The Star Of Annihilation

The Star of Annihilation 

Chapter 14 – Awakenings (2)

Written by : eleven

* * *

The sudden silence that descended onto the once-busy battlefield, was awkward.

There were multiple people with different agendas, but in the end, Ferneth was the first to move as he blinked over to Elizabeth and held her tightly.

“It’s fine master, I-I’m okay.”

Elizabeth sputtered as her eyes drifted towards Nate.

Lucius did not bother to stop Ferneth from moving since the Church was pretty much done here.

The chimeras and undead were standing still, not approaching the frightened priests and Paladins.

He tried to rush over to Nate to check the boy’s condition, but a boy was there before him.

It was the odd boy with a scrutinizing set of eyes and incredible mana sensitivity.

Lucius stopped as he looked on at the two boys.

‘Who are they?’

“…”

Lucius couldn’t open his mouth to say anything, but his mind was racing a million miles a minute.

***

Roy looked at Nate who was unconscious and lying in his hands.

He had a multitude of mixed emotions.

‘Who is Nate really?’

That was Roy’s biggest question at the moment.

The truest people that were actually deserving of their titles of heroes, were killed off in wars and by the looks of it, Nate had that kind of future destined for him. 

‘But why was he not noticed by that God in my previous life?’

Nate had never become an apostle in his previous life.

Hell, he was pretty much passbery number one in Roy’s village.

Then there was seething anger.

‘These fucking bastards.’

Roy was beyond angered. Why was it that humanity always had human garbage that sought to constantly only protect their own asses?

He looked at the decapitated head of the Head Priest and stood up.

Roy’s next action woke everybody up and shocked them.

Splat!

Brain matter and pieces of flesh and bone splattered underneath his foot. 

An 8 year-old boy just showed an action that was incredibly difficult to even witness. Disrespecting the dead.

Even Lucius felt a little worried about this action.

‘Heartless and cruel… or maybe incredibly ruthless in pursuit of his goals.’

He was assessing Roy’s aptitude as a warrior. He wanted to rope the two boys into the Empire and if possible… even teach them personally. 

A lot of swordmasters and Arch-mages had their own descendants or successors, but he did not.

He was born an orphan and worked his way into his position, whereas the other conceited idiots were born with golden spoons in their mouths.

Turning his head towards the cause of this, Roy spared no effort in expressing his fury with his gaze.

Gulp-

Lucius gulped down his saliva.

He knew what had happened here. With the Head Priest dead, he was the de-facto target of blame now.

Ferneth was still worried about Elizabeth’s wounds as he was trying to use the little healing spells he knew.

“You.”

Roy opened his mouth coldly.

Lucius remained silent but met Roy’s gaze with his own firm gaze of a Swordmaster. He may be a ferocious child, but Lucius did not attain his position by mere talent or a handout.

“Why is the Empire interfering with the border? If the coastal kingdoms caught wind of an Imperial Swordmaster at the border, war could erupt in a heartbeat.”

Lucius was impressed. This boy was incredibly knowledgeable. To be able to understand politics at such a young age and with a seemingly limited education; being in the rural countryside, was impressive.

“This was not my wish. The Great Sun himself, sent the orders. My job is only to follow them.”

Lucius immediately regretted his words when Roy spoke up.

“So you’re nothing but a dog? A Swordmaster of the Empire is nothing but a fucking slave? What’s new?”

“That’s quite the dirty mouth you have on you.”

This time, it was Roy’s turn to be surprised.

Insulting the Emperor was equivalent to a death sentence. Especially for someone following the orders of the Emperor, this man didn’t even flinch at Roy’s words.

“….what do you want? Can’t you see we want nothing to do with you?”

Roy hesitated before speaking again in a hostile tone, not backing down.

Lucius pondered for a moment. This was an opportunity for him to possibly reverse the situation in a favorable light, despite the boy in front of him probably not expecting him to do so.

“I can see that. But, I have a duty to uphold…. to a certain degree.”

Lucius paused and Roy did not miss this.

Roy was starting to feel suspicious at the odd choice of words Lucius was using.

“I will take these people back. However, I want to talk to you and the other boy alone.”

Roy immediately turned into a defensive stance as Lucius stepped back, waving his arms.

“Think of it as me as a person making this request, not as the Swordmaster of the Empire.”

Roy’s eyes narrowed, and Ferneth, who was listening to the situation glared fiercely at the man in front of him.

He hissed between the clatters of his teeth.

“…because as of right now, you might not be chased after again if you back off. In fact, I will try to talk to the Emperor myself before going back.”

Ferneth and Roy just stared confused at the man in front of them.

How could a man who was just fighting them a minute ago, become a completely different man?

Lucius smiled bitterly as he put the sword by his side back into its sheath and brushed back his short and wavy blonde hair. His turquoise blue eyes showed a sign of relief as he felt things might just work out.

***

“You’re sure Lucius?”

“Yes, your Highness.”

“Hm…”

Navarro III, the current Emperor of the Isimian Empire, stroked his beard while looking at the communication cube powered by mana.

The current situation was rather tricky. Navarro knew he needed to choose a successor to the throne soon and he was struggling to choose between his three sons.

The current situation was rather interesting and Navarro thought it would be a good chance to test his sons to properly handle this situation instead of him.

The favor of sending reinforcements to the Church was fulfilled. Although the Church lost a competent priest, he was of questionable character and there was an Arch-Lich who wasn’t completely detestable, seeing that it even raised a human girl as its student.

Having something like that as a power for the Empire was a must if one decided to look at the situation coldly and rationally since 6-star and 7-star Archmages did not grow on trees.

“What do you make of the two boys?”

The biggest unknown in this situation was the two boys that were involved in all of this. They did not explain their involvement, but it was clear that the boys were peculiar individuals who clearly had their own secrets.

“I think Nate, the Apostle, is a stable child more or less. Well… I guess reasonable is the proper word.”

“And the other…?”

“He’s the anomaly I was worried about.”

“How interesting.”

Roy was deemed to be the very variable that the Emperor was struggling over.

“And what was your opinion of him?”

“I think he is dangerously talented…. I don’t know much about the magical side of things, but I can tell he’s not normal as a mage at that age.”

“You said he used a sword didn’t you?”

“Yes, a saber. But his movements are incredibly crude and untrained.”

“But he showed potential, yes?”

“Indeed, your Highness.”

“Okay. I shall send my heirs to see how they will approach those individuals. But, I want you to make sure the Arch-Lich is accommodated at all costs. I will also give you command over the situation even after my sons and their envoys arrive. They will not be allowed to antagonize the Lich. We must secure him for our Empire considering the pressure from the Matrata Coalition.”

Lucius’ blue eyes shone with a firm and expressionless look as he bowed in the image.

“Ah- Your Highness…!”

Suddenly, inside the chamber of Navarro III, Tubel spoke up.

He had been listening at the side of the Emperor and asked for a favor reluctantly.

“Yes, Tubel?”

“….I wish to go and see the boy named Roy for myself, if I may.”

“Has he piqued your interest?”

“….I believe he is an interesting case indeed. I think it might be worthwhile to nurture him if my assumptions are correct.”

“Hmm… I shall allow it. But, you must return immediately afterwards and you must fetch Trent to take over for the time you are gone.”

Trent was the Sword Saint of the Empire. The First Swordmaster and debatably the strongest human being in the continent.

“Yes, your Highness. I thank you for your benevolence.”

“Mmmm….yes.”

Tubel and Navarro did not see, but Lucius’s eyes narrowed. He did not want Tubel to ruin the boy Roy in magic any further. He knew Roy would be able to grow on his own in that field and believed it might be worthwhile to have someone like Roy as his successor. He wasn’t positive yet, but Lucius believed that Roy was a child that was like him. He might be untalented with the sword, but he was cold and rational. He came from a rural background and had a fire in his eyes that held something hidden deep within.

“Go.”

With those last words from Navarro, Tubel warped back to his study room in the Imperial Institute of Magic and Swordsmanship.

As the Headmaster, he gathered the list of enrollment for the next school year.

The year was almost over for this generation of students, and the next batch would be ready for admission in 3 months.

He skimmed over the names of students that were scheduled to come in for the next year.

‘Shall we test this boy a little bit?’

Tubel thought to himself as he recalled the eerie and ominous red star he had seen the other night. Small but invasive, the star was something that looked like a predator that would devour everything in its path.

‘Is it something beneficial for humanity…. Or is it the spell of our destruction?’

Tubel agonized over the meaning of the star whilst preparing his belongings.

After stopping by the Seventh Magic Tower; his Tower that he resided as the Tower Master when the school year was not in session, he started to prepare himself the coordinates of the village the two boys stayed at and were located with Lucius and the Arch-Lich.

Whooooosh~

Tubel stepped through the portal and warped to the other side.

Chapter 14 – Fin