Blade Over Magic

Opinion

”The beast leaders, huh?” Sparrow rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she considered Xander’s question. After a moment, she shrugged.

”Well, it’s not like it’s a secret.” She raised 5 fingers, making Xander and co pay attention seriously.

”There are a total of 3 beast leaders, each of them with strength equivalent to that of an Elite Mage. Each one has their own territory within the ravine along with their special abilities.” She dropped one finger.

”The first is a serpent we call the Verdant Boa. It and its kin excel at poisons, and it has a passive corrosive mist that’s also mixed with all sorts of venom around it at all times, making it a pain to approach, let alone fight. It has the largest territory of all the beast leaders due to this.” She then dropped another finger.

’That does sound pretty annoying to fight. But beasts like that usually have weak physical bodies, so if we do manage to get close to it, it might be possible...’ Xander mused as Sparrow went on.

”Next is Void Raptor. This one’s abilities are especially nasty as it is able to traverse through space. So it can basically teleport. Moreover, hitting it is daunting to say the least.” At that, Aubrey asked.

”Because it can teleport?” However, Sparrow shook her head.

”That’s just one facet of it. It’s... weird, but there’s a layer of empty space constantly surrounding its body, so most hits just don’t reach it.” That made the group pause.

’That... isn’t very encouraging.’ Aubrey frowned, and Xander also considered the matter. Space magic was already an esoteric and rare affinity out there, which made it especially nasty to fight against.

”... And the last one?” He finally asked.

”Well, there’s Big Neil.” Bodhi chimed in.

”... Big Neil?” The group was, understandably, confused by the name. But Ragna was the one to explain.

”It’s a spider. A very big one.” The faces of the group immediately turned strange.

’... more spiders?’ Falael grimaced.

As it turned out, Sergeant Alya didn’t only make the squads under her unit combat a spider once. Rather, multiple times, she made them fight different variations of them with different abilities. It was to the point that Xander had asked if there was a high population of spider-type beasts in the world so they needed extra preparations. And to that, well, she says no. She just liked spiders.

”... What does it do.” Xander finally asked. Sparrow and co sensed the strange atmosphere at the mention of spiders, but they chose not to press the issue.

”It excels at control. More specifically, it’s a sort of marionette. It controls a large number of threads that come in two types. The first is thin and very sharp, so charging in recklessly can get you turned into a shredded pile of meat. The second is much more... sinister.” Sparrow huffed, and the group tensed.

”They burrow into the body and slowly take over it, like a parasite. Once the takeover is complete, the target is effectively dead, and Old Neil can control them as well as use their abilities to a certain extent. The number of ’puppets’ it has under its control is unknown.” When she finished, there was silence for a moment, then Falael directly said.

”Okay, now that’s some straight bullshit. I thought the Void Raptor was bad. But that spider needs to GO.” They very strongly stated their opinion, and the others couldn’t help but agree with them.

The Verdant Boa seemed like it’s biggest problem when engaged would be getting close. Irritating, but understandable. The Void Raptor was a lot more complicated. Space was both tricky and rare, making it an affinity that was naturally a pain to deal with. So an opponent that could effectively teleport as well as make itself hard to hit was bound to be a challenge.

But Big Neil? That was just plain sinister.

”You said Old Neil can use the abilities of its puppets to an extent. How high is that extent?” Curtis asked.

”50-60%. But it seems to fluctuate depending on the strength of the target when they were alive. That is to say, it has an easier time bringing out the power of a normal foot soldier compared to that of someone at the level of say, the captain.” Nash shrugged.

”... Okay, last question.” Xander scratched his head. ”Why is it named Big Neil? Calling it the Marionettist seems like it could have worked.” That drew some stares from his teammates, but Sparrow answered in complete seriousness.

”Its ability resembled that of a past Archmage who also excelled at controlling his targets. His name was Neil, and someone randomly started calling it Big Neil because it’s a pretty large demonic beast, so the name stuck.” Hearing this, Xander was at a loss.

’... It almost sounds like a term of familiarity. I wonder how long they’ve been fighting against it.’ He sighed, regardless, he seriously considered and took the information to heart.

”If you want to know more, you can visit Orderly Room to access the information. It’s more in-depth there.” Ragna suddenly said, causing the group to perk up.

”Oh, that does sound convenient. We’ll check it out.” Xander slowly nodded, but then Sparrow couldn’t help but ask.

”Why the sudden interest in this matter?” At that Xander stared at her and deadpanned.

”We are going to be in this place for the next month or so. I’d much rather we knew the things we were going up against in detail.” That... technically wasn’t a lie. The group indeed wanted to know more about their enemies.

Xander just didn’t include the part where they intended to eliminate two of those enemies within a week.

Sparrow nodded, seemingly satisfied with the response, and they kept walking in silence.

Soon enough, they returned to the base, and they got some dubious gazes upon returning so early. Some people even subtly made jests at them, saying that they had done so badly that Sparrow’s squad had to return them early.

”A team that even the Lunatics can’t handle easily? That’s quite the sight.”

That was the general consensus. Granted, all it took was a glare from Ragna to shut up the gossiping soldiers.

”I’m gonna report what happened to the Captain, so you may or may not be called over. In the meantime, i guess you can go read up on those beast leaders like you wanted.” Sparrow just said and walked away. She seemed to be bad at small talk.

The rest dispersed, but not before Bodhi asked Xander.

”We’ll meet up later today, right?” He asked, and Xander smiled.

”For sure.” Both men smiled at each other, then Bodhi went to do his own thing.

’Orderly Room?’ Xander asked via telepathy, and he received affirming sounds from the rest.

***

”You mean to tell me that they managed to deal with that many demonic beasts in just half an hour?” In one of the command tents, the captain looked at Sparrow with a mix of surprise and disbelief as she gave her report.

She sighed.

”I’d have found it hard to believe if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes. But it’s not just the speed, their cohesion as a squad as well as their individual abilities are something else.” She went on the relay the exact details of the battle, and the more the captain listened, the more baffled he became.

”... Huh. I suppose you really can’t judge a book by its cover. Avoma seems to be feeding its students something extra special this time.” He chuckled slightly before deliberating for a moment, then he asked.

”Alright, with all of this said, what’s your opinion of them as a whole?” Hearing this, Sparrow lingered for a moment, then she answered honestly.

”Their teamwork is incredible. The trust they have in each other is more than most of the squads here. Which is shocking since each of them seems incredibly talented. So normally, they should all have egos the size of the moon. But other than that half-elf, they’re all relatively calm. Moreover...” She thought about Xander.

”Their squad leader, Xander. He’s something else. Initially, I thought he was just very good at fighting. But whether it’s the way they listen to him without a second thought, or his mindset in general. I feel like I’m not looking at a teenager, but a highly talented and competent veteran.” She paused, and the Captain gestured for her to continue.

”... He doesn’t just see threats as threats. He almost sees them like problems to be solved. For instance, after our trip today, he very calmly explained that the Ravine was the perfect chokepoint, so they just used that fact to turn it into a killing field. Also, yesterday when I had briefed them on the three fronts we are fighting on, he seemed oddly... fixated on the catacombs.” That made the captain blink, and he leaned forward with interest.

”Oh? Why is that?” He asked, and Sparrow hesitated.

”... He asked questions like how long it had been around, questions about soldier ants and queens, and so on. I told him that it had already been judged to be of an acceptable threat beforehand and the higher-ups told us not to prod it too much, and he didn’t seem very satisfied with the answer, but he chose not to chase it.” After a moment, she asked carefully.

”... Is there some truth to his concerns?” At that, the Captain was silent for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. Then he said slowly.

”This is classified. But I will still say it.” He suddenly snapped his fingers, and a blue sheen surrounded them, isolating everything.

”The higher-ups did a thorough investigation of the catacombs, and they did say that the threat was at an acceptable level. However, they strictly forbade anyone from venturing past a few miles into it from any opening, and anyone who did so would be accused of insubordination and get executed on the spot.” The revelation genuinely startled Sparrow.

”Wh-What? Why would that be a rule?! And if the threat level is acceptable, why haven’t we wiped them out by now?” She pressed, and the Captain took a deep breath.

”I can’t give you a clear answer. They were vague when they gave the order. But I won’t lie to you and say it doesn’t reek.” Sparrow frowned.

”Why are you telling me this?” The Captain was silent for a few seconds, then he said carefully.

”That squad is certainly talented. And like you just explained, that boy, Xander, is sharp. But perhaps too sharp. It can easily bring him unwanted attention. I want you to tell him to be careful and not to poke his nose into certain matters, for his and his team’s safety.” Hearing this, Sparrow’s jaw clenched, but slowly, she nodded.

”... Understood.” The Captain nodded and dispelled the isolation barrier.

”You may go.” With that, Sparrow left without another word, leaving the Captain alone in the office.

After a while, he scrubbed a hand across his face and decided to busy himself with paperwork, but the way his jaw was tight betrayed his feelings on the matter.