Eternity Through Sacrifice

Chapter 28

Mireille was taught how to absorb magic cores into her body by the headmaster. She was aware that the process was painful, but even so she tried to absorb a magic core. Despite following all the headmaster's instructions the crystal neither rejected or accepted being absorbed into Mireille's body.

At first, the headmaster had naturally assumed that Mireille was struggling like the rest of the Black Collar's had been struggling in the beginning, and simply encouraged Mireille to keep trying. After all, to absorb a magic core would require the acknowledgement of the deceased being. Magic cores and mana springs were the second "hearts" of being after all. 

The headmaster who knew Mireille was well-educated since her childhood had originally thought that it would be simple for Mireille to gain the acknowledgement of the deceased being through her persuasive and sugared words. But that wasn't the case.

On average the Black Collar's one month to successfully absorb the magic core into their bodies. However nearly two months had passed and Mireille was still struggling to absorb a magic core.

"It's like impossible." Mireille declared as she took a swing at a sword fighting dummy. She had decided that although she had no access to her magic as of now, she would have to refine her swordmanship. She knew she was absolutely useless without her magic because she used it to reinforce herself when she used her sword. During the past two month's she had begun to train and gain some muscle so she wouldn't become reliant on the enchanted sword that the headmaster had given her.

As much as Mireille wanted to give up on using magic, she was also aware that it wasn't an option. With both Marie Fylan and Claude D'Argent around, escaping the plot of the game and high society was practically impossible.

Aside from that, Mireille did her best to hang out with Cassandra and Elaine as much as possible. With the previous incident they had completely lost trust in Marie Fylan and would probably kill her if not for the threat of Lysithea declaring wars on their tribes. Marie Fylan was still a member of the Five Pillar's, she was a perfectly valid reason for the nation to be angered to the point of declaring war.

"Mireille!" Elaine waved as she entered Mireille's training area, pulling Cassandra right behind her. "How's absorbing the magic core going?"

"Same old, same old. Can't do anything." Mireille reported as she dodged an arrow from Cassandra. "Sheesh, bullying a magicless little human, now are we?"

"Oh, please! The sword the High Elf gave you is plenty powerful!

 Mireille laughed at the way Cassandra addressed the headmaster. Despite being obnoxious, loud, and eccentric, the headmaster was still apart of the elegant and graceful elf race. And he was powerful to the point of being granted the status of "High Elf" as well.

"Cassandra's right you know! You're still strong despite not having any magic. Plus you're working so hard, you'll be fine once you're actually able to absorb it."

The next day the girls left school grounds to hang out in the nearest town. They were hanging out at a cafe when a dog began rubbing against Mireille's chair. "There's a dog."

Cassandra, who was without a doubt a animal person, immediately looked down and her face distorted into fear. Mireille didn't understand why she was so shocked.

"Mireille. Listen to me and slowly get up from your chair, then carefully walk toward this side of the table."

Elaine was confused and looked down to the "dog," and quickly advised Mireille to do as Cassandra told her to. Though she was still confused she did as told and walked over to where Cassandra and Elaine sat.

It was only then that Mireille had gotten a clear look at the puppy that was beneath her feet. It wasn't just any "dog" but the little horns that protruded from the pup's forehead was a clear indicator that this "dog" was in fact a Hell Hound.

"Well, it's just a Hell Hound." Mireille shrugged. They were certainly powerful when full grown but the pups were as good as human babies. You could probably drop them from a high place and they die on the spot.

"Excuse me?" Elaine asked.

"Just a Hell Hound?" Cassandra continued.

"The pups are harmless. But adults are pretty scary though. 'Cause they do this thing where they call the entire pack over if they're in danger." Mireille stated. "But then again... If there's a pup then there's probably a good chance it's pack is in the area..."

Though Mireille didn't think it was a big deal before, at this point she realized she struggled to take on a pack of Hell Hounds when she had magic. Without magic, Mireille was as good as shit lying on the side of the street. "You know what? On second thought, let's leave and tell the local knights or the guild while we're at it."

Mireille then quickly paid the bill for the girls and left. Elaine scolded Mireille a bit for always covering the bill, but then again, she was using Claude D'Argent's money so it didn't matter. The girls then reported it to the local knights.

They continued walking throughout when Cassandra whispered to the other two. "Is it just me? Or is the Hell Hound following us?"

The trio nodded and split up to see who the Hound was following. They were to meet up at the town square. As Mireille ran she looked back to see the little pup darting at her. Though most people hadn't noticed his horns because of his long fur that covered most of his face. "Why me. Death is chasing me because I somehow cheated it once and now it wants my head in a separate world as well."

She was the second to town square, Cassandra being the first. "Cass!" She heaved. "It's- It's after me..."

"I can tell... It's in the bushes. Should we just head back to the academy? C'mon! Something as small as that couldn't possibly be faster than a horse."

"That's no good." Elaine suddenly appeared and shook her head. "Hell Hounds are faster than horses."

"What do we do then?!" Cassandra panicked. They could't return to the academy without accidentally bringing it to the school, and they could couldn't kill it, for both would attract the rest of the pack that was definitely looking for the little  one right about now.

"Shall we go to the knights again?"

"Hm? Why? Are you guys in some sort of trouble?"

Mireille looked toward the voice that she had actively avoided for the past two months. Kian la Reial. Though it was discreet, Mireille could tell that Kian had some guards with him. It was only then that it had hit her. For once, Mireile was actually kind of grateful that Mr. Capture Target showed up.

"It's nothing." Cassandra pouted. Frankly, the young elf was dissappointed when the boy took a neutral stance on Mireille's incident with Marie Fylan, she didn't trust him in the slightest.

"Reuben. Grey."