Chapter 104: OOPArt

Disclaimer:

It's been a while since the last chapter, apologies!

The time it took to finalise this chapter was quite a long one. There are some important things that I'll be adding here and I really wanted to make sure I did it properly. That said, I was also quite lazy and started procrastinating… Welp, anyways!

There are references to events in past chapters to help with foreshadowing and whatnot. Here they are:

Chapter 97, 100-103.

With that said, I hope you enjoy!

Under the calm light of the shining moon, there stood a set of buildings all connected to one another. The main block rose higher than the others and it looked like it had been through a few tests. Cracks and mould were everywhere on the outside, yet a small area was illuminated through one of the glass windows which showed a man hard at work as he sat in his office chair.

He was reading through a high pile of papers. A few candles lighting up the room were enough for him to keep to his work. However, as he glanced across towards the glass window on the right, he raised his eyebrows and yawned.

"It's already so late, I didn't even realise it. My wife must be worried… but we knew how demanding this job was when I accepted it".

The man put his right elbow on his wooden desk and rested his cheek against his fist. He used his free hand to fiddle with his handlebar moustache. His purple eyes looked over at the rest of the papers and he sighed once more before reaching out to them. "Only a few left, I'll do this quickly and go to sleep…".

The last pile of papers described the Magic Knights of the Purple Orcas. Kaiser Granvorka, the newly-appointed captain of the squad, looked through them one-by-one.

"Xerx Lugner, noble and Vice-Captain.

Magic: Ice Magic

A strong Magic Knight with impressive control over his magic. However, his outward look does not match his inner personality. Needs looking into as some scouts have suggested".

Kaiser took Xerx's profile and moved it to the right. He then took the next few from the left and read through them.

"Richard Kira, royal from House Kira.

Magic: Earth Magic

Hm, considering he's been here for around six months, he hasn't even completed 10 missions. According to some of the others, he doesn't even show up to HQ anymore…".

"Daimon Wutan, noble from House Wutan.

Magic: Explosion Magic

A powerful mage, extremely passionate about his duty and completes his missions with ease. His temper needs to be controlled and his squadmates are able to do that".

"Rose Dew, commoner from Kikka.

Magic: Water Magic

A support mage that excels when partnered with an offence-minded partner. She is wary of her height but her abilities are the real deal".

Finally, after reading through all of the other profiles, Kaiser reached the last one. He picked it up and brought it close to his face.

"Aiden Sitrol, noble from House Sitrol.

Magic: Flame Magic

A level-headed Magic Knight who is controlled and experienced in various circumstances. Keeps his squadmates in check and also possesses extreme power".

Kaiser then leaned back on his chair and sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. "In addition to these mages, the only ones left in the squad don't even equal 10 anymore. Major work needs to be done, but first…". He reached into his top left drawer and took out two letters from an envelope. "The two missions for tomorrow…".

"Good morning, everyone".

The sun high above the Clover Kingdom was shining down at the building below. Through its glass panes, the inviting shine of the burning star was enough to light up the room that four people were in.

Standing just in front of three Magic Knights, with his arms behind his back, stood Kaiser Granvorka. There was only a wooden desk that separated him from his subordinates as he greeted them.

"Good morning, Captain!"

The trio who clover-saluted were Aiden, Daimon, and Rose. The first two had their backs up straight and looked directly at their captain, whereas the third found herself distracted as she looked around the room they were in.

"This room looks… better than it used to, don't you think, Daimon?" The Water mage whispered to the Explosion user. He remained silent but still nudged her with his elbow. "Ow, what was that for?!" Rose stomped her right foot down on the wooden floorboard, pouting and blowing air out of her mouth.

A loud cough made Rose flinch. She froze in place but then slowly turned her head to face Kaiser who looked less than impressed at her antics.

"S-Sorry, Captain…", she bowed her head.

Kaiser coughed once more and then relaxed his posture. He started walking side-to-side from behind his wooden desk and started speaking.

"It's no problem. You probably aren't accustomed to having an actual captain considering the irresponsibility that your previous one showed on a daily basis", he said, clearly talking about Gueldre Poizot.

Kaiser walked towards the first point of the room which Rose was talking about, slowly sliding his finger across the window sill. "Even so, I'll explain some things to you; The harsh truth is that the Purple Orcas are the ninth and worst Magic Knights squad in the entire kingdom, many of its members have left, and the public don't even trust us anymore, not that they did much anyway".

This set of truths made Daimon shake his head as he was the most annoyed out of the three. Aiden had his eyes closed whilst Rose was largely inexpressive. Kaiser then walked back to his desk.

"Rose…", the green-haired mage said, which made the petite woman flinch. "You were wondering why this room looked better, weren't you?"

The Water mage was confused where this was going as it was mainly a simple throwaway comment. "Uh, y-yes".

"The reason for that is I believe change starts from home. Start by doing the little things differently and eventually, through a lot of hard work, the outside perspective that others have on us will change", he explained.

Rose scratched her chin. "Does that mean you started cleaning this room to kickstart a change?" Her eyes slowly lit up as she was feeling hopeful.

Kaiser turned around so that the three would be facing his back. "Yes, you would be correct, Rose", he replied.

A sudden clap of the hands forced the three mages to focus once more as Kaiser turned back around. "Moving on, you know that the Purple Orcas have less than 10 active members as of now. There are four of us here with the others elsewhere. It has been a few days since the Star Festival and I have had no contact with the Vice-Captain either, so things have to change in that regard as well".

Rose rolled her eyes. "This squad is rotten, safe for the few of us. The Vice-Captain doesn't seem to care, along with Richard and a few others. There's a feeling that it's hopeless to change, but…", she glanced at Daimon who looked to be extremely frustrated. "... I doubt he'd ever want to hear that from me".

Kaiser carried on. "However, that matter does not concern you three at all. What does concern you are the two missions that I will be sending you on to complete".

"Two missions, are we doing both together?" Daimon wondered.

The Explosion mage didn't need to think much longer about it as his captain wasted no time in explaining. He ushered towards Aiden and Rose with the latter moving from her place on the right towards the flame mage on the left, making it easier for Kaiser to address them.

"You two will take one of the missions on. Make your way towards the border of the Forsaken Realm and in the direction of the Heart Kingdom where a place called Haken Village resides. It's a small area but there have been reports of the population going missing for a few weeks now, alongside appearances of magic beasts that we've never seen before. These two points are likely to be linked, so keep that in mind. I'd like to have tackled this issue earlier but the scouting reports only came back two days ago. Still, Haken Village needs to be looked into so I'll be sending you two on this mission".

Rose raised her hand. "You said this village is close to the Heart Kingdom, so could they have done something to Haken - Maybe they're looking to invade?"

"I don't think that's the case. We have an agreement of peace with them, so it's unlikely that they're doing anything problematic. Our relations with them have been successfully maintained for many years now", Aiden added.

Kaiser scratched his chin. "Correct, the Heart Kingdom wouldn't be the ones responsible, we've been friendly with them. It's more than likely that it's a Clover Kingdom issue, but I'd like you two to be vigilant. What I need from you is to scout, help anyone that needs it, and find and neutralise the problem, okay?"

"Will do!"

He then stood tall with his hands to his sides. He slowly raised his right arm and put his hand across his chest to clover salute. "You have the details, so go and complete this mission to the best of your abilities. Consider this as a fresh start with the Purple Orcas".

"Yes, Sir!"

Aiden and Rose looked at one another but then their gazes fell on Daimon who wouldn't be joining them for this mission.

"I hope you complete your mission without blowing any buildings up this time", Aiden smirked before opening the door to leave.

"Good luck, Daimon!" Rose waved before following the Flame mage outdoors.

Daimon smiled and, after the door swung shut, looked back at his new captain who stood tall, right above him.

"As for you, Daimon…".

The kingdom's skies painted a warm afternoon with the sun at its highest peak in the sky. Under its rays, the duo of Aiden and Rose were flying on their broomsticks as they made their way west towards Haken Village.

The petite lady kept about an arms length of a distance away from her squadmate. Her cheeks were flushed red as if the overhead warmth was sticking to her like a moth to a flame. She tried to comfort and calm herself down, but it wouldn't work.

"Th-This is the first time we've been on a mission… j-just the two of us! There has to be a reason the captain partnered us up like this, right? Or… nah, it's just a coincidence, Rose!" She rolled her palms into fists and blew air out of her flared-up nostrils.

"Are you… okay there, Rose?" Aiden asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you ill or something? Your face looks a bit red", he pointed.

"N-No, nothing like that! I was just uh… Ah, yes, I was just thinking about the fun I had at the Star Festival! It was just on my mind", she tried explaining. "Gosh, he'll never fall for such a blatant lie like that…!"

Contrary to what she thought, her lie seemed to be enough to direct Aiden's attention to the events of that night.

"Ah, I see, I heard it was a good event. I'm glad I was able to see Shooting Star play, as well as be there for the Award Ceremony. Maybe next year I'll be there from the start, haha!" Aiden smiled but his expression quickly fell.

Rose, noticing this, asked; "You mentioned it was your father's birthday, right? Sounds like it's a good reason to not be at the festival, so why do you look upset?"

Aiden looked towards the distance, covering his eyes from the bright sun. He sighed and dropped his shoulders but shook his head. "I'll tell you some other time, not right now", he said before quickly moving on. "Anyway, you mentioned that you made a friend - Shiren, was it?"

The Water mage was a bit worried considering the sudden change of topic that Aiden caused, but put that feeling to the back of her mind for now. "Yeah, he's from the Golden Dawn. We ended up being paired up for an activity and, well, we became friends!"

Aiden started laughing all of a sudden which prompted Rose to pout and blow air out of her mouth. "What's so funny?"

"You making friends with someone is surprising in itself, but I'm 100% positive that your explanation missed out a few arguments and some misunderstandings that you had with Shiren, am I right?"

The speed of Rose's broomstick slowed down so that she was just a few metres behind the Flame mage. She crossed her arms but then her face started to go red in embarrassment. "Um, uh… Y-You're right, but that doesn't matter anymore!"

Seeing how his comment made Rose, he slowed his pace down as well so that the two were flying side-by-side once again. "Sorry about that. I said it then and I'll say it now, I'm very happy for you", he smiled.

Rose's pink eyes glistened as she saw her squadmate's smile. "Ah, there it is again. The way he smiles with his eyes shut…". She started to wander off into her own dreamland once again but Aiden brought her back to reality as he spoke again.

"Speaking of friends, I guess I made one as well", he said which prompted Rose to fold her arms and give a confused look.

"That's a surprise as well. You don't really like to reveal much about yourself - so, who's the lucky person?" She raised an eyebrow which was coupled together with a sly grin.

Aiden chuckled for a second. "Huh, we're more alike than I thought. Anyway, I've known him for a few months now, but I think we actually became friends on the night of the Star Festival", he explained.

"Oh, was it Lucas - I think that's his name?" Rose said before the Flame mage which caused him to scratch his chin.

"Yeah, it is. How did you figure it out?"

"I mean, you don't really talk much about anything other than the squad or your missions, so Daimon and I were surprised when you mentioned this 'Lucas'", she giggled, covering her mouth with her right hand.

"Hm, I didn't realise I do that", he cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger.

Aiden then proceeded to explain the details about the night, specifically the kidnapping by the new captain of the Crimson Lion Kings, Mereoleona Vermillion, and the Yultim Volcano trail that he and other Magic Knights went on.

"Sounds like a right pain", Rose rolled her eyes. "At least there was a bit of rest at the end. So, that's where you disappeared to after the concert…", she started to trail off without realising, not really listening to what Aiden had to say.

In her head, she focused on the part about the hot springs. Her pink eyes looked towards the sky and imagined herself getting into the relaxing water right beside her crush, Aiden. With her cheeks starting to become red, she pictured something else. "If only I was there with him that night…".

All of a sudden, a gust of wind brought her back to reality. She shook her head before focusing in front to see that it was Aiden's right arm outstretched across her body, stopping her from flying ahead.

"Wh-What's up, Aide-!"

The Water mage couldn't get her question out as what she saw in the distance took up all of her thoughts. They became frantic, but she knew not to panic as they had time to discuss. "Is that…?"

"Yeah, that has to be Haken Village, the one that the captain told us about. What the hell has happened over there?!" Aiden looked around to see if the surrounding area was affected. "No, it seems like it's just in the village".

In front of them, but still a fair way into the distance, was the village completely surrounded in sharp, protruding, spikes of ice that shot up from the ground, rising high into the air.

"Those have to be as high as… 50ft, right?" Rose pointed, taking in the sheer size of what they were seeing.

"You're right, I'm a bit confused how this happened, but do you think it's due to the magic beasts that the captain was talking about earlier? Regardless, we have to get closer, but we need to be careful. If it is a magic beast, we'll probably have to fight", Aiden explained. He raised his right hand and motioned for Rose to follow him.

As the two got closer towards Haken, the damage was clear. The old buildings that made up the village were now a dark-blue colour, courtesy of the ice that was all around them. The two eventually made it to the village border and saw something on the ground that made things more sinister.

"Forbidden Magic, you can tell by purple writing on the ground here", Aiden analysed as he bent down to look at the floor.

"You know about that?" Rose asked, a bit creeped out with what they were walking into. She started darting her eyes all around the area, wary of her surroundings.

"Yeah, I've dealt with criminal cults before. They like to delve into that sort of territory and it's… unpleasant, shall we say?" He replied, standing up straight again. As he did, a protective coating of mana surrounded the outline of his body, and he sighed.

"Smart idea, Aiden, Mana Skin would help us out here". Rose closed her eyes and she activated a protective barrier, her one being blue.

Aiden nodded. "I had another idea and using Mana Skin will help out. Currently, we're at the north of the village, let's circle around the outskirts of the village and report what we see once we meet up at the south point", he said before turning to walk away.

Rose tried to reach out but he was already a sizable distance away from her hand. She slowly retracted her arm and it fell by her side, slowly swinging until it came to a stop. "He's a great Magic Knight, but… would it kill him if we did things together?! I'm… a bit scared…", she said softly to herself as she turned around in the opposite direction.

The Water mage slowly made her way clockwise, making sure to stick to the village border. At first, she didn't see much else except for the ice spikes but she did focus on the Forbidden Magic that Aiden pointed out.

"I never knew he had info about Forbidden Magic", she thought as she kicked the dirt underneath with her black shoes. "Hm, he has been a bit distant lately but he's usually like that anyway…". Rose thought about her conversation earlier where she mentioned Aiden's father. "Maybe something did happen…".

She kept following the ice and the purple lettering on the ground until it started to curve. At this point, she had an idea in her head about what it could be but her thought process was broken because the sound of high-pitched crying entered her ears.

"What the-", she said as she kept turning around, trying to pinpoint the location.

There was a faint mist around the area as well which only served to obscure Rose's eyesight. "I can't see much, but that crying - is it a woman's?"

She stayed in one place for a few minutes before deciding to move on with her task, but that was when she saw a flash of light-blue race across in front of her. Rose ran towards whatever it was and she heard the same thing - a woman's cries.

"The crying has to be coming from her!" Rose gave chase and waved her hand. "Hello, I'm a Magic Knight and I can help you out! Do you live here?!"

The honey-blonde's words made the strange flash of colour stop and Rose could finally see what the thing was, at least partially.

It was around the same height as an average human. Long, black hair was flowing out from the top of the light-blue robe it was wearing, with its attached hood covering the person's face except for its dark-blue lips.

"Frostbite?" Rose took one step closer which made the woman flinch before Rose retreated to her original position. "I can tell the cold is hurting you. If you let me approach you, I can help you out, or call for a Recovery mage…", she offered before going to take another step once more.

"...".

"... Not… from… here…".

With every word there came a heavy breath. With every breath there came a cool breeze out from her mouth, giving Rose the chills. The petite woman flinched and by the time she tried to focus back on the strange woman, she had disappeared.

"What did she mean? She's not from Haken Village? Then… what is she doing here?"

Not having a clue on the woman's whereabouts, Rose continued with her portion of the mission. Her mind was full of questions, but her eyes were set on the floor, following the purple lettering on the floor which had started to curve a second time.

"Is this a circle of letters?"

Following Aiden, who had ventured anti-clockwise, had an idea of what was on the floor. He also reached a point where the lettering had started to curve which proved his suspicions.

"The language on the floor and the effects on the surroundings…", Aiden pieced together in his head as he walked. He reached a few bushes on his path that were frozen together and he decided to further prove his theory by burning them to ash.

He bent down and placed his palms on the bushes, burning them instantly. What he saw on the floor was what he expected and he sighed while shaking his head.

"A sigil, huh? So, there is definitely use of Forbidden Magic here. The sigil probably caused the ice to freeze the village over, but the question is - who created the sigil? Was it some cultists?"

As Aiden pondered, he felt the hairs on the back of neck stick up sharper than they had been anyway. Instead of turning around immediately, he was shocked as his brown eyes widened.

"The chill broke through my Mana Skin?! That… should be impossible!" He was on the defensive and he jumped back and turned around mid-air to face whatever he felt was behind him.

There was a figure watching him. It was wearing a light-blue robe alongside a white hood that covered its head, leaving its almost-transparent skin on its face exposed, as well as its lips which were completely blue. The robe covered most of its legs and only left its feet visible where it was wearing some wooden sandals.

"Who are you?" Aiden asked, or rather demanded judging by the fact he was pointing at the figure.

"...".

The figure said nothing and started to turn around, presumably to run away since it looked afraid of the Flame mage.

"No, you don't!" Aiden slashed his arm horizontally, sending out a wave of flames to sit in the path where the figure was about to head on. "If you need help, then I can offer you some. If… you're an enemy, then as a Magic Knight, you'll be dealt with".

The figure turned back around, the colour of the flames behind it reflecting off its light robe. It opened its mouth, tears running down its face.

"...".

"... Summoned… to… this… world…".

After it said this, its body started to fade and it disappeared within seconds. The mist around the area grew heavier and Aiden was left even more confused than he was a few seconds ago. "What do you mean, 'summoned to this world'? That… could be possible, but it should be highly unlikely…".

Aiden moved on but he kept thinking about what this mysterious figure said to him. He was engrossed in what it had to say but one thing was for certain. "My Mana Skin technique should be stronger than this. If it can be bypassed this easily, then I need to start using something else".

Eventually, the Flame mage reached the southern point of the village and, just as he did, Rose was there as well, waiting for him with her back leaning against an old well.

"Hey, Aiden, you alright?" She waved at him as he neared.

"Yeah, but I did find some things out", he said, going into his explanation right away. "The lettering on the ground is part of a sigil that's been inscribed around the border of the village".

"I realised that as well. That means Forbidden Magic is at play, as you said earlier", Rose nodded. "I saw something else as well. There was this pe-!"

"Red String Magic: Total Capture!"

Completely out of the blue, the Purple Orcas had been bound by their legs with what looked to be bright, red string. The two tried to wriggle free but it was way too strong for that, so the Flame mage tried to use his magic to burn the string away. However, a lone voice made him stop.

"I can't believe there's people… that haven't disappeared!"

It was actually coming from the well that Rose was leaning against earlier. At least, it was a well just a second ago before it started to fade and phase away into something completely different.

"An illusion?!" Rose gasped as the object transformed into what looked like a tent. It was a beige colour and had the symbol of the Clover Kingdom embroidered on the left-hand side of the open slit.

"Correct, courtesy of this magic tool!" An arm peeked out of the entrance which held some type of button. "Oh, how rude of me, let me introduce myself", the voice said before the rest of the person came out.

The woman flinched as she felt the extreme cold on her face which made her turn away momentarily. The speed at which she turned made her white lab coat flow which also revealed her dark-blue shirt and khaki, knee-length skirt.

She took her glasses off which dangled around her neck, squinted, and then put them back on again. "Hang on a minute, do I know you?"

"Um, I'm Rose. H-Hang on, Millie, from the Star Festival?" Rose's pink eyes widened with extreme surprise. What the hell are you doing here?!"

Millie flicked her medium-length green hair with her right hand. "I'm not from the Star Festival, I'm from the Magic Tool Research Lab and I've been trying to figure out what's been going o-!"

"Um", Aiden interrupted as he poker-faced. "It's clear to see you two know each other so can you get rid of these strings? I could burn them away but what's the point in wasting magic, right?"

Millie face-palmed. "Ah, yes, my bad". She clicked her fingers and her magic disappeared, freeing both Aiden and Rose. "Shall we talk inside?"

Inside the tent, there were piles of papers and a small, mobile chalkboard with tons of scribbles and unreadable letters and numbers on. Millie led with Aiden and Rose behind her, the latter shivering for a few seconds.

"Take this, Rose", the researcher said as she threw a circular object which she caught. "It'll warm you up".

Immediately, there was a bit of steam coming from Rose as she relaxed her shoulders. A huge smile painted across her face. "What is this thing?" She asked, noticing the red colour in the middle of it.

"As I said, I'm a researcher from the Magic Tool Research Lab, it's something that helps in cold conditions like these", Millie smiled. "Oh, I was meaning to ask - How was the bond experiment in the end between Shiren and yourself?" She asked, walking up to the small Water mage.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Um, I guess it was fine but shouldn't you be the one to tell me how it went? I thought you were monitoring how our bonds developed in a short period of time but then we never saw you after that!"

Millie put a hand to her chin. "Hm, you raise a good point. Well according to the readings of your mana signatures, there wasn't much of a change… but that doesn't mean that it didn't change at all. There was a bit of movement so can I assume that your relationship changed?"

Rose furrowed her brow as she was a bit confused by all this technical talk. "Um… I think? I mean we became friends in the end so that's probably why the readings changed - Uh, anyway, onto the more important thing, why are you here?"

The green-haired woman stood by her chalkboard, putting a hand on her right hip. "I've been sent by the lab to find out what's been going on in this village".

Aiden folded his arms. "I don't mean to be rude, but isn't this sort of thing for Magic Knights?"

Millie raised an eyebrow. "Just as you may have had a request to look into Haken Village as a Magic Knight, we were requested to look into it as well. From the information given, we believe a magic tool, item, or device is responsible for everything that's happened here".

Rose tilted her head. "Wait, so it's not criminals that are responsible?" She looked at Aiden who was confused as he'd thought some cultists were the reason.

Millie shook her head and then pointed them to the top-right section of her chalkboard. "I got here a few hours ago where there were still a few locals before… they disappeared as well, and they were adamant that no strangers were around. The only thing they all said was that they heard the sound of metal right before the ice and sigil appeared.

"Metal? Is that why you think it could be a magic tool, as it's an object?" Rose asked.

"Hang on, you say that all the locals have gone missing, but I saw someone wearing a robe earlier and she said something weird to me before disappearing".

"You too? I saw the same thing and she said something a bit odd as well", Rose added.

They then repeated the same thing as the mysterious figure.

"Not from here".

"Summoned to this world".

Millie scratched her chin. "Are you sure? I didn't see anyone like that outside. But, then again, I haven't left the tent for an hour". She then turned her back to write on the chalkboard. "Those things that they said only make my theory about a magic tool being responsible a bit more concrete. I mean, a normal human can't just summon someone from another world without any major repercussions, and, as we've established, there's no other human here besides us".

"But what if they used Forbidden Magic? There's a sigil outside with purple lettering indicating its usage", Aiden explained.

"I'm not too knowledgeable on this topic, but I can say for a fact that it is not Forbidden Magic. What you're referring to is indeed lettering but the language used is a far cry from what we see in this world", Millie explained and then pointed her finger to the desk in front of them which had a few books on Forbidden Magic. "Take a look".

Aiden and Rose looked through the pages together and the former sighed. Millie was right, the wording and lettering used outside was completely foreign to what he had seen in his previous missions. In most cases, Forbidden Magic entailed black and red lettering, whereas this one was purple.

He rubbed his temples. "Okay… Are there magic tools that can cause someone's disappearance though, let alone an entire village's?"

Millie shook her head. "We research and develop magic tools but never in my life have I heard about tools to make one completely disappear. The Heart Kingdom has no tools like that and the other two kingdoms are too far away to have a hand in this problem. If what you heard from those hooded individuals is true, then I have reason to believe that the cause is due to an OOPArt".

"You just made that word up", Rose replied, unimpressed.

"No, she didn't. I've heard of that term before - Out Of Place Artifact, right? Aiden raised a hand.

The researcher smiled. "Correct, I'm impressed that you've heard of it. I'll explain further - An OOPArt refers to an artifact of special and/or historical importance that is found in places that it should never be in otherwise". She looked at Rose whose face showed little confidence. The lady smiled again and added onto her explanation even further.

"For example, think about Spatial Magic. It didn't even exist over 100 years ago but because of the way magic has evolved, it gave birth to such an attribute. Now imagine if our time's Spatial Magic was present let's say… 500 years ago, around the time of the first Wizard King. You'd think 'hey, that's weird, something so advanced shouldn't be in that time', right? That's essentially what an OOPArt is - something that shouldn't be at the place that it's discovered".

Rose raised her hand. "That makes sense. So, are you saying an OOPArt is here in Haken Village?"

"Most likely since no magic tool in this world is capable of making people disappear. Though finding it is difficult and it continues to evade me for some reason. All I've heard is the metallic banging that a few of the locals described, but that's it", she said.

Aiden shrugged his shoulders. "You know a lot more than us, so do you have an idea on how to find this artifact and successfully neutralise it?"

Millie nodded. "You just have to attack it with magic. It's quite simple but you do have to be quick which is why I had a bit of trouble with it. It's not a living thing so it wouldn't have the ability to fight back, I think".

"You think?" Rose sighed. "Hm, sounds easy enough. I guess the trouble comes with actually locating it, right?" She turned to where she thought Aiden would be but he was at the tent's entrance for some reason. "What's going on?

The Flame mage shook his head. "Nothing, I thought I heard s-!"

Aiden couldn't even finish his sentence as the entire area started to shake violently. The books, papers, and whatever else inside the tent were flying around as if there was an earthquake outside. He struggled to reach the entrance but, as he did, he saw what the source of the extreme shaking was as he looked up into the sky, the sound of metal banging ringing around the area. "Yeah, I thought I heard something. We need to act, now!"

Without hesitation, Rose and Millie ran outside, after jumping over the mess inside, and looked up to see what Aiden was talking about. Directly parallel with the circumference of the sigil on the floor, there was a circular opening in the sky filled with a fierce colour of dark-blue.

Another violent shake caused the trio to lose their footing. Rose grabbed onto the broken wall of an old building that was right next to the tent and propped herself up. "Is that… a portal?"

"I… think so. Millie, what do you think?" Aiden asked, but got no response. "Millie?"

The researcher was staring into the middle of the opening and focused on something that was floating inside it. It looked like an object of some kind, with a distinct purple colour radiating off it. "That's the OOPArt, in the middle of the portal… It just has to be!"

"What are we waiting for then?!"

Aiden bent down and jumped up through immense strength in his legs. Within seconds, he had almost reached the portal in the air. Rose couldn't quite believe how quick he acted with her mouth agape.

Underneath the Purple Orca in the sky, he had a stream of flames by his feet to keep him airborne. He looked closely at the OOPArt and noticed that the long bone that held the wings together was almost armoured with purple skin, whereas the feathers were completely white.

"What kind of magic tool is this? If it is indeed otherworldly, then I guess it makes sense, but we don't have time to theorise about all that. If this portal stays open, who knows what will happen?" Aiden clapped his hands together and then raised his right palm up high. "Flame Magic: Apollo's Burst!" A huge sphere formed overhead and he swung it forwards to attack the OOPArt. "That should get rid of the portal…".

The sphere of violent flames was about to hit but two flashes of light-blue appeared right in front of him to stop the magic fireball. It was the figure that Aiden and Rose saw, but there were two of them.

Holding their arms out, they spoke with a sense of purpose.

"... We… need… to… go… home…!"

"... Do… not… attack… We… require…!"

As they said that, Apollo's Burst was no more. It dissipated completely and now the OOPArt had these two mysterious figures guarding it. Aiden grew slightly frustrated at this before reeling his arms back.

"Flame Magic: Crimson Wide Slash!" His arms started to glow red and he quickly moved them forwards, releasing sharp red-hot flames from both directions. They were heading right for their bodies and it didn't look like they had time to counter him.

The strange beings raised either of their hands, open palms, and then quickly rolled them into fists. This created a light-blue construct of a mouth that looked like it belonged to some type of crystalised beast made of ice. Its sharp fangs bit down on the crimson flames, getting rid of them with ease. Aiden decided to drop down to the floor and join up with Rose and Millie once again.

As he did, the portal then expanded with storms of freezing snow shooting downwards, just hitting outside of the village border.

The two Magic Knights looked at the researcher. "Any ideas? They say they need the OOPArt, but it's not like we can wait as the village turns into a frozen wasteland", Aiden said before turning his head away from the two. "They had a counter for my regular attacks? Just how powerful are these people?"

"They may want to go home, but whatever is coming from that portal is going to cause a lot of damage. Haken's already frozen over but things are salvageable only if we stop them now", Rose said, staring up into the sky.

Millie scratched her chin. "I'd like to take the OOPArt to research, but getting the village destroyed in order to do so isn't an option", she looked at Aiden and Rose. "We'll probably have to attack those tw-!"

Just as the green-haired mage was about to finish her sentence, the two figures swooped down and stood right opposite the two Magic Knights, forcing them to back up and keep their guard up.

"... We… do… not… want… trouble…".

"... We… will… help…".

Rose made sure to keep an eye on their every move. "They literally just attacked us, though…".

Aiden shook his head. "Um, actually they just got rid of my attacks. They didn't actually try to hit me", he realised, concentrating on the two.

Millie raised her hand. "True, they just want to keep the OOPArt safe, it seems like. Well, that's great. I'd love to ask you two about yourselves, but keeping this village from getting any further damage would be lovely. Shall we get to it, then?"

Aiden and Rose exchanged a look of uncertainty but they realised it would be wise to not attack these strange people again without knowing much about them.

"Fine, what's the first step?" The Flame mage asked the pair.

"... Too… cold…".

"... Neutralise… snowstorm…".

Millie tilted her head. "I mean, I have a magic tool to keep me warm, as does Rose", she pointed.

"... Not… enough…".

"... Look…".

One of them raised their hand which exposed more of their pale, white skin. They pointed at the two magic tools and Millie focused her sight on them, raising an eyebrow as she noticed a crack in both of them. "Shit. I only had two of them. Right, Aiden, you have Flame Magic, you'd be able to do it".

"True, but with how much it's snowing, I'll need a bit of help from you, Rose", he declared.

"M-Me? I'm not an attack mage, I can only support…", she replied.

Aiden flicked her forehead with his fingers. "Then what are you getting all sad about, support me!"

Rose gulped at that point, struggling to hold her emotion down but managing it in the end. Slowly, a smile stuck onto her face and she nodded. "L-Leave it to me!"

"... We… make… platform…".

The two pale-skinned people stood next to each other, held their right and left hands together, and used their free hand to cast a towering spell.

"Pegasus Ice Magic: Magician's Ice Mountain".

The Orcas felt the ground shake and, within seconds, found themselves almost 100ft into the air. They looked down below and saw that their feet were placed on a small mountain of ice, easily giving them reach towards the portal and sight with the OOPArt.

Clearly impressed, Aiden nodded at the two strangers before looking at the vast picture of snow above him. "My flames can melt all of the ice, but it looks like that portal will constantly summon more snowstorms anyway. What we need is a source that continuously melts each and every snowflake, can you do that?"

"Flames melt snow as they are a much higher temperature, as will water because of the same reason. I'll do it, right now!" Rose clenched her fists before raising them high up in the air to summon a huge, grey cloud above. "Water Magic: Heaven's Raining Droplets!"

Above the petite mage, and right below the portal, countless amounts of raindrops fell which got rid of some of the snow, but it wasn't nearly as enough.

Aiden, noticing this, used his own magic. "Flame Magic: Haze Of Heat!" With his right arm, he sent a condensed red mist outwards after slashing it forwards. Now, in front of the two, there was a red haze, coupled together with continuous raindrops falling from above.

"It's still not enough…", Millie squinted, trying to look at the portal from the ground.

Just as she said that, the stranger duo clicked their fingers and purple writing engraved itself on the summit of the mountain they had formed, right under the feet of Aiden and Rose, circling them as a small sigil.

The Orcas started to glow purple before they experienced a change on their body. Feeling an additional weight to their body, they looked behind and saw that they had sprouted large, armoured wings, similar to the colour and shape of the OOPArt.

"No way…". Rose was in awe as she twirled in place.

Aiden raised both eyebrows and tilted his head. "This is crazy", he said before he and his squadmate found themselves up in the air.

"... We… control…".

"... You… continue…".

Millie looked at the robed strangers, increasingly interested in their feats. "Pegasus Ice Magic… How many variations of magic are there?"

After hearing the Pegasus Ice users, the airborne mages needed no further cues as they soared across the entirety of the large portal, summoning and placing their magic spells that kept the snowstorm at bay.

Eventually, once the two returned to the mountain peak, all they saw was a mixture of red and blue haze and steam coupling together to stop the portal's storms raining down.

"... Now… our… turn…".

The strange duo sprouted their own wings and boosted high up into the sky. They were face-to-face with the OOPArt and went for the attack.

"Pegasus Ice Magic: Yeti's Snow Strike".

Two white, furry arms sprouted from the sigils that the two created. From everyone else's perspective, it looked like an enormous gorilla's arms just formed in the air. The arms immediately went to punch the OOPArt with both hitting it from the opposite angle.

As they made contact, the troublesome artifact shook violently before it started to fall from the skies. Everyone saw how it tumbled down onto the floor but they also noticed that the overhead portal was no more, leaving Haken with no more snowstorms.

A few seconds went by and everyone circled around the OOPArt with Millie the closest. She was on both of her knees, using a magnifying glass on the strange object to try and find some answers for herself. However, right before she got any closer, one of the two strangers picked it up with their hands.

"... Not… for… human… use…".

"... Only… the… chosen…".

Millie dropped her shoulders and sighed. "I guess I don't have the knowledge to fully understand this yet. All I can ask is - you're not from earth, are you?"

"... No… from… distant… land…".

"... Inaccessible… to… humans…".

Rose raised her hand. "You say that, but then how were you even summoned here?"

"... Holy… relics… started… appearing… this… world…".

"... Reason… unknown…".

It was Aiden's turn to ask a question. "What are you two, if not humans?"

The strangers looked at one another before slowly lifting their hoods. As they did, their pale, white skin was revealed in full with their dark-blue lips and pure-black eyes staring at the three.

Now, the two otherworldly beings were seen in full. They wore light-blue robes on the top-half of their body which covered to just below their upper thighs, whilst the only piece of clothing that was visible on the bottom were open-toed sandals that they wore with white socks.

The three humans gulped as they were slightly frightened but didn't react any further as they felt like they could trust them.

"... We… are… Snow… Women…".

"... Servants… of… our… tribe…".

"... We… pray… to… Pegasus…".

The Flame mage rested his chin against his right fist. "Pegasus, is it some sort of God? That… Hm, is it truly possible?"

"Other worlds… They actually exist?!" Rose contemplated, her eyes turning into swirls.

"Pegasus… Pegasus Ice Magic… Is it Ice Magic that's been blessed by this, uh, God of theirs?"

A few seconds went by before the two Purple Orcas jumped in sync, remembering their mission.

"Hang on, hang on, hang on!" Rose waved her hands about. "We stopped the OOPArt, but what about the people who lived here?! What about the village?!"

The group turned around quickly and saw the remains of the forsaken village. It was frozen with no hint of returning back to normal. The grass was dead, the lake around the border was frozen with the fishes dead. The buildings were set blue, encased in ice. The only thing that remained was the sigil on the ground.

"... They… can… be… returned…".

"... Portal… activated… indiscriminately…".

"... Must… reactivate… holy… relic…".

Aiden disagreed. "Wait, that OOPArt is the whole reason for this mess in the first place. Activating it is surely a huge problem".

"... Trust… us…".

"... We… helped… you…".

"... You… help… us…".

Aiden looked at Rose and then Millie who both shared his reservations about the relic that caused them trouble. The second thing they also realised was that even if they disagreed, the Snow Women were way too powerful for them to handle.

Seeing as there was nothing else to bring up, the robed duo's hands started to glow purple as they activated their magic. They then lightly poked the top of their relic and a smaller version of their portal was formed right beside them, big enough for them to step through.

"... This… will… be… enough…".

They said before the two raised their fingers and moved them in a circular motion. Their black nails started to absorb the frost, ice, and snow that was around Haken, quickly taking it into their body.

Eventually, the village had almost returned back to normal which was rather unbelievable judging by the three humans' faces. The buildings weren't even broken, nor damaged in the slightest. The only thing that remained that showed a hint of what happened were a few puddles that settled in and around the village.

"I… understand that you took the ice and snow away, but you even repaired some of the buildings and…", Rose looked behind her to the sound of the lake that circled part of the village. "... Even the fishes are back?!"

"... Not… dead…".

"... Fishes… only… frozen… along… with… grass… water…".

Furthermore, just to add to the humans' surprise, the smaller portal that the Ice users summoned, brought out a figure.

Then it was two.

Three, four, five… and so on.

Within seconds, the population of Haken had been returned to their rightful home. They were completely unconscious but alive and safe. The Snow Women had put them in a purple orb and carefully placed them down on the floor, near the three mages.

All this time, Aiden had been sceptical of these two's powers, but even he had nothing more to question as it was too much. These beings were too strong, too powerful to understand, and so he just accepted what was happening.

After this, the Snow Women bowed their heads at the mages.

"... Thank… you…".

"... Now… we… part…".

Once more, they activated their holy relic and the portal started glowing once more. Going from the bottom-up, they started to disappear and when only their faces remained, the two finally smiled for the first time.

As the portal completely closed, the sigil around the village also disappeared with there being no trace of any otherworldly interference in Haken anymore.

That was besides the one thing that was left on the ground where the Snow Women stood. Aiden was the first to walk towards it but Millie brushed past him and got there first.

On the floor, there was a plain, white feather.

A few minutes had passed after the mages encountered the Snow Women. Now, their task was to return each and every resident of Haken to their rightful, fully-repaired homes. This would've been a daunting task considering how these people were ripped right through their homes due to the portal and would've had plenty of questions.

"Oh, if it isn't a Magic Knight!"

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Do you want to stay for dinner?"

That is how it went. They had no questions, nor reservations, as they had no memory of the incident regarding the OOPArt's influence, the snow or ice, or the mysterious beings that found themselves into the world.

"They don't remember? Huh, I guess that's okay, but are you sure they're not sick or anything?" Rose furrowed her brow as she sat back in a chair inside of Millie's tent.

Millie took the glasses that were dangling around her neck and put them on slowly before turning to her chalkboard. "It doesn't seem like it, but I'll stay here for a few days to make sure".

"Really? We'll stay with you and help out".

"No, it's fine, I can call some people from the lab with this", she replied as she held up a communication item in her left hand whilst the right hand was busy writing on the board.

"You sure do have a plethora of magic tools", Rose thought to herself. "Well, if you say so. Aiden and I have to return to the base and report this to the captain. Then we'll probably have to update Magic Knights HQ as well. I think… this mission report will take a while", she sighed.

Millie chuckled. "Ha, the life of a Magic Knight, hm? Well, I'll have to do the same so I know how you feel…", she said before putting down the chalk. "I mean… other worlds? That's quite the discovery, and I'm sure this will change how we view things going forward. I just wish I could've studied that OOPArt…", she frowned.

At that point, Aiden coughed to get the researcher's attention. "Excuse me, what about that feather you picked up after bumping into me?" The Flame mage was sitting in the corner with his back leaning against a box.

Millie rolled her eyes. "Sorry about that. That feather…", she said before presenting it to the two. It had been sealed in a small glass container. "If you touch it or move it quickly, it turns purple for a second before reverting back to normal. It's not an OOPArt since it doesn't do anything befitting of one, like the one we saw earlier, but that's all I can say about it right now. Maybe once we have more knowledge of it, it'll help us out in our everyday lives, like other magic tools do".

She placed the glass container on the table behind her and Aiden looked at the object. "Other worlds and other Gods? The world is bigger than I thought…".

After the mission at Haken Village came to a close, the duo returned back to their HQ to report back to Kaiser. Although there was still some time before midnight, their new captain wasn't in his office.

Underneath the bright moonlight, Rose walked through the hallways of the empty base by herself. She was outside by the small courtyard, arms behind her head as she stared up into the sky.

"Damon's not around either, I wonder where he went", she thought before finding herself outside of her room. "Maybe I'll hit the sack…", she yawned before catching a glimpse of a sudden light in the corner of her eye. "Hm? That light… was from Aiden's room", she said to herself as she found herself looking across the courtyard to the other wing where his room was located.

The honey-blonde debated internally for a few minutes before clapping her hands together really hard. It looked like she had made up her mind and her answer to seeing a random light in Aiden's room was…

To go to it, of course.

Rose didn't need to be sneaky at all as there was no one else in the base. All she had to do was go up a set of steps and the second room on the right was her destination.

The wooden door was ajar and the light was still flickering from inside. She noticed that she couldn't see it from the outside after her initial glimpse. "Aiden must've drawn the curtains…".

Rose got closer and right before she found herself almost peeking in, she shook her head profusely as she started to blush. "No, no, no! I may have a crush on Aiden, and I may want to be with him, but sneaking and invading his personal space is definitely the wrong move!" She lightly tapped her face before deciding to leave. However, the little noise that she made was enough for a voice to call her.

"Is someone there?"

Aiden had walked to the door and opened it further. He smiled at the petite Water mage before apologising. "Hi there, Rose. Sorry, I didn't realise you were here. Did you want something?"

"U-U-Um… I just saw a light coming from your room and…", she dropped her shoulders. "I was a bit curious, sorry, I don't mean to pry", she bowed her head.

"Haha, that's fine", he patted her head. "The light you saw was… Well, I'll show you". He ushered her inside and she followed slowly, a bit hesitant now that she was actually inside of her crush's room.

"This is the first time I've ever been in here…", she tried not to gawk but she found herself focusing on what was around. She also flared her nostrils as she picked up a strong scent of something pleasant.

Immediately, right by the door, there was a purple rug on the floor that covered some of the light-beige, wooden flooring. On the left was a small, wooden desk with a singular, white rose in a thin jar of water. The right-hand side had a double-door wardrobe which also had a few of his shirts hanging on the door knobs outside it.

"Ooh, watch out for the bed in front of you. It's a bit dark inside so be careful", he pointed in front at the double bed. It had white pillows and sheets with a grey duvet over it. He stopped walking just as he went past the bed and turned to the left where there was a small alcove.

Aiden reached forwards and lit one of the candles that was on the window sill right beside it. What it lit up was something that Rose definitely never thought she'd see.

"It's… what I do to feel peace in my mind", he explained.

What the two were looking at was a little shrine that had two candles, one on each side of a small, rectangular illustration of what looked like a starry night. There were a few brown beads dangling off the side as well as a bit of incense on the left that was still burning.

"I… didn't know you were religious", Rose said softly, making sure she didn't sound disrespectful.

"I don't practise as much as I should, but my father instilled all sorts of values in me since I was a child. All his beliefs, his goodness, his happiness, stemmed from having a firm belief in a higher power", Aiden smiled.

Rose scratched her chin, intrigued by all of this. "Do you… um, pray every night then?"

"No, I only do it when I'm feeling a bit off. Confusion is one reason why", he said before continuing. "Today, we encountered otherworldly beings and they revealed to us that even they have their own Gods, so I got to thinking; 'which is the real God?' but I still don't know the answer. I guess… there can be multiple, but my belief is that there's only one".

The Water mage was really surprised at this. She always saw Aiden as this person who had every single thing figured out in life, but this showed her that he really is like her - human.

"God, hm? I'm not religious, but I respect it a whole lot. Do you ask for things from God?"

"Nothing material, my father always told me not to ask for things like that. What I do ask for is blessings, just protection and strength, really. Things that help in my everyday life and I'm content with that", he smiled.

Rose nodded, replying back with her own toothy smile. "I bet your dad's proud of you".

Aiden didn't reply initially. All he did was reach for a picture that was on the side of the shrine that Rose didn't see. He lifted it up and showed it to her. "I hope he is".

That only meant one thing. Coupled together with how distant Aiden felt to Rose at the beginning of the day, she realised that her squadmate's father was dead.

"S-So, the night of the Star Festival…?"

"Yeah, it happened to be his birthday, and the anniversary of his death… 10 years ago".

"Wh-What?! You never said anything about it!" Rose then nodded to herself as she realised something. "B-But, I guess… you didn't have to if you didn't want to…", she lowered her head slightly.

Aiden was looking outside of his window after he pulled the curtains, allowing in some moonlight to enter his room. "Don't worry about it, Rose", he smiled before touching the picture frame lightly. "It… was an unjust death, something that shouldn't have happened. Maybe that's why I don't speak about it", he turned back to look at the shrine. "I pray when I'm confused, sad, or upset, but I do it to connect with my father as well".

Rose was about to say something else but she stopped herself as soon as she had the thought. Instead, she joined her hands together after placing the picture of Aiden's dad back on the shrine. "I hope he's at peace, wherever he is", she said softly, closing her eyes.

Aiden stared back at the moonlight, his brown eyes glimmering, and all he did was smile.

NOTES:

Again, VERY sorry for the late upload. I mentioned it at the start, it was a mix of making sure this chapter had everything I wanted it to, as well as procrastinating!

Here, we have more Aiden and Rose, I want to make them an interesting duo as I have some plans for them going forward.

We also get introduced to the concept of OOPArts and other worlds! I hope it's not too confusing about them - imagine an iphone 15 in the 1600's, it would be very Out Of Place, right? It's basically that, but with magic in a magical world… hehe.

I have a concrete plan with the OOPArts and I'll go further into them soon enough. With this, I have now set up a few more plotlines that I'll expand on down the line.

Also, the magic that I gave Millie Maxwell is definitely temporary, at least until we figure out what the name of her actual magic is. In the movie, it looked like solid red strings, so that's why I named it 'Red String Magic'. If you have any other ideas, let me know.

There is only one original chapter left and it will be for quite a long time now. 106 marks where we head back to the canon (Royal Knights).

What did you think of the chapter?