Chapter 11: We are Eldritch~

Artemvian stuck out his lips, crossing his eyes in opposite directions.  An impressive display of facial control.  He mocked the fallen Eldritch Mage, “Wei. Wam.  Weldritch.  Well, I gotcher Eldritch right here!”

He raised the dagger again, ready to start the slap the Mage in another fit of annoyance.

Right as he did so, he sensed a spike of mana in the area around him.  Artemvian whirled, his hands already spinning and neatly drawing three neat circles in the blink of an eye using his mana.  Eyes focused once more, Artemvian hissed out his spell while giving form and life to the spell before him.

“Gravitum.”

Instantaneously the air shivered and then impossibly fastened towards the ground, as if all the weight of the world was suddenly pressing down starting from Artemvian’s location.  With him as the focal point, the ground wavered and then cracked in a thirty foot radius.  Chang covered Kim with his body but there was no need, there was a flat shield above them –created from flat hexagonal plates that were interlocked with one another

Artemvian had cast the Gravity spell with mana the same wavelength as the Shield; so that once in they came into contact, they’d cancel each other out.

Something blurred from behind the two, rushing towards Artemvain.

There was a flash of light from the blurred figure and the Artemvian’s clients blocked their eyes.  Artemvian just put on his sunglasses.

The man passed by Artemvian, holding July in his hands.

“Impressive.”  Their new opponent said, facing the three of them.  “This one was unaware that your Shield spell could block Magic.”

“I’d tell you about the different wavelengths of mana and the theory of Destructive Mana Interference, but I’d be wasting my breath.”  Artemvian replied.

“Hmmm.”

The new man was dressed in a similar fashion to July, except instead of a steel mask, he wore his face out in the open.

His face resembles a human’s but not really.  Instead of eyes, blank sockets stared in Artemvian’s direction.  Starting from the delineation between his neck and head, tentacles writhed and coiled around each other, as if they had their own mind.  When the man spoke, his mouth did not move –as if he was speaking from his throat.  He had no ears nor a nose either, just two small slits where they were supposed to be.

His skin was slick with some kind of viscous slime and smooth, free of wrinkles.  It gave him the appearance of a mutated-baby on top of a man’s head.

Artemvian pulled a face.  “Uh… you have a little something on your… on that spot… yeah… by the chin… just a little something…”

The man did not respond.  He gave a grand bow, keeping the unconscious July tucked underneath one arm.  “My name is June.  This one is afraid that this one,”  One of the tentacles reached down, rubbing July’s metal head, “Is one of ours.”

“Ok, ew.  First of all, you should get consent before doing things like that.  And second of all…”  Artemvian smirked as he stalled.  “What makes you think I’m going to let you go?”

Artemvian had used Gravitum and Shield.  Two spells.

But he had drawn three circles.

“Ignum!”  Artemvian chanted, waving his hand towards the Eldritches.

A curtain of flame roared to life, thick with scorching heat.  There was the initial blast as the supernaturally heated air bounded forward, displacing shipping containers and dyeing the world in a hue of orange, yellow and red.  It was followed shortly after –a time delay almost imperceptible to human senses– by a wave of flame that enveloped the entire area.  The air seemed to bend and twist, warping Chang and Kim’s sight.

It created a wall standing more than twenty feet high, blocking off the Eldritch from Artemvian and his clients.

“Chang, Kim.”  Artemvian called out to them.

“It’s been fun.”  He turned his head and winked at them.  “And I think this is where we part ways, kids.”

Chang opened his mouth to say something, closed it then opened it again.  He shook his head.  “God, you’re such an ass.”

“Mr. Moneti… will you be… alright?”  Kim ventured.  She was still the daughter from a family whose business dealt regularly with the underworld.  She might never heard of this ‘Eldritch’ but she knew they seemed like bad news.  Even more so than normal.

“Can’t spend that extra 500 doily from you two being late, if I croak here, can I?”  Artemvian quipped.

Kim smiled.

It was strange.  She had barely spent a day with this man, but still, the farewell felt more bitter than she had done with some people she had known her entire life.

Perhaps it was because Artemvian treat her like someone’s daughter or a gang member.  He didn’t feel uncomfortable around her, didn’t try to overpower her into submission or try to match her mood.  The Mage had enough power to act completely at ease around her, to the point where he didn’t really care what Kim and Chang thought of him either.

Kim finally thought of the word that she could use to describe Artemvian.

“Thank you, Mr. Moneti.  For dealing with Chang and I in good faith.  For… for being genuine with us.”  She gave him a deep bow, bending at the waist.  Chang hesitated then followed suit.  “Please don’t get hurt.”

Then turning on her heels, Kim began to run towards the boats.  Chang gave one last look at Artemvian.

“If you die, she’ll be real sad.  And then I’m going to have to kick your ass.  So don’t you dare die, understand?”

“Shoo, kid.”  Artemvian muttered, but he was smiling.

Fading footsteps told him that the two were gone.

“Ah, young love.”  Artemvian whispered.  

It was a startling realization but he had grown attached to the two.  Two young lovers, escaping their family, trying to put their origins as underworld criminals behind them.  Leaving for a better life, where they could fall in love and raise a family.  Things like that meant something.

Artemvian did something good.  A rare enough occasion.

“By Odin, am I growing sentimental?”  Then He called, “You coming or what?”

No sooner had Artemvian said the words than a small section of the flames parted.  June walked in, his hands held behind his back.  July was nowhere to be seen.  Additionally, June’s duster coat and stetson were unsinged; whatever June might be, he was skilled enough to manipulate fire.

“Oooh, you can control fire.  Scart.”  Artemvian waggled his fingers.

“Ah, you honor this One with your compliment.  But alas, this One cannot control fire.  That is a privilege granted to you and only you, Master Magus.”

Artemvian smiled and waggled his fingers some more.  The curtain of flame lowered, until they were no more than embers burning about two feet high from the ground.  With the sun setting over the horizon, they cast an eerie glow to the place, making it resemble a ritual ground.

“Speak.”

June raised an eyebrow, a facial expression made all the more creepy by the fact that he had no hair on a single inch of his body.  So his empty eye-socket kind of just wrinkled upwards instead.  “You knew this One wanted to speak?”

“Of course, that’s why I let you walk through the fire.”  Artemvian smiled without mirth.  “If I didn’t want to talk to you, the moment you tried walking through my stage-show-magic over there, you’d be nothing but a greasy stain on the ground, Eldritch.”

June twitched but that was all the indication he showed of Artemvian’s words getting to him.

With that, Artemvian learned another thing.  These guys weren’t brainwashed in the traditional sense.  Their minds were still intact.  Whatever god from whatever dimension had made a foothold in this world had not yet created brainwashed thralls.  Whether it didn’t need them or simply didn’t care mattered naught.  What mattered was that these acolytes still had a mind, and with that mind came emotions.

“Perhaps this One has gotten off on the wrong foot with the Master Magus,”  June began.  “This One’s name is June and this one belongs to the Organization known as Eldritch.”

Artemvian crossed his eyes and added an extra flair.  He wiggled his arms around like a squid.  “This one’s name is June~ This one belongs to Eldritch~”

“...”

The Master Mage coughed.  “I’m still listening.”

“...This One’s organization has been watching you, Master Magus.   We’ve been following your tracks, your habits and where you walk to.”  June held out a hand in a half-shrug.  “This One believes you might be the answer to the problems of this world.”

“The problem being?”

“Magic.”  June answered.

“This world has become tainted, rotten from the inside out.  No longer do its denizens rely on the primordial powers that were once the birthright of the owners of this world.  Instead, the children of this world chooses to forsake the old ways.  They turn to things that turn their minds off, things that makes them fat.”

Artemvian let out a soft breath.  

He had expected as much.

“The Magical Talent of this world is dying out, because there has been too much technological progress.”  Artemvian said.  “Technology is strangling the seeds of magic… literally.  Or leaving it unused, which is the same thing.”

“Exactly.”  June said.  “This One believes that much likes tails or gills, Magic will soon become nothing more than Vestigial Features.  This One has already seen it.  Mages who can do nothing but control a single element, whose mana exists only in one plane of existence.”

“You’re talking about the specialization of the Mages in this world.”

“Yes.”  June said simply.  “Magic in this world… is dying.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”  Artemvian said, dreading the answer.

“You, Master Magus, come from a time when man was still master of magic.  This One and Eldritch have heard the tales; Mages who can move mountains with the flick of a finger and turn around to raise the dead.  Controlling the weather and then the cycle of life and death.  Two different planes of existence, but one mana.”  June’s tentacles quieted them, almost melancholy.  “You… are a Seed, Master Magus.”

“And this Eldritch believes I am the cure to the Magic dying in this world.”

“Yes.”

“So you want to hold hands and sing around the bonfire?”  Artemvian tilted his head quizzically.  “Tell me then, why has your Organization made contact with gods from different dimensions?”

“Because they too, are valuable sources of magic.  They too can plant seeds of magic in this world.”

“And you do know everyone will start looking like you?  And trust me, when that happens, looking in the mirror is the least of one’s worries.”

June did not answer.

“The answer’s no, Eldritch.”  Artemvian said at last.

“Why?”  June hissed.

“Because,”  Artemvian muttered.  “It’s wrong.”

“Magic is a power of life.  Magic is natural.  Magic is in the trees, the air and the puppies rolling on the ground.  Magic is a part of this world.  Just like the ocean, it ebbs and rises, flowing from one time to another.”  Artemvian shook his head.  “Magic will never die.  It may seem like it is, but it will come back.  Perhaps in a century, perhaps longer.  But Magic is a part of life as blood is a part of our body.  It cannot disappear.”

“Tell your organization to turn aside from their ways, to stop meddling in areas they know nothing about.”  Artemvian added.  “Don’t think for a second that I don’t know what type of rituals are needed to send messages across dimensions… Eldritch.”

June frowned and his tentacles began writhing with vigor.  His hand twitched.

Artemvian pointed a finger at him.

“Do it.”  Artemvian whispered.  “I dare you.  I double, triple, quadriple dog dare you, you second-rate Eldritch scum.  You think you’re the first of your kind I’ve seen?  Contacting a god and making pacts is hardly a lightbulb idea of the century, not by a long shot.  Not even in a millenia.  Since time immemorial, people like you have existed.”  Artemvian put power in his words.  “It.  Never.  Works.  You’ll die.  Or you’ll be used, then you’ll die.  Or you’ll succeed, and then you’ll die anyways and kill everyone else with it.”

“We are Eldritch and we will revive the magic in this world.”

“There’s no need to revive it,”  Artemvian snarled.  “I’ve lived a century and seen the Core of Magic in this world.  The Magic you’re talking about is the tip of the iceberg.  Those Freaks, Specials, weakening Mages… they’re all part of the Magic in this world.  Magic will always exist, as long as humans exist.  As long as monster exist… even monsters like you.”

“You’d truly forsake this world?”  June hissed.  “Does saving the world not mean something to you, Master Magus?”

“Everyone thinks they’re saving the world.”  Artemvian said and there was a certain tiredness to his words, making the man seem older.  “All they’re doing is killing innocent people.”

June stared at Artemvian a bit longer.

Then he smiled.

Artemvian took a step back.  “Don’t do that, ever.”  

June kept on smiling.  “One day, you will see, Master Magus.  You will see how dire the situation in this world is.  And there is time.  We will wait years, decades and centuries.  For we… are Eldritch.”

“I’m really not in the mood to kill you right now.”  Artemvian replied.  “But you’re starting to piss me off.”

Sensing the threat in Artemvian’s words, the baby-squid-faced man took a step back as a large portal opened up behind him.  He took off his hat and bowed to Artemvian, stepping through it and disappearing.

“Spatial magic.”  Artemvian said to himself, then sighed.

Technically, right now, he wasn’t an agent of the kingdom.  He was just a mercenary for hire.  There was no need to hunt down June or July, or this Eldritch or whatever.  Nine times out of ten, organizations like this fizzled out on their own.  The rate of their progress could not keep up with the hunger of a god, and the organization would implode.

Besides… who was he to judge?  Just as he had been hired to do this job, July had been hired to do this job.  Sure, he could have killed him in cold blood and no one could have blamed him.  Still, it would be unprofessional to kill for emotion.  And he had a feeling that June was near the bottom of their organization.

And Artemvian still lacked certain things.

Namely, magical tools and trinkets to bring his fighting prowess up to 110%.  Then more information about this world.

But the meeting with June had been a good one, now Artemvian knew.

There were organizations out there that were deeply seeped in the Supernatural, as much as he had been before he died.

Smiling, Artemvian picked up his phone.  “Hey, Riley.”

[Artemvian?]

“Get a sandwich ready for me, would ya?”  He looked at one of the boats, sailing off into the sun.  

“Actually… make it two.”