章 26: Gandalfr

Michael anxiously scratches the back of his head, giving a nervous laugh, "Ha... Ha... I-er, think I actually need to head to the capital... My parents are probably looking for me." he says as he goes to get off the carriage... Only for the man with the lowered hood to grab his arm.

"Now, hold on. Why don't you sit quietly and listen to what I have to say. I'd hate for something to have happened to you on your way back." he states, his words sounding more as a threat than anything else. To further aggravate the situation, the man reveals a dagger that was holstered on his belt as he smiles at him.

Michael frowns, these guys were obviously thieves of some sort. They wouldn't let him leave now that he knew what they were up to, so they'd either keep him hostage or get rid of him now... Michae's heart was already pumping in his chest, adrenaline beginning to build as he finds himself in yet another dangerous situation.

Thoughts of Guiche's flailing body flash through his mind but he grits his teeth and pushes it back to the furthest reaches of his subconscious for now. He shakes his head and looks at the men, his limbs twitching and ready for rapid movement. "Hey, what do you guys think a kid wandering around so close to the magic academy is doing out so late? His family might be angry if you-" he begins to ask while retrieving Mrs Chevreuse wand from his pocket and holding it up so they could see it, but is caught off guard as the thieves begin to move.

Almost immediately, their demeanour changes as the leading man lunges for the wand. Michael wanted to cast Ether Shock in response, but knows it'd take far too long... So instead, he shouts "HEX!".

With a puff of smoke, the man disappears and is replaced with a chicken that awkwardly begins walking in circles around the coach, unfortunately, while that man was disabled, the other was able to act despite the shock of his companion transforming, clothes, and all.

Michael is fiercely punched across the face, causing his back to his the wooden rail of the coach. Michael sucks in a breath as he sees the dagger ready to disembowel him. He dodges to the side, managing to restrict the damage to only a long cut across his side, afterwards pointing a finger at the man's face and casting, "ETHER SHOCK!"

*CCraaazzz!*

Three bolts of Ethereal threads strike the man in his chest and face, his face contorts into utter agony as he falls backwards, tumbling over the side of the coach as it comes to a stop, the coachman looking behind him with shock clear on his face.

As Michael tries to recompose himself from most likely killing yet another person, he actually momentarily forgets the presence of the chicken still waddling around...

*Pop!*

A puff of smoke reveals the thief still holding his dagger kneeling on the floor, replacing the chicken... He takes a moment to realise what'd just happened, but quickly recovers as he attacks Michael again.

Again, Michael shouts, "ETHER SHOCK!" but is confused as nothing happens... He didn't have enough magic to cast another spell!

The thief flinches as he hears the spell, but upon finding himself unharmed, he grins at Michael. "You'll regret fighting me, kid!" he shouts, charging Michael.

Michael barely manages to stop himself from getting stabbed, but the man's tackle takes both of them off the back of the coach. He lands heavily on his back, the air getting knocked out of his as the man lands on top of him. "Arrgh!... W-wait! We can talk this out!" Michael shouts as the man rears his arm back, ready to 'install' a couple new orifices in Michael's body.

"Haha! You've got nothing to talk about, kid! You're done!..." he laughs as he tears the wand out of Michael's hand, easily snapping it. "What're you gonna do now!? No wand! No magic!... Heh, maybe it's time for me to try a 'noble' on for size."

"Oi! Lap! Don't go damaging the merchandise! You heard the kid, he'd be more valuable ransomed off to his parents!" the coachman warns from the side, but doesn't seem to be able to convince the thief.

Michael grimaces at the man's words, but doesn't correct him... If he could recover enough mana, maybe he could still escape? He glances over toward the coachman, noting that the man seemed to be calming the horses... While the other thief? Definitely dead judging by how still the man's body was.

A glimmer next to the corpse does catch Michael's attention though... The thief's dagger...

Michael scowls at the thief sitting atop him, "I'M NOT LOSING MY VIRGINITY TO A GUY!" he roars while summoning the Book of Commoners in his hand, throwing it straight at the man's mouth with all his energy. This, despite Michael's lack of strength, actually manages to dislodge some of the man's teeth.

The thief rears back in response to the pain in his mouth, allowing Michael to shimmy himself free as he throws himself at the dagger. The thief quickly gives chase, but once Michael's hand wraps around the handle of the weapon, the runes on his left hand begin brightly glowing.

Power floods Michael's body as clarity forces down his adrenaline and clears his mind. Additionally, knowledge on basic stances and techniques concerning daggers appear in his mind as if from nowhere...

Michael's form almost blurs from the thief's eyes as he springs up to his feet and drops into a stance, holding the dagger in a reverse grip with cold eyes.

The thief spits a tooth out and readies himself in a weak stance as he focuses on the kid that was causing them so much trouble. He could feel a pressure from him, as if he was facing someone far older and skilled.

Despite that though, he musters up his courage and charges Michael, convincing himself that he couldn't lose to some noble kid. "Take this! Hah!" he roars, wilding swinging his dagger down at Michael.

Michael's body moves on its own, positioning itself slightly to the left as his uses the reverse-grip dagger to deflect the downwards swing to the side, afterwards easily transitioning into a quick counter-attack.

The thief is dumbfounded by his failed attack, and is unable to react as Michael steps forwards and slashes his jugular, deeply cutting into his neck and perforating his windpipe. His arteries were somehow unharmed from the strike, but it didn't matter as his fate was already sealed...