Blade of Ruin- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 3

Episode 126: The Future

*Vermeil*

I threw a punch at Haroun. He had arrived home yesterday, following the botched attempt to reclaim Sera's capital. However, he and Vita had managed to secure the liberation of the southeast. My brother blocked it with one arm and grabbed mine with his free hand.

"Nice try," Haroun said, smirking.

I pulled back my fist again.

"Alas, you're no match for me yet, Sis." He bent his knees and slammed his palm against my abdomen. I stumbled backwards, falling into the floor. He was right—I was no match for him. I had never felt so helpless before. Despite all my training, I felt as if I'd gotten nowhere. This must've been how Iah felt...

"That's enough for today," he said, rising from where he crouched. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

I got up and followed him. It was hard to believe that just a couple days ago, we had been fighting a war.

As I followed Haroun to the dining room, I glanced out at the city outside of our gated masion. The streets were filled with people, some were Serans who had arrived here after being evacuated from the city by Boukyaku's forces. Some of them walked aimlessly with blank eyes. Others hurried through the streets, looking around frantically.

We entered the dining hall. There were several other soldiers sitting around, eating. They all looked up when we came in.

"Sorry about this morning," Haroun said. "My sister gets like this sometimes."

They smiled awkwardly.

"It's fine," one of them said. "But you should be careful, Haroun. If she really wants to beat you, then you'll have a problem."

"Yeah, I know."

My cheeks turned crimson. I'd gone ahead and challenged his companions to matches. They probably felt obliged to listen to me as Haroun was their captain during the war.

"Thanks, guys," I said, smiling.

One of the guys grinned. "Don't worry, we owe your brother our lives. We would never disrespect him."

The others nodded. I felt relieved.

"So what are you doing now?" Haroun asked.

I shrugged. "I'm thinking of going to Kyuu Seishin early."

"Why now? There's still time."

I pushed my long, golden hair back. "Want to learn more spells to make me a less predictable fighter. I borrowed a couple of books from our library, which I plan to study along the way too."

"She tested a couple on us," one of the boys said. "And they worked."

"Really? How?"

"Her magic is pretty strong. But it's also unpredictable. That's why we don't want to fight her."

I smiled. "That's good to hear. Thank you."

The boy gave me a thumbs-up. "No problem."

"You should join us," another soldier suggested. "We could use someone like you in our ranks."

"I'm sorry, but I can't, I'm the heir of House Amber," I said. "I can't abandon Harun for another country."

"Oh, right," one of them said. "Well, you should come to visit us at the base sometime."

I nodded and smiled. "Maybe I will."

I headed to the library after that. I wanted to study magic on my own.