Chapter 10: The One Who Was Used by All

   It was as if I was standing before a deity.

   Although I really thought she was beautiful, I was not kneeling on the ground out of admiration. 

   It was the result of the overwhelming pressure on my body that Marino's mana was leaking from her body, while four gem-like bladed swords were embedded in the ground before her.

   One of the swords had a cobalt-colored blade, resembling a turquoise stone. Another, a blade with a purple coloration, reminiscent of an amethyst stone. The third sword, an intense green, which reminded me of an emerald. The last, a shade of yellow, which I imagined to be a golden topaz.

   Marino Sasaki, the captain of the sixth unit of the AWA. And a Wizard.

   She had a mischievous smile on her face, typical of someone with an inflated ego who had just put someone in their place.

   That was exactly what was happening. I was on the floor, on my knees, because I couldn't stand up. I was using my gunblades to keep from falling, because my legs were about to give out completely.

   But I can't stay on the ground for long. I have some things I want to clarify.

   -You... are a Wizar... Wizard undercover in Techme... Techmetriun?

   Holy shit. My damn voice won't come out either!

   -Uya. I thought you had lost the ability to reason. And yes. I was an undercover Wizard, just like your parents.

   -So... If you are attacking me instead of helping me and those two, you have betrayed us?

   -Bingo.

   I let out a sound of disgust. I was starting to crack and fall to the ground thanks to the pressure of Marino's mana, but I bit my lip hard to try to get my body to pull itself together. Best of all, it worked. 

   -When you caused the blackout, I deduced that a forced pact with the lightning Mastrea was made. Knowing the commotion of the captain of the first unit about whether her parents were Wizards or not, I handed over the game. I revealed that we were all wizards, as I also passed on information about Shun and Iris Blake's abilities, which made it easy for Ketley to kill them.

   Her words were surely destroying me more than any sword, any magic, or any torture could do at the moment. She spoke with a tone that was cold and at the same time, simple-minded. My mind was being tortured in a way similar to a slow freeze. This freezing was made by the coldness of Marino's words and actions. 

   -Of course, I couldn't forget the possibility of you showing up there and causing even the slightest bit of trouble, so I drugged you to get a few hours of sleep. And wasn't I right? It didn't take long after you woke up and you already had lightning mana in your body and were able to use it to your advantage.

   -...

   I still couldn't look her in the face. While my mind was processing what she was saying and was slowly being broken down with them, I was focusing on what strength my body had left to stand on. 

   -I never really liked your parents. They were exceptional when it came to taking care of you or me or fighting, but they had some pretty dirty ways. Not telling you that everyone there belonged to the race that humanity abhors so much, and suggesting that I approach you to increase their chances of getting another spy into the AWA, were really dirty tricks.

   My body finally managed to react to my commands with the last thing Marino had just said. I didn't think anything would surprise me from the moment I found out I was a Wizard or when Morello told me about the Arcane races, but that...

   -What do you mean?

   -So... Before we met, I had already been convinced by your parents to make friends with you and give you some triggers to want to join the AWA. Since I was going to join to serve as a spy, they thought that having someone you had a connection with inside, besides those three, would be interesting.

Of course, it even made sense. They didn't trust Jack, Naila and Caius, because they were human. But of these three, only Naila had a burning hatred for wizards. So much so that she-

   -And the idea came into my mind of: if not to approach him, how about as a sort of couple? It was not something that bothered me, as my main goals were not going to be influenced by that.

   My thoughts immediately come to a halt with the last line.

   I didn't know how to react. In fact, as much as I knew, I was not having the strength at the moment. Not to stand upright; not to put my dislocated arm in place; and not to clear my mind with the thought of finishing killing myself.

   I was being used by my parents. I was being used by the AWA. I was used by what was supposed to be an important person to me. I was used by the two guys who were in the camp protecting the wizards children. I was used by the Mastrea of lightning as a beacon of his location. 

   All this by putting my life on the line.

   I only have five years of life left. I don't know if I could extend that, but I was sure it wasn't enough to even discover one of the three secrets of the world. 

   I start to laugh subtly. How is it that in the midst of regretting being saved from death on the plain I keep thinking that there is still some future for me? I really am someone disappointing. 

   -The only downside to all this is that I have to work with Naila. She, the day I started to cooperate with the AWA cleanly, the bitch screws up my plans.

   She spoke with a slightly more tired tone, which gave me no interest to hear what was going to be said.

   -She killed Jack and Caius didn't she?

   I turned my face up, my gaze meeting hers. The mischievous smile that had been on her face was gone, and now she possessed a slightly more serious look.   

   -Well, they only found you because I also stapled your guns, which put Jack's life at risk. But I think it was unnecessary for her to kill Caius just because she was going to get even with you. 

   So she had been the one to put tracers on my guns. I still left my guard fully exposed when I woke up after the fight at the South airport. 

   But... the AWA had the means to locate the camp via satellite. Why use trackers on my weapons? 

   "Don't worry, it's a magic to keep this place safe."

   Yurion's words return to my mind, from the moment I questioned the fact that he looked injured when I found him. He should be keeping a magic for satellites and drones to be useless. Also ...

   ... Marino is a wizard. There's a possibility she could have tracked us through everyone's mana here.

   I get chills. The same chills I felt when Jack told me about the death of Caius, killed by Naila for not agreeing with the operation of executing me.

   -I got along with all of them. But after I betrayed Morello and Yurion, I was going to try to bring Jack and Caius over to the side of humanity, if you know what I mean. If I couldn't do it through dialogue, I would have to ask my research department to start working on brainwashing. At worst, if it didn't work...

   I thought that I would never get tired of listening to Marino talk, since I am a good listener and she always brings me good conversations. But if my imagination was right about what she was going to talk about in the next moment, for the sake of what was left of my conscience, it was going to be better if I ripped out her tongue.

   -I would kill them myself.

   I reached out my hand that held my gunblade and squeezed the trigger that was just below the sword's bar, firing a bullet energized with purple rays. The shot was easily blocked by one of Marino's swords, which had previously been on the ground, and was now in his left hand.

   -Uya. Don't lose your head, Keyner. At least, not the same as the-

   -Fragmented Thunder!!!

I fired two shots simultaneously. The shots made a V-shaped trajectory, going toward Marino.

   -...

   Just as both bullets were about to collide with each other, Marino pulled all four of her swords from the ground, and intercepted both bullets, only retreating a few centimeters upon impact. She then joined the swords together two by two, forming days of one-handed swords, but each with two blades joined side by side. 

   -I'm glad you were able to move, since I really wanted a fight with you. After all, if I just wanted to kill you.

   I was fixated on Marino, who made a face like he was about to perform an extremely boring task while talking to me. However, my visual focus shifted to my rear when in a short period of time, Marino was behind me.

   -I would have done it already.

   She lands an X-shaped blow. I manage to turn and block with both gunblades. Having blocked the attacks, I fired two simultaneous shots at her face, which were avoided with a simple tilt of her neck. 

   I didn't have time to change my stance, as I was hit hard with a punch to the middle of my ribcage, throwing me at least two meters backwards. My breath, I'm sure, went further away.

   *Cof*

   I guess my imagination was either too fertile or too good. For a second, I thought my heart had been crushed with the punch, not only because of the difficulty in breathing, but also because of the blood I body through my mouth and the empty feeling in my chest. No, it was not heartbroken in the romantic sense. 

   I manage to catch my breath to get up. As I look forward, I see Marino with his double-bladed swords. One was the combination of the cobalt and purple swords, and the other, the combination of the green and gold swords.

   -I hope you are aware that you are not just trying to fight a friend, but against an AWA captain and the Wizard of the Sword Forge. 

   Meanwhile...

   Camp wizard. Yurion Raven's perspective

   About 20 soldiers entered the camp. After eliminating 10, I thought Morello and I would have a little peace. But I doubt very much that this was because Keyner came out of the barrier that I made.

   I had my back to Morello, while keeping my deck of cards in my right hand, with my dagger in my left hand, even though our conditions did not allow me to get close enough to the soldiers to stab any.

   The place was soiled with blood and what was left of the soldiers' corpses. Some were butchered by my letters, while others were impaled or pierced by the metal stakes conjured by Morello. He also managed to create an underground shelter for the children to stay in, while I use my mana to provide oxygen. 

   -Sincerely, I hope Keyner isn't in as much trouble as we are.

   -I'm sorry to inform you, but he is.

   I replied to Morello as I intercepted the soldiers' shots by throwing my mana-impregnated playing cards. Morello covered my rear by conjuring metal barriers and turrets, which was more complicated since the ground here is not rich in metals and he was still tired from using too much mana in the last few days.

   -How the hell are you so sure?

   -Simple. I put a card in him while healing him. I can get a sense of what is going on around him, but the uncontrolled mana he has started to release interferes.

   -Did you wire him? Then he will have more trouble trusting us. 

   Morello replies as he opens one of the many pockets of his blue leather jacket and takes out a metal sphere. He throws the metal sphere towards the soldiers in front of him, and splits it into several metal spines that attack the ten soldiers he was covering me with.

Seven of them managed to contain the attack, but the rest had their skulls pierced at least five times in a few seconds, falling to the ground in a pool of blood and what was left of the skull's internal contents. 

   -We have to end this quickly. There's a Wizard facing him.

   -Wait, a Wizard cooperating with the AWA?

   He gets indignant, but he's born for less. I had to finish butchering the soldiers already wounded by my cards. Since I had managed to copy Morello's mana, imbuing metal into my cards was not a problem.

   -Yurion, how many jokers do you have left?

   -I used up the last one to copy your powers. But there's something you should know.

   After saying this, he and I switch places with each of us rotating 180°. In doing so, I use my dagger to block a sword attack from one of the soldiers, while Morello uses three metal cards I had created and left on the ground to raise barriers and block a wave of shots that came my way. 

   -Do any of these soldiers have an ArcanaTech yet?

   -No. It's a strange thing. 

   I manage to finish killing half of the soldiers that Morello left for me, leaving only three. They should pay attention that my cards only become unusable when they are destroyed, not just intercepted.

   -There are five soldiers against an entire platoon. Five third-class soldiers against ten other third-class soldiers. These five arrived together with the wizard who is confronting Keyner now.

   Morello listened to this as he used the metal cards to defend himself from the soldiers' shots, but they slowed down as they fell to the ground vomiting blood. As they fell, several metal needles that had entered the soldiers' bodies and were probably being used to destroy their hearts came out and went towards the rest of the soldiers alive.

   -Does this mean that the wizard that Keyner is facing is Marino?

   -Right. Apparently she betrayed us.

   -Couldn't this be a disguise?

   -My magic was blocking any aerial tracking they tried to do. Even though I also let my guard down with the technology Keyner had brought, I am sure that the signals would also be compromised. So that leaves only the possibility that they were guided by Marino. But this still doesn't explain why we have soldiers attacking each other.

   My mind was more concerned with my cards that were running out during the fight. But the fact that Keyner was fighting a wizard who could easily be called Mastrea of the sword is worrisome.

   Perspective: Keyner Blake

   The shot I had taken last managed to cause a small scratch on Marino's forehead. Obviously a single scratch was not enough, but knowing that I could scratch her was the indication that I had a minimal chance of killing her.

   Before I even put myself on guard, I punched my shoulder that was dislocated with Marino's first attack, setting it in place. After mending my face with the pain it caused, I stand in guard, my right hand extended to the left holding the gunblade like a dagger, while my right hand with the gunblade lying horizontally.

   I knew that the difference in status between the two of us regarding fencing was giant. Coupled with the fact that she was a Wizard who manipulates swords, separating my swords from the gunblades could mean my farewell to this world.

   I made a shot using the gunblade in my right hand. When Marino intercepts it, I break on her by delivering a spinning slash with the left gunblade. She easily defends herself, but with her remaining hand, she tries to drive her sword into my chest.

   I block the attack using the gunblade that I initially fired, making it a contest of strength. I definitely did not have more strength than her, but one thing that makes up for this are my moves.

The first card is undoubtedly the gunblades themselves. Swords that have a trigger and allow the user to use them like a pistol while attacking. Taking advantage of this, I aimed at the side of the bar of my sword, which was unusual. Marino observed my movement and the small barrel coming out of my sword's bar.

   She stepped back, for if she didn't do this she would receive a shot wrapped in purple rays in her face. I was about to make another shot, but had to step back when the green and purple swords were coming at me, apparently separate from the swords in Marino's hands. 

   I try to dodge the swords. But as I am hit in the side of my stomach by one, I realize that I am naturally not fast enough to dodge their attacks without imbuing my body with mana.

   I finally do so, managing to shake off the teleguided swords and return to attack Marino directly. I make an upward thrust with one of the gunblades, which is minimally intercepted by Marino's sword.

   Marino again joins his swords together two by two, but this time with the blades on opposite sides of the sword dagger. I step back, but it was not enough to avoid a blow from one of Marino's double swords that swirled around her hand. 

   She who now lunges at me, delivering several curved blows with the swords rotating in relation to her hands. Anyone fighting her for the first time would easily be killed by the confusion the swords would cause if the opponent looked Marino in the eye. But since I had been her student for some time, I knew what not to do.

   I fought by looking at his arms. The pressure I received was subtly reduced as I blocked his attacks with a cut followed by a shot, with both hands. I ended up getting about six or seven cuts to my arms and body, but hitting a glancing shot to the side of Marino's abdomen gave me a chance to retreat to a direction other than back. 

   I took advantage of the fact that she was doing a quick scan of her wound and prepared a shot of my fragmented thunder. However, a smile on Marino's face indicated to me that it was not yet time to attack. 

   -Argh. 

   The triangular-bladed energy swords that appeared and pierced me from behind were living proof of that.

   -The swords of the soldiers I faced before?

   There were about seven swords. I remember that I even destroyed some of them. And since there were five soldiers I faced, and I killed two, and they all used two swords, I guess the count was right.

   Marino controlled the soldiers' swords from a distance. It was as if I was training myself to hit back at pistol shots, because she apparently started to take it harder on me, making these swords faster than I could have imagined.

   I get hit by them several times, but I manage to avoid them hitting vital points. I was in the same scheme of attacking and shooting almost simultaneously, while not only imbuing mana into my swords and body, but also into the shots.

   It was difficult to keep the rear covered because all my sides were attacked. Marino must have gotten tired of waiting, because she had gotten into a guard position again. Either that, or she already knew that I was going to get rid of those swords. 

   If it was the latter, she was correct.

   -Fragmented Thunder: Barrage!

   I imbued my gunblades with mana, but not like the last few times, because now it was at least four times as much. I made several simultaneous shots with each of the gunblades, now generating four waves of lightning from the collision of the bullets.

   -...

   Marino remained silent, looking at the wreckage of the swords she was using. And she probably saw me with the right gunblade pointed at her, so that she was lying down making an image of a lying cross, since the left gunblade was standing upright, but close to the tip of the other.

   -Lightning...

I can't finish the sentence and end up falling to the floor. My legs gave way to a fatigue I had never felt before. My hands were shaking, my vision was more than blurry, and my wounds opened wider than they already were.

   -I am surprised at the amount of mana you have. Not the amount exactly, because even if you spend years training, I would still have more mana than you. Now, how much your body can handle is amazing. 

   She was talking close to me while I couldn't move properly. It would be a beautiful time for this to happen, as I was grabbed by the neck and began to be choked.

   -You are using the mana from a pact. Not only that, but you don't even have any magic of your own. All you have used so far are improvisations that a human could do. No, not even that. You know very well that you have always been below any human, always trying to reach someone or be someone, being that you have always been nothing but a pawn to everyone who knew you. You are nothing but a despicable bastard. 

   I was trying to free myself from Marino's hand, but I was without my gunblade, just trying to free myself with my left hand.

   -So I am...

   -What?

   -A despicable and unpredictable bastard. 

   I reveal my right hand holding one of the gunblades. Almost out of mana, I fire a shot into Marino's chest, throwing her backwards. 

   I manage to get free, but end up on the ground. My body was out of strength, and my wounds were throbbing, even though they were not healing.

   -Uya. That was a good one.

   -Oh, shit.

   Marino was standing up. His chest was bleeding, but it was not a fatal wound. However, something was wrong with the surroundings.

   I could feel sharp pulses of mana. It seemed that she had started to take it seriously. 

   My unresponsive body wanted more than before to stay still. Not only the pressure that kept me fixed on the ground, but Marino's look of hatred as well. 

   -Keyner, you must have realized by now that I am the Wizard who controls swords. The Mastrea of swords, if you will. You are fighting with someone who is impossible to even cause a fatal wound.

   It wasn't possible that I couldn't do any damage. I have to change my strategies. 

   It was easy to say. It was my first fight against a wizard. Not only that. It was my first fight with a Mastrea. 

   I wanted to think of some strategy, but it was impossible now. 

   I couldn't count, but I believe there were about twelve or fifteen.

   That was the number of wind swords created by Marino that pierced various parts of my body.

   -Everything in this world is a sword for me.

   My consciousness plunges into darkness. That was the last thing my senses picked up.