Vol. 5 - Journey - Epilogue (Patreon)

A short time after Thomas left Ulvstad to make his way through the world the meet Hekrin's master, Selena was sitting in the classroom at the Reykhoten Magic Academy listening to an uninteresting lecture on magic fusion theory. She was hardly paying attention to the lecture and instead was thinking about the time she spent with Thomas. She had zero romantic interest in him, instead, she found him interesting. He was the first otherworlder and immortal she had ever met and his views had been quite refreshing to her. She didn't have to hide who she was or what she was capable of from him. He just accepted that she could use Unholy magic and even seemed rather interested in it. Any of her other "friends" would happily turn her in too the nearest church to have her executed if they found out.

After class was over, Selena made her way to her dorm room. Once the door was closed she went to her dresser and pulled out a small orb about the size of her fist that was made of a clear material similar to glass or crystal. As she channeled some of her mana into it, it began to glow and showed two pieces of information within it. Direction and distance. Seeing the information displayed she frowned, "I thought he was just heading out for a request... where is he going?"

Seeing how far away the signal was, she became worried. She couldn't let her target get too far away, he was far too important. She tucked the orb away in one of her pockets and left her room. She immediately made her way to the academies stables. As many of the students were nobility and might need to visit their families for business reasons the academy kept a large stable as well as several carriages and drivers for them that the students could hire at any time. Selena hired a driver to take her home. She needed to speak with her father immediately.

A little over an hour later the carriage that Selena had hired pulled up to the gates of a giant castle. Unlike castles in most fantasy stories, this one looked like a proper medieval castle that would be capable of fending off a siege. Tall and thick stone walls surrounded a courtyard with a large keep in the center. After a word to the guards and a quick check of the passenger, the carriage was allowed inside to the courtyard. Selena alighted from the carriage and made her way to the huge front doors of the castle and walked inside. The doors were almost always left open as they were too heavy to open and close easily, even for the strong knights that guarded the castle entrance.

Selena made her way through the corridors to a central chamber. Unlike the rest of the castle which had a rather rustic feel to it with plain stones walls and few decorations, this room was well decorated. The whole room was tastefully decorated and filled with marble polished to a mirror. Functional armor and paintings acted as the main decorations. In the center of the room sat a gilded throne and in that throne sat a man. Aides, receptionists, and knights surrounded the man as they all worked for the good of the kingdom.

As Selena approached she wasn't noticed at first by anyone but the guards in the room. When the people speaking with the king finally noticed her they soon grew quiet. Selena approached within a few meters of the king and knelt on one knee with her head bowed, "Father, I need to speak with you."

The king nodded and looked at the people around him, "Leave us."

With the shuffling of feet and paperwork, the people surrounding the king left the room. Once the door was shut behind them Selena was left alone with her father. He smiled warmly and stood from his throne to walk down to her, "It's good to see you but why have you come? You should be studying at the academy still. We can't afford to raise any suspicions."

Selena stood up and nodded at her father's words, "I know, Father. Something has changed though. He has left the kingdom."

To prove her claim she pulled the orb out of her pocket and channeled mana into it to show him the readings. Since the last time she had checked the distance had increased even further, "Given the direction and distance, he should be in Eykenland near the border of Kjersia."

The king frowned and stroked his short, well maintained, beard. Like Selena and her mother, he had dark hair but there were clear signs of grey beginning to show. Seeing the information on the orb he left out a sigh, "I was hoping he would remain here. Given his relationship with Hekrin, it seems odd that he would leave the country. I take it you do not know his destination?"

Selena shook her head, "No. Ever since he left the academy we have not been in touch. If not for the tracking spell on the Unholy suppression ring I gave him I would not even know he had left our borders."

The king nodded, "That was a wise move, as could be expected of you. Still, we can't allow the only living Nephilim we know of to defect to another country or force. Your mother also took an interest in him when I informed her of his existence and that he held no bias towards Unholy magic. He could be extremely useful to our plans."

Selena nodded, "Though he seemed slightly annoyed with what happened to him, he did not show any distaste or disgust at being able to use Unholy magic. He even showed interest in the abilities he'd gained. Even more, he didn't change his attitude toward me in the least after he was made aware that I could use Unholy magic."

The king crossed his thick arms over his chest as he pondered for a bit before speaking again, "If I remember correctly, you also said he had a physical attraction to you?"

Selena nodded her head, "Yes. Though he didn't attempt to woo me it wasn't hard to see that he at least found me physically appealing."

"In that case, I want you to follow behind him. If possible make contact with him when it can look like a coincidence and travel with him. We need to make sure that we can bring him to our side. Normally we could kill him if he was against us but as he is an immortal the most we can hope for is to at least convince him to not interfere with us. Use any means at your disposal. Do whatever it takes." The king smiled wryly, "Your mother even suggested that he might make a fine husband for you. Such a powerful being beside you could be an immeasurable help."

Selena frowned a little but did not argue. Leave it to her demoness of a mother to suggest something like that. If it was necessary she would go through with such plans to further their goals. After all, her life was small and insignificant compared to what they wished to accomplish. Selena bowed her head a little to her father, "As you wish. I will make preparations to leave immediately."

The king retrieved a small card from his inventory and held it out to Selena, "This card is linked to a special bank account. Inside of it, you will find funds and supplies. Use whatever you need. You said he was Hekrin's apprentice and a Magitech Engineer himself, inside of the account are several rare materials that he might be tempted by."

As Selena accepted the card he continued, "Take a pair of your personal guards with you..." He stroked his beard, "I would suggest picking a pair of good looking women. Perhaps they can help you with tempting him to our side as well."

Selena accepted the command as she had the others. It mattered little to her if their target selected herself or one of her guards. Hell, he could pick all three of them for all she cared. As long as he joined them it would be worth any price. A being capable of using both Holy and Unholy magic, an angel and a demon. He truly had no idea just how powerful he could become... Mostly because she hadn't told him and had no intention of doing so.

With plans to plot and preparations to make, Selena bowed to her father once more, "I shall prepare today and leave at dawn tomorrow."

He turned and walked toward his throne to sit once more, "I will inform the academy that you are being sent out on a royal mission and have you excused from your classes."

Selena backed away while still bowing down for a few steps before straightening up and turning around to leave the throne room. There was much she needed to do before she left the next day.