Transcendence?

***Norfolk, Sarn-Valley***

“Kukukuhrhrhr!”

I can't help but laugh in an unsightly manner while standing in the kitchen to prepare some food. It has been over a month since Ascathon saved us. At least that's how my ~master~ sees the situation.

He will be in for a nasty shock when I show him my new ~trick~. Having the stupid slave-ring on me forced me to find a possibility to work around it.

Right now I am kneading a silver spoon like modelling clay in fingers. The metal feels so soft! I finally managed to operate my inner magic system without activating my outer one.

The slave-ring doesn't even twitch. Ascathon will be in for a nasty surprise. I just have to find a way to get that thing off of me now! We were warned not to remove them because it would kill us. Obviously it can only be done with the approval of the master.

Unfortunately I realized that it became harder to activate my outer magic system with every hour of training to use just my inner magic system. Will I lose the ability to activate it completely?

Who cares. This new power is marvellous! I was never that good with magic spells to begin with. I was only able to visit the Academy thanks to the hard training of my parents. But this..... it feels like it just came to me naturally!

Am I actually a genius at manipulating my inner magic system without ever realizing it?

By circulating my mana directly through my body without dispersing it into my environment I got an unbelievable physical boost! And by forming a thin layer of mana directly on my skin I have a very formidable protection.

I tried stabbing my own hand with a knife but the tip simply broke off!

Maybe I will wait for a good moment to maximize the shock on Ascathon! Then I will do ~this~ and ~that~ to him! “Kukukuku.....”

“Big Sis is being scary.....”

I turn around and see Liandra and Violetta leaning around the corner of the entrance to the kitchen. After a few seconds I have my expression back under control. “Good that you are here. Food is ready soon. Where is Ascathon?”

“He hid in his basement again, behind that big iron door.” Violetta pouts her cheeks while complaining. It's obvious that she isn't happy about him hiding there. She wants to spend more time with her brother whom she idolizes in a strange way.

I sigh. I guess it's natural. From Liandra's and Violetta's point of view we are a happy and harmonic family by now. She never experienced being a family in this manner.

“Then you start to eat. I will go and get him.” I grab a good heavy metal scoop and leave Liandra and Violetta behind in the kitchen while heading towards the basement.

After some time of investigating this mansion the layout is very well known to me. I even stalked Ascathon for quite some time and finally learned the trick to opening the door to his secret laboratory.

He doesn't know that I already took a very good look at it. If I would tell on him and give the Academy some hints he would end up behind bars very fast. But I don't want to end it that way.

In the last month I came to know him a little. He is a sadist and a loner. Whenever he has time he hides in his basement. Probably to work on a machine to throw this world into chaos.

I am no idiot. Even I realize that his machines are meant to change his principality into an industrial stronghold.

Then there are his nightmares and the bad personality. But I guess he can't help it. He is a serious case of PTSD. I don't know how many bad reincarnations he had until now but I guess that they weren't nice experiences.

Arriving at the iron door to the basement I lose no time and start to hit it with my scoop. This creates loud ringing sounds. It's the method of choice to get the caveman out of his cave.

After a minute of pounding the door with increasing speed it opens and Ascathon takes a look outside.

I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Food is ready!”

He sighs and closes the door behind him. It automatically locks and Ascathon follows me without a word to the kitchen where the four of us have dinner.

While eating a thought strikes me. “Didn't you say something about a Ball of Fellmar!? Shouldn't it be held soon?”

Ascathon shakes his head. “It was delayed because some nobles from other nations didn't have time. It's held in another month from now.”

“Why should it be delayed because of that?” Liandra doesn't understand the reasoning.

“The Jarl wishes to talk to all powers of the main continent. He doesn't take the actions of the Phenex Empire lightly. After I informed him about my lucky encounter with the spy he had his army make a complete clean up of the capital. They found a handful of people without proper papers and after interrogating them, my warning was proven.” Ascathon continues to chew on a piece of meat.

I am a little taken aback. “How did they find those spies so fast!?”

Ascathon shrugs his shoulders. “Those with power have their ways. I guess they simply ransacked everyone who looked for a second too long at them and threw them into the prison for further investigations. By doing that in the capital they had to find one or two Phenex spies if the situation was serious. That they found anyone at all proves that Phenex is getting down to do business.”

We continue to eat in silence and I keep sitting in the kitchen while I think about the implications of my situation. Even if I run from here now. Where should I take Liandra? Mislow is at war with Jamaian.

I can't drag her off into a war zone in search of our parents. For all I know they might be dead. And I have neither money nor allies. Then there is the issue with the border. We would have to cross it illegally.

It's not sure how far Ascathon would go in hunting us down but I guess that Norfolk would become dangerous territory too. And it's not like he mistreated the kids in any way...... besides losing his temper with me after I provoked him.

When I look up I realize that it's already night. A strong snowstorm is dancing beyond the window. I totally lost the track of time while zoning out.

Quickly I take the empty plates and place them inside the cleaner. This house disturbs my sense of time with the good lights! I have to get used to it again. Up until now the best illumination I got was provided by magical spells. But they couldn't be kept up indefinitely and you always had to recast them.

After I am done I walk back towards my room. It's down the stairs and I have to pass Ascathon's room in order to get to the stairway. But when I want to activate the lights in the corridor by waving my hand they don't activate.

Strange. I walk further and find a dark figure in front of Ascathon's room. “Ascathon! Are you playing with the lights? They don....”

*shwish!*

I instinctively twitch when the dark figure waves one of his arms in a throwing motion and something hisses past my head just by a few inches.

Then the dark figure draws a blade which is flashing up in the dim light and dashes towards me while running up the side of the wall.

I activate my fighting aura. That's what I decided to name my new ability. The blade flashes into my direction but somehow it feels like it's moving in slow motion! Is that another effect of enclosing myself completely in mana? Did I get faster? I did it never before on that scale.

With great care I pick the blade out of the assassins hand.

But suddenly the assassin is enclosed in a reddish light and starts to move faster again!? A small dagger shoots forward and scratches across my chest! My aura protects me and I feel that no harm is done.

The assassin lands behind me. Did he use a fighting aura too in order to speed up? His red aura is feeling similar to mine. But it's crude and badly executed. I feel his mana leaking into the surroundings and disperse without any use.

Again the assassin jumps forward and I sidestep his blade while performing a high kick. My heel connects with his forehead and I can feel something snap.

The assassin is blown away like a doll and rolls along the entire length of the corridor until impacting the wall at the far end of it.

Assassins! Bad memories well up in my head and I turn while screaming. “Ascathon! Liandra! Violet!” I kick the door to Ascathon's room open but I find the inside empty.

Then I run down the stairs while taking three staircases at a time to find another group of people in front of Violetta's room! One of them has something that looks like a small unconscious body over his shoulder.

I jump right into the surprised group of four and go directly for the person with the body.

A roundhouse kick deals with one of them and I thrust my left right through the chest of the kidnapper! He didn't deploy an aura like the one from before and so I pick the unconscious body from his shoulder while jumping backwards again to gain some distance.

Slowly I place what I found to be the unconscious Violetta on the ground and turn towards the other two assassins.

They are still shocked and staring at the two dead bodies when a voice stops me in my tracks.

“Don't move! Or she is dead!”

I turn and see that a third assassin came out of Liandra's room. He is holding her hostage with a knife at her throat. She is looking at me with pleading eyes and a fearful expression.

“I won't let you go!” I voice my unwillingness to let them leave! If they leave with Liandra they will kill her for sure! Are they from Arenzien? Obviously they tried to abduct Violetta!

“You will step as...”

But the assassin is interrupted as the shadows around him suddenly start to move in the dim light and his eyes distort in fear.

“He is here! The second gr...”

One of the shadows leashes out and cleanly decapitates the assassin who was holding Liandra hostage. I jump forward and draw the blade from her throat.

The remaining two assassin turn to flee down the corridor but a dark figure with glowing red eyes blocks their path. Then the shadows start to grow! The figure with the red glowing eyes twitches in an unnatural way that reminds me of a horror movie and falls on all fours to crawl towards the two assassins.

They turn again and run towards me and Liandra who is completely silent and shuddering in my arms. But the darkness catches up and engulfs them. Everything turns completely black.

I can't see anything and just the screams of the two remaining assassins can be heard.

Then everything is back to normal. I am back in the corridor with the shuddering Liandra in my arms and the unconscious Violetta beside me. The lights turn back on again and I see Ascathon with Den and two of his men coming down the corridor.

Ascathon is limping and bleeding from his side.

“What was that?” I look towards him and Den. But the big guard walks forward and heads towards the stairs with his men.

“We will check the upper floor to see if there are still more of them!” The guard leaves a short remark and heads upwards.

Ascathon slides down the wall with a pained expression and pats the head of the unconscious Violetta. “I just used a spell to let them see what they feared the most. Funny that they are afraid of darkness and shadows.” He starts to snicker.

Then I realize the wounds in his leg and at his side. Did they ambush him with another group? I crawl up to him and try to stop the bleeding. “What are you doing? Heal yourself!”

“Their blades are enchanted with anti-healing magic. I have to wait until the effect wears off. Don't worry. The wounds aren't lethal.” He grins at me.

I rip his trousers into rags to stop the bleeding with them.

“Did you finally wake up to my charms?” He asks something strange and smirks at me.

I stop for a moment. “What are you talking about?” Then I realize that his eyes are glued to my chest.

“You know.... a woman is exposing her alluring features towards me while ripping my clothes from my body.... there aren't many ways to interpret....”

*SMACK!*

Ascathon slides unconscious to the ground while I cover my exposed chest with one hand. The assassin from the first fight must have torn my clothes with his dagger!

Uwah! I could howl right now! That bastard got the full menu and I didn't even notice it! Grrrrrr! And that look on his face! He really is just out for my body!

One moment! Didn't he have the slave-rings from Liandra and Violetta with him?

I quickly rummage through his pockets and a devilish smirk steals itself onto my face as I draw one of the slave-rings out of his clothes.

~Time for payback!~

*Click*

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