Arthur's Point of View

Private Airship

“So, how did Young Delmaris convince you to agree to all this?” Elincia inquired. “After your last interactions with my sister and I, we assumed you would steer clear of us.”

I responded with an amused snort. “Why would I do that?” My question confused her, so I quickly clarified. “Not like I’m the one who got my shit kicked in.”

She frowned and looked unamused. “While I am sure most would be rather upset about having their ‘shit kicked in,’ I am not one of them. Every one of our battles has ended in my loss, has it not?” She shot back. “I see no reason to avoid you from this last one if the others made no difference.”

“Yeah, but you said you weren’t trying as hard the first two times around.” She blinked and blushed. “Then again, you’ve held me at sword point more times than most others and lived to tell the tale.”

“A feat in some eyes, I am sure.”

“You have no idea.”

The Priestess smirked and then looked out across the ocean. “You still have not answered my question.”

Looking over my shoulder at Ty, who was watching us, smiling, I sighed. “I made a deal with my student that if he were to complete the training, the task I gave him the first day, I’d give him a reward.” Scratching one of my eyebrows, I turned back to her. “He did it in a few hours.”

Her smirk grew. “Sounds like someone blew away your expectations.”

I shrugged. “It’s obvious to me that he did it for you and Arceana. Maybe even Ayda.” Then I gestured toward him with my head. “Be thankful; otherwise, I would’ve taken a lot longer to deal with your… Problem.” Another shrug. “Not that I’m convinced I can remove it, but we’ll see.”

Elincia nodded. “Then I will be sure to thank him for this opportunity.”

“Make sure you do. He broke both his arms doing his training.”

“He broke his arms!?” Her proud and happy demeanor disappeared quickly.

“Like a fucking champ!” With a large smile, I explained.

Her eyes darted back to Ty. “That is concerning. As is Ayda and Cassidy, both assaulting you. Again…”

I shrugged again. “Story of my life. Cassidy has a habit of hitting me. She’s rather abusive.” The redhead was talking to Arceana and Ayda. “I don’t even know how many of my cooking utensils she’s broken across my face.” Elincia did not look happy at that. “Not that I couldn’t stop her; I didn’t want to. To be honest, I’m grateful for her. She helps keep me grounded.”

“I see.”

“Yep. So, where are we going anyway?”

Elincia knew I was changing the subject, but I don’t think she cared that much. “An old getaway that Elves used to journey to.”

That got me to quirk a brow in interest. “Really?”

“Why does that surprise you?”

Because Aydan and Varvara never mentioned it before. “That you’d bring me here in general or other non-Elves. What’s so special about this place?”

She smiled. “The magic there is very concentrated on the island. It runs through most Elves and empowers them. Great for those who are just starting to learn magic.” Does anyone else hear alarm bells ringing? “Ayda, Arceana, and I will feel little to no difference. Although, to those who are not used to using their own magic, it will become harder for them to tire out.”

“It essentially allows for training at a faster pace without worrying about exhaustion or people collapsing.” I summarized, and she nodded. “Interesting. I look forward to seeing how Ty will do here. We’ve had a few training sessions after his arms healed and between coming here, but he is still just starting out. Hopefully, this will be good for him while we work on your parasite.”

“Parasite?” Elincia questioned, confused, and turned to me.

My eyes widened slightly, but before I could respond, Ayda shouted from behind us. “There it is!”

Both Elincia and I whipped our heads towards the front of the ship. An island was approaching in the distance. Given how far out we were its size, it was fair to say it was a rather large island. A massive volcano was billowing smoke on it that appeared to be magically charged. It appeared to take up a third of the island as trees decorated below, which also gave off magic. That gave credit to what Elincia told me about with the ambient magic in this place.

Arceana turned to General Kheri. “Take us in, General!”

“All hands prepare to dock! Sergeant!” Kheri shouted at Ziah. “Head in and scout ahead.”

Ziah gave a quick salute before running towards the railing and put her foot on it before boosting herself off the side. She flew off and headed towards the island at a rather impressive pace. Looking back, I saw Arceana eyeing me for a few moments before she looked back to Ayda. Elincia must’ve noticed as well.

The blonde opened her mouth, but I quickly cut her off as I stepped up onto the railings. “I will assist Sergeant Ziah.” With that, I blasted off with a Gravity Pillar and kept myself airborne with the same technique. I quickly caught up with the Zugal. “What does your version of scouting entail?”

Needless to say, I startled my Officer. “Sir!?” Ziah’s wings missed a beat, and she started to fall for a moment before she corrected herself. “How-“

“Not important.” I quickly replied. Not sure why this surprised her after bringing the Skeld back to the Drunken Cloud. “Are we checking the entire island?” Maybe it was that I caught up with her without her noticing…

“There is a landing zone we need to clear and make sure is secure. Not many know about this location anymore, but Elves that have come here get really defensive with outsiders.” The Sergeant explained.

“So, they sent a fucking bird to explain?” I asked back, already disappointed.

She shook her head. “No, we just make sure the landing zone is secure. Then we wait for the Priestesses. I’m not going to land there without them.”

That made more sense. “What about the rest of the island?”

Ziah quirked a brow at that. “What about it?”

“Do you scout it and make sure it’s clear?”

“…That’s a rather large island, Sir.”

Rolling my eyes, I knew I’d be scouting the island myself. I’m not letting something sneak up on us because I just wanted to relax, train Ty, and maybe lounge on the beach. Making sure there were no Demons was important. However, the island itself was also fascinating. The sheer volume of magic in the air reminded me of the Magical Squall, but nowhere near the same intensity.

“Here’s hoping this trip is nice and relaxing.”

It wasn’t.