Chapter 2

ELEGANT

IRA

The upper floors of the hotel were an exercise in decadence.
The beach party on the ground floor was loud and unapologetic. But the ambience on the upper levels was different. Gentle lights and subdued whispers replaced the booming staccato of R&B and EDM. In place of shirtless bartenders and attendants in bikinis were impeccably dressed servants in fashionable tuxedos.
The guests on the upper floors were not intoxicated, mashing together on slippery sand. They were wealthy and sophisticated, sitting in private booths, dressed for a country club instead of a beach.
Ira had no idea how she and Hiromi ended up here.
“Are you alright?” the princess asked, nursing a glass of what looked like brandy.
Ira wrapped her arms around the princess’ shoulder and smiled. “I like it here. Fewer people!”
Hiromi winced. “You do not need to shout.”
The two of them were already turning heads, although most of the attention was on Hiromi. This town was at the edge of the empire. A foreign princess like Hiromi— with her exotic, pale skinned appearance— was probably a rare sight.
Most of the guests— here and on the beach below— were in their late teens or early twenties. The guests below were loud, unapologetic, and grounded on everything that moved. The guests up here preferred to look, not touch.
Their gazes had a quiet intensity, as if they were devouring Hiromi and Ira with their eyes.
It was a little gross.
Ira felt like prey, just waiting to be eaten.
A bold young man approached Hiromi, driven by the artificial confidence provided by alcohol.
Before he could get a word in, Hiromi asked, in her soft, doll-like voice. “Edelcroft?”
The man’s eyes widened a fraction, his confidence faltering for a moment. “No, but I’m—”
“Then I have no reason to talk to you,” Hiromi replied, striding forward.
The man, disappointed with what happened but still very much looking for someone to talk to, turned his attention to Ira and smiled.
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Avalsari!” Ira said, in perfect Avalsari, as she ran after Hiromi.
Hiromi’s presence was like a magnet. Heads turned as she walked by. The guests on the floor were wealthy, highborn. The third or second sons of small merchant families, barons, or earls. But Hiromi was royalty.
And she was hot, which probably contributed the most to the attention she was getting.
“Why are we here again?” Ira asked, falling into step beside her. She glanced at the party below, where Lariel was shotgunning a beer can. “The party’s down there!”
Hiromi glanced at her friend, eyebrows lifting in amusement.
“I am here to show my respect.”
“To who, bro?” Ira asked.
Hiromi gave a small smile, walking ahead. Ira groaned, jogging after her.
They arrived on a balcony booth on its own platform, overlooking the party below. A VIP spot filled with a cadre of wealthy looking guests. Boys and girls. College aged youths in expensive velvets and silks.
At the center of the table was a confident young man, his arms stretched across the back of the couch. A pair of attractive women leaned against either side of him. One of them rubbed his chest, whispering in his ear. The other was busy with her phone.
He was shirtless of course, well built, and decently good looking.
His aedel markings glowed like tattoos across his chest and arms.
His smile was self assured and confident, the expression of a man who knew he could get anything he wanted.
Hiromi did not blush. She did not even look at his body. Her expression wasn’t severe. It was empty.
She stared at the man and tilted her head a fraction to the right. She was like a porcelain doll come to life.
“Charmed,” Hiromi’s voice was flat. “Lord Edelcroft?”
The man’s confidence wavered.
“You look familiar,” he said. “Lady…?”
“Hayashibara,” Hiromi replied.
A look of recognition crossed the young lord’s face. Although they were not part of the empire, Hiromi’s family stood on the same level as members of the Circle— the rulers of the empire’s territories.
“I— I apologize,” he said, hastily sitting up, causing the girl leaning on him to almost drop her phone. “The booze— the alcohol. It’s getting to me, you know? Please, sit.”
He kicked the shin of one of the male guests in the booth, glaring at him to leave. The man grumbled, pulling his friend up, eyed Hiromi then Ira, and then left.
Hiromi didn’t sit immediately. She remained standing, staring at Edelcroft, her expression unreadable.
Edelcroft was pale now. He swallowed visibly.
“Uh— can I help you?”

# # #

“Are you kidding me?” Ira gestured wildly with her arms, causing the iced tea in her glass to slosh around. “You’re turning this into a job? What happened to ‘wanting to relax’?”
Hiromi’s gaze fell towards the cup of wine she nursed in her own hands.
“Relaxing was your idea.”
“It was everyone’s idea!” Ira said. “You were onboard!”
She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then collapsed onto the couch, resting her head on the backrest to glare at the kaleidoscope of party lights projected on the ceiling.
“Please allow me to pursue this one lead,” Hiromi said softly.
Ira crossed and uncrossed legs.
“Fine. But after this, you and I are dancing.”
Hiromi gave a small smile, turning her attention back to their host.
The province of La Niña was ruled by both the Divinus Church and a council of noble houses. House Edelcroft was the most prominent. Ludolf was their third in line.
Despite being a big tourist hub, the province was far removed from empire politics. The incident at the Watcher exam might as well have happened on the other side of the world to them. The people in the region lived their lives like nothing happened. They partied. They danced, ignorant of how the world had just changed.
Ludolf Edelcroft was no different.
“We are just a resort town, nothing else,” he spoke nervously. Without his groupies and attendants, the lord seemed smaller. Scared. “I don’t know anything about rebels.”
Hiromi and Ira sat across from him. Ira wanted to ask questions, but Hiromi was leading the interrogation. The princess played both good cop and bad cop, leaving Ira with nothing to really do but look intimidating.
Hiromi’s silence was enough to keep the man talking.
“The town has a storied history,” Ludolf said. “It’s one of a handful of towns with access to the sea. And— you know— the ocean has fewer demons. Smugglers have been using this beach for centuries to sneak into the empire. That was how the town was built. Smugglers and pirates, building a community.”
Hiromi tilted her head a fraction to the right, raising her eyebrow.
Ludolf’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously.
“But that was a long time ago!” he held up his hands. “I promise! The council families took over centuries ago, bringing order to chaos. Now, the city guard keeps an eye on all of the old entrances and ports. We keep records of all Third Magic citizens, even visitors. My lady, if you’re worried that the town is harboring fugitives or revolutionaries, I can give you my word that we are not.”
Ludolf leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. His aedel markings had stopped glowing. His concentration gone.
“We’re just a resort town,” he repeated the same words as before. Like a mantra.
“There’s something you’re not telling us,” Ira pointed out. “Town near the sea. A smuggler’s paradise turned resort town. But why aren’t you guys down there, partying with the rest? Were those girls you were with nobles as well?”
Ludolf couldn’t meet her gaze.
“It’s not safe for me to be down there,” he said.
“Why?” Ira asked. “They’re your people, right? Sure, some of them might be tourists like us, but I imagine most of them are La Niñan.”
Ludolf fell silent. Hiromi remained as still as a statue.
Ira did her research.
She suggested the beach in the first place.
La Niña wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. On official channels, the town was a paradise— an affordable haven for people from all walks of life, from across all empire territories. It was a town of nice beaches and nicer people.
But Ira looked closer. She scoured message boards and local threads. The citizens of La Niña were struggling to keep up with the uptick of tourists. A sudden influx of rich visitors necessitated improvements in infrastructure. Hotels. Bars. Expensive restaurants.
Normally, a small town like this would thrive from the sudden attention of the imperial community. But the upper class of the province had a monopoly on land and resources.
Locals from the middle to lower income brackets couldn’t just set up businesses to cater to their new guests. They were employed, sure.
But that wasn’t enough.
The economy of the town was shifting.
And most people were being left behind.
The gap between the rich and the poor was common across the Avalsari Empire. In La Niña it was among the worst. The gap was almost insurmountable and the people felt exploited.
Faced with rising prices and increased costs of living, some people turned to crime.
Particularly smuggling.
“Does this town have a lot of Third Magic users?” Ira asked.
Hiromi’s head snapped toward her. Her stoic expression transformed into surprise.
“You can’t just ask that,” she whispered.
“Yeah I can. You’re taking too long to ask! Look. There are only two types of people who can walk through the Haze,” Ira raised her index and middle finger. “The Imperial Family and Third Magic users.”
She stood up, pointing at Ludolf.
“You said this place was founded by smugglers and pirates before the council families took over.” she pointed at Ludolf. “Do you guys keep your Third Magic users happy?”
Ludolf stared, his mouth flapping open like he was a fish out of water.
Ira snapped her fingers.
“Hah! I guess you don’t. Bingo.”
Hiromi’s jaw dropped.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Ira threw up her hands. “You said you wanted to investigate. There you go. Bing-bam-boom—”
“Bing-bang-what?”
“My deduction and interrogation skills are S tier, princess. This town is messed up. The rich take advantage of the poor. The poor are pissed. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this. But that doesn’t mean that this town was involved in the attack. It’s gentrified, but civil unrest? You’re only going to stress yourself out if you keep worrying like this.”
Hiromi’s expression hardened. Her white eyes met Ira’s red. And then, her expression softened. A look of guilt crossed her doll-like features.
“Let’s go back to the beach and relax,” Ira’s voice was gentle as she held onto Hiromi’s hand. “You can breathe. Gleichheit isn’t here.”
Someone screamed.
A pulse of demonic energy cut through the air, causing Ira’s hair to stand on end.
Her smile faltered.
“Never mind.”

# # #

CHAPTER 2
ATTACK

Codex 02: The Third Magic, Aperture Magic
A curse that manifests in the bodies of those born outside of a First Magic bloodline. It allows the user to form contracts with Evertos Demons or Animus.

# # #

A massive figure emerged from the kitchens, towering over the guests that fled in its wake. It was a little over eight feet tall, covered in blood. Its body seemed human, but its neck and arms were too long. Four pairs of eyes stared from the darkness, burning red, its gaping maw hanging open as if the tendons had been cut.
It was bald and sinewy, its wrists clasped by manacles, its chains dragging across the expensive wooden floor.
“That is ugly,” Ira said, leaning over the couch.
Hiromi bit her lower lip, still reflecting on Ira’s words.
Ludolf screamed, scrambling backwards on the couch. Moments ago he was flexing his aedel markings, clocking his cores. Now he was scared as everyone else.
“Looks like it’s coming for you, big guy,” Ira said. “You ever faced a Vengeance Demon before?”
“What!?” he asked.
“Huh. Guess you haven’t,” Ira said, standing up and stretching her arms. She turned to Hiromi. “Permission to kill?”
Hiromi’s glazed, distant expression returned to its original hardened state.
“Granted.”

# # #

LARIEL SAVANT

Lariel danced alone on a small, elevated platform at the center of the party with a bottle of beer in her hand. The other party-goers cheered her on.
The incident, the funeral— they were all distant memories now.
Ira’s suggestion to come to the beach reignited Lariel’s heart.
It was exhilarating to just dance. To forget. To go back to the small things, to the here and now. She was held back by regret. But now she was here, dancing— making new memories with her new best friends.
Something crashed onto one of the other empty platforms.
The music skidded to a cartoonish halt.
People screamed and ran.
Chaos.
She turned around and saw Ira kneeling atop a Vengeance Demon— punching it in the face over and over again. Her upper arms were glowing bright with aedel markings— the sign that the First Magic was flowing through her veins.
“Babe…” Lariel placed her hands on her hips. “You ruined the vibe.”
Ira stopped.
She looked up at Lariel, her bloodied fist in the air. She blinked once, then twice. Then she continued punching the demon’s face in. Each punch further cracked the remnants of the glass and metal platform they all stood on.
The demon roared— the sound was guttural, like blood boiling— and twisted its body inward. It kicked Ira in the stomach, sending her crashing into the ceiling.
Its bashed-in face reconfigured, slowly regenerating. Lariel could hear the bone and muscle mending even from a few meters away.
“That is so gross,” she said.
The demon rose to its full height, towering over her. It leered. She gave an awkward smile then threw the beer bottle onto its face. The creature growled, confused. Lariel hopped back, pointing a finger at the creature.
Her Vessel Ring appeared above her head, an intricate, two ringed halo glowing white hot. She drew mana from it, channeling it through the air and into the beer.
“Alchemical Manipulation—” she performed a Shortening. “—Exotherm!”
The alcohol content in beer was typically not enough to be flammable. But the spell changed that. Exotherm altered the chemical composition of an object. With a Full Invocation, she would have been able to turn the beer into liquid hydrogen. But she only had time to perform a Shortening. The Shortening instead turned the beer into gasoline.
The monster made no attempt to wipe off the liquid. Lariel drew a circular motion with her finger.
“Emitting spark!” she invoked another Shortening. The spell wouldn’t be as effective, but the casting time was drastically reduced.
Mana travelled from her vessel ring, onto the spell circle, igniting and transforming into a lightning bolt. The bolt slammed into the creature, igniting the beer, bathing the entire beach in amber light.
Lariel smiled, placing her free hand on her hip.
The fire burned white hot.
But the creature remained untouched.
It took a step forward towards her.
And so she ran, girlishly hopping off the platform and calling for her friends.
“Help please!”

# # #

NIKITA TAKAHASHI

Nikita was having the time of her long, immortal life. She was never much of a party girl, but centuries of living could change a person’s perspective. Over the years she had learned to let loose, to understand that living in the moment was just as important as living for the future.
But now, her brief moment of sanctity was interrupted by an Evertos Demon.
She swiveled her chair around to watch the commotion. Her friends— women born in the nine-fifties had already left in a panic. Shame. She was having fun reminiscing with them.
A few meters to Nikita’s right, Ira’s legs popped out from the wall she was thrown into. The white-haired girl emerged from the wreckage, brows furrowed in anger. She ripped off a sleeve from her shirt, revealing a slim, but toned arm, glowing with the arrow-like formation of aedel markings common in the Ea Farlands.
“Are you okay?” Nikita asked.
Ira glanced at her and nodded. “Yeah. Offer support?”
Nikita shrugged.
“We were supposed to be relaxing!” Lariel screamed from the beach. The blonde smoothly picked up someone’s discarded slipper, threw it, then teleported towards it in a flash of golden light.
“It’s tough,” Ira cracked her fingers. She hopped in place once, twice, thrice. Then she kicked the ground and rushed forward in a sudden explosion of magical energy. She crossed the twenty meter distance in a heartbeat, slamming into the monster as it ran after Lariel.
“Kids are so energetic these days,”
Nikita stretched her arms forward and stood. She held her hand to the side, speaking to her animus.
“Come, Arsenal.”

# # #

Ira slammed into the Vengeance Demon, sending both herself and the creature crashing into the DJ’s abandoned stage. She picked herself up from the ground, her skin unharmed due to First Magic reinforcement. They crashed through a music deck, causing it to go haywire. A mishmash of songs boomed from the speakers— unrecognizable, loud, and distorted.
It was really distracting.
She pressed a button on the deck, trying to turn it off. It skipped to the next song. A k-pop boyband love song. Lariel’s favorite. Ira pressed it again. It transitioned an operatic melody singing about the pointlessness of existence.
“Boring!” she mashed the button one last time.
Nu metal and rap rock blasted through the speakers.
“Woo!”
Ira threw up her hands. During the party, the DJ was blasting resonant, high-energy techno. This was more to Ira’s liking.
If they were going to have their vacation interrupted by a demon attack, she was at least going to try and enjoy herself.
She cracked her knuckles, watching as the demon kicked aside a speaker.
“Let’s dance!”
She charged, eyes mad with excitement.
Ira flew through the air, her foot slamming into the monster’s head, causing it to snap back. It clumsily swatted at her but she ducked away, rolling onto the sand before kicking herself up to send a flurry of blows into its chest.
With the screaming music blasting in her ears, she dodged and weaved, her movements synchronizing to the tempo of the song. She faintly felt the gazes of the party-goers. For a moment she felt like Lariel, relishing in the attention.
That caused her to slip.
Her concentration wavered for a moment and the demon was able to get a hit in. Its fist slammed against her chest with enough force to destroy a concrete pillar. But reinforcement kept her alive. Instead of dying she simply skidded back, a mad look in her eyes.
The demon roared.
It charged. But then a white-gold arrow appeared out of nowhere and struck its center mass. The monster flew sideways and away from Ira, crashing through palm trees before inevitably stopping at a boulder.
The arrow had come from Nikita.
Ira ran after the monster, her magically-enhanced legs allowing her to glide through the sands at forty-kilometers an hour.
When she found the demon, it was struggling to remove the arrow from its chest. The arrow was embedded so deeply that the demon was practically nailed to the rock.
The Vengeance roared, its blood-soaked face a terrifying sight. It gave up trying to remove the arrow and instead slowly pushed itself off the boulder.
Ira continued running. From behind her, a series of white swords— these ones made of pure white light instead of white-gold metal, flew past her head and slammed into the demon’s flesh. The swords pinned the monster against the stone.
The smaller swords were Lariel’s doing, a Second Magic spell.
Ira skidded to a halt. She held up her left arm and ran her right arm across the back of its surface. Her forearms were flint and tinder, the aedel markings were fuel.
Her arms caught fire, burning with such intensity that she had to reinforce her eyes to keep them open.
She planted her feet on the sand and lifted her burning right arm backward.
She couldn’t stop herself from grinning.
She was looking forward to a night of partying and drinks.
But this was way more fun.
She drove as much magical energy into her raised arm, like filling a barrel with TNT.
And then she drove her fist forward.
The resulting impact sent an explosion of fire blasting in every direction, engulfing her, the demon, and the boulder it was pinned against.
When the smoke cleared, Ira stood tall, amidst a small lake of glass.