The Virtues' Magecraft

Page 30: Soul on Fire

Joseph clapped his hands together. "Alright, everyone!" the Hunter shouted. "Take showers, get some rest, eat some food! Do laundry and clean your weapons or whatever! In T-Minutes two hours, we'll be in the city of Krattor!"

Light laughter and chattering continued as the Hunters moved into the interior of the ship.

And at the same time, Alexander sat alone on the deck.

Morgana and Hjálmarr were safe, thankfully, and were inside with Anastasia and the other dozen and a half hunters.

"Well, you're in a good mood, huh?" Alexander said to Joseph.

Joseph smiled and nodded. "A successful mission will do that to ya. Besides, just a couple of kilometers from the edge of Krattor, there's an encampment of Hunters. They're with us. My girlfriend is there, too. So, of course, I'm happy."

Alexander smiled in return. "Well, that's nice. Hey, this time tomorrow, we'll probably be done with this whole thing. We'll get the God Crystal."

"Exactly," Joseph said, snapping his fingers. "But you... You fought well, Alexander," Joseph told him.

"Thanks," he responded.

They stared at each other in silence. 'Oh...' Alexander thought. 'I messed up.'

Alexander immediately clenched his fist and grit his teeth in preparation of what may come. Even so... Joseph simply wrapped his arm around Alexander's shoulder, his cigarette stench following him and drowning out the crisp smell of the salty river.

"So..." Joseph said. "Why'd you lie?" His voice was calm and stale, not showing any glimmer of anger or contempt for Alexander's lies. 

Alexander let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not gonna lie about this... I just didn't trust you. But you're just a regular group of Hunters. People I can trust." He spat out a sigh and extended his hand at Joseph. "I'm Alexander Lane. 15 years old. And not a Grade 2 magician."

"Grade 3?" Joseph asked. 

"Nope. Not even certified. Just a 15-year-old kid."

"Hm," Joseph mumbled, shaking Alexander's hand. "But there is something else you should explain. How you break apart the earth. And how you expelled so much magic energy in seconds, only to spread it out and solidify it." 

Joseph said all this without letting go of Alexander's hand, still smiling. 

"Uh... Yeah, that's just... Just a trade secret," Alexander chuckled, retracting his hand from Joseph's grip. Even if he was going to rectify his previous lies, he still didn't want to make it known that he was a Demon-Born.

That fact wouldn't benefit anyone. 

"Fair enough."

And with that, Alexander let out another sigh and stood up. "Well..." he said, looking at Joseph. "Thanks for your leadership earlier, I guess." 

"Wait..." Joseph called. "If you're not with the Magecraft Association, then why are you on Vanaheim?"

"Same reason as everyone. We're after the God Crystal."

"How many of you are there?" Joseph asked as he stood up. "I'm sure you didn't show up on Vanaheim alone with 'Isabel Silva' and head after one of the most dangerous objects in the Nine Realms."

"Seven in total. But that's not counting Hjálmarr and Morgana."

He chuckled in response to that. "Don't forget that we're working together until we get the Crystal. I'll overlook the lies for now. But your group and mine... We'll get it before the Golden Dawn."