Chapter 52: Ants are Fearsome

I decided rather than magician, I think sorcerer has a nicer ring to it, so from now on, I will use sorcerer instead of magician.

enjoy
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"Catch her, the Flare Witch is here!" 

           "She's badly injured, don't let her get away!" 

            "She ran toward the west, hurry up and follow her!" 

            The soldiers while keeping tabs on their surrounding, quickly ran between the trees, maneuvering themselves across the forest, following the one witch they swore to pass judgement. Just when their shadows finally disappeared, I came out from behind the trees. I let out a huge gasp, taking in as much as air as I could after running endlessly from them. My clothes and body were tattered with blood, cuts and bruises. Blood was also flowing out from my side while and I barely could contain it with my mana as first aid. 

            "Damn it all!" I cursed with my sore voice. I was about to run back toward the city, despite being injured and barely having any energy, I pushed myself without care. I then noticed the odd light coming from my wrist. It came from the lead bracelet carved with a magic circle given before the mission. 

            "Why? This isn't part of the plan!" 

            The light enveloped my whole body and clouding my sight. The next instant, my surrounding change from the forest's greenery to an old wooden storage. The old storage had just been clean, but already dust flew everywhere. Other than the two small oil lamps, the moonlight gave light through the single small window, giving complete view of the room. Barrels containing alcohol placed at the corner, the empty shelve now used as nest, the worried look of two women dressed as maids at the edge of a magic circle carved on the floor. 

            The two women came up to me in a hurry, trying to look at my wounds and possibly tend to it. I felt bad but I wasn't in a good mood that time. I pushed one of them aside crudely, and pulled on the other's collar. Even without looking at myself, I knew I had a horrifying look that I could understand them from flinching and shudder from me. 

            "Where is Merlin? He told you to teleport me did he?!" 

             The woman could only nod at me without answering anything else. I pushed her aside and went straight out the storage cabin. The night felt like day when I went out, just like any other night I spent here. Bulbs of light floating at every corner, noisy crowds huddled at their own base, I looked for sign crows and one passed by me as I did. The crow rest itself at a dead tree, looking toward me with eyes filled with intelligence. I paused as well to look at it and it then flew away toward the highest part of the cliff where you can climb. 

            This place may at first look isolated, at the back, a dark forest where you couldn't get any light by the day, ahead was a cliff with many caves used by some of us to live by or do business in. 

            What I mean by 'us' I meant sorcerers. 

            I chanted a spell so I could fly and followed the trail the crow went. At the top of the cliff, there were familiar people, dressed in uniform as if to show they were different from those below. That they were better, and that they have power. 

            "MERLIN!" 

            Without a second thought, I stormed passed them at full speed. None could react quickly to catch me. I stop at the feet of a man who sat on a stone chair. I ready my stance and made a straight kick aiming at his throat. An unknown force hit my feet, messing my aim and send it sideways next to my target's neck. 

             Reflected in my green eyes, was a man clad with blue robe. He has a straight dark blond up to his shoulder, while he sat he showed off his long legs normal people won't have. What gave impact to his appearance was the mask of an owl he wore up to his nose and at his right side of his mouth, anyone could see the faint burn scar imprinted.  He stood up from his chair and slowly came up to me with a gentle smile. 

             "Dear Claudia, don't you realize you're injured? You should go and be treated, after that we could talk as much as you want."

             "Why did you teleport me back? I was supposed to use it myself when the mission is over!"

             "The mission IS over Claudia, you're the only one who doesn't feel that way." 

            "I have unfinished business!"

            The fake soothing smile he had began to fade, and his tone became a lot more serious. "Of what Claudia? The mission succeeded, it may not have gone as smooth as we planned but there should be no reason for you to go back."

            "You should know why, Astrid is there!" 

            Merlin took my answer in silent and then gave of a sigh as if he was tired of my reaction toward humans. "Flare, our main mission tonight was to bring distrust between the capital and the church, and to free our sorcerer comrades during the confusion" 

            "And that mission would have been a failure if it hadn't been for Astrid!"

             "No, it ended up as half a failure, the church now has stronger bond with the capital after knowing we were behind all of it." 

           "And she is now captured because of letting us escape, and are you saying we should leave her just like that?"

           "Yes"

            "Don't joke with me Mer–"

             I'M NOT JOKING!" He said it while putting in his mana, creating a shock wave that gave silence to me. "We barely made it out alive after that incident, are you saying you want us to go back and risk our lives to help a single human?"

               "Yes."

              "Don't be so arroga-"

              "AND I'M NOT!" I said it without losing to his voice, "Astrid.....the one you kept labeling as a human, is also my friend and we have a bond as strong as a family. I wouldn't suggested this if she hadn't risk her life for us, but listen well! What good does this group does if we only do the same thing as what they did to us, we're different from that and I know we're better than that! That's why you should know this, If I lose her then you will lose me, your choice to make Boss!" 

             I turn my back on his and started walking away. His subordinates block my way but none dared enough to attack. I was about to fly away when someone took my hand and held me in his arm. I knew it was Merlin. He held me close without giving me a chance to push myself back while whispering to my ears. 

             "I can never seem to win an argument with you, or is it because I am to weak if I loose you? Your friend would not be put down immediately so you should take the night off, you're tired, and you need rest. " 

              I looked at his covered face and saw his eyes changing colors, I knew he was looking at me with deep caring eyes, eyes he claimed he wouldn't give to anyone but me. 

              "I should remind you, even if you're doing this for me, my feelings would not change just like that." I thought he would get discouraged if I said that, but instead he smiled with full confidence. "I never imagine it would be easy with you."

#

The second day in S Class, I had personally ask whether I could observe the other kids. Since my purpose isn't just practicing sign language, I want to see it with my own eyes the special abilities the S Class has. Following my personal request,  Prof. Dalton led me to where a girl named Carol was out at the soccer field. It was not in use at the moment so she and the few adults were the only one at this empty field. They give consent to our presence in her regular test, Carol was older than me and yet she was a lot shorter. She was so small that it took a second before I accepted she was older. She has curly blond hair up to her waist, fair white skin, pale lips, and her eyes were colorless. She was wearing and frilly white one piece, she suddenly turned her head toward me and looked surprise somehow before she hurriedly look away. 

            "What kind of power does she have? From what I could tell, she seems to have the ability to control animals."

            "Incorrect, but you're close. You should watch her first."  

           The small girl crouched while looking without direction. We were all silent as we wait for her respond, I on the hand didn't even know what we were waiting for. 

            "Yesterday, the boys from Class 5 and Class 3 from the middle school section played soccer for PE, two from Class 5 cheated by using their power, they got caught and got detention for a week it seems. The one responsible was a kid name Andy, he has a piercing in his left ear and wore a pair of glasses, his friend is...."

            Carol talked a lot about the events happened yesterday in great detail as if she saw it all with her own eyes. "Psychometric? No, that wouldn't explain how she could control animals." 

            "It not of the sort, her ability is actually to be able to understand and converse with any languages. Whether it is only her first time hearing, she could understand France, Japanese, Greek, including animals." What with that?! That's so cool! It's one thing to understand animals, but to talk with any language including animals sounds really awesome. "Right now, she's conversing with the nearest insects or other small animals to grasp the situation of yesterday."

             After he said that, Carol stood up and said she was done. The researchers looked satisfied and said she could take a break. Carol noticed me looking at her with amazement and smile at me. Certainly her sweet demeanor and her soft smile gave off a doll like vibe from her. 

             "don't think you'll get special treatment from me just cause you're powerless B!$&h, so don't get conceited."

              Hmm, that's weird, did I just misheard her somehow?

             "You didn't misheard her by the way, as I said, Carol knows how to use lots of language." He said, responding to my sudden silence. Certainly she knows many languages that I wouldn't have imagine, but didn't anyone teach her how to use them?

            "Carol, today the result is brilliant, keep it up and you might reach a new height." 

            "Shut up fathead, your praise are getting more annoying"

              "Carol, you're a girl, shouldn't you talk a little more.....softly?"

             "How I talk is none of your business!" 

              "Carol....do you want a–"

              "Don't talk to me, virgin!"

               All the adults got shot down by her one after another and none could talk back at her. "Why aren't the adults angry. It's not like she has anything to threaten with."

             I saw then how Prof. Dalton look away for a second before he answered. "Let's just say the last person that made her angry had his laptop infested with ants and short-circuited it, he lost all data in it including his life's worki, resulting him quitting his job."

           She can not only talk but request animals to do her dirty work. I have to admit, short-circuiting a laptop with ants is just pure genius. After getting tired watching from the sidelines, Prof. Dalton came up to the fray. Carol must have heard his footsteps because she turn toward where he was walking toward to. 

            "Carol, it's me."

            "This voice....Prof. Dalton!" She came up to him fast and slam on his knee. "I'm so happy you're here" she said with a lot more loving smile. Talk about a 180 degree change. "What's up with her?" 

              "She is very obedient over certain adult, once she's like that, it'll be easier to get for her to listen." Said Carol's supervisor. 

              "What kind of certain adult does she listens to?"

              "Apparently, young and handsome man to her taste."

             My jaw drop after listening to him and went back looking at the blind girl. "How does she knew which one is her taste?" 

            The supervisor sigh and stroke his temple, "That we'd like to know as well" 

             Looks like the kids in S Class are special in more way than one. It was for a moment that I felt another presence watching us. I looked behind where the reserve bench was placed and found Foax was there standing next to it. It wasn't long after that he went back toward the school building and left the field. 

             What's up with him?

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