It had been only a day since the finals of the Grand Tourney ended, yet there was no jubilating. There was no laughter in the streets of Asher City. There was no singing and dancing, and there certainly wasn't any celebratory feast. Every time the Grand Tourney ended, the hosts, Asher City, would entertain the citizens of the city and the Champions in what was called the Celebratory Feast. It was referred to as a feast, but it was really more like a festival. For it was filled with several different programmes and activities. The overabundance of food during this period was just a plus. However, the usual Celebratory Feast held for the Champions that normally run for a whole week had been cancelled. And no one was surprised. No one was in the mood to celebrate after how the Grand Tourney ended.
Because of the manner in which the events of that day had ended, the new Champions weren't presented to the people, though everyone knew who the new Champions were. It was an undisputed fact that the Orange Team were the new Champions after Sword King White Mask had wiped the floor with Black Saga, the strongest member of the Black Team without so much as a scratch. But the competition didn't get the fitting end it deserved, for Black Saga did something so despicable that the people of Asher City didn't even want to remember it.
The man who was a legend of their city, a veteran of war, and a hero of the people, had attacked Sword King White Mask after their fight had ended! Sword King White Mask had approached the stretcher that was carrying Black Saga out of the stadium out of his concern for the man's health. Yet Black Saga had attacked Sword King White Mask without any intention of accepting his loss. Even more despicable was that he struck Sword King White Mask through his own teammate, Black Axe! Black Axe was still in critical condition, and his life hung in the balance. Black Saga's actions had destroyed the image he had strenuously built in the eyes of the Asher City citizens. His legend was no more, and his image was nothing but a stain on the records of this great city. To the citizens of Asher City he deserved nothing short of an exile, for his existence reminded them of the events they hoped to forget.
The streets were empty, and very few people chose to use the roads now. Many were still cooped up inside their homes, disturbed by the treacherous scenes of that day. As the guards patrolled the streets, not a single person was in sight.
"To think the actions of one man have reduced our lively city into a near dead one." Two guards were patrolling a street. Both were completely covered – from head to toe –in thick shiny armor. Their helmets only revealed their eyes, and both were of a similar build. Strapped to their waists were their swords which were sheathed in plain leather scabbards. As they walked, they sighed piteously as the state of their city.
"I don't know what he was thinking when he did that." One of the guards shook his head and said. His helmet rattled like an old tin can because of his head movements as he walked down the street with his colleague.
"I am sure he was blinded by rage. I heard that his anger was legendary, and that he always had anger issues. But I didn't think that he would stoop so low." The other guard sighed once again. He felt like he had grown a few years older in just a day from witnessing the depression that plagued this great city.
"I don't know how he is still alive." The first guard stated. That's right. Black Saga was still alive. Steel Fist had moved in to kill the man, but she had been stopped at the last minute by a man well known to the guards but unknown to the people.
Ivor!
Ivor had prevented the death of Black Saga. However none of them thought that it was for Black Saga's sake that he was spared. And that was because of Ivor's expression when he arrived. The man wasn't smiling like he usually was. He had a deep frown on his face with his face twisted in fury. He stopped Steel Fist's movements with nothing but a wave of his hand, freezing the Eagle in her place. Then he approached the fallen figure of Sword King White Mask and apologized for failing him.
"Sword King White Mask must be an unordinary figure," the first guard said, and the other nodded his helmet clad head. Both were quite fortunate to witness Ivor's interaction with the fallen warrior, and could see the pain in the man's eyes. Added to the apology Ivor had given with a fully submissive countenance, they could tell that Sword King White Mask wasn't an ordinary person. Both of them felt that Black Saga was only spared so that he could account for his sins when Sword King White Mask awakened. For the masked man who had made his name known after just one battle was not dead. The dagger had missed his heart, and although he was still unconscious, he wasn't in any real danger.
"His sister wasn't ordinary either," the 2nd guard added. Both of them thought back to the beautiful woman who had shed tears at the sight of the unconscious Sword King White Mask. Their eyes were dazed for a few seconds as they recalled the pitiful ethereal figure who had almost unleashed her fury on the healers and Maggie the Lion.
"If it wasn't for Black Mask she would have gone on a rampage," the 1st guard shivered when he recalled the powerful aura that kept him in place on that fateful day. He was nothing but an Animal Thrasher. There was no way he could resist the power that flooded the field that day.
"That Black Mask," the 2nd guard narrowed his visible eyes into slits and said.
"He was the most dangerous of them all," the 1st guard finished the statement. Both of them remembered that the beautiful woman was knocked unconscious by Black Mask, and that Maggie the Lion had her aura of power forcefully dispelled after Black Mask said a simple word! Besides, when he handed Sword King White Mask's sister over, that powerful aura that filled the field was far more intense than any other they had ever witnessed. It was the power of a wild beast; untamed and unrestrained. The fury contained within that aura shook the bodies of all who were in the stadium that day to their very core. When they recalled how thunder bellowed and lightning danced in the sky from the aura of that one man they were once again stricken with fear. Luckily for them, something else seemed to draw Black Mask away from the stadium, and the man disappeared. No one was able to trace his movements, and no one knew where he went or where he was right now.
"I wonder where he is, or what he is doing," the 1st guard stated.
"Not me. I wouldn't want to be in the sight of such a demon." The 2nd guard shivered and said. Both men slowly completed their rounds, and moved to the next street.
The man they spoke of was currently cooped up in a basement, sorting out his thoughts.
"Do you think that she's telling the truth?" Hildegarde was back to her favorite position – Mane's shoulder. Her brows were furrowed in thought as she sorted out the information that she had been fed; information that she was struggling to accept.
"Why wouldn't she be telling the truth?" Mane was without his now iconic black mask; his handsome features no longer hidden. Yet in a basement like this without any life other than his and Hildegarde's, it was almost as if he was still hiding his features.
"She was under the effect of Words of Power. With her strength only at the peak of the Profound Realm, she wouldn't be able to resist my commands." Mane added, before sitting into a cross-legged position on the ground.
"Then from her words, there are three major races: The Ancients, the Elementals, and the Barbarians. The twins are royal siblings of the Elemental Race, whereas Dan is the Prince of the Ancients. Humans came after, but they were too weak to pay attention to. Everything changed with the appearance of the Black Dragon of the East. This is all a lot of information to take in." Hildegarde rubbed her lovely temples and sighed.
"It is. But it is the truth." Mane nodded his head and said. They had learned a lot from the Barbarian woman with the code name Number 3. They learnt about the true history of the Black Dragon, The Citadel's real purpose, the legends of the Ancients and Ivor's true identity.
"You are the first fairy to know all this," Mane added, and a small smile found its way onto Hildegarde's face.
"All thanks to you," Hildegarde acknowledged. She began to wonder how the Testeds that passed this stage had passed without knowing all this.
"Now I know who I have to lend my strength to," Mane narrowed his eyes and said. Hildegarde nodded and asked, "The Citadel?" That seemed like the best choice since they were human, and Mane was a human godling.
"No," Mane surprised Hildegarde by shaking his head and rejecting her suggestion.
"The Ancients?" Hildegarde tried again. Dan was the person who had taken Mane in when he arrived in this world and had trained him for a while. Mane loved the man, so maybe he wanted to lend the Prince of Ancients his strength.
"No," but once again, Mane shook his head in disagreement.
"The Elementals?" Hildegarde presented the last choice before the Supreme, but with a bit more confidence than the first two. That was mainly because it was the last of the three races Mane was acquainted to left. The Barbarians had tried to kill his friend so there was no way Mane would side with them. Plus since the twins were Elementals it made sense for Mane to take their side. She was a little surprised that Mane had picked them though, since his relationship with Ivor was still shaky. But relationships that hadn't reached a life or death stage were still mendable.
"Not them either," however, Mane once again left her stupefied with his decision.
"Then who?" Hildegarde asked.
"The twins are Elementals, which means that Elder Fan is in no way ordinary, and he has been lying about not knowing anything about Edict. In fact, I suspect that he was the one who placed a seal on the twins' star maps. And that would mean his understanding of Edict eclipses that of Dan's by a huge margin." Mane started.
"Why would he do that to his own grandchildren?" Hildegarde was stunned. It was safe to say that she didn't see that one coming.
"I don't know. He must have his reasons. But since the twins are royalty, that would mean that he is also royalty. And the minds of people in power are difficult to decipher." Mane himself was clueless about this. How was he supposed to know what that elder was thinking?
"Dan is an Ancient, and probably the most important person in my life right now."
"Sure he is," Hildegarde smirked with a knowing smile on her face. Although she didn't say anything, Mane knew what she meant. The naughty fairy was teasing him again. As for the person on the other end of the teasing scale, it was none other than the Princess of the Elemental Race – Lily.
"Ehem," Mane cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment and continued. "But I know nothing about his people and from Number 3's words, they are the most scheming of the bunch. Although her view would be skewed since the Barbarians aren't on good terms with the Ancients and she was a Barbarian herself, all I have to work with currently are her words."
"The Barbarians aren't even an option since I already have a blood feud with them. The Citadel is new to me, and I have no close ties to them. As for me being a Human Godling, that matters little. I have killed as many humans as I have beasts. In fact that tally would have increased if not for you." Mane's expressionless face as he spoke about killing chilled Hildegarde's heart. How could a boy who was only 11 be this callous concerning taking the lives of others. However she quickly resolved herself that she would try her best to make Mane more human.
Mane didn't know about Hildegarde's internal dilemma and proceeded with his thoughts on the issue at hand. "I cannot antagonize either the twins or Dan since by picking a side that's exactly what I would be doing."
"So what would you do?" Hildegarde asked.
"I don't know yet. I would still need some time to consider everything." Mane confessed.
"That seems to be the best option right now," Hildegarde agreed.
"First we need to dispose off her body," Mane stated, and turned to face the corpse a few meters away from him. The skin of the deceased figure was shrunken and looked like the skin of an extremely aged person. The entire body was a pale yellow color, and the opened mouth and terror in its eyes before death showed that this person didn't die a pleasant death. It would have been difficult to place this corpse, but the wide open eyes of the corpse revealed its identity. For the eyes of the deceased were blood red, meaning she was a Barbarian. This corpse belonged to the Barbarian called Number 3.
Mane flicked his finger at the body, and a small flame flew from his fingertip and consumed the corpse.