HDMGF Book 2- Part 17

Lieutenant Datahu’s POV

An unwelcome revelation, that’s how I would describe it. Not just for Suam and her familiar, Sentinel, but for the Kingdom of Ambos as a whole. Zachariah, an actual Viking, and the familiar of the mage who founded our country, still lives. Not only that though, but he has somehow transcended his mortality and gained unknown powers that allow him to cast spells that should have been unavailable to him. He was a Chaos Mage, but by implanting his memories, and even a portion of his own soul, he has demonstrated the ability to use both Order and Chaos Magic alike.

“What is your assessment, Datahu?” The Major asked me. We were perched in his private quarters, talking about Sentinel, and the newly revealed Zachariah.

“On which, sir?” I asked.

“Either… both.”

“Regarding this… Zachariah, I don’t know enough yet. From what I do know, I would say it doesn’t make sense.”

“Agreed. How can someone use both Order and Chaos Magic? It should be impossible. Even among the dragons using both in a single individual was seen as impossible.” He said agitated.

“At least according to the stories anyway.” I pointed out.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Perhaps we were wrong, or perhaps the truth was lost to time. The dragons have been gone for centuries, and the Death Dragon has been gone even longer. Over time, stories get retold, twisted, even forgotten.”

“So, our history may not have happened like we believed… it is possible.” He said softly. “Do you have any theories?”

“None, sir.”

“What of Sentinel? The fight against him went well for you. Do you have an assessment of him?”

“I do.”

“I would like to hear it.”

“In my opinion, Sentinel may be the most dangerous threat this world has faced in a thousand years.”

“Really? But you won the fight?” He sounded surprised. In reality, he was the one who actually requested the fight. When Sentinel first arrived at the base, the Major told me to find an opportunity to have a bout with him. He wanted to know how strong he was, and if he could be defeated.

“I did win, but I believe that was mere circumstance, or luck.” I said.

“How so?”

“A bout is not an effective method of judging an opponent’s strengths. Sentinel was bound by several rules and regulations that prevented him from utilizing his most dangerous spells.”

“As did you.” The Major pointed out.

“Yes, but I also have decades of experience and was raised from birth to be a mage. Sentinel had none of that.”

“So you are saying you think in a real fight, he could be you?” The Major asked.

“I am saying that I would pray to the dragons that Sentinel would not want to fight me.”

“Why?”

“Because I would never even see him.”

“You are referring to the events of the entrance exam?” During the exam, Sentinel had used a spell he had seen only once, and with such force that it nearly killed everyone present, despite it being a long range spell, which are typically weaker.

“I am, but not only that. During our fight, Sentinel launched several attacks at me, one of which was a purple ball of flames.”

“Yes, I saw. It was… well, it was harrowing. Like watching a bad dream suddenly become reality, or the monster in a child’s tale take form in front of me.”

“That was one of the most powerful attacks that has ever been directed at me. It took everything I had to redirect it. After that, flying caused me incredible pain. I tore several muscles in my wings, and was forced to fight from the ground until I was able to cast a healing spell.” I explained.

“Was it truly that strong?”

“I am fully convinced that if it had connected with me, I would have died. The same is true for all of Sentinel’s attacks during our bout. Even an attack generated by a simple rune knocked me out of the air as if I were nothing. For him, it was a simple bout, but I was fighting to stay alive.”

“I will be sure to have a talk with Sentinel. He was supposed to be holding back during that bout.” The Major said, sounding a bit upset.

“He was holding back, sir. The spells he used were all scaled down versions of spells I have seen him use several times during training. And according to reports from several of his squad members during his tenure at boot camp, he has produced spells even larger than the ones he has displayed here.”

“So you believe you would lose to his overwhelming strength?”

“I do, but if it were an up-close fight, I believe I would stand a chance. However, as previously stated, I doubt I would get that opportunity.”

“His long-ranged attacks.” The Major said.

“His specialty.” I said. “But not his only attribute.”

“His Chaos Magic.” The Major said with his concern showing clearly.

“And his physical strength. I landed several solid attacks to his back. I held back of course, but even with that I still expected to have seen more damage.”

“Those metal garments of his truly are formidable.”

“And I can only imagine how much they weigh. Yet he is able to more around surprisingly quickly while wearing them.” I said.

“I had heard that he was quiet slow.” The Major said.

“His traveling speed is atrocious, but his combat movement speed is quite a bit faster. He is still rather sluggish, but I wonder how much faster he would be if he were not wearing those garments?”

“And all of this is why you believe him to be so dangerous?”

“The ability to deal massive attacks from beyond our striking range, a constitution able to withstand the attacks of an average mage, and access to magic so dangerous that it is illegal in almost every country on Atmosia; yes sir, Sentinel is dangerous.”

“What is your recommendation, Datahu?” The Major asked.

“We take advantage of his one weakness.”

“Which is?”

“His master, Suma. Sentinel will continue to follow the orders of his master, so as long as we maintain a good relationship with her, Sentinel will remain our ally.”

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Jake’s POV

I was at home in my apartment, lying in bed. In my hands was all the magic I was able to muster while still on Earth, a single navy-blue orb about the size of a golf ball. Over a year of training and practice, and this was all I was able to create outside of Suma’s world. If I switch to the new method of using my own internal mana instead of mana I collect from the environment, then the orb turns purple and gets smaller; coincidentally, about the size of a grape. If I try to summon any of my weapons, or my armor, nothing happens, but I do get a feeling that I am getting close sometimes.

I let the orb dissipate and pulled out my phone from my pocket to call my mum. “Hello?” She answered.

“Hey Mum, just calling to let you know I am home now.” I said.

“My, you stayed rather late today, didn’t you.”

“Yeah, sorry for not telling you, but we met with a specialist to figure out what has been going on with.”

“A specialist? Did they find out anything?”

“Yeah Mum, they did. Apparently that flaming guy was the cause.” I said.

“Do they know what he did?”

“Yeah, he shoved a bunch of his memories into my head, and a piece of his soul too.”

“You know Jake, I have heard you say some pretty strange things in these last few months, but I think that may have been right up there with when you told me you worked for a bird.” My mum said in a unique mix of dry sarcasm and motherly concern. “Do they know how to fix it?”

“Not yet, but they said the portion of his soul he put into me might simply go away on its own.”

“Oh… okay. Does that mean he will die?” She asked.

“I asked the same thing, but apparently no.”

“Then what will happen to him?”

“They don’t know. They haven’t ever seen something like this before. Apparently it used to be a fairly well known thing, but it stopped being used a long time ago.” I explained.

“Jake, our conversations have gotten a lot stranger than they used to be, haven’t they?” Mum pointed out. I laughed a little and agreed. I explained a bit more about what happened, and the results of Suma’s delve. Since she hadn’t had as severe of a reaction to the memories, they figured that what she experienced was most likely a kind of overflow from me.

After spending a little while talking we hung up. It was about eight o’clock at night now, and I was starving. I made a sandwich and sat on my couch to watch some TV. I expected to have a quiet night at home, but maybe that was hoping for too much, because a few minutes after I finished my sandwich, there was knocking at my door. I got up to see who it was.

“Hello?” I said through the door.

“Are you Mr. Jake Vandel?” The voice outside said. It was a man’s voice. I looked through the peep hole and saw two men in officer’s uniforms.

“We are with HMRC, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. We need to have a word with you sir.”