Chapter 28: The Rogue Slayer P6
~28.6~
*****
"Lady Elysia?" asked Calithil after Katriel and Kadmiel greeted Kye, his eyebrow raised. He looked to the green-haired elves for answers.
"May we speak in private?" Katriel asked.
Calithil was shocked into silence. A few minutes later, they were seated in Calithil's private meeting room. His eyes darted between the green-haired elves and Kye, who was enjoying a cup of tea. The elves were anxiously waiting for Kye to speak.
"Katriel, Kadmiel, how have you been?"
The two exchanged glances while Calithil looked on, his eyebrow still raised. Katriel answered, "Good. We settled in here in the Elven Realms a few millennia ago and have watched over the people of Serenthil ever since. Lord Calithil is the current lord and has reigned for the past few hundred years."
"That's right," Kadmiel said. "The people here are good and peace has reigned since long before we came here."
"Ah," Calithil muttered as he sat his cup down. "I see."
"Hmm?" Kye mused.
"For them to speak that way, you must be like them." Calithil glanced between the green-haired elves, then back at Kye. "A transmigrator."
"Yes." Kye stood up and curtsied. "A formal introduction. Greetings, Lord Calithil. I am Elysia Athas." She eyed Katriel. "How much does he know?"
"Well..."
"Athas?" Calithil stood up suddenly, his chair tossed backwards. "Elysia?" He looked to the green-haired elves for confirmation. "As in the King of the World?"
"Ah, so you know everything." Kye smiled before taking another sip of tea. "This tea is wonderful."
Calithil smiled and explained about the ingredients and how it was made.
"I see." Kye closed her eyes and mused to herself. "It's quite amazing how little I know of the world. I have spent most of my life simply observing the world. Only the past bit have I actually gone out and experienced it, yet Elysium is so vast that it's not realistic for any one person to see all of it." She glanced at the green-haired elves. "Did you two hear the broadcast a few weeks ago?"
Kadmiel nodded. "The one where you revealed to everyone your identity? Yes. We did, but only us."
"I see. Good. Eliana and Elias heard it, too, though they were still surprised to see me when I visited them earlier." Kye giggled. "The others will have heard it as well, at least everyone living within the ten realms. The citizens of Realms 6 and on were not included in the broadcast, so my identity is not common knowledge here."
"Indeed. Beyond this room, none are aware," Katriel added. She glanced around the room, looking between the other three before settling back on Kye. "If I may ask?"
Kye nodded.
"Is there something you needed from us?"
"Hmm?" Kye raised an eyebrow. "Do I need something? No, not particularly."
"Huh?" Katriel and Kadmiel exchanged confused glances. "Why are you here?"
Kye shrugged. "No reason in particular, aside from wanting to visit. It's been a while. I've missed you. Just as I missed Eliana and Elias... and Adel, Adara, Maya, Azalia, Kaede, everyone. I just recovered my memories of the past, but I didn't lose any I gained in the meantime. The feeling of nostalgia is quite strong, and the longing for family is strong as well." Kye smiled and mused to herself. "This is nice."
*****
A single clang of steel rang out in a meeting room full of blue cats, a single black cat, and a certain pink-haired girl. Lana met with the blue cats and just attempted to eliminate their chief. Alethea was waiting for her. She had been frequently casting the Eye of Providence with her Radiance, and was proficient enough with it to do so undetected. Rather than search blindly for a mana she did not know, she waited until the mana she did know appeared. The blue cats did not know there was a silent guardian watching them. When Lana made her move, Alethea responded with such speed and blocked her that even the black cat was taken aback.
"Out of the way!" Lana yelled as she tried to lunge around Alethea.
Alethea grabbed Lana's arm, quickly disarmed her, and threw her away from the blue cat leaders. "You will cease these assassinations. I already know of the mana you use during your missions. Now I also know your mana. You can't hide from me any longer. Even if you retreat, I can find you."
"Is that so?" Lana smirked as she held her hand out. A long sword appeared, and she looked Alethea straight in the eyes. "<<Awaken>>."
Alethea's expression hardened. "So you have been granted a weapon." She converted her katana back to bracelet form and held out her hand. Kaeshi appeared and Alethea readied herself, pouring an immense amount of aether into Kaeshi. "Come, then." Lana looked shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered.
"So be it." Lana jumped forward, but Alethea disappeared from sight. No more than halfway to where Alethea was standing, Lana suddenly felt a spike of pain at her midsection and was launched upward through the ceiling with such force that she found herself high in the sky before she could react.
"You're out of your league." Alethea was already waiting for Lana in the sky, having accurately predicted how high she would go before stopping herself. "Surrender. I have no desire to harm you, but I also have no desire to let you harm others."
"Let me?" Lana echoed. "Ha! As if you can stop me!" Lana abandoned using the phantom mana to fight and unleashed her aether, which dwarfed what she was using before. It dwarfed even Alethea's aether. "You're the one that's out of her league. You're a fool for trying to interfere!" Lana vanished. The tide turned quickly. Where Alethea clearly had the upper hand, Lana took it. A moment later, Lana flicked her weapon to the side to sling the blood off of it.
Alethea's expression was one of pain. With her left hand, she reached for her neck. Blood was seeping out of a thin line. Her right hand released Kaeshi, who quickly transformed into her human form. She saw the look in Alethea's eyes. Kaede instantly wrapped Alethea in her Radiance and screamed, "ELYSIA!!!!!!"
All of that happened in under a second. The next second, Kye appeared in a flash of white aether. She needed only a brief glance to see what had happened. Kye turned her eyes, now full of anger, to Lana. In her hand, Hikarimaru appeared, and she unleashed both their awakening and her Radiance at maximum output. Kye's growth had rapidly left her peers behind, since she had her true body. She had full access to her power, but she was always careful not to put too much strain on her body.
"Never before have I wished for the death of a citizen within my domain more than right now." Kye gritted her teeth and glared at Lana with a feral rage in her eyes. "The crimes you have committed were unforgivable before this! Did you hear none of the words Luma said to you? She told you to pray, yet I did not hear a single word of prayer from you."
"W-what are you?!" Lana slowly backed away, but quickly found herself unable to back away any further. She was frozen in fear.
Kye held her empty hand forward and, with her words echoing, she commanded, "Elysium, hear me. I am King."
Lana's eyes widened. "Impossible. The King? No. You can't be here!"
"Close off the space around us, and deliver to me Hannah Marshall and Layla Barrett of Alcanus."
The world below quickly vanished, and the surrounding sky turned black. Two white portals appeared and through them came the two people Kye wanted. She pointed at Alethea and Kaede. The two nodded and went to work.
Kye hadn't taken her eyes off Lana. "Yes. The King. Yes, I can be here." A tear escaped both of her eyes. Kye struggled with her emotions. Long ago, she would not have had such trouble, but her time living amongst mortals taught her much. She did not want to harm Lana any more than she wanted to harm anyone else, but the deed Lana had just committed was too much. Kye held a great deal of love in her heart for the people of Elysium and treasured every single soul. Even with that love, she felt enough anger to waver. "You will answer for your actions."
To Eve the Primordial, I pray... Please save her.
*****
Revision: 2024-9-9