The Charred Magus

Valentine, Jack and Danny were laying on the floor. They breathed in and out deeply. Jack and Danny also had grimaces of pain on their faces. They had small burns across their arms which they healed using a spell. Valentine on the other hand was almost completely unscathed on the outside yet his mana circuit was on fire. He had unknowingly gotten a fever from his mana circuit. He couldn't move a muscle to the point where the only way he could breathe was his body's subconscious.

His forehead was covered in sweat and his face was getting redder by the second. It was the adverse effect of forcing a circle to form suddenly along with his condition. He felt all the pain of bathing in boiling oil and being rolled in ice in rapid succession. But he was unable to even let out a scream. Time seemed to slow down as seconds left like hours.

"That was a close one wasn't it?" Jack said.

"Yeah sure was. John hasn't acted that way before. You haven't known him for long but you know that too, right Valentine?" Danny replied.

Danny waited for an answer but when that didn't come he raised his body to a sitting stance. He looked at Valentine and was immediately overcome with concern. He stood up, his muscles aching with every miniscule movement he made. He approached Valentine and checked his pulse though his hand recoiled initially from the heat of Valentine's skin.

"FUCK. JACK. CAST SOMETHING COLD. NOW." Danny ordered.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"He is burning." Danny replied, pulling Jack up.

Jack ran towards Valentine as fast as his body would allow, which was no faster than a timid jog, he then dropped to his knees and placed his hand on Valentine's chest.

"FREEZE" Jack tried to cast the spell yet ended up coughing out blood instead. He had already exhausted himself by shielding Valentine and healing himself.

"FUCK. I'LL TRY AGAIN. GO CALL FOR HELP." Jack shouted, gathering up his focus to try and cast the spell again.

"I'M ON IT" Danny replied, running towards the door with trembling feet.

As soon as Danny approached the door, it opened and he was met face to face with Baba, the old lady captain. She had a look of worry on her face that could be seen as motherly to a degree.

"Daniel my boy. Did something happen? John acted off so I came to check up on you. Is everything okay?" She said in a kind raspy voice.

"Baba, please help Valentine. He has an extremely high fever. Don't get your mana in him though, he won't be able to handle it." Danny said

"Oh? It's that boy? What a nice name he has. Let me see." Baba said,

Baba moved towards Valentine and placed her hand on his forehead. He sighed audibly and moved her head in disappointment.

"What a fragile boy. Let me fix that up." Baba said.

Out of Baba's hand a sea of small snowflakes appeared and started dancing around Valentine's body. They didn't look like they would be much help in cooling one down but Valentine's breath started to become visible as the air around him grew colder.

"The boy will be fine. It was his magic circuit acting up again. Now tell me what happened." Baba said, turning her attention to Jack and Danny.

-

Sean entered a large building. It was 20 stories high and had the offices of a multitude of startups situated in it. At least in the lower half. The upper half of the building served as one of the main bases of Merlin in the area. He wore a custom fitted suit and gloves. There were two small burn scars on his face, one was on his forehead over his right eye and one under his right cheek.

The interior was as one would expect, the lower floors were full of interns running around with coffees on hand or a pile of documents. Yet on the higher floors it was much calmer. Well dressed people working on their cubicles. Even the interns that were moving around seemed to be much more oriented and efficient.

Sean got respectful greetings from multiple people as he walked in, even ones much older that him. He was barely an adult but seemed to be well respected. He had just gotten the title of Magus, a title given to those of Merlin that had reached the sixth circle and had at least one major achievement under their belt.

Sean had just made it to the 19th floor, it was much more grandiose than the others. It had 10 offices and a few cubicles yet it didn't look much like a working space. It had a cafeteria and a gym among other luxuries.

"Magus Sean, you are just on time. Archmage Richard wants to see you." A short man said after abruptly approaching Sean.

"Very well." Sean replied.

Sean was annoyed. He hadn't gotten a moment to go to his office and relax but was called immediately to the Archmage's office. He knew that the Archmage disliked him. Even in Merlin, an organization priding itself in being just there was jealousy towards ones with immense talent.

The 20th floor was extravagant. There were many works of art hung on walls the value of which were far into the millions a piece. The Archmage's office was separated from the rest of the floor by a large ornate wooden wall. Sean greeted the Archmage's secretary and walked into the office.

Sean entered the office and it was just as lavish as the outside. The archmage was sitting on his expensive leather chair talking with someone on the phone. The archmage was around 60 years old with few strands of black left on his hair. He had brown eyes and wore a very expensive suit.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY DRIVE US OUT OF THE MARKET? HOW CAN A DAMN NEWSPAPER COMPANY DRIVE US OUT OF THE ELECTRONICS MARKET?" Richard shouted at the phone.

Sean coughed to get Richard's attention. The Archmage looked caught off guard but regained his composure immediately.

"I have to hang up. Make sure you don't fuck this up any more than you already have." Richard said.

"So, what did you call me for?" Sean asked.

"Well well well. That's no way to speak to your superior is it now? You just became a Magus. I'll let it slide this time but don't expect this to fly again." Richard replied

"Yes sir." Sean replied with annoyance.

"Could use some work but it's good enough. Eclipse seems to be planning something. We have news that Gilgamesh is back and that…" Richard said, hesitant to finish his sentence.

"That what?" Sean asked.

"They might be preparing for war. Gilgamesh is back and that man is rumored to be making a return again. We can't let that happen." Richard replied.

"Who is 'that man'? Be a bit specific please." Sean said in annoyance.

"That man is Rakshasa. You may not know him but I'm sure you know of the two kids he is taking care of. They are referred to as the twins if I'm not mistaken. Though they are not even blood related." Richard said

"The twins?" Sean asked in shock.

"Yes. And you have to kill at least one of them. Not only that. You have to make it look like an inside job." Richard ordered.