Stolen Art

When he had somewhat of an idea of how to enter, Milo smugly smiled and backed up on the platform. He charged up, then sprinted towards the edge and leapt. For a while, he let the wind batter his body and felt the steam rising from his shoulders and neck. Water evaporated from his skin due to his Heart of Nova, and he searched for that familiar boiling sensation in his gut. A bellow of white smoke escaped his lips, and he felt his body decelerate as he was falling. A trail of icy particles and dust followed behind him, and soon enough he was a comet in the sky. From the valley of estates below, he could already hear the panicked shouts and screams of fearful aristocrats. Among certain circles, Milo was considered a renegade; a merciless, reckless and utterly wild mage. True, I guess I am all of those things, he thought as he neared the estate, but there’s a reason for everything.

Bullets and magic bolts flew his way, but Milo simply twirled in the air and waved his hands. The projectiles bent in the air, their trajectory thrown off by Milo’s telekinesis. The stray bolts that struck him were nothing but mere scratches on his body, only adding to his irritation. Light charged up in his hand, gleaming across the sky like a shooting star across the night. He pondered what spell to strike the valley with, not wanting to kill anyone...yet. Solid gold crystals formed on his fingertips and grew exponentially into rugged leaf-shaped projectiles. He launched the leaves from his talons, and they grew into splintering shards, pelting the valley with glimmering rain. The maelstrom struck the estates and glowed like the reflection of the sun off a screen.

Milo floated above the estate with a playful frown on his face, watching the aristocrats trying to escape with their money and jewelry and other expensive memorabilia. He fought the urge to laugh as they clawed at the crystal chains forming around their limbs. The guards struck the chains encasing the gates to no avail, and let loose their bullets at the sight of Milo above them. The light mage simply sighed and waved his hand, catching the bullets with his telekinesis until the guards ran out of ammunition. He closed his fist and crushed the bullets, letting the smoldering shells fall onto the stone. “Ah, Milo!” a vaguely familiar voice called from the crowds. The officiate spoke with a tremble and a hint of a slur, but Milo was having none of it. “We didn’t expect you-

The man was met to a palm to the face and a hard shove into the wall. “So, where’s the piece I bought?” he demanded, charging light in his hand. The man cried out unintelligibly, and begged Milo to release him. “Give me an answer, and I’ll let you go.” His hand heated up and seared the officiate’s skin, and he shouted in sheer pain. Milo could feel him squirm and feebly attempt to speak.

“You just missed it,” the man whimpered, trying to pry himself from Milo’s hand. Milo chuckled and set the man down by the fountain. He had left behind a bright red handmark on the man’s face, and the man whimpered and backed away from the mage in fear. The other aristocrats escaped into the house and watched from the windows, while the guards dutifully remained on their posts, holding their spears up to Milo’s neck. A futile attempt, of course, but Milo let them have their fun, treating the situation as a game.

“I missed it, did I?” Milo said, using his talon to lift up the officiate’s chin. “Where to, might I ask?”

“I don’t know.”

Milo increased the temperature of his talon and dug it into the man’s palate, then pointed his free hand towards the estate itself. “With a single blast I could decimate this entire estate and the people in it. I will dig up this building’s foundation if that’s what it takes to retrieve my purchase. You could refund me of course, but I might have to take your life with it.” He was met only with silence, and the mage tsk’d and conjured a bright ball of light in his hand. “Your silence is not a good answer.”

Silence.

“Alright. Have it your way.” Milo released the light and cast the Abyss Eater, sending the guards surrounding him flying into the dirt. An eruption of light enveloped the valley, encasing the estate in a rainbow.

“It’s in transit to Nazo!”

Milo shook his head, then redirected his beam into the sky, only partially incinerating the estate with its might. “What a mess,” he sighed. “I’m taking you with me to make sure you’re not lying.” He picked the officiate up by the shoulder and flew into the sky.


[813]
[1201/7000]

Milo snickered with each minute the man shivered on their flight to Nazo.  Flying through the expanse of space was fairly easy for Milo, who was well-seasoned in the sport.  The man in his hand, however, was blue and severely sunburnt from the trip.  Milo made sure to keep him alive, encasing his face in a layer of crystal that allowed him to survive the vacuum.  They passed Shinku, then Terazu, and eventually Nazo came in sight.  A steel boat could be seen sailing into the atmosphere, and Milo had a hunch this was where his treasure was.  The mage eyed the vehicle with a frown and trailed it until he was close enough to hear its rickety hull teetering in Nazo’s atmosphere.  As much as he wanted to break the ship apart and find his art, Milo knew that would be too rash of himself.  If anyone important was importing the goods, they were probably aware that Milo was after it already, and so laid a trap for the belligerent mage to fall into.

But, Milo saw through the pitfall.  As much as he wanted to grab the boat with telekinesis and launch it into the biggest floating island he could find, there was a catch.  Something awfully suspicious painted the ship, as if it contained a magical presence aboard.  Milo flew closer and stepped onto the railing, dropping the man onto the deck and removing the crystal from his face.  He groggily stood, and Milo flew out of his sight to explore the ship himself.  A powerful mage other than himself was on board, perhaps another mercenary hired to protect the goods.  Naturally, Milo wanted to eliminate this threat.  He was sure the other mage could sense his presence as well-no mage in existence was stupid enough to ignore such a vibration.  The ship neared a compound carved out of a mountainside, where it gradually slowed and landed in an empty hangar…

...or so he thought.  Milo quickly heard what sounded like a slash through the air, but lacked the unfamiliar shink of metal.  He quickly ducked and wildly battered the air with an open hand, casting Cerebral Thunder in every direction.  The familiar flashes and nightmarishly loud crackles erupted around the hangar, but Milo heard no grunts or struggled steps.  He shot around, searching for his opponent, but only heard the quick pitter patter of feet and another swing.  A muramasa that was as long as Milo was tall was caught in the hull of the ship behind him, with another flying toward him at incredible speed.  Milo swerved out of the way and curved the blade’s trajectory with his telekinesis.  Now, the mage was in sight.  A long green coat swayed around in the space, and a man with dark hair and a glowing neon streak charged at Milo with incredible speed.  A marble pillar flew at him, and Milo dodged.  The pillar blended into the ground, and a spire flew too close for comfort.

Milo collected the ambient light into his hands and concentrated it into a fine dust.  He conjured a burning storm that enveloped the hangar, trapping his foe near to him.  The cinders and ashen light erupted into a supernova, singing the asphalt and ship.  His foe coughed up smoke, and Milo casted the Vertebrae Slice.  Though, his spell was caught by several spires of wrought earth and metal, and Milo flew into the air for a height advantage.  Though, on the horizon he noticed a hurried stagecoach flying through the air, and abandoned the fight.  He casted Adam’s Light to pin his opponent to the ground, then soared after his prize.  Milo reached with invisible hands to hold onto the stagecoach and pull it towards him, successfully taking off a wheel.  A sudden rush of gravity caught the spatial mage by surprise, and he plummeted without control of himself.  When he caught sight of the swordsman above, he pulled him down as well and closed the distance between them.

The moonrock sickle parried the pair of blades, but the two continued to fall ever closer to the raging sea below.  Milo casted Saturnalia to level the playing field, and raced to kick the opponent into submission.  Before he could land the blow, multiple pillars chased him from the sky, and Milo maneuvered around each one with ease.  Distracted, his spell collapsed, and Milo floated in place, having lost sight of his foe.  He stared up at the sky and caught a glimpse of the fleeing stagecoach, as well as a man with a pair of wings attached to his shoulders.  As any other sane person would, he chased after, aggressively blasting the hull with exploding light.

He was met by sword once again, and his now winged opponent stopped him at the edge of the atmosphere.  “You again,” Milo growled.  “I’m going to their those wings-

Milo was silenced when he suddenly plummeted, but learned how to fight the intense gravity.  He casted Saturnalia and trapped him and his opponent in a space-like bubble with only stars and distant planets visible.  His opponent hung in the air without speaking, and brandished his pair of swords.  Although he was a man of few words, his eyes spoke volumes.  “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Milo rudely shouted.  The man glared and strung together a series of rather clever obscenities by means of signage.  Milo kissed his teeth and stared at the escaping stagecoach, then turned his attention back to his opponent.  “I don’t suppose you’re going to let me through easily.”

He shook his head, and Milo took that as an opportunity to strike.  He raced forward across the space and struck his opponent in the gut, but was met with an equally forceful chop to the nape.  Neon shards appeared and hung around his body, and Milo launched them at his opponent in relentless flurries.  The solid light flew at the swordsman in sharp spearheads and jagged shapes akin to throwing stars.  Milo dominated the space, controlling the movement of the light and the bubble’s gravity.  He summoned a trio of rectangular shaped lights, and crushed the swordsman in an array of blinding red, blue and green.

With a snap of his fingers, Saturnalia ended, and Milo wiped his hands clean.  Though, Milo’s cockiness blinded him, and the swordsman cut through the light and summoned a blade that cut through his arm.  The crystal limb flew across the air, and Milo pulled it back to himself and gripped it with his free arm.  He flew around and smacked his foe with it on the back of the head before reattaching it to himself, then kicked him into a floating island and sealed him there with Adam’s Light.  “Fool…”

Milo flew into space, holding onto his shoulder where the swordsman cut through him.  “I can’t believe anyone would do such a thing…”

[1151]
[2352/7000]