As night fell and the two Vastonia men planned their entries for their magical clash, it became clear to both of their assistants that they had nary a clue as to what particular magics each man specialized in performing. Based on the knowledge they possessed of the Vastonia family, it was all but certain that they were masters of their own body-altering magics, putting their minds at ease somewhat that they would be in the hands of true professionals.
“So let me get this straight,” Erinn began, having returned from her errand some time ago. “You two are really going to fight Maius and Miss Naga in the Magic Royale tomorrow just to spite him?”
“Yep, that’s pretty much it!” Linus affirmed. The legendary magician was already hard at work at his workbench, feeling more inspired than he had been in years, furiously writing up a storm on how best to enrapture the crowd with a brand new Vastonia original. “That damn son of mine is gonna learn the hard way by getting humiliated in front of everyone by his old man. That’ll finally knock some sense into that thick skull’a his!”
“And, uh… You said this magic you’ll be having me show off’ll be permanent, right?” Lina asked, barely able to hide the excitement in her voice while she hovered around her benefactor, hoping to catch a glimpse of his latest work.
“Darn right, kiddo,” he nodded, refusing to take his eyes off his paper amidst his flurry of inspiration. “Of course, since this is the Royale we’re talkin’ about here, I’m thinkin’ I’m gonna impress the crowd by using this new spell on a doll that’ll look just like ya. But don’t worry, ‘cause if all goes well, I’ll use it on ya afterwards just as promised. Haha! This is gonna be my finest work yet!”
“This is going to be my finest work yet!” Maius declared, himself hard at work on refining his craft to defeat his illustrious father at the centennial festival in the coming day. Located far on the other side of town, hidden away in an isolated clearing behind a chain of small mountains, was the younger Vastonia’s workshop, secluded enough that he could work on his art in peace away from the effervescence of the city and any possible interference from his cross father. Unlike his parent, Maius instead had his head buried in a thick textbook on ancient magical rituals and spells, several tomes of similar subject matter spread out on his desk, countless bookmarks and underlined passages littering their pages. “No one will ever foresee that I could pull off a masterpiece so utterly magnificent that even my father will have to recognize my talent as the superior Vastonia!”
“And this magic you’ll be using is… permanent, correct?” Naga asked out of boredom, the bountiful sorceress lounging at a nearby table with a cup of hot tea at her side.
“Of course it must be,” her partner replied, taking a brief reprieve from his research to turn around and admire his precious muse. “When a Vastonia man performs a spell, we do it in such a way that we leave our mark on the world. At least that’s how I was raised… B-But don’t worry, my goddess, for I won’t be using it on you directly. You will be the star of the show, however, the key to my performance. The entire city will have their eyes glued on you throughout the entirety of the Royale, and then everyone can witness the true splendor of your superior grace, just as much as I already do!”
“Hmph!... Well, as long as you promise that I’ll be able to show Lina just how much of a flat-chested fool she is for teaming up with an old has-been who wouldn’t know true beauty if it was standing there in his backyard, then I’ll be glad to do whatever I can to help you,” she nodded in approval, confident in their plan. “That victory is as good as ours! Ohhhhhh-hohohohoho!”
As the night progressed into the wee hours, the sorceresses and Erinn had retired for the evening, leaving their respective teammates to finish up while they caught up on their beauty rest. It seemed, however, that as both Vastonia men came to their epiphanies at roughly the same time as one another, they also appeared to run into the same problem. Although each of them planned on using dolls to be shown off by their assistants as the main crux of their performance, neither of them possessed the magical potential needed to sustain the spell indefinitely due to their lack of gathered mana under such short notice. Both men were equally stumped at how to proceed, believing that the other was already hard at work on their own project and needing to catch up with them as quickly as possible. Confirming the ancient saying that the apple does not fall far from the proverbial tree, both Linus and Maius again came to an identical solution independent of one another.
“I don’t got any other choice,” Linus sighed, pushing himself backwards from his seat at his workbench and rising to his feet. “If this is gonna work…”
“...then I’ll have to use my newfound love as my living model in order to defeat my father,” Maius concluded.
“It makes perfect sense, really, and it’s the only thing that’ll work with how much time I got left. Those sorceresses are overflowin’ with mana, so if I use it on her, then she’ll be able to sustain it forever.”
“It pains me to have to do this to my darling Naga, but for the sake of the Vastonia family name, it must be done,” the younger mage said to himself, steeling his soul to go through with the revised plan. “Her power is truly incredible, and should this ritual be used on a living being, why… the results may be even more amazing than even I could imagine!”
“Really hate havin’ to do this to the kid, but it’s gotta be done. Ain’t no way my idiot of a son is going to shame our family in front of the entire town - hell, the world! - on my watch! Not when I’m involved!” Linus exclaimed, pledging his energy to the idea. “‘Sides, she wanted me to use the spell on her in the first place, so it’ll all work out fine. Heh, I can’t wait to see the look on Maius’s face when I surprise him with a living example of my supreme magics!”
“My father will have no choice but to finally see that I have surpassed him in every way once he sees how my finest spell to date is used on my divine assistant,” the other Vastonia nodded to himself, confident in his winning strategy. “Get ready, father, for tomorrow, I will surpass your legacy as the new body-altering magic king of the world!”
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