"I see. Thank you for your hard work. The both of you can leave now," Queen Bethnal ordered. The Hundred Lives Doctor and the White Healer bowed. When they finally left, the queen turned her gaze towards Elizabeth and said, "Could you tell us what you remember on that day?"
The girl explained seriously, "The leaders of the Second Hand kidnapped me from my room. I remember they were using some sort of strange spell that made them invisible. That was how they snuck through so many layers of security."
"Arcania?"
Everyone wore dark expressions. The discrimination against Arcania was hard to wash away, even with time. It was no longer as prominent as before, but everyone felt uncomfortable facing the unknown and unpredictable. This was especially true with more recent news from the Zino Kingdom…
"As I thought," Queen Bethnal said coldly.
"But does the Whispering Shadow or Lannisail Household have that many accomplishments in Arcania?" Prince Dannark wondered.
"The Lannisail Household patriarch had ties with the Master of Progress and the Royal Science Guild. The possibility should be non-zero," Lord Illion added. "However, this is first time I heard of a spell this potent. We would need to consult with the Zino Kingdom and see if we can trace its source."
"I… don't think this was related to the Lannisail Household," Elizabeth whispered uneasily.
"What do you mean?" the queen asked.
"After I was captured and met Lord Wenmord, I could feel… that he wasn't normal."
Thinking of Lord Wenmord's monstrous aura that felt as heavy as an ocean, she shivered. It broke free of the immaterial and became material! His aura could literally seal the air, freeze the world, and crush everything under his notice! She could do nothing in resistance. That was not something a human could achieve… Sir Winstin failed to come close, and he was heralded as the kingdom's strongest knight at the peak of Perception Realm! It simply did not make any sense how Lord Wenmord surpassed that level. Lord Wenmord felt like a true transcendental being, a monster!
After hearing her explanation, the mood grew heavier. Prince Dannark had a grim face and whispered to his mother, "Do you think this is related to the heavenly phenomenon reported by the Zino Kingdom?"
"You mean the Arcellius Family?" Queen Bethnal had an equally ugly expression.
The Zino Kingdom was subservient to the Alzar Kingdom and their intelligence networks were connected. Well, 'connected' as in the Alzar Kingdom had nearly unrestrained access to the Zino Kingdom's information, but the opposite did not hold true. Additionally, the Conquestian did not try to hide anything and reported everything honestly. Although nothing was confirmed about the origins of the heavenly phenomenon, the Conquestian theorized it was a Blue Depth Arcanist named Protector Avin Arcellius! Queen Bethnal and the rest of the top echelon were well-informed and knew everything about the Arcellius Family. Nothing warranted a concern on that front… The problem was the man himself. With the power to affect an entire city, the threat he posed was uncontrollable!
Just how is everything connected? the queen reflected. In both instances, the Whispering Shadow was involved. They nearly happened at the same time as well. Furthermore… She glanced at Elizabeth curiously. Furthermore, the central players were Elizabeth and her friends again.
Things never happened without due cause, especially twice. The first time when they were wrapped up in Elizabeth's affairs in the Xingyuu Empire, she could discount it as mere coincidence. The situation was dire, and they were deep in enemy territory. Benedict, Shirley, and Freon had to clutch onto any lifeboat to survive! By chance, Elizabeth was that lifeboat. Queen Bethnal kept a close eye on these three, but nothing noteworthy transpired after that. Therefore, they had been pushed to the back of her mind. However, with the recent events, she had to rethink everything. Her thoughts were interrupted when Elizabeth said something next.
"Lord Wenmord isn't from the Alzar Kingdom."
"I don't understand. Could you please explain?" Queen Bethnal asked.
"I can't say exactly how I know this… but I believe that Lord Wenmord is not from the human world," Elizabeth said uneasily, recalling her conversation with Rena.
"Human world?" Everyone doubted her words.
Currently, the age of exploration passed. No civilizations were interested, and without capital, no one formed expeditions anymore. They were more focused on fueling the kingdom wars than expanding into unknown territory. As such, most of the borders remained unchanged for the last five hundred years! The one change was the founding of the Zino Kingdom, approximately sixty years ago by Queen Bethnal's hand. But that did not mean no progress was made. Could the heart of adventure be suppressed that easily? There were many adventuring guilds or organizations in all three civilizations, focused on pioneering the wilderness! With the sweet promise of fortunes, waiting to be discovered, people set sailed to the world beyond!
Unfortunately, the world was cruel and unforgiving. The wilderness was truly inhospitable! It made the Mordrigan Peaks seem tame in comparison. There were all kinds of weird and terrifying beasts that did not exist in the human world! It was not strange to hear entire expedition parties being wiped out! Whether they were one person or a hundred, whether they were survival experts or Perception Realms, the result was the same. Flee or be annihilated! That was the message that survivors sent back. It was not a land for humans! So, everyone always believed this was the only place for them in the entire world. Hearing that there were outsiders, it was normal for everyone to feel skeptical.
"What evidence do you have, my dear?" Queen Bethnal asked calmly. "I knew Lord Wenmord's parents and watched him as he grew up. He is a true and genuine person born in the Lannisail Household. Although we may have overlooked his relations with the Whispering Shadow, his origins aren't something that could be misconstrued." She was earnestly trying to stop Elizabeth from making a fool out of herself. It sounded like childish delusions which had no place in their serious conversation.
Elizabeth's face grew red. How could she not understand her grandmother's subtle hint? But she was told Lord Wenmord was a special existence, an upper Rank 4 powerhouse, by Rena! Through their long time together, Elizabeth came to understand her teacher much better. The spirit might be enigmatic and unfathomable, but trustworthy. Of course, that did not mean Rena was correct or telling the truth. However, at the very least, there was a need for some concern about Lord Wenmord's presence in the human world. Her gut instinct was ringing alarm bells every time she thought about him. The danger he posed to not only her, but the rest of humanity, was too high! Elizabeth wondered if she should come clean and reveal Rena's existence.
"Let's put that aside for now," Prince Dannark said. "There are more pressing matters at hand. Earlier, Ten Dawn Iris said you achieved Peak Gaseous Fog Core Level, but you didn't have any prior achievements in Arcania. Although I felt skeptical on the report for the battle with the emperor, I had to believe the words of the new Master of Strategy, Lord Illion," he exchanged a short glance with the man. "You also survived a point-blank explosion that decimated the entire Lannisail Household and the surrounding villas… And just now, you said you blew up your own room. There's a limit to how much you can hide. You need to explain things clearly and thoroughly right now."
"Explosion?" Elizabeth was confused. She was unconscious at the time, so she had no idea.
The prince was speechless and gestured to the window. "Take a look for yourself."
She got up and glanced out. The room faced the Grand Nobility Households, occupying the vast majority of Algard, and since Castle Reinhard was one of the tallest structures around, she had a nearly unobstructed view. There she saw the full extent of the Lannisail explosion that rocked Algard and Corasen, sent the entire kingdom into a panic, and caused the downfall of both the Lannisail Household and the Whispering Shadow. Alongside the heavenly phenomenon in Firecast, the two events that shook the world! Hearing it and seeing it firsthand were entirely different experiences. Elizabeth could finally see how powerful the might of heaven and earth were!
There was an enormous crater covering the previous Lannisail estate. The pit was so wide and deep that it looked like a god reached down and scooped the earth up with their hands! To put it into perspective, Algard was divided into two main parts. The first was the city where all the important facilities were located, such as Castle Reinhard or the central military command. The Great Nobility would also reside here in the luxurious capital city where a single plot of land was worth gold! The second part was dedicated to the Grand Nobility Households. In fact, about ninety percent of the island was occupied by them! The twenty-five households covered sprawling areas and erected beautiful estates as a symbol of their dominant status. And one of those estates was just deleted from the face of the earth…
If that happened in Corasen, where millions lived, then that single explosion was potent enough to vaporize more than ten thousand people instantly… And that was a lower estimate as well! Ten thousand people. It was a difficult number of imagine. Thankfully, it happened in a relatively unpopulated area. Although the damage to the Grand Nobility Households was severe, it did not claim an egregious number of lives. Most of the Grand Nobility were also in Castle Reinhard at the time due to the emergency royal summons, so the core of power was preserved. Despite that, the residual shockwave tore through Algard and Corasen, arguably resulting in more damage than the actual explosion. The shockwave, earthquakes, and tsunamis had a combined death toll of over fifteen thousand so far…