Occult Awakening: From Commoner to Archmage

Thalia had a terrible feeling sitting in her chest.

She wore a calm and collected expression on her face the entire time, but truthfully, there was something that had made her uncomfortable around the boy ever since they first met.

It was only vague at first, which was why she sent Jinx to follow him, but after the strange person forced Jinx to return to the astral realm, she wanted to take care of him once and for all.

As a businesswoman, there were few things she had not done to add to her wealth. In fact, one of the requirements to succeed in such a profession was to be ruthless, to be without hesitation or regret.

This was no different. She didn't see it well, but that figure protecting the boy was certainly not a mage. She could tell from their aura that they weren't one.

If he was protected by a non-mage figure of that level, he was clearly important and would interfere with some of her plans.

Not to mention, a young wolf cub like that had to be taken care of.

So she decided to seek out the other two men who were chasing him. Thalia hired them because she didn't want to get her hands dirty, and also because they saw what she saw that day.

Of course, they didn't know that at all. It was a surprise they hadn't gone running to the Church yet. They weren't very pious, it seemed.

As for how she knew Luca was going to be here, it was rather simple.

The boy had recently become very popular in noble circles for his intelligence, and some of them happened to be her friends or acquaintances. Then, she learned he had gone to visit Baron Wake through a mole she planted on his property.

It was then she was finally able to put her plan into motion. She gave the two special instructions on their way to the hunting grounds.

'If I want to amass as much power as possible and leave for Styria, I must eliminate as many variables as possible for when Saintess Anastasia's day arrives. There's a chance that this puts a target on my back, but this must be done.'

She thought of Sir Burning Man. No one had heard from him since that day, and the same went for Smoke, who was killed in the Inquisition's sudden raid. So there was probably a chance he was dead.

'No, I can't say that…'

Burning Man couldn't be dead. He was far more powerful than all of them. She remembered how he held her that day from the back. It still turned her on.

Thalia licked her plump red lips with a hint of excitement. Her cheeks flushed red in an instant as she forgot where she was at the moment.

'I must find him and be with him. The aura protecting the boy is similar to the one I felt that night. If that's the case, it is only fate that I get rid of this boy here and now.'

Despite all her excuses for her actions, there was no other reason except that the things she saw in the figure's aura had completely driven her insane.

No sane person would go after someone being protected by a being like that, but truthfully, a part of her sanity was long gone when she became a mage.

'Yes… yes… it must be done.' Her thoughts paused as the apprehension she felt never disappeared.

"So why is it I feel so anxious now?" she whispered in a voice that none of the other nobles could hear.

***

Vito and Jonny walked behind Luca for a while, with Vito whistling the whole way. Jonny was as silent as ever.

When they were finally a considerable distance away from the area where they had left the nobles, the footsteps from behind him finally stopped.

It was the middle of the day, but the forest was still scary. It was eerily silent, with nothing but the faint sound of insects chirping in the ground underfoot. The occasional flapping of wings came from above, sitting in between the constant whistling of leaves in the wind.

Luca stopped as well.

"Why'd you stop, Lu-Lu?" Vito asked from behind.

"I don't know. Why did you?"

"Ah, you know how it is. We just wanted to catch a breath. Why don't you go on ahead? We'll be right ahead with you."

Luca let out a small laugh.

"I'd feel a lot safer if I was with you two than on my own. After all, I'm simply just a child."

"Oh, sure you are."

At this point, it seemed that they both grew tired of the charade. Luca turned around to meet Vito. He had moved slightly closer to him during the short conversation.

In his hand was a long steel dagger that glinted in the little sunlight that passed through the canopy of trees.

"I made sure to go far enough so no one would hear if you screamed. Just in case I miscalculated, I brought Jonny along to hold you down and stop your voice from escaping. So don't worry, it'll be just the three of us here."

Jonny didn't hold a weapon, but his large hands were certainly more than enough to do the trick. Luca had learned his lesson the last time.

It was an insanely impressive combination. Luca almost wanted to give them credit for their plan, but he knew it wasn't theirs.

"You're so full of shit, it could put a public latrine to shame," he sneered. "You really think you're in the right in all of this? Pathetic."

"Shut up, you bastard!" a voice yelled, but it wasn't Vito this time.

Jonny had a crazed expression in his eyes. It was the first time Luca had ever heard him speak like that. He gripped his shirt with the same fear as before.

"You're being protected by a mage! You don't know what we saw that day—"

"Yawn. I liked you better when you didn't speak." Luca interrupted.

"ARGHGGHHH!' Jonny charged forward, his eyes completely white with fury.

At the same time, bright sparks of lightning appeared around Luca's left arm.

BZZT!

"Please, die for me."