August 13, x778

The air in Oak Town had drifted, released from the haze from a summer heat, and an autumn breeze had taken hold of the town. The morning sun in the sky had risen and shined down on the few early risers. They started opening their shops, and the few wizards that had to begin their day at the guild atop the giant hill their city rested in and started their hike. The morning buzz was in the air.

I wonder what the guild master wants with me?

Siegrain's thoughts somehow drowned out that morning noise as he walked towards the guild hall. His eyes furrowed in confusion, and he had slight bags under his eyes because he had been reading every book he could get his hands on to try and help Vera speed up his recovery process. Physically, Vera still had a month-long coma to rebound from. It would take at least a month or two for his body to recover, yet somehow, that was the easy problem.

I thought Jose was supposed to be training Vera...

Magically, it was even worse. Vera's magic hadn't worked a single time since he woke up; it was like when he used to be back at the lab. When Siegrain asked, all he got from Vera was that he and Sho were having 'problems,' but regardless, it was stressful.

Did they cancel it?

Siegrain was almost thankful that Aria had informed him of this surprise meeting with the guildmaster.

I'm pretty sure Vera's at the dead field, though...

He was hoping it could take his mind off it.

I guess I'll ask the guildmaster about it.

Siegrain yawned as he saved his inner dialogue for another time and slipped past the morning crowds. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he made his way up the hill and into the guild hall, where he saw a pair of familiar faces by the job request board and walked over to them. "Are you looking for a job?"

Siegrain smiled underneath a blank face as he watched Doronbo yelp in fright from the surprise. Meanwhile, the more intelligent half of the duo turned back with a smile through his black-framed glasses: "Hey Siegrain, yeah, we're looking for one. I need Doronbo to stop dismissing all the 'scary' ones."

"I don't want to die young. Pause!"

"We're both going to die hungry if you don't pick one so we can buy groceries!" Pause yelled back as the two bickered back and forth. Siegrain took it as a sign to head out, heading to the back of the hall and towards the guild master's office. During this time, he recalled the faces he'd noticed in the main entrance hall.

It looks like she isn't here yet...

Siegrain didn't see the white-haired brute anywhere, but knowing her, she would be making an entrance sometime soon, hopefully after he finished the meeting, so he wouldn't be roped into fighting her for the eleventh time this week.

Crazy battle junkie.

Siegrain huffed at the thought as he rolled his arms, which were still sore from fighting Mira yesterday and arrived at the door to the guild master's office. His expectations were tame as he opened the door and saw Jose sitting at his desk with a bland drawl, "Well runt 2, glad you showed up on time. I figured you'd be too busy chasing runt 1's tail or beating runt 3's ass to make it."

"I don't see how that is accurate." Siegrain frowned as he closed the door behind him and sat on the couch with a bland expression, "I don't chase Vera's tail."

"Debatable. Regardless, that's not why I called you here," Jose retorted with a dismissive wave before he tapped his finger on the desk and ordered, "Tell me. What did the blue-haired brat say?"

"Wendy?" Siegrain asked for confirmation, to which he got an arid look. The silent prodding of the guild master to 'Yes runt 2, who else would I be talking about?' Mixed with, 'now get on with it' spurred Siegrain into recounting one of the tasks he'd undertaken since he'd seen Vera's chest. When he first saw the scar left behind by that lightning bastard, he sent Wendy a letter asking for her help.

"She said it's impossible."

He didn't go into specifics, but he asked Wendy if she could heal scars, and her answer was a resounding no. She could heal wounds so they didn't scar over afterward, but if a wound was already healed and a scar happened to be left behind, there was nothing she could do. There wasn't a wound for her magic to heal at that point.

"She can't heal it," Siegrain spoke with a dull tone, his eyes glazing over tiredly. His head tilted slightly down as he failed to keep the futility out of his mouth, "I looked at some of the books in the library, but so far nothing-"

"Don't bother runt 2. I've already read all those books. You won't find anything of use." Jose insisted with a pensive expression as he leaned back in his chair and flicked a miniature purple firework of dead magic from his finger. His eyes closed as he did his best, and he meant his best to stay composed and look at the situation objectively.

"It won't kill the runt to live with that brand on his chest. Therefore, it's best to ignore it."

Jose had already destroyed a nearby mountain range the first time Aria had informed him of the mark. He didn't have the time or energy to destroy another by dwelling on something that couldn't be undone.

"There's no reason to waste our efforts on a dead end," Jose muttered as he flicked his last miniature firework out of existence and sat up. He held up a finger as he saw the brat open his mouth to disagree or complain; either way, Jose wasn't having it. He shut down any attempt of defiance instantly, "My decision is final. The rodent's physical strength will naturally rebound, and I plan to discuss his magic issue privately."

Jose didn't have to be a genius to notice that Runt 2 wasn't happy, but it didn't matter.

"Therefore, I am ordering you to stop fussing over the rodent."

As long as Jose was the guild master, he wouldn't let one of his most valuable prospects waste their time on a game with no winner. It was pointless.

"Is that clear?" Jose asked with a cold gaze, his magic trickling and leaving a slight chill in the room as he watched the boy flinch. Jose had to give the brat credit; he showed no other signs of discomfort, but the slow nod was enough. It showed Jose that the best wasn't nearly as stubborn on some issues as his black-haired counterpart.

"Good, now onto business."

Jose could appreciate that the blue-haired prodigy took orders well. It would hopefully make what he said next the least painful of the three meetings he had planned for the day. Runt 2, runt 3, and runt 1. In that order, to be specific. Since he figured it would save the most problematic conversation for last.

"We have something more pressing to discuss."

Going off the way, the windows to his office shattered less than a minute later. He might have miscalculated.

Vera was royally pissed by the time he got to the guild hall after four fucking hours of waiting for that prick to show himself. Nothing. No word, no excuse, no fucking shade to tell him to fuck off. Vera had gotten to that field before dawn, and it was noon.

Fucking bastard...

He was so mad that he hadn't even greeted the others at the guild hall. Instead, he opted to head straight toward the back of the room and march down the hallways to Jose's office. His anger simmered as he trod the stone halls, and it would've been even hotter if he hadn't been surprised by a loud eruption of magical pressure up ahead. It exploded from somewhere more profound into the castle before vanishing the next instant.

What the...

Vera's eyes furrowed as his enraged footsteps stalled slightly. He heard the loud slam of a door and watched a figure down the hall towards him. It took less than a second for Vera to notice the blue hair, red tattoo, and the dark frown and clenched jaw now on his friend's face.

Siegrain?

Vera was still angry, but he would be lying if he said the sight didn't shock him out of it for a moment. He wasn't used to seeing Siegrain angry. It seldom ever happened. Vera couldn't stop the question that left his lips as Siegrain marched past, "Hey Siegrain, where are you going?"

"Aria. I need to hit something," Siegrain said back to Vera as the blue-haired prodigy walked down the hall with clenched fists. Vera stood there for a few moments, alone in the hallways of Phantom Lord's guild hall, before he shook his head and continued stomping to Jose's office. Following the footsteps, Siegrain left behind on his trip out.

I'll ask him about it later.

Vera didn't want to be in the vicinity when Siegrain got in his tree-cutting mood. It was better to let Aria deal with that anger. Otherwise, he could get caught in the crossfire. Plus, Vera could always check on Siegrain after chewing out Jose. Double plus, now Vera could be mad at Jose for flaking and pissing Siegrain off. It was the best of both worlds.

"Jose!"

Win-win.

"We need to talk!" Vera snarled as he slammed the door to Jose's office and saw Jose sitting unamused in front of a wall of broken windows. It would have been comical if Vera hadn't already been irritated, but he was, and the fact that Jose's first reaction was to roll his eyes wasn't helping. Neither was Jose's sarcastic commentary: "Great. You just had to ruin the order, rodent."

Jose clicked his tongue as he watched the boy stomp in after the last one had stomped out. The revolving door of pissed-off teenagers never ceased to get on his nerves as he watched the boy with black hair and a shitty temper spit through clenched teeth, "Where were you, Jose? We always meet before dawn."

So this was about that little pastime.

"I waited four fucking hours."

Well, this conversation was bound to happen sooner or later. It was sooner than Jose would have liked, but he might as well deal with it now.

"Wow, four hours, rodent."

It would get annoyingly awkward otherwise.

"How patient of you. Color me impressed." Jose commented sarcastically as a vein pulsed in the rodent's head. The rodent angrily slammed his fist on the desk, "Why didn't you show up for our weekly training!?" Vera growled as he stood before Jose's desk and watched the prick roll his eyes. Jose's face epitomized boredom. "What would we train, brat?"

His words were the definition of callous.

"Your magic?" Jose asked mockingly as Vera froze. Vera's breath stalled for a second, and his face flashed an intense hurt before he replaced it with anger. Vera's fists clenched as he met Jose's cold gaze before he growled, "I'm working on it."

Vera had apologized every day since he woke up, hours after hours. He hadn't received anything back yet, but he would. He had to.

"I wanted to ask you about it, prick."

Sho wouldn't abandon him forever.

"So why didn't you show up," Vera snarled as he watched Jose take a long look at him before Jose's cheeks puffed with laughter. The guild master of Phantom Lord, the man who killed for glances of disrespect, laughed his ass off, "You apologized! That's rich brat! When'd you get so naive?"

Jose's mocking laughter echoed through the silent room as Vera broiled in humiliation and fury. His eyes stared death at Jose, but nothing was sent back beside a raised eyebrow and a snide comment, "You don't know what happened, do you? How pitiful."

Vera furrowed his eyes in heated confusion. He opened his mouth to comment before the air chilled, and Jose's tone became serious: "You can apologize all you want, rodent. It won't do shit."

"How do you know, Jose!" Vera growled heatedly as he slammed his hands on the desk and glared at Jose's unimpressed stare with one of viciousness. Vera's voice was defensive, "I get it. I messed up, okay? It's my fault! But I didn't have a choice!"

"You could have let little Miss Demon die," Jose offered flatly. His words cut through the air as Vera's face fell from anger to surprise. The words dropped so callously from Joss's lips had stunned him, but he recovered in an instant with a disgruntled growl.

"That's fucking bullshit, Jose."

Vera wasn't just going to let Mira and her family die.

"I wouldn't do that."

"But you could have, rodent. That's the issue." Jose refuted plainly as he leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. "You could've abandoned that door-breaker and saved yourself the trouble. You could have left her to die so you didn't feel the need to break your promise with your little shadow."

Jose flicked a finger in the air, his shades molding into a skull as it chattered mockingly before the stunned boy who flew too close to the sun. The childish taunts of the dead created a haunting cacophony to accompany Jose's declaration.

"But you chose not to."

Jose's eyes burned violet as he stood up from his desk, the air thick with dead magic as he watched the brat struggle to keep himself from passing out. The shades above echoed his sentiments as he floated over the desk and looked down at his apprentice.

"You can make all the excuses you want, but when it came down to it, you chose little Miss Demon's safety over your shadow's trust. It was your decision, rodent. No one else's."

Jose watched coldly as his words etched into the boy's ears. His voice sounded like a gong that echoed through the air and nailed a cruel reality into the rodent's head: "Did you really believe there wouldn't be repercussions?"

The air froze, and Jose could see when the rodent realized his new reality. The consequences of his past actions wouldn't be undone with a simple apology. Life wasn't that convenient.

"Our magic functions similarly, rodent..."

Jose knew it better than anyone.

"Guess what my ghosts would do to me if I broke a deal with them," Jose recounted with a scowl. His purple eyes twitched with annoyance when he watched the fight fade out of the rodent's body. Vera's shoulders slumped, and he didn't even notice when Jose picked him up by the scruff of his neck and threw him out of the office.

"Still need me to spell it out for you?"

Vera's back slammed into the hallways as he saw Jose stand inside the doorway without a hint of sympathy. Jose's shades had fallen back in like, and his voice was no longer accompanied by a thousand mocking cackles. Yet Jose's words still chilled Vera down to the bone.

"You will not get your magic back even if you apologize a thousand times over, rodent. Breaking a deal when magic is involved is a costly mistake."

They would haunt him for as long as they held true.

"You might never get your magic back."

Vera had broken Sho's trust.

"So tell me..."

It was up to Sho whether or not to forgive him.

"Why should I train a magic-less little wimp?"

Vera had no say in the matter.

"Do you see a reason I should, pest?" Jose asked plainly as he watched his student's eyes turn dully to the floor. The stubbornness usually inched in his student's very being was gone, and all that was left was a shallow carcass of a mage.

"Thought so."

Well...

"Don't bother going to the training field anymore, brat."

A used-to-be mage.

"I won't train someone with nothing to offer." Jose finished as he slowly began shutting the door. His purple irises met the defeated red gaze of his former student one last time before he murmured icily: "I will no longer weigh myself down by carrying those weaker than I. You have nothing to offer me, rodent."

Jose saw the boy he had trained for years look at him with a myriad of emotions he hadn't seen on the brat once. Jose hadn't expected it. The sight left a bitter taste in Jose's mouth if he was being honest, but after he swallowed it, he realized he could stomach it. These were words that needed to be said after all.

"Quit pretending otherwise."

So he closed the door and waited for his last meeting.

Mira wasn't sure what to expect when her new guild master called her in for a meeting. After getting into the guild, she only briefly talked with the infamous Jose Porla. He looked like the dick Vera described him as, but she hadn't had a bad experience if she was being honest.

I wonder if he's finally going to give me a mission...

Jose gave her a stamp, which she instantly turned white and put on her leg. Then he gave her a bill for the door she broke, which she immediately pocketed and sulked over on her way home.

Although this town isn't that bad to be stuck in.

Funny, their home was now an apartment the guild master paid for and her little siblings loved. It was one room, so they all shared the bed, and they still hung out at Vera and Siegrain's most of the time, but it was home nonetheless. A home that felt safe. So safe that she didn't even have to think twice about leaving Lisanna and Elfman alone anymore.

This place is home now.

The thought brought a tiny smile to Mira's face as she climbed the hill to Phantom Lord and opened the guild doors. She had left Lisanna and Elfman back at the apartment since it was already noon, and they planned to buy lunch at a nearby shop. Once again, They planned to pay for it with the allowance Jose had given her family so they wouldn't starve.

"Hey, losers!"

Mira may have a skewed view of the guild master, but she thought he was all right. Was he an asshole that charged a kid thousands of jewels for vandalism? Sure. Was he a dick, sure. Was he scary-looking? Absolutely, but he judged her on strength alone. He never mentioned her arm once.

"Which way to the guild master's office!"

She appreciated that straightforwardness.

"I gotta meet him!" Mira yelled boldly as she fought back the squirms of nervousness under her skin. She was still getting used to this new outfit and the new stares that came with it, but she could handle it. This is what a badass would wear. So she would wear it.

What the fuck are they so quiet for...

It's as simple as that.

Did I scare them?

Unfortunately, Mira's badass bravado halted a tiny step as she watched the guild hall look her way in sheer terror for a second before they all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Mira's confusion heightened as she watched the guild ignore her, rude, and go back to their conversations as if nothing happened.

"It's just the new chick..."

"Scared the fuck out of me..."

"Thought he came back..."

"Don't know, man..."

"She's pretty scary too..."

"Nearly broke another door..."

Mira caught snippets of the guild's conversations. They all were geared around her entrance, having been mistaken for someone else's. Funnily enough, someone they were more terrified of seeing than her, which stung a bit. She had put a lot of work into her entrance into badassery, and they should have been a little scared of her. They weren't, though.

"Hey, assholes! I still need to know where the guild master's office is!"

They were all too relieved to care and too emotionally exhausted to answer. Thankfully a boy with owlish grey hair and black rim glasses filled her in from the job request board, "Sorry about that Mira. They were all scared because they thought Siegrain had come back. He was super pissed earlier."

It took her a second but she was sure his name was Pause. Siegrain had mentioned hanging out with him and his friend Doranbo when he wasn't sparring her or 'doing some light practice' as he dubbed it.

"That's why they aren't paying attention."

Mira thought Pause seemed nice, but she didn't see his friend anywhere, or at least she didn't notice him until she heard a trembling yell come from the raptors above her head: "Pissed!?"

Mira blinked and whipped her head up in surprise. Her eyes were wide once she saw a teen with black hair, green pajamas, and ringed eyes. He was curled up like a scared child on one of the wooden raptors, and his voice was panicked, "I thought he was going to kill us! Did you see how he dragged Aria away? We'll never see the big guy again!"

"Quit being overdramatic, Doronbo!" Pause spoke loudly to the shivering Doronbo above them. Pause's yells aimed toward the rafters as he tried to get his idiotic friend down before he fell like the flighty cat he was, "You know he couldn't kill Aria even if he wanted to! Now, come on! He left a while ago!"

"No! You're lying! It's safe up here!"

"You little," Pause murmured as he immediately lost all sympathy and got out his book before looking back at Mira apologetically. "I'm sorry. I have to deal with my idiot. The guild master's office is down the hallway at the back of the main room. You'll reach it if you head that way."

Mira nodded gratefully as she watched Pause point towards the lone stone hall at the back above the bar on the second-floor overhang. She saw some stairs to the side leading to it, so she gave Pause a swift goodbye before she walked over to it. She idly heard him casting his magic to knock Doronbo out of the rafters above but chose not to comment.

They're an... interesting duo.

They seemed fun, though.

They must be partners.

Mira had already been informed about Phantom Lord's partner system. She hadn't been on a mission since she arrived, partly because of that system. She still had to find a partner, but so far, everyone was paired up, and her siblings were too young to join. She needed to find one soon.

I hope that debt doesn't come with interest...

There wasn't any method to chip away at her enormous debt otherwise.

I guess I'll ask him when I get there.

Mira sighed at the thought as she got to the top of the stairs and walked down the stone hallways. Her eyes wandered the castle labyrinths as she eventually reached the one with the guild master's office. She didn't know what she had been expecting, maybe some tacky decorations on the door. Jose seemed like the type to do something like that.

"Vera?"

She hadn't expected to see Vera sitting outside the door, his back to the opposite wall and a lifeless look in his eyes. She had been looking for this punk for days, but every time she tried seeing him since he woke up, he would ignore her. He kept disappearing into the woods, claiming he was busy with Sho. Siegrain was tight-lipped about it, too.

"Hey, where the hell have you been."

Well, now she found him.

"We've been worried about you."

She might as well chew him out before getting chewed out by the guild master for her debt.

"Lisanna's been asking about you and Sho for days now." Mira frowned as she approached Vera and noticed him stiffen at her words. She was nearly a few meters from him before she saw him stand up with a dead look in his eyes and walk away. Into the depths of the castle without a single look back.

"Hey, Vera! Where're you going!"

Mira wasn't done talking yet.

"Get back here!" Mira yelled as she stepped after Vera's trail, only to stop. Her eyes were wide as a floating ghost; red eyes and a black whisky body appeared before her and blocked her pursuit. She didn't even have time to notice Vera's footsteps fade somewhere deeper into the castle before the ghost pointed at the guild master's office, and a voice echoed from inside it: "Enter runt 3. I don't have all day."

Mira's instinct was to gulp, her eyes wide as she nodded to the ghost and turned to the door. Vera was completely gone from her mind as she entered a room full of shattered glass, and Jose was sitting at the desk with a dark look on his face. His hands clasped in front of his chin while he spoke, "I'm not in the best of moods runt 3, so I'll only be saying this once."

Mira's evaluation of Jose changed right then and there.

"Do not make me repeat myself."

She still thought he was okay and appreciated that he valued her strength over her appearance, but now she knew more. Jose's kindness towards her and her family wasn't free; it came with a cost—one she shouldn't forget.

"You will be getting a new partner."

Mira was an investment.

"His name is Siegrain."

She couldn't let that get to her head.

"I believe you two are already well acquainted. So you can start within the week."

After all...

"Try not to disappoint me."

She had just seen what happened to the last person to do so.