149: Hot Pursuit (Patreon)

NOTE: Quick PSA - Been working 12-16 hr days editing + writing recently (been spending more time editing to get the chapters to a higher level of quality, which takes a ton of time). This isn't really sustainable, so as of today, RR has shifted to a 4x a week release cadence. Patreon will stay at 5x for at least another month, before shifting as well.

I understand this is a disappointment, and is less content delivered, but my hope is that the content will be of higher quality instead. There's just too much I'm missing due to the current release cadence.

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“Which is why I want you to have this,” Maiya said, thrusting an oversized orb the size of a grapefruit into Vir’s hands.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“Kinda?”

“This thing is priceless, Maiya! How can I possibly accept this? I can’t even use it!”

“You only need magic to turn it on and off. Anyone can use it once it’s active.”

“I still can't activate it! And what about when I do eventually journey to the Ash? Should I go up to the nearest Ash Wolf and politely ask it to turn it on? There’s no one in that realm, Maiya.”

“It’s for once you get to the other side! You’re want to end up in the Demon Realm, don't you? I’m sure you’ll find nice people there who’d be willing.”

“How do you know it works across realms?”

“I… don’t. But it’s worth a shot, Vir. And it’s a bit different from the norm. This is an experimental unit, apparently. Please? Just take it. For me?”

Vir heaved a sigh. Maiya had sprung this gift on him soon after they’d awoken at dawn. Though he’d wanted to stay nestled in her arms all night, the chill forced them to migrate to the tent, where Maiya promptly snuggled up next to him, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a stuffed toy before promptly falling asleep.

Despite the inconvenience of being locked into a single position for the whole night, he never found the courage to wiggle free of her grasp, leaving him bleary-eyed.

“You could be gone for years!” Maiya whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “Don’t tell me the thought of spending so much time apart doesn’t terrify you. Because it terrifies me. At least this way, we’ll be able to communicate. This way… we won’t be apart.”

Vir closed his hands over Maiya’s, squeezing gently before taking the orb. “Trust me, I’m as scared as you are. This is… an incredible gift, Maiya. I don’t even know what it must have cost you.”

Communication orbs couldn’t be bought by anyone. One had to have connections, and a certain level of prestige to obtain them. Not to mention the price Maiya must’ve had to pay. Vir was sure the orb was many serics. He doubted even his illustrious friend had that kind of coin lying around.

“H-Haa!”

Vir stared Maiya in the eyes for a full ten seconds. “You stole this, didn’t you?”

“N-no?”

“Maiya…”

“What did you have to do to get this?”

Maiya averted her eyes. “Don’t you worry about that. And it wasn’t anything big. Trust me.”

Her behavior was all sorts of suspicious, though it came from a good place.

“I suppose I’ll have to,” Vir said, gently pocketing it within his backpack.

Seeing how tenderly he handled the orb, Maiya spoke up. “They’re not nearly as fragile as they look. I mean, don’t hurl them at an Ash Beast, but a tumble or two isn’t going to break it.”

“That’s a relief.”

After packing up their tent and erasing signs of their presence, they took to the air once again, and this time, Maiya mounted first, giving Vir a hand up.

“With luck, we’ll be back to Sonam by sundown,” Maiya shouted over the wind. “I'll go get Neel after I drop you off.“

Like the previous day, Vir used the time to transcribe Parai’s channeling technique onto his other arm, sinking deep into meditation to concentrate as they crossed the border from Rani to Kin'jal. It was why, hours later, that Maiya detected the other Acira first.

“We’re being followed,” Maiya shouted over the wind, pointing at an Acira some distance away. “We've crossed into Kin'jal territory now, but that's not a Kin'jal Acira. Whoever they are, they’re after us.”

Vir's stomach sunk.

Maiya commanded their Acira to fly faster, and the beast beat its wings heavily against the wind, buffeting its riders.

Vir leaned forward to Maiya’s ear. “How many?” he asked, scanning the horizon.

“Just the one.”

It was too far to tell who exactly was on it, but Vir hardly had to guess.

“No, Maiya. Not just one.”

One by one, Aciras appeared from the clouds behind them, accelerating hard. They numbered six in all.

How did they find us? Had they been tracking them since they left the Pagan Order? Or did they have scouts patrolling the skies?

Why now? Why couldn't they have come later? Just when he'd decided to stay back with Maiya. Vir cursed Fate.

“Can you outrun them?” he asked.

“I’m going as fast as I can. Frumpy’s trained for long distance flight, not speed!”

Frumpy!? Vir thought, cringing at the name she’d given the sleek, elegant beast.

He glanced nervously at their pursuers, searching for a way out. Up here in the air, he had preciously few options. None of his ground-prana Talents worked.

That left him with Prana Vision, Toughen, Prana Blade, and Parai’s cycling technique. Dance, Leap, Empower, and High Jump were all unavailable.

Then again, the same was true for their pursuers. Only magic would function, and Maiya had plenty of her own.

What the enemy didn’t have was Kalari training and supreme agility.

“Maiya! Let them catch up to us! We can’t outrun them, anyway.”

“You got a plan?” Maiya shouted over the wind.

Vir flashed a grin. “I’m gonna board them.”

“You what!?”

“Just get us as close as you can! Like, touching close.”

“They forbid us from flying like this, y’know?” Maiya muttered too softly for Vir to hear. “Good thing I like breaking the rules.”

Maiya tugged on the Acira’s reins, slowing the beast. The Acira that had been so far away closed the distance in seconds, slowing as it approached. But Maiya wasn’t done.

“Hang on tight!”

She flipped the Acira upside down and charged right at them.

“Uh, Maiya? I can’t jump if we’re upside down!”

“I know! Hold on.”

Just when the two Acira were about to collide, Maiya violently juked their beast, righting itself.

Fire magic flew at them, but Maiya was ready for it. She dodged, returning fire with Wind and Ice magic of her own, all while flying the beast.

“That's what you get for trying to attack a Kin’jal Acira!” she shouted.

“Badrak’s Balls, Maiya! Where’d you learn to fly like that?”

Maiya flashed a grin.

Continuing her display of extreme skill, she ordered their Acira to bash their pursuers, temporarily tangling their wings, sending them both into a spiraling dive.

If done improperly, it’d have doomed them both, but Maiya broke off at exactly the right time, freeing them from their enemy' clutches.

The close encounter purged all doubts of their attackers’ identity. Their enemy bore no country markings, and they’d attacked a Kin’jal Acira in Kin'jal territory, which meant they didn’t care about political ramifications.

Unhooking the tether that bound him to the beast, Vir jumped just before Maiya broke off, fleeing another Acira.

The other Acira’s pilot jerked away, but not soon enough. Vir sailed through the air, smashing into the mejai riding behind and severing his tether in one smooth movement. In less than a second, the mejai was falling to his death, far below.

Vir brought his blade to the pilot’s throat. He contemplated killing the man, but concluded that doing so would doom him as well. He didn’t know how to fly an Acira, and while he was confident in his learning speed, he doubted he’d be able to master the skill in the few seconds before the beast crashed.

“Maiya!”

On command, Maiya’s Acira swooped in, and only then did Vir slip his katar through the man’s back and into his heart, ending his life.

Vir timed his jump perfectly, soaring back to Maiya’s Acira as the pilot slumped forth on the reins, sending the enemy Acira into a perilous dive.

The beast’s self-preservation instinct kicked in far too late, and it crashed into the fields far below.

“One down, five to go!” Maiya shouted.

“Let’s just do the same thing for the—!?”

“What’s wrong? What’s the—oh. Oh, no.”

When Vir spied the riders pursuing them, his blood froze. Atop their closest pursuer was a mejai holding a melon-sized orb in both hands, and, towering over him, four-armed, half-naked giant demon, covered in dark blue tribal tattoos.

Rudvik’s voice echoed in Vir’s ears, telling the tale of the one who’d brought him to Brij as a baby.

The descriptions were similar, yes, but there was no reason to believe they were the same person. He’d seen both giants and four-armed demons at Balindam, after all. There was, however, every reason to believe that the being in pursuit was one of the strongest beings in the Known World.

They drew closer. Fifty paces. Thirty. Twenty.

Vir didn’t need Lord Reth’s intelligence to know that; Prana Vision blazed in his eyes. The demon was bursting with Earth, Life, and Fire affinities. In fact, he’d never seen a being with so much Earth prana in his life.

“Apex Earth. Greater Life. Greater Fire,” he told Maiya.

“That’s impossible. The more affinities you have, the weaker they are. There are exceptions, but a triple with Apex earth and two Greaters? That’s unheard of!”

“It isn’t just him. I think the mejai next to him’s a Mejai of Realms, too. He’s got Apex Lightning.”

“No. No no no. Grak!” Maiya shrieked. “Vir, Apex affinity means he can use A-Grade orbs!”

“Are they really that strong?” Vir asked, thinking back to Tanya’s demonstration of the A Grade Blizzard. It was certainly an impressive spell, but quite slow to cast.

“They are. And Lightning’s the worst of them all. Locution Field is a death sentence. It’s impossible to avoid. Just one hit and you’re dead. We can’t get anywhere near them!”

Vir nodded. “Then we flee—wait. Enemy reinforcements!”

Maiya wordlessly threw their Acira into a dive.

Half-dozen new Acira descend from clouds above, merging with their allies.

“Grakking chal, Vir. This is bad! We don’t stand a chance against that many!”

I know! Vir’s mind raced for options. If they landed, he’d have more options, but would their pursuers let them? Landing was slow and dangerous, unless they abandoned Frumpy and relied on Light Step to break their fall.

Vir’s thought process ground to a halt.

Because instead of falling into formation, the new Acira dug their talons into their pursuers. Blindsided by the attack, two pursuing Acira fell to the ground, while the others tussled in a midair dogfight.

“What the…Do you think…” Maiya asked, trailing off.

“It’s the Pagan Order!” Vir shouted. “Those crazy chals actually came to help!”

“Which means they’ve tailed us ever since we left,” Maiya shouted over the wind. “And we never even noticed. So did our pursuers, apparently. So much for covering our tracks.”

Vir didn’t know how they’d been followed; he’d only been on an Acira a handful of times. There were likely tactics and strategies he wasn’t aware of. Both for avoiding detection, and for following stealthily.

The Order forces engaged with all but one Acira, preventing them from pursuing. Unfortunately, the one that did pursue had the four-armed demon and the Mejai of Realms onboard.

“We can’t maintain this pace for long! Frumpy’s getting tired!”

“We have to! Can we can outlast them to Sonam?”

Maiya shook her head.

Forests blurred by underneath, but Frumpy tired and began to slow, and despite Maiya's best efforts at coaxing the beast, their pursuers drew ever closer. When they began hurling B Grade Lightning Burst spells, Maiya had no choice but to land, staying clear of the tall cliffs that loomed nearby.

Vir was cycling prana through his arms and legs even before they touched the forest floor. The instant they did, he supersaturated his blood, forcing as much prana into him as he could to prepare for the upcoming battle.

The enemy Acira landed just moments later. Both the demon and the mejai took their time dismounting, and Vir noticed the demon had an oversized collar around his neck.

Are they controlling him?

If so, Vir might remove his most dangerous foe by destroying it first.

“You’ve been a difficult one to track,” the Mejai of Realms said calmly.

“Did Mina send you?”

“Well, I wonder. Perhaps it was Sai? Or maybe we’re bounty hunters, after your head?”

“You’re here to kill me, aren’t you?” Vir asked, eyeing Maiya, who’d slotted her most powerful orbs.

“That we are, I’m afraid. Will you go peaceably? Or will we have to do this the hard way?”

“What do you think, chal? You’ve got another thing coming if you think we’ll just lie down and die.”

The Mejai of Realms sighed, while the giant beside him gazed at Vir intently. In fact, he only looked at Vir, paying Maiya no mind—as if she wasn’t even there.

“If you will, Cirayus,” the mejai said. “You wanted some exercise? Well, here you are. Go wild and have fun.”

“Much obliged,” the demon giant—Cirayus—replied, cracking two of his knuckles as he walked, his thundering steps causing the ground to shudder. 

Each oversized hand wielded a menacing implement of war. In his lower left, he hefted an enormous tower shield that was taller than Vir by a head. His lower right grasped a polearm. Ordinarily a two-handed weapon owing to its size and weight, the giant twirled it effortlessly with only one. Finally, in his upper two hands, he wielded a massive greatsword the likes of which Vir had never seen. Half as long again as a regular greatsword, and twice as thick, Vir doubted a human could even lift such a weapon without the aid of Talents.

“Well, at least he isn’t wearing any armor…” Maiya said shakily.

“Don’t assume that. How much you want to bet he’s got Talents that negate the need for it?”

The sheer force of the giant’s presence made Vir and Maiya take an unconscious step back. His fearsome arsenal, hungry, vicious expression, and thundering steps only augmented his otherworldly aura.

“How much does he have to weigh for the ground to shake like that?” Maiya said in a strained voice.

He must weigh several tons… wait, no. That can’t be right.

If he was that heavy, how could their Acira have hefted him? Forget combat maneuvers, even taking off should’ve been impossible.

“Maiya, go. This is my battle, you don’t have to—” Vir’s eyes bulged.

Those tattoos!

Markings covered the red giant’s body, but only one lit up brightly to Prana Vision. The one that overflowed with both Life and Earth Affinities. No orb in the world used two affinities at once, and yet, Cirayus’ blue tribal did exactly that.

“Balancer of Scales!?” Vir blurted. He recognized it immediately.

The four-armed giant stopped in his tracks.

“Ha! Hahaha! HA HA HA HA!” he roared.

“Cirayus, are you right in the head? What are you doing?” the Mejai of Realms shouted. “Destroy him, or face the consequences!”

“Ah, apologies,” Cirayus said, but it was not the Mejai he spoke to. He bowed his head to Vir and Maiya. “I often let my excitement get the better of me. Old habits and all that. But alas, who can truly enjoy themselves with insects flying around, ruining our fun? May I trouble you to wait just a moment?”

The demon plunged his polearm, tower shield, and greatsword into the grass. Then he grasped his collar with all four arms. As if handling a toy, he casually crushed the relic from the Age of Gods, crumbling it to dust. Then he cracked his neck.

“Do you even know how itchy that infernal thing was? I’d be well within my right to end you for the discomfort alone,” the giant thundered, eyeing the mejai with the hungry eyes of an apex predator eyeing his next meal.

The mejai opened and closed his mouth, but only a hysterical squeal came out. “T-That was an Artifact,“ the mejai whispered.  “An Artifact! How can you just—”

“Human, ignorance is in your blood, so I’ll allow you these words before I kill you. No device, be it human or godly, is enough to restrain me. Mejai,” the demon spat, “here, you might be considered strong. But where I come from, demons of your strength wouldn’t even survive the prelims at the Bairan tournaments. Allow me to show you what true power looks like.”

The demon did nothing as mundane as running. Nor did he jump. He simply disappeared.

Maiya gasped. For a moment, Vir’s mind went blank. Then it raced to understand what Talent the demon had used. Leap? Blink?

Neither. The demon had sucked in a torrent of Earth prana just before he moved, but he’d also sucked in Life prana.

Balancer of Scales, then? From Narak the Destroyer’s memory, Vir knew this ability was incredibly versatile. It could alter the weight of anything the wielder touched, but could it really accelerate someone to such a degree?

Vir thought back to how the ability functioned. A swinging blade tip’s weight could be made as light as a feather, then multiplied a hundred-fold right at the moment of impact. Enemies could be flattened to the ground with just a thought.

And he just used it to move blindingly fast. By reducing the weight of every part of his body except his legs, the giant must’ve flung his body straight at the mejai.

No human should’ve been able to respond to such a fast attack, but the title of Mejai of Realms was not so easily earned. The mejai showed no hesitation, instantly aiming his precharged A Grade Locution Field spell.

“Vir! Run!” Maiya screamed, pulling Vir and sprinting in the opposite direction.

Sensing the panic in her voice, Vir activated Leap, picking her up in his arms.

They’d been twenty paces away, and gained another five before the mejai’s spell activated.

Vir couldn’t know what happened. His ears rang and the next thing he knew, he’d the ground along with Maiya.

His arms and legs didn’t respond,  and his body spasmed, out of control.

Maiya fared no better, her limbs twitching involuntarily.

So this is what an A-Grade is like, Vir thought as he endured the pain. She was right. If we were any closer, we’d be dead.

They’d been on the very edge of the spell’s effect, where it was weakest, and even then it did this much damage.

All this time, he’d been worried about the demon. Yet it was the Mejai of Realms he should’ve feared. He'd thought his powers were well suited for killing mejai; he hadn't regarded the mejai as a threat. How wrong he'd been. For this was no Mejai Sorcar. This was a Mejai of Realms.

At least that demon’s toast…

Vir doubted the attack would outright kill the demon, but he wouldn’t be walking away from something like that unscathed.

The spasms passed as quickly as they'd begun. When Vir regained control of his body, he found Cirayus, unharmed, clutching Mejai of Realms by his head, lifting him into the air with one arm.

No damage!? Impossible!

The Mejai’s feet flailed under him, but even in this state, he fired B Grade Lightning Bursts one after another.

He might as well have been a mosquito. A spell that would’ve roasted most mortals merely fizzled away as another tattoo on his body roared to life.

It’s absorbing the spell’s prana? How?

“Just when you think you’ve gained a bit of strength…” Maiya said softly.

“There’s always someone more powerful,” Vir completed. At some point, he’d grasped Maiya’s hand, tightly locking his fingers in her own.

A Grade spells were considered borderline strategic. Capable of freezing entire swaths of land and incinerating whole companies of troops with a single spell, they were weapons of mass destruction, and the highest tier found in actual combat.

And the demon had simply shrugged it off.

The Mejai of Realms screamed as Cirayus caved his head in. He reached for another orb, but Vir knew he’d already lost. Nothing he brought out now would matter.

The mejai fired… and missed. His spells soared sky high before bursting into a thousand brilliant embers.

Flare!

“It’s a signal!” Maiya said. “He’s calling for help!”

The Mejai stared defiantly through the gaps in the giant’s fingers, even as his skull caved. “You might kill me. But will you also kill the hundred mercenaries hunting the boy?”

There was no hope against an enemy who could ignore A Grade magic, let alone someone who moved so blindingly fast, and who possessed ten times the physical might of Vir and Maiya combined. This was nothing more than a last act of defiance.

“I do whatever it takes, human. I always have.” With a sickening crunch, Cirayus caved the Mejai’s head in. The cries silenced.

“Should we run?” Maiya asked softly.

Despite her panic, she’d neither frozen up nor curled up in a ball, as she might’ve only months prior. She stood bravely in the face of certain death, and Vir couldn’t help but admire her, despite the danger they were in.

“There’s no running from that. You saw how he moved. He can manipulate his weight freely. He’ll butcher us before we’re halfway to your Acira.”

“This… is the end, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t have to be. Look, I’ve never begged you for anything before. But I am begging you now. Please escape. Live! You don’t need to die here. He’s after me, not you.”

Thump. Thump. Thump. The demon loped closer.

Maiya stared him in the eyes, tears flowing down her face. “C’mon. You’ve known me, what? Sixteen years? As if I’d ever agree to such a stupid suggestion. Didn’t you say it yourself? That you wanted to fight beside me? Well, I’m here. Right now. And I’m fighting. So you better give this everything you have, because I swear to Vera, I’ll reincarnate as a Prana Swarm and haunt you if you don’t. Got it?”

Vir found himself at a loss for words. Just a moment ago, he’d been fully prepared to argue back, but his rebuttal died on his lips against such overwhelming determination. It was both shocking and touching that his friend would go so far for him.

“Guess I’ll get to test out my new abilities, then,” Vir smiled sadly. “We stick together. We fight him as one.”

“Good. You attack. I’ll back you up from behind.”

“Sorry to break your little moment, but now that we’re done with that annoyance, how about a nice, light fight to the death? You two against me,” the giant said, cracking his neck. “Believe me, you can’t know how much I’ve looked forward to getting some exercise. Do put on a good show? I wish to relish our time together before the human’s lackeys ruin our fun.”

With a steeled expression, Vir and Maiya turned and faced the demon. Maiya leveled her bracer, while Vir retrieved a chakram from around his neck, and pointed his katar—already loaded with Maiya’s Enhance Speed orb—at their foe.

“Bring it,” they said together. Not as childhood friends, nor as lovers. But as mejai and warrior. United as one.