บท 27: Serious Plan
This was both a surreal and anticlimactic story. It was even weirder she didn't know the crucial point.
"So you don't remember how you got here?"
"…" She showed her tongue.
It wasn't like she was trying to hide it, she just really couldn't remember how she came here.
Sebastian's eyes turned towards the young boy.
"And he's here because that 'Red Ranger' agreed to do a vague 'Summoning Contract' with you?"
"…He said he'd help me. That's why a brought him here." The Magician saw past what she meant.
There wasn't a glimpse of a smile on his face.
His eyes looked towards the young child. It looked like the boy was willing to stay here for her sake.
Ignoring the 'Time Traveller', he knelt to make eye contact with the boy and asked one question:
"You don't want to go home anymore?"
"I don't! I'm going to a hero!" The boy said with an excited smile. It made the Magician chuckle a little.
His eyes warm while tussling with his hair.
Then sneakily looked at Lucia's proud face. Like she had done a good job in convincing him to stay.
It had been a few months since she summoned him to her, but the two had hit it off predictively well.
Though that wasn't the problem…
"Do you have any powers?"
"Yeah, look! I'm the Black Ranger now! Look look look~ It's like your one. I can show it to you." Flinn materialised a black 'Super Morpher'. Dark power coming from his Summoner was what created it.
His was loud as usual…
"You don't have to use it. I'm sure you can only morph once a day, right?" Lucia twitched at this.
He'd hit the nail on the head.
'Summoning' itself didn't take a Spell Slot, but the powers she'd give her summons were made by it.
"Anyway, Flinn can help us." Lucia started to smile and give her opinion on how the two could help.
"Really? How?" Sebas acted as if he was ignorant.
"He's really strong in his Ranger form. He could keep that person held down for an hour at least."
"Hmmm…" Although he had a thoughtful look, it didn't seem like he was listening to her answer.
He merely walked closer and touched her shoulder.
"What-? AAAAGH!!!" A purple streak of lightning ran through her body, completely cutting her magic. The damage so intense that the anti-magic properties managed to 'burn' her active abilities.
"Wai-!" At that exact moment, Flinn had also vanished. The last thing he saw was her hurt figure.
The sparks disappeared to show the young girl sitting on the couch while writhing around in pain.
Above her, Sebastian nodded his head briefly.
"W-what was that for?!" Despite her injuries being painful, she grabbed the Magician by the collar.
But her small figure wasn't the least bit scary at all.
He'd feel more intimidation from a little puppy.
"You shouldn't have brought him to this world. I can tell why you had been sacrificed so easily."
"What do you know?!" The spoilt little princess looked at him like she was going to kill him for this.
An act that only certified her foolishness.
"I know that he's a kid who knows nothing of this world. He has no reason to stay here in this realm."
"…I would have sent him back eventually."
"Really? When? After his parents got sick from trying to find their son? Or when YOU felt safe?"
"I…" She didn't know how to answer that.
Tears started to fall from her eyes, but she couldn't find any way to refute what he had said to her.
"He's… the only one who ever cared about me. It was love at first sight." She talked of that 'Red Ranger'. Although she was disappointed that she couldn't summon the older version, the young one was enough to fill the empty void in her heart.
But now, someone was standing in her way…!
A black wand materialised into her hand.
"If you call him again, I'll just cancel the summoning again." His cold words stopped her.
She saw no sympathy in the man's eyes.
"…Why?" The little girl couldn't understand.
Why was he doing this?
What could he hope to gain by this?
"First, you're relying on a five year old child to protect you. He seems kinda smart and optimistic for his age, but that's about it. He's still a frickin' five year old, while your a teenager in there."
He lifted his index finger at her…
…then moved on to his next point:
"Secondly, I'm pretty sure you COULD have materialised that Black Morpher, but you chose to bring a kid to fight for you instead. You said it like you held a grudge, but actually… you're scared.
You're so scared of that older sister of yours that you can only think of protecting yourself. There wasn't even a hint of compassion for your saviour or anything else. So long as you can survive later."
Was his second point. The two fingers lifted up scrunched as he looked down on the little girl.
A pressure making her unable to say any more.
She wasn't able to cook up any excuses…
"So what?" Rather than defending herself, she doubled down on those accusations he made.
Making her point clear:
"Is it wrong to want to live? To want someone to protect me? If so, then every child is guilty."
"But you're not a 'child', are you?"
"I'm not listening to this! If you're kicking me out, I won't stay longer." She covered her ears immaturely and was about to walk off. There was a lot of disappointment on her face at that moment.
This place was an 'Anomaly'…
She didn't mention it, but Lucia had never heard of someone owning a territory in the Capitol before.
Not in all the years she'd lived in her previous loop.
She wasn't sure if her going back in time had anything to do with Adam, but him acting as a landlord was fortunate. With this, they could hide from Clara until they found a way to beat her.
Regardless, her hopes were extinguished.
"I didn't say you had to leave though."
"Are you planning on spying on me? In case I try to summon him again?" Her narrow eyes looked back.
"Not really. I was planning on teaching you how to protect yourself." His words made her surprised.
That sharp glare turning confused…
"Why would you help me?" She was naturally suspicious he'd offer that after the earlier attack.
But Sebastian had no hard feelings about it.
To him, there was nothing more interesting than someone he could talk about magic circles with.
An exchange between two different cultures.
"…What do you want from me in return?" Lucia continued to ask in response to his innocent smile.
She realised the injuries she had were surface level. The pain she'd felt being more than burns.
"Just don't summon Flinn."
"I can't promise you that."
"Then are you planning to walk the streets as a little girl? It's a miracle you weren't kidnapped the last time the two of you were walking around." This was a good point. There was nothing in this for her.
Rejecting him was a stupid move at this point.
The hand that was reaching for the door stopped briefly. Sebas gazed at her back… as if to test her.
There were only two choices.
Either rely on a child to protect her, or get strong enough to protect herself against her older sister.
However, he was unaware how hard this decision was. After all, Clara was such a freak of nature.
A 'Sage' with masteries in both Martial Arts and Magic Skills. She transcended her role like a God.
And she'd only get stronger with time…
One day, she'd awaken a power of divinity could blot out the moon and save the destroyed nation.
If that was all, then she wouldn't be so crestfallen.
There were millions of possibilities that could occur after going back, and more rational options at that.
Who was to say she couldn't be defeated?
Unfortunately, that line of thinking only worked if Clara was ever 'weak' at anytime in the past.
That her mettle could be matched.
Even before awakening her 'Divinity', she had achieved fighting King Ramos and army to a standstill. A deadlock that was perfectly balanced on both sides, without taking even one step back.
The samurai-like Otherworlder acting as the King's bodyguard, the many criminals held beneath in a long underground basement under the palace, an entire species of demi-humans like Beasts, etc.
All of them couldn't even put a scratch on her clothes. That's how futile her efforts would be.
So what was wrong with holding on false hopes?
Sebastian wouldn't know the mentality of teenage girl who had never been able to think for herself.
Someone who'd never left her dream-like castle.
The only thing he could possibly relate to was her hatred. A fury that had no chance of fulfilment.
Having to acknowledge that feelings didn't change reality. That anger wasn't enough to get revenge.
He gave his last act of advice towards her.
The youthful princess in the body of a five year old child. Someone who was destined for misfortune.
"Maybe you won't be strong enough to beat that woman. Maybe all your efforts will be in vain.
However, any growth you experience will be your own… and not anyone else's. They will be YOURS.
Knowledge, wisdom, strength… all of it your own.
Doesn't that make you want to see how far you could go if given a head start?" He reached out his hand. She couldn't see it behind her back, but she could feel that he was giving her a one opportunity.
Something he wouldn't give a second time.
Her tiny shoulders trembled…
This wasn't a solution. It was just saying that even if she lost, she could say she 'had tried her best'.
Such a proposal was useless to her.
Though that didn't mean Sebas had nothing to give. There was one thing she wanted from him:
"If my sister comes here to kill me, will you protect me?" She expected him to retreat at these words.
Make him cower in terror…
What she didn't expect would that he'd walk up to her, turn her by the shoulders, look her into the eyes, and make a serious expression. This look was followed by the words containing a rebellious heart:
"…I won't lose any student of mine again. I promise you this: I'll never let the two of you die, even if you die." His latter words were sp ridiculous that she couldn't help smiling. What more could she want?
Her mind was already set.
The two of them immediately got started on the project to create something to 'restrain' Simon.
Sebas took out his Spectre Medallion.
She manifested her Black Morpher, and they started to research the similarities between them.
The first thing they noted was the materials.
"Your Spell Slot made this? Does it work like that?"
"Not usually." She shook her head. This only served to make the Magician confused on her meaning.
"Usually, you can't make a 'Dark Attribute Spell Slot'. Alaya Humans need to abide by worldly laws."
"Worldly… laws…?"
"Blood, Metal, Wood, and Death. These are some of the Attributes that rule over non-element 'Laws'."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"I'm not sure why we can't create Dark Spells either. My theory is that we already have a Spell Slot of that nature. However, it's used to become a foundation to hold the Spell Slots coming after."
"You mean your Spirit Essence is like a Spell Slot?"
"Pretty much. I'm thinking Flinn's power is what fills it up. That's why it acts similar to a normal Spell."
"You call manifesting a Morpher 'normal'?"
"…I walked into that one." The two of them chuckled while continuing their investigation.
They found that her Spell Slot somehow manifested a 'medallion' similar to his own.
Except, instead of being a set of Magic Circuitry on top of 'purified' materials… it was shadow based.
There were differences in the creation process, but it was definitely something of the same application.
They could only find out that, while his Spectre Medallion 'rendered' an Imaginary Spirit with the power of the Lightning Attribute, the Black Morpher rendered shadows using Internal Energy.
Or what was more specifically termed as: 'Qi'.
This lead to the idea of a two side based 'Dark Medallion' that'd be activated by him and Hyuk.
The target of the 'rendering' being Simon himself.
By leveraging how 'restraint' was part of the Dark Attribute's concept, this was possible to do.
He just wasn't sure how Kang Hyuk's 'cultivation' would affect the man. His Qi was a little strange.
Regardless, if the pervert truly did have power that was both clear yet demonic, he could use his experience to make the intended effect focus more on the ability of his Spectre Medallion's rendering.
He had called it his: 'Imbalanced Pendulum'.
The ability allowing one to render the Imaginary Attribute of Victor Frankenstein by using Lightning.
The base of this skill being the foundation of the Spectre Medallion: The 'corrupt purified' materials.
This ability originally allowed him to gain strength concerning different positive attributes and virtues.
However, it's range widened after its corruption.
Now even having sins among its boosting effects.
The two of them worked hard by sharing ideas and importing some 'Dark Steel' using Adam's account.
Sebastian whistled while spending the money.
He wasn't the least bit feeling guilty about it all. It wasn't like he was using the money on himself.
How could the man blame him for hacking him?
Later on, Lucia finally thought of something before sharing her thoughts with the white-haired man:
"What was the other idea Mr Hyuk had?"
The Magician's face darkened when he remembered the details, but he hesitantly told her
The answer not what she was expecting:
"…He wanted to use a honey trap." That answer was followed by a helpless smile on the subject.
Hyuk's methods weren't what he could understand.
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