The Villain Wants to Quit

Save the traitor (5)

 "You should really respect books more." Theo pushed books off himself while groaning.

Based on the conversation Theo overheard and Eloise's actions now, she seemed to be a healer.

This was something Theo was grateful for because the expression on her face told Theo that she was furious her magic was ill-suited to blasting a hole in his head.

James began to cast a spell. Rings of golden magic circles appeared in front of his hands. It seemed he was an innate magic user.

Theo tried to twist the nearby shadows into a rough shield, but they barely twitched in response.

Panic fluttered in Theo's chest at the sensation. Losing access to his magic was akin to losing a limb.

Belatedly, Theo scrambled to his feet as James finished his spell.

A flurry of gold spears shot toward Theo. He barely dodged them.

A whole shelf of books had arrows embedded in their spines.

"I think you are doing more damage than I did," Theo shouted as he dashed behind another bookshelf.

"..Oh..." James faltered as he was about to cast another spell.

"Don't fall for that crap!" Eloise shouted. "The book he is trying to steal is probably worth more than all these combined."

James nodded, and a magic circle appeared above Theo's head this time.

Theo grimaced and started pumping his arms and legs as fast as possible.

Spears plummeted toward Theo. They were golden like the arrows and sharper and stronger than anything a human could make.

Theo dodged, but he was too slow. One of the spears brushed past his calf. It barely grazed him and would have a limited effect on his mobility, but blood started running down his leg.

The blood splashed on the ground, summoning a monster. Theo should have felt bad, but he could honestly use the backup.

All magic users have a limited range, Theo told himself as he pushed forward. I just have to get outside of James's.

Theo hit the ground as he sensed magic behind him.

Arrows whizzed over his head. It felt like some of his hair may have been shorn by the blades.

He looked back to see the monster he had accidentally summoned, some type of goblin-like beast with curling horns, was already slain. It looked like a morbid pincushion.

It had not been quite the distraction he had hoped for.

Theo pushed himself back up almost immediately.

He grabbed a book and threw it at James, who was stepping over the goblin.

James batted the book away with a golden mace.

Theo gulped. He was glad he had not tried to fight James at close range. He hadn't realized the other man could wield the summon weapons himself.

Theo continued to run. He was almost to the library's exit.

If he continued from here, he would come to an outer wall. If he had access to his magic, he would break a hole in the tower wall to escape, but that wouldn't work this time.

This will work out. Theo said to himself, glancing at the tower windows.

Theo just had to get to a low enough window to survive jumping without any assistance from his magic.

And at least I'm not at the top of the tower. So everything is great. And there's a river on the west side of the tower, so I don't have to get that far down.

Theo tried to stay positive. He found lying to himself helpful.

That was when more magic users turned the corner.

Theo dashed forward before they had time to realize what was happening. A couple of accidentally summoned monsters ran ahead with him. They snapped their fangs into the flesh of the other magic users before they could react.

The magic users screamed.

It was a raw sound that clawed at Theo's conscious, but he couldn't afford to stop. After all, if he fought them, he would end up bleeding more and summoning even more monsters.

He was running away for them, really.

After that, Theo managed to slip down to the next floor undetected.

It wasn't until he was on the sixth floor that he ran into another magic user. Literally, Theo barreled into the man.

Theo grabbed the man's shoulder and arm to keep himself from falling to the ground.

Wasting no movement, Theo drove a knee into the man's gut. The man doubled over, and Theo shoved him to the side.

Silver chains made of magic wrapped around Theo's ankles.

Theo head-butted the man, and the chains disappeared as Theo broke his opponent's concentration.

Looks like it's time to jump. Theo thought and ran for a window and leaped on the ledge.

The height was dizzying.

If he accidentally missed the river, enough blood would be spilled to destroy everything in this city. Theo jumped.

Silver chains of magic snaked around his arm as he flew through the air, but they couldn't grab Theo in time.

He hit the water and sank.

The impact hurt.

Theo had to force himself not to gasp and waste his oxygen; instead, he focused on kicking up and drew in a deep breath when he surfaced.

The man Theo had just escaped from was using the chains to swing down from the tower.

Theo quickly swam to the opposite shoreline and ran. He would be able to promptly lose himself in the crowd.

Theo smiled.

The mission was a success.