Trail of the Death | Tia & Leila | Private

wc: 456 / 3750 | tags: @leila | job link: bam.

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It has been a while since Leila last visited the underwater city of Oahu. Despite technically being one of the oldest members of this guild, she spent a surprisingly small amount of time in these halls, mostly because she craved adventure more than anything. Before all, she was a traveler who wanted to see all that this entire world had to offer. Heh, if she remembered correctly, that was actually the reason she joined the guild in the first place. Golden Phoenix, a place for those who have treasure hunting close to their heart. She was guildless and exploring the Phoenix island, interested in finding just what secrets it held. Of course, she was swiftly assaulted by the guardian birds that were all over the island. It was Elyx who stopped them, the former guild master. But not only did he do that, he invited the silver-haired traveler inside. She did not like the idea of being bound by a guild and its rules and ideals, hence why she never joined one even after she settled down in Fiore semi-permanently. But the moment he showed her the guild treasure, she instantly changed her opinion and joined. Thinking about it back like this was rather amusing and silly, considering how simple-minded she was back then. And yet, she grew to adore this guild more than anything it seemed. After all, she even returned and rejoined after her physical body died in this world and she was revived. Though because of her long absence due to that rather unfortunate event, she had lost most of her power and even the title of an Ace of Golden Phoenix. It saddened her at times, but perhaps it was for the best. At least right now when she was still in her adventuring mood.

"That said, I'm running low on funds... better find a contract to do."

Muttering to herself, she was just about ready to get up and walk to the job board herself. Of course, that little plan was quickly put to a halt by a seemingly young girl with an exceed that had approached Leila, taking her by a surprise. First of all, she did not quite remember the guild having a member like that, much less an exceed. It showed just how much she wasn't around these days to welcome the new aspiring mages, it actually made her feel somewhat bad. So as she regained her composure from being suddenly approached, she scratched her head at the bowing girl and smiled warmly, taking a look at the flier she was holding in her hands. More undead... it seemed that necromancers were popping out left and right these days.

"Greetings, the name is Leila Vergious. I'm not one to refuse an adventure, though... this one seems to be pretty dangerous. I'm not doubting your abilities, but do make sure you're ready. And, um... likewise...?"

The last bit was directed toward the exceed who's speech was quite unusual for people of this realm, one that the girl often had trouble properly understanding due to all the complicated words. But the main point was that she pointed out and tried to warn the other girl of dangers that they will most likely be encountering during their mission together. Walking corpses, they were never fun to battle. Dangerous and devoid of any morals, perhaps the worst kind of enemy. Though she herself was more than confident enough in her abilities to take on a threat like this and eradicate it. Plenty of experience with the undead and necromancers, along with a bestiary knowledge were backing her up as well.

"If you're ready, I can transport us directly to the place."

She finally said after giving Tia some time, pulling out a wooden key out of her pocket and letting some magic course through it. Soon enough, a brilliant light would fill the hall as a young looking girl popped out of seemingly a thin air. A celestial spirit! Little different to the normal ones as well.

"Whaaat~? Are Fleta's powers required again? You really can't do anything without me, can you~?"

"Yeah, sorry. Could you transport me and these two to the Cemetery in the cursed land? We have some business there?"

"Ueh, that place? Uh... fine, prepare yourself!"

And like that, more light would quickly embrace the girls as they were suddenly transported from the guild hall to their destination in an instant.

Fleta:

wc: 1131 / 3750 | tags: @leila | muse: 9 / 10

ulla

The young celestial spirit's ability once again came in quite useful. That was Fleta for you, as she appeared to be always pretty much completely useless in combat, but even invaluable outside of it. A curious case for a celestial spirit, as most that were actually used by mages were battle oriented. That said, Fleta was not an ordinary spirit by any means, just like the rest of her Celestium. And that was meant in more than just one way as well, the pretty dressed princess firmly crossing her hands as she looked at the exceed somewhat annoyed after it's remark.

"What are you babbling about?! Fleta's abilities are top-tier and most comfortable of all! There is no way you are feeling anything at all from her Royal Envoy!"

Clearly she did not take well to a dissatisfied partner. But at least she wasn't starting a full blown fight among allies just yet. Leila herself chose to just awkwardly smile at her summon's attitude and ignore her words, walking around the place they have landed and eyeing the graves. Yup, the place was pretty much exactly the same as it was when she was here last. Still plenty spooky and dark, filled with the occasional firefly of an eery blue color flying by and providing a little bit of a moody light. Though it seemed that there was less skeletons than last. At least for now anyway.

"This place is rather big, it'll be for the best if we look for a magical source rather than physical evidence and leads. You can sense magic just fine, right?"

She would ask Tia, assuming she was just like any other mage. But while she suggested that they should take this course of action, they sooner found the physical evidence that she wasn't even hoping for. Dug up graves, honestly a pretty common sign in a place like this. While it was a cemetery, it was also in what people referred to as the "Cursed Lands". No common folk dared to venture out here and tend to the graves, leaving it as a feeding ground for grave robbers and even worse groups, provided they would not be eaten by the dark forces that were drawn to the quiet nature of this place first. It also seemed that Tia was quite good at performing detective work, as she managed to find out more details from the scene laid in front of them while the silver-haired maiden examined the tombs themselves in greater detail. Didn't seem like graves of anyone special, which meant their enemy was probably not an advanced necromancer, thank goodness. Though further investigation had to be postponed, as the dead quickly appeared and started charging toward them.

"What an interesting magic, Tia! If we're fighting undead, then holy energy will be most effective after all. Alright, time to bring her out again!"

While it might have been a bit of an overkill for few zombies, Leila always felt safer the more spirits she had out. And this one was very special, her other half. Rising her hand to the skies, she would start chanting loud and clear.


A giant magical circle would form in the skies, easily overshadowing the entire cursed cemetery and it's surroundings, causing clouds themselves to start swirling around in a forceful motion and the light generated from it making it seem as if it was a day again for few seconds. From the center of this giant magical circle, a light started descending gracefully. One that would finally touch the ground and burst into pieces, revealing the fact that it was hiding yet another female. This one of pale skin with very complex garments, several pairs of different wings adorning her back, staff firmly in hand, brown tail below the wings and a blue halo above her head that also boasted a pair of animal ears. That was Aurora, the goddess who created Gardens of Eden, home to Leila herself and many other spirits. Now that their team grew by yet another powerful spirit, the true fight could finally begin.

"The enemy is right in front of us! Let us deal with them swiftly."

"I can no longer tell if you're just weak, or if you adore my presence so. Aways summoning me, even if it is against such weak foes. And even when you have another ally by your side, as I see. Ah... yes, let us deal with them as fast as possibly."

While somewhat grumpy, the summoned goddess would raise her hand with the staff as two giant serpent-like creatures unearther right behind her. They were both completely made out of wood and much bigger than the enemy, allowing them to sweep in and easily swallow two of the incoming enemies. Fleta too wanted to shine in the eyes of her allies and freshly summoned Aurora, as two pumpkins suddenly appeared by her side, their faces carved and shining with a mysterious light. They would start rolling toward the undead and explode into stacks of colorful smoke, but it seemed that the opponents did not care one bit for the nearly harmless ability of the poor princess.

Aurora:

wc: 1779 / 3750 | tags: @leila | muse: 9 / 10

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