Chapter 115

Breath after breath, the exposed humerus slid back under the skin and in its place, soon Lith’s body was back to normal .

Rodimas barely reacted to his voice . Seeing her comrades die, being helpless while Melia was tortured, all of it had been a terrible experience . But seeing Raghul’s metamorphosis, smelling his stench of death and decay had been too much .

She hadn’t bit her tongue only because of the gag, but had screamed the whole time nonetheless . She knew that after Lith’s death it would be her turn to be eaten alive . Her eyes only showed the white, the pupil rolled almost backwards .

She had dislocated both her shoulders trying to break free from the restraints . Sweat, tears and mucus dirtied her face, making her hair stick to it like a filthy mask .

The terror had completely broken her .

Lith had to splash Rodimas with cold water to force her to regain her focus .

Her voice was hoarse from the strain, but still clear . She explained how the request hadn’t come through the official channels of the mercenary guild, but via one of their contacts in the black market of the city of Kandria .

According to the books in Soluspedia, it was simply a market town, the nearest trading hub to the academy .

The contractor was a merchant, but the odd request coupled with the high reward had made the mercenaries suspicious . After taking a considerable down payment, they had investigated the matter, discovering that the merchant was just a middle man .

According to their sources, he served the powerful and noble Androse family, famous for its centuries old magical legacy . At that point, they only had two choices, return the money and back off from the job, or get involved in the political struggle .

Sobbing, Rodimas told how she had voted for the former option, but had been outnumbered, because the pay was too good and the risks seemed minimal at the time .

Lith didn’t know what to do . Her story would have been much more significant, if he could do anything about it . The odd thing was that since he had created his own version of the Frankenstein’s monster, the feeling of impending failure had disappeared .

“That’s not all . ” Rodimas managed to say after some stuttering .

“Since we managed to get in and out of the forest many times, after complimenting with us, our contractor gave us another task . We were supposed to deliver a package tomorrow . “

– “The time frame is way off . I had more than a day to catch up with them, so why the need to rush? Still, the vision showed me that the academy is someway related to this . Whatever this thing is, it could be useful to change the course of the events . –

“It’s in my dimensional amulet . “

Lith took out all the amulets looted, allowing Rodimas to recognize his own and take out the package . Since magical items just needed a thought to work, he didn’t free her hands, just placed it on her forehead while setting up several protections with spirit magic, just to be on the safe side .

Rodimas kept her word, materializing a wooden box the size of a briefcase . It had no particular markings or insignia, the only remarkable thing about it was the lock .

It was placed along the narrow and long side of the box, and it consisted of an octahedron shaped stone, with several runes engraved all around it, forming a spiral . Using Invigoration, Lith was capable of examining its pseudo core .

– “It’s nothing I have ever seen before . I bet everything I do not have that without the proper code it will self-destruct, explode or something . And if I really want to discover what’s inside, I have only one shot . ” –

“I suppose you don’t know how to open it . “

“No, I don’t . Please, don’t hurt me . ” Realising to have outlived her usefulness, Rodimas cried in desperation, knowing it was useless to beg for mercy .

“A deal is a deal . ” Lith double tapped her head and heart with bullet-sized icicles, making sure she wouldn’t suffer .

He was about to leave, when a thumping sound made him turn around, ready for combat despite his mental exhaustion .

To his surprise, it was just the young Byk, again .

“You do really have a talent for escape . How those hunters managed to corner you is a mystery to me . ” Lith said with an angry tone . Both times he had needed help, the Byk had disappeared leaving him in hot waters .

In Lith’s eyes, that made it persona non grata .

“Dude, that’s harsh! After you rescued me, I was scared sh*tless . Besides, you didn’t seem to need any help . This time I didn’t run away, I went for help . You have no idea how long it took to reach my mom . “

“Your mom?”

“Yeah, according to your definition, she is my best friend . “

“And I wouldn’t have delayed my departure for a mere human, if not for the fact that you saved my cub and was so stupid to lose control of your own necromancy spell . Hence, as part of your reward I’ll teach you how not to endanger yourself and others with darkness magic . “

The Byk mother was an enormous beast, at least 1,8 meters (5’11”) tall at the shoulder, with a weight close to a ton . Its fur was deep brown with shades of black all over .

Lith was about to defend himself, explaining that it wasn’t a spell, as much as an experiment, when he realized what had happened .

– “Delay the departure? So that’s why I needed to make haste? All that’s happened was just a step to speak with this Byk?” –

The Byk mother moved closer, sniffing at him with curiosity .

“You look like a human, but there something different from the others I have met so far . What’s your name, cub?”

“Scourge . ” Lith deemed wiser using the name bestowed upon him by the Trawn woods’ kings . If the Byk mother knew humans, he had to protect his identity .

“Strong name for someone so young . ” It snorted . “A Byk name, even . That’s a good omen . I’m Kalla, and that’s my youngest one, Nok . “

Lith gave both a polite nod with the head .

“Listen well, cub . There is a reason if light and darkness magic are so scarce in nature, and that is because they are the strongest elements . Light nurtures life, according to legends, can even resurrect the dead or create new beings .

Darkness, instead, is the element of death . It’s not evil by itself, it’s just that all living beings are scared of death, so they fear it . And fear can easily turn in spite and prejudice . “

Lith inwardly scoffed at those words .

– “I have yet to meet someone, human or not, that doesn’t consider the element they are best at as the strongest . As for light magic, is a great tool, but powerful is not the word I’d use to describe it . Convenient at best . “

“Whatever . ” Solus mind rolled her eyes . “Why you don’t stay quiet and listen? When are we going to find again someone teaching us real magic?” –

Kalla stared at him for a second, sensing his disbelief .

“Tell me, Scourge, how many magical beasts have you met that use light magic?”

“None . ” He was forced to admit .

“And how many capable of darkness magic?”

“Just one . It was a Byk, a few years ago . “

“Zero and one, while there are countless beasts that use the other elements . Have you ever wondered why? Let me show you an old Byk trick . “

Kalla tapped the ground twice with her left pawn claws, dark energy swirling around her massive body .

“Arise . “