Stone Mage: Revenge of the Villain System

“Isn’t this wonderful, Cholie? A world where Commoners and Nobles are now equal. With most of the Nobles losing their powers thanks to our dear friend Pavone’s Erasure….. There’s no difference to them now with the Commoners.”

He smiled. “They now all live in fear. They can’t look down upon the Commoners because they are all little mice running away from the darkness.”

Maellan stood on top of a mountain that was covered in ash and rubble after all the trees had fallen down, overlooking the Kingdom of Sephyrine.

Cholie emerged from his face and agreed. “I wonder if he was in fear too. Your father.”

“He must be. Our friend down below won’t tell me. “

He frowned. “He despises me, I think. I don’t know why. We share the same cause, after all. He thinks I’m too dense to understand the consequence of giving people the Gift.”

Cholie scoffed. “You are never dense! You are my incredibly clever and smart Maellan! A doctor for all, the world’s panacea that will cure all of it’s cancers and social illnesses!”

Maellam nodded. “That’s true. The Darkness is not something that’s evil. It is what the world needed in order to start anew.”

“The leech to drink the dirty blood. Then, one the hierarchy of the gods and the Nobles were rid of…..”

He raised his hand holding the spear with a smile.

“We will gain the perfect world I am hoping for— a world of equality! And under Ronin’s rule, who was born as Commoner from a Noble family, this equality shall be achieved!”

Volken shook his head while watching this with a smile. “Delusional.”

Pavone glared at him. “He’s just misguided. He will come around soon enough.”

“Haha, I know you admire him, Pav. But misguided is also delusional.” Volken said, leaving the area as he had gone tired of staring at crazy men talking to their girlfriends inside their bodies.

Rabuka looked at the ruined Academy at the distance, divided in half as the whole Celestus Realm was divided in half.

“There’s no such thing as equality.” Rabuka said. “There is always the best, and the second best, and everything that follows after. You better make him realize that if you want our plans to come into fruition.”

Sordido, who was a new addition to their group and was yet to achieve transformation from Maellan, decided not to say anything. Because he doesm’t want to displease his big brother, yet at the same time…..

He agree with the two. Maellan was too delusional to become the new king, and he doesn’t seem to be changing his impression of Ronin soon.

He only went by Pavone’s side with his hand behind his back, feeling great jealousy with the way his big brother gazes and admires at Maellan.

Perhaps he could find a way to show Pavone how unfit Maellan was to be king. Someone as honest as him and with such ‘good’ intentions was even unfit to be part of the Darkness, yet Pavone won’t accept it.

“Sigh….. Ah, Maellan. If only you have not fallen for a Commoner girl, you would not have been caught up with these delusions.” Pavone mumbled beside him with great sadness.

Hearing his tone, Sordido can’t help but wish Maellan would just drop dead.

Maellan meanwhile was unaware of all this, and instead lit up his eyes at something.

“Oh, really? Thank you, Sir Espinella.” He said in his head.

Cholie asked. “What is it?”

He smiled wide. “Our friend from below says that there may be a long-awaited reunion coming soon with him and Ronin.”

“Him?” Cholie asked. “Are you not worried?”

“Of course not. He has changed, I believe in it. That’s why he was the second person I have cured after Vyrill.”

—————————

“Shhhh!” Ronin told Cermin.

The prince just blinked. “Why are you shushing me? Why are we hiding—“

“Your Highnness….. I have turned partially into a daemon, remember? And Zeriav is a priest with absolutely no tolerance for daemons.” Ronin couldn’t believe he had to explain these things.

Well, he could believe it. Even when he had gain a few brain cells, he occasionally loses it all over again.

That’s just typical Min Cheng for you.

“If he sees me in this state, he might try to hurt me and purify me….. Or worse.”

Cermin remembered how much Zeriav hated Ronin and called him a daemon, and nodded. That’s right…

Even people with good intentions can do terrible deeds when they were misguided.

He doesn’t want conflict to happen between his friends all over again. Even when he do wish they could get along so they could all work together to defeat the common enemy.

“I see…. Then should we escape this town and look for another place to stay in? Far from Zeriav?”

Ronin nodded. “Yes. And we need to be fast.”

He had taken a sheepskin hanging to dry to be used for the creation of bags, and covered it on his head.

“To think of it, most people shouldn’t see me like this. They might ask too many questions.”

After checking outside, the now cloaked Ronin and Cermin left the alleyway, and rushed out to the crowd that was thanking and celebrating Zeriav’s arrival.

“Thank you, good sir! Lightning has been terrorizing us recently, and so for nearby towns!”

Zeriab asked grimly. “What towns? You all shouldn’t be out your homes during times like this.”

“But we couldn’t avoid it, sir. Electricity as spread into our water system, and we were in dire need of help for someone to solve it as we won’t be able to have any water to drink or to use because of the danger of electrocution.”

He frowned. “The lightning had charged the water?”

“Yes! Look at this fountain!”

Sure enough, the fountain that they dragged him to was full of sparks that moves everywhere at the surface of the water.

“We hope you can fix it as well! It has been a day or two already with the water acting like that!”

Zeriav frowned. This problem was also beyond his skills, as he could only bring rain, which might make it worse.

Someone suddenly came.

“I can help. Lightning is my expertise.”

A man with blue skin came with a heroic grin, and stretched his right shoulder.

Soon, he went ahead to touched the charged water…..

“Don’t!” Zeriav grabbed his wrist. “It’s too dangerous, even for lightning users…”

His just laughed. “You should’t touch me like that when I’m eating, good sir.”

Zeriav blinked, not knowing what he meant with ‘eating’…..

When the electric sparks start to travel towards his fingertip, then to his hand, then all the way to his arm…..

And it seemed to be absorbed by his shoulder, which soon discharged all the lightning back towards the sky…

Into a large bolt. A bolt that’s in the shape of a dagger.

He suddenly just took this bolt in his hand, which turned into a much smaller dagger.

“Not bad. I reckon this is about 4,000 volts now. Enough to kill a whale in one strike.”

He just stabbed this dagger back into his shoulder, which disappeared like a weapon being sheathed.

Zeriav found his power strange, as it was not really a Hero Mage power. Yes, he does have a dagger….. But it doesn’t seem like a blessed weapon.

And everyone who were not Hero Mages have lost their powers. So why is this person…..

“Ah! Thank you! Oh, thank you, sir!” The townspeople praised him.

“We thought we would be left to die of dehydration here! We already lost so many lives from the random strikes of lightning and from being electrified by the water!”

“You two are our saviors! Please, tell us your names so we can remember you!”

The man did not hesitate, laughing proudly and smugly.

“Zeuxis! A pleasure to save you all!”

The priest frowned, still doubtful of this man beside him. “Zeriav Mondstein. It’s nothing much to be thankful for, I’m just willing to help as much as I can while looking for someone.”

Zeuxis chuckled at this and out an arm around Zeriav’s shoulder. “What a coincidence! Our names both start with Zs, and I am looking for someone as well!”

“Zeuxis and Zeriav.” The town’s elder clapped his hand. “This fountain shall bear your names in your honor! And our town shall now be named Zeuzer as well!”

Zeriav raised his hand. “There’s no need to go to such lengths….”

But little towns like this in the medieval settings were easily amazed and grateful of heroes after all, as it was rare for them to even meet someone with Flame.

So they had coerced Zeuxis and Zeriav into dining and celebrating with them, giving them a feast of mushroom dishes

Zeriav did his best to deny the offer, but found it too rude to outright say no to them. So he decided to entertain them for a while.

Meanwhile Zeuxis enjoyed the attention, and boasted more of his feats to the people and to the young children. It went on for so long…

That it was already nighttime.

“Ah….. I was so close to finding him. I can sense his disgusting shadow looming over this town for miles.” Zeuxis said, his stomach bloated from so much food. “Anyway, now that the people had left…..”

“Do tell me about yourself, fellow hero. Who are you searching for?”

Zeriav didn’t know whether he can trust this man with the information, and instead asked.

“Tell me who you are first, and I will tell you who I am. ‘Fellow hero’.”

Zeuxis just laughed boisterously again, and pointed at a tavern. “Well then…..”

“It’s quite a long story, shall I share it over drinks?”