CHAPTER 61 -WHAT GOOD IS IT?-

LUNA LYRIC

My eyes searched and lingered around those who were in front of me, almost all of them were adults and the others were just kids. Charlotte Bamford, the princess of this continent as well as the others. A boy with wheat colored hair and eyes–no older than Alter–stood in front of me with power that reflected his mana ring. I'm sure he was the vanguard for this party.

The structure changed as I viewed another boy who was standing behind the wheat haired boy, he had a shield and a durable one at that–he could perhaps take four of my hits without mana enhancement–but still, he was just a kid at sixteen years at most.

“Luna…” In between the quiet and toll of an atmosphere there was because of me and my fight against the Vassals, a familiar voice came from behind the crowd of fifteen people max.

“Grace Hiller, I see that you were part of this suicide squad too, huh?” I commented looking her in the eye without much emotion in it.

The short haired woman was quiet but not for long, walking with a pace of hurry until she was in front of me. Eyeing me and my appearance, down up and up down, not missing a single spot.

Her eyes widened and she spoke in a startled voice, “Your mana ring…it’s gone!”

Next, her eyes landed on mine, initiating eye contact. A swift emotion of pity and sadness that showed her pupils filled me with rage, but I had to contain it.

Suddenly she grabbed both of my arms—which I had at my sides—with a grip that of how a warrior grips their weapon. Once again Grace spoke, in the same concerned but hopeful tone. “I-I see you are here but…Alter I don’t see him. Juliette is neither here, where are they?”

How dare she? This woman didn’t help me or Juliette when Alter was branded as a continental threat. No, she was probably away at the council building where we left her, thinking that maybe just maybe she would come with more back up or better yet, herself.

Nevertheless, that never happened. There must be guilt inside her swivering more as time passes. Humans… beings that only think for themselves and swim around the planet like they own it, and if that is not enough, the greed inside their consciousness takes over like the devil they are. Resulting in a never ending war or endless violence that ignites bloodshed.

Though I vowed to never be like that ever in my life, since before the Basilisk war was started, I now too faced the same face as I criticized in my mind.

Yet again I wasn’t in a position to even judge, Alter had been gone for a while now and all hope had almost been depleted and exhausted. The more things get out of hand, the more I think that he is for sure gone from every dimension and even the universe.

I need to be strong for Julie and myself, if I can’t even do that then what good am I doing at playing a lovely disciple when my mentor and master are both gone?

Just what good is it?

“Luna, you may not be what I thought you were back then but I’d always thought of you as a child–who surprisingly could overpower me and many more–to always have my back so that I could return the favor. Now tell me…Alter, where is he?” Finished Grace Hiller while expressing with her hands in a way of worry and hopeful at the same time. Her short white hair that was once graceful–like the owner–had now been decimated into oblivion and was replaced by a more uncared owner that hasn't slept for days or even weeks.

I stood my ground, not faltering over her dominance that she once had as the commander of the troops for the two kingdoms–Lerasea and Orieloin–during the second half of the war with the basilisks. Most enemy troops that survived and saw her strength in battle called her many nicknames: Black Eyed Warrior. White Puppet. Colorless Demon. Ect.

However, now she stood here in front of me with big dark eye bags under her eyes that received compliments from high-ranking nobles and even here and there of marriage proposals. Grace, you are a mess, I thought simultaneously before thinking about a sentence of non-aggression or even a pact of her being able to engage in battle with me.

With my capabilities of using my mana core, I don’t think I would be able to win a battle against her or even keep up for ten minutes, much less a whole day non-stop. The gap between experience is just too big, even though we both had fought in the war together, Grace has previous experience prior to the recent war.

My understanding over my mana core was something little to none, the more I learn about it the more difficult it becomes to understand. Wrapping it around my head seems to be a little overestimating the meaning of mana core.

Finally, I let out a sigh before answering her question. In a tone of grief but as opposite as it can be, I said, “Alter… is no longer with us.” The loud and silent voice of mine ran through and came back to me like the breeze of the wind, then I continued. “He was on his way to another cause of disturbance when he was caught in a tragedy, taking his life and the lives of others.”

I could see the expressions everyone made in one single sight, an expression that I thought they lacked since they–or some–didn’t know Alter at all. Yet there were people here who knew him since the war or even before. “But there is something that is classified to you humans or lower people, nevertheless I will tell you just because of your facial expressions that betrayed your instinctive mind. We speculate that Alter…is somewhere. Alive, along with those who are with him.” At that moment, I let my cold persona take over me again, like the waves of the ocean near the beach when a tsunami is about to arrive. “That is all I can say.”

***

The cool and enjoying breeze wiped across my face. The smell of salt and fish entering my nostrils and all the way to my lungs, along with the hot yet delicate sunlight hitting my flesh. So much for the so-called training island, I told myself sitting barefoot on the orange sand just a few feet away from the waves that the ocean provided me with the wind.

Behind me, stood a hut that was big enough for twenty people to live and still have more space. This hut was the one Alter had built during the war and had said that one day, the three of us should come and live here.

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However, that idea or plan was no longer a reality, just a fantasy for me… and Julie. My eyes once more focused on the blue waves that arrived at the shores, the palm trees around the hut began to move around, allowing the shade to move and the sunlight to land where the shade was once.

The sound of the salted water hitting the huge rocks not that far from where I was, to the trees singing with the leaves.

I laid down on the warm sand, my eyes–which were fully opened when I looked at the ocean–began to close once I laid eyes on the blue blurry sky. I stared for a couple of seconds, surprised that the barrier which contained the mana inside here still hadn’t been destroyed. Ha, weird, I thought.

The mana around me felt so different from back then, it was more stiff and solid. Taking the mana here into my core was somehow hard to even process it into my core much less use it like before. While having a mana ring was a benefit, the capacity of using mana wasn’t much, on the other hand using a mana core had more pros than cons.

“Should I try it out?” I muttered to myself, feeling the warm sand around my arms turn hotter with every second that passed. Igniting the mana in my core, and allowing it to pass to my hot arms to lessen the sting that it produced earlier.

Then, I pulled myself into a sitting position and began to absorb the mana in the dome around me. Closing my eyes, imagining the four elements around me like little motes that needed to be guided. Opening a path, one that was a land of a single trail that went either forwards or backwards. Lighten up by a strong and yet kind white glow under, offering guidance into my core.

Many cons came with this decision of letting mana that had been holed up in here for many years or possibly hundreds of years into my core which is only a month and a half old. Even though I’ve used it in battle many times these past days, only a tiny portion of my capabilities have I been able to grasp.

Using mana, physically, mentally, emotionally. All of these components were used and tested to the point where I thought of no way of being developed or even worse, my limit. I sought training. Training from every being that was in Ezar, warriors, guards, generals, lieutenants, farmers, servants, even tried to understand my futile effort in battle when I fought the Elemental general. Vivid memories of her movement and fencing, the necessary movements that she projected and used in a friction of a second only to counter my attack or Julie’s.

The four wings that appeared behind her–four different colors–representing the four main sources of mana. Fire, Water, Earth, Wind. And with those four wings she could channel the mana in the atmosphere to her liking, if she wanted to but she was limited to a certain amount of usage.

However, I never tested this theory or even mentioned it to anyone until I was sure of it. Julie perhaps has seen this and took notice and is doing something about it right now as I think about it.

I rearranged my thoughts, pushing those that weren’t any help out of my mind and those that had a promising future I let in.

Her four wings. Each being different colors. Having respective roles and powers. It all could only mean one thing…

After an hour and a half, I was able to make sure of the most obvious answer that was in the book. The Elemental girl used those four wings as sources for her own power, absorbing all the elements that the wings would have. Fueling her with almost infinite mana supply along with firepower.

Ten times, that’s how long we have seen each other and fought each other.

Yet, in all that time we spent fighting–Julie and I against that Elemental general–I still couldn’t understand my mana core like Julie did. Julie fought the Elemental general alongside me and used every inch of mana remaining that she had before replenishing it again to fight again.

An endless cycle that would only bring no gain but only loss and confusion, I thought.

Suddenly, I felt a strong and firm grip on the dense mana around me. My mana core had already recognized that it needed mana, but the question here is will it accept this type of mana texture?

It was no use, I more I took to understand the way if it was mature or not to take in alien mana into the core. The most important thing here to do whether it was the right move or not needed to be aligned to using this time, time that I know I won’t have time to do so in the future when the war starts or in the middle of it. The invasion of the Elemental’s and the other races working with them will not stop just to let me use this dense mana to my liking, mercy is not one thing they all know or even show.

A small but obscure smile grew on my face, imagining the type of face that elemental girl will have when I show her the difference between her and me.

The connection of dense mana and my core began to copy each other's own structures. However that connection soon later banished itself into the abyss, like my concentration did. It was hard to maintain it, the sole feel of the alien and toxic mana that wouldn’t even listen to my will, set about fleeing from me like I was the alien myself.

My sensing of mana faded, the condensed mana was no longer around me or at least a couple feet away from me. Angered by my failed attempt to realize the heavy mana into my core in my first try, I ignited my core phase with a tinge of annoyance seeing as that too was disobeying me as well.

The fiery flames that came out the fire cape stuttered, unable to live up to their potential. They were being restrained by something, something that I couldn’t see. I tried to use a spell in case it was a fluke or even the possibility of it being part of the dome side effects.

Though I have trained on this island for some time and years even, the only one to understand the dome to even a friction of it and the capacity of the effects it holds was only Alter. He was the one who knew about this island before the monarchs or anyone else knew about it.

But now that I think about it. How did Alter know about this island before anyone else? If my mind is correct, sailors were a thing for quite a while now and no one even dared to sail past the ‘line of abyss’ as the people from the port call it.

Nevertheless, before I started to jump into conclusions, my core phase dissipated from my connection towards it. The once flames that burned the weeds closest to me now were cold and lifeless. The red cape still held its own as I tried to once more activate my core phase but the result was the same. For a brief moment it would ignite and work, just for it to then die down and disperse away from my channel.

“...What was going on?”

Trying to wrap my head around the reason as to why I couldn’t maintain my core phase seemed impossible at sight, the questions of never ending became a horror and an extension to fear of no longer using mana. And it had another meaning, I could no longer leave this island, even communicating to the generals weren’t in the list either.

My thorough connection with the heavy mana was just a glimpse and not a full on grip, but that is or could even be the reason for this sudden change in my manipulation over mana.

The toxicity of the mana could’ve easily gone in my core and damaged or rearranged my ability to use mana.

Dammit…

It seems like the only way out of here is to understand and possibly learn how to use this alien mana to my own advantage, but that will take time if I don’t start now.

Without wasting more time than I had, I sat down and closed my eyes to meditate and extract pieces of the dense mana into my core.

Hours went by without me noticing, and by the time I did it was already dead night. So I moved my training into the hut that Alter built and started again.

Another hour passed and my lips along with my hair were dry. I’d come here without eating anything or even drinking anything, a bath before food would be exquisite. I thought before standing up and wobbling over my feet, my vision became static and I felt lightheaded.

Low on iron? Questioning my body and to the lengths I had gone earlier before coming to Afreon.

I hadn’t eaten in a while, but since when? Recollecting over every bit of information I had when I was in Ezar and after I left to be over here. Truth to be told, I hadn’t eaten in so long, perhaps in a week?

Cursing with the little I had left before trying to walk towards the kitchen.

However, little did I know there was somebody already waiting for me there.

The sizzling sound of meat being cooked with cooking oil, the aroma filling the kitchen as well as the whole living room. My mouth started to water as the smell entered my nose. I got closer to the person cooking, touching the table in front of me and deciding to sit down in the chair made out of oak tree.

On the table were two plates with silverware, a set of cups and a jar of water.

Instantly, I filled the cup with water up to the brim, before drinking it all in one go. Gasping for air like my lungs were emptied, I cleaned my lips which were wet from the water with my forearm. Then I spoke in a tired, astounding, and threatening tone all at the same time.

“When did you get here?” Not looking at him, neither did he. While he took his time to respond, I filled another cup of water.

A couple of minutes passed as he continued to eyeball the meat in the frying pan. Then he took it out and placed it on the plate next to another, “Since you were outside doing your…meditation.”

“Is that so?” I answered back with no emotion siping from me or my tone. “Why the sudden change in character. You and me both know that this isn't you, not one bit. Possessed? Or feeling unwell?”

Scoffing at my words, the black-haired boy took off the blue apron that was laying around the kitchen for a while. Serving the plate that he had just prepared placed in front of me while he took the one he did earlier–if I had to guess–having a totally different category of food. And then he sat down in front of me as well.

Holding the knife on his right hand and the fork on his left. Like a royal, I thought seeing him take a bite of his opposite meal compared to mine.