Chapter 44: Elemental Talent

The words made the whole town silent, and only the water in the bamboo pump made noises. No one dared to move or speak. Their eyes widened out of disbelief, as they didn't know how to deal with the situation.

I also gulped as I heard the words that she spitted. If they will perform an evaluation in the whole town of Zentra, then they will find me for sure. There's nothing in here to hide, and there's no other door to escape.

Cainne started pulling me away from the door, keeping the knights from finding out where I am. Then, he started looking in every direction, searching for a way in order for us to escape. But to no avail.

"I decline."

I heard the elder said from the outside, in which I couldn't help but widen my eyes. I went back to the door to fill out my curiosity. My friend kept whispering my name, demanding attention, but I didn't bother and just opened the door at a slow pace.

"I'm sorry but I may have to ask you to leave." The elder said with his eyebrows met at the end, exchanging glares with the female redhead.

The others just stood in their position, watching the argument between two leaders. If they interrupt, they might get a very bad day. Even I don't want to mix up with that, but their conversation heated because of my involvement.

"This is under the permission of King Gandior Dersian!" Regina yelled with her deep scary voice, now with her green eyes glowing like emeralds because of her anger. It looks like her patience runs out.

"He is not our king!" A slap of reality made it to the knight as the old man spitted those words with the same glaring eyes. This made the others gasped, even the knights. "And this is not his town!"

What he said was true, indeed. The Deravon Kingdom might be the top human kingdom among all, but that doesn't mean they earned every piece of land that they can find. And besides, there's a true king of all kings, in which every race bowed to.

"You, humans, were getting too cocky about what you can obtain." He added. The redhead couldn't help but to flinched with her eyes as she hit by those words. She too, couldn't deny the truth. "But remember, outside your borders, you have no power."

"I don't want to see your faces again!" He yelled as he started walking away, showing his back to them. They didn't have a choice but to not move at their position after they received the insult he gave. "Leave this place, or else, I'll report this to the King!"

I didn't expect for the elder to be this so aggressive to them. He's like a crab that will pinch anyone that would hurt or touch him. And the 'King' he mentioned must be the king of all kings, the king of the Lamician Kingdom. It was really true that they really respect him.

The Deravon army didn't have any choice but to leave the town for now with their horses and vehicles. After seeing them disappearing from my range of sight, I sighed in relief and dropped on the floor of the house. Cainne also did the same as he kneeled down.

We finally moved out from hiding and almost everyone looked at us at the same time, like we had done something inappropriate.

I expected a different group from theirs since I still remember the face of the familiar man that lead the army. If other groups came here, then where did the previous one go?

That thought faded away once I took a glance at the elder, started to leave, and go back to the evacuation area as nothing happened earlier. Before he can leave further, I approached at a fast pace. He noticed me from behind but he didn't even bother to turn his head.

"T-Thank you–"

"Dalary's awake."

Before I could even finish my sentence, he immediately interrupted me with a new one. But I already forgot about what I said as soon as I heard those words, especially her name. My eyes widened and I couldn't help but to felt the joy that I haven't experienced for a while.

We went to the evacuation area and there she is, sitting on the bed with her lower body covered with a thick blanket. Some parts of her body were covered by bandages although it wasn't that serious.

I rushed towards her and gave her a big hug, as tears started to form from my eyes. I didn't have any idea what happened to her other than she used too much of her energy, so I didn't know if she will be okay or not.

After a short time of chitchatting, the elder finally discussed regarding what really happened to Dalary while she was having a battle with the Cerberus along with the tendrin warriors.

I didn't see what happened since I was too focused on our opponent, which is Kairos. If I went there at the right time, then she wouldn't have to go through the unconscious state.

We all started to listen eagerly. I'd never read anything about other races' abilities since the books were always limited, so this is my chance to learn more.

"Talking to spirits, especially higher ones, is a no joke." The leader said, still wearing the frowning expression in his face. "But shockingly, you, just a young tendrin, can do that, despite no years of training and experience over the elemental spirits."

Everything became quiet as he spitted those words. No one would ever believe that Dalary could be able to such a thing with no determination and practice.

As far as I could understand, in order to have a successful talk to the spirits, one must have the training to gain connections like meditation and even physical training. But knowing my friend, she didn't go through those things.

"You mean, I'm a…" Dalary said but she herself couldn't be able to finish her sentence, as she couldn't accept the fact that she still had the ability to do that despite lack of experience. That means she might be one of those talented tendrins that had been traveling around the world.

"It could be possible." The elder confirmed it, in which she lowered her head, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

"In order for a tendrin to be considered talented was if they talked to a universal spirit, which is hella hard." He added. "Another if someone can talk to an elemental spirit in such a young age."

"N-No way that's real!" She raised her voice. Then, she was about to stand from sitting down but the blanket was on her way. She had been trying to avoid power for years. "I already stopped training since I was eight!"

"A talented tendrin doesn't require to train." He answered her complaints, giving her a glare because of her disrespectful voice. She felt guilty and averted her eyes. "Once they set a bond with the spirits, they would be good to go."

"Bond?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Nature spirits are lonely ones. They wanted someone to fulfill their satisfaction, and in exchange was the ability to talk to them. Life spirits don't need that much since they can always get that by themselves. But the higher ones are demanding it." He added, crossing his arms. "You might have done something before that could trigger it."

That means that Dalary had been growing and deepening the bond between the nature spirits and herself without her knowing about it. I didn't know about her life before we met, so this is a new discovery for me about her.

"Something…?" She muttered, resting her chin on her fingers. Then, after a long time of thinking, she found a conclusion, but her face told me that she wasn't happy about it. "You mean… ughhh…"

"What is it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her as I was curious about what she was thinking. I've known that face and every day, I could be able to see it. It was the same as the time when I first mentioned Zentra.

"I-It's nothing!" She tried to defend, her cheeks started to get red. I narrowed my eyes into slits as I leaned closer to her. She was forced to lean backward.

"Looks something to me," I said. And I was even pushier this time. This new information had set me loose and I had the urge to want to know everything.

"There was nothing, okay?! Now, let's move on!" She yelled at me, now crossing her arms and pouting her lips. Her brows furrowed, the same as the old man that was sitting beside her.

Come to think of it, the elder is really different from the others, like Dalary, as well as her sister. They had personalities that weren't fitting to their role as the creature of hope and joy.

"She had been staying in a nearby waterfall by the East since she was a kid."

Pholly's blank voice made me go back to reality, as she finally spilled the beans that my friend had been trying to hide earlier. Dalary's face had now become redder than before, showing that she was busted. She turned her head and glared at her.

"Pholly, you…" She murmured like that of a cursed chant, but the former didn't care and just ignored her completely. It seemed like the feud was still going between them

But if that really is the reason behind Dalary's unexplained gain of the ability to talk to the elemental spirits, then that would mean that she could only talk to the water spirits.

I don't know if I'll be happy that we had a huge advantage on our side or not since she clearly didn't want any of it.