"Remember to behave, Cale. I've had enough of cleaning after your messes."
"Don't you act like my mother, Maki." Cale scoffed and looked away. "And I'm not so brainless to cause a ruckus in the training grounds."
"But you would rather do it during the conference," Maki said, reminding Cale of the incident back in the conference room, when he questioned Eith's eligibility in the League in front of the crown prince.
Cale looked offended. He opened his mouth to say something but stuttered. "Th-That was just me being careful. The Ivy League has my best interests at—"
"Yeah, sure," Maki cut him off. He had already heard all of Cale's excuses by now. Why can't he just admit that he was born a prick?
Cale glared at him from the side. He lifted his arms back and unsheathed the double swords on his back. He positioned himself. "Let's duel. You and I. Right now."
Cale was a dual sword wielder. Both of his swords were a family heirloom of the Mortisse House, passed down for generations—glinting silver blades, a spiraling, ribbed hilt with a green moonstone gem encrusted to each. It had the words Honor and Duty carved on the flat sides of the blades.
Maki internally sighed. "Combat isn't my specialty, and you know that."
They were in Crescent Peak's training grounds—a large courtyard that was located at the back of the Cerulean Palace. They were at the edge of Crescent Peak; if they went any further, they would fall down to the sea and get swallowed by the waves.
"Well, you must be good enough to be named the second most powerful mage in the world," Cale said, swords still in both hands.
Maki sighed. "Yes, but I'm an exorcist." Maki explained it to him as if he were talking to a child. "You do know what that means, right? I exorcise demonic creatures such as the kreggs."
He held up the black book he always carried around with him to remind Cale. It was a thick volume that had a black cover and a black spine. It had a chain that connected it to Maki's belt, and a latch that kept the book closed and secured. Much like Cale's dual greenstone swords, the Black Book was a Grifferdean family heirloom that was passed down for generations.
"Can I touch it?" Cale reached a finger to do so at the same time Maki hid the book from him.
"Absolutely not!"
"I just wanna—"
"You don't understand, do you? The Black Book is an artifact of exorcism and is the only one in existence. Do you realize how many kreggs are stored inside of this?!"
Maki put the book back into its leather parcel as he lectured Cale. "One wrong move and you could unleash the hundreds of kreggs that my ancestors have stored in here."
The Grifferdean family—Maki's family—was a family entrusted to keepsake the Black Book for exorcism. It allowed them to use the kreggs for their own use once they have successfully killed and exorcised the dark spirit of the kregg, then the Black Book would be the storage of those dark spirits. Unlike the rest of the Ivy League, Maki did not use any moonstones.
The reason why Maki was the second most powerful mage—with Nishian Peritile as the first most powerful—was mainly because of the Black Book. It required years of training and immense kalu power before it was officially handed to him. If it were given to a slightly less groomed person, it would have led to something called 'spirit possession'. The holder of the Black Book would have been overtaken by dark spirits and led down to an evil path.
"So, no," Maki said. "No touching of the Black Book. I just told you to behave yourself."
Cale raked his fingers through his red hair. "Dammit. I wasn't intending to flip it open. I just wanted to feel the material."
Maki, who's had enough, pushed his glasses up his nose. "Still a no. Let's go. You're sparring with Eith today."
"You're kidding!" Cale stepped backwards in surprise, which caused his back to collide with someone's front. He scowled, then slowly turned. "Who the hell—?"
Nique and Cale glowered at each other. Maki froze at the stormy tension that clouded in the atmosphere. Beside Nique was his bowtie-wearing servant, Sergei, who still looked like he had murderous intentions at anybody he looked at.
Sergei gave Maki a tight-lipped smile. Ahh, it's that smile again.
Cale said, "Woah!" He leaped back. He tilted his head like he saw something strange. "Your eyes are red. Wait—have you been crying?!"
Nique, who looked every bit annoyed, turned his head away. "And why would I be crying?! Some lemon juice got into my eyes! Lay off and move it, cow-face. You're in the way!" He shouldered his way past Cale, who just honestly looked stunned.
"Rude much?" Cale muttered as he watched the two leave. "Can't believe someone as arrogant as him has someone following him around. Must be hard for that bowtie."
Maki massaged the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "You know, you and Monique have similar personalities." It was true. If Nique and Cale had met under different circumstances, they might even become good friends.
Cale laughed. He laughed so hard that he snorted. He pointed an appreciative finger at his companion. "Good one, Maki. I didn't know you had a wicked sense of humor."
He walked away, shoulders shaking in laughter, and Maki just stood there, confused and wondering what was so funny. But he never really understood Cale fully well. He understood Cale by the size of a jar when the things he still tried to figure out about him was the size of a dam. Cale spoke a different language sometimes.
"Hey, fresh meat!" Maki heard Cale shout. Cale was walking towards where Eith stood conversing with Micah.
Eith jumped, then hesitantly turned to Cale like he was unsure on what to do next. Eith pointed at himself. "M-Me?"
"Who else?" Cale said. And then he stood in a stance—legs wide apart, dual swords in front of him in an X. "I heard we're up against each other. Fight me!"
Micah held out a hand. "Hold on. Eith and I are still in the middle of—"
Cale let out a battle cry. He sprinted forward towards Eith, swords ramrod straight behind him. He sped like the wind.
Maki gritted his teeth. "Cale!" Not again.
Eith raised his axe in front of him horizontally just as Cale's swords clashed with the axe's handles, and both red and green moonstones pulsed to life at the sudden collision.
A surge of power vibrated in the air, and that was when both Eith and Cale skidded backwards, the space between them distancing. Dust gathered around their feet just as their momentum stopped.
"Cale! That was uncalled for!"
It was Maki who lectured him, but Cale probably could not hear him anyways, because the look on his face was nowhere near rational. He was smiling like he knew he was the destroyer.
He whirled the swords in his hands. "Give me your best shot, Hansel!"
He rushed forward for the second time, and Maki could only watch as Eith countered with a swish of his blade in the air. It cut through the air like a knife on a fruit. Cale stumbled a few steps but managed to regain his footing.
Cale closed in on Eith's space, then his whole body swiveled in the air. Eith flew himself back but he was too slow as Cale's blade cut a piece of his caramel hair. The lock feathered down to the ground.
Cale did this again and again and again, forcing Eith to retreat backwards. Maki saw Eith glimpse at Micah, and Micah nodding at Eith as if he allowed him something. Suddenly, Eith raised his axe and swung it down.
Down to the brick floor. Bam!
Cale flew into the air as the whole courtyard shook and tremored, trees quaking and birds flying out of their nests. Maki felt the ground vibrate underneath his feet as he watched Cale crash, sliding into the ground, and taking some of the bricks with him.
He groaned as he arched his back, gritting his teeth. His buttocks were implanted into the dirt. "Curse you, Hansel! I didn't know you were that powerful!"
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Cale. He slowly opened his eyes to peer up at a furious Maki, who held his hands on his waist.
Cale released an embarrassing sound as his collar was seized. Maki pulled him into a silent corner behind the trees, far away from the others to hear.
Cale visibly gulped. "I'm sorr—"
"Are you crazy?" Maki hissed at his face. "Going after an unprepared Eith??"
"We were up against each other anyway! He had it coming to him. If he had his guards up he—"
"Oh! So, it's totally his fault if he died if you happen to attack him during his sleep, then?"
"Well... yes! As a member of the Ivy League, he should be alert at all times—"
"So, I guess it's okay for me to do this."
Suddenly, Cale was blasted backwards as he was hit with a surge of power. He crashed into the deep thorny bushes, back hitting the roots of a tree. He grimaced. "Hey!"
Maki had his hand aimed at him, visible dark blue kalu encoated his hands as he released an immense amount of energy.
"What are you so angry for? It's your fault I caught you 'off-guard'," Maki mimicked, turning the tables on him.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it."
"What did you mean, then? Endulge me."
In a matter of minutes, he already had his grasp on Cale's front tunic. Cale yelped as he was powerfully tossed away like he weighed nothing.
He rolled and rolled on the ground as his momentum stopped. Cale tasted the grass in his tongue. Both of his swords were discarded somewhere he could not see.
"Stop that!" he yelled at Maki.
"It's been a year since you joined the League," Maki said, striding closer and closer. Once again, he grabbed Cale by the collar and lifted him up so their faces where level.
"You better know how to treat your comrades right, because someday, it'll save your ass and theirs!"
He unleashed his hold on Cale. The dirtied, red-haired hothead dropped to the ground, wheezing.
Maki dusted off his trousers. "Don't come looking for me unless you've made peace with Eith."
And with that, he left Cale on the ground.
•••
Someone snickered from above.
Cale craned his neck upwards, and only to spot a twelve-year old boy with a terrible haircut.
Kriss sat on a branch on top of a tall tree, legs dangling down and swinging like he was witnessing the greatest show of his life.
Cale scoffed as he looked away. "I bet you enjoyed that, huh?"
Kriss laughed even harder, slapping the wooden bark beside him. "Oh, yes. It was spectacular." He hopped off the branch he was sitting on and glided down the trunk of the tree. He landed on the grass on the cushions of his feet.
Cale heard a metal shing as Kriss' heels click-clacked in suspense. When he looked to, a knife was pointing directly right at him, and a smiling Kriss was bent down.
"Maki finally had enough of your stupidity. I was just waiting for this moment," Kriss said as he skimmed it down Cale's neck, down to his Adam's apple, which bobbed in nervousness.
Cale curled his lip. "Get your freaky toys away from me."
Surprisingly enough, Kriss did as he said. He tossed the knife in the air and caught it with one hand, his other hand in his pocket.
He said, "If this is how you perform, then we're doomed for the Goodwill Season. We don't want the Lilac Union tramping over the Ivy League just because of your idiocy."
"Tch." Cale looked away with his brows furrowed as Kriss, too, walked away from him.
"You better make amends with the novice. Not a lot of people can tick Maki off, and if he does get ticked, then that's how you know you screwed up."
Cale knew that well. Cale knew that from the moment Maki started throwing him around like useless garbage.
He wrapped his fingers on a rock and threw it somewhere far away.
Dammit.
Oof. Enjoyed this chapter?
~Give it a vote~