Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys

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"You have not been able to gain any information from the human you captured at all?" Inquired Sant, openly showing his displeasure.

Not gonna lie, he's being kind of a dick lately.

"No, my lord, we have tried everything, but no matter how severely we torture her, she simply laughs...I believe that no matter what we do to her, she will not tell us anything. Perhaps it would be more prudent to kill her and find other humans to interrogate," Suggested Bell in reply.

"Hm? No, find some use for this human woman, do not waste a potentially valuable tool simply because you are not competent enough to make use of her," He snapped venemously.

"My lord, we have received reports of large groups of humans wandering the land outside of the two human nations, they appear to be Belia's former troops, now living as bandits. Perhaps we can put them to use in our favor somehow?" I suggested, as Bell flinched at Sant's blunt remarks.

"I am already aware of these humans, this is a foolish suggestion. They are illogical and arrogant, and moreover, they have been attacking several of our fortresses, unsuccessfully so far, but we have suffered some casualties. We cannot afford to lose too many numbers to such insignificant rabble...therefore, we shall deal with these humans by strengthening the numbers in each fortress and have them eliminate these vile pests," Declared Sant coldly.

"Understood, my lord...and what would you have us do in the meantime?" Asked Bell.

"Bring me the human you have failed to successfully interrogate, I shall deal with her myself. As for the two of you...ready the capable Elf and Halfling combatants, instruct Maie and Vokkeg to do the same with the Fairies and Dwarves. After the human that have been attacking our fortresses have been dealt with...we will attack the Rustlands and eliminate Belia once and for all," Stated Sant, before gesturing to us to leave...

...

A few minutes later, Bell and I were heading back from Sant's spot, a grim silence between the two of us.

"Lord Laus...he has changed. I should not say this, but...as he is now, he is rather...unsettling," Remarked Bell with a frown, a conflicted look on her face.

"I know what you mean...he seems a lot colder and more merciless than he used to be. He was never this harsh on us before, for one thing," I replied in agreement.

"We should not be talking like this, and we certainly cannot allow anyone else to hear us...even so, I cannot help but feel concerned."

"And that's a valid concern...but we can't do anything about it, even if we do voice our concerns to him, I highly doubt he'll simply go back to the way he used to be. He's unusually determined-...no, more like obsessed...-with killing Belia and Kuro, all we can do is see those goals through to the end and then move on from there. But that's going to be a lot easier said than done," I sighed wistfully.

"I suppose that you are right...I shall focus on carrying out Lord Laus's orders instead of thinking about this too much," Decided Bell.

"Right...go rally the Halflings and inform Maie too, I'll deliver Gela to Lord Laus and get one of the Elf elders to handle rallying the Elves that can fight, while I go talk to Vokkeg, the new Earth Sage," I suggested, as we began to split up.

"Alright, that is fine by me," She replied in agreement.

...

Not too long after we split up, I hurried through the Elf forest, met with one of the elders and told him what had happened, before shouldering him with the task of gathering up all the combatants and getting them ready for the upcoming battle, because stuff like that is a pain and I'd rather not be the one to do it.

Anyway, I then went over to where Gela was being held, and asked Esta to take her to Sant. She reluctantly agreed to my request, the reluctance since she was kinda freaked out by Gela and didn't want to get too close to her. But she wasn't going to turn down a request that came indirectly from Sant, so it wasn't long before she teleported her way to him, with Gela in tow.

Alright, that takes care of that...all that's left for me to do is to head over to the Dwarf village. At times like this, I really wish that I understood the concept behind activating spells, I'm tired of not being able to teleport and do other cool-...I mean, convenient...-shit.

Fine, in that case, I'll go at my absolute top speed...Aero, mind releasing your full power for a little bit?

"Using my powers for simply traveling is...excessive. But very well, this is a rather important situation," Relented the Wind Spirit.

I swiftly flew up as I entered my Wind Sage Mode-...yes, I know the enemy came up with the 'Mode' part, but it sounds cooler, so why not use it...-and zipped forward at top speed in the direction of the Dwarf village rapidly.

I made it there within a handful of minutes, covering a distance that would normally take several hours to get through on foot, at the very least.

"Ah, this is an honor, what brings the Wind Sage here?" Greeted one of the Dwarves, as I landed down.

This place is seriously barren, but apparently they like it this way...the entire Dwarf village was a rocky, uneven area with a ton of mines, and most of the Dwarves tended to live underground. There were a few hot springs in the area though, and those made it worthwhile visiting this place. But that's not why I'm here right now...

"I am here to meet with and speak to the new Earth Sage," I replied, getting straight to the point.

"Yes, very well, I shall take you to him," Replied the Dwarf with a nod, before leading the way as I followed after him.

I hadn't yet met the new Earth Sage, I'd seen him a couple of times in passing, but I've never actually spoken to him. He's very unusual for a Dwarf, but his Earth Magic is supposed to be incredible, he was already being groomed to take over as the next Earth Sage, so even though it was still early, he's more prepared for the role than anyone else is.

He's still pretty young, in his fifties or sixties I think, which makes him the youngest of the current Elemental Sages by a fair distance. The next youngest is Bell, who's almost a hundred, while I'm around a hundred and fifty or so. Maie is apparently over twelve hundred years old, so she's the oldest by a huge gap.

Anyway, it didn't take too long before I was taken to the Earth Sage, who seemed to be messing around with his Elemental Magic, a bored look on his face. He looked up as he heard our footsteps approaching, perking up as he saw me.

"I know you, you are the Wind Sage, Sylvar Miirphys! It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Vokkeg Barbedhelm, the Earth Sage," He introduced himself with a smile.

Unlike literally every other Dwarf, he was kinda slender. He's seriously the only Dwarf I've ever seen that isn't all buff and stocky, that includes female Dwarves. He's both thinner and taller than the other Dwarves, which isn't unheard of but is extremely rare. He looks closer to human than Dwarf at first glance, if I'm being honest.

He had thick medium-length hair that was a mix of black and various shades of brown, and he didn't grow his beard out like the majority of male Dwarves usually do, instead sporting slightly heavy stubble.

"I will get right down to it...per the orders of Lord Laus, I need you to gather all the Dwarves capable in combat...we will go to battle very soon...," I informed him, before explaining the situation...

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Point-of-View: Sant A.C. Laus

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"If you refuse to talk, then I shall simply extract the information I need by force," I threatened in frustration, having failed to get her to tell me anything of use after thirty minutes of questioning her.

"Heh...hehe...if you really think you can, then go ahead. You're better at torture than the ones who were trying to get me to talk earlier, but you're just not good enough," She responded with a chuckle, as blood spilled out of her mouth.

I had used my spells to tear off her fingers and toes, several of her teeth and broken the majority of her bones. This is strange...surely creatures that are as vile and shallow as humans would be unable to bear all this!?

Very well, then, I shall brainwash her and coerce the information out of her in that state, she will surely not be able to resist. I grabbed her throat with a firm grip, eliciting a sharp gasp from her, but the defiant, arrogant look in her eyes did not fade...disgusting creature.

I then activated the brainwashing spell, putting her in a trance that would prompt her to answer any and all questions posed to her.

"Now, then, you will answer me, human...tell me everything that you know about Belia's intentions and plans, now!" I demanded.

"Belia...Belia is...up your asshole, you stupid bastard!" She cackled gleefully, snapping out of it in a matter of mere seconds.

Impossible...

"How dare you-...!" I began with my teeth gritted, my fist clenched as I trembled with rage.

"What's the matter, you going to cry now!?" She taunted me with an infuriating smirk, "Are you seriously supposed to be on the same level as Belia, you absolute loser?"

"Such insolence is to be excepted of a lowly human...tch, I see now that this is futile, perhaps I was too harsh on Sylvar and Bell. No matter, if you are going to be of no use to me, then you will die. Make your choice, compliance or death?" I offered her coldly.

"You think you can intimidate me?" She scoffed, before adding with a smirk, "You have no idea what true intimidation looks like...even when he was on the level of an A-Ranked Adventurer, Kuro was ten times as intimidating as you are, and that's me being conservative! Heh, and it's obvious that you can't match Belia's wiles, you don't hold a candle to her."

"Death it is," I responded with a grimace, grabbing the top of her head and tightening my grip.

"Is it true that you intend to kill both of them?" She inquired with a laugh, as her skull began to crack and blood poured out of her eyes, nostrils and mouth, before uttering her last words right before I crushed her head completely, a slight smirk on her lips as she died, "Don't make me laugh, you idiot, it's completely obvious to me, if you fight them, either of them...then you're the one who's gonna die."

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