Usual stuff, Mana Khemia does not belong to me and be prepared for some or a lot grammar miss etc etc.
"FIRST ARRIVAL!"
Et energetically rush into the vast ground which lead to the main campus site.
"We're still far from it."
Raze remind her. It will be a pain to deal with the monsters if she fall tired too early.
"Why am I here with that stupid sister of mine?"
Ena dejectedly say while maintaining a safe distance from Et.
"I pity you."
En got dragged here by Et. Originally he's about to go alone, but Et got worried and make him faint with her fist before dragging him into the carriage Lily prepared for them.
"FINALLY WE GOT THIS FAR!"
"We're still far from the campus though."
Both Raze and En look at source of the voice. As the source themselves look at them.
"Geh, jerktown and Ms. Fancypants. And… Ena!"
"Ah, sis!"
Ena runs to Ulrika and Chloe's side and quickly sighed in relief.
"Take him somewhere else. He's about to burst with rage anytime since quite a while ago."
"DAMN RIGHT!"
Ena cheered from behind Ulrika's group.
"Well, anyway I'm surprised that you guys got the invitation too."
Ulrika walk towards Raze despite of Ena's unwillingness to go anywhere near his sister.
"That's my line."
Suddenly a light appeared from behind Raze and quickly move over to Uryu.
"What is it?"
Raze ask his mana. The said mana just stay silent and move back to Raze's side quitely.
"Yeah, strange isn't it? I heard it's a mana of soul or something like that."
"Hey! Who are you calling strange! Uryu is cute and I won't take anything else! Beside, what's with that mana?"
Ulrika angrily points at the mana which still hover beside Raze. The mana backed a bit either by surprise or fright from Ulrika's sudden outburst.
"This? This is Palt, my mana. Palt, these are Ulrika and her mana, Uryu. In the back is Chloe, and you already met Ena before."
The mana bow to them as it's being introduced. Ulrika, got washed by the flow, bow back at it.
"Um, yeah. Nice too meet you…. NOT THAT! Why are you! Of All people! Make a pact with mana!?"
"Well, Palt doesn't want to renew its pact with my grandfather and want to come with me instead and I don't see any downright on it. I already comfortable with it and it promised not to leave me alone anymore. So I accepted."
"Huhuuuum~ So your hatred towards mana is because something as silly as getting dumped by a mana. How pitiful of you…"
Ulrika try to tease Roze and prepared her counter words for whatever smart insult Roze going to throw at her. She didn't prepared to see Raze bow at her.
"Embarrassingly, yes. And I want to apologize especially to Uryu for all trouble I cause."
"U? Uryu don't mind!"
Uryu laugh innocently and pat Raze's head once. Raze lift his head and pat Uryu's head in return, smiling kindly.
"Raze!"
Lily call him from distance, finally finished her business with the carriage driver. Whim somehow manage to drag Et back and the three of them standing in the sole pathway leading to Al-Revis.
"Coming! Well, then."
Roze wave a bit and run towards his master. Palt bow its body and linger its gaze towards Uryu a bit longer before vanishing.
"Uh… what did just happen? Did I drink some strange medicine and fell asleep or he drink strange medicine and act creepily? He even introduce us properly."
"Rose being nice."
Ulrika shocked by Raze's out of character-ish while Uryu is just being pleased from getting a pet by Raze. It's fortunate that Raze didn't hear Uryu misspell his name into something… feminine.
"I heard he was actually grow up with that mana since he was little until that Light Mana King order every mana to leave human world. Being a light mana, that mana can't defy that bastard King's order and relinquish its pact with his grandpa or something. It was said that he was hit the hardest by that mana's disappearance."
Ena walk to Ulrika's side along with Chloe after the bickering stopped. He start to explain what he know of Raze's past, courtesy of Et which heard it from Lily.
"So he actually likes mana. How boring."
"Um… actually I still don't get what is interesting thing for you…"
Ulrika said to Chloe who walk past her, following the path that Raze's group went to.
"Hey, why are you following them?"
"This is the fastest way to reach the academy and I don't want to be late. We only get another day left to arrive."
Said Chloe while she keep walking. Not even turning back to face Ulrika while she speak.
"Well… that's true…"
"So I'm still stuck with that stupid sister? Not fun."
"Agreed."
Ulrika and Ena follow after Chloe and soon they catch up to Raze's group. Lily realized it and turn back to address them.
"Hey, why are you following us?"
"Well, this is the fastest way to reach the academy and I don't want to be late."
Ulrika countered with a lot of confidence.
"Did she just copying my answer?"
"She totally did."
Ulrika decide to ignore those three who whispers behind her back.
"Well, that's true… but…"
"And here I am clearly thought that Ena already misses his onee-chan."
"Who the hell will miss you!?"
Whim exchanging glance with Raze and step in to intercept.
"Milady, I think it's wiser to get along for now."
"I agree with her. We need to keep on walking steadily even in night if we want to reach the academy within a day and it's more safe to walk with more people. And besides…"
Raze pull out his knife and activate the ring of light. Palt appeared just beside him, ready for combat. The other readied their weapon too in reflex and start to look around. Not too far from them are some strange creatures. Six of them. Their body is mostly a red eye in the front with some thorne in their side and back. They just floating in their place, not moving.
"What are those?"
They relaxed a bit after knowing that the creature has no intention to attack them.
"They has been following us for a while."
Raze deactivated his ring of light, but still keep his knife in hand.
"Hmm I think it's about from that [Invited Participant Only] sign."
Everyone look at Whim as she trying to correctly remember the exact place those creatures start to follow them.
"Wait, there's a sign like that?"
Ulrika put her mana orb away and look at the rest of them. Looks like Whim is the only one who see the sign.
"Yes, not too far from here. The sign radiates a similar mana energy as the one on these invitation letter, so I realized it. Now I think about it again, these creatures also radiates a similar mana energy."
"Heee… so they're harmless…"
Ulrika walks to one of the creature and extend her hand to reach it. Before her hand manage to make a contact, all of the creatures suddenly fly away leaving them.
"... What was that?"
Ulrika with her hand still extended only could gaze at the direction they went to.
"You scared them." Lily sighs.
"You got rejected." Ena said bluntly.
"They will curse you." Chloe decide to add in.
"I'm not scary and who got rejected anyway!? And Chloe, stop saying creepy things."
Ulrika yell at Lily, Ena, and Chloe. Uryu float to Ulrika and pats her head.
"Uryurika is kind. Uryurika is not scary."
"URYUUUUUUU!"
"Why did they suddenly leave us?"
Raze decide to ignore Ulrika and Uryu's drama and start to address the situation. Ena shift his glance at the direction they went.
"Either something more important happened or they want to show us something."
"Like a shortcut!"
Eto chimed in. Ena is a bit displeased because his sister actually say something he want to agree with.
"Milady, should we follow them?"
"Hmmm we better follow them. There's no guarantee that we can reach the academy within a day at this rate and following them for whatever they chasing about is a better bet than walking just like this. And they should have followed us, the invited participant, for a reason. There's a possibility that we will need them to enter the academy in."
"That's how it is, we will follow them. What will the rest of you do?"
Raze addressed Ena and Chloe, still ignoring Ulrika who still resides in her own world with Uryu.
"I don't want to be with that stupid sister of mine, but I agree that following them is a better bet."
"Same here."
"It's settled then."
After Raze conclude their small discussion all of them start to walk to the direction those creatures went to, except for Ulrika and Uryu… and Ena who still have enough heart and common sense to call back to Ulrika.
"Sis! We're going to chase after those creatures! Are you coming or what!?"
Ulrika dragged out from her own world and start to run after them.
"I'm coming! I'm coming! Wait for meee!"
It took some time for them to get the trace of those creatures. The trace lead up to an open space in the middle of forest. When they got out to the open space, one of the creature come flying to their direction… splitted in two. A figure can be seen fighting countless of those creatures and seems to be winning.
"You…!"
Raze started as the figure finished the last creature he face. The figure turned around to reveal someone who Raze know and yet unwilling to meet ever again. The person who give the ring of light to him.
"Reicher!"
A/N To be honest, I plan to put one of the first MK character properly here, but decide to postpone it until the next chapter. Well, see you next week... or another next one... hopefully.