Jun, who believed himself to be the strongest, wept inside when he heard Ophelia's words, but he couldn't deny that she spoke the truth. Aurelius's light magic and Raven's dark magic seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. Although he could use all types of magic, he'd still have a difficult time against them... Best to change the topic.
"Lia, dinner is ready. Come eat."
Hurling a 'humph' at the Mage, Ophelia trudged over to the campfire to join her parents in dinner. They ate in relative serenity while the other party set up camp on the opposite side from them. After dinner, they sat around the campfire to watch the night sky. Aurelius and Ophelia talked a lot, Jun talked enough, and Raven didn't talk at all, merely concentrating on feeding Jun some sliced fruit.
Such a harmonious sight caused the other party to feel overwhelmed by various levels of sourness. The women, in particular, found it inappropriate for a man, a blind one at that, to be showered with affection by two very handsome and capable men. Sensing the blatant animosity through their bitter stares, Jun laughed. Didn't these people leave Aurelius for dead? They hadn't even bothered to examine if he was dead nor bothered to bury his "corpse."
Ophelia tugged on Jun's shirt, distracting him from his thoughts. "Daddy."
"Hmm?"
"I know we're going to Gondoa for my birthday, but would I be able to have something else?"
Jun smiled and patted her head. "Of course. What would you like?"
"I want a mask just like Father's."
The mask Jun made for Raven was exquisite but not suitable for a little girl. "Is a different design ok?"
"Yes!"
"Then find me a piece of wood you'd like me to—"
"Already did!" Ophelia handed over the piece of wood she found not too long ago and had been holding onto. This wood was of a unique color, burgundy, and she very much appreciated it. Jun felt the wood in his hands, reading its properties through magic.
Right in front of everyone's eyes, including those from the other party, the wood began to bend and transform as it was molded into a beautiful mask by Jun, decorated by stunning carved flowers. Without a magic staff, wand, spells, or magic words, and within a matter of 15 seconds, such breathtaking, complicated magic was performed.
"Done." Jun presented the mask to Ophelia for her appraisal. "Do you like it?"
Unable to hold back, Ophelia threw herself into Jun's arms. "I love it! Thank you, daddy..."
Again, the other party was blinded by such a sweet scene. That young man was indeed a Mage, a very powerful one, perhaps as powerful as the little girl insisted. After witnessing this spectacle, the two Swords stood up, their decision made. They ambled over to where Jun sat on the ground.
"You..." One of them started. "Can you completely purify corruption?"
Jun "looked" at them and nodded. "I can, but for you to remain purified, you'll have to stop being Swords."
Such a thing wasn't entirely surprising. They knew of Aurelius, a fellow Sword, and after observing him without his Sword all day, this was within their expectations. Then again, did he need a Sword when he could produce such outstanding magic earlier, so effortlessly?
In that case, they were better off learning from Aurelius's experience. "...Would, would you be willing to teach us magic?"
"No. I'm willing to purify but not teach." The two Swords blanched. Jun's response was not following the script?
"Why not?" The other Sword complained.
"If I do, then all the Swords will want to become my students and I don't have the patience for that." They had to admit it was a reasonable excuse. Despite the white hair, he was still a young man with a whole life ahead of him. "I can, however, impart onto you two important knowledge regarding magic and you could self-learn through trial and error, which might be more rewarding..."
The two Swords elected to risk it. Having earned more than enough money to live a lifetime in comfort, they had no regrets. Unlike Aurelius, who was in his 20s, they were well into their 30s. Retiring wasn't an issue for them, but they hoped to be able to defend against Dark Flames, just in case.
"Alright, then, please purify our corruption."
There was nothing pleasant about being corrupted. Swords constantly suffered from fatigue, migraines, depression, paranoia, and nightmares, leaving them volatile and unpredictable. Shields could lessen those symptoms but they were always temporary fixes requiring too much time, inefficient, and somewhat ineffective.
As such, it was surprising for the two Swords and other members of Sofia Magdalen's party to find the Swords completely purified of corruption within less than ten minutes. For the first time in years, the two Swords were clear-minded, unburdened by the darkness that shrouded their thoughts and actions. They couldn't thank Jun enough.
From thereon, Jun explained the reason behind the Swords' corruption, and they understood what he meant by they'd have to cease being Swords.
"You're saying we are both capable of using light and dark magic?" One of the now ex-Swords asked.
"Hmm, let me check again." Jun held the man's hand in his. From the sidelines, Aurelius and Raven glared daggers at the Swords and sweat slid down the backs of their necks. Oblivious, Jun continued, his tone off-put. "You seem to also have the aptitude for wind magic... Swords really are capable, huh?"
Said the person capable of utilizing all types of magic.
Jun took the other Sword's hand. "And you have an additional aptitude for fire magic. Unfortunately, both of you lack the essential water magic aptitude to destroy Dark Flames, but you can still weaken them with light magic. That alone should be enough..."
The two Swords sobbed, their ugly, fat tears startling Jun into an awkward position. "I'm sorry? I have no control over a person's aptitude..."
"N-No, that's not it," One of them said, kneeling on one knee after planting his sword into the ground. The other Sword followed his example. "Really, truly, thank you... Thank you."
"Oh, you're welcome..." Unused to being shown such gratitude, Jun backed up and scratched his nose.
|Dearest Host, you've unlocked another Side Mission: Purify 100 Swords of their corruption.|
|Another one? This world sure has a lot of them...|
|It's because it's an open-ended world, Host.|
|Ok, I accept. Does the 4 I already purified count?|
|Yes, my dearest Host! Presently, your Side Mission progress is 4/100.|
"How can you believe such nonsense!?" Sofia Magdalen screeched, dragging Jun back to reality. "He's just a blind person! And look at his hair! He's definitely a bad omen!"
To clarify, Jun was a Dark Omen. And why did she have to bring his hair up? Jun touched his hair with an insecure expression. Was it an off-white kind of white? Was his hairstyle that bad?
From behind him, Jun discerned a killing intent from Aurelius. "Don't, Ark." He said. "I don't care if she believes me or not."
"But, she just called you—"
"I might be blind but I'm not a bad omen. I am..." Jun discarded his blindfold, unafraid. "... a Dark Omen."
The blindfold had always been a means to maintain peace for their family. Except for Aurelius, Raven, and Ophelia, Jun didn't care what other people thought of him. The two Swords from the other party were unfazed, but Sofia Magdalen and the rest, however, retreated and pointed their fingers accusingly at Jun.
"It was you! You wanted to kill us so you attracted those Dark Flames to our party earlier!" Violetta Valerie, the other Shield, one that had stayed silent until then, spoke at last. Her eyes shot to Aurelius's figure pitifully but he didn't pay attention, his gaze remaining on Jun.
Laughing, Jun shook his head. "Please, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to use the Dark Flames. I'd just send Ark."
Aurelius had been waiting for this, his arms wrapping around Jun's waist. "You called, baby?"
"Let's go to bed..." Jun yawned. Without another word, he was picked up by Aurelius and carried into the wooden house, Raven and Ophelia trailing behind. Before the door closed, Raven delivered the other party a malicious, warning glance, sending shivers down their spines.
The next day Jun woke up feeling refreshed and went out to the nearby river to wash up. Though he could use magic for that, he preferred to do things himself, lest he became too lazy, which was already difficult with Aurelius and Raven around prepared to carry him everywhere. Beside him was the silent member of Sofia Magdalen's party, the Royal Knight assigned to guard her, Laurent Kingsley.
Jun's blindfold was still off, and he was being scrutinized with a guarded look by the other man. Not caring a bit, he left the riverside to start on breakfast.
"How can he move with such ease while blind? It must be because he's a Dark Omen." Violetta Valerie spoke some nonsense to Sofia Magdalen, who nodded in agreement.
Jun, who heard them, replied: "It's just magic."
After breakfast, Jun "demolished" the house, to the amazement of those who hadn't seen such an event. His party of four resumed their journey to Gondoa, Sofia Magdalen's party following at a distance, including the two ex-Swords. As they made their way to Gondoa, Jun's party noticed something strange.
Although they didn't often leave Illia, they left half a year ago to release some agitation, and at that time their number of run-ins with Dark Flames wasn't quite as drastic as now. It wasn't an exaggeration to assert their entire pathway was littered with Dark Flames.
"Have I evolved as a Dark Omen?" Jun wondered aloud.
"Babe, that's not funny," Raven said as he rained down some light swords, weakening the Dark Flames to the point they scattered. Light magic alone couldn't destroy Dark Flames. The most it could do was weaken them to the point of dispersing, which was what Swords always did and the reason Dark Flames persisted as a constant problem.
Only with the combination of light and water magic could the Dark Flames be destroyed, but people with the aptitude for both kinds were rare, although you wouldn't think that when encountering Jun's party, where 3 of the four members had such aptitudes.
"How else would you explain this then?" Jun gestured at the thousands of Dark Flames surrounding them, exasperated.
"Daddy, it could be that there's another Dark Omen nearby," Ophelia said. Immediately, Aurelius and Raven glimpsed that there were at least two people's reactions that were suspicious. "Remember when I was a Dark Omen? Or that one village?"
"Oh yeah."
Nearly five years ago, Jun and Ophelia had been swamped by Dark Flames shortly after leaving town G. Although they didn't do anything to them, they stalked them for quite some time until Jun "cured" Ophelia. As for the village she was talking about, it was one they visited not long after that, where there were five Dark Omens in the village and the amount of Dark Flames was 25x the population. It was somewhat ridiculous.
"Hmm, how interesting." Jun wasn't stupid, having already noticed that other than him and Ophelia, a few others weren't being attacked by the Dark Flames. "Their scars must be easy to conceal."
Not only were their scars well hidden but they themselves were. Two of them needed protection while the other was an active attacker, but if someone were to pay close attention, they'd see the Dark Flames glide past the two being protected and had no resistance against the one attacking. The nerve of one of them to slander him yesterday.
Everyone in the other party heard Jun's words. Although most were often skeptical of everything he did or said, the panic this time made them believe him.
"Who is it!?" Sofia Magdalen demanded.
"It's probably her, her and... him." Jun pointed them out, his finger pausing at the man he "met" by the river that morning. As for the other two, it was the Shield Violetta Valerie and the Healer Lucinda Duskbloom.
"Kingsley, you...!"
"Your highness..." Laurent Kingsley kneeled, imploring forgiveness. "I—"
"Alright, alright, it's not a big deal. I can just cure them." Jun said.
"... What?" More than one person gasped.
With his nose held high, Jun declared: "It's simple. It's just magic!"
—
A/N: I reached my average word requirement so stopping there lol. Psst... next chapter has smut 😂 Anyway, I mentioned before that I'm not satisfied with the next arc and wanted to rewrite it. I have the idea so hopefully, I can get it out before this arc ends... 😶
Also, has anyone read Cub Raising Association? It's super fluffy and mainly about raising cubs. The romance is kinda a side note but still cute... I might write a smutty fanfic for it... 😂