145 Going Deeper

"Just a second." Elero barely got the words out of her mouth before the door burst open. The bed which had been leaning against it exploded. She backed away and covered her face. Shattered wood pelted her arms. The mattress flew straight out the room.

A couple of mages came in, their blue robes sliding over the wreckage. They spread their arms out and dozens of magic circles appeared. They moved around the room. Through them, Elero could see past solid objects. The magic circles didn't seem go near Elero though, as if a girl covered in another's blood meant nothing to them.

"Find him," said the eldest mage. The other mages bowed before going back down to the street. Elero peeked through the hole Mr. Lich had blown in her wall to see the mages hurrying through the streets. People made way for them and lowered their heads in a gesture of both fear and respect.

The eldest mage finished scanning the room and locked eyes with a terrified Elero, who could barely control her shaking. "You," he growled. He pointed with a wrinkled finger, like he was aiming a spell at her. Strands of bright blue mana leaked out of his skin. "What did you see?"

"H-he"

"Out with it!" the mage snapped.

"He ran that way," Elero pointed to the last place she saw Mr. Lich. "He was a dark mage who disguised himself with a cracked skull mask." She found herself gushing out all the details of Mr. Lich. She couldn't stop even if she wanted to. "And he was tall." She looked to where she was pointing, finding that she wasn't pointing to the last place she had seen him, but the opposite direction. 'Wait,' she thought. 'Why can't I move my arm or correct myself?' It was like a compulsion within her, an order she must obey at all cost.

"Thanks for your help," the mage said as he grabbed Elero's wrist. "But pointing us in the right direction won't be enough. You need to show me. That dark mage could be the Resistance's greatest weapon. All the Capital's mages need to find him, no matter the cost." He pushed Elero forward. She stumbled back, unprepared to handle the force which her legs had to endure. She yelped from the sudden pain as nails sunk deeper into her legs.

She managed to catch herself and gave the mage a glare. "Do you know where you are?" she said as she bent down and pulled the nails and gears out of her braces. The mage tried to shove her again, but she grabbed his arm and flung him into the ground. "You are in the nobles' quarters. I am Elero Mech, sole heir of my merchant family's wealth and future knight. If you shove me again, I'll report your actions and personally beat the magic out of you."

The mage mumbled something as he stood up and dusted his robe off. He gave a slight bow. "My apologies, miss Mech. Now please show me where he went."

…

Doevm ran away from the streets, which were still being repaired, and behind buildings. He had sealed his mana immediately after casting the spell. Not that he had anything left to seal but it paid to be cautious. He could see the mages leaving the nobles' quarters as Elero lead them towards the red-light district.

'Soul magic does work on her,' he thought. 'That means she really did learn everything on her own. She's a genius at combat! That explains how she can fight so well. It's a shame she ended up like that. Maybe I can get her to spar after I finish her treatment.'

He reached the noble district and peeked around a corner of a mansion, finding that the hole was still there, unrepaired. The Capital's mages, while they had been quick to respond, were not strong enough to lift the arm back into place, hunt him down, and repair the buildings and hole at the same time.

'The king might just be a figurehead for the nobles, but he is no fool. He has likely been forming a plan on his own, waiting for the chance to carry it out. I have opened a path for his rise to power, quite literally. This might be his only chance to take control of the Capital. By taking the nobles' weapons and riches for himself, he will become a true king. He will not miss this chance.'

Hundreds of knights, all armed to the teeth, stood around the massive hole with their weapons drawn. They were still organizing themselves into formations. He saw dozens of different emblems on their breastplates, which represented the different noble houses. The squad leaders and captains were the easiest to pick out because they had the most expensive armor and weapons.

'The nobles think that they are under attack, and likely sent only a portion of their men while hiding in their homes with the rest. The king has to attack before the nobles realize what is going on. He is acting without their orders after all. Even though the knights are a bit chaotic as a result of the rush, I can't slip into their formations with how I'm dressed. They'll think I'm just a spy from the Resistance.' He pulled away as a squadron of knights passed right by his dark corner.

'Now how should I go about this?' He went over the various possibilities before looking at his spacial ring. 'Going in plain sight? I like it.' He took off his mask, the dried blood and grime sticking to the sides. His body shrunk back to its original shorter stature. He donned his old Virility guard gear, making sure to cover his face with a helmet. On paper, he wasn't a Virility guard after all. He moved and his armor creaked a little. 'Maybe I'm getting a little big for this set. I haven't worn it in over a year after all.'

He pulled out a spare spear, one that wasn't as shiny or eye-catching as his gold and black one. He followed behind a squadron of guards. By now, most of the knights had organized themselves into formations. Alexander Finlish stood above them all on a pile of rubble. Compared to the shaking knights, he was still, scanning the crowd like a hawk for any mistakes.

As opposed to his unprofessional appearance in the stadium, he was now clean, ready. His armor carried the kind of sheen that only Mithril, one of the strongest types of metal, had. It lay in many flat sheets along his limbs as not to prevent his movement. His breastplate had no symbol etched on it, only scratches accumulated over its years of heavy use. His black and gold sword was at his side like a badge.

In front of him were ten people without symbols equally spaced apart. Their armor and weapons were not drawn like the rest of the knights. They carried the same kind of aura as Alexander, but lesser. They stood at attention facing the general. They reminded Doevm of the men with copper life essence back at the front lines.

The knights from the noble households shifted their weight from foot to foot, unable to keep themselves still. They whispered theories and rumors about what was happening. Doevm frowned. 'They might be skilled, but they do not have the demeanor of people who are ready for battle. The nobles probably kept the more useful troops for themselves.' He waited at the back of everyone as the sole representative of the Virility household.

'The rest of the mages should be trying to chase me down. Good. They're too busy to close the hole up.'

Some men emerged from the hole, hurried to Alexander, and whispered something to him. He nodded and they ran to join the rest of the knights: "It was just confirmed," Alexander said, his voice carrying over the crowd with a bit of golden life essence. "that this attack was the Resistance. They are heading for the tenth floor of the Black Market to take the weapons stored down there. No matter what, we cannot allow them to get their hands on them."

"They have invaded our home, destroyed our houses, and now want to kill us and our families. I'm pretty pissed off, and you should be too. Luckily, I know of a group of people hiding at the bottom of a hole, waiting for us to beat the living crap out of them." He drew his sword and raised it. "Follow me and let's take out some anger!"

The rest of the knights raised their weapons in the air before charging forward. The hole was fifty men wide, allowing them to march uninterrupted. As they went deeper, the light faded behind them, and the only thing they heard was the marching of feet on soil and a collection of loud bangs below them, echoing in the large tunnel heading diagonally towards the tenth floor of the Black Market.

'I know I can't end this here,' Doevm thought. 'But I can at least cripple them. No filthy human use me, beat me, and walk away unscathed.' Another book formed in his internal library: "Lich's Malice". It formed as a small book, but steadily grew even bigger than Hopi's book. It was covered in so much grime and dirt that one might never be able to clean it. The book did not add onto Doevm's burden. It might have just taken form, but it had always been inside of him, and would never leave him.