The Vice Captain of the Crimson Lions

Mana

Ａｇｅ： ２８

Aphi ran over to the tree, he leaned against it as he panted,

"Shit shit shit. They are going to be pissed off at me if I fail,"

Something shining caught his eye, and he tilted his head as he walked closer to the small crater,

"What?"

The grass was already starting to grow around it, but he noticed a light hidden by overgrowth. He slid down the crater and landed on the ground. He swiped his hands through the leaves and gasped as he saw a face inside glowing silver and blue particles.

"Oh my,"

He immediately dug around the object and gasped when he realized what it was. It was almost like a cacoon of mana surrounding a mage. He looked around quickly before smirking,

"I am so getting promoted for this...now...who are you?"

He leaned in, studying the figure encased within. She was young, maybe mid-twenties, with jet-black hair that floated as if in water, and sun-kissed skin. Aphi opened his grimoire and raised his hand,

"Water Magic: Water Cradle,"

Immediately, water wrapped around the cacoon, and Aphi smirked,

"Let's get you back to base."

Aphi rushed back North to where his specific base was. It took a few hours as he had to focus on carrying the light cacoon with him. Guards straightened at the sight of him, eyes widening as they spotted the cocoon floating behind him. Ignoring their whispers, Aphi made a beeline for the room he knew his general was in, dropping to one knee as he entered the war room.

"General Yagos, I found something,"

Yagos turned around and glared at him,

"What took you so long? Did you do the recon I asked you to do?"

Aphi nodded,

"Yes, sir. But I found something... or rather, someone."

Yagos raised an eyebrow, his eyes flicking to the cocoon Aphi pushed forward. He stilled, his calculating gaze fixed on the figure encased in mana.

"What... is that?"

Aphi deadpanned before pushing the cacoon closer to him,

"I found this during my patrol. Someone's inside. The mana surrounding her—it's dense, almost alive."

Yagos's eyes narrowed, then, almost unexpectedly, a grin stretched across his face. He leaned in, inspecting the cocoon more closely, his fingers grazing its surface.

"Soldier, do you have any idea who this is?"

Aphi shook his head,

"No,"

Yagos laughed,

"This. This will change our fate. She's our ticket to victory. This is the key to the war."

Aphi tilted his head,

"A simple mage is the key to the war?"

Yagos smirked as he touched the cacoon,

"No. An important mage is the key to this war. She'll drive us to victory. We will win if we do this right,"

"Do what right?"

Yagos glared at Aphi,

"Silence, soldier. Now, fetch Dr. Moris. Tell him to prepare a containment cell."

Aphi frowned in confusion,

"A containment cell?"

Yagos smirked,

"Tell him I have a new test subject for him. Tell him we have someone the Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom are missing. We have a chance to win,"

Aphi quickly left, and Yagos knelt down to get closer to the cacoon,

"Welcome to the Diamond Kingdom. Former Vice Captain Mynx,"