Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys

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  Hm, what's going on? What's with all the commotion?

  I'd just gotten all that sticky shit off of my face, which involved the other Elves cutting it off……along with most of the skin on my face, it hurt so fucking bad that I wanted to die, fortunately the pain was short-lived thanks to healing spells.

  Gotta say, this world may be centuries behind when it comes to technology and stuff, but honestly, magic makes up for a lot of things, especially medicine and recovery, hospitals and pharmacies are almost totally unnecessary in this world.

  Anyway, I'd been on my way to Sant's place after getting that sticky stuff off of me and healing my injuries, and as I began to get close, I noticed a commotion. I glanced up at the sky and looked around……looks like all of Sant's protective barriers are still intact, so what's with the panic?

  "Excuse me, what is going on here?" I asked a Halfling that was hurrying past me.

  "It is awful……Lord Laus is gravely injured but unable to heal himself, Lady Bell is healing him, but ordinary healing spells are proving futile, his injuries are far too severe……we are buying time until he is once again able to use his Restoration Magic," He explained in reply, clearly panicked, "I was told to go obtain certain herbs in order to boost the effectiveness of the healing spells, even if by a small amount."

  Huh, that's supposed to be a really outdated, obsolete practice, since it only adds a minimal boost to the effectiveness of a healing spell……the fact that they're opting for that emphasizes their desperation. I better hurry and get to Sant too.

  I raced forward at top speed, weaving my way through the frazzled crowd and zooming past the distracted guards, who looked too worried to be doing their jobs right now. Everyone around was clearly on edge.

  As I went through the open gateway and halted, I got a look at Sant……he was on the ground in a pool of his own blood, while Bell, Vokkeg and a few others healed him desperately, but the amount of damage he'd sustained was pretty serious, there were bones poking out and shit.

  Definitely fatal if he was mortal like the rest of us, but just because it won't kill him doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt like hell. And based on his expression, he was definitely in an immense amount of pain right now. I then froze as I recalled something……

  A while ago, I'd asked him what was the point of Restoration Magic if physical damage doesn't kill him, and why he doesn't simply cast off his body and be unstoppable in his non-physical form, since he can still activate spells even without it.

  He then told me that that's not possible. Apparently, his non-physical form is pure energy, and without a physical form to house it, it'll dissipate and cease to exist in about a minute. The mass of pure energy consists of an infinitely renewing Mana element and a finite Divine Mana element that holds it together.

  In other words, there are two conditions he needs to meet in order to avoid ceasing to exist……don't run out of Divine Mana and don't let his body stay dead for more than a minute.

  "What is going on? Why can't Lord Laus use his Restoration Magic?" I inquired, as I rushed over to them.

  "We do not know, but……something feels unstable!" Replied Bell with a panicked expression, as she continued to heal him.

  Unstable? What's that supposed to mean!? Well, I'm not going to bother asking, spell casting just goes over my head, so even if they did explain, I probably wouldn't get it.

  "Wait, it feels as though his Mana flow is starting to stabilize, there is less resistance against my healing spell!" Exclaimed Vokkeg suddenly, his eyes lighting up.

  Despite the horrible condition Sant was in right now, they'd managed to keep his body alive……he'd have probably ceased to exist if it wasn't for them.

  "Yes……yes, you are right, it is becoming easier! But……all we can do is prevent his condition from worsening, we cannot repair much of this damage……," Bell began in dismay, before trailing off when suddenly, all sign of damage from Sant's body disappeared and he sat up with a start, letting out a sharp gasp.

  I noticed him clenching his fists as he stared at the ground, his hair covering his eyes as he was eerily quiet and unmoving.

  "Lord Laus……?"

  "Are you alright, my lord?"

  "Thank goodness, he is okay!"

  "Of course he is, he is the most superior being in the world!"

  As everyone around began cheering and crying with relief, Sant then spoke up, addressing them in a blank, monotone voice……

  "Everyone except for the Elemental Sages, leave me be……shut the gates on your way out."

  After a moment of slightly shocked silence passed, they all complied without saying a word, heading out and shutting the gates as they left, leaving Bell, Vokkeg and me with Sant.

  "Um……are you alright, Lord-?" Bell began with a look of concern.

  "He took it……he took it, he took it, he took it……no, this is not accurate, HE STOLE IT!!!" Yelled Sant furiously as he slammed his fist onto the ground, shocking us.

  I stiffened and took a step back as I caught a glimpse of the look in his eyes……he looks completely crazed and insane.

  "Wh-who stole what, my lord?" I inquired warily.

  "Kuro……Kuro Black……my divinity……! Kill……I will……I-I will kill him!!!" He screamed hysterically, his eyes bulging almost maniacally.

  "L-Lord Laus, please calm down……arghh!" Bell started to try and get him to relax, before he cut her off by striking her with the back of his fist.

  "Calm down!?" He yelled, as he swung his fist out, knocking her down, "You expect me to calm down after-!?"

  I felt a twinge of anger as Bell sat up with a slight groan, blood trickling down the side of her mouth……

  "That's enough!" I snapped, firing a wind blast onto the ground in front of him, "I get that you're pissed off, sir, but taking it out on us is not going to help matters! If it wasn't for Bell, you'd be dead already!"

  "Huh!?" He growled, shifting his gaze onto me, his rage undiminished.

  Oops……kinda lost my cool there, probably shouldn't have done that.

  "My apologies, I was out of line," I remarked, stepped back with a bow.

  "Out of line is understating it, you need to learn your place, Sylvar-!" He began furiously, taking a threatening step towards me.

  "If I may interject, Lord Laus……I agree with the Wind Sage," Spoke up Vokkeg, a nervous yet determined look on his face, "We suffered immense casualties in the last battle, my lord……we cannot afford any conflicts amongst ourselves. How will we defeat our enemies if we are fighting amongst ourselves?"

  "I……very well, I suppose that you are correct," He finally relented, calming down a bit.

  He then walked over to his throne and sat down with a sigh of exasperation……as Bell stood back up and wiped off the streak of blood from the side of her mouth, Sant let out a snarl of frustration and slammed his fist onto the armrest of his throne, cracking it.

  "If I may ask, what happened, my lord?" Inquired Vokkeg, after glancing at Bell and I.

  Guess he must have figured that neither of us wanted to talk to Sant right now……well, I can't speak for Bell, but that's definitely how I feel……he's like a completely different, much worse person than he used to be. If he keeps this up, I'll probably no longer be cool with taking orders from him……

  "Tch……Belia ran away, and then, Kuro Black appeared out of nowhere. He……grr, he defeated me, and nearly killed me. He consumed more than a fifth of my remaining divinity in but an instant, and……and I can no longer use my Clone Magic freely! If I try, it will consume my divinity. I have lost one of my strongest weapons, stolen by a lowly human……this is unacceptable!" He snapped furiously.

  "That is unfortunate, my lord, I am glad he was not able to inflict any more damage on you," Replied Vokkeg in a somber voice.

  Have to say, I'm impressed……Vokkeg was doing a good job of responding without ticking Sant off. It was more the way he was saying it than what he was actually saying.

  "He……he dared speak down to me with……with such arrogance and condescension!" Sant snarled venomously, before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly to calm himself, though the look in his eyes hadn't changed much, "Today was an absolute failure. Both Belia Lasmodeus and Kuro Black are still alive, and much of my forces were eliminated, not to mention that I am a fraction weaker with the loss of my divinity! What a truly immense failure this is."

  "My lord……how many casualties did we suffer?" Asked Bell, finally speaking up, with a look of nervous dread on her face.

  "Hmph……nearly six hundred thousand Fairies, and between two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand each from the other three races……in total, that is more than one million, three hundred thousand dead," Remarked Sant, scoffing in disdain.

  I stiffened at his tone in shock and disbelief. What……what the hell is with that reaction, huh? He ordered this……this battle was carried out on his commands, we followed his instructions to the letter, over a million of us being killed as a result, and he reacts like this to that obscene number of casualties!?

  "S-six hundred thousand? How did the Fairies suffer such casualties?" Gasped Vokkeg in shock.

  "I do not know how……but I felt many of them die quite near the south gate. How useless, they could not even make it into the nation without being killed immediately. I suppose they have always been pitifully fragile in defense, regardless of their offensive powers," He scorned dismissively.

  His attitude is really pissing me off, but I clenched my fist and held back my feelings. There's nothing to be gained by snapping at him, it won't accomplish a damned thing……

  "Lord Laus……where is Maie?" I inquired with a grimace, as I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

  Don't tell me that she's……

  "Dead as well. But fret not, I have already commanded the remaining Fairies to make haste and select the next Fire Sage. We will attack again once the ritual is complete," Declared Sant with a dark gleam in his eyes.

  "My lord, that's……! Don't you think we need more time to recover!? Not just physically, but emotionally too. I mean, after so many deaths, the least we can do is give them some time to mourn-!" I began to urge him.

  "Silence! Such trivial details do not matter. Instead, focus on doing better next time! You were useless in the Rustlands, Sylvar, hiding for much of the battle as you did, like a worthless coward!" He exclaimed, glaring at me.

  "I-I couldn't help it, I was blinded and-!"

  "I do not care to hear your excuses! You ought to be ashamed to be alive after such a disgraceful display!" He snapped, looking at me with disgust.

  "M-my lord, what are you saying-?" Bell began to ask in shock.

  "You want us to waste time to allow everyone to mourn the dead? How pointless. All those who died, did so because they carelessly underestimated their opponents, this goes especially for the Fairies. And for such carelessness during such an important assignment……they deserved to perish," Surmised Sant spitefully, before adding for good measure, "They disgraced the Laus Domain……I see no reason to mourn such worthless fools."

  The three of us were stunned into silence by what he'd just said……he truly means that, he doesn't give a shit about anyone who died, does he? All it took was a simple command from Samsara, and he's changed this drastically as a result?

  The way he treated us before, it wasn't because of his personality or whatever, it was probably because that's how Samara commanded him to treat us. Which means that the Sant we all thought we knew, never really existed.

  "You……you cannot possibly mean that, my lord," Spoke up Vokkeg, struggling to process what he'd just said.

  "I do not speak meaninglessly," Came the blunt reply.

  I could feel my anger rising, as I clenched my teeth and tightened my fist……

  "Forgive me for saying so, my lord……but are your comments not somewhat……hypocritical?" I inquired with a frown, unable to hold myself back any longer.

  "Hm? You would press your luck further, Sylvar? And what makes you declare such an outrageous claim?" He responded in a threatening tone.

  Not gonna lie, that's pretty intimidating……but I'm not backing down.

  "It's simple……you blamed their deaths on carelessnessly underestimating their opponents……but tell me, isn't that exactly what you did? Given the state you were in just a few minutes ago, didn't you make the exact same mistake that you accused the deceased of-!?" I began, my rage starting to surface.

  "That is enough, I will warn you not to speak another word. Quit while you are still ahead, Sylvar, or else, I will kill you," He warned me with a spiteful glare, before dismissing us, "Now, leave, all three of you. I command you to get each of your races ready to launch the next attack, we will do so shortly after the ritual to create the next Fire Sage is complete. I shall deal with the Fairies. Now, go……I have nothing more to say to any of you……"

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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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