Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys

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  "Alright, then, go ahead, what's your first question?" Prompted Belia with a smile.

  She's really enjoying this, isn't she?

  "Okay……here's what I want to know first, it's about that Kuro guy……how did he get all those powers?" I inquired curiously.

  "In a nutshell, he absorbed the powers of a bunch of monsters. It started with extracted Dark Magic from monsters, and then he caught the interest of the Vampire King, who granted him a portion of his powers, including the ability to drain and absorb the life forces of any living creature……he then found and consumed the life forces of every monster king that wasn't sealed away, gaining all their abilities and control over the monsters they rule over, as well as sneaking into the Demon Forbidden Zone and letting the Demon King possess him," Explained Belia, before adding after a brief pause, "Yeah, I can't think of anything else……that just about covers all of it, I think."

  Okay, that's all pretty alarming……but it does explain some of the abilities he displayed when we fought him. At the end there though, it seemed more like she was pondering whether or not to tell me something……had she excluded an aspect of his powers? That aside though, a few things that she said didn't make sense to me……

  "What do you mean by extracted Dark Magic? And how could a Vampire even grant a human some of their powers? And you mean to say that there's more monster kings than just the Vampire, Demon, Undead and Dragon Kings!? Also……what's a Forbidden Zone?" I inquired with a confused frown.

  "Oh, right, I forgot that all of you know nothing of what happened over the last thousand years……but that was four questions……hm, though considering that they're all extensions to my previous answer, I'll answer them at the cost of two questions!" She declared with a grin, "Yes, I know……so generous! Regarding your first question, extracted Dark Magic, also called Karma by some, is taken from monsters and then implanted into humans……but that hasn't been done in a long time, it has an extremely low success rate, only six test subjects were successes, out of thousands upon thousands. Those that survived those experiments gained significant power boosts."

  "And Kuro was one of those test subjects?"

  "No, he gained Dark Magic through a different method……a method that's no longer possible, so I'm not going to elaborate, because it's fairly worthless information. Next, about how Lazarus……the Vampire King-was able to grant him a portion of his powers……it was only possible because of how Kuro gained Dark Magic and sustained it, so again, there's no point in elaborating on that," She said, before continuing, "Next, there used to be eleven monster kings, but now only three remain, though I'm fairly certain that the consciousnesses of the Demon and Vampire Kings exist inside Kuro's subconscious."

  "He killed eight monster kings? Are they all strong?" I asked with a growing sense of concern.

  "Yes, very much so. The three that remain are the Dragon, Undead and Sea Kings, and they're all still trapped in the Forbidden Zones. And that brings me to what a Forbidden Zone is……basically, they're powerful sealing barriers I created about two hundred years ago to temporarily seal away the most powerful monsters, because the balance between humans and monsters was too one-sided and boring, so I decided to seal those monsters to balance the scales. Huh, I've given away a lot more information than I thought I would with just three questions……but I'm feeling generous, so you still have your last two questions! What do you want to know about next?" She prompted with a smirk.

  She really is crazy, victory isn't a part of her goals at all, and it's likely not even a major factor she takes into account when strategizing……she would much rather have her side lose a close contest than win a one-sided battle.

  With that in mind, what should my next question be? She said that she sealed away the most powerful monsters to give the humans a better chance……so, then, does the fact that she's unsealed some of these Forbidden Zones mean that the humans now stand a better chance against those monsters than they did two hundred years ago?

  "Tell me, how many humans are currently more powerful than the most powerful human from a thousand years ago?" I inquired warily.

  "Oh, a lot. I'm not even sure how many anymore……see, all three human nations have been using Corruption Magic to strengthen the physical and magical capabilities of tens of thousands of their citizens," Explained Belia with a look of amusement, "So, basically, everything that the Laus Domain knew about humans is completely and utterly irrelevant now."

  Yeah it sure seems that way……

  "My final question is……where is the Water Sage?"

  "In Abyss. Alright, that's all the information I'm going to share! Now, let's see where the Lightning Sage……oh, wow, how'd she make it all the way there from where I dumped her……? Well, guess it doesn't matter……okay, looks like I'll be dropping you a few miles southeast of the Rustlands……I'll see you later, Wind Sage," She remarked with a smirk, before I suddenly fell through the ground with a startled yell……and landing on a bush.

  "Who is there!? Show yourself or I shall kill……oh, it is you, Sylvar."

  "Bell? Huh, she really did drop me right where you are……apparently, we're to the southeast of the Rustlands. Should we head there or shall we first discuss the information I got from Belia?" I inquired, as I stood up with a groan.

  "Hmph, we cannot trust her words!" Huffed Bell, an irritated look on her face.

  Her hair and clothes were wet, and she smelt a bit salty……yeah, Belia had definitely dropped her in the sea, no wonder she's so grouchy……

  "Actually, I don't think she was lying……I made sure to ask questions about the other human nations, I didn't ask anything about the nation she's involved with. The other nations are her enemies, so it's in her best interest to give us information about them," I argued.

  "Very well, then……I suppose it will not hurt to discuss it, what did she say to you?" She relented with a sigh.

  I then explained everything that Belia told me. Once I was done, Bell looked kinda skeptical about the whole thing……and I guess I can't really blame her, under normal circumstances it'd be idiotic to trust information given to us by the person who plans to attack us in a few days time……but Belia isn't normal, which means that these aren't exactly normal circumstances.

  "Look, I can see that you don't think we can trust this information……but it's not our call, we'll give Lord Laus all the information we've gathered and let him decide what's legitimate and what isn't. For now, let's try our luck with the Rustlands, shall we?" I suggested.

  "Hmph, very well then."

  "Actually, on second thought……I think it's better if I go alone, you just stay out of sight and wait for me to return……we don't want a repeat of what happened in Abyss, do we?" I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

  "……tch, fine."

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  Point-of-View: Lidui Uensh

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  "You need to shape up, Miss Lidui……you're the most powerful person and highest ranked Adventurer in the Rustlands now, you need to start acting like it," Remarked Cusnai Bronztan with a frown.

  The former princess of Bronztan, now the number two S-Rank in the Rustlands……she is a huge pain.

  "If it matters to you that much, then just take over the number one spot, I'll be glad to retire," I replied with a sigh.

  "You know that you can't do that! You're the strongest of us by a significant amount, and with……," She trailed off, before continuing with a reluctant expression, "……with great power comes great responsibility."

  "I didn't ask for this power, do you think I wanted a Demon to possess me and almost kill me!?" I snapped in retaliation.

  "The details don't matter, the fact remains that we're severely underpowered, we have numbers thanks to the Corruption Magic power ups, but we're lacking in real power thanks to all the X and S-Ranks that defected following Kuro's banishment……I still can't understand how or why someone with such power was exiled, what a waste……no, it's more than a waste, if it results in him becoming our enemy, we're all but finished," Sighed Cusnai in frustration.

  "Yeah, I suppose that's a possibili-," I began to reply.

  "And if all that wasn't bad enough, the reports from some of our Adventurers of running into strange people in the forest and rocky areas is concerning, they sound like the other races described in the history book that Kuro published," Muttered Cusnai with a frown, pacing around……towards the end there, it sounded more like she was taking to herself than me.

  The former citizens of Bronztan were supremely grateful to the Rustlands for taking them in after their nation was reduced to a large crater as Goldway was, but the queen and the top advisors of Bronztan clashed with the King of the Rustlands and his advisors over the decision to exile Kuro.

  And as far as I knew, most, if not all, of the X and S-Ranks had some degree of a connection to him, so it was always a possibility that they would follow him if he were to be exiled, but the king let his hatred of Kuro get the best of him……and the Silvland troops declaring that Kuro was the reason for their last attack was such obvious bait……but the people still ate it up, and the king only further fed into to that farce.

  Thanks to that, the Rustlands is now back to being the weakest nation in the world……Platinberg, or Abyss, as Kuro renamed it, has Vampires, Demons and all of the best Adventurers that the Rustlands used to have……Silvland is also quite powerful, and if they attack us again in full force as they did the last two times, we will undoubtedly be massacred.

  "Hm, I'm getting a call from Miss Elina," Muttered Cusnai, finally stopping lecturing me as she searched her person for the Spell Card, before finding it and answering it, "Hello? Yes……okay……I see, I understand, leave it to me."

  "It sounds like you have something to do, so I will be leaving now-," I began, turning around and walking away, before she reached out and grabbed my sleeve to stop me.

  "Not so fast……there's an intruder approaching from the forest area, an unregistered Mana signature was just detected. Let's go see what's going on……it might be someone from the other races," Surmised Cusnai with a look of concern.

  "That sounds serious……you should go and investigate, I will head to the Guild and call for reinforcements and."

  "Nice try, but there's no need for that……I can call the Guild and request reinforcements on the way, so come on, let's go."

  Damn it, I'm blanking out……I can't think of any good excuses……

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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