The Burning Flowers

Chapter VIII

Upon splitting off from Ilirianna, Ryokumo had swiftly debated where it was he would be most useful before coming to the conclusion that he should run down to the Fourth Ring and check on Rennigan’s team. Perhaps it was an action chosen out of simple cowardice, for he was terrified of going to the castle and confirming Vesh’s wild and unbelievable claim that Lunara Noctis had betrayed them—that she had been a member of the Kosah-Rei since even before she began attending the Academy. On top of that, Lunara being with the cult also meant she had the opportunity to curse everybody in Saientia, and her supposed willingness to wipe out her mother and Lady Clara made it clear that she wouldn’t hesitate to mark Masters Viiro and Acostav, as well as anybody else that she and the cult wanted gone. The Cartigans, the Masters, Eko, Nigreos, Abi, Album, Iris—any of them could be dead. He was terrified of that thought, so he convinced himself that if Lunara really had done that, then there was nothing more he could do. The damage was done, the victims were dead, and his presence would not change that.

So instead, he turned his sights to Hakelades Omorossa. Rennigan and his team had gone down there at the same time that he and Ilirianna departed to meet Keskivaara, and just that night, Abigail had informed them that the ringmaster was registered as impure by her sense. If he was part of the Kosah-Rei, then the four of them were in grave danger. To avoid Saientia, he told himself that it would be more beneficial to pick up the other four and increase his numbers before returning to the castle, so trusting Ilirianna to handle Vesh and Keskivaara, he made a b-line for the walls of the Fifth Ring, closing his eyes and ears to the destruction around him, and used wind magic to soar down towards where he knew the entertainment district to be.

His heart sank when he saw the destruction taking place, caused by massive amounts of ice that should have been impossible to conjure for Rennigan Glaus. Yet, there was no doubt that the pompous water mage was the one responsible, for as Ryokumo got closer, he could see the silver-haired young man standing amidst the destruction as he fought an opponent who was so horrifically burnt that it was stunning he was still alive. There was no sign of Faye, Hiro, and Jessi—a detail that caused his chest to tighten with a dull fear—but Ryokumo had almost no chance to ponder it before he witnessed Rennigan get stabbed straight through the chest. Knowing that if he survived then he would not live for much longer without some rapid medical attention, the wind mage cast Condite to pull the man away from Rennigan before landing, scooping him up in his arms, and instantly protoing back the way he had come.

Shit… he thought with growing panic as he made a brief scan of Rennigan’s wounds. His clothes were stained red from where he was stabbed, he had bruises all over his body and face, and his eyes were glazed over, though he did mutter Ryokumo’s name, indicating he was conscious enough to know what was going on. I need to get him to a proper healer! I can cast Benedio to extend his life for an hour or so, but I don’t have the ability to get him completely back on his feet. I need to find Mackia or Abi, but…

He needed to know where the others were. If the rest of Rennigan’s team were somewhere in the Fourth Ring, he needed to find them. Ryokumo spared a quick glance back over his shoulder, taking in the sight of the nearly leveled entertainment district, as well as the burnt man watching them leave. His throat tightened when he spotted the numerous corpses splayed out around the entrance, but given that they seemed to have been killed by Rennigan’s ice, he concluded that those bodies could not belong to the team.

I don’t see any other corpses, but that doesn’t mean they're not buried beneath the rubble. Please… Rio, Pafran, Yuahl… Please be okay!

Jumping over the rooftops, Ryokumo hurried towards a nearby residential street, wanting to avoid the more populous areas until he had a better grasp on what was transpiring. As he did so, he sent his meager healing magic into Rennigan, watching the wound in his chest gradually closing, allowing his ragged breaths to stabilize.

“Don’t die on me, Glaus,” Ryokumo uttered. “You hear me? It’s just a little stab wound… Nothing too major…”

Rennigan’s meek “shut up” gave the wind mage some hope that he’d be okay as he spotted an ideal landing point between two rather large mansions. Altering the wind around them, he directed himself towards the ground before placing his feet against the sidewalk and gently lowering Rennigan, leaning him up against the fence. A bit of color had returned to his features, another good sign, so hoping he’d be able to talk, Ryokumo knelt down beside him and got right to the point.

“Alright, Glaus, I need you to tell me what happened! Where are the others? Who was that charred fucker you were fighting?”

At first, it didn’t seem like Rennigan had heard him. His golden eyes were focused on something over his shoulder, but when Ryokumo turned to look, he found that the water mage was merely staring off into space. Frustrated, knowing how little time he had, he was about to press the question a second time when his voice caught in throat. Tears had formed in Rennigan’s eyes and before Ryokumo knew what was happening, the young man broke out in sobs, his hands going to his face as if to cover it in shame. Rennigan Glaus was typically a composed person, and the only emotions Ryokumo had ever seen from him were irritation and anger. Never in his life did he think he’d see Rennigan cry, and especially not in front of him. It was a horrible indication.

“G-Glaus…?” Ryokumo began nervously. “Please, what’s happened?”

Rennigan’s body continued to tremble, but he finally found his voice, choking out words between the tears. “Damn it… Damn it all… I couldn’t do it… I wasn’t strong enough… I needed…to kill him…and I…couldn't…” He shook his head, still hiding his face, then he unleashed everything he had been holding back. “They’re dead, Caeli! Faye, Hiro, Jessi… Omorossa killed them! He erected a pocket realm and trapped us inside, then picked us off one by one! He killed Jessi, then he killed Hiro, and then Faye was taken by those infernal combustions! There was nothing I could do but watch helplessly as my team was taken away from me! Everything I threw at him just bounced off and if you hadn’t shown up, I’d be fucking dead, too! I just couldn’t beat him! Some goddamn leader I was!”

Rennigan’s sobbing became more uncontrolled and desperate, but Ryokumo could hardly process the sound, for his brain was already being overworked by what he had said.

They’re dead? Rio, Pafran, and Yuahl are just…dead? That’s not…? That’s not possible… That’s not fair and… Ryokumo’s jaw tightened. Suddenly, it felt like the weight of everything happening that night smashed down on his skull yet again, even harder than before. Rio died to the combustions? And the burnt man was Omorossa?

Ryokumo slowly rose to his feet without another word, finding it strange how calm he was after hearing such sickening news. He had yet to do a single thing right that night. He hadn’t been able to stop the combustions from activating. He had Rotana Vesh right in front of him, but he was unable to kill him despite his arrogant declarations. He ran away from that fight and left it to Ilirianna, only to avoid Saientia with the hope of rendezvousing with the other team. But they were gone, too, and there was nothing to show for it because Omorossa still lived.

“Caeli, where are you going?” Rennigan rasped, his words snapping Ryokumo out of his thoughts.

He hadn’t realized he had begun walking away, but even if it was subconscious, he knew exactly where it was he intended to go. “You’ve done quite a number on Mr. Omorossa, so it would be foolish to allow him an escape. He’s still alive, so I’m going to go change that.”

“NO!” As if struck by a rush of adrenaline, Rennigan shot to his feet, his features contorting in rage as he glared at Ryokumo. “Don’t you dare! I have to kill him! It’s my fucking duty as the leader of my team to avenge their deaths! It shouldn’t be anybody else…least of all you! You’ve healed me, so I can still fight! I’ll go back to that district and I’ll kill him myself. I don’t need your help!”

Ryokumo snorted. “Get over yourself! If I had showed up even a second later, you’d be dead! You’ve already done plenty, and I can see that you’re barely holding yourself up right now, so let me go and finish the job! This is not the time for needless pride!”

“Pride?!” Having been unprepared for Rennigan to have the energy to move as fast as he did, Ryokumo was unable to move before the water mage grabbed him furiously by his coat before he started screaming in his face. “This isn’t about pride, you fucking bastard! You don’t understand! Their deaths are my fault! Omorossa wanted me dead, but because of what happened in Noctalus with Kristoff, he knew he wouldn’t be able to kill me without killing them first! I was the target! Not Faye, not Hiro, not Jessi—me! And I tried to turn myself over to him! I tried to barter for their safety, but you know what Omorossa said, huh?! He didn’t believe I meant it because the Glauses have a reputation of being selfish, greedy, vile pricks! Then Faye and Hiro stopped me before I could convince him otherwise! I watched them die! Right there, right before me, their lives were taken, and here I stand, perfectly fine! The Kosah-Rei will still want me dead! That hasn’t fucking changed, so perhaps I should just let Omorossa kill me! It’s a win-win if I go, because I’ll be able to personally avenge my friends if I kill him, and if he kills me, then nobody will ever die because of me again! Nobody should have to die for worthless scum like me! So fly your stupid ass back up to the Fifth Ring and leave me alone! I’m sick and tired of you always getting in my way!”

By the time Rennigan’s breathless rant had ended, the water mage’s face was mere inches from Ryokumo, giving him a clear view of the hurricane of emotions swirling around in this man. He was terrified of dying, terrified of others dying, and still desperately trying to process the tragedy that had befallen him. In a rare occurrence for Ryokumo, he was truly speechless for a few seconds.

His opinion of Rennigan Glaus was not something he ever bothered thinking about too critically. It was hard to say he liked him, for Rennigan was arrogant, mean, disrespectful, and truly just an unpleasant and joyless person. Ryokumo taunted him because it was easy to get under the skin of people like him. Their dynamic existed because of the way Rennigan treated Abigail the first time they all met. Ryokumo had believed himself to know exactly who this man was, and his type rarely got spoken to the way Ryokumo spoke to him. Certainly, the mockery came from a place of spite, but as the years passed, somewhere along the way, it turned into banter and teasing. Ryokumo enjoyed their back-and-forths, and he was certainly surprised that Rennigan could hold his own the way he had claimed. Ryokumo had fully expected him to be all words and no action. There was no question that Rennigan Glaus was a very talented mage.

His eyes shifted down to the white jacket Rennigan still wore right that very second. At the end of the day, he had bought him that present for no reason other than because he didn’t expect Rennigan to get anything for the solstice. He felt bad despite knowing the young man brought such treatment on himself. Again, Ryokumo didn’t think too critically about it and simply did what he felt like doing.

That was all.

“Are you done screaming in my face?” he finally whispered, to which Rennigan spat,

“Only if you’re ready to fuck off.”

Ryokumo glared back at him, and as if on pure instinct, a sly and mocking smile twisted his lips as he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Now, now, if you really think I’m going to fuck off and leave you down here to die, then you’ve got another thing coming. I have no intention of abandoning you to such an awful fate. Hakelades Omorossa has taken more than enough from us tonight, so I will not let him take you, too.”

Rennigan’s anger was abruptly replaced by a wide-eyed shock, his grip loosening on Ryokumo’s jacket and enabling him to break free from his grasp. “W-what?”

“Unclog your ears, Glaus,” Ryokumo retorted. “I was two inches from your face when I spoke, so you have no reason to have misheard me.”

The water mage shook his head, stumbling backwards before hitting his back against the fence. “No… Stop it with this nonsense! Don’t patronize me! Like hell you give a shit if I die!

I don’t need you! You’re nothing but a nuisance—an obnoxious child masquerading as a mage who has never done anything but ridicule me and make a mockery of me! I’m sick of you always showing up when you’re unwelcome! I didn’t need you to save me! I didn't want you to save me! You should have just let me die! I deserved it! I’m a failure…a fool who couldn’t do anything right… If I can’t beat Omorossa then death is my punishment! Stop lying to my face, go back up to the Fifth Ring, and never waste another second of your thoughts on me.”

“No, I don’t think I’m going to do that.”

“WHY?! GET OUT OF HERE! GO AWAY! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! WIPE THAT SMUG-ASS LOOK OFF YOUR FACE AND JUST LEAVE—!”

Half-expecting himself to get punched, Ryokumo stepped forward and decided it was his turn to grab Rennigan by the collar, yanking the water mage back towards him and staring him dead in the eyes.

“Glaus… We’ve known each other a good while now, yes? Therefore, you should know by heart what the face I have when I’m mocking you looks like. Look at my face and try to find the deceit. I don’t want you to die. Not even a little bit. Do you understand me?”

“I—?!” Rennigan cut himself off mid-sentence, disbelief in his expression as Ryokumo’s tone turned genuinely serious.

“We’re losing, right now,” Ryokumo went on. “Keskivaara’s betrayed us, the Fifth Ring is in utter chaos, and I don’t know who’s alive and who’s dead. The night isn’t even up yet…and now you tell me that Faye, Hiro, and Jessi have been murdered? They were my friends, too, you know? I may not have been as close to them as you, but they’ve been my classmates for years. I’m livid. Never in my life have I been more angry than I am now. And after all of that, you’re telling me to let you die, too—to walk away and pretend like I never knew you? Bullshit! It’s unfortunate that I’m unwelcome, but as you know well, Rennigan Glaus, you are stuck with me and you always will be. You’re not going to die on my watch.”

“BUT I DON’T WANT ANYBODY ELSE TO DIE FOR ME! NOT EVEN YOU!”

“THEN IT’S A GOOD THING I’M RYOKUMO FUCKING CAELI! YOU’RE NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE RID OF ME JUST YET!”

“That’s—” Rennigan’s expression contorted in utter disbelief. “That’s not how it works! Caeli, stop being illogical!”

“No.” Shutting down Rennigan’s argument with a simple word, Ryokumo released him and took a few steps back. “You’re on death’s door, and you’ve done more than enough. I’ll handle Omorossa and then—”

Rennigan’s eyes went wide as he noticed something behind Ryokumo, so the wind mage ripped his sword from its sheath, simultaneously filled it with mana, then spun on his heel to find the still burnt Hakelades Omorossa standing just across the street, his dagger clutched in his hands and his features twisted in fury.

Damn it all… I didn’t think this asshole would pursue us! Is killing Glaus really that important to this fucking cult!? A shiver went down Ryokumo’s spine as he finally got an up-close look at the ringmaster. Something had burned off much of his upper half, yet he was standing there like he had merely been scratched a few times. Rennigan had wrecked the entire entertainment district and had been unable to kill him, so Ryokumo couldn’t help feeling a pang of fear. Well, I just made a lot of confident bluster for a man who spectacularly failed to beat Rotana Vesh under an hour ago. Let’s hope I’m a little more successful against this one. The faces of Faye, Hiro, and Jessi flickered through his mind, sparking up some of his own anger to fuel his determination. After all, I would love nothing more than to kill this fucker.

“So the Kosah-Rei have started recruiting from the circus now, have they?” Ryokumo called out in an attempt to come across as confident. “Are they so desperate for new recruits that they’re resorting to clowns?”

Omorossa snorted with disgust. “I had a hunch when you first arrived, but your idiotic words confirm it. You’re Ryokumo Caeli, are you not?”

“Ah good, my reputation precedes me,” the wind mage retorted. “Then you’ll know it’s smarter to not cross me. You can’t have Glaus, so you might as well pack up and go home. Just one look at you tells me you’ve had more than enough fun tonight.”

The ringmaster didn’t respond right away, his features tensed as he clearly debated something within the privacy of his mind, and while Ryokumo was impatient to get this battle started, he also couldn’t deny the benefit of having a few seconds to think.

Glaus may have been able to drag himself to his feet, but he’s not going to be able to fight. More likely than not, I’m going to be playing defense here. Luckily, this clown has taken a hell of a beating already, and while I am tired, my fight with Vesh didn’t completely drain my mana. I hold the advantage, so if I play my cards right, I might be able to strike him down.

“Caeli,” Rennigan hissed from behind him. “Be careful. I don’t know why, but he doesn’t fight with mana and he’s mostly immune to physical attacks. I’ve hit him with the sharpest ice I’ve ever created and they all shattered against him. Killing him doesn't seem possible. We need to be careful.”

“Of course,” Ryokumo grunted bitterly, recalling the accounts of previous encounters with the cult’s leadership. “Killing any of the Kosah-Rei clearly requires some creativity. I expect as much at this point.”

Unsurprisingly, as he noticed their whispered interaction, Omorossa bent his knees and pulled the dagger up before him, making his intention to fight them more than obvious. A confrontation was unavoidable, so Ryokumo steeled himself, bent his own legs, and gripped his blade tightly. Since he didn’t know anything about Omorossa’s fighting style aside from what little Rennigan had just told him, he intended to let the ringmaster make the first strike, so he was mildly disappointed when Omorossa remained in place and instead chose to speak.

“You know, Caeli, we’ve been encouraged to avoid conflict with the royal team here in Stellareid,” he rasped. “So I really would prefer it if we could resolve this peacefully. All I want is to eliminate Rennigan Glaus, so if you would kindly let me have him, then I see no reason to harm you. Is that boy really worth risking your life for?”

Despite everything, Ryokumo still found a bit of comfort in his obnoxious and humorous attitude, so even if it was wholly inappropriate for the situation, he couldn’t help but laugh in his exaggerated fashion as he replied,

“Ha! Probably not, my friend. In fact, my blade is almost certainly better spent elsewhere, but you know what?” Ryokumo spared a quick glance over his shoulder and made eye contact with the stunned Rennigan before flashing him a brief wink. “With all that said, he’s my bestest friend, so I simply cannot let you kill him.” Turning back to face Omorossa, Ryokumo then finished his declaration. “You’re the one whose body is well done, so I would think you’re the one at a disadvantage here, Clown. Stay and fight or run like a little bitch. The choice is yours.”

Omorossa furrowed his brow, seemingly failing to follow Ryokumo’s line of thought, before he let out an annoyed sigh and raised his dagger once more. “Very well then…”

Hakelades Omorossa pushed off the street and charged Ryokumo at a speed that should have been impossible without wind magic surging through his body. Yet, just as Rennigan had warned him, there wasn’t even a little bit of mana to be found, as if he had managed such a feat through his pure physical prowess. Nevertheless, no matter how strong he was, Ryokumo had almost never been outmatched in terms of speed, and the charred clown was not going to be the first to best him.

“Proto!” Ryokumo cast, charging to meet Omorossa halfway as he sent magic into his Sukonese blade.

He had more reach than the dagger, so as he closed the distance, he brought it down in a diagonal strike and increased the speed of the swing to strike Omorossa directly in his undefended neck. Despite trusting Rennigan’s claims, a part of him still believed that a man refraining from magic could not possibly take a sword to the throat and live, but just like during the fight with Vesh, it stopped against Omorossa’s skin as if striking stone rather than soft flesh. Realizing now why Omorossa hadn’t bothered defending his neck, the tremor that went up and rattled Ryokumo’s arm left him wide open, so he used his already summoned magic to proto backwards, narrowly avoiding a slash of the dagger. The wind mage swiftly pivoted and cast Condite, whispering the incantation under his breath and wrapping the ropes of wind around Omorossa’s torso. The man may have sensed it, but that small weapon would not be able to cut down all of them, and though he succeeded in slicing nearly half, the others still grabbed his waist and attempted to yank him off his feet.

“Caeli! Geldai!”

Hearing Rennigan shout behind him, Ryokumo felt the icicles soaring past him and towards Omorossa. The wind mage grinned, having assumed that Rennigan was completely out of mana, so understanding what the other mage was trying to communicate, Ryokumo extended his sword arm and sent wind into the ice, further increasing the speed with which they tore through the air. Omorossa had barely registered that an attack was coming before all six of them slammed into him with such ferocity that he was knocked off his feet and shoved into the fence on the opposite side of the road, the spikes that were deflected shredding the building behind the man.

“Caeli, I’ve got just a little bit of mana left! I can help you!” Rennigan called out.

Ryokumo glanced back and nodded firmly. “Very well, Glaus! Let’s kill this bastard together then!”

Ryokumo spun on his heel and faced the stunned ringmaster, sensing Rennigan’s power spreading to all of the snow on the sidewalks and road, further increasing his confidence. Dozens of icicles rose into the sky, their sharp points twisting so that each and every one of them was aimed at Omorossa, and the second Rennigan let them loose, Ryokumo infused more of his power into every single one. The barrage was faster than anything Rennigan could have accomplished alone, and with Omorossa already with his back to a wall, his flight was limited. Icicle after icicle slammed into his blackened body, shattering on impact but still managing to push him further into the wood.

Come on! There’s no way you’re going to survive all of these!

Unfortunately, the fence gave out before Omorossa’s body did, cracking beneath the pressure as the ringmaster was launched into the backyard of the house behind him. Of course, just because that didn’t work didn’t mean Ryokumo intended to stay put, so he cast Proto and propelled himself through the fence’s wreckage and into a small pathway between the mansion itself and the fence separating it from the neighbor’s yard. Omorossa was stumbling back to his feet just as Ryokumo arrived, and given his lack of preparedness, the wind mage succeeded in swinging his sword with all his might, driving the blade directly into the center of the ringmaster’s head. It collided with the bridge of his nose and slid along the side of his face harmlessly, but having been more prepared this time, Ryokumo decided that he would simply have to keep pushing.

When the blade failed, he allowed his momentum to carry him over Omorossa, twisting his body midair so that he could land on the path behind him. He then spun a wind-powered roundhouse kick onto the back of his skull that blasted the man back out onto the street where they had started and where Rennigan awaited. The second Omorossa hit the ground, ice blasted up and froze his arms and legs to the road. The ringmaster probably had the strength to break free, but Ryokumo had little intention of giving him any time to do so before he was on top of him, driving the sword down onto his exposed neck. It was stopped once again, but with Omorossa stuck to the ground, he had the chance to keep trying.

“Keep him prone, Glaus!” Ryokumo ordered as swung the sword down a second time, meanwhile Rennigan continued regenerating the ice that was holding Omorossa.

Ryokumo swung and swung, praying that each time metal met flesh, the ringmaster’s head would be severed from his body, but no matter what he did, he could not break past whatever defense this man had erected. It was infuriating. Both this man and Vesh were so immune to his attacks that it felt like he was wasting his efforts there in Stellareid. He needed to accomplish something, but his magic just wasn’t working.

Come on! Die, damn it! For Faye! For Hiro! For Jessi! Just… Fucking… Die…!

“Caeli, above you!”

Hearing Rennigan’s warning, his head snapped up to see what was coming, only for a man whose hands were covered by magical gauntlets swirling with wind magic to jam his fist into Ryokumo’s face and send him flying away, pain rattling his skull as he slammed into the road with enough force to completely knock the breath out of him.