Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]
CHAPTER START---
Observing the self-sustaining planetoids above, Oberon takes a deep and relaxing breath, feeling the Magic Energy flow through his aching body after weeks of endless fighting.
Looking across Titan Canyon, he sees the destruction below and frowns, but pays it no mind as his job is now done. He turns and descends from the sky as the afternoon sun makes itself known again, now that the storm clouds are gone, only leaving the shadows of the planetoids to move and shift around the island below.
Flying over to the Rune Knights' observation camp located on one of the mountains atop the seawall, he sees a few dozen men in uniform frantically moving back and forth. Taking notes from the fight now that it was complete, double-checking the damage with their spyglasses, then moving to the tent with a carriage-sized Communication Lacrima, relaying all the information to the Southern Isles Magic Council.
"Those seals will hold them, so long as nobody goes interfering with it," Oberon says as he hovers beside the Rune Knight Captain.
"Right, I'll be sure to include that in the report. But we will need more specific information regarding the nature of the Sealing Magic used."
Oberon frowns. "Fine, but my next Job starts immediately so I don't want any delays."
"Oh, your Magic research Job?" the Rune Knight Captain asks, and Oberon narrows his eyes at him. "Uh, your client arrived a few hours ago, he's up there, at the summit."
Oberon's gaze follows the captain's nods, shifting to the peak of a nearby mountain. "Right. Tell your people to contact Fairy Tail, I'll be back after I finish a few Jobs that interest me down here."
"Really? We assumed you rushed back to be celebrated as a Wizard Saint."
"I don't think that title will actually change much for me. I'm in no hurry to get back there, not where I have thousands of incredible islands to explore."
Before the man can respond Oberon rockets off toward the mountain top, ascending past the snowcapped tundra, ignoring the blistering winds, and reaching the peak where he sees an old man holding a staff containing a purple gem, dressed in white and purple robes with white hair and a beard.
"Hmm, not many Wizards still dress like that, kind of cool," Oberon says as he floats in front of the man, who is busy staring at the planetoids above.
"That Seal you used, it's the 47th Containment Seal."
Oberon's eyes widen slightly. "How do you know about that?"
"Because I too have studied Zeref's Magics, but, I am curious about how you figured it out."
"I found a spider monster that was sealed with it. After I destroyed it I reverse engineered the Magic."
The man turns to Oberon, taking in the boy's damaged clothes, and the intricate marking on his right arm. 'All that fighting and he's uninjured. Not to mention the fact that he reverse engineered my father's Sealing Magic, while I needed direct lessons…very interesting.'
"My name is August," the man says. "I am hailed through the nation of Alvarez on the Western Continent, as the Wizard King. Though I suspect our isolated nature means you've never heard of me."
"Yeah, sorry, but that does sound cool. I'm Oberon."
"Fairy Tail's strongest, I am aware. We've heard of you even in Alvarez. The rare copy of Sorcerer Weekly reaches our shores, King of the Fairies."
"Yeah, my actual name is Oberon Alkwan."
August raises a brow at that. "I'm sorry, I thought that was a title."
"It is, well, it became one, eventually. Yours is cool too, 'Wizard King', how'd you get that?"
"By learning every Magic on the continent," August's expression remains calm, but standing before his mother Mavis's clear favourite, he'd hoped to show off a bit. Which only led to him being slightly annoyed when Oberon's response was a disappointed sigh.
"So you just use Copy Magic, right? Everyone who claims to have hundreds of Magics is just using Copy Magic."
"Well, yes. But it's my Innate Magic, and I then need to actually practice and master all the Magics I have."
Oberon pouts and looks away. "I was kind of hoping you'd have something cool. That's so boring."
"I'm sure there are many Magics at my disposal which interest you."
"Yeah, probably," Oberon crosses his legs and sits in the air. "So, why did you hire me to help research?"
"This," August raises his hand and Requips a Grimoire made of fine black leather with a green leaf pattern at the front. "This Grimoire is more ancient than anything else in my possession, and I need the help of a fellow Rune specialist to decipher it."
He floats the book to Oberon, who eagerly flips it open and begins reading. He's surprised that the language appears so strange to him, even after studying many ancient and current languages. "This is…yeah, super old. Looks like it's even older than Draconic."
"You can speak Draconic?"
"Yeah, this looks similar, but not quite the same. Less refined, so definitely older."
'He's smarter than I thought, that Grimoire will only buy me so much time,' August thinks, considering which part of the book he created would be most difficult to solve.
"Do you have any problems with travelling as we research Magics?" Oberon asks, still reading the Grimoire.
"Not at all, but why do you ask?"
"There are some other Decade Quests I'd like to take before going back to Ishgar, so we can study this while I handle those."
"If it means I get to see you in action, that's perfect. After all, part of why I'm here is to see exactly how powerful you are."
"I don't fight people for no reason, if that's what you're thinking."
"Not at all. Combat is a ugly necessity, especially between research partners."
"Glad we agree, now," Oberon holds his fist out to August. "Take a look."
"At, your hand?"
"Fist bump."
"Ah," the man gently taps his fist against Oberon's, and in that moment the boy unleashes a drop of his Magic Energy, crashing his Boundless Cosmos against August's Magic Energy. As their Magic Energy clashes, they each see and understand each other more clearly, and within a second they pull away.
"Wow, I've never met someone with that much more Magic Energy than me…scary," Oberon says.
"I don't expect that will remain the case for too long, you have far more than I expected, far more than I did at your age. Now, shall we head to camp and begin our research?"
Oberon nods, and August immediately teleports down to the Rune Knights, leaving him at the summit with the Grimoire. "Show off," Oberon mutters before racing down the mountain.
The moment their Magic Energy clashed, August felt fear for the second time in his life. Fear that has only crawled into his heart when faced with the rage of his father, Zeref.
Not because Oberon was as powerful, no, he was not even half as powerful August, who alone can crush all the Wizard Saints, including God Serena. But August, as the strongest human in the world, after Zeref, could tell this boy's potential is far too great.
The thought of killing him, here and now, crossed his mind. But he strayed his hand, because he wanted to know what kind of son his mother, Mavis Vermillion, would have wanted him to be. And because he believes, no matter how talented a person is, they will always be second to Zeref.
Therefore, in his mind, even Oberon Alkwan, King of the Fairies, was of no concern to the greater machinations of his father.
Oberon reaches the base camp to see August standing among the Rune Knights, staring down at his hands, flexing his fingers as Magic Energy flows around him.
"What are you doing?"
August sighs and stops flowing his Magic Energy. "My Magic works on any Ability Type Magic, like your Cosmic. But, your Magic Energy is far too heavy, I've never encountered anything like it. I can't seem to copy it."
"Yeah that doesn't surprise me. My Magic does a lot of weird things. Anyway, I'm going to get cleaned up. The Rune Knights need to check the canyon so we'll be here for a few more days, then we can leave."
"That is quite fine. I was at a port when I heard rumors of the Magic Council sending someone to this island, when I came to investigate, I didn't expect it to be you. Although, that should have been obvious."
"Yeah, this fight was really crazy…"
CHAPTER END---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]