Naida and Keijo were shocked by all the destruction they saw. Their eyes scanned the area reduced to sand. There was no trace of the mansion they had been in; it had clearly been completely wiped out. Everything they had seen was hard to believe and hard to explain. They didn't know how they were going to explain everything that had happened to the royal family.
"What was that all about?" Naida asked. Confusion was evident on her face.
"I'm not sure, I don't know what to believe," Keijo commented.
"Was that girl really Princess Leia, or was that guy pretending to be her?" Naida asked, confused.
"I was able to sense that person's mana, and it was without a doubt the mana characteristic of an elf. As for her presence, it was exactly the same as Princess Leia's. Illusory magic cannot imitate a person's presence," Keijo said. He knew that it was definitely Princess Leia, but a part of him refused to believe it, as it could be a trick by that individual. It was quite a coincidence that right after that boy disappeared, Princess Leia appeared, almost as if they had switched places.
"So you're trying to say that it was really the princess?" Naida asked with concern in her voice. After all, they had seen the princess turned into a statue and shattered into ashes. If it was really Princess Leia, then they had failed to protect her.
"Yes, it's quite likely that it was actually her."
A deathly silence had fallen over them. They did not know how to feel about the situation. They had seen the manifestation of a power that was beyond their own knowledge. They knew that even if they had tried to help, they would not have been of much use; rather than being useful, they would have been a hindrance. They were able to see that tremendous power that seemed to have no equal. The two of them showed no signs of sadness on the outside, but inside them many emotions were flowing, but neither of them dared to shed a single tear, as they had been trained not to cry and never to show their emotions.
"Curse!"
Naida screamed at the top of her lungs as she gave the ground a powerful blow. That blow was so powerful that it raised a lot of sand in the area and cracked part of the ground. The rage was evident; she was unable to control it. It was the second time she failed so miserably. She was supposed to be one of the most powerful people in this kingdom, but very strong people had been appearing who were able to stand up to her and even surpass her. She was furious with herself for her own weakness, for her lack of strength.
"Naida, everything that happened was beyond our control. Don't blame yourself. Remember that even I couldn't do anything."
"Yes, you are absolutely right. We were too weak, that's why we couldn't protect anyone."
Naida was still hurt and angry inside. She fervently believed that it was their fault; after all, they didn't have the necessary power. After a while she calmed down and was able to think things through clearly; they had to quickly leave the place they were in; after all, it had already become an inhospitable place. The only reason they hadn't died yet was because they had great control over their mana, but it was only a matter of time before the dense mana in the atmosphere would overwhelm them, as the quality of the mana in the atmosphere was several times higher than the internal mana they possessed. Naida gave the order:
"Come on, we must go and face our failure."
"Understood."
With that said, the two of them ran out of the area they were in at full speed. They were unable to use any kind of spell in that area due to the immense energy that seemed to disrupt any kind of power that tried to create a phenomenon. The environment had already become deadly for most living beings. As they ran, Naida and Keijo could see the enormous devastation they had caused. Nothing had come out unscathed from that strong collision; the entire area was reduced to sand. The beautiful trees that surrounded the mansion could no longer be seen; the houses of the servants who lived nearby were destroyed; not a single piece of marble could be seen; even the houses that were built of wood were completely reduced to nothing. They could feel the heat that was in the area; it was more than clear that this phenomenon was caused by the excess of mana that their mistress had released and that strange voice.
"Keijo, I hope I'm wrong, but that strange voice seemed to be telling the truth." Naida was realizing that the strange energy had spread too far and its intensity hadn't decreased at all.
[Divine Beast's Lair]
11 pm. Within a forest where it was difficult to tell whether it was day or night, the entire area was covered with orbs of light that illuminated everything. In the center of this large place, a large giant beast could be seen; it was extremely colossal. Despite sitting down, it was easily over 25 meters tall. It was a unique creature. This creature was staring at the people who had invaded its territory; it was scanning them from head to toe. They had been staying in this place as they needed protection, and a certain little girl kept staring at it, despite being afraid of it. From time to time, she would glance at it out of the corner of her eye. The beast spoke:
"Hey, little girl, if you have something to say, just say it while looking me in the eyes. Why do you look away every time I make eye contact with you?"
The great beast asked. His voice echoed with every word that came out of his mouth; it was normal for this to happen, after all, he was dealing with a colossal creature. Contrary to the beast's expectations, the one who answered the question he had asked was not the girl; her grandfather had intervened:
"Excuse her, Mrs. Fanaryss, my granddaughter is a very shy girl; it is difficult for her to make eye contact with strangers."
"If it is as you say, then let her not look at me. What a strange child! She was certainly raised in a very strange way," exclaimed the beast.
"I don't think it's just about her; she's just so imposing that anyone would find it hard not to look at her."
"Enough of this meaningless flattery; you will gain nothing by saying such words to me."
"I didn't mean it that way."
Several hours had passed since they had arrived. The divine beast invited them in; they were able to enter the forest and see its true form. Angrod, Maedhros, Eryn and Idril already knew the divine beast and knew what it looked like, but Lía, on the other hand, was seeing such a thing for the first time. It only took one look from the little girl at that colossal beast to make her pants; the reaction was almost instantaneous; the fear was evident. Those actions caused the great beast to get offended and upset the moment it happened, but after several hours of effort, Angrod had managed to calm her down. He had told her that this was normal for children of this generation. Of course, he knew that what was not normal was Fanaryss; how the hell could a beast get so big? She had made them some furniture for them to sit on, since she, being a beast, did not require such things; he had overlooked it at first. She could control the surrounding nature and easily used the flowers to make furniture that was extremely comfortable and had it used by the royal family. In this way, hours passed. The royal family had no contact with the outside world, as in this place all mana was under Fanaryss' control and it was impossible for them to send or receive any kind of message through their artifacts; even their dimensional rings were affected. The silence that usually reigned in the area was broken by the same person who had demanded silence, or rather by the beast itself:
"What kind of maniacs would unleash two authorities with that insane amount of mana?" Fanaryss asked as she raised her head and looked up at the sky. Something seemed to be disturbing her power.
"What do you mean by that?" Angrod asked cautiously.
"Someone collided two authorities, but they used too much power, and now there is an excess of mana in the atmosphere."
"By 'authority' he means..." Angrod failed to finish his question.
"Don't tell me you don't even know what an authority is."
"I know what an authority is; I've read many ancient texts from the royal family that recount what it is, but I've never seen such a thing. I had thought it was just a legend, something that no one could attain."
"I suppose I can't blame you for not knowing about that; after all, those who are capable of using such things can be counted on the fingers of one hand. But let me make one thing clear to you: authorities do exist. Without a doubt, they are the end of magic, or should I say, the purest degree of magic," Fanaryss said with an expression that seemed almost solemn.
"So, great battles must be taking place outside this place," Angrod exclaimed.
"Yes, but it's over now. The fight ended long ago; the energy of those two beings faded away. I must admit that they had great powers, although it was only for an instant. I could feel the power of an elf."
Hearing this statement, the royal family immediately pricked up their ears and were shocked; they thought they had misheard what the divine beast had told them. Idril interjected:
"What do you mean by 'an elf'?"
"Just as I said, I could sense the energy of an elf. It was the characteristic energy that all of you give off without realizing it. I must admit that that elf has a lot of mana; it was almost comparable to mine. Without a doubt, among your ranks you have someone capable of using authority." Fanaryss was completely sure of what she was saying; she had felt two colossal energies clashing in the distance; she had not paid attention to them and had let them be, but now that the energy of those two had dispersed, it was difficult to ignore such energy; after all, that energy was suffocating the atmosphere and making changes to it that would result in them not being able to live in these lands anymore; even this forested area that she used as her lair was slowly being attacked by that energy.
"Maybe Naida or Keijo used the 'demonstration' to eliminate the enemies," Idril commented.
"No, that thing that was used was undoubtedly an authority, or rather, two authorities; they were purposely made to collide, causing them to leak the energy they could not contain outwards. If it was a manifestation, I would have noticed. Furthermore, those things are pure energy of the same nature and would not seriously harm it," Fanaryss replied to Idril. As she said those words, the divine beast noticed certain changes in her area; a smile appeared on her face as she spoke:
"It seems this lair is no longer a hiding place; that damn energy is making it easy to find us," Fanaryss said with an amused voice and playful eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" Angrod asked worriedly.
"Someone has invaded my territory."