Chapter 197: Chapter 197

The following morning, Mayor Shindal resigned from his post via a letter on his chair in the council meeting room. By the time anyone found it, his house was empty and there was no sign of him or his family.

His house had been thoroughly cleaned out of any valuables and abandoned like trash at the side of the road. According to his note, he’d decided to leave for the east side of the kingdom for an unexpected job opportunity that had opened up.

Hilla relayed all of that to Damien and the others over dinner that day. It was strange, but there was nothing to be done aside from begin preparing to elect a new mayor over the next few weeks.

Yui caught Damien staring at her and gave him a slight nod, her expression not changing in the slightest. Nobody other than Nolan noticed the exchange.

The rest of the week passed quickly, as there was nothing to do but train. Henry continued leaving at night to bother the goats, but he swore that he left the other students alone. Damien and Sylph had swapped students a few times, just to make sure everyone had an understanding of what they would be dealing with.

On the seventh day, everyone had gotten to the point where Damien was hopeful that they could hold their own against a normal Corrupted monster. It wasn’t perfect, but he was proud of the amount of progress they’d managed to make in the past week. Everyone gathered in front of his house one last time.

“Delph should be coming by to bring us back to Blackmist soon,” Damien said. “I think we can count this week as a success, though. You’ve got a pretty good chance of standing against the Corruption if you work together.”

“Just stay aware of what you’re dealing with,” Sylph warned. “You can probably handle the normal Corruption, but the Seeds are on a completely different level. They’re much more powerful, and from what I know, usually much larger as well. If you run into a Seed, just run and pray that someone stronger arrives.”

“Have you fought a seed?” Gaves asked. “It sounds like you’re talking with firsthand experience.”

“No,” Damien lied. “But it took an entire high ranking mage party to take down a half dead one. You know how we mentioned that the Corruption turns to stone as it loses its connection to the Ether? It was like that, but it was so strong that even in its stone form, it was still healing. We fought one of its clones that crumbled apart as soon as the main one died, and that nearly killed us.”

“Right,” Elania said. “Run away from any Corruption that isn’t a pushover.”

They all laughed, but it was equal parts amusement and nervousness. The group milled about the front of Damien’s house, relaxing as they waited for Delph to arrive.

About half an hour later, the air crackled. Everyone scrambled to their feet as a sparking blue line carved through the air in front of them, hissing and popping with energy.

“That’s not Delph’s portal,” Sylph warned, her hand lowering to the daggers at her hip.

The portal widened, opening like the maw of a great beast until it was nearly ten feet tall and flooding the area with brilliant light. Lightning crackled along its edges and the shadow of a large figure formed within it.

A man stepped out from the portal, his eyes burning with faint traces of magic. He was clean shaven and wore heavily runed metal armor with pauldrons that curved to points above his shoulders. Two curved blades rested at his hips, and his gear was unblemished and practically glowed. It was about as close to a polar opposite of Delph as one could get. Sylph stiffened.

“This is quite the surprise,” Yui said. “Sentinel Stormsword, what are you doing here? I hope my mother hasn’t sent you just to get me.”

“Princess Yui, I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m afraid that I’m off duty and currently carrying out some other business,” the man said, his voice a smooth baritone. “So, please, no titles. Out in Ardenford, I just go by Mr. Vale or Derrod.”

“Dad!” Damien exclaimed, finally snapping out of his stupor. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re looking well, Damien,” Derrod, said, stepping up and ruffling Damien’s hair. “I’m helping an old friend out. But look at how much you’ve grown! Before we get any further, I’m going to go say hi to your mother. I’ll be back shortly.”

He raised a hand without waiting for a response and strode up to the house, closing the door behind himself. Everyone stared at where he’d left in mute shock.

“He’s your dad?” Gaves asked, aghast.

It took Damien a few moments to pick his jaw up off the floor. “Uh… yeah. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, though.”

“He seemed a little impersonal,” Elania observed. “I would have thought he’d be more excited to see you than that.”

“Elania!” Viv snapped.

“Sorry,” Elania muttered.

“It’s fine,” Damien said, shaking his head. “That’s just how he is. But what is he doing here? He said he’s helping a friend – does that mean Delph?”

“They were both on the frontlines,” Yui mused. “It’s possible they know each other. But I never knew you were Stormsword’s kid, Damien.”

“You keep saying that name, but he never used it around me. I didn’t even know he was that important. I thought he was just a field agent or something,” Damien said. “Did you talk with my dad much? It seems like you know him.”

“He was around the castle pretty frequently,” Yui replied. “I spoke to him every month or so if I had to guess. Not a lot, but he was always kind. He’s very important, though. Stormsword is essentially my mother’s right hand. He executes her will around the realm. He’s one of the strongest mages in our army.”

“And he never mentioned anything about his family?” Elania asked.

“He mentioned he had a son, but he played his cards very close to chest,” Yui replied with a bitter smile. “Trust me, I tried multiple times to figure information out about him. It was almost something of a game. I never won. He’s better at it than most nobles are.”

“Does that mean Damien wins, even though he wasn’t playing?” Viv asked, laughing. “After all, he’s the reason you got the information.”

Yui scrunched her nose. “I suppose it does. Seven Planes, that’s mildly annoying.”

“Tell me about it,” Damien said, his eyebrows lowering. He was finding it hard to line up the Stormsword that Yui was talking about with his father. Then again, he met the man so infrequently that he supposed anything was possible. “You spent more time with my dad than I did.”

“What’s this emotion you’re feeling?” Henry asked. “I don’t like it.”

I believe that would be called bitterness.

It struck Damien that Sylph had yet to say anything, which was vastly more important to him than the appearance of his father. He nudged her gently with his foot. “Sylph? Are you okay?”

She blinked. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think she’s fine,” Henry observed.

You don’t say. She recognized him.

He wanted to press Sylph on it, but it clearly wasn’t the time, so he resolved to wait until they were in private. Sylph clearly had something that she didn’t want to share with everyone else. A few minutes later, Derrod strode out of the house, a lazy grin on his face.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, kids. It’s been some time, huh Damien? I can sense a fair bit of magical energy around you now. You end up dropping those runes for combat magic?”

“I’m kind of doing both, but more combat than anything,” Damien admitted, peering at Derrod as if he weren’t convinced the man was really there. He didn’t much feel like small talk. “You mentioned you were doing a favor for your friend. Did you mean…”

“Dove,” Derrod said. “But he said that he’s been going as Delph around you.”

“Wait,” Nolan said, raising a hand and speaking for the first time since Derrod had arrived. His eyes were wide in adoration and awe. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but… Damien, your dad is Stormsword?”

“It’s news to me as well,” Damien said, glaring at his dad accusingly. “I’ve never heard of it, either. I guess Stormsword is too busy with his job to let me know what he’s actually doing.”

“I did tell you I was working for the Queen,” Derrod said with a chuckle. “I like to keep my work separate from my home life, so I avoided mentioning any specifics beyond that.”

Damien’s mouth worked, searching for the right words, but he settled for a sigh. “So, what do you even do? Yui said you were the Queen’s right hand or something?”

“Ah, can’t say more than that. Even to you, kiddo. Sorry,” Derrod replied. “You don’t do jobs for the Queen and then go chatting about them. If you ever end up employed by her, maybe I’ll fill you in. How have you been doing at school?”

Figures. He dodges and goes for even more small talk.

“Uh, good. I guess.”

“He’s underselling himself, Mr. Vale,” Nolan interjected. “He placed third in Blackmist’s ranking tournament last year and second in the intermural.”

“Did you, now?” Derrod asked, his eyes sparkling. “That’s my boy. I wish I could have kept up a bit more with you these past few years, now more than ever. Unfortunately, things on the frontlines only seem to be picking up.”

He sighed, scratching his chin for a moment before shaking his head. “Let’s not get into that. Introduce me to your friends. I already know Princess Yui, of course. I’d love to hear how you met.”

“That would be because of Nolan,” Damien said, nodding to the noble. “It was mostly an accident, though.”

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Nolan Gray,” Nolan said, inclining his head and. “I never thought I’d be personally talking to Stormsword.”

“The Gray house?” Derrod asked. “I fought together with your father a few times. He was a good mage. Who’s everyone else?”

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Damien introduced everyone else, leaving Sylph for last. She hadn’t moved an inch since his father had arrived.

“And this is Sylph,” Damien said, pausing a moment to find the right words. “My girlfriend.”

“Is she now?” Derrod asked, his mouth crinkling. Damien watched his eyes closely, but his father’s face was completely unreadable. “Fascinating. A pleasure, Sylph.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Vale.” Sylph’s voice was flat and emotionless.

“Are you here to take us back to Blackmist?” Damien asked, sending a worried glance at Sylph. Something was definitely wrong, and his dad was at fault in some way. “Or are you just dropping by before Delph comes?”

“The former. Delph asked me to pick you up since he was busy dealing with some new artifact. Typical, but I was headed in the direction anyway, so it wasn’t much trouble. It didn’t hurt that I got a chance to see you again after all this time. I really do need to start taking more time off my work before I blink and find that you’ve already graduated.

Damien was pretty sure Derrod had said that the last few times he’d visited, and those were all before he’d gone to Blackmist.

“You know, you pretty much did the same thing to your mom,” Henry pointed out. “Not that I really care either way. I would never.”

That’s different. I was fighting the Corruption!

“How do you know that isn’t what your dad was doing?”

Damien scrunched his nose and mentally pushed Henry back. His companion might have had a point, which made it all the more annoying.

“Delph did say he doesn’t need you back quite yet, so I’ve got no mind to waste what little time we do have,” Derrod said.

“What do you mean?” Damien asked.

“Oh, as much as I’d like to steal you away for a few days, we don’t have quite that much time – maybe an hour or two. How about you show me a bit of what you’ve learned? I’m sure your friends would love to see your old man breaking a sweat.”

“You want to spar me?”

“Don’t worry,” his dad chuckled. “I know how to pull my punches. But what better way to trade true words than fighting? Our fists tell stories that our mouths never could.”

Damien’s mind finally caught up with the present, although he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somehow asleep. “I don’t want to make everyone else wait. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do, and it wouldn’t be fair to make everyone sit around.”

“Sit around? We’d love to wait,” Nolan exclaimed. The others – Sylph excluded – nodded. “You’re one of the greatest mages of your generation! Most people never get a chance to see someone of your caliber fight. I still can’t believe you’re Damien’s dad.”

“He’s like a child overdosing on sugar,” Henry said, returning from Damien’s banishment. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that.”

At least one of us is excited that he’s here. I wish Delph had just come like he was supposed to. If Sylph knows my dad, that means he had something to do with her past.

“Well, don’t blame Damien for it,” Derrod said with a chuckle, breaking Damien’s thoughts. “Until today, I’d kept my work pretty separate from my normal life. Anyways, why don’t you show me what you’ve got, Damien? Let’s see if this old man can keep up with the youth.”

Damien sent another look at Sylph. She gave him a reassuring nod and everyone moved a few paces back, giving him and Derrod room.

“What are the rules?” Damien asked. “We shouldn’t waste too much time.”

“Let’s see – I want to keep things fair for you,” his dad mused. “I won’t attack to start. I need to gauge your strength so I don’t mistakenly hurt you. Your mom has healing magic, but I’d be living out of the shed for the next year if I injured you. For the first round, let’s see if you can land a blow on me.”

Henry let out an angry murmur within Damien’s mind. “Land a hit? I think he’s underestimating us a little.”

Now’s as good a time as any to find out.

“Then let’s see what kind of power he’s throwing around,” Henry said. “I’ve got a few things of my own that should make things a bit more interesting. You’d be surprised what you learn from goats.”

“Wake up, Damien,” Derrod said. “You’re staring off into space. Do that on a battlefield and you’ll be dead before you know it.”

“So long as you don’t show up after being missing for a few years, this wouldn’t happen on a battlefield,” Damien countered, gathering himself. He pushed his emotions away as he cast out his mental net and started to draw Ether into himself.

As the energy traveled through his body and gathered in his palms, Henry slid into Damien’s mage armor, activating his combat manifestation.

“Oh, you’ve got a combat form!” Derrod exclaimed, pleased. “Well done! What can it do?”

Damien cast Warp Step, teleporting behind Derrod and driving a Gravity Sphere into his back. An instant before the spell struck, his father’s body shifted. Derrod twirled like a dancer, slipping past Damien’s strike effortlessly without wasting a single inch of space.

Henry lashed out with several tendrils, grabbing at Derrod’s arms and legs. Derrod dodged out of the way, batting them away before they could touch him.

Ether stormed around Damien and he sent it through both his feet as well as his hands. He thrust two Gravity Spheres at his father, then kicked another one up while Derrod was avoiding the first two.

Damien teleported before seeing the result, appearing to his dad’s left and sending a roundhouse kick at his chest.

Magic detonated around them, but Damien had kept the Ether low enough to avoid damaging himself with his own magic in close range. Derrod managed to dodge every single attack, but he let out a gleeful laugh as he grabbed Damien’s shin before the kick could land.

“Not bad, son,” Derrod said. “Space magic is impressive. But your attacks need a little more vari–”

The Gravity Sphere that Damien had channeled at the tip of his foot shot out, cutting Derrod off before he could finish speaking. Damien twisted, using the momentum to yank his foot out of his father’s grip moments before the spell went off.

Derrod blurred, appearing several paces to the side, unharmed. Damien formed multiple Enlarge spells, storing them on the dirt beneath their feet. Derrod lowered into a fighting stance, giving Damien a respectful nod.

Three pillars shot out from the ground. Derrod dodged the first two and used the third to vault himself into the air.

“New rules, Damien!” Derrod called. “We’re playing tag, and I’m the chaser.”

Damien teleported back, narrowly avoiding his dad. Before he could gather himself, Derrod was before him again. Damien’s eyes widened and he teleported himself into the air, forming a Gravity Lance and teleporting back down.

He slung the spell at Derrod, who sent a tiny spark of blue lightning out from his fingers to meet it. The spells struck each other and fizzled out with a hiss. Derrod blurred and Damien teleported preemptively.

Despite his fast response, he still felt wind brush past his neck.

“Good block,” Derrod said. “I didn’t realize your battle manifestation was that fast. How did you see me behind you? Or did you just guess?”

Damien didn’t even know what he was talking about until he realized that Henry must have blocked his dad’s hand with the tendrils from the mage armor.

“A mixture,” Damien replied.

“You’re better than I expected. Very good,” Derrod said. “I’m going to start fighting back a bit. I’ll be pulling my punches, but don’t let your guard down or your mother is going to be very cross.”

Blue lightning crackled across Derrod’s body. It gathered around his feet and he vanished. Damien instinctively teleported, but electricity still prickled across his skin. He teleported twice more, but the feeling of growing danger didn’t leave.

Damien cast the spell one more time, launching himself far into the air.

Eight Planes, is he following my teleports?

“He is. I think he’s watching the minute movements your body makes right before you teleport, then using his speed to catch you right as you get there,” Henry said.

“What do you think, Damien?” Derrod asked, launching into the sky beside him. Damien teleported back several feet, avoiding a punch that would have caught him in the stomach, and then cast four Gravity Spheres in rapid succession, throwing them out around himself and forcing Derrod to fly back to avoid getting caught in the blasts.

“Absolutely terrifying,” Damien said, teleporting to the ground. Despite himself, he was impressed. Derrod’s magic was incredible, and he got the sense that his dad was holding nearly all of it back. “Are you actually reading my movements that well?”

Derrod let out a booming laugh. “Figured it out already? Delph is a fantastic teacher. I’m using lightning magic to accelerate the speed that my brain runs at. It gives me a lot more time to analyze what you’re doing, and as fast as your space magic is…”

A hand settled on Damien’s shoulder, sending a sharp jolt through his body and making him jump.

“I’m faster,” Derrod said, a wide grin stretching across his features.

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