“A group of soldiers is standing guard just outside the mines.”

  Marco’s eyes glowed orange as he activated his Spell Art. With thermal vision, he could see two bodies outlined below them. Perched on a ridge overlooking the mine, a small squad, consisting of Marco, Alexia, and Aria, remained hidden in the brush of the forest. Alexia looked down through her scope. “Shouldn’t be too hard a shot.” She narrowed her eyes before squeezing down on the trigger.

  BANG

  One of the guards dropped instantly. The other stumbled back in panic, but before he could alert the other soldiers, Lucien landed in front of him like a phantom. Startled, the guard reached for his sidearm but found he was too slow. His wrists were sliced clean off as the blonde-haired Easennian stared at him, his face devoid of any emotion.

  Lucien's weapon was a black-gold-plated polearm. Spirals of brown leather wrapped around the hilt, and a clockwork mechanism was mounted at the top of the shaft. The polearm's head functioned as an adjustable multi-tool, activated via the intricate mechanism, allowing Lucien to change its form at will. Currently, a curved glaive made of metal-infused chroma was deployed, the blade glowing an eerie red with the remnants of Lucien’s aura.

  As the guard let out a cry of pain and fear only to be muffled immediately. Lucien slammed the hilt into his mouth. A loud crack echoed through the mountainside as blood splattered against the rock. Lucien kept the hilt of the glaive firmly in the man's mouth as it muffled his cries as blood poured from his broken jaw onto the cobble path beneath them. The Easennian soldiers descended toward the mine entrance.

  “He’s a soldier. Private, most likely…” Aria muttered, recognizing the insignia on the uniform.

  Before she could say more, Lucien stepped forward. In one quick, efficient motion, the man's head was severed clean off. Blood splattered across the rocky entrance. Aria and the others flinched at the sudden brutality. Lucien meanwhile remained unfazed as he collapsed his weapon down to baton length with a click. “He would have alerted the other soldiers,” he said, his tone devoid of any emotion.

  “I understand,” Aria replied quietly. She knew killing was the cost of war. While she didn’t shy away from it when necessary, she still hated it. She turned to the others as Alexia and Marco caught up. “Alexia, Marco, you two watch the entrance. If any soldiers break through, alert the others and fall back.”

  “Got it.”

  “Understood.”

  Closing her eyes, Aria used her ability to sense any aura being used. When she found none, she refocused herself. No aura nearby, any mages were likely deeper in the cave. She and Lucien slipped into the mine, their footsteps muffled by the dirt and grit lining the shaft. The air was cold, damp, and heavy with silence. Every creak of wood and drip of water echoed louder than it should have. Yet the most suffocating thing was the silence between them.

  Aria couldn’t shake the strange tension lingering in the air, an animosity she couldn’t quite place. Lucien had always been curt, but it felt personal on some level. They’d barely interacted outside of formalities and her giving orders, yet something simmered beneath the surface. As they walked in silence, she finally asked the question that had been on her mind.

  “Want to share your reason for disliking me?” she asked casually, her voice echoing off the stone walls of the mine as they followed the narrow tracks.

  Lucien raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by the sudden question. “I need a reason?” he replied flatly.

  “So you just woke up one day and decided you didn’t like me?” Aria folded her arms. “I’m not stupid. We barely even interacted, and yet you made up your mind about me before we even spoke.” She could’ve accepted it if the reason had been something she did, or a disagreement between them. However, given they barely spoke Aria felt his behavior was arbitrary. Even if some of the other troops didn’t like that she held authority, she still needed their cooperation. For them to survive, Aria needed their trust as well.

  Lucien sighed, eyeing the indignant fourteen-year-old in front of him. “Our families hate each other.”

  Seriously? Aria blinked, completely thrown by the answer. Of all things, that wasn’t what she’d expected. “You hate me simply because of my name?”

  “Yeah?” Lucien replied with an unbothered shrug, his tone making it seem obvious. He looked at her like she was wasting his time. Meanwhile, Aria’s eyes narrowed. His casual answer only added to her confusion. “How is that my fault?” she asked bluntly. “I may be a Corvo, but I’m also myself.”

  “Are you stupid?” Lucien replied curtly, his composure cracking. “You expect me to ignore centuries of history and bad blood? I’m supposed to forget how yours treated mine for generations? How our families killed each other?!”

  “Yes!” Aria shouted back, surprising the sergeant. “We don’t have time to worry about whatever feuds our families had. I don’t care that your a DiAngelo and you shouldn’t care that I’m a Corvo. Right now we’re simply soldiers.” She brushed past him, sending a sharp glare his way. “If you must hate me, then find a genuine reason. Don’t cling to a vendetta born before either of us existed.”

  Lucien’s aqua eyes were wide in disbelief as Aria left him there, his mind racing in a mixture of shock, anger, and something else. "Ridiculous..."

  As they walked through the mine, Aria kept her wits about her. The smells of coal, chroma, and the sounds of machinery filled the air as they navigated the narrow passage. Eventually, they reached a massive ravine, now transformed into a quarry, teeming with workers and soldiers. Drilling into the mountain, several lines of railway cars snaked through the cave, while a near-endless cascade of shafts filled the expanse. As the two prepared to descend, a pair of figures began to approach them.

  One of the pair had shaggy, two-tone brown bangs with red hair at the back, tied into a small ponytail. He wore a fur-covered jacket over jeans adorned with decorative belts that splintered off the front of his pants. Over his legs were a pair of black metal prosthetics, with slots at the back where sharpened blades jutted out like spurs. Beside him stood a tan-skinned man with short red hair. He wore a fitted black bodysuit beneath a hooded cloak, his yellow eyes regarding Aria with curiosity. Under his sleeve was an armored prosthetic arm, similar to his partner’s, with a small barrel jutting from the base of the palm.

  “How cute, a pair of kids wandered into our little abode,” the metal-legged one teased, approaching them from the side.

  “Seems they’re a little lost, don’t they, brother?” The one with a metal prospthetic smirked as positioned himself on the opposite side of them, near Lucien.

  “You two are brothers?” Aria looked at them curiously. The duo raised an eyebrow at Aria’s observation. “Yeah, we’re twins.”

  If they’re twins, why do they look completely different? Aria thought to herself. They looked nothing alike and were clearly from different regions. The brothers seemed to notice her confusion and glanced at her, annoyance creeping into their expressions.

  “We aren’t literally twins!” the one with metal legs explained.

  “It’s symbolic. We grew up in the same orphanage.” The other one chimed in.

  Lucien sighed, keeping his hand on his polearm. “So, you two are with Albion?” The duo exchanged a look, realizing they were being sized up as soldiers. The brown-haired mercenary let out a short laugh.

  “Hmm. ‘With’ is a strong word…” He smirked. “We prefer mercenaries in this line of work.” The one missing an arm nodded. “Easenna, Albion... doesn’t matter. Money’s money. It just so happens our boss asked us to fight for Albion.”

  Aria narrowed her eyes at the lift heading to the cavern. In the distance, she could sense the faint use of aura deeper within the mines. If I had to guess, the commanding officer for this operation is down there and simply keeps the mercenaries as guards...

  “Sergeant DiAngelo, you handle these two. I’ll fight their benefactor.” Aria unsheathed her sword and took a step toward the two mercenaries.

  “And if we stop you?” The metal-legged mercenary taunted. “You two might be soldiers, but you're still kids.”

  Before he could react, Aria was in front of him drawing her sword. Swinging into him, the mercenary tried to step back, but he knew it would be too late. Instantly, his brother was there, blocking the blow. A loud clash of metal echoed through the mine. Kicking off him, Aria rushed toward the mine elevator.

  “Idiots.” The metal-legged mercenary smirked. Taking a small bronze bullet, it glowed with a red hue, a flame inscribed on the casing. He slipped it into his leg’s barrel, raised it, and fired an explosive shot at the ceiling above the elevator. The blast rocked the mine with a deafening roar.

  Aria winced, creating a teal barrier to contain the explosion and prevent the tunnel from collapsing. As the two mercenaries moved to intercept her, Lucien swung his glaive, slamming the blade into the metal-armed mercenary. In a single fluid motion, he arced the polearm, nearly slicing the other’s neck. Forcing them to dodge, Lucien successfully cut them off.

  Aria leapt into the cavern, conjuring small disc-shaped platforms to break her fall as she descended to the base of the mine. Watching her disappear below, the two mercenaries turned to Lucien with amused expressions. “Looks like you’re all alone, boy. Your comrade’s as good as dead, our boss ain’t no pushover.”

  “You won’t be escaping like she did, either!”

  “That’s fine. I don’t plan on running.” Lucien replied dryly. The mercenaries exchanged a glance, before bursting into genuine laughter. “A runt like you thinks you’re strong enough to beat us?”

  Lucien let out a soft sigh and shifted his stance, his glaive collapsing into a spear. The red-tinted tip glowed faintly in the dark of the mineshaft as his cold blue eyes locked onto the twins. “I may not see eye to eye with that raven,” he said, approaching the duo. “However, we both agree on one thing: you two don’t belong in this land.” Raising his spear for battle, Lucien’s blue eyes narrowed on them. “Unlike her, I have no qualms killing you.”

  Aria raced through the quarry. Most of the Albion workers either ignored her or offered little resistance. But as she reached the main excavation site, she was taken aback by the scale of the operation. Heavy machinery rumbled across the area and dozens of workers toiled under the industrial lights. As she moved among them, a sharp crack split the air. A gunshot shattered the ground beside her causing Aria to dodge backwards.

  “Well, well, well… looks like we’ve got an intruder,” the man drawled, hopping down to Aria’s level. He held a short, one-handed shotgun aimed at her, his other hand tucked inside his coat.

  Looking up, she spotted the shooter: a middle-aged man standing atop a metal walkway. He wore a sleeveless military dress coat over a form-fitting shirt, a metal chain dangling from his neck, and a toothpick tucked between his lips. His medium-length blonde hair was tied back in a short ponytail. The workers panicked, scattering in all directions for cover.

  “Could say the same for you,” Aria replied curtly. Her eyes narrowed on the strange man. She could tell from his uniform that he was an Albion soldier, but his posture was far too casual for someone high up. “As an officer of Easenna, I’m offering you one chance to surrender peacefully.”

  The man stared at her for a moment. “HA-HAHAHAHA!” He wiped a tear from his eye as he caught his breath. “An officer! You sure you’re not just a little girl playing dress-up?” Aria’s eye twitched in annoyance as she gripped her sword. “I’m offering you and the rest of the Albans this one chance. The rest of the army won’t be so merciful.”

  The man smirked, clearly amused. “Afraid I can’t do that. We’ve got direct orders to extract as much chroma from this place as possible. Not like Easenna needs it anyway.”

  Why risk so many lives for something like this? Aria thought, frustration simmering beneath her calm exterior. As a leader, shouldn’t he value the people under him too?

  “You’d risk the lives of your soldiers and civilians for some chroma?” she asked sharply. The man raised an eyebrow, almost surprised by the question. “Of course. Your people brought all this destruction into the world. The military needs chroma just to keep the lights on. These folks knew what they signed up for. Well, some of them. Conscription’s a real pain in the ass.”

  Aria steeled herself, her expression hardening as she drew her sword. “I don’t think I can reason with someone who’d fight for something so selfish. I don’t know why Albion is going to such lengths to steal our land’s resources… but I’ll stop you. Right here. Right now.”

  “How chivalrous,” He drawled before raising his shotgun. He fired down at Aria, only for his eyes to widen as she effortlessly deflected the bullets with her blade. She closed the distance in a blink. The man parried her side slash with the shotgun barrel, sparks flying from the impact. Amidst their battle, the miners and remaining guards began retreating toward the entrance in a panic.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Kicking off him, Aria spun mid-air, her blade arcing in from the side. This time, however, the soldier tried to dodge, but she surged forward, aura flaring around her, enhancing her speed. Her sword cleaved through the gun, slicing it clean in half.

  The officer retaliated with a sudden swipe. Aria’s eyes widened, she was too late. A metal hand tipped with sharp claws sliced her arm. I was definitely out of his range… The man pressed his advantage, rushing at Aria. She raised her sword to parry the next slash, but once again, the blow cut through. This time cutting into her shoulder, drawing blood.

  What kind of ability is this?! Staggering back, Aria gritted her teeth, trying to formulate a plan.

  “It’s a shame,” The enemy soldier said, advancing with measured steps. “Albion’s always been stronger in magic than Easenna.”

  His eyes gleaming with confidence as he smirked at Aria. “Don’t take it too hard, girly. Your people focused on weaponry while we learned to wield magic alongside our tech. An ability like mine? It’s far beyond basic aura use.” He raised his clawed hand as he towered over Aria ready to strike. “A Spell Art is what sets us apart from ordinary humans. Without one, you can’t beat a mage.”

  "Why isn’t this working?!" one of the mercenary brothers shouted, wincing as he narrowly dodged Lucien's spear.

  The metal-fisted mercenary lunged forward, electricity crackling through his prosthetic arm as he aimed a devastating blow at Lucien’s rib cage. “Gotcha!”

  But before the hit could land, a cloud of thick gray smoke erupted through the mine. The mercenary's eyes narrowed in confusion, his punch struck nothing but empty air. The Easennian soldier had vanished at the last second. Staggering slightly, he strained to see through the haze. “That was cheap…” he growled, scanning the smoke. “You spot that runt, brother?”

  Silence.

  The smoke began to thin as the mercenary spun around. As his vision cleared the mercenary felt his heart dropped. His brother laid face down in a growing pool of blood, his metal leg cleaved clean through, motionless. "How?...”

  Lucien stood a short distance away, twirling his spear with a bored expression. “Albion’s funny,” he said flatly. “Sure, you’ve got more magic users. But like every other nation, Easenna has aura. Spell Arts too.” He tilted his head slightly. “You two have good synergy, similar abilities, and some experience. Shame it wasn’t enough.”

  “S-Shut up!” the mercenary roared, lunging at him. Lucien let out a quiet sigh, flicking blood from his spear. As the mercenary slammed down with all his force, his eyes widened in disbelief. The spear split cleanly into two parts. With a single click, a short sword extended from one end while the other remained a spear.

  “I was ordered not to kill unless necessary… by that raven,” Lucien said calmly. “So this should be enough.”

  The mercenary snarled and landed a powerful punch into Lucien’s chest, a smug grin spreading across his face as he felt the hit connect. That is until Lucien burst into smoke. The mans grin quickly faded. “What–?”

  “How unfortunate,” a voice echoed coolly from behind him. The mercenary spun around, panic rising in his chest. The smoke dissipated once again, revealing Lucien, unscathed, twirling his spear with eerie composure. The red chroma tip now pulsed with a dangerous, menacing light.

  “W-what kind of ability is this?!” the mercenary shouted, fear creeping into his voice.

  "Easenna may be many things, but weak isn’t one of them," Lucien said, his voice cold and definite. "A fight between magic users is won on information. That said, explaining my Spell Art would be… disadvantageous for me."

  In an instant, Lucien was behind him. “Seeing as we need information, I suppose leaving you mostly dead will suffice…” The mercenary spun around, his body surging with neon yellow aura as he tried to land a charged attack. The crackling light surged toward Lucien, but before it could hit, the energy flickered out.

  "Impossible..." The mercenary stared in disbelief, his ability dissipating as his strike vanished into the air.

  Lucien's eyes glowed red for a moment before his shortened spear pierced through the enemy's torso, avoiding the vitals with near-surgical precision. “Knowing an enemy's Spell Art is dangerous but I can explain this Spell." Lucien kicked him off his spear as he reattached its other end, the blade now at the opposite side.

  “After I meet the conditions set, I can either enhance my weapon to slice through aura easily for a short time or negate the activation of a Spell Art.” Seeing the man pass out from the attack, Lucien sighed as his polearm collapsed into a pocket-sized rod. “As much as I hate to admit it, my family isn’t even the strongest one here…”

  “Struggle all you want; you won’t survive this fight.” The Albion soldier grinned as he launched a barrage of range slashes. Aria’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she let out a small sigh.

  “I see… I had been approaching this fight all wrong.” The man pressed his advantage, aiming to turn Aria into ribbons, only for her to effortlessly parry his attack. Her sword glowed with a teal aura, and her eyes glowed green.

  Huh?! He thought to himself. In all his years of service, he hadn’t encountered someone who could brush off his otherwise unavoidable slashes. Twisting his body for a moment, he tried to slice Aria, but she had already dodged it, leaping off a small platform she made behind her. The soldier's attack missed, causing him to slice into the cave wall instead. “Impossible…”

  “I was fighting you expecting you to be skilled,” Aria stated bluntly. She sheathed her sword as she eyed the soldier incredulously. “I wonder if it’s because your nation has more magic users than the other nations, so you never had to properly train… Your combat skills feel average at best.”

  The man's face contorted with rage as he rushed at Aria. “Don’t fuck with me!” Aria sighed as she effortlessly dodged his slices. As he went to stab her in the heart, Aria moved to the side answering with a power slash across his midsection. Before he had a chance to register her cut, Aria slammed an elbow to his face, drawing blood. Readjusting her sword Aria swung into him only for the soldier to parry it. Sparks flying from the clash of metal. As he staggered back, he noticed a small flat note on his palm ?.

  Even if she's fast, she won’t be able to dodge my Spell Art. An unavoidable ranged slice that can even bypass aura. As the man rushed at her one last time, his clawed hand glowed as he prepared to land his signature ability. Aria’s eyes narrowed, sensing him activating his power.

  “You people really are arrogant… Coming to our land and thinking you can take what you want.” Aria said lowly. As he tried to slice her a final time, the fight was over. Cutting past her, the man smirked before noticing something. Blinking in confusion, the man felt different. A rain of fingers hit the floor of the mine. Aria had sliced his fingers off in one clean motion. Blood soon followed as he cried out in pain.

  “Your ability is no different than a ranged aura slash,” Aria analyzed. She had noticed the flow of aura around his hands during the fight. His slashes, while potent, were easy for her to predict. Aria had applied a note to him, disrupting the aura output specifically on his hand. The moment she applied her note’s effect, Aria was able to overpower him with her own aura-infused slash.

  Aria sighed as she sheathed her sword, her enemy clutching his hand in pain as he writhed on the ground. I’ll let the Major decide what to do next. They may let these Albans go or choose to question them later.

  Aria glanced over and saw him slowly beginning to move. “It’s over. All of you and your comrades will be taken into custody of our armed forces. I don’t want to shed blood if it’s unnecessary.”

  “Over? Who gives you the right to decide that?!” The man lunged forward. On instinct, Aria went to cut him down but stopped when she saw him gripping a young mine worker, around her age. Using him as a hostage, the enemy soldier’s hands were digging into the worker’s skin as blood began to drip.

  “B-Boss, what are you doing?!” The worker’s voice was shaky and emotional, as he felt his life hang in the balance, held by his leader's hand.

  “Don’t hate me for this, kid, but if I get captured by Easenna, it’ll be worse than dying. Besides, I doubt this girl can kill me.” He smirked as he walked backward, hostage in hand. The remaining Albans in the mine watched with bated breath, waiting for the next move. Aria, meanwhile, remained motionless.

  “You’re their leader, yet you’d discard them at the earliest convenience… Do you have no honor?” Aria asked quietly.

  The man let out a bitter laugh. “Honor? Who cares about that! A battle doesn’t care about honor or codes. What matters is who lives and who dies. These boys knew what was going to happen the moment they agreed to enter enemy territory. But even if we fall, our work will be used to destroy you demons!”

  Demons… How can they claim we’re demons who caused the Eldritch, yet hold their own as hostages? Aria never understood why Albion was able to convince some of their population that Easenna was the cause of everything. Part of her wondered if there was a genuine reason, or if it was just an excuse to wage war for their resources. Her father had always assumed it was the latter.

  “You’d damn your troops to death all for the sake of spilling our blood…” Aria met his gaze. The man smirked as his claws pierced the worker’s skin, making him cry out in pain. Aria’s composure faltered as she looked horrified. “W-wait!”

  The man laughed cruelly as he took a few steps back, now pressed to the wall. “Don’t tell me you’re actually worried for him? Or is it because you’re afraid of taking a life?” The man smirked as he saw Aria’s dilemma.

  Someone like this can’t be reasoned with…

  “You’re mistaken,” Aria said darkly. The enemy looked at her curiously, her gaze remaining low. “I’m not afraid of killing, I only need a purpose for it. Someone who’d turn on their own people, even if they aren’t my own, doesn’t deserve a second chance. Easennian, Alban, anyone. These are the beliefs I’ve had my entire life, and the ones I’ll defend.”

  Aria’s crest began to glow. In an instant the man coughed blood. His grip on the hostage went slack as he clutched his chest. Frantically turn around to see a blade in his back. Aria’s eyes narrowed as the worker rushed back to the other civilians.

  He put himself near the same construct I leapt from to dodge his slash. Since my constructs remain active until I release them, I simply reshaped the aura construct into a sharpened point and pierced his heart. Someone who would use a civilian as a shield and treat his subordinates like pawns doesn’t deserve to live.

  As they sat at the field camp, the Easennian forces were busy sorting the Albans captured from the mine. Major Regis, commanding the operation, oversaw the process as her regiment coordinated with the rest of the division. While soldiers recounted their skirmishes, Aria sat off to the side, being patched up.

  “Oww.”

  “Disinfecting your wounds wouldn’t hurt as much if you didn’t take unnecessary risks, my Lady…” Mary scolded gently, dabbing at the slash wounds left by the mage. They weren’t deep enough to scar, but they still stung. “Honestly, I wish you’d be more mindful of yourself when you fight.”

  Aria winced as Mary wrapped gauze around her arms. “I don’t willingly get hit… His ability bypassed the aura, so I had to improvise.”

  “You could try dodging more,” Mary said flatly. “You’re naturally fast.”

  “Sorry to interrupt, I wanted to ask her something…”

  Aria and Mary turned to see Lucien standing nearby. Sensing the tension between them, Mary glanced between the two soldiers before giving a small nod.

  “Of course, Sergeant DiAngelo. I’ll give you two some room.” She gathered her supplies and moved on to tend to other soldiers.

  Aria wasn’t sure what Lucien wanted, he rarely ever spoke to her outside being ordered. Even after their mission, Lucien said nothing when they regrouped with the rest of the Easennian army. “Go right ahead.”

  Lucien took a deep breath. “Why did you waste your crest on someone like that mage?” Confusion crossed Aria’s face as she hadn’t expected that question.

  “We’re some of the few with family crests,” Lucien continued, frustration in his voice. “They’re not something to use lightly. Let alone wasting one to save some Alban! Don’t you have any pride?”

  Is it really that big of a deal? Aria thought to herself. She had always been taught to see her abilities and magic as just another part of who she was, her abilities were nothing sacred, nothing to be placed on a pedestal. To Aria, her family crest was a tool, no different then her sword.

  “I do have pride in being an Easennian,” she replied calmly, meeting his eyes. “And I’m proud to carry my family’s legacy. But how you use your ability shouldn’t matter, so long as you have a reason for why you fight. Isn’t it the same for you?”

  Lucien’s light blue eyes widened at Aria’s simple explanation. For the heiress of a noble family to so casually disregard the status and obligation that came with bearing a family crest; especially from the Corvo’s. To reject the idea that the very symbol of their family was nothing special was unheard of.

  “Congratulations, Lucien… You are the one who overcame the other candidates. From today you are the heir of our family crest. Not as a survivor, but as a victor. From this day forward, generations of DiAngelos will flow through your blood. With it, our family crest must only ever use it against those worthy of dying to our power. To use it on the unworthy belittles the family. After all, if we don’t keep our pride then we’ll have nothing.”

  His father’s words echoed in Lucien’s mind, a memory from the day he earned his family crest through blood and sacrifice. It had been drilled into him: the crest was not a tool, but a sacred legacy. A weapon reserved for the worthy.

  As he stared at Aria, Lucien couldn’t shake these thoughts. He had fought and killed for the right to bear that power. She wielded hers so freely, almost carelessly in his eyes.

  “I don’t understand you…” he mumbled quietly. “How can you use your ability against Albion foot soldiers and then turn around and kill to protect them, despite what they’ve done to our people?”

  Aria raised an eyebrow at his question. “I didn’t kill for that Alban’s life. I killed that mage because it was the right thing to do.” She paused, glancing up at the night sky as her expression softened in thought. The stars shimmered silently above them. Thinking of the ideals she’d fought and carried her entire life, Aria decided to answer him honestly.

  “I honor our nation by using my sword on those who deserve it,” she said. “But if I don’t extend those ideals beyond just Easennian lives, then how can I claim to carry our nation's legacy with any integrity?” Her eyes met his again, steady and resolute. “Whether I use my crest, my ability, or my blade, it shouldn’t matter. So long as I can protect the people I care about, and defend those who need it, I choose whatever means are necessary.” Aria had a small smile as she looked up.

  Lucien studied Aria for a long moment. This girl treats her ability as her own, not her family’s… Her reasoning was simple, almost innocently simple. Yet it struck something in him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fought without feeling the weight of his family's legacy pressing down on every action. The pressure to honor a name rather than act on his own convictions. Looking down, Lucien let out a quiet laugh, one of amusement and a realization.

  “You really are naive,” Lucien chuckled.

  Aria’s eyes narrowed, clearly offended. “I’m still your commanding officer,” she muttered under her breath. I don’t think it’s naive to value human life...

  Lucien gave a casual, dismissive wave as he turned to rejoin the rest of the platoon. “I know, you’re technically the boss. Just try not to slow us down, Lieutenant. After all, we’ve still got more experience.”

  Aria rolled her eyes but caught the faint smile tugging at Lucien’s lips as he walked away. Her gaze drifted to Mary, who was laughing and sharing a meal with the others, the glow of the campfire casting soft light over their faces. For a moment, Aria felt a shift, a quiet sense of belonging beginning to settle in. As she readjusted the strap on her scabbard, Aria went to rejoin her comrades.

  Marco Leone

  Spell Art: Wavesight

  Cost: Varied

  By applying aura to his retinas Marco can allow himself to see in different wavelengths. The difference in wavelengths affect the amount of aura required.

  Radio, Micro, and Infared–Around ten minutes of active sight.

  Ultra violet–Six Minutes

  Xray–One Minute

  Gamma Ray–Ten Seconds

  Spell Art: Ghost Blade

  Cost: Low

  Through the use of the users own aura, they can bypass an enemies aura and aim delayed slashes. This ability uses the users aura to treat the slashes as intangible until they reach the target destination.

  Preview:

  Despite the distrust in her role as leader, Aria and a small group of her platoon travel to confront a Mage Corp member

  Next Time:

  Aria's Past Part 5