"Who are you?" the blonde-haired boy asked with a frown. He peered at Elton with his green eyes, trying to gauge Elton's power level, but to no avail.
"Who I am is of no concern to you. I'm more surprised at how you just ignored the poor maid who was desperately telling you not to enter and forced yourself into the room of a sick individual as if you own this place," Elton narrowed his eyes and maintained his indifferent expression.
"No one can stop me from seeing Savana, no one has the right to," the boy responded in defence.
"Hmmm? Whom might you be?" Elton questioned with a curious look.
"Hmph! My identity is none of your concern, one should name themselves before asking the same of others," the boy replied harshly to Elton.
"If that's how it works then you should have given your name before you asked mine, and you should have also refrained from making a ruckus right before a sick individual," Elton criticised the boy.
The boy gave up, unable to procure a response to defend himself, he clicked his tongue in frustration, "Tch!"
"Fine, whatever, let bygones be bygones. My name is Elton, now tell me who you are."
"Insolence," a girl around the same age as the boy interfered with their conversation, her voice rippled through the air and carried a commanding effect. "My lord, you have no need to pay attention to this man, nor do you have a need to give your name to him," the girl glared at Elton with her violet eyes. She was dressed in an elegant black dress and had long black hair. Her dress outlined the curves of her bountiful bosom and further enhanced their appeal, though her elegant appearance was ruined by the hateful expression she showed toward Elton.
The other girls did not explicitly voice their opinion but were in agreement with the girl. They all nodded their heads and whispered amongst each other. A noticeable few refrained from allowing their thoughts to be perceived and kept silent themselves as they watched how things progressed.
"It's okay, Lisa," the boy reassured the enraged girl.
"But my lord--" Lisa attempted to protest but was ignored.
"My name is Leonardo Windston, the last-born son of Duke Windston," the boy briefly introduced himself.
"Duke Windston, huh?" Elton mused to himself.
"What? Are you feeling remorse, now that you know of Lord Leonardo's family?" Lisa asked Elton, amused by the idea of Elton getting on his hands and knees to beg for Leonardo's forgiveness.
"Not at all. On the contrary, things have become much more clear," Elton answered, seemingly having come to an understanding.
"What do you mean?" Leonardo asked Elton.
"If you are related to Duke Windston, then your personality makes sense. That old fart was never the patient type," Elton answered with a small smirk.
The ladies behind Leonardo gasped simultaneously. They no longer remained quiet and the room was soon filled with their voices.
"Did he just criticize Duke Windston?"
"Isn't that tantamount to treason?"
"Doesn't this mean he is technically a criminal now?"
Leonardo's shoulders trembled as he clutched his hands tightened into a fist in rage.
"How dare you criticize my father?!" Leonardo exclaimed in anger. "I will not allow disrespect to my father to go unpunished! Lisa!" He called upon the girl with long black hair.
"Yes, Lord Leonardo. Bow and seek forgiveness, you mongrel! Not that you will ever be forgiven for your sins!" Lisa shouted, her voice carrying a peculiar force with it, bringing everyone present to their knees, with only a few exceptions. A girl with short green hair and another with blonde hair tied in twin tails that were held by a red ribbon on both sides of her head, as well as Leonardo himself remained unaffected by Lisa's power. Elton, too, not an exception to this, was bought down to his knees.
"Hmph! Someone of your meagre powers dares to belittle Lord Windston, it seems you have a death wish," Lisa scoffed down at Elton with a disgusted face.
"Let the other girls leave," Leonardo told Lisa as he looked at all the women that were on the ground.
"As you wish. You all, wait downstairs," Lisa commanded, and the power affecting the girls was released and they rose to their feet.
"Wait downstairs until I have finished," Leonardo relayed to the girls.
"Y-yes," a girl answered in a stutter before making her exit, the others following her out. Only Elton, Lisa, Leonardo, Savana, and the two others girls that were unaffected by Lisa's power remained in the room.
"I will deal with you later," Leonardo turned his attention back to Elton for a short while before shifting his focus onto Savana. Leonardo approached her once more, but his extended hand was blocked by a transparent wall of yellow light just like last time. "What is this?"
"Lord Leonardo, I believe that it is a barrier of some sort," Lisa informed Leonardo of her hypothesis.
"Barrier? How do we get dispel it?"
"The easiest way would be to have the caster cancel it themselves."
"I guess you are the one who cast this barrier around Savana," Leonardo surmised, his eyes coldly peering down at Elton. "Lisa, tell him to get rid of it."
Abiding by her Lord's orders, Lisa commands Elton to release the barrier preventing Leonardo to touch Savana, "Get rid of it, you mongrel!"
"Mongrel?" Elton murmured under his breath.
"What are you whispering about?" Lisa inquired. "Don't keep Lord Leonardo waiting and hurry it up!"
"You nobles never change," Elton provided Lisa with a clear response.
"What?" Leonardo questioned the meaning of Elton's words.
"It looks like you have yet to learn your lesson. Fine, I was asking nicely until now, but enough of that," Lisa announced. "Release the barrier," Lisa commanded, her mysterious power exuding with her voice.
"I let my guard down for a moment." Lisa stared at Elton in utter shock as her powers no longer affected Elton, and he easily rose to his feet. "Impressive power, I suppose?" Elton commented vaguely. "A B-rank at best. But, you seem to possess the power to command others with your voice. Though you have much left to learn really. [Divine Technique: Dictator] is originally supposed to be a much more terrifying technique. Your understanding of it leaves much to be desired."
"What?" Lisa exclaimed in bewilderment. "What do you--?"
"Allow me to demonstrate... the proper way to use the technique, though mine is still far from the best, it's still undoubtedly better than what you are capable of," Elton said, as he peered into Lisa's eyes.
Elton's image was reflected in Lisa's retina as she lost control of her body. 'I-i can't move?' Lisa realized. A strange power, similar to in nature of Lisa's, rippled from Elton's body across the room. Unable to resist a force stronger than hers, Lisa was bought to her hands and knees. 'I-impossible. He did not even say anything. Are you telling me he just dominated me by his will alone? What the hell is this monster?' Lisa asked herself in disbelief.
"That's all for your free lesson," Elton said as he approached the helpless Lisa.
"Uriel, Lieu, stop him!" Leonardo yelled at the two girls.
The girl with the green hair, Uriel, nodded in response as she lunged forward, her fists were set ablaze and she swung them at Elton. Elton stepped back and Uriel's body flew past him, crashing against the barrier around Savana's bed as the flames were extinguished from her fists and her unconscious body fell to the floor, not making the slightest movement.
"W-what just--?" Leonardo was too astonished to fully form his sentence as he stared down at Uriel's unconscious body, flabbergasted by the situation. 'What the hell did he just do?' he tried his best to make sense of the situation but failed.
"Is she the last one?" Elton asked as he looked at the blonde girl with twin tails.
"Lieu, what are you waiting for? Attack him," Leonardo barked at the remaining girl, but she hesitated, not taking any action until Leonardo ordered her once more, his tone much stronger than the last time. "What are you waiting for?! I said to attack him!"
A sharp pain shot up through Lieu's body and she glared at Leonardo. Forced to obey his will, Lieu readied herself for a confrontation with Elton in frustration. Lieu closed the distance between herself and Elton in a flash. Drawing the sword attached to her waist from its scabbard, she swiftly swung it at Elton, her body maintaining the correct posture as she swung the light blade. Though it was a light swing with not much effort, Lieu's body posture and the technique used to swing the sword made the attack fatal for any ordinary person to accept head-on.
Elton leaned back, narrowly dodging Lieu's sword with minimal movement. Surprised that she missed, Lieu shifted her posture and brought the sword back up in an upward diagonal slash. The sharp edge of her blade came to a halt as Elton grabbed it with two fingers of his right hand.
"W-what?" Lieu uttered in disbelief at how easily her attack was stopped. Her first swing was casual and contained no effort nor any motivation, while it was a little surprising that Elton was so easily able to dodge it, it was by no means impossible. The second swing, however, was different from the first. She swung it with enough force that should have been enough to incapacitate Elton, but he so easily stopped it, as if it was no big deal. Lieu could still use stronger attacks against him, but that was not the issue.
"What are you doing?! Stop messing around and hurry up!" Leonardo shouted, growing ever more impatient.
Lieu snapped back from her trance and tried to pull the sword from Elton's grip, but his hold on the sword was stronger than she expected and she was not able to retract her blade. Releasing her hold on the blade, Lieu jumped back, increasing the distance between them. As she landed, she drew a second blade from the other side of her waist and readied herself once more.
'I misjudged his strength?' Lieu's eyes trembled as she tried to measure Elton's strength. Lieu was a veteran warrior, having fought against many criminal gods, she too, like Elton, was a divine hunter. She was a solid B-rank and had fought countless battles against strong foes. As a result, her experience had gained her the ability to judge a person's strength with a look. Following this instinct Lieu picked all her opponents and never engaged in a fight that she would lose, thus having survived up until now as a veteran divine hunter.
Lieu's instinct was not perfect, of course, and there was a chance that her measurement of someone's prowess may be a little off the mark. There was a single time when Lieu's ability to see her opponent's level failed completely. The criminal god was AA in rank and had abilities far beyond Lieu's comprehension. In front of an enemy that outclassed her by so much, her instinct had not been able to correctly gauge her enemy's level. This mistake had almost cost her her entire existence. Even recalling that mistake made Lieu shudder from fear, it was one terrifying enemy, and the fact that she had once more misjudged her opponent's ability could only mean...
Lieu laid her sword in front of her. She bent down on her knees and prostrated herself before Elton, her body trembling from fear.
"Hmmm?" Elton looked down at the girl with a blank expression.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and get rid of him!" Leonardo's voice boomed at Lieu, unable to comprehend her line of thought.
Lieu raised her head to look at Leonardo, tears were gathered in the corner of her eyes and she softly shook her head in silence. Perhaps it was because she had gained an understanding that her enemy outclassed her, she was now clearly able to see the power of the monster in front of her.
'This guy is on the same level as that criminal god. No, this one is even stronger. I can't do anything against a monster like him,' her eyes shook as she placed her head against the floor.
"What are you on about?! You have no choice in this! Hurry up and do what I have ordered you to!" Leonardo refused to accept Lieu's defeat and ordered her to continue the fight against her will, but Lieu did not respond to his calls. "Damn you! A slave that does not listen to their master is not needed!" He proclaimed in anger as his green eyes glowed a bright red. As if as an effect, Lieu's eyes also turned red and she squirmed on the ground gasping for air.
'I see. A [Divine Enslavement].' Elton thought inwardly. [Divine Enslavement] was a forbidden technique that allowed a divine being to bind another divine being's name to themselves to gain control over them. This technique was declared to be forbidden and all use of it was restricted. The punishment for using this technique was the sealing of the criminal's divine aura, leaving only enough for their body to function and remain existing.
Tears rolled down the end of Lieu's eyes and down her cheeks as she continued to gasp for air, her hands grasped her throat in pain. Elton inched closer to Lieu, he bent down and placed his hand on her forehead. Lieu's pain eased and her movements lessened until she lost consciousness completely, lying still on the floor.
"To think the son of Duke Windston was using a forbidden technique. How interesting," Elton said as he rose to his feet, turning his body to face Leonardo.
"What do you mean?" Leonardo fiened ignorance.
"Well, I have broken the spell, so it should be fine now."
"W-what? How did you...?"
"Are you not curious?" Elton posed a question.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Leonardo asked in response.
"Why was she so scared of me? Why did she not fight and give up after the first exchange?" The surrounding around both of them began to distort and bend inwardly toward Elton.
"T-this..." Leonardo stuttered. "J-just w-what--?"
A violent yellow aura burst forth from Elton's body, taking the form of a terrifying light that smiled creepily at Leonardo.
"Y-you--" Leonardo fell to the floor, his body not responding to his will.
"Let me teach you... the fear she felt..."
"N-no, stay back," Leonardo protested, though his voice lacked the appropriate strength, thus only coming off as a whimper from a beast near its death. "Stay back you damn monster!!!"
Lin, who had been informed of the situation with Leonardo was rushing through the hallway to Savana's room. As the open door to Savana's room fell into her sight, a large scream emanated from the room. "Stay back you damn monster!!!" Leonardo screamed in terror.
"What is happening here?" Lin asked as she stepped into Savana's room, glancing around to understand the current situation. "It's you...." Lin said, seeing Elton standing near Savana's bed. "T-that's?" Lin stammered as she saw someone by Elton's feet. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized the identity of the unconscious body, "Lord Leonardo?!"
"Good timing," Elton noticed Lin, "I just finished erasing their memories. You can deal with them yourself."
"Huh? J-just what happened here?" Lin's mouth hung open as she voiced her confusion, still unable to grasp the situation.
"I'll explain, but first you should arrange something for these guys," with a gesture of Elton's hand, the unconscious body of the four people Elton had just defeated hovered in the air, softly landing in front of Lin's
feet.
"O-okay," Lin agreed in apparent confusion as she called some maids over, "Maids! Come here!" Heeding her calls, countless maids arrived by the door to Savana's room ten or so seconds later.
"W-what happened here?"
"Isn't that Lord Leonardo?!"
"J-just what...?"
The maids gasped at the sight of countless people lying by Lin's feet, mistaking them to be dead bodies. "They are still alive, go and prepare a room for them. Get the head maid to call for a doctor as soon as possible," Lin quickly issued instructions to the maids who were still taken aback by the scene they were witnessing.
"Y-yes, ma'am," one responded, snapping the other maids back to the present.
"I'll g-go inform the head maid," one particular maid scurried away from the direction all the maids had arrived in.
"I'll quickly prepare some empty room for them," another announced as she, too, disappeared from sight.
"I'll help, as well," a maid accompanied her, following the previous maid as she excused herself from the scene.
The remaining maids rushed to the unconscious bodies, "Carefully carry them." They mindfully lifted the four and carried them out of Savana's room.
As the voices of the distant maids faded and silence returned, Lin continued with her queries, "So, can you explain what happened now?"
"Fine," Elton said as he recalled the series of events that led to the present. Lin listened with care, and at the end of the explanation, she pressed her hand against her forehead to suppress a light migraine.
"I already had so much work after the recent kidnapping case of Lady Savana, and now this," she sighed from exhaustion. "He might have been worried, but to think he would start a fight in Lady Savana's room. Wait, what about Lady Savana?" Now that she regained her bearings, she was reminded of the origin of this entire discord and in worry looked to Elton.
"She's fine," Elton reassured.
Lin heaved a sigh of relief as she caught a glimpse of Savana peacefully laying on her bed. "I still have a few more questions for you," Lin continued to interrogate Elton.
"Sure, I did say that I would explain my end of things. Plus, I have some things that concern you and the city lord," Elton said.
"Things that concern the City Lord?" Lin tilted her head to the side.
Elton nodded, "But first we have to make sure no one's ears can reach us since the content of the topic is sensitive and concerns the well-being of The Empire."
"The well-being of The Empire?" Lin's head remained tilted to the right as only more questions formed in her head.
"Code 'Broken Arrow' is currently in effect," Elton informed Lin.
"W-who are you?" Lin's eyes widened in surprise, "No, that doesn't matter right now, did you just say Code 'Broken Arrow?'" Lin's eyes shook as she intently stared at Elton for a response.
Code 'Broken Arrow' is a secret code used within The Empire, used to alert concerned personnel who are aware of its meaning of a threat dangerous enough to affect the existence of The Empire.
"Unfortunately, yes. Information should have been controlled so it has not been released to the public, but two cities have perished," a strong gust of wind blew in through the balcony.
"T-two cities?" Lin stuttered in disbelief.
"Under the current circumstances, I will reveal my identity to Lin Chen, whom I believe to be a personnel required to overcome the current threat," Elton announced as their surrounding changed. The space inside Savana's room began to bend and distort as it was replaced by an empty dark space. "T-this is..." Lin stuttered.
"It's a space I created. It's a little bland, let me fix that," Elton snapped his fingers and the darkness faded, revealing a reddish evening sky and a never-ending golden grass plain as far as the eyes could perceive. A soft breeze blew across the plain, and the grass trembled from the caress of the wind, much like waves in the ocean. Far out into the horizon, the sun prepared to set as half of it had already disappeared, and the soft wind spread the fragrance of dried grass all around the space.
Lin stared in awe at the strikingly peaceful scene that surrounded her, her mind having been cleaned clear of the previous statements of danger made by Elton.
"Well, then. Shall we continue?" Elton continued, bringing Lin back to the harsh reality as their discussion began in earnest.