King Of Limbo

After Lady Rose's scouter left, Aron had allowed Evanora to sleep a while longer. This resulted in the mana demon emerging once more which he asked about it's previous words, however he only got nonsensical sentences in response that were quite hard to make out the real meaning of.

It was only some time after midnight that Aron sensed an unfamiliar presence which he assumed to be Lady Rose and her group. But as this presence reached closer he could more clearly sense it, the most apparent being scent which he was sure belonged to Lady Rose.

The strange thing was that he could sense no scent aside from hers or mana signature for that matter which would mean she was alone, this left the question… what happened to her group?

He was curious but he didn't bother thinking about it as he would receive answers once she arrived. The only thing he could do was wake up Evanora once again.

"Hm?" As Evanora awoke her mana demon went away, she slowly rubbed her eyes and looked towards Aron as if asking with her gaze why he had woken her up. This was quickly explained and although she still felt the urge to sleep she didn't do so, choosing to wait standing beside Aron instead.

A short while later Lady Rose's buxom figure made it's way out from the nearby shrubbery as the forest had no clear paths one could use. The results of trekking through the Veldra lands did show on her clothes just like maneuvering through the tunnels showed on Aron and Evanora's dirty clothing.

She had only appeared with one scouter which Aron could only guess she was using to look for the others. Upon confirming that she really was alone despite initially starting of with one of the largest groups he chose to ask. "Where are the others you traveled with?"

Lady Rose approached the two while patting off the leaves that had clung to parts of her attire, the only real strange thing was that her skin remained flawless and without a single scratch or speck of dirt. It made Aron wonder if she kept up a barrier even while traveling.

"I left them behind as they were moving to slow, food and water had become quite the problem but I've already delivered a message through the scouter telling me to start coming this way. Those still alive should be here in a few days." She replied nonchalantly but truthfully.

At first glance one would find her story hard to believe given how healthy she looked. Even Mirai and the others had their health dwindle slightly due to the environment they traveled in and the sudden change in diet.

As for why Evanora remained healthy, Aron could only associate it with a theory he felt applied for himself. Which was passively using the surrounding mana to provide nutrients to one's self.

Mana existed in many forms and could generally not be seen unless it took a form that three dimensional, two dimensional or one dimensional. The true nature it existed in wasn't something they could comprehend simply with vision which made sensing it the better option.

For Aron he theorized it provided nutrition the same way it did for mana beasts who passively absorb the surrounding mana for nutrition which would lead to further evolution. Why Aron doubted this was because if normal beast mongers had no such ability and still needed to eat to live.

If Aron's theory was right then he technically held the physiological attributes of most mana beasts if not more. If that was case then, how come Evanora could do the same?

Was she not human? Or could humans perform this after reaching a certain level of mana sensitivity? Perhaps it was the mana demon?

They were many possibilities and Aron chose to stay open minded, there was no rush in learning more about himself and a few other individuals he considered enigmas.

"Well then how come you two are alone as well?" She asked while looking the area she found them. The one to answer was Evanora who raised her hand before speaking. "Evanora is on lookout." She muttered sheepishly but was still somewhat understood by Lady Rose.

"For what exactly? Aethelians?" Rose added to which Evanora nodded once. "Yes Ethilans.. Aethans..Ethi… people." She concluded causing Rose to turn to Aron for sensible answers.

It was then he explained how their journey had moved and didn't leave out many details, although he had changed the story somewhat. This could be seen when he brought out the map to show Rose.

Unlike the one he previously had which detailed the tunnel system all other the continent, the one he one he now held only showed those in the Veldra Community. The penmanship and writing style was identical to the real one he once held which he had chosen to burn along with the one he received from Ariel as had preserved the knowledge into his legacy ring.

"Incredible, they must have spent numerous years making such an intricate tunnel system." Lady commented after looking over the map, the parchment used was one found in the tunnels so it held the sort of look one would expect, old and brittle.

"It is, but I think I think they run even further, when moving to come here we encountered tunnels that were still going forward which means they are in Aethelian territory as well." Aron feigned ignorance and acted like he too had just made this discovery alongside her.

Unless necessary he didn't see the need to provide her the entirety of the information. Their relationship seemed to be one of acknowledgment in each other's capabilities, in a sense one could see it as a sort of twisted form of trust.

They spent some time discussing the matter more with Evanora blankly looking at them both on the side, soon though they decided to head back to the area Mirai and others were after Lady Rose sent out her other scouter to quicken the search for the other groups.

…

The trio made it to the riverbank bank after a while and found only Sharla was still awake beside Mirai with weapon in hand clearly ready to strike when needed. Lucas had fallen asleep near a tree a bit further from Mirai and Sharla whilst hugging his sheathed sword.

Upon seeing the trio, Sharla's anxiety seemed to rise even more. It was troubling enough with just the two but now that Lady Rose was beside them it left no room for escape. If the three wanted to kill them then she knew she couldn't even put up a meaningful fight in response.

With that in mind she chose to just play the part of a comrade while hoping for the best. "Lucas managed to catch several fish and we've put aside some for you…" she muttered causing them to look beside her where a few leafy packages could be seen.

They had wrapped the fish in large leaves and put them aside to not have dirt cling to it. "Thank you, the other groups should be here in a few days time. There's fresh water, fish, fruits and a few wild game around to hunt so it's quite ideal for waiting." Aron added before walking over and picking up the leaf wrapped fish.

Contrary to what they thought he took only one and gave the others to Evanora and Lady Rose. "I had a meal when Evanora was asleep so just this is enough."

No one added to his words and they just settled as the wait for the others began.

…

And so the days began to fly and little by little group after group was found and guided to the location by Lady Rose's scouters.

Whilst all this was happening near the boarder to the west, the boarder to the far east had become a nightmarish event, not the Aethelians but for the forces of Ettenheim.

The appearance of Sayiva completely turned the tide of battle in favor of Aethel. No matter what stood in her path they were more or less destroyed after a single attack every time.

Her prowess was so incredible that the airships that came with her only deployed small groups to destroy or capture the remnants from the attacks.

This unexpected variable forced Ettenheim forces to retreat, including Lady Belle. Despite the arrogance she had about her strength she knew not to mess with the unknown haphazardly.

The news she received clearly stated how devastating the attacks were, something she herself couldn't do so with her best interests in mind she ordered a retreat. What's more unsettling is that Sayiva didn't go after those who surrendered and chose to retreat, although she did have one of loyal servants deliver a message on her behalf that was engraved into the minds of the Ettenheim forces.

[ Our Queen will only destroy those who stand in her way for the world shall need life to proper. Her enemies are your emperor and his pillars, only they are guaranteed the deaths they deserve. These are are words of our true Queen Sayiva who has returned to deliver justice and unite the world ]

…

This news didn't take long to reach notable figures thanks to messaging scrolls. No official words of response had been delivered to the public by the emperor or any of his pillars regarding the matter but each family had deployed nearly all their forces, this signaled the looming of a grand battle.

The other notable figure to receive this message quicker than most was none other Lady Rose who was currently reading it by the riverbank they had settled in. 'Queen Sayiva? So that's who our mystery elf is.' She thought before reading the rest of the contents and delivering further instructions for Belle.

The area they settled in had become quite packed as the other groups began to arrive, only Henry's and Claudia's group were left due to them taking making stops along the way, although she estimated they would arrive later than evening.

Without wasting time she moved from the riverbank and went towards Aron who hadn't been doing anything of note while waiting for the groups, like most he just ate and slept despite not needing either.

He simply did this to not draw anymore attention than he already had on him. Be it from Brutas, Sharla, Juliet, Jin or Esmeralda who all seemed to have different reasons for keeping their eye on him.

Evanora had stuck to him like glue even in the night when they would go patrol the area, though due to the arrival of more people he had to resort to using the tunnels for her to sleep.

In addition all it took was a sentence from Lady Rose to deter anyone from following so no trouble occurred, even from Juliet who Aron found to be the most odd among everyone keeping an eye on him.

…

Upon hearing footsteps coming towards him, he opened his eyes and awoke from the slumber he was in and looked at Lady Rose who didn't stop walking and passed by him, saying only a few words. "Walk with me."

She couldn't say much given the crowd present and Aron understood this as he stood up soon after to follow. "Come along too." She instructed Evanora before the trio walked away living everyone to wonder what was going on.