Ch. 30

Charles talked about his future plan and how he wants to go about things. Sarah listened to him, but her thoughts were elsewhere as she wondered how to bring up the topic on her mind. Turns out, there was no need for her to do it.

"Are you as good as cooks as your son? You can make me a meal, yes? Or maybe Ed is around?" Renard asked Charles and his wife.

"Renard... That's... Ugh..." Sarah held a hand to her head and massaged her temples.

"What are you talking about?" The gentle smile on Charles' face morphed into an angered scowl.

"You son, Ed," Renard replied, oblivious to Charles' anger, and raised his hand. "This high looks just like you but with green eyes, and younger."

"Our..." Charles' took a deep breath before continuing. "We don't have a son."

'Not anymore...' He finished in his thoughts.

"Our son was left in Nevios, unknown to anyone else besides us. That village got destroyed by Farion, the Demon you failed to stop!" Victoria, his wife, said with anger. She had kept quiet until now, but she had a grudge against the Five Elements due to that. She could accept their assistance, but she will never look at them favorably.

Sarah let out a sigh and decided to step in. "The one Renard is talking about is a kid about 14 years of age, and as he said, looks like a mixture of you. He hates Farion with a passion, and is an incredibly strong mage for his age."

"That's impossible! That's just can't be possible!" Charles was in denial.

"How did you meet him?" Unlike her husband, who didn't want to believe it, Victoria saw a ray of hope.

"In the war with Sin, yes? We witnessed his strength. Ed is a skilled warrior that grows in battle. Ah, I wish I could fight him in the future. He will be a formidable opponent, yes?" Renard said.

"No, no, no. That is not possible! Our son was born without any Magic Power!" Charles denied and looked at his wife. "Do not listen to them, dear. You should know what they are saying is impossible!"

"He could be someone that just very similar to both of you. That's always a possibility," Sarah said before smiling. "Or maybe you can see him for yourselves."

A blonde man ran up to Charles and his wife.

"Sire, something strange is happening in Licafornina," He informed them.

"What is it?" Charles snapped, he was still angry with Sarah and Renard's words. Mostly from Renard's.

"It is raining there, Sire," The man replied.

"And what is so strange about raining? That's a natural phenomenon," Charles said.

"Yes, Sire, but the rain is strange. It is black, and the raindrops are visible even from here. They are as big as large boulders. It's raining only over the manor of Lord Haliaetus and wrecking the place apart," The man quickly answered.

"Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear," Sarah said, remembering the black water Edwing was able to conjure.

"Ah, it's Ed. Maybe I can spar with him, yes?" Renard looked excited at that prospect.

Both Charles and Victoria snapped their heads towards the two mages. "What?"

While the girl by their side tilted her head. "I have a brother?"

Meanwhile, at the Haliaetus Manor.

Edwin and Brann were casually walking through the building while the place was being destroyed by the boulder-sized raindrops. Well, Edwin was the one casually walking while Brann flinched every time a raindrop impacted the manor.

"Lad, I have no idea what's going on," Brann said and winced as a raindrop fell close to them. It wrecked the place it impacted, but it came nowhere near them.

Edwin didn't reply, and Brann looked at his hands. The kid had healed them of his scars within seconds. He thought he would never be able to work the forge again after Lord Haliaetus scarred him, but that all changed.

"When are we escaping?" Brann asked him, eager to leave this place.

"We are dealing with the stupid noble and his son first, and then we can maybe go and loot their belongings if they have anything useful," Edwin replied.

Brann didn't doubt him, seeing how much destruction he was causing while casually walking.

"Ya' plan to sell the valuables for materials for your guns?" Brann asked.

"Not really," Edwin said. "Jewels are not an issue, nor are the materials. I have Titanium, Orichalcum, Eslium, Adamantine, and Mythril. I plan to use them to reforge my guns."

"Wh-what?" Brann was baffled once more. "What kind of guns are you planning to make with that?"

"Ones that can't be destroyed by a God?" Edwin replied.

"That's... a fair point," Brann said and took a deep breath. He was having a hard time believing what he was seeing.

About a year ago, when Edwin left, he was sure that the kid wasn't capable of all of this. He had grown so powerful in such a short time, it was just hard to believe that was possible. Then again, Edwin had shown him that he just didn't do normal when he became a Master Craftsman in a year worth of time.

'Just think of this as a dream and act as if it's normal.' Brann thought to himself.

"Ya' said you wanted to upgrade the guns as well, right? How do ya' plan on doing that? And how are ya' going to use the metals? You have many of them," Brann questioned.

"Yeah, I want to add a few additions to them. Make them more suitable for me," Edwin answered as he raised his palm and formed a sphere of black water. Bullets flew out of it at a crazy speed towards a group of mages that they encountered. They didn't even get the chance to defend themselves as they were pierced by the bullets.

"For the different metals, I was at first thinking I could maybe make different parts of the guns with metals that will the most suitable for them. But thinking about it, it seems a bit inefficient, and then I thought of doing something else," Edwin said as he flicked his hand and conjured vipers made of black water. The serpents swam in air and hurled themselves at the unsuspecting and panicking guards.

"And what's that?" Brann asked, trying to ignore everything that was happening and continued thinking this was nothing but a dream.

At that moment, a raindrop fell on top of a group of guards, who were standing in front of a door. It killed them and destroyed the door, revealing the cowering forms of Lord Haliaetus and his son.

"I'll tell you later," Edwin replied.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Haliaetus asked in both anger and fear. He was a man pushing past his sixties, and the hair on his head was already grey. It had turned even greyer from the situation he was in.

Edwin didn't reply and formed a massive hand of black water around the son of Lord Haliaetus. It grabbed the man, he remembered as Shaterick or maybe it was Maverick, and it squeezed him tightly.

"What are you doing? I command you to release my son!" Lord Haliaetus yelled.

"Done," Edwin said before crushing Maverick to a meat paste and releasing him.

"Now it's your turn to be released." Edwin conjured another hand, which grasped onto Lord Haliaetus. The noble followed the same fate of his son and was turned into a meat paste.

"Well, we are done here. We can look for something valuable, but I think we are better of leaving." Edwin turned towards Brann, who just didn't know how to reply to that.

"I... Yeah... Okay." Brann was at a loss for words.

"Haven't done this with someone else before, so it might not be very comfortable," Edwin said as he conjured another hand to grab onto Brann.

He had grown taller and was already standing at about 1.70m tall, but he was still shorter than the red-haired man. Using his own hands to grab him wasn't really a possibility, even though he had the strength to carry him.

"W-w-what?" Brann had no chance to say no as Edwin surrounded himself with black water before propelling himself in the air with a burst of water coming from his feet.

In the air, he conjured a pair of wings on his back, to try to stabilize his flying and make it a bit more comfortable for Brann.

Edwin didn't get to make it far before an azured-haired lady appeared in front of him with wind gushing out of her legs.

With his free hand, he conjured vipers and sent flying them at her before turning around. Edwin knew he had little chance against Sarah, let alone when he was holding Brann with a spell and flying with another. Plus, he was in the air, and that was her domain as she was a Wind Mage.

Again, Sarah appeared in front of him with a burst of speed.

"I don't want to fight you!" She told him.

"I don't believe you!" Edwin replied and shot another spell at her before turning a different direction.

As it happened the previous time, Sarah appeared in front of him once more.

"Look, you know I can kill you and the man you are holding without you being able to stop me. I just want you to come with me!" She said.

"I'm in a hurry!" Edwin replied.

"I'm no longer working for the Crown if that's what you are afraid of. No one will try to force you into a contract. A man and a woman just want to meet you," Sarah told him.

"Not interested. I have some things I need to take care of. Maybe at a later date." Edwin replied while trying to think about how to get himself out of this situation. Using that ability was an option, but that would put Brann at risk. However, he couldn't think of anything else.

"Please, I promise no harm will be done to you. They just want to meet you," Sarah pleaded.

"Why do I not trust you?" Edwin replied.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Sarah questioned him.

"I don't know. Maybe you have," Edwin answered.

"Gah, you are unbearable!" Sarah rolled her head in frustration and pointed down. "Look, they are right there. Please, just come with me to see them, and you can then leave."

Edwin took a look at where a large group of men and women were marching towards Licafornia, and amongst them, he noticed Renard staring at him with a grin.

"Yeah, I really am in a hurry right now. Maybe another time," Edwin replied and began tapping into his God Seed.

Before he could utilize his ability, Sarah appeared behind him and took hold of him. The next moment, she appeared on the ground in front of the people there.

Against one of the Five Elements, Edwin thought that maybe he could hold his own with his ability. Against two? He knew he had no chance. Plus, he had Brann with him.

"Okay, I'm here. Now what?" Edwin asked as if he was the one that wanted to come.

"You really are unbearable!" Sarah said as she walked off.

"I brought him here, I did my job, now it's your turn," She said to Charles and Victoria as she passed by them.

Edwin stared at the two Sarah addressed and waited for them to speak. He did note he slightly resembled the man, but that mattered little to him.

"Son?" Victoria stepped forward and asked. Tears formed in her eyes as she quickened her pace towards him. Before she could reach him, black water formed in front of her and blocked her path.

"No, I'm an orphan." Edwin denied her immediately.

Victoria shook her head, unconcerned with the wall of water in front of her. She just kept staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so glad you are alive, son," She said.

"No, you are wrong. I'm an orphan. If that's all you wanted to say, I'll be going now," Edwin said.

"Wait!" Charles called before Edwin could take off. "Where did you grow up?"

"It doesn't concern you," Edwin replied.

"Nevios," Brann called out.

"Brann!" Edwin covered his mouth with water, so he stays quiet.

"You really are our son, Gilbert Ragnaill!" Charles said. He couldn't deny that Edwin looked like a younger version of him with Victoria's eyes.

"No, you are mistaken. I'm an orphan." Edwin refused to accept that and even checked his status for confirmation.

[Name: Edwin Ragnaill

Age: 14

Rank: C

Class: Mage: Summoner 8/10 (7200/7200 XP)

Stats: +13 Free Stat Points

Strength: 67.9

Dexterity: 68.9

Spirit: 106.3

Magic:

Summoning Magic 8/10

Water God Slayer 15/15

Requip 5/5

Guns Magic 5/5

Skills:

Crafting 10/10

Martial Arts 10/10]

"No, I'm an orphan!" Edwin repeated again, this time aimed at his status. He did not want to accept this. His status, however, didn't change, and the Ragnaill surname stayed there.