The former court magician, Jane Claireborne, smirked at the giant crystal ball on the table. As wary as she would have been to use such a noticeable scrying tool on Leon- now known as Leo- in the past, she had a feeling that his recent fervour with finding his weapon would distract him from the presence of her familiar.

As of the moment, she had tracked his journey all the way from her own mansion to the wall of Songrande, the capital of the Azure continent. Where he then proceeded to lose her familiar in the most spectacular way possible; walking through a self-made gate of some kind and reappearing on a rooftop somewhere in the city.

Honestly, the bird familiar nearly had a heart attack trying to relocate the three travelers. She would have to pamper the little canary later in order for it to not get depressed. After a while, it found Bella just as they had started to enter a large tower.

The familiar flew up to the top floor and perched itself on an open window before immediately dispersing. Jane reeled back in her seat as a wave of miasma caused the familiar to explode, and her crystal ball to dim.

She sat back up in her seat, a few moments later. Jane felt her smile fade as a frown quickly replaced it. Drumming her fingers next to the crystal ball, she could only ask herself one question, “What did you get yourself into, Leo?”

---

“How long have you exposed King Pola to Dantae’s radiation?” Brago shook as Leon asked him the question. He had an inkling that Leon and the broken sword were connected, as the boy had fallen in Hokuto Lake, and the sword in the forest west of that on the same day. Luckily for Brago, he had been on his way to visit Jane Clairborne when the sword struck the earth. Unfortunately, the resulting explosion had wiped out half of his men, but such was the price to be paid for a divine weapon. Regardless of whether it was broken or not, the sword gave off a tremendous aura, one which brought weaker men to their knees, but seemed to strengthen Brago himself.

Believing he was chosen by the Gods, Brago brought the weapon back to the castle, and laid it under the King with his consent in order to relieve the man of his mental struggles. Brago believed that since the King was a divine presence, and as such, the sword would strengthen him as well. However, Brago seemed to have brought about the ruin of the King instead.

Brago hung his head at Leon’s words and covered his head with his hands. “What have I done? The King’s declining mental faculties was my fault?” Brago started to shake uncontrollably, and finally cried out, “What have I done!?”

Brago curled into a ball on the floor and cried out in pain. Brago had no idea how long it had been before he felt a hand on his shoulder. “My lord, are you alright?” Brago looked up with tear stained cheeks at the group of soldiers that had come to check on him after he failed to return. Looking back at the king, he found that Leon and his group were gone, leaving only the bed that decrepit King slept on every night, blissfully unaware of what had transpired.

Brago’s mind raced. What would the kingdom think when they learned that he had exposed the king to even more danger? He would probably be arrested and executed for his transgressions, forever staining his legacy, and the legacy of the shields household. He wouldn’t- no, he couldn’t let things end like that.

“There was an intruder in the King’s chambers. He revealed to me that he had replaced the holy sword with a radiated sword while King Pola slept, and deteriorated his mental state even farther because of that.” The soldiers gasped, but allowed Brago to speak once again.

“I as well fell to a mental attack. Be cautious when engaging the enemy. I will have a royal artist mock up a drawing for a wanted poster. We cannot let these perpetrators wander freely! I swear this on the name Brago Shields!” A deafening roar came from the platoon around him, and Brago frowned. He would save his legacy, even at the cost of a few relationships.