Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (18 page)

Eric nodded. Removing the Subjugation Collar from her
neck, he swung it like a flail at Nulso’s head. Since it was enchanted with
ordercraft, it sailed through all his barriers and struck his head squarely. He
collapsed like any other out-of-shape and middle-aged academic when beaned with
a metallic object. Dropping the collar, Eric picked up Staff-Soiléir and cut
through the tendrils restraining Annala.

His eyes were still clouded over and Nulso’s tendrils were
still deep in his mind and spirit. Technically, he was still under ordercraft
mind control, but his master had changed due to a vow he made long ago and
confessed this very night.

“I thank you, my monstrous knight,” Annala said with a
curtsy. “To reward your devotion, allow me to empower you further.”

She drew one more arrow, configured it on her bow, and
then stabbed him with it. He roared as its energy flooded him. It was painful,
but not how he remembered stab wounds. This was more like heat after a long
period of cold. It felt like immunization. It resonated with the Chaos Tip. His
enlightened Razor Spirit understood it. He bowed his head to his lady and then
turned to the threat against her.

Nulso was just now standing up. The power of Order drew
mana from the environment to aid his recovery, but he was still unsteady on his
feet. Without preamble, Eric slashed from low to high to break his barrier.
Stepping forward and changing hands, he slashed high to low and split open
Nulso’s chest. Chambering his spear, he lunged forward and impaled the
ordercrafter.

“You’re grown stronger...” he croaked out, “…but not
strong enough!”

He repelled the boy with a burst of spirit power, then
sent his order tendrils to occupy him while he himself recited a prayer.

“No soul escapes the All-Seeing Eye. No power exists
beyond the All-Controlling-Hand. Resistance is Forlorn.”

 A spirit pillar burst around Nulso and converted into the
eldritch light of Order. Space distorted all around the couple and order
constructs crawled out. They were surrounded by hands, claws, tendrils, and
other forms. The aura retracted and fit around him like ghostly plate mail, the
Armor of Stability.

It froze his injury in time. His eyes glowed a solid grey
and radiated power. He reached out with a spear of his own, forged of his
divinely enhanced spirit, and impaled Eric in his turn.

Past his barrier, past his grendel skill, and deep into
his being it penetrated. Reaching into the far regions of the boy’s soul, it
condemned the structure as chaotic. A system-wide subjugation was the only
cure.

“
Obey me!
By the power of Order, I demand your compliance!
”

Eric spat on Nulso’s face.  

“Impossible…This is the power of Absolute Control…”

The Orderly Spear had encountered Annala’s immunization.
It was a shifting mass of mana and chaos driven forward by a vow of love.
Together with the order tendrils, it formed a firewall around Eric’s spirit. He
executed one spear combo after another, chipping away at Nulso’s armor with
every strike.

“One cannot serve two masters,” Annala said. “Nor is it
lawful to poach someone else’s servant. You can’t control him anymore.”

Eric smashed into the chest plate dead center and
punctured it just a little bit. His mouth was open to reveal his fangs and his
eyes screamed madness. For just a second, Nulso felt the Universal Dread in
those eyes. His resolve wavered, and his faith flat-lined. Thus his armor
vanished and Eric ran him through. Then he lifted the ordercrafter and pile-drove
him away from the exit.

“My lady!
Now!”

Annala raced for the exit, voluminous skirts in one hand
and Gruffle’s head in the other. The Death Killer bow was over her shoulder.
Nulso threw constructs after her, but Eric slashed them and kicked him in the
teeth. He wanted to rip Nulso apart, feast on his organs, and then shit on the
corpse.
Kill the threat!
his instincts screamed. Instead, he followed
his lady outside.

Nulso stood up and created another storm of constructs.
Annala notched another arrow and inscribed another magic circle. Eric
brandished his spear and chanted a spell. At the moment before they all
attacked, a lightning bolt struck the ground between them. It became a noble
lady with pale skin and a black gown.

"Thanks for the assist," Eric said.

"Don't thank me," Samael said. "I simply
lost the wager."

"See!" Annala said. "She's a
sociopath!"

Samael ignored the comment and turned to face Nulso. He
was clearly upset at being upstaged by the reaper. With her usual serenity, she
said, "Nulso, you have my sincerest condolences for your failure in
capturing the elf girl."

"I'll capture you instead! Death is no match for
Order!"

With a scream, he directed the constructs meant for the children
against the death goddess. She pulled a scythe out of thin air composed of a
mythril blade and orichalcum shaft. With it, she effortlessly destroyed them
all. Then she vanished and reappeared behind him with the curved blade
encircling his neck.

"Don't make me destroy you."

“I swear as an ordercrafter that they will be safe from me
for ten local hours."

"Good. Now go away."

Samael returned to the couple and dismissed her weapon. Touching
Annala’s forehead, she dispelled the starburst on Annala’s forehead.

 "As promised, I shall drop the charges against you
and forgive the elf girl's assault against me. However..." She pointed a
gloved finger. "Mark my words, Eric Watley, there will be consequences for
your inaction. Until I find a replacement for Reno Grade, the dead will not
rest. All over this world, spirits will languish in isolation. In every nation,
spirits will strike out. In every family, there will be someone who suffers the
same pain as your elf girl. In every case, it will be
your
fault."

"Go away!" Annala shouted. "Or I'll stick
you full of arrows again."

Samael curtsied and disappeared.

"What did she mean 'the same pain'?" Eric asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Annala said fiercely. There
was no sweetness, just pain. "She was probably lying. One world fruit is
too big for anyone to police; even one universe is too big."

“I remember something like that, but it’s foggy. Hey, how
about we celebrate by taking lunch at the library tomorrow?”

Annala smiled fondly. “There’s the Eric I remember.”

“So it’s a date?”

Her smile faded. “A date…?”

“I thought about you every day during my exile. I drew
sketches of you because it was the next best thing to the real deal.” He took
her hand in his own and kissed the back of her palm. “As far as I know, grendel
live for a long time. I want to spend as much of it as I can with you.”

She jerked her hand away. Eric looked in confusion. Her
nervous habit of ear tugging was now worrying rather than endearing.

“Sorry, Eric. I’m busy tomorrow.”

She dropped Gruffle’s head, turned around, and ran away.

Eric stood motionless in the street. He didn't notice the
wind or the cold. Both his human memories and monster instincts were trying to
make sense of what just happened. Neither of them understood it, and their
confusion united in his demon mindset to leave him stunned.

Gruffle rolled himself towards a fallen monster, one of
the wolf humanoids Annala killed. He stuck himself against its neck and willed
his stolen
kon
to fix himself to it. It took a minute to figure out how
to use his body and, at that point, he sat up. The grendel was still staring
down the street where his bridal crush had run away.

Gruffle could have stabbed him through the heart with his
new claws. The boy wasn’t likely to notice him, but if he did, then he himself
might be killed for real. The boy no longer needed him alive and he would not
hesitate to strike decisively. It was better to sneak away, steal more
kon
,
and kill him later. Besides, Tasio was no doubt hovering over him at this very
moment.

When he was safely several blocks away, he thought aloud, “It’s
obvious that girl hurt him more than I ever could anyway. What a loser.” He
snorted. “Now I can make my report to
Her Majesty.
”

“What report?” the wolf head asked.

“You’re sapient, huh? Then I’ve got a joke for you. I have
to report the success of the mission
she
assigned. That bitch thinks
this was
her
idea. She told me to put Eric through this gauntlet to
‘reinforce his sapient intelligence in a trial by fire,’ in order to, what was
it, oh yes, ‘prove that even in the worst circumstances, the new demon will not
relapse into monsanity.’ It was
Lunas
who set all this up, but with that
choker on, she believes every word he says. She’ll believe she ordered me to
attack the Summit too.”

“I don’t get it,” the wolf head said.

Gruffle sighed and ripped the head off with its former
arm.

“You’re an idiot. Even with my sapience, you’re an idiot.”

Suddenly, he was staring at the ground with his tail high
in the air. Someone was dangling him upside down. That person grabbed his arm
next and spun him until he was dizzy. When it finally stopped, Gruffle was
face-to-face with The Trickster.

“I get it. Do you have any more jokes?”

Eric did not go to bed that night. Instead, he sat at his
desk to read another chapter from
Introduction to Magecraft
. Then he
remembered that he still couldn’t read. In a rage, he threw the book at the
wall.

Nor was he able to sleep, so he went outside and practiced
martial arts on the bridge above his house. He was so focused, angry, and
despairing that he didn't look where he was swinging and brought his staff
straight into someone's face. The human man nonchalantly dodged and counter-attacked
with a punch to his stomach.

"Oof!" Eric grunted. "Sorry, Rab."

"Don't worry about it. We're even.” Noticing Eric’s
distress, he added, “Is something bothering you?"

It was an embarrassing walk for Eric as he blurted out his
love life and its problems. Rab nodded and commented on their way to his
tavern.

 The Full Mug was a small building a block away from
Cutlass Bridge. As it sat on the border of Sailor Town, many of its customers
were seafaring. The floorboards were constructed with a special kind of pine
that resisted warping and held moisture. It was expensive but necessary for the
tavern's staff and clientele, such as the family of dolphins at table three.

Rab sat Eric down at the bar and said, "What you need
is my patented taverncraft."

"There's a branch of magic for tavern keepers?"

Rab demonstrated by mixing up a drink. To Eric's surprise,
he didn't reach for any of the alcoholic liquids but instead for bottles of
chocolate syrup, jars of peanut butter, and other ingredients that he refused
to identify but insisted were legal for minors. At the end, he placed both
hands on either side of the drink and intoned, "Love can lead to joy
divine/love can say 'please be mine.' But when the love says 'no'/ drink this
down, yo ho! Heartbreak drink!"

A stream of blue light poured from the human's hands and
into the mixture. It glowed pink, then purple, and settled on grey. Rab pushed
it to Eric and said, "On the house for a heartbroken man."

Eric thanked him and took a sip. It was sweet and the
aftertaste lifted his mood. He downed the thing in one gulp like mana juice. This
took the edge off his pain. In fact, he felt like bouncing back. Jumping onto
an empty table, he declared, “Ladies and gentleman! Your friendly tavern keeper
has hired a magician for your enjoyment. Watch and be amazed!”

He cast illusions of his previous opponents and “fought”
them through the room. After several rounds, he would finish them with a technique
called “Chaos Gold Eggs,” another illusion, that showered the room with rainbow
light. After “winning” each bout, he bowed to applause.

When he ran out of “enemies,” he showed them his latest
tricks: walking through solid objects or turning those same objects into mana. Then,
what
truly
impressed them, he pretended to read someone's mind with a
card trick. Mages were common, but psychics were rare.

Chaos breeds mages. Chaos breeds monsters. Must have
mana; must have mana; must have mana.

The voice echoed in his mind. Eric accepted it and moved
on.

This shameless showing off attracted attention, the first of
which was a royal patrol investigating the strange lights. Eric laughed as he
explained the truth. They mumbled, “Trickster's Choice” and sat down for a
drink. He was not the only one to do so. Rab made so much extra business that he
offered Eric additional free drinks and appetizers too.

By now, it was early morning. Eric expected the pub to
empty out, and it did, but more people came by and replaced them. To his
delight, some were his fellow mercenaries like Kae the dog lady and her
partner, Jet the black lab. The latter sniffed his rear.

"You smell like a grendel."

Eric gulped.
It's now or never...
"I
am
a grendel."

Jet raised his hackles and Kae dropped her glass. Rab and
his patrons stopped what they were doing to stare. Eric cringed and prepared
for the worst. Then Jet licked his hand and said, "You have my sincerest condolences,
Trickster's Choice."

"The Trickster has gone too far this time!" Kae
declared.

"It wasn't Tasio's fault!" Eric protested.
"It was mine."

Tasio himself appeared next to him. "Don't bother,
Eric. They blame me for everything."

"That's because you're usually responsible," Rab
said.

Tasio shrugged and disappeared.

More of his fellows came by and Jet told each one of them
the news. Just as Eric feared, his fellows treated him differently, but instead
of as a threat, it was as a victim and Tasio was the bad guy. The only
exception was Culmus, who said that
Prince Lunas
was responsible. Then he
ranted about how horrible the guy was and how he monopolized Kasile's time with
his attempts to infiltrate her heart. Rab whipped up another batch of Heartbreak
Drink and Culmus chugged it. Then he threw it to the ground and shouted, "ANOTHER!"

"You're paying for that cup."

Culmus' captain, Giji Mesh, also made an appearance with
Lieutenant Aegis. She was one of Rab's regulars and so her favorite was
prepared before she sat down. As she drank, she juggled and progressively upped
the difficulty with each drink she finished. First, there were mugs, then
swords, then chairs, and, finally, other drunkards. At that point, Rab walked
around the bar and held Giji's next cup just out of her reach. In this way, he
lured her to the exit, and once she was out the door, Aegis slammed it shut and
dragged his smashed captain home.

Basilard arrived with the rising sun for a specialty
drink. The tavern keeper noted his harried and stressed appearance, and, like
he did with Eric and Culmus, asked what was bothering him. Basilard talked
about the upcoming formal introduction of his
legal ward
to his clan;
all the necessary preparations and precautions, and how difficult she was making
everything. Rab listened and nodded while doing his magic.

“I’ve mentored preteen girls before. Why is raising one so
much harder?”

“She would be more affectionate if you treated her like a
daughter
instead of
dung
.”

“I know! And I’m trying, but the rest of my clan is not so
understanding.”

Basilard drank and slammed the glass down.

“Anyway, why is my student performing on a table?”

At the far end of the room, Eric was levitating chairs while
singing a square dance song one of the patrons taught him. Rab told him the
whole story while cleaning a glass. At its conclusion, Basilard frowned and
made his way to the stage. Pulling his student down, he chose his words
carefully. Eric was in a fragile state of mind and might react violently if he
didn't.

"What did Rab say on the subject?"

"'If I knew anything about romance, I wouldn't spend
my nights serving winos.’"

"Figures...I think you still have a shot."

"I asked her out and she said no! How much clearer
can it be!?"

"She didn't say 'no.' She said ‘busy,’ which means—”

"I ruined our friendship!"

"No, you didn’t. It means she didn't want to hurt
you."

 Eric's sorrow made him goofy. "She's so kind...and
sweet...and beautiful...and..."

Basilard chuckled softly. He remembered these days well;
more Retina's than his own. The fighter turned into such a laughable fool
around Sathel that Basilard himself had endless teasing material. Seeing the
same behavior in his own student was an entirely different experience. As a
mentor, he was supposed to guide and support instead of stage romantic hijinks.

“…smells like strawberries...and..."

"Give her time to think."

"Huh?"

"Girls are sensitive about this kind of thing. You
can't decide, on a whim, to ask your friend for a serious romantic relationship
in a monster lair where she has bad memories. You need to use baby steps. All
you can do now is let her think on it."

"Is there anything I can do in the meantime?"

"Yes. Grab coffee or energy shots or whatever will
keep you awake for the next twelve hours because Her Majesty and a dozen other
people will want a piece of the Modern Demon."

"Yes, Daylra... but, first…"

Eric jumped back on top of his impromptu stage and
announced his departure to his audience. They demanded one more act, so Eric
obliged them by asking what they'd like for his grand finale. One of the more
inebriated patrons bellowed, "SHOW US YOUR TRUE FORM!"

Another one hiccupped and seconded, "Yeah! We wanna
see the grendel!"

The rest rallied behind the two and chanted,
"Grendel, grendel, grendel!"

"Okay! You asked for it!"

His eyes slitted. His skin toughened into a metallic substance.
He grew bigger, broader, and went through other changes besides until he looked
less human and more like a humanoid monster. He reared back and roared. The
sapients looked in awe; some fainted. Others took up weapons and stumbled to
their feet. Eric's instincts said they were a threat and must be killed, but
his human memories stated otherwise. His time with Kallen at the ICDMM
concurred and he could only imagine how disappointed Annala would be if he
killed an innocent.

He jumped over them and the room itself to reach the exit.
By the time his feet touched the ground, he was human again and crouched in a
bow. Everyone clapped, cheered, hiccupped, or fell over. Eric exited stage left
and Tasio spun into existence next to Basilard.

"I hope you're enjoying this," the Bladi man
remarked.

"More than you can imagine," The Trickster
replied.

From the Full Mug, Eric ran to the Long Horn item shop.
Warriors of all sorts required a boost now and then, so it carried a
variety of energy drinks, energy tablets, nutrition bars, and the like. He
strolled to the brand he preferred, picked out one, and sensed someone behind
him.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Because we're soul mates."

Eric sighed and faced Kallen. "I'm going to be
badgered all day today and likely every day up to the Mana Mutation Summit. I
don't have time for your teasing and sarcasm."

Kallen pouted. "You're mean.”

Eric slouched. “Sorry. I’ve been up all night dealing with
reapers, monsters, ordercrafters, and my own instincts. Then Annala said she
was ‘too busy’ for a lunch date.”

Kallen took his right hand in her left and said, “Wanna
talk about it?”

So they did. After receiving the recap, she withdrew her
hand and, immediately, Eric felt cold and isolated. As always, physical contact
with her triggered warmth and peace within him, but no matter how he pondered,
he couldn't figure out why.

She WAS joking when she said “soul mates,” right?

You are aware that such a phenomenon exists, correct?
Grey Dengel replied.

You mean I could be!?

It is possible. Of all the infinity of souls in the
infinity of Noitearc, every one of them shares a special bond with one other
and only one other. That Kallen is yours has the same chance as lightning
striking the same person seven times on seven days in seven different places
each, but it is possible because Ligol can be malicious when she wants to be.

"Kallen, you joked about soulmates; do you believe in
them?"

The explorer browsed the aisle and compared energy shots.
She looked at their nutrition information instead of Eric's face.

"I think it's stuff that high school girls gossip
about while reading horoscopes. Those things probably say nerds breed, like you
and Annala."