Emil

  After several days of non-stop rain, the grim clouds above Isarelle finally subsided. For the first time in a week, the sun meekly peeked out of the overcast skies. The comforts of its gentle rays were fleeting, however, as the lights revealed the full-scale destruction of Isarelle. The former city of rain had been mangled into a site of a horror.

  Emil breathed in deeply. The dank smell of rain remained thick in the air, filling his lungs with a moist chill. He almost shuddered, only managing to keep still because of his desire to not make a scene. Dressed in formal black attire, he stood amongst a large crowd within a vast square in the Commerce District. Everyone was similarly dressed in black.

  The somber atmosphere was suffocating. He focused on the loud chirping cicadas in the background, trying to distract himself from the oppressive gloominess. He was never good in these types of environments. Standing still made his thoughts race. The gravity of the situation demanded silence and discretion, but he wanted to do something. Everyone mourned differently.

  His preference was to take action.

  Finally, he caught some semblance of movement from the front of the crowd. There was a massive stone plaque inscribed with a long list of names. A monument. A way to remember and honor those who had fallen during Isarelle’s tragedy. A small elevated podium was placed in front of it. A familiar face walked over.

  She faced the crowd with her striking jade eyes. She hadn’t spoken a word yet, but the piercing intent in her gaze was enough to seize the audience’s attention. It hadn’t been long since Aoife was officially introduced as a legitimized princess of the royal family, but now she commanded a presence worthy of her title. Emil smiled sadly. Finally, she had the face of a ruler.

  If only it didn’t happen because of this disaster.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re gathered today to honor and remember those who had passed in the recent Isarelle tragedy…”

  Her solemn voice carried eloquently over the venue. Emil closed his eyes. It was the only way he could keep his rage from boiling over.

  ***

  Aoife’s words were poignant and concise. The memorial service was supposed to be a silent and somber affair to honor the deceased, but the crowd was left in a sobbing mess by the end of her speech. Most of those in attendance were Isarelle residents and visitors who came from all over kingdom for the Aurous Festival. What was supposed to be a week of celebrations had turned to one of the most atrocious disasters in Ardair’s history.

  Emil sighed as the crowd began to part. Some remained to pay respects to the names inscribed on the stone monument while others hastily went back to work. They had to take advantage of the first clear day after a week of torrential downpour. There was a lot that needed to be done to bring Isarelle back to a functioning city.

  Not sure if I should go help or report to the Steiger branch office.

  Emil himself had only been released from the hospital just the day before. Technically, he felt comfortable enough to move around on the second day after attacks, but the medical staff had firmly insisted that he rest. It took the combined effort of an imperial decree from Aoife and Anna’s threats for him to finally relent. Being confined to the bed was torturous as usual, but at least he had Anna and the other’s company to keep him distracted.

  His friends were apparently fighting battles of their own after Thanatos’s collapse. Anna suffered a few gruesome injuries that were quickly mended by House Belle’s medical Exalted. Aoife was Aoife—the restorative capabilities of Valkyrie ensured that she had never been too severely injured. Kai and Liesel were fine for the most part. Charlotte had been knocked unconscious when Thanatos collapsed, but her Exalted constitution eased her through any life-threatening injuries.

  As usual, he was the one who fared the worst.

  At least they’re all okay.

  Emil wasn’t sure what he would have done if he had saw one of their names inscribed on stone monument.

  “There he is.”

  He turned.

  Anna, Kai, and Liesel strode towards him, each of them in formal black outfits. Charlotte was missing as she had been retrieved by her parents from Isarelle a day prior. Aoife was making the rounds to console those in the crowd. Inadvertently, she had become something of a symbol of hope. Valkyrie’s striking appearance bestowed her an impression of the divine and her courageous actions during the incident had enamored her to the Isarelle residents.

  “How does it feel to be walking again?” Liesel asked with a mischievous grin.

  “Good. I might have gone mad if they confined me for a day longer,” he said while ignoring the scalding look that Anna was giving him. She had caught him on multiple occasions trying to sneak out of his hospital room when no staff was on duty. Emil suspected foul play, but he never managed to figure out how her timing was so perfect each time.

  “Well, this wasn’t exactly my idea of a fun and exciting week of festivities.”

  “Kai…” Anna shot him a nasty glance. He immediately raised his hands to surrender.

  “Relax. I’m just trying to liven the mood a bit,” he said as he scanned the crowd. Aside from the initial bombings, the Commerce District had escaped relatively unscathed from Thanatos’s collapse. Still, signs of destruction remained scattered around as the bulk of everyone’s attention were focused on restoring the Black Shoal and the flatten Administrative District.

  “…It really has been a terrible week, hasn’t it?”

  “We got lucky all things considered,” Anna said, “None of us suffered too terribly. Even my parents and the employee at the company managed to come out alive, minus a few unpleasant injuries.”

  Emil noticed Liesel’s downtrodden look as Anna and Kai continued to ramble. Even now, he could feel a few lingering gazes from the crowd in their direction. It was obvious what she was thinking. House Belle and the nobles had abandoned Isarelle to fend for themselves while Vigil and the inmates of Thanatos tore the city apart. Only after the conflict was over did they finally crawl out of their hiding spots and offer aid. By then, it was already too late.

  Where were they when we needed them the most? That was common sentiment shared amongst the civilians.

  If Liesel hadn’t arrived to help late into the conflict, then Isarelle might have already descended into revolt.

  Honestly, I’m not sure who I’m more disgusted by.

  Vigil’s actions were abhorred, but the nobility’s cowardice was despicable. There were murmurings within Steiger and Lionhearts that their absence was also politically motivated. By letting Thanatos fall, not only did the royal family lose a symbol of their authority, but the casualties suffered by Steiger and the Lionhearts would have also diminished their pool of Exalted. In other words, there was a high likelihood that the nobles sought to use the Isarelle tragedy for their own agenda.

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  “There you are.”

  An unexpected face entered into their conversation. Emil kept his face neutral, trying not to betray the fact that he was already acquainted with the lady adorned in Lionheart embroidered gear.

  “My name is Diana, and I lead a squadron of Lionhearts directly under Her Highness Princess Aoife,” she introduced herself with her usual impassive tone, “I’m going to ask the four of you to please come with me.”

  ***

  Diana’s demure vibe might have made it difficult for her to command obedience, but the Lionheart soldiers accompanying her more than made up for her lack of presence. A pair of giants towered beside her, eyeing the crowd with a stern gaze that encouraged the onlookers to yield space.

  Emil and his friends trailed closely behind. Kai and Anna were visibly tense while Liesel looked guarded. Their reactions were understandable—the Lionhearts had a stalwart reputation and they usually never interacted with civilians unless there was trouble. Emil tried to emanate their discomfort to blend in.

  “What do you think is going on?” Anna snuck in a whisper.

  Since they roped me in, the witch probably wants our help with something nasty.

  “No idea,” he replied instead. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that all four of them had played a role in fighting back against Vigil and the inmates of Thanatos.

  Diana led them inside a trading post within the Commerce District. The interior was noisy with activity. Staff were shuffling around with papers and documents. Urgent conversations were happening in the background. There was a semblance of organized chaos to the operation. Given the abundance of Lionheart personnel in the building, it appeared that this trading post had been temporarily repurposed into a base of operations.

  They were escorted to a room at the back. Emil stepped into the modestly furnished office. A familiar pressure weighed on his chest. He nearly winced as he found himself face-to-face with the current head of the Lionhearts.

  I didn’t realize he was back already. I thought their meeting with the Crown Prince would have taken longer.

  A summon by Rohan was never a pleasant affair.

  Diana closed the door as she wordlessly left them alone. A tense silence quickly settled in the room. Rohan didn’t say a single word, letting his guests feel the full weight of his presence as he scrutinized them with his draconian gaze. Emil caught a hint of unease from his friends in his periphery. He fought the urge to roll his eyes.

  How many times has he witnessed this playbook already? The Lionhearts had an indomitable reputation to uphold, and this was farce was one of the ways their leaders liked to do it. By making the other party uncomfortable and nervous with their authority, they ensured that they had an advantage in every discussion.

  I hate how I have to play along and pretend that I’m unnerved by this.

  Thankfully, Rohan didn’t wait too long to drop the act. The tension in the room lessened as he withdrew his pressure. The nervous energy in the air was still palpable, however, as his friends stood warily for the Lionheart to speak.

  “My name is Rohan. I’m the current head of House Lionheart and the right-hand to the royal family. First, I like to offer my sincere gratitude for your courageous actions during the Isarelle incident. The four of you performed brilliantly against Vigil and the Thanatos inmates despite your youth.”

  Would you look at that? He’s actually capable of flattery. Emil listened with disdain, trying not to be disturbed by the emotional whiplash of hearing Rohan spew out compliments. The man that he knew was a cruel and draconian superior who never spared time on platitudes. For him to be acting this way was a dangerous premonition.

  “Expect to be compensated accordingly for your deeds once you return to the Academy. And speaking of which—”

  Here it comes.

  “With Isarelle’s destruction, we’re in need of people to deal with the Vigil threat. His Highness Prince Aidan has requested the Council of Mana to step up their efforts. One of their decisions was to allow Academy students to participate in the Vigil subjugation as part of their Praxis. The four of you were identified to be prime candidates for such an effort.”

  Emil dug his nails into his palms. The Council of Mana really knows no shame. Instead of protecting the Academy students, they chose to incentivize them to do the Council’s dirty work instead. It wasn’t as though the dangers of Vigil wasn’t known—the Academy had a front-row seat to what they were capable of when they raided the Clash of Dawn banquet.

  What frustrated him the most was that he knew at least two of his three friends wouldn’t dare turn down this opportunity.

  Even if it was blatantly exploitative.

  “I’ll do it.”

  “It’ll be an honor.”

  “I accept.”

  Never mind, they’re all dumb as mules.

  “Of course,” he joined in at the end even though he never had a choice to begin with.

  ***

  Rohan gave them a quick debriefing. The four of them were to form a team under the leadership of an experienced Lionheart associate. Anna had some questions about why they were chosen given that they were just four freshmen who had barely completed a semester at the Academy. Rohan was quick to reassure her. Aside from Liesel who was the Prodigy and possessed a moniker, the rest of them had already demonstrated combat prowess that exceeded the average Academy graduate. Their performance against Vigil and the Thanatos inmates showed promise.

  Afterwards, Rohan asked to meet with each of them individually to discuss how they would like to be rewarded upon completion of this mission.

  As expected, Emil was the last one to enter.

  “I thought your face was going to fall apart with all the flattery that you were showering on my classmates,” he said defiantly after he shut the door close. He confirmed awhile ago that the walls of this room were noise-proofed even to an Exalted’s enhanced hearing.

  Rohan grunted with amusement. “Did the sight of me being lenient anger you?”

  “Not particularly. I was just enlightened by how two-faced you can be when you try.”

  “Learning how to wield masks is the key for any Steiger agent. You should be intimately familiar with this given your position.”

  Emil clicked his tongue. Well, he got me there. He maintained his belligerent attitude as he pulled a chair over. Truthfully, he was acting more defiant than usual. It was calculated. His defeat and capture of Melody Lain, one of the Vigil’s key members, was a monumental achievement towards the terrorist group’s subjugation. Finally, someone had a dealt a blow to the villains that had been terrorizing Ardair. Even Rohan had to show him some leniency after that.

  “So? What the hell are you all thinking? The Council of Mana is shameless for allowing its students participate in Vigil’s subjugation, but Steiger and Lionheart accepting their offer is even more disgusting.”

  “Like I said before, it was His Highness’s decree. He wants the Vigil threat gone within two months. We’re lacking trained personnel at the moment with Isarelle’s restoration and our normal duties of maintaining the status quo,” Rohan said, suddenly standing up. His hands went into a nearby drawer as he produced a syringe from its confines.

  “You seem to have a death wish with how much you’ve pushed yourself this time. Do you realize how pale you look?” he asked.

  Emil received the syringe and injected himself immediately. The relief was instant. The syringe contained a vial of blood from the Exalted who he received Blaze from. Truthfully, his condition was unstable. His internal pain had gotten worst over the past week. His body was once again beginning to reject the foreign body parts that he had been implanted with. A consequence of the Bestowed Project that he had to learn to live with.

  “…You speak as if I had a choice. The alternative was dying a dog’s death inside the Canticle.” He winced as he removed the needle from the base of his neck and tossed the empty syringe away. “And why do you care anyways? Since when did you give a shit?”

  “You’re impertinent, but you’re useful. Your achievements speak for themselves. I can concede that much.”

  For the next topic of their discussions, Rohan informed Emil of what his friends desired as their reward for the mission. Emil initially rejected the knowledge, feeling that it was too invasive for him to be privy to his friend’s private details.

  “Listen if you want your friends to survive. You’re going to be leading three inexperienced rookies into a hostile environment. You need a contingency in case they become disobedient. Remember, you can control a person as long as you know what’s important to them.”

  I hate how I’m swayed by this twisted logic.

  For Anna, it was connections, tax subsidies, and restoration of her family’s merchant company for the damages suffered during the Isarelle attacks.

  For Kai, it was state-of-the-art medicine and medical care for his bedridden mother.

  For Liesel, it was to restore House Belle’s honor for turning their backs against the Isarelle’s civilians.

  Liesel’s was a strange one, but Emil guessed that the request was worded vague on purpose to suit the Lionheart’s needs. Restoration of House Belle’s honor could have materialized in a number of ways, including more leniency should the royal family choose to punish those in the Noble’s Quarter.

  “You’re permitted to use Blaze on this mission if you deem it necessary.”

  Emil widened his eyes.

  “As usual, Steiger will not take responsibility for anything that happens,” Rohan continued, “In the ideal world, your value to the organization is higher if you can keep your nature a secret. Especially to the Ice Maiden. But I’ll leave it up to your discretion.”

  He had a terrible premonition.