Inheritors IV / Interference

“We should arrive at the town of Fordin in about four hours,” Professor Seris explained. “Once there, we will have to continue on foot to reach the academy, which is located atop the adjacent hill. This would be a good time to rest up before then.”

While it was, in practice, not too different from sitting in the back of a car, a part of me was excited at the idea of riding a genuine horse-drawn carriage through a mountain pass. Of course, I was far too embarrassed to reveal that fact, so I suppressed all traces of giddiness as I entered the cart behind the others.

Though, fortunately or unfortunately, that excitement faded entirely by the first hour mark. Around the fifth or sixth time I reached into my pocket to pull out a nonexistent phone, I began to grow worried my modern upbringing had stunted my ability to handle boredom.

My eyes slid between the other passengers of the carriage, who had been more or less silent the entire trip. While I couldn’t say I’d feel comfortable sitting amongst a merry conversation between strangers (and I certainly wouldn’t participate in it myself), I wished I had something to listen to, at least.

Within the first few minutes of our trip, Headmaster Amund, Kerne, and Shina had all pulled out books or paper and began silently working or studying to pass the time. With Professor Seris out front leading the horses, Akio taking a nap, and Mara gazing wordlessly at the scenery like before, that left no conversations to be had.

I considered trying to sleep like Akio, but I knew I’d never manage to feel comfortable enough around a group this unfamiliar to get any proper rest. As my thoughts drifted toward Akio, however, a question formulated in my mind.

Where is he from?

If I were to guess based on the analogies he used, we were probably from the same world. I wondered if we had anything in common, anything mutual from our shared origin. I could always ask him, but…

I shouldn’t bother him. He’s got a lot to process with everything going on.

As I shut myself down and searched for something new to occupy my mind, I took inspiration from Mara and turned behind me to drink in the scenery before it got too dark.

Among the many trees scattered beyond the confines of the dirt path our ride traced, I spotted a person leaning against one of the trunks. Our route appeared to be well-tended and well-traveled, so the sight of another party didn’t feel out of place. They could have been passing through like us, or perhaps they lived in the area.

And yet, a feeling of unease washed over me the moment my vision locked on to the person standing a short distance away. Once they noticed my gaze, they flipped up the hood of their cloak and placed a hand to the tree. Something like words or a picture was carved into the wood where their hand touched.

Every alarm bell in my mind was set off at once. “Professo—”

The carving became bathed in a bright blue light emanating from the contours of the design. The carriage jolted to a halt, and I heard the professor curse under his breath. Turning my head slightly in that direction was enough to notice four other sources of blue light leaking out from behind nearby trees. I might not have been native to this world, but…

That’s magic! It has to be!

“Get down!” I wasn’t sure who shouted that command.

Someone grabbed my shirt from behind and tugged me to the back of the carriage before I even had a chance to react. Then, without loosening their grip, they dove out, and we slammed into the dirt road.

The sound of wood splintering and the cries of panicked horses rang out a moment later, followed by the beating of hooves moving off into the distance. Scanning my surroundings, I counted all six of my traveling companions sprawled around the carriage, each seemingly unharmed by the initial onslaught.

“Are you alright, Everett?” Professor Seris, who I now realized had dragged me to safety, asked.

“Y-yeah,” I replied in a daze.

Although my mind was overwhelmed by the sudden attack, my gaze instinctually shot back toward the first person I noticed and the haunting blue glow they manifested. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but what I saw next only added to my anxiety.

Purple mud was leaking through the carving, levitating and shaping itself into a discrete form, as if an invisible potter were sculpting a masterpiece before my eyes. First came the snout, with razor-sharp fangs coiling forth to fill the gaping maw. The sludge solidified its shape into a serpentine torso next, and from this chassis, four appendages burst out violently, rupturing the raw flesh. The two upper limbs writhed and recoiled as more bits of fat oozed from them, coagulating and fusing to form a set of taloned wings. As the last of the pollution bled from the symbol, the tip of the beast’s tail ripped open and twisted its shape into a second, eyeless jaw as dangerous as the first. The creature was about the size of a human, and it was far more terrifying than anything I had ever set my eyes upon before.

Somehow, I knew. The professor had described them as “colossal”, yet despite the discrepancy I was seeing, I instinctively knew this wyvern-esque monster had to be…

“Ames Nori,” Kerne whispered in a shocked voice. “They’re summoning Anomaly Beast Fragments!”

I recalled the four other blue lights that had emerged right before we were attacked. Assuming they each created one of these monsters, it meant there were at least five attackers and five of these “Fragments” to contend with. As much as I tried to resist it, panic was beginning to set in.

“Seris.” A commanding voice belonging to the headmaster resounded over the battlefield. The voice was firm but reassuring, and it somehow eased my fear in an instant. “Stay back and protect the new ones.”

Headmaster Amund stood up, undaunted. He held out a hand, and, heralded by an artificial burst of light, a sword appeared in his grip. “Kerne, Mara, Shina; I apologize, but as I cannot wound them, I must leave the Fragments to you. As for the human attackers…”

Another volley of flashing projectiles descended upon the one person brave enough to leave the cover of the carriage. Rather than move or dodge, the headmaster readied his sword, and in a flash, sliced clean through the balls of white magical energy.

“… they’re mine!”

The man, who I was sure could’ve been no younger than fifty, shot toward the source of the barrage at a speed I could barely perceive. After seeing that, any doubts I might have had about the academy’s credentials were long gone.

At his request, Kerne and Mara rose, and Shina, despite the shaking in her legs, joined them a second later. Much like the headmaster, each of the three held out an arm, and with flashes of light, armaments appeared in their grasps: a massive shield for Kerne, a hefty longbow for Mara, and an ornate wooden staff for Shina.

“I will draw their attention,” Kerne shouted, taking charge. “Shina, chip down their armor as best you can. Mara, fire into the cracks she opens before they can be repaired. Unfortunately, with our three skillsets, only you can feasibly deal a killing blow.”

“Understood.”

“G-got it!”

As if answering their resolve, five winged monstrosities descended from the gentle slopes flanking either side of the path, some crawling and others flying.

Kerne closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“NOW!”

He charged straight toward the nearest creature and, without hesitation, swung his shield at it like a mace.

“Osnesor!”

The moment his attack made contact, he shouted a strange word. A green light emerged from his shield, and a moment later, the monster he’d struck shot backward several dozen feet, blasted away by some invisible force.

The sudden assault drew the attention of the four other beasts, who all diverted their trajectories toward the new threat.

“Shina, it’s time!” Mara crouched and darted away from the rest of us.

Shina nodded and dashed in the opposite direction.

“Akio, Everett, we need to get back. We can’t help them!” Professor Seris urged us to retreat, but my eyes were locked onto the scene before me.

Mara, nocking an arrow and taking aim mid-sprint; Kerne, standing tall despite being surrounded on all sides; Shina, angling her staff toward her enemies, a look of naked determination on her face.

I just couldn’t take my eyes off the spectacular sight.