Cursed Soul: Ch.12

“Your chest is still slightly tender from the damage done to it and your pupils are slightly dilated, but other than that, I'd simply recommend talking to some of the older members and you'd be good to go.”

“That's it?” I asked as I slowly buttoned up my shirt, the elderly doctor looking amused as he nodded whilst taking his glasses of.

“Yep. After all, this is only your…second kill, correct?”

“Technically, third, but I wasn't the one who finished them off.” I answered and he nodded as he stood up and patted me on the shoulder.

“Precisely. It may not seem like it, but taking a human life does cause trauma no matter if you hated the person with a burning passion or not. If you let it just simmer in your soul, there's going to be a time when that pot explodes and burns everyone in range of it.”

“Okay, I understand, doc. Thank you.” I spoke with a smile as I put on my Mantis coat and he nodded with a chuckle whilst patting my shoulder.

“Anytime. Now go away. You're blocking the line.” I just chuckled at his response as I walked out of the room, nodding at the next patient while raising an eyebrow as I saw Alya waiting for me.

“Done?”

“Yeah, were you waiting the whole time?”

“Just a bit. Since we're heading back today, General Lahar wanted to see you before we left.”

“Really? What for?” I asked as we walked out onto the courtyard, the damage of the battle two days ago still evident on most of the castle as she shrugged whilst placing her hands behind her back with a hum.

“No clue, but if I can take a guess, it's probably to commend you for being the first to alert everyone of the fight.”

“Probably…or it could be more books on Jutsushiki.”

“Have you not learned every book on the basics?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and I smirked before nodding.

“I have, but there are still other Jutsushiki that I haven't learned about at all. Like the ones on how to manipulate time and space, the ones on how I can create impenetrable barriers or the best ones, which is how to rewrite Jutsushiki in my own unique language.”

'Because once I've learned how to do the last one, hohoho~ I have just the specific language in mind.' If I could manage to get that down, I think I might be able to create domains within the blink of an eye.

'Domains…Expand Domains…Yeah, I'm shouting out Domain Expansion every time I make one now.' I thought with a smirk as the two of us entered the main building whilst nodding at the guards out front.

“Hey, it's the heroes!” Pete spoke with a grin as he and Droppa waited for us in the front entrance, Liol having already left as he had been called back by his battalion's general for a mission.

“Please don't call me that.”

“Why not? If it weren't for you and Alya here having noticed the enemy approaching, we would have been caught with our pants around our ankles.” Pete responded as the four of us made our way up towards General Lahar's office.

“That is true. Speaking of the enemy, what happened to the traitor that led them in?” I asked and raised an eyebrow as Pete pointed at Droppa who grinned maniacally.

“The General gave me permission to handle him for interrogation so he's been singing happily in the dungeons.” I have seen the creative Jutsushiki she had made up for the mind so if she was given free access to the guy…

“Yeah, I am so glad to not be him.” I muttered as we got to the top floor, Pete nodding in agreement as Alya simply looked at us while Droppa smiled proudly.

“And don't you forget it! So, I don't suppose you have any idea why you've been called, do you?” She asked before snorting as I gave a shrug.

“Not a clue. You guys perhaps going to tell me?”

“And have the general be mad at us for spoiling? Not a chance.” Pete spoke with a grin as he knocked on the door of the only room on this floor, to which I rolled my eyes before looking to the front as the door opened.

“I see you've escorted our resident hero here. Thank you, but unfortunately, this meeting is between General Lahar and Private Creed so I am going to ask of you all to follow me back to the first floor. Creed, the general will be seeing you now.”

“Thank you, Colonel.” I spoke with a salute and she nodded before the others followed her back down, smiling at Alya as she gave me a pat on the shoulder and a wink.

“Worst case scenario is you getting toilet duty so no worries.”

“…You realize that just made me worry more, right? Also, why would he give me toilet duty?” I asked with a frown before rolling my eyes as she simply shrugged in response, the giggling girl walking back down as I shook my head with a sigh.

“Come on in, Private.” I heard Lahar's voice from inside the room and took a deep breath before walking in, glancing at all the numerous Jutsushiki patterns that were drawn on whiteboards scattered in the room.

“Are you intrigued?” His voice snapped me from my looking around and I looked at him to see him standing behind his desk with an amused smile.

“Kind of, sir. I have not seen or read of most of the patterns and sigils around the room.”

“That's because this is my own language, one that I made after becoming a master at Jutsushiki and Letter Magic. A level I expect you too to reach one day as a fellow Jutsushiki user.”

“You put a lot of faith in me, sir.”

“Simply an observation. However, we are not here to talk about the future, but of the past and the present. I have never personally thanked you for alerting us all during the attack.”

“I thank you, sir, but any soldier would have done the same.”

“That is true, but I'm not thanking any soldier out there. The soldier I want to thank is right here in front of me.” The man spoke with a smile as he held his hand out, surprising me as I blinked before nodding with a smile as I shook his hand.

“It was my pleasure, sir.”

“May I teach you a life lesson, Eric?” the man began as he pulled his hand back and I nodded as I placed my hand back behind my back.

“I am all ears, sir.”

“You are a humble young man and that is good, but there comes a time where one must be humble and a time where one must take pride in their achievements. Tere is a fine line between pride and arrogance and you will come to learn that all mages love to dance on that line.”

'Where is he going with this?'

“You feel proud of your achievements, but you are also afraid to take pride in them verbally. You feel as if you must stay humble in order to ensure that you don't become too arrogant, but I will tell you this today. Take pride in what you do. If someone compliments your work, then thank them. If someone believes that you did good work, then take pride in it.

Do not let your fear and hesitance to feel pride result in others walking over you and pulling you down to make sure you don't outshine them. Right now, you are but a young star, but when you are old enough and look back at your achievements, I want you to be blinded by the shining legacy that you left behind, understood?”

“…Understood, sir.” I spoke with a nod whilst taking a deep breath, the man smiling as he patted me on the shoulder before my eyes widened as a rather big journal appeared in his free hand with a burst of light.

“This contains all the steps, shortcuts and patterns I studied in my years of learning Jutsushiki and since everyone in my battalion use other types of magic, I feel this would be more help for a young star like you.”

“R-Really? I-I mean, I thank you, but I feel that would not be right for Liol, Pete and Droppa since they helped just as much as I did.”

“I know, which is why I gave them copies as well.” He answered and I blinked before nodding slowly as I placed the journal inside my coat while he cleared his throat.

“If that is all, sir?” I asked and the man chuckled whilst shaking his head.

“There is one other thing, but your commanding General is responsible for that. That will be all, Private Creed. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir, and if I may say one thing? It has been a pleasure working under you, sir.”

“It has been a pleasure having you here, Creed.” The man spoke with a smile before I turned and left the room, taking a shaky deep breath as I slowly opened my coat to stare at the journal before giving a silent cheer.

'Yes! Yes! Yes! Lady Luck, thank you!' Forget about manuals. With this…oh, this is about to be glorious~!

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“Ah~ Home sweet home after three weeks~! Man, it feels good!” Alya shouted with glee as we walked off the ship, the other Scarlet Mantis members chuckling while I nodded at the few that patted me on the shoulder.

“Good job out there, Creed!”

“Yeah, showed them other battalions what Scarlet Mantis is all about.”

“Just doing what we do best: Showing off and being the best!” I said with a grin and they laughed as they continued walking, looking over to Alya only to raise an eyebrow at her smirk.

“Well, look at you~ Basking in the attention.”

“Not really. Just decided to take more pride in what you do.”

“So you're going for the confident look?…Looks good on you.” She said with a smirk and I blinked as she walked away, raising an eyebrow as I followed after her.

“What does that mean?”

“Ladies just like the more confident guys. That's all I'm saying.”

“…I am so heavily confused at this conversation.” I answered with a frown and she giggled as we left the garage and walked out.

As we crossed the courtyard, I rose an eyebrow at the sight of General Sparda and Colonel Baul waiting for us, the latter looking amused as the former had a stoic look on his face.

However, I was confused at the groups of people forming on both sides of the pathway, turning to ask Alya what was happening only to be confused even further when she giggled and walked away to stand besides Alex.

“Go on. It's your moment.”

'…I have absolutely no clue what the hell is happening around here.' I thought even as I continued walking, stopping a meter away from General Sparda as he cleared his throat.

“Private Eric Creed! Step forward!” He spoke and I did as he asked, falling to a knee after Baul gestured for me to do so.

“Private Creed! Despite your low rank, you have gone above and beyond what you needed to do to ensure that the country of Fiore still prospers! You have shown abilities that are far beyond what one expected from your rank and have even taken out a traitor that had infiltrated our ranks. Thus, I have deemed it necessary for you to bestowed a rank befitting your capabilities. Rise, Sergeant Creed, and may you continue to excel in your duties just as you did in the past! To Sergeant Eric Creed!”

“To Creed!” The crowd saluted even as I stood up with a stunned look, amusing the two leaders as they nodded and walked back into the castle.

“Rank buddy!” Alex exclaimed with a smile as he wrapped me up in a hug, shaking me from side to side as Alya and Liam smiled happily.

“Damn, shot past me in ranks and he's not even a few months into his duties.” Liam grumbled despite the smile on his face and I snapped out my shock before shaking my head.

“Did…did I…did I really just get a promotion?” I asked as I looked to them and Alya snickered as the other two shrugged.

“You sure did. Now, you're no longer the lowest ranked of the group! Looks like you got your old spot back Liam!”

“I'm still not happy about that.”

“Well, it's your fault for thinking you can prank the captain before he could even meet you.”

“Wait, is that why you're still stuck at that rank?” I asked and hummed as all three of them nodded, Alya and Alex looking amused while Liam huffed.

“Yeah, the General can't take a joke well so I may have been banned from being promoted for a total of three years. This is only year two.”

“Damn…well, if that's the case, I hope you get that promotion in two years.”

“Yeah, and by that time, everyone will be a Sergeant Major or higher while good ol' Liam finally gets his promotion to Sergeant.”

“I have to ask, though. How did you get the promotion to Corporal? Doesn't everyone start at Private?” I asked and turned to Alya as she answered with a nod.

“We all do, but if your results at Boot Camp are good, some will be given a promotion to Corporal or even Sergeant if they're lucky. However, this one here only got the promotion to Corporal because the General had to promote him for his skills. If it wasn't mandatory, he would have been placed at the level of recruit whilst still being in the force.”

“Huh, looks like you got off lucky.” I said and Liam huffed as he nodded.

“I did, but now I'm stuck at the rank of the lowest. Why don't you reject your promotion and come back to me, buddy? Eh?”

“…Nah, getting to lord this over you sounds like far more fun~!” I teased with a smirk as I walked into the building, smirking as Liam groaned while the Hunters siblings followed after me with laughter.

“Don't worry, though, Liam! By the time you get that promotion, we'll throw a retirement party for you!”

“Hey, you make it sound as if it would be years before I get promoted!”

“Hey, you're finally catching on!” Alex said with a grin and Liam huffed as he crossed his arms while the four of us walked towards the cafeteria.

After all, the border outpost's food was definitely not as good as the ones from the Scarlet Mantis' cafeteria.

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Dim lanterns with Light lacrima inside them cast dark shadows across the stone walls of the war room, calloused and scarred fingers drumming restlessly against the table as a scarred man let out a gruff sigh.

His dark grey eyes flickered to and fro across the map of Fiore in front of them, numerous pins and markings made on top of it as his short black hair was unruly from the lack of care.

“I expected our last attempt to work, but it appears that they held out against it.” The slender man spoke as his eyes narrowed at the small outpost marking they had attacked, frowning a bit as he slowly traced a finger along the border.

“And now, they have created a new barrier along the border as well as taking care of our spies in the army itself.”

“They fight with more than just magic and brute force as you were expecting.” A cold and hollow voice echoed in the room as another being floated into the light, its body a shifting mass of darkness that never stayed as one form

However, it was its eyes shining with an ominous eerie purple glow that gave off a suffocating pressure, the air shifting and warping from its gaze as the figure looked at the man.

“The people of Fiore believe that they are invincible, but invincible or not, their resistance is starting to wear thin. Their Rune Knights are stretched far too thin to hold back our full force despite how skilled they are.” The man growled as he clenched a fist and the figure of darkness hummed as it looked back at the map.

“Yet, they hold the line. They resist immensely for a kingdom that has lost its greatest strength. Is it perhaps fear of the unknown or…a hope that Fairy Tail will return?” The figure asked, watching as the human's eyes flashed with a storm of bitter memories brewing behind them.

“Fairy Tail…they think they've won the war, but without them, Fiore is weak. It's only a matter of time before the truth sets in.”

“And if it does not? If they still do not see it and their stubborn hope refuses to break?”

“Then we break them. We'll make them see. We'll show them that nothing, not even the precious remnants of their favourite guild, can save them from our wrath.” The figure's smile grew, razor-sharp teeth glinting in the light of the lanterns.

“Burn them all. Tear apart their kingdom and when they are nothing but dust and memories, I will feast upon their pain.” The human's fingers hovered over the map once more, the final piece of the puzzle falling into place as he looked at the figure with a cold gaze.

“We push forward. This war won't be over until their kingdom is nothing but ash and their leaders kneel before us.”

“From ashes to ashes.” The figure growled and the man nodded with a malicious smirk as he lifted his lantern before turning to walk out of the room.

“And from dust to dust.”

A/N: And the chapte ends!!

Eric gets a promotion, a speech from Lahar and a new pair of villains have been introduced! But are they the reason these people have been invading or are they simply smaller members of an even bigger organization.

We'll have to find out next time.

Basically, the next one or two arcs are going to be full-on small war arcs to flesh out the Rune knights and Eric's life before we move on to the guilds.

Just a little something to pass the time, you know?

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!