Dozens of millennia have passed since the first creations of Abelia walked into the surface of the lands. When Amon was guarding the world against the Abyssal Eons that lurked in the night sky, Anan arrived and invited Amon to admire the contrivances of mortals. Anan reasoned that the Abyssal Eons were afraid of Amon's presence. They will avoid crossing paths with the mighty god.
Initially, Amon declined his offer, but Anan, the playful god, was persistent and enthusiastic. It made Amon curious. As they prepare to depart, they disguise themselves as mortals. They want to avoid disrupting the businesses of lesser beings. Amon is disguised as an adult man, and Anan is disguised as his daughter.
The young lady pulled her father's hands and greeted the merchants, already acquainted with her. She showed her father the bidding governance, captivating structures, delicious meals, distinct customs, and the exercise of alchemy, a practice of creation rivaling the manas of the Void. Intrigued by the behavior of the creatures, Amon decided to wander occasionally.
Until he saw the unsightly corners of the world...
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Dea, the land of the merchants, neutral land ruled by Charles and defended by Atalantas and Tervanas, two of the most powerful countries in the land of Arnon. As they arrive, Benedict seems to be well-respected by the locals of Dea.
"Lena, Salvino, stay at my place for the time being. I'll make sure your store opens tomorrow." ~Benedict
"Thank you." ~Lena
Lena hands over a bag of fortune. But Benedict refuses.
"Oh, no need. I owe you my life." ~Benedict
"Hope we're not being a nuisance." ~Lena
Benedict chuckles.
"Are you kidding? It's a small favor for saving my life. And no need to worry. It wouldn't cost me any fortune. Lea! Accompany them to my place and treat them as my honored guests. They will be staying there for a while." ~Benedict
"As you wish, sir." ~Lea
Benedict passes a scroll to Lea.
"Show this to Ruth. I'll be doing some work here. I'll be back before it gets dark." ~Benedict
Upon arriving at Benedict's place. They noticed that it was a mansion with a well-maintained garden. Many butlers and maids do their work around the building. Ruth, Benedict's wife, is in the drawing room and already busy with her visitors.
"Charles is so busy nowadays." ~Cassandra
"Can't blame him. Magnus declared war on Aria." ~Maria
"But he shouldn't ignore his wife." ~Cassandra
"If this escalates, it'll affect this country's business." ~Maria
"Really?" ~Ruth
"Tervanas supplies Magnus's alchemy and weapons while Atalantas support Aria. Whatever country Dea supports, it's a loss. This is why Atalantas and Dea are doing everything possible to stop it from escalating." ~Maria
"Why did Magnus attack Aria anyway?" ~Cassandra
"Benedict told me that the king there is greedy." ~Ruth
"Perhaps Aria's sudden rise in alchemy caught his attention." ~Maria
"Sorry to interrupt, madam. We have guests." ~Lea
"I wasn't expecting any visitors." ~Ruth
"They are sir Benedict's guests, madam. He said they will be staying here for a while." ~Lea
"For a while?" ~Ruth
"He told me to show this to you." ~Lea
Lea hands Ruth the scroll. Ruth immediately read the scroll and was shocked at what was written. She excused herself from her friends. And with caution, she approached the guests.
"Welcome! I'll accompany you to your rooms." ~Ruth
"Thank you for your hospitality." ~Lena
"No need to thank me, you can stay as long as you wish." ~Ruth
As they entered the room, it was luxurious. This made Salvino curious about how rich Benedict was. There are a lot of accessories, decorations, and devices with the same seal as his former mother's jewelry. It was the seal of Tervanas.
While the two were exploring the room, the family's guard approached Ruth.
"What was written there, madam?" ~Henry
"Same as when you first arrived. Ugh! Your boss keeps attracting your kind." ~Ruth
"Oh?" ~Henry chuckles
"I guess my lord Amon favors the man. He is the god of protection." ~Henry
"This won't make it easier for us. Especially those brats from Atalantas." ~Ruth
"I've been serving sir Benedict for decades. Let's trust his judgment." ~Henry
"To make matters worse, they will start a store near the city gate. What was Benedict thinking? Did he forget that those brats enter and exit the capital like it's theirs?" ~Ruth
"We already have a fair amount of Edos working near the city gate." ~Henry
"In case you're forgetting, we handle those Edos. If only they weren't good for business, we would've kicked them out." ~Ruth
"Yet they are." ~Henry chuckles
"Surprisingly. Also, Benedict told me not to inform them about this." ~Ruth
"Why?" ~Henry
"I don't know. Ask that weirdo yourself." ~Ruth
[Perhaps they were desperately trying to hide their identity in front of Benedict. Nothing gets past that merchant.] ~In Henry's mind. Henry himself got tested by Benedict. He knows that even a slight hint of reaction is enough for Benedict to come up with a conclusion.
After a while, Henry decided to approach Salvino. Curious about how he got there.
"Hello, what's your name?" ~Henry
"Salvino. And yours?" ~Salvino
"Henry, I'm the family guard." ~Henry
"Good afternoon, Mr. Henry." ~Salvino
"So, how did you meet sir Benedict?" ~Henry
"I was hunting boars and saw a huge four-legged wyvern attacking their group." ~Salvino
"four-legged wyvern? That's a dragon." ~Henry
"A dragon?" ~Salvino
"Yes, huge lizards with high concentrations of mana. There are two kinds of dragons, Abelian and Edolian." ~Henry
They talked for a while...
Meanwhile, at Atalantas. Luther, the leader of the hunters of Atalantas, sat with the "blades" of the council. They were having a conference about the situation at Magnus.
"Where is the blade of Ice, Adira?" ~Alaya, the blade of lava. The older sister of Adira.
"She's still in her room. She screams and yells whenever she sees us." ~Grand, the blade of the skies.
"She's gone insane." ~Melgrin, the blade of summons.
"Don't you dare speak of my sister like that!" ~Alaya
"Enough! I'll check on her today. Let's proceed with the conference." ~Luther
They talked about Magnus and whether they should intervene in the invasion and have the corrupt king judged. But if they attack Magnus, Tervanas will surely take its side. This is what Atalantas is avoiding. They want to keep on good terms with Tervanas because of how advanced Tervanas' alchemy is.
"Abduct the king." ~Gloom, the blade of shadows.
"Are you even listening?" ~Abbey, the blade of illusions.
"It's not like Tervanas will win against us anyway." ~Gloom
"Don't underestimate Alchemy. It's the only thing we have against Divine magic." ~Allec, the blade of vigor.
"Then how about sabotaging Magnus." ~Gloom
"We're not playing games!" ~Abbey
"I'm listening." ~Luther
"But sir..." ~Abbey
"Let's send a blade to infiltrate Magnus's weaponry. Roger, the blade of many faces, should be perfect for this role." ~Gloom
Roger silently sits without a reaction.
"And?" ~Luther
"We'll drain the mana infused on the weaponry. Alchemy mana takes days to replace. We can also gather information about our stolen experiments." ~Gloom
"Prisoners." ~Allec
"Prisoners! My bad! Hahaha." ~Gloom
"Any objections?" ~Luther
"None." ~The rest of the blades.
After the conference, Luther approached Alaya.
"How's Adira?" ~Luther
"I don't know. It's been three months." ~Alaya
"Mind if you accompany me to her room?" ~Luther
"Okay." ~Alaya
As Luther opens the door, Adira throws ice shards at him, but it disappears before it hits him.
"Get away from me!" ~Adira
"What happened to you?" ~Alaya
"Stay away!" ~Adira
"I'm your sister!" ~Alaya
Adira throws a huge ice thorn, but Luther blocks it, and it disappears. Alaya starts to worry about her sister. Her sister may have been beyond saving. But luckily for her, Luther knows how to deal with this.
"Sir, please..." ~Alaya
"I will. Leave us and lock the door." ~Luther
"Why?" ~Alaya
"This technique is forbidden." ~Luther
So Alaya left the room.
As Luther approached Adira, she kept throwing Ice shards, and they kept mysteriously disappearing.
"No! Go away!" ~Adira
Luther then touches her head. And peeking into her mind, he saw what Adira experienced. He then changed Adira's fear into hatred toward that young boy she encountered. She regained her sanity after experiencing Luther's magic.
"How are you?" ~Luther
"Better." ~Adira
"Good. Do you want to defeat that Enigmatic magic?" ~Luther
"How?" ~Adira
"We created a core powered by Alchemy. It will replace your heart artificially to get stronger." ~Luther
"I'll do it, anything to avenge my friends." ~Adira
"Good, meet me in my room this evening." ~Luther
As Adira went out of her room. Alaya, who was waiting for her, hugged her tightly, but Alaya felt that Adira was no longer the same.
"Sorry. I made you worry." ~Adira
"What happened at Aria?" ~Alaya
Adira went silent.
"Sorry." ~Alaya
"No, I'm fine. Let's talk another time." ~Adira
"Okay." ~Alaya
After a while, Adira enters Luther's room.
"I'm here, sir." ~Adira
"Welcome, lie there." ~Luther
"So, how do we start?" ~Adira
Luther then touched her head, and she immediately went to sleep. He then started the operation to replace her heart. After this, he healed her using healing magic. But decided not to wake her yet, because the core might damage her body due to the amount of manas accumulated inside.
"Lord Amon, you acted too soon..." ~Luther
The core was not complete. But as Luther anticipated, Adira needs rest while the artificial core stabilizes itself on its new body. Only time will tell if the traitorous Luther and his experiment succeed against his old god.