Machinist of Mana Chapter 115 Exiting Exion

Our plane ate the miles as fast grandpa's flight had, and significantly more comfortably. It seemed one moment we were in the hangar, and the next we were over the city, looking for our landing place. The men there had been kind enough to lay one out for us, right before the building I assumed had to be where the portal lay, one I'd never been through before.

Lights guided us in, pulling up right at the large entrance to what could itself have been another fortress. People weren't stupid, and every single portal had some form of protection around it. That was for a good reason; worries about the very thing that was happening right now. If soldiers could move from one place to another quickly and infiltrate targets with ease the damage they could do was astronomical. We'd gotten lax though, and our current situation demonstrated it too clearly.

The doors to the portal fortress were massive, easily large enough for a carriage to pass through. That of course made sense, since these were sometimes used to transport large shipments that absolutely needed to be where they needed to be immediately. There were also no short number of wealthy individuals and those who would want to bring cargo with them, expensive, but the fastest way to travel.

“Do we have any information?” I asked as we landed and began to remove the wings; big as it was we'd have to do so. It wasn't a problem, as that was designed for in the original plans, shipping and all.

“I'll get Mr. Ignus,” said the soldier who'd guided us in, turning and running to the doors.

The man in question met him halfway, another in tow. “Allow me to introduce my colleague, we've things for you.”

“Please don't mind our working as we're quite eager to hear it,” grandfather responded, undoing bolts almost as fast as I was.

“We counted nine total that made it through, led by the death priest. They're well ahead of you, but if this contraption is fast enough you might just have a chance to catch them. Keep in mind that royal soldiers are preparing to intercept too, and you certainly do not want to be between the two forces when they do. I've also the maps here for review, the train lines have been outlined in red, along with the most likely heading to cut down what you can before following the tracks.”

“Other magic users or physicals?” I asked as I lifted and began turning the whole apparatus.

“Unknown, but we don't think so. If they are they didn't use it.” the man seemed stressed, and hadn't even given his name, not that I needed that.

“Odd, more odd that he left some of his best here too,” I mused.

“I've also talked to your friend, Miss Sasha, and my conclusion is this,” Ignus began. “He was getting push-back, the girls knew what he was up do and disapproved, making their stances known. There's also that big one she mentioned, her brother. He seemed unstable, stupid, violent, the whole package really. Between that and the obvious attack here I think he's abandoning Exion completely. None of the goblins here weren't meant to live, to oppose him ever again.”

“Cold,” I replied as maps were handed to me and I began to read as we walked the plane towards the portal.

“Death priest, I've only heard rumors because of how damn rare they are, but from what I've read they justify everything to themselves. All deaths are for the greater good, every betrayal is to help others, to help the whole world; and they believe it too, it's why they're so dangerous. A normal priest betraying their fellows would get weaker by bounds, their magic inhibited, but he thinks he's doing right, so it only makes him stronger.” Ignus' observations worried me.

“So he took only those he knew he could control, excellent.”

“Has Mr. Lionel been found?” my grandfather asked as we approached the building.

“I'm afraid not,” Ignus responded. “Why?”

“I do not wish my grandson to be going anywhere near this.”

“There's no other choice grandpa. If anything goes wrong with the plane we'll need two, and there are only two seats. We've only got once chance at saving these lives.”

“A fact of which I'm acutely aware, but that doesn't mean I like it.”

It was the truth too, and we both knew it. If there were any problems with the magic of the plane he'd need to be there to fix them, knowing more about that system than anyone. Similarly I knew more about the moving bits and the physics than anyone else around, and was the only one of the two of us who'd ever flown, if just the once.

The hall was straight and filled with men, the portal already going. The light of it shocked me, a pale blue swirl, unlike anything I'd seen myself before, it looked like something from a t.v. Show, or a movie. Among the running men I saw my Headmaster, the beast of a man approaching to walk with us as we moved towards the glowing hole in space.

“You have your weapons bo... no, Percival?”

“Yes sir,” I said, patting my pistol and sword cane.

“That one won't do, good for defense, but not a weapon of war.” His eyes lingered on the cane briefly.

“Don't have time to get another one.”

He gave me a hard look and nodded, before his hand went to his own belt. The sword that hung there was a bit larger than I was used to, but not significantly so, and resembled mostly the practice ones we had around the school

“This was a gift to me, and I expect you to return it,” he said as he passed over the blade, sheath and all. “It will cut steel like paper and through men without issue, so use care.”

We both stopped for a second. He hadn't asked to come along, probably able to count the seats himself, and he hadn't made any harsh remarks, so I extended my cane to him.

“This was a gift too sir, please look after it until I return,” I told him as he took my own blade.

“Good man,” he told me as our group stepped through the portal.