CelestialShadow
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Chapter 170 - Reckless
🕑 Added 2024-06-13 23:45:02 +0000 UTCSellitha looked out of the carriage window, the destruction she had caused here two months ago was barely visible anymore. Even if she had used her Words of Truth, the damage wasnât to the extent that the buildings facing the street collapsed completely.
It was a good thing, as she didnât want anyone innocent to die. She just wanted to fight against her captors. But she was too weak, so she had no choice but to resort to a sneak attack of full power.
She didnât remember much about that day. She had been unconscious for most of it. She had only been awake for a brief moment before deciding on using her Words of Truth in order to bring attention to her situation. A huge attack like that wouldnât go unnoticed in the outskirts of Cyalis.
Unfortunately, she had immediately fainted afterward. She always did after using her Words of Truth.
I wonder how strong before I can really begin to have control over that power. It still feels so mysterious to me. I wonder if itâs like that for the faelin too. Iâll have to travel to Fornia to find out more, I guess.
But Iâll only go there with Adion. We promised to go together.
âHave you found out anything more about that artifact?â Sellitha asked the Headmaster.
âNot since the last time you asked me,â The Headmaster said with a slight smile, âWe will certainly discover everything about it when we find Adion. So letâs not think about it too much.â
âIt just worries me that they can freeze space. They were prepared for Adionâs powers. If they didnât have that, I refuse to believe Adion wouldnât have gotten away by now. But if they are able to control the space around himâŚâ Sellitha said worriedly.
âLeave the worrying and planning to me,â The Headmaster said, âJust focus on your classes and training.â
âRight,â Sellitha nodded.
I really am too weak right now to think about being able to affect anything.
âWill you be going to Valis to help, Headmaster?â Sellitha asked.
âNo,â The Headmaster said, shaking his head, âI canât afford to leave Cyalis. Heavenly Light has infiltrated deeper than I had ever thought, and we are on the verge of losing the Outskirts Guild to their faction there. They are not the only ones either, Iâm sure. If Iâm not careful, we might fall apart from the inside. Iâve sent all the help to Valis that I can. If they canât hold onâŚthere is not much else I can do.â
âDo you think they have a chance?â Sellitha asked. The battle between Heavenly Lightâs forces and the Valis Kingdom had been going on for two months. Even with all the help sent to reinforce the kingdomâs troops, Heavenly Light was making steady process in taking over the kingdom.
âAs the situation is now, it is only a matter of time before the Valis Kingdom falls,â The Headmaster said with a solemn voice, âThings can always change, of course. The Alago Empire might send some help if we manage to convince them.â
âWhy arenât they doing anything? Do they think Heavenly Light will stop with the Valis Kingdom?â Sellitha asked.
âI fear they are looking to take advantage of the situation. The Alago Empire has always been incredibly powerful, but Cyalis has been a deterrent for them. They are conquerors. But with us here to hold the continent together, they have had no choice but to focus on the Outskirts. Now, both Cyalis and their other potential enemies are fighting each other. From their perspective, this is a good thing.â
âIs it possible for me to go there and help?â Sellitha asked. She really only felt at ease when she was fighting. Staying in the Academy only made her anxious.
âNo,â The Headmaster said, âYou are stronger than most. But in a conflict like this, you are incredibly weak. The slightest mistake and you will die before you know it. Not to mention that your identity is not ordinary. It wouldnât surprise me if you got captured before even making it there. I know it is frustrating, but can you imagine the feeling of being used by them? Weâd either have to give you up or give in to their whims.â
âI guess I am being reckless,â Sellitha sighed, âIt just doesnât feel good to sit still when heâs still out there. Maybe I can go search for him? I could hide my identity.â
âDonât underestimate them,â The Headmaster said in a slightly scolding tone, âThey are a lot smarter than you are. And not as reckless by far.â
âSorry,â Sellitha said.
âYouâre young,â The Headmaster said with a smile, âItâs good to be a little reckless.â
âDidnât you always scold Adion for being reckless?â Sellitha asked with a slight smile.
âThere is obviously a limit. Heâs far too reckless. Iâll have to scold him properly next time,â The Headmaster said.
Sellitha smiled. She liked that Adion was reckless. Even considering everything that had happened, she was happy that he was willing to risk everything just to stop her family from bringing her home. She had heard all about his actions when she woke up in the Remori manor and Bishop Amelia told her everything.
Am I bad for thinking like that?
Iâll be reckless for him, too. I have to make things even.
It didnât take long before the carriage arrived at the Academy again. Before they arrived at Sellithaâs dorm room, the Headmaster turned to her and said, âYour family is staying at the Tower. Someone will come to take you to meet them later.â
âAlright,â Sellitha nodded. âToday?â
âI would be for the best,â The Headmaster said.
Iâm really tired. But I might as well get it over with, I guess.
Sellitha wasnât very worried about her family anymore.
The Headmaster had been on her side before the war on Heavenly Light, but he couldnât go too far.
Things changed a little after they tried to take her away forcefully, though. The Headmaster had been in a very bad mood when he returned and heard about the incident. He had just lost his disciple and the Elixir of Life had been stolen, it wasnât a great time for the Amyss family to have tried taking her away. Even if it was her own family and Elder Kilth guided them, they really had no right taking her away with force like they did, without going through the proper channels.
A small mistake that could have been handled easily or perhaps even ignored in other circumstances was taken very seriously just because the incident was related to Adionâs kidnapping. The Council got really serious about security and went through all its staff to test their loyalty. It was a purge.
The Amyss family had returned to try and take her away again at a moment like that, and the Headmaster was not having it. He warned that he wouldnât hesitate to go to war with Iitha, too, if they tried taking away a student of his again.
What a great face that old hag made. Sellitha smiled at the memory of Lerretha getting scolded by the Headmaster.
The Headmaster can be really scary when he gets angry. I should remember never to push things too far with him, even if heâs nice to me.
âIâll try not to be reckless when we meet,â Sellitha said.
âItâs fine even if you do. I felt the urge to have a fight with your mother myself when I met her. Sheâs soâŚdiplomatic,â The Headmaster said with a frown.
âI know what you mean,â Sellitha nodded. Her mother didnât really feel like a real person most of the time.
âAnyway. Iâm sure it will be good for you to talk. And it might help me a little too. I want to know their attitude to the Hesfym family. If itâs changed or not,â The Headmaster said.
âIâll tell you about it afterward, Headmaster,â Sellitha said. She was more loyal to the Headmaster and Cyalis than the Amyss family. It wasnât even a choice for her. The Headmaster was the one protecting her from her family.
A side of me almost hopes they turn out to be enemies of the Academy. It would make it easier not having to deal with them anymore.
The carriage arrived at Sellithaâs dorms, and she bid the Headmaster farewell and headed inside.
She didnât see Lastia or Felicia inside.
We donât have any classes. Did they go to the Scrolls?
Sellitha didnât feel like being alone at the moment, so she looked around to see if they left a note behind that said where they were going.
Neither Lastia nor Felicia had reached the Silver stage yet, which wasnât strange. Sellitha was the strange one. If Adion hadnât existed, she would have become just as big of a sensation as he had. She was still only in her first year, after all. It was considered really good to reach Silver in your fourth year. Even in the diamond class, reaching Silver in the third year was extraordinary. But now, both she and Adion had broken all previous records.
The reason she was allowed to go and fight against the troops of Heavenly Light was because she was a Silver mage. It was too dangerous for Bronze mages to go, so most of the people Sellitha knew hadnât been deployed to fight earlier.
Sellitha didnât find any note, so she decided to head to the House of the Scrolls to take a look. But just as she was leaving, she felt that someone was in the room with her.
She turned around and conjured some fire, ready to attack.
âLady boss! Itâs me!â A familiar voice sounded from the seemingly empty space in front of her, prompting Sellitha to put out her fire.
âPerk, you need to stop doing that,â Sellitha said, trying to calm herself down.
âSorry, lady boss,â Perk said as he turned visible before her.
âAnd stop calling me lady boss,â Sellitha said.
âBut you said you didnât like being called madam?â Perk said with a confused face.
âJust call me Sellitha,â Sellitha said with a sigh.
âI canât do that,â Perk said, shaking his head.
Sellitha stared at Perk silently for a while. She didnât want to be too harsh with the boy, but he was getting on her nerves.
âMaybe mistress?â Perk asked.
âLady boss is fine,â Sellitha said.
âThatâs good,â Perk said with a smile.
âWhat are you doing here, Perk? You shouldnât keep sneaking inside the Academy. They are very strict about security these days. And your aura control is far from good enough to get by unnoticed if someone is paying attention,â Sellitha warned.
âItâs the best way to practice,â Perk argued.
âWhatever. What are you here for?â Sellitha asked. She had come into contact with the two brothers working for Adion when he had disappeared.
At first, they had approached her to ask about Adion. She was the only one who knew about his plans on forming an organization called Celestial Shadow. Not even his family knew anything about it.
Perk and Tib had been very upset when they heard Adion was missing. But it didnât take long before they got to work. Even if they were young and weak, they spared no effort in trying to find information that could help them locate Adion. Unfortunately, it was something even the combined effort of Cyalis was having trouble with, so how could the two boys possibly have a chance?
âWe have some news!â Perk said excitedly.
Sellitha smiled. Even if she was tired and found Perkâs appearance a little annoying, she had to admit that it was impossible to be angry at him despite showing up uninvited once again. She knew they didnât stand a chance at gathering any useful information, and that they should just spend their energy on training, but she didnât have it in her to discourage them. They were worried about Adion too, after all.
âAlright, come sit down and tell me about it,â Sellitha said as she invited Perk to sit down.
âTib said I should stand,â Perk said, refusing to sit down even though Sellitha could tell he wanted to.
âWhatever,â Sellitha sighed with a smile, âDo as you wish. What did you want to tell me?â
âRight. I found a member of Heavenly Light here in the city and followed him around for a while and found out a few things,â Perk started explaining excitedly, âMost of it was useless, and I was about to give up following him. He was just a Bronze mage, after all. He wouldnât know much. But then yesterday, he was having a drink with his friend, and I heard him mention something very interesting.â
âWhat was it?â Sellitha asked.
âHis grandfather, who is also a member of Heavenly Light, was sent on an important mission to the Saba Desert. Tib and I think it might have something to do with boss,â Perk said.
âWhat makes you think itâs related to Adion?â Sellitha asked.
âWell, I found out from their conversation that his grandfather is pretty famous in certain circles in Heavenly Light. Even if he is just a Gold mage, he has contributed a lot to the organization by recruiting tons of talented people to join them. His status is quite high it seems like.â
âWhat does that have to do with Adion?â Sellitha asked.
âWell, I donât really get it either. But Tib thought it was weird for someone like him to be sent to the Saba Desert. We did some digging, and that guy is really good at recruiting people. He should be used in more populous areas, especially at a time like this when they are fighting a war and need more mages to fight for them. But he is sent all the way to the Saba Desert. That doesnât make any sense, right?
âBut then Tib had this theory. Boss wasnât killed by those guys. He was taken. That tells us they probably have some use for him. They probably need his help with some space stuff. Maybe that teleportation formation at the Remori manor. But Boss is their enemy, so how could he ever choose to help them? Thatâs where this recruitment guy comes in. He is sent there to recruit boss!â
âWait, what? Recruit Adion? Thatâs impossible,â Sellitha said, shaking her head.
âIt should be,â Perk said, âBut he has been gone for a long time. Anything is possible. And this guy is far from ordinary. Donât you find it odd that Heavenly Light can recruit so many mages while fighting a war against Cyalis? How could mages be so easily convinced to risk their lives?â
âWe have intercepted a lot of troops,â Sellitha said, nodding, âYouâre right. Mages arenât that common. Heavenly Light should have to be a lot more careful than they have been with their troops. Especially when they are recruiting new members who are going in with the knowledge that they will be joining an organization from outside the continent to fight against Cyalis. Youâre saying itâs this Gold mage who is responsible? How can he be so convincing?â
âThere are a lot of strange things in this world. He might have some kind of Gift that makes him very convincing,â Perk said.
âIâve never heard about a Gift like that. But itâs certainly possible,â Sellitha said.
âSo you think we might be right?â Perk asked.
âItâs a stretch. But itâs certainly possibleâŚAnd itâs certainly worrying,â Sellitha said, âDid you think of all this?â
âTib did. I agreed with him,â Perk said.
âThat makes sense,â Sellitha said with a nod, âWell, itâs nothing that should be disregarded. Iâll bring it up to the Headmaster. Iâm sure they have thought about the Saba Desert already and even sent some people there. But itâs a big place. We might find something if we focus our attention there.â
âGreat,â Perk said with excitement, âLet us know if you find out anything, lady boss. Iâll go back and spy on that Bronze mage to see if he reveals anything else.â
As soon as he finished speaking, Perk turned invisible again, and Sellitha could sense him running off.
âWait!â Sellitha yelled out.
âWhat?â Perk asked, still invisible.
âJustâŚbe careful. Youâve already done a lot. You should focus on your training. Adion will disappointed if you havenât improved when he gets back.â
âItâs fine. As long as he makes it back,â Perk said. Sellitha felt his hidden aura grow more distant, and it didnât take long before she couldnât feel it anymore.
Haaah. Adion, those kids are far too reckless.
But Iâm glad you have so many people who worry about you.
I hope youâre safe.
Comments
Evan
I will unsubscribe for now. Will subscribe again when the Author will update.
Evan
No update?
Babble Babble
Any updates?
Kbzzy
Come on bro
Pardion
We got 1 chapter in 17 days . Wow
ThePickleBoss
update?
gabriel escorche
Bye everyone, I'll come back in a year or so, already unsubscribed due to the lack of updates
Kbzzy
Any chapters this week? Or at least an update? I think if thereâs no update this week I might have to unsubscribe man
Ruphire
Adion should somehow escape by himself instead of getting rescued. I would enjoy reading such an escapade more than a rescue mission.
Samuel McCarren
Any plans to have an Adion chapter again soon?
James Faulkner
Damn, adionâs nascent spy network is already paying dividends lol
