

Quickly taking her hand, I pulled her away to circle around the Academy. It was going to take us a little while longer to return to the dormitories, but by doing so we would be avoiding the crowds. My Sentinel stayed behind to retrieve the weapons it tossed during the engagement and to watch my back should someone try anything while we retreated.

A little more than halfway through, I had to stop at the fountain within one of the courtyards. I couldn't really call it a fountain as there wasn't a sort of plumbing system installed to cycle the water, but rather it was a large pool with marble statues decorated at the center. For now, I shall call it a fountain because in my current state I can't think of what else to call it.

In any case, I approached, took in a deep breath, and dunk my head into the icy cold water. The water in this age is nowhere near pure as it is on Earth or Ilyvander. But my extreme dehydration didn't stop me from gulping down as much as possible. Even after quenching my thirst I just let my body lay over the edge with my head submerged. I don't know how much time had passed but it must have been more than enough for Louise to start tugging at the back of my shirt. I had heard her voice but couldn't comprehend what she was saying. At first it had been subtle, and then quickly growing frantic as I didn't respond. She tried pulling me out but there was no way she could have.

Once I decided to resurface my sudden jerk startled her enough to fall onto her bottom. Oh, she was yelling at me not to scare her like that, even continuing to call me 'familiar'. But I had tuned it out. I was still trying to recover. My eyes were closed as I focused on my body trying to purify the water I had just drank while hastening the process of distributing it wherever it was needed. I had also produced a lot of acid and had to focus on ridding myself of that.

I really hate using Burst commands.

Moments later, we had been able to return to Louise's room without coming across anyone else. Checking one last time, all of my seals and wards were still set up to keep noise from escaping as well as warn me in advance should anyone approach with the intention of doing anything to Louise— be it for good, bad, or for any other reason. And if those who had bad intentions towards Louise were to approach, then the trap will retaliate depending on the seriousness of those intentions.

In short, Louise would be safe for the remainder of the night. And the little pinklette didn't even know it.

"What did you need to talk about?" she said as she finished wiping herself down with a wet cloth before fitting into her nightclothes. She must have been recalling what I had said to Kirche.

"Tomorrow," was all I ground out before dragging one of the chairs towards the window. I sat down, leaned back until my head was against the windowsill, and made myself as comfortable as possible. The lukewarm radiance of the twin moons continued to rejuvenate me with the weakest form of Spirit. It was still welcomed as my body was desperate to bring me back to full recovery.

"So you'll be staying here tonight?"

I nodded with my eyes closed, not knowing if she saw my gesture or not. Sleep was drawing closer to me and I was allowing it.

"…Very well. Good night familiar."

I didn't respond, but my brow did twitch out of habit at this point. Whatever, I can deal with Louise in the morning. And as soon as the sun was up I could step out and begin my own investigation on what transpired this evening. I needed to know what he was after, why he was after it, and where he had gone off to. I also needed to reevaluate my impressions on the academy. What else did they have hidden away in their treasury? Why did they have something alluring enough to have a powerful thief come after it, at an academy for children at that? And why hadn't anyone else come to stop him?

Where, the fuck, is the stupid security?!

*Scene*

"You're just like me, ain't ya?"

My Sentinel gave a nod, the gesture it had learned when another being meant 'yes'. It could nod, it could shake its head, it could shrug— at the end all it had learned was how to appropriately answer yes or no questions.

"Heh. It's been a while since I've seen armor with life in it. Nothing like the ones the mages of the day do now. If I knew better, I'd thought your handler was an Elf."

A shrug.

"Ya really can't talk all that much, can ya? No matter, no matter. I can see that yur learnin'. This ain't no Elven magic, is it? Your handler sure is something alright."

Another nod.

"Oh but believe me, I don't think I'll be talking to him anytime soon. Did ya see the way the guy was looking at me? Undressing me? Brr! Gives me the shakes, that it does. Felt like he was looking into my everything. And not just appraising me like some collector would— I mean he was going in… deep."

A shrug.

"And the kid did wandless magic at that. Well, he is your handler after all, and you're sure somethin'. Still, a bit green. He doesn't seem to be comfortable with himself just yet… but he's… something alright. Like someone who gained all his power without any of the experience to back it up… Heh. But what do I know? I'm just a sword. You probably know him better than I do."

A pause. Then a shake.

"Oh? He made you, didn't he? The way ya follow him I'd figure ya knew him for a long, long, long time. Your bond seems to be stronger than even some of the oldest of master-familiar ones. How old are ya anyways? Ya have the skill and tact of the most experienced of swordsmen, and ya communicate well with your handler. Ya understand him down to the finest detail. But you lack expression. Yur a strange one, ya know that?"

Within this dream, I could only sigh. I'm not too sure what I was sighing about. Was it annoyance or was it grief? Late into the hour as the thrill had died down and everyone returned to their dens, my Jinni and Kirche's gift sword were sharing a moment together by the tree I usually slept under. The sword was doing all the talking while the white automaton was responding to the best of its abilities. It had yet to learn how to talk, but could replicate the gestures it had learned from the students it had watched.

Slipping out of the mind of my Sentinel, I returned to my dreamless sleep to allow my body to heal without further distractions…

*Scene*

"…And before we knew it, Foquet was gone," Louise concluded her part of the tale on what happened last night.

We had been gathered together— that is, Kirche, Tabitha, Louise, and I— right at dawn by the headmaster's secretary, a green-haired witch with glasses named Ms. Longuevuille. She had fetched every one of us and took us towards the headmaster's office to ask us questions regarding Foquet's attack. I had been wary, but hadn't sensed any mal-intent from her. It didn't stop me from preparing some Spirit and a few blueprints for offensive and defensive weaves just in case.

My body may have fully healed, but there was still some phantom pain once I started to channel Spirit again. The pain of being burned from the inside will do that to you.

"Tunnels under school," Tabitha elaborated a little further on why and how Foquet had been able to get away. Her words were short and precise, and they were vague enough to warrant some thought. However, if someone had the least amount of common sense, they could understand what she meant.

Gathered around us were all of the professors of the academy. The office was large enough to fit all of them, us, and a few more should any others decide to show up. And like any other room at this ludicrous academy, the room was lavish with carpets of rich color, rare wooden furnishings, oil paintings, glass decorations such as a chandelier over our heads and a few statue figures, and the tall windows behind the headmaster's desk. Like any office, it contained a large desk, another desk to the side for his secretary, a series of shelves against the wall filled to the brim with books of all kinds, chairs for guests, and a coffee table when sharing drinks and snacks.

The headmaster of the academy and I had shared looks as soon as I entered his office. I had seen this man before when I unraveled his scrying spell and I knew he had seen me do it. He was an old man of a frail build with long white hair that fell down his back and a long white beard that fell to the middle of his torso. He was dressed in violet robes— there was nothing else to note of this man other than he, noticeably, kept his wooden staff within an arm's reach at all times. His eyes were sharp due to his age, and it felt like there was more but couldn't be sure.

And then there was his familiar. A mouse. A simple little white mouse smaller than Louise's palm. I watched as it ran across the room as the meeting went on, tracing its path and wondering why it was roaming around. I also couldn't help but notice it seemed to stop right below the younger female professors, pausing, and then moved to the next one. And as the three girls went on with their report of last night, I watched as the mouse began to trek its way towards them. It stopped first at Kirche, looked up, paused, and then scurried its way again to Tabitha to repeat the process.

And as the headmaster, Old Osmond, listened intently on what happened last night, even going as far as responding with the occasional question, there was a twinkle in his eyes that I almost missed. Almost. Oh, this man was good. I finally understood what his little mouse was doing. As it scurried around, the headmaster was keeping track of its movements without having to directly look at it. So long as he kept it within his peripheral vision it was all that mattered. He also did exceptionally well at masking his reactions.

To be blunt, the man was a pervert.

When it was Louise's turn for the mouse to peer up its skirt, it froze. I looked down at the little vermin and watched as its eyes locked with mine. After Lolifor had the audacity to flirt with my sister, who was twelve at the time, I had gained an absolute-no-pervert policy. Especially against a filthy old man ten to twenty times the years of Louise. If it dared to look up and transfer the image to its master, there was going to be hell to pay. Simple as that.

It scurried away in great panic. Still, I should be weary of the creature. The mouse was old. I didn't need to switch into the vision of the String World to see that. But after doing so anyways, I had been able to see that there was more to it than just simple age. There was potent magic within its core. Magic far more damp than what its miniscule body should be able to contain. Like a liter bottle trying to contain an Olympic pool's amount. It defied many principles.

And if the mouse was so powerful, Old Osmond had to be its equal, if not greater. Regardless of the familiar runes, creatures of such power should be able to defy their masters. This also applied to the Laws of Summoning. It states the summoner must always be greater than the summoned.

There were exceptions to this law, of course. Such as someone stumbling upon a premade summoning circle with the appropriate amount of magic energy installed and calling upon a demon or greater deity. But those were always made to summon specific beings; unless the summoner was stronger than the summoned, then the summoned would always cancel the summoning once their interest was lost. And then there was the summoning rite of Champions in Ilyvander's Age of Magicians in which Sir Rolan was summoned thirty-something times by the most random of magicians. And the end result was most of them to be killed by him for wasting his time.

Regardless, it always left me curious on what it meant for Louise to have summoned me. Without a doubt I could kill the little mageling a hundred ways with just my bare hands. Apply my magic into the mix and I could do so with infinite possibilities. Even Louise's anti-magic affinity wouldn't be able to save her if I came at her with a mundane weapon. The familiar runes weren't anywhere near strong enough to bind me to her will and I was aware of their influence. Nothing save for my personal morality was keeping me from killing her. I'd hate to have to kill a young girl over something as silly as this. I'm no Sir Rolan. So there raised the question: what did it mean if I was her destined her familiar; or, did Louise use some sort of template in summoning me?

But what do I know? I'm getting off track anyways. There're more important things to worry about.

Old Osmond did not give any response to the way I looked at his familiar. He gave a hum in thought and stroked his long beard after listening to the report of the students. "This is most unfortunate," he began. "Foquet was able to steal the Staff of Destruction right under our noses. It's a good thing the Royal Messenger decided to return to his manor after his visit yesterday, else that would bring another series of troubles our way."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. No, no, we can't possibly have any government official know that the academy really screwed up and endangered the children it was trusted with to protect. Or the absolute lack of security in the first place.

"However," the headmaster brightened somewhat as he turned towards his green-haired secretary, "Ms. Longuevuille was able to find out the whereabouts of Foquet."

"Yes, headmaster," Longuevuille stepped forward and pulled a sheet of poorly made paper with a drawing of a figure on the front. It resembled the one I had seen last night. "I did an investigation as soon as I heard. A local nearby village had some of its hunters say to me that they had spotted a hooded figure passing through the forest. They suspect this figure was going towards the abandoned cottage. If we hurry, we may be able to catch up to Foquet before he leaves. It is only two hours away by horse."

"Right, and the capital is two hours away in the opposite direction," elaborated the headmaster. "If we try to call for guards it'll be six hours total, and by then Foquet will more than likely leave. No, we need to strike now. A golem of that size must have depleted his willpower and will need time to recover. This is something we will have to do on our own. So, who among you will have the honor of bringing Foquet to justice?"

…Oh for the love of…

And, of course, no one volunteered. Teachers looked at another much like the teenagers they watched over would have, daring one to step up or ridiculing the other for being about to. There was also the look of fear on all of them. No one wanted to confront Foquet, especially alone.

The one to raise their wand to volunteer was Louise. "Headmaster, because of my actions Foquet was able to enter the vault. I should be the one to bring him to justice."

A series of gasps followed after.

Kirche raised her wand immediately after. "I will go too." Her head turned to look down at Louise with a smirk across her face. "I can't have a Vallière of all people show me up."

And then, Tabitha raised her staff without having bothered to look up from her book.

"Tabi?" Kirche looked at her friend.

"Worried for you," was all she said in reply before turning a page with her thumb.

My eyes returned to the headmaster, who bore a proud smile on his face. "Yes this is most wonderful. The three of you are more than enough to go after Foquet. Tabitha is a young mage from Gallia of Triangle class who has already earned the rank of Chevalier."

More gasps were shared, even from Louise and Kirche. Tabitha did not react in any way as though she had not heard the headmaster's praise whatsoever. I, however, was intrigued, yet at the same time disgusted. She was just as old as Louise and had already gained the title of knight? By the way Osmond said it, it sounded like the title was something earned, not inherited like most positions of nobility. It would also explain why the girl was so… emotionless. It made me wonder, could she perhaps have experienced war?

"And Ms. Zerbst comes from a prestige family from Germania and is an excellent Triangle-class Fire mage."

Kirche gave a smug smile as her arms crossed under her breasts, adding emphasis to their depth as they were pushed up. Even I was surprised. Someone as young as Guiche had already mastered two to three tiers of their magic potential. Perhaps Kirche had more to her than her… charm. That, or I may need to reevaluate my understanding of this world's magic system.

"And Ms. Vallière…" the headmaster turned to give his praise to Louise. And Louise was ready for it with her head raised and a small smile of anticipation creeping. But no such thing came. Time drew out, the headmaster coughed, and began stroking his beard again. "Well… She's very persistent."

My poor summoner's pride came crashing down as she fell to her knees in despair. She began drawing symbols into the carpet as though some magic to cheer her up would trigger.

"That's right!" the bald-headed professor, Professor Colbert, stepped up from the corner of the room. An excited smile lit up his face as his eyes locked on to mine. "Her familiar is the legendary Gan—"

His hand came up to cut off whatever he was about to say.

The headmaster coughed loudly to bring the attention back onto himself before questions could be raised. "Yes, the three of you will go with Ms. Longuevuille to this cottage and retrieve the Staff of Destruction. If you can, reprimand Foquet but do not do anything that may endanger your lives. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" said the three girls as well as Longuevuille.

"Then if that is all—"

"You're all pathetic," I interrupted, venom spitting out of that last word.

Eyes turned my way. Teachers asked me generic things like 'how dare you' or 'who do you think you are'. To them, I was nothing more than a servant of Louise's; to some I was her Dishonored-Noble magic tutor and to others her personal guard. As such, I shouldn't be permitted to speak out of term, especially against the Nobility. Every one of these professors was of a Noble house and I had just insulted them.

"Familiar," Louise hissed under her breath. "Be quiet!"

I grimaced and brought my index and thumb fingers near her forehead. Her brows crossed as she became confused with what I was about to do. "One," I commanded for my potential to double. With it, I flicked her forehead.

Her head snapped back a little as my finger left a mark. Her hands cupped the tender bruise as she muttered "Ow, ow, ow" over and over again. Tears threatened to fall out of the corner of her eyes.

My eyes went towards Kirche, who flinched by the look I was giving her. "Ms. Zerbst, I cannot force you to do anything. But I strongly prefer to not go. Unless you have some sort of withheld potential you intently hid last night, you do not stand a chance against that Earth mage. Do not go on a fool's errand. The same advice goes to you, Tabitha. Though you may be a knight, unless you have a far more variant spell than Windy Icicle you can only do the same as you had last night."

Tabitha looked up at me for a moment, her expressionless eyes boring into mine and evaluating my words. After a moment, she nodded and then returned to her book. Kirche meanwhile tilted her head in thought while tapping her chin with a slender finger. She didn't respond as she was trying to draw out time to see what will happen next before coming to a decision.

"F-Familiar!" Louise ground out as the pain started to recede.

I brought my two fingers back to her brow again. She flinched and moved away from my proximity.

My eyes moved towards the headmaster, who was leaning against his desk with his hands cupped. He remained patient with an expression that permitted me to carry on with my words.

So I did, "It is not my place to criticize the workings of this institution, however I will not hold back my concern. From what little I have seen and experienced during the classes Vallière allowed me to accompany her with, I have seen nothing within these walls that teaches a magician military academics. Social etiquette, history, mathematics, economics and government, and magical theory are the only classes installed at this institute with five towers specializing in each of the elemental affinities but the common four only in use. And in their magical studies the only thing taught is how to direct their 'willpower' into practical use.

"This is a fine institution for future researchers, not soldiers. There are no training grounds, no dueling spaces, no tools or equipment to teach such matters, and definitely no teacher with the backbone to teach these Noble brats how to fight. As a neutral-standing academy in which welcomes students from all across Halkegenia, it is nothing short of a scandal if you began teaching military academia.

"Yet," my eyes narrowed as Spirit unintentionally began to flow through my veins. "You're perfectly fine with sending off students after a thief who had no problem attempting to kill them. As a teacher, no, as an adult you are in charge of protecting them. I cannot force Kirche or Tabitha to clean up your mistake, but Louise will not be going."

"What!" Louise shrieked in outrage.

"…If that is what you believe is best," nodded the headmaster. "But what about you? You're quite the formidable mage from what I've seen. There is a bounty on Foquet's head. Five thousand gold for his capture alive and five hundred dead. And I'm sure for retrieving the Staff of Destruction we can grant another five hundred."

"Five thousand gold?" I asked with interest in my tone. With the uniform and the materials yesterday costing two-hundred gold, I'm sure that amount could cover my living expenses for a while without having to further freeload off this place.

He gave me a nod.

I smiled back. "Well then, you'd best keep it and hire some security."

With that, I moved away from the desk, took Louise's hand even as she tried to pry it off, and dragged her out of the office.

"I'll probably be replaced for this," said the headmaster with a heavy sigh.

I stopped. My eyes narrowed in disgust. I knew what he meant by those words better than anyone. After looking at the man I knew what kind of person he was. A puppeteer with a fool's mask. Someone with a silver tongue who could talk his way out of any situation. Someone who could hide in plain sight and do as he pleased without worrying about drawing attention.

Another Lolifor, in other words.

"Headmaster?" Colbert questioned.

The old man went on. "Once word gets out that we were unable to stop Foquet from stealing from us as well as letting him get away, most from the House of Lords will be furious. Many of their children attend this academy after all. Once I'm booted out the door, a new headmaster will take my place of their choosing. And they will have to keep a close eye on the academy for a while. I suspect they'll have a no-tolerance policy. The students and the staff won't be able to fool around as much as I would have let them. They'll crack down on any disturbances. Hmm… but on the bright side, maybe then I'll be able to retire like I always wanted to."

"…Headmaster?" Colbert asked again with a worrying smile on his face.

My hand shattered the glass knob in my frustration as well as never powering-down. Better to crush it than Louise's wrist. He had said that part all for me. He was threatening both Louise and I with our secrecy. True word about me would eventually escape the academy walls, but Osmond was letting me know he would personally see to it that the knowledge would reach one of the highest positions of power.

One, I had threatened to kill a child of Nobility. And two, I had declared in front of all of those who saw that I was a King. Such things would not be tolerated in a military academy back on Earth— and no doubt the punishment would be more vicious in this Renaissance themed world.

"Everyone out," I growled as I released Louise and moved back to the desk. "Now!"

Heads were turned and sneers were exchanged as they still continued to question about my position. One look at all the teachers got them to shut up. Old Osmond nodded and repeated my demand. With some reluctance, everyone began to exit the room, including Tabitha and Kirche. Osmond gestured for Longuevuille to leave but gave a different gesture for Colbert to stay.

"You too," I said to Louise after Longuevuille passed me by. And as the pinkette was about to stamp her foot down and argue, I looked down at her and glared. I wasn't in the mood for argument. She backed away enough for me to shut the door.

A few weaves later had every corner of the room sealed shut. There was no point in trying to conceal my spellcraft as the old man had already seen it several times when spying on Louise and I. No one would enter, no one would leave, and nothing save bringing the walls themselves down could penetrate my wards. We were shut away from the world.

"I believe there are a few things we need to discuss," I began. "I don't know what your game is, but do not waste my time. I want straight answers. And I believe it all starts with why you chose to spy on me rather than try to protect your student, Guiche. It was within my power to kill him yet you did nothing let alone prepare a spell at the last second. And if he is here," I pointed at Colbert, "then I suspect it has something to do with what he was about to call me during this meeting. And if so then it has something to do with me being the only human familiar. And I also suspect it has something to do with Louise's obscure elemental affinity."

Solstice appeared in my grip. Colbert tensed as his brows came together. Osmond's hand twitched towards the direction of his staff, but he stilled it to remain on the armrest of his chair.

I planted the blade at my feet with my hands resting around its guard. It was there to show I was willing to listen but at the same time not afraid to attack should they try to talk their way out of this. I would not tolerate another Lolifor.

"Start talking."

*Scene*

"I still don't understand why I have to be here," whined Guiche for the… oh, for the umpteenth time. I had lost count a while ago.

"Because if I have to put up with this bullshit, then so do you," I chose to answer with rather than the much more mature responses I had come up with. Currently, my hand was cupped around my brow as I tried to contain my headache. A simple weave could have gotten rid of it, but with everything that was happening, it would more than likely come back with a vengeance. There was no point wasting Spirit and about fifteen commands to temporarily remove an unavoidable burden.

I had been given the short version of details pertaining Louise and I by Professor Colbert and Headmaster Osmond. Apparently, though all familiars are branded with runes somewhere on their body after their summoning, my runes were a unique series with a bit of a kick in it. The last human familiar was some six-thousand years ago by Founder Brimir himself. In short, Brimir had been able to brand four humans together as his familiars with each of them having unique abilities depending on their runes.

On my left hand were the runes of the Gandálfr, the Left Hand of God. According to legend, the Gandálfr was Brimir's vanguard while the mage stood far away in preparing his devastating magics. It is said the Gandálfr was able to master any weapon and had the potential to take on armies on his own.

Of course, legends are exaggerated. Other than the tug at the back of my mind to try to be a little nicer to Louise, there was no extra mystery installed in the runes. Brining Solstice and even placing it in my left hand activated nothing. Even reexamining the weaves in the String World I found nothing extra in its design. I could only guess I had more runes than the average familiar because I was human and had either higher intelligence, willpower, and/or magic defense to defy my master.

If I was the real Gandálfr of legend, then that would make Louise the next coming of Founder Brimir. It would also explain her anti-magic affinity if she was aligned to the Void element. But if that was the case, then she should have no problem whatsoever when dealing with any of the other elements as Void was the indirect affinity which bound all things together. Maybe because she was trying a direct approach in her spellcraft rather than an indirect method?

Osmond needed to confirm whether she was a Void mage or not as well as if I was the Gandálfr, which was why he attempted to spy on us for the past few days. Due to her credibility of flunking each of her spells, even the headmaster was skeptical about whether she had truly summoned me and had staged everything. It was possible, to him anyways, that Louise stumbled upon a book in the forbidden Fenrir section of the library and saw the familiar runes of Gandálfr and decided to use them as a way to fool everyone.

Never mind people saw me fall from the sky while the runes were burned into my skin. Or (oh!) that my magic was completely different than , yeah, you know, people tend to believe whatever they want when their religion was put to question.

Which lead me here right now: sitting in the back of a small open wagon across of Guiche with Longuevuille steering dear Mercedes. I was told to either retrieve the Staff of Destruction or to at least reprimand Foquet the Crumbling Dirt. It was another opportunity for them to see if I really was Gandálfr or if Louise had faked the summoning and had hired me. And to make sure not a single detail was missed, the headmaster had his familiar, the mouse Motsognir, accompany us by riding on my shoulder. In exchange, I was still offered the monetary compensation of retrieving both the Staff and Foquet as well as Osmond continuing to conceal my existence from the outside world as long as possible.

I had to put my foot down about allowing Louise and the girls from coming along. I stood by my opinion that none of them were able to take on Foquet should things turn into a brawl. They would be a liability and too much of a distraction if I had to protect them while dealing with the thief mage. However, I had no problems dragging Guiche along with me.

However, it raised a question why Osmond allowed Longuevuille to join us. If she was sent to keep an eye on me then he wouldn't need to have sent his familiar. Or perhaps he trusted his familiar more than Longuevuille? Then there was no need to have her come along. So why was she here if Osmond already knew I could deal with Foquet on my own?

"Consider this a learning experience," I explained to Guiche a little more. "Your classes have been canceled today and you weren't doing anything anyways. As I remember, our agreement was for you to be under my services in times you were idle."

"Y-Yes, I recall…" Guiche slouched a little more. "But I would have felt a little more assured had you brought your golem with us."

"Jinni," I corrected. "I left it to watch over the academy while I was away and to keep an eye on Ms. Vallière. It's likely since all the commotion and with everyone so timid Foquet may use the tunnels to return to the school and steal some more."

"Eh?" Guiche didn't seem to understand. "Who in their right mind would try to steal from the Nobility a second time? And especially in the middle of the day? There's no need to have it guarding something that won't be broken into again so soon."

"And that right there is the reason why I'm keeping it where it is," my frown deepened. "Everyone has the same mindset. And because of it there is no security. As you say, who would dare to steal from the Nobility? Especially at a foundation with a gathering of magicians? Normally, such things filter out the timid. But you have a person like Foquet who has both bravery and common sense to figure out there is nothing to be worried about. He practically strolled in, took what he wanted, and could have easily walked away had my Jinni not destroyed his… golem."

Golem. I've never heard of the word before coming here. But if that's what they called magic constructs then so be it.

"You seem to have some experience with thieves, Mr. Philips," Longuevuille turned her head to look at me through the corner of her vision. "Were you by chance a mercenary or body guard before finding yourself in Ms. Vallière's services?"

"Neither," I answered with a shrug, causing Motsognir to stir in its sleep. I thought the little pest had to keep an eye on me. "I believe taking the moment to think of the situation and apply some common sense can provide an answer to even the most complicated problems. It's never failed me before. Most people tend to overcomplicate things and forget simple is best. Especially finding myself in Tristain— the Nobility think they're invincible with their magic. I've never seen more brittle people before in my life."

Longuevuille laughed at that, while Guiche wanted to argue but closed his mouth before realizing who he was about to try and correct.

A while later, we reached a fork and had to hike the rest of the way until we reached a clearing through the forest. Just like Longuevuille had said, there was a shabby looking cottage that needed some much needed repairs. I had Guiche surrounded the cottage with a few of his Valkyrie golems while Longuevuille scouted the area.

"One… Two…" Spirit surged through me as I amplified myself with two Gears as well as steadying my body with Craven magic. I was now seventeen times more durable and stronger in both physique and magic as well as mentally sharper.

With it, I kicked open the door, ducked low in the case of traps, and charged inside with Solstice in my hands. But it was all pointless as there was no signs of magic or even life other than a few insects. My eyes could not pick up traces that Foquet had even been here.

However, placed on top of what once was a bed was a rectangular case of wood. It was just sitting there as though waiting for anyone to pick it up.

…If this didn't scream trap I don't know what did.

My eyes did not pick up any magic traps installed and a little closer examination showed that there was nothing mundane like poison darts or the sorts. But they did show that there was something within the case, so Foquet had left it inside. But something deemed the Staff of Destruction did not emulate any magic, so I could only conclude it had been a decoy the thief made.

To make sure, I dismissed Solstice and opened the case…

…And closed it as I could not understand what I had just seen.

This was no magic instrument. I suppose, given the barbaric nature of this world, it would explain why this thing was called the Staff of Destruction. But from what Osmond had told me, it was a magic instrument capable of killing a dragon. It was a high-tech rocket-propelled grenade launcher made out of unidentifiable black chrome metal— a metal not found on the periodic table like my Djinn armory. What irked me was the quality of the metal. It had a ridiculous resistance to heat and pressure with a flexible nature to absorb tremendous force.

It also had intense resistance against all forms of magic, including my Spirit.

It was a cylindrical instrument much like any other rocket launcher, but had a fore grip, a HUD scope that could still be turned on, and five different settings which could instantly be accessed by twisting the barrel end. Now I had no idea what those settings were; I only knew they were there because of the numbers placed at the end with an arrow etched into the metal to show which mode it was currently set on. There also wasn't a place to insert ammo, so I had no idea what this thing really could shoot.

Regardless, this clearly wasn't something belonging of this world. Hell, this was top-secret high-grade military equipment when comparing it to Earth's technology. In this backwater world, this could be the most powerful weapon. Period.

I was so focused on the item that I didn't notice the strings below my feet had been shifting for quite some time. My eyes widened as I caught on and realized they were moving in the same manner last night when Foquet summoned his giant golem.

"P-Philips!" Guiche shouted in alarm outside.

"Three!" I grabbed the case and bolted out of the window, breaking the frame and glass with my skin too dense for any damage to be done against me. Seconds later, the cottage collapsed as a colossal sum of rock hammered down from above. My leap had taken me several feet away but even then the force of the eruption continued to push me away. No harm had been done onto me other than confusing my senses.

I rolled with the case tucked in my arms and brought myself back up onto my feet.

Towering over us was a golem of same design as last night. The only exception would have to be that this golem was nearly twice as large. Where it was a little over fifty feet before, now it was about a hundred. It's mass three times as thick to support its ridiculous size. Despite its lack of muscle and membranes, it moved faster than it did last night.

Like when it turned my way and began to swing its fists wildly.

"Four!" my fourth Gear activated and raised my full potential to fifty-nine times my mundane limit. With Spirit, Craven magic, the Gears, and my natural stamina, I was able to swerve around the clearing as I dodged its attacks. The ground was torn asunder and sent tremors. Guiche was already on the floor with his Valkyries shattering as they were blown away in the crossfire. Even with Craven magic applied to my footwork and to maintain my center of gravity it was difficult to remain standing. If I fell once then it would all be over.

Luckily the golem had its sights only on me, so Guiche was able to get away. On the downside, I was being viciously sought after without a moment of rest. With the ground continuously shaking, all of my focus was on keeping my balance. Patterns of weaves were waiting to be stitched in my head, but without a moment of breath I couldn't do much.

It also didn't help that I, like the idiot that I am at times, continued to hold on to the stupid case.

I could, however, perform instant commands with the Gift of Craft. Spears of fire which exploded on impact were launched while I continued to travel away from the golem. But they did not slow it down and what rock my spells were able to blow off was immediately repaired by Foquet, wherever the devil was. The rock construct continued to swing its fists my way, even as I took the chance to run into the trees to use them to hide my presence. Alas, Foquet must have been using the ground to sense my footing because the golem never lost track of me.

It probably wasn't a good idea to return to the forest. I was endangering the wild life here and Longuevuille was scouting around the area. What if I drew it to her by mistake?

On the bright side, it might work both ways if I stumbled upon Foquet.

Wood splintered everywhere with the next strike with enough force to kill a normal man. Most bounced off of me, but a large trunk slammed into my side, knocking me off my feet while bruising two of my ribs. That second of helplessness was more than enough for the golem to bring both its fists down on my location.

"Five!" I ground out and bit down on my lip to draw blood. With the fifth Gear active, my body was now starting to feel the pain of exerting far too much even with such safety measures like Craven magic. But that one Gear saved my life as my reaction time sharpened. While still flying through the air because of the tree, I dug my fingers into the earth and sprung my wrist in a completely different direction. Fingers broke as they not only suppressed force a thousand times its limit but also generated a counter amount to fling me away.

When the golem brought its two fists down to crush me, I was barely outside its range. More rocks, dirt, and trees erupted and sent me tumbling uncontrollably. But I forced myself to focus on my surroundings, dug my heels into the ground, and leapt here and there in order to regain my balance. I had been able to turn something which could confuse anyone into a pseudo launchpad.

The golem didn't stop there. It twisted its body and dragged its large arm across the field, breaking trees easily as it sought after me more.

With another kick, I leapt forward and up, landed on its arm, and used it to launch myself further away.

Immediately, it turned to pursue.

But finally I was far enough to lay out some serious damage.

In the middle of the air, well over even some of the tallest of trees, I spun around to face the golem several meters away from me. But with it charging, it would be upon me in a matter of seconds. And with only one hand, because I still had this stupid case on me, even with the Gift of Craft, my options were limited in this short time.

Spirit surged through my veins and out of my fingertips, folded, twisted, knitting into coils of ethereal strings. The Gift of Craft came alive and blazed its geometric wings at my command. My left hand turned and rolled its wrist as my fingers flicked around blindly fast.

With a final throw of my arm, a missile of blue light fired at the golem, creating a sonic boom at its launch. Also ringing my ears, but my natural defenses kept me from going deaf. Before I could so much as blink, the projectile struck the golem between its 'eyes', even sending it reeling back with blunt force. Rock flew everywhere and the sound of impact could be felt at my distance.

Then, the magic kicked in.

Spikes of ice sprouted from the point of impact and grew from there. While the surface was being coated in a dense layer of ice, the magic was rooting itself inside the golem. It was drilling through the construct, making its own thorn-like veins. I watched as I started to descend from my jump how the golem was slowing down until it could no longer move its limbs.

An inertia dampening barrier was spun before I came crashing down. At five Gears and the Gift of Craft active, the spell was several times more efficient than the one I first made when summoned by Louise. I had been able to land nimbly on my feet while my barrier took all the force.

The fingers in my right hand had healed and I could now move them. It meant I could weave some of my more intricate spells should the need arise. I did not power-down as Foquet was still within the area and could construct another golem. He might not be able to do so at the same level as the one he just made, as it must have cost so much internal mystic energy (called Willpower by these people), but he could still create something to retrieve the Staff of Destruction.

So, I kept the case under my arm and kept my Gears wound. If the weapon was so important to the thief, then he'll try to get it back. My eyes switched into the String World as I began to look for the mage. I found Guiche still staying in the clearing with a few of his Valkyries standing guard. And I found Longuevuille at the opposite end deep in the forest squatting on a branch high in the trees. But where was Foquet? He had to be within the vicinity in order to keep an eye on his golem.

Before I could weave a tracking spell using the golem's signature as a medium, a howl from the skies made my heart drop down to my stomach.

"Kyuuuu~" Tabitha's dragon flew over my head coming from the direction of the academy. Riding on its back was Tabitha, of course, Kirche, and… Louise.

I was disappointed with Tabitha and Kirche being here, but I did say I had no right in keeping them away. Perhaps they found a way around Foquet's golem and that was why it took them so long to get here. However, I was furious with Louise. She had no right to be here as she lacked the mental fortitude both her classmates had.

I also wanted to know how the hell she was able to leave without my Sentinel noticing.

More dread filled me as I watched Louise point her wand at the golem and begin her series of incantations. Kirche was the one to turn her head and question what she was doing, but didn't so much as try to stop her. Tabitha didn't move her eyes away from the construct either.

"Louise!" I shouted, my voice amplified by magic. "Don't!"

But, of course, my summoner didn't listen. I watched as she finished her incantation, flicked her wand, and another invisible concussive force struck at the golem's torso. The shell of my ice prison shattered and began to unravel as the patterns that made it were falling apart. It had stopped after a short while, but the hole left was enough to give the golem some room to move. It jerked once, shattered some of the ice within itself, and then jerked once more to crush the remaining bindings.

It was free and the hole made by Louise was repairing itself. And all three girls were shell-shocked by what they just saw.

I should take the moment to create a much more formidable spell to bind the golem, or something less flashy to have it crumbling apart. I should make a dismantling weave to undo the magic keeping the thing in formation. I should probably also activate one more Gear while I'm at it.

"Uggggghhhhhhhhh."

Instead, I was leaning against a tree with one hand over my forehead trying to suppress the monstrous headache pounding my skull. No amount of healing magic could fix this one.

The golem came alive and started to swing its fists around, trying to swat the dragon out of the sky. I began running, crossing through trees at high speeds. Though Tabitha did well at steering her familiar, the twists and turns were too fierce for the others holding on. With one swing that forced the dragon to jerk away at the last instant, Louise was thrown off the back and flung through the air. Tabitha commanded her dragon after Louise, but was too distracted with the golem to pursue.

If I hadn't been moving already, I would have never had made it.

With another inertia dampening field, I dove in time to have Louise in my arms, dropping the Staff of Destruction in the process. We tumbled, rolled, and I hit a boulder while protecting her head and neck. But my spell absorbed most of the major damage. At worst, a few bruises will appear here and there. And my sudden catching of her didn't give her a concussion.

"Louise what do you think you're doing here?!" I snarled as soon as we stopped fumbling.

She didn't respond. Her hands were clenched tight around my clothes as she was shedding heavy tears.

I couldn't stay here and try to comfort her. Foquet's automaton was still rampaging near us. Tabitha was doing well at keeping it distracted, but sooner or later it was going to come back towards me. So long as the Staff of Destruction was within my reach I was putting Louise in danger.

"Louise," I gripped her shoulders and sent a small surge of Spirit through her to get her attention. "I need you to get away from here. It is not safe! You can't help! You're putting yourself in danger. I can't protect you so leave. If you can do that then I will do anything for you. Just stay safe! Please Louise. I don't want you to get hurt!"

Our eyes locked for a short moment. However, I didn't have the time to confirm if she would listen or not. I pushed her off of me, climbed to my feet, and began moving back towards the golem. In the short while, Tabitha had been able to draw it away from us— whether this was intentional or not I couldn't tell. But she was continuously bombarding it with her trademark Windy Icicle with Kirche throwing chains of fireballs as well. Of course, neither of the spells were doing anything other than chipping away a few pebbles that would replenish itself seconds later.

With two hands and the Gift of Craft, I wove hundreds of red spheres no bigger than my fist. They were all single-command spells which would explode upon contact at the level of explosive-round bullets. Alone, they could do very little against something like this. But continuous fire by the hundreds?

With a mental command, I unleashed all of them at once. The result was a firestorm blowing away large chunks of the construct's back and continuously drilling away at it before it could repair itself. However, it was never my intention to destroy this thing just yet. Something that size would require a great deal of time for me to create a weave of deconstruction. I doubt Tabitha would be able to keep up dodging for the amount of time needed.

I had been able to get the creature's attention. It turned its way towards me and immediately returned to try and turn me into paste.

With five Gears, dodging as well as keeping my balance was no longer a problem. But my body was starting to tire having to produce leagues of tiers of my maximum potential. Muscles were becoming sore despite how quick they were regenerating, my headache from such intense focus was growing, and my veins felt like they were on fire for pumping so much Spirit. Nonetheless, I was able to leap away plenty enough get enough distance from the golem. It continued to follow me despite it being unable to catch me.

Once more, with the Gift of Craft flaring on both hands, I spun my fingers and wove my arms over another for the dismantling weave needed to finally be rid of this thing. With its size as well as the intricacy which kept it moving, kept its rocks bound, and the magic causing said rocks to reform, a lot was needed for the appropriate counter-spell.

Yet, at the last instant, before I was about to fire the spell, the golem stopped chasing after me and began to turn away. Its interest drawn away by something else. Not by Tabitha and Kirche as they still threw their spells at it. But…

West. Back towards Louise.

"No!" I brought my hands together and fired my spell after finishing converting it into a projectile.

A smoke-like wisp surrounded by black thorns spiraled through the air from my hands. I should have augmented it with a speed-enhancing weave as it was traveling much slower than my previous ice bomb spell. Because of it, the golem lifted its arm to intercept the attack. My spell struck and stuck itself into the tip of its fist.

Fortunately, that was all it needed.

My spell came alive as the mist sank into the rocks and the thorns dug into the surface. Loud popping noise was heard across the forest as the magic binding the construct was becoming undone. The large boulders making up its fist began to crumble into dirt and sand and fall down. My magic traveled up the arm and continued the process.

But my eyes widened as suddenly the entire arm fell off before my spell could reach its torso. I ground my teeth in frustration as Foquet had quickly pieced together what was happening and had decided to remove the arm before the damage could have been done. It was a brilliant move, if not annoying. Truly, Foquet was a highly skilled and very experienced battle mage.

It also didn't stop the golem from continuing its path towards Louise. The loss of its arm had it lose its balance and stumble, but it kept upright and continued to wobble forward. New rocks from the ground were flying up to make a new arm to rebalance itself.

"Louise!" I shouted in fear. My feet kicked off the ground as I sprinted back towards her location. I threw more explosive-round spheres at the golem in an attempt to regain its attention, but it ignored my attacks despite having chunks of its body chipping away.

Because, when I gained enough distance to be able to see her, Louise was trying to use the Staff of Destruction like an actual magic instrument. She was muttering her incantations while waving it around, her brows were together in frustration and her eyes only focused on the rocket launcher. She was so caught on trying to cast magic with it that she didn't seem to see the giant monstrosity of doom trekking towards her.

Or that it was bringing its new fist down to crush her.

"SIX!" My heart nearly burst as I activated another Gear. My strength, agility, focus, and magic potential was amplified further at the cost of burdening my body even further. Blood dripped down my nose as I felt something inside me tear.

But I had been able to reach her. However… I was not quick enough to push her out of the way. With Solstice in my grip, I put it between us and wove a defense barrier.

I rushed the inertia dampening spell and surged too much Spirit into it, making it denser but at the same time more brittle. The result was most of the force had been absorbed, but there was still the natural weight of several tons of rock. My barrier came crashing down upon impact and I felt the weight of the world crush me. But I kept on my feet else crush Louise behind me, nothing but the unbreakable Solstice as well as its mystic properties keeping me from going splat. The ground crumbled apart below yet I still refused to go down.

Something sharp triggered in the back of my head. Miles away, my Sentinel stirred. It sensed my life was in danger. Without a shred of hesitation, it charged straight for my location all the way from the academy. Though I doubt it would make it in time to do anything.

It didn't help that both my arms were broken and it felt like something inside me shattered. Solstice fell out of my hands and dispersed back inside its sheath in the pocket dimension. When the golem lifted its arm back up, I fell to my knees. The world spun around me and darkness invaded my vision. I coughed and it hurt. Something thick and metallic was forced out of my throat. The endless adrenaline pump of my Gears was the only thing keeping me conscious. Though they were hastening my regeneration process, I was rendered helpless at the moment.

"A…A-Artemis…" I heard Louise whisper so softly that it might have been a dream.

I couldn't focus on her. My attention was still on the golem. I feared the worst; that it would bring another swing of its mountainous fists down to crush us both. There would have been nothing I could have done to stop it. Yet, strangely, it was hesitating. Throughout this entire battle, if it could be called that, the golem was sending endless barrages without restraint. Why was it pausing at this one moment?

Was it because Foquet didn't want to damage the Staff of Destruction?

"A-A-Artemis," Louise sniffed as she couldn't stop crying this time. "I-I'm so sorry… I should have listened to you…"

She tried to tug at me to pull me away. She didn't realize I was probably three times her weight or that even if she could drag me that I would only slow her down. No, this was one of those rare moments when Louise was selfless.

And as she tried to get a good hold of me, the Staff of Destruction rubbed against my back.

The runes on my left hand began to shine.

Power. Power surged through me. Raw, untainted power. My focus returned, my body no longer felt tired, I felt like I was returned to my prime and then hardened, sharpened, given something to make up for what I lacked. Knowledge flowed through my mind as though it had always been there. No, not untapped memories, but… experience. Yes, experience was a good word. It felt like my body knew what it needed to do and at the greatest efficiency.

My arms and hands may have been broken, but it didn't stop me from grabbing the 7-12 Mjornir out of Louise's hands. The scope came on, the capsule within began to charge as I twisted the setting to mode-4: anti-bunker burst explosion with Tinker G-7 grenade module sliding into the chamber. At the same time, I pushed off my knees to slide away from Louise as I aimed the Mjornir at Foquet's golem.

It took me less than a second, as though I had been trained to use this. As if I had used this against the several bunkers, forts, and demi-humans this weapon had faced before. As if I was the Tactical Hunter who bore this before me. As if I had used this my entire life and knew it better than my right arm.

With a squeeze of the trigger, my body naturally braced itself through the guidance of the runes.

Foquet didn't have a chance to command his golem for anything. Mjornir fired off a grenade from its barrel and traveled far faster than any previous rocket launcher I had ever seen in real life and in exaggerated movies. The Tinker grenade had reached the center of the torso faster than I could have blinked, and even my enhanced senses had difficulty tracking its movements. Were this thing ever aimed at me then I doubt I'd be able to dodge in time or put up any sort of defense.

Because, my mind was telling me, Mjornir was designed for facing abominations such as the likes of Sir Rolan and his kind.

The grenade exploded as any normal grenade would have. But it did not stop there. The debris suddenly stopped mid-flight. Without warning, it came crashing back in as the strike imploded, and thus created an even more devastating explosion afterwards.

And then it began to implode again.

I spun around and wrapped Louise around my arms as I used my body to shield her as much as possible. When the implosion finished, a grand explosion shook the air. Anti-bunker, indeed. The blast was more than powerful enough to send us flying. Rocks struck my back hard enough to break through my skin.

But the end result was… glorious, if not frightening. As my regeneration kicked in enough for me to be able to stand once more, and after making sure Louise was safe with nothing more than a few nicks here and there, I examined the field. Nothing remained except for an open field of smoothed-out terrain several meters in diameter. And then probably for a quarter of a mile wide, trees were knocked down or outright uprooted.

But most definitely, nothing remained of the golem.

Yeah, I can see why it was called the Staff of Destruction in this world. That thing could definitely kill a dragon.

Without the Mjornir launcher, the runes had dimmed down and their… augmentations died down. My body felt heavy and I suddenly felt faint. But I suffered through it and deactivated two Gears to stabilize my body. Without such a major threat like Foquet's golem, there wasn't a need to burden my body so much. As soon as I could determine the situation I would then decide if I needed to deactivate the others, at a gradual pace of course. Suddenly turning them all off would be almost as bad as the emergency Burst command last night.

"Louse," I lifted the little girl up to her feet. "Are you alright?"

Louise couldn't respond. Her eyes were so wide and her mouth was hung open as she was too busy staring at the devastation behind me. "W-W-W-W… H-H-H-H… Wh-Wh…" she said and so forth for quite some time.

I scowled but ran my fingers through her hair. A great feeling relief flooded through me knowing she was unharmed. I'll let the runes dictate my emotions for the moment and comfort her— I'll scold her about this when things have cooled down.

Speaking of runes… My eyes traced down the Gandálfr markings sharing my left Gift of Craft tattoos. Osmond said the Gandálfr had the ability to master weapons, but my eyes hadn't been able to trace any hidden abilities. I wish I could have seen them while they were active— perhaps there were some things were hidden even in the String World.

Yeah, and maybe Lolifor will start dating someone his age. Everything is made of strings. Everything. If my eyes can't see it, then it doesn't exist. Period. No exceptions. Several Primordial beings and one Original had already confirmed this.

"Kyuuu~" the sound of Tabitha's dragon… um… roared? Roared as it came down close to us. Upon landing, both Kirche and Tabitha immediately dismounted.

"Darling!" sang Kirche with a glint in her eyes that saw me in new light. I had seen that look. If I was amazing back then, I was now some walking god. Great. "You truly must be a magnificent mage if you could use the Staff of Destruction! I had heard no one was capable!"

That's because you people thought it was a magic weapon.

"I'm glad you're both safe," I said with a sigh as I removed my hand from Louise's head. "I was worried you were swept up in the blast range."

"Wind shield," Tabitha elaborated quietly as she chose to stare at me and not read her book. She blinked as though it was her way of expressing she was thinking, and perhaps it was. She concluded with, "Almost did."

"M-Master Philips!" Guiche's voice reached us as he was running towards us with a flock of his constructs behind him. When he was close enough, he slowed his pace down to a walk. "You were able to defeat Foquet's golem! I saw the whole thing! T-Truly you are a frightening mage."

"Guiche," I nodded towards him and decided to just accept the compliment. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

"Eh?" he looked at me as if he wasn't expecting my words. Reasonable, as I had been nothing but harsh towards him the past few days. "You are not angry I had stayed away?"

I shook my head. "No, in fact I'm impressed you did. It doesn't make you a coward, Guiche. It means you're not as stupid as I thought you were." He flinched. "You had the common sense to realize you were no match and stayed as far away as possible. You could have taken the horse and booked it back to the academy, but you decided to stay and see it to the end. So thank you for that. You did something of worth… unlike some people."

My eyes swiveled around to the girls around me. Tabitha gave no reaction, of course. Kirche looked offended. And Louise flinched and hung her head so her eyes were hidden beneath her bangs. Well, at least Louise knew she was at fault. Perhaps there was hope for her yet.

And perhaps I had given Guiche too much praise. He stuck his head up and had one hell of a smirk across his face.

"But you were useless throughout this endeavor," I knocked him off his pedestal before he reverted back to his old self. I waved it off his reaction of despair as there was something much more important to deal with at the moment. "We need to find Foquet and Ms. Longuevuille. And the Mjor— Staff of Destruction. It flew somewhere during the blast."

"You needn't look far, King Philips."

My brows creased as I spun on my heels to face Longuevuille approaching us with the Mjornir in her hands. Her pleasant tone was gone and had been placed with one of malice. A large smirk pressed her lips as her eyes were filled with murderous intent. Sweat beaded her brow and she looked a little pale.

Suddenly, things started to make sense.

"Ah, Ms. Longuevuille," Guiche smiled with his usual charm as though such things would work on her. "You've found the Staff of Destruction. Did you by chance find Foquet's location?"

"…You are Foquet, aren't you?" I questioned.

Attention was drawn to me, but I ignored them. My eyes were focused on the thief before me. Her smile grew at my question.

"Oh?" Her smile grew even more. "Weren't you the one to say most people overcomplicate things? That common sense is usually the best answer? If you practice what you preach then you may have been able to figure that out before reaching the cabin."

"Ms. Longuevuille…?" began Kirche.

"Is Foquet?" finished Louise.

They all raised their wands and Tabitha her staff, but before any of them could utter a single word, Foquet pointed the Mjornir directly at us. Everyone, including me, froze. More sweat began to surface. Why? Because Mjornir had some extra ammunition and Foquet had been able to see me use it, if the way she was handling it was anything to go by. One eye fixed on the scope, one hand on the fore grip, another at the trigger, and the shaft resting on her shoulder. Even her legs were spread about adequately to support herself for the ignition.

The woman had all of our lives at the palm of her hand. The speed the grenade could travel was faster than I could be able to react at six Gears. Now rendered to only four, I was powerless to stop her.

"Everyone… drop your foci," I ordered.

"A-Artemis?!" Louise blanched.

"Eh?!" questioned Guiche.

"Darling?!" gasped Kirche.

Tabitha gave no audio retort, but I still felt her react in the same way… somehow.

I raised my hands in surrender. I haven't felt so weak before since before acquiring my magic and Sorcery, at the time when I was nothing more than a mundane high school student. It goes to show even beings as unbelievable as the Ilyvander Kings could be subjugated if given the proper conditions. This was no exception.

"Cute," I broke out in cold sweat as Foquet pointed the Mjornir directly at me. "But I can't have any survivors."

She twisted the barrel in the same manner that I have, rotating it to mode-1. I've no idea what mode that was, whether that was better or worse. A majority of information regarding that weapon had faded from my mind other than its name and vague history. But it's not like it was going to save me in the end. Foquet was dead-set on killing us all. She was a good distance away and could no doubt gather more once the first explosion-implosion combo began.

All I could do was use a Burst command and weave the quickest barrier I could just to make it in time to provide any defense. It might not even be strong enough to save us. But it was my only option and had to pray that it worked.

The sound of rumbling, birds flying away in the great distance, and a roar of some kind was coming from over the horizon. Smoke was in the distance, trees were being blown around. And getting closer faster than the speed of a bullet. It was enough for Foquet to look away for an instant.

…I had completely forgotten my Jinni Sentinel was coming for my location.

She panicked and fumbled on her footing to turn and redirect the Mjornir at her new target. Without so much as a further thought, she pulled the trigger and fired one of the missiles at whatever was coming right at her.

This shot was just as fast as the last, but that did not stop my Sentinel from deflecting it over its shoulder with the side of the rusty Fae blade. Rather, it had skillfully pushed the projectile up high enough to miss it and without detonating it. The process had been able to have it stall for a millisecond, but its pause was nearly missed as it kicked off the ground again towards Foquet, albeit at a much slower speed.

"Don't kill her," I gave it a mental command.

The thief gasped in horror as my Jinni avoided absolute death with but a flick of a sword. It was enough for the white doll to reach her, tackle her, pry the weapon from her hands, and pin her to the ground with her hands behind her back.

Meanwhile, a glow in the distance proved how… terrifying mode-1 would have been. The projectile had continued to travel until it eventually hit something. That something happened to be the side of a mountain dozens of miles away. The blast was visible at this distance and in three seconds the pop of the explosion had reached us. I couldn't tell how big the radius of the blast was… but even Foquet would have been caught if she fired it at us.

The Mjornir was something that didn't need to be locked away. It needed to be destroyed.

Foquet tried to squirm free, but my Jinni's grip was absolute. She was only giving herself more pain and if she continued to struggle then she would force her joints to dislocate.

"Foquet the Crumbling Dirt," I sighed at her title, also using it to calm myself down from the fear still lingering in me. "I'll be placing you under arrest and will personally see to it the local law enforcement detains you. I'm giving you to the authority to be tried for your crimes. This could have been avoided if you just walked away."

"It serves you right for what you have done, thief," sneered Guiche.

"…Shut up Guiche."

Of course, Foquet began to laugh as she found my words ironic. "You expect me to believe you would have let me walk away after everything?"

"…We were at your mercy," my voice was grave. "I'm not so petty as to come after you for vengeance. But it won't stop me from learning from this. I'd have been better prepared if you showed up ever again. However, I don't expect anything from you. My words are whatever; you can take them as you please."

With a nod, I commanded my Sentinel to lift her off the ground.

As soon as it stood, its head shattered into thousands of fragments.

The sound of a bullet traveling at supersonic came after the impact.

Sharp pain, so fierce and so intense that I lost track of my surroundings, stabbed into my brain. I was probably on the floor and screaming, or I was suffering a stroke and relieving my bowels. I didn't know. Memories, feelings, experiences, knowledge, layers upon layers of information were cramming itself into my head like a thousand needles with superheated tips. Every single microscopic existence my Sentinel had witnessed was forcing its way in. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. Every detail of every second since its birth was branding itself into my brain worse than when the familiar runes had.

Just as fast as it came, it ended. But there was one lingering thought that haunted me.

~Did I please you… Father?~ so thought my Jinni as it had faded from existence.

I was on my knees, gripping my head and digging my nails through my scalp hard enough to draw blood. Reality felt like nothing but a dream as though I was on hallucinogenic drugs. I was confusing what I was seeing with what I remember, confusing past and present. I couldn't tell who I was for a second. I could have been anyone. I could have been [107 Blade-class Sentinel] or I could have been Godking Dalang or I could have been Artemis James Philips.

It took me a moment to gather myself. I was not a Jinni, I told myself. My name is Artemis. And I am also Godking Dalang, Lord of the Djinn, a King of Ilyvander.

…And the familiar of Louise… Louise the White of Vallière… I think…

My eyes looked up at the two figures before me. The first I recognized as Foquet the Crumbling Dirt, but could not recognize what she was to me. She was no friend, that was sure. But… was she a threat? She had to be, her wand was pointed at me.

The second was standing beside her holding on to the Staff of Destruction, the 7-12 Mjornir, in one hand with another placed over Foquet's hand, stopping her from casting a spell. He was dressed in head to toe in black exoskeleton armor made of the same materials as the Mjornir. It was form fitting, with plating over his torso and the majority of his joints. By design, it was meant for maneuverability. A black dome-like helmet hid his face.

He wasn't alone. Surrounding us were more of these black armored figures holding assault rifles and military-grade pistols at the teenagers behind me, forcing them onto their knees with their hands behind their heads. I don't know what happened or how it came down to this. I don't know how long I was out of it before I could make sense of things.

"Who are you?" Foquet demanded of the one next to her.

The figure did not respond. Its intent was as undetectable as its presence. As my eyes switched into the String World, I could barely make out the strings that made up his form. I couldn't tell what he was. I could only see a certain pattern make up a vague detailing of his form. It was like staring at a colorless mist that could only be seen if you knew where to look. He was like an illusion, completely hidden away from all manner of detection yet within plain sight at the same time.

It was like he didn't exist.

"Gandálfr, King of Tristain," his head nudged the slightest towards me, permitting me to know it was addressing me. "I am the Predator of Albion, the Lífþrasir."

My brows knitted together. Thinking was still difficult, let alone trying to come up with a weave to turn the tides of this. Four of my Gears were still wound and my Spirit was still flowing through my veins. Yet I couldn't manage myself to create a weave on the spot.

Lífþrasir snapped his fingers. I watched as his black goons just… faded into black smoke. Like they were all magic constructs that he could will to appear and disappear at his will. Perhaps they were nothing more than illusions to begin with.

It didn't matter. He must have something hidden beyond my vision. There was still whatever it was that had managed to kill my Jinni and I didn't see any rifle on him.

"Beware the King of Romalia, Vindálfr," he said.

"Wait!" Louise was the one to shout. "Who are you?!"

He didn't respond, let alone look in her general direction. All he did was grab onto Foquet's arm and…

"What are you—" Foquet began but was cut off.

Because they both blinked out of existence.