Author's Note: This is the first chapter for today. We haven't seen Luscia in a long time so, let's see what is going on with her. The next chapter will go back to Alex and will be coming out later. Enjoy!
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There have been massive panic attacks happening in the city.
Though I say massive, they are actually only referring to their levels of anxiety, not the population of people who are experiencing them. I think that it is a bit natural that there are people experiencing it as the attack on the Proving has happened only 1 day ago.
There are many people who are obviously worried for the people in Quaran as they have just been attacked, but most of them have already gotten over it. Of course, if there are people who have already accepted it and moved on, there will always be people who haven't and are still hung up on it.
These people are running around the city and yelling that the attack on the Proving was the worst tragedy in human history since The Great Races War more than 1000 years ago. Personally, I don't really see it as one of the worst as, according to my history subject tutor, there were other wars that happened in those 1000 years.
These wars were minor and were speculated to have happened due to tensions not lowering and leading the leaders of other nations to fight each other. However, if I look at the attack from the perspective of regular people and analyze it a bit further, I think I understand why they call it the worst.
There were obviously lots of mass pillaging on various villages in the past but, they were only done by the soldiers because they required to. These pillages would let them have more resources and territory and may affect the outcome of the war. However, the attack on the Proving is much more serious as it was entirely orchestrated by only one group.
This one group attacked and killed multiple people for reasons that have yet to be fully explained. They attacked Quaran, one of the most valuable cities to the Kingdom of Anastelo, and attacked during the Proving, which is the period where the most people will be living there due to the significance of the event.
Another great factor was that everyone was able to somewhat see and hear everything that was happening, which caught them off-guard. And, it wasn't just the Kingdom of Anastelo that witnessed the horrors which unfolded before them right in front of their eyes either.
Many nations which had close diplomatic relations with Anastelo were also able to see everything that happened, which would lead further unrest to the populace in those respective countries. Lastly, there was another factor which led to many people panicking a lot.
The youngest descendant of the 1st Hero, Alex, was present at the Proving and, as of now, his status is still unknown. He was showing great strength and willpower when he fought earlier but was then whisked away by a Dragon, with some monster experts saying that it must have been an Inferno Dragon. Since he was taken out of sight, no one knows what happened to him.
The morale of many people have lowered when they saw how a descendant of the 1st Hero, someone of great power and is equally loved by many, to have (probably) died right in front of them. But, I'm not like the other people.
I still believe that Alex is still out there, alive. All possibilities suggest that he has already died but, as long as the number isn't zero, I still believe with all my heart that he is alive. I definitely know him the most out of anyone and, because of that, I think he is still out there, doing something to probably stop the people who attacked.
He might be a kind person with a gentle outside but, he can be very scary when he is angry. He is also the type to hold grudges so, I think he is trying to find a way to get revenge. Speaking of Alex, there will be an international meeting between every nation in the world soon.
It is not a surprise, given the magnitude of the situation. A mysterious group of people suddenly show up and kill many innocent people. They were able to fight an entire city by themselves and were able to mostly get away with it. Then, at the very end, only a handful were captured and they still won't talk.
Those are definitely grounds for a meeting between every nation. The meeting will be held in the largest and, probably, the most secure place in the entire world.
The Elysian Empire.
Their entire nation covers nearly 50% of the Jekiro Continent. They are also famous for pumping out many distinguished people in history. These people include the world's foremost healer and mentor of the Champion of Poison, Risto Lenz; the current headmaster of the best school in the world, Krista Grye; one of the most influential nobles in history, Asir Karlisle; and 3 of the 7 S-rank adventurers in the world.
These 3 are the Astral Archer, the Stone Spearman, and the Technique Repeater. They are also the only S-ranks that have their locations known as the other 4 aren't being tracked and the world couldn't bother with tracking such elusive individuals.
This meeting could be my chance to finally gain experience with this sort of thing. I mean, I will (might) inherit the position of noble when I grow up and, if I don't, I just marry into a noble family. Either way, I will come across things like that when I grow up so, I should join my father when he goes there with the King.
There is another reason though. I said that I definitely believe that Alex is alive, which I still do. I just want him to be proud of me once we finally meet again by making amazing accomplishments.
But, just like what the 1st Hero said, all great things start small. I will start by helping lots of people to build up my future reputation so that I will be known as the respectable noble who cares for her people.
With that mission in my mind, I asked permission from my father (snuck out) and made my way to the town. In some unbelievable twist of fate, I got lost and ended up in the slum area of the city. I guess even amazing places like this city have slums.
Everywhere I looked, I saw people who looked at me back with suspicion. I mean, it would be pretty weird to suddenly see a well-dressed little girl just walk along the roads of the slum. I continued walking, feeling more than a bit awkward, and tried looking for people I could help.
That was when I heard groaning from off the side of the road. When I looked there, I saw a small child with long, grey hair. What was weird was that their hair seemed to have many different colors in it so, maybe the grey is just all of the dirt on it.
They looked like a girl so, I call them that when I ask if they are alright. After that, they respond by saying that they are probably the same age as me and that they are a boy. Well... anyone can make mistakes. But, the surprises don't end there. I asked what their name was and this was his answer.
"Shu... Avalon..."
I was dumbstruck for a second. I thought that it was his last name and, when I asked about it, he just said that it was what 'the people' called him. I didn't understand what he meant and just brought him to an orphanage so that he can be taken care of.
When I left, I wondered about that boy. It felt like he was acting a bit strange around me but, it was probably because of the natural fear of strangers, especially in this kind of place. And so, I walked off away, not knowing that he would be someone I would reunite with in the future.