Chương 155: High Hopes

"Are you sure that you only had talking in mind? Bringing a girl up to your room like this… Might start giving her hints that you had something else planned," Amica Steiner said as she used her telekinesis to flick the door shut behind them while adding.

"Not that I mind, of course. As I have said many times by now, yet you always manage to change the subject. You tease," she finished with a wink. Sighing inwardly, Kite gestured for her to sit down in one of the odd recliners of his room, the plushy seat suspended by ropes from the ceiling to gently shift with the small motions of the floating hotel. His mental sigh was not just due to her words, direct as they might be, but at that nagging feeling which had returned as his aura brushed up against hers.

Something shifting with unease, the feel of it bleeding into his own.

"I am quite sure that words are the only thing we will exchange here tonight, Amica," Kite said as he too sat down.

"And let me begin with the question; why?"

"Why? Why what?" she asked, obviously playing oblivious as she stretched out in the recliner, idly starting to levitate a few of the nearby decorative seashells and a fragile-looking glass vase, having the objects start to orbit each other in swirling loops.

"Why this pursuit? All of these propositionings and innuendo? Since that first training session, they have been constant, and while I respect people's attraction and sexuality, even I am not oblivious enough to know that this level of directness is not common in most of the wider world."

"Maybe I'm just a woman who knows what she wants?" Amica countered playfully.

"We're silver-rankers, Kite. We can do almost anything we like. There are very few things in this world beyond us. Things we cannot have or take."

"And yet we're still people, Amica. With your senses, surely you would have seen my evasions for what they were. So I ask again; why?"

"Well, you said you weren't in a relationship, and what other reason would you have to actually mean that you weren't interested? Even guys can play hard to get, even if it's rare, and I didn't mind some chasing for once. Is it still the telekinesis you're worried about? Many men are a bit hesitant at first, but they have all learned that relinquishing control can be quite rewarding. Exhilarating, even.

Trust me, I'm very good at-""Amica, you still aren't answering my question," Kite said, brows furrowing in concern.

"Well, what is there to answer?" she said, finally dropping a bit of the smiling, casual facade.

"You never said no, so I went for it."

"And if I say no, then?" Kite asked, keeping his calm even as he felt slight agitation fluttering across her aura.

"Then it is my turn to ask; why?" Amica said, rising to her feet.

"People like us don't just say no to such things. Why not just take what you surely want from the opportunity? I mean, look at me," she said, gesturing vaguely at her body.

"It is what we do. We're the powerful ones now. Why not let me take a bit of what I want when you surely want a piece of me as well? I mean, you still haven't said no. It's not like I'm trying to force you to-""Are you sure?" Kite asked, and at hearing his words, Amica froze, only just now seeming to notice her aura gripping at Kite's like a vice. Noticing the flutter of the looser parts of his clothing as her telekinesis was getting a partial hold.

Noticing that Kite seemed to be on the verge of being lifted ever so slightly from the seat of his chair. And at feeling the slight unease and fear in Kite's own aura, under control but there.

"Good, at least she isn't entirely bereft of clarity," Kite thought at her stunned realization, and continued to speak.

"I don't know you very well, Amica. But my Auntie Crow - my adopted mother, that is - has given me much advice while growing up. And I will share a piece with you; When you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again no matter the result, it might be worth taking a long look at why you are doing it rather than what. Why is it important enough? And is it really? Is it what I want to do? Is it helping me take steps towards becoming the person I want to be?

If you can truly face your own answers, you will know your heart. And in that lies the path towards the heavens." He relaxed slightly as he felt the grip on body and spirit fade, even if Amica was still staring at him, her previous expression replaced with something blank and withdrawn.

"A bit of a monologue, for which I apologize, but I believe that it needed to be said. I may still be young and foolish, but I try to lean on the words of those I care about. And you, Amica Steiner, seemed to need to hear them." Having said his peace, Kite just sat there and remained silent, letting her work through whatever his words - or her own actions - had stirred up in her.

Eventually, she glanced at him and opened her mouth as if to speak, but her aura was unstable enough for Kite to know what would happen next. There was a light crash of broken glass as the levitating vase fell to the wooden floor, the accompanying shells clattering down around the brittle shards half-covered by the curtains left billowing by Amica's passing. Kite knew that she could fly quite fast through her telekinesis, but her rapid retreat had surpassed what he had witnessed before.

"At least there is only the environmental barrier," Kite thought, looking out the panoramic opening over the sea of colorful lanterns.

"Because I'm not sure if she would have stopped to open the window." He sighed, already having lost track of her retreating form, and instead bent down to start picking up the broken glass.

"I do not know what will come of this," Kite said to no one in particular, "but I still believe that it needed to be said. Even though I still feel that she didn't actually answer my question." Still, he felt good about his decision, if nothing else for his own sake. It had been uncomfortable, but necessary, leaving him more at peace. Resolute.

"They seem to be doing well in preparing for the initial breaching," Christine noted, watching the screens. All five of the prospects lay on the stone slabs, their consciousnesses firmly in the scenario which the mirage chamber was currently projecting.

"But is it just me, or has something been different so far?"

"Yes, Steiner hasn't made any overt suggestions at all today, neither inside or outside the chamber," Mtanga noted.

"At a glance, she is as casual as usual, but I think there is something more to it. Maybe I should have actually gone and become part of healer's clergy after all. The mind and interpreting it is fascinating."

"As long as it doesn't impact their performance," Ryker added.

"And, speaking of which, they are preparing to breach the walls now. Let's see how they'll handle the surprise at the end." Once more, Kite had to marvel at the level of detail which the mirage chamber could bring to life. He was currently crouching behind a low balustrade of a tall building, a foreign city spreading out beneath him. The architecture was a far cry from home; square sandstone homes with flat roofs often sporting different kinds of greenery.

While not visible from here, he expected some kind of salt flats or other similar barrens around, but the simulated mana density was rich in contrast to the physical environment. On the streets below, crowds moved in the evening gloom and even scents of spicy, foreign food wafted up from the many different chimneys.

"Gray Sky sees that the sights of Canbagna are new to you. It is to be expected when first seeing its splendor. Had this not been a mirage, Gray Sky would have taken you out to show you some proper culture," the runic murmured from where he was seated close to Kite.

"Is this where you are from? Or at least an image of it?" Kite asked in return. The proud runic rarely spoke to him outside of purely mission-related topics, but apparently the familiar environments had loosened his tongue somewhat.

"While it wasn't confirmed, just look at it; the magnificent architecture, the lively crowds, the food… If this isn't an image of Canbagna, then it is as close as can be. Gray Sky swear upon it." Kite only nodded in response, the attention of both men sharpening as they saw a flicker of movement on a nearby rooftop. A moment later, Emilio Cardenco appeared next to them in a silent shifting of space.

"We are in position. They have begun the ritual in earnest, so now is the time. We enter as planned." He left immediately thereafter, and both Kite and Gray Sky rose to their feet, readying themselves. With a nod to the runic, Kite stepped up on the balustrade, then out to empty air. A rectangular barrier appeared beneath his feet, and Gray Sky stepped up right behind him as the pair walked out high over the bustling city below.

Kite was stretching the alternate casting of Leyline Warding as much as he could, but with its limited reach he could bring at most one other person if they were willing to walk closely behind him. The pair walked out around a hundred meters, stopping below a seemingly ordinary housing complex below. From what Emilio had reported of the magical defenses on the doors and windows, as well as what he had been able to glean of its insides, it was anything but.

But there was also another thing the elf had noticed while scouting; the occupants had neglected to fortify a rather crucial part of the building. The roof.

"Ready?" Kite asked softly.

"We shall be the vanguard," Gray Sky said solemnly as he nodded, his lower body transforming into that of a snake while the hissing tendrils of his hair unwound themselves from the low ponytail in which he usually kept them.

"Then may Fortune favor us, and Warrior guide our strikes," Kite said. At a signal conveyed through a gentle nudging of aura, Gray Sky sprung upwards. Not far, but far enough to give Kite some head start as he let the barrier beneath his feet disappear in a blink, the pull of the earth taking hold as he pushed his aura outward as far as possible in a brazen display of his spirit.

The rushing air tugged at some loose strands of Kite's hair as he fell, the arms of his mantle manifesting just a moment before impacting the roof. Implacable Motion drained some mana in order to allow him to fall straight through, falling debris accompanying Kite as his landing cracked the floor of the living room-turned-ritual chamber.

In that split moment impact, Kite had time to take some stock of his surroundings; five silver-rankers and around ten bronze had been gathered around a glowing ritual circle, with an emphasis on the past tense as all of them were currently busy raising magical defenses, applying boons, conjuring weapons or readying other form of attacks as Kite's aura display had not exactly been subtle.

The magical diagram itself was half lit, surrounded by censers spewing foul vapors and other piles of materials required, as well as a dozen bound and gagged captives in its center. But while the defenses now being mustered might have looked quite troublesome, it was in actuality all according to the plan of the strike team.

"Dissolve the patterns of power!" Kite finished the last syllable just as he struck the floor, and a wave of dispelling force burst from him in all directions. Projectiles were swallowed and scattered, boons winked out and other magical constructs wavered or shattered; the initial barrage of the defenders turning into a waste of resources and a distraction both. Kite had already paid the additional mana to exclude two others from its effects, which soon turned the ritualists' day from bad to worse.

Four bronze-rankers fell almost instantly from empowered wand blasts to the back of their head as Emilio Cardenco appeared behind them, magical implements drawing glowing arcs through the air. At the same time, all of the bound would-be sacrifices were suddenly bundled together and yanked straight up into the air by an invisible force, as Amica simultaneously extracted the prisoners while making sure to deflect the debris of the collapsing roof away from them.

While the silver-rankers were core users, they still reacted to the shifting circumstances. Kite could feel more than one affliction take hold within him as his many arms blurred to start projecting attacks to where they could make the most difference. He didn't choose his targets based on damage done, but rather on disruption.

Be it to dispel boons or projectiles or simply to knock weapon-wielding arms out of alignment, Kite tried to put his metaphorical weight on the equally metaphorical scales in as many places as possible during the intense couple of seconds before Gray Sky and Sztyka also arrived through the crumbled ceiling. Hands of dust swept out through the room to injure, wither and just grapple what they could, while ritualists started petrifying or were sent scattering from clouds of poison.

One of the targets leapt out through a nearby window while another teleported away, and as per earlier agreement, Emilio vanished to track down the teleporter while trusting Amica to chase down the other. This left Kite, Sztyka and Gray Sky facing down the remaining three silver-rankers and the half-dozen or so injured bronze-rankers remaining.

"Wait! Stop! We can-" one of the ritualists began, but was swiftly interrupted as a clawed hand of withering dust closed over her face while snakes started emerging from the ground in a wide area to entangle and bite into all foes they could reach. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

One of the silver-rankers managed to escape the restraining spell through a burst of wind, making a beeline for another window, only to fall flat as a Disrupting Strike from Kite canceled the flight spell. The man was instead sent hurtling across the floor at high speeds, and seeing that his two colleagues were handedly taking care of the restrained and beleaguered foes, Kite saw his best opportunity to take a prisoner.

Using the stored power of Unyielding to make an empowered leap across the room, Kite went on the offensive, both his staff, obscured blade and Matra's descendants striking while covered in the blue sheen of Cleave the Spirit. The man did his best to fight back at first, but was quickly forced to realize that the exchanges weren't going anywhere near in his favor.

He then surprised Kite by accepting a trio of attacks to instead reach into a pocket, with Kite's improved hearing allowing him to pick up on the sound of something shattering.

"Glory be to Destruction! Let us fuel the pyre of his-" was all that the man had the time to wheeze while starting to activate the self-detonating power which seemed to be part of the power set of any follower of that particular deity. His words were cut short, however, as Kite's Disrupting Strike snuffed out the budding conflagration, much as he had done back at bronze-rank during the attempt on Vista's life. The second attack also drained the last of the man's mana, and the follower of Destruction.

As this was also new information, Kite immediately called out to his allies.

"An adherent of Destruction. This was apparently not only Plague's doing!"

"A collaboration? Gray Sky will crush them no matter which fallen god they venerate," the runic man called back while he was dismantling the resistance of the remaining, struggling cultists. The bronze-rankers were already gone, their limp forms buried beneath the snakes wrapping them, and the silver-rankers did not look much better off beneath his and Sztyka's ministrations.

"If it was truly Destruction, we need to prepare to leave," Sztyka reminded them all calmly while draining the life from her foes. Remembering the cracking sound that he had heard from the man's pocket, Kite took a moment to start to properly sweep the room. There were only too many things which cracking something - say, a crystal - could trigger.

While the remains of the fading ritual stirred the nearby ambient mana enough to cause some interference, he remained vigilant as his combat meditation helped him to filter out impressions. Kite idly sent out some projected attacks or barriers to help his two companions, but his focus remained on his perception. And eventually, he noticed something.

"We've got a magical charge building beneath the floor!" Kite called, sensing the faint but now rapidly rising spike of gathering energies. He swiftly strode over, plunging one of Matra's descendants down into the floor, Void-Sunders-Firmament allowing him to easily carve a hole big enough in the seam between two stone tiles to shove a hand down and heave.

The tile was ripped free with ease, and as he saw what lay beneath, Kite thanked Fortune that he had the sense to not just strike out against what turned out to be a buried artifact.

"Dear gods," Kite breathed as he took in the thing. It wasn't spectacular in and of itself; a yellowish, cubical rock covered in magical scripts and sunk into the floor where some kind of small array was both protecting it and masking its presence. And with the lid removed, Kite was instantly made aware that the faint traces he had felt before was in fact a lot more potent energies leaking through the concealing arrays.

"We need to go! Now! I'm no expert but this thing will devastate this house and probably those around it in short order," he called, desperately drawing upon everything Braid had taught him to make sense of the thing and if there was anything he could do to disarm the device.

"But we need to evacuate the civilians. Call Emilio and Amica for that. Gray Sky will make sure that-" the runic began, but Kite had to cut him off. Because the artifact, as if to spite them and their well meaning efforts, seemed to consume some of the quintessence fastened to its surface. What should have been at least a minute until detonation was suddenly mere seconds, the final stretch overcome in a blink.

"Ohsweetheavensabove- Wall! Void! Ward!" Seeing that there was little time, Kite acted. He reached down and yanked the device from its resting place, the manifested arms touching the thing dissipating in moments. But it was enough to rip it from the ground and toss upward. A split chant later consumed a charge of Potential of Stolen Power to empower Leyline Warding. Such an empowering was nothing fancy, just greatly adding to the durability of said barriers, but right now durability was exactly what Kite needed.

He did not shape the walls to merely protect him and his group, however, instead going for something more creative. The panes of force appeared to form a tall, vertical square chute which stretched upwards a good dozen meters above the roof of the house. It was layered with every centimeter of available barrier Kite could muster, and the detonating, airborne device had just reached the apex of Kite's hasty throw, which in turn left if temporarily suspended in the middle of the impromptu tunnel.

With just a moment to spare, Gate of Nihility appeared in the chute's bottom, Kite praying and hoping for the dark gate to swallow at least parts of the blast before it started to consume the house's foundations. Having done what he could, he only had the time to start to leap away, the barriers of Heaven-and-Void Warding appearing to shield him, when the device detonated. For a brief second, a small star was born inside the pipe of force barriers before it swelled outwards.

Even Kite's silver-ranked senses were blinded, and what must have been a few moment's of strain felt like minutes before something seemed to snap. Kite barely registered the many impacts as he was flung through several walls, the pain of the detonation washing over him surpassing it by far. Only when he hit the outer wall of the neighboring building did he actually stop, and Kite's thoroughly dazed mind actually managed to catch a glimpse of a fading pillar of light reaching far, far into the sky.

Around him, the civilians projected by the mirage chamber were laying scattered across the streets, some unsteadily regaining their feet while some did not move at all. But even with cries and groans of pains surrounding him, Kite couldn't help the short laugh that escaped his lips. The house where the ritual had taken place was collapsing, even more of the roof crumbling downwards and away from view. But the outer walls, at least those he could see, were intact.

Which meant that the blast hadn't left the premises, at least not fully, with most of it channeled straight upwards before breaking through the barrier. And him, the one who had been closest, surviving, both Sztyka and Gray Sky should have made it. Which, in turn, meant that he had done it. Kite had just activated Immortality to get back on his feet when Amica came sweeping down from the skies, a broken but still living silver-ranker telekinetically in tow.

"I don't know what happened, but that sure was some fireworks. That pillar of light was blinding even to me. Can you move?" she asked, her tone light but her gaze unable to really meet Kite's.

"I can, Fortune be praised," Kite said, half tumbling out from the deep, Kite-shaped indent which he had left in the stone wall of the neighboring house.

"You can drop him off here before you go and help the others. We need to assist what civilians we can too."

"You sure? I can carry him around if needed," Amica said, but she was lowering their groaning captive to the ground even as she voiced the questions.

"Do not fear. I will be perfectly fine," Kite assured her.

"Besides, leaning on something to catch my breath wouldn't be too bad," he finished, conjuring the barriers of Heaven-and-Void Warding before angling them downwards to pin the wounded man against the stone and let the mana-draining contact start taking effect.

"While I believe that my intended prisoner was lost, at least we got something out of this," Kite said, speaking aloud to the soon unconscious man as Amica flew off.

"Now we can only wait and see how our dear observers will rate this little misadventure." He didn't need to wait long either. Around two minutes later of standing there and getting a sense of the auras around him as the prisoner gradually sank into unconsciousness while Immortality continued to invigorate him, Kite saw the by now familiar signs that the simulation was coming to an end. And then, the world faded into white.

Ilmaril paused the recording, the image from the recording crystal projector showing a destructive pillar of light illuminating a cityscape beneath as it erupted from the broken roof of a townhouse. At its base, the perceptive observer could note the crumbling pipe-like barrier which had funneled much of the blast upward and downward before breaking under the force of the detonation.

"Well, Ryker, it seems like both you and me might have to face the facts and truly reconsider our little Hua-Xian," the gold-ranked elf noted soberly.

"Because this is just the latest - if the most spectacular - piece of evidence that Kite is not the individualistic, egocentric and prideful person we suspected would start to leak forth once the trial started to truly put some strain on him. So far, I believe that it is moments like this-," he said, tapping the explosion in the projection, "-which show a glimpse of a person's true color. Had this been a real scenario, we would have thought him a hero. What were the simulated civilian casualties?"

"Three dead, uncle," Christine supplied.

"Normal-ranked staff present in another part of the house. A multitude of injuries among bystanders, mostly scrapes, bruises or ruptured ears, but nothing that low-level healing ointment cannot correct."

"But with respect, Sir, Kite also knew this to be a simulation," Ryker added where he stood, arms crossed.

"I will reserve final judgment until we continue onto actual real life contracts. It's easy to forgo saving your own skin when you know it isn't actually in danger." At Ilmaril's raised eyebrow, the stern supervisor shifted somewhat, adding; "But you are correct. All data so far points to Kite not sharing his national stereotype to any disruptive degree.

And besides, we wouldn't have failed any of them for trying to get away once they verified the nature of the magical explosive left behind by the followers of Destruction. It was meant to be an example; a learning experience that many of those we hunt will not take defeat just lying down."

"In our records, how often does this scenario not end in either the death of the team or massive civilian casualties?" Ilmaril asked, Christine once more providing the details.

"Since the start of the records some forty years ago, thirteen outcomes similar to this have been recorded. As you might expect, this is a mere fraction of the total number of times this trial has been issued. Although the worst case scenario isn't overly common either. Most teams can mitigate the damage somewhat or extricate themselves to not suffer needless casualties on their side."

"So, if this is anything to go by, Sir Darnos' enthusiasm about this batch seems well-founded," Ilmaril said with a nod.

"Anything else to report?"

"Nothing more, sir," Ryker answered, straightening.

"As they performed well despite our initial misgivings, we will spend another two weeks on scenarios within the mirage chamber before moving on to real-life contracts with individual training interspersed in between. Assuming nothing out of the ordinary happens, they'll be spending four months doing what members of the task group should be doing; rooting out all cases of mishandled magic our investigators manage to dig up."

"-and I will admit that I had my misgivings about the plan at first, but heavens, you should have seen Amica go up against those two pirates. Even though they were both core-users, suppressing both of them at once is quite the feat, as well as using them both to bludgeon each other to death. Then-" Kite interrupted his retelling of the group's latest task in the mirage chamber, as he realized that Glint was no longer his sole audience.

The pair had emerged onto a terrace overlooking the ocean, part of one of the taller buildings of the Adventure Society campus which the prospective members of the task group was given access to. Only belatedly did Kite notice Sztyka, the leonid woman seated in meditation in the early morning ocean breeze. Kite halted for a moment, unsure if they should turn back, but Sztyka waved a hand at them to come closer.

"Apologies, Sztyka. We did not mean to interrupt you," Kite said, walking forward and leaning on the railing to look out over the morning sun glittering in the sea.

"It is of little matter. I have already harnessed myself and my instincts for the day to come," the leonid said, matter of factly. As usual, she did not follow up with more conversation, but Kite couldn't help but try to scrape the verbal surface a bit.

"It's just two days left now, isn't it? Before they start sending us around where we're needed?"

"Indeed."

"Any regrets or worries?"

"Many, but none of consequence. We will do the work of Justice, and thus I am content."

"For a priestess, I will admit that I had expected you to be more…" Kite began, trailing off as he started to worry that his phrasing might cause offense.

"Verbal?" Sztyka supplied, remaining seated in her meditative pose, aura serene.

"That is one way to put it, yes," Kite agreed.

"I will serve Justice best through deeds, not words. That is the part of his service and clergy I wish to distance myself from, channeling his more absolute aspects. When facing those detrimental to society, many scales of gray are shorn away, leaving me to better see the wrongs she wishes to right. Others of my faith are better suited to wrangle laws and bring forth interpretations." At Kite's stunned silence, having heard more words from the leonid now than during the last week combined, she smiled a slight grin.

"When words are needed, I do not lack them. I just choose my moments."

"I can respect that. And from what I have seen of you, I believe that you will do your god proud. I would not want to be found wanting before your powers," Kite said honestly.

"But I will admit that I am most impressed by your calm around Amica. She seems to be quite relentless in getting on your nerves."

"Amica Steiner or her antics are of no consequence to me. She will have to find her own way to face and deal with the restlessness in her soul."

"Restless is… one way to put it," Kite said, thinking back. While Amica had avoided him since he had confronted her, she had otherwise been her normal self. Which meant that something was constantly moving, floating or otherwise in motion when she was present.

"How about you, Kite? I serve Justice, and will be content in that. Why do you wish to enter the wider world, hunting those who cross the line?" As she voiced the question, she actually turned and looked at him, blue cat's eyes scrutinizing him closely. That gaze somehow made Kite feel very, very young, and he realized he had no clue as to the leonid's age. Still, he gave the question some thought, before giving his honest answer.

"I have seen quite a lot of essence-users doing questionable things, often for selfish rather than directly hurtful reasons, mind you. And my path - sorry, my power set - has turned out to be most efficient when they are my foes. It feels like the task group will be my chance to truly temper myself and my powers against more than my home has to offer."

"Tempering? To what end?"

"To reach the heavens. And also… another matter. I am sorry, but it is not something I am allowed to speak of," Kite said, thinking of the investigation into Discord's clergy that was probably underway even as they spoke. Sztyka kept resting her gaze at his for a while, silence reigning. But Kite also thought that he felt something. A hint of something more flickering across her aura as her gaze turned just a little bit vacant. Then, she smiled. Surprisingly wide, sharp teeth on full display.

"Well, Kite. My god has confirmed that your goals with these secrets of which you speak truly aligns with his own. And therefore mine. May she bless you in your endeavors, then, both now and upon your return to your home. And let us both do our best to make sure that we both comes through these upcoming months in one piece. Justice is watching, after all. And it seems that she has high hopes for both of us."