Blooming Sages

Chapter 8- The Intuitive Kurokawa

The Impenetrable Tower

  The five New Sages stood in front of the Impenetrable Tower. It reached into the sky but it wasn't as big as the Lily Institution. "This is it?" Frankie asked. "It's weaker than anticipated. But, then again it was a spell cast over thousands of years ago." "It reminds me of something..." Frankie thought to herself. "Okay! So, let's decide who's going where." Mira smiled at Ken who was finally becoming like a leader. "I'm going alone to find the Tsuki Heart," Frankie said quickly. "But-" "I don't care. I'll do as I please. I'll find it and come back here." Ken sighed, knowing there's no getting to her. "Anyways, Mira and I will head east to the Sea Goddesses Pearl. Lark and Kusuri, you two will go west for the Tigers Eye." "No!" Kusuri pouted and crossed his arms. "Huh? Why not?" "Lark's scary. I wanna go with Mira! We make a good team!" Mira sighed, "I guess there's no stopping him." "Additionally, sending a Fire mage to the ocean isn't the best choice." Lark chuckled in his head but kept his face still. "Alright. I'll go with Lark west. Mira and Kusuri will go east. Frankie will go North. Meet back here as soon as you get the crystal. No dilly dally!" "Sir, yes, sir!" Kusuri saluted, jokingly.

  They all dispersed. Mira and Kusuri going east, Ken and Lark going west and Frankie going north. None of them knowing what was targeting them.

  East, Mira, and Kusuri

  "Sea Goddesses Pearl, eh? Wonder who made it." Kusuri asked, walking with his hands behind his head, "Probably one of the Founders of Magic. Or a Sage." "Hey, Mira. Have you ever just thought, "Man, we're so lucky"?" Mira clenched her spellbook, "Lucky, how?" "Y'know, lucky to be the New Sages! The protectors of Lily City, the strongest mages around, the bravest of us all!" When Kusuri said this, Mira was reminded of Lark's harsh words. She didn't reply for a moment and then said, "No." Kusuri's bright smile turned into a worried frown. "That's such a big job, Kusuri. I know you're still young and you probably don't understand but we're protecting thousands of lives. Just thinking about all those lives in my hand...it makes me nauseous." "No, I get it. O-of course I do..." Kusuri didn't truly understand. He thought he was incredibly strong for his age, his pride and age were both blockades to maturing. Mira over thought the situation, in those moments her magic was unusable. Her anxiety and nerves were her mortal enemy. To become the best versions of themselves, they'd need to overcome those factors.

  West, Ken, and, Lark

  "Do you think putting the two of them together was the best choice?" Lark eyed Ken questionably, "What do you mean?" "You sent them after the Sea Goddesses Pearl. To get it they have to kill the Sea Serpent that protects it. Do you believe Kusuri and Mira can do that?" Ken stopped, realizing his mistake. "...they'll be fine!" "Huh?" Lark turned around and looked at him surprised, "A giant Sea Serpent? Optimism isn't going to save them." "Lark, I said it's going to be fine. Mira and Kusuri aren't going to die. Now, let's go! I can see the desert from here!" While Ken sped up a bit Lark was confused, "But how can you be sure...." he thought to himself.

  Back to the East,

  "Mira, look!" Kusuri pointed to the shore where a boat was tied to a sign. "Beware! Beyond this point there be monsters!" Mira read, "Well, I guess this is the place." Mira and Kusuri stared wide-eyed off into the great, blue river that flowed into an ocean. Kusuri's smile returned and jumped into the boat saying, "Come on, Mira! The faster we find the gem, the faster we get our parents back!" Mira came back to reality and nodded. They got into the boat and pushed off from the shore.

  The wide lake was calm while they rowed through it. There was no movement yet. Mira decided to start a conversation, "Hey, Kusuri." "Hm?" "You don't go to school do you?" Kusuri kept staring off into the ocean and said, "Nope." "Thought so. Why not?" "My father's too drunk to enroll me and my mother thinks it's better for me to teach myself. But I want to go to school, the shows on t.v. make it seem fun! Yeah, sometimes there's drama and all that, but schools really a time to cherish!" Mira smiled a bit as she remembered her experiences as a child. "I guess so...When we get back to the city you should get enrolled. I'll help you with the whole process!" Kusuri's eyes lit up, "REALLY, MIRA!?" He exclaimed while tears ran down his face. "Why not? Ah-!" Kusuri hugged her tightly. "Thank you...thank you so much..."

   Before Mira could reply a giant shadow covered both of them. They both looked up and saw a giant tail coming down towards them, "AAAHHHHH!!!!" they screamed as the tail barely missed them, tossing them and the boat through the water. Kusuri and Mira got up and were silenced by what they saw. Mira relentlessly trembled. Kusuri lost his smile and couldn't speak. The Sea Serpent in front of them glared them down and let out a vicious scream which woke both of them up, "That's it, Mira! That's the Sea Serpent!" Kusuri grabbed the same red potion from before and a purple bottle with a skull on it. "Sure is!" In her head, Mira panicked. She didn't know what to do and she couldn't think and suddenly, Lark's words came back to her,

"You aren't ready to be a Sage, you aren't ready to be a true mage, and you aren't ready to exceed your mother."

  Then, Mira knew exactly what to do. "Kusuri, can you throw that poison potion into the mouth of that thing?" "Uh, yeah! Just give me some time." Kusuri drank the red potion and the marks on his skin came back. "I'm gonna get away from the serpent, so you're on your own for a few!" "Hey, hey, hey! You can't just leave him to- " before Kusuri could finish his complaint, the look in Mira's eyes was enough to let him know to trust her. Without another thought, Kusuri zipped off.

  "With the power of my Justice Brew, I'm fast enough to run on water for a while." Kusuri dashed on the surface of the water and jumped at the serpent. The serpent's mouth glowed blue as it roared in Mira's direction, sending a beam of water at her. "MIRA!" Kusuri yelled out to her. Mira turned around and cast, "Defiliette!" a magic negation spell that destroyed the attack. "Just as I thought. The Corrupted use magic." Just as Kusuri landed on the Serpents' body it started to rise up. "Mira wants me to poison the serpent cause she obviously has a plan." Kusuri thought as he ran up the serpent. "But, I only have one question," he jumped up into the air and threw the bottle into its mouth, "how'd she know there was poison in there?"

  The Serpent slapped Kusuri with its tail, sending him crashing into the boat. "Argh. Good thing my resistance was boosted." he chuckled. He looked up at Mira, she was staring down the serpent with her hand out and spellbook in her other. "Mira, you know my potions not enough to kill it, right?" "Of course. I just need it to expose its forehead. That's where the gem is, though it's protected by a forcefield." Kusuri sat in astonishment. The confident and powerful person he was seeing was not at all like the sad and weak girl he had known. Suddenly, the serpent started to jerk and let out weak grunts. Then it curled over revealing a golden sphere in its forehead with the Sea Goddesses Pearl in it. "THERE! ASTROSPEAR!" Mira yelled, blasting a golden spear with two rings into the golden sphere.