About 30 minutes after the conversation between Pannival and Devon. In the West Plaza, a royal guard was shot. The Internal Military's Investigation took command of the case. However, this was not it; soon the dead bodies of 4 Royal Guards were found near the South Plaza. The Chief of the Malwai Investigation Department deduced that this was a well-planned murder and there may be more guards waiting to be murdered inhumanely.
The Royal Palace, Parina
"Pannival!! Pannival!!" A Royal Guards hushes inside the court of the Pannival.
"What is it? Ramsey." Devon asked the Royal Guard
"Pannival!! Please save me! Please, I don't want to die. I have a child yet to become an adult. Please save me and my family from that TRAITOR." The Royal Guard pleaded to the Pannival.
"What happened? Stand up, guard. What is it that concerns you now of all time.?" Pannival asked
"Pannival, there is a traitor among all of the Royal Army. There are not one; there are many. I have no idea why they are doing this, but they are slowly killing every First and Second Level Royal Guards. More than 4 dead bodies have already been found, but casualties are more than that. About 23 men have been shot in the last 8 hours." The Royal Guard said, panicking.
"Do you know the name of this traitor? Do you have any clue?" The Pannival asked
"For now, I just know that there is some higher authority over this traitor who is pressuring him to do such things. Also, this higher authority is someone far more powerful than Muvah. His final order is the assassination of the Royal Family." The Royal Guard said
"How'd you know all that?" Devon asked
"That-" The Royal Guard, Ramsey, was shot in the middle of his speech.
"What in the world—Guards chase that bastard!!!!" Pannival gave orders.
"Yes Pannival!" Guards bowed and ran behind that silhouette.
"Devon!!" Pannival commanded
"Yes, my lord!!!" Devon said
"Contact the current heads of the Saptvansh and their head commander now," Pannival ordered Devon.
"As you command, my lord." Devon left the courtroom.
The courtroom was empty with no vibration at all. Pannival was left alone in the room.
"O' God!! What is this? Is THE WAR near? I'm aware of the fact that wars are the only reason peace exists. Goodness is the only reason why evil exists. But if THE WAR is near, it means that sacrifices have to be made. But it is fine as long as this world doesn't disappear. As long as I'm alive, there is nothing that can harm this world." Pannival said
"Soon the Seven Clans of Protection will be here. I must prepare myself for what comes next. The Monde Uni is evil, but what about the Gobiemo Sangrieto? After all, Ruhabayo's will lives within the Seven Clans. I wonder what this president of theirs is after." The Pannival continued.
"Uhm, let me see, is this the Royal Palace?" Sukheer asked Mazhiro.
"How'd I know?" Mazhiro replied
The Pannival saw two shadows at the gate and quickly came down the stairs.
"Are you SQUAD B?" Pannival asked
"Indeed, but who're you? Look, we are here to meet the Pannival." Mazhiro said
"Oh dear, by any chance are you Shinuku of the Akatsumis?" Pannival aksed
"No, I'm not. But who are YOU?" Mazhiro asked
"Ma-Mazhiro, he is the man who called us here!!!" Elsa said to Mazhiro
"WHAT?" Mazhiro was shocked.
"Hahahaha!" The Pannival laughed.
"Come inside." Pannival offered humbly
"Indeed" Sainen said
"Where are the other two?" Pannival asked
"Who?" Mazhiro asked again.
"Uhm, I wanted all seven of you to say something, but it seems that there are only five here." Pannival said
"Mazhiro! I think he is asking about Shikawa and Mahoraga." Elva corrected
"Oh yeah. I totally forgot about them." Mazhiro said
Pannival dropped his sword from his hand with eyes open wide.
"Did you just say SHIKAWA?" Pannival asked
"Yeah. Anata Shikawa." Mazhiro answered
"LET'S NOT WASTE TIME; GET INSIDE EVERYONE." Pannival said
"We are already inside." Sukheer said
"Just wait a second; it has been years since I last tried this." Pannival asked to wait.
"What are you going to do?" Mazhiro asked
"Why are you crossing your fingers like Shailya?" Sukheer asked
"That's a secret, Sukheer." Sainen said to Sukheer
"So, they are aware of this." Pannival said in his mind
"Well," Pannival announced.
"Dimensions"
"First Way to Death"
"What the hell is this power? Pannival too knows this technique." Sainen mentioned
A closed realm opened.
"Y'all are aware of who I am?" Pannival asked
"Don't say you're one of those Chakradharis," Sukheer asked.
"I won't because I'm not a Chakradhari. Come to think of it, y'all aren't even surprised by this." Pannival said
"That's so obvious. For the last 50 hours, this world has totally changed, and not just for the last 50 hours; actually, this world changed centuries ago, when Powered Blades were introduced." Mazhiro said
"Indeed. Everyone on this planet possesses some powers; they just don't know how to awaken them." Sainen said
"Since my childhood, I was trained. It was like my family was preparing me for some WAR as if I was going to gain something that everybody doesn't have." Elva said
"Oh dear. Y'all have some stories. So you are aware of the change this world will be facing?" Pannival asked
"What change?" Sukheer was unaware of what Pannival was talking about.
"I see. In the coming two weeks, this world will be passing through a metamorphosis. And this planet will prepare itself for THE WAR. As three great powers will battle on this planet." Pannival said
"Great Powers?" Sukheer asked
"Yes. The Monde Uni, The Gobiemo Sangrieto, and The Divinity." Pannival said
"I know about Monde Uni and Gobiemo Sangrieto, but who are The Divinity?" Sukheer asked.
"The Divinity is the greatest organization to exist. This organization possesses something so divine yet unknown. It was mentioned in Johan Adamus's prophecy that when two of the three great powers will come out of the shadows to battle, an organization consisting of common people will be formed. The Divinity consists of all those people who fight for peace, who are ready to sacrifice themselves in order to bring peace; they do not have any wishes; they do not have any selfish desires. They are saints." Pannival said.
"Actually, I don't know much about it. However, it is said that there are 8 leaders of the Divinity, and they are none other than the Saptavansh." Pannival continued.
"You just bring more terms. Who are the Saptavansh? Why would there be a war?" Sukheer asked
"There is just one answer to that: Saptavansh are the Seven Clans of Protection. They are no royals, nobility, or aristocracy. They are just people whose past traces back to the second dimension war. People chosen by the gods and devils to protect and destroy peace. They are the definition of neutral. They are neither heroes nor villains. They are just people who fight for people to protect people. Elva, Mazhiro, Shailya, and Anata all belong to the Saptavansh." Pannival said.
"Wait a second, Shikawa is not one of the seven clans." Mazhiro said
"Oh, my mistake," Pannival said.
Pannival took them inside the palace. Meanwhile, the serial killings of royal guards are still going on. A critical time for Malwai's reputation. The news gradually spread to all of Malawa.
A Television Studio, Muvah
"The Muvah Conflict at Western Malwai borders has been concluded; however, no alive Muvah officer has been found on the battleground. Over 7,000 Malwai soldiers and 12,000 Muvah soldiers are reported dead and over 28000 severely injured. So does this mean that the years-long Muvah-Malwai conflict has concluded?" A journalist asked someone
"Indeed. But it would disgrace Muvah's glory to say that. If someone has to surrender, it has to be Malwai. As the head of state of Muvah, I declare that this conflict has been resolved but a larger conflict is incoming," someone said.
"But do you even have proper resources for another war?" Journalist asked
"You totally misunderstand my statement. I just have to make a single call to disrupt Malwai's flow." That'someone' replied
"But why?" Journalist asked
"You know what? This world has always been changing; it is not something new. Long ago, there were monarchs ruling on their kingdoms, but we brought a change, a change for the benefit of our people. Monarchy or not, every country's government has changed but Malwai. The 1000-year-old royalty is still the head there. And I want to change that."
"That's wrong," the journalist argued.
"Shut the hell up. I'm the people's representative here. I was elected by the people, and for them, I'm ready to even die. But if I have to sacrifice myself, I will, but there's a catch: I will first assure the safety of my people." That'someone' stated.
"I don't remember any group of people asking for a war. What benefits do you think this war will give us?" Journalist asked
"If we win this war, we will be at the top of the world. The former glory of Muvah will be returned. And we will have plenty of resources to exploit." That'someone' answered.
"Do you guarantee Muvah's win?" Journalist asked
"No! I don't guarantee our win, but I can assure you that we will not lose. Either we are going to win or no one." Someone answered.
"How do you assure that?" Journalist asked him
"Recently, a mysterious incident occurred in Marinabad. An organization claimed to liberate the world. And the one to declare that was one of our soldiers. It has been 4 days since that incident, and the world has taken a new turn. The Muvah Research Centre has also reported several cases where people are suddenly getting mysterious 'abilities' that will be called 'POWERS'. And we currently have the largest 'Power Army' in this world. That is my reasoning." He answered.
"I see. But still, there should be a different way than war. A war between two global giants will ignite the flames for a holy war. The third Holy War." Journalist said.
"You don't have to worry about that, for peace always comes after war. Those who have witnessed wars become pacifists, whereas the ones who never saw war become warmongers. This is the way it is." He said
"Keeping that aside, sir, do we have any clues on what 'Powers' are? Any information that can be public?" Journalist asked.
"No, we don't have much information on them. However, there is one thing that is found common in all the power wielders." He answered.
"What is it?" Journalist asked
"They all have a unique fluid flowing through their blood. Only those with this fluid are found to wield power. This fluid is called 'Naritti' in ancient texts." He answered.
"So does it mean that 'powers' are not a new but an unknown phenomenon that was discovered recently?" Journalist asked.
"Well, it is a little complicated for now, but in the ancient texts of the Saptasutra, the existence of supernatural abilities is confirmed."
"What are the 'Saptasutras'? Is it a holy book or some philosophical text?" Journalist asked.
"Let's talk to Ms. Shama from the Muvah Research Centre about this," he said.
"Indeed," journalists agreed.
"Thanks for this opportunity. I'm Emami Shama, the Vice Chairman of the MRC. I will be answering all your questions." Shama said.
"Tell us about 'Saptasutras' first, Shama." Journalist said
"The 'Saptasutras' are divided into seven volumes, written about 5000 to 6000 years ago in the forests of Shyamvati, which was part of the Ramna River Civilization, one of the oldest civilizations of this world. These books were written by the Great Seer Sahastra and his disciples. Enami was the biggest philosopher of that time. He was the one to introduce the existence of reason for every natural phenomenon in the Indian Union. The Spatasutras throw light over some natural phenomena, one of them being supernatural abilities." Shama said.
"What did it say about the existence of powers?" Journalist asked
"After giving reasons for almost every common phenomenon of that time, in the last volume of Saptasutras, Sahastra stated that every phenomenon is scientific; however, science today is just not developed enough to answer every one of them; that is why religions were formed, solely believing science or religion is foolishness. Instead, we should take the help of both science and religion to clarify things more. After all, neither science nor religion is perfect; neither of them is wrong either. He mentioned that when he was treating his patients and taking their blood samples, he found that some of them had a completely different fluid flowing along with their blood, just like oil and water. People who had this fluid in them were more fit and stronger than other people. This was when he discovered the existence of supernatural abilities. It shall also be mentioned that the Saptasutras are not the work of a single man or a group of men but of several generations. Saptasutra was written by the Great Seer Sahastra and his disciples and their disciples 5000 years ago. The revision of Saptasutra was permanently stopped 1000 years ago." Shama said.
Justania, Raven Islands
"Grand Santarino, Did you watch the TV broadcast of Muvah?" Grand Elephanto asked.
"Why do you ask that?" Grand Santarino asked.
"The President of Muvah is publicly announcing that he is ready for another war and claiming to have the largest army of Power Wielders. As the supreme authority of this world, we must do something to prevent questions about our credibility." Grand Elephanto said
"What the heck!!! Elephanto, we must go to Muvah." Grand Santarino suggested.
"We? You know our positions, right, Santarino?" Grand Elephanto asked.
"Of course, but you don't understand the tension of this situation. We have already lost the trust of half of the nations in the UoN. I believe Gobiemo Sangrieto is actively behind all of this." Santorini said
"So is this THE WAR?" Grand Elephanto asked
"Who knows?" Santarino replied
"Probably Saint Torsano." Elephanto said.
"Let's call a meeting." Santorini said
"Indeed." Elephanto agreed
"I believe it isn't needed." A sound came from the door.
"Hyman?" Elephanto was shocked to see Grand Hyman.
"It's not just me." Hyman said
"Yeah, we're here too." Two more grands appeared.
"Sorbet and Symphony?" Santorino was not expecting them.
"Let's begin this!" The two grandmasters said simultaneously.
"Grandmaster Tiberia and Grandmaster Berringer!!!" Everyone spoke in sync.
[To be continued in Chapter 24]