Chapter 155: A tool to be?

It was odd, the varying gazes the king received in the throne room. Mirabella would not even meet his gaze, Astrid stood stiff and ready as if awaiting an order from a general. Fiona and Victoria seemed to hold a passive respect in their eyes as they gave a brief bow. Agatha just exchanged the needed formalities without much issue. Lucinda clearly had a hidden distaste for good reason, no doubt. Adrian did not seem to care much. Mikoto could understand that; it was hard to show respect to those who were so much weaker than you.

Guinevere stood beside the seated king, her eyes glazing through their group. But Mikoto could not help but take note of something; a subtle shift was in her lilac eyes. Usually, the woman looked uncaring and calm, but there was a kind of unease in her eyes that was so minute most would miss it. "Seems we're only missing Lukas and General Mai, but we'll have to proceed with this briefing without them," she noted.

"I thank you all for coming at such short notice," the king started, his voice reverberating through the grand throne room as he scanned all their faces. "The reason I called for you all here obviously concerns the festival, as well as what occurred yesterday. The attack of these... beings that labeled themselves as Ancestors." The king's eyes turned to Mirabella. "Daughter, first I would like to extend my congratulations on attaining Arcane Ascendance. You have done me proud."

"Thanks..." the second princess merely mumbled out, not looking all that thrilled with the king's words. He did not seem to care or notice as he turned to Agatha.

"And Agatha Gregory, correct?" King Thordan inquired, eliciting a nod from the aforementioned girl. "I'd like to thank you for defending my city and putting your life at risk."

Agatha merely gave a brief bow, her expression unchanged. "Your gratitude is appreciated, but I could not do much. It was your daughter and Mikoto who truly deserve thanks."

"Hm, I see." Thordan turned to Mikoto with a piercing gaze, appraising him as Guinevere spoke.

"These Ancestors, what can you tell us about them, Mikoto, Mirabella?" the court mage inquired though no real curiosity laced her tone.

"The one me and Agatha fought was strong; she had a weird ability. The more she got hurt, the stronger she got. Even with a partial transformation, I was no match for her," Mirabella begrudgingly informed. Guinevere made a mental note of that as she turned to Mikoto, gesturing for him to speak.

"I mean, they weren't that strong," Mikoto emphasized. "There was this chick named Britha; she had a spell called absolute defense. It nullifies any incoming attack, reducing it to zero. To go more into detail about how the spell really functions, it takes the force of the damage generated and transfers it elsewhere so the user remains unharmed. I only figured out that part after dissecting the spell some more."

"What a fearsome spell," Victoria could not help but note. "How on earth do you not see someone like that as non-powerful?"

Mikoto merely shrugged. "I just had to get a little creative to damage her," he informed offhandedly. "Besides, the real annoyance was her mutt, a thing called Naga."

"Naga?" Guinevere repeated with a look of interest. "The Divine Beast of Fortune?"

"Ah, so that's why it was so strong," Mikoto mused. "Getting around his probability control was a pain, but a good buddy of mine showed me the way."

"You mean that huge guy that disappeared into your shadow?" Mirabella blurted out, causing gazes of confusion and a look of befuddlement from Lucinda.

"Yeah, that guy. I won't go into detail, but I managed to harm the mutt eventually," Mikoto informed. The king hummed at that, a look of intrigue crossing his aged features.

"You never seem to cease to amaze, Mikoto," Thordan noted with a chuckle. "To defeat a Divine Beast, quite the feat for someone so young. The only one to ever have fought and defeated a Divine Beast was Dante of Verdantis."

"It was nothing," Mikoto waved off. Naga was powerful but nowhere near someone like Telluris. It made him think of how powerful the rest of the Divine Beasts were.

"Humble or prideful, hm," Guinevere mused, crossing her arms under her chest. "Well, these Ancestors should be kept in mind, but for now, we'll proceed to the festival. Victoria, if you will."

"Of course," the girl in question nodded as she took a step forward. "I've had some time to better discern who should combat who in the upcoming festival and our best way to proceed. Vel'ryr would no doubt bring forth the Von Auerswald siblings, though after the death of one of them, they are only left with three that are fit for combat. Since it has been discovered that they have been in bed with the Chaosmaws, it would not be unreasonable to assume the latter may come to their aid. Furthermore, they have magitech on their side, but I will still account for more unknown variables."

"Still, the Von Auerswalds have an immunity to magic, correct?" Agatha inquired. "How would we deal with something like that?"

"Only baseline magic," Lucinda supplied an answer. "As descendants of greater dragons, they're naturally resistant to mana to the point any normal spell would be nullified. However, Divine Magic has an effect on them, in this case Familial Arts as well as Arcane Ascendance." Agatha hummed in interest at that.

"Though that is a glaring threat we should not ignore Magitech," Fiona warned with a deep frown. "Their technology is dangerous and foreign; they've made weapons capable of wiping out cities. Furthermore, they use dragon cores to fuel their larger machines."

"Ah, I've heard of that," Astrid noted, rubbing her chin with a pondering look. "Unlike the greater dragons, lesser dragons did not completely nullify mana. Though they were resistant to it, their main defense lay with absorbing mana of any magic that came into contact with them and storing it within their cores. An ambient and dangerous source of fuel to power a devastating weapon."

"Indeed, I managed to gather former blueprints Vel'ryr has made use of. I'll narrow down just what they may plan on constructing for this festival," Victoria informed before moving on. "And then the Inheritors of Verdantis."

"Hm, ah yes, I recall you had made a discovery in Verdantis," the king spoke up. "An additional Inheritor was discovered, one of the Goddess of the depths and freedom." Thordan noted, having recalled a Professor informing him of the songstress Goddesses Inheritor; he frowned at the thought. "To think Verdantis houses more than five Inheritors." ("It is unfortunate that this festival had to be combat-oriented. However, with the addition of Mikoto Yukio, victory might just be ensured. His use to this kingdom will be greatly needed.")

"Seven Inheritors, seriously?" Mirabella shook her head at that. "Ain't that kinda unfair?"

"Immensely," Lucinda muttered.

"I say it is safe to assume they might have more Inheritors they have been keeping hidden all these years. Accounting for what Gods they fall under and the Familiar Arts they have access to, I have already accounted for. It would be possible to adjust the plans I've made on the fly should additional Inheritors present themselves," Victoria informed, eliciting an impressed look from Guinevere.

"Most impressive, Victoria. But moving on to the two most glaring threats, we've yet to establish a plan to face Dante," the court mage reminded.

"He's a fearsome adversary," Astrid recalled. "In last year's festival, it was tournament-oriented. I saw him fight before, such devastating strength I can't ever hope to match."

"I am of much the same mind," Lucinda agreed. "And he's never even had the need to make use of his own Arcane Ascendance. I don't know who's more monstrous between him and Selwyn."

"I've only heard tales of his feats, but being able to combat and kill a Divine Beast speaks volumes of his pure strength," Fiona stated. "With an opponent like him, we'll be hard-pressed."

"Indeed, the only one who would be a match...." Victoria stated, trailing off as varying gazes were drawn to Mikoto, who stood idly with folded arms.

He took note of the stares and shrugged. "Hmm, after I deal with Selwyn, I guess I can take a gander at fighting. But before I fight either of them, I want at least two Inheritors."

"You wish to face them first?" Adrian questioned, speaking up for the first time.

"That would not be wise," King Thordan cut in. "Facing an opponent such as Selwyn Von Auerswald would require you to be in your top shape. Combatting Inheritors first and then Selwyn followed by Dante is simply not possible. You should forget that and only focus on Selwyn and Dante."

Mikoto merely shook his head. "You seem to misunderstand; I was not asking for permission. I was telling you what I was going to do."

"What?" King Thordan's eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, and a heavy frown made its way to his lips. There was an almost audible drop in temperature within the throne room. "Boy, I will not tolerate such levels of disrespect within my own throne room," he stated with a pointed glare.

"I'm sure Mikoto meant no disrespect, father," Astrid came to his defense quickly with a nervous glance.

Fiona hit his side with an elbow. "Come now, Mikoto, apologize."

"Why so sensitive, geez," Mikoto shook his head, almost to show off his disappointment. "See, it's within my best interest to fight those Inheritors. After that, I'll kill that filthy animal Selwyn and see how I'll do against Dante. I'm gonna do what I want; I mean, I am the anchor of this festival after all." He jabbed a prideful thumb at himself. "The festival is as good as won with me."

"I already-" King Thordan spoke up once more, only to stop as Guinevere leaned down and whispered something into his ear. His expression grew sour before he heaved a silent sigh as the court mage spoke up.

"Very well then, Mikoto. There will be no further objections; do as you want for the victory of Galadriel," Guinevere stated almost uncaringly. "If you're confident in your strength, then far be it for us to stop you."

"Well, I'm not fighting for Galadriel, but I'll get you your victory anyhow," Mikoto replied disinterestedly, eliciting an almost angered expression from the king.

"I see, well, you shan't hear me complaining," Guinevere shrugged with a small smirk. "I suppose we have addressed all that was necessary for the time being. Princess Astrid, Fiona, and Adrian, if you could stay behind, those not named are dismissed." She got her confirmation as barring the aforementioned few gave a swift bow to the king before turning on their heel. Mikoto, meanwhile, gestured to Guinevere; the woman quirked up a brow as she spoke, "Need something, boy."

"Just curious about something, do you know a woman named Lyra?" He asked, almost receiving an immediate reaction from the court mage whose eyes slightly widened. "Back when I was in Verdantis, she was curious about how you were doing."

Guinevere briefly pursed her lips before a small smile graced her features. "Yes, we were acquaintances some time ago. But that time has long since passed, I'm afraid."

"I see, well, that was all," Mikoto prepared to leave but was stopped when Guinevere raised her hand to halt him.

"Hm, mayhap we should include you as well," she murmured, glancing at the king. "You're no doubt curious to the extent of Mikoto's abilities, no?" Thordan merely grunted in confirmation as Mikoto tilted his head in confusion.

"Include me in what?"

"A bit of hunting."