The Bonds We Formed, Like Magic | Chapter 24

[healingbonds]

Chapter 23 << | index | >> Chapter 25


With a cold light in his eyes, Owen’s smile vanishes.
His lips press together in a thin line for the briefest second before he chants his spell.
Meteors streak across the sky as the sun fades.
The fragments of stars glitter like candy as they sink into the sea.
Oz does not miss Owen’s brief moment of hesitation.

(Thunder)

Thunderbolts swirl and gather around his staff, threatening to rend the sky apart.
Beside me, Snow raises his voice in the most desperate cry I have heard today.

Snow: Stop it, Oz!
Don’t kill him.......!

Oz opens his mouth to chant his spell.
At the same time, Arthur opens his eyes.

Arthur: .........!
<< Pernoctant Nixzo >>!

Arthur’s magic grimoire flies open, releasing a flash of light and whipping up a gust of wind.
A faint glow illuminates Cerberus and Owen.

Owen: ..........!

To a Northern wizard like Owen, Arthur’s attack would have been no more than a caress of wind on his cheek.
But with characteristically shrewd judgment, he steps away and shuts Cerberus back into his trunk.
His instinct as a Northern wizard saves him.
For countless spears of light soar through the sky, converging on the spot where he was.
The spears pierce, overlap and expand......
Before finally bursting.

(Bang)

Akira: ............!

The last thing I see is Arthur and Owen blown away by the wind pressure.
The thunderous roar and intense light are so strong that they rob me of my sight and hearing.
Tremors run through my entire body.

Akira: I can’t see......! Or hear anything......!
Snow......! White......!
Snow, White, are you guys there......!?

I feel the wind, and droplets of water. The fingertips of small children squeeze my own.
That alone is enough to quiet my anxiety.
I return the grip fiercely.
After some time, I gradually regain my senses.

Snow: ......Sage...... Now’s the time, Sage......!

White: "That’s enough!" Shout! Say, "I’ll decide how this match ends!"

Akira: Okay......

I choke, my throat closing up from nervousness.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been on edge this entire time, but my abdomen and thigh muscles are all cramped up.

Akira: ......Cough, cough..... G-got it......!

Snow: Wait! Wait up, Sage!

In my blurry vision, I see Snow smiling.
He pats my back soothingly.

Snow: Take a deep breath. Let’s start with you.

White: I’m sorry our unruly kids caused trouble for you.

What a kind way to describe them. I try to smile back, but I feel my face heat up.
The moment I give in to my relief, my eyes well up with tears. I didn’t think that my emotions would break through like this after being freed of the fear and tension of the situation.

Akira: ......Yes...... I’m fine. ......I’ll go now.

I take a deep breath, filling my lungs.
I fold my body forward, and shout with everything I have.
I have to make sure my voice reaches them.
I have to make it loud enough that it won’t lose: not to the sound of wind, waves, thunder, gunshots, or monsters.

Akira: ............!
That’s enough.......!!
That’s enough now......!!
I’ll decide......!
How this match......!
Ends......!

Oz: ............

Owen: ............

Akira: This is the end.......!
Please stop already.......!

In the distant sky, Oz turns to look at me.
It seems like my voice reached him. But I feel despair as Oz stands there with his staff raised.
My voice might have reached him, but it doesn’t mean that he’ll listen to me.
But......

Oz: << Vox Nox >>

Oz chants his spell, raising Bradley and Mithra’s sunken bodies from the sea.
He drags all of them towards the beach, including an unconscious Arthur and a fully conscious Owen.

Owen: ......Cut it out! I can walk by myself.......!

Oz lightly waves his staff.
And they vanish like illusions.

Snow: Let’s head to the beach.

White: We’ll also be tucked away into the portrait any time now.

✦✧☾✧✦

The Northern wizards lay collapsed on the beach, beaten up and bloodied.
Arthur remains unconscious, even though his injuries aren’t as severe.
I feel genuinely heartbroken. Their wounds covering their bodies look so raw and painful that I unconsciously burst into tears.
Oz awkwardly averts his gaze away from me.

Oz: Snow, White, I leave the three of them to you.

Snow: What about you?

Oz: I will heal Arthur before night falls.

White: Don’t you have something to say to our Sage?

Oz: ............

Oz gives me a grim look.
But as our eyes meet, I can see his gaze slowly warm over.
I’m sure Oz was scared too.

Oz: Sage. Northern wizards are prideful. Do not treat them like they have lost.

Akira: I understand.

Looking like he wants to say something more, Oz points his staff at Arthur’s collapsed figure.
A silk handkerchief dripping with seawater gently floats out of Arthur’s pocket and towards Oz.
With a flick, the handkerchief wrings itself dry and falls into Oz’s hand, as spick and span as if it were freshly laundered.
Oz hands it to me before collecting Arthur and disappearing.

Akira: ......What’s this......?

Snow: Isn’t it because you were crying?

White: It’s Oz’s way of being considerate.

Snow: Or maybe he can’t be bothered to deal with the possibility of Mithra and the others getting angry again once they saw your tears.

Would Mithra and the others get angry if they saw me crying?
I don’t think so, but it’s fun to indulge that thought.

Akira: (For now...... I just want them to heal their wounds and get better.......)

Snow: Well then, we’ll be moving these three.

White: Let’s do that.

Snow & White: << Noscomnia >>

Since Oz went through the trouble of giving it to me, I use the handkerchief.
The silk feels cool on my cheek; it’s slightly sticky, and smells of the ocean breeze.
And with that, the commotion of Borda Island comes to an end.

✦✧☾✧✦

Lennox: ...........

Faust: Leno.

Lennox: Sir Faust....

Faust: It’s easy to spot you in a crowd because you’re so tall. You were searching for me, right?

Lennox: .....Yes.

Faust: .....It looks like the commotion at sea has died down. I’m glad they sorted things out before nightfall.

Lennox: ............

Faust: ....I heard you wanted to speak with me. If it’s important, we can talk someplace else.

Lennox: No, right now.... I want the bustling crowd to distract from my voice.

Faust: ......Are you upset? Or are you feeling shy?

Lennox: Shy?

Faust: I thought you wanted the crowd to serve as a distraction because you’re embarrassed.

Lennox: That might be right..... Maybe I’ve been embarrassed of myself for all these years.

Faust: .....There isn’t a single thing you need to be ashamed of. You were simply unfortunate.

Lennox: ...........
I would like to tell you something.

Faust: Go on.

Lennox: If the scars from when you were burned at the stake still remain on your body, please....
Please, erase them one day.

Faust: ............

Lennox: Because one day, for sure.... I will be of use to you, Sir Faust.
If the day comes when you can embark on a life of happiness, and you can free yourself from the burden of the sins placed upon your back....
Please, erase your scars. Sir Faust.

Faust: ..........
So you’re not going to ask to see whether my scars still remain.

Lennox: ....I apologize for my crude behavior the other day. But I realized it was pointless.
Even if your scars remained, you could simply hide them with magic.
I don’t care for that kind of trickery. For the scars I want to erase are not only those on your body, but those in your heart as well.

Faust: ...........
I refuse.

Lennox: ...........

Faust: I will never forget. And none of this responsibility is yours to bear.

Lennox: It is mine.

Faust: It is not. I was simply foolish.
....I did not know how to choose my friends.

Lennox: No. If you had trusted my advice, instead of Sir Alec—...
If I were someone worthy of your trust, you would have escaped from that prison.

Faust: ............

Lennox: I regret my unworthiness.
If the same kind of tragedy ever comes to pass again.... This time, I will save you for sure, Sir Faust.
So if that day comes, please erase your scars.

Faust: .............
I refuse.
For I never intend to attain happiness.

Lennox: .............
I won’t give up.

Faust: ...........
You are just so stubborn.....

Lennox: I could say the same for you, Sir Faust. You will not save anyone by being so obstinate.

Faust: I don’t plan on saving anyone. I’m a curseworker.
You.... Would be better off forgetting.

Lennox: ..........

Faust: I am not the soul that continues to be trapped within that prison. You are.
Do you realize how many meteor showers have come around since then?

Lennox: ....That is my line, Sir Faust.
Do you realize how many times the stars have spun around us? Do you realize how many times the monarch sitting atop the throne has changed?
Hasn’t it been long enough?
Isn’t it time for you to forgive yourself?

Faust: ....I could say the same to you. Hasn’t it been long enough?
Isn’t it time for you to live your own life?
I can’t give you anything; I can’t show you anything. I have nothing left.....

Lennox: I never once wanted any of that.
Sir Faust, have you heard of the meteor rain of lineage?

Faust: Yes. It’s what they call tonight’s raining stars.

Lennox: It is a symbol for the hearts, skills, and teachings that are passed down for generations through eternity.
Sir Figaro said there was a meteor rain he could not forget.
I have traveled for many, many years. But in the face of death.....
There is nothing I want to inherit, and there is nothing I want to pass down.
I’m not trying to hide any weaknesses here: I truly have no interest in the connections that remain after I have disappeared.
There is nothing that comes before, and nothing that comes after. I am only here when I exist in this world.
But Sir Figaro’s story reminded me of Sir Alec’s words....

Faust: .............

Lennox: When Sir Alec gazed up at the meteor rain with me, he said, I envy you.
He said that his life was short, so he couldn’t understand the feelings of wizards who likened their fates to the stars.
"So all I can do is admire them. That’s why, Lennox — I’m asking you to take care of Faust for me."
"Take care of Faust, even after I am gone." .....That’s what he told me.
I cannot believe that those words were falsehoods.

Faust: People change.
Alec was innocent as a child. But he must’ve grown into an insidious youth.

Lennox: He was not insidious......

Faust: What are you trying to say?

Lennox: ..............
The sight that I wish to witness is one that Sir Alec never got to see. That is what I see now.
Sir Faust — what do you see now?

Faust: ............

Lennox: Please tell me one day.

✦✧☾✧✦

Figaro: Oh, that looks delicious. Is that pâté made from the meat and organs of a Borda duck?

Snow: Figaro.

White: Dear Figaro.

(Crash of bodies)

Snow & White: Can we ask you to heal up these boys?

Snow and White hurriedly bring Mithra and the others to Figaro before the sun sets.
With a wine glass in hand, Figaro was in fine spirits, but at the sight of the three bloody figures laid out before him, his expression turns to mild bafflement.

Figaro: Dinner will be starting, so I’d really appreciate it if you spared me a sight that’s going to make me lose my appetite.......

Mithra: ......hh......

Bradley: Hah....... Fuck......!

Owen: I’m going to kill him.......

Figaro: Well, well, what a mess...... Did Oz do all of this?

Snow & White: Indeed.

Brushing aside Figaro’s hand, Mithra raises his upper body.

Mithra: ......Don’t touch me. I can do it myself.

Figaro: I thought so. Take care.

Mithra staggers to his feet and walks away, his long, slender frame still swaying.
I resist the urge to run after him, even though I really want to.
Mithra is prideful; I can sense that he probably doesn’t want to talk to me right now.
Because he hasn’t once met my eyes after Oz scooped him out of the sea.

Akira: (Maybe he thinks it’s uncool. But I would never think that.....)

The other Northern wizards are acting the same way. None of them obediently agree to be treated.

Owen: Hmph.......

Stumbling to his feet, Owen presses his hat low over his eyes.
Half of his side is covered in bright red blood, but his eyes roll wildly in their sockets.

Figaro: Sure you’re good?

Snow: Not you too, Owen. Don’t stray too far away.

White: Just stay here and treat your wounds. Dessert should be served soon.

Owen: Shut up.

He spits before walking away. But his injuries are so severe that no sooner does he take a step forward than he crumples and crouches on the ground in pain.
Before he collapses onto his knees, someone’s arm reaches out to support him.
Surprisingly, it is Chloe, who looks every bit as surprised himself.

Chloe: ......Um, are you okay?

Owen stares back wordlessly before glaring at him, his hat pulled low over his eyes.

Owen: What? Leave me alone.

Chloe looks hurt. Owen averts his gaze and walks away.
Light as a ghost, Owen vanishes into the bewitching blue hour between evening and night.

Bradley: .......Fuck, this hurts.......

Bradley stands up, a hand pressed against his side.
His palm glows faintly, and blood stops gushing from his torso.
Still swaying on his feet, Bradley stomps across the venue, bumping into tables and chairs until he reaches a certain table.
It’s where Shylock and Rustica are sitting.
On the table, there is a bottle of wine and four sets of wine glasses and plates.
Only one setting remains untouched.

Bradley: .......Hah....... Where’s the fork.......?

Rustica: Wow. I’m impressed that you still have an appetite in that state.

Shylock: It shouldn’t be possible to have an appetite with such injuries. Why don’t you rest instead?

Bradley: It’ll heal up by itself. ....... Just let me eat.

Bradley lies face-down on the table, his upper body stretched across it as he clings to the sides.
Placing a fork into his hand, Shylock smiles.

Shylock: Here you go.

Bradley smiles wryly, his brows lowered. He shovels forkfuls of food and downs the wine in gulps.
Beyond their table, I can see Nero’s back. He has a hand on his hip as he cooks for Riquet and Mitile.
I almost wish that Nero would notice; after all, he is probably the one who made that dish.
And I feel like the sight of someone going to such lengths to eat his cooking would make Nero happy.
But maybe there’s a reason that Nero, who is always attentive to his surroundings, refuses to turn around.
Under his hands, the fire crackles merrily.

Riquet: Wow! It smells delicious! Are they ready to eat yet?

Nero: Just a little longer.

Mitile: I’ve never eaten such a big clam!

Riquet: Then I shall let you have it, Mitile.

Mitile: Really?

Riquet: Yes! I’ll have my own big clam to eat later. You see, Oz told us he went to catch some.
Oz’s magic is so strong, so I’m sure he’ll catch really big ones. Ah, speaking of Oz......

Riquet laughs, lifting his face. Oz and Arthur walk toward them, side by side.

Chapter 23 << | index | >> Chapter 25