Author note
Before we start I'm sorry this came out a week before it should have. My lectures had moved my class's tests around so had to pause finishing the chapter and focus on the test, I really need those credits. Anyway thank you for all you're patience and here's chapter 66, like always don't be afraid to leave comments or reviews on the story from ideas, likes, dislikes and what you which could be done better.
Finally expect the next chapter around this week Saturday as I have a lot of free time to spare for now.
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A cool wind blew across the outskirts of the city of Crocus, causing many of the vibrant flowers responsible for the city's name to lift and dance across the sky like colourful wisps in the wind. On the dirt path winding toward the high eastern cliffs walked Millianna. A fresh burst of the morning air brushed past her face, but instead of soothing her, it only made her clench the straps of her traveling bag tighter as her feline ears drooped.
She looked to the side, taking in the sweeping vista of the capital. Usually, a trip to a new city would have her bouncing on her heels, especially since it was the grand heart of Fiore. But right now, her mind was hopelessly snagged on a thorn of self-doubt.
" Meow,why would the master pick me of all people for a job like this?" she wondered out loud, kicking a stray pebble.
She wasn't that strong, and from the information Marella told her, this was supposed to be an important expedition, and the client had requested strong mages for this. Why didn't she just send anyone better suited? There were better and more experienced mages at mermaid hell who could handle this.
When Millianna had frantically expressed those exact worries to Marella before leaving, the Atlantean woman had simply placed a gentle hand on her head and given her a reassuring smile:
"Stop casting such harsh doubt on yourself, Millianna. If you keep putting those self-imposed shackles on your heart, then you'll never progress with your magic. You are so much more than you realize. Also don't worry, special friends will be there to make sure you don't die."
Now, Millianna didn't know what she meant by that last part, but she was happy that her master had so much faith in her skills as a mage and her ability to grow stronger but she wasn't sure she was ready for something like this.
"But why did the path have to be so high up and far, meow~?" She lightly tapped her flushed cheeks, forcing her posture straight. "Nay~! Now isn't the time to be a scaredy-cat, Millianna! You absolutely cannot afford to mess this mission up"
As her master told her, this wasn't just a normal expedition mission since the client was a top-tier archaeologist, so she couldn't afford to fail and ruin her guild's reputation. She even came extra early to make the best impression.
Finally reaching the destination cliff-side where she was supposed to meet the client, Millianna couldn't help but awe at what she was seeing.
It was a massive hanger, with enormous doors fully open to the mountain air. The floor was made of pristine white marble slabs with polished brass tracks embedded into the stone, stretching towards the open cliffside. Despite the heavy machinery scattered around the facility, the walkways remained wide and clear, allowing for easy movement of people. Golden pillars and green banners bearing the symbol of a golden sun decorated the entrance, giving the place an elegant appearance.
Right in the middle of the hangar rested an airship, its was luxuriously decorated with elaborate golden patterns and a magnificent sun crest on its bow. Its engines glowed with a faint blue light while several mechanical supports held the vessel securely in place.
"Wow." She gaped clenching her bag looking at the ship, she knew her client was rich but not this rich. The only people she ever heard of having properly owning an airship was the Blue Pegasus guild but she couldn't remember the name of the ship.
Slightly getting over her shock she walked towards the hanger but then she spotted a black cat wearing perfectly fitting headsets relaxing on the ground next to two women. She didn't register them as she was fixed on the cat making her shake in euphoria.
"KITTY! She squealed loudly getting the three's attention, and ran towards it full speed at picking up the cat to snuggle. "Huh?" She noticed that the cat wasn't in her arms and felt something on her head.
"Man we really got to stop meeting like this." The cat spoke, lightly booping a paw on her nose.
"Salem-chan!" She exclaimed.
"Well at least it took you less time." Salem jumped off her head transforming back into his normal form. "What's with the face?"
"Aw, meow! I wanted you to stay a cute little kitty a bit longer!" she pouted, crossing her arms.
"So what you're saying is that there's something wrong with how I normally look? I didn't take you for the type Millanna."
"Wait no I didn't mean it like that!"
"Relax neko-girl I'm just messing with you." His long cat tail came out to pat her shoulders
"Mou~ You're so mean sometimes Salem-chan!" Minerva pouted and the shapeshifter just shrugged.
"I take it that you're the mage Marella sent for this mission." Aurelia's voice made Millanna jump a bit as she completely forgot the women were there.
She wore a long, midnight-black leather tailcoat with a high collar and deep crimson lining, its flowing tails reaching her ankles. Beneath it was a fitted white blouse and an ornate black steel under-bust corset decorated with intricate gold patterns. Charcoal riding breeches were partially covered by a slit black leather half-skirt fastened with brass buckles. Thigh-high black leather riding boots with reinforced soles and leather straps completed the outfit, along with a brass monocle resting over her left eye.
"Yes. My name is Millanna Lady Viremont. It's nice to meet you." Millianna cheerfully introduced herself with a bow, but Aurelia's gaze was making her nervous.
"Hm. Verily, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Millianna. Pray, do enlighten me what manner of magic do you use?"
"Well, I use binding magic, ma'am!" her answer came out brightly, though her ears twitched nervously at the woman's precise gaze, as she didn't look impressed. "I know that my magic isn't the flashiest, but…"
By looking at her, Aurelia could tell the girl was by no means weak, but simply decent enough. She could somewhat deduce what Marella's plan was in sending the girl here, even if it felt a bit reckless to deploy a mid-tier mage on an expedition of this scale especially considering what Salem had disclosed about the temple's dangerous modifications. But it wasn't her business to question how the Atlantean ran her guild; it wasn't as if she could send the girl back anyway, considering she still owed Marella for that previous incident in Atlantis.
At least she also signed the waiver.
"The nature of your magic is of no consequence, my dear. Indeed, I anticipate your binding spells shall afford excellent structural support whilst we are in the field. However, I must inquire—are you truly prepared for the trials ahead? This is no ordinary temple."
"Yes!" Millianna rapidly shook her head, looking at the older woman with fierce determination. "I know my magic is not the most impressive, nor am I the strongest, but I promise I'll do my absolute best to contribute to the success of the mission!"
"Hm. You possess a commendable spirit. Excellent. Furthermore, you have maintained the decency to arrive punctually—unlike certain mages currently residing within this hangar. I shall look forward to our shared endeavours, then."
"Thank you meow!" Millanna smiled brightly.
Aurelia raised a sharp eyebrow at the spontaneous 'meow' part, but looking at the girl's ecstatic expression, she decided to let it slide, having seen people with stranger habits. So she simply nodded, smoothed down her lapels, and walked up the airship's boarding ramp to inspect the cargo metrics.
"You can breathe now, kitten." Morrigan told her a little amused and Millanna let out a heavy sigh.
"Damn girl Aren't you over reacting? I don't think Aurelia is that intimidating." Salem chuckled at the cat girl's behaviour.
"Meow, not intimidating?! Her stare was so intense! I genuinely thought it was going to make me freeze up and ruin everything~!" Millianna let out a heavy breath, wiping her brow. "You must be really close friends with her., if you didn't notice it."
Salem shook his head. "Nah, Mori here is the one who actually knows her. I just met her yesterday. I'm basically just a plus-one for this ride. It's how we got involved with this tomb-raiding mission in the first place."
Millianna nodded and bounced back to her feet. "Though I'm glad it's you two! Master Marella told me a special mage would be with me for this mission, but she kept it a secret."
Morrigan let out an annoyed huff. "Right after this can you tell her that I'm not a bloody replacement den mother or anyone's den mother I fact. If she wants someone to keep an eye on her pond every time she sends one of you on a mission then she should consider hiring a guild bodyguard." The cat girl just looked at her confused then turned back and forth between her and Salem.
"What?" They both asked.
"Nothing?" She giggled at their similar features and expressions.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
The echoing sound of footsteps at the hanger entrance got the three's attention and they four individuals walked into the with flying cats accompanying them.
'Damn it's kid Sabertooth.' Salem thought as he looked at the mages.
Yeah sure he should be a little used to seeing canon characters by now but it's still a little strange seeing them specifically so…young.
His eyes landed on the soon to be twin dragons of Sabertooth, otherwise known to him as the two guys who talked WAY too much shit to lose to one man holding back in his base form.
He immediately recognized Sting since it was sort of hard not to but he had a bit of a hard time with Rouge due to the mask the shadow dragon slayer was wearing, but he connected the dots due to the exceed dressed in the frog custom.
Then there was Minerva; mostly what he remembers from her was his friend ranting describing her as 'the bitch basically got away with everything' and Salem got what he meant. Salem could overlook when beat the hell out of Lucy in the GMG since he has seen worse violence in tournament arcs like the dark tournament, hunter exams, the chunin exams, kengan ashura, and the BS in Baki tournaments.
Though her joining the basically the biggest dark guild and demons of Zeref, Salem will never know how she got away with that.
Finally was the hat guy Rufus the memory make mage, and the only reason Salem could remember his name was because of a Rufus from Kim possible. But other than that he can't remember much of the guy.
He did notice that Morrigan looked slightly annoyed when she saw them.
"Wow, look at that ship!" Sting shouted, his eyes flashing with childish excitement as he looked around the hangar.
"Calm yourself, Sting. Do not touch anything," Minerva sternly lectured him, her hands tucked neatly into the wide sleeves of her purple kimono, though she admitted that he was right. Building an impressive structure like this was both impressive and expensive, but she wouldn't expect less of the famous archeologist.
"Sorry milady." He sheepishly rubbed his head.
"This place is pretty great though it's nothing compared to the sabertooth guild hall." commented Lector
"Frosh thinks so too." said Frosh.
Rouge just remained silent, keeping his posture rigid and guarded but he stiffened the moment he saw Morrigan. He didn't know why but something about the woman made him which just made him instinctively nervous.
"A memory of such absolute visual marvel!" Rufus proclaimed dramatically, placing a gloved finger to his temple. "A hangar of pristine marble matching a vessel adorned in gold, thrumming with raw ether-conduction grace... to finance such an airborne masterpiece requires capital metrics that stretch entirely beyond common aristocratic calculation. Lady Viremont, the sheer structural opulence of your private fleet is beautifully permanent in my records!"
"Oh, look, Aure has a super fan," Morrigan pointed out with a lazy smirk, making Salem chuckle. But the boy stopped when he noticed the sudden look on Millianna's face.
"Kitties... cute little talking kitties..." she whispered in a completely hypnotic, ecstatic tone, staring intently at Lector and Frosh.
Salem instantly manifested a thick white tail from his lower back, wrapping it around her waist to hold her back. "Jeez, Millianna, chill! You look like a drug addict going through severe withdrawals."
"B-But Salem-chan! Let me go, meow! I just want to squeeze them and hug them forever!" she squealed, her arms flailing wildly toward the startling Exceeds causing them to hide behind their dragon slayers.
Lector instantly hid behind Sting's leg. "What's up with that weird girl!"
"Frosh is scared too!" Frosh whimpered, clinging tightly to Rogue's cloak.
"I don't think I've seen flying cats before." Morrigan looked at the exceeds.
Salem looked at her questioningly. "Wait if you know about the Edolas then how the hell don't you know about exceeds? They're like one of the things it's known for?"
Morrigan shook her head. "Hey, I barely know anything about that place. All I know is that it is basically a magic-less world." She gently held frosh in her arms. "That brown one isn't doing it for me. This one on the other hand." Morrigan lightly squashed his cheeks.
Frosch looked completely dazed and confused.
"FROSH!" Rogue yelled in complete shock, his hand instantly flying to his hip as he realized his partner had been plucked right out without a sound.
"What the hell?!" Sting barked, as his white magic instinctively sparking around his knuckles. 'When did she do that?! I didn't even see her move!'
Rufus narrowed his eyes, a bead of sweat tracing down his temple under his wide brim. 'My memory... it records absolutely zero traces of her transit from her baseline coordinates. Impossible.'
Minerva's eyes narrowed into a calculative, lethal slit as she studied the dark-skinned woman. Weighing the room with her spatial perception, she noted Millianna's total lack of a proper combat stance, instantly dismissing her as an unqualified weakling. She then turned her gaze toward Salem, her brow furrowed slightly. The boy's complete, relaxed disregard for Sabertooth's presence made her deeply wary; she couldn't get a proper grasp on his power levels.
"Give him back." Rouge teeth gritted from behind the mask as his magic began to leak out of his body.
"Oh, relax, emo boy. I'm not going to hurt the little kitten," Morrigan purred, lazily patting the head of the still-confused Frosch. "Though I must say, for a shadow mage, your peripheral awareness is rather... lacking. If I were an assassin, your little green friend would already be a luxury rug~."
'B-But I was the one who wanted to pet them first!' Millianna pouted in jealousy.
"You better give him back right now lady. You don't know who you're messing with!" Sting stepped in beside Rouge ready to back him up, his hand radiating his magic as he glared at her.
"Whoa, whoa, chill out. I won't start a fight inside the hangar." Salem jumped in before things escalated, turning a deadpan glare toward his mentor. "And Morrigan, seriously, give the cat back. Sorry about her guys, she has a small problem with snatching whatever catches her eye even if it's other people's stuff."
Morrigan sighed dramatically, her casual tone filled with fake, playful angst. "You truly are an insufferable killjoy, Junior." With a casual toss, she let Frosch go, and the small exceed scrambled through the air, landing quickly behind Rogue's leg.
Sting, seeing that the cat was returned, forced his characteristic arrogant smirk back onto his face. He crossed his arms and looked at Salem, trying to gain his dominant posture. "Hmph! You better keep your mom her hands to herself elf boy, if you know what's good for you!"
"That's right!" Lector chimed in from behind Sting's leg, pointing a small paw at Salem. "Sting is the strongest mage here! You guys don't even come close to his level!"
'Oh nah I forgot this cat was a D1 glazer.' Salem irritably thought, as he will basically have to deal with this for the whole mission.
Morrigan's eyes twitched at being confused as Salem' mom again but she just gave him a mocking look. "Easy now squeaker. Don't strain those vocal cords before you even hit puberty. Go wave your little glow-stick at someone your own size."
Salem added more fuel to the fire. "Yeah she's got a point, blondie. You're gonna pop a blood vessel trying to look that tough, and frankly, the glow-stick isn't doing you any favors. Go find a sandbox before you actually hurt yourself."
"W-What did you say?!" Sting's face flushed red with rage and tightened his knuckles.
"Enough."
Lady Aurelia's voice cut through the hangar like a blade of ice as she stepped back down the ship's boarding ramp.
"Morrigan for heaven sake you're a grown woman will you stop trying to get a rise out of the children." She gave Morrigan a bemused look.
Morrigan fake drama gasped "Oh please Aure I was just a bit curious about the cats that's all, and I wouldn't hurt such an adorable little thing, who do you take me for. I was supposed to know they would throw a tantrum~."
Aurelia ignored her completely, her monocle catching the blue engine light as she turned her attention back to the Sabertooth group. "I presume you're the 'elite' Sabertooth team I heard so much about?"
Minerva stepped smoothly in front of the boys, her hands remaining completely hidden within the wide sleeves of her purple kimono. She offered a perfectly measured, elegant bow.
"Indeed, Lady Viremont. I am Minerva Orland, and these are the top members of Sabertooth: Rufus Lore, Sting Eucliffe, and Rogue Cheney. We are honored to provide our guild's absolute assistance to your expedition."
Rufus immediately stepped forward, executing a flawless, theatrical sweep of his hat. "The honor to meet you, Lady Viremont. I have spent many hours fully logging your past archaeological papers and historical treatises directly into my mind. The structural metrics of your past conquests are nothing short of poetic perfection."
Aurelia offered a slight, tightly controlled nod. "Your compliments are received, Rufus. However..." She paused, her analytical gaze scanning the group. "...I find myself deeply skeptical of this arrangement. To be entirely frank, the members of your team are... younger than I expected. This is no ordinary, standard exploration; the Temple of Kukulkan has undergone an alarming change far too dangerous to have more children be a part of this, I require experienced and rounded mages. So I am strongly inclined to cancel this request."
This made all the Sabertooth mages subtly stiffen as they remembered the master's words about what would happen if they failed the mission, but if he finds out they were rejected from ever taking part of the mission in the first place the punishment will be much worse.
Before Sting could open his mouth to launch a reckless, desperate protest, Minerva's cold, sharp hand clapped firmly onto his shoulder, instantly silencing him. Her eyes glinted with an icy composure as she looked directly at Aurelia.
"We understand your caution, Lady Viremont." Minerva spoke smoothly. "Yet, do not mistake our age for a lack of utility. Rufus possesses rare molding magic known as memory make, which gives him an innate ability to memorize anything he sees so with him we wouldn't worry about losing important information, easily bypassing any puzzles or riddles, and getting lost.
Sting and Rogue possess the lost art of Dragon Slayers, wielding the element White and Shadow magics explicitly. Their raw destructive capability scales far beyond common mages. Not that but they stated to be third generation dragon slayers.
I myself have territory magic which allows me to manipulate the space around any object or substance of my choice. It would be useful in situations which will require teleportation." Minerva's gaze then drifted slowly toward Salem and Millianna, her lips curving into a highly, mocking smirk.
"Also... I find your reason for 'experience' rather hypocritical, Lady Viremont. If you are truly so desperate to purge this expedition of dead weight, then why do you permit a basic, run-of-the-mill binding mage and boy? Surely the absolute banner of Sabertooth puts far more tangible utility on the table than those two... unqualified choices."
Millanna frowned at that comment, but Salem on the other hand stopped paying attention during her speech and went back to listening to music, thinking she was just yapping.
"Salem and Millianna are here under highly specific, specialized circumstances that do not concern your guild, Minerva," Aurelia stated in an icy, non-negotiable tone. "However... I see the validity of your point. Your team's abilities would be useful for exploring the temple. And since we are currently operating under a severe, dangerous time constraint..." She glanced subtly at Salem "...I shall permit your team to join. Do not make me regret this concession. Gather your equipment and board the ship immediately." She gestured to them to board the ship.
"Thank you, Lady Viremont," Minerva replied with a flawless, regal smile, though her fingers twitched minutely against her robes in a wave of profound internal relief. She turned and gestured to the boys. "Let's go boys."
The sabertooth mages began walking towards the ship but Sting was still attempting to mean mug Salem, who really wasn't paying any mind to him though.
"Geez man take a picture, blondie It'll last you way longer." Salem dryly remarked.
Sting gritted his teeth but Rogue quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him up the ramp into the airship's before he could start another argument.
"Are you sure about this love?" Morrigan asked Aurelia. "Aren't two rugrats enough? This isn't some kindergarten feel trip, did you forget what Junior told about the temple, and like I said anything involving this little rascal tends to get very complicated." She pointed to Salem.
Aurelia just sighed. "I understand your point, however they all do possess quite interesting magical attributes which I'm sure would be useful and make things a little easier. And besides you don't get such a rare collective of mages possessing lost magic and magic from the extinct Yakuma Clan. So call me curious."
Morrigan just shrugged. "Alright darling you're the one in charge so it's your choice. But whatever happens to them it's you. Come on dearies~." She placed her hands on top of Salem and Millanna's head and pushed them to the ship.
'I hope I'm not making a mistake.' thought Aurelia as she followed behind them.