Chapter 72: Conclusions

"What a darn mess," she muttered to herself. She had been contacted because there had been a rapid increase in attacks from these fanatic cultists. They had grown more bold and were attacking larger towns randomly. She had been called because there was a dangerous foe among the cultists, someone even Lucinda was having trouble with. Oh, how excited she was to have such an exciting fight alongside the spawn of Octavia. Alas, it was not meant to be, it seems.

When she arrived, Lyraeth was subjected to quite a somber atmosphere. What looked like civilians of the now ruined town were being escorted on carriages, presumably to Emberreach. They all seemed so down, or maybe that was too light a word; their town was completely ruined. Friends and family were killed, so their expressions were warranted. The spawn of the Sun Goddess walked through the destroyed town until she spotted a familiar face.

"Yo, Asaun!" Her cheery greeting to the knight captain clashed horribly with the atmosphere. She seemed oblivious to this fact.

The knight captain in question turned to face her, a frown tugging at his lips due to her lack of tact.

"Lady Lyraeth," he greeted with a small bow. "It's good to see you." She just waved him off.

"Come on, I already told you to drop all that 'Lady' crap." The girl's crudeness of words was to be noted. "Now, what the hell even happened here?"

"The cult of Drah'lurahr attacked here as well," Asaun briefed before gesturing somewhere. She took note of a trio of familiar figures. The first one she noticed was naturally Lucinda. Numerous cuts decorated her uniform, but she had no clear injuries. She looked physically well, at least. But seated atop a crate, her head was hung low, while her eyes were puffy with a distant look to them.

There was the familiar and brash princess as well. The girl looked downright furious, glaring at the ground as if it had somehow wronged her. Clearly, she had heard some news that warranted such an expression. There was also the blonde, who looked more disturbed than usual.

There was also some weirdo with a mask and another man, but they seemed hardly worth any kind of attention.

Lyraeth smiled as she moved to approach the trio of girls, but she was stopped by Asaun, who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Best not to," he advised as she quirked up an eyebrow in confusion. "They happened to know some of the people here, the ones who were part of the casualties suffered here."

"Ah," the girl just nodded. Her seeming lack of empathy was worrying, but for now, Asaun ignored that. The Inheritors of Verdantis were an odd bunch; there would be no use in trying to figure them out.

With Professor Eugene and Mikoto, the two stood close to a run-down house, courtesy of the cultists.

"So his name is Selwyn, huh?" Mikoto murmured.

"If Lucinda's account of events is to be believed," the professor informed.

"And that guy was strong enough to beat her." Lucinda was hailed as all-powerful, but that did not seem to be the case. Though there was a reason for her loss. ("She probably hasn't figured out how to use magic on these greater animals.") He glanced at the sullen girl. "So how strong is he, Selwyn?" A few seconds passed before Professor Eugene answered him.

"He is an absurdly powerful man," the professor started. "When it comes down to pure unadulterated physical prowess, then no one is his equal. He is a feral man who does not even listen to his own father, the emperor of Vel'ryr. Despite the 'peace' experienced by varying nations, Selwyn is known to conquer smaller nations around the world."

"With no repercussions?" Mikoto questioned.

"None; many fear risking the ire of Vel'ryr as a whole by resisting him."

"Guy sounds nuts; how did Galadriel even deal with him in previous festivals?" From a physical standpoint, he might be unmatched, but Mikoto doubted he was unbeatable.

"He rarely did participate in any festivals," Professor Eugene added. "But when he did, victory for Vel'ryr was always assured. Even when Lady Guinevere studied and perfected a method to harm Von Auerswald with magic." The last part piqued his interest; it made sense that a court mage managed to think of such a method.

"But still, something's bugging me here," Mikoto frowned as he scanned the ruined town. "We recovered the dragon they wanted to resurrect; why bother killing more people now?"

"It could be possible that they were merely petty, but I doubt that," the professor spoke, his tone on edge.

"So there's a chance they've got another dragon corpse?"

"It's very possible," Professor Eugene stated with a frown, his mind thinking back to something.

"But that gets me thinking, why go to all the effort to summon some dragon?" It had been something nagging him. "There are Inheritors here in Verdantis; the most damage a lesser dragon could do is partially destroy some city before being put down, no?"

"Victoria was of the same mind as you," Professor Eugene murmured as he thought back to a conversation.

[Flashback]

It was a spacious room, cluttered with tables and shelves laden with alchemical ingredients, dusty tomes, and various contraptions. The walls were a dull grey in color. The occasional candle flickered in sconces mounted on the walls.

At the center of the room stood a large, heavy iron operating table, scarred by countless experiments and spills. Its surface was littered with glassware of various shapes and sizes—beakers, flasks, retorts—each containing mysterious substances in various states of transformation. Atop it lay a pale human body with various tubes prodding out of his body, a male around his mid-twenties, with a head of dark hair and a defined jaw.

Around the operating table, sturdy wooden shelves groaned under the weight of countless jars and containers, each labeled with cryptic symbols and strange names: mandrake root, powdered horn, essence of moonlight. Dusty tomes lined the shelves, their leather bindings cracked and worn.

Victoria studied the body of the man with a critical eye. Her dainty hands were adorned with gloves, and she had a medical mask on her face, more of a professional courtesy.

"So what have you learned, Victoria?" a bit of ways opposite her stood Professor Eugene, with the ever-blank look in his eyes.

"Well, this was definitely a Vel'ryrian," she answered. "His body was naturally resistant to any substance with mana."

"He was one of the reanimates, so this must mean they are using dead cultists and reviving them so their ranks do not suffer," the professor surmised.

"Indeed, but there was something I took note of with the reanimated specimens that weren't put down for good yet," Professor Eugene perked his head up in interest as she continued. "Necromancy involves summoning back the soul of the subject from Limbo or wherever else it ends up. Dragging the soul back damages it extensively, resulting in a mindless husk being brought back. Though these few fit the criteria, they lacked a soul; it was more so they were puppets being controlled rather than being brought back through necromancy."

"Those souls were most likely harvested to resurrect the dragon for whatever reason," the professor murmured thoughtfully. "But still, what did they hope to gain with a lesser dragon?"

"Perhaps it was a means to an end for them," Professor Eugene quirked up an eyebrow at Victoria's words, not gauging their meaning. "The Vel'ryr empire is not stupid; they have magitech far more superior to a lesser dragon. It had me thinking. Maybe they want to resurrect a dragon to gain its soul."

"Hmm, with Chaosmaw within their ranks, it's entirely possible to keep the dragon's soul after its resurrected form has been dealt with," Professor Eugene mulled over the prospect. "But for what purpose would they need something as powerful as a dragon's soul?"

"There are many things that see souls as a delicacy or beneficial. Powerful things, a demon, or even an Astrothian," Victoria murmured. "Perhaps they seek to bring forth such a thing."

"A thing more dangerous than a dragon?"

[Present Time]

"I see, that would make more sense," Mikoto murmured. "They probably have an extra dragon corpse lying around. They probably want us to do the dirty work and kill it so they can harvest its soul."

"Indeed," Professor Eugene agreed. "Which means once the dragon comes, we must completely eradicate it, in both body and soul. A task Lucinda would be best suited for, and she needs it." Mikoto hummed as he stared at his brethren; she did need this. She probably felt useless; those kids were like little siblings to her, and they practically admired her. She needed something to take her mind off this massacre.

"But still, with this festival coming up, do you guys have a plan for dealing with Selwyn?" If Professor Eugene's words are to be believed, then he was quite an enigma, a strong one.

"We have none," the professor admitted. "But maybe that has changed now."

"What do you mean?" The boy questioned.

"Are you strong, Mikoto?" The professor's question just elicited a head tilt.

"I am."

"You already fought a Von Auerswald, one of the stronger ones, and came out alive," the professor started. "Do you think you could defeat a stronger one?"

"Well, that Amaury chick I fought wasn't all that difficult; I'm positive I could've killed her," Mikoto murmured thoughtfully. "She seemed to have a trump card, though, but still, I'm sure I could adapt to whatever it is; I'm me, after all." Mikoto smiled as he gazed at the cloudy sky. "If I and that Selwyn were to fight, then I'm positive I could win."

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