Chapter Fifty-Three: Red Aura

Chapter Fifty-Three: Red Aura



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Serena woke at first light. She didn’t open her eyes just yet, instead choosing to enjoy the warm pressure of Amelia leaning into her. It was unbelievable how difficult it was to maintain composure around her. At first, she accepted it as the result of a fledgling infatuation, but in many ways, it only got worse. Was this what it felt like to be madly in love? As the days and weeks ticked by, Serena not only began factoring Amelia into more and more decisions, but she’d also begun working on the assumption they would always be together.

An assumption that made Serena giddy.

She wrapped an arm around Amelia’s sleeping figure and gave her a small squeeze. Her action earned her a satisfying squeak and something mumbled about fried chicken. Serena slipped out from under the blanket and stood up, quietly yawning as she regulated her aura to resist the morning chill. She glanced through the window and was greeted by a frosty, foggy morning. Turning away, she-

Wait, what was that?

Serena snapped her gaze back out the window. She eyed the suspect corner, where she swore she had just seen someone watching her. There was no one there. Serena pushed through orange and into yellow aura, enhancing her perception as much as she could without Speaking. While her senses now informed her of a few dozen aether signatures around the academy, there was no sign of the person who had been watching her.

Was it just a coincidence?

“We being attacked?” a mumbling and sleepy Amelia asked, not even turning around. “Or are you training?” With an exaggerated yawn, the blond-haired mess slowly moved onto her back. “It’s so early!” she exclaimed suddenly before reaching out with one hand, gesturing at Serena. “Ren... come back to bed. It’s so cold and lonely without you...”

The invitation brought a smile to Serena’s face. She approached the sleepy Amelia, letting her aura drop to its usual red hue before kissing her girlfriend’s forehead. “I thought I saw something,” she explained. “But we need to get up anyway. You need to slip out before anyone sees you.”

“Mmm...” Amelia reached and took hold of Serena’s hand, pulsing a subtle healing spell into them both. At least Amelia possessed enough awareness now to know that if she blasted her magic here, it would announce to half the academy that she was in Serena’s room. The familiar golden warmth filled Serena, revitalising her for the day ahead and washing away any sleepiness. Amelia continued their morning ritual by casting her cleaning spell on them both, erasing any sweat from their bodies and removing the need to use the toilet in the morning.

“Well, I’m awake now,” Amelia chirped, sitting up and looking around the room. “Coffee?” she asked, pointing towards a small gas stove. The main academy building hadn’t been modernised fully. While it replaced the old gas lamps with aetherlights, the gas lines remained in use.

“Sure,” Serena filled a kettle, struck a match and lit the stove. “Some of your Jimari beans,” she gestured towards a small pot. She’d taken the liberty to borrow some of Amelia’s stash from the Vengeance. After her girlfriend had bought a ridiculous twenty-pound bag of the stuff - a luxurious expense Serena would never do herself - she’d found that she’d become accustomed to the quality coffee over the military rations she was used to. “Mind brewing while I wash?” she called out, heading to the washroom. With Amelia’s cleaning, magic washing wasn’t necessary; it was simply a habit Serena enjoyed.

After washing and dressing, Serena returned to the bedroom to find two steaming cups of coffee waiting for her. “What are your plans for today?” she asked, sipping the black liquid and enjoying the bitter sensation.

“I...” Amelia closed her eyes, seemingly focusing on remembering her schedule. “I’m free till lunch, then there’s a first-year magic class Lunaria wants me to attend, but only to observe how they teach. Oh, that reminds me! Since when was Taranis’s Downpour a seventh-circle spell?”

“I don’t know exactly. Maybe a few centuries?” Serena offered. Taranis was close to becoming a Second-Word god. Even now, the aether required to commune his name as a First Word was so much he was one of the rarest Words out there. It was estimated that within a few decades, maybe another century, Taranis would make his first embodiment and officially move higher up the divine ladder. Serena explained this to Amelia and finished with, “He’s sort of considered a one-point-five Word.”

“Guess that explains it,” Amelia nodded, sipping her coffee. “I almost killed Lunaria yesterday with it.”

“Ah,” Serena uttered. “That’s how the roof got damaged?”

“Yeah.”

“Idiot.”

“...Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the morning. After their coffee was almost finished Amelia said, “Sarafina knows I Spoke Asclepius, and I suspect Lunaria also knows. I think a lot of them know, to be honest.” She shrugged and added, “I didn’t confirm it directly, but I can’t deny it...”

Serena nodded slowly. If there was one major fault with Amelia, it was how difficult it was for her to deceive others. She could do it a little, but anyone half-trained could pick up her body language and know what was truthful and what wasn’t. “I imagine it’ll be officially announced soon. They’re probably drip-feeding information to get a feel on the response.”

Of all nations, the response of Christdom was the most important. Had Asclepius informed the Vatican of Amelia’s embodiment of his divinity? Asclepius was, like the other human gods, aligned with the human race. After all, there was a reason they were called the human gods. But there were rules and accords in the halls of divinity that transcended the racial politics of the Known World. It was entirely possible that after Amelia had, in her own words, told off the lower rung of demonic gods through some mysterious way of Speaking, divine arrangements had been made regarding her.

Still, who was Serena to start guessing what happened in the Seven Hells or the Six Heavens?

“Gah!” Amelia groaned. “I should have picked one of the demonic Second-Word gods to save the Sakamoto. They’re far more fun!”

Serena snorted. Despite Amelia’s growth, she still said ridiculous things. Even knowing Amelia’s circumstances, it was strange to hear her talk about picking a Second-Word as if she were plucking fruit from a tree. A Second-Word was a lifelong goal of the most talented and dedicated demons.

“What?” Amelia questioned.

“I’m just happy to have such a capable girlfriend,” Serena mused, nursing her cup of coffee. Amelia’s cheeks flushed. Serena knew Amelia loved being referred to as her girlfriend. Hells, Serena enjoyed it too, especially as it was one of the few things she could use to make Amelia giggle and blush. “You were reading that last night. What is it?” she asked, pointing to the book Amelia had brought.

“The Mathematics of War,” Amelia said, turning the book so Serena could see.

It was a familiar book. One she’d studied during her time at the academy. The Mathematics of War reformed many military processes. The anonymous author greatly influenced the thinking of Centralis with its commentary on the Cascadia-Republic conflict in its early stages. It argued that technological advances meant war would become bloodier, not quicker and that Cascadia should prepare for long, grinding wars of attrition that prioritised destroying the enemy instead of taking territory. When it was written, the conflict hadn’t yet become the quagmire it was today, where Republican efforts only persisted due to countless resources and ‘volunteers’ being funnelled into the country by the human nations. Thankfully, the reforms it suggested were carried out years ago and meant that Cascadia could constrain most of the fighting off the Cascadian continent.

“What did you think of it?” Serena asked. Amelia wasn’t military-minded, but some of the weapons she’d mentioned were shocking. Torpedoes that could travel thousands of kilometres, hugging the terrain guided by their machine brains aided by human creations that orbited the planet. She didn’t think Amelia was pulling her horn, but Serena simply couldn’t fathom how the handheld machines Amelia described could do millions of calculations a second.

“I don’t know,” Amelia replied, shrugging. “I wasn’t actually reading it. I was more focused on teasing you! Hey! No hair ruffling!”

The woman’s complaints were left unanswered as her golden hair was thoroughly ruffled.

“What about you?” Amelia asked as she fixed her hair. “What are you doing? Can we meet up later?”

“Katalin of Driss runs an instructor-only training session on Wednesday mornings. That’s where I’m heading. Did you want to come?” Serena asked.

“Uh,” Amelia hesitated for a moment, a look of indecision on her face. “Sure!” she suddenly exclaimed. “Maybe she’ll have some insights on me breaking into red aura!”

“That's good. It saves you from needing to sneak out. If anyone sees us, we can pretend you came first thing to me so I can take you to the session.”

That excuse became useful sooner rather than later. Shortly after leaving Serena’s quarters, they crossed paths with Ryosuke Yamamoto. Serena greeted the demon, explaining her role as Amelia’s guide. Luckily, he didn’t seem to give it a second thought. As they got closer to their destination, Serena felt an unfamiliar bubble of anxiety form. Was it because this would be the first time she trained with her fellow instructors? Or was it perhaps the fact that something about the northern demon set her on edge?

“What kind of sessions does she run?” Serena asked Ryosuke.

“The first half is relatively standard, although at a much higher pace than what we put the students through. Then, most instructors leave, unable to cope with the second half of the session where she...” The demon warrior’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing. “...She mostly just destroys us.”

“Well, that sounds awfully ominous!” Amelia exclaimed. “Why do you keep coming back?”

“Where’s your warrior spirit, Assistant Instructor Thornheart?” Ryosuke’s eyes gleamed. “How can we resist? She’s as talented as the rumours say, and it feels as though no matter how much we try, she’s always there to match us. Not just with the sword either; she wields the spear just as well! Katalin swore she'd privately tutor those who last a month, so a few of us are fighting for that privilege.”

They arrived at the training hall. From within, Serena could hear the muffled sounds of clashing metal. “Steel, not wood?” she asked Ryosuke with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s how she wants it,” came the reply. “Oh, and one last bit of advice: if she asks you to attack her, then attack her.”

Serena nodded. Ryosuke opened the door, and the three of them stepped in. Inside, two dozen instructors and assistant instructors were warming up. Perhaps half of the warrior side of the teaching academy was present, the value of Highlord Driss’s teaching outweighing the painful early mornings.

In the centre, the demon in question stood. “One minute!” Katalin called out before locking her purple eyes with Serena and then Amelia. Serena watched Katalin’s expression closely, looking for any signs of anger or hatred. The North did not like humans, and Katalin’s comments from the last time they met suggested the demon didn’t vary from the norm. Serena didn’t want to cause conflict, but if anyone started to bully Amelia, she’d have to step up, no matter the complications it caused.

Serena, Amelia and Ryosuke formed a trio, joined by three other instructors who looked worse for wear. “That was an exceptional strike, Instructor Yamamoto,” Serena said, earnestly complimenting what she saw. Within her, the embers of her competitive spirit flared. This was the level she needed to reach!

“But still not enough,” Ryosuke replied, the corner of his mouth raising.

Katalin explained their next drill. One person would defend using the hawk, while the others would form a queue and attack with thrusts one by one. Once the defender had gone through each opponent, they would switch. Attackers would maintain their aura one level below the defender for their safety.

Serena defended first, finding it difficult to maintain her yellow aura in her exhausted state. Aether exhaustion was not a familiar feeling to Serena. Plays, novels and tales told by drunken soldiers exaggerated how long a fight between warriors lasted. Nearly every fight Serena had been in had ended in less than thirty seconds. When it came to survival, it was better to flare your aura as much as possible, attack to the best of your capabilities, and retreat if you can’t break your enemy in seconds. Most warriors can only flare their aura for ten to twelve seconds before risking exhaustion, and an exhausted warrior can only manifest a weak aura.

And a weak aura meant death.

In their group, Serena only had difficulty with parrying Ryosuke. Ryosuke was a far more experienced warrior than she was, and she simply couldn’t bring her sword down or step aside in time. Amelia was easy to parry. The woman wasn’t suffering from aether exhaustion, but her body was relatively untrained, and she was getting tired. With her tiredness, her power became sloppy, and an Amelia who was being sloppy was an Amelia who was dangerous. It didn’t help Amelia was still focusing on cycling her aether the way warriors do, all while maintaining her own and Serena’s wards.

With so much going on, it wasn’t unexpected that Amelia’s sword flew out of her hand by Serena’s parry. It tumbled in the air until stabbing into the ground.

“Death!” Katalin roared from across the room! “Death!” The room went deadly quiet. Katalin snatched Amelia’s sword, jabbing the point in front of Amelia’s neck. “You lost your weapon! That’s death!” she shouted. “You think you’re tired, huh? Well, you’ll be able to sleep if you were on the battlefield because you would be dead!”

“I...” Amelia audible swallowed, taking a moment to catch her breath. Her face was red, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead. “I have my wards!” she protested.

“You are not here to learn to be a mage! You are here to learn how to fight like a demon!” Katalin shouted. “Your wards hold you back! They are a crutch! Remove them!”

“R-remove them?”

“Remove your wards! You’ll never reach red otherwise!”

“But you said-”

“Your wards are interfering! The warriors' aether cycle cannot flow! You are more than ready to make the step! Remove them!”

“But I’ll be unprotected!”

“So? Do you not trust me!?” Katalin glared as Amelia and Amelia glared back. Then, as the seconds ticked by, the frustration on Amelia’s face relaxed into something else. A quiet look of determination and... understanding? Serena was puzzled by what she saw and even more confused when Amelia dropped her wards, leaving her vulnerable for perhaps the first time since Serena had known her. It looked like Amelia realised something about Katalin. Did her intuition inform her decision? Regardless, Amelia didn’t stop supplying aether to Serena’s wards.

“This shouldn’t take long,” Katalin stated. She flipped Amelia’s weapon, holding the blade and handing it back towards Amelia. “Make some space!” she commanded, and the group obliged, backing away. “We’ll spar until you hit red or until you lose consciousness, yes?”

“My weapon isn’t warded...” Amelia muttered. With the external wards on her weapon, it would shatter against Katalin’s aura-enhanced sword.

“We’ll do it the old-fashioned way,” Katalin said before dropping her aura. “Metal against metal. Don’t lose your sword. Even if you die, never lose your weapon.”

“O-okay!” Amelia nodded. Serena saw her tighten her grip.

Without bowing or any other display of etiquette, Katalin closed the distance and began her attack. It seemed ridiculous at first; the expertly delivered strikes appeared slow and unthreatening to the aura-enhanced eyes of Serena. No matter how skilled an opponent was, normal steel wasn’t threatening to a warrior unless it was in the shape of a bullet.

But Amelia wasn’t a warrior, and without any wards, the steel swinging towards her would cut her. Watching her girlfriend hastily defend against the attacks, her tiredness becoming more evident by the second as she desperately tried to cycle the aether within her made Serena realise how much danger Amelia was actually in.

If Katalin wanted, she could cut Amelia’s head off before anyone could react.

The moment this thought passed, Serena took a step forward, only to be stopped by Ryosuke. “Wait,” he hissed quietly. “It’s a gauntlet. The human will be fine. She’s done this to others already.”

The clanging of steel continued to ring throughout the air. “One mistake, and she could die,” Serena replied, not taking her eyes away. She felt a knot form in her stomach. For the first time, she realised she might lose Amelia. The thought made her sick. At this moment, Serena realised the depth of her love for the human. It transcended all etiquette, all norms, and now she was sure it transcended her loyalty to the Empire.

Amelia's defence slowed and faltered, but Katalin kept the pressure up. “Don’t stop cycling!” Katalin shouted, assaulting Amelia with strike after strike. Katalin’s sword slipped past Amelia’s guard, slicing her shoulder. Amelia stumbled. Blood poured from the wound, darkening her outfit.

Serena saw red and prepared Narean.

She was about to Speak when Amelia suddenly shouted, “Serena, don’t!” The blond human was on one knee, her sword grinding against Katalin’s, who was simply applying physical pressure against Amelia’s weakened form. “It’s okay!” Amelia called between gasps of breath. “I want this!”

Katalin didn’t even look Serena’s way.

The other instructors looked at Serena in shock and, in some cases, fear. They would have picked up on Serena’s readied Word. Ryosuke said something, but Serena was too tunnel-visioned on Amelia to register what he said. She simmered her Word, ready to Speak at any moment. Amelia’s words had prompted Serena to hold back, keeping Narean simmering.

Amelia grunted, standing with great effort. Katalin continued to attack, shouting, “Don’t just defend! Attack!” Amelia obeyed and, with dripping sweat and blood leaking from her wound, began desperately swinging back against Katalin. The northern demon blocked, parried and simply dodged. “Is that it!? To become a warrior, you need more than that! What are you swinging a sword for!?” Katalin taunted Amelia. “How will you protect those that you love!? Will you let them die because you’re tired!?”

“I... can... protect...” Amelia muttered between gasps of breath. Her aether flared, more and more cycled throughout her body with every passing second. It was not a mage's aether flow but almost the flow of a warrior’s aura. As much as she hated what Katalin was doing, Serena had to admit it was working.

Amelia was close.

“Aura is more than a spell! It is a divine charge! A blessing to defend the weak! To defend the Empire!” Katalin called out as Amelia’s strikes began taking on an element of fluidity. “To defend your family! Your friends! Can you do it, Amelia!? Imagine if I attacked Instructor Halen, yes!? Imagine if I cut her down! What would-”

“Argh!” Amelia screamed, swinging her sword as a red aura exploded from her body. Serena’s vision was blanketed in a blinding red light, and for a moment, she thought Amelia had Spoken a Word. No, it wasn’t that; it was still only red aura, merely amplified by Amelia’s titanic amount of aether. It spewed from her, and from where she stood, Amelia glowed like the red moon itself. There was no subtlety about this, no gentle hue of red from a student manifesting aura for the first time. This was Amelia Thornheart, Serena’s girlfriend, powering a red aura at a level equivalent to a First Word.

And then, slowly, the red light dimmed, and everyone’s vision readjusted to the scene before them. Amelia was in her stance, her hands gripping her sword where she’d just finished her strike. She was gasping; her eyes glowed with power while her breath fogged with both heat and aether. In front of her stood Katalin.

And on the floor lay Katalin of Driss’s severed arm, still gripping her weapon tightly.

Serena felt her blood run cold as she, along with everyone else in the room, stared in shock at the dismembered limb. She looked at Katalin, expecting something, but the northern demon had a calm expression. Amelia stood up slowly, her breath and aura stabilising. Only then did her face turn ashen, her eyes widening as she realised what she’d just done.

“Fucking hell...” Ryosuke muttered.

“I-I-I’m...” Amelia began blubbering, tears running down her cheek. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it! I didn’t-”

“Enough,” Katalin intoned, raising her remaining hand, cutting Amelia off. “How do you feel?” The demon sniffed, examining Amelia’s aura. “Good stability. Good start. Are you going to throw up? That’s common the first time.”

“E-enough about me!” Amelia stuttered, pointing a shaky finger at the severed limb. “Your arm! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“Ah, yes,” Katalin looked down at her solitary limb like it was a passing curiosity. “Let’s see here...” the demon said idly. “Been a while since this has happened.” Katalin bent down, picking up her arm with her remaining functioning hand. “This is a good lesson!” Katalin announced, raising the limb that was still gripping the sword. “Never forget how dangerous aura can be against an unprotected limb, yes? Or even a higher-tier aura against a lesser colour, understand? Now...” She held the detached limb against her bloody stump.

“Assistant Instructor Thornheart, now we have a decent foundation to build from. We’ll take a break before the second half of the session. Would you mind invoking some of Aseco’s grace and reattaching my arm?”

Katalin looked around, clicking her tongue.

“And can someone fetch me some damn mint tea!?”