"So, you must be pretty happy getting to hang out with an Arcane Knight." Garon gave a small smirk, and his eyes sparkled with amusement. "Are you like his squire or what?"
"In a way." Olivia hummed. "He's a bit weird, though." She awkwardly rubbed at the big-ass gun Davi had casually handed to her. She had the monstrous weapon tucked away beneath the coat he had loaned her.
"Fair enough, I guess." Garon nodded. "I know I'm an adult and I shouldn't say this, but I'm a bit jealous."
"You are?" Olivia raised her eyebrow.
"Who wouldn't be?" Garon sighed and looked to the night sky. "I imagine all kids want to be Arcane Knights when they grow up. They're the closest thing to real-life superheroes, after all. Most kids get older and realize that it's an impossible dream and set their eyes on something else, while others keep chasing after their dream of becoming a Knight, only to end up failing at the last moment." Garon's tone changed to a slightly bitter one.
Olivia gave a sad nod. She knew exactly what Garon meant. Growing up, all the kids in her village talked about becoming Knights, but then, once they became old enough to attend the school in Lotus, most of those kids gave up after they failed the first combat test. Only Ash and Bruno were good enough to pass. Even Nev and Trent both gave up and looked for another career path.
It seemed like the only one foolish enough to keep walking down the path of the Arcane Knights, despite so many failed attempts, was her.
"That Knight really was amazing." Garon rubbed his chin and seemed deep in thought. "His armor was spooky, and I didn't like the feel of his mana, but watching him in action, even for a short amount of time, was incredible. That snake could kill a person in a single blow, yet he took so many direct hits and got up again and again."
"It's a miracle nobody died." Olivia stared out at the other guards. The ones who had been hit by the snake had been healed by Garon, and now all the guards were on high alert in case the snake was going to come back, while the citizens of Daisy got back into their homes.
She knew, though, that the snake wasn't going to be alive for much longer. She had seen Davi in action twice now, and without a doubt, he was going to win.
The people had a right to be scared, though. After Davi left, Garon and the other guards went to every home and did a headcount and discovered nobody was missing. For the first time since the attacks began, Daisy was able to avoid a kidnapping.
"Why didn't the snake kill anyone?" Olivia wondered. It was the same question Davi had asked, but she was also curious.
"Who knows?" Garon shrugged and shook his head. "It's impossible to know how a magical beast thinks. They aren't from our world. In a way, they're like aliens." Olivia gave another hesitant nod, and Garon seemed to notice her distress because he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I need to get back to talking with my men. Stay on guard, okay?"
"Right." Olivia watched as Garon made his way over to a group of the town guards and began to bark orders out at them once more.
"He's quite the looker, isn't he?" A guard piped up when he noticed Olivia staring for a bit too long. Luckily, Garon and the others were too far away to hear or notice. "Garon's always been a very pretty man."
Olivia sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess. He is handsome in a way."
"He has a daughter around your age." The guard said, after a moment. "I think that's why he showed so much interest in you."
"His daughter's name is Susie, right?" Olivia raised an eyebrow. "I'm still shocked that he actually has a kid. I thought he was like twenty-something when I first saw him."
The guard shook his head. "No. He's quite old, even if he doesn't look it. He's been taking care of this city all on his own ever since the death of his wife."
Olivia felt a pain in her heart at the guard's words. "His daughter is also sick as well, isn't she?"
The guard nodded sadly. "His wife passed away around the start of this year. Sadly, she was sick, and no amount of healing magic was able to save her. His daughter has the same cause now as well. I can't imagine what Garon is going through. Haru gives her toughest battles to her strongest soldiers."
Olivia felt some sympathy for the man. She had also lost her mother at a very young age. So young, in fact, she couldn't even recall what her mom looked like. The death of her mother had been one of the things that caused her father to snap and start his adventure, leaving her all alone. Garon not only lost his wife but was also going to lose his daughter if something wasn't done.
"I'll be heading home," Garon stated to one of his guards, speaking up and tearing Olivia away from her thoughts. "Things have settled down, so there's no point in standing around doing nothing."
"What about the snake, sir?" The guard questioned.
"You heard that, Knight. He'll handle it." Garon made a slightly sour face, then sighed and shook his head. "It'll be okay. I'm sure of it. I need to check on Susie, so I'm going to call it here." The guards all nodded, though they still looked pretty nervous. Garon forced a smile. "It's okay. This all ends tonight. That's what the Knight said."
"Right, sir!" The guards all saluted Garon as he turned and began to head down the winding streets, heading for his home.
He had moved to Daisy nearly twenty years ago after he first failed to become an Arcane Knight. Three times, he tried to take the exam, but three times, he failed. Some mages were just born better than others, and Garon had long accepted that he would never be on the same level as a Knight, unless something about him seriously changed.
Garon arrived back at his home and came to a stop outside the door. His house was a little stone building near the baron's home. It had only a handful of rooms and was a single story. It wasn't anything fancy, but it had been his wife's home to start out as and was the place he had always planned to grow old and die at.
"Why are you following me?" Garon asked, and he turned around when he reached the front door.
Olivia let out a sheepish chuckle. She hadn't been trying to stalk him or hide, but it still felt like she was doing something wrong, following the man to his personal home. After a moment, her look grew a bit serious. "I—" She stopped and tried to figure out what to say. "I wanted to see your daughter."
"What?" Garon gave her an odd look, and she felt a fresh wave of embarrassment.
"I wanted to meet your daughter after I learned she had the highest score in this town's academy. I've been really wanting to meet her and put a face to the person that did so well." Olivia admitted, after a few seconds of sitting in silence. "I'd like to talk to her also. You said she wanted to be an Arcane Knight. Well, I do, too."
Garon seemed to consider what she said for a few moments. After some time, he nodded. "Alright. I think she'd like that. There aren't many girls left after what happened, and she hasn't gotten to see anyone her age in quite some time." Garon opened the door and motioned for Olivia to enter. Once she did, he unstrapped his sword and removed his coat, placing them both on a rack. After that, he began to lead her through the halls of his home.
Olivia looked around in silence as she followed. Garon's home was rather plain-looking. Even more so than Rosco's hut. It had no paintings, and the walls weren't painted. No shelves or chairs were anywhere, save for the kitchen, which had a single table and fridge. The place wasn't dirty, but it wasn't that clean either. A thick layer of dust covered most places, and Olivia got the feeling Garon rarely spent time here.
"I'm back," Garon called out when he reached a room near the back. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly, and he entered his daughter's room.
Olivia stood behind him, and she let out a gasp as she peeked over his shoulder. If Garon had anything noteworthy in his home at any point in time, then it seems it had ended up in his daughter's room. There were dozens of knocked-over bookshelves that looked like they had been burned to ash, and the stone all along the walls was blackened and smoky-looking. Ash was heavy in the air, and all manner of chairs, paintings, and seemingly anything else Garon could get his hands on had been placed here.
In the center of the room was a bed, one that was just as burned as the rest of the stuff, the metal bars of it melting and snapping. Lying on the bed was someone Olivia could only guess was Susie.
She was on fire. Hot, jagged red flames flowed out and formed into the shape of a person. Every now and then, the fire would flicker and show a hint of flesh, and a soft whimpering filled the air. The entire room was superheated, and Olivia felt her eyes and mouth burn just from being near the doorway.
Garon didn't seem to mind. Being a fire mage, he was able to tolerate the heat better than most people could. The human-shaped fire weakly sat up in bed and groaned louder. "Daddy?"
Garon forced his face to soften. He walked over and knelt by the bed, taking his daughter's hand. The fire flowed over his flesh and started to eat away at the sleeves of his uniform, but Garon paid it no mind. "Row Flame Feel!" A soft wave of fire dripped off his hand, but it didn't burn. Instead, it was soothing and warm. It danced over Susie, doing its best to heal her, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Instead, it just merged with the fire that made up her form.
"Have you found the others yet?" Susie asked, and her voice came out weak and raspy, crackling out of the flames.
"We still haven't found anything." Garon shook his head. "The missing girls still haven't turned up. We don't know if they've been kidnapped or if they just ran away."
"Hannah wouldn't run." Susie shook her head. "She's my friend. She'd never leave me behind. She said we'd get to see the world together when we become Arcane Knights. Spiraling towers. Caves that never end. Cities that stretch on like labyrinths. We read all about it in a book, and she promised she'd be there with me when I saw them all. You have to find her and the other missing girls, Dad."
"I will." Garon forced a smile, even though he knew his daughter couldn't see him through all the fire. "I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they show up." He still hadn't told her about the snake or the deal he had made.
"That's good to hear." The fire in the shape of a person gently lowered herself back into bed. "Why haven't I been taken, though? Nearly every other girl in the town was taken, but me?"
"Because I'm not going to let anything take you." Garon's hand grew tighter around his daughter's hand. "No matter what. I won't ever let anything hurt you. I'm going to fix you, Susie, I swear. I'll be the first person to cure you."
"That's good to hear. Thank you, Dad. I'm glad I have you here with me. Always keeping me safe."
"Always."
Garon finished his healing magic and stood back up. He walked back over to the door where Olivia had remained motionless. She couldn't bring herself to set foot into the room or say anything. She had no idea what she could do. She knew it had been bad, but this was beyond anything she had thought of.
Garon closed the door and let out a heavy sigh. He shuffled through the hallway of his home, and she followed. "It's a sickness that attacks her mana," Garon said quietly. "All mages have cores inside of us that build up little lines called mana circuits. Everyone's core is different and has its own grade and 'level'. For most mages, they can go their whole lives without worrying about it, but not all are that lucky. Magic comes from the elves, and the human body still hasn't fully learned to accept it, which is why our magic is so much weaker than elven mana. In rare cases, though, a human will be born with a broken core. That's what my daughter has."
"She's on fire," Olivia said stupidly, and she felt bad for saying it.
"If a core gets damaged, it won't work right. Susie's core is the same type of core her mother had." Garon made his way over to a closet that resided at the other end of his house, and he opened it, revealing a safe that was in the back. "She used to be able to work just fine with it, but the more spells she uses, the worse it gets, and now mana is constantly flowing out of her. Her fire magic won't shut off, and she's constantly set aflame. Even a fire mage isn't totally immune to fire. I fed the flames everything I had in my house to calm them. It isn't normal fire and is sentient and able to choose when it wants to burn. So long as it is well fed, it won't devour her, but every day it requires more and gets hungrier. If it isn't stopped, it'll burn her entirely down to ash just like it did to her mother."
"That's horrible." Olivia gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
"It really is." Garon kept his back to her and opened his safe. "Sometimes I wish Haru had never stolen the magic from the elves. I wonder if it would be better if humans never had mana. If Arcane Knights never existed. She wants to be a Knight so bad, but because of the way she was born, she can't. I suppose you know what that's like, right? After all, you were born with blood magic."
Olivia suddenly felt uneasy. The room seemed to almost shift and change as Garon popped open his safe. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Tonight was the last night. It didn't matter if a Knight was here or not. He'd make sure it all ended tonight. Garon grabbed two things out of the safe. The first was a dagger, one that was large and jagged, forged from bone, and looked like a tooth. It was dripping with venom and could put most people down with one strike. The other was a cloak, covered in white scales that sparkled in the moonlight.
He slipped the cloak on and pulled the hood up. The scales shimmered for a moment, and then he felt himself become unseen, his reflection fading away, and Olivia felt a wave of panic wash over her. She turned, but as she did, the air shimmered, and Garon became visible, now standing directly in front of her, holding the knife.
"What are you doing?" She stammered. Her eyes glanced down at the dagger and cloak Garon had. "Those came from the snake, didn't they?"
The scales of the cloak were obviously from the snake's hide, and the knife looked like one of the snake's teeth. If Garon had them and the monster was still alive, it most likely meant the creature had willingly given its pieces up to the man.
Garon let out a weak sigh and looked down at the dagger he clutched. "Yeah." He said, after some time. "This cloak and this knife are both from the serpent. It gave them to me in order to help."
Olivia gripped her wand tightly and stared at the other man. He was speaking in a hushed tone, and just across the house was his daughter's room. She glanced back toward the entryway and thought about running. She had already cast two spells but managed to recover a bit, so if she was lucky, she could cast another two spells before the blood loss would down her.
"What do you mean, in order to help?" She asked after a moment.
Garon's knuckles turned white as he gripped his dagger. "It means exactly what it sounds like. I've been helping the snake. I came across it by chance. I happened to be out in the woods looking for some ingredients to cure a rash I had gotten when I stumbled into the dungeon. By pure luck, the snake had been coming out as well." Garon said quietly. "I thought it was going to kill me, but it said it didn't like the taste of men. Instead, it took me deeper into the dungeon and showed me the treasure room. It's a beast that's smart and knows humans well. It spoke to me and offered me a deal."
"You betrayed your own people," Olivia said, trying to take another cautious step back. "What could be worth that?" Though she had a pretty good idea, she knew what had caused him to act the way he was. Only a magic item found in a dungeon could cure his daughter.
"There was something in the dungeon I needed above all else." Garon hissed. "I-I'm not a bad person, I swear! I had to do this. I had no choice. The snake said it would give me what I sought if I helped it out. Together, the two of us created a system. It gave me this dagger and cloak and would attack the town. When it does, I'd show up and 'stop' it. During the chaos, once the snake fled, I'd use my own skills to capture the targets and later bring them to the snake. And it was all going smoothly until that Arcane Knight arrived." Garon spat and took a step forward. "He ruined everything."
"Couldn't you have just asked Davi to help you?" Olivia questioned. "You could have gotten a real Arcane Knight out here and had them slay the snake and get whatever item was in the dungeon for you."
Garon shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. The snake put up the barrier and made it impossible to get the help of a Knight. If I had refused the snake's offer, it would have just killed me and then rampaged throughout the town, killing as it pleased."
"But an Arcane Knight did show up. Why didn't you ask for Davi's help when you learned he was here?" Olivia countered.
"Anything in a dungeon belongs to the Knights. They'd never give me an item that was locked away. Instead, they'd keep it for themselves." Garon hissed. "Especially the one I wanted. I needed to make sure an Arcane Knight wouldn't arrive. All of it should have gone to plan, but now it's ruined because that damn Ebony Knight happened to show up!"
Olivia fought back a weak chuckle. It was a bit odd that all of this had started by pure chance. If they hadn't wandered into the area, Garon's plan likely would have gone smoothly.
Fate was weird like that at times.
"Why are you even telling me all of this?" She asked.
Garon gave a weak shrug. "I guess I just wanted someone to know. I've been holding this guilt in for a while now. Your friend is going to ruin all my plans, so I decided to make you the tenth and final sacrifice. You're the only one that's left out of the ten that the snake and I agreed on, and if it turns out he's beaten the snake and slayed it, then I'll use you as a bargaining chip to force him to give me the item I seek. I'll do anything for it. I absolutely can't lose."
"You don't have to do this. Davi will help you. He's a kind person. I'm sure he'll give you whatever you want."
"You're such an idiot!" Garon let out a loud yell and banged his hand on the wall. "Do you seriously think that the Knights actually care about us? I tried to become an Arcane Knight, but I failed, and that's despite the fact that I was born with the ability to cast combat-related spells and blessed with a strong type. Do you know why? It's because the Knights are made up of a select group of people. Barely anyone that isn't a noble manages to pass their tests, and despite working with the king, the Knights still charge people high amounts of money to come out and slay monsters and close dungeons. They've set up a monopoly on the market and refuse to let anyone else access it, including the military. The king lets it be because of the debt he owes them. They aren't even really Knights anymore. They may still call themselves by those titles, but they don't actually serve the king or do anything for us. All of them are just greedy, power-hungry bastards who use us as blood banks! The black-haired Knight is no different! The moment he slays the monster, he's going to take all the credit for it and then sell its corpse himself and keep all the profit. He'll even ask for a reward and demand we pay for it, despite the fact we're barely clinging on!"
"Dad?" The voice of Susie called out. "Is everything okay?"
Garon breathed heavily as his rant came to an end. Olivia stared at him with wide eyes. "I—you're wrong. Davi isn't like that at all."
Garon shook his head and gave a smile, one that looked almost sad. "Even so, it doesn't matter. I already gave the girls to the snake, and it's only a matter of time until the Knight learns the truth. I bet the monster will try to make a deal with him like it did with me and reveal what I did. If you would have shown up earlier, perhaps I would have listened, but I've already gone this far. What's one more?"
"Wait—"
"No. I'm done waiting! I want my cure!" Garon announced, and Olivia turned and took off running, heaving for a window.
Garon struck out with his hand and aimed it in Olivia's direction. She was halfway across the room and out of reach, but his fire built up as he cast a spell. "Row Flame Snake!"
Olivia jumped back and dove into the window just in time as fire launched out of Garon's hand. It took on the shape of a long snake and twisted through the air, heading straight for her. "Row Blood Shield!" A crimson red shield formed at the tip of her wand, blocking the thin, fiery snake, which bounced off. She regretted casting the spell instantly, though, as the world began to spin and her body felt weak. She hadn't recovered as much as she thought she had, and glass dug into her back as she went through it and slammed into the icy pavement outside.
The snake was thin and small enough to break into people's homes, unlike the actual beast, and this one slithered across the icy floor and twisted itself back toward Olivia. She rolled across the ground and looked up, seeing several of the guards, who were all shocked. They all stood on the street, and one of them managed to snap out of his funk and yell out.
"T-The snake!" It was the guard she had spoken with earlier who yelled it out. "It just came from Garon's house! It's trying to steal Captain Garon's daughter!"
The fire snake slithered across the ground, and Olivia opened her mouth to scream something, but before she could, she felt a sharp wave of pain. She couldn't see him, but she could feel Garon's knee, which pressed down into her back. His dagger stabbed into her shoulder, and she went to scream in pain, but her mouth wouldn't open. Her entire body was frozen, and she felt a burning sensation coursing through her veins.
The dagger Garon had was laced with a powerful venom that caused the body to freeze up, its muscles going rigid. She couldn't move an inch or even blink. She was helpless, unable to draw the gun Davi had given her.
The snake made out of fire twisted up, and the guards ran toward her, but it was too late. The snake came down, and Olivia felt it wrap around her. Surprisingly, it didn't burn. The fire was warm but not hot and felt weirdly gentle. It squeezed around her tightly, and one of the guards jumped toward her, attempting to reach her, but the snake yanked her away.
Unseen by all, Garon opened his cloak, and she was dragged inside, the cloth closing around them both. To the rest of the guards, it looked like she and the snake vanished into thin air.
"Garon!" One of the guards cried out and ran into Garon's house looking for the captain, but he wasn't there, for he stood out in the streets beneath his cloak of invisibility.
"I'm sorry," Garon said quietly. Olivia remained frozen in his arms as he gripped her by the waist. "You're just unlucky. I swear that I'm a good person. I have to do this. Please believe me."
Olivia remained motionless in his arms as he picked her up and began to carry her toward the dungeon. She was going to be the tenth and final one. Garon was going to make sure of that.
Tonight, he would get the tears of a Phoenix. Tonight, he would finally be able to cure that which couldn't be fixed.