Chapter 16 (part 2/2) - Hero

  Saito, the hero, said nothing. He took a second to decide what to do. It was only an instant, an initial reaction, but Vincent noticed that after hiding that strange screen, the hero’s hand instinctively reached toward his back, searching for the hilt of his sword.

  What had he seen? It looked like a hologram, but it wasn’t anything he recognized from Earth. It didn’t flicker, it didn’t blink. It was a solid screen of light, modern in appearance, that had manifested in front of the hero and then vanished.

  Is it some kind of gift like the one Lily has? What does it allow him to do? See the status and characteristics of things… and of himself? That was what it seemed like.

  He knew the best course was to forget it, not to interfere with what he had just witnessed, but his curious mind couldn’t help digging deeper. Was it possible for a normal person to have an ability like that? Could he himself also have a computer at his disposal? It didn’t seem to follow any known magical logic. The magic of this world was archaic, dependent on runes, mantras, and spells, bound to the whims of the spiritual energy that permeated everything, not confined to a system or an interface capable of generating a data window.

  The hero chose not to draw his sword. It wouldn’t have been appropriate… to messy. Instead, he turned his body toward Vincent with unsettling resolve and stepped closer. He examined him quickly, measuring his bearing, but didn’t say a single word. He simply raised his hand and showed his palm in Vincent’s direction.

  A blinding light burst forth from it. Luminous engravings, similar to those of a magic circle, materialized in front of his palm, but only the runes manifested, as if he could create these complex circles directly in midair.

  “Greater Memory Obliteration.”

  The hero’s voice was calm, almost indifferent, as he aimed directly at Vincent’s head. The magic circles began to rotate and expand, emitting an audible pulse as the spell charged.

  Everything happened too fast. Vincent had no time to react. When faced with new information, he tended to freeze to process it, and in that instant the information was overwhelming. The magic the hero was manifesting followed a logic of its own, closer to a spell pulled straight out of a video game than to anything integrated into this world’s reality.

  The sonic pulse kept intensifying, accumulating energy, preparing to be released.

  What would happen if that spell hit me? Would it erase only my memory… or my entire being?

  Everything he had fought to preserve was about to be destroyed by a teenager.

  With a bit of luck he might be able to dodge it at the last second, but then what? Could he dodge a second attack? What if the hero decided to strike him directly? Saito had a sword. Vincent was holding nothing but a broom, taken only to make it look like he was cleaning.

  The next second would be crucial.

  Maybe I can convince him I didn’t see anything. Maybe I can beg…

  “Saito.”

  A female voice echoed from a nearby corridor.

  “Saito, where are you?”

  A very pretty girl with large green eyes, hazel hair, and huge curls appeared from behind one of the dusty machines. Saito had no choice but to interrupt his spell for the moment. But Vincent was still not out of danger.

  “Ah! There you are at last!” The girl ran toward him, holding her ridiculously oversized witch’s hat with one hand and carrying an elaborate, expensive staff with the other. “Why did you disappear? You said we could spend some time alone!”

  The sorceress threw herself at him, wrapping him in her arms and kissing him on the cheek.

  “Huh? And who’s this?” the girl asked when she noticed Vincent, who was still standing in the same spot.

  He wasn't paralyzed by anything. He was thinking and had come to the conclusion that staying where he was , would be the best way to save his own skin. To anyone else’s eyes, Vincent looked like just another empty husk. Plain clothes, a vacant stare, and a mop in hand, he had chosen to maintain his husk appearance for purely pragmatic reasons. Wearing ornate attire would be wasted on him anyway, since his magical capacity didn’t allow him to use conventional spells in the first place. Dressing like a resurrected would only distance him from his future customers… maybe they would respect him more, but it wouldn’t necessarily draw them closer.

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  That decision to keep up his husk image had saved him. After a second look, and a bit of acting on Vincent’s part, the hero reconsidered the threat he posed. Without much concern, after pulling his hand away from Vincent’s head, Vincent simply began moving the mop as if nothing had happened, completely dismissing the pair of adventurers. That was what finally made the hero lower his guard.

  “Hmmm… nothing, don’t worry about it. I was just checking on some of my old inventions. And he’s just a husk passing by.”

  “Then let’s go already! It’s so rare that we get to be alone, I don’t want to share you with the others!”

  “All right, all right… but I still have to finish a few things first. Tell the princess we’ll meet at the summit in an hour.”

  The girl was happy, but the hero had no intention of leaving just yet. If Vincent wanted to escape, it had to be now. So, still moving his mop, he cleaned his way in the opposite direction until he slipped out of their sight.

  The pair talked a bit longer until the girl finally took her leave, and moments later Vincent heard quick footsteps heading his way. The hero was after him, but running now would only expose him; his only option was to keep playing the part of a husk and hope for the best.

  “Hey you! Stop right there!”

  But Vincent kept cleaning in the opposite direction, pretending not to understand the language while putting some distance between them.

  “I said stop right there… ENSNARE!”

  The hero cast a spell, and magical sigils manifested beneath Vincent’s feet, binding him to the floor and restricting his movement. The spell didn’t seem to follow any known arcane logic; it was closer to something straight out of a video game.

  “I told you to stop.”

  The hero ordered as he caught up to him. He didn’t look particularly angry, but a cautious gaze remained fixed on Vincent’s face.

  “Emm… ah… mm…”

  Vincent, humiliating as it was, babbled something, imitating his initial condition back when he still seemed like an idiot. He tried to look confused, not frightened, as if he didn’t understand why his feet wouldn’t move.

  “Can you understand what I’m saying?” the hero asked. Vincent tilted his head uncertainly in response.

  “Looks like he can’t…” Saito confirmed to himself, dispelling the vines and freeing him.

  Vincent didn’t run right away. Saito didn’t look fully convinced, and he couldn’t give him any reason to grow suspicious. Even so, the hero raised his hand toward him again, this time with a different spell.

  “Status!”

  A luminous window, almost like a hologram, manifested in front of Vincent. It wasn’t under his control nor meant for him; the values and letters appeared inverted. Saito was examining him.

  Shit… what’s going on? What data is he seeing?

  Panic rose in his throat, but it vanished immediately when, with a gesture from the hero, the window dissolved in front of him.

  “Meh…”

  After quickly reviewing his magical capabilities, the hero dismissed Vincent as a threat. He didn’t know exactly what data had been checked, but thankfully no alert appeared indicating that Vincent was listed as a “Resurrected” in the official records.

  “Sorry for scaring you, Vin… you can get back to work.”

  He knows my name…

  Vincent almost nodded, almost reacted. Understanding and responding would have given him away, but he was perceptive enough to keep his gaze vacant, feigning ignorance.

  “Oh, right… you don’t understand me.”

  The hero realized this, then manifested another spell with his hand.

  “Inventory!”

  And near him, a square portal opened. The hero slipped his hand inside and pulled out a small object wrapped in parchment paper.

  “Here, for the trouble. It’s chocolate, it’s delicious… don’t tell the others where you got it.”

  The hero took Vincent’s hand and forced the sweet into his palm. But Vincent was far more interested in the spatial storage he had just witnessed. After handing over the chocolate, Saito vanished without another word into the maze of forgotten prototypes, leaving Vincent alone with everything that had just happened.

  Once again, Vincent had escaped death… or at least the death of his self.

  He had believed himself safe within the tower. He thought his greatest problems would be financial solvency and the scholars threatening to extract his memories. He believed that by keeping away from the outside world, from monsters and expeditions, he would be protected. He was wrong.

  In his current state, he had no way to defend himself. He had no offensive spells, no combat abilities of any kind. He was terribly exposed, in a precarious situation, completely incapable of protecting himself. He would probably never truly be safe… not while he remained in this tower.

  If he finds out I’m a resurrect… what could he do to me? What happens if the rumors about me keep growing? He already knows my name… what if he runs into me talking in the corridors? What if he discovers that I know his secret?

  The thought sent a chill down his spine. There was no easy solution, no quick escape. It would still take a long time to pay off his debt, and there was no conceivable way to withstand a direct attack from the hero.

  Maybe… maybe if I make myself indispensable.

  If he could put himself in a position that made him untouchable, he could survive. If harming him carried consequences too great, even for a hero, then he would be safe. Multiple scenarios crossed his mind, but they all converged on the same conclusion.

  Vincent needed power. Power to defend himself. Power to escape. And the fastest, most reliable way he knew to obtain power… was money.