Her unassuming appearance was a carefully crafted guise, of course.
Maiya hadn’t spent the past month idling. Quite the opposite, in fact. After securing permission from Princess Ira to reduce her duties in preparation of her infiltration, she’d trained almost nonstop. If there was one thing she’d learned about power, it was that one could never have too much of it.
The days she’d spent fighting Ash Beasts hadn’t been in vain. She’d even meditated near Ash Tears, despite the danger, soaking in the prana. All to expand her blood’s capacity, as Vir taught her. It’d been painful. It’d been brutal. But she’d grown strong.
Strong enough, she felt, that she wouldn’t lose to Vir’s own gains in the time he’d been gone. The thought had consumed more of Maiya’s attention lately. She feared, not only for Vir’s safety, but of being left behind. She feared Vir would grow so powerful that she’d no longer see him as an equal.
Vir would grow powerful; that much she knew. He’d been unsure of his future, but Maiya knew. When he reached the Demon Realm, he’d see his people’s suffering, and would help. Because that was who Vir was. And by helping them, he’d become something great. A king. A monarch.
And if Maiya wasn’t at least his equal in both strength and authority, how could she stand by his side in good faith?
As a direct result of her effort, Maiya was now a Greater Mejai of Ash, and with that came a sense of relief. Of tangible progress. It also brought with it a small, crucial perk—she could now slowly charge B Grade orbs, though not quite fast enough to use in battle. If she could, she’d have been a Mejai of Realms.
Moreover, she could now activate precharged A Grade orbs of Wind Affinity.
As such, under her robes, Maiya had brought along an entire arsenal.
She carried with her two C grade Wind Blade orbs, two B Grade Gale Blasts, one B Grade Water Spear, one each of the B grade Mend Flesh and Set Bone orbs, and finally, one A Grade Tempest. All of which were precharged.
Tempest was the most powerful weapon she’d ever wielded, and the mere ability to set off a precharged one had sent her Balar Rank soaring to two hundred. With this single spell alone, she could easily annihilate the fifty hopefuls who’d appeared should she choose to.
Not that she’d ever do such a thing, of course. A Grade spells toed the line between the tactical and strategic levels for a reason. They tended to affect an immense area and did catastrophic damage to all those caught within, whether they were friend or foe. Every usage had to be reported to the Kin’jal military, and they were a tightly governed resource.
Borrowing even one had taken pulling every string Maiya had.
Despite their power, or rather, because of it, they were incredibly unwieldy and difficult to safely deploy. Yet some situations called for Vera’s might, and only A and S Grade orbs could deliver such unbridled firepower.
Maiya glanced down at her armor. Though her gambeson looked ordinary, it had been custom-made to her specifications. The magic pathways covering it allowed her to slot B Grade Slashing Protection, Piercing Protection, and Blunt Protection orbs, with Enhance Speed C Grade orbs in both of her greaves. In addition, she carried six daggers strapped to both of her thighs. Two for melee combat, and four to throw.
Maiya was, without a doubt, the most well-armored and armed attendee at this Initiation.
Maiya glanced around to find that the number of hopefuls trickling in had diminished. Just then, the priest began walking.
Maiya couldn’t help but notice one among the crowd—a man who towered over the rest. For a moment, she thought he might’ve been a demon giant, but soon realized he wasn’t. He was just… exceedingly tall. And muscular. He was easily the tallest human Maiya had ever seen.
The tall man strode boldly forth, and after glancing hesitantly at one another, the other Initiates followed.
It was a smaller crowd than the one that attended the briefing at Sonam… though not by much. Whatever zealotry drove these people was clearly not something to be underestimated, considering they were willing to risk their lives coming this close to the Ash.
Maiya was beginning to understand the value Princess Ira saw in the Children of Ash. They didn’t just make for ideal spies. They were spies who’d take their knowledge with them to the grave. Who’d apply themselves to whatever task the Blessed Chosen—their holy leader—commanded. Perhaps even becoming an army if needed.
Versatile.
It was near impossible to find such a dedicated and multifaceted group. To craft one took decades, if not centuries, of careful effort. And here was one, just ripe for the taking.
The irony was not lost upon Maiya. The Children were attempting to convert her, while she was trying to do the same to them.
Maiya fell in with the others, striding with ease thanks to the orbs hidden within her boots.
The minutes dragged on, and soon, an hour had passed.
An hour of walking was within the means of most people, but hiking through a forest at a fast pace? That was quite the ordeal for anyone who lacked training.
Training, or determination.
Everyone huffed and puffed. Some dropped out, but not nearly as many as Maiya expected. They pressed doggedly on, the light in their eyes evidence of their zeal.
That was impressive. It also meant there were likely no mejai hidden amongst the group. Not unless they hid their fatigue better than Maiya’s trained eyes could discern.
While Maiya would’ve had no issue with the trek without her Enhance Speed orbs, most mejai never sculpted their bodies as much as Maiya did. Mejai trained in weapons should their magic ever fail them, but nearly everyone she knew took their bodies less seriously than their magic.
Which meant they’d be forced to use orbs to compensate, and unless their acting skills were better than hers, it’d be obvious who among them were cheating.
Unlike her; this was nothing next to her grueling handmaiden training. She hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Makes sense that I’m the only mejai here… Maiya thought. She hadn’t even seen a real mejai until a year ago. Although she’d been surrounded by them lately, the reality was that they were rare. Rare and precious. Few would willingly join an insane cult like this one.
The hour turned into two, and Maiya wondered why the Children required such endurance out of their recruits. Did they secretly send their members on physically arduous missions? Or was there some other motive?
No… I shouldn’t think that way, Maiya chided herself. She was dealing with a group driven by primal instinct and crazed fervor. Logic had no place with them. There likely wasn’t any good reason, other than it being a test of faith.
The group broke through the eastern edge of the forest soon after the third hour passed, coming to the lush green plains that eventually led to the Ash Wall.
Only half their number remained when the Rector finally came to a halt.
The tall man from before had made it, though to Maiya’s surprise, so had Yamal. While he heaved heavily and looked like he’d fall over any minute, Maiya had to give him credit for persevering. Especially when his original goal had been simply to leech some free food and shelter.
What could possibly be driving him so hard? Maiya wondered.