The Wielder of Death Magic

A few days had gone by since Eira arrived at the academy. Her enrollment didn’t go smoothly; first, the students spread rumors throughout the compound. Though it all changed right after the battle test, she turned into a celebrity. The small display of strength didn’t sooth the animosity growing by the kids of upper status. The battle to get a place to sleep went on for long until the girl she now calls friends made arrangements with the director. By all means, Eira Haggard was recognized as a noble and had the right to stay in the noble dormitory but it was full at the time. So were the commoner’s dormitory; in that moment of peril, a young girl from a powerful individual approached her. Said girl was fascinated by Eira’s strength, though a shy person by nature, she managed to make Eira her roommate. They both shared a room in the upper-class dormitory. The building was located behind at the extremity of the rather expansive school-grounds. It stood on a small hill and watched over the commoner’s student house.

As she found a place to stay, Red-Fury was left out into the open. It was parked near the upper-class dorm on a small asphalted area. From where Eira stood earlier, the car was right below her. All and all, Eira quickly adapted to her new environment. She was very bright in her academics and as well as talented in combat training. Her skill level was already above the first and second years, but the results from her battle report weren’t complete yet. Rumors went about that Paien were to retire in the coming years. After all this time, he never took under his wing an apprentice, “they are all worthless,” he said in an interview.

Echoes of a spell hitting a training dummy reverberated throughout the empty gymnasium. The latter was one of two, the first one was the massive battle-arena and the one they were present in now was the normal one. A place where people could partake in the pleasures of sports, though, most preferred the greenish pitch outside. As a result, the second building grew silent and lonely, with the expectation of eager students who want to sneak in some practice before sleep. “Ysmay, come on you need to focus your mana.” She took a deep breath, “-like this,” an ice-spear shot out and destroyed the dummy. “My bad,” Eira ran and replaced it. “Now you try,” she wiped her forehead and smiled. “O-ok,” her posture looked hesitant and unnatural, she was afraid of her magic. “Don’t worry, just relax and you’ll be fine.”

“Rosespire is truly a place of wonders now isn’t it?”

“You there stop.” A guardsman signaled Staxius, the car dirty; wasn’t that desirable to look at. “What’s the matter?” he rolled down his window. “I’m afraid you can’t go in today,” the guard made up excuses. Behind him, other cars – expensive and elegant ones were let through without any question. “This place never changes, does it?” Staxius ignored the guards and spoke to himself. “Excuse me?” the watchman stopped and carefully stared. “Don’t you have any magic spells that can clean Void up?” Staxius spoke to the car, the guard chuckled – it was comical. “I’m afraid not,” Avon replied through the speakers. Hearing it, the unsuspecting man stepped back and unconsciously pulled out his handgun. “Step out of the vehicle this very instant.” He yelled, the other soldiers heard and came to see what was going on.

“No need to raise a scene,” the door opened, cars going in and out of Rosespire slowed their pace to see whatever was going on. “Want me to put my hands up in the air too?” he asked sarcastically. “Master, you’re being awfully docile, want me to handle this in your stead?” Avon proposed, “-we need to get Ayleth to that doctor.” A young boy appeared out of nowhere, the watchmen’s vigilance rose. “You made this situation far worse.” Staxius fired back, an argument between them both soon began.

“Are we nothing but jokes to you?” one of the men surrounding them spoke, “Shut up, this has nothing to do with you.” Staxius and Avon yelled simultaneously. “Insolence,” *Bang, bang,* a pistol was fired. “I swear, you people never learn,” Staxius caught one, “-indeed master, they never learn,” Avon caught the other. “What are you idiots doing?” heavily built men rushed outside. The way he was dressed and the symbols over his shoulder told his rank. It was the commanding officer of the main gate’s in and out affairs. “I apologize for my subordinate’s lack of knowledge.” He recognized Void, and how precious the car was. “Is that all you have to say? My brother and I could have well died by your hands.” Staxius spoke loudly, loud enough for people to hear. He went on rambling about how incompetent the ones watching the main-gates were.

.....

“I know words can’t do anything to remedy the situation, but here.” *Water Splash.* A giant bubble burst over the dirty car. All the dirt and dust washed away, *Gale Gust,* the car was dried instantly, it looked shiny and new. The true beauty revealed, the guards admired how gorgeous Void truly was. “If this doesn’t please you then, by all means, do take the appropriate actions, however, I promise the ignorant shall be punished.”

“You needn’t worry,” Staxius bowed and drove off. “What a nice man, don’t you think, master?” Avon asked out of habit. “No, you’re completely wrong. That man isn’t normal, he used two magical spells without breaking a sweat, the trace of mana is too thin and faint, I could barely detect it.” He sighed, he now drove further in. “Yes, and what of it?” Avon asked – Staxius sighed even more. “Don’t you realize it, that’s the next step in our evolution, that man was an adventurer. Truly scary and intriguing at the same time, I could not sense how strong he was, but I doubt I can easily win against him. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m powerful, I have my experience to back that up, but against the unknown, none can truly come out on top.”

The time now was only a few hours before dusk. Staxius drove through the capital and left through one of the other entrances that led to Claireville academy.

“That’s enough for today, let’s stop here Ysmay.” Eira panted. Her friend was out of breath too. The area where the spells were cast froze. They trained hours on end in mastering ice-spear, but Ysmay was far from conjuring a proper one. Eira’s version made it bigger and better, the power oozing from each strike could be felt by the temperature. Each time her spell hit, the gymnasium’s aura froze, it was as if standing in the middle of a graveyard. Tired, both sat with their back against each other. “We should really wash up; I can’t stand this feeling.” Eira voiced out her discomfort, “lead the way,” Ysmay replied in a slow and exhausted tone.

The sound of water flowing from the showers and into the bath overpowered the overall loneliness. Eira hummed while the other sat with her knees to her chest. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you train so hard every day, Ysmay?”

“Oh,” she coughed, Eira took her by surprise. “N-no particular reason, I just want to become strong. There’s also the inter-magical tournament, I heard the Order gave the green light to find this year’s prodigy. I just want to participate in a full out battle.” She smiled. “-what about you, Eira? I mean you’re already talented and bright, you even work harder than anyone here, why?” She stood. Ysmay wanted to hear more clearly what her friend had to say.

“There’s one man I have to surpass. Every day, every second, I feel like that man is going to go so far ahead that I’ll never have the chance to catch up. That man is someone I admire and cherish, but one day I swear, I’ll defeat that monster and finally say, better luck next time.” Eira clapped, her motivation was rekindled. It screeched, the showers turned off. “We better get going now, or the dorm master is going to get mad at us.” Footstep scurried into the changing rooms. “Right behind you, let’s get dressed and get out of here, I hate it when the gymnasium gets dark anyway. I get this weird feeling about it, it’s like something calls on me.” Ysmay followed Eira closely behind.

“Don’t worry about it,” She patted her head.

The gate came into view, the tree had grown bigger. It was years since Staxius paid this place a visit. The slope, it brought back memories, the gate luckily was still opened. The C-shaped building stood right before him, “this feeling of nostalgia.” The car took a right turn and went straight for the office buildings. “What are you going to do, master?”

“Wait and watch,” the door opened, Staxius got out and walked into the office. His posture felt more imposing than before, students still roamed the premises. It was time for extra-lessons, any student who wished to participate could attend any class they desired. On that front, the school was flexible.

“Hey, isn’t that car familiar?” the students strolling the entrance noticed Void.

“Now that I think about it, it does look…”

“Guys how clueless can you be, that’s one of the Xerxes series cars, the same one that transfer student has.”

“You’re right, that’s the shadow-variant. Do you think they are related?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, her family can’t be that wealthy. I mean, one of those cost a fortune, but two of them? That’s just plain showing off.” Gossips and conversations steadily went around the campus. Car enthusiasts and others came to catch a glimpse.

“Excuse me sir, but do you have a meeting or authorization by anyone here?” a woman spoke, the receptionist.

“This is urgent, can we please skip the formalities. I urgently need to speak with the director.” The tone he used was one of distress. “I’m afraid we can’t allow you to meet with director Josiah this instant.” *Death Element, Unleash Aura.*

“Everybody get down, we’re under attack,” Josiah ran down the corridor, he sensed it, the aura. His sprint came to a halt when he laid eyes on a familiar face. “Impossible,” he stopped fully, they stood few feet apart. “Excuse my rudeness, but I’ve got a favor to ask of you,” Staxius paused. “-I really need doctor Jona’s help. One of my companions is mortally wounded.”

“No need to threat, you can go ahead and use the hospital, Jona should be on duty. Go save your friend, I’ll be waiting for you here.”

“Thank you so much, Josiah.” Staxius ran out of the building. “Let’s move Avon,” he spoke while approaching the car, a small crowd of students had gathered around. The car turned on, he opened the door and drove closer to the hospital. There, a stretcher was used to carry Ayleth inside. Seeing her condition, the doctor didn’t notice Staxius and took Ayleth for treatment immediately.

“Still diligent towards your patients, glad to see things are still as they use to be.” Tired, he sat down in the waiting room. The place brought a feeling of longing, the people here were the ones who first supported and helped him.

“Eira, Eira,” they were back in their room. “What is it?” she asked from the balcony. “There are rumors about another car that matches yours, parked outside the hospital.” Her eyes gleamed, “impossible, he can’t be here?”