A dark and dreary atmosphere. The air was covered with the stench of rotten food, feces, urine, and other foul smells that could usually only be found at a garbage dumpsite. This was Certinya's slum. Certinya or Rigondrion as a whole is by no means a poor kingdom, regardless of not being even among the world's strongest countries; in fact, they're probably the richest. However, despite that, it is impossible to completely eliminate poverty.
That is due to various reasons, from corruption, underground societies' control over different areas, or, in this case, excess mana from Certinya's magical item factories. Different items can be imbued with mana and, subsequently, magic to create an item that can be used in different ways. For example, a mage technician can imbue mana in a leather breastplate and then pre-cast some kind of defensive magic on it that can later be activated by the user just by chanting the magic and wearing the item. This way, even if you're a fire mage, you can be capable of casting water magic as long as you have a magic item with such magic.
However, that does not mean that magic items can be the 'be-all and end-all' solution to one's deficiencies. Different materials can carry different amounts of mana depending on their quality, purity, and source. An example of that is a mana stone. It can literally be any kind of stone, and a mage technician can imbue mana into it for later use. But again, that does not mean you can just pick a random rock around and imbue mana in it. For example, for a simple 1kg rock that you can find on the road, you can imbue only about 0.03g of mana in it(in liquid form). An average leather breastplate will have several materials in it, from the leather itself to strings and pins; this will all affect the purity of the item. As the leather breastplate is not completely made out of leather, it will lessen its value as a vessel to carry mana, and to add to that, the quality of the leather will also lessen its value. All in all, an average leather breastplate is only capable of carrying 0.5g of mana in liquid form, which is enough to be able to cast about two defensive type magic.
And now let's talk about liquid mana. To make it clear, first, mana is intangible. It is an essence that can be felt by any living being in the world. There is currently no clear explanation as to how mana is formed, but it is there and it can be turned into liquid, and that's where the problem comes from. Let's go back to the mana stone example. A 1kg rock can only carry 0.03g of mana in liquid form, but how will you know about it? When an item is imbued with mana, it increases its weight. And to imbue mana into an item, you just keep on doing it until it starts leaking from it. In this case, the rock will leak 0.97g of mana. That liquid mana will then pour down to the earth, corrupting it, making growing greens impossible, and making the air around it turn sour. Liquid mana cannot be recycled, as after going through an impure item, this corrupts it in return, cannot be used to cast magic again, and is only poison to a person's body if they try to drink or gain it back. This is the world's first kind of pollution: liquid mana. Even Rigondrion's greatest mage technicians could not find a way to minimize the harm it causes or at least reuse it.
And that's where the slums come in. Magical item factories are naturally close to Certinya's castle, in the middle of the city. It does not produce smoke, unlike blacksmiths, which is why it can be erected close to the district where nobles usually roam around so that they can boast about their magical industry. However, thanks to that, they have to funnel the excess mana coming from those factories through special underground sewage that eventually leads to the outskirts of the city, where the slum is. Due to the smell and infertility that liquid mana brings to the land, the higher-ups of society do not live anywhere near an area that has those, and is instead occupied by the less fortunate citizens of Certinya. Having no option, and housing in the area being several times cheaper than a proper land or house deeper inside the city, they are then forced to live here.
The slums, despite its disgusting atmosphere, are a very lively and eventful place. People who have no job or anything better to do usually band together to drink and waste away the entire day, causing troubles for those who try to make a living. But even without them, several events already occur on a daily basis. Such as houses being intruded upon by mean-looking men, they drag out their tenants and bring them somewhere else, never to be seen again. The house in which they live will then be occupied by a different person several days later, and after a few weeks, the same thing happens, rinse and repeat. And on the other side, there will be people who gets in a heated argument, they will fight and it usually ends up with both of them just giving up and going their own ways but there are times where an unfortunate one meets their end there. People will pass by without a care, moving along with their daily lives as if nothing happened. The person is lucky enough that if other people get annoyed at his rotting body, it will be thrown into the liquid mana stream, which will gradually melt the body, leaving nothing behind. But the less fortunate ones will have their bodies collected by a group of hooded men and brought someplace else; the body never returns, and only a small amount of coins will be given to the bereaved.
On a corner, a large group of about a dozen people in their early teens surround someone with white hair, pale skin, and red eyes. Elena had found herself cornered by these people after she snuck inside a hole she found in the city wall after running away from Raymond. She clutches her stomach as it still aches a bit after getting hit by Raymond's powered punch earlier that day.
One of the teenagers standing in front of her spoke.
"Hey, hey. What's the demon king doing here?" [Teen 1]
"Maybe she's here to invade the kingdom?" [Teen 2]
"Oh? Is that so? Then doesn't that mean the citizens of Certinya needs a hero?" [Kid 1]
"Yeah yeah! Defeat the demon king!" [Teen 3]
"W-What are you guys talking about, I'm not the demon-" [Elena]
Before Elena finishes her sentence, she looks around her and sees that no one looks like her. Everyone else had black or blonde hair; there were some rare occasions where a person with red hair would pass by, but most had white or tan skin; some were darker, but none were as pale as hers. And most of all, no one had bright red eyes like her. She was very different from everyone else.
And then it hit her- even Raymond was very different from her. He had short black hair, his skin tone was darker, and his eyes were brown, not red. Elena knows that she is adopted; after all, Raymond made that clear to her years ago, but nevertheless, she still treated him like his own father, as he is the one who raised her, as far as she remembers.
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Elena had been cooped up within Raymond's house for years, since she had regained consciousness after apparently being rescued by him from a disaster. And thanks to that, Elena hadn't really seen anybody else for a long time besides Raymond. She doesn't remember what had happened prior to those events, but Raymond, who is the hero, was taking care of her. She felt safe around him, eventually warming up to him enough that he called him her papa.
She had only gone inside the city walls once in her life, four years ago. She was riding inside a carriage and could not see outside that much, not to mention she was asleep most of the time, which is why she couldn't remember what she saw or heard inside. And because of that, she tried multiple times to go inside the city again, but she was always stopped by Raymond, except for this time when she ran away from him out of fear.
"Why is the demon king suddenly quiet? Is she afraid at the mighty hero in front of her?" [Teen 1]
The kid in the middle, who seemed to be the leader of this group, looked at Elena with a smug plastered on his face. He looked around him, gesturing at the other kids to make some noise. The others then started shouting and praising him, calling him hero and such. Out of nowhere a flies from the crowd and hits Elena to the head.
"Ah!" [Elena]
With a short scream, she falls down to the ground and clutches her head with her free hand. Blood dripped from where the rock had hit her.
"Oy what are you guys doing?!" [Teen 1]
"Yeah yeah what are you guys doing hurti-" [Teen 2]
Before he could finish his sentence, his leader cuts him off.
"She's supposed to be my prey. Nobody touch her." [Teen 1]
He picked up a brick on the ground and slowly walked towards Elena.
"Any last words, demon?" [Teen 1]
Elena couldn't look at him due to the blood covering her eyes, but she could sense something malicious coming from him. Because of that, she tries to cast an ice barrier but fails. She senses her mana flow inside her and discovers that it had been disrupted from the attack she received from Raymond earlier.
With nothing to defend herself with, Elena tries to plea.
"P-Please stop.." [Elena]
"Oh? This actually feels cool. The hero has defeated the demon king! But will you guys let it end like that?" [Teen 1]
"But I didn't do anything!" [Elena]
With a click of his tongue, the leader of the group replied.
"This is boring." [Teen 1]
He raises his hand holding the brick and prepares to hit Elena with it. He swings it down and all Elena could do was clutch her head tightly and brace for impact. But it did not come.
Elena slowly opens her left eye and sees the teenager holding the brick looking behind him.
"What do you think you're doing!?" [???]
"Oh? If it isn't Bran. Do you wanna' get beat up again?" [Teen 1]
"You lot! What are you doing bullying a girl!?" [Bran]
"A girl? Can't you see her? White hair, pale skin, and red eyes. She perfectly matches the demon king in the prophecy." [Teen 1]
The kid named Bran looks at Elena. He meets Elena's eyes but she immediately averts it and looks at the ground.
"All I'm seeing her is a bunch of childish bullies picking on a girl!" [Bran]
"Ah shut up. You're no better, you always run to your sister and ask her for help when you're in trouble." [Teen 1]
He pauses for a bit and speaks again.
"Speaking of your sister, I don't see her anywhere. Boys grab him!" [Teen 1]
Immediately after giving out his order, Bran get surrounded by other teenagers and they grabbed him left and right. He tried to break free but due to their numbers, he couldn't.
"Now then, it seems that we not only caught the demon king, we also caught her general!' [Teen 1]
"Now Bran, what will you do, call your sister?" [Teen 1]
He laughs as he provokes Bran.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do." [Bran]
"Huh?" [Teen 1]
"ANNAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" [Bran]
Bran shouts at the top of his lungs calling for his sister, Anna. And without any exposition, a crystal-like door appears behind Bran. It slowly opens and a slightly taller girl than him with a long brown hair appears, wearing simple villager clothing and an apron with blood stains on it.
"S-She has killed a person!" [Teen 4]
One of the teenagers who saw her screamed with terror, they tried to run away but before they could they all started floating in the air.
"Excuse you, this is not a blood from a person but pig. I was helping my father when I heard Bran's scream." [???]
"This person.. she's powerful." [Elena]
Elena was better at detection magic than Raymond; she has always been able to feel mana essence better than him since the beginning. which is how she managed to always avoid dangers in the forest as she trained. Whenever a beast approached, she could feel the faint mana they emit, and before they could sense her, she had already run away.
So far, she has only had goosebumps four times whenever she senses a strong aura emanating from a being. The first time was when she first woke up and saw Raymond. The second time, was when they went inside the city walls, but as she was mostly unconscious during that time, she barely remembers who she sensed it from. The third time she felt the presence of the basilisk. And the fourth time, when the girl in front of him appeared from the door.
"Anna!" [Bran]
Anna takes one glance at Bran then looks at the people floating in the air.
"You bitch! Let us down now!" [Teen 1]
"Can you please shut up before I decide to peel your lips off?" [Anna]
The leader immediately decides to shut up as he did not want his lips to be peeled off.
"Now then, Bran. You don't seem to be hurt. So tell me who are the guys here trying to hurt you?" [Anna]
"No, I'm not hurt. But most importantly, sister. Look!" [Bran]
Bran points at Elena, who was still on the ground.
Anna looks at her and sees her very different appearance from the people around them. The demon king prophecy immediately hits her mind but she decides to shake it off. As she continued to look at her, she notices blood dripping from her head.
"Oy, Bran. Who did that to her?" [Anna]
With a cold voice, Anna asked Bran, holding back her anger.
"It was them..?" [Bran]
Bran points at the people floating above and then in an instant they got launched to the air not even letting them scream.
"Wha- sister won't they die if you do that?" [Bran]
"They won't. I sent them all to the river on the other side of the city, they'll probably shield themselves with magic or something to absorb the impact. And if they don't do that nor don't know how to swim, it's not my fault. No one would miss those thugs anyway." [Anna]
"O-Okay.." [Bran]
He then makes a mental note in his brain to never offend his sister.
Anna slowly approaches Elena who had put her guard up after seeing what just happened.
"Don't worry little girl, I won't harm you. What's your name?" [Anna]
"E-Elena.." [Elena]
"I see, that's a beautiful name. Would you please come with us? I'm not really good at healing magic but we can bring you home to take care of you." [Anna]
Elena, who couldn't handle the pain anymore, just nods at her and loses consciousness. Anna manipulates the gravity around her to prevent Elena from hitting her head on the ground. She then calls Bran and asks him to carry her as she opens her crystal door. Before they go through, Anna looks at the whole in her clothes and senses a strong mana coming from it.
"That's some ridiculous mana that even I can't produce. It's obviously not those boys, they don't have enough mana to do this even if they combined. Who did that?" [Anna]
She ponders to herself as they step through the portal.