บท 168: Julian takes command
With a resounding thud, the Royal Knights tumbled to the ground beneath the ominous demon skull near Hage Village within the forsaken realm.
Finral had exhausted every last bit of his mana and mental strength to teleport them, rendering him utterly incapable of even moving his own body.
And it wasn't just Finral who was drained. Every member of the group was utterly spent, particularly Mereoleona and Nozel.
It was dark when they reached there but the darkness didn't remain for long as the demon skull began glowing with light.
The light touched their bodies as all of their injuries started to heal.
The source of the light was the man standing in front of them alongside Secre.
He was tall and had a well-built physique.
His short blond hair framed his countenance, and he donned the iconic garb of the Wizard King – a white robe intricately adorned with golden motifs, draped with a cape. Resting upon his head was a crown, symbolizing his royal lineage.
Hovering beside him was a four-leaf Grimoire, a sight that left everyone almost dumbfounded with recognition.
It was a sight that brought awe and realization to the forefront. Before them stood none other than the legendary First Wizard King, Lumiere Silvamillion Clover.
"I'm relieved that none of the Royal Knights suffered casualties," Secre addressed him.
"Secre, is that really..." Noelle managed to utter amidst her astonishment.
"Indeed, he is my master, Prince Lumiere," Secre confirmed, prompting a somewhat bashful chuckle from Lumiere in response to their incredulous expressions.
"My magic can mend your wounds, but let's head to the village first to replenish your strength.
I understand you must be bewildered, but fear not – I'll provide an explanation along the way," Lumiere spoke with a gentle smile.
*********
The scene in the Hage Village was different than what the Royal Knights expected.
For some reason, the Black Bulls base was there along with most of the Black Bulls.
Charmy could be seen preparing food in a huge pot.
There were hundreds of civilians waiting in lines as the Black Bulls were distributing food to them.
Even the Royal Prince Lucis, his fiance Olivia, the two Queens,the king and the Wizard King Julius could be seen distributing food.
The King made a face that clearly showed that he didn't want to be here but one stare from the queens made him give out a forced smile.
Whether it was royal, noble, or commoner, everyone was standing in the same line and was given the same food.
Julius saw the team enter the village and walked toward them while giving commands through his communicator.
"What happened to you, sir Julius?
What is all this ?" Nozel asked sensing almost no mana from the Wizard King.
"It's a long story but in short, I exhausted all my strength against the fight with the leader of Eye of the Midnight Sun.
Although I managed to live through the wounds, I fear that forbidden magic was cast upon me, taking away my ability to use magic. " Julius replied as a drop of mana appeared on his fingers but disappeared the next second.
"I don't know if you are aware or not but a white light enveloped the entire kingdom for a few seconds turning a lot of us into elves who wanted to destroy humanity," Julius explained.
"We are aware, that is why we retreated it was too much for us to handle all the elves without a proper plan" Finral replied.
"That makes things easier to explain, I gathered the magic knights and Spatial mages who were still on our side and made them transfer as many civilians to the villages of the forsaken realm for shelter.
While I and the Black Bulls are here, more of the civilians are currently staying in the neighboring villages under the protection of other squads.
Even some of the captains have become elves so I thought the best course of action would be to avoid fighting for now and reduce the casualties as much as we could. " Julius said.
"Your decision was sound. Confronting the elves head-on would have resulted in needless casualties. Your actions do you credit, and I'm proud to have you as the reigning Wizard King," Lumiere commended Julius.
Receiving praise from the First Wizard King brought a blush of embarrassment to Julius's cheeks.
A portal opened up near them and more civilians walked out of it along with Langris who was clearly an elf.
This sent the royal knights to edge but Julius asked them to calm down.
"Whatever spell it was, it was not perfect since some of the elves are exceptions and are on our side like Captain Charlotte and Vice-captain Langris, " Julius said clearing some confusion.
"I am currently Ratri…..Langris is glad to see you are alive" Ratri said to Final before disappearing into a portal.
"Everyone, it's about time I tell you why all this is happening, " Lumiere said, drawing everyone's attention.
**************
Patry entered the Eye of the Midnight Sun base to reunite with his companions, but a terrible sight welcomed him, making his blood boil with anger.
Every single elf was lying on the ground with black rods sticking out of their bodies; even their leader, Licht, was pinned to the ground with black rods.
All of this was done by a single person who stared at the newcomer with his rotating red eyes with intricate patterns.
Julian Ragnvindr... probably the biggest obstacle in the path of the fate of the elves.
A sword of light conjured in Patry's hands as he dashed towards Julian, pointing it at Julian, attempting to stab through his heart.
[Abyssal magic: Susanoo]
Ting!
Patry's light sword broke into pieces as a black skeleton-like structure appeared around Julian.
Julian looked at Patry with eyes of indifference, as if he was a pebble on the side of the road.
[Abyssal Magic: Sword of Amaterasu]
Faster than Patry's light magic, black light swords stabbed through Patry's body, impaling him to the ground.
Patry felt his control over his body and mana completely disappear as soon as Julian's light swords touched him.
Patry finally noticed Julian's eyes... those rotating eyes, as a fear ingrained in his soul surfaced.
A wielder of the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan had appeared.
"Julian ni-san! Don't kill them. They can still be saved," Yuno said to Julian, even though Bell was telling him to create distance from Julian.
"Don't worry, I am not killing anyone... yet. Especially you, unless you pay for all the havoc you caused," Julian said, looking at Patry.
"I am talking to you too, William Vengeance. I know you can listen to me. If not for me interfering, the Wizard King would be dead too."
Asta became infuriated as soon as he heard about the Wizard King.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Asta growled.
[Abyssal Magic: Spatial Gate]
"I have some important things to do, so I will be sending you three away for now. Ask the Wizard King himself about the details," Julian snapped his fingers, and black boxes of mana surrounded Asta and Annie, teleporting them directly to Hage Village.
"I will be borrowing that locket for now; you'll get it back when I am done," Julian snapped his fingers as Yuno's locket appeared in his hand, and the next second Yuno was teleported away too.
"Now then, have you calmed down, Elf Leader Licht? Stop pretending to be in your half-asleep state; I had you completely awake long ago."
"Yes... I believe we should have a civilized talk... Julian, I presume," Licht said, making Julian cancel his magic and letting Licht stand up.
All the other elves were free to move too, but they couldn't feel their magic anymore.
Chairs made of mana conjured around all the elves as Julian motioned for them to sit.
"Don't try anything funny and only talk when I allow you to, especially you two," Julian said, pointing towards Vetto and Fana.
"I have killed you once and can kill you again faster than before, so think before you act."
Nobody said a word and took their seats.
"My name is Julian Ragnvindr... the last legacy of the Ragnvindrs," Julian introduced himself.
"I am Kirin, the great spirit. Can't really call myself the lightning spirit anymore since I can command multiple elements together," Kirin introduced himself as if he was having fun in the tense environment.
"Licht... leader of elves in the past."
One by one, Julian recited all the acts the Eye of the Midnight Sun performed, making Patry quite proud of himself. But instead of complimenting them, Licht had a horrified expression.
"What have you done?" Licht spoke, as if hearing everything broke his heart.
"Didn't you cast the reincarnation magic on us and ask to take revenge on humans?" Patry asked Licht.
"I don't know anything about reincarnation magic. I spent my entire life working towards unifying humans and elves. Why do you think I would ask you all for such a thing?" Licht's voice started to crack.
Patry's confidence started to fade as he asked again.
"Didn't you summon an ancient Demon to destroy all humans during that time for us?"
"I didn't summon the demon; I was the demon himself. Unable to cope with reality, I gave in to the temptations of darkness. The reason for our deaths was not the humans or my friend Lumiere. It was a Devil!" Licht spoke as tears started to drop from his eyes, remembering the day he lost all his kind, his wife, his unborn children, and his friend.
Hearing that, Patry felt as if his entire world shattered.
"You knew that it wasn't the humans' fault, right?" Julian said, looking at Rhya.
"... Yes," Rhya said, looking down with regret.
"I-I knew it wasn't the humans who were responsible. I wanted to see my companions again, so I fueled Patry even more to hate the humans, so that the reincarnation plan can be completed."
"The devil is the reason for your reincarnation and hate for humans that is ingrained in your souls.
A devil needs a five-leaf Clover Grimoire to complete its standing in the Mortal realm and show it's true power, so it targeted Licht and Lumiere, pushing them towards a state of utmost despair.
Although he managed to turn Licht's Grimoire into a five-leaf clover, he could not take control of it since Licht managed to come out of darkness at the last moment.
The reason Asta has Licht's Grimoire is that it chose him after Licht's death under the First Wizard king to stop the rampaging demon."
Patry started to have a mental and emotional breakdown after hearing everything, but no one helped him.
"How do you know all this?" Licht asked.
"Let's say I have good knowledge about the races that existed in the past. Through Kirin, I can utilize the power of the plant spirit Leshy and read memories of nature.
So it's obvious that I would know.
Moreover, I have the previous elf leader's daughter, Alice, by my side.
Now let me give you some good news too.
Your wife, Tetia, survived the aftermath with one of her twins. Because of that kid, the elf bloodline is still alive today.
The reincarnation magic of the devil worked so well because all the humans whose bodies you elf souls have taken over have elf blood flowing in them."
Hearing that Tetia survived made colors return to Licht's face.
"We have a common energy that we must get rid of. Although I am confident in my strength, there can always be unknown variables. So I would be needing your aid," Julian said, looking at Licht.
"I will do everything in my power to aid you…" Licht said.
"In order to truly kill the devil, it needs to appear in this world. For that, the reincarnation magic must be completed. So here is the plan.
Rhya, Vetto, and Fana will start preparations for the Shadow Palace.
The rest will go around gathering the Apostles of Sephiroth and stop the rampaging elves in the Kingdom. Licht and Patry are coming with me.
I understand that what happened with you elves was wrong, so if everything goes according to plan, I can give the elves who wish to live a second chance in life."
Julian said, unlocking everyone's magic.
"Remember that the talk you had here should not go outside. Pretend everything is going according to plan.
Now get to work"
Julian snapped his fingers as blocks of spatial magic enveloped Licht, Patry, and himself, transporting them to the Hage village.
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