Book 1 Chapter 535
“Lackeys of the Pureblood Council!”
“Unforgivable!”
Runia scowled as she watched the elves tighten their encirclement around her, shouting.
“Now.”
Veins bulged on Runia’s forehead.
“Who are you calling?!”
Her clenched fist swung ferociously.
“The Pureblood Council?!”
*Thwack!*
“Gack?!”
An elf who had charged directly at Runia was hit in the jaw and collapsed.
At the same time, the knights surrounding Runia narrowed their formation, pointing their swords.
Runia snorted at the sight and snapped her fingers.
*Snap!*
*Whoosh!*
The elves who had rushed to subdue Runia recoiled in surprise.
Runia narrowed her eyes at their reaction.
‘No killing intent.’
The opponents clearly harbored hostility towards her, but they didn't intend to kill.
If they had, Runia wouldn’t have stopped at merely threatening them.
‘Still,’
Runia’s eyes narrowed further.
‘These people aren't mages.’
It was surprising.
Only those who had learned the magic of the stars were allowed access to this Elder.
And here were people who weren't mages.
Furthermore, they clearly harbored animosity towards the Pureblood Council.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Just as Runia furrowed her brow slightly.
Airan swung her sword.
A gentle breeze emanated from the smoothly wielded blade.
But the breeze quickly turned into a fierce blizzard, engulfing the attackers.
“Dodge!”
“A, a magic swordsman!”
Confused voices echoed.
“Damn it!”
“Such skill for one so young!”
“As expected, we can’t defeat the Pureblood Council…!”
“Don’t give up! If we’re caught, we’ll die anyway! It doesn’t matter about us! But think of the others waiting for us!”
As despairing voices rang out from all directions, a woman’s voice urged them on.
“Who are the people waiting?”
“Gasp!”
The elven knight was startled by Airan, who had suddenly appeared right in front of her, and instinctively swung her sword.
*Clang!*
Airan blocked the swiftly swung sword, let out a small grunt of exertion, and deflected it.
Using the strength of her wrist, she momentarily pushed back the opponent’s sword.
The elven knight, overwhelmed by the unimaginable brute force, dropped her sword.
“Eeek!”
The elven knight frantically drew upon her magic and began chanting.
‘Wind attribute star magic.’
Airan quickly identified the type and range of the magic as she heard the incantation.
*Rumble!*
A storm raged.
Airan quickly moved out of the spell’s range.
Using that brief opening, she retrieved her dropped sword and assumed a fighting stance.
Seeing the opponent’s ready posture, Airan’s eyes widened.
“You… where did you learn that?”
Airan’s voice, tinged with bewilderment, made the knight shout.
“Hmph! Surprised that rebels are using star magic, are you?!”
“No, that’s not really the issue…”
“You might think you’re fighting for a noble cause! But you are by no means righteous!”
“So…”
“Be prepared!”
“Ugh.”
Seeing that her opponent had no intention of listening, Airan whimpered and ducked her head.
But she quickly gathered her courage and said,
“Can you tell me why you attacked this place?”
“Because people are starving!”
At those words, Airan’s eyes widened slightly, and she turned her head.
Then, after confirming the warehouse they had attacked, she looked back at the knight.
All elves were beautiful, and she was no exception, possessing considerable beauty.
However, there was a scar on her cheek.
That alone made it easy to tell she was a knight who had fought on the battlefield.
Her tightly closed mouth exuded stubbornness.
Her defiant eyes showed unwavering conviction and a sense of responsibility.
‘She’s not lying.’
Airan knew it instantly.
And Airan knew that the Pureblood Council they were opposing was corrupt.
In this land where those who couldn't learn star magic were forbidden to enter.
People who couldn't even use magic, let alone star magic, had raided the council like bandits.
And their objective was to steal food.
Airan knew that the world she wanted to protect wasn't entirely beautiful.
That's why, seeing them, she realized they must be in unimaginably difficult circumstances.
‘Crucially… that stance resembles a sword technique passed down in the Ersar family.’
This was also why Airan was surprised by the knight.
Could this be a coincidence?
“Runia!”
“What?”
“Let’s surrender.”
“What?!”
At Airan’s words, Runia’s eyes widened.
The elves who had surrounded Runia and Airan also looked surprised.
“You…”
The knight looked at Airan with surprised eyes as Airan plunged her sword into the ground.
“We are not part of the Pureblood Council.”
Airan said, looking directly into the knight’s eyes.
“And we are certainly not from this city. We are students of Seirun.”
“Students of Seirun?”
“The school that the high and mighty attend?”
‘High and mighty?’
Runia narrowed her brow as she listened to the murmuring elves.
“We know about the Pureblood Council’s hidden nature, and the corruption of this city. So, won’t you teach us?”
Airan said with unwavering resolve.
“The reason why you have to do this.”
At those words, Runia scratched her head.
Then, she sighed and stood next to Airan, crossing her arms.
“Uh, what do we do?”
“… Time has been wasted. So, let’s escape from here with those two.”
At those words, the elves nodded.
They surrounded Runia and Airan, not letting down their guard.
Airan asked the knight walking beside her,
“Who taught you that sword technique just now? It doesn’t seem like you’ve been practicing it for long.”
“… I learned it recently from someone who is helping us.”
“….”
After hearing the knight’s reply, Airan’s expression darkened.
‘Perhaps… they might be where those people are headed.’
***
*BOOM!*
Leo’s eyes narrowed as he heard the explosion from the direction of the council palace.
‘Runia and Airan should be there right now?’
He could feel the entire city in an uproar due to the explosion.
‘It’s probably best to stop for today.’
Leo expanded his enhanced senses to find Chen Xia.
He thought she would be far away since they had parted only a short while ago, but Leo’s eyes twitched.
He couldn't sense Chen Xia’s presence.
Leo further expanded the range of his senses.
But still, Chen Xia’s presence was undetectable.
If Chen Xia was intentionally hiding her presence, even Leo with his enhanced senses would have difficulty pinpointing her from afar.
However, Chen Xia wouldn't hide her presence.
‘She couldn’t have gone far in such a short time, so it’s most likely she was captured by someone.’
Chen Xia was by no means weak.
In Leo’s eyes, she would undoubtedly grow into a formidable warrior, worthy of the title of hero, in the near future.
Kidnapping such a Chen Xia silently would be impossible even for heroes.
‘It would be possible for her.’
Verkia, whom Leo and Chen Xia were currently pursuing.
She could possibly take Chen Xia without being detected by Leo’s senses.
‘If Verkia is the culprit, why?’
Why would she take Chen Xia?
Because she’s human?
Or…
‘Did she recognize her as a descendant of Bihard?’
Since Chen Xia learned of Leo’s identity, she had been learning Bihard’s sword techniques and aura breathing from Leo.
Verkia would have seen through that instantly.
‘For now, I need to rendezvous with Runia and Airan.’
Leo returned to his lodging.
***
Runia and Airan looked surprised.
“Where is this place?”
“As you can see, this is underground.”
“Ah, no, I understand that… but why is there a city like this beneath Elden?”
Runia asked urgently.
The knight sighed softly at Runia’s question.
“You both know that Elden is the foremost magical nation of the elves, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you know why Elden became the foremost magical nation, don’t you?”
“This land holds the power of the stars.”
“That’s right.”
The knight sighed deeply.
“First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rel Conea.”
“Conea? Are you from the Conea family?”
“That infamous Conea family?”
“Runia.”
Airan, who had been surprised, chided Runia for her harsh remark.
But Rel merely smiled bitterly.
“It’s not wrong, so it’s fine. Besides, I don’t have any pride in my family. I’m considered a failure by the family anyway.”
The Conea family.
It was a prestigious family with influence among the top five within the elven race.
They had produced the speakers of Elden for generations and were known as users of star magic, second only to the Tingel family in power.
The reason they could achieve a reputation comparable to the Seirun family of Tingel.
It was due to the uniqueness of ‘Elden,’ the nation they founded.
The land where Elden is situated is imbued with powerful stellar energy.
1000 years ago.
A meteor fell upon this land, and the stellar energy naturally seeped into the earth.
The source of star magic is stellar mana.
Consequently, it naturally produced many star mages, and star magic also achieved rapid advancement.
And with that, the Pureblood Council naturally established itself.
Born as the chosen ones in the chosen land.
For the proponents of purity, it must have been a sweet notion.
“However, contrary to what is publicly known, the stellar power flowing through this land was depleted long ago.”
“What? But doesn’t Tingel still produce many star mages?”
“Yes. That’s because stellar energy still flows through this land.”
“Yes? What does that…”
“It’s because of that.”
Rel pointed at the tower that rose in the center of the underground city with a look of disgust.
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.”
Rel’s face contorted.
“And that tower siphons their life force to make the stellar energy flow throughout Elden as it once did.”
Runia and Airan looked horrified by the shocking truth that far exceeded their expectations.
“… At first, criminals were imprisoned here.”
“Ah…”
Runia’s expression changed to surprise as she recalled something.
At one time, Elden had actively accepted criminals within elven society.
“But soon, that alone was not enough. So, the Elden Council devised a plan. Let’s create a class that is not known outside the country.”
Rel’s face contorted with disgust.
“Those lacking the aptitude for star magic… let’s imprison them underground and turn them into livestock that supplies stellar power.”
Runia felt her mind reel.
What expression would Luna have had if she saw this?
Airan’s face turned pale, and her hands trembled.
“Haven’t you considered overthrowing this system?”
Runia asked hastily, and Rel bit his lip.
“The elves sent here seem to have accepted their lives. They became accustomed to life here from a young age. Besides, they lacked nothing in terms of living conditions. They just didn’t know the outside world.”
Rel’s face blurred.
They settled for reality and lived.
From their perspective, they might be living in satisfaction.
But from Rel’s perspective, it was a miserable life where they couldn’t enjoy their own lives and were controlled in every way.
“However, with the recent food shortages, the atmosphere here has also become grim.”
“Is the reason for the food shortage perhaps because the Pureblood Council’s position in elven society has weakened?”
“That’s right.”
The northern continent is a winter land.
As such, most of the food has to be relied upon from external sources.
Originally, with the strong influence of the Pureblood Council, they could have used their power to allocate a large amount of food to Elden.
However, with the recent decline in the Pureblood Council’s status, securing food has become difficult.
Rel, for his part, had realized the existence of this city a long time ago, was shocked by it, and had broken ties with his family.
He then said he voluntarily came here to care for the people.
“How… how could you do this to your own kin…!”
Anger flared in Airan’s eyes.
“If you are suffering from a food shortage, can’t you escape from here?”
“A barrier is erected around the underground city. Those who have not learned star magic cannot go outside.”
“But the people who went to get food earlier couldn’t use star magic, could they?”
“Regarding that, an outsider who recently visited this underground city has resolved it.”
“An outsider who visited the underground city?”
“Yes. We are going to where that person is staying now. Currently, that person is the person in charge of this city.”
At Rel’s words, Runia looked bewildered.
‘They recently came to the city and became the person in charge?’
As she wore a puzzled expression, Rel arrived at a building.
And knocked.
“Come in.”
At the voice from inside, Rel opened the door and entered.
The small house opened directly into the living room.
And the scene in the living room made Runia and Airan’s jaws drop.
Rel also wore a perplexed expression.
The table presented a scene that did not match this underground city where food was scarce.
The table was densely covered with plates, and on them, piles of delicious-looking food were stacked high.
And sitting at one side of the table, Chen Xia was stuffing food into her mouth with trembling hands.
“Ru, Runia? Airan?”
Chen Xia’s eyes widened as 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 Airan’s eyes widened as they saw the woman.
“Are you the friends Xia mentioned?”
Verkia smiled faintly.
“Teacher… this is…?”
Rel cautiously called out to Verkia, who replied.
“Ah, my friend’s granddaughter…? She’s like one, but she seems to be not eating well, so she’s so thin that I was cooking for her. Xia, you have to eat it all?”
“I can’t eat it all…”
“Don’t be picky.”
Chen Xia’s face turned pale.
Then, Verkia’s gaze turned to Runia and Airan.
“You two look very thin too?”
The two girls felt an inexplicable sense of dread at the unexpectedly warm words.