Matsu's Tales of the Past
Hello. Matsu here.
I haven't much to say, except for did you know the origins of the term "Devil"?
I don't know the exact story, but they are presently beings from down below with exceptional power and evil intentions. They didn't always used to be that way, however. They grew to be called devils after their leader, 'Devilitas', rebelled against someone, who then banished him down below.
Interesting? Well, that's only half the story…
Three years ago…
"A-Aurora, wake up!" Atlas pleads, shaking his sister. Aurora is currently motionless on the ground, battered and bruised.
"AURORA!" Atlas cries again. He looks up at [?]. "D-Do something! Isn't that your job?!"
[?] shakes their head. "Not when it comes to Aurora Edelias. Atlas Edelias, your sister has stolen more souls than we can count. She has robbed those souls of true Releasement!"
"T-Those souls know what they're doing." Atlas insists. "A-And besides, not everyone wants Releasement!"
"Ah…everyone being Matsu the Child? That soul you all have been holding onto for so long?" [?] crosses their arms.
Atlas narrows his eyes. "Matsu…Matsu is different from all of them…" He then quickly shakes his head. "Stop with the small talk, my sister is dying!"
[?] shakes their head with Atlas. "It's out of my hands, Atlas Edelias. There is nothing I can do-"
"Ah, but there is something I can do." Another figure appears, approaching from behind [?]. The mascline figure licks their lips as he sees Atlas. "So much mana…it smells delicious."
[?] glares at the man. "What do you think you're doing here? Your kind belong down below."
"I heard about these twins myself." The man grins. "You know, we're angry at them for the same reason you are. The more souls kept from Releasement, the numbers are all fucked! We have too many souls in limbo, too many souls in the world of the living, and not nearly enough souls in our parts!"
[?] frowns but nods. "I understand. You know we have…slightly similar goals. However, what other solution is there other than letting Aurora Edelias die, and the souls along with her?"
The man looks at a teary eyed and slightly terrified Atlas then back at [?].
"Well…I can think of an idea…but I'm not sure you're going to be a fan."
Present Day
"Where have you been, idiot, they're about to announce the next match!" Admetus immediately hits Atlas in the shoulder as the purple haired boy takes his seat.
"Ouch!" Atlas frowns. "I was using the restroom, relax!"
Not totally a lie… Atlas thinks.
"I really hope the next match goes better than the last one, Neo and Cray looked really hurt." Sherry says, putting a hand over her heart and frowning.
"Yeah, your sister did quite the number on them." Ayumi adds, looking to Atlas. "I thought you two worked better when you were together?"
Atlas narrows his eyes, looking down at his hand. "Yeah…me too…"
Fanfare suddenly rings out, halting all chatter and causing everyone's eyes to turn towards the battleground. As always before each match, the signature trio of Quinn, Valeo, and Shizuka stand at the center of the battleground.
If you look up, Galileo and Zora have joined the festivities, sitting atop the 'Captain's Gallery'. Zora looks incredibly disinterested, taking a nap with his feet on the railing, while Galileo is paying close attention, holding a notebook and pen in his hands, ready to take notes.
"Alright!" Shizuka begins, hands on her hips. "Break time is over!"
"The next match shall be commencing…now." Valeo yawns.
Quinn grins at the audience. "The fourth match up of the day…a very interesting one."
Valeo nods along with Quinn. "And that fourth match up is…"
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"Sherry Vermillion & Ayumi Shiki versus Admetus Boltor and Atlas Edelias."
The quartet in question immediately look at each other.
"How ironic." Ayumi comments. "We all happened to be sitting close to one another."
Admetus looks incredibly pleased, his grin wide and his eyes looking fiercely at a certain princess. "Now that's what I'm talking about! This shit is perfect!"
"The opportunity to fight a princess!" Atlas smiles. "Now that's not something you get to do everyday. Sorry Sherry, but I'm not going to hold back any punches!"
Sherry nods with a determined expression. "I don't expect you to. But just be aware, I won't do so either!"
The four nod at each other, and begin making their way to the center of the arena, where Quinn, Shizuka, and Valeo begin to make way for them.
Atlas and Admetus stand on one side, not looking pleased to be working together but also both motivated to win their fight.
Sherry and Ayumi stand across from them, the former taking a deep breath as she gazes up at the sky while the latter looks to Atlas, who can't seem to stop staring at her.
"Well then. Shall we begin?" Shizuka questions, looking at the four.
They all nod, and Quinn clears his throat.
"A friendly reminder: please remember to battle with the spirit of the Ace Kingdom and the reminder that this will determine your acceptance into becoming a Sorcerer Soldier in mind." Quinn says.
"On your marks…" Shizuka starts.
"Get set…" Quinn continues.
"Go." Valeo finishes.
ROUND 4: FIGHT!
"Soul Possession Magic: Gharedoir the Orc!"
It's Atlas who springs into action first, a wave of green magical energy immediately spreading over him, blinding Admetus and his opponents for a moment. When the energy is gone, Atlas is left standing with green skin and horns.
"An orc." Admetus remarks, unimpressed. "The fuck are you going to do with that?"
"Not just any orc!" Atlas smirks. "Gharedoir was a high ranking knight of the Orc's homeland, who betrayed his people in pursuit of wealth from the humans."
"And how is that supposed to help us here?" Admetus rolls his eyes.
"Like this," Atlas lunges towards Ayumi, who is quickly caught off guard.
"Curse Magic: BREAK!" Atlas places a hand right on Ayumi's arm, a white magical energy spreading from it and enveloping Ayumi. The energy fades and what's left standing…
"Fuck, she's a ginger." Admetus quips.
"Oh dear." Sherry puts a hand over her mouth.
Standing where Ayumi was is a girl with green eyes and long red hair that goes down to the center of her back, her bangs parted, revealing her forehead. She wears a black crop top that slightly reveals her belly with a white jacket she keeps unzipped over it along with a red skirt and black sneakers.
Ayumi gasps, looking at yourself. "You…you…"
"Broke your curse." Atlas grins. "Go ahead! Say thank you."
Ayumi raises a brow. "...But why? We're supposed to be opponents."
Atlas nods. "Right. But, while I have Gharedoir's power at my disposal, I figured I'd use one of his Ultimate spells. Gharedoir was an expert in curses, being his primary magic attribute, so of course, he learnt how to break them, too. That curse on you was placed by some low level mage, Gharedoir had no problem breaking it."
Ayumi scratches her head, narrowing her eyes. "Well…I didn't need your help…but…thank-"
"Aether Magic: Absorb!" Admetus casts, whipping out his katana from its sheath and directing it towards Atlas.
"W-Whoah!" Atlas' eyes widen as an orange energy leaves his body and makes its way towards Admetus, who smirks as the energy reaches him.
"MOVE ATLAS!" Admetus yells. "Aether Magic: Imitate Flux - First Form, earth!" Admetus squats, then propels himself off the ground, flying high into the air. He tilts his katana, the light from the Sun reflecting off it, right towards Ayumi and Sherry.
"Ouch!" Ayumi complains while Sherry gasps. Then Admetus turns his katana towards the two girls, slamming it down on the ground just as he lands on the ground. As soon as he does so, a brilliant eruption of earth knocks Ayumi and Sherry off their feet and sends them flying.
"DAMN!" Ayumi curses, quickly getting on her feet. "That was low! Attacking while I was distracted!"
Admetus shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, I could really care less, I wanna fucking win not have a conv-"
"Glass Magic: Glass Bullets!" Ayumi raises her hands and a barrage of shards of glass shoot from them, pummeling Admetus and Atlas who both quickly shield their faces.
"Ow!" Atlas curses. "She pulled the same trick on you!"
"No shit!" Admetus grunts, a shard slicing him in the torso. "I can't fucking work like this, I need to be able to use my katana!"
"Fine." Atlas sighs unhappily. "Curse Magic: Feel My Pain!" With a flick of his wrist, white energy shoots towards Sherry and Ayumi, who both immediately start grunting in pain.
"Wh-what is this?!" Sherry stammers. "It's like slicing pain…like…"
"Glass." Ayumi realizes, sighing. She puts her hands down, stopping the assault on the boys. Miraculously, the pain she and Sherry are experiencing also stops.
"You turned us into voodoo dolls." Ayumi shakes her head. "We felt the same pain as you."
"Gharedoir used that spell on his executioners without them knowing." Atlas explains. "It can't simulate death, but the unexpected pain was so intense for them they had a heart attack and died right on the spot."
"Interesting." Sherry remarks with a smile. "You sure know a lot about Gharedoir."
Atlas nods. "Of course! I study all the souls in my arsenal. They may all be evil, but it doesn't mean their past should be lost to time."
"I respect that a lot." Sherry nods. "So much so that I'll offer an apology before this next spell. Sorry!"
"Vibration Magic: Hyperrush!" Sherry suddenly starts to vibrate incredibly fast, almost as if she's phasing in and out of existence.
"What the-" Atlas frowns, but Sherry rushes forward at an incredible speed and punches Atlas right in the stomach.
His eyes widen and he immediately coughs up blood and falls to his knees. He clutches his throat, struggling for air as he desperately looks up at Admetus.
"What the fuck…" Admetus gulps, but Sherry isn't done, turning towards Admetus and rushing at him, only for Admetus to jump out of the way and swing his katana towards her.
"Absorb!" He chants, green energy flying towards his katana. "Imitation Flux: Third Form, wind!"
Sherry turns towards him again and begins to lunge at him, but a wall of wind suddenly appears in front of Admetus, and she flies back once she hits it.
Sherry slowly stops vibrating, breathing heavily as Ayumi looks at her in awe. "That was…amazing."
"...T-thanks…" She blushes, still breathing heavily. "But this isn't over yet!"
Ayumi nods. "Right. Ugh, I hate fighting. Glass Magic: Glass Mine!"
The ground begins to glow, but then quickly disappears.
"Mine, huh?" Admetus glares. "Something tells me if I step on a certain spot in the ground, I'll be met with a shit ton of glass in my face."
"Precisely." Ayumi smiles. "So watch your step, yeah?"
Admetus groans, looking around him, then at Atlas, who is still down for the count as he coughs up more blood. "Fuck…"
"Hey, Atlas, I know you're pretty fucked up right now, but I could use some help! Unless you want me to waste all my energy on these dumbfucks." Admetus sighs. "Imitation Flux: Fifth Form!"
Admetus grabs his wakishizi behind his back, coating it in a green energy, then hurling it right at Ayumi, who quickly holds her hands up.
"Vibration Magic: Sound Wall!" Sherry steps in, the air around her and Ayumi becoming pressurized and almost solid. As soon as the wakishizi hits it, it flies back towards Admetus, who is too busy trying to catch his breath to notice, and it hits him right in the chest.
"D-damn it!" He cries, clutching his chest. "That shit…really fucking hurt…"
"It was your spell, at least." Ayumi smirks. "Now you know how strong you are."
Admetus is too tired to come up with a remark.
"Shall we finish this up?" Sherry smiles, also looking rather tired. "I could definitely use some rest…"
Ayumi nods. "Sure. Sorry I wasn't much help, it's just I'm not too used to fighting in the frontlines."
"No worries at all, I got this." Sherry says, turning towards the two boys. "A small spell should do the trick. I don't want to hurt them more than I have to…Vibration Magic: W-"
"Curse Magic: Silence."
Sherry's voice suddenly stops and her hands fly to her mouth. She opens it, but no words come out and her eyes widen.
Ayumi's eyes also widen and she quickly turns towards the only person who could've cast the spell.
Atlas still looks like hell, but is back standing on his two feet and grinning at the two girls. "Phew, that was one strong ass spell. A simple punch almost took me out!" He walks towards Ayumi, who begins to slowly back away.
"I really want this, Ayumi, you have no clue!" Atlas sighs. "Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a Magic Knight…that dream's not happening so I have to settle for being a Sorcerer Soldier, you feel me?"
Ayumi continues to back away. "A-Atlas, just, calm down, you don't have to do this…"
"I don't want to do this, but c'mon, if I wanna win, I gotta deal some damage!" He explains.
Ayumi goes to back up some more, but finds herself against a wall. She gulps.
"Don't worry, Ayumi, I'll make sure this doesn't hurt much." Atlas winks. "Curse Magic-"
Atlas suddenly screams out in pain, and blood flies out of him towards Ayumi, who gasps.
He looks down at his stomach, and a hole the size of a tennis ball has appeared.
Atlas immediately passes out upon seeing it, revealing Sherry standing right behind him, slowly moving her hand down.
The audience gasps, and Admetus, who slowly stands to his feet, turns pale. "She…She…She cast a spell…without chanting it outloud…" He stammers. "And her magical energy…its…"
Sherry turns towards Admetus, walking towards him similar to how Atlas walked towards Ayumi.
Admetus clenches his fists. "FUCK! FUCK! FUCKKK!" He curses, his face turning a bright shade of red. Shakily, his hands reach for his katana. "I…I can still win this! I don't need that dumbass, I can win-"
Sherry reaches Admetus and touches his head, which causes him to scream out in pain, dropping his katana, falling to his knees, and passing out.
The arena is quiet, with several people stunned at the display of power. Sherry blushes, smiling softly. Then, she promptly passes out next to Admetus. Ayumi, the only one left standing, shakes her head and sighs deeply. "I need a nap." She mutters, laying on the ground.
Quinn, Shizuka, and Valeo all look impressed, but Quinn clears his throat. "Well then. And the winners are…Sherry Vermillion and Ayumi Shiki!"
The audience is manic, cheering wildly and screaming in excitement after having witnessed such epic power. Galileo taps his pen on his chin, watching the medic team take away the contestants.
"The ability to cast a spell without words." Galileo remarks. "I'd expect nothing less than the child of the Clover Kingdom's king."
"Little Sherry…" Zora smirks, waking up from his nap. "She has more magic power than her mother, and probably on the same level as her father. Of course she knows how to cast a spell without words. Her problem? She has no grasp of magical control. She's not going to be able to use any spell for a while."
Galileo hums curiously. "What makes you say that? She seems to be quite adept."
"She probably is. But this is her first real fight outside of her training." Zora explains. "And she's exhausted all her resources in one go. Spell after spell couldn't take her opponents down, but she still kept going. That's good in an environment like this, sure, but when it comes to the battlefield, your enemy will take you down as soon as you start to falter."
"I see." Galileo nods. "And I suppose I can also sense it. She used up so much mana that her reserves are nearly depleted. You're right: it will take some time for her to gather them back. Usually we'd have her undergo Mana Replenishment Therapy to aid her, but as these are the exams…"
"She's going to have to learn the hard way what happens when you go too hard." Zora chuckles.
"The good thing is, she'll learn not to make the same mistake again." Galileo smiles.
The exams continue, round after round. More blood is spilled, cheers erupted, and tears shed.
The White Doves team continues taking care of the contestants, using their expert knowledge in healing magic to heal nearly all of their wounds by the end of the day. The only thing they can't heal is depleted mana as well as any mental scarring. The original kids all group up together and are discharged from the infirmary.
"She beat me, sis." Atlas complains, sitting next to his sister on the carriage taking everyone back to their inn room (sans Kandy, Ayumi, Neo, and Cray). "The princess totally beat my ass!"
"Oh Atlas, no need to fret." Aurora sighs, patting him on the back. "I'm sure you'll get another chance to prove yourself."
"I've already lost in a fight, there's no way any captain would pick me after that…" Atlas sighs dramatically, leaning back on Matsu, who is too busy to notice or care as he stares at a certain someone.
Sherry is sheepishly conversing with an excited Glynis.
"Wow, wow, wow~!" Glynis beams. "My cousin always used to say that no one could ever beat him, but you made him pass out with one flick of your finger? That is amazing!"
Admetus hits Glynis' shoulder. "SHUT UP GLYNIS!"
Sherry blushes. "It was n-nothing, really, he was already tired from before so I'm sure-"
"No." Admetus cuts her off and frowns. "...You beat me. There's no excuse for why I lost other than…you…you're stronger than me."
Glynis gasps. "I don't think you've ever said that to anyone before!"
Sherry looks surprised for a moment but quickly smiles. "...I…I suppose so. For the time being…it looks like I may be a bit stronger…"
"For the time being." Admetus emphasizes, clenching a fist. "I will become stronger and beat you in a rematch. Then you'll be the one to pass out from a simple touch of my finger."
Sherry giggles. "...Sure. I look forward to it!"
Glynis hums. "It'll probably take years for Admetus to catch up to pure blooded royalty like us so don't look forward to it too much!"
"I can't wait to become stronger!" Pollo cheers. "I'm going to practice as soon as we get back to the room!"
Joel chuckles. "You should probably get some rest first."
Pollo laughs. "True…I am pretty tired."
Aim flips her hair. "Ah, no need to compliment me any further, I already know how strong I am!"
"I wasn't planning too." Joel frowns.
Aim rolls her eyes. "Hmph!"
Jasper pats the top of Lumine's head as she sleeps away, resting her head on the window. "I dunno man, she's kinda cute! In like, a puppy dog kinda way. I'm kinda glad they roomed her up with us since her original roommates complained she was tearing up the couch."
Ru shudders. "After that fight, I'm not sure if 'cute' is the word I'd use for her…"
Jasper stops, slowly moving away from her. "Yeah…you're right."
At last, the carriage pulls up to the inn and the kids quickly exit, wanting nothing more than to put their heads on their pillows.
There is a bit of tension in the crowd as they walk to their room. No hard feelings, but it still doesn't change the fact that some people caused pain to others. No one says anything as they reach the door and step inside.
As soon as they do so, everyone stops.
…
"This feeling…" Ru says quietly. "It's…"
"Strange." Jasper finishes for him. "Very strange. I feel like…there's something almost evil nearby."
Aim shakes her head. "It's…it's probably nothing. We're all exhausted from the events of today. It's got to be messing with our heads."
"Aim's probably right," Joel agrees. "We're all pretty messed up right now. Plus there's no way any evil business can be going on. There's inn staff all over this place."
"I didn't see any on the way to our room." Pollo speaks up.
"...They're probably all sleeping or something." Atlas suggests. "Anyways, there's plenty of people around here to protect us if things go south."
"And you idiots forget we can protect ourselves." Admetus snorts.
"Except Matsu since he can't see." Glynis sighs.
"Regardless, I'm going to get some sleep." Aurora saunters off towards her room. "Good night."
One by one, everyone clears their heads of worry and goes to bed.
The last person left in the entryway is Matsu, who puts his hand on his heart and starts to breathe heavily.
"This presence…why…
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Is it so familiar?"
The Curse of Immortality
Absolute Power
ACE CLIPSSS #12
Atlas: …
Admetus: …
Ayumi: …
Sherry: Why are you guys ignoring me?!
Atlas: Isn't it obvious?
Admetus: Tch, you should get it. You're…
Ayumi: The only one whose name doesn't start with an A!
Sherry: …