Tokino waited alongside Novusian brigade mages in the throne room. For thirty minutes, the awaited company had not shown. Due to this, they taught her about “The Every Hub” holographic interface. It was a joint venture between Coelestis and their city.

She killed time playing “Olden Brace,” a third-person action-adventure game. Laws in Pantaiyanilam never stated copying earthly media to be illegal. Like in real life, she preferred rapiers and small swords. As she talked to a four-armed NPC, the double doors banged open again from afar. She got startled, and the other mages saluted the arrival of Hokori’s comrade.

“Alright, folks. Time to hit the road. If anyone nears the other side, just call me.” The petite woman walked toward Tokino. “Kenkō Kusabana. Halftime mage, halftime nurse. May I be of assistance?” She smiled faintly.

She stood surprised about her look. Her aquamarine suit-and-tie exuded stoicism, but her ginger pigtails and purple cap sleeve shirt showed otherwise. She looked down and smiled. “Why, hello, little miss. Is this your first time, too—”

“I’m no fucking child, ma’am.” Her eyes glared, but she smiled again. “It’s okay. I get that a lot. And I’m not ashamed of liking cute things. Or doing this.” She held a peace sign in her eye.

Tokino giggled with her mouth covered. After a short conversation, Kenkō turned to the Novusian mages. She saw the destroyed glass wall and sighed. “Let me guess… The blood god left you for dead?”

“Not exactly,” one walked closer. “We wouldn’t be able to do anything without you. Wamdue’s rebels are tougher than any bio-human today. That includes my men and me.”

She walked past them and looked below the gape. She raised a finger with her eyes closed. “You got that wrong, folks. They’re only ‘tougher’ if you never trained a day. Cybernetics only gets them so far.” She called for a private pod via The Every Hub.

Tokino and the mages tested their runic skills before the mission started. She realized that their augmented bodies allowed them to cast faster than her. To think they considered her a prodigy in school.

In the hideout of the cyborgs of years past, Elon still conversed with the two prisoners. One lamented that Palladium-Immortal Jasper alloy was possibly a huge mistake. For many millennia, Novus relied on using its anti-magical properties.

The king chuckled and stroked his white beard inside the cell. “Who knows, Elon… Maybe it’s only a mistake when enemies get their hands on it. I suppose that’s the root of the problem.”

He sighed and smiled with droopy eyes. “If only you knew, Garuda… It’s why I never got big in arms dealing until now.” He went for the door but turned around. “Oh…! My apologies, your majesty,” he bowed. “It appears I forgot to honor you as one.” He closed it behind.

As Elon walked into the hallway, the rebel leader gave him another shoulder pat. “Hahahahahaha! Take a look at this, pal. We’re finally ready for combat. We drew this giant circle array for this moment.” He wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

He chuckled faintly. “Yes, of course… C-Could you kindly let go? Your arm’s gonna crush my blades, mate.”

Wamdue jovially laughed again over his words and complied. Throughout their walk out of the hallway, he reminisced the times when he killed five thousand brigade mages in one night.

Back in the cell, archmage Charmant turned to the king. “Do you have it ready, my liege?” He saw him nodding and returned to drawing stick figures. “I hate to admit… But our captors are as kind as Mother. It’d hurt me to duel them head-on.”

Garuda pushed a concealed button at the back of his makeshift Automodachi. The robotic toy began making consecutive beeping sounds. He grinned. “Young lad… In times of war, your mind never assumes the best. And that’s perfectly fine.”

Tokino sent messages to her mother about her mission on a private pod in the sky. She responded with extreme joy and numerous heart emojis. She also told her to be safe.

Unlike other pods in the city, ones catered to mages moved within their own transit system above the public. Its vein-like structure was less cluttered for faster travel.

Kenkō moved in front of everyone. “Here’s the deal, folks. Do what you want except slacking. I suggest searching areas where shady clubs and gun stores are abundant. The last time I visited your city, the blood god smashed eighty thug skulls in three seconds.” She turned to Tokino and encouraged her to go alone. Knowing her credentials, she decided she was more than capable.

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me, little miss. I don’t doubt your words, but shouldn’t there be more of us? Where’s your other comrade?”

She shrugged with her eyes closed. “Hell, if I know. Country boy hasn’t contacted me in weeks. He’s probably participating in an illegal weapons auction.”

Her words only made Tokino worry more. She remained optimistic but knew of the consequences. Still, she felt like no one would forgive her if she failed the mission. She rambled if they allowed taking away her mage status. The more she did, she sweated bullets, and her breathing turned worse.

Kenkō held her shoulder. “Take it easy, ma’am. We’re mages, not beauty judges. If you fail, we’ll do your mission together. You’re no less expendable as we are.”

She gazed upon her serene smile. It gave her similar feelings to her mother, Aimi. In fact, she even saw her within Kenkō. She hugged her with closed eyes. “Don’t worry, little miss. I understood everything.” She let go.

Kenkō chuckled. “I’m not sure if Hiveran folk know what this means. But are you prepared?” She lent a fistbump. Surprisingly, Tokino complied. She smirked after the gesture. “By the way, ma’am. Your all-around beauty is stunning and unmatched. Easily a ten if I were a judge.” Her eyes drooped.

She became flustered over her words. She held her red cheeks and told her she did not deserve such praise.

Less than a few seconds later, their small moment got drowned by the pod’s radio. The thunderous noise of “Freaks” by Timmy Trumpet made everyone cover their ears. “Sorry…” one turned it off. He stood up and apologized further by performing dogeza.

Suddenly, another noise boomed out of the radio. It was nothing more than constant beeping. Everyone stood confused with raised eyebrows. So did citizens riding public pods below them. A mage walked in front. “It’s probably another ARG by some social influencer. I’ll turn it off—”

“Wait!” Kenkō stepped in. She listened to the beeps closer and got reminded of her father’s crafting as a child. “It’s morse code,” she explained. “It’s from Garuda, the king, himself. He’s telling us his location—and an upcoming raid.”

She brainstormed briefly with the Novusian mages. She told them to go to every nightclub on the surface and tell workers the password. She also told one to prepare an anti-anti-magic EMP device. “Yes, ma’am!” exclaimed the recruit. He got warned about its priceless value. It would cost half the city to repair one.

Tokino sat from afar and overheard their plan. She walked toward them, but Kenkō held her shoulder again.

“I need you to go out in the streets and prepare your sword. I’ll evacuate as many citizens as I can.” She raised her arm and smiled. “Whaddaya say, ma’am? Another one before the fight?”

Once again, she immediately complied with the fistbump. However, something caught her attention over a window behind Kenkō. Due to her foresight, she saw two people standing on top of a building. They held briefcases overflowing with cash, and one had metallic parts.

Her eyes widened upon seeing who was with the cyborg-esque man. It was none other than what Kenkō called the “blood god.” Hokori Udemaeno.

With the information given, Tokino thought the worst about what she saw. He and the other man grinned and laughed as they had recently stolen the money. She panted with her eyes still widened. “You bastard… You fucking bastard!” As she hyperventilated, Kenkō raised an eyebrow before her.

Back in the hideout, Elon teared up and yawned. His boredom escalated every second as Wamdue said a speech to his group.

“When my grandfather created the first cybernetic AI, he thought to himself—”

He raised his hand and politely asked to leave the conference. The rebel leader laughed and had guards escort him outside. He went back to the cell, still fascinated by the prisoners. As always, they still smiled inside and did their unusual hobbies. He squatted and looked at Charmant. “You know, mate… Doing something you like is always okay. But now it seems you’re addicted. I see stick figures up there.” He pointed at the ceiling.

He stopped drawing and turned to him. “Who’s to say it’s truly an addiction, Gatsby? I’m simply into it. By your logic, creating and selling weapons every day is a cardinal sin.” He smiled calmly.

He chuckled with his eyes closed. “Perhaps you’re right. I have no shame in doing what I love. Passion is passion, no matter how you look at it. And it comes from here.” He held his chest.

Garuda, the king, moved to their conversation. He chuckled as well. “I suppose you see the same way with what I’m doing. Am I wrong?” He presented his crude Automodachi. “Mr. Telegraph here is always happy to see visitors. Even ones outside.” He grinned intently.

Elon instantly sweated bullets even before he told him its name. Fate itself called to him in his gut. He backed away and looked at the ceiling. “Oh, shite… The war begins.”

On an empty park, a brigade mage wore the priceless anti-anti-magic gauntlet. He punched the ground with all his might. The device created massive vibrations deep into the earth and released an EMP field spanning a kilometer. Residents near the area complained about the blackout.

Underground, every cyborg rebel panicked as they felt the vibrations getting stronger. Wamdue’s eyes widened at the podium. He failed to hear his henchman’s call. Then, he grabbed his shirt. “Call maximum security on the prisoners. Now!” He pushed him and turned to the microphone.

“Settle down, everyone! Now is the time for us to bring back our forefathers’ names to glory. Those brilliant engineers gave many of our loved ones a purpose with their gifts.” He presented his metallic arm. “Don’t give the enemy a chance to hamper our cause! We’ll thrive once more under the sun!!”

The rebels cheered him on with calls to battle on the surface. With that, they gathered on the massive runic circle. As they got transported, they warmed up their bodily weapons.

Inside the cell, Elon summoned ravens and prepared for any counterattack. He saw Garuda laughing loudly—and something fate told him beforehand. Every stick figure Charmant drew had its limbs glow intensely. It turned out that every awkward arm and leg he drew was Runic Art.

Due to the EMP, the anti-magic cell became disabled. An imprinted weapon came out of the runes. For most, it was rather cumbersome and too heavy. The ornate “sword” looked like a massive khyber knife encrusted with jewels and gold. Even the crossguard and pommel looked flashy.

Charmant lifted his favored weapon with ease. “Let us dance once more, Cinderella.” He pushed his hand against the glass wall, which shattered instantly. He rested his sword on his head and walked toward the sweating Elon.

King Garuda continued showing a jolly nature and sat with his legs crossed. “Entertain the masses, young prince! They’ll taste my flames if they jeer you.”

He smirked. “Indeed, I shall….” Under a hundredth of a second, he delivered a horizontal right slash. The shockwave desolated half of the kilometer-wide hideout. However, he hit not a single lifeform.

The arms dealer’s body turned into a murder of crows. He reconstituted and summoned larger birds at him. He did not expect them to do much, as he saw them slain into a bloody mess. Under Charmant’s nose, he summoned ravens no smaller than teaspoons.

Using such a bulky weapon, he could not deflect most and got stabbed thirty times. He backed away and panted while holding his torso. “As expected… A villain is never easy to defeat on the first try….”

Elon sighed and shook his head. “I always hated that word, mate. I’ve known fellas who’ll genocide hordes of firedrakes and demons—yet sit on top of the City of Gods: Coelestis! Trust me, your charmingness. You don’t know the first thing about archmage representatives.” He pointed.

He chuckled. “I care not for your worldview, Gatsby.” He prepared his sword. “I’m here to kick your ass. I got a city to protect.”

“Well, then, kick away. You cheeky cunt!” With a raised hand, the ceiling teamed with a million ravens. They all flew at Charmant faster than any avian.

He collected his nerves and readied a stance. “Show them your beauty, Cinderella….” He threw an upward slash. Suddenly, an army of shining knights materialized from the blade. Two-thirds of the murder got chopped up into fine pieces. He flash-stepped before Elon and went into the melee with his hulking weapon. Even then, he swung sixty times a second.

However, the enemy still dodged by a hair over and over. He summoned more small birds with every chance he got. Ten minutes in, he received gashes that oozed a red waterfall. Unexpectedly, he cackled through it. “Come on, now, mate! Surely you have something else up your sleeve than this anime bullshit!” He dodged the massive sword multiple times.

As if time slowed to a crawl, Charmant smirked. “So be it….” In a split second, his weapon glowed brightly gold.

Elon shielded his eyes. He knew an attack would fly at him at lightning speed, but fate told him not to dodge. Then, he felt an intense sting in his gut. He staggered and almost fell to the ground. He regained footing and stopped his entrails from spilling out. Even with the agony, he grinned and looked at the “prince” in front.

He now rode a white horse, and his weapon turned into a shining broadsword of the correct size. Light covered him all around, even on his short blonde crown.

He chuckled at the ridiculous sight. “Hahahahahahaha!” He wiped away a tear. “Well, ain’t that too snazzy, you cheeky cunt!? You just had to wear a white suit and a cape!” He laughed while healing himself with runes.

Charmant chuckled back with his eyes and mouth closed. “That’s the deal, Gatsby… You read my mind before. I am a connoisseur of Japanese media. I prefer it more than other earthly stuff.” He raised his sword. “Have at thee, villain!”