Chapter 12: Chapter 11: A Blossoming Power

Aleph was mobbed. He had just gone down the well to collect mana crystals when his disciples popped out of it. They ran towards him, surrounding him in a tight embrace.

"Back already?" He said with difficulty.

They kept silent, and eventually, he heard a muffled sobbing.

"I'm sowwy." Lacey said, burying herself in his chest.

Aleph awkwardly patted her head, or tried to, as the other two were on each of his arms. They stayed like that for a while,but eventually Aleph managed to extricate himself.

"You've learned the truth, then." He said. 

"""Yes, Master!""" 

To their credit, the trio pulled themselves together enough to say so with conviction. Aleph waited, giving a chance for each of his students to say more, but they just looked back at him. He gazed at each of them in turn.

Each of his disciples looked the same, but somehow different. He hoped that was for the better.

"Go home for now. I've told your families that I've given you training, but they may still worry. Rayse, your sisters are upstairs. I didn't know how long you'd be gone, so I had them stay with me for the time being."

They each left the room at a run, eager to see their families. Aleph wasn't surprised; it was a natural response, after being faced with so much death.

He turned to finish his business, taking his time to give Rayse ample time with his siblings. He went upstairs to see that the three still hadn't gone home, but are instead roasting potatoes in front of his home.

"Ahh, master. Come sit, these are almost done…Hey, watch it! I said almost done!" Rayse batted Sheila's hand away from the food, causing her to run to Aleph in a whimper.

"M-mister. Ray's being mean!" She told on his brother instantly.

Aleph took a knee and looked at her hand. Then he tried consoling her, saying, "It's alright, young one. The food will be ready soon. Why don't you take your sister inside to wash your hands. We'll wait for you."

And so the two went inside to wash up before the meal, which left Rayse and Aleph alone. Aleph stared at the smoldering embers for a bit, not knowing how to approach the situation.

"All three of us agree… You're an amazing person." Rayse said sincerely.

"We are lucky to have you as our master. And we believe you were sent here for a reason."

Aleph was surprised. He would have totally understood if any of them abandoned his teachings after today. They should know that he originally came to this world to die in peace. To serve under such a master is a terrible waste of their talents.

"My past… Is it not an issue?"

Rayse thought for a second. "Are you still looking for death, mister? I mean, after this is over."

No was his immediate thought. He had just learned that Erebos was alive and still reaping planets. He would have to contend with him once again, not only for the fallen, but also for himself.

But afterwards? He had no idea what to do.

"I don't know…" He confessed.

"That's fine, mister. You may die as you wish once we're done." Rayse said bluntly, but then he smiled.

"But do it after you've lived. I'm sure Emily would want that for you."

The kids ran up front, sitting on either side of Aleph instead of their brother. They held their hands out as Rayse gave them each a baked potato wrapped in paper.

To live, huh. It seemed even more daunting than facing the abyss. Emily… Can I really do it? Looking around, hearing the laughter and smelling the good food, he was starting to think that he could. He took a bite out of the baked potato Rayse handed him.

"It's a bit salty." Was all he could say.

_________________________________

The days passed by quickly after that. Aleph had finally developed his mana heart just in time for Iona to get back into town. They met once again at her regular spot, updating each other on current developments.

"Recruitment's not going well. If we're lucky, there would be a thousand soldiers manning the walls by the end of this month. That's not enough for evacuation, but maybe barely enough to hold the city." Iona confessed. Her frustrated tone almost told the story for her.

"How are the other areas?" Aleph asked.

"It's going terribly." Her companion answered. This was Carrack, her superior officer. He is a rough soldier type, a hard looking man with wild red hair. He oozes competence with every word he says.

"They've launched offenses onto almost every major town. We still haven't figured out how they managed to get their troops this far in, but hounds have been spotted just about anywhere with enough people. We were fortunate to sniff them out this early, but our men are stretched thin. We need to resolve this, and fast."

Aleph considered for a moment. This mode of attack is completely new to him. When he faced Erebos, his followers would just move in a massive wave of rapid expansion. A large portion of Earth fell on the first few days, but when the battlefronts had stabilized, they managed to hold on for a while.

This seemed to be their strategy up to this point, but these seemingly random attacks were something Aleph did not expect. With no knowledge of how the enemies manage to evade the army to come to different municipalities, this kingdom seemed destined to fall if Aleph had not reported his encounter with the hounds.

Aleph placed the emissary's demon heart on the table. Iona was surprised. She swiped it immediately, inspecting it as if she wanted to prove that it's fake.

"Where did you get this!?" She demanded.

"About a week ago. I was hoping to lure out the hounds while I absorbed mana, but I caught a huge fish without realizing it." Aleph said simply.

Carrack slammed the table, causing a stir among the other tables. He paid them no mind, all his attention went to Aleph.

"You mean to tell me that you, without a mana heart and accompanied by three novice mages, managed to kill an emissary!?"

Aleph ignored that question, moving on to what he thought was more important.

"You said that harbingers signified the start of the attack. It seems that there's more than them outside our walls. How far along before they attack?" He said, taking back the demon heart from a stunned Iona.

Carrack sighed, rubbing his temples. "I suppose it does not matter. Not as much as an emissary showing up, in any case. These guys are bad news, Aleph. It's fortunate you were able to take one down, but in the invaders' ranks, a single emissary commands about a hundred harbingers. 

"He only detected three weak mages," He added, nodding over at his disciples, who were sitting at another table. "So he thought that he himself along with the hounds were more than enough. You've proven yourself quite capable, but I doubt even you could have handled a hundred of them."

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Aleph considered for a moment and said, "I suppose you're right, but we are getting sidetracked." He did not mention that with a powerful mana source like this heart on top of his own, he could create a weapon that can help him stand against an army that many.

"That many soldiers cannot be hidden in plain sight, Captain. If there's that many at our necks, we'd see some sign of them."

"And so we've circled back to the problem at hand. I'll send some scouting teams. I have too few mages to spare, but…" He paused, looking at Aleph once again.

 "I see that you've developed a mana heart of your own. Would you like to join us?"

"I would be honored, if you would have me. I have some terms though." He turned to Iona. He gave her some mana crystals, more than what they agreed upon for the books.

"Lady Iona, I will be leaving my disciples in your care. Can you instruct them about magic while I am away? Ah, but leave the book with me."

The captain turned to her subordinate, a sort of quiet communication played out through them. Eventually, Iona agreed.

"I must make some preparations before we depart. Just send me a message once your men are ready to go."

Aleph stood, and his disciples followed suit. He collected the magic instruction books from Iona and made to leave. He'd need some time for his next project, and he hoped to squeeze some time learning magic before the expedition.

They walked back to his home, but Aleph let his disciples lead. He was reading the book along the way.

'The mana heart responds to the will of the user. A proper mental image is necessary to manifest the desired effect. Thus, the magic tower has devised a system of images and words for aspiring mages to follow.'

Aleph was surprised. The book was pretty simple to follow. It may be due to Earth's magic being similar in the imagery department. They were barely out of the city when Aleph casted his first spell.

"Flame."

A small sphere of fire sprouted from his hand. His disciples barely noticed. 

Aleph inspected his first spell. It was much smaller than what he imagined. It seems a stronger image is required for the spells of this world. He recalibrated his thoughts, preparing for a second try.

A voice entered his ears, interrupting his musings. "That's pretty good, you know. Manifesting on the first utterance is already quite rare."

He turned to see Iona walking beside him. She was so close. How did he not notice? His disciples jumped back in alarm, as if a human just materialized out of thin air.

"Ah, sorry. I forgot I was supposed to be tailing you. hehe!" She said playfully.

"How long have you been here?" Aleph asked, but he was already thinking of the implications. Iona's mana signature was undetectable. It was hard to replicate such an ability with his world's magic.

"The whole time, but judging by your expression, it seems you've figured out that much. Aleph, you are quite a figure."

She followed them straight into Aleph's home. They all sat down in his living room while Rayse prepared some tea.

"The search for the enemy camp will be held the day after next. We know that time is of the essence, but a companion hasn't come yet, and we need his expertise in the upcoming mission."

"You still haven't told us why you're here." Brandon interjected. It seemed that he was quite agitated at the notion that they could just be followed so closely and they wouldn't notice. To be honest, Aleph could relate. He made a mental note to create an anti espionage artifact later.

"I'm here to start our lesson, Brandon. No use wasting time. Gather around, kids. Ah, Rayse, you may set the tea down here. Aleph, you seem to have a grasp of things, but you are welcome to listen nonetheless."

Aleph chose to stay. He poured himself tea as Iona instructed his pupils on this world's magic system.

Her instruction was fairly concise. Her military training was coming through. 

His students were amazing. Lacey especially was a natural. She conjured a full fledged flame spell on her first try. Though not as good, the boys did manage to conjure flames on the first couple of tries.

"Very good! Wow, Aleph, where did you find them? Their raw abilities are almost unprecedented!" 

Aleph already knew that, on some level. Being able to become battle ready in a matter of weeks was a testament to their skill, not his.

Aleph stood, leaving the room so his disciples can learn without disturbance.

He stepped outside, applying what he just learned.

An image and a trigger word used to conjure it in your mind, was it? 

"Return."

He tried recalling one of his spears from one hand to the next, surprised that he actually managed it.

Using a crystal medium is much simpler with weaponry. The mental image requirement is too steep to use effectively in battle.

He recalled how the emissary fought; his screaming brought forth magic just like that. The process seemed much more instinctual, as with the demons that invaded his world. That would be ideal if he could apply it somehow.

Still, it's not like this world's magic was useless. Iona demonstrated that clearly. 

Aleph focused. This time he tried to modify his flame spell. He adjusted his image, he gave it direction in his mind. Then, he thought of an appropriate word to conjure it.

"Fire bolt."

A ball of flame shot out of his hand this time, shooting directly upwards until it blazed out. Aleph shot out a few more, solidifying the image in his mind before he tried something else.

Aleph fished out the demon heart. It had already been primed with magnetite in preparation for what he'll make with it. He held it in his hand, willing his spears to move around him like sentries.

He took one and began a series of strikes, parrying himself with his own floating spears. Tried weaving in some firebolts in the attack. It was tricky and his control over the spears would sometimes waver, but he saw potential in the mixing of the two magicks.

His current self was poor in comparison to his prime, but he felt himself slowly getting sharper. Earth's magic was powerful, but a lot more restrictive in terms of materials. He'd need at least a dragon heart to even come close to what he was when he defeated Erebos.

He stopped practicing and stared at his hand once again. This is the edge I need, he thought. He had barely won before, but with this new power, a new possibility started to emerge in his head.

This time, you will not take anyone from me.

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