After Flos exited the building, Alexa sighed with both relief and exhaustion.
-I can’t understand how you or Bellator could behave like this… it’s exhausting,- she complained, popping her neck to the side, feeling as if her entire spine had fused into a single bar of iron after the ordeal.
-I have experience and blood to back me, Bellator merely did not care,- Callis explained. -Still, it was quite the performance. Herod would be proud of you for solving such a situation with your wits rather than your brawn.-
-Pride is good, but I need solutions, because that stuck-up person will return, and we’re going to be in trouble,- Alexa quickly replied, knowing that Flos wouldn’t take long to return with the proper paperwork.
-If nobody has an objection, I think I could be of service,- a young voice interjected after Alexa lamented the situation.
Everyone turned toward the entrance, where Sagitta Animus, half-brother of the Magnus Chalearii and cousin to Callis, stood with his silhouette outlined by the afternoon sun.
Dressed in military uniform without the accompanying armor pieces, he seemed more like a bureaucrat than a warrior, clearly here on official business.
-Mes Sagitta, what brings you here?- Callis asked, a bit conflicted after what Sagitta had done to him before.
-Brother sent me here to find out the source of the Arcane Incident that was reported by many onlookers,- the young Ensis explained.
Alexa looked at Callis, seeking permission, and the Beast Blade nodded.
-Greetings, I’m Alexa Parma, captain of the City Guard,- Alexa bowed as correctly as she could while dressed in armor. -Ensis Sagitta, will you please follow me?-
Sagitta nodded and followed Alexa as Callis and Novus closed off the march, with Berula approaching.
-Do you mind if I join up? I’m extremely curious about the spell formula,- the Magnus Paeoniis revealed as she walked with them down the stairs, heading to the lowest floor of the barracks, where the dungeon was located.
The dungeon was a large chamber with darkened floors and many large cells with metal bars surrounding their perimeter.
The group, guided by Alexa, reached the wall opposite the stairs, where the most isolated cell held a still unconscious Rixa Serico.
-Any changes?- Alexa asked the two guards she had left down there to keep an eye on the highest-profile criminal she had caught during her first year as captain of the Guard. She didn’t plan on letting her slip between her fingers.
-Nothing, Captain. She has been out this whole time,- one of the guards replied. She was quite shaken to see not only Callis but the whole entourage with two high-ranking noblemen in tow.
-Well then, you two are relieved from this position. Find two new guards to take the next shift and tell them to wait in the stairwell until I return,- Alexa instructed, following the protocol set for interrogations by Herod before her, to avoid any unexpected leaks of information.
-We can’t take her out of the cell, and the cell isn’t big enough for all of us, but I’ll enter and show you two what caused this mess,- Alexa explained to Sagitta and Berula as she opened the cell door, passing the key to Callis, who closed it behind her.
This was quite a risky move, but Alexa was confident that in an enclosed space, she could easily control Rixa, especially when it came to an unarmed confrontation.
The Captain of the Guard picked up Rixa from her bed, a wooden plank with a thin blanket suspended from the wall by two chains and two hinges, pulling her like a ragdoll over her arms and unraveling the bandages around her right arm. This revealed to the Young Ensis and the Magnus Paeoniis the tattoos inscribed on her flesh with dark magenta ink.
-Oh… Thorned sea breeze! That’s actual ancient imperial… I've never seen it apart from old government documents,- Berula commented, squinting in the low light to see better.
Sagitta, in the same predicament, pulled a small ring from a bag and put it on his finger, whispering.
>Luxcanti
>Facies Frons
>Locusannulus
A small bead of floating light coalesced from the Cibus gem on his ring, hovering over it and sending a beam of light forward, illuminating the tattoo.
-I’ve also seen this script before,- Sagitta whispered to himself, remembering the pages suspended in glass boxes inside the secret laboratory hidden beneath the castle, the one his brother showed him yesterday.
Berula, as she was close to the arm, couldn’t avoid overhearing Sagitta and was frankly surprised that someone like him, who became a fully-fledged nobleman recently, had also seen the ancient imperial script before.
Novus, who felt left behind, squeezed on their side to also take a closer look.
-I accidentally activated it when she grabbed my staff; it formed a circuit with me,- the Young Arcanist explained to them, going into detail about how he felt an immense quantity of Vis moving through him, more than he had ever felt, without experiencing any kind of fatigue afterward.
-So, an extremely efficient Arcane Circuit, capable of interfacing a low-born with an Arcanist and his staff… This is not only unheard of but pretty dangerous,- Berula weighed in, the mere possibility of tattooing Arcane Circuits on regular people seeming like an extremely bad idea.
-Any ideas what kind of Spell Formula this contained?- Sagitta added the question before Novus could interject.
-Gravitas, at least it seemed like it…,- Novus spoke with confidence, having read about this ancient and lost art. This situation seemed to have all the signs of it.
Sagitta looked at him as if he were crazy.
-Yes, I know how it sounds, but that’s the most likely candidate based on how much weight it lifted and how it felt,- Novus explained.
-That’s concerning, and the Inquisitors came to find this out?- Sagitta said, considering his options and realizing he needed to make a decision quickly, without time to consult his brother.
“Never forget to see all the angles,” Sagitta remembered the words his brother told him when he was teaching him before his high society debut.
-Is there anything else I should know?- The Young Ensis asked Novus, who had the most experience in the field and had direct contact.
Novus thought for a second and remembered something vital, something that had escaped his mind after all the commotion and adrenaline.
-Seven Ancient Magus above! How could I forget about this?- The Young Arcanist pulled the weapon he obtained from Rixa.
-What is this?- Sagitta asked, intrigued by the weapon's strange design.
-I’m not entirely sure, but this could be really worrisome. This weapon, and it’s a weapon, mind you, allowed the Serico Sisters to shoot Spells,- Novus began to explain as much as he understood after a superficial analysis.
-From what I gather, whoever designed this managed to create a system in which, through the usage of Scripti Spell Formulas—way more advanced than the ones being installed as lighting for the city—a low-born can use a single Spell Formula inscribed inside this weapon,- The Young Arcanist kept explaining, but before he could continue, Sagitta interrupted him.
-And those cylinders have liquified cibus that is sent through the crystalline conduits to activate the Spell Formula inside,- the Young Ensis finished Novus’ explanation, shocking Novus and adding more suspicions about him to Berula’s mind.
Callis, who had been silently listening and analyzing, realized how dire the situation could become if weapons like these became commonplace in the city underground. Another thought occurred to him as the explanation given by Novus and Sagitta sparked a memory in his head.
-You said conduits and these weapons can process Spell Formulas without chanting, right?- the Beast Blade asked, his mind clearer now.
-Yes, what about it?- Novus asked, looking at Callis pace around, deep in thought.
-I have seen this before,- the Beast Blade weighed in. -I know I have.-
-Before, where?- The Young Arcanist inquired, trying to remember.
Sagitta started to feel anxious as they would realize the connection he had already made.
-The spear, Falco Venator’s spear… he had a weapon like this. I knew they existed before, but they needed the user to have magic. These ones are more advanced,- the Beast Blade explained.
-Wait… so the champion for those two traditionalist individuals you told me about had a weapon much like the weapons Bellator gave the Serico Sisters?- Alexa recounted from inside the cell.
-Yes, and that is worrisome. It connects both Falco Ventator with the Serico Sisters, meaning that somebody behind both of them, with the power to send the Inquisitors down to the city, is behind all of this, and all signs point to one name,- Callis reasoned.
-Aemilianus Latens, the Arcane Chalearii,- the Beast Blade declared gravely.
But before anybody else could chime in, Sagitta, who had been listening to their reasoning flow, decided to speak.
-About that… I think we should talk,- Sagitta said, uncomfortable with keeping secrets and taking an executive decision without his brother’s approval.
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