The Cast Die

Aurea was shocked by Vac’s decision. She ran towards him, but it was pointless. Her knees nearly buckled, but she took a deep breath to steady herself. She glared at the swordsman, but as she got ready to attack, he spoke in an apathetic voice, “Don't bother. I was here for the kid and his die. I have nothing more to do with you and this island. If you value your life, stay back.”

She began to move, but couldn't go through with attacking the swordsman. ‘What kind of person is this man?’ The sheer apathy, the way he looked at people as though they barely registered in his mind. He just didn't care.

As the swordsman left, she released an angry scream. She'd failed the one job she had. ‘Why couldn't I succeed? Dammit! How will the others react? Oh no, how will Morta react? Poor Morta, how will I face her, how am I supposed to tell her that her grandson is gone?’

As she stood there in a daze, her head starting to ache from the gravity pulling her blood downwards, the others came down to the Undercity. Morta was the first to ask, “Where's Vac?”

She attempted to respond, but the words choked in her throat. She wordlessly pointed up, or rather down, where Vac fell. Morta looked like her world had shattered. Marcus flinched, but didn't look too surprised. Nero’s face took on a dark and hard-to-read expression.

She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth as she braced herself for the rebuke to come, but Morta wordlessly took out a foldable glider. Marcus realized her intentions, grabbed Morta's hand and asked, “What do you think you're doing?”

Morta feebly attempted to shake him off, but she'd been severely injured and could barely move. Morta’s right shoulder had been pierced through, and was likely ruined. She had lost quite a bit of blood as well. Morta sighed and replied, “What else? I'm going after my grandson.”

Marcus sighed and said, “We don't even know if he's alive! Besides, the situation here is important. We can't just leave it!”

Morta scowled in a decisively un-Morta like manner and retorted, “Speak for yourself. Now let me go, Marcus.”

Marcus seemed ready to drag her away, but Nero suddenly turned to Morta and said, “I'm coming with you.”

She stared at Nero in shock. Marcus’s jaw dropped as he rubbed his own hair in irritation.

‘I’m surprised Nero wants to go along. I thought he didn't get along that well with Vac, but I guess that changed? As for myself, I didn't know Vac that long, but I admire him for what he did. And…’

She glanced at the injured Morta, and with that made up her mind. “I'll also be coming along.”

Marcus realized that he was outnumbered on this matter, and settled for a compromise. “All right, you guys can go, but at least take a break for a while so you can get some first aid. You're of no use to Vac even if he's alive in your current state. We captured Cassius, so you can bring him along as a guide.”

Morta and Marcus glared at each other for a few moments. They seemed to be having a silent conversation, but eventually Morta relented and said, “All right, I'll wait for thirty minutes, not a second more.”

Nero seemed upset at something Marcus had said, probably the thing about Cassius, but she ignored it. She sighed as she looked up to where Vac had fallen and gave a silent prayer to Jupiter for his safety as she followed the others back up.

Bellerophon was flying through the air on his trusty steed and friend, Pegasus, when he noticed the falling figure. ‘What the hell? Where is this guy falling from?’

He spurred his partner on, and Pegasus immediately sped up. They'd been partners for so long that working together was practically second nature to them. As the wind rushed past him, he struggled to keep his eyes open and focused on the falling figure. As he positioned himself underneath the falling figure while adjusting his position on Pegasus. He had to time it perfectly lest he get struck by the falling man. As he caught Vac, Pegasus lowered them down to take away some of the impact.

Bellerophon inspected the man’s face. ‘Damn, that was crazy! Thank God it worked. Now let's see… Huh, he’s young. What's someone like this doing falling out of the sky? It could be a result of being attacked by a flying monster, but those are rare these days. Besides, that wouldn't explain those markings on his body. From what I know, they seem like the result of mana poisoning, though I've never seen a case this severe. Thankfully I don't have to worry about being affected. His eyes are still open, and I can feel a pulse.’

As he wracked his brain, a thought struck him. ‘Could it be? Is he from the island of Aeolia? I've heard of it, and even gotten close, but from what I heard it was taken over by the followers of Minerva. I don't really do my best work at those heights, so I left interfering there for later. But that's not important now. Where do I take this kid? I can't take him with me to my original destination, and he needs to be healed. I suppose Asclepius is the best choice.’

With that decided, he brought Vacuus Venti down.