"Also, Elizabeth, Benedict… I heard about the Lannisail explosion. Are the two of you alright? What about your families? What happened?" Shirley asked.
"As you can tell, we're fine. I can't say anything about Benedict, but the Royal Family suffered no major casualties. It was mainly the area around the Lannisail Household and the cities that took the most damage. However, everything has already been dealt with," Elizabeth replied.
Benedict nodded. "I haven't been to the capital since then, so I don't know the status of my… family," he hesitated to say the word. If he was expelled from the Hawken Household, then was it really his 'family' anymore? He had no idea and the mere thought made him melancholic.
"About that, I heard that you left your family. Did you run away from home?"
"I wish I did."
"Ah… I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" Shirley faintly recalled how tense things were between Benedict and his father. She could tell he did not want to talk, so she politely dropped the topic.
"So, why did the Lannisail explosion happen? I heard it was so powerful that it could be seen from several provinces away and the shockwave could be felt throughout the capital?" Freon chimed in. "That sounds crazy. It must be a rumor, right?"
"I guess I haven't explained anything," Elizabeth realized. "I was in the Lannisail Household when the explosion happened. Because of Lord Wenmord… he should be the one who caused the explosion in the first place when he tried to… kill me."
Once she said it aloud, her face turned weird as she noticed a glaring problem. Originally, she believed that Rena was responsible for protecting her. And because Rena could protect her against the Lannisail explosion, which was estimated to be Grand Rank 3 equivalent, then they must be the same or greater! The problem was that they later claimed their powers were heavily limited and the extent of their capabilities was now governed by Elizabeth's Core. That could be best seen during the meeting with Queen Bethnal, in which Rena sealed the room to prevent any eavesdropping. The perception-blocking barrier was ultimately shattered through a combined attack from the three strongest knights. While Elizabeth did view the three strongest knights as strong, there was a qualitative difference between that and the Lannisail explosion! If that were true though, then how did she survive? Who saved her?
Beginning a telepathic connection, Elizabeth asked, (Rena… You weren't the one that saved me from Lord Wenmord, were you?)
The spirit was slow to reply, (No, that was not me. I treated your worst injuries and stabilized your condition in time for others to help you, but that was all I did.)
(Then how did I live through Lord Wenmord's attack? It's not like he intentionally decided to spare me, right?)
(That's correct.)
(You… didn't answer my question.)
In response, the spirit grew quiet before ultimately saying, (The one who saved you… was your mother.)
"What?" Elizabeth blurted aloud, confusing her friends.
"What's the problem, Elizabeth?" Shirley asked in concern. Although the telepathic connection was intangible, such that her friends heard nothing from it, it was still done in real-time. Therefore, Elizabeth zoned out in the middle of their conversation. It was weird to say the least!
"Sorry, my bad. Give me a second," the girl blushed.
Continuing, she asked, (You said that my mother saved me? How? Is she here in Algard?) There was a growing sense of expectation in her voice. She was compelled to find and meet her mother, Sonae Nor, at any cost. That was the duty of a daughter!
(I don't know,) the spirit said plainly.
(How could you not?) she grew irritated. (You're that powerful and…)
This time, Rena remained silent, prompting Elizabeth to grow infuriated. She was this close to learning more about her mother, possibly even meeting her, yet she was stopped at the final step. If she could, she would try beating the answers out of Rena. Sadly, that was impossible.
"Elizabeth, are you okay?" Shirley asked again. "Do we need to call someone?"
"No… It's fine."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm okay."
"Then… back to what we were talking about before, you said you were in the Lannisail Household? How did you survive?" Freon pointed out the problem. "In the first place, why were you there?"
"I guess I have to explain everything from the beginning," Elizabeth said before beginning a long story, spanning from the Grand Nobility's party to their first clash with the Second Hand, her capture in Castle Reinhard, then her interrogation by Lord Wenmord which concluded with the Lannisail explosion. It took an hour for her to describe all the events in detail, but her friends listened attentively. However, their faces alternated between worry, shock, confusion, and fear. At the end, there was a long pause before anyone spoke up.
"So, the Second Hand really did kidnap you from Castle Reinhard," Benedict's face twisted. Back then, he had a feeling and acted on it, trying to convince the soldiers to investigate. Ultimately though, that failed with his father's arrival, so he was forced to take matters into his own hands. That was why he decided to infiltrate the Lannisail Household directly and the rest was history.
Elizabeth nodded. "I don't know how they managed to do it, but they seemed illusionary? They were like a ghost, impossible to notice. That was how they were able to bypass so many layers of security to kidnap me."
"The only thing I can think is Arcania… but I've never heard of any magic that potent, enough to fool Royal Guards," Freon refuted.
"Ten Dawn Iris said the same thing that she had never seen or heard of any magic that could do the same thing, but I'm certain that there was magic involved."
"Besides, are the Whispering Shadow that capable in Arcania? When I fought against them, they didn't seem to be Arcanists. I find it hard to believe that there is someone that incredible in their ranks."
"You fought against them too?" Elizabeth was stunned.
"It's a long story…" Freon smiled. "Shirley helped too."
"I had no idea."
"Back to the point, in your story, you were saying that Lord Wenmord was responsible for this?"
"I've met Lord Wenmord Lannisail before and he didn't seem like the type of person to dabble in shady business like the Whispering Shadow," Benedict said. "People called him one of the brightest minds of his generation, standing right beside the Master of Progress."
The Master of Progress was a position on the Royal Assembly tasked with advancing the technology of the Alzar Kingdom. The current Master of Progress, Lord Oliver Terrigo, was widely regarded as a once-in-a-century genius, who singlehandedly helped advance the kingdom by fifty years. To stand alongside the likes of Lord Oliver, it cannot be undermentioned how intelligent or wise Lord Wenmord was!
"Just because he was intelligent doesn't mean he was virtuous," Freon pointed out. "You don't know what a person is truly thinking, doubly-so if they're smarter than you. He was probably masquerading for years without anyone being the wiser."
"I suppose…"
"So, this Lord Wenmord was the Second Shadow, one of the leaders of the Whispering Shadow?" Shirley said. "What happened to him? Has he been imprisoned?"
"Nobody knows where he went," Elizabeth said bitterly. "His search warrant remains active, but there hasn't been any trace of him. Even when the Lannisail Household was facing execution, he did not show up."
"What a disgusting person," Shirley spat. She hated slimy two-faced people the most.
"To cause something equivalent to the Lannisail explosion, he must have been a Blue Depth Core Arcanist?" Freon reasoned aloud. Although he had not seen it for himself, but the heavenly phenomenon in Firecast, which was caused by his uncle, had the power to affect the entire capital. Only a Blue Depth Core Arcanist was strong enough to influence cities!
"You know about the Blue Depth Core Level?" Elizabeth was surprised. Benedict's master, Sword King Sin Quelldown, was an exception. As far as she knew, not many people knew about Instinct Realm, Blue Depth, or Rank 3!
"I guess I don't need to hide the truth from you… but my uncle is Protector Avin Arcellius." Upon noticing Elizabeth and Benedict's surprise, he emphasized, "Yes, from that Arcellius Family. Furthermore, he is a genuine Blue Depth Core Arcanist, perhaps the only one in the world."
"What?" Benedict was dumbfounded.
"You're from that legendary Arcellius Family?" Elizabeth repeated. "Am I hearing that correctly?"
"That's correct."
"I can't believe it… First was Benedict's master being the Sword King, and now you're related to the Arcellius Family too? What are the odds of that?"
This time, Freon was the one speechless. "The Sword King? You mean… that Sword King Sin Quelldown? Benedict… you're his student now? What…"
"Who's that?" Shirley wondered, requiring Elizabeth's help to get her caught up. After all, it was not that weird to be unaware of the Sword King's existence. "What? He's someone that powerful? The realm beyond Perception Realm, Instinct Realm?" she shouted.
"Instinct Realm and Blue Depth Core…" Freon shook his head wryly. What was the world coming to when these super powerful individuals were emerging one after another? What was happening?
"Sword King Sin and Protector Avin… I believe that Lord Wenmord is a Rank 3 King like them," Elizabeth theorized. "If not, then Lord Wenmord might potentially even be a Rank 4 Emperor!"
"Rank?" her friends simultaneously asked. This was the first time they heard such a unique term.
"Ah…" she realized. Since humanity did not use the concept of Ranks, Rena was forced to teach her about it. She was likely to be the only human to know about Ranks! Afterwards, she took her time to explain every single Rank in detail from Rank 1, Rank 2 Lord, Rank 3 King, Rank 4 Emperor, and finally Rank 5 God!
"Emperor?"
"God?"
"Rank 5?"
Everyone was understandably very confused. The sudden revelation of a sky much higher than before was bound to shatter their worldly views. Just think about it. Although they were exposed to the world of Rank 3 Kings, they were still fledging Rank 1s. Who were Rank 1s? They were ordinary people, living mundane lives, with ordinary abilities. Benedict was a soldier, Shirley was a blacksmith, and Freon was a student. The three of them were like everyone else, living out their lives as regular people! Sword King Sin and Protector Avin were already unbelievably strong but who were the so-called Rank 4 Emperors or Rank 5 Gods? They were titled Emperors and Gods because they could lift mountains, split oceans, scatter the skies, erase civilizations, and create worlds! Those impossible feats that only fairy tales mentioned were possible! It was nonsense! Absolutely insane!