Book 1 Chapter 535
535.
“Lackeys of the Pureblood Council!”
“Unforgivable!”
Runia crumpled her face, looking at the elves who were narrowing their encirclement around her and shouting.
“Now.”
A vein popped out on Runia’s forehead.
“Who are you.”
A clenched fist swung fiercely.
“Calling purebloods?!”
*Thwack!*
“Gah?!”
An elf who had charged at Runia head-on was struck in the jaw and fell straight down.
At the same time, the knights surrounding Runia drew their swords and tightened their encirclement.
Runia snorted at the sight and snapped her fingers.
*Click!*
*Whoosh!*
The elves who had been charging to subdue Runia were startled and recoiled.
Runia narrowed her eyes as she watched them.
‘No killing intent.’
The opponents clearly had hostility towards her, but they didn't intend to kill.
If they had, Runia wouldn't have stopped at merely threatening them either.
‘Even so.’
Runia’s eyes narrowed.
‘These people aren’t mages.’
It was surprising.
Only those who had learned star magic could enter this Elder.
Yet there were non-mages in such a place.
Furthermore, they clearly harbored hostility towards the Pureblood Council.
‘What exactly is this situation?’
It was when Runia slightly furrowed her brows.
Eiran swung her sword.
A gentle breeze blew from the softly swung sword.
But the wind soon turned into a fierce blizzard, engulfing the attackers.
“Get back!”
“M-Magic swordsman!”
A bewildered voice rang out.
“Damn it!”
“Such skill even though she’s so young!”
“C-Could it be that the Pureblood Council is just too strong…!”
“Don’t give up! If we’re caught like this, we’re dead anyway! We don’t matter! But think of the others who are waiting for us!”
As desperate voices were heard from here and there, a woman’s voice urged them on.
“What kind of people are waiting?”
“Gasp!”
The elven knight gasped, seeing Eiran who had already appeared right in front of her, and instinctively swung her sword.
*Clang!*
Eiran blocked the quickly swung sword, let out a small gasp of ‘Hoit!’, and then deflected the sword.
She used the strength in her wrist to momentarily push back her opponent's sword.
With an unimaginable brutal force, the elven knight lost her grip on her sword.
“Urgh!”
The elven knight hastily channeled her magic and began chanting a spell.
‘Wind-attribute star magic.’
Eiran heard the chant and quickly identified the type and range of the magic.
*Crackle, rumble!*
A storm raged.
Eiran quickly moved out of the spell’s range.
Using that brief opening, the knight grabbed her dropped sword and took a ready stance.
Eiran's eyes widened when she saw her opponent's preparatory posture.
“You… Where did you learn that?”
The knight shouted at Eiran’s bewildered voice.
“Hmph! You must be surprised that traitors use star magic, huh?!”
“No, that's not really the point…”
“You might think you are fighting for a great cause! But you are absolutely not righteous!”
“So…”
“Prepare yourself!”
“Ugh.”
Seeing her opponent had no intention of listening to her, Eiran frowned and hunched her shoulders.
But soon, she bravely said,
“Could you tell me why you attacked this place?”
“Because people are starving!”
At those words, Eiran’s eyes widened slightly, and she turned her head.
She checked the warehouse they had attacked and then looked at the knight again.
As all elves were beautiful, she too was a considerable beauty.
But there was a sword cut on her cheek.
Just by looking at that, it wasn’t hard to tell that she was a knight who had been active on the battlefield.
Firm resolve was evident in her tightly closed lips.
Unwavering conviction and responsibility gleamed in her wide-open eyes.
‘She’s not lying.’
She knew that immediately.
And Eiran knew.
That the Pureblood Council they opposed was twisted.
In this land where those unable to master star magic could not set foot.
These people, who couldn't even use basic magic, let alone star magic, attacked the council like a band of thieves.
And for the purpose of stealing food.
Eiran knew.
That this world she sought to protect was not always beautiful.
Therefore, seeing them, she realized they must be in difficult circumstances that she could barely imagine.
‘Crucially… that stance resembles the swordsmanship passed down in the Ersar family.’
That was also why Eiran was surprised to see the knight.
Could this really be a coincidence?
“Miss Runia!”
“Why?”
“Let’s surrender.”
“What?!”
Runia’s eyes flew open at Eiran’s words.
At that, the elves who had surrounded Runia and Eiran also showed surprised expressions.
“You…”
As the knight looked at Eiran with surprised eyes, Eiran plunged her sword into the ground.
“We are not the Pureblood Council.”
Eiran said, looking straight into the knight’s eyes.
“Nor are we from this city. We are students of Seirun.”
“Students of Seirun?”
“That school for nobles?”
‘Nobles?’
Runia narrowed her brows, watching the murmuring elves.
“We know everything—the true nature of the Pureblood Council and the corruption of this city. So, won’t you tell us?”
Eiran said with an unwavering demeanor.
“The reason why you have to do this.”
At those words, Runia scratched her head vigorously.
Then she sighed, stood beside Eiran, and crossed her arms.
“W-What should we do?”
“…We’ve already lost time. So let’s take those two and escape from here.”
The elves nodded at her words.
They surrounded Runia and Eiran, seemingly not letting down their guard.
Eiran asked the knight walking beside her,
“That swordsmanship just now, who taught it to you? It doesn't seem like you've learned it long.”
“…I learned it recently from someone who is helping us.”
“…”
Eiran’s eyes darkened upon hearing the knight’s answer.
‘Perhaps… they might be where these people are headed.’
***
*BOOM!*
Leo narrowed his eyes, hearing an explosion from the direction of the Council Palace.
‘Runia and Eiran should be there right now, shouldn’t they?’
He felt the entire city grow noisy from the sound of the explosion.
‘It’s probably best to stop for today.’
Leo activated his hypersenses to search for Chen Shia.
Leo’s eyes twitched, having expected her to be far away since they had separated just a short while ago.
He couldn’t sense Chen Shia’s presence.
Leo widened the range of his senses even further.
But still, Chen Shia’s presence was undetectable.
If Chen Shia had intentionally concealed her presence, even Leo with his hypersenses would have difficulty pinpointing her from a distance.
But Chen Shia would not hide her presence.
‘She wouldn’t have gone far in such a short time, so the most likely possibility is that someone took her.’
Chen Shia was by no means weak.
In Leo’s estimation, she was sure to grow strong enough to be called a hero in the not-too-distant future.
Kidnapping such a Chen Shia without a sound would be impossible even for heroes.
‘He could do it.’
Berkhia, whom Leo and Chen Shia were currently pursuing.
She would be capable of taking Chen Shia while avoiding Leo’s senses.
‘If Berkhia is the culprit, why?’
Why did she take Chen Shia?
Because she’s human?
Or…
‘Did she recognize her as a descendant of Bihar?’
Ever since Chen Shia learned about Leo’s true identity, she had been learning the swordsmanship and aura breathing used by Bihar from Leo.
Berkhia would have seen through that instantly.
‘First, I need to rendezvous with Runia and Eiran.’
Leo returned to the lodging.
***
Runia and Eiran looked surprised.
“Where exactly is this place?”
“As you can see, this is underground.”
“Ah, no. I understand that… but why is there a city like this underground in Eldun?”
Runia asked urgently.
The knight sighed softly at Runia’s question.
“You all know well that Eldun is the elves’ greatest magic nation.”
“Yes.”
“And you also know well why Eldun could become the greatest magic nation, right?”
“Because this land holds the power of the stars.”
“That’s right.”
The knight sighed deeply.
“First, I’ll introduce myself. My name is Rell Cornea.”
“Cornea? Are you from the Cornea family?”
“The Cornea family, famous for being blockheads?”
“Miss Runia.”
A surprised Eiran chided Runia’s harsh remark.
But Rell only gave a bitter smile.
“It’s fine, because it’s not wrong. Besides, I don’t particularly have any pride in my family. I was treated as a dropout by the family from the start, anyway.”
The Cornea family.
A prestigious family with influence among the top five within the elf race.
Having produced the speaker of the Eldun Council for generations, they were famous as users of star magic second only to the Tingel family.
The reason they could achieve fame comparable to Seirun’s Tingel family.
It was due to the unique nature of ‘Eldun’, the land where they founded their nation.
The land where Eldun was situated was imbued with powerful star energy.
1000 years ago.
A meteor fell to this land, and naturally, the power of the stars permeated the earth.
The origin of star magic was star mana.
Naturally, this led to the emergence of many star mages, and star magic also saw rapid development.
And accordingly, the Pureblood Council naturally took its place.
Born as the chosen ones in a chosen land.
It must have been exceptionally sweet words for the pureblood supremacists.
“But contrary to what is widely known, the star power flowing in this land was depleted a long time ago.”
“What? But isn’t Tingel still producing many star mages?”
“Yes. Because the power of the stars still flows in this land.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
“It’s because of that.”
Rell pointed with disgusted eyes at a tower rising from the center of the underground city.
And that place was covered in all sorts of magic circles.
“That is…”
“Everyone living in this underground city is unable to use star magic.”
Rell’s face twisted.
“And that tower sucks their life force, causing the power of the stars to flow throughout Eldun just like before.”
Runia and Eiran looked aghast at the shocking truth that far exceeded their expectations.
“…At first, criminals were confined here.”
“Ah…”
Runia recalled something and looked surprised.
At one time, Eldun actively accommodated criminals within elven society.
“But soon, that alone wasn’t enough. So the Eldun Council came up with an idea. To create a class unknown outside the country.”
Rell’s face twisted in disgust.
“Those who lack the aptitude to use star magic… should be confined underground and made into livestock to supply star power.”
Runia felt her mind going blank.
What expression would Luna have made if she saw this state of affairs?
Eiran also turned pale and trembled her hands.
“Didn’t you think of overthrowing this system?”
Runia hastily asked, and Rell bit her lip.
“The elves sent here apparently accepted their lives. Because they grew accustomed to life here from a young age. And they lacked nothing in their daily lives. They simply didn’t know the outside world.”
Rell’s face clouded.
To live content with reality.
From their perspective, they might have been somewhat satisfied.
But from Rell’s perspective, it was a miserable life where they couldn't even enjoy their own lives and everything was controlled.
“But recently, as food became scarce, the atmosphere here also started to become grim.”
“Could the cause of the food shortage be that the Pureblood Council’s standing in elven society has weakened?”
“That’s right.”
The northern continent was a winter land.
As such, most of its food had to be imported from outside.
Originally, since the Pureblood Council was powerful, they would have been able to use that power to allocate a lot of food to Eldun.
However, with the recent decline in the Pureblood Council's prestige, securing food became difficult.
In Rell’s case, she had realized the existence of this city a long time ago, was shocked, and disowned her family.
And she voluntarily came here to look after the people here, she said.
“How… How could they do such a thing to their own kin…!”
Anger flared in Eiran’s eyes.
“If you’re suffering from a food shortage, can’t you escape this place?”
“There’s a barrier cast over the underground city. Those who haven’t mastered star magic cannot go outside.”
“But the people who went to get food earlier couldn’t use star magic, could they?”
“Regarding that, a newcomer who recently found this underground city helped us solve it.”
“A newcomer who found the underground city?”
“Yes. We are currently going to where that person is staying. As of now, that person is in charge of this city.”
Runia looked bewildered by Rell’s words.
‘Came to the city recently and became in charge of the city?’
While she looked puzzled, Rell arrived at a building.
And knocked.
“Come in.”
Rell opened the door and entered at the voice from inside.
As soon as they entered the small house, a living room was visible.
And at the sight in the living room, Runia and Eiran’s mouths dropped open.
Rell also looked bewildered.
On the table, a scene unfolded that was ill-suited for this underground city where food was said to be scarce.
Plates were densely packed on the table, and delicious-looking food was piled high on them.
And Chen Shia, sitting at one side of the table, was stuffing the food in front of her into her mouth with trembling hands.
“Ru-Runia? Eiran?”
Chen Shia’s eyes widened, and she called out to the two of them.
“S-Save me…”
“Who’s here?”
A beautiful woman with an expressionless face appeared in the living room, holding a pot in her hand.
Runia and Eiran’s eyes widened at the sight of the woman.
“You must be the friends Shia mentioned?”
Berkhia smiled faintly.
“Teacher… this is…?”
As Rell carefully addressed Berkhia, Berkhia replied,
“Ah, my friend’s granddaughter…? She’s like that, but she seems to have been eating poorly, so she looks too thin, so I was making her some food. Shia, you must eat it all, okay?”
“I can’t eat it all…”
“You shouldn’t be a picky eater.”
Chen Shia’s face turned pale.
Berkhia’s gaze soon shifted to Runia and Eiran.
“You two look quite thin too?”
The two girls felt an inexplicable fear at her unexpectedly warm words.