Villainous

Faust knelt, checking the men"s bodies for himself. Three of them were unremarkable, but the other two... Had pale bands of flesh on their fingers where rings used to be.

His mouth twitched. "So she took another ring and didn"t tell me, huh... What a naughty brat."

He pinched the man"s grayish skin, peering into the vacant milky white eyes. Bringing out some tools from his magitech ring, Faust carefully removed the scalp and opened up the skull using mostly his own brute force alongside the tool"s durability.

Inside the man"s skull, a fat tadpole with long tentacles was clutching onto the brain matter, covering the entire grayish ma.s.s with a thick mucous film excreted from its body. It looked up and screeched weakly with a mouth full of jagged teeth that seemed to spread back down its throat into its very belly. Wearing an expression of disgust, Faust killed the tadpole with a simple flick of his tools.

The other body didn"t have any outward signs, but opening up his head revealed a much smaller tadpole in the process of integrating with the brain. Its mucous membrane wasn"t even fully established yet.

Faust dispatched that one too. "Host-based reproduction, and the hosts are allowed to wander away from the hatchery. So the colony"s small and can"t sustain their own isolated breeding grounds yet, that"s good. They must be using the mythal as extra safety insurance."

Then he lifted the cloak on the ground to examine the woman"s corpse. He gently touched the ink decorating her body, his brows furrowed. The ink smeared, and he rubbed it between his fingers before bringing it to his face for closer examination. "Still wet even after hours of exposure... Viscous texture. Sour and bitter smell, pungent. Hm... High quality stuff.

"And if they left that brat alone after witnessing a failed ritual requiring this kind of ink, and even seeing one of their faces... They know what she is! Tch. At least they aren"t the type to share information with outsiders. An actively reproducing Cthil colony in Brittalund..."

Cold flight flashed through Faust"s inky black eyes. Each of the bodies were carefully dissected, their Cores retrieved with surgical precision. Two of the men had shattered remnants of Cores which Faust promptly discarded. The other four Cores, including the dead woman"s, he kept in his magitech ring. "There"s still some refined mana in these. Good, good. That"ll help in tracking down their movements prior to their death."

He stored a sample of the viscous ink in a tiny gla.s.s vial, then flicked his wrist to patiently draw a circuit over each body with a shimmering violet thread of mana. Purple flames burst into life on each of the bodies, burning them to ash in minutes.

The flames spread to consume the debris and other evidence scattered around the messy bas.e.m.e.nt, scouring the walls, floor, and even ceiling. By the time the fire faded away, all evidence was erased. Afterward, Faust laid special arrays in the bas.e.m.e.nt, as well as all around the house and property.

Protection array, security array, signal array, shrouding array... The protection array would reduce damage taken within the premises for both people and objects.

The security and signal arrays were for detecting unwanted intruders - he didn"t activate those yet, it would have to wait until Li Mei and her little strays were on the premises to be established as occupants.

Once they were active, any hint of serious trouble on the property would signal him immediately so long as he was within Brittalund. Mild trouble would be left for Li Mei to resolve on her own as a learning experience, just as the parenting books suggested.

After a moment of hesitation, Faust pulled out one of the books he bought from Benjamin Beckett, and leafed through a middle chapter. The entire book was full of highlighted text and bookmarked pages from an entire night spent doing intense research. "Ah... Teenagers both need and value privacy? Hmm..."

Just a surveillance array around the yard then, woven into the shrouding array which would keep other people from scrying or spying on his little disciple while hiding his own monitoring actions. Even the Cthil"s observational methods would be restricted, thanks to the very mythal they were using as a shield.

Faust put his book away and nodded with satisfaction. The final array he laid was one to gather mana on the property by attracting the nearest leylines a bit closer to the surface. He only bought the house for Li Mei because it just so happened to be situated atop a leyline nexus, while also being relatively close to a shopping district and transport to the Academy. Otherwise he would have found a manor in much better condition!

Leylines were streams of natural mana flowing throughout the earth in a more condensed form, creating closed loops that circled the planet underground. It had much less impurities than atmospheric mana, but displayed something similar to a will of its own that made it hard for people to forcefully tap as a useful source.

Instead, leylines dragged mostly pure mana around the planet and released it back into the atmosphere in areas where it flowed closer to the surface, making those areas particularly rich in atmospheric mana with lower impurities. Attracting then catching that purified atmospheric mana was what Faust"s mana gathering array was meant to do. Diverting the flow of a leyline through force was something even he couldn"t manage!

Some leylines were larger than others and had a more noticeable effect on atmospheric mana. The smallest and most numerous Grade 1 leylines were as thin as a forest stream, while the four largest leylines, the only Grade 5 leylines in the entire world, were dozens of kilometers wide. Just being near a Grade 5 was invigorating!

The bigger the leyline, the more pure and powerful its mana. Brittalund"s mythal tower, which powered the whole mythal, was built atop a leyline nexus of several Grade 3 leylines crossing each other close to the surface. One such Grade 3 stream continued on to intersect with a few smaller ones right under Li Mei"s house before heading deeper underground!

Several such points existed throughout the archipelago, so it wasn"t particularly eye-catching and wouldn"t cause his disciple unknown troubles just from owning it. And the house"s sordid history lowered its real estate value too, despite its property size.

His job done and arrays established, Faust dusted his hands and left the yard, pulling a Core from his magitech ring. "Now let"s see what you lot have been getting up to, hm?"

---

The specific island Li Mei"s new house sat on was known as Eight Mist, one of the largest islands in the archipelago and the home of Brittalund"s famous Seaside Academy. As such, its air docks were always bustling with activity.

Tall stone towers reached to the sky, each one decorated with the banners of companies that owned them, flying beasts arriving or departing from each of their many levels. Dock workers lugged cargo to and from beasts so large they couldn"t land on any of the pa.s.senger towers, while countless smaller flying beasts and their travel boxes flew in orderly patterns guided by workers with colored flags signaling when to land or take off. Smaller booths with intrepid entrepreneurs hawking cheaper fares tempted those with lighter wallets.

There were even a few hot air balloons and blimps pulled by teams of flying beasts! They offered leisurely travel and tours around the islands, so their pa.s.sengers were more well-to-do.

Li Mei wove through the crowds, towards a small private tower on the eastern edge of the docks. She pulled up the hood of her cloak despite the lack of rain, just to keep any of the people crowding the air docks from stopping her to ask questions.

She scurried up several ramps to the third level. The Roc resting next to its travel box only opened an eye to briefly examine her aura before resuming its nap.

"I"m back!" Li Mei announced as she pushed open the door, quickly ducking inside.

Hana and Otto were both about to wrap her in a big hug when Bao wedged himself between them and Li Mei, all four of his eyes narrowed. Neither of them were strong enough to push the fera aside, so they could only look on as Bao gripped Li Mei"s cloak in his teeth and tugged it forcefully away from her body.

Hana and Otto gasped.

Li Mei"s ragged torn dress was missing a sleeve. Numerous small cuts and yellowing bruises starkly contrasted almost every visible inch of her flesh. Grime clung to her clothes and hair. Her right arm was slightly discolored and hanging limp, tied to her waist with a makeshift cloth rope...

Tears sprang to Otto"s bright blue eyes, while Hana pulled daggers out of her sleeves with a steely glint in her gaze. Bao"s nostrils flared and he stomped his clawed feet in frustration.

"I"m fine. Trust me, they"re in worse shape than I am." Li Mei grinned, ruffling Hana"s hair with her good hand. Hana clicked her tongue and put the daggers away, but the harsh glint in her crimson eyes remained.

Li Mei wouldn"t admit it out loud, but she was touched at how affected they were by her condition. Most of her interaction with Otto and Hana over the past year or so was h.e.l.lish training in the forest or h.e.l.lish studying with Faust, she wouldn"t have been surprised to find they held resentment in their young little hearts toward her.

But that didn"t seem to be the case. What good kids they were.

Bao scoffed, nudging her left shoulder gently with his muzzle. He glanced at the cushioned bench in the middle of the room, then back at Li Mei, who took the hint and shuffled over for a seat. The Fera sat on the floor by her legs and laid his head gently across her lap, heaving a frustrated sigh as he glared at Li Mei"s broken arm.
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The one time he wasn"t allowed to go with her, and look what happened! This little sister of his is really troublesome. Bao hated that he wasn"t strong enough to fight Faust when the b.a.s.t.a.r.d took Li Mei away the day before, or at least fast enough to catch up to her afterward.

Not that he didn"t try! Faust swept Li Mei out the door so fast the rest of them barely saw the man"s move to grab her. Though the other two were resigned to their own weakness and just waited quietly in the travel box, Bao spent much of the previous day wandering the city streets trying to pick up Li Mei"s trail.

But Faust was unimaginably strong, impossibly fast, and annoyingly capable. If he didn"t want to be followed, someone of Bao"s ability wouldn"t be able to do anything about it. And so a seed of resentment toward the man took root in Bao"s heart, alongside a desire to get strong enough to protect his little human sister from sinister threats such as malicious kidnappers.

The Fera was proud of his strength and speed in the forest, able to outrun even Rank 4 beasts who were essentially kings in their territories, but having Li Mei s.n.a.t.c.hed away in front of his very eyes was a harsh slap in the face.

One he wouldn"t soon forget, or forgive.

Otto picked up the cloak and hung it on a hook by the door, only to have his attention drawn by a flat box sitting against the wall. He lifted it into his arms, a bit surprised by its hefty weight despite its size. "Oh, right! Boss, that Faust jerk left this here for you."

Li Mei chuckled at Otto"s tame name-calling. He set the box on a low table in front of the cushioned bench, staring at it with barely concealed curiosity. Hana crouched next to the table, leaning close enough that the tip of her nose almost touched the mysterious package.

However, Li Mei pulled out the crystal tablet Faust gave her instead of opening the box. It sat easily in her small palm, cool to the touch and light as gla.s.s. She turned it over to show the circuit array to the others. "I have to read this first."

Both Otto and Hana wore expressions of disappointment, but Otto straightened up quickly and dragged the reluctant Hana into the kitchen. "Then we"ll make lunch! Hana, come chop veggies."

With them occupied, the sound of clumsy arrhythmic chopping filling the air, Li Mei turned her attention to the crystal tablet.

It was a magitech tool for storing, sending, and receiving data. This one had been locked to her aura signature by Faust, so only the two of them could access its contents. She extended a mana thread to power the complicated circuit engraved on the crystal tablet.

-----

[Successful Contact with Crystal Tablet]

Data copied to Archive. Sorting useful information, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g that b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s useless meandering prose.

Displaying refined information.

-----

"Lina, you"re so good to me!" Li Mei praised silently as a dozen different Interface windows popped up in her field of vision.

Otto glanced over his shoulder to see Li Mei staring at the crystal tablet, seemingly in a daze. He let out a sigh, his knife hovering listlessly above the meat he was carving. "Last time she disappeared without telling us to make a breakthrough by herself. This time, she"s taken away by that jerk and returns alone with a broken arm and battered body..."

He was well aware of how strong Li Mei was - their time in the forest had left a deep impression on him. Leaping from an enormous tree without fear, plummeting dozens of meters to slam a staff through the skull of a giant lizard beast with the force of her fall... Grabbing Phytons and Vine Crawlers from mid-air the moment they attacked, as though she knew they were there all along... Pointing out endless numbers of herbs and mushrooms and roots and how to eat them or why not to even touch them... Teaching them how to make traps, how to feign weakness to lure enemies into them...

Boss was strong and clever. How fearsome was the opponent to put her in such a state? How many other battles did she fight without letting them know? Had she hid injuries from them in the past?

Hana gave a snort, flinging down a crudely shaved vegetable. She stood on a stool in order to reach the high counter, making her look especially adorable compared to the more serious ap.r.o.n-clad Otto. A piece of vegetable rind inexplicably found its way into her hair while another stuck out from the collar of her shirt, but she didn"t seem to notice.

She plucked another poor innocent vegetable waiting in a basket on the counter and shaved off a piece of its rind with more vigor than required to vent some of her own frustrations. "We... Can"t help her. We... Are weak. Dead weight."

Scowling, Otto furrowed his brow.

On one hand, he hated fighting. Training wasn"t so bad even if it was tough or painful, but fighting was scary. Mistakes in training led to a scolding, but mistakes in a fight would lead to injury, infirmary, or even death.

But on the other hand, being weak meant being useless when the person who saved, protected, and trained you for so long was suffering on her own in silence.

Otto clenched his teeth and stabbed the meat with his knife, lobbing it into a waiting heated pan with a flick of his wrist. He stared at the edge of his blade with a melancholic gaze as the meat faintly sizzled and released its aroma into the air.

In the forest, he just wanted to be strong enough to live peacefully. To garden and cook without fear of monster attacks, or escape if threats appeared.

Otto didn"t remember anything of his life before Oriole - the organization erased memories of their child soldiers, using the excuse that it was to prevent the children from suffering through the pain of their horrible pasts. Their personal records even contained the full stories if the children got curious about where they came from, so they could see what Oriole was saving them from and feel grat.i.tude from the depths of their hearts.

After experiencing what felt like endless days of harsh repet.i.tive training in which he kept failing and disappointing instructors until his cla.s.s group rank reached rock bottom, Otto was thrown into a terrifying forest only to be picked up by Li Mei and Bao who were able to protect him from that point on with little apparent effort.

Li Mei"s training methods were even more difficult than Oriole"s, but her helpful criticisms and willingness to provide examples through her own actions and training made it a more favorable alternative in Otto"s opinion. She didn"t withhold meals if he failed to reach a set goal, and she wouldn"t beat him or lock him in isolation chambers for insubordination either!

They said it was for his own good and that he"d thank them when he was strong, but he learned far more from Li Mei than he ever did from those cruel instructors. Obviously, their methods were flawed if they could be outdone by a child!

From his past experiences, Otto wasn"t surprised at all to discover a city full of people would be even scarier than a forest full of beasts. The peaceful garden of his dreams felt like it was getting further and further away. "What do we do? She"s so strong and yet...! We can"t even catch up to her in training, against enemies who can do that to her...? We"re just... Useless..."

Hana pulled the rind from her hair and stuck it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Then she shrugged and went back to peeling vegetables with one of her bone daggers. "I"ll... Train harder."

Too weak?

Get stronger!

Hana nodded to herself, swallowing the tasteless rind with a satisfied expression on her cute little face. After all, she was just a kid. Complicated questions were better suited to older kids like Otto. Her heart and mind preferred simple solutions.

Tap tap!

Otto looked up in surprise when a crystal tablet tapped gently against his shoulder. Li Mei grinned up at him, shaking her head. She leaned against Bao, who scoffed at Otto"s bewildered expression. "You worry too much. Raw fighting power is great, don"t get me wrong. But you can make up for gaps in power by being clever and well-prepared.

"Plus, combat ability isn"t the only way to measure usefulness! You do all the housework, that"s plenty useful. I"m counting on you to take care of things at home, Otto."

Soldiers couldn"t march on an empty stomach. They were supported by farmers growing food, by miners obtaining ore, by blacksmiths making weapons and armor, by doctors mixing medicine and performing life-saving surgeries.

None of them were professions that emphasized or even experienced combat in most cases, yet they were absolutely integral to supporting an army. An emperor was nothing without his army, and his army was nothing without the civilians behind it.

Logistics was the heart and soul of warfare, and that was true even on a smaller scale! Li Mei, Hana, and Bao could fight and train harder because Otto cooked, washed dishes, and did laundry, freeing up several hours per day for their schedules. In her mind, Otto was a civilian while the rest of them were soldiers. In that sense it was easier to excuse Otto"s lack of willingness to chase after strength.

Not everyone could be a fighter. Indeed, if the world didn"t have dangerous monsters everywhere that could threaten her life, and if she weren"t a slave to some b.a.s.t.a.r.d with a sick s.a.d.i.s.tic streak who habitually left her in dangerous situations, Li Mei would like to live as a civilian too. Work hard for a salary during the day, then relax in a quiet comfortable home at night.

Minding her own business, not bothering anyone. Just living each day peacefully and happily.

Alas, that was never her fate. Not on Earth, and not on Elysium either!

Otto"s eyes reddened. Li Mei was trying to comfort and encourage him! What a touching and rare moment! He put his hand over his heart, which suddenly burned with a fervent flame. "Boss...!"

"Alright, alright, put those gross sappy eyes away. And don"t burn my lunch!" Li Mei shook her head as Otto gasped and whirled around to flip the slab of meat sizzling away in the hot pan. She braced herself, closing her eyes as she silently reviewed the instructions Faust left for her. She affected a conflicted expression, hesitating as she touched her bottom lip with her fingertips. "Actually, you two, I... Mm." Li Mei shook her head, avoiding the suddenly curious gates of Otto and Hana. "No, no, finish cooking lunch first. After that... I have something I need to tell you both."

She heaved a sigh, nudging Bao"s side with her elbow. He turned slowly, providing support as she made her way back to the cushioned bench with heavy, plodding footsteps full of dejection and remorse.

Bao rolled all four of his eyes and lashed his long tail. The other two couldn"t tell, but from his position he could see the amus.e.m.e.nt sparkling in Li Mei"s mauve eyes. The same subtle amus.e.m.e.nt that sometimes showed through while practicing her acting with Faust over the past couple weeks.

Li Mei met the Fera"s suspicious gaze and gave a subtle wink, sinking onto the bench as though the weight of the world was pressing down on her narrow shoulders. She leaned forward, touching the box on the table and forcing another heavy sigh past her lips for the sake of the two in the kitchen still watching her every movement.

Bao rolled his eyes and laid his head on her lap again, nudging her good arm until she started petting the sensitive soft spot between his antlers. His long fluffy tail wagged in time with the scritching motion of her fingers.

Whatever. At least she was having fun.