The Deadman

Robert stayed in the villa constantly vigilant. He had been able to know the people inside and when there was nothing to say about he would come to chat with them. Most of the time he was with Gia Silva. Always eager to keep watch and make sure that she doesn't slash at the walls again. Her temper when it comes to failure made her seem desperate.

It made him realize that she was chasing after something. That hope of completing her spell made her eager to complete it.

For she had come to realize that it wouldn't be long until the magic goes away.

Robert had been hearing about it for a while. How the world that they know will soon enter a world of logic and reason; the stream of magic will die out and become nothing more than superstition.

An age where it will be far more difficult for demons to enter the realm of man. It made him curious actually. He had been hearing about the millennium bug and the only thing that came to mind was the end of the era.

"What is it?"

He asked Gia as she took a break from writing. Her finger was playing with the fork. Her full lips were wet from the mineral water she had just drunk.

"The millennium bug was said to be the prophesied end of all magic. It is the bug destined to tip the scale and favor science."

"People here so sure that will happen?"

"It will happen. It's the last prophecy of a seer that has proven himself time and time again. I confess that I do not know much about the seer, but the stories I heard from my betters have them speak highly of this seer."

Resting his hands on the flat of the table. Robert leaned back. His eyes were on the ceiling where he saw dust and cobwebs forming. She followed his eyes and saw them too.

"Then are there many who are so eager to complete their spells as well?"

Gia nodded slowly. She raised a finger proposing something that had been bothering her.

"I do think that the recent events lately have caused the Magi Families to seek their businesses to be accomplished. This Guzman and Ferric that have been working under the OTS might have made this move knowing that they don't have long until all of the batches are sold."

She held a finger on her head, "I heard rumors that many merchants have been telling the story of the millennium bug. Causing many of them to sell their products while they are still worth selling. It's probably the reason why my family started to get into the gold business."

"Is that why you are so eager as well, Miss?" he asked. "Do you fear that if this prophecy comes true, you'd lose your chance of completing the spell?"

"Yes. I am sorry that you have to suffer my temper. It has been hard lately and I do not usually act like such a brat."

"It's not a problem at all, Miss. If anything I'm thankful that I am guarding you instead."

"The troubles outside of the Villa have become large. I'm sure that they are doing their best to win against whatever they are facing."

The trouble happening outside of the Villa was beyond his capabilities. It was because of this that he was able to admit his weakness. Besides, Agent Wilson, who has been pursuing Guzman and Ferric, was cooperating with the Americans in taking down all the rackets and businesses that the two were doing.

Her finger was drawing on the table. She lifts her eyes and stayed it on him. Cool and collected with a gloom hidden under it. She's a woman who has gotten his attention lately. The way she moved and the way she expressed herself made him wonder if this was natural to do those who practice magic. They have this sense of mystery around them. One that evokes wonder whether it was the magic or themselves attracting attention.

He likened it to the lamp in the dark. You tend to take a step towards the lamp instead of the darkness. Being in this Villa was some sort of luck to him. Unlike the events that had come to him. The living space, the boundary that surrounds this villa has made him feel like the world wouldn't hurt him.

He felt relaxed here but he didn't necessarily abandon his training. Maintaining himself in top shape while also guarding Silva. The meal they shared together came to an end. She took her plates with him and they left the plates to the servants for them to wash.

Gia Silva was about to return back to her workstation when her eyes remained on Robert. She looked away for a moment and opened her mouth.

"Would it be alright if we get out of the villa? I need a fresher air than this."

Robert pocketed his hands while nodding. He made Gia Silva wait for a while as he equipped himself with his weapons and suit. They started walking out of the Villa instead of taking the car. Their legs took them to the small lake by following this path carved towards the base of the lake.

He glanced at the small lake with his eyes turning blurry. He looked away before any tears fell and failed to notice the melancholy of the woman he was guarding. Taking small unhurried steps to the solemn water of the lake. She bathed her feet and looked up to where the skies were.

A plane flies straight to the clouds and disappears within sight. A squirrel was drinking in the freshwater lake alongside several animals who were thirsting for water. In the lake, there were many fishes as well. Mostly bass and trout.

Without her bangs covering her face. Even with the bags under her eyes. Miss Gia Silva stood out because of the way she dressed like a woman in her mid-twenties. She had peculiar taste in clothing, preferring to cover her skin despite the weather.

Her white hair flies alongside the wind carried from the south. Eyes that were so distant that made her seem like she wasn't here in this world. Longing for something beyond whatever dream she was looking forward to. She needed a spell to complete it. A spell that would allow her to reach it.

Before the world of magic ends.

Before it was too late.

It also made Robert think of himself as well.

A question that he had been asking himself quietly.

What if there was a way back home?

What if there was a way to send his soul back to the world he knew?

If he was able to possess the body of someone.

Couldn't he just do it as well?

Use the body of someone to get there.

But he was lacking the motivation. There was nothing to look forward to in that world. He just couldn't give an honest-to-God reason for wanting to go back to that world where the skies could melt him. This world wasn't perfect either but compared to what he knew it was heaven.

The sky didn't burn.

The water was clean.

The meat was real and there were no humans who had chrome and bronze as arms. He'd be mad to live in that kind of world again. Not that there was anyone that he'd be willing to die for and go back.

His rough hands dipped in the water. He moved it around and made a whirlpool. His eyes remained on the whirlpool. Then he glanced at Miss Silva and found her sitting on the ground as well with her arms embracing her legs.

"My family told me that it was a useless dream. It's a spell that could bypass the physical laws of the world and allow one to travel through opening a fabric in space itself."

"So you want a portal?"

"Yes. A portal that can transport anyone to their desired place. Once upon a time, it was said to be as common. After years it had become an art that only a few could cast -- then the Inquisitions of the Past and the Holy Wars wiped out these spells. Because it brings a problem as well. If you can create a portal that could take you anywhere. Wouldn't that mean that you could enter the place where one is hiding and kill them without noticing?

"So they made sure that the art was lost. That it can't be used and all knowledge of it is banished from this earth. What I'm trying to do is bigger than that. I want to create a portal that would lead me somewhere."

"where is that?"

She looked at the horizon with an open mouth. 

"I don't know anymore. Truth be told, I am so sorry for wasting your time. You could do more if you weren't guarding me. Mr. Oswald. I think you understand well that there's no way my family would survive this."

They won't survive.

That was the conclusion that the Lieutenant told him over the radio. Miss Silva's family was going to war against these people. And they weren't going to last. They made Miss Silva stay away because she wasn't concerned about it. She had made warnings to her family that this would cost them their life. That she will not be part of this.

She's chasing a dream that couldn't be easily done. A dream that might not happen. She knows that it won't be happening. That can't happen with the current conditions of the world.

Think of the current world as a fuel tank emptying out. The engine running the tank was slowly going out and as they use the fuel inside the tank. The more magic was spent and the harder it was to make use of the magic.

Miss Silva had said it herself that what she had was nothing more than a dream. She was out of time. She was lacking the resources and the world itself wouldn't cooperate with her dilemma. She was trying despite knowing that it was impossible.

"Why did you want it, Miss?"

"Because I want to reach a place without anyone knowing. I am sorry that I can't tell you but it's something that I want to keep to myself."

She said it so sternly that asking about it would be useless. So he kept to himself and just let the winds brush against them. After a while, they went back to the Villa were one of the Miss's servants handed a phone to her. She took the phone from the servant. She listened quietly. Then she handed the phone back and gave Robert a look that he would understand.

The servant looked at the back of Miss Silva. He approached Robert and opened his mouth with an expression of grief.

"I think it's best if we let the Miss grieve for her family."

"I see. Did they recover their bodies?"

"They did. With the vendetta done. There is no longer a reason for them to continue seeking their blood. The rights to the mine will be theirs. I had been told that Miss Silva is now truly under the protection of your organization."

"I see. So what's next for all of you?"

"The Miss still has a lot of resources and wealth by herself. The servants of the main estate will have to make do with the compensation that they got from the family and find a new place of employment. This is the Miss's personal land and our home as well. Thankfully, we should be able to live here."

Robert left the servant alone and took his phone out. Wilson had sent a message to him informing him that they found one of Guzman's men beheaded. Most of Guzman's property was destroyed by Strato's team.

"The world moves and moves on its own as always."

Robert muttered quietly.

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