Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (41 page)

Nolien raised his eyebrow. "What kind of
invitation?"

"Mother and Father are making preparations for their
vanguard diplomacy trip to Dnnac Ledo and wanted to make sure their dear
firstborn son was aware of this." Dosh shrugged casually and Nolien's
shoulders tensed. "You know, just in case the ‘missing’ eldest child
decided to show up. I'm sure they'd also like to formally meet your
dirty-nailed tramp.”

The killing intent radiating from Nolien was intense
enough to spark Eric’s monster instincts. It was fascinating to feel such
potential for danger coming from someone that he didn’t consider a threat.

"Until then, my honorable elder brother,
farewell."

Dosh turned on his heel and walked straight out, his
attendants following. There was silence in the lobby. After Eric no longer
sensed a threat, he asked, "Were you guys like that
all
the
time?"

Nolien looked to his teammates guiltily. "Thank you
for playing along.”

“We knew you’d tell us when you were ready,” Tiza said.

“Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"I'm a tent! An abyss-cursed
tent!
"

Tiza scoffed. "No, you're not."

"I'm...not?"

"Oh sure, you're soft and tire easily and...freakishly
clean...but you're not a tent."

Nolien let out a breath. Eric suspected he had been
holding it for a long time. He gave Tiza a look. Together, they each put an arm
around Nolien's shoulders and guided him to the lobby's table. Their healer
smiled appreciatively at each of them.

"You wanna talk about it?" Eric asked.

“Not with Lawful Scary in the room!”

Fairtheora considered this. “Mr. Watley, do you understand
what will happen if—”

“I get it! I have to be supervised—go.”

He stepped outside. Nolien hesitated only a little longer,
and then it all came out.

"Ever since we were kids—ever since we were old
enough to retain memories—Dosh has been showing me up. He was always the better
student, the better healer, the better son! Any activity I picked up, he would
pick up, just to show how much better he was at it than me!"

Nolien paused and Tiza rubbed his back.

“He's the youngest, you know. Me, our sister, then him.
The odds of him inheriting the Heleti estate is minimal, and so he always hated
Hailey and me. Just for being older. I was the oldest and so I was the worst.” His
shoulders shook. He blinked and swallowed. "The only worth you have is your
age. Every. Single. Day. And
I couldn't say anything!
"

Mia pulled out a box of tissues. Nolien stared at it.

"You'll feel better."

Nolien stared at it a little longer, dove to Tiza's
shoulder, and cried. Eric felt his body shifting involuntarily and his
instincts shouting for the death of this threat. For this “Dosh” boy was
clearly a threat to his younger brother and, by association, a threat to his
younger sister. Thus, ripping the threat’s head off his shoulders was the
logical and moral course of action.

“Don’t.”

“
What do
you me—
ah...that is, what do you mean?”

Nolien wiped his eyes and stared into Eric’s. “You were
thinking about ripping Dosh’s head off his shoulders and I’m telling you ‘don’t
do it.’ I won’t have you put down like a rabid dog because my baby brother is
an asshole.”

Tiza looked at him in amazement.

“I understand that you won’t appreciate my self-restraint,
but this is how I—”

“Tenderfoot, I’ve never heard you use such filthy
language. We’ll make a mercenary out of you yet!” She patted his back and
continued, “Tell you what: I'll go with you to your home and if Brat Brother
gets mouthy, I'll cut his tongue off."

"Tiza! What did I just say? You
can't
do
that!"

She chuckled. "Oh, if I got a copper every time you
said that..."

Nolien smiled despite himself. "But what about your Third
Eye training?"

"Daylra's Dear gave me stuff to practice over the
holidays anyway."

“You’ll be surrounded by tents. You might even have to
dress
like one.”

Tiza shrugged. “We all make sacrifices for friends.”

"All right, since you'd show up anyway, I'd be happy
to have you."

"Great!"

Eric looked at them, hugging and smiling, and slowly
untangled himself from the big hug. Once he was out of range, Mia took a
picture. The pair jumped apart, the former scratching his head and the latter wringing
her hands. Both looked red and shy, leading to another picture. Tiza glared,
but the effect was lost in her red cheeks.

"I don't like Tenderfoot!"

"Uh-huh," Mia said, nodding. "Then why are
you blushing?"

"J-just give me that scry!" She lunged, but Mia
held it behind her back.

"How come?"

"Because!"

She yanked Mia's arm out, but the scry was gone. She
grabbed the other arm, which was also empty. She look at Mia, who looked away
innocently.

"First Kallen, then my brother, and now
you
!?"
Nolien asked. "I just said all that to get under Dosh’s skin.”

Now Tiza turned on him and frowned. “You mean you
don’t
think I’m strong, loyal, and beautiful?”

Nolien blushed. “Uh…you’re the fighter, so of course
you’re strong and loyal.”

Tiza’s arms folded under her chest. “So you think I’m
ugly.”

“No, but you’d get mad at me for saying either one. The
girls I used to talk with at home would either be flattered or ignore it as sycophancy,
but you get mad at me.”

Tiza dropped her arms. “I guess I do. Sorry about that,
but, what do you think, really?”

“I like what I see.”

She made a rueful smile. “How diplomatic of you, Lord
Heleti.”

Eric made a trickster grin. “How insightful of you, Lady
Heleti.”

Tiza punched his shoulder. “Call me that again and I’ll
break it.”

Nolien frowned. “Are you saying I’m not good enough?”

“No! I…haha, turnabout is fair play. Any girl would be
lucky to have you, Tenderfoot.”

“
Any
girl?” Eric asked.

Tiza blushed, scowled, and punched him two more times.

The walk to the north gate was uneventful. Although many
sent hostile looks at the team’s grendel, not one of them made a move. This was
because they noticed Fairtheora watching him. Eric pondered this. Fairtheora was,
in his opinion, much scarier than he was in his grendel form and also more
powerful given his orc heritage and specialized armor. In comparison, his grendel
form was just a big thug; an unarmed peasant vs. a plate mail knight.

 
That’s the key difference…

 Orcs, as a whole, valued Law as much as elves valued
Freedom, which made them ideal as guards. This one was a sentinel for their
beloved queen. Eric himself was a mercenary, the Trickster’s Choice, and now a
demon. The difference was their faith in the orc’s trustworthiness vs. their
belief that he would pull their pants down or punch their teeth in for petty
amusement.

 
I just might do the former, provided I can blame it on
Tasio….

At the North Gate, Zettai waited for them. She was
carrying a backpack and a sword, and her blood red hair was tied back. Basilard
took one look and said, “
No
.”

“Why not!?”

“We’re going to a Chaos Zone. It’s too dangerous.”

“The Bladi compound is too dangerous! Someone sent me a
death threat!”

“Really?”

Zettai handed him two rolled-up pieces of paper. One of
them said, “The disease will be expunged.” Another one said, “The Exile lives
on but not for much longer.” He put them in his pocket and rubbed his forehead.

“No one is going to kill you as long as I’m here.”

“That’s the problem! They think I’m responsible for your
defeat at the castle; that I’m ‘siphoning your power’ or something.”

She stared at the ground and gripped the straps of her
travel bag.

“If you die, they’re going to kill me. They’ll hunt me
down and kill me in some painful, ritualistic fashion to make sure their stupid
precious blood doesn’t fall into anyone’s hands.”

Nolien cleared his throat. “Daylra, may I remind you that
we met Miss Zettai at her execution and that she looked as though she were
mistreated while in police custody?”

Basilard's muscles tensed and his eyes chilled. Then he
examined Zettai. He saw shadows under her eyes, a nervous posture like a
cornered rabbit, and a backpack for traveling. At last, he let it out with a
breath of air.

“Alright, Zettai. If it makes you feel better, you can
come with us.”

Zettai nodded and joined Eric’s side.

“While I sort things out with the clan, you can move in
with Mia.”

“Mia? You mean your niece at the Dragon’s Lair?”

“You’ll like her,” Eric said. “She’s the sweetest girl
I’ve ever met and she’d love the company. I bet she’ll want to braid your
hair.”

Walking out into the cold winter air made everyone shiver.
Eric was grateful for the city’s magical heating system on days like today, but
he still wasn’t used to it. Years of growing upon Threa had instilled in him an
instinct to dress warmly during the winter because the outside everywhere was
guaranteed to be cold. Zettai had dressed as warmly as he had, likely because
Ceiha was similar to Threa in terms of magical technology.

There’s another possibility…Basilard no doubt
considered it.

Their destination was miles away from the city, but even
from the gate, Eric could spot the chaos zone. That pillar of marble had not
been there a month ago and Eric doubted it would be there next month. People
like Ax would send people like himself to cut it up until there was nothing
left. It was a peculiar aspect of this world’s economy.

Mana storms blew in out of nowhere and generated random
objects of value on a random piece of land and people purchased them for use in
their products. These things were essentially created from nothing, like the
scales Tasio shed during his fake Tazul attack, and yet they greased the wheels
of capitalism similar to the discovery of a gold mine. On the other side of the
coin, monsters appeared out of nowhere too. They helped and hindered this
cycle.

A mana storm close to the Summit…. one would think
Tasio planned it.

Without farmers to keep them at bay, monsters roamed
closer to the town walls and a mana storm provided plenty of monsters. While
local governments, such as Nolien’s family, were ultimately responsible for
dealing with them, mercenaries like himself would be called upon to keep the
area safe for civilians.

The Chaos Zone itself extended about forty square yards,
give or take a couple at varying points. The official boundary was the end of
the mutations, but the Fog would drift farther. The swirl of highly
concentrated and agitated mana transformed everything in its vicinity. The
monsters it spawned would range even further. The monsters of this field
appeared as mutant bears, snow golems, large rodents, and other things.

An official from the Royal Department of Trickster
Management and Maintenance was already present and slaying monsters with an axe
in each hand. An associate of his was recording the type, breed and number of
the monsters on a scry. When he spotted Basilard, they exchanged greetings and
a handshake. Then Basilard showed the two officials the mission bill and copy
of the claim from Ax. The officials gave him a stamp and returned to work. It
amused Eric that this second bureaucrat defended herself with the pen she used
to take notes.

“Mercenaries, it’s time to earn our pay,” Basilard said. “Zettai,
stay here with Lawful S—I mean the Royal Sentinel.”

Eric spotted a bear-like monster; an Ulizt. It was
bi-pedal and splotched with festering bumps resembling acne. It had white fur
with ice crystals sticking out. His eyes slitted and he licked his lips. He ran
across the chaotic zone, away from his teammates, in pursuit of prey.

Eyes glowing with lingering mana storm power, it swiped at
him. He dodged, but the power of the blow buffeted him. He stuck his staff into
its chest and it roared. It swiped at him with the other claw and, again, Eric
dodged.

“Now you see me.” He willed darkness around himself and
became invisible. While the Ulizt looked about in confusion, Eric circled
behind it. He waited for the right moment and stabbed the back of its neck.
“Now you don’t.”

Inhumanly quick, it spun and knocked Eric to the ground.
It held him there with a claw while the other raised high. Instead of trying to
escape, Eric sneered. When the beast struck for his throat, he caught the paw
in one of his own.

The Ulizt pushed on his chest and heard a satisfying crunch
as it caved in. It lowered its head to enjoy its meal, but the prey took a bite
out of him instead. The Seed of Chaos was already mending the damage. A brief
confusion was all Eric needed to get his legs under the Ulizt and push it off.

“Wind that warps and gusts that gale, become my army and
fire at my command. Stratos Lance!"

A pole arm made of air impaled the beast from the left. In
the next second, two more appeared from the right. Then four, then eight, then sixteen,
then thirty-two, then finally, sixty-four. When it finally collapsed, it was
bleeding from over a hundred wounds.

“Huh, I thought that spell would take more out of me.”

Grey Dengel appeared at his side.
That is the Seed of
Chaos. Your cells are charged with chaotic energy and so your soul has easy
access to additional fuel.

“That makes sense. Darkness, magecraft, monster form, Seed
of Chaos…I just realized what a weird medley of powers I have.”

Tasio wishes you to become a second “Immortal
Victorious in Battle.”

Eric bull-rushed a second Ulizt and, rather than a
prolonged fight, stuck his spear into its chest and blew it apart with a
compressed mana bolt.