[S3] Chapter 46: Escalation

Can't they just open the gate? Miko is surprisingly patient. We've been standing here for 5 minutes, and she knocks every now and then, calling to the other side. They know that we are here, and we know that they are there.

"Maybe we should leave. There's no point in being overly confrontational."

“Sorry, Kayla, I can't do that.”

Miko sighs and places her flat hands on the gate in front of her, and without making a move, it sounds like fists smashing against the steel. Just a moment later, the gate breaks its hold and slams to the ground. My eyes wander around, and I see civilians running away and distancing from us. The mages on the guild grounds stand still in their places and just observe us.

“Why are they staring so stupidly?”

My words get a little stuck in my throat. What can I say? Before I can think of anything, Miko starts walking off. Simply because I can't help it, I follow her.

“Where is Reena? I want to talk to her.”

“She's not here. Please leave the premises.” It is Johann who answers her and walks a little ahead, separating himself from his guild members.

"Then I want to have a look around. I somehow have the feeling that you're up to no good."

“You're breaking the law right now. And you have no right to demand to look anywhere. Get out now, and I'll refrain from pressing charges.” His voice is loud and firm, but I can't imagine he's that stable inside. He was the one who almost collapsed after seeing what Miko was capable of.

“Have you noticed what's happening in our country right now? I doubt your little problem is getting any attention. So just leave me alone.” Miko averts her eyes as if the conversation is over for her, and just as naturally, she walks off in the direction of the entrance to the main building. I stay close to her and go with her; I don't want a fight, and I don't think there's any reason for the guild to show any aggression towards us as long as we're just looking. But my heart is racing like crazy, the tension is palpable, and I just can't let go of my worries.

"Kayla, please bring her to her senses," Johann says when we're roughly next to him, and for some reason, he reaches for me and grabs my lower arm. I pull myself free, and without giving it much thought, I activate my mana flow.

“Who do you think you are? Never touch me again."

I turn my gaze away and look at Miko, who just keeps running ahead. I was briefly afraid that his assault would provoke her to strike at him, but she is more composed than expected. With mana flowing through me, I can only now see the endless magic circles scattered around the grounds and on the buildings. They all look pretty simple, and some clearly appear to be protective spells. But I don't have time to look at them closely if I don't want to lose sight of Miko, who is getting faster and faster.

“Why are you running?”

"I don't know, intuition or something like that."

Behind a door, we find stairs leading downwards. Miko continues to run ahead as if she has a feeling of where we have to go, which is finally confirmed as we end up in a corridor where a bunch of mages and Johann are standing. I don't know how they got here before us, but it doesn't matter.

“Pretty obvious when you get in the way like that. What is it that we are not allowed to see?”

“I don't know.”

“Poor excuse.”

“Apart from Reena, no one has access to this room. I assume she wants to protect us by not letting us in.”

“Then why don't you get out of here and let me see what's going on?”

“You have no right to just come in here. Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're strong? We mages also have to obey laws, and you two are no exception."

“Can you please just shut up and get out of the way already? This doesn't have to end in me smashing your face in.” The seriousness with which she says that gives me goosebumps. Miko hates violence; she can live with killing monsters who are hostile towards her, but she is very restrained towards other people.

“I'm sorry, Kayla,” Miko whispers, and I notice how her sword liquefies and forms into gauntlets around both her arms.

With mana flowing through my index finger, I draw a simple but potent defensive spell that forms a veil around me, protecting me from both magical and physical attacks. This was the first thing I wanted to learn from Luna because my vulnerability in a fight is what would hold back any team around me.

“Hold back a little.”

“Sure.”

Miko shoots forward like a bolt of lightning, and Johann, who is on the front line, is completely incapable of reacting in time. The magical barrier drawn from his equipment is still in time before Miko's fist lands in the pit of his stomach. It shatters into countless tiny mana particles and proves to be utterly useless against her force.

You can't use area magic in such a narrow corridor. Anyone who casts a spell here can be sure of hitting their comrades. So, everyone is forced to enter into a fistfight with Miko.

The cracking of bones and the partly lifeless knocking to the ground of the hopefully just unconscious mages is a gruesome scene. I just hope that we can find something that can make all this somewhere not excusable but understandable.

Not a minute passes before more than 15 people are lying on the ground, some unconscious, others in so much pain that they are writhing and can't even think about continuing the fight.

“Go ahead and help them. If anyone wants another round after that, they might deserve it anyway."

She didn't have to tell me that none of the people present really did anything wrong, so I planned to heal them from the start. And honestly, I can't see people suffering pain, which I blame on my overly strong empathy. I go from person to person and just shoot a portion of healing magic into them. That's enough to take away their pain and mend at least the most severe injuries for now. I don't have enough faith in these people to use up more mana to heal them completely.

While I'm still crouching a few meters away from the door we wanted to get to, Miko is standing right in front of it, staring at it, waiting. Then she turns to me and starts tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.

“What do you want?”

“There's a spell on the door. Maybe you can read it before I just walk in.”

“What makes you think I can read this stuff?”

“You can draw magic circles.”

“Yes, memorized. I have no idea what they mean exactly.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Tell that to Luna. I'll do it like she showed me.”

“Okay, let's see what happens.”

Without further hesitation, Miko grabs the door handle, and with a brief flash of magical particles, she is gone. As if swallowed up by the ground. I'm sure it was teleportation magic, but still, my heart stopped for a moment.

Most likely, it's a trap, but I don't care, and let's be honest I couldn't think of anything better, so I walk to the door and put my hand on it. With a blink, I'm in another room. The first person I spot is Miko, then my eyes wander, and I recognize Surako sitting on a bed.

“Welcome to my room.”

“Yes, thank you. How do we get out of here?”

Miko shakes her head. “Not at all.”

“Why?”

“Do you see a door?”

I look around, and sure enough, there isn't one, nor are there any windows. What kind of conditions does Surako have to live in here?

“Ah, I know that look. You take pity on me. But don't worry about it. Do you see those arches on the wall? If Reena pours mana into it from the other side, I can travel to different dungeons and have some outlet."

Like a dog...

“And what about using mana from here?”

“I don't know, I can't use mana.”

“Didn't Reena tell you that your world is dying because you're all emitting so much mana?”

“Yes, that's what our clever minds in the kingdom said. The problem is that only a few can use their mana, so it accumulates in the body and then leaves it unused.”

“Why doesn't anyone teach people magic? Then the problem could be solved easily.” I know I'm thinking a bit too simplistically right now, but they must have come up with that idea, too.

“Learn magic? Do you mean spells? Almost no normal person has access to that. And even among the lords of the different districts, there's hardly anyone able or allowed to use them."

I listen to her but don't quite understand. I'm starting to get the feeling that my idea of this other world is a bit distorted.

“Does Miko's kingdom have an army?”

"Yes, of course, we are close to a demon realm."

“How many soldiers do you have?”

“Around two thousand.”

“How many of them are mages?”

“Six or seven, one was quite old, and he might be retired by now. Why do you ask that?”

I'm at a loss for words. It makes it seem as if we have too many mages in our country alone. Reena said that it was more of a by-product that mages were created in our world, but who's to say she wasn't lying? Also, isn't it a little too convenient that dungeons have started popping up everywhere, and people were forced into using their magic to defend themselves, to fight? What if the real plan was to build an army of mages to conquer the other world?

“Kayla, are you okay? You're pretty pale.”

Of course, I'm pale, and my head and stomach are spinning non-stop. How can Miko be so calm and relaxed?

“Why don't you say anything?” I ask in a tone that's a little too sharp.

“What do you want me to say? We don't really know what's going on. And without being there, it's difficult to judge either Surako's or Reena's words properly.”

"You were furious and marched in here. You beat up those guys just to be the calm one now... How am I supposed to understand you?”

“I don't know, but if you can't do it, no one can.”

I want to bang my head against these very solid-looking stone walls. Still, my instinct for self-preservation is definitely too strong for that.

“So, since you're both here. Have you decided to accept my offer?” Surako asks, jumping up from her bed.

“What offer?”

“Huuuuh? To come to our world with us, to make Miko queen?”

“Ah. No, that's not why we're here.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry.”

“It's okay.” She hangs her head sadly. Again, I am overcome by the feeling that I just want to pet her, but I can't bring myself to do it. Would she mind if I did it?

"Woah, your eyes are creepy."

Why does it never go unnoticed when I look at someone? It can't be that noticeable. And why does this fact bother me more than that she calls me creepy?

Miko suddenly begins to walk around the room. Surako and I look after her questioningly, literally waiting for her to say something.

“What are we going to do now? Should I try to break the wall? Or let mana flow into this gate?” she says with her back turned to us, staring at a wall in front of her.

“You can't get through the wall without hurting yourself. Let's just wait for Reena. She'll let us out of here.”

“You trust her, don't you?”

“Of course I do. She's never given me a reason why I shouldn't do it.”

“Do you think we trust you?”

“I wish I did, but I understand that our first encounter didn't help. So I would like to apologize for that.”

"Why should I accept your apology?" I'm not really angry with her, but somehow, she is rubbing me the wrong way.

“As a reward, you can scratch my ears and brush my fur.”

“Sounds more like a reward for you.”

“No way! We wolf people would never let a stranger touch our bodies. Or do you want more? I've felt your lustful glances, I've never had anything with another woman, but if it's the person Miko has chosen as her lover, that's fine with me, too."

“Ahh! What's wrong with you? Okay, apology accepted, and now shut up!" How can she say something like that with that submissive expression? Although I have absolutely no interest in her, one or two fantasies have crept into my mind.

Miko turns around slowly and looks at me as if I've made a mistake. Hello? I'm the victim here. I want out of here, please.

“And here she comes.” The arch on the wall begins to glow blue, and shortly afterward, Reena walks out of it and looks at us in surprise.

“What are you two doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” Miko turns around and transforms her gauntlets into a sword, which she points in Reena's direction without approaching her.

“Miko? Did I do something to upset you?” Without hesitation, it is Reena who takes one step after another toward Miko before she is only a nose's length away from the black sword's tip.

“Miko, put the sword away, please,” Surako asks, raising her hands placatingly. Meanwhile, I position myself behind Reena and activate my mana flow. If she tries anything, I can stop her, but it seems strange to me that she turns her back on me so casually. Either she doesn't take me seriously or is actually convinced that this is a genuine misunderstanding.

“Miko, maybe...” Before I can finish my sentence, she stabs Reena in the throat with her sword. But instead of blood, mana gushes out of her before she explodes like confetti.

“I've seen this spell before. Of course, it's an advantage if the person you're copying is you.” Miko explains and lowers her weapon.

I remember that Ayma had made copies of us in her dungeon to confuse us, but she couldn't imitate voices, so these doubles weren't anything but flawless. Now, the only question is whether it's the rule that she doesn't come in here in person or whether she knew we were here and played it safe.

“The portal is still open. Shall we go through?” I ask a little hesitantly. Meanwhile, Miko sits down on the bed and sighs loudly.

“I don't know. Who knows where it leads. Maybe it's a trap. Maybe we'll end up in some dungeon, maybe in her office. To be honest, I don't feel like going on.”

“What do you mean?”

“We're on vacation. I don't want to deal with this kind of shit."

“You should have thought about that before.”

“Didn't you even say you'd support me in everything I do?”

“Maybe I take that back.”

“Fair enough.”

Suddenly, Surako clears her throat, "Do you want me to test it out?"

"Please," Miko says and looks upside down in the direction of the wolf lady.

“You don't have to look at me like that to convince me I'd do anything for you.”

“Thank you.”

Can Miko please not just accept such words as if they were normal? Excuse me, your girlfriend is in the room.

“See you in a minute.” and she's gone.

“What do you think? Is she on our side?” Miko gets up from the bed and begins to gather hair from her clothes. Perhaps Surako really needs a proper grooming session.

“I don't know, she's your childhood friend.”

“That's unfair, I don't remember her.”

"Have any memories come back since you found out about your background?"

“No clear ones. More this feeling like I'm remembering things without being able to pinpoint what they're about.”

“Do you really think Lilith put a spell on you to suppress your memories?”

“Maybe, maybe not. And if she did, certainly with good reason. I'm not angry with her or anything.”

“You want to see her again, don't you?”

“I think so.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“Wait, right?”

“I mean, after we get out of here. Shall we go back home and help clear up the dungeon outbreak?”

“Sure, what else?”

“I don't know.”

“We can't just travel to another world on a whim. It has to be carefully planned, and I'd prefer to take Kajsa and Luna with us."

“You really want to go there.”

"Yes, even if it's just to drag Lilith back here."

“What if she doesn't want to come?”

“Then I'll just force her.”

“All right.”

“You'll help me, won't you?”

"I'll be by your side in any case."

“That's enough for me.”

It's the first time we've spoken so clearly about Lilith since she disappeared. It feels so natural, and somehow, a certain burden falls away from me and certainly from Miko, too. Why now and here? We're really dumb.

After Miko has removed the hair, she takes a step closer and hugs me. I put my arms around her back and rest my face on her shoulder.

“You smell like a dog.”

“I'm a wolf.”

I scream out loud and instinctively jump backward. With a racing heart, I stare at the portal from which Surako has returned.

“So?” Miko asks, unfazed.

“Follow me. I'll get you out of here.”