Chapter 12: The Last Mage

When Ael arrived at the monastery, she found Leon sitting alone on the stone steps, lost in thought.

“What are you doing here by yourself? Where’s Naya?”

“She’s inside, praying to Aio. I hear that’s how priests learn new skills?”

“That’s right,” Ael confirmed. “All of our powers are bestowed by Aio.”

She leaned against the wall beside Leon, stealing a quick glance at him.

“You’re so strong… Who taught you swordsmanship?”

“A benefactor of mine. Am I strong? I think I’m just average. Surely you’ve met far more skilled masters in the royal palace, Ael.”

“You’re… too modest. They’re on a completely different level from you.”

Ael thought to herself, ‘What is with this man? Does he truly not realize his own strength?’

Just then, the door creaked open, and Naya slipped sideways through the gap. She immediately hurried to Leon’s side.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Naya said, casually taking his arm. “Leon, I learned a new skill! I’ll show you in our next fight—Oh? Ael, you’re here too?”

Ael simply smiled as she watched them.

“I’ve received another commission, and I thought it would be best to have you two involved. What do you say? Interested?”

“What kind of commission?”

“It’s related to the Angelic Church. According to our intelligence, they’ve been holding ceremonies with increasing frequency and acting strangely.

Not only are they confiscating mages’ relics in public, right under the king’s nose, but they’re also secretly interrogating, torturing, and holding heresy trials. Anyone with the slightest connection to a mage is found guilty.”

“Sounds like a cult,” Leon remarked.

Naya recalled the followers of the Angelic Church she had encountered earlier that day. The bird-like masks had lent them a sinister, unsettling air. The thought of being captured by a group like that sent a shiver down her spine.

Ael continued, “The Church claims their god, Mercury, descended upon the ruins and brought about the Cataclysm to cleanse the mages’ sins.

They preach that so long as a single mage remains alive in this world, Mercury will not ascend to the heavens. So the entire Angelic Church is searching for the last mage.”

“There are still mages alive?” Leon asked, surprised.

“All the mages died in a single night, ten years ago,” Naya said softly.

“But some of their descendants survived,” Ael added.

At her words, Leon’s gaze immediately fell upon Naya. Her deceased family must have been mages…

Yet Naya’s expression remained perfectly calm, betraying nothing.

“It’s said that everyone who knew magic perished. The only survivors were children who couldn’t use it. But… most of those children were buried beneath the ruins. Very few made it out alive.”

“What will the Angelic Church do if they find the last mage?” Naya asked.

“They’ll surely burn them at the stake,” Ael replied. “The Order believes that if there truly is a mage still alive, we might be able to ask them about the Tome of Light.”

“So our mission is a rescue, then?” Leon asked.

“Correct. We need to find the last mage.”

“I do enjoy a good rescue mission.” But Leon had to consider Naya’s safety. He looked at her. “This is incredibly dangerous for Naya, though. Perhaps we should refuse?”

“It’s alright. I’ll have you and Ael with me. I can support you,” Naya said, then turned to Ael. “Do you have any leads?”

“I do. A wealthy magnate in Dawn City named Rothschild. Before the Cataclysm, he was a servant to the mages in the floating city. If we question him, he might know something—”

“Let’s head out now,” Leon declared.

“Alright. But he’s the Angelic Church’s biggest financial backer, so he won’t be easy to deal with. Ah, whatever!”

Ael struck a confident pose.

“As an enforcer of justice, I, Ael, will pry his mouth open!”