Sworded Affair

Chapter 90: Kingdom Hearts

"Hang on a minute, some of this doesn't add up," Noah complained, drawing upon an attention to detail honed through years as an analyst in high-stakes missions. "The only plague that approached that kind of potency was The Black Death, and while Europe and the Middle East took the brunt of the damage, the impact was far less in Asia and Africa. Not to mention, America was little more than a fable across Europe at the time, and there were no population movements capable of transmitting such infections en masse."

"Ninety percent of the magical population is also an entirely disproportionate impact, even in areas the plague hit heavily," Emma added. "Especially if magical society back then preferred to live in low population areas, away from the big cities and their lack of sanitation as they do now."

"I can't explain that either, but this is what I was taught," Elizabeth protested. "I couldn't believe it either, at first, but texts from magical libraries across multiple continents all agreed on the numbers."

[...None of you are wrong, necessarily, just missing the required context. Emma, use Oversoul on the cat.]

Curious as to where this was headed, Emma complied, pointing a finger at the sleeping Saint who had managed to turn her enchanted rubber fish into an impromptu pillow.

"Oversoul."

[For seeking the truth of the founder, you grow closer to her!

Divine Conduit (Anathema): ?? has evolved into Divine Conduit (Anathema): ?

Divine Conduit (Anathema): ? activates, claiming your Oversoul!]

Saint shivered in her sleep, before bolting upright with a hiss, landing on all fours with the grace expected of a cat. Less expected, was Saint opening her mouth and beginning to speak.

"Finally, a suitable vessel for communication. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a truly enlightened being in this miserable era?"

"The Hell?" Noah started, rubbing his eyes to no avail as he saw the same information appear on his System as Emma did.

[Saint (Possessed)]

"Ventriloquism of some sort?" Elizabeth muttered a question, in the absence of such insight herself.

Getting up and pushing her empty plate aside by force of habit, Elizabeth headed over to the cat bed, intent on examining Saint more closely. Saint allowed Elizabeth to approach within arm's length, standing proudly atop Efishency, before piercing the toy with a single claw as Elizabeth knelt to pick her up.

[Efishency (Rubber Fish) lost!

Trait - Wolf, Ram and Heart upgraded: When active, attacks are imbued with Death magic, significantly increasing damage and carrying a [Level]% chance of inflicting Instant Death.

Admin note: Toggle on/off added for convenience.

Saint gains Trait - Anti-Life Equation: Wounds caused inflict Instant Death.]

With her other paw, Saint scratched Elizabeth on the wrist.

"Goddammit," Elizabeth hissed, pulling her arm back as another talisman in her pocket burned. "Stop doing that, you menace! Fortune Lover talismans are expensive, I have to import them from Japan!"

"Still not more expensive than your honeymoon gift," Saint sneered. "A week-long stay for both of you in America's best magical hospital, courtesy of your own stupidity."

"...Founder?" Elizabeth blinked slowly, her eyes distant as old memories came to the fore. "You mean, I wasn't hallucinating in my bed when you appeared and said you'd take care of all the medical bills?"

"What do you think?" Saint sighed, her paws idly gripping Efishency - now empty of magic - and turning it to dust. "Dumb as you both were, I wasn't about to let my only remaining descendants in England die. But enough about your misspent youth; I went to the trouble of taking over this body to explain what really happened back in the fourteenth century, so listen up."

---

"So what now?" Felix Knight asked, glancing down at the glowing red amulet sprawled out in the sand.

Overmind had left shortly after Emma's eighth floor trial, and had yet to return. Felix hadn't been surprised when he found the amulet in the Dungeon Core though; she had promised to keep in touch. This was the first time the amulet had activated though, having stayed silent even as Emma departed Scholomance, head held high as the first Practitioner of the Knight family in seventy-odd years.

"You're in a funny spot," Overmind's voice acknowledged him, transmitted through the amulet from her holiday home in Pevensey.

"In terms of power, you far outstrip all but the greatest Masters of the Empire, but you're also much more restricted in how it can be used, in keeping with your role as Dungeon Master. After some lively debate, it has been decided to treat you and your Academia as a religious institution, with yourself as the Head Paladin, entrusted with an administrative role on behalf of the System. There is a significant degree of interest in your gymnasium, as well; so your first official contact will be with the Ministry of Leisure, who will be reaching out to you shortly to discuss the logistics of ticket sales, broadcast rights, audience participation and much more besides."

"I'm surprised," Felix freely admitted. "I'd intended this project mainly as entertainment for ordinary people, under the assumption that society had broken down completely after the apocalypse. Doesn't the magical world have equivalent entertainment already?"

"Pocket dimensions were hideously expensive to maintain even in good times, and times haven't been good for many centuries. Any that once existed fell into disrepair and ruin; with Scholomance being the only one remaining in Europe in the modern era, capable of hosting large-scale magical combat. Despite that, Scholomance will remain reserved for the Trials; that role is far too important politically to jeopardise for anything else. True to your words, perhaps enterprising families would have invested in building more facilities, now that mana is abundant once again, but your Dungeon has beaten them to the punch, making the point moot.

As for the provision of entertainment more generally? A tiny population of individuals, focused primarily on acquisition of personal power does not lend itself well to the growth of the arts. Pretty much all day-to-day entertainment came from mortal society, and you know how that ended. Frankly, the only people in the Empire who care about making entertainment are beings such as you and I; already immensely powerful, effectively immortal and secure in our own positions, who have the luxury of being bored. The rest are either invested in climbing to where we are, or just trying their best not to die. You've carved out a good niche for yourself, going forward."

"So I have," Felix murmured softly, already thinking about what to ask for in the coming negotiations. "So I have..."

---

Status Update

Practitioner Emma Knight - Level 12 Damned Apostle

Anima: 4500

EXP: 5310/6000

Abilities

Summon Unholy Sword {Epitaph} (Cost: 20% current Anima)

Toxovolia: Epitaph can transform into a Bow, firing arrows made of anima. The more anima invested, the more powerful the shot; the arrows can also apply the effects of other Weapon Enhancements.

No Pal of Mine: Capture the souls of the worthy, gaining the ability to summon a simulacrum of equal level as the User. Maximum 1 active per 10 levels, rounding up. 1 hour cooldown when simulacrum is defeated.

Captured: The Leech King, Sir Bearington, Earthbound Immortal, Antipode

Weeping Scar: Wounds inflict periodic poison damage until they are healed.

Can I Play with Madness?: The first Wound dealt to an enemy inflicts a random Status Condition.

Oversoul: Instantly possess the body of a living, lower-level target within the user's line of sight. No component of this ability will activate unless the target can be possessed.

Ardent Ephemera (Cost: 1% base Anima /second): Become intangible while active, able to pass unhindered through physical objects and blows.

Angel of Extinction (Cooldown: 12 days): Summon an Angel within line of sight. The Angel is invulnerable and departs after 12 seconds, inflicting Instant Death to anyone who saw it.

Null and Void (Cost: 5% base Anima): Disrupt a spell before casting completes.

Parallel Lives (Cooldown: 1 minute): Swap places with your active Summon.

Traits

Arcanivore: Enemies restore Anima when wounded or slain.

Wolf, Ram and Heart (TOGGLE: OFF): When active, attacks are imbued with Death magic, significantly increasing damage and carrying a [Level]% chance of inflicting Instant Death.

One with Everything (Cooldown: 1 hour): If Anima would be reduced to 0, stop at 1.

It's About Time: Immune to Time Magic (ineffective against casters 30+ Levels higher).

Babble Fish: You are fluent in every language known by the System.

Divine Conduit (Anathema): ?