Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys

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  Guess there's no point in maintaining this snow storm anymore, the lowered visibility isn't going to help me in this situation. I dissipated the storm with a wave of my hand, and then flew further up to make sure that I was out of the reach of any ranged infliction spells like paralysis, while scanning my surroundings. Tch, archers on the fortress, wall and cliffs, and several ground troops……most of the Elves and Fairies were starting to fly up towards me.

  What do I do? Killing this many of them is……I'd rather not go through with that. And even if I was willing to do so, with these numbers plus an Elemental Sage, there's no way I'm coming out of it unscathed.

  I can't heal any injuries that I sustain, so if I take too much damage, I might end up in a situation where I die a slow, painful death by infection or gradual blood loss. Those sound incredibly unpleasant, to put it lightly.

  Alright, then……just one last time, I'm going to try and persuade them. If I can get even a few of them to see reason, it could make a big difference……because at this rate, Sant is gonna run the Laus Domain to the grave……

  "I don't suppose we can resolve this peacefully?" I inquired loudly, while watching them carefully.

  "Surely you jest, traitor!"

  "We have nothing to say to one who betrayed Lord Laus so callously!"

  "You must die!"

  Sigh……yeah, I should have figured as much.

  "I never betrayed him, that was just him letting his own paranoia get the better of him!" I countered, before adding, "Surely you've all noticed how differently he's been acting lately, haven't you!?"

  "How dare you!?"

  "You presume to speak so disrespectfully in regard to Lord Laus!?"

  A lot of angry shouts, but I can see that some of them are wavering a bit.

  "Do not listen to this traitor!" Exclaimed the Fire Sage, as she flew up, "He is attempting to corrupt your minds, pay his words no heed!"

  "Oh, please, if you're minds were that easily corruptible, they'd have been corrupted ages ago, considering our lifespans! It's not like I'm trying to convince you to go against Sant or whatever, I'm just trying to get you all to think for yourselves, before it's too late!" I yelled out in frustration.

  That was kind of a lie, specifically the part about me not trying to convince them to go against Sant, because that's definitely my end goal. A few of them are starting to look conflicted, I think I'm getting through to them……!

  "Thinking for ourselves? We need no such thing! All we must do is faithfully carry out Lord Laus's commands, it is as simple as that!" Declared the Fire Sage.

  There's my opening……

  "Is that so? Do the rest of you agree with that notion? Surrendering your free will and obeying Sant like mindless puppets……is that really the life you want to lead, huh!?" I exclaimed at the top of my lungs.

  "Enough! You will not spread any further dissent!" Screamed the Fire Sage furiously.

  "Maybe you could argue that that's what I'm doing right now, but I've never said or done anything against Sant before……tell me, did he ever provide any proof that I did what he claimed I did!?" I snapped in response, before continuing, "I can guarantee that he didn't, because it was just an assumption he made based on paranoia, paranoia caused by his own selfish tactics that saw over a million of us dead in the battle in the Rustlands! How many of you actually agreed with his tactics in that battle, huh? That's the dissent he's referring to, I had nothing to do with it, he brought it all on himself……tell me I'm wrong, if you truly believe that to be the case!"

  Except for the Fairies, the crowd had quietened down. I wasn't a teacher in my old life for nothing, I know how to make people listen and pay attention……

  "But……that cannot be!"

  "It is true that we suffered many avoidable casualties in the last battle……"

  "Yes, but surely Lord Laus did not expect such numerous casualties, he must have felt immense grief too!"

  "No, he did not……I heard him during my shift to guard his gates, he showed no remorse for the dead."

  "Wh-what are you saying? That Lord Laus lied to us!?"

  Woah, I didn't expect some of them to actually voice their doubts……Evie, the Fire Sage, her expression was priceless, and the other Fairies looked pretty horrified too.

  "I know that most of you understand! Please, I'm begging you……don't force me to fight you, I……I don't want to kill any more people with whom I'd lived with in such peace and harmony for so long! The Laus Domain and all those within it are precious to me, don't let Sant's impulsive decisions destroy that!" I pleaded, laying it on a bit more thickly than I'd intended……might have gotten a bit overly cheesy, but hey, it looks like it's working.

  But they're just wavering, they're still a long way from abandoning their orders from Sant and letting me pass. I need to……

  "I have heard enough! Unforgivable, all of you……to pay heed to this traitor and actually display doubt in Lord Laus!? How dare you all act so callously!?" Screamed the Fire Sage, her eyes bulging in sheer rage, "I have just been in contact with Lord Laus, and I have informed him of all this!"

  Ah, so that's why she was so quiet for the last couple of minutes, I thought it was strange that she didn't interrupt or anything for a while……

  "And? What did he say?" I inquired, meeting her gaze icily, causing her to growl in anger.

  "All those who refuse to kill Sylvar will be declared as traitors, rightfully so in my opinion, and they are to be eliminated immediately! Do you understand!? Cease your foolish doubts and kill him……kill him right now!" She commanded them, as she entered Fire Sage Mode.

  Damn it, just when I was getting somewhere……!

  I let out a roar of anger and frustration as I entered Wind Sage Mode, the Fairies that had begun to close in on me getting blown away by the shockwave upon transformation……now that it's come to this, I don't have a choice but to fight.

  "I-impossible, how can you access the powers of the Wind Spirit!?" Exclaimed the Fire Sage in shock.

  "Push ups, sit ups and lots of juice!" I yelled sarcastically in reply.

  I swung my spear around a couple of times, before slashing it down swiftly, firing out a rapid, slashing shockwave which sliced through the air and tore several of them apart in a matter of seconds. I was already the strongest Elemental Sage, but now, with this spear and my heightened level of cautious from being on the run, none of them stand a chance against me.

  So long as I stay in the air and avoid getting hit with any spells, this'll be over in no time. But with each slash and the more of them that I killed, the stronger the ache in my chest……will I ever get used to this? I……I don't want to get used to it. But at the same time, I don't want to keep feeling this pain.

  Enough……

  I fired out a powerful shockwave of wind from me, knocking everyone in the air away before they could close in on me. Evie is keeping her distance……I doubt she's afraid or anything, she doesn't care if she dies so long as it's for Sant……which means that Sant commanded her to play it safe. How despicable……

  "Hey, Fire Sage! What's the matter, why are you staying so far away when you're the only one that actually stands a chance against me!?" I exclaimed tauntingly.

  Come on, take the bait……

  "Everything I do is upon Lord Laus's commands, I do not have to justify anything to you!" She retorted with a glare.

  "Just as I thought……Sant ordered you to stay back because, as the Fire Sage, you aren't disposable to him. But everyone else here is……they're attacking me with no strategy or anything, as if they were disposable pawns. Were any of these deaths necessary!? Or rather……weren't they preventable?" I inquired coldly, "Because from my perspective, it looks like Sant wants to weaken me with sheer numbers, regardless of whether those numbers die or not, and once I'm sufficiently weakened, only then will you swoop in……am I wrong?"

  "Y-yes, you are wrong! Lord Laus would never command such a thing!" She responded, not very convincingly……her panic was apparent, Sant must have just told her to deny my accusation……which played right into my hands……

  "Huh? I thought you were of the mindset that we should all just follow Sant's commands no matter what, it seems out of character for you to presume what he would and would not command. It's awfully bold of you to interpret his intentions like that, wouldn't you agree?" I surmised with a smirk, before adding with a cold glare, "Give Sant a message from me……your cowardly tactics aren't going to work on me, you fucked up the moment you falsely accused me and then failed to execute me right then and there. I'm pretty pissed off right now. Don't think you can underestimate me and get away with it……you got that?"

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