Medica Materia A Mob Psycho 100 Fantasy AU

Chapter 5

"—not listening."

That was Reigen's voice. Serizawa opened his eyes at the sound, he had to get his bearings. Two burly guards pinned Reigen's arms to his side. He strained against them but they were soldiers, more than a match for a slight civilian. The Apothecary yelled at a man dressed in royal garb with dark hair and a superior expression. A gold circlet adorned his haughty brow. Serizawa inferred it must be Duke Roushuto.

The chamber they were in appeared to be a grand reception hall. The walls were a thick stone softened with elaborate tapestries. Men of wealth and power lived here. There were most likely secret passages about but without prior knowledge of them, Serizawa would have to risk an escape through the front entrance.

His hands were tied behind his back but he was otherwise unguarded. If he could get them free, Serizawa could rescue Reigen. He processed all this in a matter of seconds.

"The Medica Materia doesn't work like that. It doesn't have the formula for the Elixir of Life," Reigen continued.

The Duke gestured for the guards to bring the Apothecary closer. Reigen stumbled as he was shoved to his knees before the throne. Duke Roushuto leaned forward with an evil smirk. "I know that, but my rivals don't."

Reigen looked confused. "Then why—"

"Because," he grasped Reigen's chin, "if I can convince others that I have access to the Elixir, they will give me anything I want to possess it," the Duke explained.

Serizawa tested his limbs. The ropes were tight but with a little applied magic—

"What happens when they find out you don't have the Elixir?" Reigen asked, jerking his head away from the Duke's touch.

Duke Roushuto rolled his shoulders, unconcerned. "I'll have enough power by then. It won't matter."

"You could just have a fake book," Reigen said, trying to be reasonable. "You don't need me or the real Medica Materia. You could let us go and have just as viable a plan."

Duke Roushuto rose to his feet, enjoying how his height towered over the prone Apothecary. "The book lends a sense of authenticity as does its owner." He reached down, long fingers carding through Reigen's soft hair. "If you yield to me," he purred, "I can be a very generous Master."

Reigen wasn't seduced by this rhetoric. "The book won't reveal its secrets without me and if I refuse to oblige there goes your authenticity."

The Duke drew a wicked dagger from his robes, teasing it against Reigen's throat. "Then perhaps I should find someone more cooperative."

Serizawa saw red, his aura flared. If Duke Roushuto dared to--

"Don't kill him, you idiot!" a harsh voice cried out. "If he's dead The Medica Materia will be useless for a generation!"

The Duke withdrew his weapon, eyes darting around the chamber. "Who—"

A familiar green spirit materialized before them, hand clenched in fists. "The book only bonds with one person at a time," Dimple explained.

"If I kill him then the book will just bond with the next person nearby," the Duke reasoned, stroking Reigen's cheek. Reigen tried to bite him but his hand darted out of reach of Reigen's teeth.

"No," Dimple said, flying into Duke Roushuto's face. "The book has standards, that's why the temple exists."

Reigen just couldn't help himself; he and Dimple were too used to goading each other. "The empty temple? The temple of no traps?"