13.3

“What do we do now, Bran?” Aurelius posed the question as the three of them backed away from the centipede eternal decay.

Buzzt… buzzt

Upon hearing the noise of the hornet decay’s wings closing in on the lair, Team Rectiser had regrouped and abandon their original plan of splitting their forces into two groups composing of three members to fight the centipede decay at the center of the lair.

With the centipede decay continued to skittle onwards with its many legs, Team Rectiser had no choice but to kill it before they were to focus their combat efforts on the other two eternal decays.

To be suddenly swarmed by all three of the eternal decays was certainly not what Bran had anticipated.

With the irregular surfaces of the caves not meant for human feet to travel on, it was much more dangerous for any of them to act without a plan.

“…”

“Bran, we need a plan now!” Kirk pestered. “The mantis decay is closing in!!!” his eyes focused on the centipede decay which Matilda was currently suppressing its movements of. “Do I fight it?” Kirk urged his team leader for confirmation.

“…”

“Do I fight it Bran!!!???”

“John, how many more uses of [Heal] can you use?” after some slight delay, Bran shouted to John.

“Are we talking about limb severing or deep wounds? If it’s limb loss, I think I can manage another four or five. I can push to eight if it comes down to it, but that might be a little too dangerous. I think I can manage twice the numbers if it's deep wounds.”

I might black out from using [Heal] on that scale for that many consecutive uses of it within a short time. After I left A'vetheas, I haven't tried to push my limits.

His mastery on [Heal] might have increased ever since his exile, but John had not exhausted himself on persistently using [Heal] for the sake of pushing his limits. So, for safety measures, he stuck to the results of the last known self-test he did in A’vetheas.

“Alright…” Bran nodded, then looked at Kirk. “I need you to aim for the centipede’s head. Aurelius hold its body down. Cacti, get ready to swap with Matilda with [Movement Restriction], focus on restricting the centipede decay’s whole body if able. Matilda, support Cacti.”

“Gotcha.”

“Will do.”

“O-okay.”

Matilda gave Bran a look before she pressed her lips with a disapproving frown. It was almost she already understood what Bran was trying to do after he relayed those orders. After all, everyone’s efforts were focused on dealing with the centipede decay instead of dealing with the mantis decay that was also quickly approaching behind them.

It was only a matter of time before the hornet decay catches up and Team Rectiser would be outmatched.

“Please… Don’t overdo it.”

The four took off, leaving John and Bran behind as they subdued the centipede.

Walking to John’s side, Bran placed a hand on John’s stiff shoulders, “While they take care of our multi-legged friend there, let’s go deal with the mantis decay, John.”

John looked at Bran with a raised brow, “Don’t I have to stay with them? How will the two of us deal with—"

Not waiting for John to reply, Kirk turned to the mantis decay behind them and flashed a silly grin.

“Prepare your [Heal] spell for me, will you? This should take no longer than a minute.”

John’s eyes widened. He understood why Matilda made such a face earlier.

Bran took a step forward, and the next, his body collapsed onto the ground. John caught Bran’s unconscious body as a ball of golden light came forth from Bran.

“Avatar magic…of course. That’s how you plan to deal with the eternal decays,” John muttered as he watched a ball of golden light sprouted from Bran’s body, manifesting itself into the image of the leader of Team Rectiser.

Knowing the drawbacks of what Bran would experience after this, John can’t help but sigh.

Bran’s avatar magic was certainly powerful. John himself bore witness to it once in the past, but it came at an… unpleasant cost that took the toll on Bran’s physical well-being.

“Don’t worry, I intend to take out the hornet decay and mantis decay at the same time. If you see my body acting unusual, apply [Heal] to it, it worked great last time,” the glowing leader of Team Rectiser spoke as the glow bounced off the walls along the dark cave.

“That’s not...” John tried to protest, but before he could, Bran, in his translucent form, had taken off and started firing spells and offensive blasts at the mantis decay.

With the sounds of the hornet decay’s buzz getting louder and louder in the lair of the eternal decays, all John could do was to watch and hope Bran could swiftly end the mantis decay before the hornet decay comes for them.

“Protheus and Coraine Elente, at your Majesty’s request!” the elf couple kneeled on one knee as they announced themselves to the three other women in the throne room.

After a moment of silence in the room, Queen Veissa finally spoke, “Very well, raise your heads.”

The elf couple straightened their bodies before meeting their queen’s gaze.

“Raina, are these the subjects that you have selected as your retainers for your coming rite of passage?” Queen Veissa poised the question to her daughter, stood a few meters in front of the Elente couple.

“Yes,” the young elf’s turquoise eyes beamed with resolution as she answered.

Queen Veissa then looked to the Elente couple, then turned to Lureena who stood beside her, “Lureena, prepare the ritual.”

“As you wish, my queen.”

Without another word, Lureena moved behind the throne that the Elven Queen was on and planted her two legs straight and close to the other. She spread her arms along her two sides to channel the ancient magic that only she, an appointed court mage, was allowed to use.

Lureena then shut her eyes and maintained that stiffened posture of hers, “At your order’s Queen Veissa.”

At this moment, Raina and her two retainers automatically lowered their head in anticipation of what is to come, averting their eyes as per the ritual’s instructions.

During the ancient magic coordinated by Lureena and the Queen Veissa, should they even dare meet gazes with the Queen whilst the ancient magic was in effect, the sudden surge of the dense magic that was to be bestowed on them would overload them, causing them not only great harm but would also setback the whole ceremony a whole 6 months.

The Elven Queen rose from her throne, moved her feet in gradual steps, and came to a halt until she was within an arm’s reach of her own daughter.

“Raina Valindra Eridi…”

Veissa Valindra Eridi’s voice was regal as she spoke, but as she stared at her daughter, who had just reached her age of maturity of 17 years not just a few months ago, her stoic expression became a woeful one.

It reminded Veissa of her own rite of passage that took place centuries ago. She had been the exact age as her daughter was now. Back then, before her parents could even pass on the torch of royalty to her, a war had broken out. The Great Elven Nation that she had once been a part of was already on the brink of destruction.

She could never forget the sorrowful looks that her own blood parents shown her that very day, the Elven King and Queen that she barely knew, the very parents that she never saw after. The very parents that told her to flee from the Great Elven Nation that crumbled right after her departure.

“...By the great power that was passed down to me from royal elves of old, from the countless generations that came before me...”

And now, she understood what went on in her parents' minds as she watched Raina standing silently before her.

In some way, she wanted to apologize for initiating Raina’s rite of passage to become the future ruler of the elves this early on in her daughter’s life. But for so long, Veissa had endured. She had done all she could to fulfill her responsibilities of rebuilding the place where the elves could call their home.

She had lasted as long as she could, upholding her royal duties far longer than any of her ruling ancestors had. And honestly speaking, she could have lasted for another century or two and allowed Raina to be free from the responsibilities of ruling over the elves until her own eventual passing.

But it changed seven years ago… The resolution, the undying will that she instill within herself to become the ruler of the elves, had become undone with the appearance of John Sarvod.

“...I hereby declare Protheus and Coraine Elente to be your rightful retainers. From this moment onwards, whatever commands you relay to them are absolute. They are to answer to you and only you only. And when you are to take over my mantle as the ruler of the elves, they would do their very best to assist you in all matters.”

It had been another arduous day in Elven. Veissa had been overseeing the barriers that surrounded A’vetheas that she placed around the Elven Tribe.

Out of nowhere, a human child, whose hair was as dark as the night, appeared beyond the very barriers.

Her heart had stopped then. It was not out of fear, it was not from the human child’s sudden appearance.

The moment that she had been waiting for had arrived. After centuries and centuries of waiting, the prophecy that was given to her by her one true love had come to fruition.

The first hero known to this world, the man who ended the Great Demon War. For it was that man who made Veissa give her vow to provide this human child a home.

Bound by her promise and her sense of duty, there was not a single day Veissa had waited for this child to appear to her, for she knew that once she completed what the Noble Hero had asked her to do. She too, would soon be released from her responsibilities of Elven Queen, free from the life that she had, for all that she wished for, was to join the First Hero, the legendary man who was now…

“Lureena Heaves...” Finally Queen Veissa said the younger court mage’s full name.

With her eyes still closed, Lureena answered, “Yes, Queen Veissa.”

Although the Elven Queen had two court mages, Lureena Heaves was chosen to carry out the ceremony for this occasion sole because Lureena’s magic mastery, application and knowledge are still far too behind to be deserving of greatness.

Sure, Lureena had already memorized and could use practically all ancient magic that the Great Elven Nation of old had developed—provided she was given time to prepare them—and had already surpassed the first court mage in terms of knowledge at the young age of a hundred and twenty years of life.

What Lureena truly lacked, in Veissa’s opinion, was a reason to make use of the various knowledge that she had accumulated.

For a magic user, their will, their conviction, their sense of self, was what differentiated a magic prodigy to a great sage. Where both are equivalent in raw power, but unlike the magic prodigy, the great sage had wisdom, uncanny abilities that are honed only by the culmination of experience and applied intuition.

That was the Great Hero taught her.

And Queen Veissa understood that by placing Lureena to her own daughter’s side, she would surely flourish alongside her daughter. After all, Lureena cherishes Raina more than any elf in A’vetheas.

Perhaps even more so than I…

“I shall leave the duty of you overseeing Raina in your hands.”

Lureena remained silent as she nodded her head.

“Let the bestowment of authority now commence.”

John sat on a large rock as he watched Bran’s golden avatar floating in the air as the leader of Team Rectiser sliced away yet another one of of the oversized mantis’ arms.

No sooner after Bran finished disarming the mantis decay’s scythe-like arms—in the literal sense by slicing it off with his magic—Bran quickly followed up on the hornet decay that was struggling to land an attack on Bran’s invincible avatar body.

John only needed to cast [Heal] now and then on Bran’s physical body whenever Bran looked like he was about to vomit or spasm uncontrollably.

He then shifted his gaze to where the other four members of Team Rectiser, who had now completely subdued the centipede eternal decay. In fact, Aurelius and Kirk had worked so efficiently that none of the others had suffered any type of bruising or graze.

Matilda and Cacti’s continual use of movement inhibiting magic on the eternal decay had given them the complete upper hand in dealing with the centipede eternal decay. All that was left was for Kirksten and Aurelius to puncture the dense hard shells of the centipede decay, ending the monster’s life as quickly as they could.

It was as though victory just fell into their laps with zero effort.

This is… Somewhat anti-climatic...

John can’t help but wonder what all the talk that Bran spoke of the eternal decays were all about.

If it were the radioactive toxins that the eternal decays would emit, Team Rectiser solved it with Cacti’s protection magic. If it were the humongous size of the eternal decays and their overwhelming strength because of the difference in body sizes, Bran’s avatar magic alone could deal with all three of the eternal decays if given the right circumstance.

Of course, a weight left off his heart when he witnessed his teammates overcame the eternal decays with no problems. He rather the battles his team faced were all easy obstacles, and he needed not to deal with dangers like he had back in Kershent Village.

But there was still something that didn’t feel quite right about all of this.

John still had not seen the sign of the chalice that Team Rectiser was supposed to retrieve.

Nor anything of mystery door that Prishine mentioned.

It should have been somewhere below them, but last John checked, the map on the mission sphere showed no signs of passages that led downwards.

“Did the stupid succubus make the story of that mysterious door up? What a load of crap.” he said to himself, wondering the truth to the reality that he was perceiving.

John knew Prishine had her eyes on him ever since they first met each other on the first day he attended Moxnet Academy. Even after his multiple attempts at dismissing the succubus—either politely or rudely—he never shook the succubus’ keen obsession with him.

Is it because I don’t fall for her obvious attempts at luring me? Or is it because she sensed that I am a...

An unpleasant emotion filled his heart. The scene where a large radius of Reperane Woods became engulfed by a torrent of magma that was summoned by a supreme being. A being that was said to be the apex of all creation.

An Elder Dragon.

“You could achieve this power too, young demon. Your potential is evident...

His spine shivered. When John came back to his senses, he already had a hand on his thumping chest. Cold sweat drenched his clothes as he struggled to collect his composure.

Like that Elder Dragon in Reperane Woods… Could Prishine know that he…

He had no doubts that Ephinelyth already knew he was some variation of a demon or the vessel to some untold power. In fact, it seemed that the dragon girl already was aware of that before they even became acquainted, but had kept it to herself to avoid offending him.

But if Ephinelyth and the Elder Dragon in Reperane Woods. Two Elder Dragons already identified him as this sort of… ‘demon’. What is there for him to conceal his demonic aspect to Prishine, the succubus whose lineage stems from the underworld?

No matter how I look at it, Prishine must have intentions of using me… That…succubus is bad news.

At that thought, John’s heart sank, a small inaudible sigh escaped his mouth.

Evie and the Harvests, none of them ever saw me as someone to be used and discarded… The Harvests all welcomed me into their family despite my reluctance in divulging where I came from. Evie…from the way she reacted during the Ball of Paragons, she must have known I am...this kind of…being. And even then...she never asked me to do anything for her. All she wanted to do was to spend time with me…

“I am a fucking idiot… Why do I always turn everything good in my life into my suffering…” John uttered to himself as he watched his teammates deliver the finishing blows to the eternal decays. His eyes drooped as he watched each of them coordinated synchronously with the other.

Somewhere, deep inside of him, he wished that someone would tell him what to do.

More than anything in the world, he wanted people he could call his own. He wanted to give a purpose to this meaningless life of his.

The story of heroes, champions, leaders, warriors and legends he knew of, all of them, even when they were at their lowest. Such outstanding characters all had some purpose, someone, something, some cause to hold on to. Something that gave them strength, gave them the reason to keep moving on, to keep living.

As for John.

He had nothing, no one, not even himself.

His life so far had been nothing but empty suffering that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I can’t help everyone in defeating the eternal decays… I bet everything would be better off had I never existed. The world will still go on. I would have never hurt Evie, the Harvests would have never had to suffer, Raina would never have to be disappointed in me, and Kahnira would most likely...

As John wallowed in his depressing thoughts, the clashing and banging sounds of combat that bounced off the walls of the cave became silent. In fact, the entire world around him had become so devoid of sound that he could no longer hear his own breath.

“!!!”

Immediately, he got up to his feet and looked around him, only to discover that his teammates were still engaging with the eternal decays as the monsters writhed their body as their lives whittle away.

John opened his mouth and verbalized a few words. He felt his throat vibrating, he felt his wet tongue moving as he spoke, however, he not a single intonation could be heard.

His hearing was of that very moment, completely gone.

What is going on? Why can’t I hear a thing!? [Heal]!!!

The blue recovery aura appeared from his palms and covered his ears. Even with [Heal] flowing to his own body, John could still not hear a single sound around him.

Am I going to be deaf all my—

Right as he was about to call out to his teammates for help with this sudden loss of his auditory organ, he heard something.

“Come.”

John turned his head around to inspect where the voice originated. Just as he did, the voice spoke again.

“Human child who bears the devotion of my descendant, approach me.”

The voice came from the glowing toxic pool before him.

He pivoted his head, looked around the cave, ignoring the voice that called to him as he waited for his hearing to come back.

If he could hear this unknown voice that called to him, he was better off waiting for his hearing to return to normal than to follow whatever the unknown voice asked of him.

As far as John was aware of, he bore no one’s favor. The most likely scenario was that Cacti’s protection magic waned, and he was hallucinating from the excess radioactive poison that the glowing pool and the eternal decays emitted.

“Make haste at once, my child. Like your hearing senses, that item you and your team sought for is in my possession.”

Upon hearing that, John froze still.

The chalice for Team Rectiser’s mission?

John looked at his teammates. So far Bran had returned to his physical body after defeating the hornet and mantis eternal decays. Aurelius and the others all wore grins as they looked to be chatting about the centipede decay they killed.

All that was left was for Team Rectiser to complete their first task is to collect the mission sphere.

I…should not. But…

Almost hesitating, John took a step forward towards the toxic pool, then another. He continued approaching the glowing pool until he reached the very edge where soil separate from the oozing glowing liquids.

“Very well. Now, take the step of faith forwards.”

I… Is this even going to work… This man’s voice, the way he speaks, sounds so familiar, but I just can’t place a finger. But this is a corrosive pool, even if his accent is familiar, I…

In response to John’s hesitation, the voice spoke once more, “Have no fear. Nothing would cause you harm. A grand destiny awaits you. There would be nothing to be gained in your death.”

“N-nothing to be gained in m-my death…?”

“That is correct. I am to hand this relic from my fallen nation to you, and only you, John Sarvod.”

“Hand me...it? What reason is there?”

“It is in accordance to my decree with the great Consignor. He who assigns the future of my kind, he who propels the past, present and the future, the ruler of none but the leader of all.”