Chapter 8: Seeing is Not Necessarily Believing

The boy cried his heart out.

Why? Why I wonder…

It was not because the story I told was sad in any way…

Plus I’m not that good of a storyteller…

Well, probably a bit, but…

That day, I saw a boy, yet I saw also a man…

Who’s as if some heavy shackles from the past, lifted…

As Heinz-sama said, finally…

Now I wonder…

What kind of heavy history could a five-year old possess?!

================================================================

Hear me, hear me!

Last night, I was instructed to guard the Great Tree in the eastern Garn district along with some colleague of mine…

It was eerily windy that night, yet true to my duty, I arrived on time.

When I got there, it seemed my friends did not arrive yet, so I sat under the tree.

I waited for them for half an hour, yet they did not come…

I know from some older guards, that guarding the Great Trees was a waste of time…

But they shouldn’t be reckless like this, what if an officer decided to do some inspection out of a whim?!

And then!

It was then..!

I heard an eerie sound…!

It was a sound along the lines of Hm, hm, hmmmm…

...

...

No, no, I’m not making this up! You bastard!

My hearing has always been superb!

The sound was as if it was deliberating…

My Goodness! No one told me the Great Tree of the East was haunted!

Is that why my darn friends didn’t come?

That thought crossed my mind.

So much for being friends… huhu…

I looked up.

I saw nothing.

It was too dark.

But then, the moonlight came out of the clouds.

There it was..!

Sitting on the highest branch of the Great Tree, a being..!

Continuing that Hm, hm, hmmmm…

Was it deliberating to eat me now, or wait until some more of my friends came?

Could it be a human, you asked?

No, no, no bloody way!

It’s got to be demon! A vampire even!

What kind of human would sit that high up on the Great Tree, at that time in the morning?!

What did I do?

Well, you darn… I took off as if my wife just knew I stalked my old fiancé.

=========================================================

I was a bit disturbed by what happened the morning before.

I did not expect young Averon to cry out that much from me telling him that story.

Perhaps I’m just so darn good at telling stories? Nevermind.

Disturbed as I was, however, I don’t intend to make it as excuse to skip out my duty.

I went out of the mansion before 2.00 am.

I ran towards the Great Tree, no guide needed.

It was visible in front of me… I mean, it’s a Great Tree.

Why do you think it got its name?

Then, since it was convenient, I jumped from roof to roof.

Using Wind Manipulation, I made sure not to leave much sound.

I was sure even if someone heard it, one would think it was merely a cat.

Sorry to disturb your sleep!

When I arrived, there were no guards.

Weird. Heinz-sama said there would be sentries around this time.

Sentries… Just in case someone went nuts and do some immoral things to the Great Tree…

…

Where are they?

Did they play truant?

No matter.

I climbed the tree… actually, I just ran up the big trunk.

Wind manipulation sure was convenient.

However, this tree was quite tall, so I stopped on the branch, catching my breath.

Ah, maybe I should dispel my gravity weights..?

Or so I thought, but I did not.

It made me quite heavy, but it was for training.

You should not take training for granted, or that attitude would be a habit.

During my stop I noticed an incoming man with a torch.

It seemed to be one of the sentries.

He was a bit disturbed, probably since he was alone.

The night was quite dark afterall.

I managed to get on top of the tree, onto the highest branch.

Even higher than the top of the trunk.

There, I sat in full lotus.

I tied my body with a cloth and rope I prepared beforehand.

The other end of the rope, I tied onto one of the smaller sub-branch.

It was just a safety measure…

Well, not a big deal even if I fall down.

I could always use Wind to put me back to the tree.

…Or to lower my fall.

I changed my breathing, deeper…

It was the breathing technique for meditation.

It requires quite a while to reach deep meditation.

…

…

Hm, hm, hmmmm…

***

Deep, deep cloud…

Piercing through the horizon…

The moonlight, ah, the moonlight…

Taking a bird’s eye view of the surrounding nature…

Empty the mind…

Let nature shows what it sees…

…

…

…

Grey… dark night…

Oh, the moonlight…

Windy… the wind was strong.

Ahhh… so comfy…

The place, once filled with noise…

Now silent…

Silent…

It was peaceful…

…

Hm?

A light…

A scorching, strong light…

It was in the city.

The Great Trees were delighted.

For thousands of years, it was the first time…

Yet at the same time, anxious…

Since they could feel…

A fire of hope and destruction.

The two opposing criteria, merged together as one entity.

Impossible…

…Where?

A view…

A view, moving towards the same path I took…?

It’s close.

Yes, it’s close.

The Great Tree was helping me.

It recognized me, and lent me its aid.

...

...

Hm?

A mansion…?

It seemed familiar…?

Ah… the dim crimson light came from a room…

On the third floor, the window was open…?

Wait… That’s…!!

=================================================================================

…

…

SHUUUUUU…

The wind was blowing violently. The roof, windows and houses shook as it went through it. The early birds – people who woke up early, took a look outside their windows of the rare wind.

Pak, pak, pak, pak – SHUSH!

“What the--?!”

A moving silhouette of sparks was visible for the better eyes – people with training. It was moving in such a speed, as if the whole space in front of it was giving it its way.

“No way, no way… It can’t be, right?”

The thing was mumbling by itself as it dashed from roof to roof.

SHUSH – SHUSH – SHUSH

The sound of it dashing was akin to the violent gust, and as it slows down for a very short moment one could see legs moving at such speed hitting the root four times before sparks came and once again it rushed further at a much higher speed. The occasional sparks made it visible to the better eyes in this dark early morning.

Roof after roof, trees after trees, soon she saw the large continuous wall getting bigger – the second wall of Capital City of Crest. By its side, was the residence of Cestia’s Great General. She stopped by the front gate, and after being recognized by the guards, she walked in as fast as she could walk. After a considerable distance, she shoot herself into the source of her distress; a room just beside the field – Averon’s room.

- What if he’s a…? Then I have to --- No, no… let’s check it closer… it might just be a mistake… please God let it be just a mistake on my part…

After making sure he really was sleeping, she hopped right onto the Kapok tree outside Averon’s window. It seemed the boy did not really close his window, as half of it was clearly locked open. The cold early morning air seeped into his room, yet the boy was clearly not disturbed by it. Shisha closed her eyes for awhile, and opened them back for the pupils to be much bigger and seemed deeper than before. Her eyes stretched and bulging blood veins appeared. Her eyes became red.

Her sight went through the darkness right into Averon’s room, and from her position, she could see him sleeping with no care of his surrounding – with his blanket half-covering him and his left leg being put on a large pillow. His hair was a mess, while his tummy was half-showing with his right hand clearly scratching it.

“Fuaargh~~~ Emmm…”

He yawned, inhaling so much air then his right hand closed the opened mouth. He shook a little. From an average people’s point of view, the sight was nothing interesting to see. However, Shisha’s eyes were able to perceive the most baffling sight she had seen ever. Dim gold particles -- coming in from all around the atmosphere, going right into the room, and right into his mouth -- as if the whole sea of air was being sucked by a sudden whirlpool appearing out of nowhere. The whole surrounding was illuminated…

- That – That amount… Ether?! Ridiculous, even the best fire Sage Illmar cannot – forget him even the Eldest Fire Dragon Freivenn cannot possibly – this is madness! What am I seeing here?!

The whole space was filled with another wave of flowing gold particles as they were sucked into Averon’s mouth. From his right hand a dim purple barrier seemed to merge the particles into a much denser form.

- Ether purification! And he’s doing it while he’s asleep?! God, this is… tell me this is just a dream – a human cannot possibly – could it be -- a devil’s reincarnate? Ugh!

She grabbed her hair – her brown silky hair was pulled down in frustration. She gritted her teeth, and one of her sharper one cut into her lip.

- God, why? Why must it be Averon of all people? To make the very boy I’m associated with a devil reincarnate – plus he’s Heinz-sama’s grandchild. No, no…. this must be a dream… a nightmare even – and when I woke up it’ll be just like before. I’ll have to search further – yes, that’s it – it’s just a dream…

Then she felt the pain – the pain coming in from her lips was evident, one she could no longer deny – of which denied her denying the truth.

That THIS-IS-NOT-A-DREAM.

“No… no, it can’t be…”

Tears came out from her eyes… and the source of the tears came from the sworn responsibility of the Sages. Sages had several responsibilities – aside from destroying great injustice, the other main responsibility would be to destroy any devil’s reincarnate. It was one of the deepest secret of the Sages – of which she could not even mention such thing to even old Heinz – though she suspected that he already knew.

- So far only Kei are able to discern and kill a boy who was a devil reincarnate – only after he was sure and he was given revelation about his real existence. Usually… we could only sense when they’re adults… And such a problem they would be to us Sages. Fortunately, they were rare… Of such rarity – so far I only destroy mid-level demons… A devil would be at least a High Level Demon…

She was in distraught. She needed to report this to the Sage Council through her Life-Force Regalis, of which the Council would decide how to proceed. Killing other human is strictly prohibited unless it was a justified self-defense or under a just war – with several exceptions. She was really worried, should she reported it and it turned out that the council decided to do the forbidden necessity – killing a child – she just could not take it, even if he really was a devil’s reincarnate. That, and she really hated the idea of killing someone whom she already considered family… she was indebted to them, even for just a short time.

It was an act akin to betrayal, but…

- Uuughhh there’s no denying it. My eyes… my senses… they’re tingling so much after the meditation. I’m shaking… I could sense such presence clearly – such overwhelming presence of a fire demon – a level I could not imagine existed, seeping through his body a little at a time… yet such quality – there’s no mistaken it. A high level demon – no, a really high level demon! Far beyond any high-level demons others had described!

…

…

…

- Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!

- Averon, just what are you? Aaah why is it that I could not even sense such presence when he was awake? And when I was so near him before? And when I meditate the night before? Was it conscious enough to hide itself when I was nearby? Was it because of the Great Tree? Did that demon already awake and taken over the body? Did the whole thing about him being mature was a façade of the devil? Am I charmed by it already? Should I really report this to the council? But if they decided to… then I… but if I don’t… at this level… Uuuu…

God!

JUST-WHAT-SHOULD-I-DO?!

!

!

!

She yelled within herself, frustrated as of the dilemma of her options… Then the sound of a rustle hit her ears.

“Um?”

She noticed Averon waking up, and in a flash she leaped high onto the rooftop -- an open rotunda with a dome as the roof.

“W-what? Hmmm Fuaaahhh~”

She could hear Averon’s voice mumbling as he went back to bed. She sighed weakly.

“It seemed he didn’t notice--- !!”

PANG!

She parried a sword with her gauntlets. The sword was thrown back a few metres, and it seemed it was not unsheathed. She stared the darkness – of which she could clearly see – an aura so far beyond what any human could possess. In her eyes, it was a dim purple existence, slowly taking the form of a – something? The fighting spirit it unleashed upon her made her breathing heavier.

Shisha stared at the existence with full readiness for a confrontation, and her normally cute-childish demeanor turned cold – stinging cold. The cute shining face turned into a gaze of a warrior.

“I thought it was an intruder, so I throw that just in case… My apologies, Shisha.”

It was Heinz’s voice. She finally saw his appearance, with his training outfit of leather trousers and bandaged strong arms. His small goatee, his army-style hair and his bulging muscles evident on his bare chest, with scars all over gave the impression of a very formidable veteran warrior.

“Heinz-sama…”

- Did he know what I was doing – no, not possible… but if he does… Auuu… his Aura… what kind of training he did to develop it to such an extent? Haa… it’s hard to breathe…

She still had her guard up, and her stare was piercing the distance between them, ready for any incoming attack. She knew he was strong, and even stronger than her own self.

- If he knew what Averon is… then it would be possible for him to neutralize any danger to his grandchild… If we are to fight here… Damnit! Why am thinking this? I don’t want to fight him!

“Why the fighting spirit, Shisha? I won’t attack you --well, not anymore.”

She noticed he no longer emitting fighting spirit. He had inquired with a mark of concern, and she snapped out of her confrontational demeanor.

“H-huh? Oh, I… I apologize, Heinz-sama.”

“Nevermind that, you don’t have to apologize. Regardless, why are you sneaking around here – I see… Averon, huh.”

“Y-you knew?”

“That he’s special, yes. When you mentioned that there’s an irregularity, the possibility of him being the cause came to mind, though I immediately dismiss it.”

“I… see… Do you know of something else, Heinz-sama? Something substantial?”

“I do not have the same sensing ability as Sages do. Though I know he has a lot of internal Mana and energy, and his perseverance even bested High Knights… So, what did you find out?”

- So he only knew that much, no, he just suspected it. But… what would he do if I tell him…?

“I… only suspected, for now. I’ll have to report this first to the Sages Council.”

“Hm, I see… From then on the decision will be theirs?”

“Yes, I’m afraid.”

“I remember Kyosei mentioned being one of these so called Council members a decade or so ago.”

“Yes, Master was elevated to that position by the decision of the whole council.”

“I believe he is the most junior among them all?”

“Among the six of them, yes.”

“So this council made the decision…”

“Heinz-sama?”

Shisha noticed his last sentence. Before she could ask, she noticed two people approaching.

GENERAL, SIR!

MASTER!

Two people with sword at arm arrived there by leaping onto the rotunda. One of them was a handsome black-haired man in his 20s, wearing a simple tunic with a purple-red armor pad on the chest and shoulder along with boots, while another was a blonde beauty barely twenty, wearing a loose pink nightgown showing parts of her fine legs – the moon did well to reflect the light on the surface in such time.

“Oh Alnair, Vestianna.”

“Sir, I sense fighting spirit just now, did someone – Lady Shisha?”

The High Knight Alnair noticed her peculiarity. She had a rather guarded demeanor, much more so than the first time they met the day before. He remembered her as someone more of a cheerful side. Vestianna, by his side, did not fail to notice so as well.

“Did something happen?”

She asked her Master.

“Yes, and no. I merely mistook Shisha for an intruder, so I threw my sword and release my fighting spirit a little.”

“A little, Master?”

Vestianna asked, dubious. She took a glimpse on her master’s sheathed sword lying on the floor.

“Lady Shisha, you’re out quite early… you too, General.”

Alnair knitted his eyes. He knew quite well something had occurred, yet he could only hint on the obviousness. Vestianna just stood silent, eyes observing.

“I’m sorry to be a bother this early morning -- I had just return from my meditation.”

“And I was on my way to my morning training, so we bumped into each other – nothing serious. Don’t be so uptight Alnair, hah, ah yes, about what we discuss just now Shisha…”

“Y-yes?”

“Send my regards to Kyosei, and tell him to trust me on this.”

“Err… yes, Sir – Heinz-sama.”

Old Heinz just referred to the Life-Force Regalis’ communication ability. She smiled bitterly. Should the Council decided to rid of Averon, she knew even her Master could not stop them. However, what old Heinz just said somehow eased her feeling a bit.

- Hopefully everything will be…

“I would be honoured if you do the same as well, Lady Shisha…”

“E-eh? Um, um y-yes, Heinz-sama! I shall.”

“If you have nothing else, please do take a rest, Shisha. You look like you need it. By the way, you two…”

Old Heinz turned to his two subordinates, smirking. The two jolted. They had a shocking realization of what the old man had in mind.

“I- I had to see the King la-later in the morning so--”

“Inspection – I have to do inspection later at the North Camp--”

“No matter! Both won’t take much of your body. Come, I need some sparring partners!”

“No! General, Sir! Please! The King--”

“M-master! I’m still in my nightgown—wha?!”

He took the two in tow with him towards the field… ignoring their plead while laughing so lively. Shisha, looking over such incident, was dumbfounded.

“What on Ein Gard did I just see? Ahh… I REALLY need a rest…”

=====================================================================================