"Umm … I haven't had the chance to learn it yet. It's actually quite hard to learn it all by myself."
"Alright. I'll teach you the subject tomorrow. I had enough time before noon."
"Gee, thank you, Gramps." She smiled kindly before leaving his room. Afterwards, the same smile turned sinister.
It was where all the trust she gained from him would be turned to dust in one night.
Adelle decided to wait for Ruvian to wake up, and in the meantime, she went about her usual routine. She finished her supper and began sweeping the cottage.
'Hmm, so this is Ruvian's blood.'
She examines the spilled liquid closely and confirms that the malicious aura is still emanating from it.
'So, it kinda like something that impure his body, the Necrolyte thingy, huh …. Impurity …'
The mention of the word 'impurity' suddenly sparked an urge in Adelle to use her Vis.
She knew that she possessed Vis that was capable of purifying impurities.
Without hesitation, she extended her hand and allowed a white-gray Vis to pour over the spilt blood. As she did so, a small silvery blaze formed. 'It's purifying!'
Adelle then increased her Vis usage, making the silver blaze grow brighter. Moments later, the blaze swiftly diminished and disappeared.
Her little experiment amused her. It was surprising that the malicious aura had indeed vanished too.
Quickly she stood up and wanted to ask about what she just discovered to Gramps. After just taking a few steps, she stopped.
'Oh, right. I was about to leave Gramps for good, cutting ties with him.'
With sneaky steps, she approached Lefazio's room. Slowly peeking from the door.
The old man had already fallen asleep on his bed, snoring.
'He said that many things needed to be prepared. But now, he is asleep. Guess that the mushroom concoction should have worked.'
She remembered that she had tasted the concoction a little. It was flavorless and as clear as drinking water just as the other book described. Which is perfect.
'How potent. I should return the favor back to Ron.'
The thought may have crossed her mind, but Adelle was determined not to let it compromise her plan in any way.
For now, all she could do was wait for Ruvian to wake up.
'Is that ….' Her eyes sighted a faint green glow.
As the morning wore on, the boy who had been locked up in the storage room finally regained consciousness.
He could hear his own breathing, and he felt the cold floor against his cheeks. Slowly, he began to recall the events leading up to his fainting spell.
'Darn that Lefazio. He is indeed a Grandmagus. What a chance to cross paths with them. Like it was just only three out of entire earth populations. Damn worse luck.'
Then something he was familiar with happened, again.
'I CAN'T USE MY VIS AGAIN?!?!'
"DARN YOU OLD MAN!!!"
He just couldn't contain it anymore. Cursing out of nowhere.
"Cut it. You'll wake him up." A girl's voice coming out behind the door. That, if Ruvian could see the door.
"Adelle …." He muttered with grump. She is with Lefazio after all. "What do you want?"
"Don't you want to go out?"
"Huh?" Ruvian moved closer to where her voice was coming.
"Gosh, don't tell me that you're also deaf now."
"W-what? No. Just, why? Why suddenly help me?"
"That's …. I'll tell you later. The sooner we leave here, the better."
The sound of clicking lock and door hinge opening brushed off his doubt. She wasn't playing around.
"A-are you out of your mind? There's no way both of us could make a run against a Grandmagus."
"Tsk. How pessimistic." She then gently touched Ruvian's neck
"What are you?!" Feeling her touch alarmed Ruvian, causing him to be alarmed and grab her hand back firmly.
"Relax." Adelle then flowed her Ordo. The silvery blaze burned bright, eating away the Auram runes around his neck.
The connection of Vis between his heart and brain returned to normal. Not gonna waste a second, Ruvian quickly activated his Sensus. "I still can't believe you."
"Simply unbelievable." She then took out something from her bag. "Then, what about now? You can have this back too."
"T-the Crystal. What are your motives truly?! I can't think of anything reasonable enough for you to go to this length, besides your lusty behavior."
"Hmph! How dare you! Then, who else can get you out of here?"
"That's … umm …."
"See the position you're in now?"
"I uhh …."
"Take me with you. That's what I wanted."
Ruvian sighed. "Seriously, what could be so worth it that you are willing to have a death wish? You have seen how easily Lefazio can take me down."
"My freedom."
"What? I had no idea what you were talking about. Weren't you able to just come and go to the nearby town?"
"Listen, we don't have much time. Gramps could wake at any second now. We should go, as far as we can."
She tried to take the lead by leaving first, but Ruvian grabbed her hands. "I won't move an inch until I see what your goals are from this."
"Ugh, fine! Runes of Obedience, got it?"
Ruvian took a moment to think. There are so many names of runic formations. Then he remembered that the said runes were a public secret amongst noble for a–
"Y-you are a sex slave?!" His face got red.
"Dumbass!!! Of course not!" Her face got even redder.
"Well, consider your dirty behavior. It matched—Whoa, not so fast."
Adelle failed to pinch him. Then the urge to attack moved to her leg.
"Dugh?! O-kay, i u-underestimate yo-u … Ughh."
She successfully delivers a kick in between Ruvian's legs.
Adelle sighed. "We are wasting time here. I'm the only choice for you to run. I've sacrificed Gramps' trust for this."
'Sacrifice ….'
The word echoed in his mind. A memory that he wanted to forget resurfaced. Something that still hurts to this moment.
Ruvian paused briefly to collect his thoughts and compose himself before continuing.
"Okay then. We'll see about that …." He showed Lefazio's Auram runes on his wrist.
Seeing that, Adelle understood it and used her Ordo.
As the runes burned away, Adelle was caught off guard when Ruvian used his telekinesis on her.
Gasping, Adelle felt her whole body engulfed in purple Vis, as she was slowly lifted into the air. Unlike the last time, she was unable to move her body now.
"I'm sorry, but you'll just be a burden to me."
Adelle grimaced. "Really? So this is how you pay me back, huh?"
Ruvian took the Crystal from her hand. "You don't understand how dangerous it is. Lefazio has found out that I carried this Crystal. Sooner or later the Alliance would look for me."
'I despise myself for not being able to save even the closest to me.'
"A death wish it is," he added.
"Very well then. Good luck." Adelle just kept her nasty smile.
Not sure if she was really admitting it or not, Ruvian wasted no time to look for a way out. His Sensus scanned around and found a tunnel that led to outside.
After Ruvian had left, Adelle flowed her Ordo to her whole body. The silvery blaze consumed all Ruvian's purple Vis. Freeing her from the telekinesis.
She giggled. Lefazio had already put a defensive measure around the cottage. "Let's see how long it takes for him to realize that he can't go without me."
Later, Ruvian arrived on the other end of the tunnel. He couldn't tell what time it was, but one thing was for sure: it was extremely foggy outside.
Even his Sensus couldn't penetrate the thickness of the fog. Nevertheless, Ruvian pressed on, determined to move through the thickening mists ahead of him.
Despite the fact that his Sensus was completely clouded, he suddenly noticed something perplexing in the distance.
He stood in silence, startled, as the cottage appeared before him.
'Ugh, this better not be ….'
His Sensus then intensified. He saw some trace of Inanis amongst the mist. It was indeed Lefazio's.
No matter where he went. Ruvian kept coming back to the cottage.
'Darn it. He is even capable of projecting the void of Inanis to bend space. This is totally out of my league.'
Once again, Ruvian was both amazed and horrified by Lefazio's abilities. He realized that he had only one option left to resort to.
As he approached the end of the tunnel, he saw Adelle standing there, grinning. Despite feeling uneasy about her, Ruvian continued to move forward towards her.
"So? Did you find a way out? Mr. the-most-wanting-to-leave?"
He faced her and gave her a long sigh.
"It's kinda funny when someone faces you but their eyes are closed. Well, at least your adorable face makes it up."
"Didn't you say we are running out of time?"
"Lucky we didn't."
Ruvian was momentarily taken aback by Adelle's contradictory words, but he decided to overlook it for the time being as there was something else he needed to ask her.
Before Ruvian could mutter a word, Adelle took the initiative. "Well, don't you owe me an apology? Even my friend in town would never use their Vis against me."
"Umm … yea … I-i'm sorry. I'm sorry for attacking you."
"You call that apology?"
"Stop beating around the bush. If you want anything just say it!"
"Kiss me. Fair isn't it?" Her naughty smile grew even bigger.
Ruvian dumbfounded. "T-that's not how it works! I'm not gonna do it."
Adelle then took out her dagger and made a small scratch on her arms.
"What are you doing?"
"I'll pretend that you tricked me and beat me up. I'll scream loud that Gramps would hear and boom, I'm out of this mess. Surely he would believe me more than you."
Ruvian jaw-dropped. This girl was too dangerous.
"One …," she continued.
"What now?"
"... two …."
"Ugh …."
"... three …."
"Fine, fine. But, I'll just do cheeks."
"Acceptable."
"Fine, fine. But, I'll just do cheeks."
"Acceptable."
Adelle then closed her eyes. "Go on."
Feeling flustered, Ruvian found himself unable to resist Adelle's request. He approached her slowly and gently bumped his snout and lips against her white, blushy cheeks.
Adelle then giggled. That was a fine serotonin shot she got.
"It's much more fun when you do it on your own. Well, part of it. Heehe." Ruvian being blushing was truly a treat to her eyes.
Not gonna say a word, Ruvian just rubbed his temples. Embarrassed to his own self.
"Apology accepted." Giggling, her mood was really setting in. "Follow my lead then."
"Tch, what a fox …."
"What did you say?"
"Nope. Nothing. We should be going now."
Later, when they arrived at the end of the tunnel, Adelle concentrated her Ordo into a shape of an egg shell that was big enough for two people.
"Gramps put a formation of space bending runes around the cottage. He can activate it whenever he needs it. With this, we wouldn't be affected by it."
"Mm-hmm." He wished that he could use Ordo too.
"Did you lose your mouth or something? Can't you at least make a word or something."
"Urgh, just leave me alone will you."
Adelle shrugged. "Request granted."
Suddenly, her Vis reacted, forming thin silvery blazes before they moved an inch.
"What, we haven't been there yet where Gramps' Vis flowed. Why is my Ordo already burning something else?"
"I think it's my Vis." Ruvian Sensus vision was indeed hampered. It made contact with Adelle's Ordo that she formed like a wall. Burning the Sensus away.
"Well, you might want to tone it down so mine wouldn't burn the wrong one. Else, we will fail to cross Gramps' runes."
"Hmn." He nodded. Ruvian then reduced his Sensus radius enough to keep him seeing Adelle near him. Beyond that, it was just pitch black.
As they walked, a white-gray energy dome surrounded Adelle and Ruvian, and Adelle continuously released her Vis to burn away Lefazio's Inanis.
The silvery blazes started off thin but grew thicker as they walked deeper into the mist until it was all they could see around them.
Adelle's heart raced as she had already exerted a considerable amount of Vis. The eggshell-shaped Ordo started to shrink.
They continued at the same pace until the mist gradually thinned and disappeared, and they were out of the runic area.
Adelle breathed heavily, feeling depleted as both her stamina and Vis had been cut in half. "Huft, finally. We are out of ther—Tsk, you are really starting to get on my nerve, eh?"
Once again, Adelle found herself under the effect of Ruvian's telekinesis.
"I mean it, Adelle. You can't come with me."
"And why is that?"
"You'll just throw away your life."
"I'd rather throw it for something I yearn for than being caged."
"Y-you …. That's insane!"
Adelle engulfed her body in Ordo, dispelling Ruvian's purple Vis effect. She grinned.
"Think of it as paying back for saving your life. I am not that weak to die off easily."
Ruvian shook head. "You don't understa—" He had to make a sudden lunge to the side.
Without warning, Adelle fired a flaming ball towards him. "How 'bout this? If I punched that face of yours. That'll prove I won't die like an ant." Her adrenaline is still rushing.
"Fine, then. That will make things simpler."
Ruvian and Adelle sprang into their battle stances, both ready for what was to come. Ruvian concentrated his Vis in both of his hands, extending them forward.
Adelle, on the other hand, was eager to try something new, something she had been itching to do for a while.
She took off her boots and then clenched her hands. She reached out her inner Vis realm and poured all her Vis pool to her body. Her cyan eyes glowed and then fully shone with white light.
"I'll make you regret your words." Not intending on wasting even a drop of her Vis, jets of flame fired from her fully healed feet, pushing her body to charge towards Ruvian.
Ruvian amazed how she could develop such a style. Without a doubt, she is indeed a pupil of Lefazio. Of course, such a technique surely has a catch and Ruvian knew it well. "How reckless, using Diluvism–"
Adelle threw a wind-boosted punch. But Ruvian didn't flinch since she was charging recklessly and not knowing Ruvian's purple Vis caught her arms.
Before Adelle could do anything, she was roughly flown back as Ruvian moved his finger.
"I'll just wait 'till you exhaust your Vis." He held her on the ground using telekinesis.
Adelle fought back by continuously engulfing herself in Ordo. She quickly charged again with jets of flame.
This time, Ruvian's Praecantatio won't be able to reach her as it would be burned away by her Ordo. Effectively she was making a control immunity barrier.
"Tch!" Ruvian blocked the incoming punch, and another punch, and another punch again. Then, blocked a flying kick too.
Ruvian saw her every move which frustrated her. Adelle then empowered the fiery jet on her feet, pushing Ruvian even more. She just needs to kick that face.
But Ruvian could just back away easily with purple Vis that enveloped his body. Creating a gap between them.
'Damn it. He doesn't even try to fight back.' Adelle's Vis started to wear out. Her chance of winning was narrowing. 'I have to try something new.'
Ruvian just floated in the air, watching her struggle. "Beat it. You can't win against me."
"We'll see about that."
She then swiftly slides on the ground with fiery jets boosted along with wind Vis. She moved in a big circle, leaving a trail mark of flames with her hand along the path.
Once she completed a full circle under five seconds, she empowered the Vis on the trail mark while also using the wind Vis altogether.
Resulting in a fire tornado that confined them both.
Ruvian was amazed by her Vis manipulation. "Well, then. What are you gonna do?"
He raised himself further into the air. "I thought you were about to punch me."
"I'm ABOUT to!" She aimed her hands at him. Then, she shot her Vis of Ordo into a widespread. Leaving no room for him to dodge.
Ruvian shocked. His only way out was to fly higher or quickly charge through the fire tornado. But alas, it was in vain. The wide shot traveled faster than him.
Adelle's Ordo struck Ruvian, and the purple Vis enveloping his body was quickly consumed by the silvery blazes, burning not only his Vis but also his Sensus.
Without them, Ruvian's vision fell into complete darkness, and he felt gravity pulling him down.
To seize the opportunity, Adelle dashed towards Ruvian and caught him mid-air before he hit the ground.
With a quick movement, she delivered a powerful wind-boosted punch to his face, causing him to backflip and land roughly on the ground.
Blood was dripping from his nose, indicating the impact of her punch. Adelle felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that she had landed a solid hit.
"How humiliating …." His face got red from embarrassment and also bruised from the injury.
Adelle quickly deactivated her Diluvism state. The glow on her eyes began to fade and the fire tornado dispersed within a second. She then fell down on her knees.
Heavily breathing, she pushed a shout, "ha-ha! See … that?" She could barely walk. Her body was extremely drained out of stamina.
Ruvian sighed. He underrated her potential. Now, he was more ashamed than being forced to kiss her on the cheek.
He then stood and walked towards her. "I admit defeat." He wiped blood from his nose. "Seems like I underestimated you."
Adelle just grimaced with eyes closed. Not much she can say. She needs room to breathe.
'Seems like she really meant what she wanted. Freedom huh? Did Lefazio put the Rune of Obedience on her?'
Adelle coughed, gasping for air after taking hurried breaths. Ruvian asked if she was okay, but received no reply.
He scanned the area with Sensus and spotted her bag, which was filled with food and water and was left near her boots. Using his Praecantatio, he casted a purple Vis on the bag, causing the items to fly towards him.
"Here," he said, offering her the water.
"Th-th-thanks," Adelle stuttered, taking the water and quickly drinking it. As she rested and regained her energy, she remarked, "you should show that concerned expression more often."
Ruvian let out a small laugh as he sat down next to her, having seen her struggle before.
"Pfft," he chuckled. "You remind me of someone," he added, catching Adelle's attention.
She focused on catching her breath as he continued to speak, "she was the daughter of a well-known family in their tribe. Her hair was also silver, but she wasn't a Lektia like you."
Ruvian let out a deep sigh and gazed above, lost in cherished memories that began to flood his mind.
It warmed his chest but at the same time the memories pierced the same spot inside that hurt him the most. So he kept silent for a moment.
As he gazed up at the sparkling stars, Ruvian couldn't help but notice how their glittering lights seemed to be the same as they were at those past moments.
Adelle then opened her eyes. "Why bring this now?"
"You'll know. Due to her hair color, her tribes recognized her as cursed. So, her family locked her up for her entire childhood."
"Ow …."
"Until the Alliance team met with them because the family were the guardians of the Crystal from Illitium. I was in the team. We spent months in their homeland and eventually I got to know her."
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