Magekiller: From The World of Theria

Thursday, September 5th, 996 ABE

Nina Adler watched as her sister was beaten the day before. Even though Roxanna was tall, her father was taller. Harvey Adler was a massive man, and one of significant magical prowess. When he hit, he hit hard, Nina knew well. Even though Roxanna steadied her body with mana, she came away with a bruised face and two black eyes, rushing to the healer and trying to hide herself from her younger sister.

Harvey was disappointed because of Tuesday’s happenings. Roxanna had met and fought the Magekiller one on one, but failed to properly dispatch him even using the experimental mana weapon. Harvey, of course, maintained that if he were there it would’ve turned out different. It was a fact that Nina could admit was likely true. As such, Roxanna was the disappointment of the week in the Adler household. Even though Nina loved her sister, she was strangely grateful to have the attention off of herself for once.

Roxanna had spent the next day lying in bed recovering. Apparently the Magekiller turned out to be an S-rank mage, in which case it was quite lucky that she had survived. The claim had come under a lot of scrutiny from Lancaster’s nobility, though. Someone like that shouldn’t have had too much trouble slaughtering all of the nobility in only a single night. None of Lancaster’s nobles had an S-ranked mage in service as a bodyguard; that was an honour and a rarity reserved for the king. Point being, a man as powerful as the Magekiller supposedly was would have no problem slicing through their ranks like butter. The difference between an S-rank and the average A-rank was incomparable.

It brought up a few questions in Nina’s mind that she’d discussed with Cedrick. If he was S-rank, why not just finish the job? If he didn’t want to finish the job, then why? What was his goal? Only one thing was certain, that being that his target was the nobility. A shiver ran up Nina’s spine. If the time came, would she be ready? If her older sister couldn’t even fight him, how could Nina do anything at all? For the time being, she’d let the more qualified people deal with the Magekiller situation.

She knocked on Roxanna’s door. At Adler manor the halls were empty. The noble higher ups were meeting a lot lately. Lancaster had many problems. A mysterious vigilante. A boy with no magic giving hope to the ones that lived in slums. Then, of course, Gladius Orion, a supposed Magicless sympathiser who’d been seen returning to Lancaster. It was Nina’s understanding that the nobles were quite worried about him assuming his father’s seat. But is it more important than stopping the man trying to kill us all? Nina sighed. She’d never really understood the immense pridefulness of nobles, but she hated who she was told to hate for the sake of maintaining her station.

“Sis?” Roxanna wondered. She opened the door to reveal herself, wearing pyjamas and slippers, an outfit that was very unbecoming of her usual tough demeanour. “Ah. Come in, if you will.”

“Thank you.” Nina stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. “Mom and Dad are out.”

“I’m not surprised.” Roxanna quickly returned to her bed. Likely, the fatigue still remained from her battle, that or minor brain lag from the healing. Her hair was greasy and dishevelled, her bedroom unkempt. The bedroom was the usual, but her appearance was not. Even if Roxanna dressed in a rebellious way, she was always well-kept. As she tucked herself into bed, she looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Problem after problem in this Mira-cursed city.”

Nina pulled a chair up to her sister’s bedside and sat down. “Tell me about the Magekiller,” she said.

Roxanna turned. “Huh? I… Do I have to? I’m tired of talking about it already. The Dragon Guard were in here questioning me and–”

“Tell me,” Nina said. “I haven’t heard. I want to know.”

Roxanna appeared confused. She, of course, knew that her sister had heard the stories she told about her encounter. Nina didn’t care about that. She hadn’t heard the story from the source, only echoes through the walls where the information slowly became diluted. Roxanna, luckily, understood this, and quickly folded under her resolve.

“Right,” she said. “He was powerful, obviously. Without using the mana weapon I couldn’t even land a hit on him. He moved with a gracefulness like he’d been using the sword for a millenia. In fact… He moved like he knew what I was about to do. I was powerless.”

Nina nodded. Scary, she thought. “And what did he look like?”

“He wore a crude metal mask. Full black outfit, discoloured only by the blood of the men he’d slaughtered to get inside. I didn’t even see the colour of his skin. Hell, he might not be human, and that would make more sense. But… He moved with this presence. It wasn’t magic. It was something deeper, like I was taken over by the very incarnation of fear. The moment I saw him, I knew I couldn’t win.”

“Confidence,” Nina said. “Nothing scarier than a confident opponent.”

“Maybe,” Roxanna replied with a frown.

“And you? How are you?” Nina wondered. “It can’t have been easy on your ego. You’re supposed to be the toughest of us all.”

“Don’t patronise me.” Roxanna flipped like a switch, but managed to quench her anger with a simple scoff. “Is that why you’re really here? To torture me? Rub my face in my failure?”

“No,” Nina replied. “Is it so wrong to imagine I’d want to check on my dear sister?”

“Yes,” Roxanna wryly.

“Come on now, Roxy.” Nina sighed, and flipped her bangs from her face. “I’m not here to argue. Just curious.”

Roxanna appeared disinterested suddenly. “Yeah. Well I’ve done more than enough to sate your curiosity I’m sure. So get out. Go back to your president and hunt some kid that doesn’t even have magic,” she scoffed. “But I’m the pathetic one. The Magekiller would’ve slaughtered you like a chicken.”

Nina’s face twisted. She collected herself, but by a narrow margin. Throttle her. Take your place at the top of the Adler house. “We’ll see about that,” she said. “Good day, sis.”

Nina left the room and closed the door, only then did she let out her anger. Magic pooled throughout her body, and she punched the air. Gah! She’s right. She’s right, dammit all! I can’t even get rid of some nobody magicless… She clenched her fists. Nina never went a day without being compared to her sister who remained superior even when bedridden.

Sure, Roxanna was stronger, but she also lacked the qualities of a woman. Roxanna couldn’t charm like Nina could, or seduce like Nina could. In the world of a courtly noblewoman, Roxanna was nothing. That didn’t matter in a world of magic. Strength or usefulness was paramount. Not even a wife was considered good enough to the nobility without it.

As she marched down the hallway, she nearly ran into Harvey Adler as he rounded a corner. The man retreated a little bit, a quizzical look on his face. He adjusted the tie on his lavish suit and pushed his spectacles back up onto his nose. He’d instinctively moved a hand to the rapier at his hip before he’d even seen her. “Nina? You look like you’re in a hurry.”

“Father. You’re home early,” Nina noted.

“There isn’t much to be said on the topics at hand. It’s bound to be circular until director Englund arrives to settle it.” He relaxed his posture and moved into the entry hall, hanging up his blazer and untightening his tie.

Director Ellis Englund is coming here? Nina thought a man with power like that would’ve been too busy for the squabbles of noblemen. However, Lancaster was the capital of Alterion, the continent’s largest supplier of most things. Whether he liked it or not, the fate of its government was crucial to the safety that he was employed to protect. “When does he arrive?” She asked.

Harvey shrugged. “Soon. He’s busy with a rebellion in the North, or so the messenger said.”

When is there not a rebellion in the North? Still, Nina couldn’t imagine an S-ranked warrior like Ellis having trouble with something as silly as a rebellion. The messenger had lied. The Dragon Guard kept their secrets close to their chest. Nina chose to believe that Ellis was busy with something much more important than that.

“Is that so,” she said. “And when he gets here?”

Harvey paused, wondering if he should tell her anything at all. “We’ll present various issues to him. The Magekiller issue will probably be sorted out by the Dragon Guard officers they’ve sent. As for the Ulfric problem, if the Director wishes to order a divine mandate, we can force Principal Leewood’s hand to remove the boy and put Darius back where he belongs.”

“And the heir to the Orions?”

“Not an issue. I know Gladius Orion. He wont take that seat, and if he does… I’ll pay him a personal visit.”

Grim. Nina could never get used to how loosely her father spoke of murdering people. He’d have anyone that disagreed with him disposed of, and even nobles weren’t an exception. Harvey Adler had maintained his position in the upper echelon with ruthlessness that Nina didn’t possess. This was, perhaps, the reason he blatantly favoured Roxanna, who inherited his ruthlessness.

“And. What of our disappointment? She’s sleeping?” Harvey asked.

Nina bit her lip. “Yeah,” she said. As if to immediately prove her thoughts wrong, Harvey showed that Roxanna had fallen out of his favour.

“Don’t be like her. Don’t throw away a crucial chance. She’ll be punished extensively, but I’ll let her rest first so she’s experiencing it at the height of her awareness,” Harvey smirked to himself. They’d been walking down the entry hallway. He stopped in front of his office. “That all? Want to poke into my business any further? Might I remind you that this Ulfric ordeal is the fault of you and that equally incompetent Cedrick. Sometimes I wonder if you spend all of your time at school with his cock in your mouth.”

Nina stammered. “You– We’re doing the best we can. And that… How is that any of your business? Doesn’t it benefit you if I’m to be the wife of the Boneshaw heir!?”

Harvey just scoffed, and put his hands in his pockets. “I raised you to be a powerful woman, not to whore out to the son of our enemy. You’re good for nothing but sucking up to your superiors. Don’t forget that just because of your sister’s current condition.” He smiled devilishly. “Now. Will that be all?”

Nina clenched her fists. She couldn’t say anything to him without repercussions hardly worth a one-time impulse. “Yes,” she said. “Good day, Father.”

“Good day, Nina. And you’d best get your magicless problem sorted soon. If I have to bring it up to Director Englund, it won't be good for you.” Harvey opened the door to his office and quickly shut it behind him. Nina got a glance of a massive stack of papers and dishevelled bookshelves. In his personal life, Harvey Adler was anything but the sophisticated front he put up.

Nina left the Adler estate. She had a date in an hour on the Academy grounds. If her father’s words were anything to go by, it was one she didn’t want to miss. As she crossed the vast grounds of the mansions, she noticed an abundance of guards and the two Dragon Guard officers in question. A-ranked warriors stronger than anyone they’d have on their security detail. Two of them for each estate in the city. The nobles were getting worried about the oncoming storm, that much was clear.

It seemed that, one way or another, Nina had ended up near the forefront.

* * *

Roy Hirsch had a very simple mission. He was told that her mission was the same as well. Seduce Nina Adler, the girl supposedly sent to gain information on him and Ulfric’s little gang at any cost. As he waited for his date to arrive, he grew unusually nervous. Roy didn’t fret when it came to women, but Nina was something different. She inspired turmoil inside of himself, and made him question if the choices he’d made to get to this point had been the right ones after all.

His goal was very simple. Propel his family to the top of Lancaster, ideally with him heading it up. To do that, he didn’t care what it was he needed to do or who it was he needed to betray. If Nina’s offer today was worth turning his back on someone as deadly as the Magekiller, he’d do it. In Roy’s mind, despite what Ulfric said, the ‘right side of history’ remained undecided. His loyalty to Ulfric was rather feeble, and he was sure that Ulfric himself knew that, which only added to Roy’s unease.

Nina swaggered up to the table. Just the day before, Roy had sat at this very cafe with Ulfric’s annoying second in command, the boy prodigy Kal Lightswift. As Nina sat, she seemed to instantly command his attention as well as silence. In Roy’s opinion, the beautiful view over the Academy grounds paled in comparison to the woman before him. He knew it would never happen, especially knowing what he knew about her and Cedrick. However, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hoping to get at least a smooch out of the manipulation she was attempting. Am I going to get on the president’s bad side because of this?

“Roy,” she said, quite businesslike.

“The beautiful Nina Adler.” Roy leaned into the table. “Good afternoon.”

“Have you given some thought to the offer?” She questioned.

Immediately to business? Even the omnipotent Ulfric didn’t know about the status of Roy and Nina. The truth was that Nina hadn’t simply been getting closer to him, but that he’d been actively engaging in talks regarding his betrayal. They’d been fighting to give him a suitable offer, but he’d declined three of them. What Ulfric thought was simply a one sided relationship was actually going both ways quite evenly. The cards are in my hands.

“Your previous offer simply wasn’t lavish enough,” Roy said.

“What do you mean? I think we’ve given you more leeway than you deserve. Remember, you’re a conspirator.” Nina crossed her legs. Kal could sense that she’d redirected Mana into her eyes, examining his every edifice for vulnerability.

Roy scoffed. “Remember, you need me,” he said. “I have no need to please you, Nina Adler. Make me comfortable, and I’ll give you what you need.”

Nina gritted her teeth, her face growing stern. “Go on, then.”

“I want a position on the council, a seat at the table. Give me a bodyguard twenty four hours a day–”

“The threat of that boy isn’t that serious–”

“You don’t know him like I do,” Roy said firmly. “And finally, I want the Hirsch family to be elevated and take the place of the Orions in the upper echelon. Do that, and I’ll tell you everything you could possibly need to know about Ulfric Arrowheart.” Which is honestly so much more than you could possibly imagine.

Nina shook her head. “Those first two requests are already tall orders. The last one? Absurd! I don’t have the power to pull those kinds of strings. Besides, if we fail to sort out this problem, my superiors will do it themselves. They won't elevate an entire family to solve something so simple.”

They would if they knew exactly what kind of information I was talking about. Roy sighed. Ulfric offered him far more than Nina ever did, and Ulfric’s promises seemed tangible. He was a man of ambition who’d bring his teammates to the top and grant their dreams. Even if they were false promises, at least he made promises. Proceed with the plan, then. “Fine. I have a counter offer to my own.”

Nina perked up. “That is…?”

“You,” he said, smiling with his unique and royal charm. “Let me do what I please with you for the night. I’ll join your team.”

Nina appeared shocked at the proposition. In her head, she went through multiple stages of consideration, but came to an inevitable conclusion. Her body was a small price to pay to avoid her father’s beatings, and it was exactly what she’d hoped for. It helped that the mark happened to be attractive, even by her inflated standards. Hook, line, sinker, Roy thought.

They discussed the deal for a while thereafter, and only then did they return to the dorms.

He slammed her into the wall before they even reached his dorm. In the empty hallway they writhed around, lips perpetually locked together as he fumbled for the handle of his door. When he finally opened it, they practically fell through the opening. He quickly closed the door behind him, even forgetting to hit the lock with how quickly he managed to force her into the bedroom, shoving her onto the bed.

Roy Hirsch approached Nina Adler, who had a massive smile on her face. She’s enjoying this, he noted. It took a lot to not succumb to his will. Despite being greedy himself, he knew what Nina was. A sadistic woman who enjoyed torturing those lower than her. In that moment, he thought she was finally acknowledging him as an equal. He crawled on top of her and pinned her to the bed with quite a lot of force. “I’m going to enjoy this,” he said, their faces drawing close to each other.

He grabbed her shirt and began to unbutton it. She aided him in doing so. As he pulled it over her head, he blinded her for only a moment, but it was enough. Nina’s hands were cuffed. Anti-mana handcuffs used by the Dragon Guard. Allegedly, they’d stop the usage of any magic within the body. Roy didn’t know if that was the full truth, but he certainly hoped so.

Feeling the cuffs around her wrists, Nina started writhing around and panicking. “Hey! What is this!”

“What you deserve.” Roy kissed her before he backed away as if only to taunt her. Then, over his shoulder she saw it, probably the last thing she’d have wanted to see in that moment. Two figures stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

Two men in metal masks.

“I’m glad you remembered to leave the door unlocked,” Ulfric noted. “Underling. Is that sound dampening spell up and running?”

“Aye, boss,” Kal replied wryly, after which he left the room. He didn’t want to witness what was about to happen.

* * *

Ulfric was starting to believe that most of the members of the student council were stupid. At the very least, Nina Adler was. What kind of girl would agree to go to the dorm room of the guy she was supposed to investigate? Either way, Roy had done his job, so it was now Ulfric's turn. The first phase of the raid on House Adler had officially begun. I’ve been looking forward to this.

Nina sat up on the bed. “It’s you! You’re the Magekiller!” She cried.

“Bingo,” Ulfric replied with a smile. “Don’t get too rowdy now, I only want to have a conversation.” He watched the shock and acceptance creep onto Nina’s face. The evidence probably made sense when confronted with the answer.

“My family won't care if you take me hostage,” she said weakly. The hope had almost immediately drained from her eyes.

“No. I don’t deal in hostages.” Ulfric grabbed her chin and tilted her head up. “What’s wrong? Too afraid to get a good look?”

Nina closed her eyes. “Please. I’ve only ever done what I was told,” she said.

Ulfric had expected her to renounce her position sooner rather than later, but he hadn’t expected it to happen almost immediately. Nina Adler was even more vain and shallow than he’d originally thought. No backbone. He couldn’t hide the disgust on his face. “And look where that got you,” he said.

“I’m sorry.” she stared blankly at the ground. Her whole body was trembling, tears building at the corners of her eyes. Fear would do that to a person. “I don’t want to be renounced by my family. I’ve done bad things. Doesn’t mean I agree with them.” Even her voice began to tremble as she spoke. Nina Adler didn’t even know what sins she was speaking to, she only knew that she’d committed many, and that the best course of action was probably to apologize with all of her being, regardless of who was behind the mask.

“And to please your boy toy, Cedrick.” Ulfric grabbed her chin again. “Look at me,” he demanded.

Nina looked up, her eyes teary. “I’m sorry,” she said again. She looked into his two eyes through the slits in the mask and became paralzyed with terror.

“It doesn’t matter. Just tell me what I need to know.” Ulfic kindly received a chair from Kal and plopped down at the side of the bed. Roy waited at the ready in case someone needed to hold Nina down. “I’m not going to hurt you if you just tell me what I need to know,” he lied.

“I’ll tell you anything,” she admitted. “I don’t care.”

“I’m glad you aren’t making this harder than it needs to be,” Ulfric said. Because they usually aren’t hopeful enough to believe they’ll be let away after seeing my face. “Tell me about the security at House Adler.”

Nina hesitated. “Are you going to hurt my family?”

“We’re only interested in the mana weapons and where they’re being manufactured.” He lied again. “I won’t lie to you, though. Anyone who gets in our way will die, namely your sister.”

The girl pulled at her restraints as if they’d suddenly shatter. Ulfric read her expression easily. Hearing her sister might die, she couldn’t seem to hide her happiness. This girl… Is a monster even I cannot comprehend. She runs on greed. Nina itched to be the heir, the head of the household, someone that wouldn’t be looked down upon anymore. Her family being eliminated was a good way to make it happen. Her and Roy were quite similar in that way.

“Fifty guards around the property. Two Dragon Guard officers, class three A-ranked. I understand you’ve already given my sister a scare, in that case it's only my father you really have to worry about.”

Ulfric’s interest was piqued. He hadn’t known Harvey Adler to be anything other than an aristocrat. “Go on.”

“He’s a class one A-rank. A brilliant swordsman. He fights with a rapier. One poke and you’re done for. He’ll take out your pressure points.”

Class one? S, A, B, and C ranks were further divided into three sections that generally helped to indicate danger level more effectively. S-ranks were warriors hand picked by the gods as the world’s most powerful. In other words, a class one A-rank was the closest you could physically get to S-rank without actually achieving it. Someone as powerful as that would probably kill all of them easily if they weren’t careful about it. Ulfric himself couldn’t really be confident taking on anyone after class three A-rank.

But I do know about that sword style. It was curious indeed. He’d never heard of anyone using a sword style like that to such a high rank. Usually as you moved up the ranks, the sword styles became focused on speed and destructive power. The Braxton pin style was unique in that way, mainly focusing on breaking the opponent down rather than outright killing. Ulfric grew excited. He wanted to see it in action. I’ll probably have to step back and let Kal deal with it.

“Any other tricks I’ll have to deal with?” He wondered.

“I’ve never really seen him fight,” Nina admitted. “Not all out, at least. I’m sure a guy like that has tricks up his sleeve, not to mention a signature technique.”

And that’s what I really have to look out for. A signature technique was a unique magic that manifested in someone’s body once their fighting style was developed enough. These could be anything from modified versions of normal spells to spells that completely defied the existing laws and categories of magic. Any mage who was able to use their signature technique brought an unprecedented layer of unpredictability to the fight.

“Signature technique. Does your sister have one?”

“If she did, she would’ve used it against you on that day I’m sure.”

“True.”

“Is that enough for you? What are you going to do with me! Your friend here was talking to me about the terms of betraying you, you know?!” Nina pleaded.

Ulfric sighed. He looked at Roy, who just shrugged nervously. There wasn’t any more worthwhile information to get out of her, it seemed. “That is a matter that will have to be settled later,” Ulfric said. He heard a huff of relief from Roy. “You said you think their violence against me is unfounded. Is that the truth, or are you saying it to get me off of your back?”

“It's the truth,” she promised. “Please–”

“I can make you the head of house Adler tonight, Nina.” Ulfric reclined in his chair. “You help us get into the estate, and we’ll get rid of everybody that stands between you and the chair.”

“How do you mean?”

“Type three barrier. No one in or out without genetic material, right? At least, that’s what I’m told. We’ve kidnapped you because you’re going to help us get in. You can either do it dead or alive. The choice is yours.”

A simple offer, but one of major moral consequences. Was Nina greedy enough that she’d see her whole family killed for the seat at the top? Would she join the enemy simply for power? Her face grew complex. It would mean betraying everybody she knew. Cedrick, her sister, her father. But why did she suck up to those people in the first place if not for power? She’d never be the heir of her own house, so she’d seduced the heir of another. The answer, albeit horrible, was an obvious one.

“Alive,” she said. “When do we start?”