We left the restaurant, which I now learned is called Hevert's Hovel. It was a homey-sounding name, which made it all the more confusing why there weren't more customers.
"How did you find this place anyway?"
"I was wandering the town one time, when I was running away from one of Salil's bullying attempts. I didn't want to go back to the academy since going meant having to meet him again." Kiori explained as he looked around while we walked. "Heverts invited me in, saying I looked worse than a rain-soaked Lizardcat. After my first meal there, I've been coming ever since."
"Sounds like he has been giving animal nicknames long before you came along."
"Indeed, Iguana-ferret. I think that's his way of being friendly to customers."
I pretended he didn't use that nickname. "Is that the only place you eat at when you're going out?"
"Of course not. You really think I'd settle for one hiding spot when I want to get away from school?"
Suddenly, he raised his hand, and a horse-drawn carriage pulled up in front of him. The sight of its arrival at Kiori's behest didn't feel all that different from taxi services from Earth.
The interior of the carriage looked fancy, with the windows decorated with those fancy curtain decorations at the top of the pair of windows, separated by a single beam. The beam was even decorated with ornamental carvings, as if to say to its occupants that nothing about this carriage's aesthetics was bland.
As he stepped onto the carriage, he turned to me.
"Didn't you want to talk about the Wind Mage attacker?"
"Huh? Oh yeah! Must've slipped my mind after learning that sharks are a delicacy, and after I accidentally threw a fork at Heverts."
"Well, there's nothing more private than a conversation in a carriage. If you're worried about the rider being privy to our conversation, these carriages have a door that blocks any sound from reaching their ears." Kiori explained as he pointed to somewhere inside the carriage. Sure enough, there was a small sliding door. It reminded me of those doors with sliding eye holes. "Just make sure you keep your voice down."
Truthfully, I wanted to wait until we were back in his dorm, since that was the most private place we had access to, but I was worried I'd end up forgetting about it on the way there.
I stepped into the carriage after him, mentally reminding myself of the topic.
"Megalia Academy," Kiori spoke to the rider before closing the door, and the rattling of the carriage told us we were moving.
"You said something weird about the terrorist intentionally avoiding hurting people. Perhaps they have a set of ideals they operate on, but it doesn't excuse the fact that he hurt others."
"Don't you think it's weird? That mage was at least high-advanced level with how much power he showcased. His wind was powerful enough to destroy and lift entire buildings. With how destructive it looked, the amount of control showcased while avoiding hurting bystanders is more than impressive. It's a testament to a level of precision many mages dream of, but few can achieve."
"In other words, any mage who paid attention would've noticed this level of control shown by... Ko-something, and see it as an admirable feat of control."
"Yes, Nolval. It would certainly catch the eyes of any perceptive mage."
"Have you heard the attacker's name? I've heard it from a girl in the Givilrin Knight Order. I think her name was Kalice."
"I haven't heard his name, just that he'd be sent to Mahishin prison."
"What's Mahishin prison?"
"It's a place criminal mages go for crimes using magic. Regular prisons can't hold the abilities they wield, so a prison that can exclusively restrain mages of any level was built to combat this issue. Do you remember how they restrained him?"
I recalled the scene of many mages struggling against the Wind Mage.
"Umm… by keeping up the pressure until he became exhausted enough to become vulnerable?"
"That's part of it, but there's something that guarantees capturing a mage. An Antis crystal."
"What's an Antis crystal, and what does it do?"
"It's a crystal that suppresses magic. If it's strong enough, it can even temporarily disable a mage's access to their Proa."
Hang on, have I seen something like that before?
I recalled the scene of people in armor activating some sort of purple crystal, but I don't remember much after that. I guess that's when I fainted.
"Is it purple?"
"Yeah."
"And it glows when it's active?"
"Pretty much."
I looked at the purple crystal decorating the interior. When I saw it, I initially dismissed it as a decoration exclusive to premium carriages. The interior had a Gothic and regal design that felt exclusive to nobles and royalty. Though thinking about it. Kiori might be considered a noble.
I'll have to ask him about it when we get back.
"Are Antis crystals usually included in carriages?"
"Well, yeah. Carriage drivers needed a way to protect themselves and their horses and carriages, should they ever cross with a rampaging mage. It might be enough to disable novice and intermediate tiers, but it could prove ineffective against higher-tier mages."
"So what's their defense against someone not using magic, like a sword or blunt weapon?"
Putting too much focus on defending against one type of enemy can easily leave you vulnerable to others. From a strategy perspective, the best way to defend against many possible cases would be-
"Our best defense wouldn't be fighting back, but letting someone else take care of the problem." The carriage driver spoke, surprising both Kiori and me.
Suddenly, the carriage sped up, rattling the interior more. As the ride became bumpier, the Antis crystal inside the carriage started glowing brighter. As its glow intensified, I saw Kiori putting a hand to his head. He had a discomforting expression, as if trying to soothe the pain by massaging where it was coming from. I'd know from my experience with sudden headaches.
Something like this happened back with the Wind mage attacker, too, didn't it? I just didn't put much thought into it because it was seconds before I fainted.
So this is what Antis crystals are capable of.
The shaking intensified, rattling my thoughts and bringing me back to our current predicament. Both of us were being kidnapped, with Kiori being affected by the Antis crystal's effects.
I held onto the carriage's interior as best as I could, keeping my body and thoughts stable as I thought about the next use of my power. My first thought was to destroy the crystal.
I used my power to punch a hole in the roof where the Antis crystal was. It was a circular-shaped hole, created by an extremely powerful puncturing force I visualized. The sound of breaking wood was extremely loud.
"What the-"
I heard the carriage driver exclaim as the carriage slowed to a halt. My guess is that he planned on investigating what had happened.
"Agh!"
Kiori clutched his head tighter, despite the Antis crystal being destroyed.
I held him close, reminding him I was still here while focusing on our kidnapper.
The door opened suddenly, with the kidnapper holding a glowing purple light in his hand. It was bright enough for the glow to penetrate through his fingers and thumb.
The Antis crystal was held out in front of him like a lantern, but the way he carried it felt like he was trying to ward of an evil spirit using a charm.
I bent his arm back in an unnatural way. It made a loud, sickening crunch I had no idea was possible for the human body. It was disgusting, and it almost made me vomit.
"Ahh!" The kidnapper let out a blood-curdling as he dropped his Antis crystal.
As it fell to the ground, I intercepted it, levitating it toward me with my telekinesis so that I could visualize it splitting in half, intent on destroying it and its functions. Just to be sure, I made it shatter into more pieces before compressing them and making a Ziploc plastic bag around them, but quickly changed my mind and produced a mason jar around it instead, paying extra attention to the screw-like protrusion and grooves of the lid and container. For extra security, I surrounded that jar with a bigger copy of itself before putting that inside a metal barrel with a radiation warning label. I didn't know if the Antis could emit some form of radiation, so a metal barrel would have to do for now.
My attention shifted to our kidnapper, his mouth agape at my display of power. I promptly responded by producing a rubber mallet over his head and letting it drop. The mallet landed headfirst, knocking him out.
I gently let the barrel of the shattered Antis crystal levitate to the ground as I brought Kiori out of the carriage we were nearly kidnapped in. The horse responsible for pulling the carriage disappeared, likely running off to who knows where, wherever its instincts guided it. He pushed me away, insisting he could stand for himself, before leaning against a nearby tree.
I went back to our unconscious kidnapper.
Handcuffs wouldn't exactly work, since his arm is extremely disfigured. His legs were perfectly fine, so I bound them with iron shackles. The rings were connected together by a solid piece of metal that was as wide as the ring's length, created with the intention of not leaving him comfortable and restricting his ability to walk. I kept them loose enough so that his clothes would fit and allow blood circulation, but also tight enough to ensure he couldn't maneuver his legs out of them.
As for his free arm, I decided it'd be best to tie it to a durable steel chair. The 'chair' was merely a large metal block for him to sit on with a chair back attached to it. I produced some rope and tried tying him to it, but my knot-tying skills were terrible, so I wrapped his arm to the steel chair like a cocoon, before merging to 2 free ends together, making a closed rope loop.