Chapter 36: Together

Chapter 36: Together

KAYLA

I am sure the hotel didn’t plan to hold a funeral service in the middle of the Dungeon Raid. But here we are, honoring Jora, our King of Mages. In addition to the 200 remaining participants of the Raid, almost 300 other people gathered to be part of today's ceremony.

The mainstream media paid shockingly little attention to his death. Whether this was intentional or because the Ministry of Magic asked them to is hard to say.

Many people said a few nice words about Jora on stage. I found the saddest speech to be from his adopted daughter, an elderly lady around the age of sixty who worked as his personal secretary. Jora didn't look like it, but he was over 150 years old.

Before the event moves on to the funeral feast, there is one more speaker on stage. The head of our country's Ministry of Magic. Not the mage's best friend... I've heard, but I haven't been in the business long enough to be able to tell.

The man on stage seems much younger and insignificant than I expected. Nevertheless, he has a certain charisma that makes everyone look at him.

"First of all, I would like to apologize for misusing this gathering for an announcement. But in view of the guests present, it makes little sense to postpone it any further."

I'm not quite quick enough to understand what's coming next, but Miko, who's standing next to me, just sighs.

"The ministry has decided to move up the election for king and queen of the mages and also to modify it in some ways. Instead of presenting a temporary solution, we will open the nominations tomorrow. The elections and crowning will take place at the end of the Dungeon Raid on December 31 this year."

I automatically turn my gaze to Lilith and discover her without much expression on her face. She notices it and smiles briefly at me before turning her attention back to the speaker.

“The biggest change is that in addition to a king and queen, we will have a council elected who can take on one of the roles at any time should the holder of the title be unable to do so.”

Strange that they only came up with the idea of having something like a substitute after the death of a king.

"You can find more information, including all details regarding nominations and elections, on our official website and, of course, in our offices. I can say on behalf of the ministry that I am excited about this new era, and I am sure that we, as a society of mages, will emerge stronger from this time."

It is awfully quiet as he leaves the stage.

Shortly afterward, a hotel spokesperson declared the buffet open, which we will not be attending.

Somehow, the word has spread that our two guilds were the only ones involved in clearing that S-Rank dungeon. Both Lilith and Wace want to avoid anyone trying to squeeze information out of us.

On the way to our room, Miko and I see Jora's daughter talking to Lilith. We are too far away for me to understand a single word. But apart from Lilith's unfazed expression, it seems like an animated discussion.

"Stop staring," Miko's voice was soft and gentle. She seemed a little tired since we had left the dungeon. Tired of everything and everyone. I was sure something had happened that I didn't know about, but when I asked, she denied it.

In the hallway on the way to the elevator, I notice quick footsteps behind us. I turn around and see Maisy coming towards us. She's wearing a black dress, and her hair is beautifully braided. I've never seen her look so pretty before.

"Can I come with you?"

Krystoff was the person in her guild with whom she had the most contact. Rafa, the other young healer she'd been sharing shifts with for the last few weeks, wasn't here, and they didn't seem any closer than regular work colleagues. So, who should she spend time with now?

“Sure.”

The three of us have ended up in our hotel room. I'm sitting on the bed, Maisy is lying on it, and Miko is making herself comfortable on a chair.

"How was the funeral?" Miko asks, who, like me, was not invited. Only Jora's close friends and his guild members had the opportunity to say goodbye to him in person. Only the memorial service afterward was open to everyone.

"It was depressing. I noticed how many of our guild members weren't there and how many of those who were just didn't have hard feelings for him. I count myself among them. Sure, it's cruel that he died, but if I'm honest, he was more of a stranger than a friend. I felt horrible when I saw his daughter, an old lady, burst into tears mourning her father. I felt out of place. That was not a moment I wanted or should have been a part of."

"I can imagine. But I'm sure she was happy that you were there."

The last funeral I attended was that of my mother. At the time, I was too young to care who was there and why they were there. And I don't want to attend one in the near future.

The idea of losing a loved one is scarier than losing my own life.

"We have a meeting tonight," Maisy sighs. "Wace probably wants to announce how things are going with our guild."

"We'll be there too," Miko says, much to my surprise.

"Are we?"

"Yes, I have suspicions, but let's wait and see."

◆◆◆

We are sitting in a meeting room inside the hotel. Of the original thirty or so members of the Kings' Guild, only five are present. Wace, Maisy, Enya, Alex, and Jora's daughter. On our guild's side, there was Miko, Kajsa, Luna, Lilith, and me.

Wace and Lilith are standing in front of us, both holding some papers. I am somewhat excited; the others seem bored and tense. It would be nice if they would just start.

"All right," Lilith claps her hands together, "sorry again that we're having this meeting on the same day as Jora's funeral, but Josephine said it would be a good opportunity to make this day something that isn't just a sad memory for days to come."

Josephine, the adopted daughter of Jora, who could be my grandma. She is not a witch, but nevertheless, she has always been a member of the guilds in which her father was active, most recently in his own for over twenty years.

"We are here today to announce the merging of our guilds. From now on, we will operate together under the name Aurora."

So, was the name Magic Support Guild chosen? Damn, we could have had a cool name all along?

Wace takes over. "The reason why there are so few from our old guild is that we have terminated their contracts. What we want to do with Aurora is not comparable to a guild that's just out to make money and clear dungeons."

Nobody says anything. I had expected that we would work together in the future. Lilith and Wace simply talked to each other a lot and were rarely seen apart.

I hear someone getting up and look over. Luna has risen from her seat and walks forward to Lilith and Wace.

"I will be active as guild leader, and the co-leaders will be Luna and Wace. Both will have different areas of responsibility, but Luna will be closer to my work so that she can take the lead in certain cases." Lilith nods at Luna.

"First of all, I would like to thank you both for your trust. For those who don't know me yet. My name is Luna. I've been active as a witch for just over ten years and have worked in A-Rank guilds since the beginning of my career. With Lilith busy with the election in the near future, please know that you can always come to me if you have any concerns or questions."

"Thank you for accepting this task," Wace says and then continues, "Our guild will continue to participate in the Dungeon Raid, but we are focusing on looking for irregularities. We can't be sure that the attack on Jora will be the end of it. There don't need to be any more unnecessary casualties. So much for our goals in the coming weeks. In the long term, we have further plans, more on that from Lilith."

Lilith clears her throat. "Luna already mentioned it. I will endeavor to be elected Queen of Mages. This title would give me access to more opportunities to achieve our guild's goals. One of these goals is to find out why dungeons exist. We also want to work towards making mages more accepted. We have to take away the fear that we can be a danger to people. It is enough that we have to deal with enemies from other worlds. It is not helpful that we collect them from our own.”

"Why do you think I'm interested in taking part in this madness? Mages have been trying to figure out what they are and where they come from since the dungeons were created, and you think you can do it with nine people? And influence the acceptance of the population? How about ending world hunger and wars? Don't get me wrong, I will remain a part of the guild, but the only thing I want is to find those who are responsible for the death of Jora."

As much as I have problems sympathizing with Enya, I understand her doubts. When you run Lilith's words through your mind like that, it sounds delusional. But Lilith is serious... It is clear that these are not goals that will be achieved in the near future, just as it is not clear to what extent I will play a role in these plans, but I will be a part of this.

"I know that there's a lot to process here. We fully understand if you want to think about being part of this new guild first. But be aware that we see in each of you the potential to do great things to change the current state of our world."

I think I can distinguish between what Lilith is trying to say and what it really means. It goes without saying that we have to make small steps. As Enya rightly pointed out, we just got nine members.

Not that more people will necessarily bring better results, but Maisy, Enya, and I are healers. That leaves six members for combat, where Alex is a beginner. But with Luna, Miko, and Kajsa, we have absolute monsters. As far as I can tell, Lilith and Wace play in their own leagues, even if the latter has been holding back well in my presence so far.

"We can read the doubt on your faces and have the greatest understanding of that. That's why we want to announce a few things before dismissing you for today." Wace is a bit better at playing it cool than Lilith.

"We have divided the guild into several sections. We want to focus on ensuring that everyone knows their role and can constantly improve and develop in it. We have the healers Kayla, Enya, and Maisy. We are in an excellent position with three healers, but we still want to expand to five members in this area. Kayla will be the leader of this department."

Sounds good… wait, what? “Me? I am the leader?”

"Exactly. We've all watched you develop over the last few months, and you're by far the best suited for this role. You will also be responsible for recruiting new healers for the guild."

"Okay..."

"Another department is the task force, which will be the first to go into dungeons and become active there. This squad will consist of offensive melee and ranged fighters as well as scouts. This squad will be led by Luna, who is the only really useful ranged fighter and scout right now. Kajsa is intended for close combat. We want to recruit a dedicated scout and a ranged fighter in this area as soon as possible."

I'm a bit surprised that Miko isn't part of this unit. What I can imagine is that Lilith is aware that we wouldn't particularly welcome it if Miko had to constantly put herself in danger.

"The last unit planned for the time being is the supporters. These are intended to assist the other groups. It was important to us that the members are all-rounders to a certain extent. Miko will lead the unit as she is incredibly versatile. She will be joined by Alex, who has a vast knowledge of dungeons and can also engage in combat. We are also looking for at least two new members for this unit."

So, to summarize, we are looking for two new members for each unit. The healers will be led by me, the task force by Luna, and the supporters by Miko. It's almost as if our guild has eaten up Jora's, with only Wace as co-leader holding an official role.

"We've also already found a guild building. It's in the town of Alex's former magic school. A small place but very centrally located and with good train connections to all the major cities in the country. We have offices for each section leader and small apartments for every member. It's almost like a dormitory."

All this was not so unusual; whether in small or large guilds, the members often lived together. This made it easier to form an actual unit. I'm already looking forward to the new space. It will be nice to live in something other than a hotel room again.

Lilith scrolls through her notes and then looks at us again. "That's all from our side for now. Over the next few days, we'll be having small meetings with you to discuss more detailed plans for the month of October. Thank you very much for your attention."

It is uncomfortably quiet for a moment before Kajsa starts clapping… everyone looks at her, slightly irritated.

"Hmm?" She is just as confused as we are, which leads to Maisy starting to laugh.

Meanwhile, Luna and Lilith come to us while Enya goes to Wace. Before Lilith reaches us, Miko jumps up and leaves the room. I notice the worried expressions and run after her.

"Hey, Miko... wait for me."

She stops and turns around.

"Come on then." Her smile immediately put me at ease. Somehow, I was worried that she was in a bad mood.

"Is everything all right?"

"I think so, but somehow, it all sounds too romantic to me. We're merging with the deceased king's guild, kicking everyone out. Soon, we'll be living together in a cute little house and looking for new members for our units. All this is to fulfill the honorable task of saving the world from the dungeons and putting the mages in a good light. What is not mentioned is that we can expect to be betrayed, to be hated, to have to kill humans. Yes, I think everyone is aware of it, but I still have a little difficulty seeing it all in such a positive light."

"I know what you mean, but no one is forcing us to be a part of it. If you want, we can find something new. In the end, it's important that we're together."

"It's funny that you suggest to leave our current life behind. Just a few months ago, I suggested the same thing to you. At least I wanted to help you stop being a witch."

She's right. I used to have the urge to quit, leave the guild, and return to a normal life. And even though I'm still constantly learning new things, the uncertainty of my job scares me. But this life of magic is my new normal.

"Wait... hey, wait for me... please!" Maisy calls through the corridor as she runs towards us. Miko sighs and comes to a halt.

She reaches us and looks me in the eye. Before either of us says anything, her lips start to tremble, and tears begin to run down her cheeks.

I take her in my arms.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm so happy we'll be in a guild. All sorts of things have been going through my mind in the last few days. I just wanted to disappear."

Unable to think of any words, I gently pat the back of her head.

"In the handful of moments I could share with you," she pulls up her snoot, "I realized what wonderful people you all are."

"We're not that great, but I'm sorry that you were surrounded by people who betrayed your trust. I'm looking forward to working with you." Miko is probably trying to cheer her up, but the words only make Maisy cry again.

KRYSTOFF

I had always thought that my life couldn't get any worse. At least now, I'm sure that things will hardly go any further downhill.

Will they listen to what I have to say? Well, I don't mean that I'm innocent. But considering the information I have, no one can accuse me of acting unreasonably.

Just how stupid am I? It doesn't matter what I know. I got used. I can't complain when they frame me for Jora's murder.

But I didn't actually do anything. I'm a pawn in a chess game that I can't understand.

At least they kept their promise not to hurt Maisy or Kayla. To what extent they themselves contributed to this will remain a mystery.

I told them that they would lose if Lilith decided to join the match. If we want to stay with chess, she is not a figure but the player. The player of her own game, creating her own rules.

Like pretty much every mage, I never saw her in action. But it wasn't normal how people talked about her. Compared to her, even Jora seemed like an insignificant side character.

And despite her popularity, there is not one person who would think that she is not the savior she is portrayed as. All this while no one knows what magic she can even use.

Somehow, I'm just waiting for her to walk into my cell sooner or later and kill me. But why should she? What are my words worth?

A knock on the door that separates me from freedom snaps me out of my thoughts. An employee of the ministry enters the room with another person.

By the way, I'm currently in a plain room in the same town where the Dungeon Raid is taking place. With magic, you can lock a person up anywhere without worrying about using an actual prison.

"You are free to go, but first, the doctor will take another look at your wound."

Doctor?

I focus my eyes on the other person. It's Rayan, this dubious healer who works where the money is. The ministry guy leaves the room and leaves us alone.

"What do you think? Why are you still alive?"

“Huh?”

"First, you are saved from certain death by an absolute beginner. In a fight against a real demon, you don't get a scratch, and now you get away with just losing one arm. If you ask me, you're one lucky bastard."

I don't know where he's going with his speech, but I can't help but feel uncomfortable.

"If you have enough money saved up from your previous jobs, you can just buy a new arm. When you've done that, come to me, I'm an expert at operating with the mana system."

"What did you mean by the first statement?"

"That you're lucky? I don't know, I think I congratulated you. While someone like Jora had to die, you're alive. Don't get me wrong, we all know you are not to blame; you didn't kill him. I doubt you could ever kill anyone, to be honest."

Of course, I hadn't killed him. But I could not help him either. We had to defend ourselves against these strange masked people.

When we arrived at the church, we were surrounded, and before we knew it, we were trapped by a barrier and affected by a sleeping spell.

Unlike my team, I was woken up again. I was faced with an obvious choice. Cooperate or die with the others. I was allowed to make the condition that Kayla and Maisy would be spared if they met.

As if I had known that they would rush to my aid. I realize that Kayla wasn't there for me personally. Maisy, however, had taken a liking to me for some reason.

I expected to die that day. And our captors probably thought the same. There was no other reason why they told me about their goals.

They had convinced me that Jora's death was necessary for the big picture. They made me realize that I only played a small part but that I was essential to make it work.

"Okay, normally, you shouldn't be in any more pain now. Luckily, it was Luna who attacked you. A shot from that gun wouldn't have ended well. As frustrating as it was not being able to save Jora, a weapon that destroys the mana system so that it no longer tolerates magic is impressive."

"How is Miko doing?"

"She's doing great."

"How?"

"That's what I'm asking myself. If the same weapon was used, it's either because Miko's body works differently than Jora's or because Kayla's magic is simply better than mine."

I refrain from saying it, but I have felt Kayla's magic myself. What she does has little to do with the healing I knew from other mages.

Kayla's magic is less a process than a change of fact, from wounded to healed.

"What are you doing with your newfound freedom?"

"I don't know, but nothing related to dungeons for now."

"If you're looking for work, contact me."

"I'll think about it."

"I know."

???

"My Majesty, she has returned."

"Excellent."

The magnificent throne room of a demon king, adorned with dark stone, is filled with the sound of the gentle footsteps of a tender figure.

Her eyes glowing red, the iris dyed yellow. Long white hair, porcelain-like skin. For a human, she was what you would call breathtakingly beautiful. To this demon king, she was nothing more than one of many humans.

"How is my daughter? Is Kajsa all right?"

"She seemed that way."

"Wonderful. When will she be back?"

"I have no idea. I didn't get to ask her."

"I've already heard that almost the entire troop I provided you with has been killed."

"Correct."

"Why? Is the quality of mages over there that high?"

"Not comparable to ours, in general. But we came across a special bunch. Your daughter also played a big part in our failure."

"Did you at least achieve your personal goals?"

"You could say that. Even if it was only through one of my dolls, I was able to talk to my sister."

"I assume your sister is as talented as you?"

"I prefer to think of myself as a hard worker rather than someone talented. But she's indeed extremely powerful."

"If I had known then that such magic existed among you humans, I would not have swept across your lands so ruthlessly."

"The realization won't bring my parents back, but I appreciate your words."

The demon begins to laugh, and the white-haired woman has no choice but to do the same.