Chapter 37: The Sky Emperor

[Chapter 37: The Sky Emperor]

Nano woke up out of fear. She had a nightmare, where everyone ignored her for Mae.

It was so scary. Nano went out to look at the sky in the mansion garden for some grasp of reality.

To check if everything was okay.

A lot of ships have been guarding Mokkato since the organization was born.

The ships were a part of the CSFU. The SFU stands for Special Forces Unit. No one knows what the C stood for.

It’s a military unit that helps protect Mokkato. Its force will eventually rival the spirit guardians.

But not now…

She wanted to call the CSFU, but she fears too much.

Nano doesn’t want to show her face at this point. Her fans will ask her if she’s okay, and she doesn’t even want to explain…

“Sephine…” Nano cried for help.

“Hm?” Sephine walked to her, as she knew that Nano was in distress…

“Can you call the CSFU to help me…?” Nano sobbed, looking at her magic spellbook, knowing that she needed to start everything from scratch. 

“Sure…” Sephine called the CSFU. “Head of the Sorcery Department, speaking…”

“You work for the CSFU!?” Nano was shocked.

“Shh… I’m calling someone…” Sephine shushed Nano. “Yes, come to the Hanasori Sorcery Mansion. Someone needs your help… Yes, alright, thank you!” She hung up, and said to Nano. “Don’t worry, help is coming… Are you sick?”

“No… I just don’t have my powers. That’s what I can remember…”

Suddenly, someone came into the sorcery mansion… It was Mr. Reiko, and some of his gooms.

“Hello, you need help?” The young leader of the CSFU said.

“Yes… I used to b-”

“The most powerful witch in Hanasori. You’re already indexed in our data banks. Your powers were stolen by a certain Mae Mi-gyeong, correct?”

Nano slightly nodded her head. All of these were true, and Mr. Reiko would have possibly known about her anyway… “I don’t want to show my face to anyone…”

“I’ll think of something…” Reiko said. “You will temporarily take on a new identity, while a body double acts as you. I will send you to Utoko, and you will come to spar with our soldiers. Is this a good idea?”

“I’ll take anything at this point…” Nano looked at the floor, not making eye contact.

Sephine felt bad for Nano. “Your magic felt really precious to you… I’ll bring it back someday. I’ve never lost my powers, but… Magic is hard to get, and it’ll feel so devastating to lose your powers, won’t it?”

“Yeah… It’s so painful… I was also abused by her.”

“Dear Hanasori… The Abundance Society will revive any dead person, but Hanasori 

will not forgive you if you take away their power cruelly…” Sephine then said, “Do you mind taking your clothes off? Except the underwear, I’m going to inspect your wounds…”

Nano did so, and there were a lot of scars and bruises. Sephine took some photos, then put the clothes back on Nano's body. Mr. Reiko and his goons were instructed to look away at that time.

“What the fuckkk… That must be so painful.” Sephine looked at Nano with some anger.

“It hurted more than you think it did…” Nano sobbed, and Sephine put her arms on Nano’s shoulder. Mr. Reiko’s goons took her to dress up as a whole new persona. 

Nano now takes on a new, temporary appearance. Instead of a blue-haired robed wizard, she’s now an orange-haired girl with gold eyes, which resembles Hanasori, but she wears urban clothing. A helicopter takes her to Utoko, and she now goes there.

As she leaves, Sephine waves at her.

[Side Story 4 soon…]

“Now, she’s off… I hope she gets the training that she needs.” She thought to herself.

Fleur walked into the room. "What happened to her, Sephine?"

"She was taken to a training center to learn magic and martial arts… Well, under a new identity. Mr. Reiko sure has his ways…"

“I see. I could kick that Mae person’s ass myself…” said Fleur, being the narccisist that she is.

“Mae can absorb your energy. Good luck doing that…”

“Hmph.” She tapped on a screen, and a video was shown.

Various people in unknown uniform and insignia had kidnapped Kasuri. 

“This is information leaked from an unknown source. Sephine, if it’s hard for you to watch, please pause the video.” Fleur warned.

The video played, and Kasuri was being forced to give her powers, due to her not being able to be killed in her sleep. She’s being tied up in a chair. 

“Hello, Naiko’s best friend. I assume you have survived an attack from the Reqrainians, no?"

"Mmm…" Kasuri's mouth was taped.

"Your words mean nothing. Gildeo, prepare the power extractor."

Suddenly, Kasuri struggles, trying to use her hands to point at something she sees from far away.

The power extractor is malfunctioning, as if her powere couldn't be taken away.

Kasuri is no Mary Sue, she is just an anti-Mary Sue. As she tries to shout, warning them about something, the captors of Kasuri were incapacitated by a gunshot.

"Miss, are you okay?" A Mokkatoian soldier asked Kasuri, untying her and pulling the tape out of her mouth.

"It's so scary… It's really scary… I wish I can forget this… I'm so hurt and tortured…"

"Please don't worry. We will be sending a mental trauma-reducing expert."

A mental-trauma reducing expert makes a soldier forget traumatic events, making their morale higher.

The expert finally came after a few minutes, and Kasuri trembled in fear. The expert made Kasuri breathe sleeping gas.

"Forget me… Forget who I was… Forget all this. This never happened. It's all a dream. Breathe in…" The expert comforted the young girl.

The video ended.

"She is able to let others borrow her powers, including the ability for her power to be immune to stealing or nullification." Fleur said proudly. "Unfortunately, she's dead. It would take time to find her soul. Luckily, it wasn’t absorbed.”

“Thank Hanasori… Ugh… I just need to dig her body up and find her soul.”

“Sephine, some spells are soul-bound. You can put her in another body and she’ll use her powers just fine.”

“Oh yeah… I didn’t think of that, but aren't Kasuri’s powers gained by drinking a potion?”

A note was slid under the door.

[Her card-based magical ability is not obtained by consuming a magical concoction, which grants the consumer a randomized array of abilities. To gain a power this specific, it will take utmost fortune and belief. Kasuri Mano was only granted the ability by her emotions… Her willpower to guard and defend our homeland. The potion was merely a catalyst in awakening magic in a family that has existed without magic for generations.]

“What do you mean? What did she get from the potion, then?” Sephine asked the mysterious person.

[The ability to not be affected by universe-bending abilities. To humans, she is weak. To gods, she is untouchable. Her powers are integrated into cards due to her exceptional skill of adaptation…]

“I see.” Fleur was intrigued. “So, she is immune to those overpowered characters you see in comic books?”

[I do not know what a “comic book” is, but I can assure you that her abilities are similar to what you implied.]

“I see.”

A few hours later, Nano’s body double comes and practices her magic. A fellow citizen peeks into the Sorcery Mansion’s windows, and reports to them that Nano was just having a panic attack. 

“I see.” Fleur said, looking at the body double. She looked beautiful, just like Nano. Well, she is supposed to be Nano anyways…

I sure wonder how Kasuri is doing.