Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Improvised Alliance

Many members of the defending Hanilia within the castle maintained their positions in case Alba attempted to do anything that would require a counterattack. The Skylian Mages, however, found themselves walking to the center of the castle to see what they could glean from a conversation with the other key figures of the group. Tuila, Liathine, Valdez, Zelda, and Tavi were there when the Skylian Mages arrived, and Jay found herself staring down at the ground just so that she didn't have to meet Zelda's gaze. Luckily for her, Zelda appeared to be doing much the same thing. Nobody else dared to comment on it for the time being, knowing that there were much more important things to focus on than Jay and Zelda's lack of an ability to reconcile their past experiences. 

"Alba and their Ice monsters have the place surrounded. If we want to fend them off, we have to act quickly and carefully," Colt declared. "There's only so long that a barrier around the castle is going to hold. My magic is sealing all of the heat inside rather than sucking it out, but that isn't going to stay the case forever. As soon as Alba is able to get through it, then we're going to have quite a fight ahead of ourselves."

"A surprise attack is the best way to go about this," Lana pointed out. "If you ask me, we should start by sending out a few crucial fighters to attack Alba from behind and injure them critically enough that they're forced to retreat. As morbid as this sounds, the best possible outcome would involve us killing them here and now so that we don't have to put up with potential attacks the next time that they decide that they're seeking a bit of combat-based activity."

"If we teleport too close, then we're going to wind up being spotted. Any people that leave the castle and teleport elsewhere are going to have to be close enough to be able to come back here in a timely fashion but far enough away that Alba doesn't pick up on it. This is going to have to be fast, so we don't have much time to deliberate over who it is that we can use for this," Liathine said next. "Weapons are our best bet. Alba's resistance to magical power is too high, and we're going to need to use something physical that can hurt them long term. As much as I love using magic, it simply isn't going to cut it here."

"Who here is the best with physical weapons?" Tavi questioned, though it was clear as could be that the inquiry was rhetorical when he glance dup in Zelda's direction. "You know your way around a few weapons, Zelda. I feel like you're a natural choice for this mission, so you had best prepare yourself for what's to come next."

"You know who else is good with weapons?" Jubilee echoed with a small smirk on her face, though it was edged with something far darker when one looked close enough. "Jay knows how to fight with them. Arian might have the power of Blade magic thanks to his position as a Skylian Mage, but he's still not the best with them when compared to Jay. That should make the choice here obvious."

"Perfect then. It sounds to me like we've got our team to sneak out and defeat Alba," Liathine announced, not waiting for anyone to offer an objection. She glanced back and forth between Jay and Zelda, both of whom looked as shocked as could be, before shrugging nonchalantly. "You know that we don't have much of a choice with this. We have to get going for the sake of the future. Alba's not going to be holding back, and if we want to have a future at all, then we've got to snipe them down as soon as possible. You're the ones with the best chance of doing it, so go on and take care of the mission."

"Even if you two get on like a house on fire, you have to do this for everyone else," Valdez cut in without giving Jay or Zelda the chance to respond. "This isn't about your history or lack thereof. Now get out there and take care of what we've decided must be done." As usual, Valdez wasn't one to mince words, and his eyes were narrowed as he looked down at the two girls. His height advantage over everyone else in the room only became more terrifying, and he began to walk for the room soon afterwards, a sign that he wasn't going to be taking any suggestions from anyone on this subject. Before a further word could be spoken, he was gone from view, already rounding the corner to return to his post and help with the defensive positions needed to hold the line and keep Alba from getting into the castle.