Arc 4 | Chapter 135: All it Takes is a Dash of Anger

The mystery room on Emilia’s map turned out to be exactly that: a mystery room, filled with dozens of hallways, each lighting up across her map as she moved further into the room.

The room itself was a bland, grey, whatever it was made of reminding her of the walls of the cities: something that appeared to be metal, but if you looked closely enough, it definitely wasn’t. The hallways themselves varied between the patchwork of the hall that led to the Risen Guard’s labyrinth and ones composed of single material. At the end of each hallway, visible only through her map, Emilia could see a door. Many were marked with the sign of a labyrinth, although others were simply names she didn’t recognize.

⸂It’s an access point of sorts,⸃ V explained, brow furrowing like he was repeating something that someone—probably Fran—had explained to him. ⸂Most of the doors lead to labyrinths. It was created during a previous visitation, before the locals learned that fast travel magic of theirs. It isn’t used much now, as the only way in is through a labyrinth.⸃

“But we can exit through the other doors?” Emilia guessed, eyes flicking between V and Fran. “You guys came through a labyrinth to find us?”

V smiled, his hand squeezing around hers. ⸂Of course,⸃ he said, voice sliding through her and fucking stars. Private conversations through aethervoices had always felt overly intimate to Emilia, but with someone who she’d actually been intimate with? Nebulae above—having V talk to her like this seemed liable to make her melt if they weren’t careful.

Given the way the man in question was watching her, far too much pride in his eyes, he knew full well what he was doing to her. Thankfully, V did seem to have enough self-control and sense to not actually make her melt. The children definitely didn't need to be subjected to such things!

Fran grumbled something that sounded like, ⸂Hurry up,⸃ as though she weren’t the one who had been setting their ridiculously slow pace since she and V had exited the labyrinth.

The woman stomped along, her bottom still covered in debris from when she’d fallen over. Emilia wasn’t sure if the woman hadn’t noticed or simply had no magic capable of cleaning her clothing. If it was the former, no one was offering up the fact of her dirty butt to her.

The hallway Fran led them down was a near pitch black, only occasional swishes of vibrant colour marking the walls and floor, while the ceiling was covered in constellations—at least, that’s what they looked like. As far as Emilia knew, this world was never naturally dark, so no one other than the platform itself likely knew whether they really reflected the sky above or not.

⸂It’s so dark…⸃ Caro whisper-hissed, and when Astra’s steps slowed, it was because the other child had all but stopped moving.

Caro hadn’t even been sleeping in the dark since their experience in the city.

“Can you—” Emilia started to say, only for Fran to cut her off, and Emilia was Just. So. Done.

⸂It’s so nice in here~⸃ the woman cooed, her voice quickly growing further and further away. ⸂Why don’t you come up here, V? We can—⸃

Water surged out of the aether, sending the woman screaming as it pushed her down the hallway. At Emilia’s wrist, one of her magic gems glowed, her energy racing through it.

Well, on the bright side, she’d finally managed to use magic! Personally, Emilia was very proud of herself, especially considering what she actually wanted to do was burn the horrible woman to death. That had seemed like overkill… maybe.

⸂You!⸃ Fran yelled, her voice echoing down the hallway. She really had been pushed quite a long ways—all the way to the end, according to Emilia’s map.

The person indicator on Emilia’s map shuddered, the red dot shifting into a blinding white before magic was shooting back towards her. V was already stepping in front of her and the kids, his energy exploding out of him into a barrier. It wasn’t going to be enough. Despite the man’s experience using his core, it was just… it wasn’t strong enough, or he was holding back too much.

“V!” Emilia called, more for effect than anything. She was already bolting to the front of their group, her energy wrapping around them, creating a ball of protection that even the most powerful skills—and therefore she assumed magic as well—would have difficulty penetrating.

Her cry wasn’t lost on Fran, however. The woman screamed something about getting out of the way. To her credit, the local did try and drag her magic back—tried to burn it out with her own energy. She was too slow, and when her magic collided with Emilia’s barrier…

Well, Emilia couldn’t be sure what the woman saw on her end, but given the anguished sound that exploded out of her, she probably assumed she’d just critically injured, if not outright killed, the guy she’d been lusting after.

“Caro?” Emilia asked with all the calm of someone who would kill the next person who dared talk over her. “Do you want me or V to carry you?”

It took a moment for V to realize he needed to translate for her, Astra still maintaining that she couldn’t speak, but he eventually snapped out of whatever thoughts were rattling through his head to do so.

⸂Sure…⸃ Caro breathed out, the drama of the moment having momentarily shocked them out of their fear.

Astra—who Emilia had accidentally dragged along with her—released her hand, and through the dim light, Emilia could see her moving to her other side as she gathered Caro into her arms.

⸂You want my hand?⸃ V asked the little girl other Fran’s crying.

Emilia almost felt bad for her… but not really. The woman had interrupted her attempts to ask a child if they needed help! And then she’d tried to kill her, risking everyone’s lives in her hissy fit! Emilia had no time for sympathy for people like that, thank you.

“What are you crying about?” Emilia asked as they reached the end of the hallway, the woman so hysterical she hadn’t even noticed them approaching, let alone the fact that V was still alive and kicking.

It took more focus than when she’d activated the water gem, but after a moment of intensely imagining being able to see the horrible woman’s crying face, Emilia’s light gem lit up. Who knew anger was such a powerful motivator?

Well, Emilia had already known. Half of the things they’d done and created following Alliance Ridge had been powered by anger and frustration and guilt. It was nice to think that positive emotions—like worry for humanity or the children under your care—could be just as powerful, and maybe for some people they were. For Emilia, not so much. Kindness was great, but clearly she needed to leverage her anger a bit more.

…

Probably, she shouldn’t stand here imaging Fran bursting into flames too hard—it was liable to happen, and they were a bit close to her. She didn’t want to singe anyone’s eyebrows!

“Gale?”

she sloppily signed with the hand holding up Caro.

Luckily, V seemed to realize the problem and that whatever Emilia wanted to ask was better kept private. One moment Caro was in her arms, the next the child was being hauled away from her. They stared at each other for a moment, something strange in V’s eyes. Emilia wanted to ask about it, but now wasn’t the time. Plus, Gale.

⸂Yeah?⸃ Gale asked. The teenager looked sleepy, and Emilia abruptly realized how hard it must have been for her, to have been left behind to care for the kids. Then, for V and Fran to show up? To have to stay with some strange woman she didn’t know and none of them liked?

Emilia really owed her. She’d have to think of some way to pay the local girl back. Not now—she had basically nothing on her worth paying the girl back with, for one thing.

Tugging out her notebook, Emilia began scribbling a note. In the corner of her eye, V was nudging Fran with his boot. The woman looked up and promptly burst into sobbing apologies. If V hadn’t been holding Caro, as well as Astra’s hand, the woman surely would have thrown herself at his feet. As it was, Astra was standing guard and Caro was chiding her for putting them all in danger.

Fran looked about ready to bite back at the child—to blame Emilia for putting them in danger first—but V’s gaze hardened before her voice could even begin to fill the air.

⸂Caro was afraid and Emilia just wanted to offer them comfort,⸃ he said, voice holding that rare note of darkness and malice as he glared her down. He didn’t need to explain what exactly he meant to Fran; for all that the woman was being petty and rude and jealous, she wasn’t stupid—she knew she had fucked up and no one in their group was going to be blaming anyone but her for this situation.

Still, the woman refused to apologize to anyone but V. She could have apologized privately to the children, leaving her out, but Emilia didn’t think so. Over the past week—and fucking stars, had she really been in this place for a week? maybe even more?—she’d gotten pretty good at knowing when people were having private conversations, and she was pretty sure Fran wasn’t. Rather, the woman was staring resolutely at the ground, reminding Emilia of a child who refused to accept responsibility but knew talking back would only make things worse.

Emilia turned back to her note, finishing the question of whether using magic by accident was a thing. She had debated adding the bit about using her anger at Fran as the catalyst for silencing her inner dialogue, as well as the moments where her first instinct had been to use fire magic on the woman instead. The teenager didn’t deserve to be freaked out by her inability to control her magic—she was already disappointed in her abilities as it was—but Emilia also needed advice.

Gale’s eyes flashed over her note as she wrote it, her expression hard before she said, ⸂Yes. It happens. It…⸃ The girl hesitated, lower lip pulling between her teeth as she contemplated her words. ⸂It’s more common when kids are younger. They haven’t learned to control themselves yet, so magic sometimes leaks out. Cores develop with age, so it’s usually not that big a deal. Small floods or burns. Accidentally activating arrays in their houses. That sort of thing.”

The teenager’s eyes flicked around the hallway, seemingly saying, ⸂

This isn’t normal.

⸃

An inch of water pooled over most of the floor, soaking through everyone’s clothes and shoes— Well, all except Emilia’s because she still had neither, and her {Blood Armour} didn’t absorb water.

“Should I be worried?”

Emilia signed.

Gale shrugged, telling her she didn’t know before reaching out and ripping the page from Emilia’s notebook. She folded the note up and tucked it into her own bag—a gift from the Risen Guard, which she had taken to carrying everywhere with her, stuffed with all sorts of essentials.

“Why?”

Emilia signed, tucking her notebook away.

Gale shrugged. ⸂In case anything does happen.⸃ She smiled, something sharp and cruel. ⸂We don’t want anyone knowing you already knew your magic was a bit uncontrollable, just in case you do kill the bitch.⸃

Emilia gaped at the teenager before releasing a huffing laugh. “Typical teenager,” she muttered as they turned back to the others.

Fran was still sitting on the ground, looking truly miserable, probably because V was ignoring her in favour of chatting with Caro. The child was telling the visitor all about what had happened since they’d parted. Caro was a good storyteller, but they were telling the story in such excruciating detail that Emilia wasn’t sure it wouldn’t take longer to tell the story than it had to live it.

“Shall we?” Emilia asked during a brief moment of Caro quieting, their face scrunched up in thought as they tried to determine what detail came next. She nodded to the door, wondering if V would let them just step over Fran and leave without her.

He wouldn’t, although he drew the line at either putting Caro down or dropping Astra’s hand to help her up. Emilia was almost tempted to offer again, but Gale’s hand, rather shockingly, wrapped around hers and then Astra was grabbing the other, and well, you can’t help people up if you have no hands.

⸂Fran,⸃ V said, his voice tired and just so done, although Emilia wasn’t sure if it was with the woman, the situation, or her. It could have been her, although she hoped it wasn’t. ⸂We should get going.⸃

Fran deflated, obviously disappointed that her attempts at pouting had gained her no sympathy, before pushing herself up. Her eyes caught Emilia’s as she moved, and had she not already had experience with such hatred from her ex’s pick-me girl friend, the loathing in Fran’s eyes might have given her pause.

It didn’t, and instead she turned to Gale, the two of them rolling their eyes in tandem as they followed Fran through the door, their quiet snickers echoing through the universe.

Onwards, to whatever awaited them next.