A/N: Chapter ended up longer than I expected but that just means the good stuff will come out with a whole chapter dedicated to it. *cough* 6316 words *cough*
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Ultear observed with amusement as the Rune Knights darted about like frantic bees in a disrupted hive.
Twenty minutes ago a large-scale battle had taken place only a few kilometres from the sorcerous city of Era. The Magic Council immediately began to order around their forces to set up defences while scryers were tasked with trying to determine the battle's source.
Apparently, it was an armoured train being guarded by their own men, as well as some freelance wizards. It carried important cargo, but she couldn't ascertain what just from the murmurings around her.
But her current focus was more on the small legion of twenty being sent as scouts. She slipped in with the group amidst the chaos, easily hiding in plain sight thanks to being able to act naturally.
Even if they realised she shouldn't be with them, they weren't going to question her presence.
Similarly, with Jellal, or rather as they know him as Siegrain, she was a prodigious recruit. Unlike him, however, she joined directly.
The Rune Knights allow recruits to join at the young age of sixteen with the expectation that the years leading up to their adulthood would be spent studying. They would then be expected to serve a minimum number of years in service as compensation for the knowledge and resources divested.
She didn't need any of their resources, however. Hades' library eclipsed anything they could possibly give her, and her Arc of Time magic and mastery over it was a testament to the fact.
She skyrocketed through the ranks, easily earning a high position that gave her both freedom and status. Slowly, she had been worming her way into their political ranks alongside Jellal with the intent to gain seats as chairmen on the Magic Council.
She was known. She was powerful. No one with a rank below her would dare question her.
The platoon made their way to a large room in the centre of the main complex. To the sides were several operatives navigating a large console connected to the rune-laden platform.
A teleportation circle, she recognized.
As she lined up with the others on the platform, she took up the front position right next to a woman.
'Captain Ulder. Niece of the second Chairman. How fortunate.'
"We're ready," Ulder said to one of the operators who nodded in kind.
They raised up their hand, lowering fingers as they counted down.
"We're sending you outside of the estimated combat area by half a klick. Relaying in five. Four. Three. Two."
As the last finger from the operator was lowered the space around them was distorted, leaving them with a slight sense of vertigo before the warp was completed.
The sight before them silenced a large majority of the platoon before they could even move into action. The chaotic sight of a hell-strewn landscape bathed in pinkish-purple flames was not what they were expecting, especially considering the distance they were sent.
What was previously a beautiful mountain had been completely levelled into a small plateau. What areas that would have been rubble from the destruction had long been turned into lava and the heat made it difficult to breathe.
A brief glow from beside her drew her attention to one of the Rune Knights and she sighed in comfort as he summoned a swirling white globe of snow that guarded them, albeit only by a margin, from the heat's adverse effects.
"Let's go."
The platoon captain led her troop, and by proxy Ultear, through the destruction. Two clear paths were laid out before them, one heading towards Era and was formed more by raw strength with the other crossing it clearly made from the same source of the fire.
As they walked through the one that had less molten rock they came across the cross section of the trails.
"W-what the hell is that!?"
The scream and terror that resonated through the Rune Knights could not have matched the terror the monstrosity in front of them would have inspired when it was alive. Or at least, what was left of it.
The decapitated head of a beast was mostly mouth, with jagged teeth each the size of a bodybuilder and eyes that were more fitting to be used as exercise balls in a gym than on a monster.
A ways off they could see the remains of a tail that would easily feed a small city should it be harvested for meat. As they looked at the scenery with more scrutiny they realised the off-colour jagged rocks scattered around were actually more parts of the abomination that were torn off in the fight.
Without fear or hesitation, purely curiosity, Ultear confidently strutted up to the head as a translucent crystal sphere appeared within her palms. "What are you doing, Colonel Milkovich?"
"Seeing what happened here, Captain."
She moved the orb with a thought and let it float between her and the head as time magic streamed from her hands in thin waves and connected the two. "Picture History."
In a series of flashing glimpses, the full history of events that happened to the creature and the conflict that raged in the area were regaled to Ultear. The span of a single breath was enough for the time mage to download and process the knowledge of several minutes of conflict without any need to think. When she was done she immediately began marching towards the direction she saw the powerful demonic figure leave after turning the landscape to ruin.
"Come. We can't risk hesitation."
"What did you see, Colonel?"
"That beast was destroyed by a demon, and it went in the direction of our troops that were guarding the transport. I don't know what it was planning to do, so we need to move."
"My troops are yours."
—
As the platoon crested over the several hills they couldn't help but watch in odd fascination as the flames seemed to grow and recede in rhythmic a metronomic pattern. They would quickly develop their way of travel around this pattern with Ultear leading the charge, freezing the flames in a semi-stasis at their lowest peaks to ease the travel.
Despite being able to traverse the environment more easily, their wariness grew.
They had been sent to scout out an active battlefield, yet all they saw was destruction. Ultear felt confident in taking charge but between the lack of knowledge regarding the cargo, the effort taken to either destroy or retrieve it, and the strange silence that shouldn't be present amidst conflict her own desire to have control over a situation became strained.
She wanted to take credit, end the conflict, and retrieve the prize to increase her standing even more. After seeing all of the devastation, the importance of the object seemed to grow in her standing and increased her desire, but even she was beginning to wonder if it was even worth it.
She was confident in her combative skills, and could easily dance around a single opponent of equal strength as her, but her strength lay in manipulation and espionage. But fighting? That was more Jellal's specialty. He was a smooth talker, and intelligent, but she beat him in both aspects.
But that demon was beyond what she could fight.
She was a ranged fighter, and even when she was forced to fight with her mother's magic she tended to get no closer than mid-range. For the few times she used a sword it was only ever out of desperation, but if it came to a battle that close then the demon would have her beat.
A conflict would lead to her having to run away to keep the advantage, and that would defeat the entire goal of coming with the fools that surround her. One up them, take control, take their credit.
Ultear began to consider just killing them, throwing their bodies in the fire, and weaving a tale to benefit her. It would be easier, at least.
She cursed as she realized that they were moving away from the flame and that the nearest gout was dozens of metres away.
The sound of shouting barely heard through the hostile thoughts instantly cleared Ultear's mind. Motioning the others to follow her actions, she crouched down and began to hide with the tree lining, weaving her way around sundered towers of bark to get sight of the first sign of life since they began their scouting.
"-up! Shut up! *Hugk* Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!"
Peaking around the trees, Ultear and Captain Ulder saw a woman raging with grasping hands at her head. Her kneeling form hovered over a puddle of bloody vomit while black marks writhed atop the surface of her skin. Crowning around her head were horns that kept vanishing and reappearing in thick black smoke.
Ultear watched this all with caution, observing the environment with care. A tapping on her arm pulled her to Ulder who was pointing at the far side of the slight open field. There, lying supine and seemingly completely dead to the world was a girl dressed in crimson armour, and the symbol on the shoulder guards made her curse to herself.
'Beestenbloed. Just what are you planning, Walraven?'
"What do you want to do, Colonel?"
"Have your troops circle the clearing. I'll approach."
Ulder nodded as she led her troops to entrap the clearing. Meanwhile, Ultear strutted out into the clearing, purposely stepping on charred and dry twigs and leaves so her otherwise silent footsteps made her presence known.
The white-haired woman literally snarled at Ultear like a rabid animal, though the ravenette chalked it up to her grunting through whatever pain she was in. The black horns reappeared and solidified, twisting to prominence as her piercing purple eyes changed to an eerie glowing crimson.
While they made contact, they made no moves towards the other. Ultear's glide stayed steady as she walked over to the samurai girl instead and handcuffed her. In the process, she showcased the black ankh emblazoned on the back of her uniform.
The display seemed to calm her down, the glow of red vanishing from her eyes as she gritted her teeth and took several deep breaths. Ultear approached the hunched-over woman who tried to stand up and away from the puke, giving Ultear a good look at the woman.
'Muscular definition is high, just as much as the demonic form she took. Height is roughly a hundred sixty centimetres. Average for a normal woman, small for a wizard. Her magic power is...almost completely empty. And that guild mark on her lower stomach, Phantom Lord? Definitely one of the ones hired to help protect the train.'
"Are you injured? What happened here?" Ultear asked, instantly trying to get information and wrestle control of the situation. But she was completely ignored. Instead, the stranger stumbled past her and pointed into the wood lines behind her.
"You. Fire."
Ultear quirked her eyebrow in questioning. She knew that someone was there because she had told them to hide, but in comparison to the amount of ethernano that's been rampant around the area, the Rune Knights were completely invisible. She only knew that the girl in front of her was out of magic because she was like a whole in the middle of a lake, with the ethernano trying to pour into her body through natural osmosis.
And for as much as they usually stand out, these troops seemed actually capable of hiding. She couldn't see any trace of them, and what she would have been able to see she was confident that the near unconscious girl in front of her wouldn't have been able to.
In Ultear's eyes, it was a feat in itself that the girl wasn't already knocked out from magic deficiency.
What she didn't know was that not only had the girl been trained to fight while suffering from magic deficiency, but she still had curse power to sustain her as well.
"Who are you talking to? There isn't anyone there."
"Souls stick out like a drop of colour in a colourless world, and pyromancers are warmer than everyone else. So if you would tell your troop to produce some fire, Colonel, that would be great..." she said through gritted teeth.
"You can see souls? What kind of magic is that? And how did you know my rank?"
"A, the kind that eats either souls or fire. Take your pick. B, I like to keep tabs on the Magic Council. Like any good citizen should."
"Hmm, fine then. Come on out, everyone! Make sure that the woman is properly secured and be prepared to send her back to Era to be properly detained. And you, go ahead and give her what she wants."
The pyromancer within the group cautiously created a large orb of white flames. The group watched as they collectively learned that she was a slayer as she devoured the flames with rapturous hunger.
'A slayer with an affinity for fire, just like Zancrow. But...he can't devour souls. If what she was saying is to be believed. And that form. A demonic version of Dragon Force? How interesting.'
The black tendril-like markings stopped wriggling as freely and slowly turned into flora tattoos and then vanished alongside the horns.
As that happened, a group of three walked over to the hand-cuffed and unresponsive woman, waving their hands in front of her unreactive eyes and doing a general response check, only to get nothing more than a couple of twitches and tears.
The girl, now rejuvenated, looked at the samurai with a look of guilt and sadness before shaking her head and walking back towards Ultear. "I'll explain everything in a minute, once we unite with those at the crash site. My name's Lyssa, by the way."
"Ultear."
"I know," she said with a cheeky smile before marching off. Ultear tsked but followed her around the mountain bend nonetheless with the troops following behind. Ultear didn't take her eyes off the girl, Lyssa, as she followed. And although she didn't make it as obvious as Ulder, she was suspicious.
She wanted to know what was so important about that cargo that Beestenbloed would attack so close to the Magic Council.
She wanted to know how this girl managed to fight that monster with seemingly no plans and just her bare hands.
She wanted to know where this girl got her hands on this type of magic, and how she had managed to not get noticed on a greater scale before.
It was then that she noticed it, a half-melted silver cuff ordained with a cracked ruby-red lacrima hanging from a rope around the girl's neck. Ultear had to suppress the smile that threatened to creen across her face. 'First Erza, and now this girl? Oh, Jellal, how many secrets do think you're allowed to have?'
What happiness she had from learning one of her pet project's secrets was replaced with insurmountable joy after seeing the sight from beyond the wall of flame the girl extinguished.
Strewn across the forefront of the wreckage of an armoured train were monstrous green bodies, several had broken limbs and were covered in gashes and blood, but they were either unconscious or passive sitting there with their arms in front of them like dogs.
On the train itself were the troops stationed on the train itself, tending to wounded and looking around with wariness as they seized the moment to rest. Talking with the platoon's captain was another member of Phantom Lord, one that Ultear actually recognized as one of their Elite Wizards.
Ultear put her hands in front of her mouth to hide the smile that showed, feigning shock while the captain she came with experienced it for real. "Wolfhiem..." she muttered.
As a relative to a council member, Ulcer had more knowledge than she should, and as a member of the Seven Ki of Purgatory Ultear knew that Beestenbloed had the Wizard Saint under their control. But no one, no one at all had any idea what they wanted out of him.
Yet the sight of several dozens of people using his magic, wearing soul-controlling collars, inspired them all with a sense of dread. And in Ultear's case, opportunity.
'If saving the Wizard Saint before would have been our gateway to make Jellal a Wizard Saint, then saving everyone else would seal our political position. The chairmen's seats are ours!'
"Hey! That girl's back! And she came with reinforcements!" someone shouted from the train drawing their attention. "Don't come any closer! We don't know why they stopped fighting bu-"
"I'm the reason!" Lyssa called out, to everyone's surprise. She waved her hand upwards showing a bronze ring with three emerald lacrima imbedded into it. It glowed eerily in unison with that of the collars. "Now check them for injuries. I'm not going to let them all lose if they're going to die from blood loss soon after."
Rune Knights from both platoons, medics, did exactly that after the colonel nodded. As they began to place alchemical salves and splints over the strangely compliant beasts the two groups met beside the crashed train. The Rune Knights that had been assigned to guard it all saluted their colonel.
"At ease," Ultear said, "Debrief me on the situation. What happened here?"
"It was an ambush, ma'am. My squad was assigned to protect the shipment and to hire outside protection to support us. In total, there were sixty Rune Knights, with ten more outside help coming from Phantom Lord, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, and Blue Pegasus. However, when the train was attacked it was split in half.
Our contact with a third of our number and the wizards from Quatro Cerberus and Lamia Scale was severed, and after the conflict halted we sent a group to fly in search of our other team. They should be back any minute. We ourselves deployed a shield to keep both ourselves and the Etherion safe, as well as to shelter the injured."
That was it. Etherion. Highly condensed ethernano so potent that just being near it can be life-threatening. With the current rising tension between the whole of Ishgar and the Alvarez Empire, the Magic Council wants one of their most powerful weapons armed and ready to fire.
Of course it would be Etherion! Gods, she felt so stupid!
But...she had to remain composed.
"What about the Blue Pegasus wizards?" Captain Ulder asked.
"Of the two only one survived, Miss Karen Lilica" Captain Reece said as he nodded over to a green-haired woman lounging around on a bed of wool getting a foot massage from a pink-haired girl with ram horns who was obviously uncomfortable, "The Phantom Lord wizards however were in perfect shape. Miss Lyubov Rosanov defended the cargo while Miss Lyssa Wisteria rushed off to defeat the one leading the attack, seemingly with success."
Reece then motioned over to the two Phantoms who were leaning against the train's hull. The blonde was watching the younger with a shrewd gaze, contemplating as if she would be a worthwhile investment or not. The snowy-haired teen however ignored her entirely, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the medics on the field and the sorceress from Blue Pegasus.
"And the collars, they're control collars aren't they?" Ultear iqnuired.
"Augmented, but yes."
"Fitting of Beestenbloed's MO."
"So you have confirmation?"
"The leader herself was wearing their emblem."
"There was more to it," a fourth voice chimed into the discussion. The three turned to the snowy-haired girl who had walked up to them, her senior following closely behind. "I don't think she herself has any magic. This ring...doesn't need any from the wearer to function. It's not holder magic. That's why when the fight began she used Leviathan's Blood to fight me. She had developed an Identity with it, so she had clearly been a long-time user. Beestenbloed had a supplier.
And to make it worse, they have or at least had access to books from the Black Wizard Zeref. She summoned a demon to try and kill me and destroy Era after I had defeated her, but...sending a demon to kill a demon slayer is already a bad idea."
"That...complicates things even further..." Ulder said. She had been one of the ones who led the primary hunt for the Leviathan's Blood supplier, so she knew firsthand how powerful an organization with access to the drug was.
"You have no idea..." Ultear replied in kind. She was worried that Walraven and Mard Geer had entered an alliance of sorts, the same way Brain and Hades had, not because of the resources Walraven might have now, no, but because it might mean that Mard Geer had grown unpredictable.
The Etherious had previously abhorred the idea of courting with humans in any fashion and considering that Tartaros' goals conflicted with their own that made him even more of a danger to their plans. This idea made her worry even more.
'I'll have to report to Master Hades sooner than I planned.'
"You there, medic!" Captain Reece shouts to an approaching soldier, "Do a blood test on the prisoner for any foreign substances."
"Yes, sir! We've also finished patching up any wounds we could see."
"Good job, son." He nodded to his subordinate before he and the others looked at Lyssa who shrugged and walked in front of the group.
Ultear watched in interest as the teen raised her hands up in a triangular position and began to chant. "Hoor mij! De jacht begon met jouw offer," as she spoke the phrase needed to release the people that were forcibly transformed, all of them turned to look at her. Their vacant green eyes began to glow in tandem with their collars and the ring on Lyssa's finger.
"De jacht bloeide tijdens jouw afwezigheid!" Chains began to grow in links from the collars and towards Lyssa, both from the crowd and from the environs showing that even those stranded from the primary group were being affected. "En nu eindigt de jacht bij jouw terugkeer!" Lyssa grasped the chains in hand and yanked. A cracking sound rang throughout the area as the beasts glowed and began to change, the beastlike appearance washing off of them and revealing the skinny starved and tired frames of dozens upon dozens of humans crumpled over their own weight.
At that same moment, they all passed out and the medics rushed and coordinated with Ulder who was using a communication lacrima to get the relay officers to teleport them all back to Era.
In a rush of effort that lasted twenty minutes, Ultear sent the hiree wizards off on their own ways after organising their pay.
At the end of it all, she sighed and found herself heading back towards her private quarters and began drafting a report to her higher-ups about what she herself witnessed, a process that the two captains were also undergoing.
However, she smiled when she heard the familiar voice of her master, Hades.
"Ultear, dear, I heard quite a commotion had happened near Era."
"Indeed, Lord Hades. It is something I do believe we can use to our benefit, though, regarding the foreseeable future. As well as remove a sprouting weed from the Balam Alliance..."
—
I spent the rest of the day walking back to Oak Town on my own. While the council did offer transport, I declined, not even bothering to take a shower in the guest rooms they provided for us. Instead, I found a creek in the woods to bathe in.
Surprisingly, the creek water was actually cool on my skin. It was the first time in a long while that I actually got to enjoy the feeling of cool water, and it made me quiver.
Not from the temperature.
But the realization as to why.
Even when I was studying under the Captain I was able to enjoy a cold shower, but ever since I became a devil that simple source of relaxation was robbed.
And yet, now that I have almost no magic power, I can.
Now that I have almost no magic power, I feel cold.
Now that I'm closer to being a normal human than I have in a long while, I feel less human than ever before.
Tears and shivers racked over my body as I ran through the memories of the fight and the memories I took from Himari.
Beestenbloed wasn't a guild, at least not anymore.
It was fucking cult, and Himari was just another indoctrinate!
They took people who had their lives destroyed by magic, those indoctrinated either through the actions of destructive behaviour of careless wizards or dark guilds were the easiest to convince.
Maybe I should have tried to help her...?
No.
"She...was willing to enslave others for her own means. She deserves to have the memories of a slave herself."
Yeah. But...
"I gave in to the rage too easily...I let it take control."
I wiped my tears off my face and entered a meditative position. I listened to the sound of the trees creaking and the birds chirping, the feeling of the water moving around me and the general existence of life.
I tried to let it relax me as I thought back to my meditations with the Captain...
'The Flames of Emotion. The strongest source of strength for fire mages, and our greatest vulnerability. Our emotions are natural, so do not deny them. Give them control, and guidance, and just like flame they will find purpose. They will burn down dead wood and open up areas for new life. They will cook food and ward away darkness for both you and those you love.
Think not of rage, think of passion. Think not of gloom, but of light. Think not of hopelessness and despair, but of light and prosperity. Let your soul dance like a roaring flame, shine upon and warm others like the sun.'
I sat there for at least an hour, focusing on this doctrine and trying to let the prosperous forest fill me with life, but I still felt hollow.
Sighing, I stood up and redressed, not bothering to dry off and let the wet coolness relax me as I made my way back to Oak Town on foot.
"I need a drink..."
—
The next day, I decided to go and hang out with Erza.
She had sent me a letter a couple of days ago saying that she had something for me, and I needed a distraction, one that didn't involve violence.
The redhead seemed eager to show me around Magnolia, taking each step with a bubbly air around her that was almost infectious. The first thing she did was show me the guild hall, yet she didn't take me inside considering the rivalry between our guilds.
Then she began to show me a variety of stores. Mag Drug, a magical drug store. Book Land, a bookshop that catered particularly to wizards. Tomas' Coffee, and finally the one she seemed most interested in, the simply named Magnolia Cake Shop.
I had to quite literally drag her away from the sign that said they had a new strawberry velvet cake when I saw the terrified looks of the store owners.
"B-But the cake is to die for!"
"We can get the cake when we're done! No point getting desserts this early in the day!"
"But I eat cake this early every day!"
"I promise we'll get it later!"
I tried to ignore the audience that formed to watch our tug-o-war, but Erza gave up when she saw the store change their sign from 'Open' to 'Closed,' nearly causing me to fall over at the sudden lack of her pulling against me.
And it was only 2 in the afternoon...
Eventually, we found ourselves walking towards what seemed to be a blacksmith shop, 'Paisley's Wonder Works.' Erza's gitty attitude returned again once we entered, and when she threw the door open she almost ripped it off its hinges with a smile. "Baird! I've brought a friend!"
"Oh!? Erza, that you? Hold on now I'll be out in a secco!"
From the back, I could hear the sound of a hammer hitting metal suddenly grow quieter, but not stop. The door opened to reveal a short yet burly man, shorter than me at least. His face was covered in soot and grease yet he smiled so hard I thought he might have pulled something.
"There she is! My favourite customer! What can I do fer ya!"
"We're here for a pickup," the redhead chirped with a smile that matched his own.
The stout man took a second to look at me before turning to Erza, using his hand to 'block' the whisper. "Is this the lass?"
Erza just nodded, while bouncing on her feet. Baird nodded before heading upstairs. "I'll go get it. Ya girls just take a looksee around if ya want. I'll be back in a jiffy."
And that I did. Contrary to what I expected, there wasn't that much armour or hung up everywhere. Sure, there were weapons but it was mostly clothes. Elaborate and eccentric clothes, like a sundress made of glowing rainbow flowers or a set of overalls made from plants.
"Anything catches your eye?" Erza said as she joined me in looking around the shop.
"Not immediately, but there was less armour than I thought there would be. Especially considering how close you two seem."
"That's just because of the market. Not many wizards wear armour, not even Rune Knights, so enchanted clothes are usually more in demand than armour. That leaves Baird's wife, Paisley, more in demand as a supplier. Baird usually works on weapons and holder magic stuff, so getting to work on armour is a rare treat for him."
"At least it was, until you came along I'm guessing."
"You'd be right about that. I'm sort of hoping to be a walking advertisement for him and his wife since they honestly deserve more customers than they get in my opinion."
"They don't look like they're in dire straits though?"
"Oh, they aren't! But for anywhere that I get custom orders from, these two are my go-to."
"Huh. How nice of you. So, are you going to tell me what we're picking up?"
"I'm not going to say much, but I thought you needed an upgrade to you're equipment and to show you around more of the town I've come to call home."
"That's...Erza you didn't need to do that! Jeez, I would have been more than happy to just spend the day with you."
"Yeah, well, too late now. I'm sure Baird and Paisley enjoyed the challenge, too, since I've never had the idea of a martial artist-style outfit since I mostly use weapons."
"Well, at least let me pay for i-"
"No. Not happening. This is a gift from me to you. For...well for coming back into my life."
"Erza...jeez come here," I said before pulling the armoured girl into a hug that she reciprocated. "You're at least letting me pay for the cake. As my thank you to you."
"That's...fair."
We separated when we heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Baird was holding in his arms a big box with their logo painted on the side and waved us into a side room. When we entered we saw a tall as everliving fuck woman sewing together a luxurious dress that seemed more like a mini skirt next to her but would be completely normal on me.
Her blue eyes seemed to look up in slight shock when her husband tapped on her arm, showing that she was clearly focused on nothing but her work. Baird chuckled lightly before handing me the box and motioning over to the dressing rooms.
"Put the clothes on and Paisley'll tailor it to make it more comfortable. The metal might take a minute since you got more meat on ya than I had expected, but the helmet should be fine."
"Alright, umm, thank you."
"Just doin' my job, lass. Helmet was a joy to work on!"
I entered the changing room, which was nothing more than a mirror and a bench hidden behind a curtain. When I opened the box, I couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Inside was easily the most beautiful and intricate mask I've ever seen, made in such a way that it greatly resembled a horned lion. I picked it up and out of the box with trembling fingers before drawing a deep breath. "Erza, you foolish, foolish girl..."
I then stripped out of my clothes and began to put on the rest. A comfortable, if tight, black silk bra with matching harem pants. There weren't any shoes but instead a set of wraps that I could put on my feet, but I decided to just go barefoot. I did, however, put on the arm-length leather gloves that fit snugly.
While most of the additional jewellery like the belt and usekh fit well, the bracelets and cuffs were too tight.
Guess he was right about underestimating my musculature.
And then I put on the mask, and couldn't help but smile at the absurd cat ears that were put on otherwise intimidating adornment. After a few seconds of having it on, everything became...sharper.
I could smell better and hear better, and just that small difference in my senses made everything feel so much different. Stepping out I noticed another difference, and that was that my pants weren't catching as much air as I would've thought. It practically felt like I was naked.
So that was the enchantments? Weightlessness and enhanced senses?
So simple, yet it feels like an infinitely better improvement than my usual clothes.
Stepping out I met the eagre gaze of both Erza and Baird, the latter of which had to poke his wife who had gone back to working on the dress.
""So, what do ya/you think?"" the two armour junkies asked in unison.
"It's extremely comfortable, except for the bra. It's a little snug. And the mask, it's, well amazing! I don't even know how to process it yet..."
"Aye, I think you'll get used to it lassy," he said while his wife approached me and began testing the tightness of the bra. I couldn't help but find myself blushing when she bent down, as that put her chest right in front of my face.
"Baird and I will make the adjustments by the end of the day, so you can come by and pick it up tomorrow morning."
"Ah, but I'll be leaving back to Oak Town later today. Is there any way you can ship it there?"
"Oh, there's no need!" Erza chipped up, "You can just stay with me tonight! I got an extra bed and plenty of space, so it won't be a hassle and I can show you the nightlife of the city as well. If it's not too much for you at least."
"Ah, no no, that's fine. If they couldn't then I would have rented a hotel anyway."
"Perfect!"
"Oh, and we do perform mail orders. But we want you to show up before we do so that we can change the fitting of outfits ordered."
"Aye, and frequent customers won't have to worry about having te show up *cough* *cough*."
"Thanks for letting me know, and the not-so-subtle hint."
"Can blame me for trying," the dwarf of a man said chuckling.
After changing back out of my clothes and giving my thanks to the couple, Erza and I left and continued to look around the city before finally going to the bakery.
And we will never go again.
"H-How!?"
"How what?" Erza said from behind the table covered in towers of strawberry cake. Half of which was already eaten.
I had expected Erza to buy one cake or maybe even a couple, but she bought all fifty. Now, don't get me wrong, spending 127,900 J on cakes doesn't mean anything to me, especially after Erza probably spent more on that armour and clothing, but the sheer quantity of cake she's eating without effort is honestly scary.
Still, I couldn't help but shake my head at the absurdness of the situation and enjoy my own singular slice of cake. I won't deny, it was pretty good and that's coming from someone who prefers spicy food.
It was also exactly what I needed.
Spending the day with Erza was exactly what I needed.
Hearing stories of how much of a hardass she usually is for over a year just makes me laugh in hindsight at how scared I was to meet her. Generally, yeah, she's quiet, even when it's just the two of us.
Probably a side effect of us both being fairly introverted in comparison to most wizards who are comically eccentric, but give Erza something to get excited over and she's like a little kid.
It's interesting, mainly because Totomaru said the same thing about me. I don't like talking to the others in Phantom Lord, yet apparently, the second I meet someone with an interesting magic I'm writing their biography in search of details. Same thing for books on magic I haven't read before.
That brief moment of peace however was interrupted by the sight of a familiar white-haired girl dressed in punk angrily pressing her face against the glass next to the booth Erza and I were eating in.
Although I couldn't hear Mira, reading her mouth I could see that she was yelling "Traitor!" while two people with white hair, likely her siblings, were trying to hide in embarrassment of their older sister's behaviour.
.
.
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A/N: Chapter ended up longer than I expected but that just means the good stuff will come out with a whole chapter dedicated to it. *cough* 6316 words *cough*
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Ultear observed with amusement as the Rune Knights darted about like frantic bees in a disrupted hive.
Twenty minutes ago a large-scale battle had taken place only a few kilometres from the sorcerous city of Era. The Magic Council immediately began to order around their forces to set up defences while scryers were tasked with trying to determine the battle's source.
Apparently, it was an armoured train being guarded by their own men, as well as some freelance wizards. It carried important cargo, but she couldn't ascertain what just from the murmurings around her.
But her current focus was more on the small legion of twenty being sent as scouts. She slipped in with the group amidst the chaos, easily hiding in plain sight thanks to being able to act naturally.
Even if they realised she shouldn't be with them, they weren't going to question her presence.
Similarly, with Jellal, or rather as they know him as Siegrain, she was a prodigious recruit. Unlike him, however, she joined directly.
The Rune Knights allow recruits to join at the young age of sixteen with the expectation that the years leading up to their adulthood would be spent studying. They would then be expected to serve a minimum number of years in service as compensation for the knowledge and resources divested.
She didn't need any of their resources, however. Hades' library eclipsed anything they could possibly give her, and her Arc of Time magic and mastery over it was a testament to the fact.
She skyrocketed through the ranks, easily earning a high position that gave her both freedom and status. Slowly, she had been worming her way into their political ranks alongside Jellal with the intent to gain seats as chairmen on the Magic Council.
She was known. She was powerful. No one with a rank below her would dare question her.
The platoon made their way to a large room in the centre of the main complex. To the sides were several operatives navigating a large console connected to the rune-laden platform.
A teleportation circle, she recognized.
As she lined up with the others on the platform, she took up the front position right next to a woman.
'Captain Ulder. Niece of the second Chairman. How fortunate.'
"We're ready," Ulder said to one of the operators who nodded in kind.
They raised up their hand, lowering fingers as they counted down.
"We're sending you outside of the estimated combat area by half a klick. Relaying in five. Four. Three. Two."
As the last finger from the operator was lowered the space around them was distorted, leaving them with a slight sense of vertigo before the warp was completed.
The sight before them silenced a large majority of the platoon before they could even move into action. The chaotic sight of a hell-strewn landscape bathed in pinkish-purple flames was not what they were expecting, especially considering the distance they were sent.
What was previously a beautiful mountain had been completely levelled into a small plateau. What areas that would have been rubble from the destruction had long been turned into lava and the heat made it difficult to breathe.
A brief glow from beside her drew her attention to one of the Rune Knights and she sighed in comfort as he summoned a swirling white globe of snow that guarded them, albeit only by a margin, from the heat's adverse effects.
"Let's go."
The platoon captain led her troop, and by proxy Ultear, through the destruction. Two clear paths were laid out before them, one heading towards Era and was formed more by raw strength with the other crossing it clearly made from the same source of the fire.
As they walked through the one that had less molten rock they came across the cross section of the trails.
"W-what the hell is that!?"
The scream and terror that resonated through the Rune Knights could not have matched the terror the monstrosity in front of them would have inspired when it was alive. Or at least, what was left of it.
The decapitated head of a beast was mostly mouth, with jagged teeth each the size of a bodybuilder and eyes that were more fitting to be used as exercise balls in a gym than on a monster.
A ways off they could see the remains of a tail that would easily feed a small city should it be harvested for meat. As they looked at the scenery with more scrutiny they realised the off-colour jagged rocks scattered around were actually more parts of the abomination that were torn off in the fight.
Without fear or hesitation, purely curiosity, Ultear confidently strutted up to the head as a translucent crystal sphere appeared within her palms. "What are you doing, Colonel Milkovich?"
"Seeing what happened here, Captain."
She moved the orb with a thought and let it float between her and the head as time magic streamed from her hands in thin waves and connected the two. "Picture History."
In a series of flashing glimpses, the full history of events that happened to the creature and the conflict that raged in the area were regaled to Ultear. The span of a single breath was enough for the time mage to download and process the knowledge of several minutes of conflict without any need to think. When she was done she immediately began marching towards the direction she saw the powerful demonic figure leave after turning the landscape to ruin.
"Come. We can't risk hesitation."
"What did you see, Colonel?"
"That beast was destroyed by a demon, and it went in the direction of our troops that were guarding the transport. I don't know what it was planning to do, so we need to move."
"My troops are yours."
—
As the platoon crested over the several hills they couldn't help but watch in odd fascination as the flames seemed to grow and recede in rhythmic a metronomic pattern. They would quickly develop their way of travel around this pattern with Ultear leading the charge, freezing the flames in a semi-stasis at their lowest peaks to ease the travel.
Despite being able to traverse the environment more easily, their wariness grew.
They had been sent to scout out an active battlefield, yet all they saw was destruction. Ultear felt confident in taking charge but between the lack of knowledge regarding the cargo, the effort taken to either destroy or retrieve it, and the strange silence that shouldn't be present amidst conflict her own desire to have control over a situation became strained.
She wanted to take credit, end the conflict, and retrieve the prize to increase her standing even more. After seeing all of the devastation, the importance of the object seemed to grow in her standing and increased her desire, but even she was beginning to wonder if it was even worth it.
She was confident in her combative skills, and could easily dance around a single opponent of equal strength as her, but her strength lay in manipulation and espionage. But fighting? That was more Jellal's specialty. He was a smooth talker, and intelligent, but she beat him in both aspects.
But that demon was beyond what she could fight.
She was a ranged fighter, and even when she was forced to fight with her mother's magic she tended to get no closer than mid-range. For the few times she used a sword it was only ever out of desperation, but if it came to a battle that close then the demon would have her beat.
A conflict would lead to her having to run away to keep the advantage, and that would defeat the entire goal of coming with the fools that surround her. One up them, take control, take their credit.
Ultear began to consider just killing them, throwing their bodies in the fire, and weaving a tale to benefit her. It would be easier, at least.
She cursed as she realized that they were moving away from the flame and that the nearest gout was dozens of metres away.
The sound of shouting barely heard through the hostile thoughts instantly cleared Ultear's mind. Motioning the others to follow her actions, she crouched down and began to hide with the tree lining, weaving her way around sundered towers of bark to get sight of the first sign of life since they began their scouting.
"-up! Shut up! *Hugk* Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!"
Peaking around the trees, Ultear and Captain Ulder saw a woman raging with grasping hands at her head. Her kneeling form hovered over a puddle of bloody vomit while black marks writhed atop the surface of her skin. Crowning around her head were horns that kept vanishing and reappearing in thick black smoke.
Ultear watched this all with caution, observing the environment with care. A tapping on her arm pulled her to Ulder who was pointing at the far side of the slight open field. There, lying supine and seemingly completely dead to the world was a girl dressed in crimson armour, and the symbol on the shoulder guards made her curse to herself.
'Beestenbloed. Just what are you planning, Walraven?'
"What do you want to do, Colonel?"
"Have your troops circle the clearing. I'll approach."
Ulder nodded as she led her troops to entrap the clearing. Meanwhile, Ultear strutted out into the clearing, purposely stepping on charred and dry twigs and leaves so her otherwise silent footsteps made her presence known.
The white-haired woman literally snarled at Ultear like a rabid animal, though the ravenette chalked it up to her grunting through whatever pain she was in. The black horns reappeared and solidified, twisting to prominence as her piercing purple eyes changed to an eerie glowing crimson.
While they made contact, they made no moves towards the other. Ultear's glide stayed steady as she walked over to the samurai girl instead and handcuffed her. In the process, she showcased the black ankh emblazoned on the back of her uniform.
The display seemed to calm her down, the glow of red vanishing from her eyes as she gritted her teeth and took several deep breaths. Ultear approached the hunched-over woman who tried to stand up and away from the puke, giving Ultear a good look at the woman.
'Muscular definition is high, just as much as the demonic form she took. Height is roughly a hundred sixty centimetres. Average for a normal woman, small for a wizard. Her magic power is...almost completely empty. And that guild mark on her lower stomach, Phantom Lord? Definitely one of the ones hired to help protect the train.'
"Are you injured? What happened here?" Ultear asked, instantly trying to get information and wrestle control of the situation. But she was completely ignored. Instead, the stranger stumbled past her and pointed into the wood lines behind her.
"You. Fire."
Ultear quirked her eyebrow in questioning. She knew that someone was there because she had told them to hide, but in comparison to the amount of ethernano that's been rampant around the area, the Rune Knights were completely invisible. She only knew that the girl in front of her was out of magic because she was like a whole in the middle of a lake, with the ethernano trying to pour into her body through natural osmosis.
And for as much as they usually stand out, these troops seemed actually capable of hiding. She couldn't see any trace of them, and what she would have been able to see she was confident that the near unconscious girl in front of her wouldn't have been able to.
In Ultear's eyes, it was a feat in itself that the girl wasn't already knocked out from magic deficiency.
What she didn't know was that not only had the girl been trained to fight while suffering from magic deficiency, but she still had curse power to sustain her as well.
"Who are you talking to? There isn't anyone there."
"Souls stick out like a drop of colour in a colourless world, and pyromancers are warmer than everyone else. So if you would tell your troop to produce some fire, Colonel, that would be great..." she said through gritted teeth.
"You can see souls? What kind of magic is that? And how did you know my rank?"
"A, the kind that eats either souls or fire. Take your pick. B, I like to keep tabs on the Magic Council. Like any good citizen should."
"Hmm, fine then. Come on out, everyone! Make sure that the woman is properly secured and be prepared to send her back to Era to be properly detained. And you, go ahead and give her what she wants."
The pyromancer within the group cautiously created a large orb of white flames. The group watched as they collectively learned that she was a slayer as she devoured the flames with rapturous hunger.
'A slayer with an affinity for fire, just like Zancrow. But...he can't devour souls. If what she was saying is to be believed. And that form. A demonic version of Dragon Force? How interesting.'
The black tendril-like markings stopped wriggling as freely and slowly turned into flora tattoos and then vanished alongside the horns.
As that happened, a group of three walked over to the hand-cuffed and unresponsive woman, waving their hands in front of her unreactive eyes and doing a general response check, only to get nothing more than a couple of twitches and tears.
The girl, now rejuvenated, looked at the samurai with a look of guilt and sadness before shaking her head and walking back towards Ultear. "I'll explain everything in a minute, once we unite with those at the crash site. My name's Lyssa, by the way."
"Ultear."
"I know," she said with a cheeky smile before marching off. Ultear tsked but followed her around the mountain bend nonetheless with the troops following behind. Ultear didn't take her eyes off the girl, Lyssa, as she followed. And although she didn't make it as obvious as Ulder, she was suspicious.
She wanted to know what was so important about that cargo that Beestenbloed would attack so close to the Magic Council.
She wanted to know how this girl managed to fight that monster with seemingly no plans and just her bare hands.
She wanted to know where this girl got her hands on this type of magic, and how she had managed to not get noticed on a greater scale before.
It was then that she noticed it, a half-melted silver cuff ordained with a cracked ruby-red lacrima hanging from a rope around the girl's neck. Ultear had to suppress the smile that threatened to creen across her face. 'First Erza, and now this girl? Oh, Jellal, how many secrets do think you're allowed to have?'
What happiness she had from learning one of her pet project's secrets was replaced with insurmountable joy after seeing the sight from beyond the wall of flame the girl extinguished.
Strewn across the forefront of the wreckage of an armoured train were monstrous green bodies, several had broken limbs and were covered in gashes and blood, but they were either unconscious or passive sitting there with their arms in front of them like dogs.
On the train itself were the troops stationed on the train itself, tending to wounded and looking around with wariness as they seized the moment to rest. Talking with the platoon's captain was another member of Phantom Lord, one that Ultear actually recognized as one of their Elite Wizards.
Ultear put her hands in front of her mouth to hide the smile that showed, feigning shock while the captain she came with experienced it for real. "Wolfhiem..." she muttered.
As a relative to a council member, Ulcer had more knowledge than she should, and as a member of the Seven Ki of Purgatory Ultear knew that Beestenbloed had the Wizard Saint under their control. But no one, no one at all had any idea what they wanted out of him.
Yet the sight of several dozens of people using his magic, wearing soul-controlling collars, inspired them all with a sense of dread. And in Ultear's case, opportunity.
'If saving the Wizard Saint before would have been our gateway to make Jellal a Wizard Saint, then saving everyone else would seal our political position. The chairmen's seats are ours!'
"Hey! That girl's back! And she came with reinforcements!" someone shouted from the train drawing their attention. "Don't come any closer! We don't know why they stopped fighting bu-"
"I'm the reason!" Lyssa called out, to everyone's surprise. She waved her hand upwards showing a bronze ring with three emerald lacrima imbedded into it. It glowed eerily in unison with that of the collars. "Now check them for injuries. I'm not going to let them all lose if they're going to die from blood loss soon after."
Rune Knights from both platoons, medics, did exactly that after the colonel nodded. As they began to place alchemical salves and splints over the strangely compliant beasts the two groups met beside the crashed train. The Rune Knights that had been assigned to guard it all saluted their colonel.
"At ease," Ultear said, "Debrief me on the situation. What happened here?"
"It was an ambush, ma'am. My squad was assigned to protect the shipment and to hire outside protection to support us. In total, there were sixty Rune Knights, with ten more outside help coming from Phantom Lord, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, and Blue Pegasus. However, when the train was attacked it was split in half.
Our contact with a third of our number and the wizards from Quatro Cerberus and Lamia Scale was severed, and after the conflict halted we sent a group to fly in search of our other team. They should be back any minute. We ourselves deployed a shield to keep both ourselves and the Etherion safe, as well as to shelter the injured."
That was it. Etherion. Highly condensed ethernano so potent that just being near it can be life-threatening. With the current rising tension between the whole of Ishgar and the Alvarez Empire, the Magic Council wants one of their most powerful weapons armed and ready to fire.
Of course it would be Etherion! Gods, she felt so stupid!
But...she had to remain composed.
"What about the Blue Pegasus wizards?" Captain Ulder asked.
"Of the two only one survived, Miss Karen Lilica" Captain Reece said as he nodded over to a green-haired woman lounging around on a bed of wool getting a foot massage from a pink-haired girl with ram horns who was obviously uncomfortable, "The Phantom Lord wizards however were in perfect shape. Miss Lyubov Rosanov defended the cargo while Miss Lyssa Wisteria rushed off to defeat the one leading the attack, seemingly with success."
Reece then motioned over to the two Phantoms who were leaning against the train's hull. The blonde was watching the younger with a shrewd gaze, contemplating as if she would be a worthwhile investment or not. The snowy-haired teen however ignored her entirely, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the medics on the field and the sorceress from Blue Pegasus.
"And the collars, they're control collars aren't they?" Ultear iqnuired.
"Augmented, but yes."
"Fitting of Beestenbloed's MO."
"So you have confirmation?"
"The leader herself was wearing their emblem."
"There was more to it," a fourth voice chimed into the discussion. The three turned to the snowy-haired girl who had walked up to them, her senior following closely behind. "I don't think she herself has any magic. This ring...doesn't need any from the wearer to function. It's not holder magic. That's why when the fight began she used Leviathan's Blood to fight me. She had developed an Identity with it, so she had clearly been a long-time user. Beestenbloed had a supplier.
And to make it worse, they have or at least had access to books from the Black Wizard Zeref. She summoned a demon to try and kill me and destroy Era after I had defeated her, but...sending a demon to kill a demon slayer is already a bad idea."
"That...complicates things even further..." Ulder said. She had been one of the ones who led the primary hunt for the Leviathan's Blood supplier, so she knew firsthand how powerful an organization with access to the drug was.
"You have no idea..." Ultear replied in kind. She was worried that Walraven and Mard Geer had entered an alliance of sorts, the same way Brain and Hades had, not because of the resources Walraven might have now, no, but because it might mean that Mard Geer had grown unpredictable.
The Etherious had previously abhorred the idea of courting with humans in any fashion and considering that Tartaros' goals conflicted with their own that made him even more of a danger to their plans. This idea made her worry even more.
'I'll have to report to Master Hades sooner than I planned.'
"You there, medic!" Captain Reece shouts to an approaching soldier, "Do a blood test on the prisoner for any foreign substances."
"Yes, sir! We've also finished patching up any wounds we could see."
"Good job, son." He nodded to his subordinate before he and the others looked at Lyssa who shrugged and walked in front of the group.
Ultear watched in interest as the teen raised her hands up in a triangular position and began to chant. "Hoor mij! De jacht begon met jouw offer," as she spoke the phrase needed to release the people that were forcibly transformed, all of them turned to look at her. Their vacant green eyes began to glow in tandem with their collars and the ring on Lyssa's finger.
"De jacht bloeide tijdens jouw afwezigheid!" Chains began to grow in links from the collars and towards Lyssa, both from the crowd and from the environs showing that even those stranded from the primary group were being affected. "En nu eindigt de jacht bij jouw terugkeer!" Lyssa grasped the chains in hand and yanked. A cracking sound rang throughout the area as the beasts glowed and began to change, the beastlike appearance washing off of them and revealing the skinny starved and tired frames of dozens upon dozens of humans crumpled over their own weight.
At that same moment, they all passed out and the medics rushed and coordinated with Ulder who was using a communication lacrima to get the relay officers to teleport them all back to Era.
In a rush of effort that lasted twenty minutes, Ultear sent the hiree wizards off on their own ways after organising their pay.
At the end of it all, she sighed and found herself heading back towards her private quarters and began drafting a report to her higher-ups about what she herself witnessed, a process that the two captains were also undergoing.
However, she smiled when she heard the familiar voice of her master, Hades.
"Ultear, dear, I heard quite a commotion had happened near Era."
"Indeed, Lord Hades. It is something I do believe we can use to our benefit, though, regarding the foreseeable future. As well as remove a sprouting weed from the Balam Alliance..."
—
I spent the rest of the day walking back to Oak Town on my own. While the council did offer transport, I declined, not even bothering to take a shower in the guest rooms they provided for us. Instead, I found a creek in the woods to bathe in.
Surprisingly, the creek water was actually cool on my skin. It was the first time in a long while that I actually got to enjoy the feeling of cool water, and it made me quiver.
Not from the temperature.
But the realization as to why.
Even when I was studying under the Captain I was able to enjoy a cold shower, but ever since I became a devil that simple source of relaxation was robbed.
And yet, now that I have almost no magic power, I can.
Now that I have almost no magic power, I feel cold.
Now that I'm closer to being a normal human than I have in a long while, I feel less human than ever before.
Tears and shivers racked over my body as I ran through the memories of the fight and the memories I took from Himari.
Beestenbloed wasn't a guild, at least not anymore.
It was fucking cult, and Himari was just another indoctrinate!
They took people who had their lives destroyed by magic, those indoctrinated either through the actions of destructive behaviour of careless wizards or dark guilds were the easiest to convince.
Maybe I should have tried to help her...?
No.
"She...was willing to enslave others for her own means. She deserves to have the memories of a slave herself."
Yeah. But...
"I gave in to the rage too easily...I let it take control."
I wiped my tears off my face and entered a meditative position. I listened to the sound of the trees creaking and the birds chirping, the feeling of the water moving around me and the general existence of life.
I tried to let it relax me as I thought back to my meditations with the Captain...
'The Flames of Emotion. The strongest source of strength for fire mages, and our greatest vulnerability. Our emotions are natural, so do not deny them. Give them control, and guidance, and just like flame they will find purpose. They will burn down dead wood and open up areas for new life. They will cook food and ward away darkness for both you and those you love.
Think not of rage, think of passion. Think not of gloom, but of light. Think not of hopelessness and despair, but of light and prosperity. Let your soul dance like a roaring flame, shine upon and warm others like the sun.'
I sat there for at least an hour, focusing on this doctrine and trying to let the prosperous forest fill me with life, but I still felt hollow.
Sighing, I stood up and redressed, not bothering to dry off and let the wet coolness relax me as I made my way back to Oak Town on foot.
"I need a drink..."
—
The next day, I decided to go and hang out with Erza.
She had sent me a letter a couple of days ago saying that she had something for me, and I needed a distraction, one that didn't involve violence.
The redhead seemed eager to show me around Magnolia, taking each step with a bubbly air around her that was almost infectious. The first thing she did was show me the guild hall, yet she didn't take me inside considering the rivalry between our guilds.
Then she began to show me a variety of stores. Mag Drug, a magical drug store. Book Land, a bookshop that catered particularly to wizards. Tomas' Coffee, and finally the one she seemed most interested in, the simply named Magnolia Cake Shop.
I had to quite literally drag her away from the sign that said they had a new strawberry velvet cake when I saw the terrified looks of the store owners.
"B-But the cake is to die for!"
"We can get the cake when we're done! No point getting desserts this early in the day!"
"But I eat cake this early every day!"
"I promise we'll get it later!"
I tried to ignore the audience that formed to watch our tug-o-war, but Erza gave up when she saw the store change their sign from 'Open' to 'Closed,' nearly causing me to fall over at the sudden lack of her pulling against me.
And it was only 2 in the afternoon...
Eventually, we found ourselves walking towards what seemed to be a blacksmith shop, 'Paisley's Wonder Works.' Erza's gitty attitude returned again once we entered, and when she threw the door open she almost ripped it off its hinges with a smile. "Baird! I've brought a friend!"
"Oh!? Erza, that you? Hold on now I'll be out in a secco!"
From the back, I could hear the sound of a hammer hitting metal suddenly grow quieter, but not stop. The door opened to reveal a short yet burly man, shorter than me at least. His face was covered in soot and grease yet he smiled so hard I thought he might have pulled something.
"There she is! My favourite customer! What can I do fer ya!"
"We're here for a pickup," the redhead chirped with a smile that matched his own.
The stout man took a second to look at me before turning to Erza, using his hand to 'block' the whisper. "Is this the lass?"
Erza just nodded, while bouncing on her feet. Baird nodded before heading upstairs. "I'll go get it. Ya girls just take a looksee around if ya want. I'll be back in a jiffy."
And that I did. Contrary to what I expected, there wasn't that much armour or hung up everywhere. Sure, there were weapons but it was mostly clothes. Elaborate and eccentric clothes, like a sundress made of glowing rainbow flowers or a set of overalls made from plants.
"Anything catches your eye?" Erza said as she joined me in looking around the shop.
"Not immediately, but there was less armour than I thought there would be. Especially considering how close you two seem."
"That's just because of the market. Not many wizards wear armour, not even Rune Knights, so enchanted clothes are usually more in demand than armour. That leaves Baird's wife, Paisley, more in demand as a supplier. Baird usually works on weapons and holder magic stuff, so getting to work on armour is a rare treat for him."
"At least it was, until you came along I'm guessing."
"You'd be right about that. I'm sort of hoping to be a walking advertisement for him and his wife since they honestly deserve more customers than they get in my opinion."
"They don't look like they're in dire straits though?"
"Oh, they aren't! But for anywhere that I get custom orders from, these two are my go-to."
"Huh. How nice of you. So, are you going to tell me what we're picking up?"
"I'm not going to say much, but I thought you needed an upgrade to you're equipment and to show you around more of the town I've come to call home."
"That's...Erza you didn't need to do that! Jeez, I would have been more than happy to just spend the day with you."
"Yeah, well, too late now. I'm sure Baird and Paisley enjoyed the challenge, too, since I've never had the idea of a martial artist-style outfit since I mostly use weapons."
"Well, at least let me pay for i-"
"No. Not happening. This is a gift from me to you. For...well for coming back into my life."
"Erza...jeez come here," I said before pulling the armoured girl into a hug that she reciprocated. "You're at least letting me pay for the cake. As my thank you to you."
"That's...fair."
We separated when we heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Baird was holding in his arms a big box with their logo painted on the side and waved us into a side room. When we entered we saw a tall as everliving fuck woman sewing together a luxurious dress that seemed more like a mini skirt next to her but would be completely normal on me.
Her blue eyes seemed to look up in slight shock when her husband tapped on her arm, showing that she was clearly focused on nothing but her work. Baird chuckled lightly before handing me the box and motioning over to the dressing rooms.
"Put the clothes on and Paisley'll tailor it to make it more comfortable. The metal might take a minute since you got more meat on ya than I had expected, but the helmet should be fine."
"Alright, umm, thank you."
"Just doin' my job, lass. Helmet was a joy to work on!"
I entered the changing room, which was nothing more than a mirror and a bench hidden behind a curtain. When I opened the box, I couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Inside was easily the most beautiful and intricate mask I've ever seen, made in such a way that it greatly resembled a horned lion. I picked it up and out of the box with trembling fingers before drawing a deep breath. "Erza, you foolish, foolish girl..."
I then stripped out of my clothes and began to put on the rest. A comfortable, if tight, black silk bra with matching harem pants. There weren't any shoes but instead a set of wraps that I could put on my feet, but I decided to just go barefoot. I did, however, put on the arm-length leather gloves that fit snugly.
While most of the additional jewellery like the belt and usekh fit well, the bracelets and cuffs were too tight.
Guess he was right about underestimating my musculature.
And then I put on the mask, and couldn't help but smile at the absurd cat ears that were put on otherwise intimidating adornment. After a few seconds of having it on, everything became...sharper.
I could smell better and hear better, and just that small difference in my senses made everything feel so much different. Stepping out I noticed another difference, and that was that my pants weren't catching as much air as I would've thought. It practically felt like I was naked.
So that was the enchantments? Weightlessness and enhanced senses?
So simple, yet it feels like an infinitely better improvement than my usual clothes.
Stepping out I met the eagre gaze of both Erza and Baird, the latter of which had to poke his wife who had gone back to working on the dress.
""So, what do ya/you think?"" the two armour junkies asked in unison.
"It's extremely comfortable, except for the bra. It's a little snug. And the mask, it's, well amazing! I don't even know how to process it yet..."
"Aye, I think you'll get used to it lassy," he said while his wife approached me and began testing the tightness of the bra. I couldn't help but find myself blushing when she bent down, as that put her chest right in front of my face.
"Baird and I will make the adjustments by the end of the day, so you can come by and pick it up tomorrow morning."
"Ah, but I'll be leaving back to Oak Town later today. Is there any way you can ship it there?"
"Oh, there's no need!" Erza chipped up, "You can just stay with me tonight! I got an extra bed and plenty of space, so it won't be a hassle and I can show you the nightlife of the city as well. If it's not too much for you at least."
"Ah, no no, that's fine. If they couldn't then I would have rented a hotel anyway."
"Perfect!"
"Oh, and we do perform mail orders. But we want you to show up before we do so that we can change the fitting of outfits ordered."
"Aye, and frequent customers won't have to worry about having te show up *cough* *cough*."
"Thanks for letting me know, and the not-so-subtle hint."
"Can blame me for trying," the dwarf of a man said chuckling.
After changing back out of my clothes and giving my thanks to the couple, Erza and I left and continued to look around the city before finally going to the bakery.
And we will never go again.
"H-How!?"
"How what?" Erza said from behind the table covered in towers of strawberry cake. Half of which was already eaten.
I had expected Erza to buy one cake or maybe even a couple, but she bought all fifty. Now, don't get me wrong, spending 127,900 J on cakes doesn't mean anything to me, especially after Erza probably spent more on that armour and clothing, but the sheer quantity of cake she's eating without effort is honestly scary.
Still, I couldn't help but shake my head at the absurdness of the situation and enjoy my own singular slice of cake. I won't deny, it was pretty good and that's coming from someone who prefers spicy food.
It was also exactly what I needed.
Spending the day with Erza was exactly what I needed.
Hearing stories of how much of a hardass she usually is for over a year just makes me laugh in hindsight at how scared I was to meet her. Generally, yeah, she's quiet, even when it's just the two of us.
Probably a side effect of us both being fairly introverted in comparison to most wizards who are comically eccentric, but give Erza something to get excited over and she's like a little kid.
It's interesting, mainly because Totomaru said the same thing about me. I don't like talking to the others in Phantom Lord, yet apparently, the second I meet someone with an interesting magic I'm writing their biography in search of details. Same thing for books on magic I haven't read before.
That brief moment of peace however was interrupted by the sight of a familiar white-haired girl dressed in punk angrily pressing her face against the glass next to the booth Erza and I were eating in.
Although I couldn't hear Mira, reading her mouth I could see that she was yelling "Traitor!" while two people with white hair, likely her siblings, were trying to hide in embarrassment of their older sister's behaviour.
.
.
.
