Volume 01 - Chapter 07: The Confrontation

~2480 Words

Passing through the lofty trees of the Elshire Forest, I looked back at the elf girl, following closely behind me.

It's been a few days since we started walking towards her home. 

Little by little she was able to help venture through the bewitched mist of the Elshire Forest with ease. Elves had a natural ability of navigation through this mist. It was an intriguing concept. There was something going on with the mist. It wasn't a natural phenomenon. 

Almost like this place was built as a natural defense. Or to hide something. But what exactly? This world was full of untapped potential and mysteries, and yet despite having so many things that could ignite a spark of curiosity in any human, no discoveries had been made. 

The main reason could be the existence of mana. Because people can use mana fueled scrolls, they never thought about developing any other communication means. But that is a major flaw in their development and thought process. Mana exists everywhere, but it can be sabotaged. It doesn't guarantee a safe transmission.  

No matter how much I thought, the mist seemed to be guarding something. Or someone. The possibility of this happening was entirely true. 

However, with no concrete evidence and foundation relating to it, I had to learn and develop the knowledge myself. 

Beginning with the elves...

Was the mist produced to protect them as a part of natural order? Or were elves just creatures that came to existence as adaptive creatures in result of the mist. This would make sense since every elf could navigate through this enchanted forest. 

Shaking my head, I removed the thoughts to the back of my head. If I needed to understand it, I needed to return to this place, and experiment on it. Although, it would be an arduous task since I can't physically see mana or the composition of the mist as it doesn't have a physical mass.

"Umm", I was brought out of my thoughts by a familiar voice. The elven princess, Tessia Eralith, fidgeted nervously, her gaze cast down as she walked closer to me, "Can I call you Art? You said your family calls you that." She said, shyly. 

Well, if calling me by a name will help me get closer to her, then I should have no issues, "Sure. You can call me that. I'll call you Tess too", I replied, looking at her. A faint blush appeared on her smiling face as she nodded in affirmation.   

The rest of the day was spent with us walking through the forest. My secondary core was undergoing changes. As expected, Sylvia's draconic will was acting up. In its unintegrated state, it was resulting in severe bouts of pain, not only in the night but in the morning too. I was able to hide it from the elf, Tessia. 

Beast will integration or in this case draconic will, they would act in the same way. Without usage of mana from the core, I had to spread the mana throughout my body so it could literally integrate with my body. The phases of beast-will would unlock depending on the amount of insight in that particular move.

It was a difficult time since I was integrating my will. Because of that I couldn't use mana from that core. Luckily, I had two of them. But still, being short on mana was something that I didn't want.

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The veil of the darkness fell on us as we set camp for yet another night in the forest. 

Judging from her expression, we were quite close to our destination. The problem remained in how to confront the royal family. 

During the previous inter-continental war between human and elves, the elves were led by their king at that time, Virion Eralith. If he's alive, he would be the only one I need to take care of. Someone, who has led people in a war and carried the burden of fallen allies on their shoulders... such people are the ones I need to be wary of. 

As I was thinking about my confrontation, I voice chimed in, "Art... why don't you come inside and sleep?" Tessia said. I looked away from her, feeling the cold wind as my eyes set on the moon. It was a full moon. The light was soft to the eye, making the otherwise dangerous night of the forest look alluring. The moon coupled with the brisk wind was magnetic. 

Flashes of my past life came crashing down in my mind. The second island special exam. My time...

Whatever happened, happened. All of that was in the past. What matters is the present. 

But...

A sigh escaped my mouth. 

"That would be impossible... for now", I muttered at the thought as I looked back at Tessia who was still standing there, "Sure", I replied, not rejecting her, knowing that her stubborn nature will lead to me sleeping there anyways in the end. It was best not to waste energy on idle chatter. 

(A/n No need to get confused as to what's bothering him. Will reveal in time.)   

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"Art!" Tessia squealed excitedly, pulling me by my hand. It was finally here. The portal that led to the hidden place of the elves. 

The same nauseating sensation hit me, as I felt myself pull inside the portal. Once the sensation subsided, I finally looked up to take in the sight in front of me.

Pristine.

That was the word that popped into my head as I gawked at the elven city. It appeared we had directly teleported right past the gates. What I saw before me were buildings that seemed to be built out of a jade-like material. These jade buildings were so flawless and smooth that each seemed to be carved from a single, huge stone.

Tess was still holding onto my hand when a group of what seemed like guards arrived out of nowhere. These elven warriors emanated a dignified air, all dressed in coordinated black suits with green trimmings and a golden shoulder guard on their left shoulder. These five guards all carried a rapier strapped to their waist.

All of them were in later stages of Orange Core. It was impressive but either way, it meant that these guys weren't as impressive as their attire made them look. 

The guards ignored my presence as they suddenly kneeled in front of Tessia in unison. "We welcome back the royal princess."

"..." My gaze flicked back and forth between the guards and Tessia.

My intuition was right. She was the royal princess after all.

Tessia was actually the princess of this whole kingdom.

When I tried to let go of Tessia's hand, she suddenly squeezed her hand tighter. In a voice so cold and apathetic that I mistook her voice for my own, she said, "You may rise."

They stood up with their right fist still crossing their chest when the knight in front speaks. "Princess, we arrived as soon as we saw that the royal teleportation gate had been used. The King and Queen are..."

Before he could finish speaking, I heard a cry not too far away.

"My baby! Tessia, you're okay! Oh, my baby!"

Running towards us was a middle-aged man and woman. From the crown on the man's head and the tiara encircling the woman's forehead, I assumed that they were the King and Queen.

The King's tall, built body was uniformed in a loose, decorated robe. His emerald eyes were pointed upwards, and his thin lips were tensed, matching his short, military style hair.

While the King had a dignified but somewhat reserved appearance, the Queen was beautiful too. Although she was a bit past her youthful stage. Her round eyes shimmered a light blue hue. Her silver hair was curled down, flailing past her back as she ran towards us, her well-proportioned figure visible underneath her dress.

The mother's cheeks were lined with tears as the father had a tense expression that looked like he was holding back tears as well.

I turned my gaze to see Tessia's face visibly soften as she started tearing up as well. I let go of her hand and gently pushed her towards her parents.

What was I supposed to feel at this moment? 

Happy? Joyous? Because she met her parents?

Or sad? Because seeing her reuniting with her family would make a kid cry because he lost his own family in a bandit attack. 

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. In my days away from them, the thought of what happened to them, or how they're doing crossed my mind only twice. 

Was I supposed to feel like this? Or am I really unable to feel anything other than being curious about everything?

Tessia landed in the arms of her mother who started sobbing at this point on their knees, both burying their face in their daughter's shoulders.

I looked at the king. He might have authority, but he was weak. A lot. 

It was surprising. How can a man so weak rule over a whole kingdom in a world where only power matters. Power triumphs all. Surely there would be rebellions. But will people who worship power follow a person so weak that I could kill him right now?

There must be a hidden reason. 

A secret. 

Or...

A secret weapon. 

A guardian strong enough to be protecting the royal family. It could be the fear of the former king, or it could be someone who has made a pact with the royalty. Either way, it's impossible that this king was the reason the kingdom is intact.  

The guards became tense as another man walked through them. A man well past his prime. 

He had sharp features, lined with wrinkles. His predatory gaze landed on me, his features scrunching. For a brief moment he looked at me, narrowing his gaze before turning away. Making his way towards the king and queen he ran his hand over Tessia's head. 

He must be her grandpa. So, does that mean... he's the elven commander, Virion Eralith. 

After a while of reunion, the king walked up to me and offered me to come with him to his castle. It was obvious it wasn't a request, but rather an order. They would surely interrogate me for what exactly happened. And if I wanted to make use of them, I had to establish a bond of trust based on truth laced with lies. 

For the deadliest lies are those that have the truth mixed in them. 

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"My name is Arthur Leywin. Son of Reynolds and Alive Leywin. Born in a remote city of Ashber, I was separated from my family when we were travelling from Ashber to the floating city of Xyrus, during a bandit attack", I gave a small summary of myself in the most formal way possible. 

Getting treated as a kid would lead to nowhere, so I had to make a situation where they don't treat me as a kid. 

The king was taken aback by mature behavior as he coughed awkwardly, "Sorry for assuming. My name is Aludin Eralith, the king of Elenoir. This is my wife, Merial, the queen." Turning his head towards the old elf he said, "And this is my father as well as the former king, Virion Eralith." 

He finished the introductions and then leaned on the table, placing his chin over his interlinked fingers. 

"So... how about you tell us, where did you found Tessia and how did you rescue her?" 

The conversation was going as I expected it to be. However, I didn't expect them to be using someone as a lie detector. I could feel someone observing me but was hidden. However, the mana used to hide that individual wasn't its own.

In other words, Mages that were adept in sensory and deception were being used to scrutinize our conversation. 

Using my control over every function in my body, I calmed my heart, letting the heartbeat increase only when I was about to tell a traumatic event.  Different people have different ways to react to a lie. In some cases, the heartbeat increases, while in some cases people gulp down a hard lump of saliva. Abnormal body language such as fidgeting, hiding your hands behind your back or in pockets. An exaggerated display of confidence. Shoulders shrugging. Eye blink. Having a weird stance of standing. Other altercations in behavior and mood such as increased agitation. Everything related to a person telling a lie or hiding something.  

Taking care of everything I started to tell them my story of how I killed the bandits. Of course, I skipped the part where I interrogated one of them. The tension in the room kept on fluctuating as continued to narrate my story.

"So, you're telling me a kid not even 4 years old has not only awakened but was able to kill adults?" The king said in a mocking tone. 

"Like I said before which the king seemed to have missed. They were all normal humans. It became pretty easy since usage of mana gives a person a huge advantage." I explained and I still saw doubt on the king's face. 

"How dare you lie to the king?" 

*Shiinggggg*

The sound of the sword leaving its scabbard resonated as a guard plunged his sword towards me. 

Finally, it happened. There are always such people in ranks of the guards who get conceited just because they are a part of an important group. They think their actions are justified. They think they matter. However, their worth is because of their name in the important group. Take that away and they are left with nothing. 

Such people need to be humbled every once in a while. 

Just as he took another step closer to me, the water mana that I had been slowly conjuring, turned to ice. The ice spread under his heel and stuck his mana augmented feet to the ground. Casting a veil of increased gravity on him, I made him crash into the ground. 

The process was instantaneous. Before the other royal guards could even react, their colleague was already on the ground, immobilized- unable to move. 

From the corner of eyes, my gaze landed on the former king, Virion Eralith. 

He had a huge smirk over his face as his eyes shone in excitement. 

GOT HIM!

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(A/n Yahallo! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. In case you all are wondering what happened to the beasts when he said he wants them, the interrogation from slave traders and other stuff, be patient. Everything will reveal itself in time. 

Another important thing is that while I enjoy your savage comments and I reply to every comment, I will like you all to stop asking me about the ship. Romance isn't a focused topic in this fic. I mean there is romance and feelings of love and stuff but its not the central focus. It's more about Kiyo playing everything his way.

That's all and See you in the next one.

SAYONARA )