The Case of the Serpent and Scorpion

Chapter 10: Special Forces

Vana's POV

My jaw dropped in astoundment and confusion as I saw Ms. Christine standing next to me. My brother usually calls her Chris, but I’d rather call her formally, since I was not introduced to her by Storm.

Jerome halted in his spot, jaw dropping as he saw Ms. Christine’s entrance and arrival on the deck. We were both in utter shock, exchanging glances in disbelief. How in the world are they here? Or in this case, how in the world is Ms. Christine here?

“Seize them—” another voice shouted, followed by a group of wizards emerging from the sea around us.

It all happened in a span of a second that I couldn’t wrap my head around it. A man emerged from the sea that led them, a purple spheric barrier of aura shielding him. My mouth gaped for the second time, recognizing another familiar face.

That’s—That’s one of the renowned saviors of the Dark War. Alfred Johnsons!

Okay, now I’m baffled. How are they here?

The wizards landed on the deck as the purple barrier set them down on the ship, the men quickly apprehending the crew bandits, some of them heading to the room where the restrained bandits were imprisoned. They shuffled all over the place, creating a chaotic scene in front of me.

“Seems we arrived right on time,” Mr. Alfred said, his eyes staring straight as he lands on the deck as eloquently as a noble, deactivating his magic. The purple barrier that shielded him and the wizards were his magic. His Gravity Magic.

My mouth gaped in awe, unable to believe that Mr. Alfred is here. Mr. Alfred is blind; blinded after the Dark War. Storm did not told me how he lost his eye sight, but he felt grateful to him for saving his life.

“You created chaos,” Ms. Christine argued, eyeing the battlefield.

“If its chaos, all we need to do is put an end to the chaos, right?” another new voice murmured, one that made me flinch to the bones as I lower my head on instinct.

Why is he here? I didn’t know he was assigned to this case. No, I am not even aware that he’s currently in Auregon.

“And it seems someone is a part of this chaos, and has caused a different chaos in another place,” he mused. He’s clearly talking about the mess I made here, and the rules I broke in the academy.

Why is my brother here?”

I slowly raised my head up, a cold sensation freezing the entire deck as ice crippled on the floor. Storm’s magic gradually snaked across the feet of every person on deck, gluing them to the floor as they all froze in the spots.

I lifted my gaze at him, a thin line forming in my lips as I waited for him to face my direction. His magic pierced through the air with nothing but a command from his mind. It is the kind of magic that only someone who learned from ancient books can do.

Brother paused in the middle of the deck, his hands buried on his pockets unenthusiastically. His clothes resembled those of a stalker. Baggy pants, an oversized shirt, and a jacket that he might have picked up somewhere. He tilted his head at my direction, meeting my eyes.

“I believe you were not supposed to be here, Vana,” Storm said, giving me a suspicious look.

I gave off a nervous laugh, averting my eyes. “There’s an explanation to that. And I didn’t think you’d be here in Auregon either,” I mumbled, pursing my lips in defeat.

“I’ll listen to your excuses later. For now, good job in restricting the bandits’ actions. Well done,” Storm complimented, letting the subject go for the time being. “The same is to be said to you, whoever you are,” he added, referring to Jerome.

“I don’t understand… why and how are you here?” Jerome asked, interrupting the conversation.

Yeah, how? From what we know, none of the kingdoms plan to sabotage or make a move in order to stop this incident. They don’t seem to be aware of the real mastermind either. Have they predicted that the whole ship’s crew are bandits?

“Do you really think our commander would let this slide?” Mr. Alfred snorted. “I had to cross the portal and leave my class just to be here.”

“Angela thought that letting them have what they want, and then sabotaging them in the last minute is the best course of action,” Ms. Christine stated.

“As in, giving them what they want, let them celebrate for a moment, and then take back what you gave them,” I wondered.

“Sounds about right,” Mr. Alfred replied. “Your sister is smart, Storm.”

“Since when have you arrived?” I asked, referring the question to my brother.

“Just a while ago,” brother answered.

“Then, do you know that the real mastermind is not the fakes you’ve talked to?” Jerome wondered.

“According to Angela, someone pretending to be Storm and his sister are the mastermind. Angela doesn’t believe that,” Mr. Alfred stated, answering.

Brother scoffed, a cold gaze forming in his eyes. “They should’ve known better to disguise and pretend like me,” he mused, with a cold tone in his voice.

“Oh brother, you should’ve seen them. They’re in the control room right now,” I mused, a small grin perked up my lips.

“The two of you will have to explain everything that happened here once we have docked,” Ms. Christine intervened, informing us about what would happen to us. “For now, help us free the hostages and restrain the remaining crew.”

“While I think it’s a good idea to get a warrant and confine Reynolds McValeri to prevent him from escaping,” I pointed, dropping the bomb about the mastermind.

“What does he have anything to do with this? In order to get a warrant, one must have solid evidence against the accused,” Storm asked, pointing out the flaw of the idea.

“He’s the real mastermind. Me and Vana figured and deduced it,” Jerome answered, giving me credit. “You can use Camillo’s lacrima as a proof of it.”

“Who’s Camillo?” Mr. Alfred asked, raising a brow.

“The one pretending to be my brother,” I said. I brought out the communication lacrima Camillo used, showing it to them. “This is what he used. I also called the number saved on that, which is directly linked to Reynolds’ lacrima.”

“You’ve… solved this case before we did,” Mr. Alfred mumbled in disbelief. He snorted, a smirk forming in his lips as he finds our achievement amusing. “Oh, someone will be upset and impressed.”

“Claude will be upset,” Storm mentioned.

“And Angela will be impressed,” Ms. Christine added.

“That’s that. Let’s secure the ship for now. I’ll inform Angela how it went down,” Mr. Alfred stated, deciding on the next course of action.

“Ah, we actually disabled some bombs on the engine room of the ship. I think you should check it out first before anything else,” I added, remembering the bomb hidden in the engine room.

“Will do,” Storm answered shortly.

Ms. Christine and my brother nodded as they begin to clean up the mess we’ve made on the ship. Mr. Christine helped me on my feet, giving me a small, warm smile before pressing forward and head to help the wizards squad.

Mr. Alfred headed straight to the bomb I mentioned, sprinting away from the deck as he investigates it. Jerome and I were tasked to help the hostages out on the deck, freeing them from captivity after they were held hostage for the second time in the day.

I felt had for letting such a thing happen to them twice in a row, contemplating on myself for not realizing the truth sooner.

“We were fooled,” I mumbled, cussing at myself as I break the cuffs on the passengers’ wrists.

“Obviously. We were lucky your brother arrived in time. If not, you would have been thrown into the sea,” Jerome said, with a bit of sass in his voice.

“Yeah… we are,” I whispered in defeat, guiding the passengers out of the lower lounge. “I’m surprised, you don’t hate my brother even though he’s a member of our guild.”

“He certainly doesn’t act like one.

“He doesn’t care about the guild’s conflicts, nor to anyone.”

“You answered your question. That’s the reason why,” Jerome said, stepping out of the room. “You’re not that bad either.”

I took in his words, my brows furrowing as I comprehend it. Is he saying I’m not as bad as the other guild members he’s met, or I’m not as bad as a person as he initially thought? Unfortunately for him, I still don’t like him as much.

Just enough for me to cooperate with him. Even if he’s member of our rival guild or not.

We reached the docks of mainland Asher in a couple of hours, treating and preparing the passengers who have been hurt in the incident. The bandits and ship crew had been neutralized by my brother and his team; their leaders heavily guarded by the wizards.

Since the ship cannot function without the crew engineers on the engine below and the captain on the control room, Mr. Alfred had to surveillance the ship crew into doing their work. He complained about it to brother, but brother, being the guy he is, ignored his complains and sent him there without remorse.

The dock is filled with soldiers from the royal army and the military, lined up around the border of the docs as they await our arrival. Few recognizable people stood and led the army of soldiers. Some made my eyes blink in disbelief.

Is this really happening right now? Are my eyes not playing tricks on me?

Why is the King of Ashern, Chairman of Ashern’s Magic Council, and Ms. Angela Akatsuki doing on the dock?

“What a warm welcome,” Ms. Christine said, gazing at the same direction as me.

The ship halted to a stop as it moors on the harbor, anchored as it settles on the coast. Wind blew against my hair as I watch in awe and distraught, the soldiers marching towards the ship after the entrance to the ship has been opened.

Everything happened at once, and my mind was unable to keep up with all of it. The bandits were arrested in a matter of minutes, taken away from the ship. Passengers were escorted off the ship, being brought to a nearby infirmary tent to be treated. The deck was crowded before I know it, people of different profession surrounding me from all direction.

Baron Herde, the baron who helped me earlier, passed by, escorted by a soldier. Our eyes met across the deck, and his eyes lit up in recognition. He struggled against the soldier, requesting him to let go for a moment so that the baron can talk to me before he was sent off the ship.

He approached me with a smile, waving a hand with delight. “I have been looking for you. Thank magic, you’re alright. I saw that show you put up to defeat those bandits. You were awesome!” he praised.

A small smile plastered on my lips, which turns into a thin line as I feel awkward and embarrassed of the thought. “T-thanks…” I murmured.

“I should be thanking you! You and that other guy with you. You saved my life. You saved all our lives,” the baron yelled, praising m with exaggeration. “I hope you become a great wizard one day.”

I nodded, speechless at him. He smiled, patting me on the shoulder. “If you need any help, don’t be afraid to ask me for it,” Baron Herde said, handing me a business card.

My mouth gaped for a moment, reading the card. Herde Xavier, a count of Asherm and a business owner. I lifted my head up at him, nodding with a small smile. He walked away, heading off the ship as he goes to where his family is waiting for him.

From a distance, a little girl ran across the deck, crying, as she rushes over to her mother. The little girl’s cry resounded on the deck, snapping my attention towards them. The little girl hugged her mother tightly while wailing.

The mother knelt down as she anticipates her daughter, embracing her tightly with tears on her eyes. The mother must’ve been so worried and concerned about her daughter, especially after being held hostages twice in a day.

“Looks like the little girl found her mom,” Jerome stated, speaking to me out of nowhere. He showed up nonchalantly, his eyes gazing at the mother and daughter.

I flinched after hearing his voice, giving him a glower. “Do you know them?” I asked out of curiosity.

“The little girl helped me be freed,” Jerome answered.

The little girl was carried by her mother on top of her arms. They seemed to be having a conversation when the little girl tilted her head at our direction and pointed a finger at us. Or in this case, she might be pointing her finger at Jerome.

The mother turned her head at our direction, giving us a warm smile as they approach us. “Thank you… for saving me and my daughter,” the mother said, thanking us.

“We’re just doing what is right. No need to thank us,” Jerome replied, giving a very common reply.

“We’re glad to be of help,” I cheered, giving them a smile.