Sword sovereign

In a small room, bathed in ambient light, a figure could be seen, sitting comfortably on a large comfy, leather chair.

It was a small office, the sides lined up with shelves carrying several books. The intricate designs on the wall, giving off a high sense of nobility.

His green eyes pierced through the figure with an assertive gaze, as his fingers drummed a slow rhythmic tone on his crossed arm. His white hair was clearly visible, despite sitting in a dark corner of the room.

"I left only for hours, I return and I see Fario in a bloody mess, and no one, literally no one! Can tell me what happened" He was clearly angry, but his face told nothing of this.

"I'm...sorry Lord Zerax" The figure dressed in a bright silver armor stuttered, his hands visibly trembling.

"Sorry? Will sorry bring back my nephew's lost arm and jaw? You must be a real joker. I have over hundreds of guards within this vicinity, with you commanding them. Something like this happened right under your nose" Zerax calmly raised an arm.

The soldier felt a great force clutch unto his neck, the force was a crushing one. Thanks to his well refined body he was able to withstand it. But his face quickly turned purple.

"I honestly don't know what I should do to you right now."

"Si...r s..ir I will definitely find out what happened" he could barely speak, he tried his best to force the words out, losing more breath as he did.

"You said the soldier commander came earlier?" Zerax asked, finally bringing down his hands.

The old soldier fell to his knee, feeling his neck with his palm, cold sweat dripping down his. He was hanging on a loose thread there , and even the slightest mistake could cost him his life.

"Yes sir Zerax. Chris came with a soldier in training" he replied immediately, seeing the impatient look on Zerax face.

'That cut on Fario's hands was definitely made with a sword, but would Chris do such for no reason at all?' Zerax couldn't place his hands fully on the matter.

But he wasn't too bothered about it either, with a deep sigh, he spoke with a terribly calm voice. For a moment it looked as though his anger had completely disappeared along with his sigh.

"Send a message to Minna, I'll have to borrow her for sometime. Such injury cannot be healed by a normal magician. I'll pay as much as i can" He ordered.

'I'll definitely get to the end of this case' he thought his fingers locked together, his eyes distant, deep in thoughts.

--------

Garmond arrived at the main cafeteria hall, the place was almost cleared out. After waiting several hours for the food to be ready, some decided to head off to do their own things.

'At least I don't have to deal with this anymore, I wonder what I would've been doing now if I didn't hear out with Chris' Garmond thought to himself as he scanned through the small crowd gathered.

They were broken into several groups, the likes of Aliya, sat on their own, basically the introverted types that hardly talked much.

Hendrix was all over the place, his loud voice echoing complaints constantly.

The green haired fellow and his crew who were after his head a while back, sat with pale face. Looking like dried stocks.

Garmond could only imagine what type of hellish training they were taking on their own side, he could remember vividly, their trainee was the bulky and fierce looking guy that took Trevor down back then.

'Transformation host? That ability must take a lot of energy right?'

"Of course. Unlike normal host, transformation host need to fuel their ability with both mana and food. But at some level, this is no longer a limitation."

That was just enough explanation to show why they looked so dead. Garmond could judge from the behavior of their master, he was definitely the type that loved training.

It was clear he must have overworked the crew, leaving them in such a terrible state. But for Garmond, he didn't even care the slightest, even if they all died.

He had something more important he had to think on, and deal with, as soon as possible.

Darting his eyes around, one more time, he finally found the figure he was looking for. Devine sat, her face staring down at the floor as she bent her head on the wooden table, a clear sign of exhaustion.

'She must be training really hard' Garmond thought as he walked towards her direction. He could also noticed Aliya's sharp eyes staring at him as he made advancements towards Devine.

'Why is he going to her?' She thought to herself, wondering what relationship they both shared or what was even making Garmond approach her in the first place.

"Devine," Garmond called with a soft voice as he arrived at her table.

Drowsily, Devine pulled herself up, looking at Garmond's figure. At first, she couldn't make out who it was, but as her eyes cleared up, she could see his face clearly.

"Oh, Garmond, and here I was, planning on how I was going to storm into your room this night. Thought you'd ditch me here again" Devine said, revealing a drowsy smile.

She was still trying to get a hold of herself, being tired, hungry and worn out altogether, was no joke, she could feel sores all over.

It had been a while since she had time with the others, Trevor and his own group, without magic, were carried away from the school grounds and she had no idea where they took them to.

She could only talk to Garmond, as he was the only person, second to Trevor, that she was truly comfortable with. She had already made up her mind to drag him over to the cafeteria, if he failed to come.

Garmond on the other hand smiled wryly at her words. Knowing how stubborn she was, he was definitely sure and certain that she would've done as she mentioned.

'I was smart enough to tell her what I was about to do, else I would've had a lot of problems to deal with' He thought gulping down hardly.

"Well, thankfully, you're still here and I arrived on time, so there's no need for violence " Garmond replied.

Garmond's expression made her chuckle and she replied calmly, "I wasn't going to do anything bad, I would've just come to get you"

'That's the problem, I can't have you looking for me' Garmond thought inwardly, still looking for the perfect way to converse his plans with the thick skull girl.

With how cute she was, many would definitely doubt the fact that she could be so stubborn.

Garmond took a deep breath, he would have to spill out the beans eventually, and if he didn't, probably Devine would be the one to spoil all his plans.

"I have something important I would like to tell you" Garmond said with a stern face, instantly killing out Devine's laughter.

She had never seen him look so serious, ever since she knew him.

'I guess he has changed so much'

Before, their was only one phrase she could use to describe Garmond, and if she was to simply spell it out, it would be 'a clown'

He always had a way of making her worried, but at the end leave a smile on her face. Since she knew him, he was overly confident, even when the odds were against them.

'I wonder where all that confidence came from, and it seemed to increase all of a sudden' she though inwardly.

"What do you want to tell me?" She asked after a deep sigh.

"It's not something I can voice out openly due to some reasons " Garmond continued with a grim expression, he didn't know what would happen after he divulged his secrets to her.

But having known her for some time, although little, he just had a slight feeling of trust for her.

Devine looked at Garmond, curiousity etched on her face. But regardless, she stood and the two walked further down, heading towards Aliya's side, where no one else asides the three of them were.

Aliya was shocked, but decided to wait for Garmond's explanation, the look on his face was a really serious one.

"Okay, since Aliya here already knows, it won't be a problem to tell you in front of her" Garmond started with a calm voice, after taking a breath.

Devine was now worried, the way Garmond spoke each word, left an air of negativity swirling around him, and she wasn't too comfortable with the feeling.

"Okay...., so what's this thing you want to tell me?" She asked yet again, after a short moment of silence between the three. Even Aliya became interested, after seeing the look on Garmond's face.

"You have once heard the tale of the sword sovereign?"