Edge Cases

172 - Book 3: Chapter 37: Interlude — Tax Fraud

"You didn't file form E27," Larok replied promptly. Helix gave him a dumbstruck look, and Larok waved him off. "That makes you liable to a seizure of assets."

"And you thought you'd take it yourself, and enlist Ashion to steal from me?" the old orc asked. His voice was pompous, as if he didn't consider either of them a threat despite everything they'd just done.

Helix supposed he had a point. If they were willing to show themselves after they'd seen everything he could do, then they were very sure they could win. There was no doubt that Herastul had tricks other than just stealth; like all noble families, they funded a fair amount of research into various aspects of the system.

But neither he nor Larok could afford to get caught here. Not yet.

"We could cut you a deal," the old orc said. "What you did with the paper that was interesting. Not nearly enough to be a full House Principle, of course, but we could buy it from you. What do you think?"

"I think you can fuck off," Larok said, pleasant as could be. Helix grinned.

It wasn't like they hadn't planned for things to go wrong.

A runic circle appeared in front of him, and he poured his mana into it. As an [Elementalist], he didn't have the same variation of spells that Vex had. His little brother might be able to find something more appropriate for the situation, perhaps, but most of what he had were elemental spells. He'd exchanged versatility for sheer magnitude of power.

But that didn't mean he didn't have options.

Smoke poured out of the circle in voluminous amounts, almost instantly filling up the garden. Helix caught the old orc's eyes widening just slightly before he vanished beneath the smoke. The most even-handed way for them to fight would be if neither of them could see the other.

One hand grabbed on to Larok's, so he didn't lose hold of his friend. In a full fight, the orc was far more likely to die than he was. He was still only level twenty-one, even with all of the training they'd done. Clerks didn't get a single health skill, so he had the base four hundred and twenty health that came at that level; they hadn't yet equipped him with gear that would keep him safe.

Two tasks, then. First priority: Keep Larok safe. Second: Keep Jakka Herastul and his cronies occupied for as long as possible. Third: Don't get caught.

He could do that. Probably.

Helix moved.

Mana wrapped itself around him as he did, boosting his stats and making him just a little more aware of everything around him. It wasn't as good as anything Vex would be able to do, but it was a functional substitute a basic [Mana Boost]. Larok yelped as he was dragged along, but Helix was moving with purpose, and couldn't stop to discuss the plan.

He'd have to trust that Larok remembered. He had a number of administrative skills, after all, beyond just the one for paperwork. The problem was the Wisfield House member; if he could peer into their minds, he could anticipate anything they wanted to do.

They needed to target him first.

Right on cue, Larok spoke rapidly, trying not to cough through the smoke. "Wisfield House member, Unek Wisfield, second branch family. Moved a total of two hundred and ten platinum coins across various businesses owned to reduce tax bracket and therefore taxes owed"

Helix felt a burning flash of mana and yanked, clearing his mind as he did so; he needed to make sure the Wisfield member didn't just adjust where his magic was going. A splash of deadly goldfire drifted just past Larok's elbow, and Helix let a low growl escape his throat.

Larok didn't let himself get distracted, though he had to bite back a yelp from the near-dislocation of his shoulder.

"and therefore committed [Tax Fraud]," Larok rapidly finished.

The skill resonated in the air, carried by the orc's voice.

It was not, unlike the name implied, a skill to help one commit tax fraud. Helix had assumed that to be the case at first, and a laughing Larok had to explain that the skill was all about reclaiming lost assets; he had no idea why the thing was named Tax Fraud.

He'd learned exactly what assets meant from a certain merchant in J'rokksur. It included a number of different things, exactly one of which was combat-relevant.

Mana.

And as long as Larok owned it, Unek couldn't use it. Helix knew for a fact that the Wisfield House still needed mana to use their skills, with very few and very rare exceptions. The one part of their plan they were worried about was their ability to pull this off at all there was every chance that with the Wisfield's ability to read their minds, he would do everything in his power to stop him and he had. Goldfire was rare and powerful, a magic item occasionally harvested from Elyra's Prime Dungeon itself; it had the ability to track and destroy any target it was aimed at.

It also needed to be fueled with mana.

Without it, the string of goldfire fell to the grass, useless. The grass surrounding it didn't even burn. Helix didn't spare it more than a glance he pulled Larok forward, away from the building mass of mana he could sense.

For now, with the smoke surrounding them obscuring their vision and their Wisfield member otherwise disabled, the Herastul members would be afraid to really let loose with their skills. They'd be more likely to strike one another, or worse, the head of their own house.

Not that Jakka seemed to give a shit.

"Kill them!" he roared, and Helix only barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

Honestly.

That building mass of mana turned into a blaze as twelve different members of House Herastul unleashed their skills, and the center of the garden turned into a deadly inferno; Helix grimaced at the heat, channeling a small amount of wind-aspect around himself and Larok to keep them cool. Two figures vanished in his mana sense, apparently caught in the crossfire or otherwise out of mana.

Larok shot him a nervous look, only barely visible in the thick fog of smoke, and Helix gave him a reassuring grin back. They could make it out of this. They'd taken out the most important member of the opposing team, and all they needed to do now was keep everyone occupied...

...a strong gust of wind began to blow.

Helix frowned. He kept a tight grip on the smoke-aspect mana he was spreading throughout the garden, but something about this opposing magic seemed to loosen the grip he had on his power. More and more, his own smoke slipped out of his grasp and began to dissipate, and he felt Larok clutch at his hand nervously.

Helix tightened his own in response, narrowing his eyes. This was different.

This, they hadn't planned for.

Jakka's smirking face emerged from the smoke. Helix half-expected him to waste time monologuing he certainly looked like he was about to but he gestured instead, and a tight blade of power emerged from his fist.

Helix's eyes widened.

He only barely threw both himself and Larok out of the way in time, and this time he was sent tumbling. He was vaguely aware in the back of his mind that he couldn't afford the time to get back up again, that Larok was in danger Jakka wasn't their only opponent

He heard Larok cry in pain, and all hesitation vanished.

A tide of mana swelled and ripped out of him, shifting between all the basic elements at once; it folded neatly around Larok through an effort of will but slammed into everyone else at once. Helix pulled it back into his control just a fraction of a second before the skill completed and it left his range. [Elemental Burst] was a cheap, common skill, but it scaled drastically with the mana poured into it.

And Helix's whole thing was monstrous amounts of mana.

He wove a [Barrier] around Larok, pouring almost a quarter of his well into it; he saw the orc's eyes widen in the near-solid barrier of energy, but didn't bother arguing. He'd handle this alone.

Burning mana flew back towards him, and he willed it into coat his right arm in a [Flaming Gauntlet]. He was a physical combatant, first and foremost, and he wanted to punch Jakka in his stupid, smug little face.

[Mana Boost] still boosting him, he rocketed forward, fist clenched. Ten Herastul members knelt on the ground, aiming some sort of device at him that he couldn't quite spare the time to look at. He shifted the nature of the [Mana Boost] slightly, giving himself more agility, boosting and shifting his stats to make his movement just a little bit too erratic.

Jakka wasn't going to stand still, of course. The orc frowned at him and did that contemptuous motion with his hand again, and this time Helix saw the ring he wore pulsing with borrowed mana. Compressed air-aspect formed in the air, sharp enough to tear through a boulder with little resistance.

It met his will and shattered.

Ashion members were used to dealing with immense amounts of mana. What did Jakka think would happen?

A [Mana Boost]ed [Flame Gauntlet] with his amount of mana was enough to do three thousand damage at least, and Helix didn't give a shit about holding back. His fist met Jakka's jaw

but a fraction of a second before it did, one of the Herastul members finally managed to target him, and he felt his grip on his own mana suddenly loosen again. Both skills began to unravel.

Not completely, though. His fist smashed into Jakka's jaw, and the orc was sent sprawling, no matter that he was nearly twice Helix's size. Helix spun around before Jakka could recover, sprinting for the nearest Herastul member; he needed to get rid of whatever that device was instead of letting it rip his own mana out of his control.

But he was slow, now. Without [Mana Boost], his stats were just like any other level fifty-three, and while he wasn't low by any means, the Herastul members were more explicitly dedicated to fighting. They were faster, stronger, and more well equipped than him.

He knew before he'd taken even two steps that he didn't have a chance.

The damn [Barrier] that he'd left around Larok was unraveling, too. He tried to keep his grip on it, recapturing that mana again and again with [Mana Manipulation], but it was a losing battle. Every Herastul combatant was heading for him, faster than he could track, and Jakka was getting up.

For the first time, Helix felt fear.

And then he heard a very familiar voice.

"Looks like you need help," Vex said. His younger brother smiled at him a small, light smile, but it struck Helix like a dagger to the heart. He hadn't seen Vex smile at him like that for years.

He barely even noticed that every single person on the field was frozen in place except for him and Larok.

"Uh," he said after a moment, and then cleared his throat. "Yeah. Um. Help would be nice."

"Still like dramatic entrances?" Vex said, just the smallest trace of a smirk in his voice, and Helix couldn't help but laugh, equal parts relieved and confused.

"You know it."