"So, princess, these friends of yours." Eric began as he walked at the side of Veronica through a path with trees on both sides of it, the princess in question humming as she looked at him.
"Yes? What about them?"
"Well, why weren't they with you? Wouldn't it be safer for all of you to travel together?"
"No, it would not. One is a non-combatant that dislikes violent endeavours, so Dante suggested that the two of them travel to the outskirts of Veronica & over the border as travelling fortune tellers while the two of us came into Fiore hidden as merchants to be safer. There's also another reason."
"And, if we may ask, what is that reason?" Hoteye asked from behind them and she glanced at Dante, which the other three mages caught as the knight sighed.
"You might as well. They may find out at a later stage and feel as if we didn't trust them."
"You're not smuggling, are you?" Eric asked with a smirk and Dante chuckled as he shook his head while Veronica scoffed.
"Nothing of the sort. No, there is another reason why Prince Cream wants to capture me and my friend. Both of us possess one half of an ancient artifact housing a powerful being and so, we needed to split up because if we travelled together and they caught us, the prince would have taken the artifact & spread havoc across Earthland."
"…Okay, so this is an S-Class now, right?" Eric said with a frown as he turned to Warcry, who had a frown of his own as he gave a grave nod.
"Yes, it is. You have new orders now. Protect the Princess under any cost. Capture all enemies that come after her and if needed…eliminate them."
"I thought legal mages couldn't kill?" Eric frowned, to which Warcry sighed.
"On normal jobs, yes. However, on S-Class jobs, even the slightest wrong choice can lead to death or casualties, so mages on S-Class jobs are allowed to complete the mission without worrying about the law as long as we don't go overboard."
"I see." Eric muttered with a frown as he looked deep in thought, Warcry humming as he nodded while Veronica looked at the young mage.
"Does killing truly bother you that much?" She asked and Eric blinked as he looked at her before shrugging.
"Not…really. It's just…I didn't expect I'd have to kill someone before even a year of being a mage. What about you? It sounds as if you're used to it."
"Public executions were the norm in our country, but I could only watch them from my bedroom windows as Father would not let me watch up close."
"That is because death and blood is not for the eyes of a young lady." Dante interrupted and she rolled her eyes as Eric chuckled.
"Well, well, well. Who would have thought that the princess is such a sadist?"
"I-I am not!" Veronica stuttered out with a glare and Eric cackled as the other three men gave each other exasperated stares.
"So, she's in this village?" Eric asked as the five of them approached a small village, looking around at the groups of people walking around as Veronica nodded.
"Yes. Now come." She said as she turned down a street and Eric rolled his eyes as they followed after her, walking down the street and turning left before stopping in front of a shop just a few moments earlier. The shop was just a one story building, a purple board with white stars scattered around it and a crystal ball painted on the front door.
"Eric, you, Dante and the princess go in. Hoteye and I will cover the entrance and exit." Eric nodded at Warcry as he followed the two royals into the store, Dante nodding for him to follow behind them as Veronica walked up to the counter.
Eric noticed the slender young woman with tanned skin & amber-coloured eyes standing behind the counter, her long brown hair tied up at the back with several bangs framing her forehead.
However, he had to blink a few times at the large headed baby chick with a small tuft of hair on top of its head, round eyes looking at him and a small beak stretching for a smile as it waved happily at him.
'What the actual hell is that?' Eric blinked in shock as he waved back slowly, straining his ears to hear what the girl and Veronica were hearing about, but he could only hear the words 'Phoenix' and 'seal' before the girl looked at him & turned back to Veronica.
Eric blinked as the princess waved him over and looking at Dante, the man gave a nod as permission, to which Eric shrugged as he walked over and Veronica turned back to the girl.
"Éclair, this is Eric Creed, the mage that will be escorting us to Crocus for protection. Eric, this is Éclair, a priestess that's been in the service of our family for the past three years. My uncle rescued her from bandits three years ago and ever since, we've been close friends."
"A pleasure to meet you, Éclair." Eric greeted with a smile, but Éclair frowned as she looked at Eric before turning to Veronica.
"We both know that I dislike Mages and any magic in general." Eric heard her whisper to Veronica, Veronica frowning before she sighed.
"I know, but we need the protection. Besides, it's only until we get to Crocus and then we don't have to worry about him."
"He can still hear you." Eric said and Veronica rolled her eyes as she looked back at him.
"I know. Now be quiet."
"…Is she always this snippy?" Eric asked Dante, who chuckled as he nodded.
"You should have seen her when she was younger. A little spitfire that didn't have any kind of filter.
" "Okay, so she's been like this since a child. That's at least good to know." Eric muttered with a sigh, to which Dante shook his head before they looked up as Veronica, Éclair and the chick walked towards them.
"So, can I know who the doll is and how the hell he's even moving?" Eric asked as he pointed at the abnormal doll, to which Veronica turned to Éclair who sighed.
"This is Momon, my assistant. He is a doll I created that came to life by some unknown means."
"…Huh, that's actually pretty cool. Hey, Momon. I'm Eric. Eric Creed." Eric greeted as he held out a hand and Momon giggled as it wrapped a stubby wing around his hand & shook it.
"Hehe, nice to meet you. Don't worry about Éclair being mad at you. She's usually like this." Momon said with a smile, to which Eric chuckled as he nodded while Éclair glared at both of them.
"So, if I can ask, what exactly is this artifact that the two of you are hiding from this prince?" Eric asked and Veronica & Éclair looked at each other before the princess sighed as Éclair frowned.
"I've already told him and his companions bits about it, so we might as well inform him about the whole thing. That or he's going to keep bothering us until we tell him."
"Oh, the second option is most definitely happening. You guys just have to choose if you want the safe option or the insane one." Eric agreed with a nod and Éclair frowned before she sighed, the mage blinking in surprise as she reached into her sari before pulling out one half of a blue stone in the shape of a half moon that had something engraved on the front of it.
"This is one of the halves of the Phoenix Stone, an ancient artifact that was created 400 years ago to seal away an ancient & powerful being. When the two stones are put back together, the phoenix will be unsealed and it shall bring chaos & destruction to the entire world." Éclair explained, but Eric was still in shock as he stared at the stone & realized what this job actually was.
'I can't believe I fucking forgot about it! She's from that fucking move called the Phoenix Priestess or something. Wait, does that mean all non-canon events are now part of the universe? Would I have to deal with that Starr filler arc or something?'
"…Oh." Was all Eric said out loud and Éclair rolled her eyes as she nodded, putting the stone back before turning to Veronica, who sighed as she reached into her exposed cleavage before pulling out the other half of the stone.
"…Why is it hidden there of all places?"
"None of your concern." She responded with a scoff as she put it away and Eric rolled his eyes as she put her stone away before he sighed.
"Okay, then. Do you have everything needed for the journey?"
"I do indeed." Éclair responded and he nodded before turning to Dante.
"Then, let's not waste any time."
"Eric, we need to leave now." Warcry's voice came from outside and he two men in the store frowned at each other before they nodded, Eric walking out first while Dante followed after him with the other three behind them.
Walking out of the store, Eric's frown deepened at the sight of five mages, one female and four males, standing on the rooftops in front of them while Warcry & Hoteye glared at them.
"Well, hello there, Carbuncle mages! How can we help you?" Eric waved with a grin and the mages just stared at them before the man with the turquoise hair spoke.
"I do not wish to waste time, so I will ask once and only once. Hand over the princess and the artifact or face death."
"I don't know, man. There's a kiss from a cute princess waiting for me at the end of this job and giving her up means having to miss that kiss."
"I did not agree to that!" Veronica shouted from behind Dante, Eric smirking as Warcry and Hoteye just let out soft sighs.
"…Very well, then. Die." And Eric's head quickly snapped back as the man lifted his hand, a dark purple magic crest appearing on his hand before his eyes widened as he was bodily lifted high into the air.
'I see. This must be the Telekinesis guy.' Eric thought with a frown before he grinned as he snapped his fingers, the turquoise man frowning as a purple glow covered his form before his eyes widened as the air pushed down onto his shoulders & forced him through the roof he was standing on.
"Boss!" Eric heard one of the others exclaim, but he wasn't worried about them for long as Warcry appeared in front of the big guy and the woman, grabbing both of them by the skull before tossing both of them out of the village with a grunt.
The other two tried to rush towards Veronica, but Hoteye chuckled as the ground turned into a muddy tidal wave and carried the purple haired man out of the village in the direction of Warcry while the other was quickly stopped by Dante appearing in front of him with his sword unsheathed.
'Okay, looks like I don't have to focus on fighting them.' Eric thought with a frown as he floated in the air, looking down at the crater where he had buried Dyst in before he quickly moved himself out of the way as half of the roof shot through his previous location.
Looking back at the ground, he frowned as the other half was broken down & turned into spikes that floated around Dyst as the Carbuncle mage pulled himself from the ground whilst dusting off his clothes with a sigh.
"I was hoping that I wouldn't have to kill you, but it appears that option is now out of the window."
"Oh, it was out of the window since you wanted to kill the princess, because no way am I letting my money ticket dying before I can cash in."
"Can't you think of anything serious?!" Veronica's voice echoed from the ground, to which Eric blew a raspberry at her before turning back to Dyst as the man sighed and rolled his shoulders.
"Very well, then. I'll make sure to at least give you a good funeral." And as he lifted his hands up, Eric's eyes widened as the village houses were torn from the ground, the villages quickly evacuating before Eric's eyes turned to steel as he looked down at his foe.
Warcry grunted as he landed on the ground, two dust clouds settling back down before he swiftly moved his head to the side just as a bullet ripped through the empty space & pierced the tree behind him.
"I told you the bullet wouldn't hit him." The woman said with a roll of her eyes as she walked out of the dust, Cannon growling as the rifle in his hand disappeared before being replaced by a gatling gun that appeared in his grasp and a pair of floating cannons above his shoulders.
"I don't see you doing anything worthwhile, Coordinator." Cannon grumbled and Coordinator rolled her eyes as a light blue glow covered her body before it disappeared to reveal an elaborate gold armour with red clothing underneath appeared around her body. She also had a winged helmet and grasped in her right hand was a large scythe with a gold blade and a crimson staff.
Warcry had a feral grin spreading across his face as he lowered himself on all fours before blinking as a life-sized picture of a man floated past him and landed next to the other two, the picture turning 3-D to reveal the purple-haired man gasping for air before coughing up bits of mud.
"I see you're struggling with handling Hoteye." Warcry said to the coughing man and a chuckle came from behind him as the giant man came to a stop besides him.
"Hohoho! Exactly! However, it appears that young Eric has to face an opponent a bit stronger than he is."
"Then, let's finish off this battle before we go and help him."
"Right!" Hoteye agreed with a nod as his eyes glowed a light orange, the ground turning to muddy liquid as it lifted him into the air while Warcry smirked as a flood of tears began to flow from his eyes.
"Tears? I see. You're 'Wailing Hound' Warcry." Coordinator said with a frown and Warcry gave a chuckle that reverberated through the bones of everyone around him as he grinned.
"Yes, that is me. Now, I'll give you one chance. Surrender or be captured. Choose." A moment of silence echoed in the air as the two groups stared at each other and it was only as a loud explosion ripped through the background that all hell broke loose.
Dante frowned as he glared at the masked man in front of him, who wasn't even looking at him as he saw their eyes through the eye holes looking past him at Veronica.
"If you wish to get her, you're going to have to go through me." Dante said with a smirk as he held his blade loosely and Chase focused at Dante as he reached into his cloak before Dante frowned as his enemy pulled out a pair of karambits, spinning the blades in his grasp before he bolted forward.
"Accel." Dante chanted and an orange magic crest appeared on his chest as the world around him slowed down, his blade covered in the same orange glow as he lowered it to his side before bolting towards Chase.
Spinning around on his heel, Dante quickly spun his blade in a reverse grip and slashed at his chest only to click his tongue as Chase turned into his shadow-like form & leapt right through his body.
Knowing that the man was going to try and kill the two girls, he quickly stopped before leaping backwards, dissipating his own magic before using his Dispel Magic in a pulse that dismissed Chase's shadow form just enough for Dante to crash into his back & pushed the two of them into the ground.
Pushing off of Chase and flipping back onto his feet, he quickly spun on his heel with a leg sweep, Chase quickly pushing himself off the ground & over the leg sweep.
Turning into shadows just as Dante's blade came around and nearly cut into his shoulders, Chase fell onto the ground and sunk into it before shooting out from Dante's shadows, the knight leaning back just in time to dodge a knife slicing out his eyes before Chase grunted as the knight's legs snapped out and dropkicked him into the chest.
'He's good.' Dante thought with a frown as he landed on the ground, holding his blade steady in a reverse grip as he glared at Chase, who looked just as miffed as he let go of his two karambits & let them fall into his shadow before pulling out another pair of daggers.
"You're good. What's your name?" Dante asked and Chase frowned before he answered.
"Chase. What's yours?"
"My name's Dante III Fiore, Chase. In respect to your skill, I shall take you seriously from now on."
"Uncle! My life is on the line here, so I really hope you don't try to play around with him!" Veronica exclaimed and Dante rolled his eyes as he sighed.
"Veronica, you're supposed to be running away from the danger! Momon!"
"On it! Come on, you two!"Momon exclaimed as he grabbed a hand from both girls' hand with his wings before pulling them away from the village, Chase watching them running away before he sighed as Dante moved to cover them from his sight.
"If it's any worth, I do apologize for hunting her down, but we could not ignore the award."
"Oh, I understand. Just know that I will now kill you."
"I understand." Chase said with a nod and Dante smiled as he nodded before his face turned serious as the atmosphere changed, a silence hanging in the air as the two looked at each and as a loud explosion ripped through the air, both fighters smirked as they tensed their bodies…
Before the world went still as both of them rushed at the other, hoping to be the victor of their bout.
A/N: And here we are, with the next chapter having another twist in it as well as the full extent of Eric's new abilities!
Also, the power scaling is going to be a bit wacky at the start as usual, but the more the story goes on, the more I can figure out how to fully scale everyone's abilities.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!