31 Chapter 27: Double Agent Equals Reconciliation... And More?

"Wouldn't you mind waiting a bit, Young man?"

Just before the sword could make contact with their heads, a voice called out to Toshirou, stopping him.

The heads of everyone in the throne room turned towards the wrinkly old man who, at a snail's pace, strolled along the red-carpeted floor.

"Is that?!" One of the attendants whispered.

"It is!" Another replied.

Everyone gasped, loudly.

"Elder Byung-jin!" Both Yeong-ji and Sung-nim ran to the elder's side, taking up one arm each, by his left and right respectively, and guided him along the aisle.

"Hoho," the old man laughed softly, "Thank you, my children."

"Please, do not put much strain on yourself, for you are still ill," Sung-nim said, worriedly.

"Ahhh... thank you, Lady Sung-nim, forgive this old bucket of bones for behaving rashly." The elder smiled.

At a slow pace, they led him down the aisle, till they were in the midst of the company on the other side.

"Byung-jin..."

"Why do you look at me like that, Byung-hoon? Did I not warn you lot that there will be heavy prices to pay?"

The elders could not meet the gaze of Byung-ji, their eyes were covered in shame.

"The hell are you, old man?" Toshirou spoke up, his hands still holding the sword in the air.

"Hoho," the elder cackled, rubbing his long grey beard, "I am Byung-jin. Please forgive the incompetence of my fellow old 'geezers', but I understand if you wish to do away with them."

"If you understand, then don't get in my way. These old pigs have caused me enough trouble." Toshirou replied.

"Old pigs you say, that's a rather harsh remark, don't you think?" Byung-jin said but suddenly burst into a fit of coughing.

One of the attendants quickly brought a seat with arm-rests for him to sit on. Yeong-ji nodded his head in appreciation and he set the elder on the seat, with the help of Sung-nin.

Calming down from his fit, the old man relaxed into the chair and addressed Toshirou once again.

Toshirou walked up to him and placed a hand on the older man's shoulder.

"At the very least, if you want to talk, then be fully healed."

A bright blue light emanated from Toshirou's palm and spread to everybody part of the elder.

And just like that, the older man was fully healed. He felt energized, healthy, and full of life.

"Aosaki-kun, you-"

"That was the last of my healing ability for them today though. It's not like I'm going to die from my injuries, so it doesn't necessarily bother me." Toshirou said to Sung-nim.

"What a kind boy you are, wasting your last energy on this old man," Byung-joon said, stroking his beard.

"Your compliments are wasted on me," Toshirou replied. "Now, can I go on and kill these geezers?" He raised his sword again.

"Calm your horses, Aosaki," Dae said, walking to them with Raynell's hand in hers.

"Ohh? And you must be Dae Chun-ja." Byung-jin said cheerfully.

"Obviously, yes." She replied.

Then his face suddenly had a frown on it. "I truly am terribly sorry for the problems this village has caused you. You have every right to be angry, every right to be filled with rage and hate towards us, but I pray that you hold on for just a moment, that I might address an issue that lays heavy on my heart."

"Everything is alright," Dae said, "at least for now. Thinking back on everything that has happened would only cause my blood to boil, and it doesn't help matters knowing both Yeong-ji and I were manipulated the entire time. Let's leave it as it is, it's for the best, but if you indeed want to apologize, then apologize to her."

She brought Raynell forward, who was a bit shy at being the centre of attraction.

"No, no, it's fine, all that ends well ends well, so-"

"Cut the bull, Raynell." Toshirou replied, his gaze focused away from her, "If you have something you want to say, now's the time to say it. You're not deceiving anybody, and especially not me. You of all people should know this by now."

She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it. She knew he was right, who in the world was she trying to deceive?

"I hate it here." She said simply.

Her words caused everyone's attention to be on her, including the attendants and the guards. Toshirou broke a small smile, hearing her simple yet effective choice of words.

"I hate it here." She said again. "I was in pain. Because of this village, my birth parents were murdered, I was taken a captive, tortured, beaten, abused, chained like an animal, starved, neglected, and dejected."

She held her arms and her eyes shook with fright as she remembered the few months of terrible and inhuman deeds that had been done to her.

"And what more, they did it out of pure enjoyment, not because they had to. I despise you, I despise them, I wish they would all drop dead."

Yeong-ji's eyes were saddened, as with Sung-nim's, but they understood where she was coming from. They completely understood.

"But even at that, it is still not enough to make me forget the little kindness shown to me by few of the people here; Li-san, Lord Choi, Lady Sung-nim, Joel-kun, and... Ao- No, Toshirou-kun. No amount of suffering could ever make me forget the kindness they gave to me."

'This girl, she's...'

If shame could be multiplied, then more than a hundred times had been heaped upon the heads of the corrupt elders. To be ruled out by a little girl, they could only bow their heads in regret.

"Good grief, kids of these days are certainly too compassionate. If only we had more beautiful creatures like them, then the world would be a better place." Byung-jin stroked his beard with a smile.

Yeong-ji opened his mouth to speak but Byung-jin stopped him, now with a slight frown on his face. He was becoming serious.

"But you,"— he pointed his finger at the seven guilty elders— "tried to disrupt that innate beauty. Don't you know children are precious gifts from The Lord? His Majesty forbids harm on the life of a child! If you had tampered with this girl's life and made her come to hate this world, you might as well be rotting away in the bottomless pit for all I care. I cannot help you any longer, my fellow elders, the least I can do now, would be to plead with the young lad beside me to spare your life."

Byung-jin turned his gaze to his right and Toshirou sighed deeply.

"For their lives to be spared, sure. But in exchange, 70 years in prison. Sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it?"

One of the elders, Byung-woo, suddenly snapped in anger.

"I will not stand for this!! How dare our fate be determined by a mere child?!! If it was Yeong-ji, then I would have complied, but to be sentenced by an unruly, barbaric, arrogant, lowlife bo-"

*Swish!*

No one uttered a single word at the action that had just transpired. They simply stared in shock, as Byung-woo's head fell to the ground and rolled to Dae's feet.

Like a fountain, blood spewed out the exposed neck, and the body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"You have any more complaints? I promise I'll lend you a listening ear." Toshirou said, staring at the old men who visibly shook from fear with such emptiness in his azure eyes. "Oh come on now, I believe I'm being generous enough, so just tell me your complaints."

They remained silent.

"None? That's good. Um, guard number one, please escort these fine gentlemen to your finest of prisons."

"U-uh, Hai!"

One of the guards ran to them, and using a tightly-knotted whip, tied the hands of the six remaining elders and walked them out of the throne room. Two attendants rushed forward and took up the body and the cutoff head of Byung-woo, away from the palace, while a third attendant came with a bowl of water and white cloth, to clean the stains of blood on the red carpet.

"Was it necessary to kill him?" Sung-nim asked, her eyes were saddened.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Sung-nim, I'm truly sorry you had to. But, he had a dagger somewhere in his robe and would've stabbed Raynell."

The girl in question was astonished, and she once again had a deep realisation of Toshirou's innate nature.

"It's true, Sung-nim. I saw it, and so did Dae. If Aosaki-kun didn't do it, she would've eventually taken his life."

Sung-nim did not speak anymore, but simply bowed her head.

"Now that's out of the way," Byung-jin stood up from his seat. With slow, heavy strides, he moved to the higher platform on which the throne was, in the company of seven seats, and sat down on one of the cushioned chairs. Holding his cane in his right hand, he hit the end on the ground, and everyone in the throne room became alert, like soldiers in an army, and stood upright.

The elder cleared his throat and began to speak,

"On this day, after many long years, spanning across almost three generations, the strife between these two kingdoms, Min-ji and Min-ae, has finally come to an end!"

The attendants, guards, maids and manservants alike, clapped their hands in resounding applause and cheered in happiness.

"Needless to say, it would have been impossible without the help of Aosaki Toshirou. We, are eternally grateful to you, and we request to show our humble gratitude."

Everyone in the room bowed their heads deeply towards Toshirou, not excluding Dae, Raynell, Sung-nim, and Yeong-ji.

Toshirou wanted to speak, but he refrained from doing so. Telling them to raise their heads abruptly, would be a massive blow to their pride. That was something he did not want to trample on.

'Well, that's what she would've said. 'Never walk on the pride of your enemies, for they were once just like you.' isn't that right, Kaa-chan?'

Gradually, they raised their heads and turned towards the eighth elder.

"Now, to your tents O Min-ji! Prepare yourselves and put on your finest of clothes, for this night, we shall have a feast to celebrate our reconciliation!"

"Yeeeeaahh!!!" They all cheered. Knowing that the elder would never repeat his word twice, in orderly pairs, they exited the throne room, all joyful and excited, leaving the feudal lords, the adventurer, the little girl, and the eighth elder, all alone.

Finally, the room was silent.

"Now that they are gone, there are more pressing matters that need to be addressed." The elder said.

"My elder, what could the matter be?" Yeong-ji spoke.

"It's about the Thessalonica, isn't it?" Toshirou said, rhetorically.

"You have sharp intuition, young Aosaki. It is indeed the Thessalonica. Firstly, if I may ask, how exactly did you take out our allied forces placed by the four gates?"

"Huh? Oh them," He replied to the elder, "Wait a sec, I forgot something."

He stretched out his right arm and opened a blue portal with symbols on it, this circle, in particular, was much bigger than the ones he had made so far.

"Here we go." Putting in his hand, he moved it around the inside and grabbed a hold of something, or rather, someone.

"Eh, eh, what the?"

He pulled out a flustered-looking Joel holding a glowing orb in his arms. He landed with an 'oomph' as Toshirou dropped him.

All eyes were on him. The purple-haired boy looked around him with reddish cheeks and a nervous smile.

"H-Hey, e-everyone."

"Aosaki Toshirou!" Dae hit Toshirou on the head, and oh did she hit him hard. His brain rang like it had been hit with a sledgehammer.

"Kuso!" He exclaimed in pain. "The hell's wrong with you?!!"

"No, the hell's wrong with you?!! Do you put a living being in a portal? No, scratch that, you put a child in a portal?! What in the world were you thinking?!!"

"It was the only way to keep him safe! He would've been a target since stole the Thessalonica!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to- Wait, what?!!"

Both Dae and Yeong-ji exclaimed in surprise. Their widened eyes looked from Toshirou to Joel, from Joel to Toshirou, and back to Joel again.

"You said he did what?!"

"Stole the Thessalonica. You can literally see him holding it right now." Toshirou replied nonchalantly.

"Ahaha..." Sung-nim and Raynell let out nervous laughs, diverting their gaze away from Yeong-ji and Dae respectively.

"You knew about this too?!!" They asked at the same time.

"Ah, um, y-yes?"

Yeong-ji was beyond shocked. "Aosaki-kun, just what kind of people do you keep around you?"

"Even I do not know the answer to that," Toshirou said, letting out a sigh.

"While that is certainly intriguing," the elder said, clearing his throat once more, "I believe I asked you a question, Young Aosaki."

Toshirou straightened himself up, now with a serious demeanour, and addressed the elder before him.

"I recalled hearing a tale, about how the walls of Jericho came tumbling down before the people of a nation called Israel. It is an old story from long ago. The walls at that time, were extremely thick and hardened, so much so that the people of Israel would not be able to make even a dent with all their weaponry and arms. Instead, they received instructions to march around the walls once for each day, and on the seventh day, to march around seven times consecutively. After the last march, the priests were to blow their trumpets with everything they've got, and the walls came tumbling down as a result."

"What do you imply, young Aosaki?"

"At that point in time, when things were still crude compared to now, they did not know how exactly the walls came down. With the research and knowledge that we have now, it was due to two things: Sound and Vibration. The vibration was caused by the marching of the people around the walls. The force they exerted from each step resonated deep into the ground, affecting the very foundations of the walls, thus, weakening them. Just as a high-pitched frequency will shatter glass, the loud sounds made by the priests acted in the same way towards the walls, rendering it unable to stand anymore and bringing it crashing to the ground."

"With all said and done, I fail to see how you've answered my question," Byung-jin said.

"I applied the same logic," Toshirou replied. "I thought; 'how can I create something that will have both effects of the sound and the vibration?' And I came up with an answer; A bubble-like substance, compressed with divine energy. A manipulator controls divine energy by infusing it into nonliving things, the air is also a nonliving thing, but it just can't be physically held, so that's what I did. I infused divine energy into the air, then compressed it into a hardened balloon-like substance. Just like this..."

He set out his hand, opening up his palm, and a bright blue light glowed on it. The others looked on in fascination as the energy steadily stretched out of his palm, forming into an orb-looking substance till it solidified and dropped itself in Toshirou's palm.

"Very fascinating indeed." Byung-jin stroked his long, grey beard.

"Then if I do this," Using the tip of his sword, he pricked the blue orb in his palm.

*Bang!!!*

A loud bang resonated throughout the buildings, the sound so loud, the palace shook, or rather, vibrated along with it, causing the occupants to cover their ears with their hands and brace themselves just in case the construct fell.

After some minutes, the vibration settled and the place was back to normal.

'This is absurd! Just one of those things caused so much shaking. If two or three more like that one were released in here, this place would have crashed to the ground. For him to even think of this kind of thing, destruction will always be in his wake. He'll be a child of destruction!' Holding Joel's hand tightly, but not uncomfortably, Sung-nim couldn't help but try to understand who in the world Toshirou was. She looked down at Joel with expressive eyes that asked her question, but the boy shook his head in the negative. Him also clueless as to who and what exactly Toshirou was.

The male in question continued to speak as nothing has happened. "The topography around the four gates are very similar, without any noticeable difference, which made it easier for me. rainforest-like vegetation with tall green trees; oak, pine, cedar, and others, are what the forest is made up of. Just like the walls of Jericho, I planted those balls of compressed air deep into the soil. At least ten on each side. I set Hazel on standby, and I gave her the instruction to manipulate the memories of the soldiers at those posts, with them under the impression that they had been assigned to burst those air-balls at the exact time I proposed, or rather, their 'leader' proposed. Everything worked out, they burst the air-balls and the trees came crashing down, immobilizing them. I do feel bad for the ones who burst the air-balls though, cause they received the impact head-on."

Thus, he concluded, leaving the people in the room to their own thoughts.

Dae and Yeong-ji did not remark on this but simply thanked their maker for allowing the blue-haired teen to be on their side. Even so, they had to admit, his strategy was brilliant! For someone so young, he had the potential to become a warlord of a renounced guild. They only prayed and hoped, that he would not fall into the wrong hands, that nothing would make him want to turn to the dark side, and there will always be someone, someone who can break his heart and harness his deepest of secrets, someone who will be by his side at all times, and someone whom he can lean on and rest in. Likewise, Sung-nim, Raynell, and Joel had similar thoughts.

"Haaaahhh..." Byung-jin sighed. "To transcend the limit of a Manipulator at this feeble stage, you truly are the real son of your father."

Like a zip track, Toshirou's mind came to halt. "What did you say?"

"lord Byung-jin, do you apparently know Aosaki-kun from somewhere else? And what does it mean to transcend the limit of a Manipulator?" Curiosity struck Sung-nim.

"It's exactly as I said, Lady Sung-nim. Aosaki-kun said it earlier, didn't he? 'A Manipulator controls divine energy by infusing it into nonliving things', but if it were merely that simple, then they would be the strongest creatures the world has ever seen. The catch to their ability comes from the notion 'to take a hold of one's destiny'. Manipulators, in order to use their gift, have to take a firm hold of the object they wish to manipulate. This is because divine energy spreads from the tip of the fingers and flows into materials. Of all things that can be manipulated in this world, the air is not one of them. That is what I mean when I say that the boy has transcended the limits of a Manipulator. "

"But how does that have anything to do with my father? No, scratch that, what the hell do you mean by 'I'm the real son of my father?' What do you know, old man?"

It appeared as if the elder had struck a nerve in the boy, but the feudal lords couldn't see the issue in it. It could be a personal matter for Aosaki, but if someone tells you you're the real son of your father, it's normally supposed to be taken as a compliment, except if perhaps, the father isn't an admirable person, but otherwise, and especially, in this case, it should be something to be proud of.

"What do I know? Hohoho," The old man cackled. "How could I ever forget the son of our benefactor? The being who granted the Thessalonica to Min-ae and saved mankind many decades ago."

The realisation started to dawn on Toshirou.

"Aosaki Toshirou, do you merely think your actions were of your own volition? That you happened to just come to where a divine artefact lay? Or that you were able to control an element that should be naturally impossible for your class? It called you here to take possession of it. It belongs to you! Aosaki Toshirou, Toshirou El Andrei, son of the eighth heavenly host, Nathaniel El Andrei," The elder stood up and stretched his right hand at Toshirou, who was wide-eyed in bewilderment.

"Thou art the true owner of the Thessalonica!"