- Kalkal -

“Ahh, not good, not fucking good. If this goes any further we’ll lose the support of the Ministry of Defence.”

I toiled through the papers that lay across my desk, looking for a solution that could relieve this situation.

“Mary, has anyone reported the whereabouts of the target group?”

“No sir. We have every squadron scouring the eastern district.”

“What about the other sects of the city?”

“We haven’t received clearance from the Mayor to expand the search zone,” said Priscilla. “We don’t even have the people to spread out that far.”

So it comes down to that huh…

We simply don’t have the manpower to catch these guys. Blades and subpar magitech aren't going to cut it against these Essentia bastards.

What do we have that can stop these guys? Our forces themselves aren’t cutting it and the casualties are mounting. Those idiots at the Ministry of Defense won’t lend us more people without a clear target and authorization from the mayor.

Can we convince the mayor to back us? No, we don’t have the power to bargain with him nor do we have the time to get it. The city is in a delicate situation and if the Mayor makes an enemy of the Church whose influence spans across the city, the consequences will be massive. If we want to do this, we’ll have to do it without help from the government.

What other ways can we increase our manpower? Out-of-city assistance will take too long and military grade weaponry is not under our authority level. Something within the city… unconnected to the government… powerful enough to push back the Insurgents…

Of course.

I grabbed my coat off of my chair and slipped my arms into the sleeves.

“You going somewhere Boss?” Matthew asked.

“Yeah, I won’t be back before midnight. Contact the agents on-field and have them lockdown the eastern sect.”

“You have a plan?”

I picked up my briefcase and walked towards the door.

“I’m gonna go talk to an old friend.”

The amount of force needed to capture these radicals is astronomical. Our numbers aside, the current technology that our agency has access to is too rudimentary, not to mention that these guys are using essential techniques that grant them superhuman abilities.

But I had completely overlooked one fact. There is a place, with people who study those very supernatural things and weaponize them. People who are at the forefront of combat potential and essential study. Yes.

Lyre Magic Academy.

One of my colleagues back in university entered the field of Magic Theory and greatly contributed to the early stages of its development. If I’m not mistaken, he should be a professor at that Academy.

Government institutions and, of course, basic educational facilities cannot be involved in this operation. But since they are a privately funded military school that focuses on combat oriented study, the professors are granted licenses that give them free reign of their magic usage to “enforce and maintain order.” This is intended to allow them to keep their students in order and assist in on-scene law enforcement.

But the details of these licenses are relatively vague. The professors are inclined to use force at their own discretion as long as there is a valid reason, and all potential consequences are judged afterward. If a professor judges that the Antifaction is a threat to public safety, they are allowed to capture them on the premise of maintaining public order. Any problems with that action would be discussed after the fact, but with a good reason, the punishment will not be severe.

I arrived at the academy building and parked my car in a nearby parking lot. Classes should have ended by now so they’ll probably accept visitors.

Walking in the front gate, a man wearing a coat embroidered with the emblem of the academy quickly approached me.

“Excuse me sir, what is your business here?”

He eyed me suspiciously while looking me up and down. Memorizing my profile are you?

“I’m a public servant here to see a professor.” I pulled out my badge and faced it toward him.

He closely inspected the object before lightly bowing. “Forgive my rude behavior. I’ll guide you to your destination immediately.”

We walked along the wide hallways of the academy, trailing through countless halls and stairways.

What is this, a fucking maze? And why do the halls need to be this big? That Charester sure knows how to splurge.

We reached a large doorway with a small panel on its side. The attendant tapped a button in its glass screen and held his finger on its surface.

“Hello Mr. Hephaestus! A detective named…”

The man looked back at me skeptically.

“Kalkal Flandre"

“…A detective by the name of Kalkal Flandre is here to see you.”

A second later, the panel beeped and a click came from the door.

“Come in. I’ve unlocked the door.”

The attendant stood aside and I grabbed the handle, sliding the door open. Entering, the door closed behind me and I looked toward the man sitting back in his seat at the far end of the room.

“Hey Kalkal. I see you haven’t changed since we were in school.”

I walked over to his desk and sat in the seat across from him. “You neither John. I don’t know how you can teach those snobby kids all day.”

“Hey, these kids are geniuses. Nothing like the brats we knew.” He flapped a paper around. “Like this one, she aces all the tests I give. I don’t stay up writing these things so they can get them all right!”

I laughed under my breath. “Sounds like you’re having fun.”

“Evidently so.” He placed the test down on the table and I stole a glance at the paper.

Julia Lockhart huh…

“So what did you come to talk about? I doubt you came to reminisce about the old days.”

“Don’t say something so disgusting,” I muttered. “I’ve come here on private business.”

“Oh?”

John squared his shoulders and leaned toward me. “I’ll have you know I’m an instructor now.”

“Feisty are we?” I mocked. I opened my eyes to find him glaring at me.

“Calm your tits, it’s nothing illegal.” I said, sighing. I reached down to the side, opening my suitcase and retrieving a document.

“Have you heard of the Antifaction?” I slid the paper across his desk and he peered down at its contents.

“I’ve heard some rumors. They’re supposedly a radical faction that opposes the ban on the Essentia Arts.” He slid the paper back across the table. “And what about them?”

“They’ve started making their move. Loads of illegal transactions involving weaponry, contraband materials, and even human trafficking are occurring across the city. All of the investigations that the guards have run led back to individuals and groups tied to the church and the tracking signatures are matching perfectly.”

I placed my hand on his desk “John. We need to take these guys in. They’re not just a group of protesters, they are a menace to this city, and its people. My men have been chasing them down for months only to be struck down at every turn.” I took a deep breath. “Lives are at stake. We need your power, the power of Magic.”

We both sat there in silence as I stared at him with determination. His help is absolutely necessary if we want to make this work. No matter the cost, I’m going to convince him.

John closed his eyes, deep in thought. “What’s the time limit?”

“Within the next two weeks. That’s when the next mass transfer occurs to the city of Ergus. When that happens, there's no way we can completely stop them from coming in and out of the checkpoints.”

“What’s their goal?”

“Our intelligence suggests that they are conducting human experimentation and are planning to traffic their subjects out of the city. We’ve located a handful of their potential labs and research centers but no concrete evidence has been discovered.”

John leaned forward once again and slowly rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

This bitch… “What are you thinking about damn it! They are kidnapping people and fucking with their genetics for gods sake!”

“I know!” yelled John. He clenched his fist and pressed it against the table. “But I can’t just go out there and bust up a bunch of strangers that could very well be innocent civilians.”

I glared at him. “Do you really think that’d be the case? That I’d be chasing a bunch of fucking randoms around and not notice?”

I grabbed my suitcase and put on my coat. “This is getting nowhere. Once you’ve made up your mind about this matter, meet me at my agency. You got three days.”

“Hey.” I turned around at his call. He held out the report that I gave him, detailing the findings on the Antifaction’s motives and affiliations. “You forgot this.”

“You keep that.” I said. “Look over it again and make your decision.” I stepped up to the door and opened it. “We’ll do it without you if necessary.”

I left the room without looking back and exited the building immediately.

What was there to think about? There are crazy maniacs running along the streets and if stopping them and saving captives isn’t maintaining order, I don’t know what is.

I know John better than anyone. That man is not just going to let something like this go on if he can help it. And even if he doesn’t show up, that doesn’t change what we have to do.

I walked along the sidewalk to the location of my car. The night phase had already begun since I arrived so the only things illuminating the path were the occasional street light and holotech projector. I found my car right where I parked it and pulled out my keys, unlocking the door.

Suddenly, as I approached my vehicle, a group of shadowy figures clothed in white approached me. Two of them concealed small daggers under their sleeves while the other appeared to be bare handed.

“Man, I thought I told those guys to lockdown the eastern sect,” I grumbled, flicking open my pocket knife. “I’ll warn you guys now but back in the army I got a B+ in hand-to-hand combat.”

The three men swiftly surrounded me and lowered their stance, getting ready to attack.

“Not very good listeners are you?” I muttered. I grimaced and relaxed my hand as the six-inch blade danced in my trained fingers. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The men fluttered at me at once, pulling out their daggers from their sleeves. The two to my sides cocked back their arms ready to slash at my neck, while the other could be heard approaching from behind.

No matter how skilled I am, I can’t take on these hooligans alone. It'd be hard enough against three people, but it seems like these are Essentia practitioners. Lucky for me, they’re complete amateurs.

I ducked under their strikes and quickly dashed forward, running towards my car. Looking backward, the attackers were on my tail and within range in a few seconds. This was to be expected from Essentia users, their physical strength far outweighs mine.

My feet scraped to a stop as I turned around and pointed my knife at the three in front of me. The two armed men spread out to my sides once again and the third one approached from the front.

“You fast motherfuckers.”

I dashed at the man to my left, pulling my elbow back. He quickly reacted, swinging his blade diagonally at my face while the others took to my flank. I parried the weapon with my own and grabbed his arm, simultaneously tripping his leg.

The hooded man panicked, attempting to jerk away while frantically regaining his balance. I took advantage of this and grappled his elbow, pulling him with all my strength and throwing him into the unarmed man coming behind me. The only one left standing jumped high over the two on the ground and flew at me with his bulging arm outstretched.

Idiot. If you jump like that…

I sharply inhaled and bounded at his under section, tackling him to the ground.

You won’t be able to avoid this!

With the three assailants momentarily stunned, I rushed into my vehicle. Starting the engine, I drove out of the area at full speed while the silhouette of the pursuers slowly grew smaller.

“Holyyy shit!” I yelled. “Haven’t fought like that since I was in the expedition forces!”

I slowed down and drove along the dark road towards the Northern sect.

We have a whole lot of planning to do for the coming days. Those bunch that attacked me were clearly members of the Antifaction. They’re getting desperate and there’s no more guarantees for the safety of my team or the people of the city.

There’s no more time to relax. We’re going to finish this once and for all.

- Julia -

The finale of Class B’s team battle is fast approaching as both teams are preparing to fight it out in a struggle for the cores.

They’ve both worked hard with their teams to build layered fortresses and through a contest of wit and strategy they will attempt to triumph over the enemy forces.

So why…

“Is my class building an obstacle course for the mid-term activity!”

This is so stupid! They get to do something interesting and we’re doing this boring, unproductive drivel!

“Hey, don’t get so worked up,” Michael said casually. “It’s not as fun as it sounds.”

“Easy for you to say.” I complained. “We’re placing blocks on top of each other and having people jump on them.”

“That’s pretty much what we’re doing.” Michael argued, holding his palms up.

“Say what you will, but my mind won’t change.” I said, holding my position.

“How’d we even get on this topic?”

It was currently the second part of the school day where the students were free to participate in club activities, attend lectures, or take part in extracurricular classes. The two of us were seated at the student council table working on the monthly reports on class expenditures and student activity. At some point we started talking about something and now here we are completely off task.

“I thought we were talking about how I’d beat Aidin.” said Michael.

I tapped my pen in thought.

“Well to begin with, how are you sure that you’ll be fighting him?”

“Huh?”

“What basis do you have that you’ll be facing him? Sure, we’ll be participating in the same examination, but it’s not even guaranteed to be a combat-oriented test. For all we know we might have to toss rocks at a thirty meter target and get scored based off that.”

“That would be super boring. How could you even suggest that?”

“Just taking all the possibilities into account.” I retorted.

That type of test would be bad for me as well, considering that it’d be a power based feat which isn’t a type-two’s strong point. Needless to say, it’s not one of mine either.

Michael scratched his head. “Back then, didn’t Edward say that he’d make sure that we’d be able to fight?”

“Back when?”

“In the sparring hall that I fought Aidin in. Edward told us that he would give us a chance to have a rematch.”

Oh, back then. I was wondering what they were talking about cause they were too far away to hear.

“Did he tell you the details?”

“Not a thing.”

“Hmm… then we can’t really know what to expect.”

I was idle in thought for a few seconds until I saw a grin grow on Michael’s face.

“Oh no. I already know what you’re gonna say.”

He looked at me and flashed a mischievous smile. “Let’s go ask the man ourselves.”