The Ghost of Vermil-Chapter 40: James III

A curse about House Vermilon? Is this one of the bastard's funny stories again. James thought. Instead of entertaining false gossip, he should be paying more attention in class.

Wilcan deepened his voice as if to add some eeriness to it, "They say, the House Vermilon is cursed. Only one sibling always survives on the main bloodline. The other boys and girls either die at childbirth or by some horrific tragedy. That is why there is only always one heir on the line of succession. Some sick rumour, isn't it?"

"That sounds so far-fetched but the Vermilons had only had one living child since around the time of the Third Crusade," Theresa affirmed. "But is it because of some form of sickness though? I heard nobles develop the strangest diseases."

"Indeed, indeed," nodded Wilcan, "My uncle died and until now we have no idea what caused it."

Lucas was left staring at him, frozen.

"Hey," Wilcan snapped him back, "Don't rat me out to your lord. We're comrades, alright?"

He bumped fists with Lucas who replied blankly, "Alright."

You idiot. That's a Vermilon right in front of you. James snapped at him, "It's a marvel you have space in your brain for gossip but none for our lessons, Lord Libbery."

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"It's just something I remembered, Professor, please don't give me demerits," he begged.

"Are you done?"

"Nearly. Will you be here tomorrow as well, Lucas?"

The Zayin student nodded. Of course, he'll most likely be here. He was banned from the Bibliotheca and no professor would accept him. James's heart felt heavy. It was not just Lucas's fault. It was his own failure too. Initially, he thought that given some exposure, Lucas would manifest. One month is just simply too short.

"Can we come again, tomorrow, Professor?" asked Wilcan.

James could not believe his ears. The slothful had volunteered to come back. Perhaps, there was hope for the young Libbery. He could not say the same for Lucas.

"I'll come too," Theresa said.

James gave Wilcan back his fifty merits after the task was over. "There will be no mercy next time."

"Aye. Professor. I'll bear that in mind," he said, clearly without intention to keep his word.

"Shall we walk together, Wilcan? Lucas, do you want to go back with us?"

The freshman shook his head. "I need to stay for a second, my lady. Thank you for teaching me so much today."

"It's no trouble. See you tomorrow then," she waved farewell as they left.

When only Lucas and James were left, he asked him, "Do you need anything else?"

"I think I know how I can stay in the Academy, Professor," declared Lucas. "I need to enter the rankings." Presently, his badge had no number in it.

"Or you can simply manifest even just a minuscule drop of holy energy. How are you even planning to enter the rankings?" There was no way for him to earn merits when he's always outside of class. James deemed it a child's foley.

"I'll ask someone to a duel."

James craned his head in surprise. He could not tell where he had mustered such confidence. "Without holy power? Are you begging to be walloped?" Will he simply throw hands?

"Well, I believe it's still better than doing nothing, Professor. Does it sound so absurd?"

"It does. It does. But who am I to stop you. Perhaps by some stroke of miracle you win. Or manifest a power at least. Then Director Garren might reconsider."

For the following day and the next, two third year Alephs would disturb James's peace in his little office chamber as they corrected papers and copied old texts. Lucas was trying his hardest to keep up with them. To his luck, both juniors were patient with him.

The three of them seemed to get along well, regaling each other with tales from their hometowns. But once in a while Wilcan would suddenly interrogate Lucas.

"Are you sure you're not a noble, Lucas? I'm pretty sure only the crown's blood are born with such beautiful gold hair."

"I'm just a noble, my lord," the other insisted.

"If you say so. Do you know who your mother is, then?"

The commoner from Vermil bobbed his head.

"Your father?"

Reluctantly, he replied, "I believe he died when I was younger."

"You don't know him then? I think we have a mystery upon us. Don't you agree, Tess?"

Theresa swayed her head from side to side. "You cannot make assumptions like that, Will. That's rude."

Despite Wilcan's prying, Lucas himself welcomed the company.

While reading one paper on Dangerous Beasts Behaviours, Lucas raised a question, "Why are all animals that come back from the dead presumed as cursed?"

Theresa looked at him as though the question was absurd.

Wilcan shrugged, "Because they shouldn't come back from the dead, Lucas."

"Why not?"

"Well for one, it's considered taboo to raise any creature from death. It's seen as a demonic practice," Theresa explained.

"Even if it wasn't done by a demon?"

The two Alephs looked at each other, confounded by a Zayin's curiosity.

"I don't know how to explain it much more plainly. It's taboo, Lucas. Only god has the authority to weave the threads of life or cut it. Only god has the right to resurrect his creation."

"Did god himself say that?"

His words bordered on heretic.

James broke in, "It's a religious decree, Lucas. It's in the Holy Scriptures."

"Which were written by people."

"Aye, but under the guidance of the angels who descended on earth."

"So, it was the angels then," he said softly before falling silent again, his stoic mask back on.

Wilcan and Theresa glanced at James, puzzled. It was the last time Lucas brought up such a query.

On the day before the senior's Hunting Test, James asked the three of them for assistance. "I need a hand in bringing out the cursed beings for tomorrow's Test."

"From the Atelier? I have not been there yet. Count me in, Professor," blurted out Wilcan excitedly.

"That's where they keep the Castel's Inkarmoran. Can we see it?" Theresa was equally interested.

"Absolutely not." James himself had not laid eyes on it since he put that massive cursed beast in chains. "Lucas, you come with us too."

"Alright, Professor."

The sky was overcast when they stepped out the Professors' Building. The air smelled thickly of the salt sea. A breeze stirred the line of maple trees that gleamed in fiery yellow and scarlet.

"There's a storm coming," commented Wilcan, looking up at the dark sky. "The first one."

The Test might need to be postponed.

"Do you know about Demach's Atelier Lucas?" Wilcan engaged the boy in another talk.

"I've never heard of it before."

"It's that giant marble building over there. They make artifacts in there. Amazing right? But what it's best known for are the cursed beings that are imprisoned inside. One of my aunts told me they're keeping something big there. Doesn't that frighten you?"

"The Inkarmoran?" Theresa said, walking closely by Wilcan's side.

"No, no, not Castel's Inkarmoran. Something else," he said, his voice hissing.

James butted in, "Now you're scaring them. Do not fret. The entirety of the Atelier is covered in runes. All the cursed beings are dormant, unless you break the artifacts they are caged in. So, don't touch anything recklessly."

They arrived at the front steps of the Atelier where Amelia greeted them. "My lords, my lady, a great afternoon to the four of you."

"Can you ask the other guards to bring the wagon, Amelia? We need to transfer the cursed beasts to the Test Site."

"I will, Professor." She disappeared through a door.

Wilcan and Theresa scanned the marble walls with awe. "I've never seen these many runes before," remarked young Libbery.

Theresa ran her hand over the smooth marble wall etched with digits from an old language hailing from a time long before the Descent. "Who even maintains them, Professor?"

"Me of course," James uttered with pride, "And well, five guards, each of them a one-star soldier."

He spotted Lucas looking intently at the deepness of the corridor, past the artisans' wing and into the containment cells. Unlike the third years, he seemed unimpressed by the runes around them.

James announced, "Come, we have a laborious task to complete."

In the artisans' wing, they could hear the sounds of scraping, chipping and hammering. Wilcan opened the door ajar and said, flabbergasted, "The Ember of Dynameis, you have one here!"

James peered through the slit on the doorway. A blue flame flickered alive in the middle of the room where a few artisans were bent on their tasks in leather aprons. It was the Ember of Dynameis, the flame that never dies.

"They say the Ember would burn the devil but not the good. It should keep on burning until all the evil in the world is gone," Theresa remarked, as though reading from a book.

It shall burn for a long time then, James thought. Demach made good use of it in crafting; the Embers were far too few to waste on demonic creatures and cursed beasts. To obtain one itself was a milestone for any institution.

Lucas stared at it vacantly, the fierce blue of the flame glinting in the calm blue of his eyes. He had not spoken since they entered the Atelier.

At the end of the long corridor, two doors awaited them, both chained with a lock. Amelia was waiting for them there. She opened the one leading to the dome that housed the various cursed beasts.

"Where does the other door lead to, Professor?" Wilcan asked.

"To the characters of your horror stories," he replied.

The dome was thick with vile energy. James's perception was sensitive, so it felt like an assault to his senses being surrounded by hundreds of cursed beings.

Amelia opened another door that led directly outside through a shorter corridor where a row of wagons awaited. Three other guards entered from there.

The larger cages that contained sleeping bison, horses and other large ruminates were stored at the first level, so that they were easier to transfer. They slightly reeked of decay but they could very much well rampage if released. "They have wheels, just roll them. Only pick those with green and red ribbons," James instructed.

Wilcan and Theresa looked at the array of cursed beasts lining the walls of the Atelier's dome. They covered their noses. Lucas, strangely, was not the least bit put off by it. Yet the boy kept staring out the door from where they entered. Is he scared? Perhaps, I shouldn't have brought him.

"Eh, are you sure they're still alive, Professor?" Wilcan grimaced.

At a glance, the beasts seemed lifeless but when studied closer, their muscles twitched slightly. It was the cursed energy trying to rouse them but the holy energy of the artifacts kept the suppressed.

"Well, alive is not the word I'd use." Some of them are undead. They were not supposed to live this long without nutrition, anyway. It was the curse keeping them from rotting and dying completely.

They began to wheel the large cages out first. They would push the cages up an incline into the wagon. Then the horses would carry them away.

Theresa asked, "Can I use my power here, Professor?"

"That is why I brought you here."

"Then, WATER SPIRIT!" Theresa released holy energy, creating two humanoid entities without a face, their flesh and bones made of water. Her WATER SPIRIT could haul two cages at once, making the work quicker.

Wilcan used a barrier to push while Lucas simply helped in carrying the smaller cages from the higher floors.

A guard came running up to Amelia and whispered something. Then she walked over to James and mumbled in a low voice, "Professor, it has awakened."

"Castel's—"

"No. It's the Weeper."

First Castel's Inkarmoran, now the Weeper too. James turned to the other guard, "Stay here with the children." To the three of them he instructed, "Don't touch anything recklessly. Keep the pace, don't rush. Theresa, can you keep these two boys in line?"

"I'll try," she replied.

"We'll be at our best behaviour, Professor. Have some trust in me," Wilcan said.

Lucas asked, "Is something wrong?"

"A minor inconvenience, that is all." James tapped his shoulder. "Help with whatever you can."

James left them and followed Amelia who unlocked the second door from before. They went down a series of steps lit by flaming cressets. The orange glow reflected off the smooth walls of the Atelier, casting the steps in a warm light. The runes to the Inkarmoran were glowing intensely, but he believed they should hold for now. Deep down the corridor, another door was giving off light. As they neared, James could make out the sound of weeping.

It is awake, and very much so.

Huuu...huuu...huuu... It sobbed in a woman's voice yet it was no lady. The Weeper was a demonic monster whose lamenting cry could manipulate other cursed beasts and even befuddle holy soldiers.

The runes had activated, keeping the Weeper locked in and subdued. However, given enough time, its cries would erode the digits. It would need constant watch now.

James immediately uttered a prayer, "Lord of the kind and the good, I call upon thy sacred power to keep the dark at bay, to banish the evil and proclaim thy victory over them."

Holy energy lit up around them like fireflies. He directed them to the marble door and reinforced the runes, making them glint brighter.

HUUU! HUUU! HUUU! A sudden bout of crying emanated from the other side.

"It is resisting," Amelia said with worry.

"Do not fear, these runes are specialized to contain much more powerful beings." Although they were weak against attacks from the outside.

Another sound reached their ears. NO!

"Professor!"

James dashed for the steps, "It's from above! Guard the steps, Amelia, do not let a cursed being in."

The loud weeping must have awakened the cursed beasts. The runes on the dome would prevent them from breaking out of the atelier but he needed to ascertain the children's safety.

There was pandemonium above. James watched as a horse raced by, followed by two guards. He ducked as an eagle swept down. CHAINS OF DOMINION! James chanted. He emitted a generous volume of holy energy, surrounding him in a blinding shroud. Then, they turned into silver glimmering chains that chased the eagle and every cursed creature within sight, instantly putting the chaos under control — almost.

Lucas was on his knees on the floor, a bruise on his cheek, lips bleeding, clutching his stomach.

Wilcan braced as a cursed bull charged towards his barrier, its brown mane flowing in the wind, resisting the pull of the CHAINS OF DOMINION. Thud. The barrier held. "Now, Tess!"

"WATER SPIRIT!" She called her soldiers into action. Spears formed out of their hands. Leaping into the air, tens of water spirits besieged the beast, impaling it from all sides.

But then a shadow emerged from behind Wilcan. It had two horns that pointed sharply heavenward, its eyes glinting an ominous red. An oryx. A cursed one that had broken out from its cage.

"Wilcan, behind you!" James yelled at the top of his lungs, launching a chain in its direction.

Wilcan turned. He had no time to activate another barrier.

Chick. The sharp horns pierced flesh but it was not Wilcan's.

Why? James thought. Why would you do that again?

Lucas coughed up blood violently as the horns sank deeper into his lungs.

"No! Lucas!" Theresa's scream tore through the chaos, spurring her soldiers.

Water spirits lunged at the oryx. Studded with holes, the beast dropped to the ground, bringing Lucas with it. Strangely, Wilcan made no move to help Lucas. The young lord simply stared at the blood drenching the blue uniform of Demach. With the horns still buried on his chest, Lucas kept mumbling something. Only when James arrived at his side could he understand him.

"Sorry... sorry," the lad's voice trembled as blood bubbled out of his lips.

To James's horror, he sensed the runes collapsing around them, as if being drained away by some unknown force. No. No. No. This can't be happening!

James felt a sudden surge of demonic energy. Then — KABOOM! The deafening blast blew off the entire floor, collapsing a face of the dome's wall and cages of demonic creatures along with it.

He had activated a barrier in time as debris rained down on them. A devilish energy swept by, making his barrier pulse in response. Cages broke, cursed beasts leapt down. This nightmare in James's career had not yet ended, he feared.

"Protect the children," he told the guards. "The director and other professors should be here soon. I'll keep the Inkarmoran occupied." James chanted, STAR OF PROVIDENCE! The star that guided the lost and shunned the darkness. Although the horned beasts seemed unbothered, the smaller cursed creatures shrank in fear as the light from the burning orb touched them. It shall provide us some respite.

A huge hand emerged from the dust, its nails caked with dirt and mud. Thud. Thud. Thud. The cursed beast climbed from its confinement and stood over them, a pair of sharp yellow eyes looked down as its shadow loomed over. Then it groaned with a hollow guttural voice that grated their ears. When the dust cleared, he saw Amelia's limp body clasped in its huge fingers.

"It's a gorilla! An enormous one," Wilcan exclaimed.

Amelia twitched. She was still alive.

James chanted a basic spell. VIRTUE OF COURAGE! A halo of light formed from the stream of holy energy. Then it began to redden, rows of enormous thorns coming off its side. James threw it with a flick of his arm. It whirred in the air, catching the lumbering Inkarmoran by the arm and leaving a deep gash.

It groaned in pain, loosening its grip on Amelia who began to fall. James sprinted to catch her in his arms. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head vigorously. "My spine..." she winced.

He brought her over to Wilcan's group who was desperately trying to maintain the barrier against the onslaught of a hundred cursed beings as Theresa commanded her water soldiers to fight against them. They fell in droves. The scene appeared like the assessment they had on paper, James thought. And they indeed were great partners. I have to give Wilcan more merits on his paper.

Wilcan muttered something, "Professor, it was Lucas." James did not know what he meant, and he had no time to spare to dwell on it.

Lucas was lying on the floor bleeding. The guards had pulled him out of the horns that had impaled him. He needed immediate healing but unfortunately only Amelia would be talented enough to do it. And right now, she was also badly hurt.

How can things take such a dark turn so drastically? One second, everything was so peaceful, then the Dome was collapsed the next.

James watched helplessly as the cursed beings that had broken free poured out of the domed hall, out into the corridor and into Demach's open grounds. His chains chased after them but he could not catch all of them.

The whirring halo trailed a curve in the air, hurtling for the beast again. Swinging its arm, the Inkarmoran blocked, causing the halo to ricochet and bury into the wall. James dispelled it and chanted again. CHAINS OF DOMINION.

A number of chains roped around the Inkarmoran but it snapped them with a sharp cry. Its strength had not depleted even though it had been immobile for years. He also needed to lengthen the time in creating the chains to make them stronger, but time was not on his side.

The giant beast hollered its dominating cry — the Inkarmoran's dangerous card. Its call carried with it a wave of dark energy. James was too occupied in keeping the chains around the cursed beasts and making more. He tried to activate a barrier but it was not thick enough. Crack. The surge hit them.

Wilcan and Theresa dropped to the ground on all fours. Even James felt his own heart racing, as though defeat was inevitable.

"Prioritize a barrier!" He ordered the guards who managed to endure. Seeing the children safe, he dashed closer to the Inkarmoran, tying its legs with silver chains. It grabbed at him. When it found it couldn't reach, it instead pulled on the chains on its legs.

"FIRST LIGHT!" He heard a familiar voice chant. The sky brightened as a shard of light descended, cutting straight through the Inkarmoran, from the top of its head down to its bottom. The Inkarmoran was split cleanly in two.

"Director!" James called, finally relieved. Or so he thought.

Huuu. Huuu. Huuu. A sobbing rose up from the ground.

It's out! James shot out chains instantly. But the Weeper was quick. Most demonic monsters were. Aside from its ability to command cursed beasts, the Weeper was dangerous enough on its own.

It was a creature straight out of a nightmare. Crouched on all fours, its slender fore limbs bent back so that it stood on its elbows, hindlegs stocky and strong enabling it to spring into leaps without delay, avoiding his attacks. Huu... Huu.. It wept with a snout akin to a canine, a slavering tongue draping off two rows of crooked teeth. Its thin lids wiped away false tears off its red slit-like eyes.

Huu... Huu.. It leaned its head on one side, studying the chaos around it, sobbing in permanent agony.

"FIRST LIGHT!" A shard of light shot down soundlessly. It struck the marble floor without stirring up dust. Unfortunately, the Weeper had dodged it.

James spun, searching for it.

Huu... Huuu... Huuuu...

Its energy was unmistakeable amidst the swarm of demons besetting the guards and his three students. It had jumped behind them, shattering a facet of their barrier with a lash of its spindly fingers. Demonic monsters were intelligent. Their attacks always had a purpose, to maim, to kill, to reduce the enemy's numbers, coming for the defenceless first. And now it had set its claws on Theresa who was too occupied in controlling her water soldiers.

Wilcan noticed, eyes rounding in dread. In that split second, the lad made a decision. He swirled and gathered holy energy in his fist. Then he struck without hesitation, putting himself between the Weeper and his comrade. BAAM!

James knew it would not be sufficient. But it was enough to shift the Weeper's attention.

HUUUU! The monster cried. It swept down its sharp claws in anger, KUCHIK, severing Wilcan's arm.

James watched in terror as the young lord's arm dropped to the ground in a spray of blood.

"NOW PROFESSOR!" With the one arm and what resolve Wilcan had left, he clutched the Weeper by its hind leg, thwarting its retreat for a fraction of a moment. It was all James needed.

CHAINS OF DOMINION! Chains shot out, ensnaring it. It began to snap free of them almost instantly. James poured every energy he could muster, producing more chains to keep it from escaping. He must not let Wilcan's sacrifice be in vain.

FIRST LIGHT! Director Garren's shard of light streaked down onto the demonic monster. It cried in pain but remained standing. Its raw defence was leagues sturdier than the Inkarmoran. They needed more firepower.

Theresa wailed, "WATER SPIRITS!" Her holy energy turned into soldiers that pinned it down with spears made of crystal-clear water. She released more holy energy, wringing the last drops of it she had remaining, creating a long water moccasin that lashed with its tongue, baring fangs made purely of water. It gracefully slithered toward the Weeper and wrapped around its neck.

One shard of light after another rained down, cutting desecrated flesh off, leaving holes in its body.

The Weeper thrashed, bursting with demonic energy that doused the STAR OF PROVIDENCE that had kept the smaller cursed beasts at bay. HUUU! HUUU! It bayed again — now sounding like its death throe — to call on the hundreds of cursed beings to stampede into the barrier and onto itself, ripping the water soldiers and snake and chains in its struggle to break free.

Losing hope, it brandished its claws instead. Its long fingers descending straight for Wilcan who gripped at its feet. The poor lad could not even afford to look up at the claw of death about to puncture his heart.

However, its claws were stopped midway. Lucas had blocked the pointed end of it with nothing but his bare hands. Trembling, he was back on his feet as though he had not been impaled just a moment beforehand. He mumbled a phrase that nobody could have heard in the chaos.

James witnessed it then. The darkness that shrouded the weeping monster slowly drained, creeping into the wound where its claw had pierced Lucas.

The downpour of light blasted the greying monster into dust — its head, its shoulders, its limbs. huuu. huuu. It wept as it disintegrated where the light touched it until nothing but dust was left and its haunting sob that lingered in James's ears.