For the last few days, all he could remember was waking up suffering from a great deal of pain, struggling for desperate bouts, and then being knocked out again. The flesh of his arms was cut in multiple places, and his legs were mutilated to prevent any chance of escape.
Constant throbbing disturbed his head, which had, more than once, received a heavy blow; his ears had long malfunctioned, and all he could hear was a loud buzzing.
Then, once he opened his eyes, he knew that he'd only see darkness. That is, unless he was given the leeway to recover.
But no, out of the five of them, it seemed those who wanted him only needed him to be barely breathing. Each chain on his limbs was an artifact that prevented him from attracting mana, thus preventing its circulation for self-healing.
Yet today, like the other times, he tried to wake up, even if to undergo the same routine.
However, it was different.
There was still pain, but it was slowly dissipating; he felt extremely light and refreshed. He seemed to have gone from days of comfortable, dreamless sleep.
Nonetheless, instead of relief, he grieved over the possibility of his own death.
'Father, Mother...'
Thoughts of the people dear to him crossed his mind one by one.
Despite being tortured repeatedly for the past few days, his hope remained. He thought that as long as he was alive, everything would have been fine, and his family would have done everything to find him.
In return, his role was to survive; he needed to.
There were also children who depended on him—children who also have people waiting for them.
But at the thought of his death, he despaired.
'Please bring me back.'
If it wouldn't be too much, he pleaded in his mind for whoever would hear to be given a chance back.
Desperate, he opened his eyes, preparing to beg for the impossible. He is willing to even give his life and his utmost loyalty to whoever grants his prayer, except for the devil.
What entered his sight were the faces of his peers. He was glad that they were alright.
'I'm not dead.'
He wanted to ensure that. He rolled his eyes behind the others and saw a person he didn't recognize.
A kid whose silky hair was of a color that was on the extreme light side; a small, delicate face that was almost the same shade as the hair.
Unknowingly, he spoke of the name that first came to mind.
"G-guardian Althaea?"
But contradicting his elegant appearance was the boy's rough mouth.
"The f*ck?"
He was completely awakened.
***
'This body's face is more attractive?'
Eli thought so, as he already saw Althaea's twin in person, but shut his mouth after a moment of showing his roughness. It was really nothing to fuss about. He faked a cough after seeing five pairs of eyes fixed on him, seemingly asking him to correct his words; he forgot the Lysargians are particularly religious people.
Was this an example of training a child in the way they should go? Renaris would end up spawning a couple more people the likes of Sir Lancelot.
"Ahem, ahem. I mean, the f*ck? You're well now?"
The golden boy said he was dying minutes ago. Thankfully, his revision was enough to get their attention back on the kid who had just awakened.
"Ah, young master!"
"Young master!"
"Urgh… what happened?"
The dark-haired kid raised his body with the help of the others while looking at each of his limbs. There were chain-like accessories on both his wrists and ankles, and when he saw these, he was in wonder. Similarly, the other children also looked at him; they were having the same thoughts.
Eli was the only one who felt out of place.
"Do these artifacts have limits?"
"I'm not sure about that, young master. Even us couldn't use our abilities a while ago."
"But it's alright now."
As a proof, one of the kids materializes a ball of light as tiny as his nail on the tip of his finger.
"Then, isn't this an opportunity? We should escape now that we still have mana with us."
"Yes, once the young master recovers, he'd be able to prevail over them ---"
'Urgh, kids.'
The young masters, whose eagerness seemed to have revived with their fellow, put their heads together to plan for an escape.
As Eli didn't want to take part in the useless efforts, he went to the corner and laid down on his back with his hands behind his head to mull over two questions that suddenly popped into his head.
In addition, perhaps since the time that passed was enough for proper rest, his mind has cleared up enough to finally decide his next steps and go over the information he has collected so far.
'Thinking about it, I wonder what Eli's ability is. Can I use it?'
Since he came to Renaris, bringing with him his ability, Argus assumed abilities might be embedded in a soul. If that is so, then is the original Eli dead? Another thing:
'Why is my ability not affected by the mana restriction?'
They are in an enclosed space that keeps off mana; it seems to be an effect that wouldn't vanish unless they got rid of all the walls.
'Is it an otherworlder buff?'
No, they had weapons developed in Lohiya, though very hard to come by, that functioned the same way. They were premium weapons effective against otherworlders.
While he was deep in thought, a shadow loomed over him—a kid with short, dark hair and intimidating, sharp eyes. It was only now that he could take a proper look, but the kid was really tall for his age and exudes an intimidating yet charismatic aura despite being young.
'It's similar to team leader.'
The team leader, bless his soul, was an affectionate and trustworthy man behind the menacing appearance and voice.
Since the young master reminded him of a good person, Eli decided to respond in a forbearing manner.
"Yes?"
"Hi."
"Mm? What's up?"
"I, I just want to say thank you. Is this your ability?"
"Pardon?"
'What's this guy talking about?'
Instead of responding, the kid seemed to have realized something, and his expression turned apologetic. The timid smile somehow, very slightly, reminds him of the gambler.
'Damn it. Everywhere I go, I see his face. Crazy.'
"I'm sorry for coming up rude; my father said it's bad to reveal abilities. Please forget I asked."
"…"
"Young master."
The other boys called out to them, and in that short span of time, two of the rest have already removed the door from its post and are quietly positioning it out of the way.
'Monsters.'
Eli almost underestimated these children.
"Let's go then."
"Mm?"
The dark-haired kid offered Eli his hand.
"I am not going."
Like earlier, five pairs of eyes were fixed on him after they heard something ridiculous come out of his mouth. Well, Eli can't blame them since the normal reaction would have been to grab every chance of escape.
"I'll stay here."
Eli still has information to dig up.
***
Wahhh -!
Colorful banners and streamers decorated the entrance to the village of Ordell, and at the mouth of it, almost all the villagers flock, throwing flowers and confetti of various hues and filling up the air with cheers.
It's a celebration that happens twice a year-cycle.
The entrance to Caleb's village strategically opens up to the Red Road; in a way, Ordell isn't considered a poor village as its accessibility makes trade possible. The Red Road is the only safest path connecting the central and southern territories across the Scarlet and Crimson Mountains, which allows the village to not have any problems with trading goods from two territories with merchants that they then trade to other villages.
The toll that is collected through the use of the Red Road composes most of the income of the Barony of Klein. Which is why the main occupation that could be found in the territory is that of a Hunter, because the primary task was to keep the road passable.
The Red Road, along with the other three, symbolizes the collaborative independence of the Central and the authority of the Imperial family as the head; one could only be admitted to Solklaire by passing through the roads. It was actually a useless rule; as a matter of fact, it was close to impossible to go to the center if not for the roads.
"Wahhh! They're here!"
Whoooooo ---
Tak, tak, tak...
"Bless you!"
"Thank you for protecting us!"
The crowd's shouting and applause became much louder with the clatter of hooves when the warriors they were waiting for finally arrived.
Since the advent of the Anmonatea, that is, the gate to the Otherworld, Renaris, particularly the Holy Empire, has been in constant war with the different races.
The Holy Empire, Lysargia, is located in the northeastern part of the continent and is bordered by four enemy nations: the demonic realm at the frontline of Lucille, the dwarven kingdoms at the west along the great mountain ranges of Cascur, and the elven domain at the south-west tip at the mouth of the Varen Woods.
Unfortunately, there is also the Principality of Neros, the children of Magoria, that frequently causes situations against Lysargia. They were humans and fellow Renarians who gave themselves up to taboo magic.
Four legions, headed by the ducal households, were in rotation to protect these hotspots; this was especially for the frontline of Lucille, which is the most active all year round.
During the Bastions that happen at Solnei, the Holy Empire sends the legions on the defensive against the demonic wave.
On the season of Solplen, the season of the full sun, the Holy Empire sends the legions on the offensive for the Crusades.
At the present, the village of Ordell celebrates the passing of the paladins and knights of the Silver Legion as the bastion has officially ended.
Whoooooo!
"Lichtstiele! Lichtstiele!"
Heading the procession of war horses and foot soldiers is the Duke of Illana, the patriarch of the house of Lichtstiele.
"Gasp!"
"Hup ---!"
"Don't look."
The overbearing man, riding tall and contrasting his black warhorse, is distinguished for his large build, silky silver hair, and gray eyes. As the Silver Legion, their uniform is black underneath silver steel armor that gleams white under the sun.
Today, the silver steel armors, evidently showing the toughness of the bastion, were marked and covered with dried blood.
Moreover, except for the higher ranks at the front, every one of them seemed to have run from the bastion without any rest. The faces of the military looked dark and exhausted.
"Did someone important die?"
"Come to think of it, their arrival is quite early."
"You think something has happened?"
Speculations spread among the crowd amidst the celebration.
Caleb was also with the villagers that came to the road to watch the parade; he was thinking. Although he knew future events, there were of course things that escaped his notice. That was why, at the times that he still couldn't afford to move, he looked at such events and linked them to people he knew were helpful for him to draw the bigger picture.
"Hey, look!"
"Wow, why are they here?"
Right on time, at the end of the field of silver, were dozens of gold, white, and blue. When people saw them, the cheering became louder. It was an unusual sight, especially for the White and Blue Legions to pass by the Red Road.
"So cool!"
"Thank you for protecting us!"
'So it has started this early.'
Not caring to hide his face, at the front of the wave of gold armor was a middle-aged man with sparkling gold hair and eyes, the Count of Nora.
Whaaaaaa ----
From behind this group were warriors in glaring white armor riding their similarly snow-white horses; they were like ghosts in the middle of the men in colors.
Whooooo ----
And lastly, though disguised in navy blue armor and a full-face helmet similar to the paladins of the west, there was also the only one person Caleb knew of who rode the white warhorse with a gray mane: the esteemed Dragon Slayer.
Ahhhhhh ----
Caleb thought of the troublesome people he knew and heaved a heavy sigh.
The joyous clamor didn't end even when all the warriors passed by and only the backs of the last people were seen.
"That was a wonderful sight, isn't it?"
"…"
"Come on, Cal, no need to be so serious on this happy day."
Elric grinned widely and tapped his shoulder with his remaining hand; Caleb again sighed after taking a short glance at the troublesome person beside him.