Revelation

The truth was, even if their suspicion about there being a traitor was incorrect, getting a message sent to a relevant party was still going to be absurdly time consuming.

First of all, Archmages didn’t just grow on trees, so getting the letter to one in the first place was a daunting task. Second, say they managed to do so, Archmages—those of the Kingdom at least—were incredibly busy with their duties, so it would be difficult to make them drop everything and come over. Third, transporting the message alone would take at least a few days since it would need to be taken to the closest town with a teleportation circle, then it would have to be transported to the relevant party.

Fourth, Archmages usually had a lot of attendants who judged whether or not certain matters required their attention. It wasn’t impossible that someone would see the message and choose not to relay it either because they believed its importance wasn’t sufficient or because they already had several matters on their hands.

In short, getting an Archmage on their matter was a daunting task, traitor or no traitor. And getting one to arrive before Mary’s predicted time was even more difficult.

Hence, Mia wasn’t particularly surprised when everyone cast their gazes on her.

The short girl stared blankly into space for a few seconds, and everyone waited with a baited breath for her response. Because at the end of the day, they couldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do.

’She’s still an enigma to me. But I think I’ve grown accustomed to some of her habits. And it seems like she dislikes doing anything that requires any extra effort. I’d initially wanted to ask her if she could deal with the ants, but that probably falls under what she’d consider ’stressful’. So perhaps...’ As he had that thought, Mia blew out a breath.

"Okay." She finally nodded, and everyone let out a relieved sigh.

"Okay. Great, but then... who exactly do we send the message to?" Curtis raised another issue. "Even if we can instantly get it to an Archmage, I’m not exactly sure any of them will take kindly to a message just... materializing on their desk." At that, Xander rubbed his chin.

"I might be able to solve that." That earned him some glances, then Aubrey blinked.

"Right, your father is Xavier Lowell, right?" Xander nodded at that, which made Curtis make an understanding gesture while Falael’s eyes went wide.

"Wait... Xavier Lowell? THE Xavier Lowell? As in the Veridian Mage?!?!" Falael looked startled, which earned him some confused looks.

"... Yes? My surname name is literally Lowell. Why is this surprising to you?" Xander was confused by Falael’s confusion.

"I... Your hair is black!" The half-elf said indignantly.

’Oh yeah, the black hair is one of the main defining traits. I only have the green eyes but blonde hair...’ He shook his head.

"Not important. Point is, he’s my dad, and he’s also an Archmage, so it could work." Xander reaffirmed.

"Well... not to be insensitive or anything, but you’re an illegitimate child. Would he really be keen on helping?" Aubrey asked carefully, as though she was wary of offending him, but Xander just shook his head.

"He doesn’t care about any of that. Also the message is so he can come and help Landor, not me as his child. If it was the latter then he probably wouldn’t even read it." I took a breath, then he turned to Mia who—again—seemed to be on the verge of dozing off.

"Mia, do you need anything to send the message?" He asked, and she glanced at him before saying impassively.

"Well, I actually need the message to send. Then I need a drop of your blood." The first request was a no-brainer, but the second one made him blink. However, he didn’t question it.

Without a word, he took out a piece of compressed paper and thought for a moment before he began to write. Nobody interrupted him as he gave an in-depth explanation of what the issue was and the need for assistance, keeping the greetings to a minimum.

Finally, he first had Mary inscribe a magic circle that contained what Aubrey had mapped out, into the paper, then they copied the contents of the recording device into an empty one. Then Xander carefully folded the letter and sealed it.

He gave both items to Mia who just set them down on her lap, then she stared at him.

With a sigh, he partly drew his sword and made a small cut on his finger before holding it out to her. Then he watched as the blood that started to bead at the wound floated up, and the wound healed in an instant to his surprise.

Everyone watched silently as the drop of blood floated in front of Mia, and she carefully inspected it like she was reading something interesting. Then, the letter and recording device vanished along with the blood.

"It’s done. Also," She stared right at Xander. "Never give your blood to anyone that just asks. Voodoo exists." Xander blinked before shuddering at the warning.

’That’s something I never really considered...’ As he was considering this, Aubrey suddenly spoke up.

"There’s something I want to bring attention to." Hearing this, everyone suddenly turned to her, and she took a breath.

"Normally, I don’t use my perception on anyone here, except during sparing, so that I don’t invade anyone’s privacy. But... maybe it’s because of what I witnessed, but I’ve been very tense since we got back, so I’ve been doing it subconsciously, and... I noticed something." This made Xander, Curtis, and Falael shared a glance, both interested and a bit worried.

"Go on." Falael urged her to continue, and she took a breath.

"Recently, I’ve noticed Curtis acting strange," She looked at the taller boy who flinched.

"H-Huh?" He sputtered, but Aubrey went on.

"It started near the end of last month. I’d noticed he spent a lot of time ’meditating’ recently. And even when we came here, the same thing happened."

"H-Hey, w-wait—"

"And after Xander and I returned from the ant colony, I noticed that his room was unnaturally cold, beyond simple meditation."

"A-Aubrey—"

"Moreover, right now. Not only is he unnaturally tense, with his fingers trembling under the table, his body temperature is dangerously low when I use thermal vision."

"Aubrey, stop."

"His heart rate is elevated, and his blood is pumping. And I can perceive his muscles and bones straining, like they are holding something ba—"

"AUBREY!" Curtis finally snapped, and everyone in the room flinched. Even Mia raised a brow. In all the time they’d known him, Curtis had never raised his voice like that.

Xander looked at him, and he couldn’t help but frown. His gaze was cast down, and his body was trembling slightly, fists clenched tight, and teeth chattering.

Now that Aubrey had called him out, the signs were obvious now.

Aubrey adjusted her glasses, while Xander and Falael shared a glance.

"Curtis... talk to us." The latter said with worry, their proud demeanor melting away for a moment.

"... It’s... dangerous..." Curtis finally said, voice strained and breath cold. Like, actually cold. Xander noticed thin layers of frost appearing around the room, and his breath had turned misty.

Keir let out a chirp, his eyes narrowing as he opened his small mouth, but Xander pressed it shut as he stood, hand on his hilt.

"Curtis." His voice was stern, making the latter flinch. Falael and Aubrey also stood, taking their positions around Curtis, while Mary stood dutifully behind Xander, but even she looked a bit solemn.

Seeing them position themselves around him, Curtis’s lips trembled a little, and he said shakily.

"I-I’m... S-Sorry..." His voice was tight. "I-I... was going to tell you guys..." Before he could finish, he groaned and doubled over, and the temperature in the room dropped dramatically.

’This isn’t good.’ Xander’s mind spun.

’What’s happening to him?!’ Falael yelled through the telepathic link, wand out and trained on Curtis, while Aubrey had taken out her bow, arrow already materialized.

Curtis reached forward with one hand, and Xander noticed that his fingernails were unnaturally sharp as they dug into the wood.

"I... I’m... not..." Curtis still forced himself to speak as he tried to stand, only to fall and curl up. "Not... fully human..." He gasped out, and the room went cold, but in a way that was completely different from the Frigid temperatures.

However, before they could consider the implications of that...

Snap

Xander and Curtis suddenly disappeared. It was so abrupt that even Mary was unable to react for a moment.

Then Falael rounded on Mia, eyes blazing.

"Where did you send them?!" They demanded, and she didn’t even glance at him, just yawned.

"Curtis needs someone to subdue him, and Xander is the best person for that task." She said simply, and Falael’s face flushed.

"What do you mean?! We’re their teammates! We can’t just let Xander deal with it alo—" They suddenly paused as they comprehended her words. But Aubrey was the one to speak.

"Wait... wait do you mean he needs someone to subdue him?" She asked warily, but Mia didn’t even deign that with a proper response. It was Mary who spoke at that moment, frowning a little.

"I’d never sensed it before. But the aura he was exhibiting..." She looked out the window of the tent towards the moon that was round and full.

"... That boy. He’s a Lycan."

***

Before Xander understood what was happening, he found himself in a large, empty plain. Just as he was about to comprehend his surroundings, a blast of Frigid air suddenly erupted from somewhere in front of him, and he had to shield his face and retreat while Keir covered his body with his wings.

By the time it had subsided, Xander glanced down at his gauntlets which had a layer of frost on them, and his expression darkened.

He looked forward, and his pupils constricted.

There, a large obelisk of ice stood a dozen meters tall, the surroundings covered in ice spikes, and in the depths of it, a figure could be seen.

’... Is that Curtis?’ Xander was stunned.

And at that moment, a crack went through the obelisk before it shattered, scattering ice dust everywhere.

Xander squinted as he peered into the dust, and what he saw made him freeze in his tracks.