30th of Maious, 1503
Current time: 11:49:22
"..."
Kyros and Elin sat in the king's office in silence. One was staring down at his desk, while the other was just blankly staring at a random spot.
The mages hired by the Church of Inferno had escaped, including the few bishops and their leader, the archbishop. However, none of the elves were hurt except for the royal mages who had used up all of their magic to create the shield which inevitably broke. Nevertheless, they will recover in a few days.
"Who knew he was hiding such power…"
Elin mumbled under her breath, but her words were caught by Kyros' sharp ears.
"The shield didn't block the lightning. It just… ate it. It completely devoured the lightning instead of blocking it. I have never heard of such magic… No. It's not even magic."
As he finished speaking, the princess slowly nodded her head, agreeing to what her brother was saying.
"Do you think he is dangerous?"
She asked.
"Do you think he lied about not remembering who he was and how he got here?"
Kyros replied with a question back instead. After a few seconds of thinking, the commander shook her head.
"No, I don't believe he was lying. Someone so strong would have a hard time faking being weak. He didn't even know how to climb down a rope and was too scared to jump off of Aurora's back. A soldier who has reached such mastery would not be so inexperienced and afraid. So… I am completely sure that he wasn't lying."
Elin replied honestly to her brother's question. Kyros carefully considered his sister's words before nodding, showing that he agrees.
"I believe so too. However, we should still question him. We need to find out what that shield was and how he was able to do this with his memories lost… Maybe that power is the reason why he lost his memory."
Kyros spoke as he grabbed a few documents and began to read through them. A deep sigh escaped past his lips. It would be a lie to say that the king of Aekodora was not affected by this incident. Feelings of helplessness and regret were overwhelming him.
'If only I had worked harder, I would've noticed the attack of the Church of Storms before it happened… If only I had spent more time training, I know I would've been able to handle that lightning spell.
'I was careless…
'I need to get stronger.'
The king gripped his pen as he stared down at the document before his eyes. Elin noticed it and smiled slightly.
"Don't get any useless thoughts. We– No. He stopped the attack and the citizens survived. That's the most important thing. And you are a great king. I know you'd sacrifice yourself any second just for the safety of our kingdom… Like I would."
The princess comforted her brother.
"Well, it would be better if this king wouldn't abandon his paperwork as often though."
She giggled and Kyros couldn't help but smile, feeling his mood lifting up slightly. He slowly nodded and thought for a second before adding.
"The story of the human hero who saved the elves will soon spread. And those powers of his… Neoma's name will be known to every elf and little by little other species and kingdoms will hear of it. He must get stronger to protect himself."
...
8th of Junious, 1503
Current time: 08:11:01
Neoma slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. He saw the familiar golden chandelier.
"Hmm… For how long was I asleep?"
He mumbled under his breath, not expecting to receive an answer from anyone. However, the blue screen appeared right before his eyes.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
Today is the 8th of Junious, 1503
Current time: 08:12:17
You had passed out and been unconscious for 8 days just short of 4 hours!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
Neoma gently rubbed his eyes as he read the text and slowly sat up. He could still feel his entire body aching. He frowned as he tried to recall what had happened nearly 8 days ago.
'Ah, right… The Church of Inferno's attack.'
A small sigh escaped past his lips as he remembered the enormous lightning spell which broke the golden shield created by the royal mages and then got absorbed by his anti-magic.
"Did I lose consciousness because of how much anti-magic I used?"
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
You are just partially correct!
Alvis made your body generate more anti-magic than it ever had before!
Your anti-magic also absorbed an enormous amount of lightning magic, which turned out to be too much for you to handle!
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
"... Great."
Neoma replied as yet another sigh escaped past his lips. Just as he was about to get out of bed, he heard someone knocking on his door before seeing Bian walking inside.
"It is great to see you are awake, sir. I shall inform His Majesty and Her Highness. Please patiently wait in your bed. You have been heavily injured."
And before Neoma could stop the elven servant, he saw Bian disappear right back into the hallway.
However, the youth didn't have to wait long before Elin came to visit him with Bian following behind her. The princess smiled as she sat on Neoma's bed, looking down at him.
"I'm happy to see you're finally awake. It has been 8 days since you passed out…"
She paused before continuing.
"... And thank you. For protecting the elves despite most of them showing disdain towards humans. I apologise for my brother, but he wasn't able to come right now. He said he will thank you personally later… You truly are very kind."
She bowed her head down towards Neoma.
The youth's eyes widened as he saw that and began to panic.
"W-Wait! There's no need to thank me and bow to me. I just… I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to see anyone being hurt or killed. That thought was so strong and then that scary power suddenly flowed out from my hands…"
Neoma looked down at his hands, slowly turning them around and glancing at his ordinary and empty palms. Elin observed the human as she slowly nodded.
"So you have no idea what it was?"
She asked to make sure and Neoma moved his head up and down slowly in response to her words.
"Yes…"
Of course he was lying. He knew what that power was and what had happened, what he had done. However, he continued to pretend to be that innocent human who lost his memories due to unknown reasons.
Neoma's eyes widened as he looked back up at Elin. He seemed to have remembered something.
"Did you capture those people from the Church of Inferno?"
The princess frowned from confusion.
"Church of Inferno? Why do you think they were people from the Church of Inferno? They were clearly people who know wind, water, and lightning magic which correlates to the Church of Storms."
'Uh oh… Did they not figure it out yet? Ahhh! I'm so dumb! I can't let them get suspicious of me…'
Neoma smiled slightly after hearing Elin's words.
"Well… When they first attacked, I also assumed that it was the Church of Storms. The clouds, the lightning, the thunder… That does point to the Church of Storms. But why would they attack the kingdom of Aekodora? Why would they attempt to wage war against all elves?"
The youth continued to speak.
"Then I remembered that the king Kyros is a blessed of the God of Fire… And from what I can remember, elves don't worship any gods and dislike the fire element. So… This must infuriate the priests… No. People up higher in the ranks in the Church of Inferno.
"And also… Why would they deliberately reveal their identity? Why can't they frame their rival, the natural enemy of the God of Fire? So they hired mages who can control the wind, water, and lightning to make it seem like the Church of Storms is the one actually attacking the capital of Aekodora.
"Of course… That is just my personal opinion. I don't think I was ever that smart to begin with."
Neoma smiled slightly after finishing his explanation.
The princess, Elin, seemed to be deep in thought as she considered what the human had just said with great importance.
"Wait… Did you remember a few things recently? I don't recall ever telling you about the Church of Inferno or the Church of Storms."
She asked curiously and Neoma just slowly shook his head in response to her question.
"No, I did not regain my memory. It is more like… I have some general knowledge of Airi. I know the main churches, gods, and so on. However, I can't even remember whether I worshipped any of those gods."
Neoma explained as he leaned back against the pillows while Elin slowly stood up, a small sigh escaping past her lips as she was digesting the information she had recently received.
"Okay. I will inform Kyros of your thought process. You should rest a bit longer."
She gave him a gentle smile before quickly leaving the guest bedroom.