The Arcane Guardians Chapter 26: Chapter 23: Borrowed Time

Read chapter 26 of The Arcane Guardians by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Gaius spilt out what happened to him while Felix listened calmly. He told him everything, from the day Benedictus visited his house to the moment he left Cybele Vulcan’s apparently secret medical facility. Discomfort surged through the distraught boy as he recalled everything, though it was accompanied by a much stronger surge of relief. Cybele was right; bottling everything up was only doing numbers on his emotional state. “So…” Felix began slowly. “You want me to help you take down President Benedictus?” “I know he’s a powerful Mage, but only a Tier Five Meta like you stands a chance against him.” Gaius nodded. A hatchling of a plan had begun to form in his mind, although it was a stupidly simple one. Confront Benedictus. Record him admitting his crimes with a Veritas Rune. Defeat the President. Wait for the constables to arrest him. Gaius almost laughed out loud at his own ploy. Even a child could have come up with a better scheme. But given the limited time he had, this was the best he could do. Besides, with Felix on his side, his victory should already be guaranteed. Right? “About that,” Felix said, pursing his lips. “I’m… not a Tier Five at the moment.” “Wait, what?” The Sorcerer looked at him in shock. “What do you mean, you’re not Tier Five?” “I’m sure you already know what happened in Purgatory.” Felix shifted his eyes downward. “After Satan absorbed my essence, I was only left with about five per cent power. Right now, I’ve only managed to recover another five per cent. At ten per cent power now, I’m only approximately as strong as a Tier Four.” Gaius’s heart sank. “How long will you need to regain your full strength?” he asked. “A few months, maybe more.” “Then we’re going to need all the help we can get.” Gaius stood up. “We don’t have a few months.” “From who?” Felix followed him down the stairs. Gaius did not bother to answer him. Instead, he turned around a corner briskly and stopped outside a room labelled ‘Student Council Room’. He knocked on the door loudly before pushing it open. “—Everyone familiar with your roles for the sports festival now? If there aren’t any further questions, I… What are you two doing here?” Gaius walked up to the Student Council President, ignoring the stares of the neatly dressed students in uniforms so well-pressed, they looked like they were laminated while still on their owners’ bodies. Felix followed him awkwardly as the Magis began murmuring among themselves about the presence of a Meta in their room. They stood up quickly and left the room, making sure to keep a wide berth from Felix as though he could somehow infect them and convert them to his inferior race. “Sorry, Kleopatra, but I wouldn’t bother you if this wasn’t urgent,” Gaius said to the girl folding her arms. “Your sister asked me to take you to her.” Both Felix and Kleopatra looked at him with surprise, but commotion drifted into the room as the door swung open. “Kleopatra, he’s here…” A girl with braided ponytails panted. “Why is he here?” “Breathe, Penelope,” Kleopatra said. “Who’s here?” “The President… President Benedictus,” Penelope stammered. “Why weren’t we informed about this? We couldn’t give him a proper welcome. He’s hanging around in the Quadrangle at the moment.” “I wasn’t made aware of this either.” Kleopatra looked shocked, but she quickly regained her composure. She gestured for her council member to lead the way. “Bring me to him. I’ll go meet him too—” “No, don’t. He came for me.” Gaius held her wrist, slipping a rune into her palm. “This rune will take you to your sister. She will tell you everything.” Gaius ran out of the room and leapt off the second floor before Kleopatra could ask him any questions. ~ ~ ~ “Gaius, my boy!” the Mage exclaimed, opening his arms as though welcoming an old friend. The Sorcerer walked towards him with as wide a smile as he could muster, hoping that his overly friendly expression could mask the fear dancing in his eyes. A chill went down his spine as he recalled his b