The town was left in ruins. The majority of the buildings, houses, stores and shops, and even the roads and paths, were utterly destroyed. The only single thing that had form and shape, in the entire town, was the large building with the belfry on top. The belfry stood in the centre of the town, and coincidentally, with the end of the battle, it rang. The bell echoed throughout the town and even the neighbouring districts heard the loud ringing of the bell.
The cost of the damage done to his town, which wasn't just the centre of the city, but also the centre of trade and commerce in Min-ji, was something Yeong-ji would rather not think about. It was painful enough seeing the damage, but calculating the costs? Yeong-ji shuddered.
However, that was for a later time. Currently, he was on his throne, with a change of clothes and a new crown upon his head, and all seven elders stood before him in a strange line, trembling with nervous fear.
Where had they gone wrong? Their plans had been meticulously crafted, powers had been administered to the young ones, and their victory had been inevitable. But what went wrong? Who exactly was responsible for this loss? There was only one name that rang in their minds.
'Aosaki Toshirou.'
"So, what are you going to do with them?"
As Yeong-ji sat on his throne, Dae stood by his left-hand side with her hand on her waist, and Sung-nim, with her hands clasped together on her lap, stood by his right.
Yeong-ji sighed and placed his elbow on the throne's armrest, with his hand on his chin.
He briefly remembered the events that took place after the battle at Jinhae.
The brown-haired girl, Hazel, had cried herself to sleep on top of the dead body of the poison boy, Junhyung.
Aosaki Toshirou had lifted her and carried her sleeping form in his hands. Wordlessly Yeong-ji nodded towards him, and Toshirou nodded back in a sign of appreciation.
He used telepathy to request the assistance of extra and capable guards who found the unconscious body of a man named Seungho in the woods and oversaw the clearing out of the town. They put up paper warnings around the entire village and immediately got to work, moving out debris and large chunks of rock.
Stretchers were brought by the medics who came along with the guards, and Toshirou placed the young girl in his arms in the stretchers. The burly man, Seungho, was placed on another stretcher, as he was confirmed to be alive. The body of Azahel, however, could not be found, as it was shattered into pieces. After much persuasion by the medical workers, Aosaki complied and laid down on a stretcher, after all, he was by far the most injured person on the battlefield.
Right now, at the present, Yeong-ji awaited Toshirou's arrival to the throne room. The winter blue-haired teen had assured him he would be on his feet soon, and Yeong-ji did not want to pass on judgement when his benefactor wasn't present. Looking back, he always wondered what would have happened if Aosaki Toshirou was not the one who taken up the quest. If the man called Enel had taken it up, just what kind of destruction would have befallen his city? From the bottom of his heart, he was grateful, grateful for everything that had happened so far, grateful for the one named Aosaki Toshirou who was sent to them.
'His Majesty is truly a gracious God.'
"Dae, could you give us some time alone? At least till Aosaki arrives. Raynell is upstairs, she's expecting you."
Dae looked at Yeong-ji, with eyes that asked if he was alright.
He simply nodded in response, affirming that he was indeed well.
"Go on. She's waiting for you."
She gave a small smile and descended the short steps. Passing the elders by, without as much as a single glance, she turned towards an open door and exited the throne room.
"Now then,"— Yeong-ji faced the elders with an empty gaze, whilst Sung-nim placed her palm on top his, "let's talk, shall we?"
...
Up away in a room on the second floor, there was someone who sat on the edge of one of the beds with expectant in her eyes. She heard footsteps, gradually walking closer and closer, till the footsteps stopped at the entrance of the room.
There was a small silence, till the handle of the door bent and was pushed open slightly.
With bated breaths, Raynell's hands, which were placed on her gown-covered laps, trembled with both anxiety and excitement.
The door opened wider, and a female figure, clad in beautiful armour, with long flowing oak-coloured hair and bright silver eyes that shoe like the moon, stepped into the room.
The woman closed the door behind her and both females stared at each other, different emotions coursing through their veins.
Slowly, steadily, Raynell lifted herself off the bed and took a step forward towards the woman before him.
She took another step, and another, and another. She stood before the woman, gazing up at her, and hugged her torso tightly.
Likewise, the woman placed her arms around the little girl, and both mother and daughter slid to the ground, sharing tears of happiness and joy.
"Shhhh... It's okay baby girl, mother's here, mother's here," Dae cooed, ironically shedding tears of her own as she hugged her one and only daughter.
"I'm sorry... I can't stop them... I'm just so happy," Raynell said through tears, smiling at the same time.
"Then it's alright, I'm here now. It must... It must have been scary. Let it all out."
They spent the next minutes crying together, talking together, laughing together, and smiling together.
It truly was a blessed day for the two feudal lords.
...
"I want to know why my elders. Why did you do this? Where had we gone wrong ruling this city together? You've served my father, my grandfather, and even my great-grandfather, so tell me why, why did you choose to commit this evil act?"
Gritting his teeth, one of the elders, Byung-hoon, lashed out at Yeong-ji.
"Don't speak to us so arrogantly, boy! The mere fact that we've guided your fathers, is enough reason for us to act upon our own judgement! How dare you question our motives when we have the power to uproot you from that seat you hold!!"
"Not only are you an old fool, but you're also a shameless one at that. I guess old wine isn't the best after all."
The heads of those in the throne room turned towards the voice of Toshirou, who walked in coolly, passing the elders, who sneered at him with contempt and stood by the left-hand side of Yeong-ji.
"Are your wounds all healed, Aosaki-kun?" Yeong-ji asked.
"Yeah. Well, it would be a lot faster if I just healed myself, but I can't. According to the nurses, I lost a large amount of energy in the previous fights. If I had gone any longer, I would have been completed drained of divine energy and would've died. It'll take a while to recover the divine energy I've lost, but rest assured, my recovery will be speedy." Toshirou replied.
"I'm glad you're alright, Aosaki-kun," Sung-nim said, speaking up for the first time.
"I could say the same to you, Lady Sung-nim." He replied.
"Please drop the formalities, we should have passed that stage a long time ago." She said with a smile.
Toshirou smiled back. "Indeed we have."
Bandages covered up his midsection, his chest was left bare, and he donned a black long-sleeved jacket which was draped over his shoulders as he wore the clothing article without putting his arms in the sleeves. He was also given a new pair of dark slim-fit trousers and a replica of his previous brown footwear. A bandage was also placed around his forehead, and his winter-blue hair fell over it. Another bandage was wrapped around his right shoulder, where he had been stabbed with a wooden piece by the late Junhyung.
"How dare you ignore us!?" Another elder, Byung-chul, shouted.
But the three persons on the higher platform paid no heed to the elder's outburst.
"You have yet to answer my question, my elders. Why did you choose to commit this evil act?"
A heavy pressure bore down on the occupants of the throne room. Oddly enough, the invisible pressure reigned down on the entire room, but no one other than the seven elders felt the full force of the aura that pushed them to their knees.
'Oh my, he's pretty angry.' Sung-nim thought, covering her face with the open sleeve of her dress.
'So he 'can' get furious, about damn time too.' Toshirou said to himself, mentally.
The attendants and guards present in the room became sweaty with nervousness, for this was the first time they had seen their feudal lord get upset with anger.
Sung-nim squeezed her husband's hand softly, and said to him, "My lord, please give them a chance to speak. They cannot utter any form of speech in their state."
Instantly the aura vanished, just as quickly as it had come.
"Sorry about that, Sung-nim."
"It's alright, my lord. You have every reason to be annoyed." She replied, soothing his anger.
"Will you now tell us why you went against the feudal lord or do I have to do the same thing he did?" Toshirou said, pointing his thumb at Yeong-ji.
The elders, gradually recovering from their momentary shock, looked up at the feudal lord, with something like fear inscribed within their eyes.
"We..." An elder, Byung-joon, who was quite fond of Yeong-ji as a child, spoke up for both himself and his contemporaries, "It was simply no more than our greed for power, our own selfish desire for control."
"What do you think you're saying, Byung-joon?!" One of the elders, Byung-woo, exclaimed at Byung-joon
The elderly Byung-joon ignored his associate's outburst and continued to speak.
"We hid under the pretence of acquiring the Thessalonica, even going as far as to use its powers to alter the history between the Min-ji and the Min-ae village, causing enmity and strife between them. I am terribly sorry, Yeong-ji. Even if my associates are not, I am, at the very least."
The remaining elders had looks of frustration and rage written on their faces against Byung-joon.
"Why you! Just what do you think you're doing, Byung-joon!?
"Exactly as we must. It is time to bear the consequences of our actions. We reap what we sow and we sow what we reap, but unfortunately, we sowed the seed of evil."
They became quiet, stilling themselves and for once, acting like the old men they were supposed to be.
"What do you mean by 'altered the history between the Min-ji and the Min-ae village'?" Yeong-ji asked the elderly men.
"Exactly as I implied, my lord. Using the Miracle of Illusions, which belonged to the girl we handpicked, called Hazel, we were able to create a false misunderstanding by manipulating the memories of both villages."
This piece of information surprised Yeong-ji, Sung-nim, and everyone else within the four walls of the throne room. All except Toshirou were deeply affected.