Chapter 637: My Brother Is A Sage?

"Well, don’t hug me too much." Aisha managed to say. "If you choke me out, that thing up there—"

She pointed at the floating golem

"—might come crashing down and that’s not what I’ve planned."

Hearing this, Aqua froze.

Then she pulled back in surprise, looking up at the massive golem still floating serenely above them.

"Wait, hold on." She said, her brow furrowing. "Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do? The earth mages I’ve seen before use gravitational magic to lift up massive boulders and smash them down on their enemies."

She looked back at Aisha and said,

"You can’t just leave it floating up there forever. You need to bring it down, right?"

Aisha let out a dramatic cough.

"Please." She said, offended. "Do you think I would do something so simple? So barbaric?"

She pointed upward.

"Look. There’s a reason that golem is up there. It’s for something completely different. Just watch what it does."

She snapped her fingers again.

The golem moved.

Its massive head turned, those yellow eyes scanning the landscape below.

Then, with movements that should have been impossible for something made of solid rock, it reached down.

Its enormous hand plunged into the chunk of earth below it and when it lifted, it was clutching a massive chunk of earth as big as a carriage.

And then, with casual ease, the golem lifted the chunk high above its head and threw it.

Aqua watched, dumbfounded, as the massive projectile sailed through the air and crashed into the ground far in the distance.

BOOM!

The impact sent up a cloud of dust and debris, and even from here, she could feel the ground tremble.

But the golem didn’t stop and reached down again.

Grabbed another chunk.

And threw it.

BOOM!

Another impact. Another crater.

Over and over, the golem methodically tore apart the crater beneath it, hurling massive pieces of earth across the landscape with devastating accuracy.

"What..." Aqua breathed. "What is it doing?"

Aisha’s voice took on a lecturing tone, clearly proud of her creation.

"I didn’t just put the golem on the crater and lift it up for show."

"It’s actually a new attack I created where, instead of the massive rock dropping down first and causing mass damage in one predictable impact, I place the Golem on top so the golem can be thrown rocks directly at whatever enemy is below, concentrating the destruction exactly where I want it"

"And if necessary I can even change the golem’s position mid-air to increase its speed—because we all know golems are slow on the ground, but the rock it’s standing on fixes that."

"Also since the golem can jump off at certain points during the descent to cause scattered damage before continuing to wreak havoc on its own, and only then does the piece of land fall as well."

"It’s simply far more effective that way.

Aqua watched, mesmerized, as the golem continued its destructive display.

"It’s...amazing." She admitted.

"Really cool, actually. Much more effective in battle than just smashing one big rock."

She then paused, a thought occurring to her.

"But since you’re using two spells constantly, doesn’t that mean your mana usage will run out quickly?"

To that, Aisha shook her head, a smug smile on her face.

"That’s where you’re wrong, Aqua."

"What do you mean?"

"This isn’t two spells." Aisha explained. "This is one single spell. The golem and the gravitational magic are combined into one complete whole."

Aqua’s jaw dropped.

"That’s—no. No way. How is that even possible?"

She started pacing, her mind racing.

"I mean, the golem alone is already an incredibly complex area of earth magic. It’s a living entity in its own way, requiring constant magical input to maintain."

"And gravitational magic is already so hard to master on its own."

"But combining them? Creating one spell that does both?"

She whirled on Aisha.

"That level of spellcraft—decreasing mana usage through perfect integration, creating something that’s never been heard of before—that’s not something you should be able to do at your level."

"That’s not something anyone should be able to do without decades of research!"

Aisha’s smile didn’t waver.

"Of course." She said simply. "I told you, didn’t I? I’m not the one who figured this out."

Aqua stopped pacing.

"The person who made that notebook." Aisha continued. "He’s the one who taught me."

"He’s the one who showed me how to integrate these spells."

"He’s the one who opened my eyes to what’s possible."

Aqua’s expression shifted. The awe remained, but now it was directed somewhere else entirely.

"H-He did this?" She whispered. "He created a spell that combines earth and gravity magic into one?"

"He figured out how to reduce mana usage to that degree? He developed a technique that no one in the capital has even theorized about?"

She looked up at the floating golem, still methodically throwing chunks of earth across the landscape.

"Who is he, Aisha?" Her voice was filled with wonder. "Who is this person? The more I hear about him, the more I’m convinced he’s...he’s some kind of sage. Someone who could change everything we know about magic."

Then, slowly, a look of realization crossed her face.

"Wait, hold on a second." She said, turning to face Aisha directly. "Why am I even wondering about this? You’re right here in front of me. It’s about time you tell me yourself."

She grabbed Aisha by the shoulders and looked at her with a solemn, unwavering gaze.

"Now tell me, Aisha. Tell me who this person is right now. I’m not leaving here without an answer."

Aisha blinked at the sudden intensity.

Then, slowly, a teasing smile spread across her face.

She looked away dramatically, tapping her chin as if deep in thought.

"Ohhh, what do I do, Aqua? What do I do?"

She mused, her voice dripping with playful mischief.

"Usually I’m the one who’s desperate and running around you for something. You’re the one who’s always pulling strings, teasing me, making me flustered."

She glanced back at Aqua with glittering eyes.

"But now it’s the exact opposite situation. The tables have turned completely."

She shrugged, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"And since this is such a rare occurrence...maybe I want to play around with this. I like it quite a lot, actually."

Aqua’s eye twitched.

The little—

But then, a mischievous look of her own crossed Aqua’s face.

"Sure, sure." She said sweetly, her voice taking on a dangerous edge. "You can do that, Aisha. You can play around all you want."

She tilted her head, feigning casualness.

"But remember what happened three years ago? When you tried that new spell and it backfired on you? And how you drenched yourself because you couldn’t handle the backlash?"

Aisha’s confident expression faltered.

"And remember." Aqua continued, her smile widening. "How because you couldn’t change clothes in time, you had to go to that ball with wet pants?"

Aisha’s face went crimson.

"Wait—wait, why are you bringing that up?!" She sputtered. "I thought I told you to never bring that up ever again!"

Aqua simply shrugged, utterly unbothered.

"Well, let me just tell you right now..." She said casually. "...that if you don’t tell me who this person is, I’ll go over to your subordinates. All of them. One by one."

"And I’ll tell them all about how their cute commander peed her pants and was walking around in them."

She paused for effect.

"And you can imagine where that story will go from there."

She started to turn away, as if she was really about to walk off and find the nearest guard.

Aisha’s eyes went wide with horror.

"HOLD ON!"

She lunged forward and grabbed Aqua’s arm, her claws digging in just slightly.

"Hold on, hold on, I’ll say it! I’ll say it, okay?! Just don’t do anything!"

Aqua stopped walking.

She turned back slowly, a victorious smile spreading across her face.

"So who is it, Aisha?" She asked, her voice soft but demanding. "Who’s the one who has given me so much hope? Who’s this magical genius? Tell me so I can meet them already."

Aisha looked up at her quietly.

Her teasing expression faded.

"...To tell you the truth..."

She hesitated.

"...It’s not someone new in your life."

Aqua frowned slightly, while Aisha continued.

"You’ve already met him."

"...What?"

"You’ve already met them many times, actually." Aisha’s voice was calm now, steady. "You’ve probably spent years with them already."

Aqua stepped back, confusion written all over her face.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "I don’t remember anyone like that. The only person I’ve spent years with who knows magic deeply is my teacher."

"But I don’t think even he knows something like this. If he did, he would definitely publish it or make some announcement about it."

She threw her hands up.

"I don’t know who you’re talking about."

But Aisha just patiently shook her head.

"No, Aqua. It’s someone much, much closer."

Her voice grew gentle.

"And someone you love very much."

Aqua froze.

Then she shook her head more vigorously.

"No. That’s absolutely ridiculous, Aisha."

She smiled like she heard a ridiculous joke.

"The only man that’s ever been close to me and the only one I love is my brother, Cassius. There’s no one else!"

"I don’t have any other close male friends, no secret admirers that I know of, nothing like that!"

She threw her hands up in frustration.

"So what you’re saying right now doesn’t make any sense at all!"

Aisha watched her confused for a moment.

Then, gently, she reached out and placed a hand on Aqua’s shoulder, stopping her.

"Aqua."

Her voice was calm.

"The person I’m talking about..."

She held her gaze.

"...is exactly the person you just named."

Aqua’s body went still.

Her lips parted slightly.

But Aisha didn’t look away as she finally said,

"It’s none other than your brother..."

"...It’s Cassius."

The name echoed in Aqua’s ears.

Aisha finished softly.

"He’s the one who taught me all of this."

"He’s the one who created those spell frameworks."

"He’s the one who solved that defensive array."

"He’s the one who integrated gravitational magic into a single construct."

Her eyes shone with admiration.

"He’s not just your brother, Aqua."

"He’s...a magic genius who’s on another level that mere mortals like us can’t comprehend."