Removal

Grey leaned over his chair, looking into the aisle. He had been leaning on the window before, relaxing in his first-class chair, before the terrorist, most likely a low-level Villain, decided to ruin his slumber.

What he saw down the aisle was a man in black clothes, not bothering to cover his face. He had black hair and a crazed look in his eyes.

In his arms was an air hostess whom he held at Spellpoint. Pointed at her jugular was a dagger made of ice.

'Creative, but Mana expensive. He won't last long, but he might have a real knife. I doubt anyone here is strong enough to take care of this guy.'

'Damn, I'm too tired for this.' Grey did not feel like doing this. He had been training since he was 3, and one of, if not the most important parts of his regime was sleep. He always made sure to sleep for 7-8 hours, 9-10 when he was younger, but if this man wanted to ruin that, then he would have to do something.

Grey looked up at the ceiling, checking for cameras. Even when dealing with nuisances, it was best to make sure that nothing would expose him. He immediately had a plan in mind, one that Fallen Star chose not to comment on, and he set it into motion.

Suddenly, the man who was threatening that air hostess looked at him and yelled.

"HEY KID! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK IN YOUR CHAIR OR I'LL KILL HER AND BLOW THE PLANE UP!"

'Feisty. Illogical and feisty.'

"Sorry sir, continue." Grey mocked, sitting back in his chair.

"HEY KID! HOW DARE YOU! COME HERE!"

'What now?' Grey began to get out of his chair, ignoring the cries of other passengers.

"No sonny, he'll kill you." An old man said.

"What can I do gramps?" Grey said, holding back a laugh.

'Fallen Star, there's no cameras on the plane, right?'

- There's one, but I can access it, maybe. - Fallen Star said. It had access to the Government system, and through that, most government operations, it would just take a minute to find the right terminal.

However, since Fallen Star was more than a human, a higher entity, It had no problem doing it in seconds.

- I've turned the camera off. - It informed him.

Grey was out of his chair at this point, his hands in the air, and the Villain beckoned for him to come, waving his ice dagger. 

'Finally.'

Light flashed out, causing a few screams of fear, and a single deep cry of pain.

When everyone's vision came back, they found the grey-haired boy on the floor, covering his head, and the terrorist lying unconscious, bleeding from the shoulder.

Grey looked up in 'surprise' before slowly rising onto his feet.

"Did anyone see who did this?" He asked, receiving remarks of confusion in reply.

He sat back on his chair, going back to sleep.

"Are we just going to ignore the oddity that just happened?" The old man from before replied.

"I guess so," A young woman said. "I mean, what else can we do? No one saw anything."

The air hostess who was held hostage before poked the unconscious Villain, finding that he was awake.

His eyes flickered rapidly, but he didn't do anything.

'Has he been paralyzed?' She thought to herself.

---

Grey walked out of the plane and entered the airport terminal again. It matched the airport in Arkusia, except there was greenery throughout the building.

- Why did we paralyze him again? -

'Well, if he was a Villain, he may have info on a vampire. That's always helpful.'

- True, but who would make someone so weak a Villain? Isn't that a waste? - Grey had learned from Fallen Star that vampires could make a limited amount of dhampirs.

'Maybe it's a weak vampire?'

- Makes sense. -

Soon enough Grey arrived at baggage pick up, finding his bag there waiting for him. He grabbed it and swiftly left the airport.

Once outside, he looked up at the now afternoon sky, enjoying the warm embrace of the sun.

From what he knew of Novis Sanguis, it was a city built in a clearing in the woods, and the airport was no different.

Around him stood trees hundreds of meters tall. Whilst they couldn't compare to the Border Wall or the trees in the Beast Domain, however, they were much brighter and vibrant.

The trees were all giant sequoias.

Large birds of prey; hawks, eagles, and falcons flew in the treetops, and squirrels jumped from tree to tree, unafraid of the harrowing chasm between branches.

Concrete lay around the airport for a few hundred meters, shifting to dirt everywhere except for the road.

Grey jogged over to the edge of the sidewalk, hailing a taxi.

One drew up to him in seconds, and Grey entered the backseat.

"Hello, lad. Where is ya going?" A short-haired blond elf spoke. He wore a flat cap with a shirt and jeans.

"I'm going to Novis Sanguis."

"Course, everyone's going there now." The man said as he started to drive.

"Oh really? Why?" 

"Well, royal duels are going on right now."

"Come again?"

"Well, us elves follow tradition to a T, and the royals have a major one. Every eligible man from age 17-19 fights for the princess' hand. The winner has a chance to get married to her. Of course, she can deny the engagement, but she needs a valid reason."

"Really?" Grey was shocked. During his search about the history of Arkusia, he had heard of these, but he thought they had been abolished by the king 8 generations ago. "I thought that was gone?"

"Ay, it was, but the king 3 generations ago brought it back. The talent of the royal family was decreasing, and he felt it was the only logical decision. It brought some major backlash, even the people felt it was excessive, but... it's worked so far. The last king and queen were happily married, and the ones we have now are, too. So, it stuck."

"I see," Grey commented. 'Could this be the problem? But why? She can say no after all, right?'

"Anyway lad, what are you here for?"

"I'm not sure, but my friend has a problem, so I'm here to fix it as best I can."

"Ahh, good luck then."

"Thanks."

With that, the taxi fell silent, but Grey and Fallen Star were discussing their newly acquired knowledge.

'Do I have to fight?'

- Most likely. -

'But why me? From what I've gathered, this wouldn't take more than a week. How would that affect their training?' Grey thought back to Kim Jaehyun's words, noting the seriousness in his eyes. He genuinely believed that.

- Who knows? All we can do is go. -

'I guess so.'

---

Grey soon arrived in Novis Sanguis and was awed.

Just like he was aware, the city lay in a clearing of the woods.

There were regular houses, shops, and playgrounds, just like in Arkus, but there were many more skyscrapers, all built of the same glass as the Hero Association.

Not only that, but buildings lay in the heights of the trees, either branching off or built straight into the trunk.

From tree to tree hung long bridges, made of the very wood they swayed from. Similarly, in between the tops of skyscrapers lay bridges, which also led to the trees, making everything one, big tapestry.

In the middle of the city lay a giant castle made of modern materials, designed around a giant sequoia. The castle reached three-fourths of the tree, built in a tiered formation.

Grey exited the taxi, paying the fee, and collecting his luggage.

"Thanks."

"No problem mate."

The taxi drove off, leaving Grey to marvel at the glory of the forest city.

"It's so much more beautiful in person. The photos don't do it justice, no matter how high definition they are."

- Yeah. -

Grey set off into the city, heading for the center.

The streets were bustling, most of them workers heading home. He moved against the current, heading deeper into the city.

As he neared the castle, he came upon a sight that infuriated him.

There, in a small clearing stood a single, small building, purposely made of stone.

A church.

'You don't think...' He said to Fallen Star, rage building up at the sight.

- Surely not. I don't know much about religion, but I don't think He's believed in. Maybe they have a Sun God. Most planets I've seen or helped design have a Sun God. They're not real, but they're always there. -

'I hope so.' Grey thought, heading to the church. This was something he had to check. 

'I swear, I'll burn this place to the ground if it is.'

- No Grey, you can't go that far. I'm sure there's something else we can do. -

'For the sake of the Sisters, I genuinely hope so. Or I might not hold back.'