Chapter 38 – Wanted

For a month, Aien found himself fleeing through the woods, constantly changing his direction. The shining stars in his eyes remained unchanged, along with the phenomenon that accompanied each of his movements. Unceasingly, the mana in his surroundings was drawn towards him, whether he wanted or not, allowing him to forego the need for rest. While running to places unknown, Aien remained in constant thought ever since he'd killed Cath and became a demon. His imminent plans for the future were still undecided. Although his goal became more apparent than ever, Aien remained clueless of what he needed to do, as what he sought wasn't something done so easily.

How would one destroy the world?

“Urgh!!”

All of a sudden, a glimpse of light reflected by the cold steel of a dagger flashed by his vision, ripping him out of his thoughts about the future. With his eyes opened wide in astonishment, Aien reached towards his neck with his hands. His mouth opened and closed like a lever had been broken, trying to stammer inaudible words he couldn't properly form. All the while, his hands desperately tried to stop the flood of blood gushing out of the wound that had cut his neck in half, almost entirely separating it from his shoulders.

Aien's movements slowed down, stumbling forward with the last of his strength before finally falling towards the ground facefirst. A few steps ahead of him, a man entirely clothed in a mixture of dark colors watched his demise with cautious eyes. Only after Aien remained unmoving for some time did he release a sigh of relief, and some of the wariness in his eyes left him.

“That was surprisingly easy...”

The man muttered, still unsure whether his senses were accurate as he stared at Aien from a distance. However, eventually, he became certain that he couldn't feel any signs of life from Aien. At last, the man released a chuckle and walked towards the corpse. For a target that was supposed to be avoided at all costs, this turned out into an easy job that would surely be rewarded with a hefty sum. After all, any form of information about this corpse alone was already enough for him to comfortably survive for a year. The man he'd killed must have severely pissed of some high-ranked nobles considering the number of wanted papers flying about the cities.

But the moment the man took one step too close, he was torn away from his delusional dreams of wealth and brought back into reality.

“Impossible!”

Those were the last words the man uttered before he shriveled up into a corpse like it had been left out to dry in the middle of the desert. Around his ankle, Aien had grabbed onto the man, and regardless of his own will, he absorbed everything the man consisted of until he disappeared into nothingness. Not even the construct in the form of his clothes remained.

“Another one...”

Slowly, Aien raised himself off the ground with a deep frown on his face. This had already been the tenth assassination attempt on him. Once more, he looked back to the path he'd traveled so far. Without the need for his glasses, Aien could clearly see the traces he left behind.

Wherever he went, he would absorb the mana from his surroundings. While it did continuously make him slightly stronger, it was far from worth the trouble it brought. The surroundings would eventually return to normal after he'd passed through them, but that took its time. From his calculations, it would take several days until the rift he left behind was fully restored, removing any signs of him passing by. Until then, the minuscule lack of mana and the subtle changes of his disintegrating surroundings would reveal his location like a flare he lit himself.

However, there was nothing he could do. Unlike the time when he'd become a devil, Aien was unfamiliar with his newfound strength, to the point, he was even unable to turn off this one aspect of his powers. Not only that, but he also knew next to nothing about demons, leaving him ignorant of the implications his new existence brought.

Fortunately, those that had dared to attempt an assassination thus far were independent fools blinded by their greed. After the first attempt, Aien took advantage of that and was barely able to fake his no longer existing heartbeat with a pulse of mana. Those who actually knew what kind of existence he was, would never be fooled by this. Still, it was enough to aid him against the unsuspecting assailants.

The upside to all of this was that this revealed a piece of vital information to Aien.

The public remained unaware of his existence. For the time being, he was only wanted as Aien, the human lunatic that had turned Levestein into turmoil. The only difference from back then to this day was that the reward for information about him had been increased by more than ten-fold.

Yet, Aien wasn't foolish enough to believe that the real and capable scouts couldn't find him. Those were simply in the know and avoided him while reporting back to their superiors – his yet unknown enemies. That was something Aien couldn't prevent. Not only was it easy to track him, but those scouts had also been trained for years solely for the purpose of tailing. They followed after him as silent as the dead, their various forms of magic, allowing them to stay out of his insignificant range of detection.

There were only a few clues that allowed him to uncover the existence of such pursuers. Aside from Human Magecraft, Aien had noticed signs of light bending in a few places, hinting at the presence of eledyn or dwarven pursuers, giving him an additional clue.

Whoever was after him, wasn't just a single faction, but a group or organization that worked across the races together.

This revelation left him all the more troubled, making him think endlessly about his next course of action. He simply hadn't prepared to garner this amount of attention after his fight with Cath. There were a lot of things he had to learn about which would take a lot of time - Time he wasn't allowed to have.

All of this left only one solution.

“Co...me...”

Once again, Aien heard that weak, genderless voice in his mind. Ever since he headed south-west of Teralis and entered certain parts of the wild forest, this voice connected with his mind. Aside from that, there was something else that had caught his eye more than once.

It had been hard to notice in the beginning, but the further he went into the depths of the forest, the more he'd realized it. To Aien, it appeared as if the forest itself was trying to guide him in a particular direction. After making sure it hadn't been a trick of his mind, Aien naturally was still wary and chose to disregard the path that was made for him.

However, the more significant problem remained. At one point or another, if he couldn't get rid of his pursuers, he'd eventually be forced to confront someone that was explicitly sent with the sufficient means to deal with him. The outcome would be obvious. Regardless, Aien remained highly suspicious. There was, however, one instinct of his that made him more seriously consider heeding the call of that voice. Ever since becoming a demon, Aien could broadly tell which places held more amounts of mana. Whether it was an object or a living being, he could guess its might by his feeling that told him how much stronger it would make him, could he absorb it.

Thus, on account of the weakness of the voice that couldn't be faked and his situation, Aien entered the small avenue that was made for him, unbeknownst to what would happen far behind him.

“Halt your approach, intruders!! You are trespassing on the territory of the Guardians! Advance any further, and I will deem it as an act of aggression!”

The pursuers that had chased after Aien abruptly stopped in their motions when the various different voices echoed within the forest as if originating from the trees themselves. One by one, the members of the several different races revealed themselves. Each of them was covered in black from head to toe, revealing nothing of their appearance except for their noticeable difference in height. From towering giants, thrice as large as most humans to those dwarfing in comparison, they remained silent by the sudden intervention.

After a few moments of staring at each other, a voice originated from the humanoid shadow that was part of the group of pursuers, trying to explain their reasons.

“Esteemed Guardian of the Eternal Forest, we beg your pardon. Allow us to apologize for having intruded on your territory, but we assure you we had our reasons. Please-”

“Enough!” Without courtesy, the voice interrupted the shadow, unwilling to listen any further. “Regardless of your reasons, leave at once. If not, then per the will of Nature, I will take action!”

Hearing those words, the group of pursuers lost whatever composure they had and disappeared in an instant towards the opposite direction. Only the giant and the shadow revealed some hesitation but seeing there was no room for discussion, they too left reluctantly with confusion filling their minds.

Somewhere hidden in the forest, there was a glow of green light that watched the departing individuals return where they'd come from. There was nothing to reveal its emotions, yet it was even more confused than those it had sent away.

“Was he the prophesized visitor who will aid us in our need? Unfortunately, Phi is out on that meeting...” It silently thought to itself.

“But why was the Order chasing after him?”

No amount of thinking was going to help it come to a conclusion. In the end, it realized it was pointless to waste time thinking about it. Since it had acted on account of their Mother's wishes, it didn't need to worry any further and simply abide by what it was ordered to do.

Still sitting on the same spot ever since his meeting with the nameless eledyn, Tristan Stelfort waited for his real guests to arrive. The first group of arrivals were Esten and Lynnden that had entered through the tower. Shortly after them, a group of three dwarves rose forth from beneath the earth. Using methods unknown to humans, they didn't leave behind any traces of their entrance as the ground they'd simply passed through remained undamaged.

To Esten's surprise, the dwarves had removed the helmets, revealing the features of their faces that usually remained hidden. With their rumbling voices, they had always resembled the earth more than any form of a living being, giving him an impression fitting to their actual appearance.

Rough features that appeared more cornered, almost squared - a stark contrast to the rounder faces of humans. There were none of the famous beards that were portrayed in the stories made up by humans. In fact, they were devoid of any form of hair, and together with their dark skin color, they truly resembled a walking boulder. Even when taking steps, they appeared slightly rusty, almost as if it was an unusual form of movement for them. To top it all off, there lifeless, white eyes were devoid of any pupils. If Esten didn't know any better, he'd certainly mistake them for statues that had miraculously gained sentience.

In his opinion, that was indeed the best way to describe the appearance of the weakest race of this world.

“That makes everyone then.”

Tristan greeted them with a smile and invited them to sit down on the half-broken chairs made of simple wood. Esten and Lynnden took him up on the offer, while the dwarves remained standing, aligning everyone's eye height.

“Tristan. You said. Everyone.”

One of the dwarves spoke up. Esten could hardly tell their appearance apart, but if he had to point something out, then the heavy steel armor the presumable leader wore was slightly darker than the rest.

“Well... I will talk to the Foren later, and I have neglected to reach out to the Jin because the matter of today doesn't concern them too much.”

When Tristan spoke, he used the Divine Language to Esten's and Lynnden's surprise. It was also then when they realized the dwarf had also spoken in that language, albeit not as fluent as Tristan.

“You ought to learn it as well. Mind you, learning to speak is rather difficult since reading and understanding is different for everyone, and more on an instinctive level.” As if reading their thoughts, Tristan pointed them out. “As you can see, Kark is already displaying his sincerity regarding our alliance.”

From what they could gather from the minuscule mimics on the dwarven leader's face, he seemed quite displeased. It was hard to tell whether the cause for that was the absence of the remaining minor races or their lack of communication skills.

As Esten and Lynnden had one day found out, this was Tristan's attempt at gathering the minor races together into an alliance that would hopefully place them on equal footing with the higher races. This objective was much easier said than done.

The two of them and Kaemir couldn't even unite their own race, much less worry about allegiances with the other minor races. Although they had to admit it was a prudent decision with a lot of opportunities, it would be challenging to come to an agreement that would leave all parties satisfied. Even though all the minor races were in the same boat, the focus to first care about themselves was prevalent among every race.

“I can't believe Your Majesty got the Foren to agree.” To further clarify her doubts, Lynnden spoke up. Displaying sincerity to the dwarves, Tristan would always repeat everything they said to allow for proper communication.

“They've always considered themselves part of the higher races, clearly drawing a line between us.” Lynnden continued. “Although they've never been acknowledged by the Rykul and the Eledyn, it is true that they are a level above us.”

It wasn't much of a surprise to Lynnden, or for anyone else that the dwarves were eager to form an alliance. As the weakest, they didn't have much to lose and would notice the advantages the most. It was much different for the others, especially the Humans and the Jins, considering they were practically equal in their standing and prowess. Either side would have to worry about the future and determine what the end result of this alliance would bring. Naturally, if one side saw itself more advantageous, it would be more eager to join, yet at the same time, the other would realize the same disadvantages for them, ending the negotiations.

“It's not a problem for me. And since we are on that topic, I'd like to remind you of something. It would be rather unwise to underestimate what the minor races are capable of.”

There were several implications to Tristan's words, but Lynnden noticed the lifeless stare Kark gave her. Thankfully, Tristan was around to keep them in check and help smooth things over by repeatedly saying things more often than not didn't appear as they were.

“It will still be difficult, but with sincere efforts from all sides, things should work out one way or another. The higher races have oppressed us for too long in ways you can't possibly imagine. It's about time we work together to bring change, lest one day, we'll be left completely powerless as the rift between the races only grows. Putting that aside, there are only two minor matters I want to discuss today.”

Tristan raised himself up, pacing around while he continued.

“First, Esten and Lynnden. We don't have to rush any form of unification, it's enough if we work together behind the scenes. The opportunity to make everything official will eventually present itself. Until then, keep everything as it is. We will later discuss how to recover from the epidemic and deal with the increase of criminals and independent factions. The Order will support us with this.”

Both of them had nothing to say against that. One had already decided to become Tristan's follower while the other had chosen to play along and follow his orders.

“Next, Lynnden. Answer me... What is this?”

From his Spacial Pouch, a black object appeared within Tristan's hand. In response, Lynnden's eyes widened in surprise as she shot up, throwing over her chair that echoed within the dome.

“Where did you get this!?”

She instinctively reached towards her own pouch, while losing her composure. But mere moments later, she realized that what she'd searched for was gone. Immediately, she understood the implications and looked over the expressionless dwarves that appeared very curious about the black object.

“I was careless... So you were already working with the dwarves back then...”

Since she was unfamiliar with the abilities of dwarves, she'd crossed off the miraculous Spacial Pouches as something she simply didn't have the knowledge about. But she should have known it was impossible to ignore the laws regardless of whatever unknown abilities existed.

What made the pouches convenient and immensely successful was their lack of increasing weight as items were put inside of it. This was theoretically impossible. Unless the items were no longer inside the pouch, but somewhere else. In other words, it wasn't a storage place, but a pathway that connected to a warehouse. A warehouse the dwarves evidently had access to.

Promising convenience that no one could pass up on, Tristan performed the largest heist known to men, allowing him access to a network that would continuously provide him with new information.

“I'll repeat myself, Lynnden. What is this?

Each word Tristant said was accompanied by an underlying threat that gradually lost its patience. The cause of him dropping his carefree attitude was this unknown object he'd never seen before. The fact that something like that existed left him extremely restless and uneasy, demanding immediate answers.

“It's a prototype.” Lynnden conceded as she was caught red-handed.

“For a weapon.” She quickly added, noticing Tristan's increasing irritation. The object Tristan held in his hands was colored in a jet-black, appearing slick and very easy to hold in his hand as it was built to be. There were no particular protrusions, only a single opening and a trigger that could be pulled.

“We call it a gun. It's a prototype because...”

Lynnden walked over and took the gun out of Tristan's hand. She continued fiddling around with it in an inexplicable manner until pointing its opening towards her own hand. Following that, she pulled the trigger, which resulted in a loud explosion that echoed within the dome. Apart from the ignition and its accompanying flare, nothing seemed to have happened. Except for a small projectile that had bounced off of Lynnden's hand that remained unharmed.

“It's not particularly useful. Although it can be lethal when used against a regular human, it's practically pointless against First Step magi and the other races. As Your Majesty can see, even Outer Focus magi have no problem dealing with this form of attack as long as they have made minor preparations. It could be useful to catch them off guard, but magi have enough of other methods in such cases. That's why I didn't deem it necessary to report this failure to Your Majesty. However, I must also admit that the well-being of Ashos is still my top priority.”

While Lynnden performed her demonstration and explanation, Tristan observed her closely. He couldn't find any faults in her words; nonetheless, he was very displeased with her conduct.

“In the future, regardless of how necessary or unimportant you deem it, I'd prefer it if you didn't keep any secrets from me. From this point on, if we don't work together, we will all suffer in the end.”

"I understand, Your Majesty.”

Tristan had more to say and even more questions but decided to put the matter aside for the time being as it wasn't of immediate concern. After discussing a few more details, Tristan was about to dismiss their meeting when something caught his attention. He stared at the ceiling as if he could see the man flying in the skies of Levestein as he headed towards the tallest building in the city.

“It seems we have yet another visitor.”