Chapter 3-15: Oddly Reassuring
"Are you all right, sir?!" Sebek asks, concerned.
"I'm not under any great strain, but it will take longer than usual for me to cast spells," Malleus says, "When we fell into the waterway, I tried to safeguard Briar, as my friend can't use magic… But I couldn't control my magic as normal—I couldn't even levitate as I usually can. It will take some time for me to recover. My power alone won't be enough to eliminate the firelotuses in the city as things stand."
"Makes sense. Those flowers aggroed Malleus right away in the lecture hall," Idia says.
"Yes. It's only because he's Malleus that he's still standing right now. Any other mage would've long since been sucked dry if that many flowers had got them at once," Azul says.
"Those wretched plants' impertinence knows no bounds...!" Sebek says.
Then Silver suggests, "It might not be feasible with just Malleus, but what if we all combined our magic?"
"Who, us? Are you srs?" Idia questions.
And Idia says, "Okay, uh, lemme give you a metaphor. If Malleus's magical power is a 25-meter pool… Each of ours would be a water bottle-no, not even that. We'd be a bottle cap's worth. The rest of us combined couldn't reach half his power. Pooling our magic for some fancy combo attack? Please. We're a drop in the bucket compared to him."
"I wouldn't describe my power THAT generously," Malleus says.
But Sebek says, "No, he's right! You possess immense power, Malleus. We could never hold a candle to you!"
"This isn't a competition, but the point does stand," Riddle says.
"I'm afraid Idia is right. Even with all our magic combined, there's just too many flowers for us to use on," Briar says.
"Then I guess we gotta stick to weeding 'em the old-fashioned way," Epel says.
"Out of the question. It was hard enough to clear the ones around here," Jamil says, "We couldn't cover the whole city. We'd never be able to keep up with how fast they spread that way. The flowers would swarm us in a second. It'd be like laying out a banquet for them."
"And we'll be too exhausted from all the flower picking," Tanzanite says.
"Then what else can we do...?" Epel asks.
Then Deuce suggests, "Oh, what if we burn them without using magic? That'd take care of 'em fast, right?"
But Ruggie says, "Deuce, you know how far they've spread throughout the town. If we set them on fire, the flames will spread and burn down the whole city. That'd be just as bad!"
"Oh, right…" Deuce says.
"Can't we ask Night Raven College and others outside the city for help?" Silver asks.
But Trein says, "There are still unconscious students in the lecture hall, you know. Their magic is being sapped as we speak. If we don't act fast, the flowers will drain them of their magic completely and they'll never regain it. Judging by how rapidly I could feel my own power being drained...we have hours at most. We can't afford to wait for help. We cannot allow one man's nonsense to deprive those young students of their futures. We have to do something."
"I dunno, I mean, I personally couldn't care less what happens to the Royal Sword guys…" Ruggie says.
Jasper and Tanzanite are dumbfounded.
"Yeah, they kinda brought it on themselves. We could just go home right now," Idia says.
"What?!" Briar asks, shocked.
And Trein is not pleased, "YOU FOOLS. Don't you realize why you're still even standing?! It's because Royal Sword Academy students sacrificed themselves so you could make it out unscathed! To think that you would turn your backs on them so easily... I... I…" and is getting emotional, "Oh, where did I go wrong in teaching you? I've always espoused the importance of decorum, and yet…"
"Whoa... Trein's cryin'," Grim says, shocked.
Idia turns to Ruggie, "Dude. Apologize to him, Ruggie."
"Wait, me?! What you said was way worse!" Ruggie asks, shocked.
"Ruggie's right, you need to apologize too,' Sereia says.
Trinket nods in response.
"You're both terrible," Jamil says.
Then Rook says, "There are many victims left unconscious, with the flowers indiscriminately draining their magic. Right now the blooms are still within the city limits, but they will spread further before long."
"And when that happens, they'll endanger those we care about. Professor Trein's right. It falls to us to wipe out the fire lotuses."" Silver says.
"Silver's right. From the way Rollo said and how fast the flowers spread, the entire world will be at stake. It's up to us to stop Rollo's plans," Briar says.
"Yes, I suppose so," Azul says, "While I also don't care about anyone from Royal Sword Academy… I can't stand the notion of leaving a debt unpaid."
Idia soon gives in, "Okay, fair. It'd bug me a ton if those sparkly normies saved us and we didn't even it up."
"You're totally right, Azul. You gotta pay back debts in kind!" Deuce says.
"That's the spirit," Azul says, "The last thing I need is them invoicing us for medical expenses because they saved us. Besides, gentlemen—think about it. We could have a whole BEVY of mages in our debt! How could we possibly let such a golden opportunity slip through our fingers?!"
Briar and the rest of her group let out a sigh.
"Here we go with Azul's bizarre idea that it's okay to take an L if you get some kinda dub out of it. That's not a healthy mindset, you know!" Idia says.
"Bizarre? I resent that," Azul says, offended, "I only do this sort of thing when I expect an ample return. It's called an investment."
"It's oddly reassuring how your priorities never change, Azul," Then Riddle says.
And Malleus says, "I share all of your sentiments. I haven't the slightest intention of walking way from this affair. I won't be satisfied until I can strike down Rollo Flamme for deceiving me and placing Briar in danger."
"ABSOLUTELY!" Sebek says, "I couldn't possibly leave this city until he grovels before you and begs your forgiveness, my liege!"
"Agreed. We need to teach Rollo that what he's doing isn't right. So let's put our heads together and think of a plan to save everyone," Silver says.
"But how are we going to do that?" Sereia asks.
"Well, we know that the flowers absorb magic, and will wither when they absorb too much," Briar says, "Hmm… if we can use that knowledge to our advantage, we can wither them to dust. The question is, how are we going to do it…?"
"Uh, what are you talking about?" Grim asks.
Azul chuckles and says, "Heh heh heh. I take it you've connected the dots as well, Briar? You're all making this much harder than it needs to be."
"What do you mean?" Sereia asks.
"The fastest way to eradicate the firelotuses is to inundate them with magic until they wilt. But as we've established, our group doesn't have the power to do that on our own. So we'll just use an alternate power source," Azul says.