VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 10

VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 10

“Achieve what my heart desires?” said Big Mona. “That’s quite… a bold statement, partner.”

Big Mona inwardly reprimanded himself for showing greed on his face. He relaxed his shoulders and said, “Wealth. Fame. Power. You need all of these three if you want to surpass the Vont Family.”

“I know,” said Lark. “I’m well aware of how wealthy and powerful they are. They’re the largest supporter of Wizzert, isn’t that right? And that’s not all. They’re also the largest supplier of arms for the Kelvins and the other nobles in the western territory.”

All of those were correct. Despite having a commoner background, the Vont Family held significant sway in the Kingdom. Big Mona even heard from a reliable source that they were also connected to the Grand Order. According to his intel, the younger sister of the current master of the Tower was the offspring of a Vont and an Aria. A woman born from two of the most powerful families in the entire Kingdom.

“So you’re aware,” muttered the fat merchant.

Although the time Big Mona had known Lark Marcus was short, he was certain that this young noble was a man of his word. Moreover, judging by the achievements Lark had obtained just last year alone made Big Mona’s life-long dreams seem reachable.

This noble was the same person who defeated the Third Legion and led the Kingdom to victory against the Empire.

Although most nobles believed that Lui Marcus, Kalavinka Kelvin, and Lancaster Kelvin held the highest chance of ascending the throne, Big Mona thought differently. For him, Lark Marcus was currently the strongest contender for the throne. He trusted his merchant’s intuition. There was no doubt about it.

King Alvis even sent his daughter here to this region, in hopes of her marrying the young noble.

Becoming his exclusive merchant didn’t sound bad, considering all of these things.

If Lark Marcus became the next King of Lukas, Big Mona – his most trusted merchant – would naturally soar to greater heights.

He would finally be able to make those bastards from the Vont Family pay for driving his father to poverty, causing him to hang himself to save his two sons from the loan sharks.

Big Mona fell silent as he pondered.

“The oath… I assume that the dagger will pierce my heart if I break the vow,” said Big Mona.

“That’s right. And it’ll be painful,” Lark said in a cold voice. “You’ll die an excruciating death, Mona.”

Big Mona smirked.

He’d finally decided.

“I trust my intuition as a merchant. Very well. I’ll bet everything I have on you, young master Lark.”

The merchant took the dagger and pressed it against his thumb, making blood drip down. Following Lark’s instructions, Big Mona recited the vow.

“I, Mona Gaultier, swear my allegiance to Lark Marcus, Lord of Blackstone Town. I vow to never betray him nor his town. May this dagger sink its blade into my heart… should this vow be broken.”

The dagger shattered into numerous particles of light and dissipated. Big Mona felt a tiny seed within his chest. He knew that the moment he broke this vow, this tiny seed would grow and immediately pierce his heart.

Lark noticed that Big Mona swore his loyalty to him only, and not to the Kingdom itself.

“Mona, the vow to never betray the Kingdom—” said Lark.

“—Isn’t this enough?” said Big Mona. He wiped the blood dripping down his thumb using a cloth. “I will never betray you, it’s impossible with this vow. But I cannot promise that I wouldn’t kill those bastards from the capital. They still have to pay for what they’ve done to us.”

Lark understood what Big Mona meant. Killing the members of that prominent family would probably be considered treason or betrayal against the Kingdom. It’ll be near impossible for Big Mona to exact his revenge if he made the vow to never betray the Kingdom of Lukas. It was a goal Big Mona couldn’t compromise on, no matter what.

Lark sighed, “Very well. I guess this is more than enough.” He looked at the four people in the room, “Now that everything’s settled, let’s go and see the elves in the Endless Forest.”

“W-What? E-Elves?” breathed Big Mona. He nearly dropped the cloth he was holding. “There are elves living in the Endless Forest?”

***

It had been almost a month since the priestess received God Gaia’s revelation. King Melandrach, along with the priestess, a few officials, and several warriors, immediately went to the forest Border to meet the human mentioned in the revelation.

Unfortunately, their efforts to meet the God of the Earth Scylla had been futile so far.

Still, the King and his retinue continued staying in the castle located in the Border, in hopes of meeting Evander one day. The God of Earth specifically told them to seek his help, that it was the only way for the Eleven Race to survive. They’d already resolved themselves to wait here, no matter what.

The ground rumbled. Outside the castle, the sound of wings unfolding was heard.

One of the warriors stationed at the castle’s entrance said to King Melandrach, “Your Majesty! The Earth Scylla woke up! A rift has opened in the barrier!”

The Earth Scylla did not bother speaking to them during their entire stay here at the castle. It was sleeping the entire time and refused to acknowledge the existence of the castle’s current occupants. All of the elves knew that the Scylla thought of them as nothing but mere insects unworthy of its time.

For that seven-headed monster to suddenly wake up and open the illusion barrier protecting this castle – it meant only one thing. Evander Alaester had returned to the Border.

“Priestess Siofra,” said King Melandrach. “It seems that he’s finally returned.”

The Priestess nodded. She fixed her dress, and together with her father and the guards, went out of the castle. Looking up, they saw five humans enter the illusion barrier through the opened rift.

“Welcome back, God Evander!” the Scylla spoke in draconian language.

“Good work protecting this sacred ground,” Lark replied in human tongue.

The Scylla was an extremely intelligent creature. It immediately understood that its God wanted those four humans it brought with him to understand what they were staying.

Using human tongue, the first head replied, “As you’ve ordered, the elves are staying here at the castle, God Evander.”

The Scylla peeked at the humans behind its God. The youngest of them looked utterly horrified, his entire body trembling from terror. His older brother, on the other hand, was repeatedly opening and closing his mouth, his eyes swiveling between Lark and the seven-headed monster. The man with golden hair had his hand on the hilt of his sword, his brows creased as he fearlessly observed the Scylla and the elves. He looked as though he was ready to cut them down at a moment’s notice. As for the plump human – although he was clearly terrified of the Scylla, he was openly gawking at the elves, particularly at King Melandrach and Priestess Siofra.

“Ordered?” chuckled Lark. “People might start having misconceptions that I’m a tyrant.”

The Scylla was flustered upon hearing Lark’s remark. Its tail stiffened.

“Ah! That’s not what we meant, God Evander!”

“We requested the elves to stay in the castle!”

“We’ve been very polite! We didn’t even threaten them this time!”

“That’s right! We only slept the entire time!”

Although Lark found the seven-headed monster cute and amusing, his companions clearly thought differently. Those sharp teeth dripping with silvery threads of saliva. Those iridescent black scales that were probably stronger than iron. No matter how they looked at it, this was a monster capable of destroying an entire nation.

George couldn’t bear it any longer. He’d never seen something so terrifying in his life. He grabbed the arm of Lark and said, “M-Master, that… what is that thing!”

Lark placed his hand on top of George’s head and lightly ruffled his hair. Seeing this, the Scylla felt a pang of jealously. It wanted its head to be touched too. That human kid was so lucky.

“It’s fine. I told you before coming here that it’s about time you learn of the truth of this world, right?” Lark reassured George.

During their the flight on the way here, Lark told Big Mona and his disciples regarding the elves, the monster guarding the forest border, and the upcoming demon invasion he’d heard from the arzomos. He’d decided to disclose all of these things to his disciples in preparation for the upcoming demon invasion.

Still, although Lark had already told them about this seven-headed monster beforehand, seeing it in flesh was an entirely different matter.

Even trained knights would be frozen in fear upon seeing Blackie. It was understandable that Big Mona and his disciples were stricken with terror upon seeing it.

“One of you,” Lark said to the Scylla. “Come here.”

The first head was the first to react. It immediately moved in front of Lark, its eyes filled with anticipation.

George shrieked upon seeing the monster up-close. Lark chuckled. He touched the snout of the first head and gently rubbed it.

“It won’t hurt you,” said Lark. “Try it.”

He wordlessly gestured for George and Austen to touch it. The brothers hesitated for a moment but eventually found the courage to do it.

The moment the brothers touched its snout, the first head closed its eyes.

“See?” Lark grinned.

“It’s… beautiful,” mumbled George.

“It’s not resisting our touch?” whispered Austen.

Seeing this, Anandra finally relaxed. He removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and silently observed the seven-headed monster. Big Mona, on the other hand, was gazing at what was transpiring with wide eyes.

“Touch us too, God Evander!”

“It’s not fair!”

“It’s that stupid snake again!”

The rest of the heads moved closer to Lark, surrounding him from all sides. The brothers were startled by this at first, but surprisingly, they slowly got used to the monster. After they touched the first head, for some reason, the monster no longer felt that scary. It even reminded them of the mutt they picked up back then in Lion City.

Lark humored the Scylla and started rubbing the other heads one after another. The seven-headed monster was definitely pleased; its tail started wagging, fiercely striking the ground every now and then. Some of the elven warriors even had to move back to avoid being hit by the tail of the seven-headed monster.

“Blackie, these are my disciples. George, Austen, and Anandra,” said Lark.

“Disciples?” said seventh head.

“Just like Master Kubarkava?” said the fifth.

“That’s right. Just like Kubarkava,” Lark smiled.

Hearing this, the Scylla bowed its head before them. It said in unison, “It’s an honor to meet the disciples of God Evander.”

It was a surreal sight. Lark’s disciples couldn’t believe that this monster was lowering its head in front of mere humans like them.

“And that man over there is Big Mona, my merchant,” said Lark.

This time, the Scylla didn’t bow its head to Big Mona. It simply acknowledged it with its eyes as it silently gazed at the plump man. The Scylla didn’t consider the merchant its superior, unlike its Gods’ direct disciples.

“But master, why is it calling you God Evander?” said George, his hand still rubbing the first head’s snout.

“I’ll tell you the details later on,” said Lark. “It’s quite a long story.”

Lark’s gaze moved toward the elves at the back. He noticed that they did not dare disrupt his conversation with the Scylla; they patiently waited as he introduced the seven-headed monster to his companions.

Lark walked toward the elves who’d been silently standing near the castle’s entrance. Smiling, he said, “It’s been a while, King Melandrach.”

King Melandrach, the Priestess, and the rest of the elves immediately knelt on the ground.

“Thank you for granting us an audience, Lord Evander,” said King Melandrach.

“Lord Evander, my name is Siofra, daughter of Melandrach, current Priestess of the Elven Kingdom,” said the female elf next to the king. “I sincerely thank you for granting us an audience.”

So, this was the priestess of the elven kingdom. Although she was incredibly beautiful, she looked really young.

Lark noticed the desperation within the elves’ voice. He found it disturbing to see the rulers of a nation kneeling on the ground in front of him.

“Please rise,” said Lark.

The elves slowly rose to their feet.

“This is no place to talk. Come. Let’s head inside the castle,” said Lark.

Like chicks following the hen, his three disciples, Big Mona, and the elves followed Lark and entered the castle.

“This is even larger than the King’s castle at the capital,” mumbled Big Mona, his jaw slacked as he looked around.

George and Austen were also stunned by what they were seeing. They’d never expected to see a castle this colossal in the Endless Forest. Even Anandra curiously looked at the castle’s interior.

They entered the grand hall.

Unlike before, it now had a large long table capable of sitting a few dozen people. The table and chairs were intricately made of wood; the Scylla must have spent a great deal of time creating these furnitures.

Lark sat on one of the chairs and he gestured for King Melandrach and the priestess to sit right opposite him. The elves were confounded. Right now, Lark was treating their King and the Priestess as his equal.

“Please sit,” said Lark.

It was only then that King Melandrach and the Priestess finally sat opposite Lark. As for the other elves, they chose to stand behind their King and the Priestess.

“I heard from Blackie,” said Lark. “A revelation, is it?”

The Priestess and the King glanced at each other. Priestess Siofra deeply breathed in and said, “Yes, Lord Evander. Almost a month ago, I received a revelation from God Gaia. The content of the revelation is this: the demon sealed in the ice prison is close to waking up. Find the one who travelled through time. This is the only path, the only future wherein the elven race survives.”

Lark noticed at the corner of his eyes that Austen was openly staring at the Priestess, as though he’d been bewitched by her appearance.

That kid, really.

“We believe that the revelation is pertaining to you, Lord Evander,” said the Priestess.

Lark fell silent.

Had he heard of this several weeks ago, the first part of the revelation wouldn’t have made sense. But now that he’d met Kel’ Vual and the rest of the arzomos tribe, he could somehow surmise the identity of the demon mentioned by the God of Earth. It was probably the Demon Lord Barkuvara – the so-called Immortal Demon.

As for the latter part of the revelation – Lark was not certain if it was pertaining to him. Well, it was true that he’d somehow travelled through time after his death.

“We beg of you, Lord Evander.” King Melandrach bowed his head low, his forehead almost touching the table. The Priestess and the elves behind him immediately did the same. “Please help our Kingdom, please help the elven race survive.”

Seeing the elves bowing their heads to Lark Marcus, Big Mona couldn’t help but shudder from surprise. Based on what he’d heard, that elf sitting right in front of Lark was the King of Elves. And right now, he was lowering his head and begging Lark for help.

Who was this so-called Lord Evander? What was the real identity of Lark Marcus? And why were the elves begging him for help?

There were a lot of questions, and Big Mona currently held no answer.

“Listen. The war that will soon engulf this continent will be on such a massive scale that it would make the war prior to it look like petty squabbles,” said Lark.

The elves trembled upon hearing this.

“I’m afraid that it’ll be hard, even for me, to protect the entire Kingdom of Aerith.”

Lark didn’t lie and he didn’t want to make empty promises either. Some demon tribes were incredibly difficult to fight. Especially those that belonged to the parasitic demon tribe. Those demons were capable of taking over the body of a host – animals, humans, and elves were no exemption.

Moreover, if the demons from the Corrupted Land joined this war, it would be only a matter of time before the Kingdom turned into a wasteland. A land where not a blade of grass grew. A land devoid of life.

Although Lark had finally regained the Sword of Morpheus, he knew that it would be hard, even for him, to protect everyone in the Kingdom of Lukas and the Kingdom of Aerith.

“Then what should we do, Lord Evander?” King Melandrach was desperate. His hands were trembling as he waited for an answer.

“Unless the demons come at us from the East, the elven kingdom should be safe as long as the Kingdom of Lukas and the United Grakas Alliance at the South do not fall to the demons,” said Lark.

Indeed. It made sense. Right now, those two nations served as walls protecting the Endless Forest.

“Your best shot at survival is to ensure that these two nations do not fall from the flames of war. As your trading partner, I promise to help you with the best of my abilities. But the fate of your race still rests on your hands, at the end of the day, King Melandrach.”